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Four Years Later 280 A.L.

Brindlewood Castle

Vaelarr read the letter that had come from the capital that morning once more and sighed. It appeared that his presence in the capital was needed once more, despite the fact that Elena had given birth only a few days ago and had not fully recovered from the birth. Vaelarr had his suspicions that the urgent need with which his presence was requested by his brother was not actually that urgent but because of Aerys growing paranoia it may have appeared to his brother that Vaelarr's presence was required. That Vaelarr felt sadly was the problem, since Duskendale Aerys had become very wary and distrustful of pretty much everyone, he saw threats to his person in the shadows and deemed every action as a slight to his person. This had not only served to further strain his relationship with both his wife and hand but also had made him become very, very suspicious of Rhaegar his own son. These growing suspicions had been what had led Aerys to employing Varys as his master of whispers, and Vaelarr felt that Lord Varys himself had only served to worsen his brother's paranoia and fear, his constant mutterings about this lord and that lord and how he had evidence that they were plotting against Aerys had made Vaelarr's brother deeply resentful and hateful towards everyone except strangely enough Vaelarr himself and Lord Varys.

Aerys paranoia had driven him to outright reject Tywin's proposal of a marriage between his daughter Cersei to Prince Rhaegar, with Aerys saying openly to Tywin that one of the blood did not marry a servant, something that deeply offended and angered Tywin. Aerys had later confided in Vaelarr that he had rejected Tywin's offer not because of what he had said, but because he feared that Tywin was trying to grasp for more power than should be rightfully his, when Vaelarr had asked him where he had got that notion from, Aerys had told him of the whisperings that Varys had presented to him, which suggested that Tywin was planning on removing Aerys from the throne and placing Rhaegar on it, had been planning on doing so since before Duskendale apparently. Vaelarr had tried to persuade Aerys against this notion and that such a marriage could only be beneficial for the family and for the realm, but Aerys would hear none of it, and had even suggested that Vaelarr take a closer look at Tywin and his actions at court, and so Vaelarr had done so and had been surprised by what he saw. The Tywin of his youth had been ruthless and prideful but not without honour, the Tywin he saw before him today was still ruthless and prideful but the honour and the way he carried himself had completely changed, to Vaelarr it seemed that every action Tywin did was calculated and assessed for what benefit it could bring to himself and his house first and the realm second. Vaelarr's assessment had led to him having some very serious arguments with his childhood friend, some of which had come very close to becoming physical with neither man willing to admit that what they were saying was wrong or incorrect, once both Vaelarr and Tywin's wives had had to break them apart and literally hold them apart from each other, something that had earned them both severe reprimands from their lady wives. Vaelarr noticed though that there seemed to have been more of strain on Tywin and Joanna's relationship, they still deeply loved each other but it seemed that since their third child had been a stillborn, something had changed and this it seemed had prompted Tywin to emerge himself more deeply into his work.

Aerys had of course been oblivious to these more inner workings and had listened to Varys' suggestion to marry Rhaegar to Elia Martell of Dorne to as Varys said "strengthen ties" between the Iron Throne and the Kingdom of the sun. Whilst many silently mocked Elia for her frail health and said that Rhaegar deserved a more healthy wife and one who could bear the pains of the birthing bed, Vaelarr saw a woman who had a quiet strength to her and held herself in a manner that reminded him of his great aunt Daella who had married a Dornish lord many years ago. The birth of Princess Rhaenys a year ago seemed to have brought Rhaegar and Elia closer together, and Vaelarr could only hope that they continued to grow closer and had a better relationship than Aerys and Rhaella had, for then that would stop the vultures circling. Of course before Rhaegar and Elia had been married Aerys had sent their cousin Steffon and his wife Cassana across the sea to Essos to find a wife with the blood of Old Valryia in her veins for Rhaegar the trip had been unsuccessful and had cost Steffon and his wife their lives, leaving their young son Robert as Lord of the Stormlands, from what Vaelarr's son Aenys had been able to gauge of Robert from their time fostering together at the Vale Robert was more like his grandfather Robar than his father, and seemed to be very, very boisterous and seemed to be the one that made both Vaelarr's son and Lord Rickard Stark's son Eddard smile and act more outward.

