The Protagonist System
374 Stark Simplicity

Needless to say, my better clothing made me stand out from what I usually wore as I made my way back to the Great Hall to eat the midday meal. I caught the eyes of all the smallfolk and they noticed when I paid them the proper respect, with either a nod or a word of greeting, since most times they were ignored unless being ordered to do something.

I entered the room through the main doors and was slightly surprised to see Eddard, or Ned Stark, already there. He was sitting alone and had several pieces of parchment before him and writing instruments. It was obviously not for the people inside the keep, because most of the smallfolk couldn't read or write.

Paying a Maester to teach so many people was not something every lord would do, or could do, and most didn't see it as a good use of their time anyway. They all had work to do and learning their letters and numbers wasn't really necessary for everyday life. Most did learn enough to function, just because it was necessary; but, most signs were just pictures carved into wood so everyone could 'read' them.

“Good day, father.” I said as I sat at the far table, well away from the main one where he and his family sat.

Ned stopped his writing to look up at me. He frowned slightly at where I sat and didn't say anything about it, since it was his wife that had declared where I was to sit, far away from her own children. It mostly worked, with only her 4 year old daughter Arya defying her by always approaching me before the meals started. She adored me and always tried to get me to play with her.

“Good day, Jon.” Ned said and went back to working.

I wasn't curious about what he was doing or asked about it, because he would always rebuff me. Again, it was Catelyn's decree that I wasn't to learn the details of how to run the keep, since that was the responsibility of her son, Robb. However, she couldn't stop me from having my own learning lessons from the keep's Maester once a week with Arya, which I always made fun for her.

I sat there and didn't speak anymore as we waited for Lady Catelyn and her daughters, as well as a visiting bannerman and his entourage. Ned hosted one every few weeks for a few days, just to maintain close relations with them and to show them that they were valued members of his lands. It also made them enthusiastic to accept when they were called to battle and their liege lord had treated them well.

The main doors opened again and it was Catelyn and her two daughters. I made sure to lock eyes with the tall woman with dark red hair, then I intentionally closed my eyes and skipped over looking at her eldest daughter with flaming red hair, and opened my eyes to lock eyes with little Arya, whom looked like a Stark with long black hair and her behavior was of the North.

“JON!” Arya gasped when she saw me and tried to run over to me.

Catelyn was faster and was well used to corralling the little hellion. She caught her thin arm and swung the little girl around and settled her back at Sansa's side without a word. A small glare was enough to make Arya behave and she let out a tiny sigh. Catelyn nodded and the three of them walked over to the main table and greeted Ned properly. Baby Brandon was still too small to join us for meals.

The three females sat, two regally and one with a thump, much to Catelyn's chagrin. She just couldn't instill proper young lady behavior into the girl like she had with Sansa. Arya kept looking over at me and I did my best to not encourage her openly, because her mother was eyeing me pointedly to catch me doing just that.

At least Catelyn hadn't call me out on my clothes, since they were nicer than anything she had ordered made for me. I waited for my chance and managed a single wink for Arya when her brother Robb entered the room and distracted her mother as she fussed over the young lord. Arya beamed a smile at me for being sneaky and looked really happy.

The Karstarks entered next and the main Stark family was greeted first, as was proper, and I was given a nod by the man and a whispered word from the youngest among the group. I nodded back and didn't speak, since I was not allowed to until the food was served. It was a stupid tradition and would be something I would change if I had the authority to.

It was difficult to ignore the temptation to stand up and declare my true heritage as Lyanna Stark's son. That was a secret I had no way to explain knowing, since Ned was the only one in Winterfell that knew it. There wasn't really a way for me to let it get out, either. Any rumors about my parentage were quickly squashed by Ned himself and no one questioned him about it more than once, not even Catelyn.

Several serving girls brought out the large trays of food and placed them at the main table, the side table with the guests, and a single plate was given to me at the far table. It was another tradition Catelyn had put into place, so I wouldn't be interacting more than necessary with others at the nearby tables.

Since I had years of memories with the same insults and indignities, I kept my silence and smiled at Gretchel. She smiled back and went to retrieve the pitchers of drink to be served. I ate the food at a similar pace to the people near me and I didn't try to rush or made it look like I didn't want to be there. Despite my treatment, they were my family and I wouldn't dishonor Ned like that.

I spoke when spoken to, smiled like nothing was wrong, and offered opinions when asked a question. It was all inconsequential talk and nothing important was said, by anyone, and the meal passed fairly quickly. After Ned promised to meet in the solar with the Karstark bannerman, their group left the Great Hall.

