Chapter 14: Hands, Hands

2nd Month of 298 A.C. Winterfell

Lord Eddard Stark

Court had come to Winterfell, and with it had come a whole host of ghosts. Ned did not know what to make of the ghosts that had come to see him, in truth he was not sure if he wanted to know anything about those ghosts in particular. Long ago, he had sworn to himself that those things in the past would remain in the past, what affection there had been between him and Robert was long since dead, had died a cold death during the Greyjoy rebellion, when Robert had made comments about things Ned would rather not think on. And yet, he knew he had to, to remain alive in the south he would need to remember everything, every little detail he could pick up on he would need to keep in his memory. He was going south to see who had killed Jon Arryn, and to make sure the rightful king had an easy time coming to the throne. Judging by what the royal family had become, the family was broken, torn asunder, the Queen hated Robert, Robert hated his queen, and the children, well he did not know much of them, but he suspected they would be rather easy to manipulate,

That the boy seemed so infatuated with Sansa, was somewhat worrying for Ned, he knew what happened to Stark women when Baratheons became interested in them. Had the reminders of Lyanna, and a distant aunt who had married Lyonel Baratheon long ago. And yet there was also the stark reminder of what happened when Starks mingled with Targaryens as well. And yet his king was not like his father, was not like the fool who had burned father and Brandon alive. The king was sane, thankfully sane, and capable, Ned had seen to that alongside his wife. The betrothal to Joffrey Baratheon was one thing that needed to be done, no matter how unpleasant it was. And yet, Ned knew there was something wrong with it. He needed it to happen, needed Sansa to continue playing the role she had been assigned, and he needed to assure the king that this did not mean anything, but he could not do that yet, not with Robert wanting to speak with him.

Thankfully, Robert was without his mistress, the woman was damn near insufferable, and yet Robert seemed fond of her, so very fond of her. He did not understand why, but looking at his friend now, he wondered where his friend had gone. Who this man standing before him was. "You look grim Ned. What is the matter with you?" Robert asks.

"Nothing Sire." the words sound like bile in his mouth. "I was merely wondering where your mistress was that was all."

Robert laughs then, a booming sound. "Ah yes, her. Well she is off with your wife I believe. She wanted to get to know more about the wife of my best friend and hand. Now tell me Ned, you are okay with the betrothal? I know you must have doubts."

Keeping his face expressionless, Ned looks at the man before him and says. "I know that the time is right for a betrothal, but I would give them more time to get to know one another Robert. I do not want to rush them into anything."

"Good, neither do I. Despite what it might seem, I do not want to hurry our children into anything they do not feel comfortable with. Regardless of what you might think of me Ned, I am not a monster." Robert responds.

"I do not think you are a monster Robert." Ned responds quickly.

"Oh bollocks do you not. I know you still harbour something akin to resentment about the sack of King's Landing, and I've never been able to understand why." Robert says.

"They were merely babes Robert, I do not understand how you could not have an issue with the way that went." Ned responds.

Robert looks angry then. "They were a threat to my throne, the throne we'd fought so long and hard to win. I was not going to allow any sort of scum come and ruin that."

"There were other ways they could have been dealt with." Ned says softly.

"No way that would have ensured that they remained out of the way. Tywin did us all a favour when he had his dogs kill them and their mother. Nothing left for the Dornish or any loyalist to truly think about fighting for." Robert says.

Anger grows within Ned then, but he fights to control it. "And yet Dorne has never been that willing to understand your rule over the kingdoms Robert. We both know it, we know of the unrest within Dorne that Prince Doran barely keeps under control. How do you expect that might have gone had you allowed Princess Elia and her children to live?"

Robert looks deeply angry then. "There would have been war gods dammit Ned. You know just as well as I do. Dorne would never have rested whilst Elia Martell and her children were alive, and they would not have stopped until we were all dead. And they held Lyanna as well, I know they did, you told me. Imagine how they would have hurt her!"

Ned wants to roar at Robert then, how dare he use Lyanna's name! How dare he use her name when he was not worthy of her, never worthy of her. Instead he merely responds. "I know how they hurt her Robert, I was there when she died."

"Why did you not kill them then? Why did you not kill all of them to make them suffer like she suffered?" Robert asks and he sounds as if he is genuine pain.

"Because they would have killed me, before I had the chance to kill any of them." Ned responds.

"Nonsense, you chose your own life over revenge. So do not speak to me of innocents. I am not going to hear of such talk from you. Now let us discuss something else." Robert booms.

