Chapter 5

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It was without question that Caspian held his Targaryen ancestors in high regard. He was only an eighth Targaryen himself and had never set eyes upon his great grandmother, Rhaelle Targaryen, who was blood of the dragon, but a part of him wanted to.

The Baratheon words were Ours is the Fury, and they were words to have any house but the Targaryens adopted the phrase, Fire and Blood. It was simple and yet poignant because the words delivered exactly what was promised.

However fire and blood would have to wait, Caspian thought as he walked back to the castle. There'll be plenty of that soon enough I'm sure.

He was thankful to have found one alive Stark guard when he had gone to the Tower of the Hand. All the rest had been slaughtered including Septa Mordane. The guard only managed to survive because Lord Stark had given him leave for the afternoon.

It was certainly luck favoured by the gods.

The Red Keep was empty when he entered it but he could hear talking from the small council chambers off of the main keep and so decided to go there first. No doubt the new king was holding his first council.

That will be an amusing sight.

Caspian strode in that direction, behind the throne and towards the doorway. His footsteps rang on the stones and though he wasn't wearing armour aside from breastplate and vambrace beneath his tunic, it sounded loud nonetheless.

The voices quieted and when he stepped into the doorway, five heads turned to him. Joffrey was sitting at the head of the table, where his father had always sat, whenever he attended the council. He stood half out of his chair, his palms plastered on the table as if he had just slapped the wood.

"He is a traitor!" he was in the process of shouting. "I want his head!"

"And what sort of message would that send dear brother?" Caspian asked leaning casually against the doorframe and checking his nails for non-existent dirt. "If you were to behead the Hand of the King before your coronation, it would send a bad omen."

Joffrey glared at him, angry to have his desires undermined. "Returning empty handed I see. I knew you wouldn't be able to find the little Stark bitch."

Caspian smiled. "I'm sorry brother did you ask me to find her? Or did I leave to help in the search without any command? The girl is smart, if she's smart enough she would have escaped over the walls and gone north by now. You're wasting your time looking for her."

"Surely the child wouldn't have left that fast," Varys said placidly. "Her father was imprisoned no more than a few hours ago."

"Or perhaps the girl is simply cleverer than we gave her credit for," Lord Baelish replied. The Mockingbird never underestimated anyone and so he would be the hardest to fool.

"She is nine years old," Cersei scoffed. "Her father and sister are still under lock and key. She wouldn't have chosen to leave them willingly. I'm sure she's still hanging around somewhere."

She turned back to Joffrey. "When this council is through I will order the guards to double the search. We will find her."

Not bloody likely.

"And now to business," Pycelle said in his weak croaking voice. "What are we to do with Lord Stark?"

"Haven't I made my order clear?" Joffrey demanded. "I want his head!"

"If you follow through on that threat than you're an even bigger idiot than I thought," Caspian quipped ignoring his mother's glare to shut his mouth.

"You can't talk to me like that!" Joffrey screeched. "I am the king!"

Caspian stifled the urge to roll his eyes. "Has grandfather taught you nothing? Anyone who must say I am the king is no true king."

Joffrey's face turned purple and Caspian smirked, wanting to laugh but thinking now wouldn't be appropriate.

Seeing the colors her eldest son was turning, Cersei hurried to step in between her two sons. "It matters not. Lord Stark is a traitor to the Crown and we will determine what to do with him, whether that will be to take his head or to send him to take the Black."

"I trust it will be the second option mother," Caspian said cheerfully as he turned to go. "Unless you want a full scale war on your hands."

He sounds like the bloody imp, when he says that, Cersei fumed.

Caspian walked out of the small council chambers and walked across the Red Keep and out the doors. Now that Arya was safe for the time being, it seemed as if he needed to speak to the other Stark currently in the palace. He would get to the dungeons soon enough.

That would require some trickery.

Sansa Stark would no doubt be under heavy guard and he wasn't fool enough to think that if he tried to see her word wouldn't get back to his mother and Joffrey. So if the guards were waiting outside her chamber doors than he would have to go in through the window.

