冰与火之歌原著英文版在线阅读：冰与火之歌双语阅读23，EddardSark

【读你所爱，呵护你的心灵；掌握英语，打开你的第三只眼】

【“我是，我真是这么想的，”国王说，“你怎么想，Ned？就你和我，两个行走在国王大道上的流浪骑士，腰间挎着宝剑，管他前方是祸是福；没准晚上还能找一个农夫的女儿，或是一个酒馆的姑娘给我们暖暖被窝呢。”

“我也希望我们能这样，”Ned说，“但是我们现在都有责任在身，我的君主大人……我们要对天下负责，对我们的孩子负责，我要对我的妻子负责，而你要对王后负责。我们已经不再是从前的孩子了。”】

【“I do, I do,” the king said. “What do you say, Ned? Just you and me, two vagabond knights on the kingsroad, our swords at our sides and the gods know what in front of us, and maybe a farmer’s daughter or a tavern wench to warm our beds tonight.”

“Would that we could,” Ned said, “but we have duties now, my liege . . . to the realm, to our children, I to my lady wife and you to your queen. We are not the boys we were.” 】

【本节导读】

Stark 家族所代表的北方传统，是最古老的英雄传统，也是最美好的传统。然而，他已经老了。当这些传统随他而去的时候，权力就成为了一场游戏。

权力的游戏就要开始了。

【刘博士译文】

冰与火之歌第一部：权力的游戏: Eddard Stark

天还是微明时分，国王的传令就到了。此时，世界还是一片宁静和灰暗。

Alyn使劲地将Ned从睡梦中摇醒。当Ned昏头昏脑、摇摇晃晃地走进黎明的寒冷之中时，发现他的马已经备好了马鞍，而国王已经骑在马上了。Robert国王戴着厚厚的棕色手套，穿着一件厚重的毛披风，还用披风上的头罩把耳朵捂得严严实实，看起来简直就像是一头熊骑在马背上。“上马，Stark！”他吼叫着，“上马，上马！我们有国事要谈。”

“不管谈什么，”Ned说。“先进屋子里来吧，陛下。”Alyn掀开了帐篷的门帘。

“不，不，不，”Robert说。他每说一个字，嘴里就呼出一股白气，“营地里到处都有耳朵。况且，我还想骑马出去好好感受一下你的地盘。”Ned这才发现，国王近卫队的Boros爵士和Meryn爵士已经带着十几名卫兵等在国王的身后。Ned别无选择，只好揉去眼中的睡意，穿好衣服，骑上了马。

Robert把马骑得飞快，他使劲驱赶着他那匹黑色的战马，Ned骑马跟在国王的身边，努力地让自己跟上国王的速度。骑行途中，Ned大声向国王问着什么，但是风把他的话给吹走了，国王并没有听见他。之后，Ned便一声不吭地骑他的马。他们很快离开了国王大道，开始穿越一片满是漆黑雾霭的起伏的平原。此时，卫兵的队伍已经与他们拉开了一小段距离，现在已经没有人听得见他们说话了，但是Robert依旧没有放慢速度。

当他们跃上了一座低矮的山坡时，天终于有了亮光，国王也将马停了下来。这时候，他们离南面的大部队人马已有几里远了。当Ned在Robert的身边拉马停下来时，Robert满脸通红，也兴奋不已，“天哪，”他笑着说道，“能像一个真正的男人一样纵横驰骋的感觉真好！我发誓，Ned，这一路慢腾腾的速度真能把人给逼疯的。”Robert Baratheon 本就不是一个有耐心的人，他继续说道，“那该死的房车，它一路上不停地嘎吱乱响，过一个坎就像是爬一座山一样……我给你说，要是那破东西再断一根车轴的话，我就拿火烧了它，让Cersei走路去吧！”

Ned笑起来。“那我绝对愿意帮你点燃火把。”

“好兄弟！”国王拍了拍Ned的肩膀,“我还真有点想把他们甩在后面，咱们先往前赶路。”

Ned的嘴角又露出一丝笑容，“我相信你真是这么想的。”

“我是，我真是这么想的，”国王说，“你怎么想，Ned？就你和我，两个行走在国王大道上的流浪骑士，腰间挎着宝剑，管他前方是祸是福；没准晚上还能找一个农夫的女儿，或是一个酒馆的姑娘给我们暖暖被窝呢。”

“我也希望我们能这样，”Ned说，“但是我们现在都有责任在身，我的君主大人……我们要对天下负责，对我们的孩子负责，我要对我的妻子负责，而你要对王后负责。我们已经不再是从前的孩子了。”

