The Shadow of Winterfell Chapter 7

Eddard Stark

He arrived at the Red Keep only to immediately be summoned to attend a meeting of the small council. This was after he had been on the road for over a moon, and had yet to bathe nor change into appropriate garments. It was an obvious ploy, a lackluster attempt to take him off guard and see if he could be pushed around. And Ned Stark would appease them… for now.

He strode into the council chambers, a richly furnished room that put most of Winterfell to shame. Inside sat five members of the small council, when there should have been eight. Renly Baratheon, the Master of Laws, Petyr Baelish, the Master of Coin, Grand Maester Pycelle, Lord Varys, being the Master of Whispers, as well as Janos Slynt, a stout man that was the Commander of the City Watch. Missing from their number was Ser Barristan Selmy, Stannis Baratheon, as well as the King himself.

“Lord Stark, it pleases me to see you’ve finally arrived.” The eunuch, Varys, said once he entered. “And my deepest sympathies for what happened to your son, nasty buisiness, my Lord.”

He tried not to get distracted by thoughts of Bran’s condition, merely nodding. Ned didn’t know if Varys was a flatterer or a fool, as Robert would put it.

“I see you’ve arrived safely, Lord Stark.” Renly Baratheon commented. “I am looking forward to having you as our Hand.”

“Indeed.” Littlefinger said with a sly smirk. “It will be fun to have another player in this little game of ours, Lord Stark. No doubt you’ve heard of me from your wife?”

His eye twitched at the sly arrogance of the man, bordering on insolence. “Indeed she has. Or rather, she mentioned you as that little boy from Riverrun.”

Petyr Baelish’s expression briefly flipped for but a moment, before he grinned as if he was told some sort of joke. “Those were fond times, my Lord, when we used to enjoy the experiences that came with youth.”

Pycelle coughed then. “Perhaps we should begin the meeting, my Lords?”

Ned looked around with a frown. “What of Ser Barristan and the King? And Lord Stannis for that matter?”

“Ser Barristan is typically busy with his duties of guarding the King. And his Grace rarely attends our meetings.” Varys answered. “As for Lord Stannis, he left for Dragonstone some time ago.”

“I want you to run my kingdom!” A voice that sounded like Robert shouted in the back of his mind. Ned understood that Robert cared very little for matters of governance, but it seemed wrong for the man to not be present. “Still, it is wrong for us to make decisions without Robert present.”

Renly let out a laugh. “The King cares little for matters of the realm, especially when it comes to coin counting and crop harvesting. All of it bores my royal brother to tears, and the only thing he gets pleasure out of is ordering tourneys and hunts to be organized… which doesn’t exactly help the crown’s finances.”

The end of Renly’s statement got Ned’s attention. “You mean to say the crown is in financial trouble?”

“The crown is in debt, my Lord, several million dragons in fact.” Littlefinger said those words as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

“Debt?” His eyes went wide in shock. “To whom? And how much?”

“Six million gold dragons.” Baelish answered mildly. “Half of which we owe to Tywin Lannister, and the other half to the Iron Bank, Mace Tyrell, various merchants, and even some to the High Septon.”

“Aerys Targaryen left the treasury overflowing with gold, and now you mean to tell me the Crown is in debt? You are the master of coin, are you not?” He vented his fury on the man. “Perhaps someone new should take your place, if you are not up to the task.”

“Ah, but the Master of Coin does not spend the money, my Lord, he only manages it. It is the King and the Royal family that do such things.”

“You would blame Robert for your own failure?” He felt his irritation growing, not believing Robert could spend the Crown into ruin. The only other explanation was that the treasury was being looted and stolen from, and Ned knew he would have to look into the matter closely. 

“My brother does like to spend gold, my Lord Hand.” Renly intervened. “In fact, he’s already mentioned an upcoming tourney in your name.”

Ned paused, his next words coming out as a whisper. “…what tourney?”

“The Hand’s tourney, I believe they’re calling it.” Varys said, taking out a slip of parchment and handing it to him.

Ned read it, seeing the King’s demands for the tourney, along with the exorbitant prize amounts for each victor. “Can the crown bear such an expense?”

