The Crippled Wolf: Stark SI (GOT)

Chapter 26

CERSEI LANNISTER

The caravan rode to Kingslanding with haste, stopping only to take a short respite from the arduous journey and to let their horses eat and forage before taking to the road again.

Cersei did not mind the faster pace of the journey. With every passing village and settlement, she felt her heart ease further and further, as the fear that had gripped her heart ever since she had first stepped into the North began to fade.

Her two children rode alongside her in the carriage, Myrcella and Tommen both rode with her, and her son clung to her during the journey as Cersei refused to let him out of her sights. Though her daughter preferred the company of another.

And Cersei found herself surprised and intrigued by her closeness with the Stark boy, who still remained a puzzle to her. Cersei had grown up around boy, she knew of their habbits, and their desires.

Most of them were simpler creatures at their age, prone to boasts and taunts and great arrogance that would either be eroded away with the passing of years or would become so inflated as to make them insufferable.

Yet, Cregan Stark was no boy. He spoke softly and cautiously, and the boy opened his mouth as if counting the words that came out of his mouth. He was patient, and those eyes of his, whenever she found herself staring at them, reminded her of a familiar gaze.

One that she had not felt upon herself in years.

And the boy had tales to tell, tales that were strange and foreign that she had neither read nor heard anywhere in her life. Both Tommen and Myrcella seemed rather familiar with them, much to her surprise, as both of them asked for rather specific stories by name and despite his injuries, which had clearly not healed, the boy would always patiently acquiesce to their demands, entertaining them late into the night until both of them would fall asleep.

Days had passed and yet they spoke very little. The boy did express his condolences at Joffrey's passing on the first day, and yet they spoke very little afterwards even though Cersei's gaze continued to linger towards him as she tried to make sense of just why had someone just tried to kill him? Who was so threatened by the boy?

They were now about a week's ride away from the city, and Cersei found herself walking through the woods as the men put up tents, for themselves. The days of sitting had made her legs swell and cramp, and so she decided to take a walk to ease the swelling, and to clear her mind.

"So, what do you think?" Jamie asked, as he walked besides her while half a dozen Lannister guards surrounded her on all sides, while more than double this number was stationed around her carriage under the Hound's command, where her two children slept.

"About what?" she asked, and her brother raised a brow.

"The boy, he has been riding with you for weeks," and she nodded, realising his intent.

"He is strange," and that much she had always known.

"Stranger than any boy I have ever known," she replied with a frown as they walked through the woods. And that was the most she had managed to learn in the days he had sat with her in that carriage.

"He has the patience and the manners of an old man, and yet his mind is as wonderous as a mummer yet I still cannot understand why someone would try and kill him," she answered back, as Jamie frowned.

"And what of the incident with Joffrey?" he asked, and that was one reason she had made the boy sit with her, to see whether the boy had chosen to omit her son's actions out of pragmatism, or had he simply forgotten about them all.

"Either the boy lied to the King for some reason, or he has simply forgotten about it because of the fall," and the boy had fell down from his horse and hit his head, he could simply have forgotten about what had transpired afterwards.

It would not be so out of the ordinary for someone to forget things on hitting their head. She had heard tales of men forgetting their entire lives after hitting their heads hard, and the boy had fell down of a horse.

"Still, as much as I would like to believe that is the latter, I fear that the boy has chosen to lie for some reason," she answered as she came to a halt and turned around to face Jamie.

"Now what reason it is, I do not know?" she clarified as Jamie shook his head.

"You think too highly of the boy," he retorted as he leaned against one of the trees.

"You first accused him of knowing our secret, and yet here we stand having returned alive from the North. The boy did not know," he answered, and indeed her fears had been proven wrong.

She had feared that they would not return from the North with their heads, and yet they had come back with their heads intact.

"You mislike the boy for some reason, and that fuels your fears," Jamie added, as he held her hand, and perhaps it was true.

Perhaps it was because of those eyes, and how familiar she found them to those of her lord father.

"There could be another reason," she added as Jamie raised a brow.

"What?" Jamie asked.

"The boy chose not to speak of Joffrey's actions for he knew that the King would not believe him," she added, and it made sense as well.

