Now we come to the nasty business, my friends. Lord Stark has to be made aware of the reality in Kingslanding by our dear Martyn. Ned needs to choose between his family and his duty (wouldn't have been that difficult for him if he had been a Tully ;-).

Well, we know what he will decide but first he needs to gain the consent of his Lady who, let's not forget, is already under tremendous grief due to Bran's fall. Will he be able to gain her trust?

Let us see…Any productive suggestions about the storyline will be appreciated (another way to say…"Write some reviews ,my dears")

Enjoy.

Eddard

Ned paced in his room, the same act he had been restlessly doing since he returned from Robert's chambers. I never believed that he could have changed this much, Ned thought, that he will become so resistant to the reality of things around him.

The last few days had been hard for Ned. Just a few days ago, he had gone hunting with the king in the wolfswood besides many others, including Robb, Theon, the Prince and their retainers. It would have gone well if that fateful incident wouldn't have occurred. Bran, such an innocent little boy, what harm had he done to anyone? He had been in a complete mess since then. Nor only had Bran's condition failed to improve, even Cat had fallen to the incident. She hadn't stepped out of his chambers since that day. She refused to talk with anyone but him, and that too in a gruffly tone. She had wept bitterly that day and her condition seemed to worsen as the days went by. And now she has deprived of the essential support I need in these crucial times, Ned sighed.

He went besides the window, opened it and listened to whatever voices he could hear roaming randomly. He removed his furs and the tunic underneath it. This is madness, Ned thought but continued all the same. I feel as if I am going to choke. He tried to hear the unknown sounds again. There was none but one, and that was of the wind making a queer sound against the tall and majestic branches of the weirwood tree. The sound felt oddly familiar to grew sharper and suddenly a gust of wind came towards him, it doesn't feel cold, just odd, and took him back a thousand years ago to a tourney at Harrenhal.

Now I know why it seemed so familiar. A girl, shy of seventeen, was seated besides the weirwood tree in the Godswood. Her long hair flowed like weeping waters, dark black, onto her shoulders and she was playing with it with one of her hands. The other held a blue rose in her lap, the blue winter roses of winterfell. However, as Ned approached, her she failed to notice him, How could she? Ned thought she is weeping. Tears, blue as the roses in her hands flowed elegantly from her eyes. Why is she -? Ned suddenly felt wetness on his face and soon realized that he too was weeping…And then he heard it

The sound, no, no, the music. It felt sweet yet so filled with malice and anguish that Ned felt a terrible dread every time the strings danced to the tunes of the singer. A harp, Ned realized.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere flames erupted and a silver haired dragon came roaring at him. How could he grow hair, it should burn…..burn…

A foul stench filled the air again, Blood again. He again opened his eyes and saw the dragon drowning in roaring waters, filling the air with music as it died. Ned saw solid blood droplets emerging from its belly, no, no, not blood….rubies. In the place where his belly had been cut, broken antlers dug deep. A shriek of pain came. A stag was limping away from the field; its antlers broken .Ned pitied the stag. How could it fight any longer? It will not survive for long ….A painful cry came from afar….

"Promise me, Ned"…The blue roses withered, the rotten petals flowing in air."Promise me, Ned"….Howls came….…deep howls, sad howls…..That stench again…burning flesh…..

So quiet, Ned thought. He found himself in a field and as he turned …a shriek came…..sounding more like a roar. He saw some animals resting near a forest .On the groundlay a Stag, its antlers broken the same stag, it survived. But as he lifted his eyes, he saw the reality. A boar was eating the entrails of the stag, the other members its flock running away. How could a boar eat a stag?

Only, it wasn't a boar but a Lion, its claws dug deep into the flesh of the stag. Ned felt the anger rise in him .He bared his teeth, strong jaws giving way to sharp teeth. The lion reared and showed his own, canines colored with sleek red blood, vapors rising from its mouth. Both growled at each other but something was wrong…..he heard cries and turned behind to see. His own pack was surrounded by other; larger and fiercer Lions. All of them had mouths filled with fishes. What is the meaning of all this?

He saw some of his pack members moving away, some putting up a show of defiance. He wanted to help and tried to move, a sharp pain cut across his shoulder. As he fell, he saw one of the lions roaring in agony, its eyes burst open by something. Another attack cut open his face from jaw line to the ears. Talons, he understood. As fight erupted around him and blood oozed out of his shoulders, he realized. Long teeth, sharp teeth…bloody teeth….My family…..no …the Starks…Starks…….

