Kapitel 4: Chapter 4
King Robert would return within a few days, but for Caspian, the time that passed seemed to drag on like the Red Waste.
Those were hot days in King's Landing, far too hot for his liking and he longed for the cool breezes and crashing waves of Storm's End. He had only been there a few times, since his birth, but it had been his most favorite place in the world. And his uncle Stannis had told him that he had been born there during the wildest storm the seven kingdoms had ever seen.
It had last for nearly two fortnights and people feared the sun would never come out again. The clouds hung low over the Stormlands and lightning flashed across the sky, as if it were trying to rip it in two. The thunder roared like a tempest and many thought that Yunra, the sea god and Nelni, the wind goddess had come to wreak havoc on Durran's ancestors once more.
Caspian was born in the last few days of its assault when the sea had roared the fiercest and the thunder had boomed the loudest. Stannis had told him that Robert had been afraid during the birth because the pregnancy had gone badly for his mother and the maester wasn't sure if Caspian would live. But amidst the roaring and the flashing and the booming of thunder, Caspian had come into the world screaming.
When he was a boy and his father was not so absent as he was now, Robert had told him he had had the strongest lungs of any baby he had ever seen. Robert had named him Lord of the Stormlands then, since Joffery was to inherit the crown. In a way he supposed that it wouldn't be so bad, he would have somewhere to get away to when his brother was king.
While his Lannister grandfather harbour intention to name him as Heir to Casterly Rock. But not wanting to come between his favourite nuncle's birthright. He had not spoken in favour of gaining the Lannister name and title.
Anyhow, The Storms were his home anyway. He remembered that Robert had a bastard there….young Edric Storm who was still just a baby. Perhaps he would foster the boy in the castle and raise him to be a knight. Gods knew Robert would likely ignore him too like he did the rest of his children, Trueborn and bastards alike.
Thinking of the storms and the cool sea breezes helped Caspian remain calm over the next few days because his emotions were up and down.
He was angry and then he was disgusted, and then he was sad and then he was angry again. He knew since few years that his siblings were bastards and had resented his mother for it for over a year. But to know that he was being passed over for the throne by an incestuous bastard who surely played the part was a little more than he could stand.
He now knew that his mother would never love him as much as the rest of her children because he was from Robert, a man she hated and the others were from Jaime, a man she loved. She would never hate him, but he would lack for love for the rest of his life. And Caspian resented her even more for that.
No, as soon as Joffrey was crowned, he would leave King's Landing for the Storm Lands and stay there with Uncle Renly. Perhaps Uncle Stannis would come visit them from Dragon Stone. Perhaps life would be different than here at court.
Caspian hated King's Landing. The smell of horse piss, sweat and blood was constantly on the air and not even the sea breezes could blow it away. He hated that when he walked through the streets, he saw beggars and homeless children and people being abused.
There had been a time early in the reign of Aerys the Mad, when King's Landing had been a beautiful and prosperous place. A centre of trade and mercantilism where people would come to sell their wares and one didn't have to be afraid to walk down the streets to buy things because his grandfather, as Hand of King, had ensured that the peace was kept. Tywin had essentially ruled the country the quickest way, to lose control was to lose the favour of the people. That was why Casterly Rock was so prosperous and not just because of the many mines that were in the rock itself.
Caspian often wanted to see what King's Landing was like in the early reign of King Aerys, but knew that under his father's rule it had become a poor and desperate place. Joffrey would do no better when he took the throne and King's Landing would spiral even further into chaos, poverty and anarchy.
The sign of a peaceful realm is it's capital city, Tywin had often said to him. Take the bread from the people and they will take the crown from you.
Caspian had a feeling it wouldn't be long until people became poor and desperate enough that a revolt might be led. He wasn't afraid of them overthrowing the crown, but there were enough sell swords in King's Landing to pose a problem. They would sooner cut off Joffrey's head than accept him as lord and master.
He smirked as he wondered what would happen if that occurred. He didn't feel one ounce of remorse for laughing, if his brother died nor did he feel guilty for not feeling anything.
What he did feel however was an overwhelming sense oAf anxiety as the next few days passed about what was about to happen.
Lord Stark had put himself in a dangerous position and he seemed to know it for he remained sequestered in the Tower of the Hand with his daughters for the next few days. No one was allowed in and no one was allowed out.
Caspian had seen some of the men of the household rushing to and fro and packing boxes so that it appeared they were making ready to depart.
Good, thought Caspian. At least he has that much sense.
He hadn't seen his mother for a few days either and knew she was probably scheming. They were in a cyvasse right now and Lord Stark had just put his king in the center of the board within striking distance.
