A song unsung
I'm sure you guys will be surprised with the changes presented in this chapter. I won't give you a hint because it'll be horribly obvious or at least it should be. Now some things may be the same as it is in the books/TV show but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way. I've gotten a lot of support from you guys and I appreciate that, keep it up. This chapter isn't really in anybody's POV, it'll make it easier for me to transition from one person to the next.
Chapter 5
299 AC, Northern kingsroad
"Cunt of a woman." The rotund man grumbled as his horse trotted along.
The king continued to grow restless as he, the king, was forced to move slowly. His two kingsguard, Lord Commander Barristan and Ser Arys rode alongside him. He sent a brief, irritated, glance back at the trailing members of his group. He had argued against bringing so many people but he could never stay in the same space with his queen long enough to win that argument.
To make things worse he could see far more Lannister red and gold than his families own black and gold. The Gods must've thought him a fool. He knew was not the man he was once was. The Demon of the Trident they called him.
"Hmph, if the Gods were so merciful." He thought with a dry chuckle. "I may not be the Demon but I'm damn sure a king and no sane man would cross me."
He quickly shifted his mind to his old friend. Lord Eddard Stark, who he knew as Ned. The trip to the North was for two reasons. The first was obvious but the second was only known to the king and his hand. In all his years Robert had never been this far north. The frozen ground wasn't made for southern horses—Hell, the North wasn't made for southerners!
His point was strengthened as a blood curdling scream ripped through the air. He turned as quick as his fat neck would allow, "What the bloody hell?"
His eyes saw nothing out of the ordinary, "Ser Arys, go see what the hell is going on."
The white knight moved with haste. Screams continued to fill the air. Although Robert was not the warrior he once was, he still knew the sounds of battle. With surprising vigor the king turned his horse and began heading towards the screams. Ser Barristan knew what was happening and was at his king's heels.
"Come Ser Barristan, there is blood to be spilled."
The old knight frowned as they bounded towards danger, "Your grace, it would be wise for you to be with your family in the carriage and away from danger."
Robert frowned just as they passed the carriage carrying his family, "Bah, I am a king not a useless craven."
Ser Barristan sighed in defeat and frustration as he knew that his king would not listen. Despite his appearance, he was still a warrior at heart. Things became much worse for him as he heard a voice behind him.
"Father!" The crown prince Joffrey rode after them on his white steed, "I will join you in battle."
"Your crossbow won't help much here boy."
The king did not look back to see the frown on his son's face. Robert knew he had failed the boy as a father but he never felt connected to the boy as a father should have been. He was nothing like a Baratheon, more like a Lannister. He pushed those thoughts out of his head.
Robert smiled as his enemies came into sight. They wore armor unlike anything he had ever seen and they used a variety of weapons. Some had armor that left their stomach exposed, others had their shoulders bare. He saw metal, leather and cloth, there were a multitude of odd armors. He saw narrow long swords, squared mace and even dual sided spears. If his hunger for battle wasn't blinding him then he would have noticed that the majority of the enemy force was hanging back in wait. The fat king struggled to pull his sword from its sheath on his hip. He cursed as his rolls of fat got in the way. A few feet ahead of him stood an enemy soldier pointing a spear at him, ready to push it through his stomach. A slight panic filled him but the Gods were watching over him as Ser Arys cut the man down.
"Your grace, fall back there are too many. The back half of the party has already been slaughtered. We must get you and your family to Moat Cailin."
"I will not run from any bastard who dared attack me and my family. You take your sworn brothers and get my family to Moat Cailin. Ser Barristan, we along with the men we brought will cut these men down." After years of lying dormant, after being asleep for so long, the demon of the trident had awoken.
Despite the commanding tone his king used Ser Barristan voiced his opinion, "Your grace, is that the best idea? It seems these strangers want us to pursue them."
"Would you let your king go into battle alone, Ser Barristan?" Robert's tone was threatening.
As his years of serving hostile kings Ser Barristan gave a practiced reply, "No your grace, I am sworn to guard you until my end comes."
"That's more like it, now go round up a group of men." The king turned to Ser Arys, "Once you get my family to the Moat you tell whoever's in charge to send a force to reinforce me."
Surprisingly the knight from the Reach gave no fuss. Robert eyed the small force in the distance. He didn't know who they were and why they attacked him but they would pay. The feeling of being a warrior once again made him feel like a new person. He felt lighter than he ever had. His blood rushed through his body as he ignored the unforgiving northern air. The sound of hundreds of horse hooves could be heard behind him. He turned and smiled as he saw the soldiers he brought along with Ser Barristan at the helm.