Thank the gods for the ivy that was climbing the castle walls. Something he credit to the incompetence of Palace guards. Caspian didn't go near the hall where Sansa's chambers were but instead waited in the courtyard beneath her open window until he was sure that the last guard had gone past in patrol.

After they he dashed forward with his cloak pulled up over his head and seized hold of the ivy lining the walls. The palace was famous for its gardens but the ivy that lined the red brick was strong enough and it would serve his purposes well now.

Caspian cast one look down but kept on climbing ensuring that no one was below him. All was peaceful on the pathway and so he continued on, going as quickly as he dared.

It probably took only a few minutes to reach the window but it felt like at least an hour. His limbs were shaking with exhaustion and the sweat was dripping down his back because he had never done this before.

Finally though, he reached the balcony where Sansa's chambers were and slid himself atop the railing before deftly leaping over it. The curtains were blowing from the doorway to the balcony and unfortunately, Caspian couldn't see inside clearly. He dashed to the side of the door and listened carefully to make sure that no one was in the room.

All was silent, so he put his hand on the hilt of his sword and entered carefully.

Sansa was sitting on the chair near her table with a dress and a needle in her hands. She wasn't stitching however. There were silvery tears upon her cheeks and her shoulders were shaking silently. Her red hair hung loose about her face and she made no effort to move it away.

Completely distracted it was quite easy for Caspian to sneak up on her. Before she could even blink, he wrapped an arm around her from behind and covered her mouth with his hand.

She stiffened up like a board and he whispered in her ear. "Don't scream."

She turned her head to face him and her eyes widened in recognition. Slowly, Caspian took his hand away from her face.

"Caspian," she whispered. "What are you doing here? Have they found Arya?"

"No," the second prince replied. "But I found her. She's safe somewhere in the city but I won't tell you where. So if they ask you, you won't have to lie."

"They killed them," the red headed girl whispered hollowly. "They killed them all and its my fault. If I hadn't gone to the queen after father sent the letter to Stannis Baratheon – "

"It was you?" Caspian interrupted in a harsh whisper. "You were the one who informed mother about what your father intended to do?"

The girl stared down at her hands, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I didn't know she would do this. I just wanted to stay with Joffrey. I thought my father was taking my happiness from me. I didn't know this was going to happen!"

"But I warned you," Caspian replied, astonished that the girl had been so foolish. "I told you to trust no one and now you and your father are prisoner and you sister is somewhere in the city. And I'm stuck cleaning up your mess."

Sansa turned hopeful eyes on him. "Are you going to help me?"

Caspian gave a heavy sigh. "I don't have much of a choice now do I? If my brother had his way, he would see Lord Stark beheaded and thus start a war between the North and us to sate his bloodlust. We can't afford to have that happen. So, yes I'm going to help you. But be certain its not for you rather to keep peace in the realm."

"I don't care, if you don't help me for my family," Sansa replied. "It's enough, that I'm going to get out of here. You were right about everything but Joffrey can be so…..clever."

"It's not my brother who's clever, but my mother," Caspian said. "You should know that by now. She's the current power behind the throne and she's far more ruthless than Joffrey is. By brother's a sadist but he has no real power without his advisors. He'd have the whole of Westeros burn if it meant that he would get to watch it and listen to the screaming of those dying."

These words he said looking out the open window at the moonlight on the water far off in the bay. Sometimes his brother's cruelty shocked even him.

"Do nothing until you hear from me," he said harshly. "I will do what I can for your father but expect no more than that."

He turned and headed for the window intending to climb down because he had said his piece.

"Caspian," she called after him softly and he turned back. "Thank you."

"It's time you stop believing in those old pretty stories you love so much Lady Sansa. Life in King's Landing isn't like the stories. The world is harsh, cold and cruel. Stop looking for a prince and start opening your eyes. Because if Joffrey has his way and succeeds in chopping off your father's head then the world is going to become even crueller. Joffrey is no prince, he is no king and its time you realize that. Because the next time you open your mouth, it could cost you your life."

He turned and strode out of the room to the balcony so he might begin his descent. This was going to take a lot of careful planning and excellent timing as well.

