Chapter 119

Chapter 119 The Wolf Going South

  "Ned, I have always regarded you as a true brother!"

  King Robert said in the cold and deep cellar of Winterfell.

  The rough voice echoed in the silent passage.

  "Your Majesty..."

  "Your Majesty!!, call me Robert!" Duke Ned was interrupted by the king as soon as he started.

  "Robert." A warm feeling rose in Duke Eddard's heart, and the strangeness and estrangement that had been felt for more than ten years seemed to disappear at this moment.

  The man in front of him was still the lawless Robert Baratheon.

  Duke Ned was no longer restrained: "Back then we drank together, fought together, and received...Jon's teachings together."

  Speaking of Jon Arryn's name, his tone was full of sadness: "I have never forgotten that , Therefore, no matter what you ask, I will agree."

  "Okay, then come with me to King's Landing, be my King's Hand, and help me manage this damn country!"

  Duke Ned hesitated a little for a moment, then nodded and said,

  "Okay."

  "Hahaha..." Robert laughed loudly, his loud voice echoing in the darkness, "That's great! Believe me, you won't regret it! Compared to bitter cold North the environment in south is much warmer! Especially now that it is summer, the field is full of flowers and green grass as far as the eye can see, the sweet fruit can burst in your mouth, and wine, oh yes, In reach , there is a new kind of wine called brandy! The taste is really exotic! You must try it!"

  Duke Ned smiled and didn't reply.

  He is not a pleasure-oriented person, but the king next to him is just the opposite.

  And Lord Eddard couldn't help noticing the price Robert paid for his sensuality.

  When they came to the depths of the tomb, the crowned stag, who once ruled the battlefield and was invincible, was already panting and sweating profusely.

  "Here it is, Robert." Lord Eddard stood before the three sarcophagi lined up side by side.

  The tightly closed sarcophagus was engraved with the face of the deceased, and the huge roaring direwolf statue was curled up at their feet, and a long steel sword was placed on top of the stone statue.

  It is said that this is to ensure that the resentful spirits are sealed in the mausoleum and will not wreak havoc outside.

  The sarcophagus in the middle is engraved with the face of Duke Eddard's father, the previous Duke of the North, Rickard Stark.

  To his right, rests his eldest son, Brandon Stark.

  Both father and son died at the hands of "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen before Robert's rebellion .

  At this moment, Robert's eyes were fixed on the statue on the third sarcophagus.

  "She was much prettier than this statue," said the king after a suppressed silence.

  His eyes were full of nostalgia and pain, as if in this way he could call his former fiancée back to the world.

  Back then, for Lady Lyanna Stark, Robert rebelled in anger. Although he has driven the Targaryen royal family off the Iron Throne and avenged his wife, if possible, he would rather use that cold and twisted throne to trades for her life.

  "She should not sleep here," cried Robert. "She should not live in the cold and dark! She should be buried among the fair hills, among the sun and the clouds!"

"She is a Stark, and she belongs here. " Duke Ed retorted calmly.

  "She was going to marry me! She belonged to Baratheon!"

  "I was by her side when she died," Duke Eddard reminded. "She told me she just wanted to go home, to Winterfell."

  Robert said no more.

  Duke Ned was also caught in the memory.

  He will never forget the scene where his sister died.

  In that bloody room, she begged bitterly, until Ned nodded, then she smiled and closed her eyes.

  For the promise he made to his sister back then, Duke Eddard brought her and Rhaegar Targaryen's child back to the north, declaring that it was his own illegitimate child.

  Named it, Jon Snow.

  This is his enemy's child, but also his sister's child.

  Thinking of the illegitimate son, Duke Ed became more and more sad: "Jon...how did he die?"

  "I don't know." Robert suddenly became irritable, "Ned, I really don't know. Damn it! I'm surrounded by liars and fools, only Jon Arryn, was the only one I could trust completely, but now, he's dead, otherwise i wouldn't have come to Winterfell to find you if I had any other way. Help me , Ned, I need your help!"

  "I will." Duke Ned said solemnly, "I will definitely find out the truth about Jon's death."

  "I have ordered the 'Red Viper' to come to King's Landing, and he should be there when we return. Then, you can interrogate him! "

  "Okay." Duke Eddard paused for a while, "Lysa, and the child, are they all right?"

  Robert shook his head bitterly. "Frankly, they didn't seem good. Lysa was terrified by her husband's death, and she fled back to the Eyrie with her son. But Jon had no brother and only one son, How could I let them stay in the Vale, orphaned and widowed. And she also believed that the 'Red Viper' poisoned Jon to death, and wrote to ask me to avenge him."

"How did I hear that before Jon died he Said that his death had nothing to do with the 'Red Viper'?"

  "There is such a saying." Robert became irritable again, "But Ned, you also know the character of that old man. To do so before death is not necessarily to truly believe that the 'Red Viper' did not harm him."

