Game of Thrones: Holy Flame King

"Ed, I have always regarded you as a real brother!"

In the cold and deep cellar of Winterfell, King Robert spoke.

The rough voice echoed in the silent passage.

"His Majesty……"

"What bullshit Your Majesty, call me Robert!" Duke Ed was interrupted by the king as soon as he started.

"Robert." A warm feeling rose in Duke Eddard's heart, and the strangeness and estrangement that hadn't been seen for more than ten years seemed to disappear at this moment.

The man in front of him was still the lawless Robert Baratheon back then.

Duke Ed was no longer restrained: "Back then we drank together, fought together, and received...Jon's teachings together."

Speaking of Jon Arryn's name, his tone was full of sadness: "I have never forgotten the friendship between us, so no matter what request you have, I will agree."

"Okay, then follow me to King's Landing, be my Hand of the King, and help me manage this damned country!"

Duke Ed just hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said:

"good."

"Hahaha..." Robert laughed, his sonorous voice echoing in the darkness, "That's great! Believe me, you won't regret it! Compared with the bitter cold in the north, the south is much warmer! Especially It's summer now, and the field is full of flowers and green grass as far as the eye can see, the fruit is so sweet that it can burst in your mouth, and there is also wine, oh yes, a new wine called brandy has been spread in the river bend recently! The taste is really exciting! You must try it!"

Duke Ed smiled and didn't reply.

He is not a pleasure-oriented person, but the king next to him is just the opposite.

And Lord Eddard couldn't help noticing the price Robert paid for his sensuality.

When they came to the depths of the tomb, the crowned stag, who once ruled the battlefield and was invincible, was already panting and sweating profusely.

"Here it is, Robert." Lord Eddard stood before the three sarcophagi lined up side by side.

The tightly closed sarcophagus was engraved with the face of the deceased, and the huge roaring direwolf statue was curled up at their feet, and a long steel sword was placed on top of the stone statue.

It is said that this is to ensure that the resentful spirits are sealed in the mausoleum and will not wreak havoc outside.

The sarcophagus in the middle is engraved with the face of Duke Eddard's father, the last Duke of the North, Rickard Stark.

To his right, rests his eldest son, Brandon Stark.

Both father and son died at the hands of "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen before the War of the Reaver.

At this moment, Robert's eyes were fixed on the statue on the third sarcophagus.

"She is much prettier than this statue," said the king after a suppressed silence.

His eyes were full of nostalgia and pain, as if in this way he could call his former fiancée back to the world.

Back then, for Miss Lyanna Stark, Robert rebelled in anger. Although he has driven the Targaryen royal family off the Iron Throne and avenged his wife, if he could, he would rather use that The cold and twisted throne trades her awakening.

"She should not sleep here," cried Robert. "She should not live in the cold and dark! She should be buried on a beautiful hill, among the sun and the clouds!"

"She is Stark, she belongs here." Duke Eddard retorted calmly.

"She was meant to marry me! She belongs to Baratheon too!"

"I was by her side when she died." Duke Eddard reminded, "She told me that she just wanted to go home, to Winterfell."

Robert said no more.

Duke Ed was also caught in the memory.

He will never forget the scene before his sister died in this life.

In that bloody room, she begged bitterly, until Ed nodded, she smiled and closed her eyes.

For the promise he made to his sister back then, Duke Eddard brought her and Rhaegar Targaryen's child back to the north, declaring that it was his own illegitimate child.

Name it, Jon Snow.

This is his enemy's child, but also his sister's child.

Thinking of the name of this illegitimate son, Duke Ed became more and more sad: "Jon...how did he die?"

"I don't know." Robert suddenly became irritable. "Ed, I really don't know. Damn it! I'm surrounded by liars and fools, only Jon Arryn, only he I can completely trust, but Now that he's dead, I wouldn't come to Winterfell to find you if I had other options. Help me, Ed, I need your help!"

"I will." Duke Eddard said solemnly, "I will definitely find out the truth about Jon's death."

"I have ordered the 'Red Viper' to come to King's Landing. He should be here when we return. At that time, you can interrogate him properly!"

"Okay." Duke Eddard paused for a while, "Lysa, and that child, are they all okay?"

Robert shook his head bitterly. "Frankly, it didn't seem so good. Lysa was terrified by her husband's death, and she fled back to the Eyrie with her son. But Jon had no brothers, and only one son, How could I let them stay in the valley orphaned and widowed. And she also believed that the 'Red Viper' poisoned Jon to death, and wrote to ask me to avenge him."

"How did I hear that before he died, Jon said that his death had nothing to do with the 'Red Viper'?"

"There is such a saying." Robert became irritable again, "But Ed, you also know the character of the old man. He has regarded glory above everything else in his life, and he may not really believe in the 'Red Viper' if he did this before he died. ' Didn't hurt him."

