Unknown meetings
Gondor, Minas Tirith:
"Faramir? Faramir, where are you?"
The oldest of the two sons to the Steward, was looking for his brother. It was just after breakfast, but it was still unusual for Faramir to almost dash for the library as soon as he had finished eating.
"Not here either?"
That left only the old archives as a remaining place to search, a place where Boromir had not been since he was a youngster in the middle of his schooling.
Faramir was indeed there, sitting with only a candle at a table among all the dusty old parchments and endless rows of documents that someone had hardly read in hundreds of years. In fact, it seemed like he just had been looking though the oldest documents that could be found there. And just like Boromir recalled from his last visit, no one seemed to have cleaned away all the dust in this place for years.
"What have brought you here, brother? You are rarely in this part of the archives."
Boromir could just narrowly made out the old written words in Westron on the parchment which Faramir currently was holding carefully in his hands. If his brother had been the Steward instead of their father, it was easy to imagine him giving a order to copy all those old parchments so the knowledge of the past was not lost due to neglect.
"I had a strange dream last night, and I thought that maybe there is a clue somewhere in there."
Oh, no. Boromir knew what that meant, being one of the few to know about it. Faramir sometimes dreamt of the Downfall of Númenor, and there would be other dreams as well at times.
"What, exactly, did you dream about?" Boromir asked with unease as he bent forwards over his side of the table, hoping that it would not be anything that warned about a new battle with orcs in Ithilien.
"To be honest, I am actually a bit confused about this dream too. It was...different from normal. Two small golden dragons inside a red sun disc on a orange background, which is attacked by a male lion. Yet somehow, a white stallion arrives and manages to strike the lion with his front hooves, before taking the sun disc and the small dragons with him into a forest. Then it changed, and I saw four young fawns together with two lion cubs in front of what seemed to be a large throne made from melted swords, with two smaller fawns not far away on a large stone out in the sea that was surrounded by a dragon. One of them was eye-catching as it was pure white."
Now Boromir looked at his younger brother with a truly honest look of disbelief. What kind of dream was that? Dreaming about animals, that was not something Faramir normally did.
"I will tell the cooks to serve something different for us to drink today. Exactly what wine did we drink to dinner yesterday?"
Yes, that have to be the reason, a wine that had aged a little too long or something unusual in the food. Faramir did not look completely convinced that it was a dream caused by yesterday's dinner, but he agreed to come back up in the sunny weather and search up the cooks about the new request for what would be served today.
How could the brothers have known, that Faramir actually had dreamed about the signs of House Martell, Baratheon and Lannister, which belonged in a world different from their own Arda? That in the newly created dynasty that had taken over the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms, two of the future royal children would not be a daughter and son sired by Robert Baratheon at all?
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Gandalf had been prepared on that King Théoden would not view his arrival with the greatest of joys, and chose to keep himself out of the way. But his news about events in Gondor was welcomed, for a start.
"I am glad to hear that Faramir is doing a good job as the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien," Laywyn said with a rare smile. She was fond of the younger son to the Steward of Gondor, enjoyed that he did not live for war and glory but instead loved lore and music as a scholar, and in a way saw him as the son she might have had in a different life. Or maybe it was easier to say that Laywyn would enjoy a son with that kind of personality.
"He asked me to send his greetings to you, my lady, and hopes that there might be a visit of some kind one day."
Oh, the sons of Gondor visiting Rohan? That was a good while ago, since it last had happened. Théodred and Boromir was only a few months apart in age, and respected each other as good warriors and companions whatever they met somewhere at the border between their homelands.
"That would be nice, for the next generation needs to stay together in the times to come. Gondor and Rohan needs to know that they can trust each other."
With the raising reports about orcs attacks, they needed to plan and be careful. Given that Sauron had returned, it was impossible to tell when the inevitable war would come, but no one doubted that it would. It was not a matter if, but when.
