Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Hope you all have a great break! School is entering finals week for me pretty soon, so I won't be writing much for a few weeks, though I have another few chapters done already. This is the longest story I've ever written so we're in uncharted territory here. Let's just pray that I don't lose my muse. Hope you all enjoy the chapter.
"So Arya told you this?" Tor questioned his father. The Lord of Winterfell gave a short nod. "Well I talked to her after you did when she was a bit calmer, managed to get a bit more. I suppose all our eavesdropping sessions helped her out a bit." Tor sighed. "I'm fairly certain she heard Varys and someone else talking, and she mentioned something about a Khal Drogo."
Arya had been running around the Red Keep as per usual, in this instance she was chasing an old black cat, and she had come across the old dragon skulls from when the Targaryens still ruled. She told Tor and her father she had hid when she heard two men coming down the hall talking, and she hadn't been sure she was allowed down there. The conversation had seemed important, so Tor had her attempt to recount as much as she could remember.
Tor continued, "So I've given it some thought. Varys was obviously talking about Khal Drogo, the Dothraki leader married to Daenerys Targaryen. Varys seems to suspect it will be a war of Starks vs. Lannisters, which is not unrealistic, especially after what we suspect about the assassin who came after Bran, which leads to the question of why they wanted Bran dead, which would appear to mean that Bran's fall was a murder attempt and not an accident. If there is a war between the Starks and the Lannisters, the rest of the Kingdoms could well join in, and with the King's children being not his own, the King's brothers may pull to sit on the throne. Not to mention that the Lannister's will deny an accusation that the Princes and Princess were bastards, and with the limited proof we have, it will likely mean a three way, possibly four way war, if Renly Baratheon chooses to be ambitious rather than honorable."
Tor took a breath. "Varys seems to be pulling for a Targaryen restoration for some reason, which adds a new layer of complexity. If the Targaryen's bring a hundred thousand Dothraki into Westeros, there will be chaos." Tor looked at his father, "What do you think?"
The Warden of the North seemed to sag in his chair. "I hate to say it, I hate to even think about it, but you could be correct. Especially with what's happened now."
"And what's that?" Tor asked curiously.
"Your mother has taken Tyrion Lannister captive and is taking him to the Eyrie to be tried."
Tor's mouth dropped. "Well sh**."
Lord Stark gave a sardonic smile, "Indeed. I decided to speak to Robert about it before anyone else could tell him, but I was summoned to the small council chamber, the King was there." Tor raised a brow in surprise, the King never attended those meetings. Tor looked his father over, he seemed more distraught than usual. It was when Torrhen's gray eyes passed over his father the second time that he realized something. "Where is your pin?"
Lord Stark closed his eyes. "I am no longer the Hand of the King. At the meeting, they said that Daenerys Targaryen was pregnant and they wanted to assassinate her. I would have no part in it. We leave by nightfall, get yourself packed, have Jory get the girls."
The door opened suddenly. Jory Cassel looked in. "My Lord, Lord Baelish is here to see you." Lord Stark sighed. The man walked in a few seconds later. "His Grace went on about you for some length after you took your leave. The word treason was mentioned."
Lord Stark stood and approached Baelish, standing in front of him, Torrhen stood behind and to the right of him slightly.
"When do you return to Winterfell?" the Master of Coin asked. Tor placed his hand lightly on his father's shoulder. A reminder not to trust him. He couldn't make it seem unsuspicious but for one way, so reluctantly he spoke up.
"I'm going to go see if Myrcella's available for a walk father." Tor bowed slightly to Baelish and exited the room. Once outside, he stayed within hearing distance.
"Your son seems like a fine young man." Baelish commented.
"He is one of the best I know. Now why do you care when we're leaving?"
Tor almost groaned, why couldn't his father be a bit more diplomatic.
"If you're still here come nightfall, I'll take you to the last person that spoke to Jon Arryn come nightfall, if that sort of thing still interests you."
Tor smiled slightly. Baelish didn't seem to know that they had figured out what Jon Arryn had been looking for, even if they weren't totally sure who had done the deed.
"We had been planning to leave tomorrow at dawn. I suppose I can take an hour this evening."
"It won't take more than an hour."
Tor heard footsteps coming towards the door and he quickly made his way up the stairs to the right to hide. He heard his father tell Jory to put his best guards on the girls before he walked off with Baelish. Jory came up the same stairs that Tor was hiding on so he stepped out and stopped Jory quickly. "I'll trail father, you, and the guards. I've got your back." He and Jory grasped arms, firm in their mutual goal, the protection of Tor's family.