If the gods are good, I won't lose my head by the end of this week, Caspian thought as he disappeared from the wall like a shadow. And if they're not…well than his brother will certainly have his head on a spike for all of King's Landing to see.

Because Caspian trusted no one, he said nothing the whole next day. The plan to free Lord Stark was a simple one really. Anyone in the King's Landing could be bought for the right price and thankfully he had just enough of it to make any man's eyes gleam with greed.

In the second watch, he would slip down to the dungeon, dispense with any of the guards he had seen and then remove warden's keys and break Lord Stark out.

There was a hidden passageway in the black cells that led out to the street. He had discovered it long ago. It might have been built by a desperate prisoner or it might have been built on Maegor's direction. Caspian didn't really care who had built it, just that it existed and that it would help him get Lord Stark out of the citadel.

From there it was a matter of procuring Sansa and praying that none of the gold cloaks would see them before they made it to the Harbor.

He was sure Lord Stark looked enough like a deranged prisoner that no one would recognize him, but Sansa still looked like a high-born lady. She didn't know how to blend in and that would have to change within the next little while.

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Some time later, Sansa came back to her room after a day in court, shaking from Joffrey's fury and what he had wanted to do to her.

Sitting on her bed was a package wrapped in brown twine and a piece of paper tied in it. Sure that it was from Caspian, she tore it open and was confronted with ugly brown pair of trousers, a shirt and a leather jerkin and cloak as well as a pair of small shears.

Picking up the note, Sansa read it quickly.

Time to forget the stories, a wolf always sheds its fur. It's time for you to shed yours. The wolf will howl at midnight.

It wasn't signed but that didn't matter, Sansa was smart enough to know who it was from and that it meant he had a plan. The thought of cutting her hair would have repulsed her in the past. Now she would do it with joy knowing that she would finally get out of King's Landing with her father and little sister alive.

May the gods bless Prince Caspian, she thought as she sat by the fire after she had hidden the dress and shears away. I almost wish I was marrying him instead of Joffrey.

Caspian was as handsome as Joffrey was but where the king looked like the queen, Caspian looked like the late King Robert. Caspian was black haired and blue eyes and becoming a man. If there was anyone that reminded Sansa of the old stories and the knights and princes and bannermen that had fought in the wars, it was certainly the black stag.

I wanted to marry a king, she thought bitterly. Now I would give my last coin to be a peasant girl in the countryside and work the fields until I die.

She trusted Caspian, he was perhaps the only one in this whole blasted city that she did trust. She hated the queen and she hated Joffrey and she hated Baelish and Varys and Pycelle. They had all allowed that monster to arrest her father and send him to the Black Cells.

She would kill them all if she were Arya and had the nerve.

Meanwhile, Caspian had spent the whole of the next day planning. He didn't receive any messages from the tavern near the docks and so assumed that no news was good news.

Now it was all a matter of securing their passage out of there. He knew that there was no possible way they would be able to travel north by horse because there would be people searching the King's Road at all times.

So the only other option was by sea.

Again however, they wouldn't be able to go north, because if his mother was smart she would be have all those boats watched.

Therefore he was securing passage on a boat that would take them to Dragonstone. His uncle Stannis would welcome them. Cold and stern he might be, but he had always been a just and fair man. They would be safe there. Lord Stark and Lord Baratheon had always maintained a good relationship.

Stannis would no doubt want to put Caspian on the throne as he was the only trueborn nephew, but the second prince couldn't be sure he wanted to do so at the risk of killing Tommen and Myrcella. He certainly didn't want a crown if it meant he had to murder them to get it.

Yes, Uncle Stannis would do a far better job on the throne than I ever could, Caspian thought to himself as he walked in disguise down to the dock.

There was one man that his uncle trusted above all others by the name of Ser Davos Seaworth. The man was formally a smuggler but during the siege of Storm's End had earned a knighthood when he braved the waves, the storm and the Tyrell fleet to bring a ship full of onions and salt fish to the starving men holding the fortress.

The man was currently in Dragonstone but his son Allard was in King's Landing, travelling back and forth between both ports. He had only met him once, but knew he would be the person for the task in smuggling three persons of interest out of the citadel.

