Chapter 24
EDDARD STARK
The final ride to the Capital was unlike anything he had imagined. Eddard was supposed to ride ahead of the retinue to make preparations for his family's arrival, but Robert had insisted that he stay behind for one last hunt.
He had called it their last little 'joyful ride' into the sun before both of them were married to their duties once more. Robert's disgust for his duties had become rather apparent in the journey to the capital. It was painful to see his friend drown himself in wine to forget the wails of a forgotten love.
In the end, Eddard had never been good at denying Robert, and so he chose to stay back. In the end, Robert was right. From what he had told him, the capital was a mess, and Eddard's nights were already plagued with sleeplessness and worry over the challenges waiting for him in the city.
One last hunt before he was bogged down by his duties seemed a reasonable enough venture. That was until tragedy struck. They were out in the fields, and the forests were thick and muddy because of a few rains and chills.
The hunters had found some traces of a stag and a bear in the woods, and Robert was hell-bent on bringing home a bear pelt for his children to make them proud. They were all laughing and japing with one another one second, and then in the next, Robert's Horse had slipped, and his blood covered the ground.
They had rushed him to the tents, hoping that the master there would be of some help, but both Robert and him had realised that the stranger had come for him. In the end, with his last remaining strength he had summoned him to his chambers and narrated to him his will, appointing him as Reagent to his son and heir, while betrothing him to Sansa with a marriage set to happen by the end of the year.
Eddard knew that many a lord in history would dance in joy at being offered all this, and yet he had no desire for either of these things, nor was he under any delusion that he would be much welcomed in the capital.
And his fears were proven right as they walked through the city, and then through the castle gates, and all he saw was chaos and carnage as the Kingdoms reeled from the loss of their King.
The Queen came to welcome him rather late, and her eyes were swollen as Eddard lowered himself in front of Robert's widow.
"You have my condolences, your g..."
"Rise, Lord Stark," she ordered, and his family followed him as well as the Queen cast a quick glance over his children, and the years had done little to mar the beauty of the Jewel of the West.
It had been five years since Eddard had seen the Queen, and yet the years had changed her little. Her golden hair shone brightly still, and those green Lannister eyes had hints of pain in them as she looked at Eddard.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"The Silent Sisters took the body so that they could prepare it for the funeral," and she nodded.
"Good then," and Eddard looked beyond her, hoping to catch a glimpse of any of the Princes, and yet none came, as they stood in the Throne Room.
"I am deeply sorry for your loss, my Queen," Sansa's voice cut through the silence, and her daughter seemed eager to please her as the Queen raised a brow at those.
"King Robert was a gallant warrior. I am certain that the realm will miss him and his sagacity dearly," and for a second, it felt as if the Queen scoffed, but she gave Sansa a weak smile.
"Indeed, they will, my sweet child," and then she turned towards him, and Eddard finally noticed the scar on her forehead.
"I am told that it was a swift and painless passing," and he wondered if that really mattered, but nodded nonetheless.
"It was," and by the end, he had drunk nearly two glasses full of Milk of Poppy to just dull his pain.
"Where is the Prince, my Queen?" Sansa asked, and she saw the Queen's expression shift at the mention of her son.
"The news must have pained him greatly," Sansa quickly added.
"I was hoping that I could..."
'The Prince is asleep," the Queen was quick to answer, and her displeasure was obvious to everyone.
"Perhaps we should have the children escorted to their chambers so we can talk in peace," and Eddard nodded, and turned towards his captain.
"Take them to their chambers Desmond," and if Sansa or Arya wished to protest, they did not say anything as the guards led them away, while him and the Queen walked towards the gardens in silence.
"I heard of your son," and Eddard's life had been filled with tragedy for some time now.
"How is he now?" she asked, and Eddard nodded.
"Better, he is awake now, but sadly, he is unable to move his legs from the waist down," and it was a great blow for any young man, let alone a second son with dreams of becoming a knight.
But none of that mattered to him, for at least his son was alive.
"Well, crippled as he may be, it is a far kinder fate than death," and Eddard would agree with her.
"Still, the life of a cripple is rather hard, especially without a father," and here it was, and Eddard had long expected this very thing. The Lannisters were no friends of theirs, and the only reason he had even come to the capital was because of Robert.
Now with Robert gone, Eddard found himself all alone, with no allies to back his rise.
"You are right," Eddard answered, but Robert had made him promise, and he intended to keep it.
