"Get moving, you fool. I don't want to see any of you left here in the evening!" Robert bellowed loudly. The scared servant scurried away as fast as he could, to do as he was told. All other servants of the king had already fled the tent if they could and those who remained, tried to draw as little attention as possible.
"You should calm down, your grace. The poor lads can't work faster than they already do." Eddard said calmly, as he sat down in front of the large table, which they had placed in the middle of the king's tent.
They had only been back for less than an hour. Back from that ill fated hunt. And Robert had already started planning. An attack that is. His war. The war he wanted to fight for years. And all Ned could do was stand by Robert's side and try to mend the wounds that Robert was about to cause. Both his friend and the Targaryen princess were the same now. Two figureheads of powerful houses, yearning for a war that could possibly destroy them all.
"How can you be so calm, Ned. Those cursed bastards are planning our downfall as we speak and you tell me to calm down! We should take all our men and storm their tents, before the Tyrells or anyone else can interfere. End this madness with one swift strike. The realm would be better off without them." Robert ranted angrily. "The longer we wait, the stronger they will be."
"Haven't we bled enough already? Haven't we lost enough? Don't start this war, your grace, or we might loose all that is left of our families. No one can win this conflict, but everyone will loose." Eddard implored. At the end of the last war he had lost everyone in his family but his little brother, Benjen. His father, older brother, sister... all dead. He did not even want to imagine what sacrifices this war would demand from his family.
"Have you already forgotten what the Targaryens have done? Or are you trying to forget it? None of us are safe, unless that damned House disappears forever. With that Targaryen whore alive and plotting here in my realm, how could I ever find rest?"
"I will never be able to forget. But that doesn't mean that I want my children to suffer because of my losses in years long past. We will accomplish nothing with this war, Robert."
"Rhaegar Targaryen..."
"The girl is not her father. Nor is she her grandfather. She is but a grieving child you should not have antagonized." Eddard replied solemnly. Though the girl had shown nothing but scorn and contempt for him and his family, he could understand her reasons. Had it not been for Tywin Lannister causing such chaos by taking King's Landing on his own, had it not been for Robert's burning hatred for all Targaryens, they could have found other ways to pacify the realm. Ways that would have spared all of them much grief. And the next war could have been prevented.
"That whore has been plotting against us, ever since the Kingslayer has saved her life. Even now she plans our deaths. And there are plenty of traitors who are more than willing accomplices. It is more than just a rumor that the Tyrells will have their heir marry this Targaryen whore. They will starve the realm, before the try to conquer us all."
Eddard remained silent, as he thought about their situation. Robert was right, with the Tyrells on their side, the Targaryen loyalists had gained a very powerful weapon. Many parts of the realm were dependent on the food from the fertile lands of the Reach. And the Tyrells were not just dumb power mongers. They wouldn't join the dragons, unless they saw the possibility to win this war.
"And you saw them today. The Tyrells have already joined the enemies side. When they attacked my son..."
"Your grace, that was a childish fight between rivaling cousins. The prince said so himself."
"Did that look like a duel among cousin's to you, Ned? Would you have said the same, was it your son on the ground, with a sword at his throat? No, you would have rushed to his defense. You would have fought against the Kingslayer and his ilk. So don't you dare judge me for my actions." Robert thundered, as he started pacing around. "We should have cut them all down! All of them."
"And be remembered as the men who discarded their honor and started a war because of a childish spat between juvenile cousins? Open your eyes, Robert, they use your anger and hatred of the Targaryens against you." Both sides wanted the war, but Ned could easily see that neither side wanted to be the one to start it. The instigator would forever be remembered as the monsters who had sent thousands to their deaths, just to sate their lust for war. "But you get what you wanted all those years. A new war. A big one, too."
"Finally you see reason. We have to ready our men to strike!"
"No. Let them make the first mistake. Make them force our hand, only then we should fight. Then we will defeat them and the realm will be at peace again." Robert scoffed, clearly unwilling to see reason. The idea to sit down and wait for his enemies to attack was clearly against his way of fighting. Robert was always a man of action. During the rebellion he pressed on with his attacks, when all others would have rested, to mend their wounds. Only a more grievous wound from the Battle of Bells could halt him. No, Robert wouldn't allow them to make the first move.
Robert's squire entered the tent moments later, looking unsure. A young boy, with sandy blond hair. If that wasn't already enough, the golden lion emblem on his cloak easily gave it away. The boy was a Lannister. Eddard had already heard that some cousins of the Queen had become squires of the king, but this was actually the first time that the boy had shown his face before him. Ned wondered why though.
"What is it? I have no time fool simple fools like you, Lancel. Leave" The boy flinched when he saw in what mood the king was at the moment, clearly afraid of facing Robert's fury.
