STORY TITLE: Reyne's Rebirth
PART: 01 of ? Prologue – The End of the Rebellion
AUTHOR: Red Jacobson ( )
DISTRIBUTION: My Yahoo Group, , Questionable Questing, Hentai-Foundry, Archive of Our Own
DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters You Recognize belong to me, they all belong to George R.R. Martin and HBO
SUMMARY: The Lannisters believed they had destroyed the last of the Reyne family during their rebellion. But they were wrong, and in the aftermath of Prince Rhaegar's defeat of Robert Baratheon at the Trident, the last Reyne makes his plans to return.
FEEDBACK: Of course! It Makes Me Write Faster
CATEGORY: Harem
RELATIONSHIPS: Rhaegar/Lyanna, Rhaegar/Elia Martell, OC/Multiple Women
RATING: NC-17
WORD COUNT: 6,291
SPOILERS: None, goes AU prior to Season One of Game of Thrones
WARNINGS: If you've ever read any of my stories, you know what to expect, oral, anal, Femme-slash, dom/sub, multiple partners, and Femme-cest. Of course, since we are talking about the Targaryen's, incest as well.
AUTHORS NOTES: Since I haven't been able to find the distances between the Trident and the Tower of Joy, or other locations, consider the whole thing a Meereenese Knot and don't worry too much about it.
BETA'D BY: Starway Man
Above The Trident River
283 AC
Rhaegar Targaryen was both sick, and angry at himself for his foolishness.
If he'd only been able to restrain himself from approaching her, none of this would be necessary, and many good men would still be alive that had died. But what was done was done, and regrets would only get him killed now.
All he could do was attempt to salvage this situation so they could heal the Seven Kingdoms, and he could return to Lyanna and their unborn baby.
He stood under his pavilion on the banks above the Trident River, under a flag of parlay as he waited for Robert Baratheon, Lord of the Stormlands and Commander of the rebel forces to arrive with his second, Lord Eddard Stark. Rhaegar really needed this to go well, because he would need their arms behind him to remove his father from the throne. The man's madness had gone too far to be allowed to continue any further.
His own second, Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard, stood beside him, his face impassive as they waited. Rhaegar could feel the man's disapproval, but he had to at least make an attempt to resolve this bloody war peacefully.
At last the two men reached them, and Rhaegar walked forward calmly, his blade sheathed and his hands open.
"Lord Robert, Lord Eddard, thank you for agreeing to speak with me. This rebellion should never have happened, and I know I bear a great deal of the blame for what happened to Lord Rickard and Lord Brandon, but you must know that Lyanna went with me willingly, do you not? We sent ravens to the north explaining what happened to Lord Arryn in the Vale, to Lord Hoster at Riverrun as well as Lord Rickard at Winterfell. Did they think Lyanna lied to them?"
Eddard frowned in confusion, but before the man could speak, Robert's face flushed with fury and he spat on the ground between them. "You lie, you Targaryen bastard! There were no ravens, because you kidnapped and raped my betrothed! Why would she ever go with you, she knew she was to be mine!"
Rhaegar looked at the man calmly, although his blood was screaming to take his blade to the man for the direct insult he had been given. But no, he was trying to avoid a battle. "Why? Because Lyanna and I fell in love. We fell in love, damn our foolishness, and it's brought us to this point. I am willing to prove what I say is true, I have letters from Lyanna to each of you if you would like to see them..."
He could see that Lord Stark was listening, but unfortunately Robert had given into his temper and was on the verge of attacking. Rhaegar knew it was probably useless now, but he still made one more attempt to prevent the upcoming bloodshed.
"I understand your anger at the loss of your betrothed, Robert, but Lyanna and I truly are married. A Septon conducted the ceremony on the Isle of Faces, in the presence of valid witnesses, and according to the ways of the Old Gods and the New. The letter explains that - again, would you like to read it?"
"I don't need to read whatever honeyed words you had somebody else write! There is no way that my beloved Lyanna would ever betray me like this!" Turning away, Robert said to Eddard, "Come on, Ned, this foolishness is over!"
