That night Sansa cried herself to sleep. She loved that wolf which was innocent of wrong doing yet had to pay the price. Serena had helped Ned give Lady a proper burial. It was wrong for Robert...Cersei to command the wolf be killed as it played no role in what happened to the Prince but it can not be undone now. It was hard to sleep that night hearing the cries of Sansa through the walls. Sleep did not come for Serena until sleep came to Sansa.

At first light the camp surrounding the Inn had been taken down and the ride south continued. It was a long ride and many were tired of riding especially those in the King's caravan who have been riding for months. One day they rode through rain soaking almost everyone through and giving a few a illness. It seemed like they would never arrive at Kings Landing.

After days of riding relief came when the top of the Red Keep came into view. The Northerners stared in awe at the massive city all except for Ned who had been there before. Wintertown was nothing compared to the size of Kings Landing. Winterfell much smaller than the palace of the King which stood hundreds of feet in the air Torrhen was amazed by the architecture of the old castle. He loved Winterfell as it was his home but this castle put all others to shame.

When they rode into the gate they were greeted by several members of the City Watch that were stationed there to protect the King and the new Hand as well as keep the peace. As Ned rode in they welcomed the Hand to Kings Landing. Everyone began dismounting their steeds as a man in service to the King approached informing Ned that a Small Council meeting had been called. He turned around looking to his family.

"Serena...Torrhen help Jory get the girls settled in. I will be up for supper."

Torrhen and Serena nodded as Ned turned around and walked with the man to the Small Council chambers. The pair helped Jory and a few other servants pick up and carry the girls trunks and escorted them to their chambers. Torrhen went with Arya while Serena and Jory stuck with Sansa. The trio got lost in the labyrinth known as the Red Keep. They ran into a soldier and were able to get directions to the Tower Of The Hand. Jory went to go see if Torrhen and Arya were able to find there way.

Serena helped Sansa unpack her thing and get all her gowns out and put away in the wardrobe. Once Sansa was settled in Serena made way back down to grab her own trunk and get her things unpacked. Once unpacked she looked around her room which was quite large. It had a large feather bed,a wardrobe, a mirror, a table, a wash basin, and a area where she could bathe. On the other side of the room there was a window where she could take in the view of the large city.

She strode over to the window and looked out the the large red sea of the Kings Landing. From up above all the people walking looked like little ants running around. Being this high almost scared the girl who had barely been this high off the ground. Considered most people have lived in the Red Keep for years if not their whole lives and they got used to it so perhaps she could too.

The heat was nearly torturing Torrhen who was of Northern blood and had almost never spent a day south of the Neck. He thanked the Gods for the flagon of water that was placed in the room before he arrived with his things. Arya seemed not to mind Kings Landing that much but was still upset and Sansa and the Queen over the incident at the Inn. Torrhen had felt a bit of fear for Ned as the Starks haven't had good luck in the south. He lucked out during the war being able to ride back to Winterfell in one piece but with the suspicious death of Jon Arryn there was fear he would meet the same fate.

He looked out the window on the city watched the little people carrying out their day to day life. It was amazing how mankind could build such amazingly tall buildings without them tumbling over. He admired the view for a moment before a knock came at the door from Septa Mordane announcing that supper was almost ready. He turned around and walked out from his chambers heading to the adequately named Small Hall which was the main hall of the Tower Of The Hand.

When he entered the room Sansa and Arya were already at the table with the younger of the two stabbing the table with a knife. Serena walked in behind him and took a look around the room. The pair went to the table and took a seat Torrhen sitting next to Sansa and Serena next to Arya. The food had been brought out by the time Ned returned from his small council meeting. He took a seat and the meal began.

"So how do you like the capital?" He asked.

"It's definitely not Winterfell." Serena replied.

Ned smiled.

"No but you will get used to it."

"I hope." She replied taking a sip of water.

Dinner continued and eventually Arya and Sansa left the table after finishing their meals. Septa Mordane cleaned up the table and made way to the kitchen where the plates would be cleaned. Ned cupped his face in his hands rubbing it before looking to his wards.

"How was the Small Council meeting?" Serena asked.

"Robert has managed to rack up millions in debt...he owes millions to the Iron Bank and millions to Tywin Lannister."

"How did Jon Arryn allow Robert to indebt the realm especially to Tywin Lannister?" Serena asked.

Serena had learned all about Tywin Lannister and he was not the man you wanted to be in debt to. He was a smart man and would use that debt to his advantage and would become the true power in Westeros if he isn't already. At this point the capital of Westeros may as well be moved to Casterly Rock and the crown laid upon Tywin Lannister's head.

"He tried to talk Robert out of spending so much but he didn't listen."

Ned was furious and was trying to hold it back. Not only did he have to keep Robert's spending in check but had to find a way to pay back Tywin Lannister and the Iron Bank the millions of gold they are owed. What didn't help was the King insisted on having a tournament that would cost thousands more no doubt being funded by Tywin Lannister putting the realm deeper into his pocket.

"Now." Ned said getting up from the table. "I have to go talk Robert out of this tournament. Remember to be careful we have come to a dangerous place."

The pair said goodbye to their adoptive father before he walked out of the room.

"None of this can be good." Torrhen said. "The realm in debt to Tywin Lannister,Jon Arryn dies, and someone tries to kill Bran...twice."

