King's Landing 298 AC.
Barristan.
The relief he felt at seeing the king awake was soon tempered when as he tried to rise to his feet, Jaehaerys instead crumbling to the ground. Both he and Arthur hurried over to him and when they got there they found the king to be actually laughing.
"It seems my legs are being most uncooperative, Sers." Jaehaerys said with a large smile on his face, one that Barristan was happy to see the queen seemed to be matching.
"Lean on me, your grace." Arthur said as he knelt down and took one of the king's arms before wrapping it around his neck, Barristan quickly doing the same with the other.
They helped him back to the carriage and placed him inside, the queen nodding to them both as she climbed in beside him. Giving the orders to the guards that were with them and looking to see that Arthur was just as relieved as he was, they quickly mounted up and set off back to the Red Keep. As they rode Barristan kept his eyes firmly on the carriage beside them but he was soon moving event closer to it. The Knight thinking something was wrong when the shutters were opened and both the king and queen's heads stuck out from inside
"Your grace, are you well?" he asked worriedly.
"Very much so, Ser Barristan, my wife informed me that it's been a number of weeks since the people saw either of us, I'd seek to rectify that immediately." the king said.
He found himself chuckling at that and then feeling some pride when he heard the cheering of people when they saw both the king and queen. Jaehaerys and Margaery simply waving and smiling at them all as the carriage passed by. Barristan knew though how much it would mean to a lot to them to see them both. The smallfolk too had begun to worry about their king's health and though steps had been taken to reassure them, no step they had taken would work as well as this one.
By the time they reached the Red Keep the word had spread, the crowds had grown larger as they moved through the city, and the cheers louder still, which had alerted those in the keep to what had occurred. Barristan saw the large party that awaited their arrival, the Lannisters, Starks, the Martells, and the Tyrell's all among many others that were represented. Moving to the carriage he leaned inside to see the king was shaking his arms vigorously while trying to rise to his feet and then he watched as he fell back to the seat. So he nodded to Arthur and they helped him out from the carriage, both of them supporting his weight as they walked him into the keep.
"I'll speak to you all presently, inside." the king said and Barristan could see that he would need to do so almost immediately such were the eager looks on each of the faces.
He also noticed that even the servants stopped to look and give both the king and queen warm smiles as he and Arthur helped him to his chambers. Once inside it was to the large seat behind the desk they moved the king at his behest rather than his bed or the more comfortable couches that were also in the room. It was something the queen wasn't best pleased about but the king was insistent upon and Barristan found himself smirking at the stand-off that was now going on between them.
"I need to speak to them, just to let them know I feel well and am unharmed, Margaery" Jaehaerys said.
"You need to rest and to be looked over by the Grandmaester and your uncle, Jae." Margaery replied.
"I've rested for weeks have I not? I have to this my love, just to let them know I'm well, it'll be brief and you can call for Gormon and Aemon before then if you wish." Jaehaerys said with a soft smile on his face.