It was now his mother's turn.
Arya's dancing lessons had ceased so he wasn't even allowed the pleasure of her company to distract. And so Caspian did what he always did when there was nothing else to do. He went to the library and read.
He put The History of the Greater and the Lesser Houses aside and delved into history about the Targaryens. It had been something he had been interested in since he found that the founder of the Baratheon was a bastard from line of Aenar Targaryen. And later in recent decades about the union between then royal family Targaryens with Baratheons of Storm's End.
He didn't know how much Targaryen blood he had in him, but what he did have he was proud of. Imagining having dragons was something that thrilled him. Of course there were no dragons in the known world all having been killed hundreds of years ago. The last of them fell after the Dance of Dragons, a civil war between King Aegon II 'the Elder' and Queen Rhaenyra 'the Pretender'.
Dragons could live for hundreds of years and some small part of Caspian wondered if there were still some alive in the world. Searching the known universe for the last dragon eggs was something he had always desired to do.
Bah, he thought to himself and pushed the book aside. It's a pipe dream for madmen and maesters with too much time on their hands. Baratheon and Lannister were made to rule by men and land and nothing else.
As he thought on this however, he wondered if it would be feasible after Joffrey was crowned to go first to Storm's End and then perhaps to the Smoking Sea and see if there were any caves along its shores where dragon eggs still dwelt.
It was a glorious vision and now that he had been passed over for king he might have been able to attempt it. Discovering that he had a little dragon blood in him made the second prince oddly thrilled. The Targaryen's had been the kings of Westeros until his father had rebelled because of Lyanna Stark and the era of the Dragon Kings had come to an end.
Looking into his family tree was distracting and oddly enough refreshing and a welcome escape from the tension that was slowly building in the castle. When he wasn't studying, Caspian would often go to the one person in the castle that he did trust besides his Uncle Tyrion and that was Ser Barristan Selmy.
He had been the member of Aerys Targaryen's Kingsguard, specifically guarding Prince Rhaegar and was now the Lord Commander of Robert's Kingsguard. Because he was one of the greatest fighters the Seven Kingdoms had ever seen and had won more single combats than any man alive. He was also a man of honor and Caspian knew he would never betray his secrets.
Ser Barristan had been the one to teach him how to fight when he was just a boy. Joffrey hadn't bothered with it because he knew he would have men to guard him so what need would he have of a sword, but Caspian had possessed a desire to be the best he could in whatever he did. His grandfather Tywin had talked about family and legacy and power and make no mistake, power was the one thing that Caspian wished for.
He didn't want to be cruel but he also didn't want to be an anything goes sort of man like his father, too deep in his cups to see the outside world. In short, he wanted to dig King's Landing out of the rut it had fallen into.
Caspian had often wondered what it was that he would do if he were to ever become king should something unfortunate happen to Joffrey. The first thing he would do was appoint his Uncle Tyrion as Hand of the King because the two had always gotten on well and he had one of the sharpest minds in the Seven Kingdoms.
Tyrion also possessed the ability to empathize very well with others which made him an ideal candidate to help handle matters of state and people. He would exactly what to do to end the debt in King's Landing.
Pipe dreams, he thought bitterly to himself. Pipe dreams for a younger son that was stripped of his birthright by a bastard born of incest. The thought still made him feel ill and he couldn't look at his mother anymore without feeling disgust.
It was a lucky thing that he hadn't seen much of her over the past few days for that to happen. She was likely scheming some way to get rid of Ned Stark for what he knew could be disastrous to the realm.
More than one person shares that knowledge however, Caspian thought to himself one day. Will she kill me off to shadow her disgusting secret?
In his heart, he really didn't think that she would. She loved her children and as Uncle Tyrion said it was her one redeeming quality.
In his heart of hearts however, Caspian knew he wouldn't say anything about his siblings unless he knew some way to smuggle Tommen and Myrcella out of King's Landing first and hide them so the brunt of the blame fell squarely on Joffrey and Cersei's shoulders.
They and his Uncle Jaime were really the ones responsible for this awful secret and they were the ones who robbed him of his birthright. Caspian would have been fine being a prince, if his brother was a trueborn Baratheon, but knowing he would be denied what was rightfully his because of his mother's selfishness was a thorn in his side.
And as it turned out, thorns weren't the only things sticking in people's sides when his father returned home from the hunt.
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Caspian was crossing swords in practice with Ser Barristan Selmy, when a servant came to get him to let him know that his father had returned and wished to see him. That was odd of course, his father never wanted to see him in fact he all but ignored his children's existence.
