Game Of Thrones... With A Twist

A Game of Thrones - Chapter 12

<The three days, King's Chamber, The Red Keep, King's Landing, The Crownlands...>

Ned slowly woke, feeling the soft feather mattress and pillow that his body lay on, the Lord of Winterfell's first sight since the duel with the Kingslayer... was the man's twin sister, Cersei looking at him with well-covered contempt.

Standing next to her, his girth unmistakable, was King Robert Baratheon who looked on in slight concern for his friend, yet there was a thick undertone of tension in the air.

Ned blinked a bit as Robert's face came into focus before the Quiet Wolf spoke, "Your pardon, Your Grace. I would rise, but..." Ned tried to say, noticing that his right thigh was bandaged from where the Lannister soldier had stabbed him. 

"Do you know what your wife has done?" Cersei asked Ned confrontationally, even though she couldn't care less about Tyrion.

Ned's face grew stony as he spoke calmly, "She did nothing that I did not command." He lied, protecting her and digging himself deeper into a dark hole.

"Who'd have thought she had it in her?" Robert asked rhetorically at the brashness that Lady Stark had displayed in kidnapping Tyrion Lannister.

"By what right dare you lay hands on my blood?" Cersei asked, her tone growing fiercer as the conversation went on. 

"I am the King's Hand..." "You were the King's Hand!" "... and charged with keeping the peace..." "You shall now be held accountable." Cersei and Ned spoke above each other until Robert had enough of Stark and Lannister sniping at each other.

"Oh, will both of you just shut your mouths? Catelyn will release Tyrion and you'll make your peace with Jaime." Robert ordered, essentially forcing House Stark to surrender under peaceful terms instead of bloody ones.

"He butchered my men." Ned growled, wanting nothing more than to see Jaime Lannister's head on a spike.

Cersei scoffed as she made up a lie right on the spot, defending her brother-lover as she had always done, "Lord Stark was returning drunk from a brothel when his men attacked Jaime." 

Ned was surprised at how quickly the Queen lied, just like in his daughter's case with the direwolves.

"Quiet, woman." Robert ordered, not wanting her to say any more before he lost his temper at her infuriating accusations. 

"Jaime has fled the city. Give me leave to bring him back to justice." Ned requested from Robert, but before the King could grant it, Cersei put an abrupt end to it, "I took you for a king."

"Hold your tongue." Robert growled, his decision to let Ned do as he wished stopped by his own manipulative wife. 

"He's attacked one of my brothers and abducted the other. I should wear the armor and you the gown." That last statement pushed Robert over the edge when it came to regards with Cersei.

Turning to her, Robert was silent before he slapped Cersei in the face, much to Ned's shock that the King hit his wife.

Cersei was silent for a bit before she turned to look at both men, her cheek starting to turn red before she spoke in a cold tone, "I shall wear this like a badge of honor." 

Robert stepped in front of her slowly before he growled softly, "Wear it in silence or I'll honor you again."

Cersei glanced at Ned then, noticing that the Lord of Winterfell was surprised by the turn of events and didn't truly understand how long Robert had abused her for her manipulations. 

The Baratheon King may be extremely malleable due to how deep in debt he was to Tywin Lannister, but when he put his foot down, no one spoke against him.