Robert嘟囔道：“你那时候就没有一个孩子样儿。所以就更可惜了。不过，曾经有那么一次……她叫什么名字来着，那个你找的普通人家的女孩？叫Becca？不对，她是我找的那个，愿众神保佑她，她那乌黑的头发还有那双讨人喜欢的大眼睛，你会被她的眼睛给迷倒的。你的女孩是……Allena？不对。你给我说过一次的。是叫Merryl吗？你知道我说的是哪一个，她是你那杂种儿子的母亲吗？”

“她的名字叫Wylla，”Ned带着礼貌但却冷冷地说道，“我想还是不谈她为好。”

“对，是叫Wylla。”国王咧嘴笑着。“她一定是个人间尤物，要不然，她怎么能让Eddard Stark 领主都忘乎所以了呢，即便是忘乎所以一个小时也是个奇迹。你还从没给我说过她长得什么样呢……”

Ned生气地绷着嘴，“我以后也不会给你说的。Robert，看在你对我的兄弟情分上，咱们能不谈这个吗。天地良心，我不仅玷污了我自己的声誉，也玷污了Catelyn的名声。”

“众神发发慈悲吧，你那时候几乎还不认识Catelyn呢。”

“我那时已经娶她为妻，她还怀着我的孩子。”

“你对自己也太苛刻了，Ned。你以前也是这样。见鬼，没有女人会喜欢自己床上躺着的是坐怀不乱的男人。”Robert用手拍了一下自己的膝盖。“好吧，如果你对这事儿还是如此自责的话，我也就不逼你了，不过我真得说，你有的时候真是太刺儿了，你应该用刺猬做你的家族徽章的。”

冉冉升起的太阳那一道道光芒穿透了黎明那乳白色的薄雾。广阔的平原在他们脚下伸展开来，那是一片光秃秃的棕色泥土，平原上点缀着一些狭长而低矮的小山丘。Ned指着那些山丘对国王说，“那些就是第一代人类的坟冢。”

Robert皱起了眉头，“这么说，我们骑到坟场上来了？”

“陛下，这些坟冢在北方到处都是，”Ned对他说。“这片土地是非常古老的。”

“还很冷，”Robert一边嘟囔着，一边把他的披风在身上裹得更紧了。卫兵在他们身后的山坡底下勒马驻足。“好吧，我带你到这儿来既不是为了聊坟场，也不是为了和你说你私生子的事。昨天半夜里来了一个信使，是王城的Varys大人派来的。这就是那封信。”国王从腰间抽出一封信，把它递给Ned。

宦官Varys是国王的密探总管。他以前用怎样的方式服务Aerys Targaryen王，他现在也是这样服务Robert王的。Ned带着一种不详的预感把信纸展开来，他想起了Lysa还有她那可怕的指控，不过信中的内容并不是关于Arryn夫人的。“这个消息的来源是什么？”

“你还记得Jorah Mormont爵士吗？”

“我要是真能忘了他就好啦，”Ned不假思索地说道。熊岛上的Mormont家族是一个古老的家族姓氏，他们既高傲又注重名声，但他们的土地却是寒冷、遥远而贫穷。Jorah爵士曾试图通过把一些偷猎者卖给Tyroshi城的奴隶贩子来充实家族的财产，但是作为Stark家族麾下的封臣，Morment家族的这一作法却是让北方蒙羞的一种罪恶行径。当Ned向西长途跋涉来到熊岛的时候，却发现Jorah已经乘船离开熊岛，逃脱了国王的审判和寒冰剑的制裁。一晃五年已经过去了。

Robert解释说道：“Jorah爵士现在躲在Pentos城，他急于获得我的赦免，这样就能结束他的流亡生涯，回到家乡了。Varys大人很聪明地利用了他这一点。”

“所以这个奴隶贩子现在变成一个密探了，”Ned不屑地说道。他把信交还给国王。“我倒情愿他变成一个死人。”

“Varys给我的建议是，密探要比死人有用多了，”Robert说，“先不谈Jorah，你对他的消息怎么看？”

“Daenerys Targaryen嫁给了某个Dothrak的马帮首领。这又怎么样？难道我们还要给她送结婚礼物不成？”

国王皱起了眉头，“也许吧，咱们可以送一把刀。一把锋利的好刀，再派一个会用刀的勇士。”

Ned丝毫不掩饰他的惊讶之情。Robert心中对于Targaryen家族有一种近乎疯狂的仇恨。Ned还记得, 当Tywin Lannister领主将Rhaegar王子的妻子和孩子的尸体献给Robert，作为向他效忠的礼物时，Ned与Robert之间所发生的愤怒争吵。Ned把这一行为称之为谋杀，而Robert将其称之为战争。当Ned表示******，说年幼的王子和公主只不过还是婴儿的时候，他那新的国王回答说：“我看见的可不是婴儿，我看见的只是龙族的孽种而已。”就连Jon Arryn也无法平息他们之间的那场风暴般的争吵。Eddard Stark一气之下，当天就骑马离开了王城，独自去南方完成那场战争中的最后几场战斗。直到另外一个人的死亡——Lyanna的死——以及他们对Lyanna离世的共同悲愤，才化解了他们之间的愤怒。

