Lyanna gazed up at the colourful house banners fluttering in the breeze as she sat with her family in their high up seats, looking out across the hundreds of pavilions that lay beyond the field. The day was warm and bright despite the uneasy feeling throughout the crowds gathered that day. The Knight of the Laughing Tree's victory, the previous day, had left everyone feeling anxious to see the knight, or not, again. However, no trace of the victor had been found and so the tourney continued undisturbed into the final day.

Lyanna glanced over at her future husband, Robert Baratheon, who was in the next gallery along, jesting with Jon Arryn. Lyanna wrinkled her nose at his handsome face and dark hair, he was attractive but looks were not what Lyanna sought in a man.

Suddenly Robert looked over at her and Lyanna quickly glanced away. Her brother, Ned, who was sat next to her, leaned in close.

"Robert is looking at you," He murmured in her ear.

Lyanna kept a tight smile on her face, "I know, he does it often."

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "When is the next match?" The benches were hard and Lyanna was not fond of waiting around.

Ned sighed with a smile. "It won't be long now, Lyanna."

Lyanna craned her neck out in order to catch a glimpse of the contestants. The word on everyone's tongue was that Rhaeger Targaryen would be facing Ser Barristan Selmy and Lyanna was itching with excitement. Given that the two of them were probably fairly evenly matched, the joust was going to be interesting.

Suddenly a roar erupted from both ends of the crowd as the two competitors entered the arena. Lyanna saw Ser Barristan Selmy, his expression focused and ready, mounting his horse. She looked over at Rhaeger Targaryen and laughed as he waved at the crowd, an easy smile etched on his face, but Lyanna thought she glimpsed a certain sadness about the way he moved.

Rhaeger mounted his horse, pulling his visor down and trotting forward slightly. The two men rode towards each other, breaking into a gallop, lances in hand. Barristan Selmy was strong and confident, each of his actions were strong and true as his lance struck Rhaeger's. He reminded Lyanna of the eagles she had seen out in the mountains, their eyes sharp, their wings strong. But if Barristan Selmy was an eagle then Rhaeger was a swallow; easily darting away from Selmy's lance, his movements were liquid like, smooth and graceful. The match went on for a long time, Lyanna's eyes darting between the two men eagerly, until finally Rhaeger dodged one of Selmy's lunges and shattered his lance, ending the match.

The crowd cheered and Lyanna clapped, admiring the young prince as he trotted towards Barristan Selmy. They clapped each other on the back and Selmy lifted Rhaeger's arm up in victory.

Rhaeger took off his helmet and smiled up at the crowd.

Until his eyes locked on Lyanna.

Lyanna felt the world grow quiet, a shiver go through her body as he did so and she felt unable to look away. Rhaeger's smile fell slightly, his silver hair dancing in the wind. The look he gave her seemed to say so much yet give away so little. Selmy said something in Rhaeger's ear, tearing his gaze away from Lyanna as he replied, but Lyanna continued to gaze at the prince. He was by far the most beautiful man she had ever seen, his silver hair falling to his shoulders, his body was strong but willowy.

"He is some warrior," Ned said, sitting back in his seat, smiling. "He will make a great king, I am sure."

Lyanna continued to watch Rhaeger as he readied himself for the next match. "He seems sad somehow."

Ned looked at his sister, noting the hint of emotion in it but he did not comment on it.

As the day continued, Rhaeger Targaryen went on to win every single one of his matches and Lyanna began to find herself keeping her eyes focused on him instead of the tourney. There was something intriguing about the man, she could sense something lay behind the mask of smiles and courtesies and she found herself taking an interest in him.

The crowd erupted in cheers and roars as Rhaeger was crowned champion of the tourney. In his hand he held a laurel of blue roses for the woman he would crown The Queen of Love and Beauty. Lyanna smiled at the sapphire colour of the roses; they grew close to Winterfell and were her favourite. This time the prince did not wave or smile at the onlookers but he seemed to be looking for someone. Lyanna spied his wife, Elia of Dorne, further down in the gallerys, looking at her husband with awe and waited for Rhaeger to give the laurel to her. The crowd's cheers began to quieten as confusion grew.

Why wasn't he going over to Elia?