"But your grace..." The boy stuttered.
"But what?" Robert grumbled. "No, better not answer that. What does my wife want now? Pah, I'd rather not know. Another complaint, no doubt. I don't have time to deal with her petty problems. I want her and the children and her entire cursed fellowship gone and back on the road to King's Landing. Tell her that! Now leave, boy. And then find me my fool of a brother."
"Your grace... Lord Renly has already departed for his castle, hours before you had returned from the hunt... the other lords of the Storm Lands are following him as we speak..." Lancel said almost inaudibly.
"WHAT!" Robert yelled angrily. Eddard sighed as he heard this. Everything was only contributing to his friend's rising fury. He was hard pressed to find a way to calm Robert, before the king would do something that they all would regret. But at the same time he wanted to leave this tent and find his own children. Robert was right about one thing, it was the time to send them all back home and away from this rapidly approaching tragedy. But he couldn't leave Robert unsupervised, not now.
"He is gone... your grace." Lancel whispered again. "He left with his wife, her brother and a dozen guards..." Ned could easily see, that the boy wanted to run, but something kept the boy. Then he saw it. Clutched in his hand, the boy held a piece of paper, a message no doubt.
He stood up and walked over to the boy, who looked distrusting at him. "Give this to me, boy." He pried the message from the boys hand, not that Lancel would have dared to resist. It was almost as if he was happy to be rid of it. "Now go. Your king gave you an order earlier. Fulfill it." The distrust turned to relief now and the boy left quickly. Ned couldn't fault Lancel. Robert had always been an unpleasant companion, once his mood turned sour.
"What is that?" Robert asked grimly. At least he wasn't yelling anymore, that gave Ned some hope, however little that may be.
Ned unfolded the paper and read the message. Once. Then again. Three times, before his mind could grasp what was written there. And he felt almost numb as he realized what this meant. "It is a message from your brother, Lord Stannis, your grace..."
"And? What does he want now?"
"Jon is dead. Hand of the King Lord Jon Arryn has died of a fever..." Ned could see how all the fury suddenly left Robert and how grief took its place.
With a heavy thud the king slumped on his chair, oddly calm now. "How... he was in good health and spirit as we left him." Ned knew that this hit them both hard, but it must be even harder on Robert, who had always lived under Jon Arryn's care, even as a king. "How, Ned. Why? He was like a father to us, now he is gone, when we need him the most..."
Ned really dreaded answering this question. There was more in the message, than just the death of a dear friend and mentor... He sighed, as he knew that it was impossible to keep this a secret from Robert. But he also knew what this would cause...
"There is more, Robert." Robert. Not your grace. In this matter they were the same as back then, when they were young boys at the Eyrie. Maybe Robert would also remember fond memories that would help to keep his fury at bay... but that hope was feeble at best. "His wife, Lysa Tully, believes that he has been poisoned and the Grand Maester agrees. The fever came too quickly, too strongly, to be natural..."
"Murdered..."
"Robert, you..."
"OUT!" Robert bellowed. "Out. Leave me alone, Ned. I don't need a minder, not right now..."
The northern lord was reluctant, but in the end he knew that he had little choice. So Ned placed the message on the table and left the tent. Before he was out, he looked one more time at his friend. Robert didn't look angry. He looked defeated. Ned knew that look. He had seen it before. The day when Robert was told that his parents had died, after their ship had sunk in Shipbreaker Bay. Now this would either intensify his fury or it would break his spirit. No, the latter wasn't possible. Robert's spirit has been broken long ago, all that kept him going was his desire for vengeance and Jon Arryn's strong guiding hand. Now the realm would bleed and Robert would welcome it wholeheartedly.
Ned left the tent with a heavy heart, as he too grieved the loss of his old mentor. But he knew that there was no time to grieve, no time to mourn Jon Arryn's death properly. He had his family to worry about. Robb and Jon were old enough to be drawn into the fighting, should a war start now and Ned knew that at least Robb would not shy away from it.
At least his children were easy to find at the moment, as both his sons had returned to the gathering near their tents. Robb sat with Jon, neither boy talking at the moment. They looked somber, as if they knew what they had started, by catering to Joffrey's whims.
Oh how he rued now, that he had not been harder on Robert's boy. He should have done more to break this vengefulness in him. But he had begrudgingly thought that this fury was an inherent trait of the Baratheons. Robert most certainly had it in him. But he couldn't really say whether Robert's brothers had it in them as well. And now the prince's quarrel with his cousin had erupted into this.
"Father!" Robb jumped up from his seat, as he saw his father approach. "What now? What about the king?"