这一次，Ned决心要控制住自己的脾气。“陛下，这个女孩不过是个孩子。你不是Tywin Lannister那种可以屠杀无辜的人。”据说，当Tywin领主的士兵将Rhaegar王子的小女儿从她的床底下拖出来用刀剑刺死的时候，她嚎啕大哭。Rhaegar王子的儿子此时只不过是一个嗷嗷待哺的婴儿，然而士兵们还是将他从他母亲的怀里拽了出来，并将他的头狠狠地撞在墙上，使他一命呜呼。

“你认为这个人还能无辜多久？”Robert的嘴紧绷了起来，“这孩子很快就会劈腿的，然后就会生出更多的龙的孽种来骚扰我。”

“即便是如此，”Ned说，“谋杀孩子……这太恶毒了……我说不出口……”

“说不出口？”国王大吼道，“Aerys对你哥哥Brandon所做的行径才说不出口呢，你父亲大人的死法才说不出口呢。还有Rhaegar……你觉得他强奸了你妹妹多少次？几百次？”Robert的声音越来越大，他身下的战马开始不安地嘶鸣起来。国王使劲地把缰绳拽了一下，让他的坐骑安静下来，然后他愤怒地用手指着Ned说道，“我会杀光我能抓住的每一个Targaryen家的人，直到他们像他们的龙一样一个不剩，然后我还会在他们每个人的坟头上撒泡尿。”

Ned知道，当Robert被愤怒所控制时，自己最好不要顶撞他。如果这么多年都没能平息Robert那报仇的渴望的话，Ned说什么都是不管用的。“可是，你抓不到这个孩子，对吧？”Ned轻声说道。

国王的嘴巴痛苦地扭曲着，“是的，见他的鬼。Pentos城的某个有病的生意人之前一直把她和她的哥哥藏在他的家中，还安排了一些戴尖顶头盔的太监士兵来守着他们，现在他又把他们交给了这个Dothrak人。我本应该早几年就让人把他们俩给干掉的，那时候动手是很容易的，但是Jon的主意和你的一样糟糕。我也更傻，我居然听信了他。”

“Jon Arryn是个聪明人，他也是一个好首相。”

罗伯特哼了一声。他心中的怒火来的也快，去的也快。“据说这个叫Drogo族长手下有十万人马。Jon要是活着的话，他又会怎么说呢？”

“他会说，只要这些Dothraki人呆在狭长海的另一边的话，即便是百万大军也不会对帝国造成威胁的，”Ned平静地回答道，“这些野蛮人没有船只，他们憎恨和害怕大海。”

国王在他的马上不安地扭动着身体，“也许吧。不过，自由城市里还是可以搞到船只的。我跟你说，Ned，我可不喜欢他们这桩婚事。七国之中现在还有人称我为篡位者。你难道忘了吗，在那场战争中有多少家族是帮着Targaryen王朝的？目前，他们只是在等待时机，只要有半点机会，他们就有可能在我睡着的时候谋杀我，还会把我的儿子也一并杀了。要是长墙之外的乞丐王借着Dothraki族人的力量来突破长墙的话，这些叛徒肯定会加入他那一边的。”

“乞丐王是不会突破长墙的，”Ned向他保证道，“而且就算他使了什么花招突破的话，我们一定会把他给扔回到大海里去的。一旦你任命了新的东方护国公——”

国王不悦地埋怨道，“我再说最后一遍，我是不会任命Arryn家的那个孩子来做护国公的。我知道这个孩子是你的侄子，但是现在Targaryen家族已经和Dothraki族人联姻了，我除非是疯子才会把帝国的四分之一的领土责任交给一个病怏怏的孩子。”

Ned已经料到他会这么说，“可是，我们还是必须要有一个东方护国公的。如果Robert Arryn不够格的话，任命你的一个弟弟来做这个职位吧。Stannis在围攻风暴角那一战中已经证明了他自己的能力，对吧。”

Ned说完这个名字，停顿了一会。国王皱着眉头，什么话也不说。他看起来很不自在的样子。

“那就是说，”Ned 一边平静地把话说完，一边看着国王的表情，“除非你已经把这个头衔许诺给了另外一个人。”

有那么一瞬间，Robert看上去很是吃惊的样子。但很快，他的表情就变成了一种不悦，“如果我这么做了，又怎么样呢？”

“是Jaime Lannister，对不对？”

Robert用脚蹬了一下他的马，开始跑下山坡，朝着原野上的那些坟冢奔驰而去。Ned用同样的速度跟着他。国王骑着马不停地向前奔跑，他的目光笔直地看着前方。“是的，”他最后说。他想用这一个词来结束这个话题。