"Starks…stark…Lord…Stark"…Where are they, my own? "Lord …..Stark….Stark"….."No, save them"…."Lord Stark" he grasped the voice and the place. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself seated on his bed with the warm furs thrown over his naked body. A familiar figure stood beside him wiping his face with a linen cloth."Lord Stark, are you alright?" Martyn asked in a concerned tone.

"What happened?" Ned tried to ask but knew it before the boy answered."You collapsed right besides your widow, though I am happy to see that you weren't injured" He smiled "You shouldn't be standing out like that, cold air stops the heart from beating". As Ned placed his back on the cushions on his pillow to seat himself more properly, Martyn held out a cup to him "Here, My Lord, this is hot mulled wine I was just having. You will feel better." Ned tried to refuse as he had already woken from an undesired sleep but Martyn shook his head "Don't worry. It is watered wine. I like I that way" He accepted the cup from Martyn and drank eagerly, for he was now himself feeling quite cold. Warm fingers moved inside his chest and he felt pain losing its hold on his body.

"I am really sorry for intruding so late into your chambers but I needed to talk with you."He frowned "But it seems to me that it would be better if you rest tonight, we can meet tomorrow" Now or never. As Martyn tried to rise, Ned held on to his arm "Don't worry, I am quite fine. I know whatever brings you here is not a trivial matter to be left to another day" Ned rose from his bed and put on his smallclothes, tunic and wolf skin cloak. He gestured Martyn towards a nearby chair and sat on the Chair beside it.

"Lord Star-"Martyn stopped as Ned raised his hand "The person who fathered you was older than me by 5 years and a man ten times better but I still called him Denys. The man who brought you up as his own son was my father in all but name and yet he insisted on calling him Jon" Martyn gave a nod of understanding "Uncle Ned, you already know about Lord Arryn's death. "Ned nodded in agreement This is what I feared "The letter you received might have spoken of him dying due to a bad belly and being feverish in his last days "Martyn grew more tense as he continued

"But Uncle Ned it seems to me that there was something more to it than just that. As you probably know, Lord Jon was an aged man but certainly not the one afflicted with the frailties of old age. He rode like a young man and despite being eight-and-seventy, I never saw him in any sort of unease pertaining to his belly or other body parts. He ate lesser than what he used to but that was alright. I supped with him every night and never saw him complaining about aches or bad belly. Doesn't it seem suspicious to you that such a man who is quite strong in such advanced years is reduced to nothing in less than ten days due to a problem he never encountered in his life? Ned understood it all too well what Martyn was trying to tell him. I already have been told so Martyn, along with other things you wouldn't like to hear.

"You basically suspect that Jon was murdered, poisoned to be more precise." Martyn raised his eyebrow and slowly nodded back "Yes, that's true". Ned had to come to the main point If there is some truth in whatever Lysa alleged against Lannisters and him, I am going to know that here and now. Although Ned never believed a word Lysa or Catylen uttered against the boy, he still had a lot to confirm, especially that now the King was dragging him into the hellhole.

"So Jon was murdered in your opinion. Now the question remains why?" The unease was plain on Martyn's face. What if-? No, it is impossible-"Uncle Ned" Martyn's voice was serious and so was the expression on his face. He means it, whatever he is going to say. It will be the truth.

Martyn relayed all what happened between him and Jon during the latter's final moments. Ned was blown off his feet by whatever Martyn revealed."The seed is strong, he kept muttering. I also heard from the King that during their last private conversation, he kept muttering his grace's name, Robert. But he kept muttering it" The boy sat back into his chair, closing his eyes, while rubbing his temples with his thumbs. Ned hadn't really grasped the graveness of the situation till now. What was he saying? Which seed? Whose seed? His own, I doubt."What do you think he meant by these words?" The Arryn boy shook his head casually, "No, I don't get the message. It couldn't be about his own, I am sorry to say, but its true. He knew Robin's condition." Ned sipped more of the wine though it had gone cold. "I can't say at this moment whatever he meant by those words but he told me to convey them to you. Probably because he realized that after his own death, which would have seemed certain to Jon, Robert would name you the hand. He might have even advised the King to do so. This makes sense if only-"