“We will need to borrow gold to pay for it all, that’s for sure.” Baelish said. “Most likely from the Iron Bank or Tywin Lannister. I don’t think I can go another round haggling with the High Septon, the man is worse than a Dornish fishmonger.”

Ned resisted the urge to groan, and nearly made to cancel plans for the tourney completely when Varys spoke. “Such an event will be a great way to bring the realm together, my Lord Hand. Already, whispers have reached my ear of Houses Martell and Tyrell travelling to the city, and they will likely participate in the tourney.”

The meeting soon came to a close, and Ned vowed to speak to Robert regarding details of the tourney another time. He was bone-tired after his journey south, and wanted nothing more than to take a warm bath and sleep in a feather bed.

But he still had things to do, and it was later, when he was sitting in his solar in the tower of the Hand that Harry appeared. Just by the look on his nephew’s face, Ned knew the boy had every bit the bad day as he did. 

His bastard nephew spoke first. “I would ask if you had a good day, uncle, but based on the look on your face I would guess otherwise.”

Ned snorted, still in disbelief at the day’s revelations. “The crown is several million gold dragons in debt, namely to the Iron Bank and Tywin Lannister.”

His nephew paused. “That certainly doesn’t sound good, is there any chance that any of it was stolen?”

“For all the good things my wife says about Petyr Baelish, our resident Master of Coin, the man doesn’t strike me as the honorable type.” Ned said gravely, remembering Littlefinger’s insolent behavior.

“I’ll look into him.” Harry vowed. “Any other news?”

“Robert has ordered a tourney to be held in my honor.” He sighed. “The prize for the winner is… beyond exorbitant. It is also likely that members from House Tyrell and House Martell will join us for it.”

Harry seemed to think on the subject before he eventually replied. “Such a tourney will also give us good reason to have more northmen join us here in the city. I’m sure many of our fellow northmen would be eager to partake in such a tourney in your name, especially if they’ll get paid well.”

“Good idea, such an event will allow us to get more loyal men in the city, something we desperately need.” Ned figured that would be about the only good thing that came out of today. At least there’s one thing going well. “Tell me what you’ve managed to gather so far.”

Now it was his nephew who looked tired as he spoke. “The city is functions more like on giant slum instead of an actual capital. Thieves and lowlifes run rampant, and I wouldn’t recommend any Lord wander through the city without a large escort.”

“What of the City Watch?” Ned frowned. It was the gold cloaks job to eliminate such criminals.

Harry snorted in amusement. “We’ve been here a scant few hours, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that they are corrupt. I happened to pass by the mud gate, and found that anyone passing through has to bribe the guards there for passage into the city. If they don’t, they’re likely to get frisked and their goods looted before being turned away.” 

Ned closed his eyes and sighed deeply, resisting the sudden urge to curse. He’d been in King’s Landing for not even a day, and already he wanted to burn the city down. Maybe the Lannisters were right to sack this city.

But beyond his base emotions, Ned knew that he would have to take a heavier hand in doing his job as Hand of the King if he wanted things to change. It seemed that Lords would have to be dismissed and replaced, and he knew that half the small Council would soon be gone if he had his way. 

“I want you to learn what you can about the City Watch.” Ned finally decided. “From what you’ve told me so far, I have enough reason to remove Janos Slynt from his post.”

“And what of the Master of Coin?”

“Securing the city will be our top priority for now.” He decided. “I cannot be a successful Hand of the King if King’s Landing is more than less a giant privy. If I act quickly, Janos Slynt can be replaced by the end of the week, and someone more competent can be appointed to the position so that we can start making actual progress. And with the City Watch on our side, we can begin investigating the treasury and making arrests if need be.”

/////

Hadrian Snow

His grip tightened on Val’s body as he shoved her against a wall, slamming into her that much harder as he filled her with his cock. One of his hands gripped her arm, while another tightly grasped her hip as his muscular thighs collided with her thick ass.

“You’re… a… bastard!” The blonde wildling gasped out as he plundered her depths. “A big… cocked… northern… kneeling… bastard!”

