Chapter 91: Plots within Plots
2 months passed, Ned did his duties as the Lord Hand. Ned had been living in the Stark's Manor as it was safer than Red Keep. Today, he received the green light from Alexander to go ahead and provoke Cersei.
So Ned prepared for a meeting with her in his office. At noon, Cersei gracefully entered his office.
"What was so important that you asked me to be here, Lord Stark?" She asked and sat down without asking.
"It would be better if you heard about this in private. If words were to go out, they will start comparing you with Targaryens." Ned calmly said.
Cersei's eyes widened in shock and sent her servants out. "What are you talking about, Lord Stark?"
"You know what I am talking about. I know about the true parentage of your children. Robert would get really angry when he finds out about you and Jamie." Ned said in a relaxed manner.
Cersei knew that Robert would believe Ned, "What do you want? Gold, power?... or me?" She said, trying to seduce him and lifted her gown to show a bit of her white smooth legs.
But the hard boy Ned looked at her disgustfully, "Is this what you've been doing all your life? Using your body for favors? No wonder Robert never loved you."
"Then why haven't you already told this to Robert? What do you want?" She frustratingly asked.
"Nothing, I am just giving you an opportunity to run away. When Robert finds out, he will kill you. And probably Joffrey too." Ned offered."You know, when you play the game of thrones, you win or die. There's no third way." She calmly said.
"That is why I'm giving you a third way." Ned scoffed.
"I am giving you until tomorrow evening. I will tell everything to Robert at tomorrow's dinner feast." Ned said and dismissed the Queen.
Cersei seethed in rage and left. She went straight to her Lover-Brother and took him to an isolated place.
"Why are you in such a hurry Cersei? What happened?" Jamie worriedly asked.
"HE KNOWS," she screamed.
"What? Who knows what?"
"Ned Stark, he knows about us and our children. He's given me until tomorrow to run away." She ragefully said.
"T-Then... it's good. We always knew that the secret would come out someday. We should go somewhere far away and live a new life with our kids." He hopefully suggested.
"WHAT? How can you even say that? I am the queen. My sweet Joffrey will become the King. I will never run away." She quickly dismissed the idea.
Jamie didn't know what to do now. "Then what do you want to do?"
"We kill them. We kill the king, the... Stark, his men. We kill them all," she screeched.
"Have you gone mad? Killing Ned is many times harder than killing the King. And even if we are successful, we will have to fight the whole army and Navy of the north later." He tried to reason.
"So what? We are Lannisters. We can buy Armies. We will buy some sellsword companies from Essos. Father will pay for it all," she confidently suggested.
Then suddenly a voice came from behind the door. "No, my dear sister. You are wrong. Father won't pay, or more like he can't pay," Tyrion entered.
"What do you mean?" Jamie asked, not really worried that Tyrion heard them.
"Well, I heard father talking to uncle Kevan once. He said that the gold mines have run dry and the Lannisters are currently 20 million dragons in debt to the Iron Bank. Seriously, your best option is to run away. Most of King's Landing already doubted your kid's parentage. If words come out of Lord Stark. They will all believe him." Tyrion said.
"I didn't ask for your advice. And I refuse to believe anything you say. Lannisters can never run out of gold. We have the biggest mine in..."
"Yes, the biggest mine that we have been mining for the past 6000 years. Please do not do something stupid, you have no idea how strong the Starks are. They will destroy not just you, but the whole house Lannister. Uncle Gerion had told me what happened in the Greyjoy rebellion. The northern army and navy destroyed the Ironborns even before the fight could really start." He warned.
"SHUT UP. Lies... all are lies. I don't care what you think. I must do what I should, I AM THE QUEEN" she screamed, refusing to accept the reality
"Then I must go and tell father about what you are planning," Tyrion said and walked away.
~I must deal with him too~ she thought.
"GUARDS, GUARDS... ARREST TYRION AND PUT HIM IN BLACK CELLS," she shouted. Soon her four Lannister guards came.
"What are you doing, Cersei? He is family," Jamie questioned.
"I am doing what father would have done. I am protecting my family and the throne." Cersei replied.
"I don't think father will be happy when he hears you put me in black cells," Tyrion calmly spoke from clutches of guards.
