Caspian the Great

Caspian rode on the horse in contemplative silence. The trip to Winterfell had been interesting to say the least. At his royal father's incentive Eddard Stark had agreed to be the hand of the king. But Bran Stark had fallen from the tower and was in danger of never waking from his injuries.

Caspian was the only one of the royal children who thought anything of it and offered his sympathy to Lord and Lady Stark because of it. Myrcella ,his younger sister a sweet girl of ten name days and younger brother Tommen, only of nine name days were sad, but there was not much that he could have done.

Caspian looked at his younger siblings with fondness. Despite the fact that he looked nothing like them, and took after his father with his dark hair and blue eyes while they had blonde hair and green eyes, he did care a great deal about them.

His elder brother, Crown prince, Joffrey Baratheon and he were like night and day about the matter however. Joffrey hid his cruelty behind a charming mask that he showed to the world, but Caspian was one of silent cunning and intellect. He liked to watch people and see how they behaved and what they did. His mother always told them that whoever wasn't a Lannister was their enemy.

But Caspian wasn't sure he believed that. Because Joffrey was the first born in the eye of the realm, he would be the king when his father died. While Caspian was allowed to be the prince who didn't have a care about Iron Throne.

He kept to his books and his studies however and while the rest of the family may have detested Uncle Tyrion at worst and kept their distance from him at best. Caspian was the only one who got along with him. His nuncle treated him with maturity in lieu of his sharp mind unlike his other uncle Jamie. They both liked to read and Tyrion had one of the sharpest minds in the Seven Kingdoms.

Earlier he had often asked his Uncle Tyrion, why he didn't look like the rest of his siblings? The dwarf had merely said he took after his father's side of the family. No matter how he pressed his uncle that was all that Tyrion would say.

When he turned thirteen however, Caspian began to wonder if he was really related to his siblings at all. Particularly after witnessing the cruelty of Joffery on a cat. Bypassing Tyrion as he was sure he would never learn anything from him, Caspian went to the great library in the palace and there went quietly digging through the Baratheon and Lannister family trees.

And it was there that he discovered a startling fact. Every single Baratheon born from Lannister coupling had black hair and blue eyes like he had. Sometimes green-blue eyes were mentioned, but hair was always black. And due to being earlier rulers of Stormlands and Westerlands and later Paramount of said region, there had been many unions between both families throughout ages. But there hadn't been one child born between both families that only had golden hair and green eyes like his siblings did.

From there, Caspian went digging into the Lannister family tree and discovered that their family traits were consistently blonde hair with green eyes and slender build. Legends held it was the ancestry from Lann the Clever and while not exclusive to Westermen but was prevalent in House Lannister and its descendants.

The parallels were impossible to ignore. So he went to Tyrion and demanded to know if he was a bastard. He was insistent upon it for weeks and finally the dwarf broke down and swore to him adamantly that no...He was not a bastard, he had been there for Caspian's birth and he was the child of Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister. Also Cersei would not have raised a bastard of Robert along with other royal children. This of course prompted Caspian to ask that if he wasn't a bastard than were his other siblings because he didn't look like them in the slightest.

Tyrion's face had turned to stone and that had been all the answer that the Baratheon Prince needed. And now he had had to live with the fact that he was the only legitimate son and his sadist of a half-brother was going to inherit it upon Robert's death.

As confusing as this was however, he knew enough not to say anything to his mother as she would deny it with her last breath. He didn't know who the real father of his siblings were and he didn't want to know. It was enough that every single one of them were bastards. And if realm come to know of Cersei's act, the whole realm shall drown in blood and chaos. Tommen and Myrcella were sweet children and Caspian cared for them a great deal. They would be the ones he would try to protect if this finding ever got out.

In the meantime, he was simply biding his time with the royal family and trying to see who would be his allies and enemies.