The servant seemed shocked for some odd reason or another and his manner was urgent, so Caspian wasted no time in asking questions and hurried after the man to the King's Chambers. What he saw there would mark a change in Westeros for no good.
Robert Baratheon was lying in bed, his side bloody as if he had been gored by a wild animal. His shirt was removed and he was half bandaged up but the blood was everywhere.
There was sweat upon his brow and his breathing was laboured as if his lungs were slowly filling up with fluid. His eyes were unfocused and glassy and half closed and the room was deathly quiet without his familiar growl.
It was with a shock that Caspian realised that his father was dying.
He had been called to come and say goodbye.
Tommen and Myrcella weren't there but his mother was, along with Lord Stark and his brother Joffrey. Each of them looked up as he was ushered into the room. Caspian nodded at Lord Stark and his mother and all but ignored Joffrey.
Robert looked up weakly at the sound of the door opening and upon realizing it was him waved his hand slowly at the empty stool on the end of the bed next to Joffrey. "Sit down boy, sit down."
The familiar growl was gone from his voice and as Caspian slowly took his seat he couldn't help but notice how pale his father was. Much as he didn't like the man, his prowess in battle was to be respected. He could respect him for that.
As a little boy, he had worshipped his father and wanted to be just like him. He wanted to go with him to battles and fight with a warhammer and stand by his side as he brought kings low. He had cried when Robert left for The Iron Islands as a young boy because he couldn't go with him and fight.
Robert had been a somewhat kinder man in the early days and Caspian did have a few vague memories about him teaching him how to hold a warhammer and ride a horse. They were vague and cloudy but they were still there.
Robert looked slowly back and forth between the two boys as if he were seeing them for the first time. His eyes became slightly more focused as if he were noting the differences between them, as if he had never seen them before.
Caspian imagined that having the two stand side by side each other was a distracting thing for the only thing they shared was fair skin. Joffrey was golden headed and emerald eyed and Caspian possessed the raven hair and stormy blue eyes of the Baratheons.
"I should have spent more time with you," he said to them after taking a few shaky breaths. "Both of you. Taught you how to be men. I was never meant to be a father…..you would have been better in someone else's care."
Finally an honest thought out of the man, Caspian thought bitterly. Does he really think that his dying entreaties will excuse a lifetime of neglect and abuse?
He couldn't forgive his mother for what she had done, but Robert had not been an easy man to live with. He had abused her countless times and she had turned into an ice statue because of it. Well his nuncle Tyrion said she was cruel from her earliest days, so that might have only added indifference toward the marriage.
Again, there was no love lost between him and his mother, but to see her abused was never something he would want. No matter if she had stripped him of his birthright or not. As much as Caspian could respect his father, he still hated what he had done to the realm and the callous way with which he had been king.
"Would you do it differently?" he asked quietly when the room was silent once more, causing everyone's eyes to him. "If you could do it again, raise us to be "men" as you call it, would you have done it differently?"
Robert's eyes narrowed slightly. Even dying he was still a man who wouldn't allow others to besmirch his pride. "Listen here boy – "
"No, father I think it's time you hear what I have to say," Caspian said quietly. He had made it a habit a long time ago to never raise his voice because that would be wasting effort on people who didn't deserve it. "You only feel remorse because you are dying. By your own words you were never meant to father us hence we should not even exist and you do not like the people we have turned into because we are not people who are like you."
He could feel Ned Stark's eyes on him the whole while but at the moment he didn't care. His father was dying there was nothing he could do to him now as he might have earlier.
He got to his feet. "And now we've been called to say our goodbyes and mourn your passing, all because you were drunk on a hunt and got yourself skewered by a boar by your own stupidity. And they say Aerys was mad."
The second prince walked to the door and opened it before turning back and meeting his father's pale face. "When they write the memoirs for the next hundred years you will be known as the drunk who beggared the realm and left his children with nothing. Not quite the legacy you were hoping to leave on the world is it?"
Caspian paused, his hand on the door. "Farewell father, with luck there will be wine and women in the afterlife and you will soon forget this conversation ever happened. Forgetting is what you do best. Or perhaps it is remembering all too well that has made you forget."
He stepped out the door and shut it behind him.
A waste of time, he thought bitterly. The drunk was going to pass soon anyway and in this manner he has died by the tusks of a pig. I suppose it's fitting, a pig killed by one of its own.
There came the sound of ringing footsteps behind him and he turned around to find himself face to face with Joffrey.
"What is it now?" Caspian asked sighing.
Joffrey's face was almost purple with fury. "How dare you besmirch our father's good name you lackwit!" he said and raised his hand almost as if to strike Caspian, before the second prince quick as lightning snatched his fist in his hand.
