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Chapter 41 – "The Aftermath of Blood and Honor"
The scent of blood still lingered in the air of King's Landing. The market, once a thriving center of trade and gossip, now bore the stains of steel and fury. Merchants whispered behind shuttered stalls. Children were kept indoors. The smallfolk, who had once taken to calling the black-cloaked watchmen 'wolves in the streets,' now looked at them with awe and fear.
Thirteen Lannister men survived from the original forty. Most were injured, some broken in spirit. Of Cregan Stark's City Watch, all bore wounds—bruises, cuts, fractured limbs—but only three had died. They were already being remembered as heroes by the smallfolk. Their names were being spoken with reverence in the taverns of Flea Bottom.
The tension in the city crackled like a drawn bowstring.
---
A King Returns to Chaos
King Robert Baratheon stormed through the Red Keep, the stench of wine and boar still clinging to him. His hunting party had returned to find the capital in an uproar. Courtiers scrambled before him as he bellowed, "What in seven hells happened?!"
Jon Arryn tried to speak calmly, but the Queen was quicker.
"Your Grace," Cersei began, practically spitting fire, "Lord Stark's savage of a son turned the market into a battlefield! Joffrey was nearly mauled by that beast of his niece's, and Lannister men lie dead in the streets!"
Joffrey, nursing a bruised ego more than any real injury, howled, "It was treason! He attacked me! His men defied the Crown! That thing should be put down!"
Robert's jaw clenched as he stared at the Queen and his son.
Jon Arryn interjected firmly, "The events were... complicated. The Prince provoked the Watch. Witnesses confirm he laid hands on Lord Stark's niece first. The Watch responded to protect her."
"Complicated?!" Cersei shrieked. "You're excusing slaughter? You dare defend that Northman?"
Robert raised a hand to silence them all. "Bring me Cregan. And get the damn council together. Now."
Behind him, Varys slithered from the shadows, his voice soft. "The realm shivers, Your Grace. If you don't seize control now, the wolves and lions will rip it apart."
---
The Child and the Wolves
Before the council met, another clash nearly broke the fragile peace.
Lannister men—furious and ashamed—attempted to take Lyanna into their own custody. They claimed she was a threat, a pretense for further chaos. But the remaining Watch under Cregan's command, already on high alert, stood firm.
"You'll not touch the little general," said Garnen, still wounded but unflinching. "Not unless we all fall."
Several Watchmen gathered behind him, bloodied but loyal.
A tense standoff unfolded outside the Maidenvault. Goldcloaks stood against red-and-gold lions. One wrong move, one shouted word, and the blades would be out again.
A figure arrived to break the tension—Jon Arryn, breathless and grave.
"She is safest where she is. The City Watch under Lord Stark has proven more capable than the royal household. The child stays."
The Lannister men relented, but not without glaring promises.
---
The Council of Fire and Ice
The Small Council convened that evening under a red sky. Robert sat at the head, grim-faced, wine untouched. Cersei seethed beside him, her green eyes narrowed to slits. Jon Arryn looked every inch the weary old falcon, clinging to reason.
Cregan Stark entered, flanked by five of his most trusted men. Despite wounds, they stood like statues, their hands always near their blades. Their eyes scanned the chamber like wolves watching a den of foxes.
Cersei wasted no time. "So we welcome beasts into the council now? Are we to be butchered in our own hall?"
"I should have brought the whole pack," Cregan said coldly, eyes locking with hers. "You seem fond of hunting children."
Joffrey, face twisted in fury, pointed a trembling finger. "He called me a hunter of children! He insulted the Crown!"
Robert roared, "SILENCE, Joffrey!"
Cregan stepped forward. "I will answer for my men. I take full responsibility. But I will not let you lay a finger on my niece. She was attacked. My men defended her. That is the truth."
Cersei sneered. "So we accept barbarism as truth now? The prince was disrespected! Your mutt killed Lannister guards!"
Jon Arryn tried to interject. "Enough. Let us speak of justice, not vengeance."
Cregan turned to the King. "If you must keep me confined, so be it. But I keep my sword, and my men stay with me. Harm the girl, and this castle will fall."
The air went still.
Jon Arryn nodded. "Under house arrest, in your own quarters within the Red Keep. Until Lord Stark and Lord Tywin arrive."
Cersei snapped, "Fine. But the beast dies. That wolf tore open our guards!"
Robert looked uneasy. "Cregan—Shadow did—"
Cregan's sword hissed free from its sheath. His men followed.
"You kill my wolf, you kill the North's honor. You declare war."
Varys stepped forward. "Surely, we can—"
"No." Cregan's voice was steel. "You will not shame me by slaying the sigil of my House."
Jon Arryn rose with effort. "This decision will wait until all parties are here. No blood in this hall."
Robert reluctantly agreed. "So be it. No one touches that beast. Not yet."
---
Behind Shadows and Eyes
From the shadows, Littlefinger watched it all.
So... the Black Wolf was not so easily cornered.
But even the fiercest beasts bleed.
Whispers had already been planted. Rumors of how the North wanted to rule the South. Of how the Watch bowed only to wolves now. Of how Stark gold, not Lannister coin, paid half the soldiers walking the city.
And if one child could start a war...
Baelish smiled thinly. Then perhaps it's time to light the match.
---
Lyanna – Bravery Behind Tears
In her chamber, Lyanna lay curled beside Shadow, one hand fisted in his blood-matted fur.
She didn't cry—not when the fight started, not when swords clashed, not when men bled.
But now, in the quiet, her hands trembled.
"I was brave," she whispered. "Right, Shadow?"
The direwolf licked her cheek.
She took her charcoal and drew. Uncle Cregan. His sword. Her little butterknife. A big shadowy wolf. And a crown, cracked in half.
"I don't want to be brave all the time," she murmured.
But she still didn't cry.
---
Letters of War
Ravens flew across the realm.
At Casterly Rock, Tywin Lannister read the letter with eyes like polished gold.
"They let a Stark bastard draw blood from my House. They let him live."
He turned to Kevan. "Ready the banners. If the Crown won't punish him, we will."
At Winterfell, Ned Stark crushed the message in his hand. Cregan. Lyanna. Under house arrest. Surrounded by vipers.
He turned to Robb.
"We march."
Robb's face was steel. "I'll bring them all. And I'll make the lion bleed."
---
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