Everyone looked at Arya as she opened the book. While Jon was somewhat disappointed by Lady Stark giving the book to Arya after he volunteered, he wasn't entirely surprised. He had long ago accepted that she would never be fair with him. Her attitude where he was concerned was a big part of the reason he wanted to leave Winterfell. Jon loved his father and siblings, but Lady Stark had always gone out of her way to make him feel unwelcome. As though Winterfell wasn't his true home.
Jon pulled himself together as Arya spoke.
"This chapter is from your point of view, Father," she said eagerly.
Jon couldn't help but feel curious. What would his father's chapter be like? Jon may have been curious, but Ned himself was suddenly apprehensive. What if someone had found out the truth? Would he still be able to keep his secrets, secret? He had no idea, and he was frightened. There was a reason he had kept his secrets for this long.
The visitors are pouring through the gates in a river of polished steel, three hundred bannermen, knights, sworn swords and freeriders.
Ned found himself relaxing slightly. So this was the day the king arrived at Winterfell. Perhaps he would be able to keep his secrets after all. Perhaps whoever had sent these books wasn't as infallible as they had thought.
Over their heads flew a dozen golden banners emblazoned with the stag of the Baratheons. Ned knows many of the riders, such as Ser Jaime Lannister and Sandor Clegane, with his burnt face.
Bran looked up interestedly at that. He had never met anyone famous before and the Kingslayer definitely counted as famous. He wanted to be a knight in the Kingsguard one day, but he wanted to be a knight like Ser Barristan the Bold. Not one like the Kingslayer. Even at seven, Bran knew that the Kingslayer was not a good person. Bran hoped that Ser Barristan would also come to Winterfell. Meeting him would be a dream come true.
The tall boy could only be the crown prince and the stunted little man could only be Tyrion Lannister the Imp.
Predictably, Sansa's eyes light up at the mention of the prince. Robb and Jon notice and roll their eyes. If their father did agree to marry Sansa to the prince, she would likely become insufferable.
Yet the huge man at the head of the column, flanked by two knights of the Kingsguard, seems a stranger to Ned until he jumps off his horse with a roar and pulls him into a bone-crunching hug.
This pulls Ned up short. Why on earth would the king seem like a stranger? What on earth had happened since he had last seen Robert? None of this was making any sense.
The king shouts that it is good to see Ned's frozen face again and looks him over. Robert, laughing, says that Ned hasn't changed at all.
This time it was Catelyn's turn to be surprised. She knew, of course, that Ned had long been friends with the king. But all the same, it seemed beneath his great kingly honour to greet someone so… familiarly. So commonly.
Ned wishes that he could say the same. Fifteen years before when they had fought for the throne, the Lord of Storms End had been clean shaven, towering over everyone at six and a half feet tall, muscled like a maiden's fantasy. He'd had the strength of a giant with his formidable war hammer and the scent of blood and leather clung to him like perfume.
Now it was perfume that clung to him like perfume and his girth matched his height. Ned hadn't seen Robert since Balon Greyjoy's rebellion nine years before and Ned had taken Balon's only living son, Theon, as a ward and hostage.
Robb flinched at the mention of his best friend. He hated thinking of his friend as a hostage, even though he knew it to be true.
The king appeared to have gained at least eight stone since then, and a beard covered his jaw to hide the double chin and sagging jowls. But nothing could hide his enormous stomach or dark circles under his eyes.
Ned froze, staring in absolute horror. What the hell had happened to his friend? What could possibly have changed in the last nine years?
Yet Robert was Ned's king now, not just a friend, so he only said, "Winterfell is yours, your grace."
By now, others in the royal entourage were also dismounting, and Robert's queen, Cersei Lannister, and her younger children were entering on foot. Their wheelhouse was too large to fit through the gates.
Sansa smiled dreamily at the first mention of the queen. "I am so looking forward to meeting the queen," she said in a sing-song voice. "I wish they were coming tomorrow!"