He leaned in very close to the blonde's face, eyes never leaving his not even blinking. "Lackwit am I? Tell me something dear brother….what made our father a great king? Was it his wisdom? His compassion? His silver tongue? Was it his frugality with money or his diplomacy?"
Joffrey said nothing so Caspian took that as his cue to continue.
"No, it was none of these things because our father was good at nothing but three things beginning with the letter w."
He counted them off on his finger right in front of the crown prince's face. "Wine….women….and war. Those will be the only things he's known for. The war has ended long ago because it was the only thing he knew how to do. Anyone can fight a war, but no simple-minded fool can be king. The realm will be well rid of him."
Joffrey was furious and opened his mouth.
"Shut up before you make a further fool of yourself. And for once look beyond your worship to see the man for what he really was. A drunk and disappointment." He turned and left his brother standing there in the hallway sputtering with rage.
But Caspian didn't care. As angry as he was at his father, it hurt knowing the man who had brought him into the world was gone.
And he disappeared for the day, waiting for the message that would let him now that his lord father was dead and that his brother was now king of the Seven Kingdoms.
It wasn't until later that he wondered, if Robert had said anything to Lord Stark before he died.
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The next morning it was declared that King Robert was dead and his son Joffrey Baratheon was the new Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Caspian supposed he was indifferent to the news, his father had been a terrible king and the realm was about to have another one but he couldn't make himself care for the moment.
His anger that had been festering deep in his heart at his father since he was a boy had cooled and grown stiff as the man's body as he grew hard and cold lying in the Sept of Baelor.
He didn't care anymore, it was over. There was no one else to try and live up to and no more time spent trying to please a man who wouldn't care one way or another. In a way it was a relief.
For the sake of appearances he attended Robert's funeral in the Sept along with his mother and siblings and uncle. They all played the dutiful family mourning a beloved king, but anyone who knew them well knew they would be thinking about what was coming next.
Myrcella was the only one weeping softly and Caspian, feeling sudden compassion for his sister put his arm around her and pulled her close.
"Do you think he's happy now?" she whispered through her tears.
Caspian gave her a sad smile. "Our father wasn't happy with this world, its better now that he's in the next one."
It was not a happy day and grew even more wretched when he was walking down the hall that very evening. He hadn't seen Lord Stark in two days and was very interested in speaking with him, but the man was nowhere to be found.
Giving up, he went to his chamber for the evening and was getting ready for slumber when he remembered the conversation that his mother and Ned Stark had had a few days earlier.
They're all Jaime's thank the gods…..except Caspian…..
He shivered a little at the memory. He hadn't been able to read her tone of voice when she said that, but there had been a shade of bitterness, he was sure of it.
He had always been wary around his mother because of how she often said how much he looked like Robert. Further added by her disinterest in him.
Now that he fully understood the depths of her hatred for Robert, the notion made him uneasy. Whenever she said it in the past she had had a peculiar glint in her eye and he wondered if that glint was loathing for him too.
In the event that Robert leaves his whores and stumbles drunk into my bed I finish him off in other ways. What in seven hells did that mean? Caspian wondered. How on earth could she finish him off?
And then all of a sudden, he remembered something and sat up in bed in astonishment.
A few years ago, he overheard his mother speaking with Grand Maester Pycelle. She had told him that the moon tea was doing wonders and she no longer had to worry about there being any mistakes or accidents, when Robert stumbled into her room stinking of wine.
At the time he hadn't understood what it meant but what she had told Lord Stark a few days ago triggered a memory.
I finish him off in other ways.
If Robert had spilled as often as he stumbled into his mother's bed than it was very likely he should have had more siblings by now.
Unless…..
Moon tea.
Caspian had read enough about it that he knew it would prevent unwanted child birth in women, who had had enough children, or else didn't want any to begin with.
Is that what happened?
Is that what she did?
The thoughts were racing through Caspian's mind as he contemplated the ins and outs of what his mother had said.
She had taken moon tea, a tea that would end the life of any unborn child in her womb and she had done it whenever Robert had gone to see her. She had murdered whatever siblings he might have had because she hated Robert so much that it was unbearable to look at his children. She had murdered all of the true born children and kept her own bastards to claim the crown.
If Caspian had been angry earlier about being stripped of his birthright, he was downright apoplectic now. She had killed them.
All his siblings that he might have had were gone because of the hatefulness of a woman who blamed innocents for what a man had done.
Did she try to kill me too?
