Chapter 9: The Dagger
"I am perturbed that you do not trust me enough to go into town with me alone," Petyr Baelish said brightly in contrast to his words.
Ned Stark, along with his guard Jory Cassel, followed the man into the tasteless gutter of Kings Landing. The streets were rife with muddy, broken tents and unclean paupers. Little boys and girls ran across the streets fighting for scraps of food and remnants of cloth. Since none of the street people moved out of the way as Ned and his companions passed, Ned and his companions had to twist and turn through the street people. A distasteful display of how terrible the city had turned due to Lord Baelish advising the King to defund city projects to assist the indigent.
"Lord Stark?"" Baelish interrupted Ned's thoughts. "Care to answer?"
"It would be foolish to wander into the city without Jory," Ned answered simply. "You do best to not question my judgment."
"If I came across that way, I apologize," Baelish grinned. "I am simply unused to you more serious types."
Ned found Baelish's company grating.
Since they met, Ned found him too impertinent each time he snarked judgments against the King's ruling and Ned's leadership. Ned had a hard time understanding why Catelyn would trust this man. To Ned, Lord Baelish was a perfect example of the worst type of Lord; one who does his duties for his own self-interest and disrespects his betters and his vassals. The kingdom's debt appeared to be largely due to Lord Baelish's mismanagement. Moreover, the man told him to distrust him the first time he met. Lord Baelish words and warnings seemed to constantly change depending on circumstance.
Ned also disliked how Lord Baelish kept asking him to meet him. Ned was partially inclined to see if he had any useful information to share concerning Jon Arryn's death. But Ned found it hard to muster the energy to meet thanks to lengthy council meetings and many restless nights due to his nightmares. He found it rude when Lord Baelish claimed that he might not even care about Jon Arryn's death during his last refusal.
Ned's dislike turned to distrust when he received a mysterious letter with an unsettling accusation.
Baelish convinced Lysa Arryn to kill her husband.
Ned was given two very different letters: one warning against the Lannisters; the second warning against people his wife trusted. As much as Ned wanted to agree with his wife, he found it difficult to see which warning he should trust. True, Catelyn was fond of her sister, and the second note came from an unknown source. But his dreams also warned him about a deep vileness beneath Lord Baelish's camaraderie. Ned knew that his dreams were not real, but he felt like his subconsciousness was warning him.
More so, Ned recalled that Catelyn once mentioned that Lysa fancied Lord Baelish as a child; Ned did know the lengths a woman would go for a man she loved.
Ned had planned to burn the second letter as Catelyn had done her sister's. Yet, he kept a hold of it. He had gone to Jory after the day's council meeting ended to gauge his opinion of the letter. But Lord Baelish had turned up and had requested that Ned visit somewhere in the city with him.
"What is it that you wanted to show me?" Ned asked after they reached the pleasure district. "I am not interested in a whore."
"Pity," Baelish said with a rueful smile. "I would love for you to take time to relax and enjoy my business. The reason will be clear soon enough."
Lord Baelish was right. He barely noticed as Ser Rodrik greeted his nephew. Ned felt the intense spasms in his shoulders lift as soon as he saw his wife in a back room of Lord Baelish's brothel. Her long auburn hair frayed in every direction, and she wore a slightly ragged shawl over her bright hair and a worn travel cloak. He had someone to talk about the second letter who he trusted far more than Jory.
"We will leave the room to the two of you for a bit," Lord Baelish said smugly. With a dramatic pivot, Lord Baelish grabbed Ser Rodrik's and Jory's arms and forced the guards outside. "Guarding the door should do. I am sure you would like to leave your Lord and Lady to certain pleasures."
The first few minutes with Catelyn were the best Ned had in ages. After a long embrace, Catelyn rattled off news of their children, and Ned provided a vague recount of the current events in King's Landing. Catelyn had agreed with him that diverting resources for an extravagant tourney was a terrible idea, but as she said, "If the King wants one, there is nothing much you or Petyr can do."
Then Catelyn explained, "As much as I am here to see you, I have come to share a terrifying event. Poor Sansa screamed when she saw it."
