Chapter 2

Eddard

"Your Grace?"

"What's up Ned?" Robert looked clearly distressed. Something was definitely wrong with the king as he did not even look at him. He just sat on the Iron Throne and gazed at the ceiling, as if the answer for his trouble was written on it.

"Something wrong, Your Grace?" Ned asked.

He looked Ned in the eyes with a mix of rage and confusion in his face.

"That bitch wanted me dead. She told Lancel to give me too much wine, so it would dull my senses and some shitty animal could kill me then."

Wow, Ned had not expected this. However, knowing that he had confronted Cersei with his findings already, he was not totally surprised. In the few months he had lived in King's Landing he had learned that the Queen would do anything to get what she wanted. Regicide would definitely not be a bridge too far for her. In fact, trying to murder Robert in a way it looked like an accident seemed to be quite a safe option, as long as it would succeed. And she had terribly failed.

"Do you know that for sure, Your Grace?"

"Of course I do. That fool Lancel told me after I almost strangled the life out of him. I had instructed him beforehand which wine I wanted him to bring on my hunt. Cersei had given him different instructions for a much stronger wine. Call me an alcoholic, but don't tell me I cannot taste the difference between my own wines. First, I became mad at him for bringing the wrong wine with him. While strangling him I asked why he had ignored my orders. Then he uttered Cersei's name. At that very moment I would have killed him on the spot, hadn't Ser Barristan interfered."

"What happened then?" Ned asked.

"We returned immediately. I felt I had to hunt for that vicious woman first."

Ned could not suppress a smile despite the grave situation. During the past few months the Lannisters had wronged him so much. His son Bran was a crippled and almost dead boy, according to his wife and Littlefinger Tyrion Lannister was behind this. Cersei had manipulated the king to order him to kill Lady, Sansa's dire wolf. He had executed her himself, the poor animal. The Kingslayer had attacked him and his men on the streets of King's Landing; he had killed Jory and crippled Ned himself. His old friend Jon Arryn was allegedly murdered by the Lannisters and now he knew why.

"Where is she now?"

"I don't care Ned, as long as she is not in my presence. She better stay far away for a long long time! Never mind, why are you here?"

Robert already looked furiously, what would happen when Ned told him his news?

"There is something I have to discuss with you, Your Grace", he began.

"Tell me."

Ned took a deep breath and continued.

"Since you appointed me as Hand of the King, I have conducted research on the death of my predecessor and our dear friend Jon Arryn. They say he was poisoned, so I wanted to know who would want him dead and for what reason."

"Who told you he was poisoned?" the king asked.

"Varys, Your Grace. He gave me some information about the poison that was used and the alleged assassin, but he did not know the exact reason why Jon Arryn was murdered. However, he could tell me what Lord Arryn had been involved in during the last months of his life."

"And that is?"

"He had been reading in The Lineage and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms. He was interested in your various bastard children. He even met one of them, the boy Gendry who lives at the blacksmith of King's Landing..."

"Yes, I know about the boy", Robert looked a little irritated, "why in the seven hells would Jon Arryn be interested in my bastards?! That is none of his business!"

"That's exactly what I thought as well, Your Grace. I mean, what does it matter? There had to be a reason, especially because Varys warned me that you might be in danger as well. And that turned out to be true..."

"Are you suggesting that Cersei poisoned Jon Arryn? Why didn't he tell me?!"

"That I don't know", Ned continued, "but I did realize something when I spoke with my daughters about going back to Winterfell. I felt that their safety could not be secured any longer and I wanted them to return. Both of them bluntly refused. Then Sansa told me that Joffrey was not like his father. He was a lion and not a stag, that was what she told me. I could not forget what she said. Then I borrowed the book from Grand Maester Pycelle..."

"Ned, what the hell are you trying to tell me", the king interrupted him, "I am not in a very good mood right now, so if there is a point to this, you better find it quickly."

Ned Stark took another deep breath. He had to tell him.

"My king, my dear friend Robert, I am very sorry to tell you this unfortunate news. Since Orys Baratheon founded your house, there have been no children born to a Baratheon who did not have the typical dark-brown hair. It never mattered what hair color the other parent had, nor whether the Baratheon was the mother or the father. The Baratheon hair color has always been the dominant one. As far as the book goes, there have been only three exceptions..."

He paused for a moment as he saw the king narrowing his eyes. Was he making sense or would he not believe him at all?

"Those three exceptions are Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen Baratheon: all three were born with the Lannister golden-blond hair."

Again he looked up towards the king who did not turn his gaze away from him.

"No, Ned. No no no, what in the seven hells are you suggesting here? You cannot be serious, did the Kingslayer also attack your brains or what? Are you trying to tell me that I am not the father of my children?"