  "I see. I'll find out," said Lord Eddard after a moment's silence. "Let's go up, the queen's waiting."

"Let her wait!" cried Robert angrily.

" She didn't gave me a good look all the way! Damn woman, she's been thinking all day about letting the old lion of Casterly Rock be the Hand of the King. But how is that possible? I have a Lannister on my bed, and a Lannister Kingsguard , the squire is a Lannister... Damn it, every day I open my eyes I see the golden hair of the Lannister family! Now you want me to find another Lannister to run the country? Damn it! Just let me give them the Iron Throne directly to Lannister!"

  "Your Majesty..."

  "I've said it all, don't call me Your Majesty again!" Robert yelled, but when he saw the long serious face of his old friend beside him , he finally shook his head helplessly, "You Starks are as rigid and boring as the ice in the north. Come on, old man, let's go up."... "

......

" Quiet !"

  Bran Stark on the tree looked down and said to the little wolf below.

  It was a small gift brought back by his father, Duke Ned, when he went hunting a month ago.

  There were six newborn wolves in all, one for each of the duke's six children, and even Jon Snow, the illegitimate son, got one.

  The direwolf is the coat of arms of the Stark family, so the children were very excited. They named the little wolves, the eldest son Robb's was called "Grey Wind", Sansa's was "Lady", "Nymeria"by Arya stark, Jon's was"Ghost" , and Bran, he hasn't figured out what to call his pup yet.

  Hearing the master's scolding, the little wolf lay down on the ground aggrieved, not daring to bark again.

  Bran climbed on, leaping from the tree to the roof of the armory, then to the roof of the guardhouse, and finally up the outer wall of the ruined tower.

  The youngest second son of the duke was agile, climbing the steep walls like an ape.

  Bran couldn't remember when he started, but he liked to climb. His mother always said that he could climb before he learned to walk, and then the high walls of the old castle became his playground.

  They always tried to stop Bran from this dangerous hobby.

  Unfortunately, as long as they didn't pay attention, the little guy had already disappeared between the high walls of the ancient castle.

  Suspended in the air, Bran took a break.

  If he was higher, he would be able to see the group of crows, and he also brought corn kernels specially to feed those gluttons.

  Just when Bran regained some strength and was about to continue, he suddenly heard a faint gasp.

  There seemed to be a mixture of pain and joy in the voice.

  The young Bran didn't know what the sound meant, but he crawled over out of curiosity.

  How could there be someone in the ruined tower?

He wondered.

  Bran straddled the gargoyle statue, legs clamped, turned upside down, and saw what was in the room—

  a man and a woman writhing , naked.

  It was Queen Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime Lannister!

  Bran panicked and fell.

  "Ah—"

  He let out a scream, but luckily he caught the window lattice dangerously on the way down.

  There was also a scream in the room, followed by Queen Cersei's voice:

  "There is someone!"

  Bran grabbed the window lattice with one hand, shaking in mid-air, almost out of breath.

  Then, he saw the faces of two people leaning out of the window.

  "He has seen us!" screamed Queen Cersei.

  "He saw us." James nodded, seeing the little boy's fingers start to loosen, he leaned out, stretched his hand down, and said, "Boy, grab my hand."

  Bran quickly exerted all his strength Grabbing the man's hand, the man pulled him up to the window sill.

  "What are you doing?" Cersei demanded, "He saw us!"

  James grabbed Bran by the collar and asked, "How old are you, kid?"

  "Seven." Bran trembled.

  "He saw us!" Cersei screamed again.

  James turned to look at his sister, and said in a helpless and flat tone,

"the things I do for love."

  As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed hard.

  Bran flew out the window screaming as the ground neared him at a frantic pace.

  Bang—

  A sad wolf howl was heard in the distance.

  ...

  "Has he not woken up yet?"

  Duke Eddard asked sadly, looking at Bran lying on the bed.

  Catelyn beside the bed did not respond to her husband. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes seemed to have not been washed for several days, her eyes were red and swollen, but she still looked at her unconscious son without blinking.

  "I have to go, Catelyn ." Duke Ned whispered, but unfortunately he still didn't get a response from his wife.

  "The gods will bless Bran." He leaned down and kissed his wife lightly on the head, then turned and walked out of the room.

  The long procession drove out of Winterfell, and then divided into two, the larger one going south and the smaller one going north.

  "Black suits you very well." Duke Ned looked at his illegitimate son, "I'm proud of you."

  Jon Snow stared into his father's eyes, and finally couldn't help asking the question hidden in his heart:

  "Father, I'm going to the Wall to become a night watchman. Can you tell me who my mother is?"

Duke Ed fell into silence. In a trance , he seemed to hear the words of his sister Lyanna before her death. Whispering—

  promise me, Ned, promise me...

  "I'll tell you when we meet next time." Duke Ned promised.

  "Okay. Take care, father."

  "Take care."

  The two waved goodbye, one to the north and one to the south.

[END]