"-Jon had some secrets to tell and died before telling them. So he needed the next hand ,the one he trusted, to uncover the truths that got buried with him." Gods be good, this is turning out to be a nasty affair."What truths are they?" Whatever the truths may be, they sent Jon to the grave. It was for this that the boy dared each and every danger from that snake pit of a city to winterfell. Damn you Lysa. Ned needed to tread carefully from here."Uncle Ned, even I don't know that but this is exactly what we need to know. Lord Jon has paid with his life for them" For a moment it seemed to Ned that the boy may cry but he didn't. He has grown stronger….Strong he always was."Don't worry Martyn, we shall soon find out" He rose from his chair

"Although you have placed me in a tough situation" Ned walked over to the balcony "I was quite disinclined to join Robert on this journey. It vexes me the capital…..its stench, its people, its climate and above all its nature, full of treachery, lies, sycophancy, and greed. I never wanted to see the capital again, not since the time of our rebellion against the mad king. Even during the Greyjoy rebellion, I directed my forces from Riverrun and Lannisport. The city had been sacked after the trident and I reached there to see the ruin. That was the last time I saw the capital and I never wished to see it again." Ned sighed, small clouds forming outside his mouth.

"Nor do I" Ned was alerted by the boy who had somehow crept besides him."I have spent twelve out of my fifteen name days in Kingslanding but I never felt at home. Lord Jon's warmth was all I could have called home, not those large chambers we resided in." He looked away into the forests outside the high walls of winterfell." Sometimes I feel that gods have been cruel with me. My father never saw my face, my mother was barely able to keep me with her for a few months, and Lord Jon suffered in his later years all that crushes a man in his youth. He was never able to build a family, much less make them love him. Lady Lysa used to fight with him day and night over me and Lord Jon just kept going, doing his duty. His only son has been the greatest disappointment for him; I know that better than any man living. All he had was me and what good that did to him?"

Ned turned his face to see tears running down from the lad's eyes. "He did his duty till his last breath, literally. He never failed his family and all he got was a cold, spiteful death" Hot tears ran across his face as Ned held him in his arms. Such a young boy and forced to bear the burdens the old fail to bear. Martyn was pouring his heart out "He told me….to protect his family…to protect them as my own…..to fight for honor….to be a defender of the vale in essence, not just word."He was crying out "He died and I failed him the next moment, as I ever have". Gods be good. He ran his fingers through the thick brown hair of the boy, comforting him."You wrong yourself, dear. Lord Jon didn't bring you to be brought up under his watch for nothing? He did this because he trusted you, looked upon you as someone whom he can grant big responsibilities. He saw the future of the vale in you, my dear."

The young Arryn boy looked up, his eyes gone red like blood and cheeks filled with marks of tears. Ned had a good look at his eyes. Sharp, observant, filled with determination yet what I now see is fear, fear of being alone, fear of losing battle of principles Jon instilled in him and other fears I can't see. "You are not alone, my dear" The boy seemed startled, as if Ned had correctly read his thoughts. "I am with you, we are with you. Arryns maybe your kin in blood but, from now on Starks are your kin in Love"

The sadness on Boys face died away "Just as Lord Jon used to say". He placed Ned's right hand between his own hands "From now on Starks are my kin in all but blood and I pledge before you and the Gods, old and new, to do all what is required in Love. I will fight in the defense of this relation and will even bleed for it if needs be" Ned gave this boy a long and thorough look. This is surely Deny's son and Jon's heir. He smiled back and moved his hand over the lad's face. This is another your achievements, Jon, and I also will protect and guide him, I swear to you, as you protected and guided us.

Martyn went near the basin filled with water and washed his face with it. He wiped it with the square cloth nearby and turned to Ned, eyes still red."Thank you for all this, Uncle Ned. We shall meet again on the morrow. And you really need to accompany the king to Kingslanding. You sure know there is a lot more than just a few secrets at stake"

Catylen

"Who is it" Catylen cried out when she heard the door open. The room was dimly lit with a pair of tallow candles burning at the two sides of Bran's bed. Though the fire was still burning in the hearth, yet the room felt uncomfortably cold. This was due to the fact that the small window on the backside of the room had been partially kept open to let the howls of the wolves come in, since Catylen wouldn't allow them inside. She already had told Robb to send them to the Kennels for she was terrified of the sounds but Robb had insisted. He needs to hear them; it will make him feel better. Initially, she had rebuffed his claims but later she herself felt the increase in pulse and breathing Bran showed when the wolves howled.