He reached up and grasped her by the hair then, letting his knuckle tighten around her braid. He could feel her pussy tighten around his shaft, and felt her juices leak out of her cunt before running down her legs.

Harry was silent the entire time as he fucked her, giving the blonde wildling the hard pounding she enjoyed as his massive cock slammed in and out of her core. The woman loved to be dominated, even if she would never admit it, and Harry was only too happy to take his frustrations out on her after the terrible day he had.

They were fucking in a back alley of all places, doing so during the hour of the owl. Having public sex wasn’t something Harry intended to do with Val, but it worked out as part of his plan. 

His cock twitched violently inside the blonde wildling, and he gave one last brutal thrust before burying himself to the hilt with a growl. The woman screamed out as she came in tandem with his own release, as he pumped copious amount of cum into her.

It was then that Harry sensed the nearby wards he had put up alert him to intruders, and he grinned. Three gold cloaks headed their way, having likely heard the noise of them having sex and came to investigate. As the three men of the City Watch came upon them, Harry turned to face them.

“Good evening, lads.” Harry grinned, putting on the act of a slimy criminal. He gave them the impression of being up to no good, pulling out of Val before shoving away his cock. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Just what do you think you’re doing with that lass?” One of the gold cloaks demanded.

“Oh, her?” He reached down and grasped Val’s braid, pulling her up to show off her naked form. The men’s eyes went wide at the sight, as few males would be lucky enough to ever see a woman was beautiful and buxom as Val in their lives. 

“She just came in from the North.” Harry said casually, as the Gold Cloaks eyed Val’s naked form with growing lust. “The man I bought her from even mentioned she was part wildling, being from north of the Wall and all.”

If the men of the City Watch had one shred of integrity, they would have arrested Harry in that moment for either slavery, rape, or even just for having plain sex in public. He could tell that they knew this deep down, but the three Gold Cloaks in front of him were steeped in too much corruption to change their ways.

Even as they stood there, he knew they were probably plotting a way to blackmail him and get a hold of Val in the process. It was likely they planned to arrest him and take Val for themselves, or even just kill him before taking her then and there. Most in his position would have simply handed Val over before running off, or gotten out of his current predicament by bribing the gold cloaks with a hefty sum of gold.

“Tell you what, my good lads.” Harry continued. “How about I let you take her off my hands for the night? Take her back to your barrracks and pass her around, a wildling like her could use a good time.”

Val glared at him now, and one of the men moved forward as if to accept his offer and take Val for himself. It was only once the man was within arms length that Harry stunned them, finally putting an end to the act.

“Was all that really necessary?” Val asked with annoyance. “You could have gotten their attention another way, and not needed to fuck me.”

He snorted in amusement, as if the blonde hadn’t been cumming on his cock over and over again for the past ten minutes. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy it.”

He didn’t wait for her response, instead levitating the three unconscious gold cloaks into a nearly house he had purchased in the city. It would serve as his safe house in the city, as well as a base of operations when he wasn’t staying in the Tower of the Hand. 

By the next morning, Harry would have all the information he could ever need about how the City Watch operated.

////

Eddard Stark

Flatterers and fools. Ned had to wonder if Robert was too kind when he used those words to describe the men in his court. No wonder he came all the way north to ask me to be his Hand.

His nephew came to him with more information regarding the City Watch, and what he revealed nearly made Ned explode in rage. The sheer incompetence, the disregard for the smallfolk’s lives, and corruption that his nephew found was enough reason to execute every member of the City Watch.

He didn’t hesitate to immediately call another session of the small council, turning the tables on the other members who summoned him just the day before. Ned didn’t bother playing any of their games nor indulging their subtle taunts as the meeting began, instead standing before the men of the small council with his face carved from stone.

“I have been in this city for only a day, and what I have seen has made me appalled at the sheer incompetence of this council.” His words struck like a hammer blow, and the table’s occupants reeled, but Ned continued before they could properly respond. “Corruption on an unseen scale, blatant disregard for the realm’s basic integrity, and pure contempt for the lives of the smallfolk. No longer will I let this fester, and I will personally root it out!”