Since his mother always treated him indifferently and sometimes even anger, Caspian learned to be wary of her and everyone else from his mother's side of family. His grandfather was ruthless and every bit as cold hearted as Joffrey, though he was pragmatic about it. All in all Caspian had grown up in a lion's den and knew how to tread lightly. His brother would be king and as the second son he would be next in line to take the throne should something happen to Joffrey.

Caspian could only imagine what people might do to Joffrey when he became king. With ill temperament and lack of skills to rule the seven kingdom. Caspian was assured of trouble brewing in future. He knew what he would do if he were king. He knew his mother somewhat loved him, but as long as Joffrey was alive, she would never place the crown on his head, despite the fact that he was the rightful heir.

And while Caspian was cunning, he knew it would be a fools errand to try and overthrow his brother for crown if he was still alive till time. So from the year since he had learned this knowledge, he had bided his time, kept silent until any incident light the spark into the wild fire of the feudal system of Westeros.

Caspian didn't know if he would make a good king, but at this point it didn't matter. He liked power and authority just fine and his family had all the power in the known world of man. Caspian knew it wasn't just having power, but it was how one used it. Joffrey had proven himself the poster child for sadism as a benchmark of what he would do.

He glanced out the window of the wheelhouse and saw the daughters of Eddard Stark astride their horses next to their father. Sansa Stark was a fiery red head and took after her mother's side of the family. Caspian knew she was going to be a gorgeous on reaching maturity, Catelyn Stark was any indication. She was to be Joffrey's bride however and he still had time to find one of his own.

Next to her rode her sister Arya Stark. The two were as different as he and Joffrey were. Arya had dark hair and grey eyes unlike Sansa's deep blue. She was rather plain looking and seemed to take after her father's side of the family. They were both polar opposites in personality as well. He could tell that if Arya were allowed to do anything in the world, it would be to pick up a sword and fight as a knight.

Sansa seemed to be the type of girl who dreamed of far off castles and knights and princes that would sweep her away on a fairy-tale adventure. All in all, a very naive and innocent view of the world. She was only three and ten name days after all, but she would soon learn that the world of Kings Landing would be far crueller than she would ever dare think. It was a snake pit with backstabbers at every corner in name of Game of Thrones.

In a way Caspian felt sorry for her. He had been raised in that life, constantly wary of people and never truly trusting anyone. His grandfather told him that he was a Lannister through and through with his Constance shrewdness and reticence, during his fosterage at Casterly Rock.

Caspian simply thought of it as a by-product of growing up with Joffrey as elder brother. The two disliked each other intensely and avoided the other like the plague when they were allowed to. Caspian got off on pushing his elder brother's buttons because was not smart in the least. He didn't look farther ahead than the minute they were in and would have started wars all to sate his own desires and appetites for power and blood.

Caspian disliked his plunge ahead attitude. He had come to be even more careful since learning the news that all three of his siblings were bastards. That kind of knowledge was extremely dangerous and while his mother loved him, he knew that she was wary of him as well because of his connection to Robert.

Cersei hated his father and the feeling was mutual. Caspian was a product that had come from that hatred and so he didn't know if his mother loved him as much as she did her other children.

It was just as well, he wasn't sure if he liked her either. And knowing that a bastard was going to take the throne wasn't a thought that sat comfortably with him. But he held his silence as he always did….and simple watched to see what would happen.

"Do you think Bran will be okay?" Tommen asked. Caspian smiled at his little brother.

"I'm sure he'll be just fine Tommen."

Joffrey snorted in derision and Caspian glared at him before turning back to the nine name days old. If he had to truly care for anyone in the family, it was Tommen, Myrcella and his uncle Tyrion. His younger siblings were sweet and innocent and had no knowledge of politics and bastards and the bloody world they lived in. And Caspian hoped it would stay that way for as long as possible.

He spared a glance at Joffrey but the crown prince's face remained stonily expressionless. Caspian snorted inwardly. His older brother didn't care one shred about the family name and what it stood for, all he cared about was power and how he was going to get it. Caspian had a feeling that his mother was gearing up for something with the way she had been conferring with Uncle Jaime on the royal visit to Winterfell and he resolved to keep an eye on the both of them.

