298 AC, Winterfell…
The wolves were howling as the whole castle was in a panic because one of the Stark children fell from an abandoned tower. A mother's wailings were ringing in the hall of the castle and boys angry at life hitting dummies were seen by the folk of the castle.
A lordly man with black hair and grey eyes was talking with a man wearing a white robe.
"I feel your grievance, my lord. However, your wish goes against the teachings of the temple…" said the white-robed man.
Ned looked at the man before him and wished to be just a minor lord so he could save his son from his pain. However, he was a great lord and lord of the last bastion of the Old Gods. Even if his son needed this foreign man's assistance, he couldn't abandon his Gods.
"I'm sure we can have a deal just like you did with the Night's Watch," Ned spoke with a grimace in his voice as he still remembered Robert's warning about them.
The priest's eyes shone with greed but the shining quickly sated as he coughed into his hands and spoke with apathy, "Words are already given, my lord, no use to convince me. The words of the Prophet are absolute and unless a member of your house does not convert, there will be no help to your child from us."
Ned pressed his lips together and gritted his teeth but still, there was nothing he could do as he was the one who was seeking help so he dismissed the man with his hand.
As the priest bowed his head and left swiftly, Ned turned around to visit his wife and bed-ridden child. However, he was met with Robert coming to him and a small smile came to his face seeing his friend.
"Ned, how was it?! Are those leeches going to help?" asked Robert while watching the priest going back to the castle.
"No, they asked a member of House Stark to convert…"
Robert knitted his brows, "The nerve of that bastard! While coming to Winterfell, all he talked was about his fuckin' God." He said, "Whatever, we could deal with them when you come to the South."
Ned chewed his lower lips and said, "Robert… I'm not coming to the South. My family needs me here."
"What?!!" Robert's eyes widened, "Is it because of that bloody priest? I will fuckin' bash their heads to the Wall then we will see whether they heal your child or not!!"
Robert chased after the priest with the kingsguards following him with quickened steps while cursing the priest.
Need shook his head seeing this as he was tired and went to visit his wife and son.
Next Morning…
The king summoned Ned before the first light spilt from the windows of the castle. The sky was reddish and the roosters were not awakened yet. Still, the king's orders were absolute so Ned went to meet his king.
The doors to the king's room were guarded by the two kingsguards. Ned greeted them and went to open the doors but the doors opened themselves as he saw the priest from yesterday standing before him with a huge smile on his face. The priest bowed his head towards him and went out while Ned turned to the room and went inside.
Ned saw Robert sitting on his chair behind the table with a cup of wine on his hand. His eyes were tired and it was obvious he did not sleep the whole night.
"Ah, Ned. Come, sit." His voice was dripping with fatigue but he roused a bit when he saw Ned.
Ned sat on a chair before the table. Robert offered him wine but he refused and said that it was too early. Robert turned to look out of the window and sighed a bit then he turned to Ned and pointed his finger like scolding a child and said, "Now, you are coming with me to King's Landing."
Ned tried to speak but Robert cut him off, "I talked with the damn priest and he will heal your son."
Ned was dumbstruck as he did not expect such a thing to come in the morning, "But how? Did you…."
Robert raised one of his brows, "Of course, I did not convert. I just gave them and the Faith a position on the council as an advisor. The prick wanted only them to be on the council but with the Faith being there, at least we could mitigate their influence." Robert rubbed his eyes, "Now, I don't want to deal with such things anymore. From now on, this will be your job."
Robert put a golden thing on the table and pushed it towards Ned. It was a golden badge symbolizing the position of the Hand. Ned picked up the badge, pinned it to his cloth and stood up. He went to hug his friend for the favour he had done for his family but Robert stopped him and said, "Not a man, I need a goddamn whore before starting my day."
Ned laughed with Robert and poured a glass of wine to himself despite just saying it was too early…
Lys, the Meeting Room of the Temple…
A man in black robes and a headscarf was reporting to another man, "Everything is ready, Your Holiness. The men are waiting for orders and the stocks are full. Though some of them are caught, most of them are ready and waiting. They are ready to sacrifice themselves for the holy cause."
"You did well, Simon. Make sure the smuggled weapons are not caught. By the end of the year, Myr and Pentos will be ours and they will not be able to do anything about it." The man named the Prophet gave a cruel smile and sipped from his wine.