"TAKE HIM... that devil is not my brother," she ordered. Tyrion's face fell when he heard that. Since he was born. Cersei had been calling him that because their mother died while birthing him. He was also very ugly(not anymore) which didn't ease things.
...
The next day, Cersei didn't appear anywhere. Ned secretly felt worried that she might have really run away. Then he strangely found that Tyrion Lannister was missing too.
The evening came and the feast began. He was in constant vigilance. His years working as the lord of Moat Cailin had taught him some things about people. That was to always expect worse.
Robert was busy eating when suddenly 2 men who were very close to them took out their knives and tried to stab them.
Ned's guards were very quick and came to help. His attacker was quickly neutralized but the same couldn't be said about Robert. The attacker had stabbed him in the guts.
While all that was happening, Alexander was also there, just invisible. ~Come on Robert, make Ned the Regent.~
But Robert was mumbling stupid things and wasn't writing his will. So Alexander had to manipulate him. After all that was done, he quickly replaced the body with a fake.
The wounded Robert was now all healed and standing beside Alexander. He was invisible too.
"Ah... Never thought I'd die like that." Robert said, looking at his dead body. Then he turned his face and saw Alexander.
"Uncle? How did you die?" He shockingly asked.
"Hahahaha... You are not dead, son. You are about to find out about a big secret." They both vanished and appeared in the Great Sept of Baelor. Then the same thing happened, Robert realized his identity and cried like a child. Asking to send him to Lyanna in heaven.
"I will bring her back, son. But first, we need to deal with Cersei. She tried to get you and Ned killed because Ned found out that Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella are incest borns between Cersei and Jamie Lannister." Alexander revealed.
"I knew it... I always had my doubts. I am going to kill her and her brother." He angrily roared.
"Calm yourself. I will get her punished. But not yet. Honestly speaking, I can straight away change memories of everyone in the city or even Westeros. But that would still create a problem as there is always a chance of words crossing the sea. So, I need this whole charade to go on. When the time is right, I will show myself to the world. Not as Alexander Stark but as my true self." He informed him.
"Y-yes... All-father. Thank you for saving me, I will do all I can to help." Robert deeply bowed.
...
In the hall. The lifeless body of Robert laid on the floor. Ned stood beside it with the King's decree in his hands. Then suddenly the door opened and some Lannister soldiers and Cersei with Joffrey entered.
"Arrest Lord Stark. He conspired to kill the king." She screeched.
"No we can't, he's the Lord Regent now. King did that in front of all of us here." Ser Barristan Selmy spoke.
Cersei cursed under her breath. She hadn't planned for this. "What Regent? Your King is here." She said, pointing at Joffrey.
"Yes... I am the king. Put his head on a pike," Joffrey shouted just like his mother.
~Ned, play on with her. You need to get arrested and sent to black cells. By tomorrow morning, everything will change.~ Alexander secretly spoke in Ned's ear.
"I have the King's decree. You can't ignore it," Ned said.
Suddenly a Lannister boy jumped and grabbed the decree and ate it. "No regent without a decree now," he said.
"This is too much"
"How dare she defy King's orders"
"We stand with Lord Stark"
Many Crownlands lords protested for what was happening.
"Shut up, all of you. Guards, I am the Queen and you have your King with you. Follow your Lords and die, follow me and I'll make your life look like a dream come true." She tried to sway the guards. Many did sway, they didn't know that the Lannisters didn't have any money left.
"Put all of them in the black cell. We will put them on trial tomorrow," she said. Forgetting that arresting so many Crownlands Lords would surely create big problems. She was just so consumed by the power, knowing that the King was dead and now she could have her Joffrey on the throne.
...
Ned didn't know what his uncle had planned. But he did know that no matter what, his life wasn't in danger. He had already talked to the invisible Robert and felt relaxed.
When he reached the black cells. He was surprised to find Tyrion Lannister also locked there beside him.
"So she was partially successful I presume?" Tyrion asked.
"Yes, she killed the king and has imprisoned half the Crownlands Lords," Ned replied.
*Sigh* "I guess, it's the end of house Lannister then." Tyrion disappointedly mumbled.
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