"I understand. I will find out." After a while of silence, Duke Ed said again, "Let's go up, the queen is still waiting."

"Let her wait!" cried Robert angrily. "She hasn't been kind to me all this time! Damned woman, she's been thinking all day about having the old Lion of Casterly Rock as the Hand of the King. But how is that possible? There's a Lannister in my bed, a Lannister in the Kingsguard, a Lannister in the squire... damn it, all I see every day when I open my eyes is the golden hair of a Lannister! Now You still want me to find another Lannister to run the country? Damn it! Just let me just give them the Iron Throne Lannister!"

"His Majesty……"

"I've said it all, don't call me Your Majesty again!" Robert called out, but seeing the long serious face of his old friend beside him, he finally shook his head helplessly, "You Starks are as rigid as the ice in the North No fun. Come on, old man, let's go up."

...

"Quiet!"

Bran Stark on the tree bowed his head to the little wolf below.

It was a small gift brought back by his father, Duke Ed, when he went hunting a month ago.

There were six newborn wolves in all, one for each of the duke's six children, and even Jon Snow, the illegitimate son, got one.

The direwolf is the coat of arms of the Stark family, so the children were very excited. They named the little wolves, the eldest son Robb's was called "Grey Wind", Sansa's was "Lady", Nymeria, Rickon's Shaggydog, Jon's White Spirit, and Bran, he hasn't figured out what to call his pup yet.

Hearing the master's scolding, the little wolf lay down on the ground aggrieved, not daring to bark again.

Bran climbed on, leaping from the tree to the roof of the armory, then to the roof of the guardhouse, and finally up the outer wall of the ruined tower.

The young second son of the duke was agile, climbing the steep walls like an ape.

Bran couldn't remember when he started, but he liked to climb. His mother always said that he could climb before he learned to walk, and then the high walls of the old castle became his playground.

They always try to stop Bran from this dangerous hobby.

Unfortunately, as long as they didn't pay attention, the little guy had already disappeared between the high walls of the ancient castle.

Suspended in the air, Bran took a break.

If he was higher, he would be able to see the group of crows, and he also brought corn kernels specially to feed those gluttons.

Just when Bran regained some strength and was about to continue, he suddenly heard a faint gasp.

There seemed to be a mixture of pain and joy in the voice.

The young Bran didn't know what the sound meant, but he crawled over out of curiosity.

How could there be someone in the ruined tower?

he wondered.

Bran sat astride the gargoyle statue, his legs clamped, and he turned upside down, and then he saw the scene in the room——

A man and a woman are twisting into a ball, and they are naked.

It's Queen Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime Lannister!

Bran panicked and felt dizzy. He quickly hooked the gargoyle statue, but he still fell.

"ah--"

He let out a scream, but fortunately he caught the window lattice dangerously on the way down.

There was also a scream in the room, followed by Queen Cersei's voice:

"Someone is there!"

Bran grabbed the window sill with one hand and swayed in mid-air, barely breathing.

Then, he saw the faces of two people leaning out of the window.

"He has seen us!" screamed Queen Cersei.

"He saw us." James nodded, seeing the little boy's fingers start to loosen, he leaned out, stretched his hand down, and said, "Boy, grab my hand."

Bran quickly grabbed the man's hand with all his strength, and the man pulled him up to the window sill.

"What do you want?" Cersei demanded. "He saw us!"

James grabbed Bran by the collar and asked, "How old are you, kid?"

"Seven years old." Bran trembled.

"He saw us!" Cersei screamed again.

James turned his head to look at his sister, and said in a helpless and flat tone:

"Think about it, what have I done for love."

As soon as the words fell, he pushed hard.

Bran flew out the window screaming as the ground hit him at a frantic pace.

boom--

There was a sad wolf howling in the distance.

...

"Has he not woken up yet?"

Duke Ed looked at Bran lying on the bed and asked sadly.

Caitlin beside the bed did not respond to her husband. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes seemed to have not been washed for several days, her eyes were red and swollen, but she looked at her unconscious son without blinking.

"I have to go, Caitlin." Duke Ed whispered, but unfortunately he still didn't get a response from his wife.

"The gods will bless Bran." He leaned down and kissed his wife lightly on the head, then turned and walked out of the room.

The long procession drove out of Winterfell, and then divided into two, the larger one going south and the smaller one going north.

"Black suits you very well." Duke Ed looked at his illegitimate son, "I'm proud of you."

Jon Snow stared into his father's eyes, and finally couldn't help asking the question hidden in his heart:

"Father, I'm going to the Great Wall of Impossibility to become a night watchman. Can you tell me who my mother is?"

Duke Ed fell into silence. In a trance, he seemed to hear the whisper of his sister Lyanna before she died——

Promise me, Ed, promise me...

"I'll tell you when we meet next time." Duke Ed promised.

"Okay. Father take care."

"Take care of yourself."

The two waved goodbye, one to the north and one to the south.