Guest (for chapters 3 and 4, I assume you were the same one): servants poiosoning the guards would not be a bad idea. The only problem is that once the poeple at Winterfell start retaliating and attacking (poisoning) the royal soldiers there will be more violence, which is exactly what Ned wanted to avoid. Still, it could have worked. I suppose it's a risk not taken and a chance missed - just like so many others we had in the books. ... Secret passages: true. At the beginning they were in the cells, so no escape from there. Now that they are locked in Ned's room, maybe. ... Thanks!

Guest (for chaper 1): Thanks! I'm happy you like my reviews :)

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5. The truth is out.

At the beginning, when he had been told of Lyanna's betrayal, Robert didn't want to believe it. He had to hear it from Ned, he had to see it for himself. And now that he had, he still didn't want to believe it. Everyday since he had arrived at Winterfell he had come to visit her at the crypts, his sweet Lyanna.

"You never really loved me, did you?" he asked the statue. "I did all this for you, but you never really loved me" he lamented. "I went to war for you." His hand went to caress the stone faced girl who had stolen his heart. "But it was him all along." He sank to his knees. "He never kidnapped you, did he?" He remained there for some time touching the shoeless feet with his hand. "It doesn't matter now, I suppose." He rose to his feet, put a blue petal in her outstretched hand and kissed the cold cheek of the statue. "I won't dishonor your, but I'll do what needs to be done, Lyanna. I'm sorry"

He had already made his decision as to what to do. He loved Ned like a brother, but he had lied to him and committed treason. He couldn't let this slight go unpunished. Had it been any other man he would have already beheaded him and all his family. Admittedly, in the urge of getting the information he wanted and punish them for the insult they had dealt him, he had lost himself a bit and had done things to Ned and his family he was ashamed of. You and your temper, Ned would always admonish him when they were young. Yeah, his temper had got the best of him once again.

By now, word had spread in the castle that the Lord and his family had committed treason. Ned, his wife and the boys had been locked in separate rooms. Robert made sure they were fed and their wounds taken care of. He had even allowed Catelyn to see her younger children. The little boy had begged to see his mother and the older girl had not stopped crying.

As much as everyone knew the Lord had done something wrong, nobody really knew what it was Ned had done nor what consequences there would be. Yet, everybody in the castle knew things were about to change. The Maester had questioned him about it when he asked him to pen the letters. "Just write what I tell you" he had ordered him.

To Lord …,

The King is in Winterfell and would like to celebrate with Lord Stark and his friends. You are hereby invited to join us.

Regards,

King Robert Baratheon.

Lord Eddard Stark.

The same letter was sent to all the Lords in the North requesting them to present themselves at Winterfell in no later than two weeks. The letters had been sent a few days ago, so the Lords should be arriving soon. He wanted for all the Lords to be present when he made his announcement.

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The Northern Lords started pouring one by one into Winterfell. The first one to arrive was Lord Cerwin, being the one closest to the Stark house. He had brought his son along. Robert greeted them and took them to see Ned in the solar, sharing anecdotes of his recent stop-over at Castle Cerwyn on his way to Winterfell. He did the same when Lord Manderly arrived a few days later. Representatives had come from the Dustins and Whitehills. Lady Mormont had brought two daughters along. Some of the men from the Mountain clans that Robert had never met and whose names he didn't even know also arrived. Lord Bolton made his appearance that very same day and then Lord Umber arrived with his son. Different Lords and representatives started coming in from all regions of the North until Lord Karstark was the last to arrive. Some had brought sons or nephews. Most had brought a few guards with them. Robert made sure to give them all friendly hospitality himself, but always made sure none of these Lords met with Ned or members of his family alone. Some young sons, being friends with Robb, Jon and Theon asked to see them and even Lady Maege Mormont had asked to see Lady Catelyn. But the king had denied them in all occasions.

When Robert deemed that enough Lords had arrived, he summoned them all in the Hall. He greeted everyone as he would in a feast. There was music and food and drink, as there would in a feast. People were talking and japing, like they would in a feast. But something on the faces of the members of the Stark family said otherwise.