Torrhen was on to something. There was something off about Jon Arryn's death and then Bran's fall shortly after the Royal arrival. The air smelt of conspiracy but Serena couldn't say what it was just yet.

"No...if there is something more to Jon Arryn's death then meets the eye. If father looks deeper into it he could be putting himself in a bad spot especially here in Kings Landing."

The pair soon departed the room for their chambers to prepare for bed. Serena had changed into her night gown and was looking out the window that had a good view of the massive city that was much larger then that of Wintertown just outside of Winterfell. From all the way up here she could smell the shit and ale from the city. It was no Winterfell that was for could see all the torches that lined the streets and illuminated the many homes in the city. While doing her sightseeing a thought kept crawling back into her head. What was that feeling she felt back in Witnterfell?

That feeling hit her the moment Cersei exited her wheelhouse and it caught the girl off guard. Never before had the girl felt anything like what she did in that moment. Now it seemed like it wouldn't go away...it was indecipherable to the young woman. She became obsessed with figuring out what it was and getting to the bottom of its cause. Taking a deep breath she walked over to her bed laying down beneath the sheets and drifted off to a deep sleep.

Serena awoke to the banging on the door. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she slowly rose from the bed and walked over to the door. Upon opening it she saw her brother Torrhen standing on the other side of it with an inpatient look on his face.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Did you forget?"

"Forget what?"

"We are late for dinner with the King."

Shoot! She totally forgot the King invited them to dinner. She told Torrhen to stay there while she shut the door and changed into a clean pair of clothes and splashed her face with water to wake herself up. Once she looked decent she opened the door and waked with Torrhen to the Kings dining room. It took them a while to find the dining room and had to ask a guard where it was located. When they arrived they could hear the Kings booming laugh echoing down the hallway as he laughed at something that was said. They pushed the door open and Ned,Sansa, and Arya were already there. Robert was there of course along with Joffrey,Myrcella, and Tommen. Serena's eyes fell upon the golden haired woman sitting between Robert and Joffrey and that feeling from Winterfell returned. She stared at the Queen who noticed the gaze before her being brought back to reality by the King's voice.

"Thank the Gods your here...I almost had to eat my arm. Well what are you waiting for take a seat!"

The twins walked over taking a seat at the table. Serena was siting next to Ned and across from Cersei and Torrhen sat next to her. Robert screamed for his servants to bring in the food complaining that he was starving. Almost as soon as he finished speaking servants entered the room with platters of food covered with lids to keep it warm as they waited for everyone to arrive. The platters were placed on the table and the servants opened up the platters exposing a feast of ham,potatoes,and corn. The servants began taking food from the platters and filling up everyone's plates. They then filled up everyone's cup with wine and left the room leaving the group to their food.

Robert was the first to dig in grabbing the ham and attacking it like an animal. Cersei glared at Robert before picking up her utensils and slowly cutting at her food. Serena could feel the eyes of Prince Joffrey falling upon her...she couldn't decipher the golden haired boy. She didn't know if his stares were that of lust or that of hatred but she shrugged the off all the same.

"So how do you like Kings Landing." Cersei asked the twins breaking the awkward silence that filled the room.

"It's a lovely city." Serena replied. "It's much larger than Wintertown,"

"And a bit warmer." Torrhen added with a chuckle.

"Yes the climate is very different to that of the North."

Robert and Ned began to talk mostly about old war stories. They talked of the Rebellion and the Battle Of The Trident. Robert's laugh was louder than a baby's cry as it echoed off the walls as they went through their long list of stories.

"Remember the Siege of Pyke?"

"How could I forget." Ned replied.

"What a scrap...and Thoros of Myr charging through the breach waving his flaming sword."

The pair laughed as they looked back on the good old days. Serena and Torrhen love to hear war stories from Ned and Robert fishing together. Them and the other Stark children were raised on these stories of the friendship that brought down the greatest dynasty the world had ever seen. The Stark-Baratheon alliance is what has held this nation together after the Targaryens were gone. As they listened to the stories Serena felt another pair of eyes falling upon her. When she looked up her blue eyes caught Cersei's green ones staring right back at her. As soon as the Queen noticed the girl had turned to look at her she turned her attention to the plate of food that was sitting before her. Awhile later silence refilled the room as Ned and Robert ran out of stories to tell.

"So you've taken up swordsmanship?" Cersei asked Serena. "A very odd hobby for a woman."

"I have...I know ladies are meant to wear dresses and sew but none of that ever seemed to Internet me. I figure it wouldn't matter with me being of common birth."

Cersei smiled and sipped from her wine.

"She's quite good with a sword." Torrhen chimed in. "She could defeat Ser Arthur Dayne with a hand tied behind her back."

"Excuse my brother he has a tendency to over exaggerate things."

"Come on Serena don't sell yourself short...sadly Ser Arthur isn't here but we have the next best thing...take on the Kingslayer and you'd knock him into the dirt."

Cersei stayed silent on the comment. The dinner went on and Ned stood up long after the food and dessert was finished as it was getting late and Sansa and Arya should be getting to bed. Serena and Torrhen stood up and left with him thanking the King for his hospitality before heading out to their chambers. Having walked around a few times the Stark's were now more accustomed to the Red Keep and were able to more easily find their chambers.