Lyanna frowned slightly, wondering what was going through his mind.

Suddenly Rhaeger's eyes found hers.

Without moving his gaze from her, he urged his horse to walk over to Lyanna's stool and the air seemed to grow colder.

She did not breathe.

She did not move.

Rhaeger came to a stop in front of Lyanna.

And all the smiles died.

Wordless, with a look of determination on his face, Rhaeger placed the laurel of roses in Lyanna's lap.

Silence had enveloped the scene and Lyanna simply stared at the prince.

Ice and fire regarded one another as the feeling came upon the crowd that on that day, they had witnessed something extraordinary. With an offering of blue roses, a young prince changed the course of history forever.

Ever so slightly, Lyanna inclined her head towards Rhaeger and he returned the gesture, turning his horse away from the scene and out of the arena. Aware of dozens of eyes on her, Lyanna looked up at her brother. It was not often that she felt unsure of herself, but in that moment Lyanna felt like a little girl again, looking up to her brother for guidance.

Ned simply gave her hand a squeeze and smiled faintly at her. "Be careful, sister."

Lyanna ignored the eyes on her and looked down at the roses in her lap. They were beautiful and glistening with moisture. Tentatively, she stroked the petals with a finger, barely daring to acknowledge all that they represented.

That night, Lyanna sat on a lonely hill just outside of Winterfell, her bare feet caressing the grass in between her toes. She looked up at the moon soaked trees and closed her eyes. Whenever she felt ill at ease, Lyanna would escape the crowded halls of home and escape into the sanctuary of the woods. She breathed in the scent of the cold air and felt at peace.

The day's events had left the castle in uproar; The Starks were wary, Robert was furious, Elia was upset, The Targaryens were silent and Rhaeger was nowhere to be found. Lyanna was caught in the chaos, staring blankly at the arguing faces of the familiar and the unknown as they decided what all this meant. She simply gazed down at the roses still in her lap and remembered that look of defiance on Rhaeger's face, so different from the cool and easy expression he had been wearing for the day.

Despite the complications of his actions, Lyanna had felt a rush of euphoria course through her body as he had held up the roses to her. For so long she had been thirsty for adventure, to feel the wind in her hair and a sword in her hand. The look in Rhaeger's eyes had reflected those desires, it was a look of change, of defiance. And it had awoken something deep inside Lyanna's body.

Lyanna heard a faint rustling behind her and she turned her head slowly, knowing who it was.

Rhaeger stopped immediately in the darkness of the trees, staring at her, waiting for her reaction.

Lyanna put her head to one side, a coy smile playing on her lips. "Good evening, prince."

Rhaeger stepped into the moonlight, hands behind his back, stopping so he was stood next to Lyanna, looking up at the stars. "It is, isn't it."

"Should you be here? I'm sure your wife is wondering where you are," Lyanna said.

Rhaeger said nothing, a sad smile appearing on his face.

Lyanna noticed his silence but continued all the same. "Congratulations on your victory today, I thought you fought valiantly," Lyanna remembered the way he held himself so elegantly as he whirled past the attacks. "The way you moved so smoothly, like water. You held your sword as though it were a part of you, with a natural grace."

Rhaeger was looking at her, an amused expression on his pale face. "You are... a very peculiar young lady, why, you sound almost jealous."

Lyanna laughed, throwing her head back. "I have once been called a centaur," she admitted, still laughing. "I would choose armour over a dress any day."

Rhaeger chuckled, making Lyanna smile; it sounded so honest compared to the smiles he had given the crowd earlier that day.

"Besides, you are a very strange prince; shouldn't you be off drinking with your companions and dancing with beautiful women?" Lyanna teased.

Rhaeger smiled at her coolly. "Well it's true, I do love to dance," he bowed down to her slightly, offering her his hand.

Lyanna stared at it, a dark eyebrow raised, a challenging look on her face. She took his hand, gripped it, and allowed him to pull her up onto her feet. Lyanna realised that they were almost of an equal height as he placed his hand about her waist and she took his shoulder. Together they danced under the moonlight, Lyanna feeling the damp grass beneath her feet.

