"No his sister said that she...."
"But his brother said...."
Everyone was arguing about what the truth was, and no one was really listening to each other; it was simply a duel to impose authority over the other. I found this pitiful as they almost forgot the initial problem.
"Enough, Jon come here right now," said the king.
"Yes, my king," I said with my usual emotionless, neutral facade in the presence of annoying people, a habit I learned thanks to Catelyn Tully.
"You killed one of my guards," Cersei angrily accused upon seeing me return, and not her guards.
"No, of course not, I would never dare, I just killed 3 traitors to the crown," I said calmly.
"My family's guards are not traitors," she said furiously at the insinuation that the Lannisters are traitors.
"So, if I understand correctly, you sent your escort to assassinate a little girl, only 9 years old, the daughter of the Hand of the King, who is also the Warden of the North and the best friend of your husband, who happens to be the King, is that what you're admitting in front of this assembly?" I asked.
She froze, and I continued in the same empty tone:
"That's what I thought, how could a queen as kind and gentle as you commit such a savage and disgusting act, I regret not making them suffer more, of course, you don't need to thank me, I did it without expecting any reward."
I saw Arya laugh, but a stern look from me quickly removed the smile from her face, the king looked annoyed and said:
"This matter has lasted long enough, Ned, take your children and discipline them, I will do the same with my son."
"Very well," said my Uncle, relieved that this matter would not escalate further.
"And about the girl's wolf," said the Queen, ready not to let go of any crumb to satisfy her thirst for revenge and pettiness.
"It's not Arya's wolf, it's my wolf, and I gave a clear order to that wolf: kill anyone who tries to harm Arya, so it's not her fault."
The king did not respond immediately but eventually said:
"Behead the wolf."
I clenched my fists and rejoiced internally because I had the good reflex to let them both escape.
"Your Majesty..." I began, but he did not let me speak and looked at me furiously, saying, "I will not repeat myself, behead the damn wolf."
Cersei and Joffrey watched us jubilantly, and I lowered my head, saying:
"Very well... I would be pleased to obey your instructions, but unfortunately, Nymeria and Ghost are nowhere to be found, they fled once we were chased by the queen's guards, probably sensing the danger, wolves have an extremely precise instinct."
Seeing the faces of Joffrey and Cersei crumble was so satisfying I almost smiled, but I quickly composed myself and hid the smile threatening to bloom on my face, the king, even more, angry, finally yelled:
"GET OUT, ALL OF YOU, OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
I was about to leave with the rest of the crowd when the king said:
"NO, JON STARK, YOU STAY HERE WITH ME, THE REST OUTSIDE."
Once the crowd was out, he calmed down and heavily sat on his throne, looking at me, and I returned the gaze. Since discovering magic, I had a kind of confidence bordering on arrogance at times, knowing I could snap a man's neck, immolate him, or even create a water bubble around his head to drown him with a hand gesture.
I was not invincible nor immortal, but I was no longer afraid of dying at any moment. He looked at me for a long time and finally said:
"You don't look like a bastard, you look like the son I would have wanted."
When he said that, I must admit my heart started racing, I kept asking myself, 'does he know?'
I lowered my head and then said in a modest tone:
"It's an honor to hear that from your mouth, your majesty, but..."
"Don't call me that, call me Robert."
"Uncle Robb, that's better, isn't it?" I said teasingly, taking a risk.
He laughed and said:
"Alright, Uncle Robb suits me perfectly..." he took a few seconds before telling me: "...I want you to know that you're fooling no one with your false politeness, you're smart, but if you want to keep breathing once you arrive in the capital, you'll have to learn to be less smart and stronger, I could have beheaded you for your insolence."
I nodded and said:
"I'm sorry, but my sister will always be the priority in my life."
"I understand, and that's a good thing, I have great respect for the Starks for their family spirit, but I will have to punish you to set an example," he said.
"Very well," I said, preparing myself for whatever punishment he might impose.
"When we arrive at King's Landing, you will take care of the gold cloaks, I want you to make them an elite army, nowadays they are just a pile of trash incapable of holding a city siege against an army of naked women, if you fail, you will have to commit to serving Joffrey for the rest of your life as his sworn shield and future royal guard, and before you object, I'm not asking your opinion, it's an order I'm giving you as your Sovereign."
I evaluated him as he laughed, realizing he probably hoped I would become his son's right-hand man, like Ned was to him during the rebellion if the Targaryens ever resurfaced to reclaim the throne.
Whether as commander of the city guard, royal guard, lord commander of the royal guard, or Hand of the King, he wanted me tied to the crown for the rest of my life.
It's a shame he didn't know that not only was I not his friend Ned's son, but Joffrey wasn't his son either, and even if he were, I would never be loyal to such filth.
I said in a serious and servile tone:
"I will do it."
He nodded, then handed me a glass of wine he had filled and said: "That's all I wanted to hear, I forbid you to show yourself before we reach King's Landing."
I nodded and left, sighing with relief because I had avoided all the disasters that would have cost us a war between the Starks and Lannisters for now, everything wasn't perfect, but at least it wasn't as bad as in the series."