Rhaegar could see that Eddard was torn, but eventually the man followed his commander back toward his own lines.
Turning to his second, the Silver Prince sighed, "I was hoping that he would be willing to listen. But it seems that such was not meant to be. Ready the men, my friend, this ends tonight!"
"Tonight?" Selmy frowned. "But would it not be better to fight during the day, Your Grace?"
"That is what they expect us to do," Rhaegar shook his head, as Destiny changed direction in a major way. "And after what we just heard, I do not wish to conform to my cousin Robert's expectations…"
RR & RR & RR
Twilight
They had been fighting for longer than he could remember, all the sounds and smells of battle had faded away, and all he could focus on was that giant war hammer that Robert wielded. Although Rhaegar could see that the man was tiring, his blocks were getting slower, and.. there! His foot slipped in the mud, and Rhaegar lunged forward, his blade catching the shaft of the hammer and sending it flying over the water!
Robert stumbled, trying to regain his balance, but it was too late, and he landed on his back in the mud and the muck. Standing over him, Rhaegar's blade at his throat. "Yield, Robert, yield and I will spare you and your men. Let us end this!"
The fury was still in the man's eyes, and his voice was nearly a growl, "Never!"
There was a pause for one timeless moment, and then the Silver Prince said sadly, "So be it, cousin."
With a sigh, his blade opened Robert's throat with a spray of blood, and Rhaegar stood watching as the light left the man's eyes. Looking up, he saw Lord Stark staring at him, his bloodied blade in his hand.
"ENOUGH!" the Silver Prince shouted, and everyone around him stopped fighting upon witnessing the sight of what had happened. The cessation of hostilities quickly spread to all the forces gathered at the Trident, before Rhaegar shouted for all to hear, "LORD BARATHEON IS DEAD! THIS BATTLE IS OVER!"
"You heard the Prince! KNEEL before him!" Ser Barristan yelled, before going down on one knee. The loyalists all quickly followed his example - and the rebels, seeing that Eddard Stark was not taking over for the dead Storm Lord, concluded that their cause was lost and then also bent the knee.
"Rise," Rhaegar commanded them, before turning to Eddard. "Lord Stark, goodbrother, will you surrender this day? There is no more need to fight, indeed there never was… I swear, I will take you to Lyanna and you can see that I spoke the truth at our parley."
"Will you spare our men? They followed our lead as honor demanded, I don't want them slaughtered like brigands and thieves."
"Indeed, I give you my word on it." Rhaegar raised his voice, "Men of the rebellion, lay down your arms, and I will accept your honorable surrender. You will be spared if you lay down your arms!"
Eddard knelt and surrendered his sword, before getting up at the Silver Prince's command. He then gave the order to his commanders, and there was some grumbling, but all of them obeyed, given it was a choice between that and being butchered by the victors. Rhaegar's men moved among them, taking their weapons and seeing to their wounds.
Once they were taken care of, Rhaegar turned to Eddard and said, "You will come with me, we have a long ride ahead of us to see your sister."
"Your Grace?" Ser Jonothor Darry came up to him, another of the Kingsguard who had fought this day. "What are your commands?"
Rhaegar waited until Ser Barristan and Ser Lewyn Martell, the other Kingsguard present for the battle, had joined them. "Organize the men, take care of the prisoners, and bring Lord Eddard and myself fresh horses and supplies. We leave for Dorne at once."
"Dorne?" the three men echoed in unison.
"Your Grace, you cannot be thinking of traveling south all that way with this rebel, ALONE?" Ser Barristan demanded, looking aghast.
"Why not? I have nothing to fear from the most honorable man in the Seven Kingdoms - do I, goodbrother?" Rhaegar replied, glancing at the Lord of Winterfell.
"Nay, Your Grace. I swear it, in the name of the gods - all I wish is to find my sister, and you alone can lead me to her," Ned semi-grunted.
