WARS TO COME, game of thrones

𝐈𝐗. fury

The throne room was full of lords and knights, the others were in the courtyard. Anrir stood next to his father with other Lords of the Vale, opposite him to the left of the throne stood Eddard with the Lords of the North. Then Robert entered the hall and the previous constant murmuring and whispering died away immediately. Those present bowed their heads respectfully and Anrir also bowed his head to Robert. Tall and muscular as he was, with his dark hair and stormy blue eyes, he looked like a young king should. He walked through the crowd of his supporters and took a seat on the iron throne. He filled it better than Jaime Lannister had done.

Nevertheless, the eyes of most of them were once again on a Lannister. Tywin stood at the foot of the throne, in a strikingly humble posture. And he had presented Robert with a gift. Two frighteningly small figures were wrapped in crimson cloaks, only Elia Martell was unveiled. Her dress was tattered and her face was marked with fear and despair even in death. Anrir thought of Oberyn and could hardly bear to look at the princess. She had been murdered and her small children with her. And when Anrir dared to let his thoughts wander to darker places, he suspected that even worse had been done to her. 

They were related, he and this young woman. He wondered if in another life, in which his parents had never died, he would have fought on the side of the Targaryens. Would she have died the same way?

"We have taken the capital for you and eliminated the king for you. This should now be the final proof of our loyalty and devotion to you, Your Grace," Tywin spoke in a calm, lurking tone.

Anrir looked to Robert and met a strangely pleased expression on his friend's face. He quickly looked to Ned, who was staring at the corpses with eyes widened in horror. He knew that the same thoughts were running through Ned's mind, if not more horrified. How could the Lannisters have done such a thing? And how could Robert not be horrified and disgusted by this cruel act? In disbelief, Anrir sought eye contact with his father beside him, but his gaze was focused on Tywin and completely unreadable.

At Robert's prompting nod, Tywin lifted the red cloth and Anrir swallowed hard. Rhaenys had countless stab wounds in his body and the baby... Anrir didn't know if it had ever been a human being at all. Aegon Targaryen was a faceless monster, a monstrosity of blood and brain. And so tiny. The baby was so tiny. He felt his father avert his gaze beside him, but Anrir was transfixed. His eyes just wouldn't come away. How could anyone let something like this happen? They had been children, only innocent children. And they had had to die for the crimes of their family.

Robert would have to punish the Lannisters, he would have to show that he did not support such acts. That he would become a new, better king.

"How can I be sure that this is Rhaegar's son?" Robert asked into the dead silence in the hall. "He is," Tywin assured him calmly and covered the bodies again. Anrir returned to reality, torn away from the sight of the baby. Ned across from him was as pale as snow and he had his lips pressed together. "Take the dragonseed away." Lannister guards lifted the bodies, leaving the hall. Their footsteps echoed a thousand times.

"We assemble for council," Robert ordered loud and booming, and Anrir stumbled to follow his father. How could Robert remain silent? How could he just accept the crimes he just had witnessed? The purpose of their rebellion had been to end Aerys Targaryen's reign of terror. And now? Were they any better than the mad king if they allowed such a thing to happen? Robert may be an usurper , but now he had begun his reign wrongly. Anrir swallowed hard. His childhood friend was a good man. This crime did not have to determine the rest of his reign.

In the council chamber, he had to stand behind his father's chair, as the table intended for the council barely had enough room for the assembled lords. Robert sat at the head of the table, Ned had found a seat at the other end of the table and stared blankly at Robert. "That was unjustified murder. You can't just let it happen," Ned said quietly but firmly, "The Lannisters must answer for it and Jaime should be sent to the Night's Watch." "The Targaryens are wiped out. I couldn't be more pleased," Robert replied heatedly. "You will begin your reign by murdering children," Ned continued, "Then you are no better than-" "Enough!" Robert roared and hit the table with the flat of his hand, whereupon Ned moved his chair away from the table and tried to stand up. Instead, Anrir's father stood up.

"That's enough. Having the Lannisters on Robert's side is only an advantage. What has happened is cruel. But our cause is for the greater good,"he said calmly, but his placating voice failed to appease his two wards. "And for this we forget our humanity, our honor?" Ned asked coldly and Robert laughed derisively. "Robert, please," Anrir's father began.  "You killed for our cause, on the battlefield!",Robert snorted, ignoring Anrirs father. Ned stared at him icily: "No children. No one who couldn't fight back!" "Spare me your honor, Eddard!"

This time Ned really stood up and left the room with the door slamming. Anrir stared at the floor, unable to commit to a position. His throat ached and the tiredness was deep in his bones. When he blinked, he saw the image of Aegon flash before his inner eye. "Go after him," his father murmured softly to him, "Don't let him do anything stupid."

Anrir nodded wanly and followed Eddard unobtrusively, closing the door quietly and carefully behind him, blocking out Robert's angry voice. He leaned against the wall for a moment, taking a deep breath. He wanted to go home and lie down in his bed, just sleep... Rest from this madness. But he forced his body to continue and he finally found Eddard on a secluded balcony in a quiet corner of the seemingly endless palace. His friend leaned on the balustrade, overlooking Kings Landing, which stretched quietly below them. The light of the sunset colored the city in red.

He wanted to say Ned's name, but it caught in his throat, so he just stood quietly by him. Startled, Ned lifted his head and sighed at the sight of Anrir, rubbing his mouth. "Anrir... Why don't you go see a maester, you look terrible... I don't have the energy to argue." Anrir took a deep breath, for once not thinking about Ned's wife when he looked at him. Didn't think about everything that was between them right now.

"I'm so glad you're still alive," he finally whispered, his throat aching reluctantly at the words. He took Ned's face in his hands and stroked his stubbly cheeks with his thumb. Sometime in the last year, Anrir had grown again and was now the taller one again. He had to smile, even though it hurt and he was actually far too tired and desperate for positive feelings. Ned sighed and rested his head on Anrir's shoulder and he could feel that his friend felt the same leaden exhaustion. "I'm glad you're still here too, An... All this feels so weird, like we've completely lost track of each other... I can't believe Robert won't punish Tywin.... He was smiling, An. Smiled. The child was..."

Anrir interrupted him by pulling him into a tight hug. "I know I... see him too when I close my eyes...", he murmured harshly and then suddenly they were kissing again. They stayed close together until Ned put a hand on Anrir's cheek as he sat him down on a ledge. Anrir gasped in pain and Ned began to apologize in panic. But Anrir could only laugh. Chuckling, his laughter rippled over the balcony and was carried away on the wind. "I'm sorry..." Anrir groaned, "This is all just so... So ridiculous."

"I know... I... You're bleeding, you need to see the maesters," Ned muttered and put his arm around Anrir's waist. The world seemed to sway and Anrir sank against Ned, blood dripping onto the stone floor as his friend took him from the balcony towards the sickbay.