1 -x-x-x- Chapter 1 -x-x-x-

I saw Eddard Stark for the first time when he passed through the great doors of carved weirwood that protected the throne room of the Seven Kingdoms, the doors so perfectly balanced that he could push their near thousand pound weight - each - with but a single hand.

He took in the scene even as his right hand reached over his shoulder to draw his greatsword, Ice. It was a thousand feet from the great doors to the base of the dais, a thousand feet across polished obsidian flag stones mortared with silver, and inset in each stone was the sigil - done in gold - of a noble house of Westeros that had sworn fealty to the Iron Throne. Two hundred feet above our heads, and supported by a dozen great pillars of weirwood carved to look like the trees, was a mirrored ceiling inset with a three headed dragon in flight - done in dragon bone. Through clever use of mirrors the ceiling reflected the sky outside, illuminating the room.

As the Lord Paramount of the North approached, I wondered what he thought about the three massive dragon skulls that surrounded the throne. One rested directly behind the Iron Throne, the skull of Balerion, while to either side rested two somewhat smaller dragon skulls. Perhaps of more immediate importance, however, was his opinion of the two corpses that rested on the floor before the dais.

He was a dozen feet from the bottom when I chose to speak my first words since finding myself awakening in this new body with my ass seated on a most uncomfortable throne and a kings corpse at my feet. "Welcome to King's Landing Lord Stark."

"So this is the honor of a Lannister Kingsguard? You swore your life, before gods and man, to protect him and yet you killed him at your fathers order. And now you sit on a throne that you have no claim to, regardless of whatever your father may desire." the young man spat out.

I gave a bitter chuckle "Aye, I swore my oath and I kept it even when that meant standing outside the door as Aery's raped and beat his wife. I kept it when it meant burning innocents to death. Unfortunately for your desire to avenge your family, if fortunately for your continued survival, I could not keep it when he ordered Rossart to light the thousands of casks of Wildfire secreted throughout the city. I may had been willing to die for a mad king who deserved no fealty or allegiance, I may even have been willing to soil my own hands with sins beyond count in the name of the oath I swore but I was not willing to stand by and watch as a mad man turned a city with a half million innocent souls within its walls into a funeral pyre.

"Tell me Honorable Lord Stark, should I have kept my oath or should I have soiled my honor to stop that atrocity?"

The mans eyes went wide at my challenge before he sighed slightly, his hand relaxing its death grip on Ice's pommel, "Some things trump even honor, but that doesn't explain why you are still seated on the throne."

I shrugged slightly at that "I needed a place to rest my ass, figured I would try the most uncomfortable chair ever devised." I rose from the throne then, "Thankfully, I will have only been its victim for a handful of minutes. Will it be Robert it tears to shreds next, or perhaps you?"

He clenched his blades pommel harder, "Robert Baratheon will be the next king."

I gave a little smile "And so the uncrowned king of the North puts the Dragon's crown onto a stag. I suppose we must hope he is up to the task."

Before he could say anything more men rushed in, these wearing tabbards of red and gold and with live steel in hand. "Hold!" I shot out before facing Ned again, "I believe we have a palace to secure for its new king, Lord Stark."

"That we do, Kingslayer." Ned replied, causing me to smile slightly "I'll wear it with honor."

Turning to the Lannister soldiers I said "Sergeant, take two of your men and go with Lord Stark. Tell any Lannister men you come across that they will obey his orders as if they were my own, and that any who don't will be lucky if I just send them to the Wall. The rest of you, with me."

With a final nod to Ned, I lead my contingent of guards out of the room. With the city, and palace, in chaos thanks to the sack this was the perfect opportunity to make some objects disappear, and as one of the Kingsguard I knew more of the Red Keep's secrets than perhaps anyone else still living.

I led my six men through the palace's walls, and past a dozen fights, until we emerged in a small hallway deep underground. At the other end of the hall was a door of castle forged steel with a combination lock built into it.

"Where are we?" one of the men muttered.