"That is good enough for me. See to my commands, then, at once," the Silver Prince commanded his men.
The Kingsguard obeyed, and so it came to pass that the two of them mounted their new steeds, and Rhaegar pointed his mount toward the Red Mountains.
As they rode for the next moon's turn Rhaegar told Eddard everything - what had transpired between he and Lyanna, and also his regret for what his father Aerys had done to Rickard and Brandon. The other man kept his silence for the most part, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, although he did tell Rhaegar to call him Ned, which was a positive sign.
The Tower of Joy
Red Mountains
Dorne
283 AC
The sun was high in the sky when they arrived at the Tower, and Rhaegar was pleased to see that the members of the Kingsguard that he had left to guard his second wife were still there. Dismounting, he approached Ser Gerold Hightower, the Lord Commander, who knelt before him. "Your Grace."
Bidding the man rise, the Silver Prince said, "How is my lady wife? Has our child arrived?"
The older man smiled slightly, "She is much improved since the raven arrived telling of your victory, Your Grace. And your child seemed to want to wait until you were present for its arrival- according to the Maester and the midwife, he or she is expected today."
Ser Gerold looked at Ned curiously, obviously recognizing him. But Rhaegar didn't want to waste time to explain, merely saying, "Come, Ned, let's go see your sister!"
Ned looked relieved and happy, and the two of them entered the tower and hurried up the stairs. The two of them had just reached the door to Lyanna's room when they heard a loud cry, and then a baby crying.
Pushing open the door, the two of them froze at the scene - as the midwife finished cleaning the baby, a boy, and handed him to Lyanna. The Maester was standing off to one side, a pile of bloody cloths not far away - and upon seeing them, Rhaegar was suddenly very glad he had listened to Ser Arthur Dayne's suggestion that the Maester of Starfall accompany them, to this tower...
His wife looked up at the two new arrivals with a tired grin, and, as she held her baby and said, "Greetings husband, 'tis good of you to show up, finally, after all the hard work is done. And you brought a guest? Ned, it is wonderful to see you, to be sure - but why didn't you, or anyone else, ever answer our ravens?!"
Rhaegar shook his head in amusement, that demand was fairly typical of his wife. But it did raise a worrying question, since Ned had told him that he never received any ravens from them - and neither had the Tullys and the Arryns...
"It seems that no ravens were received, Lyanna, and that is something that we will be finding an answer for when we return to King's Landing. But that can wait for now, first - I would hold our son for the first time."
"His name is Aemon, husband, as we agreed," Lyanna said, as the Silver Prince took his son into his arms. He smiled down at the boy, but his eyes were still closed. Turning to Ned, Rhaegar handed the man his nephew, and the Lord of Winterfell held the baby surprisingly gently.
"He looks like a Stark," the Quiet Wolf murmured, looking overcome with emotion for once.
"Mayhap so, but he is a dragonwolf," Ned's sister corrected him. "Aemon is the blood of the Kings of Winter, and Old Valyria."
"The newest Prince of the realm," Rhaegar added. He'd been tempted to say 'the Prince Who Was Promised', but wisely decided to hold his tongue for now.
They were interrupted by the midwife who needed to finish her work, and after handing the babe back to the mother the two men were gently, but firmly escorted from the room.
When the two of them reached the bottom of the steps, Ned turned to him and removed his sword and scabbard, holding them in his hands as he lowered himself to one knee and placed the sword at Rhaegar's feet. "I was mistaken, Your Grace, and so was Robert - you did not rape or dishonor my sister. I apologize for not truly believing it, until now."
Rhaegar nodded, glad that his decision to bring Ned to see his sister had been the correct one. He said, "Take up your blade and rise, Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and Warden of the North!"
When Ned was standing again, Rhaegar led the man over to a table that had been filled with food and drink, and gestured for Ned to join him and partake of the refreshments after such a long and brutal ride south.
