Chapter 1
The Girl who was Promised
-282 AC-
"Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word."
Elenys had always been a curious and troublesome girl, disappearing right before their eyes and only appearing when she wanted to. Cassana had her hands enough with Renly and now with Elenys it was worse.
She sighed softly when she noticed her daughter's absence again. This had been the fourth time this week and her patience was running thin. At times, when she was lucky, she would stumble upon her daughter reading a book as big as her body. Her intelligence had frightened her, especially those violet eyes shining with a desperate need of knowledge. Shaking her head from her wandering thoughts, she passed the King's Garden and froze.
There was her daughter, staring out at the cliffs, melancholy having engulfed her. Her eyes widened even more when her daughter gazed at her with such sadness that it broke her heart.
"Elenys...?"
Her daughter closed her eyes and turned around, walking away.
She stood there, frozen in fear.
What happened to her sweet girl? Why was she so melancholic to the point of hopelessness?
Tears tickled down her cheeks and she looked down, wondering what she could do to help her daughter. She had tried everything in her power to support her but nothing seemed to help. Only the presence of Rhaenys seemed to cheer her up, even if that was a tiny bit.
She closed her eyes and remembered her fearful violet eyes when she had stared at the Mad King as he burned his victims alive, he burnt smell nauseating. Of course, she had tried to hide it from her daughter but one order from the King forced her to attend the festivity. That had been the turning point when her daughter had changed completely and closed herself off. Her precious daughter who had been promised to the Mad King's son, Prince Viserys.
None of her sons were happy with this ordeal, but they were helpless in the face of the King. For fear that her eldest son, Robert, might explode with his temper, she had forced him to travel back to the Vale, with his foster father, Jon Arryn. Stannis was the acting lord or Storm's End and Renly was with her in the capital, along with Elenys. She had been forced to stay in King's Landing by the Mad King, something that she hadn't been quite happy to hear. Ever since the death of her husband, she hadn't been able to forgive the tyrannical king. He had been the reason her husband ventured outside of Westeros to find a promising wife for his eldest son. And now she was losing her firstborn daughter because of him.
Opening her eyes, she stared into the ocean, wondering when all this madness would stop.
.
.
Elenys couldn't believe that she had been reincarnated in this cruel world, filled with death and sorrow no matter where she might go.
When she heard the echo of quiet footsteps, she quickly hid in one of the cupboards. Thankfully, she was small enough to hide in them. She really didn't want to be found, needing alone time for all the upcoming horror that'd surely follow her.
What in the name of the Gods was she going to do?
She didn't want to be a part of this world. She didn't want to be married to a mad prince. She didn't want to acknowledge this gruesome life.
..but she didn't want to die again. And neither did she want to live. She felt trapped; too afraid to die, too afraid to live. So, she tried to get her hands on every book to read, shoving all the information down her throat. She followed the people she mistrusted and hid between corners and hidden pathways, to which she ought to thank the bald eunuch. People always looked down on her, thinking her to be of no importance. Such a small and feeble girl they saw.
How wrong they were. They would regret the day they disregarded her with no amount of vigilance.
Sighing tiredly, she left towards the secret tunnels beneath the Keep that was known to a few men and some little birds. She scoffed when her thoughts dwelled to the bald eunuch, who was more effeminate than her mother. He smelled as foul as the wilting flowers in a graveyard. She knew he only served the realm, but at times, even she was confused by his actions. He was oh-so clever, which was something that scared her. Her, a woman reincarnated in the body of an unfortunate girl with all the knowledge of this Game, or most of it.
Her thoughts moved to the Mad King the so-called Protector of the Realm, like it always did. She didn't know what she should do with him. The reign of the Mad King would cease to exist any moments now. The disappearance of the She-Wolf, Lyanna Stark would bring forth misery beyond imagination.
The only thing a small three-year old girl could do, was stuff knowledge in her brains, stalk the important and distrustful people and use the hidden passageways for when she needed them. The reason why she always disappeared right before their eyes was because of those hidden pathways, created by the Targaryen King Maegor the Cruel. There were so many paths throughout the Keep that she had a hard time memorising them but it was working gradually. All thanks to her adult-like thinking and brains.
Every time she came in contact with her mother, she couldn't help but blame her. Blame her for being born in this shitty, good-for-nothing world. And yet, she felt sorry for this woman who would soon die because of her son's Rebellion for a girl that didn't even love him. She couldn't help but love her for her stubbornness and fondness towards her.
Sighing in annoyance, she crept through the halls, her fingers sliding over the bricks of the Keep. She noted that darkness was creeping on her and walked back to her mother's solar, where her older brother, Renly was also living in. She didn't know how to feel about her brothers. She can hardly remember Robert, probably drinking and whoring at this moment. Stannis was back at Storm's End but she had seen him on a few occasions such as her nameday, for which he brought beautiful presents for her. And Renly was sweet but so gullible. Too naive in this world. Yet, with all these flaws she couldn't help but love them. They were still her brothers in blood, even if they didn't act like it at times. And the upcoming rebellion would turn the brothers even more against each other.
When the war would start, Aerys would take them as hostages or slaughter them for their insolence. Or even worse, he would burn the Baratheon family. It depended on his swinging mood.
She gulped.
Slowly on, she slid the hidden wall behind the cupboard aside and crawled inside the cupboard. Being very careful and listening in for any sound, she carefully opened the cupboard.
Her head jerked really hard against the hard side of the cupboard when she locked eyes with mirthful lilac eyes. "Ouch!" Before she could lose her balance and fall, strong and gentle hands supported her. Fear gripped her heart and with eyes as wide as saucers she looked up and stared at the Crown Prince with slacked jaws.
