RHAEGAR
The royal party had arrived at the neck of the North. The mainly lords of the whole North were there to receive them. Lord Eddard Stark was one of them. He was the warden of the whole North and the lord of Winterfell. Fourteen years have passed and suddenly the king was in his largest kingdom. He was in the North and nobody dared to stop him. Things changed. He told himself. Last time when he was here, he was taking his life with him. He was taking his lady of love and beauty. He had taken her indeed. But she was not him with him now. "What would she have done if she would be here?" Rhaegar asked the whole North in silence and the North just growled at him with the disgusted cold. "She is not here, because you had taken her and North remembered that day. It remembered the days after that too. It remembered the scent of blood and steel,
And fire. He smiled a little bit. The North may have its bitter manifestations, but not its lords, as when he approached closer to the eyesight, all of them bent the knee.
Even lord Eddard of the house Stark.
"Your Grace, the North is yours." Lord Eddard said with the eyes toward the ground where he had bent that knee. It was perhaps the most fantastic thing about this whole scenario. Rhaegar thought. Because no way, he could have faced those eyes demanding the justice same as like all the mountains covered in snow around them.
"North is mine and not its people. Not the lady, I demanded all those years back." Rhaegar just thought.
"Rise Lord Eddard." King commanded with all of his courtesies. "And other lords of the North."
And with that he knew that the time of facing those eyes came. It is not that he had never faced them before. He had been facing them for previous fourteen years continuously. He had stopped only for six months now and that was the only reason of his arrival in this damned kingdom. But there was a huge difference between the eyes he faced and eyes he was going to confront now, but the difference was not in the terms of the appearance, the eye color, the orientation of eye lashes or anything like that. The difference was in the far worst thing.
Back at king's landing, the eyes had been innocent, and more importantly, unaware. They had looked up to him. But this pair of eyes was asking the question about redemption. They were telling the cruel stories of the battlefield and the reasons of that battle. They were asking for the justice that the king cannot give them. So as soon the eyes found their way of his face, King Rhaegar Targaryen flinched and looked toward the mountains and forests, where these eyes will never hunt him.
"As soon as we found the news of your arrival, we came to receive your grace. It is a pleasure to have you at our land…" Lord Eddard was speaking swiftly and Rhaegar thought that maybe he had recited it several time for this type of easiness.
"You mean His Grace's land." Prince Viserys spoke suddenly and just like every other time, he did not think too much before doing so. Back at Kings landing, he had spoken ill many times about the North and its lords. That's why, Rhaegar suggested his brother to stay there. Perhaps he should have ordered him instead of suggesting. He thought irritated, and glared at him. Lord Eddard never replied to that comment. It was the time for king's speech.
"I am pleased by your welcome Lord Stark. The bitterness of past cannot be dissolved in courtesies of this time, but I am assuring you that North is the safest kingdom of all seven kingdoms. My father killed your father and then he got doomed by his own protector. North tried to avenge his death and I am not complaining about that." The Targayian king was choosing his words more wisely than he had thought to do.
"I also know that it is more impossible than difficult to forget that cruel past, but I recommend you to try. I am doing the same here. I am here on a purpose." King said after a while. The expressions on Lord Eddard's face were a combination of sadness and confusion. But he did not express both in his words.
"For the past fourteen years, we are trying to do the same thing Your Grace and sometimes the scratching of the old wounds can make the healing faster. After the battle against your house, we have pledged our loyalty to the same house. You had won that battle and then forgave all the rebellions. It was your kindness and North remembers it well. This land is yours." Lord Eddard said while looking deeply toward Prince Viserys, who just ignored the unspoken protest.
"The truth to be told, we all are tired of that damned war. The reasons are still persistent, but the lost lives are nowhere to be found. We shall not have our home in the past and we must forget it before it retreats itself. It IS impossible your grace, but it is also the only thing that is right. I have pledged my loyalty and I will stay on it for the rest of my life. Winterfell and North are your lands and we are your people. For the same past fourteen years the royal family had never visited these lands and we are pleased that you have given us opportunity to serve your grace." Lord Eddard was more Avuncular than the king had ever imagined in his dreams. Rhaegar smiled.