Tor grabbed a cloak quickly, along with his bow and quiver, warged into the nearest raven, and spotted his father, Jory, and Lord Baelish leaving the castle. He always had his sword and knives with him, so he made his way quickly in that direction. When he exited the castle, he became a part of the crowd. His weapons were hidden under his cloak, so he did not look overly suspicious. The bulge on his back somewhat revealed his quiver, but if someone asked, he was going hunting.
Tor's thoughts drifted as he followed his father through the streets. If they left, what would he and Myrcella do? Would she come with him? Could he ask her too? His thoughts flew at a hundred miles per hour, trying to come up with an answer to his query. He hadn't found a suitable one by the time they arrived at the destination, one of Lord Petyr Baelish's brothels. Tor quickly went to the store across the street, browsing as he waited for his father to exit.
Tor coughed in surprise when he saw the dozens of Lannister knights coming up the road, Tor made a split second decision and climbed the building in front of him, going unnoticed because of the crowds of people nearby. He pulled his bow off of his back and prepared himself. There were about two dozen knights, with spear and sword both, along with Jamie Lannister riding up. There were two Stark men outside the building, and Jory and his father inside. When they stepped out, it was to the sight of two dozen Lannisters and the Kingslayer. The Lannister group made a semicircle around the group of four.
"Such a small pack of wolves." Jamie Lannister commented, getting off of his horse.
"Stay back ser, this is the Hand of the King." Jory called out to him.
"Was the Hand of the King." The Kingslayer corrected. "Now I'm not sure what he is… Lord of somewhere very far away." Tor's hand tensed on his bow, this wasn't going well.
"What's the meaning of this Lannister?" Baelish came rushing out of the building. Tor looked at him suspiciously. The Lannister's had arrived much too fast, unless they knew where he would be.
The Queen's twin waved him off, "Get back inside, where it's safe." He turned slightly to address the Lord of Winterfell. "I'm looking for my brother. You remember my brother, don't you Lord Stark? Blonde hair, sharp tongue, short man."
"I remember him well." Lord Stark stated impassively.
"It seems he had some trouble on the road. You wouldn't know what happened to him would you?"
Lord Stark seemed to war with himself for a moment, before apparently remembering that he wanted to get his family out of this safely, and his wife was in much less danger at the moment. "He was taken captive by my wife, I received word today. My wife believes that he tried to assassinate our youngest boy." Jamie Lannister put his hand on his sword, but did not draw it, yet. Tor pulled an arrow from his quiver.
"Well, your wife is under the impression that she can imprison Lannisters. Perhaps we'll do the same," He drew his sword, the two dozen guards around him lowered their pikes. "We can always do a prisoner exchange, can't we?"
"I'll call the city watch." Baelish promised, running inside his brothel.
"If you threaten my Lord again..." Jory said, drawing his own sword.
The golden haired Lannister cut him off. "Threaten? As in, I'm going to open your Lord from the a** to the brain," He pointed his sword forwards mockingly, "And see what Starks are made of?"
"You kill me, your brother is a dead man." Lord Stark smiled. "My wife can be quite vengeful."
Lannister gave a chuckle. "You're right. Take him alive, kill his men." The Lannister guards began readying to follow his orders. There were twenty four Lannister guards, Tor had twenty arrows. 'Let's hope Jory and the other two can handle themselves. My father should be able to hold off the Kingslayer. He fought against the Sword of the Morning after all' Tor nocked an arrow as two guards raised their spears to throw at the two Stark guards. Tor fired an arrow right into the unprotected lower neck of one spearman, but couldn't nock quick enough to save the second. The battle began in earnest, Jory, Lord Stark, and the other guard vs. twenty three Lannister's and the Kingslayer himself. The only advantage they had was that only five or six Lannister men could fight the three Stark men at one time. Tor began firing as fast as he could, about an arrow every other second. The Lannister's were just twenty paces away, and ten feet down, so Tor didn't miss. Each shot went through the neck of his target. In ten seconds, he had downed five more men. His father and Jory had killed another each. That left sixteen. This was when Tor was finally noticed, five knights broke away and began climbing the wall, but with their heavy armor it was slow going. Tor took out three by the time they made it to the roof. The fourth stood up and got an arrow through the eye of his helm. The fifth charged.
Tor dropped his bow and rolled under the swing of the Lannister knight. He came to his feet right in front of the knight, inside his guard, his hand already jabbing upwards with a throwing knife, lodging into the bottom of his jaw. He quickly grabbed his bow and turned back to the fight, he had lost another twelve seconds. His father and Jory had taken out two more each, but the final Stark guard had a sword in his eye, courtesy of the Kingslayer. Seven left, and the Kingslayer. Jory and Lord Stark were still fighting.
Tor didn't much savor the thought of Tywin Lannister attempting to murder his whole family so he sent two arrows Jamie Lannisters way, one speared through his sword hand, causing him to drop his sword, and the other went through the back of knee.
