It was mid-morning when the rider carried the banners of House Royce. The man was near breathless by the time Rhaegar, Lyanna and Jon Arryn got to him. "My lord," the soldier said. "My lord Royce sent me to inform you, a convoy has been spotted coming up the Goldroad by our scouts. They carry the lion sigil."

"More Lannisters," Jon grumbled. "I thought Tywin's entire host was in King's Landing. It has certainly seemed like it anytime I have been allowed in."

"It is a small group, my lord, along with a wheelhouse," came the further information.

Now Rhaegar sounded confused. "Who would come to troop encampments in a wheelhouse?" he asked, looking to Jon and his wife.

"A woman," Lyanna stated. "A lady. And if the coach bears the Lannister banners, it means Cersei Lannister has been sent for by her father."

Jon thought about it for a moment. It made sense, as the Old Lion was now entrenched with Robert in the Red Keep. Having his daughter join him only added to the scene of the future.

"Have the wheelhouse stopped and directed here. When they arrive, we will offer hospitality to the travelers. If it is indeed she, I wish to speak with Lady Cersei myself. Perhaps she can carry a message to her father when she sees him," the prince decided.

"You wish to speak to Cersei?" Something about that sounded as if it horrified Lyanna. It looked as though for the past year, she had been in a competition with the lioness, even though they had only briefly interacted a handful of times.

In some way, without Lyanna Stark even knowing it, she had been. But Jon thought it was best to tell her and Rhaegar that later.

"We have been at a stalemate here for some time," Rhaegar replied instead. "Lord Arryn is getting nowhere with Robert-"

"Because every time I am allowed to speak with him, Tywin is there," he muttered

"And I still refuse to take the capital by force."

"Perhaps you are correct, your grace. But I think if you do speak with her, it should include myself and Ned, at the very least," Jon suggested.

"And me," the princess said. Her husband looked as though he was going to object, but she stopped him. "I do not trust her around you. I have always sensed she had an agenda that involved you, and I do not think she would not try to still employ it now."

Rhaegar now looked at him. "I agree with the princess," he said, "and she is not wrong about Cersei, and Tywin having an agenda." The prince's expression demanded he tell more, but Jon shook his head. "We should call a council before we go there."

Now Jon turned to the rider. "As the prince said, have the wheelhouse brought here. It should take some time to arrive, to speak with Lady Cersei ourselves." Then the rider took off back to the Goldroad. When he was gone, Jon turned to Rhaegar and Lyanna. "Your grace, I feel, while we wait, there is something I have not told you that I should have. It is only in the rather quick arrival from Casterly Rock that I feel it needs to be spoken of at once."

The prince gave him a steely look but merely nodded, ordering him to gather whoever he felt needed to hear this information.

It was a short time later that Jon, Rhaegar and Lyanna were joined by Ned, Hoster, Stannis, Olenna, Gerold and Oberyn. When they were all seated, he closed his eyes, the shame too great to look his prince in the eye. "Your grace, there is some critical intelligence you do not know that goes to the heart of this rebellion. And it begins with Tywin Lannister. You know, of course, that it was Tywin's wish that you be betrothed to his daughter, correct?"

"Yes, I know the matter was brought to my father," Rhaegar answered. "It was one of the last things we actually agreed upon."

"And it was because you and your father agreed about that topic that the true seeds of the rebellion were planted," Jon explained.

"I know he resigned as Hand almost immediately," Lyanna put in. "But isn't that a tad excessive to begin to plot a rebellion over an answer of no?"

"Sadly, my dear, it is not. Men's egos have been offended by less," Olenna corrected gently. "And a father wishing his daughter to be a future queen make it even moreso."

"Lady Olenna is correct. Tywin was furious. And when he returned to Casterly Rock, he looked at the landscape of the Seven Kingdoms. It took him some time, but he came up with a way he thought the Targaryen dynasty could be overthrown."

"And you know this because?" Rhaegar asked, a dangerous tone in his voice.

"I know because I was approached for a part of the plan," Jon admitted honestly. He knew the prince could demand his head, but he had already been the lord to call for the banners for a war, so a minor part in this scheme seemed paltry in comparison. "What Tywin saw was his two elder children; a newly made Lord of the Stormlands a little older than his twins; three healthy youths from the North, all in the same age range and one who was to be Lord of Winterfell sometime in the future; and two beautiful daughters of the Riverlands, again, of a similar age."

"He was planning marriage alliances," Oberyn guessed correctly.