Having had enough cups to gather his courage, Robert thought it was time to face the music. He called everyone's attention by tapping his glass on the table.

"Lords and ladies gathered here in this hall" Robert started. "If there's one thing that unites us all, is our respect, some might even say friendship," he winked at Ned, who remained impassive, "we all have for Lord Eddard and his family. I have known Ned for years. Hey, if I'm still alive it's because Ned kept me from being stupid. Only the Gods know how many angry husbands wanted to have my head back in the day" he joked and everyone cheered.

"His wife, Lady Catelyn, one of the finest ladies I have ever met. No offence to any of the other ladies here in the hall" he added, to which Lady Mormont replied with a loud burp much to the amusement of the other guests. "Well, met my lady" Robert said raising his cup at Maege Mormont.

"What can I say of his sons? Named after me, Robb is a fine young boy who will make an excellent Lord Stark one day. The girls, young Arya and Sansa will be the envy of any girl and will fill their houses with joy and their husbands with love. Young Bran will make a fine knight one day, and the same for little Rickon" he finished and allowed for the Lords to cheer.

"Ah, Ned, what can I say about him? I became King thanks to his support and the support of all of you. The role the North played during the rebellion was invaluable. Oh! That war we fought against the Mad King. Raise your hands, how many of you were there?" and many hands were up, hollering and cheering. "We all remember how that son of a bitch killed your Liege Lord Rickard and his son Brandon" and the nodding and loud comments filled the hall. "They did as any father and brother would do. They went to save their beloved Lyanna. And not satisfied after killing Lords Brandon and Rickard, the Mad King called for our heads as well" he gestured at Ned and himself. "We all went to war to avenge Lyanna, to avenge the slain Lord Stark and his heir, to depose a tyrannical king, to do away with a nefarious family" he concluded and everybody clapped.

"But what if I told you that it was all a lie?" he continued in a somber tone. "That boy you see over there" he pointed at Jon. "Everybody knows him as Lord Eddard's bastard. Yes, Lord Eddard the honorable, that even when he dishonors himself he does it with grace. He is so honorable that he brought his bastard boy home and treated him like a trueborn. Well, there's a reason for it. He is not Lord Stark's at all. Oh yeah, he is a Stark, but he is not Ned's boy. He is our beloved Lyanna's and that dragon we had been told had kidnapped her against her will. Lyanna and Rhaegar ran away. Rhaegar dishonored his wife in front of the whole realm and then ran away with Lyanna. They had a son before she died." Robert waited as the stunned audience digested what he was saying.

"I didn't know" he continued, his index finger pointing at his chest. "You didn't know" he pointed each and everyone of the Lords and Ladies in the Hall. "But guess who did?" and he looked straight at Ned. "After the war, Lord Stark had told me that Lyanna had died of a mysterious fever. But lo and behold he showed up with a bastard he had had with some unknown girl but somehow still managed to find nine moons later. A bastard he brought home to be treated like a Lord, like a nephew. A bastard everyone at Winterfell treated like a Lord, like a nephew, like a cousin."

"So yes, you all bled, fought and died for the Starks" he said pointing at his audience. "But meanwhile, they had been keeping Rhaegar's spawn right under your very noses, lying to all of you."

The silence was heavy and the tension in the room felt smothering. Nobody said anything. Nobody moved. Only the eyes of the Stark vassals moved from the king, to Ned Stark, to his family and back to the king.

"That was quite a revelation" Lord Umber said breaking the heavy silence. "My heart wants it to be false. And my head refuses to acknowledge it until we have had confirmation. Lord Eddard?" he invited Ned to refute the king's words.

