283 A.C.
Tower of Joy
Princess Lyanna Targaryen nee Stark
"Are you Naelyria?" Lyanna looked up at her in awe.
"You know who I am?" she looked shocked.
Rhaegar had described Naelyria to an extent. She realized that hearing is one thing. Naelyria's sun-kissed, brown skin was flawless. Her ivory white hair was shorter than her brothers'. The most enticing sight of all, was Naelyria's eyes; As if someone threw a pile of gold dragons on and open flame. In most of Rhaegar's stories, he mentioned how her eyes were like embers in the dark.
"Rhaegar spoke a lot about you." She replied. "He had a number of stories to tell."
"Really?" Naelyria asked. "He made no mention of you, but then again, I hadn't spoken directly to him since Duskendale. At Harrenhal, I eavesdropped on him and another. He was talking about you and the three heads of the dragon."
Lyanna rolled her eyes in disgust at the mentioning of it. "That Gods damned prophecy again. He kept talking about a coming darkness, and that I had to give him a Visenya. I ended up giving him a son instead; his name is Jon. Despite everything, I still loved Rhaegar, and know he loved me."
Lyanna motions to Wylla to bring Jon closer to Naelyria, whose eyes widen and sparkle with would-be tears as she looks at the bundle in Wylla's arms.
"In all fairness," Naelyria sniffles, wiping tears from her eyes. "I take full responsibility for his pursuit in fulfilling that prophecy. When he was young and bookish, I gave him books from my own library; little did I know that he'd actually take them to heart. I should've put the pieces together when the red comet appeared in the sky, and Aegon's birth that soon followed. It doesn't matter now, Elia's dead, and her children are dead."
"This is my fault," Lyanna couldn't hold back the tears. "If Rhaegar hadn't chosen me… mayhaps he would've-"
Naelyria cuts her off then. "Rhaegar would've just married another. Either way, he still was a terrible husband and father. Had Aerys not restricted contact with Viserys, Rhaegar would've been a terrible brother as well. But still, he was like my son once."
Lyanna sniffled. "Did you ever have children of your own?"
"Yes… yes I did…" Naelyria's voice trailed off. "Thrice I married for love, and as a result… I gave each of them a dozen children to be sure of that... Most were boys, and only three girls… my only girls… If men only want sons, they should've come to me… I was practically throwing out sons… I spent so much time in childbed, I lost the use of my legs a number of times."
Lyanna could see the tears pour down Naelyria's face now, landing on her hands and lap. Lyanna couldn't bring herself to dote on the matter any longer. Even Naelyria had a sorrowful past.
She wipes her tears and takes a deep breath then. "But I've accepted the fact that they're lost to me forever, ripped from me long before their time. All I will be able to say, is that they gave me a much more positive view of the world, compared to what I had grew up seeing."
Lyanna lost track of the time, as she and Naelyria spoke. She could hardly believe how old Naelyria truly was, and how much youthful she still looked. They both spoke of their childhoods and dreams, and Naelyria recounted tales about how lovingly she remembered her own father, but silent when asked about her mother. She talked about her siblings, 12 in all; the nieces and nephews she had and still have.
"I think you should know this…" her tone turned serious then and Lyanna wanted to know why.
"Know what?" Lyanna asked.
"Your brother Ned is on his way here." She replied. "Which means neither you or your son, cannot stay here. Not when Robert wants all Targaryens dead."
"Ned isn't Robert, I'm sure he can be reasoned with." Lyanna's words hold some amount of doubt in them. "He would never harm me or my son, he's my brother."
"Men have crossed that line and spilled the blood of their own. Starks are no exception to this one truth. I'm sure you know of Bael the Bard and your ancestor, his own son killing him. Ned maybe your brother, but the fact that he is Robert's closest ally, which makes him Robert's lapdog; always at his beckoned call. If you couldn't trust him with the truth about you and Rhaegar, how could you trust that he won't harm you or your child? In the worst-case scenario, Ned delivers you and Jon to Robert, and Robert has Jon placed on a trebuchet directed towards the Blackwater. Jon is a threat to Robert; and I'd hate to see what could happen should Ned be confronted with that."
"Ned wouldn't do that." Lyanna repeats aloud and in her head, not able to wholly convince herself of it. Naelyria did have a point about trusting Ned. Benjen was the only one in the family that knew the truth about her running away with Rhaegar, that she knew well enough to trust with the truth. Ned would've gone straight to father about it, and Brandon still would've tried to kill Rhaegar.
Muffled noises could be heard from outside of the chamber. The door swings open, and a man with orange hair appeared. "My lady, seven riders have appeared outside. One carries the wolf banner on his horse."
"Ned's here…?" Lyanna asked. "Please, don't hurt him, he's still my brother."
"You have my word I won't harm a single hair on his head. But I'll be back, so we can finish this discussion." Naelyria smiled before leaving.