Eddard III

They arrived in the city at the turn of the year, but it was not King's Landing as Eddard remembered it.

When he led Robert's army south after the Trident, Ned found a city sacked and despoiled. Dead bodies rotted in the streets with no one bothering to cart them away, and people peered at him warily through windows and broken doors. In the Red Keep, he found the last Targaryen king lying in a pool of his own blood and Jaime Lannister sitting the Iron Throne with a red-stained golden sword across his lap. The red ruin of Prince Aegon's skull and little Rhaenys...

He shivered at the memory.

"Well, Stark, what do you make of the city? Cleaner and sweeter smelling, eh?" Robert bragged with a crooked smile.

Well, actually...

Ned realized they hadn't smelled the city before they saw it, and when he gently inhaled the frosty morning air through his nostrils, he realized his friend told it true. He'd never imagined such a thing could be possible.

"How?" Lord Stark asked in pure wonderment.

"Joff, get up here!" Robert bellowed over his shoulder.

The prince dutifully galloped to the front of the procession to attend his father. Eddard had to smile at the way Sansa stuck to him, and Jon shadowed them both. All his children got along so much better these days, especially after Bran. He made sure to keep Arya in sight, though. She would want to go off exploring on her own and might get lost.

"Father, the wolves are like to cause a commotion when we enter the city," Joffrey warned.

Robert didn't seem to care. "Let them have a look, lad. Let all King's Landing know the wolves are here!"

From the way Robert looked at him, Ned knew he meant the Starks, and loved him for it. Winterfell was in good hands with Robb. Even the burdens of his new office seemed light. Yes, he could do a lot of good here and help his friend rule well.

"We'll keep our wolves close, Father," Sansa assured him from beside Joffrey.

"Still, horses could smell them and panic," Joffrey pointed out. "Best to send guards ahead and have people make way."

He was a thoughtful lad, Eddard had to admit. Once they passed through the Gate of the Gods, with its seven faces hewed into the very stone, it would be a straight shot to Aegon's High Hill and the Red Keep, but Ned couldn't resist looking left to the Hill of Rhaenys and beyond.

"My word, the Dragonpit is gone!" he exclaimed. Not only that, almost everything above the Street of Sisters looked new! There were wide lanes and well-ordered rows of houses built in stone and brick, perfectly straight. No snow had fallen this far south, but the ground was hard, even the unpaved parts. Hardly any filth could be seen to step upon, and the people themselves looked clean and well-fed.

"Used up all the old stone," the prince informed him. "There was wildfire buried in the rubble, did you know? A gift from Aerys."

Eddard had heard. Well, he was called the mad king with good reason. "I had heard a large section of the city had burned down."

"You heard it right," Robert interjected. People gaped at their party as they rode along, but the king seemed to take no notice. "Gave me a great fright, my son did. The city was burning, and he was out there, directing the smallfolk to pull down buildings and dig ditches. It was three days before the flames guttered out. Cersei wanted to abandon the city entire, if you can believe it."

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He could easily believe it. What care would a Lannister have for these people? Her own father sacked the city.

"It seems you hardly lost anyone," Ned remarked. "The city looks as crowded as I've ever seen it."

"The population went up, actually," Joffrey explained, sounding half-maester. "All my projects required many workers, and the idle of the city were soon exhausted. People from all over started coming here in search of work. Tax revenue is up and trade flourishes, or so Uncle Tyrion tells me. Every copper we spent returned with usury, and a lot of lads have trades now, who didn't before."

"That's amazing, Joff!" Sansa gushed. The great direwolf Lady, who was almost of a size with her palfrey, looked just as excited as she was. Queer, Ned thought, how often pets come to resemble their owners.

"I had help," the prince said modestly. "Most of what we did, you can't even see. The sewers are underground. They carry off the filth of the city beyond the Iron Gate, well away from people. Even the docks are a lot cleaner now. People can swim in the Blackwater Rush and not get sick, though you'd freeze these days. I'd love to build a bridge across it, but that might be beyond me. Uncle Tyrion and I talked of it, but it will just have to remain a dream for spring. Ideally, I'd like to have twin cities. The city south of the river would have all the dirty trades, tanners, dyers, and so forth. Eh, mayhaps that is too much to ask for."

Winter not yet come, and already planning beyond it. Ned smiled ruefully. The youth did not lack ambition.

"It's still good to dream, Joff!" Sansa chirped. She was wearing a green dress today that Eddard noticed matched the boy's eyes. Well, she was at court now, and one's dress was as much a political statement as one's words. He remembered something about Blacks and Greens from the Dance. Hopefully, nothing like that would ever trouble his children.

Smallfolk cheered as they passed. Robert waved back genially, sharing jests with the crowd. Joffrey was more reserved, sharing quiet words with Sansa at his side. She really did seem deliriously happy. A girl like her would truly bloom in the south.

At the gates of the Red Keep, Robert left them. "Urgent business," he said.

Off to see his mistress, more like. He'd heard the queen had given up on life and rarely rose from her bed, but could a Lannister truly bear such dishonor? The prospect filled Eddard with trepidation.

"I'll help you and the others get settled in, my lord," Joffrey said graciously. "The Tower of the Hand is this way, and you can take Lord Arryn's chambers for your own. The Small Council will be convened upon the morrow, and you can be about the realm's business. For today, take your ease and rest from the road. Since we sent a raven, there should be a proper kennel for the wolves, though they'll be allowed to roam the castle as they please."

"Personally, I prefer to keep Lady by my side," Sansa said.

"Whatever you want, dear," the boy answered, and his daughter beamed.