TRADE OF SECRETS
Sitting on the rock beneath the old oak tree, Rhaegar ran his fingers through his newly dyed shoulder length hair, as he waited for the odd-eyed beauty to arrive. He almost regretted for masking his silver-gold mane, with coal black, which apparently should have been the reason why the she-wolf didn't much prefer to fawn over him. Rhaegar's lips twitched and formed a curve when he understood this was the first time he even contemplated about his looks ever since birth.
He fell into his web of thoughts again, as he had done all over his lifetime. The more important ones, which didn't concern the wolf-maid. First that reached his head was the threat of the dead men, then the loyalty of Mance and finally his royal-sire.
"You brood too much, Ser."
Her voice sweet as summer wine made Rhaegar smile, and he lifted his head to find her in a deep blue woollen gown that clung to her shapely waist, which was swaying in a cadence for each step she took.
"You have to blame it all on these cold lands, my lady." Rhaegar said with his bright black eyes shining, which was also indeed the result of poor sunlight in the cold lands. That made no difference to him — his purple orbs deserved to be shunned before her mesmerizing mismatched eyes. She elegantly sat on the rock opposite to him, and Rhaegar was quite taken back of her composure which didn't match with how he found her in the woods, with a longbow in her hand and curse words on her lips.
"I agree. The North and cold doesn't set well on strange, untrustworthy men. The Old Gods rule these lands and they decide if they must trust a man or not." She said and wove her hands on her lap while her eyes were constantly evaluating his reaction to each word she uttered.
With the letters they shared, he had thought Allara to be clever, bookish and lovely. And with his first meet, his jaw dropped to find such a blessed crowning beauty that Gods themselves created to make her stand out with cross hair and cross eyes, that would want any man to glance at her twice. But this was not what he expected from a girl of six and ten. To be called on his face that he was untrustworthy.
No one evaluated him or judged him or questioned him. He had this natural charm to make easy friends who would even give their lives to do his bidding. He would win over any reasonable person to his cause. If strength was what required, he would show them his prowess. If grace was what required, he would exhibit the needed decorum. But here he was, unable to give any answer, while her left grey eye was cold as the North itself.
"One would think you have lost your tongue, Ser Duncan. Perhaps, you speak well only through missives, I assume." She mocked with her dark blue eyes dancing in a polite tease. "As we are on the topic of missives, I wonder where you stole King Jaehaerys's quill and goat skin, considering you are no Maester. Or should I ask if all the gifts you gave me were not real?"
Rhaegar struggled to give any answer at all. He spoke with the Maester Walys the next day, when Allara left from the inn, advising him to comply with his web of lies. And the Maester warned him to be careful, saying the girl was smart and would catch his lies easily. Perhaps it was those warnings that made him to be alert with her or that haunting grey eye...
"I never said I was a Maester, my lady. Should I take responsibilities of all your assumptions?" He retorted, and her shoulders moved back of hearing the accusation. "And the Old King's properties were gifts that was given to my house, which inturn I gave to you..."
"Which house?"
She was sharp, and she was on to the point. "Not any high-born house, my lady. My grandfather worked as a smith in one of the castle in Stormlands, which is how we got the present."
"Which castle? And who knighted you?"
Rhaegar wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the sword tight, gaining comfort in his posture to look casual and normal. "My grandfather worked in Summerhall, during King Aegon's rule. And I served as a squire to Ser Harbert, castellan of the Storm's End, who knighted me at the tourney in Storm's End."
These were blatant lies and although the names and the tourneys and the knighting were true, after his successful tilt against Simon Toyne of the Kingswood Brotherhood, rest all were cooked up. But the odd-eyed beauty had no source other than to confirm it with the Maester, who would say exactly what Rhaegar asked him to. He could see her relaxing her shoulders and a small wave of trust crept into her head, which reflected on her smoothened creased brows and Rhaegar felt like an arse for lying to her.
"Very well, Ser. I must apologize for my cold words. But I find it so difficult to trust your words." She said offering him a smile. A smile that was melting his cold heart.
"And why would that be, my lady?"
