The Storm Queen | Game of Thrones

Seventeen

Hastily I run through the halls.

"Where is Renly!" I yell, demanding to know what is happening and sure enough I find him and gasp at the sight of blood. "Oh gods."

He stands there shaking with blood on his hands and looks between myself and Ned whose just appeared, equally horrified.

"Renly," I tremble seeing the amount of blood staining his hands, his clothes.

"It's Robert, there was a boar-"

He takes off and Ned looks back at me frozen in place "Come child."

I feel hands guiding me and I vaguely realise they're my handmaiden Bree's. "Cassana, he's still alive," she tells me, sharply digging her fingernails into my arm to snap me out of it and I realise Ned's been speaking.

"Cassana," he repeats as I focus on him, Bree still ushering me towards my fathers chambers. "We can't tell Robert the truth."

"We have to," I argue, pressing my hand to my head, lightheaded from shock. "He needs to know the truth."

"No he doesn't," he argues painfully. "How can we let his last moments be consumed by anger? We will let him have his peace and I will deal with Joffrey."

Before I can argue with him he steps into my fathers room while I hold onto Bree.

"I'll wait for you in your room," she says clasping my hand in hers.

"Thank you Bree."

After taking a moment to compose myself I follow Ned inside my Fathers room. Inside stands my mother, Ser Barristan, Renly, Varys and Pycelle. Joffrey is seated on my fathers bed, wide-eyed and surprisingly beside himself.

"I should have spent more time with you, shown you how to be a father," he says to Joffrey before commenting. "I was never meant to be a father." He looks up, and sees Ned and I standing there. "Go on, you don't want to see this."

Joffrey runs past me, for the first time in his life actually showing an emotion besides anger or spite.

"My fault. Too much wine, missed my thrust," he explains as I sit by his side and pull back the cloth covering his wound. I can barely bring myself to look at it, I may not be a maester but I know his fate is sealed. "It stinks- it stinks like death, don't think I can't smell it," he mutters before laughing "I paid the bastard back, Ned. I drove my knife right through his brain. You ask them if I didn't. Ask them!" Ser Barristan shakes his head in exasperation as he listens to my father. At least somehow despite all of this my fathers still kept his spirit. "I want the funeral feast to be the biggest the Kingdoms ever saw and I want everyone to taste the boar that got me," he declares and he looks around the room "Now leave us, the lot of you. I need to talk to Ned."

"Robert, my sweet-" my mother begins and I realise she's afraid. There is only one reason she would be afraid of my father speaking to Ned alone. My head whips around to Ned wide eyed and he can't meet my gaze.

"Out, all of you!"

Everyone leaves except for Ned and I.

"Cassana, you don't want to see this."

"No," I say firmly remaining by his side. "I am your daughter and I am not leaving you."
"You've always been stubborn," he comments  proudly"You are my daughter after all."

His only daughter. Only trueborn child.

Another round of shock hits me as I realise that by dawn I will be queen. I knew the day would come but I never expected it to be so soon. Never wanted it to be so soon.