Now he just had to wait for nightfall to ensure that he could carry his plans out. Caspian had managed to leave the old dress and shears in Sansa's room without any problems and Lord Stark would no doubt not look like the lordly man, what with him been put in prison a few days earlier.

Nightfall was coming and it was time for the wolf to howl.

Caspian for his part was extremely nervous because he knew the dire consequences and penalty on being caught during act or proven in aiding the escape of Starks. His mother might want to send him to take the black if she came to knew about what was to happen. But Joffrey was too stupid to see past his own nose. He would call for his head, irrespective of taboo of Kinslaying.

During those twenty four hours, Caspian also began to realize that even if he got away with this, there might come a time when his participance would be found out and then he could be accused of treason as well.

His siblings would be safe in his mother's hands and no doubt war had already been declared because of Lord Stark's imprisonment. He would be shocked if Robb Stark hadn't called the banners by now.

This had to end, and quickly because soon war would be declared. He wondered if the raven had gotten to Uncle Stannis by now who would no doubt make his preparations and sail from Dragonstone with the strongest fleet he could muster.

Word might have reached his Uncle Renly at that point as well, and if it had, the entire realm would know that the boy who sat upon the throne was an incestuous bastard. War would be declared before a horn was ever blown.

Caspian didn't draw much attention to himself and remained in his chambers for the rest of the day, making plans and packing a bag with clothes and some of the books he had received from name days past. Though he hid the bag to prevent anyone from informing of his luggage.

He wasn't foolish enough to think that he would be able to remain in King's Landing for long after he would help Ned Stark and his daughters escape. Someone was bound to figure it out eventually and when they did there would be a price on his head, royal prince and heir to the throne or not.

He would leave before that happened and head to Storm's End where he might live out his days in safety and anonymity away from the Crown and his psychopathic brother.

Caspian knew that barring a miracle, he would not be king and he had accepted that long ago. Better to be away from the capital than to be anywhere near the havoc his brother would no doubt cause. Once his packing was complete, Caspian settled back with a book and kept his hand on his sword to wait until nightfall.

Only then would his treason begin.

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Caspian waited until all the candles in the castle had been blown out for the evening before pulling on his cloak, tightly buckling on his sword and slipping quietly out of the room.

Surprisingly the black cells weren't hard to reach. Particularly with the labyrinth of secret passages in the Red Keep. Torches lined the walls and the air was damp. The stone walls were dripping with moisture and Caspian unconsciously pulled his cloak up higher as he walked down the stairs

So far there were no guards which was a bit surprising.

Caspian didn't think that his luck would last for long however. Sure enough within five minutes of entering the stony dark chambers and seeing the torchlight bounce off of the walls and the shadows around every corner and the drip of the moist water on the stones he heard a noise ahead of him.

Gripping his dagger in his fist, Caspian crept forward. He didn't want to have to kill the guard but there were more important things at stake.

The sound of metal clad feet rang loud on the stones and Caspian tightened his grip on his knife. He was standing on the last stone step before touching the floor and there was a corner just ahead of him

The shadow grew longer as the guard grew closer and Caspian took several deep breaths. He wasn't fool enough to think that he would best the guard in a fight, so that was why he had one chance and one chance only to catch the man off guard.

He just hoped luck was on his side.

He counted to ten and just as the guard appeared around the corner Caspian braced himself, leapt and stabbed the guard right in the eye through his helm. The man barely had time to blink before Caspian plunged the blade into his eye socket up to the hilt.

He made a peculiar gurgling noise before he twitched a little and slumped down to the ground. Caspian yanked the knife from the man's head and wiped it off on the fallen cloak with a grimace.

It wasn't the first man he had killed, though he hadn't killed very many in his lifetime. But that was a story he didn't like to think about very much. Earlier, he remember lying in bed wondering if the man he had killed, had a family, a wife or children that would remember him. Robert had been the only one to get through to him that point. It was one of the few good memories he had of his father.

He blinked again, now was not the time to get sidetracked. He quickly stripped the man of his armour and was pleased to see that he had dark hair like Ned Stark.