"He could have asked for the testimonies of one of the bandits," Jamie countered.

"You killed all of the bandits," she added, and Jamie shook his head.

"But the boy did not know that," and that was a good point as she bit her lip, still not able to make sense of the boy's actions.

Jamie sighed as he walked up to her and held her arms.

"Forget about the boy. He is of no consequence to us in the capital. What we must question is, who hired those bandits?" Jamie asked, and she had spent days and nights pouring over that question as well.

And yet, to this day, she had no answer.

"I have no idea," she answered.

"Robert does," Jamie cut in, making her head snap towards his face.

"Who?" she asked.

"The Targaryens," he answered, and the name held many memories for her, memories and aspirations about a Prince, about a marriage, and about a future that never came to be.

"A rider came from the capital last night, carrying the Spider's word," and the bald man unsettled her much, for she knew that the man was loyal to no one.

Yes, he may pretend to be her friend or even the Crown's friend, but he was no one friend.

He was a mummer singing a different song to everyone, playing them all for fools in his web.

"He believes that the bandits were hired by the Targaryens." She did not believe those words.

"But they are children. They must be no older than Joffrey by now," she added as a strange expression passed over her brother's face.

"No. Viserys is a few years older than him, though I still doubt that the boy would have been able to hire the bandits from halfway across the world," and this was not the first time the name of the Targaryens had been brought up.

News and word about them would be brought to the Council's ear every now and then.

"Then who? And why would the Spider spring such a tale?" she asked.

"I do not yet know. Tyrion thinks that it could be the work of a Targaryen loyalist, one who hopes to cause a rift in the realm by pitting House Lannister and House Stark against one another," and as much as she loathed her brother, the idea had merit.

It was the only reason, attacking the Stark boy made sense.

"The King is of the same mind and has asked the Spider to look into it, but there is one more thing," he added, and she frowned.

"What?" he asked.

"He also plans to announce the match between Cregan and Myrcella once we reach the capital...." and Cersei's lips thinned as she heard that.

Robert had not made the announcement yet, at her behest, but by now, the match was in many ways an open secret in the retinue. If the announcement was made, she would not be able to stop it.

"He is still insistent on it?" she asked, and Jamie nodded.

"Even more than before," and he stepped forward, matching her steps, as she walked deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Eddard Stark rides to the capital today," Jamie added, the suggestion obvious, and after a quick thought, she shook her head.

"No, there is no need to rush this anymore," she added as they walked into the forest.

"They are in our lands now, and there is still many a year until the boy and Myrcella have spoken their vows," and in the capital, she was the Queen and would have no difficulty in arranging a little accident for the boy.

"As you say," Jamie was infront of her, and as she looked around, they were alone as he held her arms and looked into her eyes. His intentions were clear as day, and just as he was about to lean forward, she pushed his arms away and shook her head.

"No, not now," she said as his mood visibly soured.

"I have not been feeling well for a few days..."

0000

DAENERYS TARGARYEN

Her marriage to Khal Drogo was meant to get them an army so they could return back home. It was a transaction, and Daenerys had feared marrying the Khal, whose towering figure was enough to intimidate even grown men.

Yet she had persisted. She had done her duty and married the Khal so that her brother could have his army. So that they could return home.

Not that she remembered much of home, like him. He spoke of knights and castles, of people hungering for the return of the their true rulers, though Daenerys often doubted his words. Doubted that the people loved them so fiercely that they hungered for his return.

For all his rage and dreams, she knew in her heart that her brother was no dragon.

And though she would never speak it, she feared that the Crown would be lost to him even with the army.

Being the Khaleesi, she was waited on by many a slaves, and given her own tent. She was learning the tongue of her lord husband along with ways, and motions to please him further in their nights of union.

And as she rested in her tent, staring at the three warm dragon eggs gifted to her by the fat magister Illyrio on her marriage, her brother walked into the tent behind her.

"Where is the feast! The celebration!" and his voice mad her turn around in a hurry and she watched him sauntering and smiling, with a bottle of wine in his hands.

It had been years since she had seen him smile and laugh so freely.

"What brings you to my tent brother?" she asked cautiously for she had learned early in her life to not anger the dragon.