In a ideal world, it would have been one of Elfhild's duties as a Queen to help Théoden in ruling Rohan, because the Queen were among the King's most trusted allies and confidants. This was because Queens were usually one of the only people, if not the sole person, that Kings spent time alone with, mainly because she was the person to hold his heart by love and sharing his bed at night as part of the marriage. Queens were also in Kings' inner circles of trusted fellows and advisers that served as a part of their entourage and accompanied them most everywhere.
Alas, that had not come to be, with Elfhild lost in childbirth and Théoden refusing to marry a new wife so he could have more heirs sired by himself. And with Éomer and Éowyn still underage with several years left to coming-of-age so they would be counted as adults and able to help their older relatives in ruling Rohan, that left Laywyn to take on some of those duties now when she was back in Edoras with no plans of leaving again.
"At least until that Théodred marries and his wife takes the over the role of being a socialite and hostess for guests that arrived to the royal court. With Elfhild dead, that would make her the First lady of the court from the moment of her marriage."
Her brother did not spoil his only child, no that Laywyn knew to not happen, but the fact that Théodred was still unmarried would not look good in the long run. In a few years, there might be whispers and rumours about that he was like her, not interested in romance or the pleasures found in bed at all. And with no younger siblings to marry and have children instead of him, this would not be a good position for her nephew.
"I hate it...but perhaps it is time to give him a deadline about his marriage. If he does not find a bride on his own before a certain time, we must choose a lady of suitable age and lineage to become his wife in an arranged marriage."
Laywyn was not looking forwards this needed meeting with her brother, for she knew how Théoden desired for his son to find love the natural way.
At the same time, just outside Edoras:
"It will be wonderful to be home again."
Théodred, Elia and the others had been returning to Edoras now, for the King had sent a letter to his son at Helm's Deep that the royal household would be traveling together to Aldburg later this spring, so the Prince and his followers could return home now.
"White! White rider!" Aegon suddenly spoke up from the carriage where he and Rhaenys just had woken up from their nap under a blanket to avoid that the sun burned their skin while sleeping.
"No white horse, brother," Rhaenys protested in a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes to wake up properly. To be fair, a few of the horses was white but none of them close enough for Aegon to see at once. And Théodred's warhorse Silvermoon were a dapple grey color, while Elia rode a chestnut-coloured mare.
"Aegon, we will see many riders on white horses later. Or is there something else you tries to tell us?"
Elia had no idea what cause her son to babble like that. Was he trying to tell them of a dream, maybe, or what? Anyway, Edoras was not far away so her children could soon play if they wanted.
"You said something about writing a new letter for your family, right?" Théodred wondered, holding in Silvermoon so he and Elia now rode side by side in the front.
"Yes. I know that we can not know if my first two letters for both my brothers might have arrived, but I still want to have another one ready anyway. Besides, I know for sure that they are gonna insist on rewarding you for saving me and the children."
Théodred did not say anything at first, but looking like he was in deep thought. It seemed like he had not been thinking of something like that, given that he simply had reacted on seeing the small family in danger.
"You are already a prince of royal blood and a warrior, so I do not think that a knighthood or a keep with a few belonging villages would be good enough. Maybe a few of our sand steeds to bring in new blood among the horses of Rohan, or perhaps some agreement of trade…"
Elia realized too late that she had been talking aloud, and also switched to the Common Tongue of Westeros somewhere in the middle without noticing. In quickly raising embarrassment, she turned away her face from the Prince of Rohan. However, the expected question in confusion from Théodred never came.
"You know, Rhaenys, I think your mother tried to challenge me in guessing what she just said. Perhaps you can join in? I have heard you say a few words like how she just spoke," Théodred smiled at her daughter, and Rhaenys eagerly began to babble in the Common Tongue as well. Aegon had stuck his thumb in his mouth as a reason to be silent for now.
For her part, Elia continued to feel embarrassed, in a manner she never truly had been before. In her younger years, long before the betrothal and marriage to Rhaegar, she had flirted with a couple of unmarried men at the court of Sunspear and trained on her skills in how to retain a man's interest without resorting to sexual hints. Yet somehow, this felt very different.
"I am...not so watchful around him, as I once was...could it be, because he have never tried anything against me?"
