Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun
Chapter One-Hundred and Three
The crown was resting on a plump pillow of red velvet, it was made from red gold and each of it's points was shaped into a dragon's head and each head had gemstone eyes, each a different sort. One head had rubies, another pearls, another emeralds, another amethysts. It was a fine crown, as much as Ned was as much a judge of that as he could but but he felt no desire to wear it.
He never had that desire and he was certain that he never would but the choice had been made for him and there was nothing he could do about it, it was his duty now and he had to face it as best as he could.
"I will never wear this." He spoke to Elia, who was standing at the other side of the small council chamber. As always, she looked beautiful. Dressed in a gown of red and orange silk with her black curls bound in a hair net which was studded with fire opals. Their daughter was in her arms, Rohanne was slumbering utterly ignorant of the world and all the more peaceful for it, in her tiny fist she clutched at a wolf doll that had been made out of the softest linen. "How could I? The man who wore it...I couldn't."
"They had to offer it to you." Elia spoke gently, stepping closer to him and reaching out with one hand to rest on his shoulder while holding the babe closer the other. "It's the way of it." Her gaze turned from him then to look at the crown. "Aerys wasn't the only to wear that crown, Aegon the Unworthy wore it as well. But so did Daeron the Good, who brought Dorne into the realm not with war and blood, but with understanding and peace. A crown is just a crown, it is the man who wears it that matters."
She was right, she tended to be. Ned reached his own hand up to take hers and brought it to his lips so he could kiss the back of it. "You're right, I know that you are but all the same I shall not wear this crown. It is a fine looking one, to be certain, but it is a crown for a Targaryen king. Not a Stark one." Ned laughed at that, the words sounded ridiculous to his ears. "There hasn't been a Stark king in almost three hundred years, and now there is to one ruling over Seven Kingdoms, gods help us all."
"We don't need the gods to help us." Elia said as she sat down next to him. "You will be a fine King, I have never been more certain of anything in my entire in my life. Westeros is lucky to have you, to have someone who can bind it's wounds together and soothe them. Viserys was too young and Rhaegar's children would have been naught but puppets for their Grandfather, you are who is needed now."
"It should have been Mya." It had been like a knife to the heart when the voting was done and less than a dozen people had stood with him, perhaps it had been foolish to hope for better than that but he had to try, hadn't he? House Baratheon had all but died out because of this war, it was in truth until Mya was legitimized, and at least part of that was Ned's fault. If he had not put the crown on Renly's head, would he still be alive now? If he had gone to Storm's End, then Robert might not have gone to King's Landing and then both Robert and Stannis might be alive as well.
In his mind, he knew that it wasn't really his fault and that even if he had gone to Storm's End instead of just sending Stannis then it was likely that he would not have been able to change Robert's mind away from the course that he had chosen for himself but getting his heart to understand that was what was the problem when it came to it and he did not think that he would ever be able to truly get to understand it.
"I told you that it wouldn't be." Elia said as she reached up to stroke his face, her delicate fingers running across his face and through his beard and seeing as it was just the two of them and their babe who would be to young to remember he leaned in to the touch and tried to forget everything else. "No one wanted to take the risk, I won't deny I am surprised that anyone voted with you at all."
Most of those that had been lords from the Stormlands, Robert's grandfather Eldron Estermont had been his greatest ally in the days leading up to the vote and he did not doubt that it had been more his influence than Ned's own that had got him those votes instead of his own efforts but it hadn't been enough. Another failure, he couldn't seem to stop collecting them.
"I may have got the most votes, but more people did not vote for me than did." Ned let out a heavy sigh at that. "Many more people will not be happy with my ascension to the throne, the law may be clear on the matter but if there is one thing that I have learned out of all this madness it is that the law can be disregarded at a whim and that even those that will follow it does not mean they have to do so happily, this has made us enemies that we could have avoided if we had just gone home."
"Ned, it had to be done." Elia spoke and her voice was delicate with hurt and for a moment Ned was certain that she was about to cry, and he never wanted her to cry for any reason but he certainly never wanted her to do so because of him. "I know you do not want it, but it was what had to be done. For the best for everyone, for all of Westeros."
Ned did not wish to go over this again, he would never come to see this as she saw it where apparently he was a fine choice to sit the Iron Throne. The awful truth of it was that it was done now and there was nothing to be done, Elia was right in that. He did not have to wear the crown that Aerys had but he had to wear a crown of his own, even if he wanted nothing less.
