I've gone back and made some adjustments to the timeframe of the traveling time. Most of the timeframes I was giving for travel was at least half of what it should have been. Probably still not as realistic as it should be but GRRM made a gigantic ass continent.

Ned VII

Ned dreamed of seven war weary men confronting three men in white beneath a tower. He dreamed of death, as only two of the ten survived the confrontation. He dreamed of a dying girl demanding of him a promise in her dying breaths, a promise that he had kept for sixteen years.

Promise me, Ned. Promise me.

Those words echoed in his head as Ned awoke from his dreams. The first thing he noticed was a searing pain shooting up his right leg. He groaned at the pain and tried to open his eyes but found the light too blinding.

"My lord!"

He recognized the voice as Jory's. He struggled to get up, blinking his eyes in an effort to adjust to the brightness around him. Jory was there, his strong hands helping Ned sit up properly, despite the grimace of pain the movements brought Ned. Eyes finally adjusted, he was able to look around and noticed that he was not in his rooms in the Tower of the Hand, likely because they didn't want to carry him up all those stairs. This room was smaller with simple furnishings and a large window that let in the shining sun. On the table next to the bed was a cup of water and a smaller cup of something white.

He remembered his horse falling on him and his foot getting caught in the stirrup. He remembered it had happened because the Kingslayer had stopped him in the streets and attacked him and his men; his men…

Ned tried to speak but the words caught in his throat. His mouth felt like a Dornish desert. The cup of water was pressed to his lips and he drank as much as he could from it. He pushed at the hands that held the cup, and it was pulled from him as he smacked his lips together.

"Wyl?" Ned asked, weakly.

"He's dead," Jory answered. "Along with Tomard, Heward, Porter, and Varly."

Ned closed his eyes in grief. They had followed him down here, away from their homes and families, and now none of them would be seeing either of those things ever again. He had hoped after disposing of the Mad King and the putting down of Balon Greyjoy's rebellion, that he would no longer be responsible for the deaths of his men.

"I arranged to have their bodies brought North by the Silent Sisters." Jory leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I also arranged for Mhaegan and the babe to with travel with them."

"Thank you," Ned whispered. Men like Jory, who were not only competent but loyal and skilled, were hard to come by. You would be proud of him, Ned thought, remembering his dear friend Martyn who had died in the Dornish Marches; who he had just watched die in his dreams for the hundredth time.

Jory nodded his head before straightening up. "The King asked to be alerted as soon as you were awake. Should I send for him?"

Ned sighed. Did he want to talk to Robert? No, not really, but he knew it was a conversation that needed to be had. "You can summon the King."

Jory nodded and walked to the door of the room. He opened it and talked to someone outside for a few moments before he closed the door again and approached Ned's bedside again.

"The Grand Maester left some milk of the poppy, should the pain be too much," Jory said, indicating the bedside table and the small cup of the white liquid that sat there.

Ned made to grab the cup but winced at the pain. Jory moved to grab the cup for him but Ned waved him off; he had an injured leg, he wasn't invalid. Gritting his teeth, he reached over and grabbed the cup. He brought it to his lips and took a small sip, careful not to overdo it. If he was going to speak with the King he needed his wits about him, he couldn't afford to be filling his head with clouds.

As they waited for the King, Jory filled him in on what had happened. Harwin had been bringing Lady back from their daily foray into the Wolfswood when the direwolf had taken off running, something she had never done before. Fearful of what the wolf was going to do, Harwin had given chase as best he could. It was then he had run into Cayn on horseback, who was screaming for the Gold Cloaks about the attack.

Harwin had arrived on the scene of the attack to see Lady ripping the lower arm off of a Lannister man, who ended up dying from the wound, and the Kingslayer running for his life. Lady had then attacked another of the Lannister men, ripping the man's throat open with a powerful bite. At that point the rest of the Lannister men had thrown down their weapons, begging for their lives as the Gold Cloaks, Harwin, and Cayn arrived. Harwin had managed to get Lady back under control before she killed anyone else, and before the Gold Cloaks viewed her as a threat they needed to kill. They were fortunate enough that the man had built some type of relationship with the direwolf that it listened to his commands.

Ned had been rushed back to the Red Keep, where Grand Maester Pycelle and Maester Lyonel, the Maester sent by the Citadel to assist Pycelle in his duties, had healed him to the best of their abilities. After the fall, Ned's foot had been facing the wrong way, and the bones in his leg had shattered. It would likely be a few months before he would be able to walk again and even then it would be with the assistance of a cane for several months if he was lucky, for the rest of his life if he wasn't.