Robb and Jon exchanged glances, disgusted, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. Here it goes already…
Ned kneels in the snow to greet Cersei while Robert embraces Catelyn like a sister. The children are then brought forward and introduced. No sooner than the greetings are over than Robert asks Ned to take him down to the crypts as he wishes to pay his respects.
Getting over his shock, Ned smiled slightly. Robert's devotion to Lyanna after all these years warmed his heart.
Ned loves him for remembering her still after all these years and calls for a lantern. The queen protests, saying that the dead will wait, but falls silent at a look from Robert and follows her twin inside.
They descend the stairs to the crypts together, Ned and the king he barely recognizes. Robert complains that he thought that they would not reach Winterfell. He forgets that the North is as big as the other six Kingdoms combined.
A part of Catelyn was wishing that he wouldn't reach Winterfell at all. As much as she didn't want to believe that these books were real, something truly horrific must happen in the future to cause them to be sent in the first place. She could not help but feel that this royal visit was the beginning of the end for her family.
Ned asks if he enjoyed the journey and Robert tells of the bogs, forests and fields and that there was hardly any inns north of the Neck. Everything is so empty and there were hardly any people. Ned jests that they were too shy to come out – kings are a rare sight in the North.
Robert then brings up the snow, and if these are mild summer snows, he shudders to think of this place in winter.
Ned and Maester Luwin look serious at hearing these words. Even now they had to be preparing for winter. A long summer usually meant an extremely long winter, and now they knew the Others were real as well, to boot.
Robert tells him that he should come south, to taste the fruits of Highgarden, and to see the towns. With flowers and markets, cheap summer wines and the girls. He says women loose all modesty in the heat, often swimming naked in the river or wearing short silk gowns. He laughed happily.
Sansa's eyes widen in a mixture of shock and disgust at hearing the king discuss such things so openly. Shouldn't he be setting a better example for his people? If Sansa is being honest, he doesn't sound like the kind of king she has always dreamt of and she feels ill at the thought. Kings and princes were meant to be good people! They weren't meant to talk about things like that!
Robert Baratheon has always been a man with big appetites, who knew how to take his pleasures, which is not something that you could accuse Eddard Stark of.
At this Catelyn is forced to bite her lip in order to stop herself from making a sarcastic or spiteful comment and contents herself with glaring at Jon, who pointedly ignored her.
Yet Ned can't help but notice that these pleasures are now taking a toll on Robert, that he is red-faced and out of breath by the time they reach the bottom of the stairs.
Ned is shocked by the mention. He'd already gathered that his old friend was now desperately unhealthy, but had he really let himself deteriorate to the point that he couldn't walk down a single flight of stairs without being out of breath?
Ned sweeps the lantern in a semicircle to light the crypts and tells Robert that she is down the end, with Father and Brandon. He leads the way through the pillars and Robert followed silently, shivering. The statues of the Lords of Winterfell seemed to watch them pass.
An iron longsword lay across the lap of all who had been Lord of Winterfell to keep the spirits in the crypts. The oldest swords had long ago rusted away.
Ned stops at last, lifting the lantern. The crypt continued on into darkness, but those tombs were empty, waiting for Ned and his children. Ned does not like to think of that. He shows Robert the tomb.
By this point, most of them had bowed their heads out of respect for the dead relatives they had never met. Arya's voice turned sad, wishing she could have met them. She thought she would have liked Aunt Lyanna. Going by the stories Father told, it sounded like they were a lot alike.
Robert nodded silently, knelt, and bowed his head. The three tombs were side by side. Ned's father, Lord Rickard Stark, had a long, stern face. The stonemason had known him well. He sat with quiet dignity, holding his sword.
Brandon had been twenty when he died, strangled on the orders of the Mad King, merely days before he was to wed Catelyn Tully. His father had been forced to watch him die. He had been the true heir of Winterfell.