“弑君者，”Ned说。这样看来，那些谣言都是真的。Ned知道，他现在已经走上了一条危险之路。“毫无疑问，Jaime是一个能干和勇敢的人，”Ned小心翼翼地说，“但是他的父亲是西方的护国公。Robert，Jaime爵士迟早也会继承这一头衔的。任何一个人都不应该同时掌管东方和西方两个地方的大权。”Ned并没有说出他真正的担忧；这一任命将会把帝国一半的军队都交到Lannister家族的手中。

“如果有敌人向我开战的话，我会亲自参战的，”国王很固执地说道。“从目前来看，Tywin领主就像他的Casterly Rock城堡一样坚不可摧，所以我很怀疑Jaime能够很快就继承他父亲的位置。别再用这事烦我了，Ned，事已如此了。”

“陛下，我可以坦率地说几句话吗？”Ned问道。

“看来我也没法儿阻止你，”Robert嘟囔着说。他们骑马穿过一片长得很高的已经干枯了的草地。

“你能信得过Jaime Lannister吗？”

“他是我妻子的孪生兄弟，是国王近卫队的盟誓兄弟，他的生命、财产和荣誉都是掌控在我手中的。”

"就如同之前他的一切都是掌控在Aerys Targaryen手中一样。”Ned 一阵见血地指了出来。

“我干嘛要不信任他呢？我吩咐他所做的每一件事，他都照做了。他的剑也曾帮助我赢得了我今天所坐的王位。”

他的剑玷污了你所坐的王位，Ned心中想着，但他不允许自己把这些话说出来。“他曾发誓过，要用他的生命来保护他的国王。结果呢，他用剑把那个国王的喉咙给割断了。”

“见鬼去吧，总得有人杀了Aerys吧！”Robert一边说，一边在一座古老的坟冢旁突然勒住了马。“如果Jaime没有干这件事的话，就得由你或者是由我来杀了他。”

Ned说：“我们不是国王近卫队的盟誓兄弟。”此时此刻，Ned觉得，是时间让Robert听到全部的真相了。“您还记得三江河一战吗，陛下？”

“我就是在那里赢得了我的王冠的。我怎么会忘记呢？”

“你在和Rhaegar决斗时受了伤，”Ned提醒他道。“所以当Targaryen王朝的部队溃散逃跑的时候，你把追击敌兵的任务交给了我。Rhaegar的残余部队都逃回了王城。我们紧紧追赶着。那时，Aerys王和他的几千名保皇党人都躲在红堡之中。我当时认为，城堡的大门应该是紧闭着的。”

Robert不耐烦地摇了摇头,“恰恰相反，你发现我们的人已经占领了这座城市。这有什么问题吗？”

“不是我们的人，”Ned耐着性子说道，“是Lannister家族的部队。城墙上飘扬的是Lannister家族的狮子旗帜，而不是戴着皇冠的雄鹿旗帜。而且，他们是用了卑劣的手段才夺取这座城市的。”

那时，整个战争已经持续了将近一年。大大小小的领主们都纷纷投靠在Robert的麾下；其他的人则仍旧效忠于Targaryen王朝。而在Casterly Rock城堡，势力强大的Lannister家族作为西方的护国公，却对这场战争置身度外，丝毫不理会起义军和保皇派任何一方发出的召唤。当Tywin Lannister领主率领着一支一万两千名武士的部队出现在王城的大门外，并自称前来效忠的时候，Aerys 王一定还以为是他的祈祷终于得到了众神的回应呢。疯子国王也因此做出了他最后一次的疯狂举动。他命令打开城门，欢迎狮子家族的军队到来。

Robert说：“背信弃义就如同一个硬币的两面，这一点Targaryen王朝应该最了解不过了。”他的心中又涌起了一股怒气。“Lannister家族只不过是以牙还牙而已。这也是Targaryen王朝罪有应得的。我才不会因此而晚上睡不着觉呢。”

“你当时不在王城，”Ned说，他的声音里带着一种苦涩。睡不着觉对Ned来说已经是家常便饭了。他与他的谎言相伴已经有十四年了，然而，每到夜晚，这些谎言依旧会来纠缠着他。“那一场胜利来得毫无荣誉可言。”

“让你的荣誉见鬼去吧！”Robert咒骂道，“Targaryen王朝的人知道什么是荣誉吗？你到你家的地下墓室去问问Lyanna，龙有什么荣誉可言！”

“你在三江河一战为Lyanna报了仇，”Ned在国王的身边停下了马。Lyanna的话又在他的耳边低声回荡，“向我发誓，Ned。”

“报了仇也并不能让她再活过来啊。”Robert把目光移开，他看着那灰蒙蒙的远方。“我诅咒众神。他们给我的只不过是一个空洞的胜利而已。一顶王冠……可我向他们祈祷的是我爱的女人。是你的妹妹，能够安全……并重回我身边，因为她才是我命中注定的女人。我问你，Ned，戴上王冠又有什么用呢？在众神看来，国王的祈祷和一群牛的祈祷是没有区别的。”