That was my cue to leave as well, before I was roped into something Catelyn came up with to discredit me in front of her husband's eyes. The funny thing was, even though their marriage had been sudden and they hadn't known each other well beforehand, they genuinely grew to love each other deeply.

It was just that Catelyn felt insulted every time she looked at me, because it proved Ned wasn't as honorable as he professed to be by bedding an unknown woman and claiming the baby as a bastard. Oh, how wrong she was, because he was even more honorable than she would ever know or suspect.

The best part? Everyone else in the world didn't see anything wrong with a lord having a bastard or two, even within wedlock to another woman, and Ned hadn't. He was better than most lords and even the king. King Robert the First already had a few bastards and would have a few more in the coming years.

Oh, that reminded me of something I had to do and I walked at a fast pace back to my room. As soon as I closed the door, I locked it with a spell and closed my eyes to use my clairvoyance power. It was like looking through a soft fog as it worked to show me Joffrey, eventually clearing up and showing me the little shit as he slapped his little sister's face for spilling her cup on his lap.

I watched as he shouted at her and their mother Cersei did nothing to stop him, then he stomped his way out of the room his mother used as a meeting room near the top of the Red Keep.

At the moment Joffrey's angrily stomping foot touched the stone stairs going down, I tripped him with telekinesis. He yelled in shock as he slipped and fell, and tumbled, and disappeared from his mother's sight. Cersei screamed and chased after him, as if she could do anything to try and stop him before he reached the next landing in the stairwell.

I waited for her to almost reach where his body lay before tripping her, too. She screamed in fright again, only for herself this time. The loud crack of her head hitting the wall beside Joffrey's own, echoed up and down the stairwell.

Myrcella stopped at the top of the stairs and didn't try to rush down to them. Instead, she stared at the two bodies and she didn't scream or yell. Her face briefly showed a small smile before she poked herself in the eyes and made herself cry.

Smart girl. I thought and watched as several members of the Kingsguard rushed up the stairs and came to a stop by the two bodies that had voided their bowels when they died.

With that out of the way, I had a quick look for a particularly idiotic beggar king named Viserys Targaryen. He was about 13 years old and was an even bigger asshole than Joffrey was. I saw him practising swordfighting with a sword that was too big for his thin frame and waited for him to swing it downwards in a slashing motion.

I tripped him and he let the sword go and flailed his arms out to catch himself, except the sword somehow bounced and flipped over to land hilt first on the ground and just so happened to point upwards at his neck as he fell down upon it.

The blade of the sword was nice and sharp, so easily sliced through the teen's neck like a hot knife through butter and nearly completely severed the head from the body. There was only a flap of skin holding it on and I had to hold my laugh in at him reminding me of Nearly Headless Nick from Harry Potter.

Just in case, I cast the exorcise spirit spell on him. I didn't want him somehow possessing someone else or something equally stupid, like being brought back as an undead zombie or something.

That thought made me switch my view back to Joffrey and I saw that the stairwell was crowded with Maesters, knights, royal court members, and the king himself. He looked equally pissed and relieved, as if he just gained a bunch of problems and also lost a bunch.

You're welcome, Robert. I thought with a chuckle and cast the spells to make sure both Joffrey and Cersei moved on. Did her death count as one of her family having a hand in her death? If she hadn't chased after Joffrey, I couldn't have tripped her, right? Eh, I'll count the prophecy the Hag gave her years ago as fulfilled. It was safer for everyone that way.

Who else could I deal with, now that I was taking the chance to change things? Who was going to cause problems later? I asked myself and let my clairvoyance power fade as I considered things.

I could pop a blood vessel in the Prince of Dorne's forehead to stop the idiot from isolating and alienating his firstborn daughter Arianne, just so he could hand Dorne over to his second born son, Quentyn. Why would Doran want that? There was nothing wrong with a woman ruling, especially since they prided themselves on their women being great fighters like the men.

I could also get rid of Twyin Lannister before he became a problem, now that his daughter was dead and he no longer had a strong influence on the King of the Seven Kingdoms. In fact, there were a few people I could get rid of that would make the future a better place... or someone worse could fill the void.

That immediately brought my thoughts to a particularly slippery individual that caused the most damage and conflict, just so he could gain tons of gold and possibly Catelyn's favor. Should I deal with him directly, or should I reveal some of his schemes? A touch of clairvoyance through that thick fog gave me my answer.

