Leaving the bed without bothering to put on his clothes, Ned made for the windows, pulled the curtains away, and opened them, enjoying the cool night air entering the chambers.
The evening feast had gone well, all things considered.
Better than he had dared to plan for.
Robb and Myrcella had been presented together, and the announcement had been met with cheer.
There was still a need to discuss the details of the betrothal, but that was something that could be done later.
All that mattered was that the vows and alliances that connect House Stark to the south were secure.
Tully, Arryn, Stark, and now Baratheon and Lannister, the houses that brought the Targaryens low.
Arya had also behaved remarkably well, which Ned was proud of.
While his youngest daughter lacked Sansa’s demeanor and poise during the feast, she didn’t cause any kind of trouble, which he already considered a victory.
Of course, the only reason she did was because of Ned’s promise, something he was determined to adhere to.
A word given was a word owed, and Arya would be allowed to practice with the bow beginning tomorrow.
“Did Robert tell you how your foster father passed?” Cat’s voice came softly from the bed, her figure hidden beneath the covers.
“What news of my sister, and her son?” “I didn’t ask.” Ned reluctantly admitted.
His foster father was rather far from his mind these days.
Truly, while Jon Arryn was dear to him, he currently had greater troubles.
This whole King-Beyond-the-Wall business kept creeping into his mind.
If Ned truly was to ride south, it would leave Robb to deal with this Mance Rayder.
While a capable heir, Robb was still a green boy in all the ways that mattered.
While Ned loved the Lord of the Vale, old men died all the time.
“Then what troubles you so, husband?” Catelyn’s voice was filled with worry, the bed rustling as she sat up.
“Everything within me says I should refuse him,” he said, to the dark beyond the window.
“But I can’t.
I know I can’t.” “No,” she agreed, and he heard her rise.
“The king traveled all this way to give you what most lords spend their whole lives hoping for.
The last time a princess of royal blood married outside the immediate family was over eighty years ago, with Robert’s own grandmother.” She came to stand beside him.
“Refusing him would be an insult he could not ignore, from a man he has chosen to call his oldest friend.” “I know,” He agreed softly.
“But Karlon’s words keep ringing in my mind.
Starks don’t fare well in the south, and I am sorely needed here.” “Karlon’s fears are real,” she said carefully, in a tone she usually took when speaking of his brothers.
“and they come from love.
But they are also driven by grief, Ned.
By Brandon, by your father, by Lyanna.
He looks at the south and sees what it took from him.” She rested a hand on his arm.
“The North is peaceful.
There has not been a battle fought here in more than fifty years.
And Robb is not the boy you think him still.
You had him take the sentence in Wintertown precisely because you knew it was time.
He is a man grown, and he would not be alone.
Princess Myrcella is a kind and smart girl, she would make a great wife for him and a worthy Lady of Winterfell.” “I have no problems with the marriage.
He wanted to wed Arya and Joffrey first, you know.” His wife made a choking sound and had a horrified look on her face.
Ned chuckled.
“Aye, I know what you’re thinking, and I dissuaded him from that particular notion.
But new concerns have come since then, Cat.
Troubles that the marriage and the Handship don’t resolve.” He turned from the window.
“Karlon and Benjen both believe the Others are moving again.” The warmth of the room seemed to pull back from the words slightly.
Catelyn drew her night-robe closer as she shivered.
“Ned?
How would they know?” “Small things, really.” Ned massaged the bridge of his nose.
“More rangers gone than weather and wildlings account for.
Wildling villages emptied without evidence of raid or fire.
More deserters from the watch.
The last one I executed asked for his body to be burned before I took his head.
He was broken by fear, but not fear of men.” He paused.
“Even Benjen chose his words carefully when he spoke of it in the solar.
The wildlings are moving strangely.
Mance Rayder isn’t gathering them by the tens of thousands for nothing.
“But you don’t believe them.” Cat realized.
“How could I?
Tales of Others have always been just that.” Ned sighed again.
“Believing and knowing are different things, and I won’t call the banners for grumpkins and snarks.
What I know is that the Night’s Watch is undermanned and has been for a century, and that strengthening them is wise regardless of what moves beyond the Wall.” He didn’t even mention how Robert seemed utterly disinterested in the goings on of the Night’s Watch.
What did he say back in the crypts?
Oh yes, ‘the wall had stood for eight thousand years.
It can stand for a few more without me propping it up.’ “And that is something you can do from the south just as well as from here.” She pondered, making him refocus.
“Better, even.
The North has given the Watch everything it can reasonably give.
As Hand, you could compel the other kingdoms to share the burden.
Mance Rayder and the Others need not be only the North’s problem.” He looked at his wife.
She met his eyes steadily in the firelight, and realized that she believed.
What did it say when his own wife believed his brothers before he did?
Gods, he owed his wife a great deal, for more things than he could easily count.
“We had already begun to think along those lines,” he said.
“Karlon, Benjen, and I.
But recent events may require us to revise our thinking.” She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, and a knock came at the door, making Ned turn with a frown.
It was late, what other business was there?
“What is it?” “My lord, there’s been an incident in the night.
Ser Rodrik and Lord Karlon caught a man trying to sneak into the Maester’s Turret.” Alyn’s voice came through the door.
“There was another separate incident with the First Ranger at the stables.” Ned exchanged a worried look with Cat before crossing to the wardrobe and began to dress.
“I’ll be there in a few.” Two separate incidents in the night after the King’s party arrived?
It did not bode well.
Clasping his sword to his belt, Ned quickly left the room after kissing Catelyn goodbye.
He made sure to leave Alyn with four other men to make sure his wife was well guarded, before getting Jory to assemble the rest of the household guard.
“Get the direwolves out of the kennels, make sure my children are well protected.” Ned ordered, “And find Robb and Jon.
They should be here for this.” “Aye, Lord Stark.” Jory replied, rushing off another hallway.
Usually, dealing with petty thieves in the night was left for the Master-at-arms to handle, but the king’s security was paramount, and having both his brothers already up and about was extra incentive for Ned to handle it personally.
Check it out if you’re interested, at least chapter 19 (long form, which is around chp 36 in webnovel) should be available by the time this chapter was uploaded.