.

XIV

Lineage

What Sansa had said would not leave his mind. It hadn't allowed him any rest. Instead, he sat in his study late into the night with the candles burning low, staring down at The Lineage. The same book that Jon Arryn had borrowed, the same line of questioning that Jon Arryn had followed before his untimely death. It left an awful taste in Eddard's mouth and a heavy feeling in his stomach. He already knew the answer to his – and Jon Arryn's – question. But what was written here in The Lineage and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms only confirmed it.

Upon his first reading of the book, he hadn't understood. He hadn't pinpointed yet what Jon Arryn had seen, what had prompted him to go searching through Robert's ancestry, to seek out his bastards in the city. What Sansa had said put it into bright daylight. He almost felt like a fool for having missed it all this time. Sons with beautiful blonde hair, she had said. And in the lineage, hundreds of years of Baratheon ancestry, there was not one. Until Joffrey.

Sometimes children didn't look like their parents – it wasn't uncommon. Robb, his firstborn, bore more of a resemblance to his wife's family than his own. Bran and Arya were the only two of his five children to favor the Starks. And even Jon – but the circumstances were different. Every single match between a Baratheon and another house had produced black-haired children. Every single one of Robert's bastards were black-haired. Even his eldest daughter was black-haired. Indeed, the resemblance Joanna bore to her father was striking. There was hardly a hint of Lannister about her. Before, he had overlooked the differences between the Baratheon children. It was simply the bloodlines falling differently. But when he thought, when he really thought, there wasn't a hint of Baratheon in any of the other children. If anything, they resembled Jaime more than they resembled Robert.

It was not an easy conclusion to come to. He had spent hours trying to understand who, if not Robert, had fathered Cersei's three other children. She was a cold woman; Ned had a hard time imagining her to be open and loving to anyone other than her own family. Even with her own family, she was guarded and calculated when others were around. There was simply no other option. No man had ever been closer to Cersei, had spent more time with her, nor had held her affection than her twin brother.

Breathing out a long sigh, he sat back in his chair. This had been the reason why Jon Arryn had become obsessed with identifying Robert's bastards. The heir to the throne was illegitimate. Any of those other illegitimate sons could lay a claim to the throne – and perhaps win it, as at least their father actually was the king. If only Joanna had been born a boy, he thought, then perhaps none of this would even matter. Cersei and her bastards could live in the Red Keep safe from the wrath of Robert, who would never have to know.

The possibility of Joanna herself being the heir to the throne didn't escape him. The only other female heir to the throne had been Rhaenyra Targaryen, and her rule had been challenged even before it had started. The situation was, in truth, different, as Rhaenyra's brother had been legitimate as well. Ned wondered if it was worth the risk. Any of her bastard brothers could pose a threat to her rule. Even Cersei's sons could, if they had their grandfather's backing – which they almost certainly would. And half of the Seven Kingdoms would fight for them, compelled by greed for money, or fear of Tywin Lannister himself.

Regardless, the decision as to who would be the heir to the throne was Robert's alone. But before that decision could be made, he had to know. Ned dreaded seeing his reaction, the unbridled fury that would be directed straight at Cersei. He wanted to believe that his friend would never harm the children, which he'd raised as his own for so many years, but he couldn't confidently tell himself that they would be safe. Against his better judgement, he knew that he would have to warn Cersei. He couldn't stand for them to die knowing that he could have done something to prevent it.

He resolved to wait until after Robert left for his hunt late in the morning. The king would be away from the castle and the queen and her bastards could flee. And when Robert returned, Ned would tell him the truth.

For nearly an hour now, Joanna had sat on her terrace, looking out over the sea, deciding whether or not to stand and retrieve her stationary from her desk. Even if she did, she wasn't sure what she would write…or who. Would Jon be able to receive a message from her? Would he be subjected to bullying and taunting by the other recruits if he did? She had told herself when leaving the Wall that she would accept that she and Jon could never be more than what they shared in the brief time before their parting, but a small part of her heart still hoped. But Robb…he was kind. He made her smile. He was incredibly handsome. And they could be more than simple friends. She knew that if she asked for her father's blessing, he would be happy to allow them to marry.

Marry! Seven hells, Joanna, she thought to herself. But it was something she thought of more often – not for the purpose of being with a man who she loved, but more for the purpose of getting away from her mother, getting away from the Red Keep, which was more her prison than her home. She would marry just about any man in the Seven Kingdoms so long as he promised not to lock her in her room. She was growing stir crazy, but still her mother refused to allow her out. Her only solace was the companions who came to visit her.

She perked up like a dog being offered a treat when a knock came at her door. She stood, hurrying back into her room to greet whoever had come to see her.

"It's Lady Sansa, my lady," announced her guard. Joanna grinned.

"Send her in."

The door swung open to reveal Sansa, who was positively steaming. Her cheeks were flushed, bearing a striking resemblance to her bright hair, and her hands were curled into fists. Joanna's grin turned into a look of surprise – she hadn't seen Sansa quite so bothered before. Sansa stomped in, slamming the door behind her before turning to face Joanna again.