That was Caspian's next thought. What if his mother had been the one to try and kill him before he was even born because she hated Robert so much? He was born nine months after Joffrey and he knew moon tea had to be taken within twenty four hours after any encounter.
What if his mother had forgotten to take it and it had been too late. He very much doubted, she would cut him out of her womb and killed him, even he doubted that she was capable of that.
But he didn't think she was capable of this either.
Suffice it to say that his trust in his mother had dwindled to minimum. He was able to comfort himself by trying to remember that he was born just nine months after Joffrey and four years into the reign of King Robert, she didn't possess quite the viciousness that she did now and perhaps she hadn't wanted to kill him, perhaps she had looked on him with love when he was born.
Nah, Cersei Baratheon... no Lannister, had never liked Robert and that loathing had carried to him also.
I need to leave this place behind, he thought to himself. There's no possible way my mother would let any harm come to my siblings. In fact if Ned Stark leaves the capital along with his daughters there won't be anyone here to threaten here.
He continued to make silent plans for the next few days. There was no way he could live in the capital anymore if he had to constantly be looking over his shoulder for his mother to kill him or his royal pain in the arse brother to order him executed for some ridiculous reason.
No, it was time to leave. He could go to Storm's End and live there. He was the rightful heir of the Stormlands. And then perhaps after that he could go adventuring.
Let Joffrey burn King's Landing to the ground, he thought. I won't be around to see it. He wasn't sure when he would leave but it would be soon. Perhaps after the coronation, perhaps later.
He wanted to spend as much time with his siblings as possible, but now that the only person who would be able to harm the royal bastards was dead. Caspian really wasn't sure what he was waiting around for. He could leave his mother a note, tell her he was leaving that he couldn't stay at court any longer and slip quietly away in a boat to Storm's End.
Unlike his royal bastard of a brother, he knew how to disguise himself, use a sword and spoke other languages than the common tongue. Valyrian was one of them, even though it was a language spoken only across the Narrow Sea in Essos and he had never been there.
He enjoyed his lessons when he was young, unlike the rest of the children, although Myrcella had shown some aptitude for music and loved it very much. For her tenth name day, Caspian had found a unique flute from a merchant from Astapor and given it to her. She had been so thrilled that she had never played anything else after that.
But then a week before the king's coronation, everything went pear shaped.
Caspian hadn't had a chance to speak with Lord Stark since they had both stood at his father's bed side and had been wanting the opportunity to ask him what the king had said to him.
He soon found out.
Caspian was greeted at the door of his chambers one morning by his mother who had the smuggest look on her face.
"What is it?" he asked warily. Whenever she was happy he had to be extra cautious.
She took his arm and led him out the door and down the hall towards one of the many gardens of the castle.
"Apparently before your father's death, he gave a note to Lord Stark bidding that he sit on the throne until Joffrey was able to hold it. He has since been arrested for treason against the crown."
Caspian raised his eyebrows, none of the shock he was feeling evident on his face. "Really? And what did he do that merited the charge?"
Cersei was too smug to notice the slight change in his body language. "He is accused of murdering the king to obtain the letter and accused us of treason instead."
"He accused you of treason mother?" Caspian asked feigning complete innocence. "How on earth could he have made such an assumption?"
"Questioning the lineage of the king. Lord Stark accused your siblings of being bastards."
Ah, nothing brings about a royal execution like the truth.
"And these are of course false correct?"
Cersei looked at him with her eyes narrowed. "Of course they're false. People will say anything to weaken the Lannister claim to the throne."
"Wouldn't it be the Baratheon claim mother?" Caspian asked. "Since of course the rumors are false and we are all Baratheons yes?"
Cersei looked at him a long time and then smiled as if she remembered something she had forgotten five minutes ago. "Of course."
"Good," Caspian said as if this news thoroughly pleased him. "And what of his daughters?"
"Sansa is in her room under guard. She is now a ward of the Lannisters because her father is a traitor and Arya, the little monster, she ran off before we could find her."
Thank the gods.
"She couldn't have gotten far though," Cersei continued. "All the gates to the city I have ordered sealed. There's only so many places a little wolf can hide."
Indeed.
Caspian knew Arya couldn't have gotten far. She didn't know her way around King's Landing well enough which meant that though she was brave and knew how to use a sword, she was also vulnerable.
The girl had become like a little sister to him in the last few months that they had been here and it angered him to think of anyone hurting her.
"How long has she been gone?" he asked, indifferently on surface.
Cersei shrugged. "An hour, perhaps two. She will be found and returned soon enough. I've sent Ser Meryn Trant to find her."