She had seen him from afar but never did they meet face-to-face. To be honest, he really scared her. The person who would doom them all. She wished she had a knife to gut his entrails out, just so he couldn't kidnap the She-Wolf and start the Rebellion. What to do? What to do?!
"Don't take her!" She blurted out in panic. She clamped her mouth shut and almost hyperventilated.
What the fuck did she just do?!
Rhaegar narrowed his eyes and his grip became tighter, his eyes burned fiercer and his calm aura dissipated into something dark. "What did you say?" He looked from side to side and found no one eavesdropping on their conversation.
His voice was demanding and deep, unflinching. She had to use all her powers not to pee herself and tremble like the coward she was feeling like. He looked deadly and beautiful- a very bad combination. For Gods sake, she was a fully grown woman. This boy wouldn't scare her, even if she was tempted to scream and run like the little girl she was.
Taking a deep breath, she looked him straight in the eyes, her previous fear dissipating slowly on. "You heard me. You're going to doom the entire Realm, my family, your family and the Starks." She glared at him with hate, violet eyes turning darker. "You'll be the reason that my mother, brother and I would be burned alive."
His grip tightened and she winced. "You don't know what you're saying, little girl."
Her eyes became slits and she growled, "Like hell I don't-" He muffled her mouth and picked her up as she trashed wildly in his grasp. Fear gripped her heart even more and her trashing became even wilder. She used everything in her power to shake him off by biting him until she drawled out blood but it wasn't enough. His only reaction was a tiny flinch and she despised him even more because of it.
She cursed him to the depths of Hell and then she cursed her stupidity for blurting out secrets that no one should know.
As tears trailed down her cheeks, she thought of her mother in this life. She would soon die and all because she had a stupid daughter who wasn't even worth calling one. She closed her eyes and prayed that her family would stay safe. She didn't want them to die because of her stupidity. Even if she didn't deserve their love, they were all they had in this life, all she had known in this accursed world filled with pain and bloodshed.
Rhaegar moved quickly with all the grace he had as the Crown Prince but on the inside he was fearful of the disaster that would soon be unleashed if this little girl didn't keep her mouth close. He didn't even know how she knew of his plans with Lyanna but he wasn't about to take any chances. His future good-sister knew things that no normal person would know. He hadn't told anyone of his plans, not even Arthur, his best friend.
Sighing tiredly, he arrived in his room, making sure there was no one present in the halls or his room. It was a good thing Elia and his children were outside with his mother and brother. This would give him enough time to take care of this problem and solve it.
He winced when she bit his hand again. This little girl was more dragon than stag.
"I would appreciate it if you would stop biting my hand, good-sister." He spoke softly as he placed her on his king-sized bed that he shared with his wife. He took out his clean handkerchief and wiped her tears away, smiling warmly. That did the trick and she relaxed albeit slightly, even if her lilac pools were narrowed in suspicion.
"What are you going to do to me?" She whispered quietly, her voice silky and melodic.
It was so strange to look at a miniature version of his mother, with slight Baratheon changes. Silvery blond hair, violet eyes with tiny specks of blue and a heart-shaped face with soft features and plump lips. He felt his eyes soften at her scared tiny form. To think that the Targaryen blood was so strong in her- it had even kicked out her entire Baratheon blood.
He remember the day his mad father had looked at this babe, he had been full of glee and had wanted Rhaegar to wed her. But the age gap was too much and the Mad King decided that she would wed Viserys the moment she had flowered. Much to her family's disdain. He knew Robert had hated the Mad King even more, which was why Lady Cassana had sent him back to the Vale to finish his fostering. Even Stannis was displeased and was now the acting Lord of Storm's End on Lady Cassanas orders.
The betrothed of his little brother. Elenys Baratheon.
He had seen her grow up from the small babe and every single time he looked at her, he couldn't help but feel like there was something she was hiding. He had heard rumours about her disappearances all the time and that she was a really smart girl, already able to read tomes as big as hers.
"I promise I won't hurt you but you need to tell me where you heard this."
Elenys breathed out shakily and opened her mouth slowly, "I-I've seen it in a dream..."
He narrowed his eyes when he saw that her childish fear crumbled and defiance took its place. "What else did you see in this dream of yours?"
"No, I wont tell anything until I get something for it."
It was so strange to hear this girl speak cunningly. She was behaving like an adult, no traces of a child was to be found. He pinched his nose and sighed softly. She was even harder to deal with than both his children and brother together. When he locked eyes with her, he couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. He was being played by a little girl that could've been his daughter.
"Well played, little Elenys."
.
Elenys narrowed her eyes and tilted her chin in defiance. If she was going down, then she might as well milk everything out of him.
"I want to make a deal. Everything I know for Arthur Dayne's protection."
She knew that her offer was ridiculous but she couldn't help it. She needed the Sword in the Morning. What else could she do? He was the one strong enough to kill the Mountain that Rides when the time came.
Rhaegar's eyes widened slightly at her statement. "Are you sure you're a girl?"
Her eyes glinted in amusement, "As far as I can see. I should've been born as an adult but I don't think my mother would've appreciated that kind of pregnancies."
He chuckled.
"I'm no enemy. I only want the protection of my family."
He stared in bemusement, rubbing his chin. "Alright, I shall leave Arthur here as your personal guard. Now tell me everything you know."
"You'll need to sit down for this, Your Grace."
And so he did. His eyes widening with each word that Elenys voiced out.
