The baby in her arms stirred and yawned with a soft squeak. Elia smiled and pressed a soft kiss to the boy's head. She handed him back to Varys, and watched as Aegon was brought into the room by a handmaid and given to her. She took her son into her arms and held him close.
The baby and Varys left her chambers. Elia turned to set her sleeping son down in his crib. She cast an eye over to Rhaenys, and found her still fast asleep. Such relief filled her that she could feel a fist close around her heart and squeeze, and tears stung her eyes as they threatened to fall.
When the news had come that Rhaegar had survived at the Trident, she had not allowed herself to hope that he would return to save them. In fact, it had taken far too long for him to return to King's Landing. She knew deep down that he had taken a detour to visit his love before he had returned to her.
But Elia could not have predicted how many tears would be shed over the sight of her children safe in the palace again. She had not allowed herself to think about what may happen to them should Robert Baratheon have succeeded in his sacking of King's Landing. The thought of her children dead and cold made her so sick that she could feel the bile rising in her throat even now.
It had been a moon since the sacking had ended. Rhaegar had returned in time to discover his father dead, and his wife locked in Maegor's Holdfast with Princess Rhaenys. When he had looked for Aegon after the chaos died down, Elia had handed him the baby boy and the look in Rhaegar's eye had made her proud.
He had offered her a strained smile, and handed the baby back to her. "When my son returns, I should like to see him."
Elia had nodded. She hated how she still longed for her husband's approving look. He had betrayed her, had chosen another woman, and still her treacherous heart longed for him. If her mother could see her now…
A knock sounded on the door and shook Elia from her thoughts. She moved to open it and held back her look of surprise at finding Jaime Lannister at her threshold.
The boy looked tired, with sallow skin and a haunted look in his green eyes. She could only imagine the trials Jaime had gone through in the past few days. Already his new nickname was spreading through King's Landing. Kingslayer.
But this boy had freed them all from a Mad King, and Elia often found herself wishing that she had been the one to drive the sword through Aerys' back.
Jaime bowed to her, the light of the candles that lined the hallway glinted off of his golden Kingsguard armour. He straightened, "I came to inform you that I have been assigned to protect you and your family once again."
Elia could not hide her surprise this time. "You are still Kingsguard?"
Jaime winced, and instantly Elia regretted her disbelief. She had thought that he would be dismissed for killing the king, but it seemed he had not been. She didn't know if this was crueller than letting him leave King's Landing in dishonour.
"King Rhaegar has pardoned me." Jaime explained.
"He has?" Elia raised a brow. She had not seen her husband in days. And she did not blame him. He was busy with the reparations to the city, and being bombarded with advice on how to deal with Robert Baratheon and Tywin Lannister.
She returned her attention to the said Lannister's son standing before her. "Your father will not be pleased that you have been kept in the Kingsguard."
Jaime Lannister swallowed nervously, and nodded.
Elia sighed, "Don't worry. I know what it is like to disappoint a parent."
"Your father?"
Elia shot him a look and Jaime bowed again, a blush on his cheeks. He had overstepped, but Elia smiled and excused him.
She made to close the doors when Jaime spoke up again, "Oh, my lady! Ned Stark has requested an audience with you."
Elia blinked in surprise. What could Ned Stark want with her?
"Where is he?" Elia asked.
She wore black, of course, in the wake of the sacking and her good-father's demise. In truth, she wished she could wear colours, perhaps orange and red, to remind everyone who she was and who she had always been.
Ned Stark waited for her in the gardens, and she was grateful that he had decided to meet in a relatively secluded area.
He sat at a bench, looking utterly out of place in his Northern garb and pale colouring. She noticed as she approached that he carried a small bundle in his arms. As she got closer she could tell that it was a child. She kept her confusion hidden as best she could and Ned Stark rose from the bench as she stopped before him.
He had a stoic face, and the fierce expression of many Northmen that she had come across. The overall appearance was ruined somewhat by the infant in his arms.
"My queen." He bowed his head shallowly, but Elia didn't mind. It still felt strange to be called that. If Rhaegar had his way, Ned Stark's sister would have been his queen. But she did not hold this truth against the Stark boy. He had lost much in this war.
"This is very unusual, Lord Stark." It was only fair to use his new title if he was using hers.
"I know." Ned spoke, his accent thickening his words so that she had to make a conscious effort to understand him. "But I'm here on behalf of my sister."
Elia stiffened at the mention of her, and she could see Ned's discomfort in his eyes - the way he avoided her gaze.
"What more does Lyanna Stark ask from my family and I?" She asked. "What more can I give to her?"
Ned lifted a hand to the baby's head and pulled back the blanket to reveal the child's face. Elia examined the baby before she looked to Ned and raised a brow in question. She didn't recognise the infant, nor did she know why Ned had the child with him here.
"I am sorry to be bringing this to you, my lady." Ned spoke, and Elia knew he was honest with his words. "But," He looked to the child in his arms. "This is my sister's son."
Elia frowned and something twisted in her gut. She looked to the child, and perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her, but she could somehow see the resemblance. "And my husband's child." She didn't phrase it as a question and Ned nodded his confirmation.