Petyr Baelish was currently in bed with Jon Arryn's wife, Lysa.

I held in my laugh at such an easy solution and wrote a promising note for an encounter today. When I looked into Jon's office, I saw him working hard over several large ledgers. They were filled with numbers and totals, which meant he suspected the Master of Coin was cheating the kingdom and was looking through the man's books.

Instead of trying to make sense of the mess they were, I slipped the note as a bookmark under the next page and waited. After Jon wrote out several conflicting numbers, one for the actual loan and one for the loan claimed by Littlefinger, he flipped the large page of parchment and paused when he saw the note.

Jon grabbed it and read it, flipped it over and stared at the blank back, then flipped it over again and read it again. He sat there, and stared for several minutes, then he abruptly stood up and yelled for the Kingsguard. He walked out of his office and met them as they gathered, gave them their orders, and he followed them as they went to the closest brothel to raid it.

I had to clamp my mouth shut to stop my laugh as both Petyr and Lysa were dragged out of Littlefinger's office, still naked, and with some of Petyr's deposits dripping out of Jon's wife. Jon ordered them to take the thief's hands, sear the ends to keep the man alive, and then had Lysa tossed into a cell in the dungeons.

The problem the man had now was figuring out if his son was actually his son, or was he Petyr's? Joh had yet to discover that Cercei's children were from her brother and not Robert, so he wasn't automatically distrustful about it. However, the boy looked like Petyr and not like Jon Arryn or a Tully like his mother.

I stopped using my power and felt physically exhausted. I went to my bed and laid down as I thought about what else I could do. Should I interfere more than I already had? When my head throbbed, I decided that it was enough for now and I needed a long nap before I had to be back in the Great Hall for the evening meal.

Tomorrow was my learning day and I needed a clear head to face the Maester without giving away that I was immensely more knowledgeable about everything than he was. Was there a test for things like that? How many tokens would my Maester necklace have and how many would I have to make for myself, since their knowledge was so limited?

I dozed off with a smile on my face and let myself relax as I put off wondering about the future until later.

*

Sansa Stark was not a happy girl. Her normal target for satisfying her aggression had been avoiding her all day. She couldn't find him all morning and now he had disappeared right after the midday meal. Where was he running off to? She needed to know so she could tell her mother.

Her sixth nameday was coming up soon as well and she hoped no one forgot about it. Was that what was going on? Jon was making her a present and didn't want her to find out about it? Now she really needed to find him and verbally put him in his place.

As the future Lady of whatever lands her future husband ruled, it was her right to lord her position over him. Her mother even said so and treated him with disdain and dismissal. Sansa never did ask why, nor did she really care. It had to be because he was a bastard and didn't share their name, even if he shared the same father.

Why that was, didn't make sense to her, so she ignored it as her search continued. Her sister Arya was right there with her and she was too excited and was too loud as she jumped around and acted very unladylike. How were they supposed to sneak up on him if he heard them coming?

Sansa sighed when she reached the stables and didn't see Jon anywhere, and gave up her search. She had wasted too much time already and needed to get back to her room to practice her needlepoint. She was only just starting out and had already earned a high praise from Old Nan for not pricking her fingertips and getting a bit of blood on the practice cloth.

“Come along, Arya. We need to get to the afternoon lessons.” Sansa said and grabbed her hand before she could run off.

“No! I want Jon!” Arya exclaimed with a shriek without even trying, because her four year old voice was high pitched and annoying.

Sansa sighed and dragged her struggling little sister back to the main building and inside to the living area. Like her mother, she was an old hand at keeping Arya close by. Why did the rambunctious girl have to be so outrageous and noisy all the time? What was wrong with being quiet, sitting comfortably, and enjoying the relaxing work of needlepoint?

Unfortunately, Sansa's thoughts distracted her when she reached for the door handle of her room. It tok her a second to realize it was with the wrong hand. The hand that was supposed to hold onto her sister and stop her from getting away.

Arya squealed happily and ran for it, her little legs taking her down the hallway and out of sight before Sansa had opened the door. She sighed again and pulled it open and Old Nan was inside and cackled a laugh.

“Slipped away again, did she?” Old Nan asked, clearly amused.

“Just now.” Sansa said as she entered and closed the door behind her. There was no point in trying to hunt for her sister until she had burned off her energy and slowed down enough to be caught.

“Then let her Lady Mother find her when she chooses to. You need my attention right now.” Old Nan said, wisely.

Sansa smiled warmly at the old woman as she sat beside her and picked up her needlepoint.