That was good, it would buy them some time at least. He was shocked to see that the man had a ring of keys on his belt as well, it would be perfect to get the door open and free Lord Stark. Plus if he was wearing the fallen guard's armour than no one would be liable to recognize him and he could get away easier.

He gathered the pieces of armour in his arms and staggered off down the corridor, praying he wouldn't run into anymore guards.

To his astonishment he didn't and when he finally came within sight of Lord Stark's chamber, he gave a sigh of relief and set the metal pieces down on the ground. He turned to his left to look into the cell of the man and gave a deep inward sigh as he saw what had befallen the once mighty Hand.

His hair was loose and dirty and greasy, his beard had grown and his clothes were dirty as well. There was a stench on him too even though he had only been down there a few days.

"Lord Stark," he said and the man looked up suddenly upon hearing his name. "How in seven hells did you get yourself into such a fix?"

At first Ned thought his eyes were deceiving him when the one appearing at his cell door was Caspian Baratheon. He was holding a torch in one hand and enshrouded in a dark cloak. On his face was the most sardonic smirk Ned had ever seen.

There was a tenseness behind his eyes and even though he was smirking there was an urgency in his tone. Despite the grimness of the situation he was the most welcome visitor he had seen all day, aside from Varys and Cersei.

"Your grace what are you doing here?" Ned asked as he unsteadily got to his feet.

Caspian rolled his eyes and held up the keys. "What does it look like? I'm cleaning up your mess. Didn't I tell you not to trust anyone in this place? Least of all Baelish? He is a greedy manipulative bastard and his obsession with your wife will not end until his death. And now I am committing treason by breaking you out."

He fitted the key in the lock and gave a harsh turn, cringing as there was a horrid squealing sound.

Finally however, the rusty door swung free and the prince stepped into the doorway. "Now come on. We have a lot of ground to cover before dawn and you must be well away from King's Landing by first light."

Ned stared at the young man as if he had taken leave of his senses. "Why are you doing this?"

Caspian scowled. "Keep up Lord Stark. Do you really think that your imprisonment has gone unnoticed by the rest of the realm? By now your son will have called for the banners and they will be marching on King's Landing to free you. Much death and bloodshed will arise if they should breach the walls. And all of this could have been prevented if you had simply kept your mouth shut!"

He was more than a little annoyed with the Northern man and didn't see the need to use diplomacy at this time. He was about to become a criminal simply by opening the cell door.

Ned stared at him. "You knew didn't you?"

"Of course I knew!" Caspian snapped. "I've known for few years! You don't think I'd miss the stark differences between myself and my siblings? Or that I'm the only one that looked like the late King Robert while the rest resemble mother? Or that all of the late king's bastards look startlingly like me and not a whit like Joffrey or Tommen?"

"Then why in seven hells didn't you speak up?" Ned demanded as Caspian helped him to his feet and the second prince gave a great sigh.

"As much as my siblings are bastards fathered by my uncle, I do care a great deal for Tommen and Myrcella. They are still very young and innocent of this matter. They don't possess the madness of Joffrey and Tommen has even expressed his desire to become a knight. I would see that no harm came to them from what disgusting ways my mother has perjured herself. And above all, I didn't want the realm again to be drowned in blood from civil war."

Ned looked at the young man very carefully and knew that even though he didn't wear the crown, he was already carrying the weight of a kingdom upon his shoulders. "Aye, it was my desire that that should not happen too."

"Then why go to the one person who would then silence you forever?" Caspian demanded. He handed the armour to Lord Stark. "Put these on, you're less likely to be noticeable in it."

"Because I put too much faith in the love of a mother for her children. Your mother loves her children but will do anything to keep the crown."

Caspian sighed. "What's done is done and now we have to figure how to avoid a war on our hands by getting you out of Kings Landing as quickly as possible."

"The girls – "

"I have already hidden Arya away in a tavern near the harbor and Lady Sansa is waiting for my signal. She should already be ready to go by now."

Lord Stark gave him a look of admiration. "You've been busy."

"Someone had to do something," Caspian snapped.

When the former Hand was attired in the armour, he and Caspian went back for the guard before shoving him in the cell.