Robert ignored him for most of his life, but the man was still his father and Caspian still at least outwardly respected him.

He kept his own loyalties ambiguous as that was the only way to survive at court. Joffrey would not stop crowing about how he was to be king someday and Caspian grew weary of the constant pontificating and hid himself away in his books and sword lessons. Ser Barristan Selmy had overseen that he knew how to handle a sword when he wasn't busy.

One of those few things had been teaching him was how to fight since he was eight with all weapon used by Westeros martials. Mind it that Caspian was as good as he could be in the last five years. He was by no means a master but if he kept up at it, he was sure he could be just as good as Ser Bold one day.

He didn't know that one day would be a short time in coming, as the realm was about to enter chaos the like of which had never been seen since the Dance of the Dragons, with the ultimate glory being power of Iron Throne.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Caspian shut the door to his chambers, glad to be home and rid of the stink and dust of travel. The north had been beautiful with cool clear air, but there was something about being in ones own place of birth that was relaxing to the soul.

There had been nothing relaxing about the last leg of the journey however. He could still hear Joffrey's whining about the nibble the dire wolf had made on his arm. Sansa Stark had been a mess since the whole ordeal and her father was ordered to execute the wolf. He couldn't deny he felt a little sorry for his brother's bride to be and when he saw the tiny vicious smirk on his mother's face, he knew she had gotten exactly what she wanted. Far be it for Queen Cersei Lannister to be replaced by any little upstart from the north….despite the fact that she was to be her son's intended.

He sighed, exasperated.

Didn't his idiot of a brother know that if he drew so much attention to himself in a negative light, it wouldn't endear him to anyone? But he supposed that was just the point. Joffrey was going to be king so he didn't really care whether or not his actions were unbecoming. The king can do as he likes, was his favourite saying.

Caspian was disgusted by his older brother's idiotic tendencies. If it wasn't enough that Joffrey was unnecessarily cruel, he was completely stupid about it. It was as if their mother hadn't taught him a thing his entire life about being shrewd. His brother may have been bastard but that didn't excuse the fact that he was declared a prince.

He's going to ruin the Seven Kingdoms, Caspian thought, not for the first time. Then again, his father seemed to be doing an adequate enough job of that already. His whoring and drinking and feasting were enough to drive any wealthy house into debt, but the crown was in over their heads with the amount of golden dragons they owed to House Lannister, Faith, House Tyrell and above them all Iron Bank of Braavos.

And to top it all off, they were to host a tourney in honour of the new Hand of the King. Caspian changed out of his travelling clothes back into the robes of a prince and was just heading for the door of his chamber when there came a sudden rap upon the wood.

He opened it to find Cersei standing there.

"Mother," he said formally.

Cersei looked him over carefully.

He wasn't that much younger than Joffrey both of them having been born in the same year but there couldn't have been two more different boys. Cersei had lived in dread since his birth that someone would recognize the differences between them and ask questions. No one had, but the fear of the unknown constantly put her on edge.

She loved all her children equally, but Caspian had more Lannister in him than the rest of the royal rabble combined. Tommen and Myrcella were too young to know how to manipulate people and Joffrey was becoming near uncontrollable with his arrogant ways. He respected no one, not even her and deep down Cersei was a little worried about what would happen when he took the throne after Robert's death.

Caspian however was an anomaly. He was the only child she had had that wasn't from Jaime's loins and every time she looked at him she saw a young Robert, a young Robert who was charming and handsome and would grow up to be strong and a capable ruler.

Sometimes in the deepest parts of herself, she wished Caspian had been born first. He may have looked like Robert, but she had a feeling he was going to grow up to be as shrewd as his grandfather.