"I can't believe my father!" she said.

"What's going on?"

"He wants me and Arya to go home to Winterfell!" She trudged over to the bed, sitting down on it with a huff. "He's making Septa Mordane pack our things."

"You're leaving?" Joanna asked, moving around the bed to take a seat next to Sansa. "Why – what happened?"

"I don't know!" She punctuated her statement by hitting the bed like an upset child. "And worst of all – I won't get to marry Joffrey!"

It sounded like a good thing to Joanna, but she knew that Sansa felt differently, especially given that the girl was now sniffling into her sleeves. Sighing, she placed her arm around Sansa's slender shoulders.

"Sansa, it'll all be alright," she assured. She reached to wipe a tear away from the other girl's blotchy cheek. "You're only young yet."

"No it won't be alright!" she insisted. "Father will make me go to Winterfell to marry someone else, and Joffrey will fall in love with another girl!"

"I'm sure your father just wants you to be happy -"

"He doesn't!" said Sansa. "If he wanted me to be happy he'd let me stay and marry Joffrey and be the queen."

Joanna frowned. "Is this all about not being the queen one day?"

"No, I love Joffrey! I love King's Landing, I want to stay!"

"And I would love nothing more than for you to stay," Joanna said. She took Sansa's hands in hers, holding them gently between them. "I'm sorry that your father is making you leave. He didn't say why?"

"He said it was for our safety." Sansa rolled her eyes. "What place could be safer than the Red Keep?"

Joanna squeezed her hands gently to comfort her.

"I'm sure he wants what's best for you, Sansa. It's not as if you'll be gone from King's Landing forever."

"I hate it!" she whined, removing her hands from Joanna's to wipe her nose on her sleeve. Joanna lifted her arm around her shoulders again, and Sansa leaned into her embrace. "How will I tell Joffrey?"

"Joffrey will understand," Joanna lied. "I'm sure he'll miss you just as much as you'll miss him. Perhaps you can write each other once you're gone."

"Or what if he forgets all about me?"

"Well," said Joanna, reaching up to brush a strand of Sansa's hair away from her face, "they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I'm sure he'll fall even more in love with you once you're gone."

"Do you really think so?" she asked in a small voice. Joanna felt pity well up in her chest.

"I know so," she replied. "I can't imagine how anyone else could replace you in his heart – or in anyone's heart."

Sansa was quiet for a moment, sniffling, ruminating on Joanna's words. She sighed.

"I'm going to miss you as well," she said. "You're my best friend in King's Landing."

That made Joanna smile. It truly did warm her heart to have Sansa's affection.

"I'll miss you too," she replied. She couldn't say, though, that she was terribly upset to hear that Sansa was leaving. Ned Stark was a smart man – surely he recognized that Joffrey would be a terrible husband, and the Red Keep a terrible home. It was the only home Joanna had ever known, and she still hated it. She had half a mind to ask the Starks to take her with them. She rubbed Sansa's arm reassuringly. "I'm sure everything is going to be fine. Why don't you go and finish packing, and perhaps we can have supper tonight?"

Sansa nodded, a small smile on her face. She stood, thanking Joanna with a hug before leaving her on her own. Joanna stood alone in the room for a moment, feeling unsettled. She strongly suspected that Lord Stark wasn't worried about his daughters being in danger from people outside the Red Keep, but rather from the people inside of it. She hoped that along with his attack, her family hadn't threatened his daughters in any way. That would be especially low of them, but she supposed she could imagine it happening. She wondered if Lord Stark himself would be leaving, too.

Either way, the number of friendly faces in the Red Keep seemed to be growing smaller by the day.

A/N: I'm still alive! Sorry that took so long - writing is hard enough while school is going on, but even harder when the show it's based off of isn't coming out for another year.

Huge shoutout to HPuni101, bellaphant, RagingRaven, RandomFandoming, Lt-Spork89, EmzMikaelson, Anna.B, Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967, and LadyFinwe for taking the time to leave me a review! And to address the message left by StratoGott - unfortunately I'm here for a good time, not a long time, and hopefully if my readers are looking for a story that's meant to rewrite nearly the entire premise of the show, they understand that they're not going to find it here. Nevertheless, I do appreciate any and all reviews left on my work! It means a lot to me to see what you think and know that the time and effort it takes to write isn't for nothing :)

This chapter's a bit shorter than usual, but hopefully it was worth the wait. Things are really starting to get into gear now, and there's going to be some big things happening in the next few chapters. There's a tiny hint of romance in this one, and hopefully enough to keep you guys fed - it's going to be a little while until we get any more romance. But we'll get there!

Hopefully I can get another chapter to you guys soon - we'll see. I might still be writing this thing after I get my Ph.D., but mark my words, it'll get done. Thank you guys all so much for reading, it means so much. I hope you liked it!

Until next time,

Rex