Catelyn shifted in her seat, uncomfortable. It was rare for someone to mention Brandon these days, let alone mention the fact that they had been betrothed, even though it was common knowledge. She wished that her children didn't have to learn this tragic family history, but fortunately they seemed to be bearing up well so far.
Lyanna had been only sixteen. Ned had loved her with all his heart. Robert had loved her more. Lyanna and Robert had been betrothed.
All of the children were listening avidly. They all knew their family history well, but it was rare for them to hear their father talk about it so unflinchingly.
After a silence the king says that she was even more beautiful than the statue shows. He stands and says in a voice that is hoarse with grief that she shouldn't have buried in a place like this. That she deserved more than darkness.
Ned replies that this is her place as a Stark of Winterfell. Robert thinks that she should be on a hill with a fruit tree, under the sky and clouds, with rain to wash her clean.
Ned reminds Robert that he was with Lyanna when she died and that she wanted to rest beside Father and Brandon. He could hear her still at times, crying Promise me, Ned.
Ned paled in shock at that. While he hadn't expected this to be in the book, this was what he had been afraid of, in part, at least. Noticing her father's distraction, Arya asked if he wanted her to stop, but he forced himself to pull himself together and told Arya to continue.
Watching Ned with concern, Maester Luwin frowned in concern. His reaction seemed to be about more than what was in the book. Luwin could not help but wonder what possibly could have caused such an unusual reaction in the lord of Winterfell. What king of secrets could he possibly be keeping from the rest of his family? There was certainly a mystery here, and the Maester was determined to find out what.
Lying in a room that smelled of blood and flowers, the fever had taken her strength, but after he had given his sister his word, the fear had left her eyes. Ned remembers her smile and her fingers clinging to his as she had let go of life. He remembered nothing after that.
Listening, Sansa felt shaken up. She had never much thought about the brother and sister her father had lost, and listening now, she couldn't even begin to imagine what he had gone through. Sansa might not be close to all of her siblings, but she couldn't begin to imagine losing any of them.
They found him holding her body and the crannogman Howland Reed had taken her hand from Ned's. Ned says now that he brings her flowers when he can as she was… fond of flowers.
Touching the statue, Robert says that he vowed to kill Rhaegar for what he did to her. Ned reminds him that he did. But Robert says bitterly that he did only once.
Robert and the Targaryen prince had come together at the ford of the Trident with the battle raging around them. Rhaegar's black breastplate was covered in rubies and Robert's great warhammer had crushed the armour and the chest beneath it. When Ned came on the scene, Rhaegar lay dead in the river, rubies knocked free of his armour.
By this point Bran was feeling somewhat uncomfortable. His father had never talked much about the Rebellion, and hearing such a graphic description of the prince's death unsettled him. But he attempted to comfort himself with the knowledge that the man had deserved to die after what he had done to Aunt Lyanna.
Robert admits that in his dreams he kills Rhaegar every night. A thousand deaths will still be less than he deserves.
There is nothing Ned can say to that and after a while tells his Grace that they should return as Robert's wife will be waiting
Ned can't help but be relieved that this part of the chapter was over. He most certainly hadn't enjoyed reliving the past.
Robert is unhappy about this, but makes for the stairs. He tells Ned not to call him 'Your Grace' again if he doesn't want his head on a spike. They are more to each other than that.
Ned replies that he has not forgotten and asks Robert to tell him about Jon.
Robb looks confused at that. "Why would you be asking the king to tell you about your own son, Father?" he asked.
"I think he's talking about Lord Arryn, Robb," Jon quickly responded before Ned could, making Bran and Arya laugh.
Robb mumbles that he's sorry, somewhat relieved that some of the tension in the room had lifted. What no one except for Maester Luwin noticed was Catelyn's scowl.
Robert shakes his head. He has never seen a man sicken so quickly. At the tourney for Joffrey's name day, he was perfectly healthy – a fortnight later he was dead. The illness was like a fire, burning through him.
He pauses and says that he loved that man. Ned responds that they both did. He tells Robert that Catelyn grieves for her sister and asks how Lysa is bearing her grief.