Caspian wasn't cruel like Joffrey, but he wasn't sweet like Tommen either. He was somewhere in between. He knew when to talk and when to be silent, he knew when to smile and when to get angry. And those qualities made him very smart. It made Cersei a little wary of the man he would grow to be. Joffrey was predictable and she could manage his mood swings, but Caspian had always been even tempered which made it harder to know what he was thinking.

"Now that the northerners have arrived, we need to be careful," she said to him as the two walked from the room arm in arm. "I don't trust them, Ned Stark especially. The king says he is an honourable man, but that only makes Robert more receptive to him….they were friends after all."

"Mother why are you telling me this?" Caspian asked curiously as they walked slowly down the hall.

He always found he listened to his mother more than spoke to her. If he this, she always think that he was taking in everything she was saying and not making plans of his own.

Cersei looked down at him. "Isn't it obvious? I want you to be careful around them. We are Lannisters and that means that anyone who is not one of us is our enemy. I do not trust this new Hand. He is an honourable man. And that means he cannot be bought."

She said the word honourable as they walked almost as if it were a profane thing and Caspian looked up at her with mild amusement.

"What is so bad about being honourable?" He asked with a half smirk.

Cersei looked at him as if he had taken leave of his senses. "Has your grandfather taught you nothing? Honour makes people weak. It makes them do things that could endanger the safety of the realm. Eddard Stark is one such man. Do not trust him my son."

That is certainly ironic, Caspian thought to himself. But I'd sooner trust an honourable man than you mother. At least an honourable man would never lie to me.

He cared for his mother, but love and care were not the same things and after learning she had lied to him all these years by telling him that his siblings were all royal princes and princesses, he had learned to hold her at arm's length. Court was a den of vipers that gave his father Robert Baratheon constant headaches as he said he listened to people until his ears would fall off and his ass would grow raw.

Caspian smirked to himself. His grandfather knew how to navigate that particular nest of snakes and had done so for twenty years as Hand under Aerys Targaryen. He had made the kingdom successful while the mad king had delved further and further into insanity.

The whole kingdom benefited from the disposal of him however. He had died before Caspian had been born obviously but his Uncle Jaime had been the one to slay him. He never spoke about it with Caspian and whenever the second son had asked, he would always tell him he would convey the story to him when he became a man.

"I don't think it's the ones with honor that you need to worry about mother," he said easily.

By this time, they had exited the hallways wand walked out into one of the palaces many courtyards. The air was warm as they were still in summer time and the fruit trees were in full bloom. The heady scent of exotic flowers filled the air and wooden benches lined the cobblestones pathway.

Cersei put her arm through Caspian's and the two of them slowed their pace.

The Tower of the Hand was just ahead of them and there was a winding stair on the outside of it with only a banner for support as one walked up and down it. There was no movement in the windows even though there was a host of knights and ladies as well as the Hand and his two daughter's living there.

Cersei's eyes were on the tower as well and they had grown hard. Caspian knew she didn't like or trust the new Hand because he and his father were like brothers and that nothing she said or did would dissuade his father from sending him away. Caspian was more interested in what she would say or do that would merit sending him away. In other words, he knew she was hiding something and he had a feeling he knew what it was.

"I don't know why your father insisted on asking Stark to come," she muttered to herself and Caspian stayed quiet. "He should have asked someone from nearby, someone that we know. One of his brothers perhaps or even your uncle. Even Lord Tywin would be better than the barbarian. These north men aren't loyal to anyone but themselves."

How ironic, Caspian thought to himself. I would have thought that was something the two of you had in common. After all…..Lannisters aren't loyal to anyone but themselves.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Caspian watched the King's new Hand closely over the next few months. Eddard Stark was cold to everyone but his daughters and close servants. Sansa Stark seemed to gradually overcome the loss of her wolf pup and she and her sister seemed to be on speaking terms again.

One afternoon on one of the larger balconies, Caspian came across something interesting.

He had known just by looking at them that Arya and Sansa Stark were as different as night and day but he didn't expect the youngest Stark to have taken such a liking to dancing as she was doing now.