His eyes narrowed at one person in particular. The rat bastard wasn’t even a Lord, yet sat on the small council regardless. “I will begin to do so now, and have decided to start with you… Janos Slynt.”

The commander of the City Watch stiffened. “W-What? My Lord, you can’t be serious!”

Ned had yet to speak with the man, as the Commander of the City Watch had neither approached him nor did he speak in the previous day’s meeting. That didn’t mean Ned would wait, as he needed Janos Slynt dealt with if the city was to improve.

“This city is a privy full of debauchery and crime, and your actions as Commander of the City Watch has done northing but make it worse.” He said coldly.

The weasel of a man reddened in indignation. “Lies! I won’t stand for such blasphemy! I am loyal to the King!”

“You wish to discuss loyalty?” Ned’s voice was sharp as Ice’s blade. “Your men terrorize the smallfolk, bribery and extortion is almost ubiquitous with being a member of the gold cloaks. For every man of the City Watch, ten percent of his pay must go to his superior, and from them, ten percent more to their own commander. You’ve turned your post into nothing more than a pyramid scheme designed to enrich and empower no one but yourself.”

His nephew had personally discovered that piece of information, and Ned didn’t dare ask how he came of it. He had asked Harry to come south with him after all, and promised to turn a blind eye to his actions, no matter how dishonorable they may be.

“T-These are grand accusations, my Lord.” Grandmaester Pycelle stammered out, his brow covered in sweat. Clearly the aging Maester hadn’t anticipated this sudden meeting to be so serious. “P-Perhaps a thorough investigation can be done first?”

“I agree.” Petyr Baelish chimed in, only slightly looking caught off balance. “The Crown should have a trial before they come to any conclusions.”

Ned’s eyes narrowed at the two who protested Slynt’s removal. Baelish at least had good reasoning in postponing Slynt’s fate, wanting the man to be publically tried. But Pycelle on the other hand, the Grandmaester’s act of being a dottering old fool was grating on Ned’s nerves, and he was beginning to grow suspicious. As much as he wanted there to be a proper investigation and trial for Slynt, Ned knew that he couldn’t afford such luxuries when time was against him. He needed Slynt gone.

He snapped his fingers, and the doors to the small council chambers opened to allow two of his men-at-arms inside. They headed straight for Slynt, hoisting the man from his chair as he spilled his wine. The swine protested and clambered, trying and failing to get free. 

“I am afraid that we cannot indulge such fantasies at a time like this. A tourney in my name is about to take place, and we need this city to be secure.” Ned said, watching as his one of his men-at-arms hit Slynt in the stomach with the pommel of his sword. “Janos Slynt, I hereby remove you from your post as Commander of the City Watch-”

“You northern son of a whore, I’ll see you dead for this! I have friends in high places, the Queen-”

His brow twitched in annoyance at being interrupted, and his men began to ruthlessly beat Slynt to a bloody pulp for his words. Never threaten the Lord of a Great House, much less the Hand of the King.

“Perhaps you were right to be so adamant about his removal, my Lord Hand.” Renly commented, watching as the bruised and beaten Slynt was only held upwards by the strength of his guards.

“I agree, to threaten the Hand of the King is a serious crime.” Littlefinger seemed to change his tune rather quickly. 

Ned stared at the former Commander coldly. “Put him on the next ship headed to eastwatch.”

The man began trying to get free once again, still conscious enough to understand he was being sent to the Watch. Sadly, Janos Slynt could do nothing as his men dragged him out of their chamber and down to the harbor.

“If I may ask, my Lord Hand, who will take his place as the next Commander of the City Watch?” Varys asked. 

“I have chosen Wendel Manderly to hold such a position.” Ned answered. “I know the man well, and his family has presided over peace in White Harbor for generations.”

“A-And until he arrives, my Lord?” Pycelle asked with a disapproving frown.

“My nephew, Hadrian Snow, will oversee the City Watch for now.”

/////

A/N: 

“I found King’s Landing a city of bricks, and left it a city of marble.” - Eddard Stark, probably

I decided to add Janos Slynt to the small council even though he’s not originally a member. 

Make sure you vote in the poll for Harry's next lover in this story!