Jory, who had stayed behind at the alehouse with Jacks to take care of Mhaegan as Ned ordered, had been made aware of the attack the next day. He had left Jacks in the alehouse and had quickly made his way to the Red Keep. He had been present when the King had questioned the nine Lannister men who had surrendered. They all had the same story. They had accompanied the Queen from the Red Keep to visit Ser Jaime as he assisted rebuilding what was once Flea Bottom. The Queen had spoken with Ser Jaime where no one could hear, before the Kingslayer had demanded they follow him. The Queen had appeared to try to warn her brother not to do something but he had stormed off and the Lannister men followed him without question, and attacked the Hand of the King without question. Those men were currently in the jails beneath the keep and would be sent to the Wall for their crimes.

"And the Kingslayer?" Ned asked.

"A warrant has been issued for his arrest and the word has been sent to every keep and settlement within the kingdom."

Ned let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He had feared that Robert would try to pretend like the entire incident did not happen. Tywin Lannister was a powerful man who thought his family above the laws of the land. He would not be happy to hear of the warrant for his son's arrest.

"How long have I been out?"

"Fifteen days," Jory answered. "I've had to chase your daughter from your side multiple times every day. She has been neglecting her lessons, amongst other things, in her worry for you."

He imagined it must have been frightening for Sansa, to see her father carried back to the keep looking half dead, while her direwolf's muzzle was red with fresh blood. He was grateful he had reliable men in his household who looked after not only himself, but looked after his daughter as well.

Jory told him they had dribbled water into his mouth and forced him to swallow small amounts of fruit mashed into paste. Well distant to the pain in his leg Ned could feel a second pain in his stomach which was likely hunger. He felt his body and could feel his bones more prominently than he had ever before. If he had remained unconscious any longer he likely would have wasted away.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

The door was opened by Ser Barristan, who stepped aside to let Robert enter. His old friend looked haggard, as if he hadn't slept properly in several days. Yet despite that a wide, relieved smile broke out on his face as he looked at Ned, sitting up in his bed.

"My King," Ned said with a bow of his head, "you look like shit."

Robert stared at him in shock for a moment before bursting into laughter. "If I would have known having a horse falling on you would have given you some humor, I would have dropped one on you years ago."

Ned gave his friend a tired smile. Jory offered the chair that sat on the side of the bed to the King, and it groaned in protest as the King's weight settled on it. The smile slipped from Robert's face as he grew more solemn, his brows furrowing and his lips pressing together.

"I have heard from your men. I have heard from the Lannister men. I have heard from smallfolk who witnessed the entire thing. I have heard from the Queen. Now I will hear from you. Tell me what happened."

Ned relayed what he knew; he and six of his men had been riding back to the Red Keep from an alehouse down by River Row. They found their path cut off by the Kingslayer and several Lannister men, while even more Lannister men approached them from behind.

"What was said?" the King asked.

Ned hesitated. He had been looking into the death of Jon Arryn the past several weeks but he had never said anything about it to Robert. How would his friend react to that?

"Before I answer that, there is something you must know, Robert." The King looked at him expectantly and Ned took a deep breath. "That first night you were in Winterfell, Catelyn received a hidden message from her sister, delivered to us by someone within your retinue."

"Lysa Arryn? She left King's Landing a few days after Jon passed, a few days before I had even decided to make the trip North. How could she have known I was going to travel to Winterfell?"

"Perhaps someone from the Vale joined your retinue on the journey, your grace," Jory said.

Ned nodded at Jory's words. The King has arrived at Winterfell with almost two hundred in his retinue and he imagined some of them had joined the retinue well after it had left King's Landing. "Cat was positive the note was from her sister. In it, Lysa said she suspected that Jon did not die of natural illness but that he was murdered. And she named the Queen as a suspect."

"What?" Robert demanded, eyes wide with shock and anger.

Robert rose from the chair and began pacing in the small open space in the room. Ser Barristan stepped back from the room so instead he stood in the doorway, while Jory moved against the wall.

"You received this message almost a year ago, and in that entire time you did nothing to bring this to my attention!?"

Robert was angry, yet it wasn't the type of anger Ned had seen of him lately, which usually happened when he had been drinking. He would shout until his face was red, commanding this and demanding that, until he got to the point where he couldn't speak and then he would storm out of the room. This was a different anger; a more muted anger.

"What was I to do?" Ned asked. "Come before you without any evidence and accuse the Queen of murder based only on the accusations of a grieving widow? I told myself, for Jon's sake, I would look into it and see if there was any truth to it."

"For Jon's sake? Jon was like a father to me too, maybe even more so than you since I was here with him the final fifteen years of his life while you were in the North," Robert said through gritted teeth.

Ned dipped his head in agreement. "Aye, that's true."