Ned let out a breath and sat up straight before he reached out to cup Elia's face between his hands, leaning into to press a kiss to her lips. "I know you are right, my Lady. The duty has fallen to me if I wish it or not, so there is not much point in complaining now. I have always done my duty, in this I shall do no different. And now I must leave you, I have things to see to."
Elia kissed him back and rested her forehead against his. "As do I, your coronation is taking a great deal to plan." Elia sniffed and rose to her feet, adjusting Rohanne in her arms and walked away from him, rocking their daughter as she went. "I will see you tonight, I hope."
"Of course." Ned smiled, even though he did not feel it, and rose to his feet and began to walk over to the door.
"Ned." His wife's voice made him turn back and he saw that Elia had cradled Rohanne close to her chest once again and with the other hand was running her fingers over one of the sculpted dragon heads of Aerys's crown. "What do you want done with this?"
"Put it in the vaults, maybe Torrhen will wear it one day." Gods above, Torrhen as a king. The last time that Ned had seen him he had been toddling towards him, dressed in enough furs to make him look like a bear cub and his little arms had wrapped around his neck so tightly that Ned had not wanted to make him let go and now as his eldest child he would sit the Iron Throne.
Ned took in a deep breath and tried not to think any more on that. "Or you can have it melted down if you wish, or sell it for coin. I honestly do not care, do as you wish for it all I know is that I will not be wearing it. I shall see you tonight my love, keep warm." And with that Ned turned on his feet and left the room, his footsteps echoing around him in the silence.
Sadly, the silence did not last long at all as he soon found himself surrounded by the vultures who called themselves the lords and ladies of King's Landing, but perhaps vultures was an unfair comparison and perhaps crows were a more apt comparison as they did seem to keep peeking at his skin, as crows would peek for corn out of a hand.
It occurred to him as he walked, making the odd polite noise in answer to one lord or the other's question or offer or beg or demand, that he would need to start walking with guards around him more often. Back at Winterfell guards had just been stationed at doors or walking around the walls, there had never been any need to have them follow him.
Perhaps it had been childish of him, but he had always felt safe in Winterfell. He supposed that one good thing about being King was that he was meant to have his own guard, but then on the other hand the Kingsguard was something of a ruin at the moment and being King meant that he was more likely to need guards than if he had just remained the heir to Winterfell.
He eventually made it to the King's solar, his solar now and he was certain that this had to be a nightmare, which he had ordered to have guards placed on it and he made certain that they were Stark guards as well and while he would never be comfortable with the idea that the solar was his he did find that he enjoyed the privacy and the silence of the room as a comfort, at least for the moment.
It would not last, of course. There was work to be done so he took a seat behind the desk and took a moment to gather himself before the meetings that he had already arranged would being, there were only two of them to be fair but he somehow doubted that there would be easy or free of complications as nothing else had been up to now.
Soon, those who would attend the first meeting arrived at the door and he called for the guards to allow them entrance. It was funny, considering that he had served with these men, and woman, on the regency council that he would know most of them better but there had been a war to win, he had never planned to stay on it and he had never wanted to be on it in the first place, meant that there was no time for pleasantries and learning more about them.
He wasn't ignorant as to who they were, of course. He knew all of their names but for most of them, when it came to what it was that they wanted and desired well, he knew next to nothing. Seeing Eldron Estermont walk in at least made him feel a little less like he was utterly adrift from any allies, as did seeing Mary Mertyns.
Alas, it seemed as if every sweet thing from this moment on would need to be paired with a sour as well. Neither of them looked well, they were both old people being trapped in Storm's End for the duration of the siege had clearly had an effect on them, they looked a great deal older than they had done and ill as well, the grand council and the travelling that needed to be done to reach King's Landing, even the relatively short distance, had done them no favours.
The others were lesser known to him but he know their names at the very least, Luke Morrigen was dressed in a sea green doublet with a cloak of crow feathers fixed to his shoulders, his face pale and hard. Tomas Penrose of Parchments was the youngest of them, but war had aged him as it had aged them all since the last time he had seen any of them.
Alesander Staedmon had a new scar that cross his right eye and and went down and across his right cheek, gained at the battle of the trident and left him blind in that eye as well. But still, his smile was bright and he jested quickly. And lastly there was Lord Selwyn Tarth of Tarth, who said little and seemed content to let others speak as he listened.