"Stop attacking!" Tor yelled, "Or I'll send one through his skull! Lord Tywin won't be happy with you then will he?" The seven remaining guards hesitated, then slowly lowered their weapons.
"Who are you?" Jamie Lannister spat out bitterly from his spot kneeling on the ground. His hand was clutched to his chest, the arrow having gone straight through, and his shot knee was on the ground, an arrow still sticking through the back.
Tor thought for a moment, deciding that he kind of wanted credit for shooting the Kingslayer, his impulsiveness taking over for a moment, he pulled back the hood of his cloak. "You'll be staying away from my father Lannister, I guarantee my arrow is faster than your blade." Tor motioned to the guards with his head, keeping his still nocked arrow pointed at the Kingslayer. "Now, drop your weapons and take your Kingslayer back to his castle, feel free to kiss his wounds better." The Lannister knights hurried to comply, no one wanted to be the one responsible for getting Jamie Lannister killed. When their weapons were on the ground, two grabbed their leader under his arms, and began helping him back to the castle, the rest following. When they were gone, Tor clambered down from his spot and made his way towards his father and Jory, who were both gathering the bodies of the other two guards.
"Are you hurt?" Tor questioned as he made his way to them.
"No, son, it's a good thing you were there." Lord Stark looked to Jory, "You didn't seem surprised by this."
"Aye, my lord. He told me he would be following, and I'm quite glad he was."
Lord Stark nodded at that. Then he looked at the two bodies of his men. "We'll need to get back to the castle quickly but we can't leave them here." Tor heard a pawing sound emerge to his right. He looked and a grin grew on his face. The Kingslayer horse was pawing the ground with his hooves. "I've found a way to carry them."
The trio made their way through the streets, Jory holding the reigns of the horse in one hand, sword in the other. The bodies of the two men laid across its back. Torrhen and his father led the way, Tor leading them through several shortcuts. They made it back to the keep before the Lannister's, Tor confirmed, his eyes misty gray as he half focused on Seeker flying over the Lannister's. They brought the bodies to the silent sisters, and the horse to the stable.
They searched the castle for a bit, asking the various servants where the King was. They came upon him dining with his Queen in silence. Ser Barristan let the three in after the King bade them enter. The King still seemed irritated at his best friend, but at least he seemed to have remembered that it was merely a part of who he was. The "Honorable Ned Stark" couldn't condemn a woman and child to death.
"Have you come to try and reason with me?" The King rumbled, "With your boy and your guard as backup?"
"No Your Grace," responded Lord Stark, "I've come to tell you that myself, Jory here, and two of my guards were attacked by two dozen Lannister knights, and Ser Jamie. They meant to capture me alive and kill my men so that they could force my wife to turn over Tyrion Lannister, who she has captured because she believes that he is responsible for the attempt on my youngest son's life." The King set his wine on the table between him and the Queen.
"And you expect me to believe that you made it out of that unscathed?" The King asked blandly.
The Queen sneered. "Clearly he's trying to get you on his side before he flees the city, with my youngest brother still in his wife's hands."
"Shut up woman!" the King demands.
Tor's father answers the King's previous question. "No your Grace, we would not have made it out if my son hadn't conspired with my captain of the guard to follow me discreetly as backup. He's an excellent archer as you know and shot down many of the men before showing mercy on Ser Jamie by shooting him twice in nonlethal spots, even when he wore no helmet." Just as he finished speaking, Ser Barristan opened the door.
"Your Grace, a messenger to see you." the king waved him in. The messenger began. "Your Grace, Jamie Lannister is in the maesters chambers with a hole through his sword hand and an arrow in the back of his knee. There are two dead Stark men with the silent sisters, as well as a dozen Lannister bodies in the street. Ser Jamie requests that you see him immediately." The messenger bowed and left.
The Queen's eyes had clouded with rage, and her face scrunched up with hate. Tor noticed absently that Myrcella was far prettier as he didn't think she was capable of making a face so hateful.
"Your Grace, this boy has shot a member of the Kingsguard, your good brother. He has to be punished!" she seethed.
"Woman! I've already told you to shut up!" the King yelled. "Leave us. I don't need your prattling distracting me!" The Queen glared in anger at the King for a moment before storming out. Though she sent a look his way that Tor was sure meant he would need to be even more wary for the rest of his stay in the capital.
"Torrhen," The King called his attention.
"Your Grace." He bowed.
"Did you injure Ser Jamie and kill the Lannister knights?"
"I did Your Grace," Tor confirmed, taking responsibility for all of the bodies, shifting the blame off his father and the captain of the Starks guard.
