Much like the many times Jaime Lannister did something horrendous in the future, he was attacked for this as well. But it was not Ned who pinned him down this time, nor was it Robert, or Brandon, or Rickard.
It was Robb.
Young fourteen-year-old Robb.
Who took advantage of his size and speed.
Lannister would have reacted and thrown the boy before he collided against him. But he had not seen the boy, he had not seen the threat.
Jaime toppled over with Robb on top of him, the chair he was sitting on hitting the ground with a cracking bang.
"First you try to kill my brother and now you try to kill my father?!" Robb was furious, each word punctuated with a punch to the face. He could hit hard for a fourteen-year-old, perks of being young and angry and still not knowing the limits of his body.
Sadly for him, the one he was attacking was someone older than him, experienced in combat and at times highly volatile.
Jaime punched him in the side hard enough to make Robb breathless. That was all the pause he needed to punch the boy in the face and fling Robb off of his body.
Jaime stood over the fallen boy and kicked him in the side once before hoisting him to his feet by the collar.
"Go run back to your father" he whispered before shoving the boy away. Then his eyes turned to Ned Stark, who was livid and charging towards him. "What happened to not judging someone for crimes they are yet to commit? Or is it reserved for dumb decisions your wife makes that jeopardize the safety of your family?"
Ned Stark stopped, but the anger never left his eyes. It only got more vivid when Jaime smirked at him.
"We will be taking a break" Jon Arryn declared calmly. "Ned, Robert, you are both coming with me."
Jon Arryn walked and the two followed. And following those two went Catelyn, Brandon, Lyanna, Renly and Stannis.
"Boys" Joanna Lannister spoke sternly before she too began to walk, followed by both of her sons.
"Come on" Jon Snow grabbed Robb's shoulder. "I'd like to discuss what we've seen so far," he said out loud. "Lady Margaery, Princess Daenerys, would you like to join us?"
Robb stared dumbly at Jon, his jaw slightly gaping. "I didn't know you could talk to women."
Jon whacked him on the arm.
"Of course, Jon" Margaery smiled and internally Jon was glad that she had not used his other name as well.
Daenerys stared at Jon before turning to her brother. But it was her good sister who gave her the reassurance. Daenerys nodded and followed the other three.
"Elia-"
"Jon Snow is the last person you should be afraid of here" the woman huffed softly. Then she turned to her brothers. "I wish to talk to you two as well."
Doran nodded and Elia led the way, Oberyn pushing the chair with Doran sitting in it to follow her.
**With Jon Arryn and Group**
Everyone present was tense the moment they'd walked into the chambers Jon Arryn resided in, so much like his old chamber from the Vale. It brought back a lot of good memories for the old man.
But reminiscing was off the table for now.
"Daenerys Targaryen," Jon said evenly.
"Needs to die" Robert said with venom in his voice.
"Why?"
"You heard why, Jon! If the girl births a boy then there'd be war! People will flock to her and her horde of Dothrakis!"
"Do you believe it? Or do you wish for that to be the case so you might justify killing more Targaryens?"
Robert's face reddened in anger. Jon's eyes turned cold and detached.
"Do not make that face with me, boy" Jan snapped, the tone very reminiscent of the one he used during Robert and Ned's fostering days when either of them did something to displease him.
Robert and Ned both flinched.
"The Dothraki are only a threat the moment they cross the narrow sea. And they will do no such thing unless we instigate something" Jon said calm and cold. "Daenerys Targaryen lost all credibility the moment she was married off to a Horse Lord savage. She is not a threat to any of us" A pause, "Viserys Targaryen on the other hand is. He is wild, problematic and unpredictable. Killing him is necessary."
The room murmured their consent.
"And Ned, I taught you better than this" Jon Arryn's voice was not laced with anger, but with disappointment, something far worse to Ned. "You strut around the capital expecting that since you are the Hand and the King is your friend, things will work how you wish it. That people will act how you wish them to act. The capital does not work like that. You need to play around with these men, work like them to your advantage and not expect them to work like you. Honour is a concept lost in the viper pit called the capital. Honour does nothing to run a kingdom no matter how much you try. Not even Jaehaerys Targaryen I managed to do so."