Catelyn lets out a deep breath, beyond grateful that Ned is asking after her sister. She wishes that she could be with her sister now, not stuck at Winterfell, waiting for the king to arrive.
Robert says that she isn't taking it well, and thinks that she has possibly been driven mad. She has taken her son back to the Eyrie against his wishes. Against Robert's wishes. He wanted the boy to foster with Tywin Lannister. Ned would rather entrust a child to be raised by viper pits than Lord Tywin—
Arya laughs at this before returning to the book.
but chooses not to say anything. Some old wounds never truly heal, but carefully says that the wife has lost her husband. Perhaps the mother feared to lose her child. The boy is still very young.
Catelyn's brows rise at this. That didn't sound like the sister she knew. Lysa wouldn't never have left King's Landing for the Eyrie, for she had never been happy there. Why had she not gone home to Riverrun? Their father and brother would have welcomed her with open arms. Why hadn't she come to her, to Winterfell? Had Lysa truly changed so very much? Had she truly changed beyond all recognition?
Robert is annoyed that a sickly six-year-old is now Lord of the Eyrie now. The boy would have been Lord Tywin's first ever ward, and so Lysa should have been honoured, but had refused to even consider the offer. Cersei was furious when Lysa left in the middle of the night.
Catelyn can't help but be shocked that her sister left in the capital in the night. Perhaps, she concluded, that the King was right and the grief had driven her mad. With a brief shake of her head, Catelyn dismissed the thought. She knew her sister better than anyone. Lysa was most certainly not mad.
The boy is the king's namesake. Robert Arryn. He wants to protect the boy. Ned offers to take the boy as a ward, as Lysa and Catelyn were close as girls, but Robert does not want to wound Tywin Lannister's pride.
Ned says that his nephew's wellbeing is more important than a Lannister's pride. Robert responds that is because he doesn't have to sleep with a Lannister. He laughs and says that Ned is too serious. Robert says that there is a reason he has come to Winterfell after so many years.
"So now we get to the bones of it," Ned said, nodding. He thought he knew what was about to happen, but didn't say anything, lest he be wrong. Maester Luwin, on the other hand, simply looked suspicious.
Ned does have suspicions, but lightly says that Robert came for the joy of his company and to see the Wall.
However Robert interrupts Ned, saying that the Wall has stood for eight thousand years. It will wait a few more days. He has more pressing concerns. These are difficult times and he needs good men around him. Jon Arryn will not be easy to replace – he was Lord of the Eyrie, Warden of the East and the Hand of the King.
Ned asks of Jon's son, but Robert says that the boy will succeed his father as Lord of the Eyrie. No more.
Shock rippled around the room. None of them could recall the last time a Lord of the Seven Kingdoms had been stripped of half his titles. What on earth was Robert thinking? Ned is sure he will be able talk Robert out of it.
Shocked, Ned stops walking and stares. He reminds his king that the Arryns have always been Wardens of the East. The title goes with the domain.
Robert replies that the title can be restored when he comes of age. A six-year-old child is not a war leader. Ned urges his friend to let the boy keep the title for his father's sake. In peacetime a title is only an honour. Robert disagrees, but changes the subject.
Catelyn smiles at Ned in gentle gratitude. She wishes that Robert had changed his mind, but is grateful that Ned has tried nonetheless. All for her sake, no doubt. Ned, however, is feeling increasingly uncomfortable.
Robert tells Ned that he has need of him. Ned automatically says that he is Robert's to command, though he is apprehensive of what may come next.
Robert wants Ned by his side again, in King's Landing, not up here where he is of no use to anyone. Sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning it. Robert finds laws tedious and thinks counting money is worse. He feels he is surrounded by flatters and fools and it drives him mad. Ned quietly says that he understands.
Robert looks at Ned and tells him that he would name him Hand of the King.