Lyanna held herself elegantly, despite her boyish personality and liked to believe herself sufficient at dancing even if it was not her favourite activity. Rhaeger seemed calm and composed as though he had been dancing all his life. Lyanna wondered whether he was the kind of man who did everything well.

Rhaeger twirled her around, Lyanna's thick dark hair fluttering behind her.

"What you did today was very daring," Lyanna said, grinning. "Robert was very angry."

Rhaeger raised an eyebrow. "Ah, your lucky husband-to-be."

He must have spotted the grin fade from Lyanna's face at the mention of the looming marriage. "Don't you like him? Robert is a strong warrior, many girls would give their lives to trade places with you."

Lyanna sighed. "Everyone seems to think that simply because Robert is handsome, I should be utterly content with the marriage proposal. They don't imagine what it must be like knowing your husband may well humiliate you and bed some whore and I'm supposed to be ok with it. He will have no respect for me once he finds out I am not the blushing maiden he thinks I am," her eyes grew cold. "I deserve respect."

Rhaeger nodded, smiling. "You do. You strike me as a proud and fierce young woman, but you are dangerously beautiful," A gleam appeared in his eye. "Like a wolf."

Lyanna grinned at him. "You sound like Ned."

Rhaeger chuckled. "Your brother is a smart man."

"He over thinks things a lot," Lyanna said.

Rhaeger laughed, the sound somehow filling Lyanna with happiness, overjoyed to see the honesty in his expression around her. But something was bothering her.

"Why did you do what you did today?" Lyanna asked, cocking her head to one side.

Rhaeger sighed, looking up at the moon as they twirled through the grass. "Do you ever feel as though your life is being lived for you?"

"I am a woman who is expected to walk with serenity, yet who fights better, and marry a man I cannot love. Of course I feel that way."

Rhaeger smiled. "Well, all my life I have felt that way. I excel at every activity I partake in whether it be fighting, dancing or simply being courteous. As a boy I did not take to fighting, yet thoroughly enjoyed reading, I would sit for hours pouring myself over stories of knights and dragons. Even now I enjoy holding a lute more than a sword, but I feel a duty to become a strong figure that Westeros will believe in and follow loyally. I feel obligated to be a certain kind of man and today I felt like doing something I wished to do. I felt compelled to give you those roses, knowing full well of the consequences I would have to face," he smiled, his teeth shining in the moonlight. "Or perhaps I simply wanted to pay my respects to the Queen of Love and Beauty."

Lyanna smiled at Rhaeger, beginning to take a liking to this faraway prince, but her smile faded as he stopped dancing and broke away from her. It felt strange to suddenly be separate from his body despite only embracing for a short while.

"I must get back to my wife, she will no doubt be wanting to speak to me," the way Rhaeger spoke of his wife seemed strange to Lyanna, as though she were a mere acquaintance.

Lyanna looked at Rhaeger's regretful expression and before she could change her mind, Lyanna blurted out, "are you happy with your wife?"

The prince looked taken aback for a moment, but he then relaxed into that sad smile he wore so well, "Elia is... a lovely girl."

Lyanna frowned at the response. When she pictured the perfect man to wed, he would be strong and fierce, equalling her in everything, they would match each other and he would rule by her side in the kingdom of her heart. He would certainly not refer to her as 'lovely'.

She then remembered the marriage pact to Robert Baratheon and her heart sunk, knowing she would never receive the husband she needed, simply the one she must have.

Lyanna suddenly felt a longing to be far away from this world with its cold rules and harsh judgements. She looked out across the land like a wolf howling at the moon, she felt the calling of the forest and longed for the feel of leaves under her hands, of her face against cool river water.

Lyanna curled her toes into the grass and soft soil. "Don't you ever wish you could simply run away?" She whispered, a sudden wind catching her long, dark hair.

Rhaeger watched her with a wide eyed expression, taking a slow step towards her. "Do you mean that?" He asked, quietly.

Lyanna smiled sadly, remembering her vow to her family and duty to her role. "No," she breathed.

Rhaeger said nothing for some time, before inclining his head towards her. "Well then," he said, turning away from her and walking into the darkness of the shadows.

Lyanna watched him leave, his silver hair almost glowing in the night, and found herself feeling strangely alone.