"I am glad that my lords could come, please be seated. There is wine." He spoke as he gestured at the flagon and the cups, solid gold and studded with amethysts. The opulence of the south on full display as ever, a single one of those cups could no doubt be used to pay a farmer for his labour for ten years and the king used them to drink wine out of.
It seemed that the others had no such thoughts as each took a cup which they filled with the pitcher, which of course was made from solid silver. "We thank you for the invitation, your Grace." Luke Morrigen spoke, his voice as sweet as a song as his deep green eyes narrowed at them. "But I think I speak for all us here gathered that we do have some confusion as to why we are here, you are certainly not in need of a single regent, let alone a council of them."
"Indeed, I am not." Though the night before he did have a moment of madness where he had considered appointing such a council to rule while he ran all the way back to Winterfell, it had only been for a moment and even in that moment he had known that it was nonsense but that still had not stopped him thinking from it. "But I think the council does still have some use, if not for me."
"Then what?" Lady Mary Mertyn spoke, her voice brittle and giving him the impression of a stick that could snap into two pieces if even the slightest of pressure was applied to it.
"Mya."
"What about the girl?" Alesander said after he had finished his first goblet of wine and reached out for the pitcher to fill his cup again. "She's served her role, surely? It was quite a good ploy of course, bringing her here and supporting her and voting for her yourself so none could accuse you of wanting the throne for yourself, a masterstroke when it comes to the game."
It took Ned a moment to understand what the other man was actually saying to him and when he did, he frowned. "My Lord, it was no ploy. I intended for Mya to have the throne, the rebellion was fought in Renly's name and as she was the last that I knew that had any Baratheon blood I fought for her to be elected and legitimised. I did not do so because I could look better before taking the throne, I never wanted it in the first place."
"Of course you didn't, your Grace." The other man was not even attempting to hide the fact that he did not believe him and as Ned took a moment to glance at all of the faces that had gathered on the other side of the desk it was clear that most of them did not believe him either, only Eldron seemed to know that he was speaking the truth and that no doubt because Ned had told him so as they had worked to get Mya those votes.
"Regardless of what any of you think, that does not change the truth of the matter." Ned began again as he tried to call up a bit of his Father and to put him into his voice. "Which is why I come to the matter of Mya, and to the matter of Storm's End as well. I still fully intend to legitimise Mya and make her a Baratheon, which makes her the heir to the castle and all it's lands, and the Stormlands proper."
Both Morrigen and Staedmon looked furious, he wonder how many more lords in the Stormlands were already starting to press their claims to the castle, how many were looking back into the lineage to see if they could find a strong enough tie to House Baratheon to claim the castle for their own. A great prize indeed, not one at all to be sneered at.
Mertyns, Estermont and Tarth were all silent, waiting for him to continue. "I can imagine what you are thinking, my Lord." He spoke, turning his gaze on to Alesander. "You think that I have snatched Storm's End away from you, that I have only given Mya a true name so that when she is finally old enough she can marry one of my sons and then I can have Storm's End via that. Well, allow me to prove you wrong."
"For that is why you all are gathered now, to be her regents. Her protectors. Her guardians. And who she marries will be your decision." Ned keep his gaze firmly on Alesander than as he spoke. "I do not do this for plotting, I do not do this because I am hungry for power. I do this now because it is the right thing to do, Mya will be a Baratheon and it is a Baratheon who will rule Storm's End."
"The girl will spend two and half months out of every year at each your keeps, you will raise her together." Ned spoke firmly to all of her then. "You will then decide, by a unanimous vote who the girl will marry. I will however, maintain a royal veto." It looked like all of them were going to complain then but he would not allow them to speak. "I've known the girl since she was in her swaddling, Robert and I would visit her when we were down from the Eyrie and she pulled on the first beard I ever grew. I will not have her be wed to someone unworthy of her."
"Your Grace, I thank you for this honour and privilege." Eldron started, he was clutching at the carved stick in his hands so tightly that his knuckles were white and his eyes were wet. "And I thank you all the more, for not allowing House Baratheon to slip into the dark. Robert...held not much love for Renly or Stannis, it was not something that endeared me to him. But he spoke well of you, it seemed at times that he had all the love for you that he never truly had for them. I am glad to see that it was not misplaced, at least."