Caspian's left fist tightened and loosened for a few seconds before he remembered himself and let go. He hated that man with every fibre of his being. He had seen him eyeing Myrcella a year earlier and Caspian wanted to gouge out his eyes for looking at his sister at all. Rumor had it that he only frequented the brothels at King's Landing to abuse the women there. Some had whispered that Trant liked to beat children and women as well.
"And Lord Stark?" he asked. "What have you done with him?"
Cersei frowned at him. "He's in the dungeons."
Caspian nodded. "These plans are all very well mother, but you do realize that imprisoning Lord Stark here as well as his daughters is going to wound relations in the North? They are the biggest territory in Westeros, are you trying to start a war?"
Cersei's smug smile slipped. "Of course not. But your brother will sit on the Iron Throne, we will not be turned out of house by a mad man looking to seize power. If Lord Stark confesses his crimes of treason, he will be allowed to take the Black and return to the North."
"I see," Caspian said sarcastically. "Very well thought out, but suppose Stark doesn't confess to treason? Are you going to have him executed? You know what that would do yes? Seems as if Stark holds all the cards at this point."
Cersei glared at him. She hated when he got smart, but Caspian knew that she knew he was right.
"Or," he continued, taking her arm as they walked along through the garden. "Suppose you convince the new king to not kill Lord Stark, but he does so because pain and torture and death are what he likes. But only, suppose he doesn't tell you that he's going to in front of a crowd and calls for Lord Stark's head before the masses. You would have no choice then, it would be seen as going against the king. And then we'd really have a war on our hands."
He chuckled quietly. "Decisions…..decisions. Either way we're going to be screwed over, its just a matter if it's royally or mildly. I'd think carefully about what you do here mother. You may have locked him in prison but it seems to me that Stark is still winning."
His mother's eyes were hard and her mouth was pinched into a firm line. She was thinking about what he said and he knew it.
He was right, he almost always was.
Caspian's calculation reminded Cersei of Tyrion because he always had an answer for everything, he was very smart and he looked at all contingencies before coming a decision.
It would have made him a great king.
Cersei Lannister was not going to apologize for what she had done however. She protected her family and she wasn't about to sacrifice three of her children for the sake of her trueborn son getting a crown.
Joffrey would be a terrible king but he might be easy to control.
Caspian took several steps forward as if he were about to leave but then turned back around, finger pointed in the air as if he remembered something.
"If I were you mother, I would wait until after the King's coronation. It'll stamp out any rumors that might have gotten around after Stark's accusations. People will have a ruler that they wouldn't question when the crown sits on Joffrey's head. Stability will return. With stability, people won't talk."
He had been spending way too much time with his Uncle Tyrion.
"You talk like a diplomat," was all Cersei said.
Caspian snorted. "And why shouldn't I? Joffrey and I are the same age. He'll need someone to advise him. Who better than a diplomat to do it? Besides, he'd be more willing to trust me than someone perfumed aristocrat you appoint as the new Hand."
"I'll be happy to inform your grandfather you said so," Cersei quipped and Caspian snorted again. "The old man's coming here? I thought he was off fighting the Starks. You know by now that Robb Stark has called the banners and is on his way to the city to rescue his father yes? And you had him imprisoned...tsk tsk tsk."
He made to walk away a second time and heard his mother's next words. "You're almost as insufferable as your uncle at times."
He smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment. Say what you want about Nuncle Tyrion mother but he has the sharpest mind in the Seven Kingdoms. We lesser sons have to take what advantages we can get."
He turned back around and faced her. "Or people will think we're weaklings, that can be walked all over."
Cersei watched him for a moment more and he did the same, the two of them just staring each other down.
"I will bring your thoughts to the king's attention," she said finally for there seemed to be nothing else more to say.
"Thank you mother," Caspian said, knowing he had gotten exactly what he wanted. He knew Joffrey was too arrogant to let Stark go even to take the Black, but as long as he got his mother thinking, she might be able to stall the idiot long enough to indirectly help him out.
He knew Joffrey would likely kill Lord Stark. Which is why he had to get to him first.
The prince nodded at his mother and strode away from her out of the gardens and back down the halls.
Now it was time for the real pressing business.
He had a wolf to find.
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Though Caspian knew the streets of King's Landing well enough, he was thankful to have Ser Barristan and one of the remaining soldiers from Lord Stark's household accompanying them.
The soldier had been loath to trust him at first since the lord of Winterfell had been arrested, but when Caspian explained that as soon as he found Arya, he was going to have them take her down to a ship in the Harbor so they could get out of here.
His mother had soldiers watching all of the gates leading into the city despite the fact that they were sealed, thinking Arya might be desperate enough to try to leave. He knew Arya well enough to know she wouldn't leave without her father though.