"But Robert entrusted me with a duty, and the Starks have never refused to answer such a call," and with that, he reached into his pocket as the Queen's eyes narrowed.
"Before he died, Robert left me with this will," and the Queen scoffed in response.
"A will? But I was told that his head was split open by a rock," and that was true, and his dreams were still haunted by that sight.
"Yes, but he lived for a short while after that, and he had his will written afterwards. He has asked me to act as reagent, and has betrothed the Prince to my daughter, Sansa," and he had yet to see the Prince still, while the guards could be seen rushing through the Halls.
He presented her with the missive, and she opened it and let her eyes skim over it.
"Reagency and a Royal Match," she noticed, as her eyes darted up once more.
"That is rather generous, wouldn't you say?" and he had feared this very thing.
"Do you even know what such a thing entails?" she asked, and Eddard frowned.
"What?" he asked.
"Reagency. Keeping the Seven Kingdoms together," she asked, and it was obvious that he was not welcome here.
"You forget my Queen, that it were Northern swords that put Robert on that throne in the first place," and she nodded.
"Indeed, but now Robert is gone, and the throne has no need of your blades, Lord Stark," and she let Robert's will fall to the floor.
"Joffrey has enough people around him to help him rule the realm," and now he was frowning.
"Are you trying to deny Robert's will?" he asked, enraged at the humiliation.
"My late husband had little concern with the affairs of his children and the realm," she added with a painful snort, and that much he knew from the rumors.
"He let a traitor sit on his Council for years, and let him rob the realm blind. I will not have my son suffer the same fate," and now he was doubting his loyalty and competence.
"Robert made me his Hand," he added, and though he had no love for the power and the position.
"Robert is gone. You need not burden yourself with his selfish desires anymore, my lord," the Queen countered as she walked closer.
"It seems as if me and my House are not welcome here," Eddard countered as his fists balled up, and he was being rather sympathetic to her sorrows until now, but he would take no more of her humiliations.
"You are welcome to stay for the funeral, and I won't deny you the betrothal made by Robert, but I am afraid I find you unfit to rule the realm in my son's stead," and it was rather brash of her to say such words openly.
He had come to the capital expecting honeyed words and poisoned daggers, and so such a display of honesty came as a surprise to him, even though the entire ordeal was not a surprise at all.
"Winter is here, and I believe the North will be better suited if it had such an experienced Hand guiding it through the harsh season," and now she was making it rather obvious, as Eddard's fists balled up in rage.
"You wish for me to leave," and the Queen sighed.
"You may think of me as being harsh, but I am only trying to spare you, my lord. I am afraid my late husband has left behind quite a mess," and was she really being kind, or was this all a ploy to hide something far more sinister?
"Still, I have been entrusted with a duty, and I shall see it through," but she would not be rid of him so easily, and her frustrations were obvious, and she scoffed in defeat.
"So be it," and with that, she walked past him.
"I will be gathering the Council soon. Perhaps, my Queen would like to attend," he offered her an olive branch, and just because they disagreed with one another did not mean that they had to be enemies.
She had doubts about him, and Eddard was not so trusting of the Lannister name himself. But if they were to keep the realm together, then it would be best for them to work together rather than trying to fight one another.
"Huh, I am afraid there is no Council to summon," and her words caught him by surprise, as he turned to face her once more.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked, alarmed at her words as she raised a brow.
"I mean exactly what I said. There is no longer a Council for you to call," and now he was frowning.
"How could that be possible?"
"Well, the Master of Coin is on his way to Casterly Rock, the Maester of Laws fled the capital last night, and the Master of Whispers, he has become a hard man to find since last night," and that was absolute carnage, and he could not believe his ears.
"Lord Renly has left the capital, without attending his brother's funeral?" and he could not believe his ears.
"He is not the first of Robert's brothers to abandon him," and he knew Lord Stannis was at Dragonstone, and with that, she was right, and Eddard did not really have a Council to summon.
"Heed my advice, Lord Stark," the Queen added as she turned away from him once more.
"Bury your friend, and then go back to your home. The capital is no place for the likes of you," and with that, she walked away, leaving behind a troubled Stark lord, who began to wonder just what kind of trouble he had landed himself in.
Eddard's gaze turned towards the floor, or more specifically towards the will lying on it, as he wondered what the future may hold for him.
"What have you done, Robert...."
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