The King stared at him before sighing. "Tywin will demand your head for this. Especially after what you did to Clegane. I'd be inclined to give it to him just to save me trouble if it weren't for who your father was and that Myrcella would be devastated." He rubbed his hand to his face and turned to Ned.
"You'll write your wife, have her send Tyrion back down here, you'll confine your son to his room for a few days, and you'll remain here, as Hand of the King. I need you here Ned." He sighed forlornly. "I never loved my brothers. A sad thing for a man to admit, but it's true. You were the brother I chose. I need you here." He tossed his friend the pin that meant he was Hand once again. "We'll talk when I return from my hunt."
"The hunt?" Lord Stark questioned.
"Killing clears my head. You'll have to sit on the throne while I'm away. You'll hate it more than I do."
"The Targaryen girl…"
"Seven hells! Don't start with her again. The girl will die and I'll hear no more of it!" The King pointed at him. "Put on the badge, and if you ever take it off again, I swear to the Mother I'll pin the d**n thing on Jamie Lannister!" The King waved them out of his room then, and the trio left.
Lord Stark sent Jory to inform the guards what happened, and to pay extra attention the next few days. Then, Tor and his father made their way into the Hand's solar with the intent to plan for several hours.
"Father, you must agree with me to send the girls away, or at the very least, to send Arya away. She is betrothed to no one, has no obligations here, send her to Robb, he'll keep her safe"
The Hand looked at his son, "I agree. Arya will leave here with Jory and half the men. We'll have a guard each and the rest will guard this tower and Sansa." Tor disagreed.
"A guard will only slow me down. My senses are sharper than any man's. I will not be taken by surprise, and they can't follow me up walls or around the city."
"You'll have to keep to your room for a few days as the King commanded, but after that, I suppose that can be arranged."
The younger Stark agreed. "Next, send that raven. Mother has left us in an unenviable position here, and that needs to be righted." Lord Stark acquiesced, "Lastly, we need to decide how you will act while the King's gone. You can't ruffle too many feathers, because I don't want to die, so the best thing we can probably do is keep all things Lannister at least ten feet away from us at all times."
Lord Stark sighed, "I suppose you're right." He shook his head. "It is almost funny, you know. A man taking all his advice from his own son." Then he smiled slightly. "I'm glad I brought you Torrhen, you've a much better mind for this than I do. Perhaps they are right, too honorable by half."
Tor frowned at that. "Father, your honor is who you are. It's what makes you a great man. It's why your bannermen respect you. Honor is good, but good people don't survive down here."
The two conversed for a few hours after that. They decided the wording of the letter to Lady Stark, and discussed their plan for the Lannisters, as well as Arya's departure. They planned for Syrio Forrel to accompany the party north, with a large bag of gold from Torrhen's winnings at the Tourney of the Hand.
"I'll miss you Tor!" Arya hugged her brother tightly.
Tor hugged her back softly. "Tell the others I said hello, and take care of Bran for me yeah?" She nodded jerkily into his chest. Tor felt something wet stain his shirt. He pulled Arya back slightly so he could look into her teary eyes. "I will keep our family safe. You don't need to worry about that okay? Trust me sister."
After that, Arya gave similar goodbyes to their father and Sansa, as well as Myrcella and Tommen who had come to see her off. When the group of over two dozen Stark guards, a few servants, and Arya set off, Tor felt a burden lift off his chest. Whatever happened, Arya wouldn't be here for it. Nymeria would be joining the party when they passed out of the city. Lady and Shadow would remain.
With Tor confined to his room for a few days, he spent nearly all of his time warged into his raven, trying to figure out who the Queen's lover was, or stalking the King's hunting party as Shadow. His first day stuck on the job was quite boring, his second was not. As he was stalking the King on the second day, he noticed that the King seemed to be getting drunker and drunker. Ser Barristan, Renly, and his squire Lancel Lannister were with him. He heard some lovely conversation from drunk King Robert, and an argument between the two Baratheons present, causing Renly to storm off. When the group finally came upon a boar, the King drunkenly missed his chance. The boar lunged at him and would have ripped him near in half if Tor/Shadow hadn't shot out of the woods and leapt on the boar's back. The direwolves had grown even more in the past few months, and on four legs was over four feet tall. Tor/Shadow used his fearsome size to knock the boar to the ground, before tearing its throat out with one swipe of his claws. He leapt off the boar then and gave a mocking bow to the King, before running off.
That night, Torrhen shared his actions with his father, before his father shared something with him. "Ser Amory Lorch has been burning towns in the Riverlands, raping and murdering men and women, and burning children alive. They leave behind bags full of trout, the symbol of your mothers house. I believe they are protesting Lord Tyrion's capture. I commanded Lord Beric Dondarrion to gather a hundred men, and bring Lorch and his men before the throne to answer for their crimes." Eddard Stark sighed. "I stripped him of his knighthood and status, and his titles and property, and commanded Pycelle to send a missive to Lord Tywin Lannister commanding him to attend the trial of his bannermen and answer to his part in it. I fear I have made a mistake."