"You did help fighting against the wildlings and actually saved me, which I am thankful for. But you have the look of an entitled arse about your face that makes it so difficult for me to believe that you are not a highborn lord."
Rhaegar couldn't stop the grin. "Entitled arse?" He asked with clenched teeth. She jumped down from the rock, making a pout mouth in a teasing way, while her fingers fiddled with the long braid that fell below her waist. "You are the first one to call me that..." He stated and in response she walked away from him while he did not miss catching her swaying behind.
"Are we going to ever bringthe topic of why you actually came to North? I am sure it is not for taking the Black."
"I thought you needed my help." He said staying two feet behind her, as they walked down the cliff where she supposedly often bought her direwolf for a walk. A fine place with literally no human intervention for them to worry. "You literally begged me to do some dark magic on you to get rid of the dreams."
She stopped on her tracks at the mere mention of dreams and Rhaegar instantly regretted of asking it. But curiosity piqued his interest to know how she would react. He learned it was Allara in the dreams — her eyes and the direwolf was the proof, but she didn't know it was Rhaegar in her dreams. Turning around with nervous hands, she looked everywhere except his face and became restless.
"I shared all those, only because I believed you will remain secret. And-"
"And you asked me to help you with those dragon dreams." He pressed staring at her plump red lips that she started chewing in fear or shame.
"How will you do that? I thought you were a Maester who knows dark magic. But you are just a knight... Do you even believe in what I am saying or are you mocking me in your head?" Her furious voice might have troubled him once, but now he was even more eager.
"In the chill cold lands, when you freeze to death and wish for a flick of fire by your hearth, dragons dance in front of your eyes and pale monsters try to kill you. Isn't this your dream?" Rhaegar said with a steely voice.
Her mouth slightly opened and all her playfulness vanished into thin cold air, replaced with dreadness.
"What magic are you using? How... How come you know... Wait... Do you know everything that happens in my dream? Do you know-" She paused, her cheeks getting flushed in shame.
Rhaegar should have expected this, and even he became awkwardly uncomfortable. In fact, it should be him who should get ashamed of those wild dreams, for he chased her and fucked her any time possible. But those were just dreams... or thoughts... more like his fantasies, Wasn't it? He was a married man, and she would soon marry another lord.
"I felt it. I have been feeling it for a few years." He confronted without revealing much, but her eyes were tearing up in both embarrassment and fear. "Allara, I know what you go through is not easy and I know you are having a difficult time to understand it. If you could open up to me, I can help you."
Without giving an answer, she ran towards her horse, untying its reins in panic. Rhaegar felt like a moron for revealing it so soon, before even earning her trust. She was a lady, after all, and to reveal such events which were forced on her by him should have been insulting and traumatic for her.
Allara gave a whistle and scanned around, waiting for her direwolf to arrive, with her plump red lips forming a beautiful pout that made his crotch bulge and he badly wanted to run far away from her. Either it was the empty ground or the cold or just the mere presence of her or the distance from his home, he couldn't conclude which, but he knew it was not right for him to stand close to her alone.
"Let me help you." He said going to closer to her, but she gave an icy glare that made him stop on his tracks.
"You want to help me? Really? So, tell me how you know all the details of my dream. Is that why you offered the Maester to help me?" She closed in the distance between them, and they were standing with only inches apart from each other. All that remained between them were tension and few inches, both which he wanted to cover even while the entirety of his head was pleading with him to do otherwise.
What he didn't expect was to find her fingers roaming on his chest and fiddling with the laces of his doublet. He had to swallow so hard, unable to believe she was filling the air between them.
"Did you use a glass candle to send me those dreams? I have learnt in one book that it is possible for a sorcerer to do it." Her hands went up to his collar, clutching it tight in her grasp, and she pulled him down to meet her deep, mischievous eyes. "Tell me, Ser. Did you use a glass candle to send visions on me?"
The bulged crotch only got painfully hard, and he flexed his fingers tightly, till his knuckles went white, unable to control the urge to touch her beautiful curves. The Gods truly created her to test every man's worth. If left for a few minutes, he knew he would prove how worthless he was, in spite of never getting indulged in such salacious things before.