"The Royal Vault, where the Targaryens kept their true treasures." I replied as I started spinning the dial to input the combination. Once I was done, the door opened onto a chamber perhaps twenty square feet in size.

The men entered eagerly, looking around, and then one of them spoke "Where's the gold then?"

I laughed slightly "In the treasury vaults, where else? Nothing so base as mere gold would ever have been considered worthy of being housed in this room." While true enough, the room did house some spectacular jewels.

"Each of you can have a piece of jewelry to keep for yourselves, more if I run out of room in the chests." I said before dragging one of the ornate chests of carved dragon bone from one wall over to the smallish bookcase set against the left wall. Sitting in pride of place was a book bound in metal with the three headed dragon carved into its cover, but while that book was far and away the most valuable - being made of Valyrian steel and having come from Old Valyria with the Targaryens -, the others weren't trash.

Joining the books in the chests went the three petrified dragons eggs that had been sitting on a pedestal against the rooms back wall, and the dozen Valyrian steel daggers in the weapons case. An ornate cyvasse set made from gem encrusted dragons bone was also included, as were a half dozen vials also of dragon bone that I knew contained dragons blood.

Once the room was packed up I took the rooms four light sources, each dragon bone carved into a clawed hand and gripping a ruby red stone that gave off light like the sun and yet produced no heat, from the walls and packed them in as well before locking the dragonbone chests with their dragon bone keys and sliding them through a Valyrian steel necklace chain that I had grabbed for myself.

"Pick them up." I instructed the men, indicating the chests, before leading the way back into the secret passages. In time we emerged at the royal docks.

A half dozen vessels were docked there, one of which was flying the Lion of Casterly Rock. Fortunately it wasn't one of the three that were currently on fire. A glance over the area showed almost a hundred corpses but the survives looked to be Lannister men, good.

I approached one, my squad still carrying the three chests I had taken between them. "Whose in charge here, solider?" I barked out.

"My Lord! Uh, that would be Ser Cyril, I think he's on the Golden Claw at the moment." the solider stuttered out.

I waved a hand, "Well then lead the way. I have business with him."

My new found memories, or perhaps that would be my old memories depending on whether I was Jaime Lannister with some extra memories added or Mikale Raith transmigrated into Jaime Lannister's body, told me that Ser Cyril was a cousin. Second son of the Lannisport Lannisters, decent with a blade and quite loyal.

As we approached the ship, 'someone must have run ahead to inform Ser Cyril of my presence', a man in full plate appeared at the top of the gangplank "Ser Jaime, how can I serve?" he asked, bowing slightly.

I indicated my six men and their chests. "Take these six on board and then go anchor in the bay. Don't go anywhere without orders, in person, from myself or my father."

The knight seemed a bit dubious but chose to keep his questions too himself "Of course Ser Jaime." he said with a nod of acceptance.

Turning to the six men I said "Put the chests in the captains quarters and I expect two of you on guard at the door at all times, if anything should disappear then everyone of you", I glanced at Ser Cyril "And the entire ships company will loose their heads." Facing the six men with the chests I continued "The same fate awaits you if a word of what you saw since leaving the throne room should ever pass your lips. No rumors over drinks or around the campfire, no hints dropped to a pretty women to impress her, not even any idle chatter among yourselves. House Lannister always has need for trustworthy men, and if you prove yourself such then the rewards will be great indeed. Understood?"

The six men saluted, clenched fists over hearts, "As you say my lord."

I turned to the knight "And you Ser Cyril?"

He gave a nod "Understood Ser Jaime. I'll have the Claw out in the bay within thirty minutes."

"Good, now I need to get back to the throne room." I said before giving the men a nod and heading back towards the throne room through the regular passages this time. I had to make it look like I had been fighting after all, otherwise there would be more questions than I cared for.

When I entered it was to find a giant of a man standing before the Throne, Robert Baratheon supplied my memories, my father, Ned Stark, Jon Arryn, a dozen guardsmen, and three bodies wrapped in crimson cloaks lying on the floor before them all.

'joy.' I thought as the four men turned to face me upon my entrance.

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