Chapter 21
CREGAN STARK
The finding of Princess Myrcella had distracted the Lannister men for enough time to have enough Stark men gather to escort him back to Winterfell, and as soon as he had entered the castle, he was taken to the Maester to have his wounds checked by Luwin.
The Lord of the Winterfell, his father was the first one to visit him as Luwin examined his wounds. And as he lay there on the bed, with the aged Maester examining his wounds, his father, and the Lord of the Castle walked into the room just as Luwin had removed his shirt to look at his shoulder.
"Seven Hells!" Eddard Stark cursed as he saw the wound on his shoulder, as their eyes met. And the man's eyes were filled with relief and caution as Cregan hissed in pain, refusing the urge to take Milk of Poppy, for he knew that he had to be awake for what was to come.
"How did this happen?" he asked, and Cregan's lips thinned as he looked at the door and the man was quick to realise his intentions.
"Close the door, and don't let anyone else inside," the Lord of the North ordered as Cregan fought through the pain and answered with a hiss.
"It was Joffrey," and Eddard's eyes widened.
"He tried to kill me. When we separated, he fired an arrow at my horse, making it push me off, and then it was him who shot me once more on the shoulder with his cross-bow," and there was a storm raging in those eyes.
"But then the bandits came before he could shoot, and the bastard slipped and split open his skull one of their axes," and Eddard Stark was quiet for some time.
"The Lannisters have been blaming you for Joffrey's death," Eddard finished, and Cregan understood that.
"I know that," but the Lannisters were not the rulers of the realm.
"And what of the King?" Eddard's face was filled with disappointment as he shook his head.
"Robert wants answers as well. He does not agree with the accusations, but he cannot turn a blind eye to them," Eddard added, and that was much like their King. As his mind raced, he added quickly.
"Was there anyone else who may have seen the Prince attack you, young Master?" Luwin asked, and Cregan shook his head.
"Then I would suggest that you refrain from bringing it up at all," he said, looking at both him and his father.
"Why? He just tried to murder my son, and you want me to let this go!" Eddard Stark asked, and Cregan could see the wisdom of it.
"Perhaps you can bring this up with the King in private," the master offered before he continued with a shake of his head.
"But it would not be wise to make such accusations against the Royal Family at the moment," and as much as it loathed him to say it, he agreed.
"Maester Luwin is right," Cregan cut in as his father's eyes widened.
"He tried to kill you. You would be dead right now if it was not for that bard and those bandits..."
"But I am not," Cregan cut in.
"I am alive, and Joffrey is not. But we are not certain if this was part of a grand plot by the Lannisters, or this was the work of just Joffrey himself," and he was inclined to say that such a stupidity was Joffrey's own doing, but he could never be sure.
Not about this. Not when it involved Cersei Lannister.
"Then...."
KNOCK. KNOCK.
There was a loud knock on the door, as all of them turned around and saw the door open.
"I thought I ordered you to let no on..." but Eddard Stark's words were cut short as they watched the hulking figure of King Robert walk in. His Kingsguard flanked him on the side, and the man's eyes had dark circles around them from a lack of sleep.
"Your grace," Eddard bowed, looking him in the eye as Cregan made to stand as well.
"Do not get up, boy. You can answer my questions well enough lying down," Robert Baratheon roared as those blue eyes landed on him, looking him up and down, the man's eyes narrowing at his wounds.
"What is the meaning of this, Robert? Why have you come here?" his father asked sharply as the King looked at him.
"I have waited enough, Ned. I shall have the truth of what happened in those damned woods, and I will have it now," the King roared.
"Are you accusing my son!" the Lord of the North asked, and the King's lips thinned.
"No, I am not!" Robert thundered in annoyance, before he turned towards him, those blue eyes looked at him from head to toe.
"It is why I came here by myself. This is not a trial," the man answered.
"You need not think it so, but I have long run out of patience and need answers about what happened in that damned forest!" and then he looked into his eyes and spoke up.