"Thank you, my Lord." Ned spoke and did not trust him to say anything else, he hoped that Robert was pleased wherever he was, if he was anywhere and not just...gone. Ned followed the old gods and they were always so vague, all people had ever said when they died was that they went to be with the gods but even now he had no idea what that meant.
When it came to the Seven, Ned had even less of an idea. He know that there were meant to be seven heavens but he had no idea what they were like or what sent you to which one, when he had been younger he considered that each heaven was ruled by one of the seven faces that Mothers went to the heaven ruled by the mother and warriors went to the heaven that was ruled by the Warrior, but as he got older it was clear that made no sense. If a warrior could be a Father and a Crone could be a Mother then who determined which one they would end up in.
He found himself thinking what the perfect heaven for Robert would be, he would be on horseback with a crossbow in one hand and a horn of ale in the other, a pretty maiden in his lap as he chased down a stag or a boar or something like that. He would be young and strong there forever, firmly muscled and eyes as blue as a mountain lake for the rest of time.
Perhaps it was childish to hope for that, but until Ned knew different that was where he would think that Robert was, that was where he would keep him.
He dismissed the lords and lady and the council departed with the pleasantries and titles and once they were gone Ned slumped into his chair and shut his eyes, that had probably gone better than he had hoped or expected but it still felt like his head was about to explode. Why Elia honestly thought that he could do this, he would never understand.
He wished that he could depend on Jon, but he couldn't even do that. After the day that the vote had decided that the crown would fall on his head Ned had invited Jon to his chambers and he had offered the title of Hand of the King to him but Jon had declined it right there and then. He had made it clear that the position of Hand had to be given to Hoster Tully, that if anything else went wrong or they took anything else away from him then they would make him an enemy and they did not need any more.
"I do not want to marry a woman that is young enough to be my daughter, nor one that was wed to my own nephew who already has a child." Jon sighed then and ran a hand over his eyes. "But life is never about what we want Ned, it is about what must be done. So much of this...I could never have expected, but we must make the best of it where we can and limit the damage where we can not."
Ned dismissed the memory with a shake of his hand and reached out for a golden goblet and a silver pitcher and filled it with wine that was probably more expensive than half Flea Bottom put together and drank deep from the cup, he was on his own with no duties to perform and if he wanted a moment to stew in his own misery then he would do so and have no man tell him different.
He was the king, after all.
But when the next knock at the door came he finished the wine and put the goblet down and gave the command for the door to be opened and all three men walked into the room, they did not wear their white armour or their white cloaks but that did not stop the three of them from looking any less like ghosts, any less like the ruins of men.
He focused his attention on Ser Barristan first, the man held his head up high and out of the three of them he was certainly the only one who could do so. He may have been on the losing side of the war but he had held true to his vows to the end, he had stayed by his king and had done all that he had asked of him. Ned respected him, he could say no more than that.
Ser Lewyn looked the worst out of them, the man was gaunt and had heavy bags under his eyes. He had turned on his men in the middle of a battle and had cut them down in order to reach the other side, was it craven? Was it a just payback for what Aerys had made him do, making him a butcher? Ned wasn't sure, but he was his wife's uncle and Elia had not pleading for mercy for him.
And then, there was Ser Jaime.
He wanted to punch the man in the face, he wanted to wrap his hands around his throat and squeeze until he heard a crack. He wanted to do all of that, and the worst thing of it was that he could do it. He was the King, who could tell him no now?
And was that the thought that Aerys had first before he became a monster.
"Many are expecting me to have your heads on spikes above the city walls before the week is done." Ned sighed and then rose from where he was sitting, his arse had gone numb and his legs were begging to be used. "And I could do that, if I wished to do so but the truth of it is that your deaths solve nothing and in all likelihood would cause more problems than they would solve."
"Ser Barristan." The Bold straightened his back and raised his shoulders. "All men, be they high or low, speak well of you. You are a good man, honest and true and your only crime as I can see it is to be true to your vows, to be loyal. That is not a crime that I shall ever punish with death, you are forgiven Ser and welcomed back into the King's Peace and if you would consider it, I would bind you to your vows again and name you Kingsguard."
"My Lor-Your Grace, I mean." Ser Barristan stuttered and then caught hold of his words once again. "Your compassion is well reaching and the honour you do me is great, I accept it whole heartedly and will guard your back and keep your secrets."
