After two delays because of a broken royal carriage, the king's procession was finally about to reach Winterfell any minute now. The riders had come ahead to inform the Starks, and we obviously noticed them as well, so we, along with the whole of Winter Town, were eagerly waiting for them to appear.
All four of us were standing at the top of Azkaban, which, after our remodeling, stood taller than the surrounding trees, thus giving us a great view of the road.
"Emmy? Are we not going to go closer?" Dany fidgeted nervously.
"You want to go into that?" I said, pointing with my eyes at the giant congregation of people and soldiers.
"Well, no, but I want to see him."
"Do you want to see him, or are you hoping he sees you and causes an incident?" I eyed her suspiciously. Though I doubted the man would put two and two together and realize she is the Princess. More than likely, he'll just think she's a daughter of some prostitute from Lys, or at most a forgotten dragonseed.
"I want to see him?" She said unsurely and didn't look me in the eyes. Hah! Caught you.
"Sureee~ Getting a bit bloodthirsty, aren't you, little dragon?" I teased her.
"M'not little…" She pouted cutely and didn't even bother to deny it.
"*cough* bullshit *cough*"
"Hmpf!" She just pouted harder, but at least I saw the beginnings of a smile forming on her lips.
"Have some faith, Dany." Pyra spoke up and patted her hair gently.
"Faith? In what?"
"In Emily, of course. I'm giving her two days before she does something highly idiotic and brings the king's attention onto us."
"Two whole days?! Wow… you must really think highly of me."
"Please, I would like it to be known that I think Lady Emily will cause an incident today." Kinvara spoke up, and all three of them giggled at my expense.
"Today, huh?" I said with a smirk, watching as the procession finally appeared on the horizon. The Golden banners were a bit overkill though.
"Sorry, girls, but today is not the day I will be acting idiotic. Though I'm glad all of you have so much confidence in me."
"Didn't you intend to go to Winterfell? Or do you think that Stark won't call upon you? " Dany asked curiously. Her previous bad mood was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, he will, but I can act serious when it suits me, you know?"
"Somehow… I doubt it."
"She can, but the last time she did, she complained about a headache for hours." Pyra said.
"But that was only because I had to use my brain!" I easily countered.
"And that statement right here is why I said today." Kinvara grinned at Daenerys.
"Yes… gank up on poor little Emily…" I said with mock hurt while below us, the procession had fully arrived in Winterfell. Now all I had to do was wait for Stark to call for me.
I will show them. Hehe~
—
Robert was silently gazing at Lyanna's grave for quite some time. Quietly remarking about how she should not be there, in the cold darkness. At last, he gave it one last glance and turned to face Ned.
"You know why I'm here, don't you, Ned? " He said with a hint of impatience.
"Aye, I know, my King."
"The king? Piss on that. It's Robert who's speaking, not the bloody king. I need you, Ned, now more than ever. I need you to be my Hand."
"I'm not suited for the South, Robert, and we both know it." Ned said in a heavy voice.
"And you think I am? You think I am suited for the politics of those vipers? I can't trust anybody there, Ned. But I know that I can trust you." Robert's angry voice filled the silent catacombs.
"Look at me, Ned! Do I look like a man who knows how to hold a kingdom together? I'm a warrior, not a bloody politician. I was made for battle, not for this… this madness." He added quietly, sounding almost vulnerable, then he took a step closer and continued.
"The realm is fucked. They think that I don't see it, but I do. The Lannisters, the Tyrells, and the Martells are circling around like vultures, just waiting for an opportunity. I need someone who won't stab me in the back at the first chance." It honestly pained Ned to see his friend, a man he thought of as a brother, to be like this, and the knowledge he held was not helping the matter either. But there was no backing out, he gave his word to Jon. It had to be done.
"I will do it… But we need to speak about something different first, Robert." He said with a grave voice, betraying nothing.
"Promise me, you won't do anything, no matter what you hear."
"What's this about Ned?" Robert asked in confused anger.
"It's about Jon."
"Jon?"
"Aye… I know what truly happened."
"Lady Strauss? It's time." Before Robert had a chance to form a sentence, he invoked her name. She said that she would come.
"Wha— What in the seven hells is that?!" Robert bellowed out as soon as the portal Lady Emily used for travelling opened inside the crypts.
"Something you do not need to understand, King Robert. You know, Eddard, I had doubted you would reveal it so soon." The Emily that he had come to know over the last month was gone. Her whole presence screamed power, and for the second time, he was reminded that the unruly and frankly, childlike woman, was indeed a god.
"Who… are you?" Robert barked, but the usual strength his voice had wavered, just slightly, but enough for Ned to notice.
"Right now? The one with the truth about Jon." Her voice, which was usually playful, was now calm, cold, and commanding, rooting Robert on the spot and filling him with fear.
"Speak plainly, woman."
"Sure. Jon was murdered by Littlefinger and Lysa Arryn. But he will tell you that himself." She extended her hand toward Ned, and he grasped it without a second thought, making the ghost of Jon appear.