Ned说：“我不能代表诸神回答你的问题，陛下……我只是想告诉你那天当我骑马进入王宫宝殿的时候所看见的一切。Aerys已经倒在了地上，他就死在自己的血泊之中。挂在他宝殿墙上的龙头正俯视着一切。宝殿里全都Lannister家族的人。Jaime在他那黄金盔甲之外穿着的是国王近卫队的白色披风。我现在还能清楚地看见他的样子。他甚至连他的剑都是镀金的。他正端坐在铁王座上，居高临下，他戴着的头盔是一个狮子头的形状。他是多么耀眼夺目啊！”

“这事儿人人都知道的，”国王不耐烦地说道。

“我当时还骑在马上。我在一片寂静中穿过整个大厅，我的两边是长长的两排龙头骨。我有一种奇怪的感觉，好像所有的龙头都在盯着我一样。我在宝座前停下了马，我抬头看着Jaime。他把他那把黄金宝剑横放在他的双腿上，剑刃上还沾着国王那鲜红的血。我的人马开始冲入了宝殿。Lannister家族的士兵开始退了下去。 我一句话也没有说。我就看着他端坐在宝座上，我就等着他的反应。最后，Jaime大笑着站了起来。他脱下他的头盔，然后对我说，‘不要害怕，Stark。我只不过是为我们的朋友Robert把王座捂热一点而已。我恐怕，这个王座坐起来可不是那么舒服的。’”

国王仰头哈哈大笑，他的笑声把一群栖息在草丛中的乌鸦惊得飞了出来，它们惊恐地扇动着翅膀飞向空中。“就因为，他在我的宝座上坐了一阵子，所以你认为我不该相信Lannister家的人？”国王笑得前仰后俯，“Jaime当时顶多只有十七岁，Ned，他比一个孩子大不了多少。”

“不管是孩子还是大人，他都没有权利坐那个王座。”

“也许他只是累着了，”Robert猜测说，“杀掉一国之王可不是一件轻松的工作。众神也知道，在这间该死的宝殿里，你是根本没有其他地方可以坐下来休息的。而且，他说的也是实话，那个座位坐着真是太不舒服啦，方方面面都不舒服。”国王摇了摇头，继续说，“好吧，现在我知道了Jaime那黑暗的罪恶史了，这件事可以过去了。Ned，我是真心讨厌那些秘密呀、争吵呀，国家大事之类的。那就跟数铜板一样，都无趣极了。来，咱们好好骑一回马，你以前可是知道怎么骑马的。我想再次感受一次风吹起我头发的感觉。”他用脚使劲一蹬，让他的马重新跑了起来，并飞奔着跃上了那座坟冢。在他的身后，泥土纷纷扬扬。

Ned停留了片刻，并没有跟上去。他已经无话可说，他的心里充满了一种巨大的无助感。他不止一次地问自己，他来南方究竟是要做什么，他又为什么要来南方。他不是Jon Arryn，不是为了让国王的野性有所收敛并教给他智慧。Robert会像以往一样，他想干什么就干什么，而Ned的所作所为都无法改变这一点。Ned是属于Winterfell城的，他更应该与Catelyn一起分担她的悲哀的，他更应该和Bran在一起的。

只是，一个人不可能总是能够呆在他最应该呆的地方。Eddard Stark 叹了一口气，然后用他的靴子将马一蹬，出发去追他的国王了。

【英语原文】

A Song of Ice and Fire: Book one Game of Thrones

Eddard Stark

The summons came in the hour before the dawn, when the world was still and grey.

Alyn shook him roughly from his dreams and Ned stumbled into the predawn chill, groggy from sleep, to find his horse saddled and the king already mounted. Robert wore thick brown gloves and a heavy fur cloak with a hood that covered his ears, and looked for all the world like a bear sitting a horse. “Up, Stark!” he roared. “Up, up! We have matters of state to discuss.”

“By all means,” Ned said. “Come inside, Your Grace.” Alyn lifted the flap of the tent.

“No, no, no,” Robert said. His breath steamed with every word. “The camp is full of ears. Besides, I want to ride out and taste this country of yours.” Ser Boros and Ser Meryn waited behind him with a dozen guardsmen, Ned saw. There was nothing to do but rub the sleep from his eyes, dress, and mount up.

Robert set the pace, driving his huge black destrier hard as Ned galloped along beside him, trying to keep up. He called out a question as they rode, but the wind blew his words away, and the king did not hear him. After that Ned rode in silence. They soon left the kingsroad and took off across rolling plains dark with mist. By then the guard had fallen back a small distance, safely out of earshot, but still Robert would not slow.

