Thank you all for the massive response. Thank you for reading and following my story, for the reviews and for marking it as a favourite.

Here's the last chapter. I hope you like it ...

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5. A Different Kind of Justice

From: Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell

To: King Robert Baratheon.

Dear Robert,

As you well know, before we left Winterfell and you made me Hand of the King, my son Bran had a terrible accident. He fell from a tower and did not wake up.

As you well know, a few weeks after we had left Winterfell, my house suffered an attack.

Yet, what you do not know and I have only just found out myself, is the people and the reason behind the attack. It was an assassination attempt on my son. My wife thwarted the attack and fought with the assassin. Under questioning, he admitted he had been sent by your wife, Queen Cersei and her brother Ser Jamie Lannister to kill my son to prevent him from waking.

Thank the Gods he did wake up and he remembered his accident. He was climbing the tower, as he always did, and came across your wife and her brother sharing an intimate moment. Fearing being discovered they pushed him out of the window. When that failed, they sent an assassin to silence him. But the gods were in our favour again and that also failed.

It is for these reasons that I decline the position as Hand of the King. I cannot go back to King's Landing and act as Hand of the King knowing what your wife and your brother in law have done to my family. I respectfully ask to be permitted to stay in my house, where I belong, with my family.

I also request my daughter Sansa's betrothal to you son Prince Joffrey be annulled.

I am leaving a contingent ofmy guard in King's Landingfor the City Watch as a token of my loyalty to you, my King.

Yours truly,

Eddard Stark

"Damn you Ned!" shouted Robert and brought his fist down on the table. "And damn you Cersei! I curse the day I married you! I curse you and your damned family!"

He was about to burn the letter but then decided against it. He might have need of it in the future. Now he needed a new Hand. There was only one possible choice, and he needed to act fast before the Lannisters forced him to appoint Ser Jamie or any other Lannister. He sat down on his desk and wrote two letters: one for Ned and one for his brother Stannis, his new Hand of the King.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ned sat in his solar reading the parchment that had just arrived.

From: King Robert Baratheon

To: Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North.

Dear Lord Stark,

I hereby annul your appointment as Hand of the King. You will remain as Lord Stark of Winterfell, Warden of the North. The betrothal between your daughter Sansa and my son Joffrey shall also be considered null and void.

Your King,

Robert Baratheon

The raven had also brought another parchment, an unofficial one.

Dear Ned,

What a fucked up situation this is. I understand your reasons for not wanting to come back, and I have no doubts they could be true. First of all, I was glad to hear Bran is alright. Ned, stay there, stay with your lovely wife and your beautiful children. Unfortunately, when it comes to my wife and her family, my hands are tied. I can't do anything to them. We'll just pretend none of this ever happened. I kept the letter you sent me as insurance. I have talked to both of them, Cersei and Jamie, and warned them to steer clear of you and yours. I warned them that if anything should happen to you and your family, regardless what it is, the blame would fall on them. I wish I had married your sister instead.

Your friend,

Robert.

"As if none of this ever happened?" Catelyn cried outraged. "They tried to murder our son twice! The second time they almost killed me. And he will just do nothing? They will escape punishment! There is no justice, Ned. No justice."

"You're right. There is no justice. But there is bliss. And that is what we have. Come on, let me enjoy my lovely wife and my beautiful children" he said and took her hands in his.

They stood next to each other by the window looking at their family in the yard: Theon and Robb sparring with Jory and other boys, Bran practicing his archery skills, Arya chasing Rickon and playing with other children of the castle, Sansa enjoying her sewing lessons with her friends. Yes, life was indeed beautiful, Ned thought to himself.

THE END

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I hope you liked the story. I decided to give them peace instead of that bloody war that tore their family apart.

RE-EDIT NOTE: When I first wrote this story I hadn't finished with the books ... Now I know it was Joffrey who sent the assassin, but if I were to stick to canon I would have to change everything, so I decided to leave it the way it is. In this story, the assassin was sent by Cersei and Jamie ... hey, it's "fanfiction" after all ;)

I would appreciate it if you could leave me a few words to let me know what you think.

Thanks.