𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 || 𝐉𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

Chapter 8

As I put away the last of my things into the bags the next morning , a loud noise startled me. Glancing over at the balcony, I crossed the room and looked out onto the city. What I saw shocked me. The Royal Guards raced down the streets, their swords held high in the air as they began to slaughter my father's men that we had arrived. A horrified scream caught in my throat as people shouted and cried out from below. A tear ran down my cheek as one of the guards ran another man through with his sword.

Why would they do such a thing? Why was this happening? It had to be the Queen's doing. But why? What was the point of it all? I thought back to the day when I had walked past the garden and what I had heard Cersei say - that her and Jaime belonged together.

Her and Jaime belonged together...and Joffrey was blond. All of her children were...blond. And yet, the king had dark hair. How could that be? That wasn't at all possible... I remembered then how my father had been distressed when Sansa had complained about leaving and how he was doing it to protect us all...

Why would he want to protect us? Unless...unless Joffrey was not the king's son. And then there was that comment that Ser Jaime had made about Joffrey... My eyebrows shot to my hairline as I leaned my back against the wall. Jaime was the father of Cersei's children.... Father must have confronted her about it! That was why he was so upset that day!

I swallowed then, suddenly fearful. I had to warn Sansa and Arya! If the Royal Guards were attacking our men, it had to have been for a reason - someone ordered them to. Cersei had ordered them to. My blood boiled at the thought as I grabbed my dark cloak that hung next to my bed. Draping it over my shoulders, I walked over to the door and wrenched it open quietly. As I stepped out of my room, a hand shot out and clamped over my mouth, stifling the scream that had started to escaped my lips.

"Hush, child!" a voice whispered in my ear as I was dragged down a side corridor.

Hands pushed me ahead and I walked down the long dark hallway. I could barely see two feet in front of me as I trudged forward, my shoes not making a sound on the stone floor. Finally, I couldn't take it any longer. I whipped my head around and faced my kidnapper. As my dark eyes met blue ones, I recognized him. He wore a long yellow robe that reached his sandaled feet. He was of wide girth and he wore a somber expression. He was one of my father's friends - a man of the court.

"You! I know you! You're Lord Varys. You worked with my father -" I started before he cut me off.

"Yes, yes, I did. But right now, that's not what we're worried about. We need to get you out of the capital. Somewhere where the queen won't be able to find you. A place she'd never think to look for you," he spoke, watching me intently.

"And where would that be?" I asked, a bit hesitantly.

"The battlefield," he answered simply, pushing me forward once more.

"What? But why?" I questioned him, feeling my way along the stone walls that surrounded us.

"That's the last place Her Majesty would think to look for you. Why would a Stark be on a Lannister battlefield?"

I nodded my head then and we fell into silence. After several minutes of walking, we came out onto a busy street. Varys yanked the hood up on my cloak then, covering my dark brown hair.

"Keep your head down." he whispered.

Walking ahead of me now, he led the way through the crowds of people. I followed closely behind him, desperate not to get lost. I had only ever been in the city once - the rest of my time here had been spent in the palace. The people around us paid me no mind and went about their business. Thank goodness for this cloak that mother had forced me to take before we left Winterfell. It would be my protection against prying eyes now.

We turned a corner then and the narrow streets opened up into a walkway along the water's edge. Numerous ships bobbed up and down on the cerulean blue water, making ripples on its glossy surface. Varys walked over to a sailor leaned up against a wall close by. As they talked, I hung back and lingered by the ships. I still didn't know if I was making the right choice. What if this would be dangerous? What if I couldn't trust Varys?

He came back over to me then, the man he had talked to coming to stand behind him.

"This kind man said he would give you safe passage, my niece," Varys said, a small smile on his face as the sailor stepped into a tiny boat and started to untie the rope that tethered it to the dock.

I arched any eyebrow at the word "niece" but shrugged it off. I could play along if I had to. I stepped closer to him then.

"What about my sisters? I need to warn them. They need to know about this! They need to be safe! And what about father? Where is he?" I whispered to him, my voice getting slightly higher with every word as franticness seeped in.

He put up a hand to quiet me and I bit my lip.

"Arya is alright. I saw her get away from them. Sansa...was not as lucky. She's locked up in her chambers. And as for your father...I regret to inform you that he was executed for treason this very morning," he said, sadness tinging his last words.

My world shattered then and my knees gave out, hitting the stone pavement. Tears began to stream down my face and I took in a ragged breath.

"What?! No! No! You're wrong! It's not true! That couldn't be true! But...I hadn't heard. Did they arrest him before? Why didn't anyone tell me?" I sobbed.

Varys put an arm around my shoulders and shushed me.

"You must stop crying this instant, Lady Joan! No one can find out your true identity," he said softly as the sailor eyed the two of us.

"First time being separated from her uncle," he said to the man, faking a laugh as he turned me around to face the sailor.

He gave me his hand and I took it as he helped me onto the tiny boat. Picking up the oars then, he began to row us away from the dock.

"Uncle!" I called out, "When will I see you again? When will I come back here?"

I barely heard his last words to me as King's Landing and my family slipped farther and farther away.

"Not for a long time, I'm afraid...not for a very long time..."

Note: I had so much fun writing this, guys! And I know that my story has been kind of slow so far but things are about to get very fast-paced now that Joan is out of King's Landing :)