Tor sighed softly. "You did what was right. It may not have been smart, but it was right. Let us hope that the King returns to us safely and Lord Dondarrion just as quick."
His third day was even better. His raven perched on the windowsill of the injured Jamie Lannister's bedchamber as he and the Queen spoke softly. He had thought he would be bored for the next few hours as Cersei raved about her plans to kill him and thereby avenge Jamie's injuries, but Jamie wasn't in the mood. Much to Torrhen's surprise and disgust, he shut Cersei up with a kiss. Things got progressively worse until he finally left, not wanting to see his wife's mother and uncle, or mother and father, or father and aunt, however one saw it, Tor didn't want to see anything.
That same afternoon, Tor attached a letter to his raven, Seeker, and had him fly directly to Myrcella's room. An hour after that, a hand knocked on the door. Tor opened it with a tired smile. Myrcella entered his room, and with some reassurances to Ser Oakheart that nothing untoward would happen, he agreed to wait outside. When the door closed Myrcella nearly knocked Tor over in a hug. "I haven't seen you in days my love." She whispered to him, before bringing him into a heated kiss.
Tor pulled back reluctantly. "I found out Myrcella, who your father is." He hesitated, seeing the anticipation on her face. "It's, well, it's not good." She pulled them over to his bed.
"I'm not fragile you know, I won't break." Tor smiled sadly.
"The Queen's love isn't just another man," he paused, "It's Jamie Lannister." Myrcella didn't move. Tor waited a second, nothing. He waved a hand in front of her face. "Love," Tor called softly, "Talk to me love. Are you still in there?" He waved a hand in front of her face again, trying to get a laugh or something, but she just sat there, thinking.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that a bitter laugh escaped her. Tor almost cried in relief at the first sign he had that she was still in there. "I don't think anyone has ever changed their social status so drastically before. I've went from a Princess, to a bastard, to a child of incest." She was silent again. Tor pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
"I'd been prepared for almost anything but that, you know." She gave another half hearted chuckle. "I had thought about nearly every man in the castle. I even jokingly considered Lord Varys, his lack of the proper tools and all." A tear dripped down her cheek, "But not him, never him. How can you still love me after what you know?" She put forth through her near silent sniffles.
Tor kissed her forehead softly, "How could I not? I fell in love with the most beautiful girl in Westeros, and the kindest too." She began crying then, and Tor held her, desperate to say something to comfort her, but not knowing what to say. So he just held her, and let her cry. When the tears were gone, Myrcella's eyes grew determined.
"We have to tell the King."
Tor quickly moved to refute her. "We can't love, he might kill you, you and Tommen."
She remained unmoved. "He was my father for thirteen years, he couldn't kill me." She stated, sure in her belief.
Tor continued to try and dissuade her for several minutes. Each plea or reasoning met the same stern resistance. Finally, he gave up. He could not stop her, all that was left was supporting her.
"If you must do this, you will do it with me by your side, so that if something goes wrong, I can be your shield." She smiled at her victory, and the two lay on his bed for a few more minutes discussing the when and the how. They, along with Torrhen's father, would meet him in the Great Hall when he returned from his hunt, he'd be happiest then, they supposed. Myrcella would ask him to call in his family and Ser Jamie, and when they arrived, she would tell them what they'd learned. Jamie would likely die, but the Queen would likely only be exiled, it was considered even worse than kinslaying to murder your spouse they reasoned, and the Princes and Princess would live, titleless, but alive. Myrcella was confident in their plan, Tor had his reservations, but went along with it because otherwise, she'd sneak behind his back, meet the king anyway, and get killed by his rage. If he was there, at least he could shield her. His father was just as uncertain of their plan, but knew that it was safer if they were there.
The King arrived back in the city a day later with little fanfare. Tor was let out of his room, so he spent his afternoon by his wife's side. When the evening came, and the King ended court for the day, Myrcella and Tor entered the Great Hall. Myrcella had a dagger strapped to her thigh, and Tor had his sword at his waist and knives in a pouch at his belt.
"Your Grace." Torrhen said, and the two bowed. King Robert looked on the two with a smile. "You need not bow to me, my daughter. I'm glad you two seem to be getting along." Myrcella winced visibly. She looked up to her not-quite-father, "There is something important we need to discuss. Can you call the family, as well as Uncle Jamie?" King Robert frowned, but nodded. His daughter never asked for anything, so this must be important. He waved his hand and several guards went missing from the hall, though a few dozen remained, lining the wall. The King sat in his throne, with the Hand next to him, alongside Baelish, and Pycelle. In front of the King stood Ser Barristan, Ser Meryn Trant, and Ser Boros Blount. Off to the side was the King's Justice, Ser Ilyn Payne.
