The Red Viper and the Tempest.
An unlikely match from the beginning.
A moment of attraction, fleeting and memorable.
A hint of vulnerability, strong and lasting.
A spark of a flame, inevitable and ruining.
In the midst of storms and poisons, tw...
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Eddard Stark was a changed man.
War brought about many things. To gain victory, sacrifices were demanded and to pay them meant losing many things valuable to you. Mostly an unfair exchange but payment was always demanded to win. The loss was inevitable and one can only begin to register such losses when the fighting was over.
His attention zeroed in on the Red Keep as he and his men made their way to the throne room. There were soldiers left and right, soldiers in red tormenting citizens and carrying off bottles of wine and goods. It was ghastly. It was not even a fight. Somehow, it was a more gruesome sight than battle. Pillaging and sacking occurred around them but they had a mission to fulfill, as a part of a bigger plot and an even greater gain. The Iron Throne.
Robert had been injured and forced to remain behind, leaving Ned to finish the job that began the moment Rhaegar stole away his sister. It would be up to him to end it all, to put an end to the dragons. His own injuries bothered him as well but he had a reason of his own to keep going, a reason close to his heart.
Robert had encouraged him to continue on, asking him to find and protect his sister. He had clasped his dearest friend's hand in promise but he would've come for her regardless of any promise.
If it were up to him, he never would have broken a single oath in his life but breaking the betrothal he had with Cassandra, even with Robert's consent, broke a part of him he knew he might never get back.
The fact remained that he had wanted nothing more than for her to be his wife, he had felt that way from the moment he saw her at the Eyrie. It was a wonder how his heart fell in a single second upon seeing her. But such a life would not exist if she were dead. Starks were known to uphold oaths no matter what but he would have broken that oath over and over again if it meant she was alive.
That was the only thing running through his mind as he pushed through the doors to the Red Keep. It was chaos everywhere as soldiers and servants alike ran through the halls, confused as to what to do with all that was happening. King's Landing was in shambles. The once crown jewel of the kingdom was reduced to a mess.
Heading in the direction of the throne room, Ned and his men drew their swords, preparing for the fight they thought they would be facing with the king and his guards. A far cry from the battle they had been expecting but the arrival of the Lannister troops had changed things for them.
Tywin Lannister had spent the majority of the war not picking a side, choosing to remain deaf to calls to action from both sides. It was only when Rhaegar Targaryen fell in the Trident that he was propelled to act, choosing to attack the capital under false pretenses. He had gained entry easily enough.
"Follow me," Ned commanded, navigating through the twists and turns of the stone hallways before stopping by the double doors that he knew led to the throne room.
