King's Landing, late 279 AC
Jon
Arthur Dayne and Gerold Hightower were standing next to Rhaegar as he patiently waited for his new bride to arrive.
Jon, himself was further away, choosing instead to watch for any silent threats amidst the crowd rather than stand too close to the Prince. Who would be bold enough to attack the Prince he knew not and it was known that Rhaegar was widely loved by the common people.
Somewhere near him stood Jaime Lannister, Lord Tywin's son. After the campaign against the Kingswood Brotherhood the boy had been knighted by Ser Arthur Dayne. Because of this, the blonde youth was never too far away from the older knight, laughing with him, learning from him. Despite the cold plate that King Aerys had served his previous Hand, Jaime had been quick to follow them back to King's Landing. When his Lord Father had protested, Aerys had only given him a silent look which spoke volumes.
Even though the tourney at Lannisport had occurred two years past, neither the Lannisters nor the Targaryens had forgotten about it. Rhaegar had confessed to Jon that very night that he thought his father's moves were ill advised. The Prince had been as shocked as most everyone else in the room, upon receiving news of his betrothal, as the Kingsguard and the circle of the King's advisors had been certain Rhaegar would have been married off to the Lannister girl.
The young girl had been in tears upon receiving the news and Jon remembered the Prince's expression. He had felt guilty for that slight even though he had not done anything to support it. Nevertheless, Jon had a felt a sense of relief as well. He had not liked the look on the Lannister girl's face. She had had hungry eyes, that one, the eyes of a lion before an attack. Rumour had it that she was to visit Kings Landing soon though Jon was not so certain considering the families' hatred.
How it had all began remained a mystery yet some had said that Aerys had attempted to bed Joanna Lannisters, Tywin's wife, before the Lannister betrothal. That had been an open wound for both men and whether it had actually occurred or not Jon did not know.
Thank the Gods that Aerys had been sane back then, or rather, not as mad as he was now and he had not acted hastily.
As the noises of carriages and horses arriving sounded, Jon watched Rhaegar's expression change. A group of women started walking forth with Dornish men guarding their steps. They were all wearing lovely, flowing dresses of all colours, their hairs dancing to their waists, their smiles big and plenty. To Jon these acts held no attraction.
He waited until Elia Martell walked forth amongst her ladies in waiting. She was fair, Jon had to admit, with the typical Martell features of dark hair, black almond eyes and olive skin. She was wearing a white and silver gown which hugged the curves of her body tightly.
Rhaegar walked forth, wearing a black suit of clothes with dark red patterns embroiled at the sides and rubies decorating his breast plate. His flowing white-silver hair fell on his shoulders elegantly. He was clean shaven and bright eyed.
The Prince looked handsome, brave and beautiful, next to whom the Dornish princess was but a 'kitchen drab', Jon thought scornfully.
Nevertheless, Jon said nothing, holding his thoughts and jealously to himself, as he watched the matrimonial ceremony take place. The new Princess exchanged vows of love and fealty with the Prince and they kissed under Baelor's sept, much to the peoples' pleasure who started clapping and gasping, smiling and cheering.
The Prince was loved by all, whether that be the common people or the Lord and Ladies of the Court. When Rhaegar turned to face the crowd, after thanking his Lord Father for arranging such a match, he held Elia's hand in his and smiled, only his smile never reached his eyes.
He saw the common people cry from happiness and Jon Connington cried as well, only he did so out of pain for his lost love.
I rose too high, loved too hard, dared too much. I tried to grasp a star, overreached, and fell, he thought with sadness.
….
Later that night or rather in the early hours of the morning, Jon found himself at the top of the Red Keep with a wineskin in his hand, containing a white wine of unknown heritage. Myriads of casks of Dornish Red had been sent to King's Landing as celebration for Rhaegar's wedding, yet Jon could not stomach the sickeningly sweet beverage.
The Tower of the Red Keep had been Rhaegar's place. The place he went to when he needed to be away from the falsehood and the pretence. Sometimes Jon accompanied him and they shared jests and laughs.
Remembering the good times with fondness, Jon often took long gulps of the white wine and stared at the clear skies, wondering whether winter was going to come soon to them.
Let it come, he thought bitterly. Let it come and kill the Dornish Princess in her sleep.
When he heard footsteps behind him he gulped and quickly threw the wineskin to the side. Whoever it was, he could not appear drunk in front of them. He held his breath in terror but it was only Rhaegar who came, wearing nothing else but a loose velvet black robe which barely concealed his nakedness.
"My old friend. What are you doing up this late?" the Prince asked gently.