Several minutes passed before the Queen arrived with Joffrey, then Tommen, and finally, Ser Jamie limped in. When they all stood before the King, Myrcella and Tor stepped forwards. Tor spoke first. "Your Grace, my father and I discovered something important, something that could change Westeros as we know it. I shared it with my betrothed, as it affects her, and she convinced us that you needed to be informed." The King stared at Tor for a moment before looking to his right, when Lord Stark confirmed Tor's statement with a nod, he looked back.
"Well, get on with it." He waved a hand.
Myrcella took a steadying breath, Tor placed a hand on her back comfortingly. "Lord Stark and Tor discovered that," she paused, before seeming to find her courage, "that my mother has been sleeping with Uncle Jamie for years."She blurted out quickly." The King stilled for a moment, before his eyes went wide with rage. The Kingslayer's eyes widened at his niece/daughter's words, but his injuries did not let him move. The Queen stared at her daughter with betrayal on her face.
"Guards, close the doors!" the King called out, standing up. He walked down the steps, past his Kingsguard until he was in front of his wife. "Is this true?" He growled. A flicker of fear crossed her face, but the King saw it. He snarled in rage and turned to the Queen's brother/lover. "YOU PIECE OF SH**, INCESTUOUS SISTER-FU****! GUARDS!" He gave a mad smile. "BIND THE KINGSLAYER AND HIS WHORE!"
The guards moved quickly to apprehend them, and Myrcella spoke once more to the enraged King. "Your Grace, there's more…" She motioned to herself and her brothers. She tried to break it to him subtly. "We don't look like you." She finished softly.
The King's eyes widened, and he stared at his "children" each in turn. Then his eyes widened in disbelief, then acceptance, finally, rage and determination all at once. "BIND THEM TOO!" He yelled to the guards. Tor's eyes widened as the guards came near, he went to pull his sword, but Myrcella stopped him. "He won't hurt me." She whispered in his ear. "Go stand with your father, he won't let you stand with us while he interrogates mother. It will make it seem like you're on their side." Tor was very reluctant to do so, but he listened to his wife. The moment he stepped away, the guards reached them. They forced Myrcella to her knees as they did with her siblings and parents.
Tor stood next to his father as the King screamed at Cersei. "Aren't we going to stop him?" Tor whispered.
The Hand smiled grimly, "We have to wait for his rant to stop first."
A minute later the King stopped screaming curses at his wife and breathed heavily for a moment. Lord Stark stepped up then and told the King he should talk to his Queen before doing something rash. So the King reluctantly asked what the Queen had to say for herself.
"I worshipped you. Every girl in the Seven Kingdoms dreamed of you but you were mine by oath. And when I finally saw you on the Sept of Baelor, lean and fit and black-bearded, it was the happiest moment of my life. Then that night you crawled on top of me, stinking of wine, and you did what little you could do. You whispered in my ear Lyanna… She was a corpse and I was a living girl and you loved her more than me." She paused, only for a moment before her face grew spiteful. "The Targaryens wed brother and sister for three hundred years to keep the bloodline pure. Jamie and I are more than that. We shared a womb together, we came into this world together, we belong together. I love my children, mine and Jamies. Thank the gods they're all his. There was no better way to spite you than for your throne to be passed down to my family, mine but not yours! A Lannister on the throne, pure Lannister." She finished with a half-mad grin.
The King backhanded her with a scream of rage. "SLIT THEIR THROATS!" He yelled. "I WILL NOT HAVE THESE BASTARD INCEST CHILDREN AND THEIR FU***** PARENTS SULLY THESE WALLS ANYMORE! KILL THEM NOW!" Each one of the children and the parents already had a guard on them, and each began drawing their swords.
The Hand of the King yelled at Robert "THAT'S ENOUGH, THE CHILDREN HAVE DONE NO WRONG!" But it fell on deaf ears, the King still yelling "KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL!"
Tor moved quickly then, seeing that the guards were going for their swords. He reached for his pouch, pulling his throwing knife out. His eyes moved up, his arm pulling back, the swords were up, Cersei and Jamie's necks bled red. The guards with the children were slower to respond, but their swords were up too. Myrcella's guard had the sword at her throat. Tor's hand blurred forward. The knife flew. It followed straight and true, burying itself in his eye. Tor's heart leaped for a moment. He'd done it!. His eyes moved from the dead guard to his wife, and his heart stopped.