She still had her long hair but she was resourceful enough to cut it to make her look like a boy. Boys weren't treated much better in King's Landing than girls were but at least rape was unlikely.
He also knew that she wouldn't be skulking around the any of the local taverns which was good. If she cut her hair she would look enough like a boy that no one would bother her enough to give her a dirty took and he wasn't too worried about that. She didn't know King's Landing and the last thing he wanted was for her to do something foolish and give herself away.
"Do you know the little wolf, your grace?" Ser Barristan asked and Caspian threw him a grim smile.
"Well enough ser, but I trust that's a secret you won't carry back to my mother."
Barristan gave a short nod. He was the only one of the Kingsguard that Caspian trusted because he was a just honorable man and had protested against the imprisoning of Lord Stark.
Privately, Caspian knew that he detested the Lannisters and the Baratheons both because his duties had been to Rhaegar Targaryen. The two had been good friends Caspian had been told when he was younger and the only reason that Barristan had remained on the Kings Guard after Rhaegar fell was because Robert had admired his loyalty and fighting prowess. Such a talent like that going to waste was unthinkable.
Barristan, however had warmed more to Caspian because the prince had taken the time to get to know him and express his sympathies about the battle even though it had happened before he was born.
Barristan knew the young man walking beside him was the only one with some semblance of a moral code in King's Landing, and like Ned Stark, thought it a right shame that unless something happened to Joffrey, he would never sit on the Iron Throne.
He would have made a shrewd ruler.
"Your grace?" One of Stark's soldiers asked. "What do you plan to do with the Lady Arya once you have found her?" He was the only one that had survived the slaughter of the household Stark had brought with him from Winterfell because he had not been with Stark or in the tower at the time.
"Your duty is to see her safe and back to Winterfell when the time is right correct?" Caspian without breaking his stride.
"Yes my lord."
"Well then I will ensure that you will be able to carry out your duties. But say nothing to no one outside of this. By now war will have been declared from the North and if the new king doesn't do something to stop it, we will have hundreds of thousands of north men at our gates."
"Will it come to open war my lord?" the guard asked.
"That's what I'm trying to prevent," Caspian muttered.
He knew Arya wouldn't try to leave King's Landing, not while her father and sister were still prisoners.
In fact he had a feeling he knew where she would be.
There was a tavern where knights and sellswords would often meet to drink and talk after the end of every day and it was the nearest one to the docks. Arya would have her sword Needle on her and that sword was quite easy to spot, thin and tiny as it was.
She had told him her bastard brother Jon had given it to her before she had left Winterfell. He had laughed when he had first come upon her using it and asked if she even knew how to use that.
She had defiantly replied that the most important thing was to 'stick em with the pointy end.' He had laughed harder and said that was essentially the way to win a fight, yes.
"Is it true your grace?" Barristan asked and they walked silently along the alleys on King's Landing.
"Is what true?" the prince asked.
"That Lord Stark is accused of treason and is to take the Black?"
"Accused and guilty are two different words Ser Barristan," Caspian replied absently. "Knowing the difference, is how you survive at court. I don't know if Ned Stark is guilty of treason, any more than Uncle Jaime is of killing the mad king, but at the moment whether he is guilty or innocent does not matter."
They continued walking through the somewhat quiet streets.
It was dark out and a full moon had risen over head. It was one of the largest moons that Caspian had ever seen. There were no stars in the sky to compete with its brightness and the light from the torches in the houses they passed seemed shabby illumination in comparison.
Caspian was glad that the moon cast a bright shadow on anything else and it was easy to see by comparison. Every shadow that moved in the street he followed with his eyes, noting its shape, size and height to see if it was the little wolf he was seeking.
And what do you plan on doing with her when you find her? He thought to himself. You can't take her back to the castle and there's not a trustworthy captain that will let her stay on the ship for more than just safe passage. Perhaps there's an inn around here some place where she might stay for the night until I can get Sansa to her.
As for Ned Stark, Caspian hadn't had the faintest idea what he was going to do about him. He knew that Robb Stark would have called the banners by now and would march on King's Landing to rescue his father. War would have already been declared thanks to his mother and brother's stupidity.
She'll have King's Landing burn to cover her disgusting secret, he thought bitterly.
Open war was something they could not risk and now that the announcements had been made about King Robert's death his brothers might suspect treachery and try to avenge him.
Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms knew that Cersei was a vicious and dangerous woman.
None more so than her son.
A shadow darted across the robe to his left and Caspian caught the tell tale long thin blade hanging from its waist. It was the right height and size too.