"Yes, he was," Jon said. "He never needed to approach Dorne because, by then, Rhaegar was betrothed to Elia and your house had no children of age. Tywin is a master game player and he set the board in a way to isolate the Targaryens, maybe not now, but sometime in the near future. It did start, and aid his plan, that Ned was sent to me."

Jon looked at Lyanna first. "You are the same age as both Cersei and Jaime, with you, Ned," he glanced at his foster son, "a mere few years older. He planned on having you betrothed to Cersei, after your time in the Vale, and Lyanna to Jaime."

Now he glared at Hoster, who was shifting uncomfortably. "He convinced you to offer Catelyn's hand to Brandon Stark and Lysa's to Robert."

Finally, Ned spoke, his voice shaky from the confession. "That would unite the North, West, Stormland and Riverlands all in marriage."

"Precisely. And he was well aware of how unstable your father was becoming, especially after Duskendale. It aided his plan perfectly," Jon told the assembled.

"And it did work, in a fashion," Olenna surmised.

"Yes, but to the exclusion of the West," Jon countered. "When you called for the council at Harrenhal and Aerys surprised you by being there, the plan began to get away from Tywin. The first to fall was Jaime."

"He was made a knight of the Kingsguard." Gerold was seeing what was happening.

Nodding, Jon went on. "That was to spite Tywin in particular. Take away his heir, and remove a groom from being in play. Almost immediately…"

"I suggested Robert," Ned continued. "I remember Father being dismayed about a match for Lyanna falling through, but I had no idea it was Jaime."

"But you were aware of Robert taking a fancy to your sister." Eddard nodded to Jon's comment.

"It was Tywin who approached me with the idea of sending Lysa to the Vale," Hoster spoke up at last. "As she was the second girl, she was less desirable and further away, should something happen to Edmure."

"Even if Jaime was not available, Tywin still thought it could be pulled off, maybe even a little better, with a marriage between the Vale and the Riverland," Jon explained. "Then came the Knight of the Laughing Tree and the last day of the Tourney."

"When Rhaegar crowned me to try and recognize the three victories in the days before," Lyanna said. "Even though I had not yet fallen in love with you…"

"...I made my feelings rather clear," Rhaegar concluded. "And then, months later, we ran off together."

"Causing Tywin to lose the board. With Lyanna gone, it meant Robert had no forthcoming lady in the Stormlands, and with it leading to Brandon's rashness at demanding you, your grace, it was the event that pushed Ned to Catelyn, thus, Cersei losing a husband." Jon was glad to have it all out, at last. He looked around the table, noting the various expression and, in some corners, lack thereof.

"And Tywin had no other piece to play, as I am certain he would never have brought Tyrion up as a potential match," Olenna shared.

"The only reason he has managed to pull it off to any degree is the rebellion. He has been sitting at Casterly Rock the whole time, waiting to see which side came out on top," Ned reasoned. "He must not have wanted to wait any longer and decided to side with Robert is because he saw the rest of us coming to our senses at last." Now, he stole a glance at Jon, but there was only disappointment in his eyes.

"If he wanted to overthrow my father, we could have worked together!" Rhaegar raged for an instant, the Silver Prince losing his well-known temperament.

"But he did not want to just overthrow your father," Oberyn now said. "The Lannister forces were humiliated by your ancestor. Most of those swords that make the Iron Throne were from men of the Westerlands."

"He grew up in the shadow of a weak father," Olenna counseled. "He rose above that, was even named Hand of the King, who was his friend, no less. But his pride took a hit when his proposal was rejected."

"It has not helped that Jaime had taken the white cloak as an honor, which I have no doubt angers Tywin even more," Gerold said. "All he is left with his Tyrion who, despite his deformities, is quite clever, maybe even more so than his father."

"You have known this the whole time?" Rhaegar asked, the undercurrent of his anger towards Jon becoming more evident.

"And I am prepared to face the consequences, my prince." Jon stood as he said that, waiting for an order to the Lord Commander for his arrest.

But Rhaegar surprised him. "I am not prepared to sentence you, not for what you have confessed. It does in some way explain why you have sought negotiations in the time we have been at the city gates and I do thank you for those efforts." He then turned to Gerold. "For the time being, you and Lord Tully are to be confined to your tents. Lord Stark, please see to it that some of your Northerners are guarding them at all times."

"Me, your grace?!" Hoster looked appalled that he was also being judged the same as Jon Arryn.

"Yes, Lord Tully," Ned spoke up, quietly at first. "You even more than Jon knew what positions you were moving Lysa and Catelyn into. You, more than Jon, conspired with Tywin to overthrow the Targaryens. The Targaryens gave you the Riverlands three hundred years ago, yet you took part in trying to end them."