"And you have brought him here because your sister has died and this boy must be with his father?"
Ned nodded again.
"Why haven't you brought him to Rhaegar?" Elia asked.
The Northman shifted on his feet, a strange gesture for such a seemingly unshakeable man. "I would not trust myself to be around your husband, my lady. Not so soon after my sister died because of his actions."
Elia narrowed her eyes at him. "Because he put a child in her instead of me."
Ned swallowed, and that wicked part of Elia grinned at the sight of a Stark so uncomfortable.
"My lady, this child should be with his father. I will not be the one to separate the two. He is of Rhaegar's blood."
"And your sister's. Will you no longer care for the child?"
"No." Ned shook his head, and Elia saw that steel return to his eye as he frowned. "But I am not his parent."
"Neither am I, Lord Stark."
The Northman let out a sigh of frustration that bordered on a snarl. Elia couldn't hold back her amusement, and she let her lips curl into a smirk.
She relished the surprise on Ned Stark's face as he realised she was enjoying his irritation.
"Lady Elia." He took a step closer to her, and her eyes were drawn to the baby in his arms. She watched the child sleep, and was reminded of her own baby boy that she had almost lost a moon ago.
She raised a hand and offered Ned a smile. "Do not worry, Lord Stark. I am not so cold-hearted as to turn away my husband's child. Even if it was borne by another woman." She whispered.
He let out a small sigh of relief. "His name…" Ned trailed off and met her eyes. "Lyanna named him Jaehaerys."
It was Elia's turn to sigh and she held out her arms to hold the child. A boy. If Rhaegar knew it was not a girl he would be disappointed. She was not an idiot. What he had said at Aegon's birth had all but told her of his obsession with recreating the 'three-headed dragon' of his ancestors. Two girls, and a boy. Rhaenys and Visenya, and Aegon the Conqueror.
Elia had given him his Rhaenys and his Aegon. And when she had been unable to bear him any more children, for fear that she may die, Rhaegar had found Lyanna Stark to bear him his Visenya.
But Ned handed her a boy child. Jaehaerys Targaryen. It seemed that even Lyanna Stark had failed Rhaegar.
A chilling thought struck Elia. Would Rhaegar try again with another then? To complete his obsession?
Ned Stark cleared his throat and shook her from her thoughts. Elia silently cursed herself for letting her mind wander. Her thoughts had turned to the past as of late, as though she were stuck there in a better and easier time before all this complication.
"Thank you for bringing him to me, Lord Stark. I know how honourable you are. And it takes courage to present the king's wife with his bastard son." She murmured.
Ned nodded. "I know how kind you are, my lady. But," A frown pulled at his brow. "But you have an iron within you that reminds me so much of-"
Elia was glad he didn't say her name. And she was glad that she was not known only for her kindness. She readjusted her hold on Jaehaerys and said goodbye.
Her first thought was to take care of the child as her own. Of course, she was angry, she was heartbroken, that this boy existed at all. But he was a baby. And he had Rhaegar in him.
How could she not love something that contained a part of him? Yes, she could not see herself in this baby like she could with Rhaenys or Aegon. But Rhaegar shone through, and she could already feel her soft, weak, and womanly heart fall in love with Jaehaerys as she had with his father.
Despite it all, Elia would care for the boy because she did not know who else would do so. Rhaegar, she already knew, would be disappointed in the male child for being born male. And Jaehaerys' mother died to bring him into the world, a fate that Elia could empathise with. Ned Stark, his uncle, had passed him onto her.
She brought the child back to her chambers and settled into a chair with the baby in her arms. She would have to explain to Rhaenys why he was here, but that would come later when the little girl woke from her nap. For now, she would put Jaehaerys to bed and in the care of a nursemaid while she found her husband.
The Red Keep was emptier than usual, but that came as no surprise to Elia. She knew many had fled King's Landing in the days leading up to the sacking. Aerys had locked her and her children in Maegor's Holdfast. Elia could remember how she wished for Oberyn to come get her. Her beloved brother would have fought tooth and nail to save her. She was sure that Doran had been the voice of reason that had stopped Oberyn from doing so.
Rhaegar was in the throne room, but Elia was surprised to find him alone. She had been in here many times, and had often thought of how ugly the throne was. It was a shock to see her husband sitting there. Although he had not yet been coronated, there was no doubt that Rhaegar Targaryen was king now.
He looked up at her as she approached, and he stood to meet her halfway.
"What is the matter?" He asked.
Suddenly, Elia remembered exactly what she had come here to tell him. She wondered if it was the right time. She wondered if she was the right person. But Ned Stark had seemed to think so.
"Lord Stark asked for an audience with me in the gardens."
She noticed Rhaegar's jaw clench and he fisted his hands slightly. "Why? What could he want from my wife? After he slaughtered my friends?"
Elia raised a brow, "What friends?"
"It does not matter."
"You mean Arthur, don't you? And Gerold and Oswell?"
Rhaegar shook his head. "It does not matter."
"I remember you asked them to remain behind someplace before you went to the Trident."
He worked his jaw in a way that told Elia she was approaching a subject he was not willing to speak about.