Holding her pale hand, which was smoother than any silk he had touched, Rhaegar dragged it down, prying it away from his collar with a twitch gracing his lips. "I used glass candles to find your dreams but not to create one." Rhaegar reminded himself to appreciate Allara for giving him an easy way to lie. "The return of dragons are written in stone and I wanted to search for the source which eventually guided me towards you. Now, my lady, will you tell me all about your dreams?"
Her cold gaze was replaced with softened eyes, and her trust was growing even higher than before. Her cheeks were turning red, and she saw anywhere but his eyes. Had he seen any maid blush beautifully like her? With the sun turning red in the sky, amidst the snow-filled grasses, standing beneath an old oak tree, he knew he wouldn't find a perfect moment like this with any woman in the whole Seven Kingdoms. All his ethics, honor, morals melted and became insignificant before his cross-eyed maid.
His fingers pulled the braided long hair that ran past her waist and his other hand held her slender waist, and his hands twitched to tease every inch of her body.
"I have more than just dreams." She said, her mismatching eyes locking his and her hand crawling towards his shoulder while her fingers made soothing circles on hardened arm. "You are right when you said the dragons are returning. I found..." She said so lightly, leaning towards his ear. "a clutch of eggs."
No... That could not be true. There was no way dragon eggs could be found in North. As a child, he climbed all rocks, all lairs and all caves in Dragonstone, to search for the eggs or even its shells. Even when Summerhall was burnt to the crisp, it didn't stop him from excavating the underground where the eggs were kept to be burned along with wildfire, which only ended up in becoming ashes. Not even the whole Seven Kingdoms possessed. Not even his own dragon family held a single egg. How could this girl possess a clutch of them?
Allara gave a smile and when she tried to part from him, Rhaegar protectively and possessively wounded his hand around her waist, and dragged her to his chest. "How?" He asked, the darkness in his voice growing intense. "How did you get them? How many?" He almost growled feeling her firm, round, handful breasts getting crushed on his chest. And all the girl did was to smirk.
A fucking smirk was all she gave in response.
"There, there... Are we trying to choose the path of intimidation to earn information?" She asked, but there was no resistance to move away from her end. Only teasing eyes playfully making fun of his eagerness. "Why should I tell you everything, when I won't get anything in return, Ser?"
"What do you want, Allara? Tell me..." He asked, and his hands crawled down to her behind, to feel the girth of her perfect round arse in his palms. She jumped instantly, and when she glowered at him, he gave a playful smirk just like hers.
She parted away, folding her arms across her chest, throwing mixed reactions, bringing him down to shame.
What is there in this girl that makes me act like a stupid boy of six and ten and not a crown Prince who should focus on learning to rule?
"I am in need of so many things, Ser. You can't even contemplate to know of all those. But, I don't think you will serve me any good. To begin with, my father wants me gone from the castle in a few moons time. And I am searching for a good hedge knight who will be able to love me." She paused, moving away from him with a long sigh and deep anguish were etching her shining face.
"Don't presume I didn't consider you. But you don't have a house name and you are a common born, which is a strict no from my father. Also, as selfish I am going to sound, I really want to go into a well-settled family. See, I have lived almost all my life in my father's court, acting as a cup-bearer and steward, or whatever name you southerners give to that position. Those were the only times I felt my life was thriving and had meaning to it." She ended and turned towards him with bright eyes full of life. "What is the thing that makes you thrive? What is that one thing which makes your blood circulate in passion?"
Rhaegar was dumbstruck with that question. Did he ever feel passionate on anything? Sure, he loved books and songs, but that was his way to escape the tragedy of the truth of his birth. It was never for something to search in passion. It was just an escape system to vent out his anger.
"Tell me what you have to offer. Then I will consider telling more, Ser." She said and climbed on her horse, trotting it faster towards the direction of the castle, while her direwolf ran next to her.
Why didn't my father find this girl to be my wife?
"Ser..." Richard called, entering his room in the inn. "I want an opinion from you. Do you think I have dressed well?..." Richard tugged his doublet, while adjusting the sword by his hips.
