The night was quiet, for the moment at least. Ser Barristan stood in the corridor outside the White Sword Tower, waiting. Barristan was on edge; he was used to dealing with threats he could see, none of this conspiracy business. His tunic was slick with sweat under his armor, and his stomach was tied up in knots. As the Lord Commander stared down the deserted passageway, he thought back on the hectic events of the past day.
It had begun in a similar manner to most other days. Awoken by his Sworn Brother, Barristan had crawled from his bed ready to do his duty to his King, his bones creaking and moaning as he did so. When had he gotten to be so old? Surely he had been the young knight who had slain Maelys the Monstrous in single combat only a few short years ago?
When Barristan had made his way over to the King's apartments, he had found Robert weeping over a flagon of wine. Being a good Kingsguard, Barristan had given him space to grieve over the loss of Lord Arryn. The Hand's sudden death had clearly come as a deep blow for the King.
That was when Ser Barristan had noticed the oddness of the situation. He was the only Kingsguard around. He was tempted to try and find where his Sworn Brothers had gone, but his first duty was to the King. Then first Lord Renly, then Lord Stannis had arrived and suddenly Barristan knew this was no ordinary meeting.
When Stannis had revealed the truth about the Queen and her children, Barristan had been stunned. How could such a thing be possible? Barristan knew Jaime Lannister was not truly worthy of a white cloak, but to cuckold the King he had sworn to protect and defend, with his own sister no less? At first he had refused to believe it, but the more he had considered the matter, the more he was forced to realize it was not only possible, but probable. Ser Jaime had never shown much loyalty to the King, preferring to spend his time with his sister. The more Barristan thought on the matter, he remembered many times when Jaime had petitioned him for more time guarding the Queen. And of course, everyone had noticed how much more the royal children resembled their mother than their father.
Barristan couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the Queen, though. She had been forced to endure Robert's drunken ways for years, could not even protest when he shamed her by bringing some whore he'd found into his bed. Barristan had even recently seen the King strike his wife in a drunken rage, and was uncomfortably reminded of Aerys Targaryen. But Barristan had banished such disloyal thoughts from his mind. His duty was to the King, and besides no matter what Robert had done to her, Cersei should have stayed faithful to him.
When Robert's fury at the news had cooled somewhat, he and his brothers had begun to devise a scheme to arrest the Queen and her brother. Barristan stayed back and listened, his duty was to guard the King, not advise him. But when the talk had turned to Cersei's bastards, Barristan felt the need to speak up.
"Your Grace, is it really wise to punish the children for the crimes of their parents? They probably have no clue as to their true origin. They have committed no crimes beyond being born, and surely you cannot fault them for that? Just… just leave them be, Your Grace," Barristan finished awkwardly.
Lord Stannis had looked a bit taken aback by his outburst, but replied smoothly "Ser Barristan, I know you mean well, but you must remember that these children could represent a threat to the throne. They need to be taken into custody more to prevent anyone using them than anything they themselves might do."
"And then what will become of them, Lord Stannis? Will you simply release them, once their bastardy is proven?" Given the wrath still plainly evident on Robert's face, Barristan doubted this would be the case. No, more likely they would be sent to the Wall or the Faith, if Robert didn't decide to straight up execute them.
"For the gods sake, Selmy!" Robert had bellowed, "What do you expect me to do? Their very existence is treason! That bitch, when I get a hold of her…" Robert trailed off muttering.
Lord Renly stepped up then "Look Barristan, it's not as though we like the idea any more than you but, well, these children are bastards. Do I need to remind you of the Blackfyre Rebellion? Isn't it better for a few to suffer rather than the chaos and destruction of war?"
Barristan had no other choice. He got down and kneeled before the King. "Your Grace, I have served you faithfully for fifteen years. I fought against you at the Trident, but when I was wounded and near death, you sent your maesters to me, and raised me up as your Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. I have never asked anything of you since that day, but now I beg of you. Spare these children. They are innocent. For the Seven's sake, they have called you father since the time they learned to speak. I beseech you, Your Grace, take care of your children."