"What happened?" His innocent, little girl.
"The dead body of another assassin. One of the direwolves, Bran's, mauled the man to bits. His body was torn and bloody. A sight no woman should see."
"An assassin tried to kill Bran again? What about Tommen?" Those letters. But the Lannisters, Lysa and Lord Baelish were all so far away from his home at the time.
"He was left alone."
"Why would someone attack Bran again?"
"The Lannisters." Would the Lannisters really hire another assassin to harm his son after they left? He knew Joffrey tried once. He still did not understand why the young man would want to kill a little boy. Bran was not a threat to Robert's heir. "The assassin tried to kill him with his dagger," Catelyn continued, pressing the hilt of a dagger in his hands. "I took it from his wrecked body."
Ned glanced at the dagger. The hilt was plain, but the steel blade sparkled against the light shining from the window. He recognized it as he had seen it twice since his dream many moons ago.
How did he remember those dreams so clearly? For most of his life, he hardly remembered his dreams. But now that nightmare and several others haunted him every moment. Along with that dream, he remembered a dream where a Targaryen burning soldiers alive, one where Lyanna stabbed Lord Baelish with this same dagger in the council chamber at Winterfell, one where an unrecognizable man swift this dagger from the Winterfell crypts, and one where a young man begged him to listen.
"I dreamed of this dagger," Ned whispered. "Thrice."
"It belongs to Tyrion Lannister."
"How do you know?" Ned's grip tightened around the hilt. "Was it Lord Baelish?"
"Yes." Catelyn opened her mouth to explain further.
"Look," Ned interrupted, bequeathing the note warning against Lord Baelish to her.
Her deep blue eyes flickered, and her cheeks reddened. "Who would dare accuse them?"
"I do not know. But we cannot ignore this warning."
"It's the Lannisters trying to turn us against each other," Catelyn accused. "Do not let them besmirch my sister's name, my friend's."
Ned glanced at the door. Someone might be listening on the other side. "Look, we should not discuss this here. I trust you, but I wish to keep this between ourselves."
Catelyn acted like he never spoke. As tears ran down her face, she mumbled, "I cannot believe this. Whoever … Lysa is silly, yes, and prone to foolishness, but she is a good person."
Ned understood where Catelyn was coming from. If anyone accused any of his siblings of murder, he would deem that person a liar.
"Are you staying at an inn while you're here?"
Catelyn shook her head. "Ser Rodrik and I agreed with Petyr that it's safer to stay here."
"Usually I would agree, but with everything going on. I'll feel better that you stay at an inn. Somewhere we can both be alone, and Ser Rodrik can protect you."
This time his wife listened. "All right." As Catelyn's hand covered his, Ned stepped back startled. For the first time he saw scars on her hand. "Was that the assassin?"
His wife nodded. "That is why it must be the Lannisters. Petyr and Lysa would never put me in harm's way."
"I hope you are right." Ned truly did; a person needed to trust their family above all else. "But I saw this dagger in my dreams and I received this accusation. I need to… No. It's your sister and friend. I will trust …"
"No. You'll find nothing." Catelyn insisted. "Look into it to keep your mind at peace." Catelyn leaned in and kissed him, cupping a hand on his face. "I love that you always want to be certain before throwing out an accusation. Go to his room this afternoon. I will distract him with a game of cards. You have my permission to look, yes, to find proof that they are innocent."
As hard as he tried to, Ned struggled to appear normal around Lord Baelish when he noticed the man's flushed grin when Catelyn asked him to play a game of cards that afternoon. He was sure the man noticed Ned's momentary foolish glare.
Ned trusted his wife, but he recognized that Lord Baelish had uncouth feelings towards her. At least Ser Rodrik would be playing the card game too; before Ned and Jory left to return to the castle, Ned had whispered to Ser Rodrik to keep a close eye on Lord Baelish.
On their walk towards the castle, Ned shared the news about the accusation against Lord Baelish and Lysa, and the plan to check Lord Baelish's room to see if there were any clues. "Cat wants me to confirm that they are both innocent. I hope they are. But I need to at least check his room this once before I investigate the more probable answer."
