The Worth Of Love

The Calm Before The Storm

(Ned Stark)

Nervous.

Only this one word could describe how he felt.

Renly was a friend, almost like a little brother.

Many laughed at Renly, even when Robert gave him Storm's End. Unlike Stannis, Renly was not a great military commander. Renly was still young during the rebellion and took no part in the war.

But Renly was no idiot. He had proper education, so he knew how to lead his men, how to plan battles, and how to rule. It was no surprise to Ned that Renly proclaimed himself King. Especially after what Ned saw at Dragonstone with Stannis.

The man followed his Red priestess and burned people. His men feared him. That is when Ned realised proclaiming Stannis King was not a good idea. No matter how thankful he was that Stannis smuggled him out of the black cells, Ned would not support him. So he was forced to flee. The closest ship he found was bound to Pentos.

That is where he met the Dragon Queen.

He tried to hate her for what her family did to his. He tried to convince himself that a girl with dragons who is ready to burn her enemies would only bring more blood to Westeros. But as he learned more and more of her, he understood why people followed her.

She cared about her people. She showed mercy, but also showed that she should not be disobeyed. She punished everyone accordingly for their crimes, and rewarded those who were loyal.

She was the Queen Westeros needed.

But the gods were cruel. And for some twisted reason they made him fall in love with her.

He would have stayed loyal to his wife. He would have returned to his family sooner, and he'd have been a good father.

But love was a funny thing.

It made him choose to stay by her side. And stay in her bed.

And no matter how wrong it was, he couldn't bring himself to stop loving her.

As he rode at the front of her army beside Robb and Ser Barristan, once again he caught himself thinking of the meeting with Renly.

He already promised to bend the knee. But their negotiations could go wrong at any moment. If the young self proclaimed King decided to change his mind, Daenerys would have to force him to do so. And he would have to choose between the woman he loved and helping an old friend.

Ned hoped that it wouldn't come to that, and that Renly would bend the knee quietly without too many requests. After all Renly grew up listening to tales of the mad Targaryens, and it would be hard for him to accept a Targaryen Queen.

Two riders with Baratheon sigils rode up to them not far from Renly's camp.

They ignored all except him and Daenerys who just landed not far from them.

"Lord Stark, Queen Daenerys, King Renly awaits you."

He exchanged a quick look with his queen and Ser Barristan.

"Where shall the meeting be?"

One of the riders replied.

"We will escort you to King Renly. He asked that you bring no more than 5 men with you."

Ned nodded and turned his horse around to face his son and Ser Barristan.

"Find Grey Worm. He'll join us for the negotiations. The rest of the army will stay here in case something happens."

Ser Barristan nodded and rode off to pass on the commands to others.

When Grey Worm rode up not far from them, Ned waved Robb over, and the two of them joined him. Meanwhile Daenerys mounted once again her Dragon. She would arrive riding Drogon to ensure no one questioned the existence of her dragons.