"Your grace, we move at your command."
"Then we shall waste no more time. These bastards will know the fury of a Baratheon. Come and bathe in glory with your king!"
The mass of men rode off into battle. King Robert didn't even glance back to see if his family was safe as he rode into what could be his last moments.
He felt confident at their chances of winning. At a glance the enemy force looked to be smaller than his own force of two hundred men. Excitement filled his being as he crashed into two helpless footmen. In an instant the sounds of battle sang to him. He cut down man after man, although it wasn't as easy as he remembered it to be. His horse whinnied before falling down causing the king to take a tumble.
"On the king, make sure the king is safe!" Ser Barristan's voice chorused.
"Damned cunt." Robert cursed. He picked himself up before being engaged by hammer wielding enemy soldier. Robert smirked at his opponent's weapon of choice.
"How do you think that hammer will fare against this gut?" The soldier didn't seem amused at the king's attempt at humor. He lunged forward but the king used surprising agility grabbed his wrist stopping his attack.
"I want this hammer." The man's life ended with a broken wrist and a sword in his stomach.
Robert let the dead body fall. He picked the hammer up off of the ground and smiled as it felt better in his hands than the sword he left in the dead man's stomach. A foreboding sense of danger nagged at him in the back of his head but his excitement devoured all doubts he had.
The king felt alive. He was in his natural habitat, battle. Blood stained his chainmail and the flat of his hammer. He wore a wild grin on his face as he smashed man after man. Is eyes caught a large figure cutting down many of his men. Be it his Baratheon blood or his high levels of testosterone, the need to show the giant who was the better warrior seized his mind.
As if his mind had gone through the same line of thought, the man looked up and caught Robert's eyes. The two began cutting a bloody path towards each other. The Baratheon's hammer met the flat of the large man's double sided axe. For a moment the two struggled in a battle of strength. A smile revealing the man's pointed teeth appeared before he pushed the king back. The two battled for the next few minutes.
Robert backed away. His stomach rose and fell as he gasped for breath. His years of sitting, whoring, eating and drinking had caught up with him. He cursed his stamina as failed him. The hammer in his hand felt heavy. He didn't know how much longer he could go but he would not die a coward.
"You have gotten sloppy, fat king. There are tales of a man who seemed to be undefeatable on the battlefield." Robert frowned at the man's derisive tone. He could tell he was not native to Westeros. His accent was unlike any he had heard before.
The king growled at the man before charging with the fury associated with his family's words. The man's dark smile widened as Robert got closer.
"The man before me is not the one in the stories." Moving faster than the overweight king could react he slid his axe across the rolls of his stomach.
He watched as the king of Westeros fell. The king lay unmoving before craning his head up with every bit of strength he had. He gave a cocky smile before his eyes closed and unconsciousness took him. The man moved to pick the unconscious king up but a blaring sound caught his attention.
"A war horn." He thought grimly, he saw the banner he had been expecting, "Take the fat king and get him to the boat. Make sure he gets to our mistress."
"What of you, master?" A soldier asked as he and a couple others picked up Robert's still body.
"I'm going to die a glorious death only to be reborn, stronger and faster." He turned and gave the command to charge the oncoming force, "Charge!"
Streaming from the opposite direction was the most skilled fighting force in the North. They carried the banners of House Stark. Lord Eddard Stark and Arthur Dayne led the charge. Time seemed to slow down as the wolf lord rode into battle. He could feel the blood pump through his body. The sound of his heart beating against his chest filled his ears. It had been fourteen years since he had been in a fight. He thought back to the second war for the Stepstones. Robert had gotten arrogant and tried to take the chain of islands from the alliance of three daughters. Before Jon could convince Robert that the war was not needed Balon Greyjoy had been killed and the iron throne had gained another enemy. He or Jon always seemed to come to the rescue for Robert.
Ice soon became covered with the blood of the foreign soldiers. His men easily cut through the waiting force. He lowered himself down from his mount. His eyes searched for his oldest friend. Panic grabbed at his insides as he found no sign of the king. He looked around to see his men finishing off the last of the enemy force. With ease, he swung the massive ancestral sword to his left cutting into the giant who defeated the king.
Eddard grabbed the man by his chest piece, "Where is the king!?"
