Chapter 204: The King Receives Lord Stark's Letter
King's Landing, Red Keep
POV of Jon Arryn
Jon opened the door of the King's chamber and entered the room. The room stunk of wine and sex. He sighed at his own failure to raise Robert properly.
He had always been lax with Ned and Robert. And while Ned turned out to be alright, Robert turned out to be…
He wondered if he had been stricter with Robert in the past, then would he be at least a decent king now?
He supposed he would never know.
The Kingslayer followed him into the room. A wise decision on his part. This was not his usual routine, and he might be a faceless man for all they knew.
The half a dozen whores surrounding his drunk foster son woke up at the sound of the Kingsguard's heavy metal boots and opened their eyes to stare up at them.
At his age, he hardly felt a thing while looking at their nude bodies as they moved sensually to attract the attention of the Kingsguard behind him.
Jamie had always been famous for his looks. Even when he took the vow of chastity and joined the Kingsguard. He was also one of the few who kept up those vows and didn't go to whores in the late hours when no one was looking.
But now… after the evidence brought to him by Lord Stannis… he was starting to wonder.
The investigation into the King's children had to be taken very seriously, and they also needed to be discreet about it. A single mistake and the whole realm would plunge into a civil war.
Then again, if what he knew was the truth -which he suspected it was- then the realm would plunge into civil war, nonetheless.
Robert wouldn't forgive the Queen's infidelity. And he wouldn't forgive Jamie Lannister for cuckolding him either. Neither would Jon. The twins would either lose their heads or be sent into exile.
And Tywin Lannister… the old lion wouldn't like that.
"Ahem…" he said, bringing the whores' attention back to him. He could imagine Jamie Lannister giving them his cocky smirk even now. "Out!!!"
The whores quickly picked up whatever clothes they could gather and left the room, leaving his hungover foster son groaning in discomfort at the sudden lack of warmth around him.
"Your grace." He called out. Robert groaned but didn't wake up.
"Your grace." He said once again, louder this time, and Robert groaned and opened one eye to peek at him and then at Jamie.
"Jon…?" Robert asked incoherently as he slowly got up from his position to sit on the bed, clutching his head from the hangover caused by the many bottles of wine scattered on the floor. "What do you want so early in the morning?"
"It's high noon, your grace." He replied, trying to keep the deadpanned tone from his voice, even if he doubted that his foster son really cared. "And I have an important letter for you. One that you should definitely read."
Robert glared at him, and Jon smiled.
"It's from Ned."
Instantly, the glare went away, and a look of confusion was replaced by a look of elation and happiness on Robert's face.
Only the mention of his best friend and foster brother, Ned, could get him to cheer up like this these days. And that was a tragedy in itself.
Robert took the letter from him, opened it, and read through it quickly.
Then his face turned solemn as he got up from his bed with a serious look on his face.
Gone was the drunk, hungover Robert. In its place was King Robert Baratheon, the Demon of the Trident, who had crushed Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's chest and overthrown a 300-year-old dynasty for the love of his life.
"Is this letter real?" King Robert asked.
"Right now, we've no way to know." He replied, "But the eunuch did confirm that after Lord Bolton came back to the Wall after the second expedition, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont summoned every single northern lord to the Wall. For now, we suspect that a king has risen beyond the Wall. The letter has also come from the Wall, so there is some legitimacy in that. However, we cannot be entirely sure without a thorough background check. And that would take a month or two at the very least."
"Do it." King Robert said.
"Very well, your grace." He said, and then his voice became softer. The same voice he used on Robert and Ned when they were young children, "Your grace… if the contents of the letter are real."
"Then we're going to the North." King Robert replied without any hesitation.
He nodded and bowed his head, and leaving the room, the Kingsguard, who was also burdened with the moniker Kingslayer, followed behind him.
As Jon left the room, he wondered if he would have to see yet another war in his life.
He had seen so many of them. At least a war against a bunch of wildlings should be simple and easier. Though the foreboding tone in which Ned wrote the letter hinted at something else.
He wondered what that could be.
Jon knew Ned well, and unlike many others, Ned was not one to exaggerate what he said and wrote. And so there was no possibility that Ned was exaggerating what he wrote to gain support from Robert.
On the contrary, Ned preferred to handle matters himself whenever possible, avoiding asking for help from others, even when pressured.
Despite his foster brother Robert, with whom he grew up, being the King and Jon the King's Hand, Ned never tried to use this influence.
That was what worried Jon. Ned's letter wasn't entirely descriptive, but from what he read, the situation seemed quite serious.
And Jon hadn't expected a king beyond the Wall to worry Ned so much.
But if the Wildlings weren't the threat, then what was?
Jon shook his head, clearing his mind of the thoughts. Thinking about it now wouldn't provide him with an answer.
They needed time to find the answers. Besides, maybe Jon was overthinking things. Perhaps age was starting to make him paranoid.
After all, what could be more troubling than a king beyond the Wall? Ned wasn't about to tell him the White Walkers were back, was he?
---------------
Author's Note: You folks can also read up to +60 chapters on my P@treon Page as an early access privilege.
You can also read "+3 Free Chapter" and see some pictures as aFree Member.
www.patreon.com/vanguard_v
P@treon Page Name: V For Vanguard
Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.205: Returning Home
Ch.206: The King Attends the Small Council Meeting