Thinking of Aenys made Vaelarr think of the extra land that he had been given by Aerys as a reward for helping crush the Darklyn's rebellion four years ago. His princedom now went from Brindlewood Castle encompassed the Ivy Inn, included the Isle of Faces, and various holdfasts and stopped near the Stoney Sept. It was a beneficial reward for Vaelarr and made him feel more appreciated by his brother and it also- as Elena was always happy to point out- made the Princedom of Brindlewood seem more powerful, which made it more appealing for Lords who wished to marry their daughters to Vaelarr's children, something which could be useful what with Aerys' growing instability. Vaelarr may not have a firm grasp of the politics and the backstabbing of King's Landing but he was no fool, he knew that something would have to be done to curb Aerys recklessness and paranoia before war broke out.

Prince Serwyn Targaryen sat in his cousin Rhaegar's room with Rhaegar, Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Oswell Whent of the Kingsguard as well as Jon Connington and Princess Elia Rhaegar's wife. They were meeting here in Rhaegar's room to discuss an upcoming tournament that Rhaegar had decided to arrange as cover for a grand meeting of the Lords of Westeros, to discuss what was to be done with Rhaegar's father and Serwyn's uncle King Aerys. Serwyn's presence at this meeting had been at the behest of his own father, for Prince Vaelarr though still firmly loyal to his brother the king had realised that his growing instability was likely going to threaten the Targaryen dynasty and so had asked Serwyn to sit in on these secret meetings that Rhaegar had begun holding and report back to him what was said in them, this was the second such meeting that Serwyn had attended.

"Friends." Rhaegar began "What we discuss here must not leave this room, no one else can know about what we are planning until the time is right. I must have your solemn vows to keep the secret before we can begin."

The room was filled with its occupants all murmuring their solemn agreement not to speak a word of this to anyone else, though Serwyn knew that he could not keep to the agreement, not truly anyway.

Rhaegar continued "Ser Oswell has confirmed to me that his brother will be willing to host a Tournament at Harrenhal next year, it will be the biggest tournament ever seen in the history of the Seven Kingdoms and shall serve as the cover for our meeting with the rest of the Lords of Westeros to discuss what should be done with my lord father his grace King Aerys. I would hear your suggestions as to the course we should take."

There was a brief pause whilst everyone contemplated what Rhaegar had said, the first person to break the silence was Princess Elia she said "I believe my lord that a great council should be called to properly ensure that King Aerys is removed as peacefully as possible. The kingdom has been at peace for many years now and any unnecessary bloodshed should be avoided as much as possible. The Lords of Westeros should agree to this as it would benefit them the most."

Jon Connington, whom Serwyn knew did not think much of Elia and so was surprised to hear him agree most heatedly with Elia "I believe that the only way to remove Aerys properly is to go with Princess Elia's suggestion. The Kingdom has been at peace for Twenty years now, why risk going to war and spilling blood of innocent men and women, when we can simply call a Great Council and have them remove King Aerys from power and you on the throne you grace."

There was yet another silence as those in the room contemplated what both Princess Elia and Jon Connington had said, then Rhaegar looked to Serwyn and said "And what of you cousin, what is your belief as to how we should proceed?"

Serwyn swallowed nervously, he knew Jon Connington did not like him for the mere fact that he was kin to Rhaegar. He also knew that there were those in Rhaegar's inner circle who questioned the smartness of allowing him to attend these meetings simply because his father was still so staunchly loyal to King Aerys despite everything else. Serwyn had Rhaegar and Elia's trust though and that was all that mattered to for now so Serwyn spoke confidently "I believe that we should consider what both Princess Elia and Jon have said cousin, I also believe that you should be prepared for war, for I do not think that uncle Aerys will go without a fight. I believe that you need to ensure that the Lords who attend Harrenhal are all loyal to you, and to Elia and Rhaenys. You need to ensure that you have their utmost loyalty and support for the Spider has ears everywhere."

There was a pause after Serwyn finished speaking then Rhaegar said "And where would you and your father fall if it came to war cousin. What would you do?"

Serwyn took a minute to think about this before finally saying "Whatever was the right and honourable thing to do."