After they had eaten their fill, he said, "I am grateful you chose to bend the knee, Ned, because I will need your assistance, and that of your bannermen. My father's madness has gone too far, no doubt you've heard how your father and brother are not the only ones he has burned at his whim. Even worse, word from Lord Varys has reached me that my father has secreted barrels of wildfire all through King's Landing, planning to turn the city into his funeral pyre so he can be reborn as a dragon! It's madness beyond anything I've ever heard, and he needs to be removed from the throne as quickly as possible."
Ned stared in shock, whispering, "By the gods! Wildfire?" When Rhaegar nodded, the Quiet Wolf continued, "I will follow you, of course, and so will my men. But we will not bend the knee to a Kingslayer, even if the king in question is completely mad."
Rhaegar shook his head, "I'm planning to exile my father to Dragonstone, and have people who are loyal to me keep him alive - for the rest of his life, however long the gods decree it to be. I won't kill him if I can avoid it."
He yawned then, and said, "I think we need to get some rest, we've got some more hard riding ahead of us to get back to the capital."
When he got to the room set aside for him, Rhaegar was pleased to find a bath had already been prepared and after stripping out of his armor he relaxed, washing the dirt and strain of the last several weeks away. When he was feeling clean again, the Silver Prince dried off and made his way to the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
Rhaegar definitely enjoyed the dreams of he, Lyanna and Elia watching their family grow, as both of his wives had swollen bellies, although the cries of the dragons in flight was a bit distracting...
When he woke, there was a raven sitting on the window sill, a letter tied to its leg. He frowned, there was a white dot above one of the bird's eyes, and he muttered, "What does the Spider have to tell me now?"
Taking the letter, Rhaegar scanned it quickly, his anger growing as he read of Tywin Lannister's planned treachery! The 'Lord' of Casterly Rock would pay for this! But that could wait until he had the throne - if his father discovered what Tywin was plotting, the war would quickly resume against the forces of the Westerlands, and Rhaegar didn't want that.
The realm had already bled enough. And the levies of the West would be fresh and eager to fight. So he didn't want the Old Lion dead after resumption of hostilities, just - broken.
Dressing in clean clothing from his pack, he went back down and found that Ned was also looking clean and rested, chewing on a hunk of dark bread that was on the table. He was also writing a letter of some sort, but since the Lord of Winterfell didn't appear nervous at his appearance, Rhaegar didn't worry that the man was about to do anything underhanded.
Sitting down, he grabbed some bread and a mug of ale to break his fast, waiting quietly for Ned to finish writing.
When Ned finished, he looked up with a slight grin, "Just letting my Lady Catelyn know that I'm still alive, Your Grace, and that it will be some time before I can return to the North." He sighed, "She won't be happy, but as a highborn lady, she will understand. I just wish that things had worked out differently, for she is expecting our first child at any time now."
Rhaegar nodded in understanding, "Hopefully, I can get through to my father and make him see what he's become - end all this quickly. Then you can be back in your lady's arms before too much longer."
Ned finished swallowing a piece of the bread and, after washing it down with ale, he said, "If I may, Your Grace, you said at the Trident that Lyanna was your wife, and I heard her call you 'husband' after we arrived here - so my previous doubts about your marriage are erased, of course. But, ah, what about Princess Elia?"
Rhaegar chuckled, he knew that the question would arise. "She's still my wife, Ned, and my son Aegon is still my heir. I know it's not exactly common in the North, but my family has a history of taking second wives, even if it hasn't been practiced since the time of Maegor I. Elia understood that from the very beginning, and encouraged me, although she is currently rather unhappy. She had made it clear that she was to be consulted before I made my approach to the woman I was attracted to." He snorted, "Unfortunately, when I saw your sister at the tourney, all my sense left me. It's going to take all my diplomatic skills to convince the two of them to get along, I fear, when I bring Lyanna and Aemon back to King's Landing."
Ned shook his head with a slight smile, "I don't envy you, Your Grace. Not that I know her all that well, but from what I know of southron ladies - well, Catelyn may be understanding about any of my 'indiscretions', but she would not be happy if I brought another woman's child into our marriage."