Robert moved to the window in the room and glared out of it. Ned could only stare at his friend's back, wondering what he was thinking. Both Ser Barristan and Jory stood in silence, glancing between the King, Ned, and spots on the walls.

After a few minutes Robert turned from the window. "What did you find out?"

"It was only recently that I was able to look into it. Between my duties as Hand, the Dragonpit exploding, and my goodfather dying, I've not had much time. What I was able to find out was that before his death, Jon was looking into, well, your bastards."

Robert's eyebrows rose in surprise. "My bastards?"

"A boy about fifteen who was a blacksmith's apprentice, and a babe maybe a year old now, born to a redheaded prostitute," Ned explained, looking at Robert to see if either of them was familiar to him. "I sent them both North."

"You sent them North? Why?"

"Because if looking into them is what got Jon killed, that meant they could be in danger. Bastards they may be, but they're children and they're yours."

Robert's gaze softened. The King sat back down in the chair and rubbed at his face. "Why was Jon looking into my bastards? What about them got him killed, by potentially Cersei of all people? She can be a bit of a bitch -," Ser Barristan winced at the term, "- but a murderer?"

Here Ned offered a shrug. He hadn't gotten that far yet. Bastards could cause problems as seen in the Blackfyre Rebellions, which had torn apart the realm multiple times, but that was usually only if they're legitimized. Cersei could see the older ones like Gendry as a threat, since they were older than Joffrey, and maybe Jon being aware of them made Jon a threat as well? It was hard to provide an answer that wasn't pure speculation at this point. However, unlike Robert he had no problem seeing the Queen as a murderer.

"I can't say. Though I learned another interesting piece of news. Every time Jon visited one of them, Stannis was with him. If anyone knows Jon's motives, it would be Stannis."

"Stannis left King's Landing the same day Lord Arryn died," Ser Barristan said, speaking up for the first time. "If he was investigating something with Lord Arryn, and then Lord Arryn died, perhaps that explains Stannis' refusal to leave Dragonstone."

"And what of his refusal to answer the King's summons?" Robert demanded. "To respond to his own brother when he reaches out to him? To hide away with a secret that cost the life of a man who was like a father to me?" Robert scowled as he looked at Ned. "You had planned to travel to Dragonstone didn't you? Was this the reason why?"

Ned could only nod his head. His ship was to have sailed fourteen days ago. He would likely have returned from Dragonstone by now, with the answers he sorely needed.

"If Stannis won't come here, then I will go to him." Robert said, repeating the words Ned had said when he had decided to travel to Dragonstone. The King turned to look at Ser Barristan. "As Lord Commander of my Kingsguard, I leave it to you to arrange everything as soon as we're back in Maegor's Holdfast. I want to leave in one week's time."

Ser Barristan nodded his head. "Of course your grace."

"And you," Robert said, turning to look at Jory. "Get this man a flagon of wine and a cup." Robert jabbed his finger at Ned, took a moment to think about it, and then held up two fingers. "Make that two cups, the King's throat is parched."

"And some food Jory, please."

Jory bowed and walked from the room. Ser Barristan stepped aside to let him pass. Ned was not much in the mood for some wine but he didn't say anything, knowing it was more for Robert than him.

"What about your altercation with the Kingslayer?"

"I asked what he was doing and he told me I was looking into things better left alone. When I asked what he knew about the death of Jon he seemed confused, and said he was an old man who died. I said Jon was murdered and the Kingslayer said Jon wouldn't be the first fool murdered in King's Landing. I told him Jon was noble and honorable, attributes no one would ever accuse him of having. That's when he attacked."

Robert listened to his words carefully, a frown making its way onto his face. "The Kingslayer attacked you for looking into something, but it wasn't something that had to do with Jon's death?"

"That's what it sounded like, though I have no idea what he thinks I was looking into."

The King's fingers disappeared into his thick beard as he rubbed at his chin in thought.

"Ser Barristan, as Lord Commander of the Kings guard, has a member ever been stricken from the order?"

"In all of history there have only been three ways a member leaves the Kingsguard. Death, being sent to the Wall, and rebellion, a way which eventually ends in one of the first two."

"One of the first two will be the fate of the Kingslayer. For his actions he is no longer a member of my Kingsguard."

Ser Barristan looked almost relieved at the news. Ned knew the man believed in the Kingsguard like no other member of the current reiteration of it did. Selmy was probably thinking of who he could get who was honorable and skilled that could replace the Kingslayer.

Ned waited to see if Robert was going to say anything else but he didn't.

"And the Queen?" Ned asked, uncertain. "What did she say?"