Silence reverberated around the room as everyone took in that last statement. Arya and Bran are both vehemently opposed to their father leaving Winterfell to live in King's Landing. He needs to stay in Winterfell! Especially now.
"It is a great honour," Robb attempted to explain to his brother and sister. He was trying to see it from both points of view, but believed it to be an honour that could not be turned down.
Sansa is particularly excited about moving to the capital and living in a palace. Jon, on the other hand, silently worried about what Lord Stark leaving Winterfell meant for his own future.
In an effort to get the children to calm down, Maester Luwin finally stated that no decisions will be made until they have at least finished the first book, causing Ned to throw him a grateful smile.
Catelyn, on the other hand, was beginning to grow pissed off. The Hand of the King was the second most powerful person in the Seven Kingdoms. It was the honour of a lifetime to be offered the post. How could Ned not see that?
Ned drops to one knee, unsurprised by the offer. What other reason could Robert have for coming so far? The Hand of the King was the second most powerful person in Westeros. Ned knows that Robert is offering him a responsibility as large as the Seven Kingdoms. It is the last thing in the world that he wants. He tells Robert that he is not worthy of the honour.
Robert groans in good-natured impatience. He doesn't want to honour Ned, but rather have him run the Kingdoms for him while he ate and drank his way into an early grave. He jokes that the lowborn have a saying about the King and his Hand – the King eats and the Hand takes the shit.
Sansa belched in horror. This man is not what she ever expected a king to be like! How could he say things like that? Not only was he fat and ugly, but a truly horrible person! Kings were meant to be good and kind and just, and this man was so far proving himself to be the opposite of what a king was meant to be!
Robert throws back his head, his laughter echoing off the walls of the crypts and the dead seem to watch with cold disapproval. Ned is still on one knee. Robert tells him that he could at least give him a smile. Ned says evenly that perhaps the Starks have so little humour because of the Northern winter.
Robert promises that he can teach Ned to laugh again if he comes South with him. They were meant to rule together. If Lyanna had lived, they would have been brothers, bound by blood as well as friendship. He goes on to say that it is not too late, that he has a son and Ned has a daughter.
This is exactly the moment that Sansa has lived for. She sits up eagerly, staring at her father as she waited for her annoying little sister to say the words that she has dreamt off her entire life. What girl didn't want to be a princess? A queen? Her horror of a few moments before is forgotten.
Robb and Jon merely roll their eyes at Sansa's antics.
Joffrey and Sansa will unite their houses as Robert and Lyanna were once supposed to.
Sansa squealed. "Please say yes, Father! You have to say yes! You have to! Please!"
"I won't be making any decisions until after we have read more of the book, Sansa," Ned said sternly, making Sansa pout.
Ned is surprised by the offer and points out that Sansa is only eleven. Robert refutes this by saying that she is old enough to be betrothed. The wedding can wait a while. He tells Ned to stand up and say yes.
Ned hesitates. The offers Robert has made are very unexpected. He asks for time to discuss them with Catelyn first. Robert agrees as he pulls Ned to his feet. But he also tells Ned not to wait very long, as he is not a patient man.
For a moment Eddard Stark is filled with a terrible sense of foreboding. This is his place – here in the North. He looked at the stone figures around him and could feel the eyes of the dead. They were all listening, he knew. And winter was coming.
"That's the end of the chapter," Arya said with relief as she put the book down.
"While the chapter was very informative, I don't believe it would be a good idea to make any decisions just yet," Maester Luwin said.
"Why?" Sansa almost whined. "Why can't you just say yes now?"
Ned sighed. "By the time we've halfway through the book, we'll have a better idea of what is going on. We'll know more about Joffrey by then surely. I'll know whether or not he's worthy of you."
At this Sansa looked like she was about to burst into tears. Catelyn wrapped her daughter in her arms as she glared at her husband.
"Now, I think it's time we started the next chapter," Maester Luwin said. "Bran, I think it's your turn to read."
Bran perked up eagerly as he reached for the book.