Jon shook his head quickly. "I… The music from the Feast was too loud"
Rhaegar pretended to clean his ears and listen more carefully. Then he smiled. "I hear nothing"
It was true that the music and the singing from the Feast had since died out, yet it was the only excuse he could find in his drunken state. Instead of finding a more suitable excuse Jon simply shook his head and turned to the Prince. "And what about you, my Prince? What has kept you up this late? Newlyweds tend to spend… More time in their chambers"
Rhaegar smiled again, a sad smile. "What do you think of my new bride, Jon? And please tell me your thoughts truly"
Jon hesitated for a second. He had waited for this moment ever since he had lain eyes on the Princess of Dorne. He had wanted to tell Rhaegar she was not a suitable match, he had wanted to tell him that Rhaegar should look at his friend instead, yet he had dared not utter a single word.
"I… Elia Martell is a gentle, good and gracious lady" he managed at last, biting his tongue.
Rhaegar laughed this time.
"I told you to tell it to me true. Yet some truths do not bear saying and some lies are necessary" he added in sadness and suddenly they heard a female cry from the King's chambers.
The Prince pressed his lips together tightly until they formed a thin line and closed his eyes, bearing all the sadness of the world. Jon wanted to go to him and hug him yet he stayed put in place.
This was not the first time they had heard Queen Rhaella scream nor would it be the last. It was common knowledge that the King forced himself on her most nights. That was the way of the world, however, and when a man was wed to a woman, she could do nothing else but conform to whatever the man had in mind for her.
Jon decided to return to their original subject. "Princess Elia… She looks frail, my Prince. Too frail to bear children and sometimes… she looks lost yet I have only seen her once or twice upon her visits to King's Landing"
Rhaegar nodded and sighed, taking from the side a harp Jon had not seen him carry into the Tower's terrace. His fingers started playing gently, a sad song, but the notes were high enough to drown the screaming, if only temporary.
"She is good and kind, yet simple. It is hard to talk to her for longer than a few minutes. It is not the same as when I talk to you or Arthur or Ser Barristan Selmy. Even father and mother and the old cook, Maria, who runs the kitchen in Baelor's sept have more to say than her"
"It is early, my Prince. She is shy. Give it time and she may… Open up to you" Jon said between clenched teeth.
A high note sounded from the harp. "Maybe so. Yet very few have married for love. Marriage is duty, it's a political alliance"
Jon nodded. The next words that left his lips did not seem to belong to him; the wine had made him bold or stupid or both. "Did you do your duty?"
A shrill note sounded and Rhaegar put his harp to the side, looking uncomfortable. "I… No, no. Not what father does. She was willing. She never cried, never told me to stop. I tried to be gentle, I don't know…"
The Prince seemed to be at a loss of words and Jon regretted asking him such question. Rhaegar's answer had done nothing but raise the Prince's esteem higher to Jon yet it had also left him with a pang of jealously.
"Let us hope then that her delicate health will not stand in the way of her bearing you a child. Soon, there may be another Prince or Princess"
Rhaegar almost shuddered and nodded. Jon could not help himself any longer. He put an arm around the Prince's shoulders.
From beneath them, the sounds of the coming day echoed in the streets. Girls' giggling sounded and very aware of where his hand was, Jon pulled away and looked on the streets below. Three girls were walking, wearing silks, flowing dresses and big smiles.
"Are these not Princess Elia's ladies in waiting?" Jon said, pointing at the parade of girls.
Rhaegar looked in the streets and his brows tightened. "I do not know. In all honesty I have never paid them much attention"
This pleased Jon greatly who smiled widely but kept looking at the girls, nevertheless. "Surely they must be. See, the woman on the left? The one with the purple dress? She only arrived a week past with Elia Martell and the rest of her ladies in waiting. She is…"
Suddenly the woman turned around, probably hearing the sounds of their voices and smiled at them. She had long dark hair and haunting violet eyes. Some men, such as Barristan Selmy had found her most attractive, as the great knight had conferred to Jon after they had been first introduced. Her appeal did not shake Jon; the only reason her remembered her was because she was the sister of one of the Kingsguard knights.
He went to say as much to Rhaegar, only that the Prince was left looking at the woman, wide-eyed as if he just seen a ghost. The Prince swallowed.
"Who is she?" he managed to whisper at last.
Jon felt a pang of jealously inside his chest. "She is Ashara Dayne, sister to the Sword of the Morning. I hear they are very close. She is lady in waiting to your Bride"
He hoped that this information would make whatever fascination Rhaegar held for her, wash away.
"Do you believe in prophecies and dreams, Jon?" the Prince asked him.
The knight sifted uncomfortably. "You know my answer to this already. I thought you had forgotten such notions, long ago"
"There must be three…" Rhaegar whispered thoughtfully and then turned to his friend, facing him with new energy. "She was in my dream, Jon. She was the servant girl who served eggs to me and Father!"
…
A/N: I own nothing, just playing with some of the theories put forward for major ASOIAF characters' parentage. If you are interested and want more, leave a review or follow/fav.