"Yes, Your Grace", Ned answered reluctantly.

"How dare you to come to me with such nonsense while I have seven kingdoms to rule?! You are my Hand, you are supposed to give me good advice! And at the very moment I realized my wife had tried to kill me, you come to me with this story? I trust you Ned, I trust you as my closest friend and brother I chose, but this I will not forget. I know why you are telling me this. You hate the Lannisters, don't you? And given the peculiar situation already, you try to take advance of that by trying to fool me with a really poor fantasy story!"

Both men were silent for a moment. The King looked absolutely enraged, while Ned Stark did not really know how to make sense of this. The king did not believe him! He had not expected that, especially not after his long research. He wanted to be absolutely sure so a situation like this would be prevented, yet it was escalating anyways. Should he have waited for another day, when the king's temper had been better? Cersei might have done some more terrible things by then. No, he had to convince Robert, but how?

"Is that really how you think of me, My King?" it was the only thing to say that came to his mind at this very moment. He started to become frustrated as well, not because of the insults Robert made (he had known him long enough to know he did not mean this), but because of the urgency of his message which Robert did not believe at all.

"Anything else to say, Lord Stark?" the sarcasm almost spat from his tongue.

Ned smirked. He actually had.

"There is one more thing, Your Grace. I did confront the Queen with my findings you do not believe."

It was then that Robert's face suddenly changed. His eyes widened and he looked like he was definitely taken by surprise.

"You did? And what did she say?" Robert asked.

"She did not deny it. She even defended herself by stating that the Targaryens had been inbreeding for generations. It was their way to keep the bloodline pure. So she did."

He watched Robert as he did not say a thing. He could understand this perfectly, it was definitely a lot to realize.

"I am sorry, Your Grace..."

"But then it is true...", Robert said full of disbelief. "The rumors about Cersei and the Kingslayer have always been true... and I have been too foolish to see the truth for myself, how could I?"

"I don't think that is foolish, I also could not believe it myself when I first learned of it. It is so disgusting... but what do we do now?"

"That is a very good question, Ned. What do we do now... you are my Hand, come on give me some good advice! I really need it now!"

Ned looked upon the king with such mixed feelings. As a friend, he wanted to comfort him; it is such a terrible thing to realize that you have been betrayed all those years by your wife and on top of that you learn that your children are not yours. As Hand of the King, he was expected to talk some sense into the king and to get the most practical matters done as soon as possible.

"Let's not take some hasty decisions, Your Grace. We should call the Small Council together, I would like to know how they think about this matter. But first, we should secure Cersei and the children."

"You are right about that, Ned. Ser Barristan!"

Ned turned around and watched Ser Barristan, who had been guarding the large door to the throne room, walking in.

"Yes, Your Grace?" the old knight asked.

"Go and seize Cersei and the children. Lock them up in some dark dungeon I don't care where. Make sure they cannot escape!"

Ser Barristan frowned with a surprising look. "Are you sure about this, My King?"

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard looked towards Ned Stark, who answered his questioned look with a confirmative nod.

"As you command, Your Grace", he replied.

Ned knew that it would be done as soon as possible, if Ser Barristan was the one in command. He had never met a more loyal, honorable and skilled knight than Barristan Selmy. It was a good thing that Robert had saved his life after the Battle of the Trident and pardoned him for his service to the Targaryens. He had really proved himself to be a worthy and noble Kingsguard.

"Now Ned, if you will excuse me, I want to have a moment for my own. Let me know when you have gathered the Small Council. For these urgent matters, I will not hesitate to join you."

"Of course, Your Grace. But before I leave, what do we do with the Kingslayer?"

"Good point, it almost slipped my mind. I order you to send him a message in my name. Tell him that he is summoned to come to King's Landing within four days to answer for his crimes. Tell him that he is dismissed from the Kingsguard from now on, and that he is stripped from all ranks and titles he is holding. And tell him that if he refuses, he will be considered a traitor and an enemy of the crown."

"As you command, my King." Ned Stark wondered whether these grave measures would somewhat temper the ego of Jaime Lannister.

Ned's first part of his plan had succeeded. He had told Robert and though he did not believe him at first, his ultimate reaction had been quite reasonable. Knowing Robert's tempers all too well, it could have been much worse. However, he did not know yet what would happen to Cersei and the children. He wanted them to be spared and therefore he had given her the opportunity to escape. After what she had done to Robert then, he no longer felt any mercy towards her. Nevertheless, he realized that she and her children could not be just executed. It would result in a war against their most important creditor Tywin Lannister, the worst case scenario given the bankruptcy of the crown. Not only would they lose their financial backbone, the war itself would cost far too much wasted money and innocent lives. That should be his message and that of the Small Council. No more war.