"What is this sorcery, wench! Ned! Who have you brought?!" The flames of their torches flickered dangerously, and the temperature dropped even lower.
"Do be careful with your words, King Robert. Speak to Jon, learn the truth, and be grateful for the opportunity."
"Lady Emily… please be patient with him… he was always slower at learning than Ned." Jon chimed in, trying to defuse the situation.
"J–Jon? Is that truly you?" It was as if the mere mention of his past failings lifted a veil from Robert's eyes.
"Yes, but we can be sentimental later. You must listen to me carefully, Robert, and not let anger cloud your judgment."
"That won't be an issue. Nobody is allowed to leave this place until I say so." She spoke, drew her blade, and swung, making a fissure in the slick cobblestones, which immediately started to spew flames so hot, the stones became bright orange.
"Is that really necessary, Lady Emily?" Ned asked hesitantly.
"Yes." A simple one-word answer, but the tone said it all.
"Who— No, what are you?" Robert managed to get out.
"Pay me no mind, and listen to Jon Arryn."
"Robert, you have been betrayed, more than you can ever imagine. Not only by your master of coin, but by your own wife as well. Your children, your heirs, they carry none of your blood." Jon once again spoke to the king, his voice serious.
"What?! You dare— What madness are you speaking of?!" There was hidden pain in his voice, pain and anger.
"The Queen slept with her brother, Jamie. All of the children are his. Haven't you ever thought that it was strange that none of the children you had with Cersei had your coloring? The seed is strong, Robert. I had sought out your bastards while I was alive, and every single one of them looks like a Baratheon. Every. Single. One. "
"Ned? You knew as well?" He was silent for a while, and then his face contorted in utter rage.
"Aye… I learned of it by chance when I received the news of Jon's passing, and only thanks to Lady Emily. If she were not in Winterfell that day, I would be none the wiser."
"The history of Royal Lineages confirms it, Robert. I'm sorry." Jon added apologetically.
"I will have their head for this! All of them! How dare she parade those bastards around!" He shouted so loudly it was deafening.
"Not the children." The eerily calm voice of Emily silenced them all.
"They carry Lannister blood! And my Heir?! That boy is not right! I always knew that evil spawn couldn't have been born from me!" Robert trembled with rage, but due to Emily's intimidating presence, he hadn't acted yet.
"Children will not suffer for the sins of their parents. You want a war with the Lannisters? Have it, I don't care, but the children will not be harmed." She spoke with the air of finality.
"Robert… she is right. Killing the children won't accomplish anything. Please, see reason." Ned spoke in a soft voice.
Whatever fear Robert felt was gone by this point, as he began pacing around, cursing and yelling. He looked at the ghostly Jon, Ned, and finally at Emily. Hurt was all over his face, even if it was at least partially hidden by rage, but beneath all of that, there was just a quiet resignation.
"Fine!" He spat.
"But Cersei and Jaime… their heads will rot!"
"That will lead to a war, Robert. We need to be smart about it… Careful." Ned tried to speak reason into his friend, but it was failing.
"Careful?! You want me to be careful? Why tell me then?!"
"It was the right thing to do, you deserve to know the truth, no matter how harsh it is. You can set her aside, dismiss Jamie, and denounce your children, if you wish, but do not hastily drag the realm into another war." Ned said, but he was not listening. Instead, Robert was staring at Emily intensely.
"You caused this…"
"Well, that is a strange leap in logic… All of this happened before I even stepped a foot in Westeros. My accidental involvement only sped it up, or do you think nobody else was suspicious?"
"Who else?! Who else knew and said nothing?!" He latched onto the last statement.
"Stannis. He was the one who shared his suspicions with me." Jon said.
"Stannis? My own brother, and he never even bothered to tell me?"
"I know that there was no love between the two of you. How would you have taken it from him? Would you believe him, or would you accuse him of trying to usurp the throne for himself? Think, Robert!"
"Not all is lost. You can start again. Find a new wife and have new, trueborn children." Ned said gently.
"No, Ned. I am fucked either way. Don't you see it? I kill my whore of a wife, and Tywin goes to war. I set her aside, and denounce the children, Tywin will still go to war. No matter what I do, there will be war."
"Do you want war?" Emily asked with interest.
"I am the bloody king! I have to do something. This treachery cannot stand."
"Yes. That you are… but what if you didn't have to be?" Ned really didn't like the question. The mischief that was missing previously was all there, concentrated in this single question.
"You think I haven't dreamed about it? To just throw away the crown and find the first ship sailing to Essos? But how could I when my heir is Joffrey? Just the thought of him sitting on the Iron Throne, with his mother whispering her poisonous words into his ear, is enough to make me stay."
"But he is not your heir anymore, is he?"
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Trying to portray Robert was difficult, and trying to write serious Emily from a different perspective was so strange. I hope I did well.