"She said she went to see the Kingslayer because she hadn't seen him in half a year, since he was sentenced to his punishment. That she tried to talk with him about what had been happening in the Red Keep while he was in the city proper, but he was angry. He felt his punishment was unjust and that he blamed you for it, and then he saw you riding back to the keep."

Ned processed the words, trying his best to keep his face blank. He didn't believe anything Cersei said. "Do you believe her?"

Robert slowly shook his head. "That the Kingslayer blames you for his punishment, I can believe. The rest though? I don't know if I can believe that, especially with what you are telling me now." Robert grimaced, gritting his teeth in a gesture Ned had seen his brother Stannis due often. "Damn Jon for marrying me to that family."

Jory returned with a flagon of wine and two cups. Robert took them eagerly, pouring a healthy amount into both cups. Ned took a sip of his, glad Jory found one that wasn't so sweet. Robert drank from his cup greedily.

"The kitchen will have food shortly my lord," Jory stated.

"Thank you Jory."

Robert pulled the now empty cup from his mouth, droplets running down his chin and into his beard.

"I will talk with Cersei again," Robert said. "I will have her kept in Maegor's Holdfast while I am gone, and at the same time I will have most of the Lannister men removed from the Red Keep. Rest assured Ned, I will get to the bottom of this. For you, and for Jon."

While Ned regained some strength being able to eat properly again, he was still too weak to see Robert off when he left for Dragonstone. Not that he could put any weight on his leg to get down to the docks.

Robert had a wheeled chair built for Ned, to allow him some mobility while his leg continued to heal. Ned used it to travel from his new chambers at the bottom of the Tower of the Hand to the Throne Room, where he held court in Robert's name. He wondered how those who came to stand before the King felt seeing Ned being wheeled into the room, with a servant lifting his broken leg up to rest it upon a stool, Ned wincing with pain the entire time.

After spending the morning holding court, Ned would travel back to his room to rest. There he was joined by Sansa, who would spend her time practicing her needlework as she spoke with him about the gossip she heard in King's Landing. They'd share dinner in that room, often with a few of his guards. Maester Lyonel visited with him every evening after dinner to check on his leg and make sure it was healing as it was supposed to.

It was four days after Robert left that his afternoon was interrupted by two men-at-arms. They were escorted into his room by Jacelyn Bywater, who bowed low upon entering with the two men trailing him.

"I apologize for the interruption Lord Hand, but these two men have something I believe you will want to hear as soon as possible."

Ned frowned because he preferred to keep these types of things solely in the morning, to allow him the rest of the day to rest with his leg up. Still, he had much faith in Jacelyn after giving the man the position as the Commander of the Gold Cloaks.

"Desmond, please escort Sansa back to her rooms."

His daughter looked like she wanted to protest but she saw the look on his face and thought better of it. Instead, she allowed herself to be walked out by Desmond.

With his daughter gone, Ned was able to take a good look at the two men-at-arms. On their surcoats was a shield of three oaken barrels on a field of white. If Ned remembered his houses correctly, that was the shield of House Lolliston, one of the Riverland houses. He couldn't quite remember where the keep of House Lolliston was.

"Given Ser Jacelyn has brought you directly to me, you must have important news to share," Ned said.

"We do my Lord Hand," one of the men said, bowing slightly. "We have the Kingslayer prisoner at the Tower of the Rush. We have had him for twelve days now."

"Why are we just hearing of this?" Ned demanded, sitting up straighter.

"We messaged the King as soon as we had him. When he did not respond, we sent him another message. After not hearing after that one, our lord sent us."

That messages meant for the King had gone missing was odd but Ned had no time to ponder it.

"Why does he not send the Kingslayer to King's Landing?"

"About a hundred men from Houses Lannister and Lydden, led by the Imp, are camped near the keep. My lord is afraid any attempt to move the Kingslayer will lead to an attack and we do not have the numbers to face such a number. We were already attacked by Lydden men trying to capture him."

"We've heard rumors that Tywin Lannister is calling his banners," the other one added, his voice tinged with fear.

Tywin Lannister's bannermen had attacked Lord Lolliston's men. Lannister men were camped nearby to make sure the Kingslayer wasn't brought in for judgment. And now Tywin Lannister was potentially calling his banners. The Lion meant to wage a war to free his son rather than let him face the justice he deserved. Ned would have to send a raven to Robert at Dragonstone. The King would need to put this down like he did Greyjoy's Rebellion.

"Ser Jacelyn, arrange for eighty members of the Gold Cloaks to accompany these two men back to Lord Lolliston. They will escort the Kingslayer back to King's Landing to face justice for his crimes. I will give thirty men of my own personal guard to assist in this endeavor."

He would see the Kingslayer face justice.