Ned kept his head down and hand fisted.
"After all of this is over, I wish to bring Daenerys back to Westeros" Jon raised a hand at Robert's look of protest. "With Viserys dead, Daenerys will be the one all eyes turn to. Before she marries some Horse Lord, it would be better if we could marry her to Joffrey. That would tie the Targaryen loyalists to us."
"She's a fucking Targaryen!" Robert fumed.
"She is a fucking Targaryen" Jon agreed evenly. "Have you forgotten your Targaryen grandmother? The one reason why you sit on the throne today?"
Robert clamped his mouth shut.
"Why are the rest of you here?" Jon now turned to the rest who had followed him.
"Support," Catelyn said softly, the look Jon Arryn pinned on her making her nervous.
"And things we needed to discuss as well," Stannis said stiffly. "I believe it's time we discuss the elephant in the room."
"Stannis, our brother is not so fat you would call him an elephant" Renly joked to lighten the mood. It had no effect.
"Which would be?" Jon Arryn questioned.
"The Council and the Lannisters."
**The Lannisters**
"Every time I think you can't do anything more stupid, you exceed my expectations!"
"I aim to please-"
"Shut up! I have heard enough snark and smart remarks."
It had been a long time since Jaime felt this exposed and vulnerable in his life. Or at least not for a long time.
"Respectfully, Mother, you are dead. You have no place to talk about how we behave and talk to others" Tyrion said lightly.
"Oh? Is that so? Because I think I am the only one who has a place to talk about these things with you both because the one parent that is alive hasn't given two shits about what our children have been up to!"
Joanna took a deep breath and turned to Jaime.
"Catelyn Sark kidnapped your brother, but it gives you no right to harm a Lord of an Ancient and Powerful House, a Warden of the Seven Kingdoms at that. What you did can incite war, a war that you will not win if the North rallies their allies and your enemies. Because from all I have seen so far, House Lannister has only made enemies since my death!"
"Mother-"
"No doubt you took a page out of your father's book for this. The Rains of Castamere" she spat. "Your father will attack the Riverlands no doubt in retaliation for Tyrion's kidnapping."
"He doesn't care for me enough to do that" Tyrion scoffed.
"He won't do it because he cares for you, he'll do it because he cares for the legacy of House Lannister. Because that is all that he cares about!"
Joanna took another deep breath.
"Your father and Cersei are not here, meaning their fates are not important to the one that wishes for you to change the outcome of the future. No doubt the King will execute your sister for fucking you and passing bastards as legitimate Baratheon heirs. And your father will be found dead of some ailment" She paused to even out her shaking breath. "On the chance you are released from your vows as a Kingsguard, you will renounce your claim as Lord of Casterly Rock and name Tyrion as your replacement. The gods have given all the brains of a Lannister to Tyrion it seems" her eyes turned to her youngest. "You will naturalise Myrcella and Tommen and raise them to be better Lannisters than your father and siblings were. Tommen will be your heir and Myrcella will bring you an alliance outside of the West. Perhaps one North to mend old wounds or the Vale even."
"And Joffrey?" Jaime asked.
"Do you see Joffrey here?" Joanna raised a brow. "He isn't important either."
"I understand Mother" Tyrion nodded.
Joanna stood and stormed out of the room.
"Mother is… something" Tyrion turned to his brother and blinked."Are you crying?"
"Shut up."
**Jon Snow and his Group**
"You're lucky a kick was all you got for that" Jon muttered to his brother nervously. He was not nervous about how Robb would react to his statement, he was nervous about having girls in his chamber. Technically this wasn't his chamber, but it was a very good copy of it. And the only girl to enter his chambers was Arya, and the few times servants would come to tell him his father had summoned him.
Robb rolled his eyes.
"What is it you wanted to talk about" the heir to Winterfell grumbled.