Myrcella lay on the ground, red was pooling the ground beneath her throat. His body moved of its own accord until he knelt right in front of her. Tor pulled her body into his own and turned her face to his. The cut was deep, she was slowly bleeding out, but she breathed. Myrcella looked up at him, and he at her. His face seemed to drain of life as her own life faded. Their eyes met as they had for the first time so many months ago. Myrcella raised her hand to his cheek, as tears rolled from her husband's cheeks. "I guess I was wrong." She breathed out, coughing out blood.
Tor gave a choked laugh, even in her last moments she could draw him from his misery. "I tried to stop you. Why didn't I stop you?" He murmured.
Around them, the King was still screaming his rage, Tor's father screamed back, though a tear leaked from his own cheek as he saw his son kneeling before his lover. The remaining guards made no move to stop the boy who had murdered one of their own. Tor saw none of it, his eyes focused on one of the few things he loved, whom he had swore to protect. Pack. "I failed. I promised to protect you and I didn't. Why did I fail?"
Myrcella Stark looked up at her husband, and even as she went to a place she did not know, her only worry was for him. "This isn't your fault." More blood spit from her mouth. She ignored it. "I-I made a choice. You sw-swore to protect me, you did protect me." She coughed for a few seconds. "But no one c-can protect someone from th-themselves." She rubbed his cheek softly. Tor felt her hand slip from his cheek. Her eyes glazed over, gone. Tor was alone.
"No," he muttered, "no, no, no, no, no!" His eyes changed from sad to angry. Each no grew louder, and each sounded more pain then the last. Tor let himself fade then. The recklessness he was known for, the impulsiveness, it was all a part of something greater. The wolfblood in his veins, made him more prone to his instincts, his primal desires. There was only one thing his wolf hungered for now. Vengeance. Vengeance and Blood.
Tor lay the body of his lover down softly and stood up. His eyes blazed with fury. Not the loud roaring fury of the Baratheons, but the fury so intense that it burnt cold. The fury that comes when Winter hits after a long summer. The fury that froze men to death in the snow and buried the earth in white. He was of the North, and so was his rage.
"You killed her." His soft voice cut furiously across the room, silencing the King's yells. He looked to his best friend's son then, and took a physical step back when he saw the look in his eyes. The Kingsguard fingered their weapons nervously, staying in between the young man and the object of his rage. "You killed my wife." The Kingsguard shifted again. Ser Barristan looked into the young man he had dueled with at the tourney and his heart ached. He could see the burning fury in his eyes and knew what would happen next. The only question that the old man had was whether he was right to try and stop him.
Torrhen Stark's gaze shifted to the Kingsguard in his way for but a second. He would not murder innocents in his quest for vengeance, he would not do what had just been done to him. He drew three throwing knives. His gaze shifted to his father, whose eyes were filled with sorrow, but also with warning, telling his son that this was a path he could not follow him on. Torrhen didn't care.
His hand lashed out, his knives flew straight and true. Ser Meryn Trant, Ser Boros Blount, and Ser Barristan Selmy fell. Tor had hit them with the blunt ends, they'd have a headache for a while, but they'd live. The King would not be so lucky. Tor drew another throwing knife. The King was still frozen in shock, but the guard on the walls and standing over the bodies of the Lannister family were not. Tor pulled out another throwing knife quickly, one in each hand. There were four guards in range of him now. He crouched and lashed out, one blade in either direction, killing the closest two guards, for they had been Tommen and Joffrey's killers, child murderers still. Then, he ran for the King. Robert was a big man, but Tor's fury made him strong. He rammed his shoulder into the gut of his wife's murderer. The fat man flew back a foot, and hit the ground. His own weight knocking the wind out of him.
Tor drew his sword, two guards were behind him, twelve feet away, he could hear their footsteps. Fifteen more were coming, twenty five feet, he had time. Tor brought his sword down on the King's neck. And heads rolled. The head of King Robert, First of His Name, rolled down the steps, landing one foot from the closest running guard. Everything stopped. Their eyes latched on to the rolling head of the King. Tor's blood cooled, the ice hot fury reduced to a simmering heat, present, but controllable. He stared at the head. He felt no shame. No guilt. Only a bitter calm. His wife had been murdered, and she was now avenged.
He heard breathing eight feet to his right. His eyes met his father's. He saw many conflicting emotions in those eyes. He was his son, and he'd killed the King. Tor spoke then, the last words he'd say to his father for a long time. "You'll have to leave. It doesn't matter that you're Hand of the King if the King is dead. Grab Sansa and go. Ready the North, Winter is coming, and it's coming soon. Ask Jon and he'll tell you. The cold winds rise and the dead rise with it." Tor's voice cracked then. "Tell them I love them, tell Jon I'll be there when it's time. Don't fight in these southern wars father. We were not meant for the south."