He made an attempt to go for Hoster, but Rhaegar stopped him. "Whatever his part in the scheme was, he is your good-father, Ned. And he has bent the knee to me. There will be a judgment made of him, but not this night." Then the prince looked to Gerold, who, with a few other men, led Hoster out of the tent.

Jon himself was about to be escorted out when he spoke in his own defense. "I knew of the scheme, of that, I cannot deny. But I had the hope to curtail it with the overthrow of your father. As I knew of Tywin's plans, so too, I knew of your plans. I had hoped that after Harrenhal we may have been able to work together for the goal we all shared-the end of your father's reign."

Prince Rhaegar nodded in understanding. "I realize that my lord, and shall take that into account as I think it over. You will be escorted to your tent, but when the Lannister party arrives, I do think it is still advisable for you to join us for the discussion."

"Thank you, my prince." Other than that, Jon knew he had nothing left to say. He allowed himself to be taken to his tent. There, he sat and prayed to any god he knew of, that the prince would show mercy, to Hoster and Jon himself.

In the back of his mind, Rhaegar was more than aware of the unrest stirring against his father, so it was little surprise that schemes were flying around the realm. He wasn't even entirely shocked that Jon Arryn or Hoster Tully would partake in such plans. Hoster was ambitious, looking for whatever means to advance his house while Arryn was more a conciliator, wanting to work together for a common goal. And it was a common goal, to unseat the Mad King.

"They should both be sent to the Wall," Stannis demanded. He was a man bound by the hard letter of justice. He only joined the rebels because Robert demanded it of him, but he did not agree on general principle. Ned had told Rhaegar about the confrontation between the two brothers in the throne room. Robert had ordered Stannis to sail to Dragonstone and capture his mother and brother, but Stannis had refused. "They have both confessed to conspiring against the crown. The penalty is death, but you can't execute the lords of two great houses."

"Hoster, maybe," Oberyn said, "but Arryn has at least come forward of his own volition. And he stated he hoped to join the two factions seeking to oust the Mad King."

Rhaegar looked to Olenna, but for once, the Queen of Thorns had nothing to say, so he swung around to Ned. "Lord Stark, you are the one with the deepest connection to both men. One is your father my marriage, the other by fostering. What say you?"

Lord Eddard remain true to his nickname, the Quiet Wolf. Rhaegar knew he was struggling with these very questions, so the prince dismissed all the others, save for Ned and Lyanna.

When the three were alone, Lyanna clasped her brother's hand. "Ned?" she asked gently. "What are you thinking?"

"I am thinking of how we have all been manipulated, by Tywin, by Hoster, even by Father," he replied bitterly. Then he looked at her. "I am even more sorry that you were ever forced into such a situation with Robert. Sadly, I can see him aligning himself with Tywin for such reasons."

"It's funny," Rhaegar said, as he thought through what Ned had just admitted, "but I cannot see Robert wanting to take it to the Iron Throne." When both the Starks looked to him, he expounded. "He may have little love for my family, but I don't see him as the type who would want to be king."

"Unless he is being pushed to it, by Lord Tywin," Lyanna suggested. "Robert sits upon the throne, but the Lannisters would be the true rulers of the Seven Kingdoms. He'd have as much gold as he wanted for whores, drink, tourneys."

"The treasury was full, the last time I heard from the Master of Coin. It would take time to empty it on such things," Rhaegar disagreed.

"But if it could be done, to whom would the crown look for continued financing?" Ned asked as if he found another piece. "Lord Tywin Lannister. More specifically, Lannister gold."

That was something Rhaegar had not thought of. Robert was a man much easier to manipulate than he was. Tywin would not think to ingratiate himself with Rhaegar on the throne, not after he had resigned over not marrying Cersei. And he who controlled the purse strings of the kingdom would, in fact, control the kingdom.

Then Lyanna spoke up. "The other way to ensure holding onto power is through marriage. From what Jon said, Tywin had eight of us lined up perfectly for marriage. Yet, all those matches have fallen through, for the most part. The North and Riverlands are bound together, but not in the way he wanted. And, there are few of us left to play with. I chose Rhaegar, Lysa is married to Jon, Jaime is Kingsguard, Brandon is dead, so who are the only two remaining from the original plan? Robert and Cersei."

"He intends to marry Cersei to Robert, another ensnaring," Rhaegar realized. "We must hope our men make haste to the Goldroad and bring her here."

"Do you think she will admit it if she even knows?" Ned asked as he and Lyanna remained sitting.