"I am glad, I imagine we shall have to do some official ceremony at a later date." Of course they would have to, who was he to think anything that anything could be done simply and quickly to get it over with. "Ser Barristan, I would not like to speak to Ser Lewyn and Ser Jaime on my own, if I might. The guards will escort you back to your chambers and I will make it clear to the guards later you are to have your freedom returned to you."
"Of course, your Grace." Barristan bowed and then looked at the men who had both been his sworn brothers. Ned didn't know what to make of the look but it only lasted for a moment as soon enough Ser Barristan spun on his feet and marched out of the room, the door was not slammed but even closing normally it seemed to be the loudest noise that Ned had ever heard.
Then it was just the three of them.
"Neither of you will serve on the Kingsguard, I shall make that clear at the start." Ned began as he glanced at Lewyn and then at Jaime, his hands clenching into fists as he looked into Jaime's green eyes as he smirked back at him. "I can not trust men who would break their vows, those words you speak...I expect them to be more, I expect the many who follow me to stick by their word even when it is hard to do."
"So I should have let Aerys live then?" Ser Jaime asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "The man burned men alive for fun and burned children because they stole bread from the kitchens, you would have killed him yourself."
"I was not sworn to follow him, and I note that you only chose to kill him when there was an army at the gates." That knocked him off his balance and that damned smirk fell away.
"I killed him because of the wildfire."
"Perhaps. But would you have killed him then and there if it had been my army in the streets and not your Fathers?" This was getting them nowhere, quickly. So Ned sat back down and looked up at them. "I can not trust your words, and so then I must trust something else."
"And what would that be?" Ser Lewyn asked, sounding more tired in that moment than any other man that Ned had met.
"Love." Both men looked confused then and Ned carried on. "You both love Elia, I know it." Jaime Lannister opened his mouth and Ned held up his hand. "If you say anything right now I will smash your head into the stones."
"Elia is your niece, I know that I could trust in you to protect her." He turned his eyes to look at Jaime. "I know that you are in love with her, I knew that the day in White Harbour when I went to speak to you. Do not deny it, I already know you are a liar. I do not need any more proof than I already have done."
"Your Grace, I am afraid that I do not understand." Ser Lewyn began then, stepping closer. "It is the duty of the kingsguard to protect the King's wife and children, you wish us to do this and for us not to be part of the guard."
"How well did the Kingsguard protect Queen Rhaella?" Both of their faces dropped in shame then and Ned nodded. "I would rather carve my heart out of my chest than hurt Elia, but a crown can change a man? Aerys did not start out burning men, did he? I will not allow the risk. A Queensguard will be formed and it will be loyal only to the Queen, you are to protect her and follow her commands to the letter."
"And you really want a man you just said that you know is in love with your wife around her all the time?" Jaime said and his smirk had returned at full force. "That does not seem to be the brightest idea you've ever had, your Grace."
"No, I trust my wife. And I know for a fact that the only way you would ever wind up in her bed is you forced yourself on to her and if you ever, ever, did that...well, since the day at White Harbour I've thought a thousand, thousand ways for you to die." Ned's voice had fallen to a whisper as he leaned forward, placing his hands on his desk and smiling so he could show all of his teeth. "Would you like to know my favourite?"
"I don't think that will be needed, your Grace." Lewyn stepped forward, and for the first time in months it seemed something like a bit of colour had returned to his cheeks. "I thank you for this mercy you have show and I accept it with grace, I imagine that it will not be only the two of us and the Queensguard will also be made up of seven sworn brothers as well."
"Indeed, and with needing to rebuild the Kingsguard there will be plenty of sworn brothers to go around." Ned sighed and then turned his attention fully back on to Jaime. "And you?"
Jaime was quiet and Ned wondered if he was weighing his limited options, Ned knew he could not kill him but Jon had also advised him to do all he could not to give him back to Lord Tywin either. "Fine."
"Good, now leave me please." Ned spoke and then slumped back down into the chair once they had gone, he thought to have another cup of wine but of course the pitcher was empty now.
One day down, only another lifetime to go. What a joy.
End of Chapter One-Hundred and Three
Another chapter done and the next one will be the corination, probably from Jaime's perspective but I am debating it being from Elia's. We will see.
Anywho, as ever I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will consider giving it a review, a follow and a favourite.
With lots of love and deepest regards,
DiscordantSymphony