Game of Thrones Iron Stark

Robert and Ned brought the white stag all the way back to the city. She was a beautiful creature, graceful and strangely calm. Even the direwolves had refused to bite her. They had simply led the hunting party straight to her and then stepped aside.

"Your Grace," Ned said quietly as they rode. "She has a spirit of her own. Don't chain her. Let her walk freely. Perhaps Princess Myrcella should be the one to care for her."

Robert looked at the stag walking calmly beside his horse. "A female. Maybe Myrcella would like her. Joffrey would probably try to ride her like a warhorse."

Ned didn't argue. He had already decided Joffrey was not the kind of boy who should be trusted with something gentle.

Word of the white stag reached King's Landing hours before the royal party. Cersei heard it while Jaime lay naked in her bed, his white cloak crumpled on the floor.

"Get dressed," she said sharply. "Robert will be back soon. Go welcome your king."

Jaime laughed as he pulled on his clothes. "Our king really does love hunting. A white stag, they say. Last time one was seen was over a hundred and seventy years ago, when Princess Rhaenyra was still alive."

Cersei's mouth twisted. "Divine right? I don't believe it for a second. Robert was never meant to sit the throne. You were. If you had stayed on the Iron Throne that day instead of listening to Eddard Stark, Father would have marched in and the Lannisters would be wearing the crown."

Jaime finished buckling his sword belt. "Father's still alive. I'm not becoming king while he breathes. The rains of Castamere still make men piss themselves."

He turned to leave. Cersei stopped him.

"The old Hand. We cleaned that up completely, didn't we? No one can trace it back to us?"

"Baelish and Pycelle handled it," Jaime said. "We're safe."

He opened the door and nearly walked into Myrcella.

"Uncle Jaime?" The girl's eyes were bright with excitement. "Father sent word. He caught a white stag and he wants me to raise it. Joffrey and Tommen don't get to. I came to ask Mother how to take care of a deer. Why are you in her chambers?"

Jaime froze.

Cersei's voice came from inside, smooth and calm. "Myrcella. Come in."

When Robert's party finally reached the city gates the smell hit them first — or rather, the lack of it.

Robert sniffed the air. "What the hell? King's Landing doesn't reek anymore."

Tyrion, riding out with the Small Council to greet them, gave a small bow. "Deputy Hand's first project, Your Grace. The sewers. Amazing what happens when shit actually flows where it's supposed to."

Robert grunted, half impressed. "Maybe making you Deputy Hand wasn't the worst idea."

They rode through the gates together. Robert looked at the white stag walking calmly beside him and raised his voice.

"I'm holding the biggest tourney the Seven Kingdoms have ever seen. Every lord, every hedge knight, every sellsword who can swing a sword — bring them. I want the whole realm to see that the gods still favor House Baratheon."

Baelish smiled thinly. "Another loan, then?"

"Biggest one yet," Robert said cheerfully. "The more we owe, the less it matters."

Ned left the others and rode straight for the Tower of the Hand. He found Catelyn tending to two very bruised girls.

Sansa and Arya both looked up when he entered.

"Father!"

"Father, you're back!"

Arya's face was already healing but still marked. "Is it true the king caught a white stag? White stags are supposed to mean the king is chosen by the gods. Robert doesn't look chosen."

"Arya," Ned warned.

Sansa sat up straighter despite the pain. "Princess Myrcella said the king wants her to raise the white stag. Not Joffrey. Is that allowed? She's only a princess."

Ned sat down between them. "A queen can rule as well as a king. Dorne has always known that. Remember Nymeria?"

Arya's eyes lit up. "Nymeria of the Rhoynar. She came with ten thousand ships, married Mors Martell, and conquered Dorne. She sent six Dornish kings to the Wall in golden chains."

Ned nodded. "Women can rule. Sometimes they do it better."

He looked at both daughters. "Robert has ordered the greatest tourney in living memory to prove his right to the throne. That's why your mother has you training so hard."

Arya grinned through her bruises. "When we get back to Winterfell I'm going to beat Robb."

Sansa was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I want to beat the Mountain."

Ned stared at her. "Gregor Clegane? Sansa, that man has killed knights twice your size without slowing down. Pick someone else. Pick Tony."

Sansa looked down at her hands. "Tony went to Dragonstone. Will he come back for the tourney? He's a knight too."

Ned was quiet for a long moment.

"Tony makes his own choices," he said at last. "He always has."