Elia had no clear answer on this situation, but the simple truth was that she had started to lower her guard around Théodred as a result of feeling secure in his presence, and that they had started on the path leading towards friendship.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
After first greeting his cousins and promising to tell them about the journey at dinner before entered into Meduseld, Théodred saw someone he had not seen for a good couple of years.
"Gandalf! What brings you here? I thought you was busy up in the North with the Elves."
Since he was being addressed by the royal heir, the Wizard removed his smoking pipe so he could respond in a nice manner.
"Someone have to see how things are down here in the south as well. I can not be in two places at once, you know, my Prince."
However, when Elia entered the hall with her children, Gandalf got a honest look of surprise on his face.
"An old friend of the family, Théodred?" Elia asked, given the familiar manner in which he had addressed the old man there in the corner.
"Yes, a traveler who comes and goes as he wants. He is very long-lived, as my feder and fathu have said that he looked the same when they were children."
Oh, that must make him really old, then, Elia agreed.
"White! White!" Aegon continued to insist for a reason none of the adults understood, even pointing on Gandalf. Thankfully a maid took him and Rhaenys away for a light meal to eat after the journey.
"I think he tries to say that I might look like my clothes need a good wash, but I finds grey less likely to get dirty as quickly as white does when you rides for days in rainy weather on muddy paths," Gandalf smiled, and Elia relaxed at seeing that her son had not caused any trouble with his words.
Later that night, as she had put Rhaenys and Aegon to bed, Elia was surprised to find Gandalf waiting on her.
"Finding yourself in an completely different world must be demanding in a way that you cannot show to the outside world, my Lady. You are not a woman of Arda, that I could sense the moment I saw you."
He confirmed what she had suspected more and more during the past six months, that something overnatural had happened that day which could have been her last day of life, her children facing death for the actions of their father and because Tywin Lannister wanted his own daughter as a new Queen of Westeros, not matter who her husband would be. Yet despite her shock, Elia reminded herself of her manners and still made a light curtsy as a sign of respect for his ancient age.
"The Prince saved me and my children from death, an deed for which I can not express enough gratitude for. But I know that, for all the homesickness that I feel, my children will be in danger if I returns to my world. My foolish husband did something that will taint his name in history, and I have no desire to be remembered as a frail woman, a wife who proved herself useless in the duty of giving birth to more children than the two I gave him in the first three years of our marriage."
Gandalf held out his hand, and when Elia took it, something strange happened:
In her mind, Elia saw the whole history of Arda. The creation of the world, important events such as the Awakening of the Elves, the Darkening of Valinor, what had happened in Beleriand during the First Age in the wars between the Elves and Morgoth, the rise of Númenor and its Downfall as well the latter events of the Second Age, how Gondor during the Third Age lost its Kings and the Stewards coming into their current power, and Eorl the Young founding Rohan as a Kingdom to be inherited by his descendants.
As for Gandalf, he saw Westeros and its history starting from Morgan Martell, the founder of House Martell. How Nymeria though her marriage to Mors Martell had brought House Martell into being the rulers of Dorne. The nearly 300 years long Targaryen era, the battles to ensure that Dorne remained independent. And he saw how Rhaegar ended up not being the loyal husband he had promised to be at the wedding.
"It is truly regrettable that sometimes, beauty is just a mask used for hiding rotten personalities. The last son of a nowadays extinct royal House sadly thought that a such person could become a such good friend as someone else special in his heart who had died earlier, and he paid with his life for it."
Gandalf was meaning how in the Second Age, the Elven smith Celebrimbor had been tricked by Sauron in his disguise as Annatar to create the Rings of Power, not that Elia could know that.
"Please do not tell Théodred about my origins yet, master Gandalf, for I do not want to risk my life or my children again. One supposed protector failed to do his duty, and I wish all three of us to live. Even if that means that we will have to hide ourselves for those out after my children for the rest of their lives, until that Rhaegar is only a person in history and enough many generations have passed from the Rebellion."