"Indeed, my Lord, but what's done is done now. I'm going up to see Lyanna, will you go see to our mounts? You can say goodbye to your sister when you finish."
Ned nodded, and Rhaegar walked back upstairs, a good bit more decorously this time, and knocked gently on the door to his wife's room.
King's Landing
Outside the Walls
A Few Weeks Later
Rhaegar looked around the table at his impromptu Small Council. Ned Stark was seated at his right side, with Lord Jon Arryn representing the former rebellious Houses. He smothered a snort, they were all technically rebellious houses; even though nobody knew it yet, they would soon.
Ser Barristan Selmy sat to his left, and various other commanders were seated around the table. Rhaegar spoke quietly, but his voice carried to everyone as he said, "We know what needs to be done, my Lords and vassals; keep the deaths of the smallfolk to a minimum, we are not here to sack the city. The less disruption there is, the easier the people and the other parts of the realm will find it to accept the change."
After giving each of his commanders a chance to ask questions, and finding there were none, the Silver Prince rose and walked to his mount. Looking over the armies, he nodded, the only banners visible were of the Royalist Houses, which would make getting through the gates much easier. The former rebel army was mingled with the loyalist troops, to avoid suspicions at the gates and in the city proper. He had sent a portion of his forces to delay House Lannister and the army of the Westerlands, in case Tywin decided that he would go ahead with his plans and attempt to do something foolish.
Surely the Old Lion had to know that even if Elia and her children were to 'accidentally' die, he would never wed Cersei Lannister and give her children? Unless, of course, Tywin was ignorant about Lyanna and Aemon...
Giving the signal, his bannermen started to march behind him along the Kings Road toward the city. Rhaegar had received word from the King's Lord Hand, Rossart the pyromancer, that the King was aware of their approach. Fortunately his father seemed to be in a more rational state of mind recently, because he did not wish to have to put him to the sword, but he would if necessary. The Seven Kingdoms needed and deserved a rational King, after all the horrors of the past year. Sadly, his younger brother Viserys was already showing signs of the Targaryen madness, and so would not be a suitable King - or else Rhaegar would be willing to abdicate in his favor, if it became necessary to kill his father.
Approaching the gates of the city, he spurred his mount and, when he was in sight of the guard tower, Rhaegar called for the gate to be opened. There was a loud cheer on the walls when they recognized him, and the gates soon swung open, allowing him and his army to enter.
Inside King's Landing
Leaving his commanders to keep control of their army, Rhaegar rode through the city, Ned and Ser Barristan at his flanks, until he reached the Red Keep. Dismounting, the three men entered the Keep along with Ser Jonothor and Ser Lewyn, the guards bowing respectfully as they passed. He acknowledged the guards with a brief nod, but his thoughts were on what he would find when he reached the Throne Room, before the Kingsguard separated from him and the Lord of Winterfell to seek out and protect Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon.
Removing his helm, Rhaegar opened the door, only to stop in surprise; the room was empty, save for his father and Rossart, the King's Hand! Where was everyone else? The Kingsguard, or the rest of the King's court that normally would be in attendance?
Walking forward, his feeling of concern grew, because his father looked different, far from the powerful man he had last seen when he'd left to fight at the Trident. The King looked smaller, hunched down on the Iron Throne, and when he looked up, Rhaegar could see the signs of anguish in his eyes.
Stopping several paces from the throne, he and Ned bent the knee, and Rhaegar waited for the King to acknowledge him. It wasn't long coming, but what was said shocked him.
The King pushed himself up out of the throne and approached him, saying, "Rise, Your Grace, and take your throne." The old man's hands were trembling as he reached up and removed the crown from his head, and placed it on Rhaegar's.
"Father?" Rhaegar knew his voice was trembling, but he couldn't help it, this was completely unexpected!
Aerys put his hand out, and Rhaegar took it, rising to his feet, and followed his father to the council table, where they sat, joined by the Hand and, at the King's signal, by Ned as well. When they were seated, the King started speaking, his voice calm, but there was a river of pain running through it.
