𝓡𝓞𝓢𝓔, 𝑔𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈 ¹

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠

"𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒"

THE ELDEST STARK GIRL, who over the past few days has begun to look less like Nyla Stark and more like some random street urchin, which helps her disguise herself despite her immense desire to bathe, chases her youngest sister down the street as Arya runs after a flock of pigeons. When Nyla finds her sister, the young girl has a dead pigeon in her hands, and Nyla frowns at the sight but doesn't comment on it.

"Stop running off like that." Nyla says in between heavy breaths, glaring down at her little sister to help get her point of seriousness across. "It's dangerous. You know that."

"Sorry, Ny." Arya says, seeming to be genuinely apologetic, though Nyla isn't sure as Arya runs off again. Nyla thinks that perhaps Arya was apologizing for what she was about to do. Either way, Nyla sighs before sprinting after her sister, finding Arya attempting to trade her dead pigeon for food from a baker.

"Three coppers." The baker informs Arya as Nyla finds her way to the side of her little sister, standing next to her, forcing herself to not scold her sister in front of the baker.

"Here." Nyla shoves her hand into her pocket, finding a small bag of coppers she had taken before the two sisters had run off Nyla had found in her bag. Nyla hands off three coppers to the baker, and the man shoves a piece of bread into the hands of Arya, clearly displeased by the mere sight of the dirt covered girls.

Arya takes the piece of bread and Nyla shoves the small bag back into her pocket with her necklace that she had been holding onto, and Arya throws the pigeon to the ground and splits the bread in half, handing one half to Nyla. Nyla takes it, and she takes a bite before she notices everyone rushing up the street.

"What's going on?" Arya asks a young child her age, her mouth half full of bread. Nyla keeps from saying anything, knowing that since they had left the Red Keep, food had been far scarcer than either were used to.

"They're taking him to the Sept of Baelor." The nameless child answers.

"Who?" Nyla cuts in, her eyebrows now furrowed curiously.

"The Hand of the King." The child replies, and Arya and Nyla share a short look before Arya runs off through the crowd to the Sept of Baelor, though this time Nyla is right on her sister's heels, the two both pushing through the crowd.

For a moment, Nyla loses her sister, but she quickly sees her once her sister climbs up the pedestal of Baelor's statue, seemingly to get a better view. Nyla looks at her sister, debating climbing up there with her, before her eyes move to where she can see her father, Ned Stark, being taken out of the Sept and to the courtyard.

The crowd watching is yelling out insults at Ned, mostly along the line of 'Traitor!' and 'Coward!', though various other insults are mixed in, half unintelligible. Nyla watches as her father is taken to a raised platform where Nyla can see her younger sister, Sansa, watching on.

"I am Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Hand of the King." Ned begins. "I come before you to confess my treason in the sight of Gods and men. I betrayed the faith of my King and the trust of my friend Robert. I swore to protect and defend his children, but before his blood was cold, I plotted to murder his son and seize the Throne for myself." Nyla is shocked by this admission, but she continues watching intently, sure there's a reason besides this being the truth that her father would admit to this, as Nyla is sure this isn't true. "Let the High Septon and Baelor the Blessed bear witness to what I say: Joffrey Baratheon is the one true heir to the Iron Throne, by the grace of all the Gods, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm."

"As we sin, so do we suffer." Grand Maester Pycelle nods. "This man has confessed his crimes in sight of Gods and men." The Grand Maester turns to Joffrey. "The Gods are just but beloved Baelor taught us they can also be merciful. What is to be done with this traitor, Your Grace?"

"My mother wishes me to let Lord Eddard join The Night's Watch. Stripped of all titles and powers, he would serve the realm in permanent exile. And My Lady Sansa has begged mercy for her father." Joffrey begins, his voice projecting to the awaiting crowd, and Nyla is hopeful he is going to agree to this. "But they have the soft hearts of women." Nyla frowns, her hope slowly dissolving. "So long as I am your King, treason shall never go unpunished. Ser Ilyn, bring me his head!" The crowd roars with approval, and Nyla gasps and tears prick her in eyes, but she quickly wipes them away as to not stand out in the crowd.

"No, stop!" Sansa yells as a Kingsguard member holds her back from her father. "Please, someone stop him!" She begs, but no one listens, and Nyla bites her tongue to stop from acting on her emotions. Ilyn Payne puts his executioners mask on, and Nyla steps forward towards Arya.

Before Nyla gets farther than a few steps, she feels someone's hand wrap around her arm and pull her backwards, the person's other hand covering her mouth to muffle any objecting shouts from Nyla, the action going unnoticed by the crowd that is far too focused on the scene on the stage before them.

"Don't say anything." The voice of the person who grabbed Nyla is that of a man, and Nyla recognizes the smooth voice the second he utters the first word.

Jaime Lannister.