It was time to leave. The guards were coming back to themselves. Tor took one last longing look towards the body of his wife, a tear coming to his cheek, and he ran. He went not to the left, where the small council meetings were held, for there was no escape there. He ran behind the Iron Throne, for the wall there was a passage to the dungeons, and the dungeon was a way out.
He heard his father step into his temporary role as regent, with a call of "After him!" to the guards. Tor hoped it was for show. That his father did not hate him for killing his best friend. That he would escape, and that he'd bring Sansa with him. Tor changed his mind halfway to the dungeon's beach exit. There were still about nine thousand gold dragons in his room, and the Stark guards didn't know what had happened yet. He changed directions, sneaking back up the steps, passing through corridors and stairways that many did not even know existed. He saw four running guards before he made it to the Tower of the Hand. He gave a casual nod to the guards of the tower before entering. He did not see Sansa in any of the main rooms so he would not have the chance to say goodbye.
In his room he grabbed the largest pouch he had and filled it with gold. Tor figured he had managed about two thousand dragons. He put his bow on his back, along with his quiver, filled his throwing knife pouch, and ran towards the last place he needed to go in this godsforsaken castle. He saw no guards this time on his way. He paused in front of his destination. Myrcella's room. He opened the door quickly and slipped in, closing the door behind him. His breath caught when he looked at the room. His eyes did not see, but he heard the voices in his ears.
"Love?" "Aye, love."
"Where are we going?" "We're getting married!"
"You said you pledge your love, now prove it."
Tears formed at the edges of Tor's eyes but he plowed on. Mourning could come later. His vengeance could tide him over until that time. 'Just keep moving.' Tor moved over to the dresser. He opened the drawer that his wife had kept her favorite things in. He pulled it open. There, right in the center, was what he was here for. He pulled out the direwolf cloak that she had sewn herself, that she had worn at their wedding, and he closed his eyes softly, another tear falling out. Tor took a second, evened his breathing, set his shoulders and walked out, unlikely to set foot in that room again.
On his way to the dungeon's he met three patrols, and he avoided the first two. The final patrol was a two man patrol. Tor was in a hall with very little cover when they turned the corner. He was three feet from them when they entered the hall, but Torrhen had heard their heavy footsteps and low whispers. He wasn't surprised, they were. The first went down instantly with a blow to the helmet with the flat of his sword. The second began drawing his sword when Tor spun 360 degrees to smash the flat of his blade into his arm. It broke with a loud crack and a grunt of pain. His second arm moved to grab the first while Torrhen's own second arm punched the helmeted foe in the face. He heard and felt his fingers breaking but ignored it in favor of getting out of there. The guard had been knocked down onto his own broken arm and looked like he preferred lying there to chasing him. Tor felt at his fingers as he made the rest of the trip through the dungeons. At least two fingers had cracked, maybe three. He would examine himself further when he had made it out.
Ten minutes later, he emerged onto the smelly beaches of King's Landing. Making his way to the docks from there was easy. Purchasing a ride to Essos was even easier. There was a ship sailing to Qarth in an hour. Tor paid the captain's ridiculous fee,almost a hundred gold dragons to make sure he had a private room, and boarded the ship. When he entered his private room he realized he had purchased the captain's own quarters, though it was still ridiculously expensive. A smallfolk could live for a year on a few gold dragons. He set the few things he'd carried with him down, though he kept the cloak Myrcella had made inside his leather armor. He sat down on the bed and warged into Shadow.
His wolf was just finishing off a hunt when their minds connected. He and Lady had been tracking a large stag and were now feasting on the corpse. Tor let his companion eat for a few minutes before he took total control. He growled some instructions at Lady, hopeful that she would join with Sansa and his father if they left the city as he'd suggested. Then he ran towards his ship. Tor would need Shadow's help in Essos. Sneaking onto the boat as a 4ft tall direwolf was actually fairly easy. Everyone was so busy making goodbyes or last minute purchases that he went unnoticed. When Shadow was right outside the door, Tor left his wolf and opened the door. The two greeted each other in person for the first time in weeks, since he and Myrcella had snuck out, Tor's heart clenched at that.
Shadow made himself comfortable on the rug in the middle of the room and Torrhen left him to it. He walked out onto the deck and made himself comfortable on the rails. The ship pulled out a few moments later. When they were a few hundred feet from shore, Tor lifted up his arm, and a raven landed on it. All the family he could bring was with him. He put his hand on his chest, where the cloak resided, and all of her that he could bring as well.
Tor looked out over the water at King's Landing, the city that had given him so much happiness, and so much pain. He would not weep his leaving this place, he would mourn only what he left behind.