"Several days ago, after we received word of your victory at the Trident, a strange woman appeared directly before me. A woman dressed all in red, one who did not give her name, but I could tell that she was a priestess of the Lord of Light. Naturally, I demanded to know what she was doing here, but she refused to answer. All she did was reach out and, before any of the guards could stop her, she touched my forehead before disappearing in a flash of fire!"
The King seemed to ignore the reactions of his son and the others, as tears welled in the man's eyes and he continued, "It was as if her touch washed away the madness that had consumed me, and I finally understood all the evil that I'd done while lost in the fog of my madness. I knew then that I could no longer be King, boy, and I have been waiting for your return to give you your crown. I can feel the madness still, it is burning at the edges of my mind... and I know that it will return, but I know not when."
The King's strength seemed to return as he spoke, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he said, "I will be departing for Dragonstone, Rhaegar, and taking Viserys with me, because the red priestess touched him as well, pushing back the madness - for a time, at least. Take good care of the Seven Kingdoms, my son, and know that I will not be returning here ever again."
With that, Aerys stood and walked away from the table, leaving Rhaegar and the others speechless. Once the door closed behind him, the King's Hand spoke, "The word has already gone out into the city that the King was stepping down, so there will be no controversy about you taking the throne, Your Grace."
Rhaegar nodded, thinking furiously. "Very well, we will hold the formal coronation ceremony in thirty days time, for that will be enough time for the word to go out to the Great Houses throughout the kingdoms. Rossart, I would ask you to remain as the King's Hand until the return of Lord Jon Connington from exile."
"As you command, your Grace," Rossart replied with a soft giggle.
At that moment, Ser Barristan returned to the Throne room. "Your Grace, the Princess Elia and her children are safe and unharmed."
Turning to Barristan, Rhaegar smiled, "Excellent. And you have been guarding my back since I first picked up a wooden sword, old friend, so will you now take command of the Kingsguard? I will be offering Ser Gerold the new role of Master of War, in recognition of his decades of loyal service, and capable though he is, the White Bull is unlikely to also be able to execute his duties as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard at the same time."
The older man seemed stunned, but managed to say, "Of course, Your Grace, it would be my honor!"
"Good." Turning to Ned, he said, "I know you are anxious to return to Lady Catelyn and the North, so I will confirm your posts as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. I am going to ask that you remain here until after the coronation, however, so your wife will have to be patient a short while longer." Rhaegar gave the other man a grin, which was returned at the final comment.
Standing, he turned to Rossart, "After breakfast tomorrow I will want to see the Master of Coin, and then the Spider. I will call for a Small Council meeting within the next few days. But for now, I'm going to see my wife and children, it's been far too long. I'll see you at dinner."
The other three men rose and bowed, and Rhaegar left the throne room, his heart much lighter than he'd expected it to be. He would still need to find out just how much the Crown owed to Tywin Lannister, and what it would take to settle those debts, of course. He would be damned if he would allow that snake in a lion's skin to have any hold over the Throne!
RR & RR & RR
The Free City of Braavos
Essos
Six Months Later
The man known as Ragnor smiled as his wife came hurrying through the market, a look of naked excitement on her face. When she arrived at their stall, he embraced her and said, "What's gotten you so worked up, Jessa?"
She smiled, a look of savage satisfaction, "There is news from King's Landing that I knew you would want to hear. After the rebellion was crushed and Rhaegar became King, he broke the Old Lion, Tywin Lannister! He was stripped of all his titles for plotting treason and was given a choice - poison, or permanent exile from Westeros! The craven took exile, of course - he could murder hundreds, but couldn't face his own death like a man."
Ragnor's smile was as feral as his wife's, for the two of them had more reason than most to hate Tywin Lannister - he had destroyed their entire families during their gods be damned rebellion. It was only thanks to their father's wisdom that the two of them, as well as some trusted retainers, had escaped from Castamere and Tarbeck Hall before their destruction. More importantly, they took with them records of all the debts that the Great and Lesser Houses owed to House Reyne, and one day soon those debts would be called in.