He nodded in understanding. For whatever reason the Valar had allowed Théodred to save Elia and her children, there had to be a answer to be found at some point in the future. His own mistress Nienna, the Vala of pity, would undoubtedly be saddened to find out what kind of fate that could have awaited the small family.
"I hope that Rohan will be able to offer you protection from the people who hunts you, and that you will find yourself at peace here until that you can return home."
That Elia could agree on, that while she wanted to return home to Dorne, Rohan was a sanctuary where she was protected from the Lannisters.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
At the same time in Lannisport:
Eleven-year-old Tyrion wished that Jamie could stop being sullen. Sure, he could understand that his seven years older brother was unhappy about basically being kicked out from the Kingsguard by Robert Baratheon on the basis of "not getting any ideas about a second kingslaying" and being viewed with suspicion over that he killed Aerys at being brought home to Casterly Rock in disgrace by their father after the Sack of King's Landing about half a year ago.
"Surely he can not be that angry over that Cersei is pregnant and doing her duty as a married wife? She will be the mother of a prince or princess in a few months."
Right now Tyrion had grown tired of his brother's sullenness together with muttered desires of gelding King Robert for making Cersei pregnant because their sister complained about this and that discomfort caused by the pregnancy in every single letter she had written to Jamie so far, and instead rode down to Lannisport to meet up on a previously determined location with some cousins, those from his mother's siblings, for better company. Given that the late Joanna Lannister had been one of seven true-born siblings, that meant several cousins on the maternal side for Tyrion.
"He is lucky to not have lost his head or been sent to the Wall for the rest of his life over killing Aerys. It can not be fun to be unable to leave Casterly Rock, since Father threatened him with house arrest in his own chambers otherwise if Jamie tried to sneak out."
At the same time, Tyrion could understand Jamie being unhappy to have missed what was Cersei's moment of glory, to be married to a King and becoming Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. As her twin, Jamie must have hoped to see his sister during the celebration, only to find himself forbidden to enter King's Landing until that she had her first baby, by orders from Robert as if Jamie's presence during the wedding would taint his golden bride.
At entering Lannisport though one of its gates, Tyrion passed by a small cart driven by a donkey. The driver must be a crofter, based on his simple clothing, likely in the city to sell something for money.
"Tysha, keep the hens quiet!"
The dark-haired girl at his back obeyed her father, tossing a blanket over the large wicker basket where some young chickens were chirping. Tyrion paid them no attention as the cart left the gate, instead he simply continued to ride his pony against the large square where his cousins would wait for him.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Author note:
Queens in the RL Middle Ages did not only have childbirth as part of their duties, many of them was among the most trusted allies and confidants to their husbands. This was because Queens were usually one of the only people, if not the sole person, that Kings spent time alone with. Queens in the Middle Ages were also in Kings' inner circles of trusted fellows and advisers that served as a part of their entourage and accompanied them most everywhere. Queens in the Middle Ages also lived as socialites and hostesses. Socialite queens were responsible for the comfort and happiness of the guests at their many celebrations. They were also in charge of planning these celebrations, which included many feasts, balls and seasonal parties. Queens also accompanied the King to social functions in other kingdoms.
Théodred and Boromir are born in the same year, TA 2978, but I imagine that Boromir are born in late autumn, near winter, as a indirect symbol of that he will never become Steward of Gondor after his father and also that the age of the Ruling Stewards of Gondor are coming to its end with Aragorn becoming King of the Reunited Kingdom after the War of the Ring
Gandalf saw the history of Westeros from Dorne's perspective because it is Elia's homeland, and l seriously doubts that the very handsome Rhaegar would be that gorgeous-looking among normal people in a world with Elves
Yes, Jamie is not the cause behind Cersei's first pregnancy here as he was kicked out from the Kingsguard and sent back home in disgrace for killing Aerys. Since he also was not present at the wedding, she does not have him around for any secret love meetings behind Robert's back. In this AU, Jamie did actually have some sort of trial over his actions with Aerys, and while he avoided being sentenced to death because Tywin refused to lose his favorite son and Cersei pleading Robert to show mercy for her twin brother, he is seen as a disgrace to House Lannister and honorless man for the kingslaying