"Tell me, boy! Tell me what happened between you and Joffrey in those woods," Cregan sighed. His mind racing about what he was meant to do.
And a part of him wanted to tell the truth and be done with it, yet he also knew that doing so would make wat inevitable.
Then there was the question of the bandits and who may have hired them. Cregan had an idea about who it was, and he wanted his revenge on him.
If he spoke of Joffrey's actions, the relationship between the Starks, the Crown, and the Lannisters would be decimated beyond repair, and yet, with Joffrey gone, the Crown and the Lannisters had also just lost their biggest liability.
But had he really acted alone? And why had he been unable to warg into the animals during the hunt? There were so many questions?
So many choices.
"The young master is injured..." Maester Luwin tried to speak, but Cregan made up his mind as he raised his hand to stop the old man, as he turned to face the King, who was looking at him with his blue eyes, expecting an answer.
And so, taking a leap of fait, Cregan slowly began.
"After separating, the Prince and I rode some distance trying to chase after whatever he had sighted when the Prince fired his crossbow," and at that, Cregan looked at his father and added.
"But his aim was off, and the arrow hit me, here on the shoulder," Cregan pointed out and saw Robert's eyes narrow at the wound.
"I slipped off of my horse and fell to the ground. The Prince followed suit, insulting and blaming me, and we argued for a bit, but then the bandits came," and Cregan saw the man's face blacken at that.
"The Prince slip..."
"THE BOY LIES!" another voice cut through the air as all of them turned to look at the door and watched as the Queen herself walked into the room, flanked on the side by her brother, the Kingslayer.
"He killed the boy! He killed Joff..."
"SILENCE WOMAN!" the King roared as he looked at his Queen with a darkening gaze.
"I warned you, and your brother about running your mouth with this," and then he turned towards his father.
"Ned, I apologize for this. But forgive me, she is distraught at the loss of a son," the King spoke softly, and the Queen did seem rather distraught at the loss of her son, with swollen eyes and flushed face.
"IF YOU WILL NOT HAVE JUSTICE FOR MY SON, THEN I WILL HAVE IT MYSE..."
"I SAID SILENCE!" The king's roar was deafening as he struck the wooden table beside him, breaking it with one strike. The Queen became quiet as he roared at her wildly.
"You forget where you stand! I am the King! He was my son, too, and I will have justice for his death! I will! BUT I WILL NOT HAVE YOU LEVELLING FALSE ACCUSATIONS LIKE THAT!" the Queen finally became quiet as Robert's head snapped towards him. His patience had long run thin.
"How did he die?" he asked quickly, and Cregan gulped.
"He slipped," and that was the truth.
"When the bandits surrounded us, he tried to fight against them, but before he could even take out his sword, the Prince slipped and fell on one of the axes. His head split open, and..." and Cregan did not finish.
"This is enough," his father cut in as he looked Robert in the eye.
"You have your answers, Robert. " His gaze then turned towards the Queen and the Kingsgaurd beside him, and her face was still flushed as she looked at Cregan.
"My son had nothing to do with Prince Joffrey's death," he finished, and just as Robert Baratheon was about to say something, it was the Kingslayer who spoke up.
"And is there anyone who can attest to the truth of his words," the man questioned as the Lord of the North glared at the man.
"You accuse my son of lying?"
"No, Ned he..." the King spoke sharply as the Kingsguard ignored his words and asked Cregan.
"Tell me, boy. Is there anyone who can attest to your version of the events," he asked, and Cregan's fists balled up. He was getting tired of this all.
He did not understand their intentions, before he remembered something rather crucial.
"There is," he spoke, as every eye in the room turned towards him, including his father's and the King's.
He saw the Queen stiffen for a second as the King asked once more.
"Who?" he asked.
He hesitated for a bit, knowing that this was a gamble. But one he had to take if he were to destroy all these allegations.
"Princess Myrcella," he answered as he looked into the King's eyes.
"When the bandits came upon us, the Princess was there as well for some reason," and it was his father who spoke up.