"Everything seems to be in place, Richard." Rhaegar answered and walked down the stairs to the hall of the inn where breakfast was getting served. "What are you excited about?"
"That girl... Allara Stark... She was lovely. Isn't she? A bit of foul-mouthed to be a lady. But I suppose that adds even more beauty to her. I was thinking..."
"Don't think." Rhaegar instantly snapped and found a good corner where fewer men were present.
"Why not? I earned my spurs from you, Ser. My one big dream came true and now... I can ask the girl..." Rhaegar stopped on his tracks grinding his teeth unable to hear another word from the boy. "My house sigil is filled with skulls and kisses. I can even be called a Knight of Kisses..."
Rhaegar glared at his recently knighted squire, with pursed lips and clenched fist that was throbbing to be shoved into his mouth, and finally Richard made a notice of it, with slightly parted lips.
"Perhaps not, then..." His new knight admitted silently, understanding Rhaegar's anger, and walked to the inn-owner to order fine hot food.
They silently broke their fast until a middle-aged man with graying hairs took a chair opposite to them. For a moment, in the self indulgence of his next move, he forgot to notice the man's presence, but when the sound of steel clanking together was heard, he sighed a relief.
"Maester Walys!" Rhaegar addressed.
"What folly is this, Ser?" The Maester warily looked all around the inn where there were a fine set of eyes on the southern soldiers, who lavishly spent coins for food and stay. "You keep adding more and more lies to her. You should have atleast told me about your arrival. Now, you lied to the girl that you are a hedge knight who squired to Ser Harbert." The Maester spat in a distaste.
Despite the tickling feel of guilt in his heart, Rhaegar wanted to know more of what happened. "What did she ask you?"
"Ask me?" The man scoffed in annoyance. "She drilled me with loads of questions. Only because she trusts me, she believed everything I said." The old man murmured in anger, and Rhaegar really felt bad for him. "There are worser winds here and you shouldn't have come... atleast not at this time." He warned.
"So the missives we got in King's Landing are from the lady?" Richard peeped into the conversation with a newfound knowledge, and the Maester became wary.
"He is our man... You can trust him, Maester." Rhaegar assured. "What are the worser winds?"
The Maester struggled a while before leaning in. "Lord Stark officially betrothed his daughter to Robert Baratheon."
Rhaegar was not understanding. Didn't Allara speak about marrying a hedge knight the previous day? Had the wind turned already? And why was this news hurting his heart?
"Fine..." He answered, not interested in hearing anymore words.
"Fine?" The Maester growled. "The plan was to unite few houses to gain our favour. Not to make them stronger than our allies. And the man is plotting big."
Rhaegar tried so hard to indulge enquiring about more, but at that moment, he just wanted to be left alone. It had been a long journey for him and none of the news he heard from beyond the wall, or before the wall was giving peace to his heart.
"If to be said frankly, Lord Stark has bigger ambition. There is no hope that your call for council will work in your favour." The Maester informed. It came as no shock to Rhaegar. He had expected this. "What I don't understand, is his desperation in making his second daughter to be betrothed to Robert. That one cannot even stand in a place for more than five minutes. Something so strange that I still didn't discover in that man's closet."
Rhaegar's face bloomed, and he struggled to hide his joy. "So, Allara is not betrothed." He reconfirmed it again till the Maester nodded. "How can I meet her again?"
"She asked me the same. The wolfswood is not as safe as you presume. Apart from the danger of having wildlings in the woods, Lord Stark has appointed a few of his guards to go for a patrol at random times. But, Ser..." The Maester raised a warning tone. "She carries her own burden and pain. If you give hope to her and take it all back, she will break. I know I promised to serve you, but just..." The man sitting before Rhaegar measured his face, the same everyone measured and compared with his own sire, before telling, "She deserves better."
Rhaegar's face fell and all his eagerness got crushed like a dry flower. The Maester cared for the girl and who wouldn't. Allara could sway any man to her side.
"Measter, I need one more assistance from you. Help me join as a hedge knight under Lord Stark's service."