She lunged back and forth across the balcony, swinging her sword at an imaginary foe. Caspian watched her in amusement for a moment before he stepped out from the shadows.

"You're holding it wrong."

Arya whirled around, startled. When she saw who it was, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She was no lady like her sister and she didn't curtsy at the sight of the prince.

"How do you know?" she demanded.

Caspian laughed. "Because I've been holding a sword since I was younger than you. Here, let me show you."

Arya glared at him, but allowed him to step up next to her and take hold of her blade hilt.

"You're twisting your wrist too much," he demonstrated the movement. "Your arm should be relaxed…..like you're holding a quill and are about to write something."

He handed the sword back to her and she regarded him for a moment before demonstrating the proper movement. "Like this?"

Caspian nodded. "Just like that. Whatever you do don't move your arm from that position. Keep a tight but firm hold and you won't strain yourself."

Arya practised the movement for a moment, but then stopped and looked at him carefully.

Caspian frowned. "What?"

"Why are you being nice to me?" she asked suspiciously.

Caspian smirked. "I don't think you understood me. You were doing something wrong and I corrected you. I didn't think that was something that could strictly be considered nice."

Arya's frown deepened and she lowered her blade, lessons forgotten for the moment. "I mean, you're not like Joffery."

He could tell she wanted to say more about it, especially after the incident with the butcher's boy on the King's Road, but decided against it.

Smart girl.

"You and I have something in common," he said and she raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

"We both don't like my brother. Let's leave it at that."

Arya's eyes widened and she nodded. And with that simple phrase, Caspian was able to earn a portion of her respect and trust.

Just then, she heard her father calling for her and replied back. "I'm up here!"

Eddard Stark appeared from just below the stairs and slowed his pace when he saw that his daughter wasn't alone. He regarded the prince coolly.

While the rest of the royal children resembled the queen, Prince Caspian looked frighteningly like Robert when he was young. Again, it made Ned question as to whether or not something else was going on there. The eldest royal children were as different as night and day and looking at all four of them, Ned couldn't help but wonder if something was missing, a piece of information that he wasn't seeing. His wife's sister thought Jon Arryn had been murdered because he knew something but what it was…..Ned could only guess.

"Your grace," he said stiffly inclining his head to the prince.

"Lord Hand," Caspian said easily returning the gesture.

Ned turned to his daughter. "Where is your dancing master?"

"Lessons are done for the day," Arya told him. "I wanted to practice some more until Prince Caspian found me and told me that my form was wrong."

"Really?" Eddard said. "Show me."

Arya proceeded to show her father what she had been doing and then what Caspian had told her to do and the Hand's eyebrows rose. Caspian watched the man quietly and wondered for a moment what he was thinking.

Finally, he turned to the prince. "Thank you."

The prince inclined his head again. "You're most welcome Lord Stark."

He made to go down the steps again, but a word from the Hand stopped him. "Your Grace? Were there any among the Baratheon family dynasty who were blonde of hair?"

Caspian stopped cold, his heart pounding wildly.

Does he know? He thought to himself. But how on earth could he have found out? I only knew because I went digging.

Steeling himself for calm he turned back around slowly. "I haven't read far back in the annals Lord Hand. There may have been some family members that were blonde of hair that I missed. Several years ago there was a Baratheon that bonded to a Targaryen. After all my great grandmother from Baratheon family was Rhaelle Targaryen"

Eddard was watching the young man's face carefully and had a feeling that he was hiding something. "Perhaps, but you didn't answer my question your Grace."

Caspian bit the inside of his mouth and decided that the man would know if he was lying. "No, I have not as yet found any that were blonde of hair."

Ned looked at him a long moment. "I see."

From then on, Caspian learned not to underestimate the Stark lord. He would prove to be a valuable ally in the days to come.

But from there, the Hand's tourney commenced…..and things were set in motion that even Caspian would not have foreseen.

__________________________________________________________________________________________