Dawn broke as they crested a low ridge, and finally the king pulled up. By then they were miles south of the main party. Robert was flushed and exhilarated as Ned reined up beside him. “Gods,” he swore, laughing, “it feels good to get out and tide the way a man was meant to ride! I swear, Ned, this creeping along is enough to drive a man mad.” He had never been a patient man, Robert Baratheon. “That damnable wheelhouse, the way it creaks and groans, climbing every bump in the road as if it were a mountain . . . I promise you, if that wretched thing breaks another axle, I’m going to burn it, and Cersei can walk!”

Ned laughed. “I will gladly light the torch for you.”

“Good man!” The king clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ve half a mind to leave them all behind and just keep going.”

A smile touched Ned’s lips. “I do believe you mean it.”

“I do, I do,” the king said. “What do you say, Ned? Just you and me, two vagabond knights on the kingsroad, our swords at our sides and the gods know what in front of us, and maybe a farmer’s daughter or a tavern wench to warm our beds tonight.”

“Would that we could,” Ned said, “but we have duties now, my liege . . . to the realm, to our children, I to my lady wife and you to your queen. We are not the boys we were.”

“You were never the boy you were,” Robert grumbled. “More’s the pity. And yet there was that one time . . . what was her name, that common girl of yours? Becca? No, she was one of mine, gods love her, black hair and these sweet big eyes, you could drown in them. Yours was . . . Aleena? No. You told me once. Was it Merryl? You know the one I mean, your bastard’s mother?”

“Her name was Wylla,” Ned replied with cool courtesy, “and I would sooner not speak of her.” “Wylla. Yes.” The king grinned. “She must have been a rare wench if she could make Lord

Eddard Stark forget his honor, even for an hour. You never told me what she looked like . . .”

Ned’s mouth tightened in anger. “Nor will I. Leave it be, Robert, for the love you say you bear me. I dishonored myself and I dishonored Catelyn, in the sight of gods and men.”

“Gods have mercy, you scarcely knew Catelyn.” “I had taken her to wife. She was carrying my child.”

“You are too hard on yourself, Ned. You always were. Damn it, no woman wants Baelor the Blessed in her bed.” He slapped a hand on his knee. “Well, I’ll not press you if you feel so strong about it, though I swear, at times you’re so prickly you ought to take the hedgehog as your sigil.”

The rising sun sent fingers of light through the pale white mists of dawn. A wide plain spread out beneath them, bare and brown, its flatness here and there relieved by long, low hummocks. Ned pointed them out to his king. “The barrows of the First Men.”

Robert frowned. “Have we ridden onto a graveyard?”

“There are barrows everywhere in the north, Your Grace,” Ned told him. “This land is old.”

“And cold,” Robert grumbled, pulling his cloak more tightly around himself. The guard had reined up well behind them, at the bottom of the ridge. “Well, I did not bring you out here to talk of graves or bicker about your bastard. There was a rider in the night, from Lord Varys in King’s Landing. Here.” The king pulled a paper from his belt and handed it to Ned.

Varys the eunuch was the king’s master of whisperers. He served Robert now as he had once served Aerys Targaryen. Ned unrolled the paper with trepidation, thinking of Lysa and her terrible accusation, but the message did not concern Lady Arryn. “What is the source for this information?”

“Do you remember Ser Jorah Mormont?”

“Would that I might forget him,” Ned said bluntly. The Mormonts of Bear Island were an old house, proud and honorable, but their lands were cold and distant and poor. Ser Jorah had tried to swell the family coffers by selling some poachers to a Tyroshi slaver. As the Mormonts were bannermen to the Starks, his crime had dishonored the north. Ned had made the long journey west to Bear Island, only to find when he arrived that Jorah had taken ship beyond the reach of Ice and the king’s justice. Five years had passed since then.

“Ser Jorah is now in Pentos, anxious to earn a royal pardon that would allow him to return from exile,” Robert explained. “Lord Varys makes good use of him.”

“So the slaver has become a spy,” Ned said with distaste. He handed the letter back. “I would rather he become a corpse.”

“Varys tells me that spies are more useful than corpses,” Robert said. “Jorah aside, what do you make of his report?”

“Daenerys Targaryen has wed some Dothraki horselord. What of it? Shall we send her a wedding gift?”

The king frowned. “A knife, perhaps. A good sharp one, and a bold man to wield it.”

Ned did not feign surprise; Robert’s hatred of the Targaryens was a madness in him. He remembered the angry words they had exchanged when Tywin Lannister had presented Robert with the corpses of Rhaegar’s wife and children as a token of fealty. Ned had named that murder; Robert called it war. When he had protested that the young prince and princess were no more than babes, his new-made king had replied, “I see no babes. Only dragonspawn.” Not even Jon Arryn had been able to calm that storm. Eddard Stark had ridden out that very day in a cold rage, to fight the last battles of the war alone in the south. It had taken another death to reconcile them; Lyanna’s death, and the grief they had shared over her passing.

