Maegor's Holdfast. The king's bedchamber.
The twin fireplaces at either end of the room burned fiercely, filling the chamber with a gloomy red glow.
The heat inside was stifling.
Ned strode into the room, his eyes fixed on Robert lying on the canopied bed, his heart sinking at once.
Robert's right leg lay limp upon the mattress, as if the bone itself had melted away. It was beyond saving.
Cersei sat at the bedside, close to her husband, staring absently at Robert's ruined leg.
Grand Maester Pycelle stood nearby, while Renly paced anxiously before the shuttered windows.
Servants moved in and out, feeding the fires and heating spiced wine.
"Ned… come… closer."
Seeing Ned enter, Robert managed a faint, almost relaxed smile and spoke softly.
Ned passed the others and came to his friend's side. The heavy smell of blood filled his nose, and sorrow clouded his eyes.
"What was it…?" he asked, his throat feeling as though it were clamped shut.
"A boar," Renly answered for Robert, his clothes still stained with blood.
Ned turned sharply on Renly and the Kingsguard. "What were you all doing? Why didn't you protect the king?"
Renly answered helplessly, "My brother ordered us to stand aside so he could hunt alone."
Ned glanced at Robert's pale face and let out a powerless sigh.
He lifted the blanket, revealing the wound where the boar's tusk had pierced Robert's abdomen.
Though Pycelle had done all he could, the wine-soaked bandages were already drenched with blood.
Each breath Robert took made the wound seep further, the injury growing more horrifying by the moment.
Noticing the grief in Ned's eyes, Robert tried to comfort him instead. "Don't worry. Pycelle says if I can hold on for three days, the wounds will slowly heal."
Pycelle straightened, his expression uncertain, as if he wished to speak but dared not.
Robert spoke weakly. "Everyone out. I want to speak with the Hand alone."
Cersei's eyes flickered with panic. "Robert, my dear, I…"
"I said get out," Robert insisted weakly but firmly. "Are you deaf, woman?"
Faced with his cold stare, Cersei could only rise and leave. Renly and the others followed her out.
Pycelle lingered last, preparing a cup of cloudy white liquid and offering it to the king. "Your Majesty, this is milk of the poppy. Drink it. It will ease your pain."
Robert waved the cup away. "I need to stay clear-headed. Take it away."
With no choice, Pycelle shuffled out.
"Robert, damn you, why are you always so reckless?" Ned sat beside his friend, grief heavy in his voice.
Robert let out a dry laugh. "I drank too much. Otherwise that boar would never have gotten me. Still, I killed it in the end."
Seeing Ned's sorrow, regret and reluctance flickered through Robert's eyes.
"Ned," he said softly, forcing a light tone. "I'm crippled."
"Pycelle says even if I live, my right leg will never walk again. And the wound in my belly means I'll never feel a breath of wind."
"A king who hides in his room, lame and useless?"
He tried to smile, but a surge of pain from his abdomen made him curse and grimace.
Hearing that Robert might survive, Ned felt a small measure of relief. "The gods be praised. Then you can govern the realm safely from your chambers."
Robert shook his head. "If that's the case, I'd rather die now."
His eyes were serious, his voice firm, making Ned shiver. "Robert, you…"
"Since the dawn of time, what king has ruled while hiding in a room?" Robert said weakly. "The Seven Kingdoms are unstable as it is. If the king never appears, the rats will only grow bolder."
"Ned, my brother, my sons will depend on you."
Ned trembled. He heard the resolve for death beneath Robert's words.
"Joffrey is too young, and the small council is full of flatterers and fools…"
Robert gasped for breath before continuing.
"I'll leave a will naming you regent and Protector of the Realm.
My death will end your feud with the Lannisters. Now, take quill and parchment and write it down, here and now…"
Ned's eyes filled with tears.
He could no longer bear to keep the truth hidden.
"But Joffrey isn't your son."
Robert froze. Terror flickered across his face. "Ned, that's not funny."
Ned shook his head. His expression was complex, but he finally laid out the truth.
"Robert, do you know how Jon Arryn died?"
He began with Jon Arryn's death, spoke of Jaime and Cersei's incest, of the attempt on Bran's life, of his confrontation with Cersei in the godswood.
Robert trembled as he listened.
When he heard that Cersei had confessed it herself, his fury exploded like a wildfire, consuming all reason.
"Kill her!"
"Kill that whore!"
Ignoring the pain in his belly and leg, Robert forced himself upright, clutching Ned's hand as he roared.
But he was too weak. His voice barely carried beyond Ned's ears.
Ned was torn between grief for his friend and dread for what lay ahead.
He tried to calm Robert. "I promise you, I'll see justice done according to the law."
Robert was still unsatisfied. He glared at Ned. "Bring them all in. I want to kill that whore and her three abominations right now!"
Ned recoiled in shock.
"Robert, if you kill her now, the royal scandal will spread across Westeros. Everyone will mock you. The authority of the Iron Throne will collapse."
"Your rule will be shaken."
Ned pleaded with him to calm down.
"You must live."
"Robert, as long as you live, one day you can make those who betrayed you pay the price."
Those words slowly brought Robert back from the edge.
Gripping Ned's hand, he muttered, "Yes. I need to see that whore punished with my own eyes. I will personally crush the Lannisters."
"I can't die. I have to live."
For a moment, a fierce will to survive burned within him.
Only then did he truly feel the pain tearing through his body. He looked down and saw blood seeping once more from his abdomen.
Ned quickly eased him back onto the bed.
Robert lay there, utterly drained, and let out a bitter laugh.
"Retribution. This is the gods' punishment. I fathered so many bastards, yet the children I raised for years aren't even mine."
As if remembering something, he looked at Ned. "That boy you mentioned, Gendry… does he look like me?"
Ned nodded. "Very much. He's the same age as Robb. He looks exactly like you did when you were young."
Robert smiled without sound. "Those abominations want my kingdom? Not a chance."
"Ned, my brother, you'll help me, won't you?"
Ned nodded solemnly.
"Call them all in. I will legitimize my bastards in the name of the king."
Ned sprang to his feet in shock. "Robert, if you do this, what about Stannis and Renly?"
In Ned's original plan, once the queen and her children were restrained, Stannis would become Robert's heir, the Lannisters would be dealt with by the new king, and Ned could finally return north.
But Robert intended to legitimize his bastards.
That meant they would replace Joffrey and leap over Stannis and Renly to become Robert's lawful heirs.
Robert understood this perfectly and explained with effort. "Stannis is a stone-faced brute. Make him king and he'll rule with torture."
"As for Renly, he's all show. Besides, I've already given him Storm's End. My kingdom must be inherited by my son."
Speaking so much left him gasping for breath. Then, with killing intent in his eyes, he continued.
"As you said, the royal scandal cannot be made public. It would shake Baratheon rule.
So let my bastards deal with those abominations one by one."
"Ned, you must help me."
When he spoke those final words, his eyes were filled with pleading.
Ned sighed softly. "Which bastards do you intend to legitimize?"
Robert forced an ugly smile. "Two of them. Gendry and Edric Storm."
Ned looked at his old friend. "I'll call them all in."
He turned, opened the bedchamber doors, and summoned every royal lord and person of rank into the room.
Ned intended to ensure that nothing decided this night could be stopped by anyone.
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