Chapter 92: Rumors and News
"Oh please, not you too. The worst has already come to pass. I still have Ned Stark as a hostage. The North will not attack till then." She confidently said.
"I really hope that\'s what will happen," Jamie sighed.
...
Casterly Rock, Westerlands
2 ravens reached the castle a few hours apart. But they were read at the same time. One was from Tyrion and the other was from another informant.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Brother, open the door. It\'s urgent" Kevan Lannister heavily knocked on Tywin\'s door.
A second later, Tywin opens,"What happened?" He asked, he knew that Kevan wouldn\'t have disturbed him if it weren\'t so important.
"Brother, Cersei has doomed us all. S-She killed the King and put the blame on Lord Hand. She also tried to kill him but couldn\'t. Now she has arrested 15 Crownlands Lords and Lord hand in the Black Cells. I am afraid Lord Stark won\'t let this slide. He would either ask for Cersei\'s head or straight up declare war on us." Kevan said.
Tywin\'s face instantly turned red with anger. "What happened to Tyrion? Why didn\'t he tell us anything?"
"She had put Tyrion in the black cells too," Kevan replied.
Tywin then got angrier. He could already see the Northern might falling on them. But sadly, the worst was yet to come.
...
The next morning,
Cersei had planned to spread rumors that the Lord Hand killed the King for the Throne. But unknown to her, all the people she hired to spread rumors couldn\'t even speak a word before vanishing.
Instead, another rumor started. That the queen killed the King and failed at killing Lord Hand. She wants to rule the seven kingdoms as Dowager Queen. People also believed it as it was clear who would benefit the most from King\'s death.
The rumors solidified when the latest edition of THE PLANETOS arrived.
[THE PLANETOS]
THE MURDERER QUEEN
Last night in a feast organized by the King, 2 assassins broke in and attacked the King and Lord Hand. Tragically, the King died in that attack. Lord Hand was saved by his guards from the North. Still, before dying the King wrote a decree to name Lord Hand, the Regent, protector of the realm.
But Queen didn\'t like it and imprisoned Lord hand and all the Lords present in the feast. Not just that, the Murderer Queen has also imprisoned her brother, Tyrion Lannister for not agreeing with her.
There have also been some rumors questioning the legitimacy of 3 children of the King. You must know that the 3 children don\'t have any features that say they are Baratheon. We spoke to a maester who specializes in facial features studies. He has confirmed that this can only happen if the father and mother both support the same features.
Now, we need to see how Lord Stark deals with this. Will there be another War? After all, the last one started because a Stark was imprisoned and murdered in the Red Keep by the Mad King. Is the Queen the new Mad Queen?
By Maester Clark Kent.
...
The reaction of the people was as expected. They felt like they were played again by the Lords and the Queen. They started revolting against the queen and demanding the release of Lord Hand. With subtle pushes from Alexander\'s people, the people also started asking Alexander to take over the Iron Throne.
These words ignited a new discussion among the smallfolks. They all seriously started contemplating how having Alexander as the King would be. They already called him the King of Smallfolks. He had also done so many good things for them while just being a Lord. They imagined how good it would be if he became the King.
The same was happening in every single city in the Westeros. Then suddenly, certain someone started to distribute T-shirts to the people with Alexander\'s face on them and text saying \'Stark for King\'. People happily wore them and showed their support. Even many Lords started wearing them. Nearly everyone in the North was wearing them.
But that wasn\'t all that the newspaper had. Just under the Murderer Queen article. There was another article that didn\'t really matter to Smallfolks but was heart attack generating for some lords.
[THE PLANETOS]
THE LION HAS RUSTED
It is common knowledge that the Westerlands, particularly the Lannisters, are so rich because of their gold mine. But the latest report says that the Lannisters have run out of gold. Their mine has dried up. Instead, they are neck-deep in debt to the Iron Bank. If the reports are to be believed, the House Lannister has taken 20 million Dragons as loans. It\'s not just them, many other Lords in Westerlands have taken out loans. In total, the Westerlands are 80 million Dragons in debt.
Now that the Iron Bank has recalled the debts, how are these houses going to pay? And how is Iron Bank going to react?
By Maester Wade Wilson.
...
Winterfell.
"Alright, send out the small fleet at the Iron Islands to surround all the sea routes of Casterly Rock. Send half of the Eastern fleet to King\'s Landing. House Lannister is going to end soon." Alexander briefed.
Robert was spending time in Wolf\'s Heaven, for now, drinking and watching movies.
Then Alexander officially announced that he was heading to King\'s Landing.