But seeing him again made her bold and angry. "They were guarding the Stark girl, weren't they? Whilst she carried your Visenya?"
Rhaegar's violet eyes flashed with an emotion Elia could not place. He took a step towards her, as if he knew the impact his close proximity would have on her. And even if didn't know, it worked nonetheless. She took a step backwards and her heart beat harder in her chest. It was moments like these when she felt weakest of all. When she felt like ripping out her heart and ceasing to feel all emotion would make her stronger.
"How do you know of Lyanna's condition?" Rhaegar questioned. He searched her eyes coldly.
Something had changed within him after the Trident. After he had lost Lyanna. He was colder with her when he had never been that way before. He was too silent and oftentimes Elia found that his mind was someplace else instead of in the present. Other times he was kind to her, and warm. Around the children was when he blossomed. But she had the dreadful feeling that he was slipping further away from her than ever.
It was this thought that made her reach for his hand. Damn her weak heart and damn her love for him, but she could not bear to think of losing him in such a way. Death would be easier, than to lose him whilst he still lived within her reach. Whilst Lyanna Stark was dead and he was vulnerable to her.
It was something her mother would encourage. To take advantage of this grieving man. Elia still had not decided if she would exploit it or not.
"Rhaegar. Ned Stark found her, didn't he? So, he knew about her condition and told me." She spoke.
Her husband's hand tensed in her grip, but Elia squeezed harder.
"Rhaegar." She searched his eyes, "You have a son."
When they had first been married Elia had been so glad that Rhaegar did not carry that streak of rage and anger within him. He was not violent. He was not volatile, like his father. But Rhaegar was something else that was more difficult for Elia to understand. He was deeply melancholic.
She saw it now in his eyes. The way his hand slackened in her grip, and his disappointment seemed to fall over his face like a shadow.
"Lyanna has named him Jaehaerys."
Rhaegar's throat bobbed as he swallowed. He looked up at her and she felt herself freeze as she saw tears shining in her husband's eyes.
Perhaps he had been pushed too far. Perhaps he would never feel the warmth of the sun again as this shadow haunted him till his dying breath.
"Elia."
His voice sent a shiver up her spine, and she couldn't help but step closer. She didn't want to stop herself this time. This time she would allow him the comfort she could bring.
"Elia, my mother has passed." He shook slightly as his tears fell down his cheeks.
Her gut dropped so hard and fast that she almost keeled over and heaved up her lunch.
Rhaella was dead.
Her good-mother had always been her friend here in King's Landing. She had been a comfort to her, a woman who had taken care of her when her own mother had died and she had been alone here without Rhaegar.
Rhaegar.
Elia stepped forward quickly and brought her hands up to her husband's face. He flinched, and that anger inside her was satisfied. But she stroked her thumbs over his skin and wiped away his tears.
"I am sorry, Rhaegar. How did it happen?" She asked. There was a catch in her voice. The news, coupled with the sight of Rhaegar in such pain, made her own heart ache.
"In childbirth." His arms came up to hold her shoulders. "Elia. I cannot do this alone."
It was a selfish thing to say and it surprised her. She could understand it, of course, but she did not think that Rhaegar could brush away his mother's death as such. Perhaps he had seen so much death that he had become numb to it.
"You are not alone." She whispered. "I am here. I will help."
Rhaegar sobbed, and Elia wrapped her arms around him without hesitation. He smelled the same, he felt the same. She could feel his warmth beneath his skin, as though he carried dragon fire inside him. Aegon was the same.
"I will help raise Jaehaerys." She said softly, her breath feathered over his silver hair.
Rhaegar pulled back and his grip on her shoulders tightened. "He should have been a girl."
Elia could not believe her ears. She yanked herself from his grip. "Lyanna Stark died to bring that child into the world for you."
"You are defending Lyanna?" Rhaegar's brows rose.
"There is nobody else here to defend her. And I know how she would feel. How it feels to give everything to somebody only to have them spurn you." That anger bubbled up inside her and Elia did not feel like suppressing it this time. This time Rhaegar would feel her rage.
"When I could no longer give you a child, you cast me aside. After I had given you two children. Beautiful, perfect children! After I had given you my heart. And now Lyanna has given up her life for you and your obsession! And you will spurn your own son because he is not what you want him to be?" Her voice echoed around the darkened throne room.
Rhaegar drew himself up. "You do not understand, Elia."
"You're right." She hissed at him. "I do not and never have understood the mind of a madman."
"You will watch your tongue!" Rhaegar exclaimed, but Elia could see it was half-hearted. Anger was not her husband's vice. Even now she could see the sorrow building in his eyes.
"You will not forget who it was who suffered under your father. Rhaella did. I did." Elia took another step back. "And you will never forget who it was who was prepared to save your precious son when Tywin Lannister came here to murder him. And who it is now who will take in the son you have decided not to want."
She turned to stride to the doors, but Rhaegar's voice made her pause before she could leave the hall.
"My brother and sister will be arriving in King's Landing. Viserys, and the newborn Daenerys. You will take them in as well, Elia."
She did not say another word as she left the hall - and her unfamiliar husband - behind.