Arya.
"Wait here," he hissed at Ser Barristan.
Not waiting for the knight's reply, the prince took off into the alleyway where the figure had disappeared. He was thankful the moon was there to light his path otherwise he might have seen things in the dark come out and trip him up.
She was running, fast little thing she was but though she had speed, she didn't know the alley ways of King's Landing. There were many things in the streets that would trip someone up if they didn't know the way and Caspian was counting on them now.
They had been running for perhaps few minutes, when his luck paid off and Arya caught her leg on the protruding wheel of an old cart. She was sent careening to the ground and sprawling to the mud with a splat.
Caspian slowed down and heard muffled cursing as he approached.
"I should perhaps thank the gods for sending me that wheel," he said. "I didn't think I'd have caught you otherwise."
He reached down a hand and caught her by the shirt collar before lifting her up and turning her around. Even amidst the mud and poor lighting he could tell it was Arya straight away. Her hair had indeed been sheared like a boys and she was dressed in boy's clothing with a leather jerkin. Needle hung at her side and she seemed furious with being caught.
"Let me go you bastard!" she snarled and Caspian smirked.
"Is that any way to talk to the prince, Lady Arya?" he asked and at the sound of his voice the dark haired girl stopped squirming.
"Caspian?" she asked looking up at him with wide grey eyes.
"Who else would know you hate being called Lady Arya?" he asked as he wiped the mud from her cheeks and flicked it away with distaste.
She tried to hit him but he set her back down on her feet with a thump. "I've been looking for you for hours."
"Why?" she asked spitefully. "Your mother took my father and now you're going to take me back there too."
Caspian feigned offense by placing a hand over his heart. "Why my lady, I'm offended that after all we've learned about each other in the past few months you would think that I would d something like that."
"Stop calling me my lady!"
She tried to hit him again, but he deftly dodged.
"You think you'll escape King's Landing by running wild through the streets?" he asked the conversation turning serious once more.
"No," Arya said stubbornly. "But I might be able to find people who would help free my father."
"And just who do you propose for a job like that?" Caspian asked. "You don't have any money so an army of sellswords is out. Your household guard is back at the palace being watched and even now your brother has probably called for the banners to rescue your father. It's all a matter if he is executed or sent to take the Black before they get here."
"My father will not be killed!" Arya said hotly and Caspian was glad the shadows were there to cover his smile as he walked back.
"No," he said quietly. "He will not."
Arya stopped at the edge of the alley way before they entered the street again and looked at him. "Will you help me?"
Caspian looked down at her. "I already have."
He led her back into the street where they were joined by Ser Barristan and the Stark guard.
"Ser Barristan," the prince said. "Please return to the castle and tell my brother the king that the search for Lady Stark is ongoing but nothing to report as of yet."
"The night is dark your grace," the grey haired knight said. "Are you sure I should leave you here?"
"Yes," Caspian replied. "You saw nothing, you spoke to no one."
The knight nodded and moved back up the street.
"Once he was gone Caspian turned to Arya. "Come."
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded.
"Somewhere you'll be safe."
He would say no more after that, much as Arya pressed him. But all was revealed when they reached a small tavern near the docks.
Caspian was glad he had taken care to dress like a commoner. It wouldn't do for someone in here to recognize him and talk.
He looked over the soldier who walked beside him and put a hand out to stop him. "How far do you think you're going to get with a Stark crest upon your armour?"
Reaching out, he seized the grey and white patch from the man's shoulder and tore it off. "From now on, you are a sellsword and my little brother here is under your protection."
He reached into the belt at his waist and handed him a pouch of coins. "This should do for the next three days. If you hear nothing from me by then, take my little brother down to the docks, procure a boat and don't look back."
"Are you going to find my father?" Arya asked quietly as he moved to walk away.
Caspian didn't answer and left her standing there with the soldier in the quiet street.
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AUTORENGEDANKEN 
DaSalvatore
DaSalvatore OK, firstly, I want to clarify some features of this story.
It shall have mythical elements with interaction between divinity and mortals. Not giving away plot, the part of divinity shall add up toward the Age of Heroes in Westeros during Long Night. You can see that I invented the name of the sea god and wind goddess. It is the part of same theme, I am trying to inculcate in the story.
Secondly, I want to explore Caspian inner turmoil and strength that shall be meted against many players of Game of Thrones. So, he can get some thing wrong also in his journey. He is compassionate but not over trusting. As said, a Baratheon in strength with Lannister cunning.
Next chapter shall be pleasant surprise for you beloved readers. Well, I hope so. Till then Toodles.
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Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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