"I understand. It is likely the Lannisters. But someone left this warning for a reason. Honestly, something about Lord Baelish does not sit right with me either."
Luckily Ned had Jory scout out the rooms of various small councilman a few weeks prior. Ned inquired about the locations originally in the thought he might need to meet with any of them at night about a last-minute change. Therefore, Jory led him to Lord Baelish's chamber without trouble.
Once they stood at the entrance of the room, Ned glanced around the empty hallway. Lord Baelish had ordered no guards to watch the room. That was one reason to think Lord Baelish might have nothing to hide. Still, Ned needed to be sure. Jon Arryn deserved to have the truth about his death be revealed. All possible avenues must be checked.
Ned pushed the door open, and the door slammed against the wall. A loud squeak from the floorboards sounded as he and Jory entered. The room was dark; the only light came from the half-covered windows.
Ned hesitated before asking Jory to light a candle. It was risky, but they needed to see. Ned stiffly looked through the papers on Lord Baelish's desk. The papers were mostly inventories of the castle's and the kingdom's resources, and outlines of plans for future tourneys. The only paper of note was an unfinished letter to Stannis Baratheon. Even that was unimportant; it was simply a request for more coin for the upcoming tourney.
"We should go," Ned told Jory. "There's nothing here. I was foolish to listen to a note from an unknown source."
Jory shook his head. "Pardon me, Lord Stark. If you allow it, I wish to look somewhere first."
Ned gave him his permission.
Jory talked as he leaned down to the floor. "While I checked the dressers and there's nothin', the rug was strangely placed. Instead of near his bed, it's close to the windows. It's covering a corner here." His long hair swung against the window as Jory moved the rug off the window. Below where the rug once lay was, as expected, more floorboard.
"Looks like this is a dead end too," Ned said.
Jory shook his head and pointed on the floor. "He put a dark brown stain right here."
Ned knelt downwards and realized that Jory was right. To Ned, the small brown smudge on the floorboard looked like a remnant of fallen food.
Jory pressed one of his fingers into the shrouded brown stain and scratched into the surface before pulling the floorboard up. "Yes. Most people would never think this is moveable. But father taught me a trick to push the floorboard downward enough that it looks like it's stuck in as usual, but you can still move the floorboard up. It's a useful trick to keep a hidden compartment beneath the surface. It's barely noticeable."
Jory pulled out a handful of old, muggy pieces of fabric, and a leather-bound book. Ned took the book from Jory and discovered it was a journal. Ned recognized Lord Baelish's handwriting from the missives he sent to Ned the past few weeks. In the first pages Lord Baelish scribbled math equations and nonsense about yard work. After many blank pages, there was an entry about how much he despised a Lord for refusing his request. As Ned read through it, he started to question why Lord Baelish would hide it. The journal was either meaningless math equations or the uninteresting squabble of a low-born man.
Jory suddenly gasped. Ned turned to find him pulling out a finely crocheted blue cloak with the etching of a trout.
"He was raised near the Tully's. Either Cat or Lysa must have made that for him," Ned explained.
"'To Petyr, with love, Cat,' is etched on the side," Jory told him, showing where the words were on the cloak.
"That still doesn't help us," Ned said. "It's irrelevant." He trusted his wife. Even if there were feelings long ago, they ended long before their marriage.
Ned heard a creak outside the room. Someone was likely walking by. They needed to leave soon, and it was unwise to take this book back with him. He turned to the last page of the journal and saw nothing. He breezed by more empty pages towards the of the book before finding a letter tucked in. He took out the letter, read it, and dropped the book on the ground.
"What?" Jory asked.
Ned read the letter out loud, "My lord, I did as you asked. Unfortunately, they didn't act in accordance to how you predicted. Yes, the Queen did commit adultery, but with a Stark guard who she threw out a window."
Jory gasped. "The Queen. The Kingslayer was acting strange. Did she tell him that she planned to kill a guard? But why? Why kill Jacks? He was no threat to the Lannisters."
"She probably committed adultery with Jacks and then killed him when he said he would not keep quiet." Ned was sure of it. He thought back to the Kingslayer's words from a week ago.
