AN- Hey guys and gals, another chapter here. My update speed is going to be slowing down since I am getting off of spring break, so sorry. Anyways, remember to R&R, and I hope you enjoy!
No Middle Ground
Casterly Rock- Atticus sat at his desk, deep in thought. A plate of food that Arya had brought for hi sat to his left, half eaten. To his right, was two letters. One, was from Joffrey, who had demanded that Atticus come to court to swear fealty to him. The other was the one that had him thinking. It was the one from Lord Eddard, the one that not only said the royal children were bastards, but that they were the products of incest. It had been days since Jory had arrived. When he woke up, he explained the events that led up to Lord Eddard's arrest.
"Well, the fact that they are bastards isn't hard to believe" Atticus thinks to himself. He had met a few of the King's bastards, and not one of them had light hair, even the ones with blonde mothers. But, Atticus could not believe that his father would do such a thing.
"Then again, a lot of things make sense now." Atticus thought to himself. The fact that all the old servants would tell stories of how Cersei and Jaime were always together. It also fit with how when Jaime became a member of the Kingsguard, Cersei was poised to marry Rhaegar Targaryen. Another thing that could have been explained away as a coincidence. Then, another, more sinister "coincidence" popped into Atticus's mind.
"My mother died in a fire, not hours after revealing me to father in front of the whole royal court, including the Queen." Atticus thinks, and begins to shake with fury at what this meant. He was no fool, he knew how cruel his aunt could be. Murdering a baby at the breast of his mother would be nothing to her. He is interrupted from his thoughts when he hears knocking.
"Come in!" He yells. The door opens and Arya steps in,wearing a tunic and trousers, clutching a letter in her hands.
"Hello Atticus." She says. Atticus notices the grim look on her face.
"Arya, what is it?" He asks, a bit worried.
"My brother Robb has lead the Northern Army south onto the Riverlands and has liberated Riverrun. He has taken your father captive" She says, handing him the letter. He quickly opens it and reads its contents.
"My father." Atticus mumbles to himself. Arya steps closer to him.
"I am sorry Atticus, this never should have happened." She says, gently touching his arm.
"This is great!" Atticus says, standing up suddenly, and speeding out of his room. Arya follows him, a confused look on her face.
"What do you mean?" She asks.
"Don't you see? I can barter a deal where Joffrey and Robb exchange Sansa and your father for mine." He says, running over to Jon.
"What is it, Atticus?" Jon asks.
"Jon, I need you and the Captain of the Guard to mobilize fifty good men immediately." Atticus says. Jon nods and heads off to assemble the men. Gerion and Genna walk over to him. Atticus explains his plan, and they find it to be solid.
"Why do you need fifty men? Do you plan to fight?" Arya asks.
"He is bringing them as a show of force. People want to fight you when when they think you are ready for a fight." Gerion answers. Atticus nods and straps Brightroar to his back.
"And what if it does come down to a fight?" Genna asks.
"Then I will actually be ready for a fight." Atticus says, as he makes his way into the courtyard. He and the others are surprised when they find Jon already having assembled the men. When he sees their puzzled faces, he chuckles.
"Ever since Jory arrived I told them to expect something like this." Jon explains. Atticus nods and calls for his horse.
"Wait!" Arya shouts, and runs into the castle again. Atticus turns to her when she comes back out, and smiles when he sees she has his arming sword.
"Thank you Arya. Write to your brother about what I am doing, and please be careful while I am gone. Be wary of who you trust." He says, leaning down and planting a kiss on her lips.
"I will, and you too. Please bring my father and sister back." She says. Atticus nods and gets on his horse.
"I will." He says, assuring both her and himself. He leads his men out of the gate, and glance back at Arya before leaving towards the capital.