"Grandpaaa... Where are you going?" Rina asked. She had other kids with her too.
"Haha... I am going to work, Rina. You remember that big red castle where you used to live?" He asked. She nodded.
"When I return, I will take you and everyone else to see it again." He warmly said.
"Yeayyy... Can I bring Roony too?" She cutely asked.
"Of course my dear. You can bring anyone you want. Now, I should get going. See you soon, Rina" Alexander walked away.
"Bye-bye Grandpa." All the children shouted.
...
Red Keep, King\'s Landing
Ned, Tyrion, Stannis(Melisandre died when Alexander killed all evil Red priests), and many other Lords were chained in the Black cells. Then a hooded man with a torch came to Ned.
"How are you, Lord Hand?" Varys asked and gave some water to him.
"I am quite fine as uncle had secretly sent food to me. Though I am starting to dislike this total darkness." Ned grunted.
"I thought you Stark wolves liked night time," Tyrion interjected.
Ned turned his face, "Night with the moon has more light than here. Now, why have you come here Lord Varys?"
"I have words from All-father. He said that when Cersei puts you on trial, you should ask for a trial by combat and name All-father as your champion, don\'t worry. It won\'t really be a trial. You will be respectfully released before that." He whispered.
"Wait, why are you calling Lord Stark, All-father?" Tyrion butted in.
"Alright, I\'ll do that. What about all these Lords? I am sure Cersei will kill them too to keep the secret." Ned asked.
Varys shook his head, "I don\'t know about that. And it\'s not really a secret anymore. The newspaper wrote about the Queen murdering the King. Now all the smallfolks have revolted and are calling for All-father to take the Throne."
He sounded a bit excited at the end of his words.
"Ah... So her plan didn\'t work. I wonder what she\'s going to do with me." Tyrion contemplated.
"I must go now, take care, Lord Hand." Varys left.
...
Highgarden, Reach.
"Hmm, this really is the end of Lannisters. If they have lost the gold then there\'s not much they can do." Oleena said, sipping on some tea.
"Yes, but it\'s all for the best. I really hope that Lord Stark takes the throne after this." Willas added.
"So you want to support him?" She asked.
"No, he doesn\'t need our support. He\'s powerful enough for this. We should just agree with him when he takes the throne." He replied.
"Yes, you are quite right. The Smallfolks have already started to call him King. Let\'s hope he brings good days with him. I also received a raven that Lord Stark has invited me to King\'s Landing" She softly said.
...
The next day,
Due to so many people being put on trial together. The Trial grounds had been set up as the huge stairway to the Red Keep. Smallfolks could still see everything but there was a wall of guards between them.
Cersei arrived with her son Joffrey and took a seat beside him. Then her brother Jamie started speaking, acting as the speaker.
"All of you here are charged with high treason. You killed the king in the feast and tried to take over the throne. Do you have anything to say?"
Most of the lords started to scream that they didn\'t do anything but soon their own guards came and testified against them. They were most probably enticed by Cersei.
Then it came Ned\'s turn. "I have done my duty with honor and truthfully. I didn\'t do anything to the King. I was also attacked. I know you have already planted some fake witness. So I leave it to the gods. They will be my judge. I demand a trial by combat and I name my uncle as the Champion."
"Kill him... Show me his blood. Dog, Why are you still not doing anything?" Joffrey started to screeched loudly. All the people who were still a bit conflicted about the situation now started to believe the rumors. Anything would be better than that little shit as the king.
Sandor Clegane just stood there silently. As a trial by combat couldn\'t be refused and he also didn\'t want to mess with the Starks.
"But Lord Stark is in Winterfell. You have to either fight yourself or choose someone else as your champion," Jamie nervously said. He knew that if Alexander came then Ned would walk away without a scratch.
Then a new but known loud laugh sounded.
"Haha... I am already here, I accept being Ned\'s champion." Alexander walked in his full body armor.
Seeing him, Tyrion also voiced, "I also demanded a Trial by Combat and I name Lord Stark as my champion."
He kept on looking at Alexander in hope.
"Haha... I accept." Alexander laughed.
Then the lords made the same demand.
"I accept being the champion for all of you... Now, when and where am I supposed to fight?" He coldly asked, looking at Jamie.
"Y-You will fight 17 men, alone?" Jamie asked to confirm.
"Yes, I will," Alexander confirmed.
"Okay, the trial will be in 3 days." Cersei quickly stated. She was happy thinking that she had a good chance to eliminate Alexander now.
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Before anyone asks. GOT ends in Chapter 105.
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