This time, Ned resolved to keep his temper. “Your Grace, the girl is scarcely more than a child. You are no Tywin Lannister, to slaughter innocents.” It was said that Rhaegar’s little girl had cried as they dragged her from beneath her bed to face the swords. The boy had been no more than a babe in arms, yet Lord Tywin’s soldiers had torn him from his mother’s breast and dashed his head against a wall.

“And how long will this one remain an innocent?” Robert’s mouth grew hard. “This child will soon enough spread her legs and start breeding more dragonspawn to plague me.”

“Nonetheless,” Ned said, “the murder of children . . . it would be vile . . . unspeakable . . .”

“Unspeakable?” the king roared. “What Aerys did to your brother Brandon was unspeakable. The way your lord father died, that was unspeakable. And Rhaegar . . . how many times do you think he raped your sister? How many hundreds of times?” His voice had grown so loud that his horse whinnied nervously beneath him. The king jerked the reins hard, quieting the animal, and pointed an angry finger at Ned. “I will kill every Targaryen I can get my hands on, until they are as dead as their dragons, and then I will piss on their graves.”

Ned knew better than to defy him when the wrath was on him. If the years had not quenched Robert’s thirst for revenge, no words of his would help. “You can’t get your hands on this one, can you?” he said quietly.

The king’s mouth twisted in a bitter grimace. “No, gods be cursed. Some pox-ridden Pentoshi cheese monger had her brother and her walled up on his estate with pointy-hatted eunuchs all around them, and now he’s handed them over to the Dothraki. I should have had them both killed years ago, when it was easy to get at them, but Jon was as bad as you. More fool I, I listened to him.”

“Jon Arryn was a wise man and a good Hand.”

Robert snorted. The anger was leaving him as suddenly as it had come. “This Khal Drogo is said to have a hundred thousand men in his horde. What would Jon say to that?”

“He would say that even a million Dothraki are no threat to the realm, so long as they remain on the other side of the narrow sea,”

Ned replied calmly. “The barbarians have no ships. They hate and fear the open sea.”

The king shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. “Perhaps. There are ships to be had in the Free Cities, though. I tell you, Ned, I do not like this marriage. There are still those in the Seven Kingdoms who call me Usurper. Do you forget how many houses fought for Targaryen in the war? They bide their time for now, but give them half a chance, they will murder me in my bed, and my sons with me. If the beggar king crosses with a Dothraki horde at his back, the traitors will join him.”

“He will not cross,” Ned promised. “And if by some mischance he does, we will throw him back into the sea. Once you choose a new Warden of the East-“

The king groaned. “For the last time, I will not name the Arryn boy Warden. I know the boy is your nephew, but with Targaryens climbing in bed with Dothraki, I would be mad to rest one quarter of the realm on the shoulders of a sickly child.”

Ned was ready for that. “Yet we still must have a Warden of the East. If Robert Arryn will not do, name one of your brothers. Stannis proved himself at the siege of Storm’s End, surely.”

He let the name hang there for a moment. The king frowned and said nothing. He looked uncomfortable.

“That is,” Ned finished quietly, watching, “unless you have already promised the honor to another.”

For a moment Robert had the grace to look startled. Just as quickly, the look became annoyance. “What if I have?”

“It’s Jaime Lannister, is it not?”

Robert kicked his horse back into motion and started down the ridge toward the barrows. Ned kept pace with him. The king rode on, eyes straight ahead. “Yes,” he said at last. A single hard word to end the matter.

“Kingslayer,” Ned said. The rumors were true, then. He rode on dangerous ground now, he knew. “An able and courageous man, no doubt,” he said carefully, “but his father is Warden of the West, Robert. In time Ser Jaime will succeed to that honor. No one man should hold both East and West.” He left unsaid his real concern; that the appointment would put half the armies of the realm into the hands of Lannisters.

“I will fight that battle when the enemy appears on the field,” the king said stubbornly. “At the moment, Lord Tywin looms eternal as Casterly Rock, so I doubt that Jaime will be succeeding anytime soon. Don’t vex me about this, Ned, the stone has been set.”

“Your Grace, may I speak frankly?”

“I seem unable to stop you,” Robert grumbled. They rode through tall brown grasses.

“Can you trust Jaime Lannister?”

“He is my wife’s twin, a Sworn Brother of the Kingsguard, his life and fortune and honor all bound to mine.”

“As they were bound to Aerys Targaryen’s,” Ned pointed out.

“Why should I mistrust him? He has done everything I have ever asked of him. His sword helped win the throne I sit on.”

His sword helped taint the throne you sit on, Ned thought, but he did not permit the words to pass his lips. “He swore a vow to protect his king’s life with his own. Then he opened that king’s throat with a sword.”