"It's me, Cat" Ned replied in a soft tone. He wasn't wearing the usual cold look on his face but the one showing warmth and …fears. What has been going on outside? Catylen hadn't set a foot outside these chambers since the day Bran fell. She scarcely had any information on what went outside, except for occasional mutterings by Maester Luwin, Rodrick Cassel or Robb."Is everything alright, Ned?" Did something happen to my other children while I sat here? Ned shook his head, smiled warily and seated himself on the opposite edge of the bed. He placed one of the hands of her boy between his own and held on to it. What are you thinking Ned? Imagining that how your boy will again climb those high walls of this castle, run after Arya after getting beaten in archery or playing with his direwolf ?

Then he turned his face towards her "Cat" the tone implied a lot. He is informing of some hard decision, something I might not take in well. "I have decided to go to Kingslanding with the royal party and take my position there, beside the king."This was the last thing she wanted to hear. But why, Ned? She wanted to cry out.

Instead she replied normally "But why Ned?" her tone was firm "Do you not realize the weakness of the hands you are holding or the breaths you are feeling. Your family needs you more than ever now and you talk of leaving us. Do you realize what you are doing?" She said, almost in tears but never shed one. All had dried up a few days ago when she wept endlessly for her son.

He looked at her with his usual cold look again but betrayed his feelings every now and then "Jon Arryn has been murdered Cat. As much true as your sister told but by whom and more importantly why, it is not known, not as of now. But we shall find very soon."

She wasn't surprised but by the last part "We" she said with utter distaste "Has this Arryn boy convinced you to join the blunder. I always knew he was up to something; why else should Lys-"Anger flashed across Ned's face, though briefly."You don't know him; Catylen. He was the one who confirmed the contents of Lysa's letter. Hadn't you suspected him then, fearing that he might deny the news? He repeatedly pleaded me to convince the king to grant the Arryns their traditional honors back and for whom? Robin Arryn and went as far as to suggest that Lady Lysa be granted that title, all to keep it in rightful all this ,he has told me much to me Cat and more need to be found out"

'There is much more to this than just Jon's death, Cat. I fear that his death is just the beginning of a murky game that has been going on for long. The extent to which, as Martyn told me, the King has been made insensitive to his surroundings is quite shocking. Even Robert's life may be in danger. If I don't go south more tragedies might follow, the ones we could stop. This must be done, Catylen"

Has all gone so awry while I was penned inside here, Catylen thought. She never had liked the boy since his first introduction to them but, also, never harbored any hatred towards him. Yet she felt that thing rising in her after she had seen all Lysa has been through. It hadn't been noble of Lord Arryn to torment her in this way. Yet…..

"What will happen of us when you leave? Who will run the North?" She knew the answer even before she had asked the question."Robb, of course. It's past time he leaves aside his boyish works and start ruling like a Lord. Remember, winter is coming" The words always sent shivers down through her spine. Yes, but will you be coming back?

"Sansa and Arya will still be coming with me. Plans for them haven't changed. Bran though-"He kissed Bran's hand quietly and then his brow."The gods will be kind with him and he will recover "He rose from his chair and moved besides Catylen. She remained as she was, weary, tired and desperate for any chances of recovery.

"We need to be strong Cat. If Starks are to prevail, they need to be as tough as the winter itself to survive it. After I leave, it will remain up to you to rule as reagent in the North and guide Robb through Lordship. We all need to be tough in such times. Will you remain besides me ,Cat, now and always"

She glanced back at him "Now and always" she pulled him into a long embrace and an even longer kiss. Even his lips gave gone cold but not his heart, no, never. Both emerged with warm, flushed faces from the kiss.

"Do as you are bid and be careful at every step" She said with careful voices "There may be daggers hidden in the dark, waiting to strike at the right moment."

Ned just smiled back "There may be but there also are friends at every step, especially those who come to our aid no matter what. Such friends defend us, friends in need. Will they defend us against the swords in the dark?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. More magnified details on Martyn-Ned interaction about the court and everything else coming after this. Also some feisty twits from the canon coming up in next few chapters. Have a nice day…..