"I have arranged a royal feast for rejoicing the happiness of the occasion, if it pleases your grace." At last Lord Eddard said with the same nice but stricter tone.
"I am pleased Lord Stark. But I will recommend you to not to make any hasty arrangements in that regard. I know that winter is coming and North has to prepare for it more importantly than any other kingdom. That's why I have brought some of the gifts from south." King Rhaegar said with a look toward the countless big carriages of meat, fruit and wheat. The kings had visited North before but nobody had bothered to bring such a huge gift before. For one moment, the lords of North were calculating the cost of the royal visit and for another moment, they were dreaming about a relieved winter, which they never had.
"I have focused greatly on south previous years and now I think the time of a prosperous North has come, just like all other kingdoms." There was a little bit lie in that statement if it has to be seen particularly. After winning the battle and after coronation, King Rhaegar Targaryen had brought a marvelous prosperity for all the people of his seven kingdoms. The law and rules were stricter and the justice and prosperity were the most definite things of the realm. He may never have visited the North in these years, but he had distributed the royal resources evenly in all the kingdoms.
"I am thankful for this kindness your grace. It is more than a Northerner can imagine having in winter. I will distribute these resources in the whole North." Lord Eddard said and knelt again and soon enough all other Northerner lords joined him.
"Rise my lords of North. We have had enough kneeling for one visit." King said and all of them obeyed.
"Your Grace has said that he is on some purpose. Kindly acknowledge us, so we can help." Lord Eddard said with the same grim look he had before, even the big carriages of food did not help to change his mood, but Rhaegar knew the reason. He had said it before and never going to say it again. The tension between dragons and wolves had become a natural thing, just like the winter. It can never be denied, but it can be ignored. He thought.
"Yes, indeed, my lord there is a purpose, but I can hardly think that any of you can help in this regard. The problem is not of that much concern, but it was the main reason of my arrival." He said thoughtfully.
"My son has come North some days ago and he never returned up till now. I am here to take him back." That was the revelation that disturbed all the lords, who were present at that moment. Everybody knew that there was only one prince left after the war. If the crown prince is missing and if something had happened to him in North than North is, indeed, in danger, even if the kings pleads its safety for a thousand times.
"Your Grace, we never knew that Prince Jon is in North. We never had the news before. We also never saw any royal party before this day." Lord Eddard was more worried than concerned.
"Worry not my lord. My son has always preferred to travel solely. He asked me one day that he wants to see North and I allowed it. That was a mistake, I know that. I thought he is asking to see Winterfell or any other land of the south of the wall. I never imagined that his version of North is beyond the wall." This was another shock for the whole Northerner party. The Others may had gone for thousands of the years, but the dangers of the North of the wall cannot be described in some courteous words. The land of the North of the wall is not for the high lords and more importantly not for the crown prince of the seven kingdoms.
"I have received words of his wellness the previous week. And I am here to take him back to the kings landing. Your crown prince is my only son Lord Stark, and as a father you can understand my rushed arrival." Lord Eddard had understood. He had lost his father, brother, and sister in that damned war, and the king had lost his wife, father and all the children except one son, who was actually born on the last day of the war. There were only four Targaryens left in this world, the king, his brother Prince Viserys, sister Princess Daenerys and the crown prince Jon Targaryen.
"As a father I can understand that if the number does not matter. One son or ten, a father's concern can brought a man up here in the North. We should arrange some companionship for going to the North of the wall." Lord Eddard said with the same grimness and this time the worried expressions were more dominant. If anything happened to the prince, it can summon another war.
"I don't think it is needed." For the first time after her arrival princess Daenerys spoke. "I've sent my searching party and they had reported that prince Jon will be here in one or two days with them. We are here, because otherwise he would have never listened to that searching party. We should wait here for two days and if he never shows up in these days, then we can go beyond the wall for him." Her voice was calmed but concerned. It was her, who was the most worried in these past weeks of Jon's absence, but after having the word from that so-called searching party, she looked more relieved than to presume.
Lord Eddard was anything but satisfied, but he never said any word in protest. "Very well then, Your Grace and his royal party can wait in the castle of Winterfell. You must be tired of this journey." Lord Eddard offered and the king nodded.