"At first glance people may think that he looks like you which will buy us some time. Your trial at the Sept of Baelor isn't going to be for another few days."

He took a torch and led the man along the halls of the black cells, thankful that there was no other prisoner in nearby cells at the time.

There was a door at the side of the wall near the stairs where Caspian had come from and it had previously been rusted shut with age. Caspian tugged on it, thankful that he had been able to prop it open slightly enough for him and Lord Stark to slip through. The small door ironically led out into one of the courtyards of the palace. It hadn't been used for years and Caspian had to push with all of his might to keep it closed so no one would know where they had escaped from.

"I do find it odd that the Queen Regent only had one guard in that area of the Black Cells," Ned mused as the two of them hurried along making an effort not to make too much noise in his borrowed armour.

"My mother is not as clever as she thinks she is," Caspian scoffed quietly. "She still believes the Black Cells are nigh on impenetrable. But I know this keep like the back of my hand and if I was able to find a way to break in than anyone can."

They finally reached the end of the courtyard where the ivy to Lady Sansa's room hung and Caspian turned to Ned.

"Go hide over there in those trees. Don't move, don't make a sound and by all the gods keep quiet, else all of our heads will be on spikes come the morning."

Once the man had hidden himself, Caspian pressed against the wall and hurriedly began to climb the ivy. He had no sooner gotten a few feet up however when a breath of wind made him look up.

Looking down at him from the balcony was Lady Sansa. She was attired in the rough brown clothes he had given her and had sheared her hair so short she did indeed resemble a boy. And if he wasn't mistaken it appeared as if she had smudged some ashes on her face as well.

Caspian smirked and looked down, so she wouldn't see his smile. It appeared she was ready to do more than shed her fur. Seems the wolf was coming out of the trout.

Without even waiting for him, she stepped carefully off the balcony and clung tightly to the ivy as she slowly made her way down. When she shakily stepped off the last of the plant and down onto the ground, Caspian gave her an appraising look. "Well done my lady."

Sansa blushed. "Well I didn't want anyone to recognize me and it's just hair. It'll grow back." She certainly had changed a great deal since coming to King's Landing.

"Come," Caspian said and took her by the arm, leading her over to the grove of trees where her father was hiding.

"Sansa?" Lord Stark whispered upon seeing the figure with the prince.

"Father?" she asked in a broken whisper and Caspian turned his eyes away as the two embraced, suddenly uncomfortable.

He couldn't remember the last time Robert had embraced him.

Enough you fool, he chastised himself. You have plans to carry out before dawn.

"We must be away," he said quietly to the two Starks. "We need to retrieve Arya and get down to the docks before the sun rises, or we would wish we were dead instead."

Sansa shuddered, but took her father's hand and the three of them hurried from the Red Keep.

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Surprisingly, making it through King's Landing was easy enough without being seen. The Seven must have been with them, Caspian thought.

Retrieving Arya was a little more difficult since it meant he had to leave Lord Stark and Sansa outside while he dashed in to retrieve the guard and the little lady.

Thankfully though the man was still standing guard in the upper hallway by the door and when he saw Caspian, he said not a word before tapping on the door three times. It opened without delay and a little face appeared squinting in the light. When she caught sight of Caspian, her face lit up with relief.

He could see that Needle was already at her side and smiled a little at the ever present sword. She was going to need that before all of this was over.

He jerked his head towards the stairwell and the three of them followed him quietly down them and out the door of the inn which had no yet risen as it was still dark.

When Ned saw that he had a guard with him he gave a great sigh of relief. "Martyn! Thank the old gods and the new, that you were not among the dead of my house!"

"It was a near thing my lord," the knight said gravely. "I had been given leave to go into the city and thus was not around for the massacre that followed."

Sansa upon seeing Arya burst into tears and hugged her little sister who didn't look very pleased, until she saw her sister's sheared locks and the ashes on her face and cheeks.

"What did you do to yourself?" she demanded.

Sansa picked at the lock of short floppy red hair and grimaced. "It'll grow back. I'd shave my head completely if it meant I never had to see this place every again."

Arya nodded approvingly, as if her sister wasn't quite as bad as she had thought.