The man only smiled as the Lord of the North growled. Eddard was losing his patience and the man was losing his blood.
"Your king—" A bloody coughing fit cut him short. "—will soon be in the hands of my mistress." A steady stream of blood began pouring from each side of his mouth. Lord Stark could feel the man's body go limp but his eyes were still open. His breaths became shorter and shorter. The Stark knew a dead man when he saw one but he still needed information.
"Who is your mistress? Who ordered you to do this? Where is Robert?" With what little strength he had left he whispered in Lord Stark's ear before life left his body forever.
Eddard remained silent with his head down. He made no move to get up even as Ser Arthur approached on horse from behind. The wielder of Dawn looked down on his lord as he sat in silence.
"My lord." He started before becoming silent once more, "I'm sorry to say that there are no signs of the king."
Ser Arthur soon became just as gloom as his lord as the words left his mouth. He had no love for the king, only accepting because the man he trusted most vouched for him. Then again the king didn't have his ire but the loss of such a figurehead would be devastating.
"The king is gone…gone somewhere I know not and I fear we never will. When we arrive back at Moat Cailin I will send a raven to White Harbor and my goodfather. If the ship carrying the king is anywhere in the North or Riverlands it will be found."
Arthur hurriedly did so before returning to his liege, "What are we to do now?"
"We must return to the queen and tell her of the king's disappearance."
Without one glance back Lord Stark and his Winter Wolves road back to Moat Cailin unhindered. The ride was in silence. It was no surprise not to find the queen outside waiting for the arrival of her husband. Eddard knew that his best friend's marriage was a loveless one. He truly felt sorry for Robert but he wasn't the only one to lose something. He allowed his emotions to guide him down a downtrodden path. He himself felt a small amount of guilt for leaving Robert with only Jon to back him. He had quickly learned that the South was no place for a Stark.
As he and his men dismounted, Eddard couldn't help but look on in awe at the ancient northern keep. In the years since his father order the rebuilding of the Moat all twenty towers had been restored and it now stood as it did during the age of heroes. He didn't know what would happen now that Robert was gone. He didn't know much about the crown prince, Joffrey, but from the whispers that escaped the Red Keep the boy was not well liked. Ned knew from history that having such a king would only bring more blood, either by the king trying to force his will upon his people or the people trying to force theirs.
He removed the negative thoughts from his head as the royal family came into view. The queen in all her regal grace showed no concern for her husband's lack of appearance. His eyes turned towards the would-be king, Prince Joffrey. He saw nothing of Robert in the boy, his golden hair hung at the sides of his face and his green eyes held a false sense of superiority as they landed on the Lord Paramount of the North. The two young ones hung back behind their mother.
Lord Stark and his men bowed, "My queen, I bring grave news."
Eddard looked up and his gray eyes met the queen's green. A lesser man would have crumbled under her cold stare but he was of the north. Eddard knew not what he had done for the queen to bear ill feelings for him but he would ignore them.
"The king has been taken."
The cold look on the Lannister queen's face wasn't one of concern or dread but indifference. Eddard wouldn't question his queen but he could have sworn that he saw her mouth twitch upwardly.
"Taken? A king cannot just be taken. Do you know who took him or where he has been taken?" Cersei asked in a tone that suggested her higher position.
"Only that his captors are foreign to our lands and that they have taken him back to a woman they call their mistress."
He heard the queen scoff, "You are his supposed best friend, I would have expected you to have given chase. Have you given up on your friend, on your king?"
It took a considerable amount of will not to rise up and tell the woman off. She did not have the right to question his loyalty. He had stayed by Robert's side through it all, even when he felt the man was wrong. He had seen his friend waste away in his marriage to the Lannister woman. Like all men he couldn't deny her beauty but in his eyes it was overshadowed by the southern deceit flowing in her blood. Her family had secured its position of power but it had also brought a stain to their name. The head sacked the king's city and killed the former princess and her children while the son killed his king, though it did better for the realm his name would always be associated with the term kingslayer.
"I have sent a raven with a letter containing commands to to search for any unknown vessel. I also asked my goodfather, Hoster Tully to put his bannermen on call. If they are on land or sea, they will be found, your grace."