King's Landing, five days later- Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, now as king. His Kingsguard stand in front of him, with the exception of the new Lord Commander, Jaime Lannister. His mother and the rest of the small council stand near him as he deals with, what he viewed as, "petty complaints" from peasants, such as disease and starvation. He is broken from his own musings about his power when a loud commotion erupts in the center of the great hall. He sees the object of said murmurers and whispers when he walks in front of the King. It is Atticus, and fifty Lannister guards.
"Atticus, have you come to swear fealty in the name of your new king?" Cersei asks. Atticus manages to suppress the anger he feels for her.
"I am here to ascertain the reason for Lord Eddard Stark's arrest." Atticus says.
"Lord Stark attempted to seize the throne from King Joffrey, he is to confess to his crimes tomorrow, and then he is to take the black." Grand Maester Pycelle says. Atticus smirks and takes a sip from his wine pouch.
"I don't believe that will be happening. That is, if we want to trade him." Atticus says.
"Why would we trade away Lord Eddard?" Cersei asks. Atticus's smirk falls from his face.
"Because at the Battle of Whispering Wood, Robb Stark took my father, Jaime Lannister, captive after crushing his army." Atticus says, shocking all those present.
"What! I will have the traitor's head for this! And his children's too!" Joffrey screams angrily.
"If you do that, then we can expect my father's head sent back to us in a box." Atticus says, keeping himself from punching Joffrey for threatening the Stark kids, Arya included.
"Then what do you believe we should do, little lord Lannister. Tell us, what with all your wartime experience, what we should do." Petyr Baelish mocks. Atticus smirks at the older man's japes.
"Funny, especially from someone known as Littlefinger. To answer your question, I believe that a member of the Kingsguard and the best swordsman in Westeros is a good trade for Lord Eddard and his daughter." He says.
"Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, my lord. Ser Barristan was dismissed yesterday." Varys says, shocking Atticus.
"What, why would you do that? Ser Barristan would cut off his sword arm before betraying you!" Atticus says angrily. He had grown up among the Kingsguard, and out of all of them (with the exception of Jaime, of course) Ser Barristan was the kindest to him. A true knight through and through.
"He let my father die during his hunt. He was to old." Joffrey says. Atticus sighs and calms himself.
"Fine, that just makes the deal better. We won't get a better chance than this." Atticus says. Joffrey thinks for a few moments before speaking.
"Guards, bring Lord Eddard and Lady Sansa here." He says, causing Atticus to smile.
Casterly Rock- Arya had just finished taking a bath, and was dying her hair. She pulled on a knew pair of small clothes as Joy and Aurora entered, the latter humming happily.
"You seem happy today." Arya says. Aurora smiles at her.
"Oh, its just some good news from a friend, my lady." Aurora says. Arya nods and Joy walks up to her shyly. The bastard girl sniffles and looks as if she was going to throw up.
"Pardon me, my lady, but I am feeling ill." She says. Arya understands the unasked question.
"You can retire early, Joy." She says. Joy smiles weakly.
"Thank you, my lady." She says, leaving the room. Arya looks at two different tunics and tries to decide which to wear. She hears the sound of her door locking, and turns to see Aurora unsheathing a small dagger.
"Guards!" Arya yells, only for no one to come. She makes a run for where she stores Needle, but is cut off by Aurora. Aurora attempts to stab Arya, but is stopped when Arya catches her hand, and then punches her in the face. Arya then runs towards the door, but stumbles when Aurora slashes her leg with the dagger, causing her to scream in pain. She falls forward, face first into the bath tub. She feels the splitting pain in her head and puts her hand above her left eye, and feels blood trickling down her face. Aurora pounces on top of the bleeding Arya, causing the tub to fall over.
"Arya!" She hears Jon yell from the outside of the door. Aurora forces the tip of the dagger into Arya's side, making her scream. The entire left side of Arya's face is covered in blood. Arya thinks fast and spits in Aurora's face, and pushes the older girl off her. The door is finally kicked in by Jon, only for him to turn to his right just in time as a guard tackles him to the ground. As he struggles, Ellia runs into the room and pulls Arya to her feet. Arya stumbles away as Ellia tries to restrain Aurora. Aurora pushes the Sand Snake away, and goes to stab her, but stops when Arya thrusts Needle into her back. Arya pulls the sword from her, and Aurora falls to the ground, her body lifeless. Jon, covered in blood, runs into the room and catches Arya as she collapses into his arms. She turns to face Ellia, a small smile on her face.