"About who killed Lord Arryn and is blaming the Lannisters, of course."
"I think it's little finger" Daenerys blurted out excitedly. This was the first time she was invited to anything like this, amongst people that did not see her as some pawn to be used for their gain. So she was excited and immediately blushed when they all looked at her.
"Why do you think it is Lord Baelish?" Margaery asked with a smile.
"It's how he acts. He wishes to help Lady Stark and by extension Lord Stark with this, but he's also pushing Lord Stark towards thinking it's the Lannisters doing things. He's conveniently hiding things from him until he reveals them when it's beneficial to him. Like Robert's little girl bastard. He waited until Lord Stark was leaving before he revealed it."
"And who's to say that he didn't know Jaime Lannister was out for blood? He said it himself, he has eyes everywhere" Margaery added with a small smile.
"I believe it's Varys. Even after his whole spiel about how he's changed his mind, I still think he's up to no good. And his friendship with Illyrio is a long one too apparently. He wouldn't stab that man in the back after that long a relationship."
"I believe he might, simply because he's been in King's Landing for too long" Jon muttered. "He might not support Viserys Targaryen after the shit we've seen of him. But he might change angles to support another Targaryen."
All eyes went to Daenerys.
"I'm a girl," she said blandly.
"And? A Targaryen Queen is still Targaryen royalty."
"The last time a Targaryen woman staked her claim, dragons danced and died" Margaery pointed out.
"The dragons are dead" Jon shook his head. "People will back her if nothing but to marry their sons to her."
"What do you mean dragons danced?" Daenerys asked, ignoring the talk about men wanting to marry her for their gain. She'd heard that talk all her life.
"The Dance of The Dragons? Hasn't your brother told you?" Robb asked. Daenerys shook her head, making Robb snort. "Of course not, probably didn't tell you about all the bad your family has done."
"Regardless" Margaery cut in with a smile. "Let's educate her about the bad and the good about her family then. An unbiased look might do her good."
**The Martells**
"Tell me, brothers, what do you have planned?" Elia asked the moment she closed the door to the chamber, one arranged just like Oberyn's at Sunspear.
"What do you mean, dear sister?" Doran questioned.
Elia rolled her eyes.
"You might fool Jon Arryn and everyone after him who have come to ask of your allegiance, but not me. I know for a fact that the murders of me and my children have incurred your wrath as well. And I also know that you are not like Oberyn to jump into anything. So tell me, big brother, what do you have planned."
"She was always the sharpest amongst us" Oberyn said with a chuckle, Doran joining in.
"To restore House Targaryen and burn down House Baratheon and Lannister for their crimes" Prince Doran said with ease. "But it seems we might need to reconsider that line of planning. I refuse to marry my daughter to that Viserys Targaryen and make another Rhaella out of her."
"Even if she wouldn't just roll over and take it" Oberyn added with a smile. "Perhaps Daenerys and Quentyn would work as well. We back her as the next Queen-"
"And the realm flocks to Robert, even the ones that support House Targaryen," Doran said smoothly. "Nobody would bow to a Queen when a King stands before them."
"Then perhaps Jon Snow would be of great use to you two" Elia said with a roll of her eyes. "It's stupid on my part to even try and stray you two from your schemes and plots. Not when I wish to see the same as you with the Lannisters."
"Not the Baratheons?"
"Robert still holds a flame for Lyanna, gods know what he was like for her that many years ago. No, Tywin Lannister and his dogs must die."
Doran, Oberyn and Elia shared looks.
"It will be tough. The whole realm knows Jon Snow to be Ned Stark's bastard. And there is no proof of his birth otherwise."
"You will find proof of marriage between Lyanna and Rhaegar at the Citadel. They might have married the old way, but they still needed someone to marry them" Elia said. "The Kingsguards were their witness, but a Maester was their officiator. Rhaegar tells me as much."
"It still does nothing to prove that Jon Snow is Rhaegar's son" Oberyn pointed out.
"We'll have our proof soon."
"How?" Doran questioned.
"You'll see" the woman grinned.