"My Lords, it is with a heavy heart that I admit that I have erred my ways. The King is right, Jon is indeed my sister's son, not mine. But I love him as my own. The King is right, I have been lying to you all these years. But the King is wrong on two key aspects. At the time I really thought my sister had been taken against her will and I didn't know she had had a son by Rhaegar until I found her at the Tower of Joy. Before she died she asked me to protect her son. So I did. I do not regret my lie. Jon was an innocent baby who had not asked to be born. Had I told the King the truth about who he was, Jon would not be here today. I will stand by my decision to claim him as mine for the rest of my life. Having said that, I wish I had told my family and eased their hearts. I said the King was wrong on two aspects. My family is innocent. They did not know. It was just me. And I will take any punishment the King sees fit."

"Quite convenient" interjected Lord Cerwin. "Anyone visiting Winterfell could tell Jon was never treated like a bastard. I used to think it spoke volumes about your honor, that everyone would bestow such love to a bastard. Now I see we were tricked. You lied once before, how do I know you're not lying now to save your family?"

"I suppose you don't" Ned admitted. "It comes down to a matter of trust."

"A trust you broke" Lady Mormont said gravely.

"Aye."

Robert, who had been a silent spectator as the scene unfolded watching the North fall apart, decided to put an end to it. He looked at his friend Ned and bit his lips slightly. He looked at Ned's family sitting at the table with him and closed his eyes momentarily. Then he looked back at his captive audience and continued.

"It is my time to give judgment. And that is why I have summoned all of you. I need a strong and loyal North and I cannot let it fall prey to divisions. If I were to remove the Starks, I know you will resort to petty squabbles to see who I should name Warden. The Starks have been Wardens of the North for generations. And they will continue to be so. Only that it will not be Lord Eddard, but his son Robb you will swear fealty to."

"Lord Eddard, you have committed treason against your King and have lied to your bannermen for years, even going as far as keeping hidden the causes of the rebellion so many of them fought for. For the love I hold for you, I will not have you executed, but neither can I let that go unpunished. I had debated whether to send both Lord Eddard and the boy known as Jon Snow to the Wall" Robert paused to breathe and the people in the hall used this silence to gasp in anticipation. "In the end, for the sake of the North and for the friendship that binds us, I have decided to be merciful. Lord Eddard Stark, you are hereby stripped of all your titles. You will be allowed to stay at Winterfell where you will remain till the end of your days. The boy known as Jon Snow will never be given the Stark name, nor the Targaryen name. He will not be given any titles and lands to hold. He is to remain at Winterfell as a vassal to Lord Robb till the end of his days."

"I trust that given my leniency towards House Stark nobody will challenge my judgment. Is anybody in this Hall willing to defy me in defense of the Lord that lied to you and betrayed you?" he asked the guests. When no one came forward he continued. "Just to ensure that affairs remain peaceful in the North I will take some leverage with me. Young Bran Stark is to be taken to Kings Landing as a hostage to make sure House Stark does not take action against the crown" he added and waited until Catelyn's painful silent wail had quieted. "And I'm sure I can trust you" he said gesturing at all the Northern Lords assembled in the hall "to keep them in check should they ever decide to betray the north and the country again."

"Now, if you please. All rise. Hail Lord Robb Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North" Robert said toasting his cup towards a stunned Robb.

A feeble "Here, here" was all the reply his toast received.

Some of Lords cheered Robb. Others remained quiet. Some looked at Robb with disdain and Ned with contempt, some with pity. Others were just at a loss for words. But whatever their feelings, they all stood up and made a line to kneel before Robb and swear fealty to their new Lord.

Robert could not hide his displeasure. He both loved and hated Ned at the same time. He had been very close to killing his friend. He had wanted to execute Ned and Jon, send Robb and Bran to the Wall, Catelyn and the girls to the Silent Sisters, and keep little Rickon as hostage. He wanted to erase the name Stark. But he couldn't. Not with Ned. This was as far as he could get. He had promised Lyanna he wouldn't dishonor her.

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Note: Before anybody says anyting... No, the Northern Lords are not traitors. They are just people who have discovered their rulers have been lying to them for years. They need time to adjust and digest what they have just learned, just like we would if we suddenly learned our president or representatives we voted for were crooks. They need time to form an opinion and decide on a course of action.

Next: The Stark family deals with the fallout of what has happened.

Thanks.