"Thank you." She says, before passing out.
Red Keep- Atticus stood in front of Joffrey, pacing back and forth as he waited for Lord Eddard and Sansa to be brought before him. Sansa arrived first, and Atticus gave her a warm smile.
"Hello Lady Sansa, have my aunt and cousin been treating you fairly?" He asks, trying to make conversation. Sansa shifts uncomfortably.
"Yes, my Lord. The queen and his majesty have been very kind to me." She lies, very poorly. Atticus sighs as he realizes how much they scared her. She looked much like she had when they were at the inn. They are interrupted when Lord Eddard is brought in by two guards.
"Atticus, makes sense you would be the one who got us out of here." Ned says, chuckling.
"Thank Robb when you see him, he was the one who captured my father. You two are being traded for him." Atticus says with a smile. Ned nods, pride in his eyes, and walks toward Atticus. Sansa begins to follow, but is stopped by two guards.
"Lady Sansa is my betrothed. She is to stay here until the wedding." Joffrey says. Atticus and Eddard turn to face him.
"I have broken your betrothal to my daughter, she is to come with me." Ned says angrily.
"She is staying here!" Joffrey yells. Atticus realizes that he means to torture Sansa, and takes a step closer to the boy king.
"This is not the deal that was made. If we want to get my father back, we need to trade Lady Sansa and Lord Eddard." Atticus says, trying to reason with Joffrey.
"My son, a better match could easily be found for you." Cersei says, also trying to defuse the situation.
"I don't want someone else, I want her!" Joffrey says, standing up angrily. Atticus notices how most of the men in the room have their hands on the hilts of their swords.
"Do you want to know what I said to King Robert at the inn? I reminded him that the crown is three million gold dragons in debt to House Lannister. If you back out on this deal now, I might have to show that Lannisters pay and collect their debts." Atticus says, causing Joffrey to fume.
"You would dare threaten me? I am the King! I should have your head for that!" Joffrey says. Atticus looks at his cousin, and can't help but become angry.
"For my entire life, I have protected people from you. I kept Myrcella and Tommen safe when you went on your tantrums. I made sure you didn't have the servants killed in the Red Keep when you were younger. Damn it, I had to keep you away from my betrothed on our journey to the city after you attacked her with a sword!" Atticus says, getting gasps from the nobles present who had not heard of the event.
"But most of all, I protected you from yourself! I was the one who told your father to let you have Sandor be your sworn shield. I knew you would run into someone who didn't care if you were a Prince, so I made sure you had the most loyal hound I knew at your side." Atticus continues, noting the look of shock on Joffrey's face.
"Now I know that was a mistake. Perhaps if you had your ass kicked, you would be less of an arrogant little shit. I am leaving with Lord Eddard and Lady Sansa, whether you like it or not." Atticus finishes. The room is tense as Joffrey looks at Atticus with utter hate on his face. The silence is broken when two simple words are said.
"Seize him!" Joffrey yells. Atticus elbows the gold cloak next to him in the face, and grabs the guards sword and tosses it to Ned. Atticus pulls out Brightroar as he and his guards engage their attackers.
"So be it, brother." Atticus says to himself as he slashes a guard's throat out with his sword.
"The Battle of the Red Keep has begun, just as we planned." A mysterious hooded figure thinks to himself as he backs away from the fighting, his bright colored eyes showing his happiness.
AN- Another chapter done! You may be wondering who this mysterious figure is, but I plan to reveal it at a later date. I will say though, that he is someone you will not expect. Anyways, R&R, and I hope you enjoyed!