Something seemed to touch a nerve in Robert. "Very well," his voice was subdued, sounding almost ashamed. "I give you my word that no harm shall come to them while I have power to stop it."
The sound of muffled footsteps startled Barristan from his thoughts. Ser Arys Oakheart rounded the corner with several Baratheon men-at-arms and a dozen Gold Cloaks at his back. Spying him, Ser Arys hurried over. The night would be quiet no more.
"I brought the men like you said, Lord Commander. Can you tell me what this is all about, now?" Arys was a fine knight, a bit young and overeager, but a good sword nonetheless. Barristan had had trouble trusting the other members of the Kingsguard after the revelation about the Kingslayer, but he had decided that he must trust his other Sworn Brothers to honor their oaths to the King. Barristan had already sent Ser Mandon Moore to arrest the Grand Maester, who Stannis and Renly seemed sure was in cahoots with the Lannisters, and Ser Preston, Ser Boros, and Ser Meryn to take Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen to a secure location. Only Ser Jaime had not been assigned a post tonight, he was presumably still in his cell in the White Sword Tower.
"Certainly, Ser Arys, we are going to arrest the Kingslayer."
They entered the Tower quickly and Ser Barristan led the group up the stairs to Ser Jaime's room. Bursting into the chamber, Barristan found the Kingslayer sitting on his cot, dressed in his golden armor, sharpening his sword. He was not wearing the white cloak of the Kingsguard. Barristan stepped into the small room, the others fanning out behind him.
"Ah, Ser Barristan, I was wondering if I might see you tonight."
"Kingslayer. You are under arrest for treason against the Crown. You are to come with us."
"No I don't think I will, thank you very much, Lord Commander."
Barristan placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Ser Jaime, we will bring you in by force, if need be."
One of the Gold Cloaks, perhaps bolder or stupider than the rest, called out "Come on let's get him!" he charged towards the knight his spear thrust forward. Two of his fellows followed him. The sword flashed before any of them had a chance to react. Moments later, one was on the ground bleeding from a gash through his throat, another was clutching the stump where his hand had been, the last backed away quickly, the head of his spear neatly sliced off.
"No I don't think you want to be doing that," Jaime said casually, "it's not good for one's health to come after a cornered lion."
Barristan unsheathed his sword.
"Come on then, old man. Let's see if you're still as good as they said you were." Jaime Lannister said pointing his bloody sword at Barristan.
"The rest of you stay back." Barristan looked at Arys Oakheart standing to his right. "Finish him if he kills me," he told the boy, and then leapt into battle.
The nervousness disappeared as steel met steel with a sweet clang. He knew the song of swords as they wheeled and slashed at each other. The world became nothing more than the two of them as they parried and deflected the other's blows. Dimly Barristan heard sounds of other fights from the open window carried across the night. The time for plotting was over. The battle had begun.
They broke apart, panting. Neither of them had done any injury to the other apart from a few minor scratches. Warily, they circled each other.
"Yes, I can see why they called you Barristan the Bold. It has been an honor to serve with you. Now, time to finish it." And Jaime lunged at him, sword shining in the torchlight. Barristan got his sword up in time, but it was a feint. Jamie's sword bit into his arm at a joint in Barristan's armor. Jamie pressed his attack, driving him back, with every thrust of his sword. But the Lion Knight was acting recklessly, desperation causing him to underestimate his opponent. Barristan's next parry was a feint and with a flurry of blows he pushed Jaime back until the Kingslayer's back was to his cot. Jaime tripped over it as he tried to step back again, and Barristan seized his opportunity. He slashed low, and the unbalanced Jaime was unable to react in time. Jamie fell, his sword dropping from his fingers as Barristan's sword took him in the knee.
The old knight looked down at his opponent. He felt a shred of admiration for the man, he was a formidable fighter, even if he was unworthy of being a Kingsguard. He turned to the men behind him and said in a strangely calm voice, "Bind his arms and take him down to the dungeons. He will be held there until his trial."