Ned bites his tongue then to keep himself from saying what he truly wants to say, instead he nods and says. "What did you make of the feast then Robert?"

"It was a grand affair, truly something to behold. You have truly outdone yourself Ned, I am impressed. I knew there was money flowing into Winterfell from the canal and other trade dealings but I was not aware of just how much money had been flowing in. I am half tempted to name you as master of coin as well as Lord Hand." Robert booms.

Ned smiles then. "You honour me too much Robert. The feast was nothing compared to what one could do if one set their mind to it, but I thank you nonetheless. And as for the offer there, well is that not the duty of Petyr Baelish?" that last is said with a hint of malice.

Robert looks at him surprised. "You do not like Baelish?"

Ned looks at the man with a hint of incredulity. "Are you truly surprised Robert?"

The man laughs. "I suppose not, that whole business he had with your brother was something quite unseemly I must admit. And yet he has done his duty as master of coin quite expertly."

"And what of the crown's finances, are they as stable as they were when last we met?" Ned asks.

Robert looks somewhat uncomfortable at this and mutters. "They are somewhat worse I believe, though the amount of fun that has been had has increased. Truly Ned, you worry too much. I did not think you would mind as much considering then you'd have someone to blame."

Ned looks at the man and he wants to laugh. BY the gods, what were they thinking, trying to put this man on the throne and succeeding. Perhaps they would have been better served putting a babe on the throne. "And, is that how you have dealt with all the things you do not like Robert? By pushing them away and hoping they will fade?"

Robert seems to be growing angry then, but Ned knows the man, knows he will not bluster or bellow, not right now. Instead he merely slumps down and responds. "That is exactly what Jon said to me before he fell ill you know. He kept telling me I was ruining the kingdoms, but I did not want to hear it. I thought having fun was more important, and now Jon is dead."

"Do you think he truly died naturally Robert?" Ned asks.

"I do not know what to think." the man replies. "I know he was well and then he fell very ill very quickly, but he was an old man Ned, gods he was old when we were children. I was not surprised when he died, but it did hurt. And gods above did I grow wroth when I learned his wife had fled with that child of hers."

"He's named after you is he not?" Ned asks.

"Yes, and a hardly suiting namesake could you find. The boy is weak for gods sake Ned. He is frail and he is broken, there are times when I am half convinced he cannot be Jon's son. No son of Jon's would ever be liked that child is. And his mother, his mother does more to keep him that way than she does to make him better. It is almost as if she is afraid to push him, afraid that if she does, he will break apart into little pieces." Robert responds. "No wonder Jon thought of sending him to the Rock."

That surprises Ned then. "Jon Arryn meant to send his son to Tywin Lannister?!"

"Yes, I think he thought it would do the boy wonders. Keep him away from his mother, and allow him to grow under the watch of a man who had served as hand before, and make sure that Tywin was not doing anything odd." Robert responds.

"It also means that Tywin Lannister has his hands on one of the most powerful lords of in the realm. Jon could not seriously have been thinking of doing that?" Ned asks.

"Well, I know he was also thinking of sending his son to foster at Dragonstone with Stannis. But that plan got shelved very quickly. I do not think Jon wanted his son growing up anywhere near that mess." Robert responds.

Ned looks at Robert then, he knows that the relationship between Robert and his brothers, but in particularly Stannis has never been good, too much time and distance between them. "What happened with Stannis Robert? Why did he not come north?"

"He was sulking of course. Sulking about the fact that I did not name him hand. For some absurd reason he thinks that he is entitled to the position because he is my brother. But he has done nothing, nothing in the past fifteen years to show me he is worthy of it. He has shown not a hint of smartness or anything that would suggest to me he deserves the honour. Not like you Ned." Robert responds.

Ned is somewhat taken aback by the compliment, but he presses on. "Will he still be at King's Landing when we return?"

"I do not know, and frankly, I do not care. Let Stannis rot wherever he chooses, so long as he does not ruin this, I do not care. For too long has he ruined everything. He dragged Jon down with him you know, before Jon died, they were working together on something, and Jon was beginning to grow weak and paranoid as well. Stannis' influence right there, only Stannis could do that to a man like Jon." Robert booms.

"Do you know why they were working together?" Ned asks.

"No, but I do not want that to continue. Stannis has done more than enough to warrant my suspicion. I have not forgotten what happened when he tried to take Dragonstone." Robert replies.

