A/N: This is just a little thing I wanted to write after finding a very beautiful Rhaegar and Lyanna fanvideo to the song "Never Let Me Go" by Florence + The Machine. It was also something I had been wanting to write for a little while. This is obviously AU; it's where Rhaegar wins the war and returns to the Tower of Joy to find that Lyanna is dying of childbirth. The same goes for this as it does for Rose Without Thorns. If I did anything wrong with the characters, please let me know and tell me how I can improve. As always, A Song of Ice and Fire and A Game of Thrones are not mine, though I wish that they were. xD Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark belong to George R.R. Martin, but all the words written here, are mine. Please read and review and as always, enjoy.
The look that he received upon barging through the doors of the tower should have prepared him for the smell of blood and roses. But, all the looks in the world couldn't have prepared him for the bed of blood. He was stuck in the doorway for precious moments, his eyes wide and his breath hitching. "Lya…" He murmured, stumbling to her side, her silvery eyes catching his. The heartbroken look in those moonlit eyes stopped him in his tracks. "Oh!" he moaned, falling slowly to his knees beside her. "My lady…" He laid his hand at the side of her face, leaning over her with tormented eyes.
A small twitched at her lips. "My silver prince," she murmured, placing her small hand against his bloodied one, leaning her face into his touch. Her eyes slid closed for a moment and then fluttered open. "He has your strength," she whispered, her eyes flickering to where a small child slept in a crib beside the bed.
Rhaegar's eyes followed hers and his heart froze. His son. The baby was watching him with clear blue eyes. He swallowed and whispered, "And he has your nose." He swallowed again, finding it hard as his throat was constricted by a growing lump. He murmure her name in a broken tone and she raised her hand, placing a slim finger against his lips.
"Hush," she breathed. "Just stay with me…"
"I'll never let you go…"
He rose and slowly laid his weary body down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and then across her chest. She nestled her head against his shoulder, her breath against his neck. He gently moved her legs so that they rested across his lap. There they stayed as his wolf's breath grew fainter.
"I love you, my dragon…" she murmured and she died just as the setting sun cast an array of reds across the room that smelled of roses and blood. The babe had begun to cry again, though Rhaegar scarcely noticed as silent tears made tracks down his cheeks. He vowed to protect the wailing child until his very last breath, just as Lya would have wanted him to. He recalled Lyanna's talk of a name, and pulled up the name she was quite fond of.
Jon. The child's name was Jon.