Though Viserys was no true dragon.

"Have you not heard the news?" her brother asked as he looked at her incredulously, and Daenerys shook her head, looking towards her servants.

"What news?" she asked as her brother took a big gulp of the wine before he walked towards her.

"About our home," he began with a laugh.

"Our allies! They have struck back at the usurper for us!" he replied, and for a second, she hoped that the usurper was dead, that the revenge her brother had so sought was over.

"They have killed his son!" and her eyes widened at those words as her brother laughed.

"They have killed his son!" he took a big gulp of his wine before he nearly stumbled, and Daenerys rushed to help him to his feet.

"Brother!" she asked cautiously as she helped him stand. The smell of wine coming off of him was thick, telling her that he was very drunk.

"He is dead, and soon enough, they will all be dead. All of them," he continued, and Daenerys led him to the bed as he finally looked at her.

"They would have killed the other one as well. A son of the Starks, but the boy got away," he mumbled, and she could not understand half of what he was saying as his words slurred because of the wine.

"Army. Now, you must get that savage to march at my command. We shall strike at once," he suggested as Daenerys gulped.

"Tell the savage that his King commands it," he shouted as she saw another man step into her tent. She was relieved as she saw who it was.

"Ser Jorah," she called out, and the man stepped forward and took her brother's weight off her shoulder and helped him to the bed, as he mumbled and laughed.

"He has drunk too much wine," the man said, as he took away the flask from his hands, before turning towards him.

"I will take him to his own tent, Khaleesi," he said, and she nodded.

And just as the man was about to leave her tent, she called out.

"Is it true?" she asked, and the man glanced back at her before. The Northerner had come into their service hoping for a pardon and was a loyal servant who made her feel safe, as Ser Willam Darry had.

"Yes, Prince Joffrey died at the hands of bandits during a hunt," and her heart lept at those words, and though she had never met the boy, she felt happy at his death.

And a part of her felt guilt because of that, that she was celebrating the death of a boy her age. However, she bore no love for the usurper, or his Queen whose family had slaughtered her own kin.

"Then we must strike at once," she added, and the older knight's lips thinned as he answered.

"The death of the Prince is indeed a big blow, but the Seven Kingdoms are still strong. The Usurper has a second son, who is now is heir, and there are rumors that he plans to wed his daughter to a son of the Starks," and her mood soured at those words.

"This was not the work of a loyalist was it?" she asked, and the man shook his head.

"No, my lady, it was not. But the Usurper will think as much. He might even try to target you and your brother because of this," he said, and her eyes widened.

"But we did not do this," she complained.

"But the usurper may not think so, and he would want revenge. You should be more cautious from now on. Do not leave the tent without your guards," he said and gave her a nod.

"I will be back after I have helped the Prince to his tent," and with that she nodded and the man left her tent leaving her alone once more as Daenerys walked towards the three stone eggs once more.

"Why?" she complained.

"Why would he target me?"

"We did nothing...."

"I did not kill his son..."

0000

On Dragonstone, Stannis Baratheon stood in his solar looking into the fires yet he saw nothing but burning woods and crackling flames, and he wondered if this was all he was meant to see.

Wondered what the woman beside him saw in the flames? And if so, what more did she see?

"You were right," he whispered as he remembered the missive he had received from his brother.

"Joffrey is dead, killed by bandits during a hunt," he answered as the Red Woman turned to face him.

"I told you, didn't I?" she spoke softly, and the flames danced at her words.

"You are destined for greatness, and now the Lord of the Light has shown you his powers. Without even lifting a finger, one of your enemies is dead," she whispered, and he wondered why the Lord had needed a bandit to swing the blade then.

"You still have doubts," she said astutely, and yet there was no judgment in her words as Stanis stared into her eyes. Her red irises glew as she touched his face, and the warmth of her hand cut through the cold and spread all over his being.

"It is only natural," she added, and her lips parted to show those teeth so white as if carved out of pearls.

"But this is but the first of many signs. You are the Lord's chosen, and soon, you shall rule over these lands as you are meant to. Death will come for your enemies. All of them," she insisted, and Stannis raised a brow.

"When?" he asked.

"Soon...."

"Very soon...."

0000

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