"She knows, of that, I have little doubt. Jaime has always said she was the one who remained the closest to Tywin. She has always wanted to emulate her father and with Jaime unable to rule Casterly Rock, she sees herself as her father's true heir," Rhaegar said as he signaled his Kingsguard. "Arthur, Oswell, Barristan, keep a lookout for when the party traveling from Casterly Rock arrives. Gerold, when they come, please fetch Lord Arryn and meet us back here. The princess, Lord Stark and Lord Commander Hightower will meet with the Lannister host. And Gerold, have a message prepared for Cersei to give her brother. I think it is past time we addressed Ser Jaime's broken oaths."

The four men moved as ordered. Then, Rhaegar turned to his wife. "I feel uncomfortable with you here-"

"Well, I am remaining by your side, and I will not be commanded otherwise," Lyanna insisted.

The prince shot a look to Arthur over her head. "-but I know there is little I can say to convince you to not remain here," he finished. She blushed when he said that, as he added, "I am only thinking of you and our babe. I know I was overly cautious regarding Prince Oberyn, but Cersei...she has a look to her at times that reminds me of my father."

She nodded. "I understand, my lord husband, and my carrying your child does not lessen the guilt I still feel for all that has happened," she said with a sigh. "I still think I must speak with Robert, at some point. I think he is owed at least some explanation from my own lips."

"Cersei Lannister, first, then we shall figure out a way to deal with my kin," he promised.

It was then a runner came to them. "My Lord Stark!" the boy called as he ran with a scroll in his hand. "A message from Riverrun!"

Rhaegar noted the anxious look that took hold of his goodbrother as he was handed the scroll. He unraveled it, his eyes traveling over the parchment a few time. "Catelyn has given birth!" he cried joyously. "I have a son!"

In spite of all that had befallen Rhaegar and those close to him, he could not help but share in the good news. It was Lyanna, however, that put the feelings they were probably both experiencing into words. "A son." She put her hand on her belly, speaking to the babe she carried. "Do you hear that? You will have a cousin to play with as you grow. I can already see you two when we visit, sparring with each other and climbing the walls of Winterfell." Then she looked back to her brother. "Has Catelyn named him yet?"

The sparkle went out of Ned's eyes for a minute. "She has already had the naming ceremony. He is called Robb...after my dear friend." The last two words were drawled out, as if distasteful.

"You have not told her of what we have learned since we arrived here?" Rhaegar asked. With a shake of the head, the prince chose to dispel any concerns Lord Stark may have had. "Remember, before there was the possibility of Robert Baratheon being your brother, by law, he was my cousin. He was a boy I called a friend on occasion, and he was a friend, even if he can be one no longer. Your son shall carry the name in memory of a friend we have both lost, and say no more about it."

It was a while later that he and Lyanna were alone. "Do you really mean what you said before about the name of Ned's son?" she asked him.

He offered her a sheepish smile. "I find that it is often better to say a little white lie to keep peace in families. But I refuse to see Robert in the face of a newborn child." And he meant that. He figured that neither Ned nor Hoster would have spoken of the scale of Robert's betrayal to Catelyn, so she would have little understanding about the implication of the name.

"Have you thought of a name for our son?" she asked him next.

"Have you?"

His wife let out a little laugh. "Yes, but I thought you would be determined to choose a very...Targaryen name."

He smiled some more. "It has been a thought." Her eyes implored him for his suggestion. "I had thought of Aegon, but it has become rather overused, would you not say?"

"I would say," she agreed. "But he would be named after one of your forefathers who was king, am I correct?"

"Yes, but I think there are others we can choose from. I have always admired King Jaehaerys. A wise man who lived a long life, with his great love and many children."

Her smile turned mischievous. "I, too, have thought of a name, one of my ancestors who was king." After a pause, she offered, "Jon, after King Jon Stark. Though, in light of what we learned today…"

"He defended his kingdom in the east?" he asked, trying to place the name.

"Yes, and built the Wolf's Den."

Something about that fact struck a chord with Rhaegar, but he would need to consult his books to investigate further. As to her proposal, he replied, "Why can he not have two names? Or a nickname? There is nothing totally dissimilar with them." He smiled, played the name on his tongue. "King Jaehaerys 'Jon' Targaryen. How does it sound?"

"Sounds wonderful," she answered, leaning in for a kiss.

Before they could make the connection, Ser Arthur called into the tent. "Your grace, the party from the Goldroad has arrived. Lady Cersei Lannister is being brought to you."

A chill ran down his spine. There were few people he could honestly say he loathes, but the golden lioness was one of them. He must have been easy to read because it was Lyanna said, "Shall we go meet the golden bitch then?"

"Yes. Let us get it over with."