"The Princess found herself lost in the forest while playing with Bran. We found her minutes after you when your direwolf led her to us," and it must have been Aurora's doing. It must have led Myrcella to the caves in search for him.
And when he had woken up and tugged at their connection, it must have come to him, leading Myrcella to them as well.
"She was there, and one of the bandits tried to go after her as I tried to fight against the others. I was able to cut off one's hand with my sword, but I couldn't find them all. So, I ordered Aurora to go to her, and the last thing I saw was it biting into the leg of the bandit chasing after the Princess," he recalled the scene until his world went dark after the blow to his head.
There was silence in the room, and he could see the Queen's troubled expression as she exchanged a glance with her brother.
"Bring me my daughter!" the King ordered.
"She has just returned to us after being lost for days. She is injured and needs..."
"Bring me my daughter!" the King commanded as two of the guards rushed out of the room.
"I will see these accusations to their end here!" the King roared as the room was quiet until minutes later, a very disheveled Myrcella was led into the room. Her face had been cleaned up, yet she still clung to Aurora's light grey fur as the guards led her into the room.
The Queen tried to reach for her daughter, yet it was the King who intervened.
"Come here, Myrcella," he spoke softly as he beckoned her towards him, and she followed him as she came and clung to his massive leg, still dazed after all she had suffered.
Their eyes met for a second, as Cregan saw the King caress his daughter's face as he asked softly.
"Were you there when the bandits attacked him and Joffrey? Did you see it?" he asked, and after a second of hesitation, she nodded, and in all that, his eyes were focused on the Queen's face as she continued to watch her daughter nervously.
"Can you tell me what happened? What did you see? About who killed Joffrey?" the King asked, and he saw Myrcella looking at him before her eyes moved toward her mother as a chill ran down his spine.
'No' he thought.
Had the Queen already talked to her? Had he just been outplayed?
"He slipped," and as soon as she said those words, he saw his father straighten as the King's lips thinned.
"Joffrey slipped, and then he fell down, and his head hit the axe," and she looked down, her face pale and body shaking, as she continued in a quivering voice.
"I screamed, and the one of them ran after me...." and then she looked up at him and then at the bloodied Aurora.
"But then he shouted at me to run!" she said, pointing at him.
"And she, she bit into the man's leg, and then it led me to the mountains. I was so afraid... " The girl began to cry as the King hugged his daughter and let her cry in his arms as he looked towards his men.
"Find me the bandits that did this!" he ordered, looking at the guards.
"All of them! I will interrogate them myself!" he finished as he left the room alongside the rest of his men, and as soon as he did, a whole slew of people rushed in, led by none other than Arya.
"Brother!" and she came in, her eyes red and puffy as she came in and hugged him on the side.
"SHHH!" he hissed in pain as Maester Luwin pried her away.
"Your brother is injured, my lady. He needs rest," and Cregan stopped the man.
"I will be fine," his father gave him a nod.
"We will talk more later," he said, leaving the room. His mother and Sansa walked into the room. Both had tears running down their faces as they came in and hugged him.
"Brother.."
"Cregan..."
0000
Back in Kingslanding, a web of tunnels ran under the Red Keep, spreading out like webs of the spider that walked through them with the hulking figure of a merchant that had come from across the Narrow Sea.
"We were nearly thrust into a war," Varys, the Spider, told the man as he walked behind him.
"But is it not in our favor to have a war?" the man asked, and the spider nodded.
"It is, but not yet. The boy is too young, and the other two dragons are still in the picture. This was too early," but thankfully, the war had been prevented, at least for the time being.
"The boy prince is dead, but his death has caused much tension between the Starks and the Lannisters. Something that we can exploit in the future," the Spider added as he turned around.
"But we need more time. The attack, the one in which the Prince died, I have laid the blame for it on the Targaryen siblings abroad to keep the realm together for some time," he said.
"The King will surely ask of me to handle them as soon as he returns," Varys answered as the older merchant nodded.
"And what will you do when that happens?" the man asked.
"I will do as a loyal subject would...."
0000
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