Game of thrones: The Lustful sellsword

Chaos in King's Landing

The first rays of dawn brought with them a storm unlike any King's Landing had ever seen. The royal court awoke to the unthinkable—Eddard Stark and his daughters were gone.

The guards who had been stationed at the dungeons were found dead or missing, the city gates had been breached with no sign of forced entry, and not a single witness could explain how the most valuable prisoners in the realm had simply vanished.

Cersei Lannister stood at the center of the throne room, her face pale with rage as she listened to the reports. Joffrey was livid, screaming at his Kingsguard, demanding the heads of every Gold Cloak on duty that night.

"Find them! Find them now!" he shrieked, throwing a goblet across the hall. "I want their heads on spikes!"

Tywin Lannister would soon learn of the escape, and when he did, his wrath would shake the realm.

The city guard was turned inside out, streets were locked down, and anyone suspected of helping the Starks was executed. But despite the search, there was no trace of the wolves.

And in the midst of all this, I watched silently from the shadows.

The News Reaches Riverrun

Far to the west, in the halls of Riverrun, Robb Stark and his mother, Catelyn Tully, stood before their war council as a scout delivered the incredible news.

"Lord Stark and his daughters live," the scout announced, breathless. "They have escaped the capital."

The reaction was immediate. Catelyn pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes welling with tears. Her Ned was alive. Her daughters were safe.

The room erupted in murmurs, half in joy, half in caution.

"It could be a trap," Roose Bolton said flatly, ever the cautious one. "The Lannisters may be playing us. If we send men south, we may be walking into an ambush."

"If it is true," Greatjon Umber bellowed, "then we must reach them before Tywin's men do! We cannot let them be recaptured!"

"Send riders," Robb commanded, his voice strong. "If my father is out there, we will bring him home. But we move carefully. If the Lannisters are playing us, they will regret it."

Catelyn turned to him, her voice filled with rare hope. "We may yet have a chance, Robb. The gods are with us."

Robb wasn't so sure. This changed everything.

The Carriage Ride to Freedom

Inside the carriage, the tension was palpable.

Ned Stark sat between his daughters, Sansa clutching his arm like she was afraid he would disappear again. Arya, ever restless, kept peeking out the window, watching the darkened roads behind them.

"Are they following us?" Arya asked, gripping the hilt of the small dagger I had given her before we left.

"Not yet," I said, steering the carriage through the hidden paths I had paid for with gold and blood. "But we keep moving."

Ned looked at me, his expression unreadable. "I should be dead."

I met his gaze but said nothing.

"I accepted my fate," he continued. "And yet here we are. I should thank you, but I must ask… why?"

Why indeed?

I exhaled. This was not the plan.

A Plan Gone Awry

I had not intended for this. I had planned for Ned Stark to die.

That was the way it was supposed to happen. He would be executed, Robb would be enraged, the war would rage on, and the Red Wedding would follow.

And then, I would swoop into King's Landing, pull Sansa from the wreckage, and use her name, my resources, and my cunning to carve my own path through Westeros.

But then…

Then the system changed everything.

The System's Orders

The night before the escape, as I sat in my chambers contemplating my next move, the system had issued a new task.

New Task: Save Eddard Stark. Secure the safe escape of Sansa and Arya Stark. Fail and suffer the consequences.

I had stared at the notification, my mind reeling. What kind of twisted game was this? Why was I being forced down this path?

I had always assumed the system was guiding me toward power, toward dominance. But this? This was throwing a hammer at every calculated move I had made.

I had wanted chaos. I had wanted the war to rage uncontrollably so that I could pick up the pieces.

Instead, I found myself spending every bit of gold I had, calling in every favor I had left, and orchestrating the most dangerous rescue in the realm's history.

Ros, Jeyne Poole, and Arya

Ros had been the first to leave. I had her smuggled out of King's Landing before anything could trace back to me. She was safe now, beyond the city walls, and far from Joffrey's reach.

Arya had been the next piece of the puzzle.

After Ned's capture, I had kept an eye on her, ensuring that she didn't fall into the wrong hands. When the time came, I ensured she had a way out, placing her under my protection until we could move.

Jeyne Poole… She was never meant to be part of this, but I couldn't leave her to suffer at the hands of Littlefinger and the Lannisters.

So I had her extracted as well, slipping her out of the Red Keep before they could brand her as Arya Stark.

And now, here we were. Riding in the dead of night, away from the city of kings and monsters.

The Road Ahead

As the carriage rolled on, Sansa shifted beside her father, looking at me.

"Where do we go now?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"North," I said simply. "To your brother. To safety."

Ned's eyes darkened. "The war is still coming, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Yes. But now, it will be a different war."

One that I had not planned for.

One that I would have to adapt to.

One where I had no idea what would come next.