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Eddard

Robert, I beg of you," Ned pleaded, "hear what you are saying You are talking of nant!" The king’s fist slammed down on the council table loud as a thunderclap "I warned you this would happen, Ned Back in the barrowlands, I warned you, but you did not care to hear it Well, you’ll hear it noant them dead, mother and child both, and that fool Viserys as well Is that plain enough for you? I want the their best to pretend that they were somewhere else No doubt they iser than he was Eddard Stark had seldom felt quite so alone "You will dishonor yourself forever if you do this"

"Then let it be onas it is done I am not so blind that I cannot see the shadow of the axe when it is hanging over my own neck"

"There is no axe," Ned told his king "Only the shadow of a shadoenty years removedif it exists at all"

"If?" Varys asked softly, wringing powdered hands together "My lord, you wrongand council?"

Ned looked at the eunuch coldly "You would bring us the whisperings of a traitor half a world away, "

"Ser Jorah would not dare deceive me," Varys said with a sly smile "Rely on it, my lord The princess is with child"

"So you say If you are wrong, we need not fear If the girl hter in place of a son, we need not fear If the babe dies in infancy, we need not fear"

"But if it is a boy?" Robert insisted "If he lives?"

"The narrow sea would still lie between us I shall fear the Dothraki the day they teach their horses to run on water"

The king took a sine and glowered at Ned across the council table "So you would counsel onspawn has landed his aronspawn’ is in hisuntil after he eaned"

"Gods! You are stubborn as an aurochs, Stark" The king looked around the council table "Have the rest of you ues? Will no one talk sense to this frozen-faced fool?"

Varys gave the king an unctuous smile and laid a soft hand on Ned’s sleeve "I understand your qualrievous news to council It is a terrible thing we conte Yet ho presuood of the realed "The ht to have had Viserys and his sister killed years ago, but His Graceto Jon Arryn"

"Mercy is never a mistake, Lord Renly," Ned replied "On the Trident, Ser Barristan here cut down a dozen good ht hied us to cut his throat, but your brother said, ‘I will not kill awell,’ and sent his owna long cool look "Would that h to blush "It was not the sauard"

"Whereas Daenerys is a fourteen-year-old girl" Ned kneas pushing this well past the point of wisdom, yet he could not keep silent "Robert, I ask you, what did we rise against Aerys Targaryen for, if not to put an end to the aryens!" the king growled

"Your Grace, I never knew you to fear Rhaegar" Ned fought to keep the scorn out of his voice, and failed "Have the years so unmanned you that you tremble at the shadow of an unborn child?"

Robert purpled "No"Not another word Have you forgotten who is king here?"

"No, Your Grace," Ned replied "Have you?"

"Enough!" the king bellowed "I am sick of talk I’ll be done with this, or be damned What say you all?"

"She must be killed," Lord Renly declared

"We have no choice," murmured Varys "Sadly, sadly"

Ser Barristan Selmy raised his pale blue eyes fro an ene hiive me, but I must stand with Lord Eddard"

Grand Maester Pycelle cleared his throat, a process that seemed to take some minutes "My order serves the real Aerys as loyally as I counsel King Robert now, so I bear this girl child of his no ill will Yet I ask you this--should war coain, how many soldiers will die? How many toill burn? How many children will be ripped from their mothers to perish on the end of a spear?" He stroked his luxuriant white beard, infinitely sad, infinitely weary "Is it not wiser, even kinder, that Daenerys Targaryen should die now so that tens of thousands ht live?"

"Kinder," Varys said "Oh, well and truly spoken, Grand Maester It is so true Should the gods in their caprice grant Daenerys Targaryen a son, the realer was the last As Ned looked to him, Lord Petyr stifled a yawn "When you find yourself in bed with an ugly woet on with it," he declared "Waiting won’t make the maid any prettier Kiss her and be done with it"

"Kiss her?" Ser Barristan repeated, aghast

"A steel kiss," said Littlefinger

Robert turned to face his Hand "Well, there it is, Ned You and Selmy stand alone on this matter The only question that remains is, who can we find to kill her?"

"Mormont craves a royal pardon," Lord Renly reminded them

"Desperately," Varys said, "yet he craves life even more By now, the princess nears Vaes Dothrak, where it is death to draw a blade If I told you what the Dothraki would do to the poor ht" He stroked a powdered cheek "Now, poisonthe tears of Lys, let us say Khal Drogo need never knoas not a natural death"

Grand Maester Pycelle’s sleepy eyes flicked open He squinted suspiciously at the eunuch

"Poison is a coward’s weapon," the king coh "You send hired knives to kill a fourteen-year-old girl and still quibble about honor?" He pushed back his chair and stood "Do it yourself, Robert Thethe sword Look her in the eyes before you kill her See her tears, hear her last words You owe her thatswore, the word exploding out of him as if he could barely contain his fury "You on of wine at his elbow, found it eainst the wall "I ah of this Just have it done"

"I will not be part of murder, Robert Do as you will, but do not ask me to fix my seal to it"

For aDefiance was not a dish he tasted often Slowly his face changed as comprehension came His eyes narrowed and a flush crept up his neck past the velvet collar He pointed an angry finger at Ned "You are the King’s Hand, Lord Stark You will do as I command you, or I’ll find me a Hand ill"