“Seven hells, someone had to kill Aerys!” Robert said, reining his mount to a sudden halt beside an ancient barrow. “If Jaime hadn’t done it, it would have been left for you or me.”

“We were not Sworn Brothers of the Kingsguard,” Ned said. The time had come for Robert to hear the whole truth, he decided then and there. “Do you remember the Trident, Your Grace?”

“I won my crown there. How should I forget it?”

“You took a wound from Rhaegar,” Ned reminded him. “So when the Targaryen host broke and ran, you gave the pursuit into my hands. The remnants of Rhaegar’s army fled back to King’s Landing. We followed. Aerys was in the Red Keep with several thousand loyalists. I expected to find the gates closed to us.”

Robert gave an impatient shake of his head. “Instead you found that our men had already taken the city. What of it?”

“Not our men,” Ned said patiently. “Lannister men. The lion of Lannister flew over the ramparts, not the crowned stag. And they had taken the city by treachery.”

The war had raged for close to a year. Lords great and small had flocked to Robert’s banners; others had remained loyal to Targaryen. The mighty Lannisters of Casterly Rock, the Wardens of the West, had remained aloof from the struggle, ignoring calls to arms from both rebels and royalists. Aerys Targaryen must have thought that his gods had answered his prayers when Lord Tywin Lannister appeared before the gates of King’s Landing with an army twelve thousand strong, professing loyalty. So the mad king had ordered his last mad act. He had opened his city to the lions at the gate.

“Treachery was a coin the Targaryens knew well,” Robert said. The anger was building in him again. “Lannister paid them back in kind. It was no less than they deserved. I shall not trouble my sleep over it.”

“You were not there,” Ned said, bitterness in his voice. Troubled sleep was no stranger to him. He had lived his lies for fourteen years, yet they still haunted him at night. “There was no honor in that conquest.”

“The Others take your honor!” Robert swore. “What did any Targaryen ever know of honor? Go down into your crypt and ask Lyanna about the dragon’s honor!”

“You avenged Lyanna at the Trident,” Ned said, halting beside the king. Promise me, Ned, she had whispered.

“That did not bring her back.” Robert looked away, off into the grey distance. “The gods be damned. It was a hollow victory they gave me. A crown . . . it was the girl I prayed them for. Your sister, safe . . . and mine again, as she was meant to be. I ask you, Ned, what good is it to wear a crown? The gods mock the prayers of kings and cowherds alike.”

“I cannot answer for the gods, Your Grace . . . only for what I found when I rode into the throne room that day,” Ned said. “Aerys was dead on the floor, drowned in his own blood. His dragon skulls stared down from the walls. Lannister’s men were everywhere. Jaime wore the white cloak of the Kingsguard over his golden armor. I can see him still. Even his sword was gilded. He was seated on the Iron Throne, high above his knights, wearing a helm fashioned in the shape of a lion’s head. How he glittered!”

“This is well known,” the king complained.

“I was still mounted. I rode the length of the hall in silence, between the long rows of dragon skulls. It felt as though they were watching me, somehow. I stopped in front of the throne, looking up at him. His golden sword was across his legs, its edge red with a king’s blood. My men were filling the room behind me. Lannister’s men drew back. I never said a word. I looked at him seated there on the throne, and I waited. At last Jaime laughed and got up. He took off his helm, and he said to me, ‘Have no fear, Stark. I was only keeping it warm for our friend Robert. It’s not a very comfortable seat, I’m afraid.’ “

The king threw back his head and roared. His laughter startled a flight of crows from the tall brown grass. They took to the air in a wild beating of wings. “You think I should mistrust Lannister because he sat on my throne for a few moments?” He shook with laughter again. “Jaime was all of seventeen, Ned. Scarce more than a boy.”

“Boy or man, he had no right to that throne.”

“Perhaps he was tired,” Robert suggested. “Killing kings is weary work. Gods know, there’s no place else to rest your ass in that damnable room. And he spoke truly, it is a monstrous uncomfortable chair. In more ways than one.” The king shook his head. “Well, now I know Jaime’s dark sin, and the matter can be forgotten. I am heartily sick of secrets and squabbles and matters of state, Ned. It’s all as tedious as counting coppers. Come, let’s ride, you used to know how. I want to feel the wind in my hair again.” He kicked his horse back into motion and galloped up over the barrow, raining earth down behind him.

For a moment Ned did not follow. He had run out of words, and he was filled with a vast sense of helplessness. Not for the first time, he wondered what he was doing here and why he had come. He was no Jon Arryn, to curb the wildness of his king and teach him wisdom. Robert would do what he pleased, as he always had, and nothing Ned could say or do would change that. He belonged in Winterfell. He belonged with Catelyn in her grief, and with Bran.

A man could not always be where he belonged, though. Resigned, Eddard Stark put his boots into his horse and set off after the king.