"If we're quite through," Caspian said through his teeth. "We need to get down to the dock and have you well away before first light. There's someone waiting for us."

Without a word he led them quickly away and down to the docks where at the end of them waited a small vessel that looked a bit like the ship a smuggler would use. Caspian strode aboard and was greeted by another figure not much larger than he was.

"Your grace," he said. "I didn't actually think you would come this hour of the night."

"I didn't have much of a choice, Allard," Caspian said wryly. "If Westeros has to avoid war, then Lord Stark and his daughters must be out of Kings Landing without delay."

The former Hand stepped forward into the light and lifted the visor of his borrowed armour before looking on the young captain of the ship.

"By the seven," breathed Allard Seaworth. "It really is the Lord Stark."

"I am," Ned said grimly. "And you are?"

The young man gave a short bow before introducing himself and Caspian rolled his eyes in the dark.

"He is the son of Ser Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight. A trusted advisor to my uncle Stannis Baratheon. I met him some time ago. It was by the luck of the seven that he was passing through Blackwater Bay and landed in the harbor for a few days."

"T'was mighty luck indeed," Lord Stark said grimly.

Caspian turned to Allard and handed him a pouch of golden dragons. "See them safely to Dragonstone and tell my lord Uncle where they come from."

Matthos jingled the purse in his hand. "I will do that your grace. You have any message to pass to your lord uncle besides that?"

"No," Caspian replied. "Only that I wish him well and I look forward to his returning to King's Landing."

Allard nodded and hurried to make ready the small craft.

Lord Stark turned to him and removed the helm of the borrowed armour. "I do not know how to repay you for what you have done your grace."

Caspian gave him a severe look. "Thank me by keeping a tighter rein on your honor my lord. Just because you are an honorable man does not mean that you need to treat everyone here as such. They would sooner slip a knife between your ribs if it could get them what they wanted. King's Landing has become a poor and desperate place and it would be made no better by starting a war."

Lord Stark sighed as he leaned against the railing of the ship. "Aye, it was a near thing too. Robb will have called the banners by now and I have to prevent a war from occurring. Although now I think it is too late to stop them."

"Perhaps not," Caspian said. "But we shall see. My mother will no doubt have spies watching every ship that travels north so you must go to Dragonstone. My uncle will welcome you."

"You're not coming with us?" Arya asked and Caspian turned to her.

"What kind of message would that send little wolf? My mother would think you had kidnapped me and then a full scale war would really begin."

Ned gave an unconscious shiver. "I will be glad when we are away from this hateful place. You said the captain's name was Seaworth? I think I have heard that name before."

He headed off to talk to the captain and Caspian turned to find Sansa waiting to speak with him. Her face was all shiny and the ashes she had rubbed on her cheeks were smudged.

"Thank…..Thank you," she said shakily. "If you hadn't done what you did my father would be off to take the Black or else dead by now. I owe you more than I can ever repay. I was stupid…..a stupid little girl with stupid dreams who never learned."

Caspian felt grudging compassion for her then. She really hadn't know what she had done and almost done to herself, her father and her sister. Hopefully some of that innocence had been stripped away for her and she had a healthy dose of reality of what the world was really like.

He didn't dare stay too much longer after that because the moon was rising higher in the sky and he wanted to return to the Keep before his presence was missed.

After bidding the girls and Lord Stark one last farewell, Caspian stood on the dock watching the small boat fade away into the harbor before he turned around and strode back to the castle.

Hopefully and with a little luck from the Seven, the three of them were well away before the sun rose. And the entire realm was going to wonder who had pulled the greatest magic trick, ever seen in letting three most wanted people escape from the Red Keep.

As Caspian hurried back, he hoped that war hadn't already been declared and if so that it would be simple enough to bring peace back.

Perhaps when Uncle Tyrion returned he could talk his mother into working on a marriage alliance for Myrcella. Perhaps even more secretly he could send Tommen to foster in Winterfell.

If news got out that they were all bastards, they would be the two he would try to save first. As far as he was concerned, Joffrey was on his own.

Don't get ahead of yourself, he thought. First you need to ensure that a thrice damned war never happens.

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