Well, I'm from the future where Bran fell off the tower instead.
Ned knew for sure that the Kingslayer was not from the future, but maybe he confused himself into thinking that Bran should have fallen instead of Jacks. What was he doing? He should consider the words of this letter and forget the words of a demented knight.
"Right, of course." Jory swore. "What does the letter say next?"
Ned continued, "I went with the second plan. To ensure the chaos I went ahead with the hiring plan. I know you wished for it far after I left, but times were desperate. I needed it done to both families. See, the Queen might be a better bet than the Hand. He is showing too much reluctance to my dismay. Do not worry, the blame was placed on Joffrey, even his family thinks so. I wish …"
"Lord Edward Stark." A person interrupted Ned's recitation of the letter. "You are lucky that it is I who have heard this and not the writer of that letter."
Ned turned to find Ser Preston Greenfield. He wore a white tunic instead of his usual Kingsguard armor. "Ser, I can explain." What could he say to keep him from telling the King?
"Don't," Ser Preston said, smirking. "You wanted to figure out who attacked your son twice."
"I..." Ned began, struggling to find the right words.
"How do you know Bran was attacked twice?" Jory demanded, unsheathing his sword. Ser Rodrik must have told Jory about the attack.
The knight shrugged. "Here and there."
"What are you doing here?" Ned asked, unconvinced of his innocence. He noticed a scroll in his hands. "Give me that."
Ser Preston's smirk turned into a frown. He crumpled the paper in his hand. "It's nothing."
Jory wrestled for it and took the paper. It was another letter with the exact same handwriting. It said vaguely, "All is well. The game is set."
"You did write this letter. You sent an assassin after my son and the younger Prince." Ned shuddered. It was so unlike him to growl like that.
"Look, you caught me. I did write the letter," Ser Preston yelled, his hands trembling. "See, Lord Baelish threatens my daughter. You need to understand that I'm not responsible. I did what he asked."
Ned stood tall, struggling to defuse his inner fury. "Then, you will stand for your crimes and tell the King about Lord Baelish's plot.'"
"Please, you must understand. My daughter is innocent in all this. If you go to the King, my Perri will die.
"You should have thought of that before committing treason." Ned took out his own sword. "You will follow me willingly or with a sword behind your back."
Someone new laughed at the open doorway. "So, this is how it ends. Ser Preston kills the Hand, and the war starts." Of course, it was the Kingslayer. He was becoming a constant presence in Ned's life, appearing from all shadows.
Ned had known something was wrong with the Kingslayer. During the past few weeks, the man kept staring out in space as if his mind was worlds away. Ned had kept telling himself that it did not matter; the inner workings of the Kingslayer's life mattered little to him. The Kingslayer's claims of being from the future were ludicrous.
"Please, Ser Jaime. I know you understand what we must do for our children. My Perri."
The Kingslayer laughed again. "Why didn't Bran just say it? I should have guessed. You are that short man."
To Ned's surprise, both Jory and Ser Preston chuckled. How could they just act like they were not in the middle of a conspiracy to murder children?
"Yes. I am a short man," Ser Preston stood straighter, trying to appear larger, and, of course, failing. "But I like to be an alive man. Can I propose a deal? I leave the Kingsguard and take Perri…"
"Is your daughter with the draper's wife named Perenna?" The Kingslayer interrupted. Ned motioned to Jory to apprehend the distracted man. Was the Kingslayer actually being helpful?
"Yes." Ser Preston glanced desperately at the Kingslayer. "Don't. For his sake."
"He should know. You know her father would want him to." The Kingslayer responded.
Jory easily tied up Ser Preston's hands; the man was completely focused on the Kingslayer.
"He wouldn't. He made me promise." Ser Preston was now begging.
"It might save your life." The Kingslayer pointed at his tied hands.
Ser Preston sniffed. "I promised Brandon."
Ned then recalled that the Kingslayer said something about Brandon a minute ago. Were both knights secretly friends with his older brother? They must be keeping a secret for him.
"It's on me then to share the great news," the Kingslayer said mockingly. "Congratulations, Stark, you have a bastard niece."