Ned remains silent on that matter for a moment, he is secretly grateful that Stannis failed that day on Dragonstone, he does not think he could deal with another corpse on his hands. And yet, he knows eventually Robert will want him to ask and so he does. "What word has there been on the boy?"

Robert looks at him, a grateful look in his eyes and then says. "It seems that the boy has moved from Pentos that his sister has wed some Dothraki Horse lord, and that that is the means by which he wants to reclaim his throne."

Ned laughs then. "Whoever is advising him is a fool, the Dothraki will never get to Westeros, they are afraid of the sea." A part of Ned is grateful for that, now that the king knows the truth, he will want to meet his family.

Robert however, does not seem to be laughing. "Varys has said that this might well be a diversion. A false plan laid to make us feel at ease, after all who would think to look more into a boy half way across the world with a horse lord as his main method of getting across the narrow sea. The spider thinks there are others who might be looking to ally with the boy and get him here."

"Where exactly are these people?" Ned asks, he knows which people might want the true king on the throne, but none that want the mad man on the throne.

"Within the Reach and Dorne mostly it seems. Though none of their lords paramount will accept this, it seems there are plots occurring. I mean to see them dealt with, and soon. I do not want that scum coming back here at all." Robert responds.

Ned merely nods, he dreads the upcoming questions that he knows Robert will want him to ask about the girl, but he knows he cannot. And so he is grateful when the woman who Robert sleeps with comes in and Robert dismisses him. He walks out of the room, nods at Ser Jaime, and continues walking towards his own room. His thoughts are abuzz, he wonders who the eunuch is working for, and the man does not know of the king, that much Ned is sure of, for he took great pains to make it that way, is there someone else out there? He remembers the letter he found buried within the crypts, and its own meaning, but he does not know how the eunuch could know about that. His thoughts are all a mess when he enters his room to find Catelyn. "Cat?" he asks questioningly. "Are you alright my love?"

His wife looks at him then surprised. "Oh, I am sorry Ned. I did not see you come in. Yes, I am fine. I was merely thinking."

"Thinking? About what my love?" Ned asks.

"Well, we know Roose Ryswell is ailing, and Benjen will become Lord of the Rills once the man is dead, but what stops Roose Bolton from acting up? The man has a claim through his wife." Catelyn says.

Ned thinks on this and then says. "The man could try, but he would get no support. He formally renounced any claim his kin might have over the rills when his wife died. He is not the threat he once was."

"What about Domeric? I know he seems harmless Ned, but think about it, he knows our boys, and he knows how to think on his feet. I would not be surprised if he was planning something with Jojen Reed." Catelyn says.

Ned stiffens then. "Have they been seen speaking with one another again?" He remembers well what happened the last time those two were seen speaking to one another, he remembers the screams and the howls and the nightmares.

"Yes, and I do not know why. Bran brought it to my attention at the feast, but Jojen was not at the feast. What do you think it could mean Ned?" his wife asks.

Ned sighs. "I do not know Cat, truly I wish I did know, but I do not."

"Do you think it has anything to do with what happened?" his wife asks.

Ned looks at his wife, looks at her and he knows he cannot lie to her. "I think it might, I think it might definitely have something to do with what happened. And that is what frightens me."

"Can you not speak to Howland? Get him to speak with his son?" his wife asks.

Ned shakes his head. "Howland, I do not know where Howland is, he has been gone for a long time."

Before his wife can reply, there is a knock on the door, and calling for whoever it is to enter, Ned finds himself looking at his brother. Benjen looks haggard, but there is grim determination in his face as well. "It is done." he says simply.

It takes Ned a moment to process what his brother has said and then he asks. "You are sure?"

"Yes, he is gone." Benjen responds.

"Good." Ned states.

Catelyn speaks then. "When will you announce it?"

Ned looks at her and says. "Not until the raven comes from the Rills itself."

A moment's silence, and then Benjen speaks. "We will need to sort out the thing we spoke about before brother, it is getting close."

Ned looks at him and nods. "I shall speak with Ser Jaime soon."

Silence falls between them then, and Ned feels his heart hammering, so the man is dead, the last man to know of Brandon's crimes is gone and buried, his memory to be forgotten. None will fight him on this now, and that is a relief. For too long has he harboured worries. And yet as is the world's way, just as he thinks he might be feeling calmer than he has in a long time, a scream pierces the air, and he feels something in him lurch.