"That is a very dangerous game, Ser. Not just my head, your head also will not prevail if he finds the truth of your identity. I don't see your father coming with an army to attack the North."
"I am so close in learning the truth. All I want is to spend sometime with Allara. Help me get closer to her, then we can all leave home, together." Rhaegar urged, visibly sensing the discomfort in the Maester's face.
"Let me see what I can do. Ser Rodrik Cassel will never let you both in. But with your squire's name..."
"I am a knight now." Richard bristled. "Besides, if you use my name directly, then everyone will learn of Ser's identity. By now, everyone in the whole Seven Kingdoms must know me."
"No, North is different and distant. As long as Eddard Stark doesn't come to learn of your name, you will be hidden and safe. The boy left for the Vale not a few days back. Come and meet me, in the castle. I will fill in a position for you both."
Once the Maester left from the inn, Rhaegar tapped his fingers on the table, worrying about the consequence that the Maester would meet if even slightest thing went wrong. Guards and knights could be easily cheated, for they wouldn't care much far up here about hedge-knights. But even if one of the members of House Stark learns Rhaegar's face and name, then his plans and life both would be doomed.
"The girl is worth it, Ser." Richard answered with a glee on his face and Rhaegar had the curtsey to feel ashamed. The boy was supposed to learn traits from Rhaegar, and when his wife's face flashed before Rhaegar's eyes, he instantly regretted for acting like this. "I don't think the Princess Elia will worry." Rhaegar turned his head slowly, to face Richard. "Well... Me and Myles long back learned about Elia and Ashara. You see, we were desperate to woo the purple Dayne and sometimes, we kept stalking and once..."
"Don't..." Rhaegar warned in anger of learning that his squire knew the secrets of his family and more towards the women who were careless enough for the whole castle to find their secret. "How many do you think learned of this?"
"None, Ser. Just me and Myles." Richard promised, but Rhaegar dismissed the thought of others figuring out, as long as he himself would stand by them if it came to confrontation. Except the confrontation with his dearest friend, Ser Arthur Dayne...
When has life become this complex?
Natalie: Thanks a lot and yeah, I don't want any of these characters to be absolutes, the greyish nature is what I admire to tumble in characters' minds. Not Rhaegar, not Jaime and not Allara. None of them are absolutes. They do what they think right at that moment. Still, there is something core built inside of them that they can never get rid of and will come out at times. Hope this chapter came good.
RealCherryBomb: Yeah, I don't want to stick with cannon. It will be like almost rewriting the same story which will restrict my imagination. Why should magic start with Dany and Jon? Why shouldn't it be about Rhaegar? And as interesting as Lyanna was, I could never understand the 13 year old girl and a 21 year old guy. Thats why OC who is not Lyanna. I won't reveal you the Ice and Fire detail. You will find out that sooner. And when you compared her with Loki, my jaw dropped. I didn't even realize the semblence. OMG. Yeah, so close in characters. Thanks for your review. Tell me about this chapter.
Arianna Le Fay: If Elia gets divorced, then Dorne will shower bolts on Rhaegar's heart. And that man respects Elia to divorce her. As much as I understand how it is a complicated situation for all of them, that's what makes the story interesting. Isn't it?
Swiggs: Wow... I was simply stunned to see your comment that day. Thank you. Yeah, that old man has to drop his chip but I don't think he will. Stubborn, Cold and Incosiderate - suits this Stark father. OMG, yes... It was Vermax's. Allara is simply jobless and a secret drunkard too who stumbled upon this chamber. I always felt like Lyanna had little bit of selfishness. Its so hard to hate that nature, and that coin stealing was nasty. Considering Rhaegar almost gave everything for prophecy in cannon, the man must explore more. Allara is bit of skeptic now because she is not stupid but I think she is smitten to see the Prince and soon so many things will happen. With respect to Jaime. I can't believe I am going to hurt him. Yeah, the tourney will happen and their reunion will not be pleasant. Tell me how you like this progress.
LadyLecter47: Thank you. Do let me know what you feel of this chapter.