"Robert is furious, as you have no doubt seen yourself. Your careless actions have dire consequences, Robb." He saw his son look down in shame. Robb had not wanted for this. Robert and Joffrey wanted conflict. Rhaenys Targaryen wanted this conflict. Now they all would have it, no matter the consequences.
"Father, I..."
"No more, Robb." Ned scolded sternly. "Gather your siblings and our men. You will leave for Winterfell before the evening. It is too dangerous for you to remain here. We can no longer trust the Tyrells to act in our interest, they have been forced to choose a side and it isn't ours."
"Yes, father." Robb muttered, before he walked away to search for Arya and Sansa. The other northmen around them had heard their lord's words and started breaking camp as well. The tourney was over and once more a big event had turned into a catastrophe for the realm as it seemed.
"Father, what would you have me do?" Jon asked. He was the only one who had remained and sat alone now, accompanied only by his white wolf, Ghost. The direwolf had grown much in the short time since they had found them near their dead mother. Now the wolves were already bigger than the usual dogs in the king's kennels and they would continue to grow for some more time.
Ned wasn't so sure about Jon any more. What about the boy? He remembered Jaime Lannister's insinuations all too well. If the Kingslayer knew about the boy, then the rest of the Targaryen loyalists did so as well. Letting Jon run around unchecked, would put him at risk. A risk Ned was not willing to take. He had a promise to fulfill and he wouldn't allow the vengeful girl to unleash her hatred of Lyanna on Jon.
"You will stay here, Jon. Help our men pack the necessary supplies for your trek back home. Make sure that they don't bother with the unimportant trumpery. Time is of the essence now." Ned finally ordered stoically. He could see that this obviously frustrated the boy, but he couldn't care for the boy's wishes now.
"Father," Robb came back, a look of distress on his face. Ned already feared the worst, as his son said, "I cannot find Sansa and Arya. They are not in their tent and their Septa has not seen them in hours."
Again the overwhelming feeling of worry for his family rose inside of him. With his daughters missing, he couldn't possibly think about leaving. He wouldn't abandon them here, when Robert and Rhaenys Targaryen would clash.
"My lord, your daughter has left not long ago, with the queen and her youngest children," one of Ned's guardsmen said.
"She left? On whose orders did you act, when you allowed my daughter to be taken away?" Ned snapped.
"The king's orders, my lord. His squire came and relayed the order that the Queen and her retinue have to leave immediately." The man looked slightly frightened, as Ned scrutinized him with his own cold, gray eyes. "They took half of the Kingsguard with them... we didn't think that Lady Sansa would be in danger..."
The man was right. The Queen and her children would be very well protected on the long road to King's Landing. Sansa would be safe with them. But it didn't do much to ease his mind. This would also mean that his daughter would be on her own for the first time in her life. No one from the North would be with her in King's Landing and he wasn't sure how she would cope with this sudden change. But at least she was safe. He couldn't say the same for her younger sister.
"And Arya? Has anyone seen her?" Ned demanded to know. But none of the guards spoke. They obviously knew nothing.
"Father, let me search for her. Ghost and I can find her in no time." Jon offered. The boy had always been the closest to Arya and she to him. Odd how the only two Stark children who had kept to the Stark coloring were closer to each other than to their Tully colored family.
"No. It is too dangerous. Continue with your preparations. You will leave as soon as Arya has been found, if not even earlier. I will not takes risks with the lives of my children." Ned said sternly, before he turned away from his son and to one of his personal guardsmen.
"Jory, take some men and find my daughter. But make sure that the Tyrells and Lannisters don't find out about her missing. They wouldn't pass such a chance to get a valuable hostage." Ned said.
Jory Cassel was one of his most trusted men, the captain of his household guard. If there was one among his men who would succeed in this task, it would be him. Arya trusted him fully and would listen to him. And should their enemies try to take Arya by force, Jory would be able to protect her properly. But Ned did not want to think about his daughter getting involved in any of these fights. Old gods or new, any man would rue the day he would think of hurting any of his children, Ned had vowed to himself that he would protect his family. This time he wouldn't fail. He couldn't fail. Not again.
"At once, my lord." Jory replied quickly, before he motioned for some men to follow him. Four guards left with him, enough to prevail in a fight, but too few to attract too much unwanted attention.
Ned looked one more time towards Highgarden with great worry. How long until they would fully turn on them? Hours? Days? Or has it already happened and they had not even noticed yet? No matter, soon this place would turn into a battlefield. And the blood shed here would fuel a new war, one that would inevitably tear the entire realm apart. But he would fight. He didn't want this, but he would fight for his family and protect them, no matter the cost. The peaceful days of summer were finally over and Winter is coming to the Seven Kingdoms.