Although he spoke with conviction Eddard was somehow was filled with doubt. He knew he shouldn't be. He had to be strong to find his friend. Robert wasn't much loved by the people as he once was and he knew the queen would do as little as she could, only enough to keep appearances. He, Jon Arryn and the remaining Baratheon brothers were all he had. Luckily enough that was the lord paramount's of the North, The Stormlands and the Vale of Arryn and the Lord of Dragonstone.
"I would also suggest that a raven be sent to Lord Stannis. His navy would be crucial in finding Robert." Lord Stark suggested.
"King Robert." Cersei coldly corrected, "Well it seems you have things under control, Lord Stark. With my dear husband's absence this entire trip is now pointless. My children and I will turn back towards King's Landing."
"Under control?" The prince scoffed, "Mother this man should be punished. The royal family was attacked and father was taken in his lands!"
Eddard's head just as everyone else in the room did. His stormy gray eyes bore into the prince with expertly controlled anger. Ser Arthur behind him held in a gasp but his hand moved towards the pommel of his blade instinctually. Just as the other Stark guardsmen did. Ned stood nervously as he looked on at the queen and her son.
Luckily the queen had more sense than her son, "I assure you, my son, Lord Stark is not at fault but he will do everything in his power to get your father back."
"He had better mother, or else my first action as a king will be to take his head for his insolence." The way the boy sneered at the northern overlord and the weight behind his words caused a deep silence in the room.
"Will the queen and her family need an escort back?" Eddard asked trying to roll over the threat from the golden haired prince.
The queen pursed her lips into what she may have thought was a smile, "Many thanks for the offer, Lord Stark but my Lannister guards will be more than enough."
The Lord Paramount of the North ignored the sleight towards his guard. In their short time in the North, the queen and her son had threatened his life and continually insulted his home. He would be glad of their departure but he would need to contact them again for the sake of Robert.
"I must insist, my queen. I do not know if those responsible for Rob-the king's disappearance are still around."
"If you so insist, Lord Stark. I would like if you took the rear."
"When do you plan to leave, your grace?" Ned asked the queen.
However before the queen could speak, Joffrey cut in, "At once, I would not spend another minute in these savage lands."
Eddard gave a low growl. He could hear the same from behind him. He didn't know how much more his men could take but hopefully the training they received would keep their tongues at bay.
"As my son has said, we will leave immediately." The queen stood up to leave and as she brushed by the last of his men Eddard heard something that made his blood run colder than winter winds at the wall.
"No wonder the king still beds whores."
The queen stopped and turned her greens eyes, in which that moment Ned likened to burning wildfire. In an instant that burning look was gone and replaced with nothingness.
"On second thought Lord Stark, we will not be needing a rear escort but I do require that man's head." She pointed towards one of the newer members of his elite squadron. Gregor Snow, a bastard of a southern lord who had a passionate night with a whore in Wintertown. He'd rather not think of the boy's father but even he would want justice if his son's life was taken.
"He is young, he did not mean what he said." Eddard said trying to save the boy's life, "Surely such a feeble matter does not require his life."
"You are wrong, honorable Lord Stark. He does not respect his queen and those with no respect for their queen are considered threats and I-no Robert would stand for threats to his family."
"I would rather die than live under the rule of a golden haired bastard!" Gregor shouted as he felt his fate was sealed.
Eddard sighed, "Silence boy!"
The fire once again returned to her eyes and this time it remained, "Now you have no chance, bring him."
Two Lannister guards who were standing behind Cersei moved to seize the boy but the Winter Wolves stepped in front of him creating a wall. The two guards looked frightened at the men and looked back towards their queen for orders.
She looked towards Lord Stark. In what seemed like years but in reality were only mere moments he weighed his choices. Defy the queen and risk the safety of him and his men and most likely his family or let one of his men die because he grew restless of the continuous attacks by the queen and her son. In the end he did what he had done many times.
"The boy has forsaken himself." Though sullen the men stepped aside as Lord Stark retrieved the boy himself.
As they walked towards the queen Gregor looked at his liege lord. Eddard met his eyes and gray met brown.
"I'm sorry, my lord. I just couldn't take it anymore. The way they look down on us, the insults towards the North. Now I've put you in danger, you and your people have treated a bastard like me far better than I deserve. It was an honor serving you sir and with all of you."
Before I end this chapter I just to say thank you to, SarellaMartell, jjsmith5 and VVSINGOFTHECROSS for helping me sort out a future idea. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the direction the story is going in. I don't think anyone has done what I have with Robert hopefully it'll pay off. More surprises next chapter. Until next time, Lknight out.