Looking over at their son Randal, who was practicing his sword work, learning to handle the blade before beginning the Water Dance, Ragnor smiled. Their son would have their vengeance, and House Reyne and House Tarbeck would take their proper place among the Great Houses of Westeros once again.
It would take several years until Randal was ready to take up his duties, for he was still only six namedays in age, after all.
RR & RR & RR
King's Landing
302 AC
The tourney grounds were packed with people from all over the Seven Kingdoms, coming to celebrate the anniversary of King Rhaegar ascending to the Iron Throne, as well as the end of the Usurper's Rebellion. The anniversary of the end of the rebellion wasn't mentioned as an official reason, of course, but Rhaegar and his wives still celebrated it privately. The King didn't consider the death of Robert Baratheon a reason to celebrate, of course - but the fact that it allowed him to bring his beloved Lyanna and Aemon to live openly with he and Elia and their children was something he was pleased to commemorate.
It was Aemon who was on his mind at the moment, as he waited for the arrival of his Warden of the North. His second son had spent the last year living with Ned and Catelyn and their children in Winterfell, and from what the boy had written in his (rare) letters, he utterly adored life in the North! Of course, from what Ned had written, a large part of that could be laid at the feet of young Arya, Ned's youngest daughter. It wasn't clear if it was just friendship or something more, but it was worth noting.
It didn't bother Rhaegar in the least that the two were cousins, given Aemon and Arya seemed to have more in common than Aemon had with Daenerys, and Rhaenys was far too closely related to Aemon to be allowed to continue her attempts at flirtation. The Princess had been annoyed when Aemon had been sent to spend time in the North, but hopefully the separation would have cooled her interest.
If nothing else, several of the families were bringing their younger sons with them to the tournament, hmm… possibly one of them would capture her interest?
At last! The distinctive banner of the Starks was approaching down the King's Road, the Dire Wolf clearly visible even at this distance, and he felt Lyanna sit up straighter beside him. Even Elia was doing her best to hide her excitement at Aemon's return, although she had taken to the boy from the moment that he and his mother had arrived in King's Landing. And she had, praise the Seven, also taken to Lyanna as well.
In fact, she and Lyanna had taken to each other so well that there were times he'd find the two of them in bed and enjoying themselves even before he arrived! Ah well, it kept things peaceful, and he certainly wasn't going to complain. Making sure the realm remained united and prosperous meant Rhaegar was glad to find domestic bliss within the Red Keep, wherever he could.
Rhaegar raised an eyebrow as the Starks got closer, because there were several actual dire wolves loping alongside their horses. His eye was caught by the snow-white wolf near the front of the group, and he realized that the tall young man riding beside the white wolf was his son!
By the Seven, Aemon had changed a great deal over the last year, looking far more muscular than the slender youth who had ridden off after his last nameday. The young woman riding next to him, laughing at jape, must be Arya, and even at a distance it was clear the affection that lay between the two of them.
Turning his head slightly toward Lyanna, he saw that she noticed the same thing, and he grinned, "It seems that another Targaryen has discovered the charms of a Stark woman, my love. I wonder if I should warn him what he's getting into?"
His Queen Consort gave him a glare, before snorting, "Try it, and I'd expect that Arya would use that blade to cut your balls off, My King! My brother has said that Arya is the equal of her brothers' with her sword, unlike Sansa, who seems to take after the Tully side of the family."
Rhaegar laughed, nodding, "He wrote me the same thing, and I quite like my balls where they are, so I'll let our son discover the joys and terrors of the Stark women on his own." Growing serious, he tapped on Elia's arm to bring her into the conversation, and when he had both women's attention, he said, "I'm going to speak to Ned about an arrangement between Aemon and Arya, and so I'd like the two of you to get to know the girl. It's possible she may be interested in seeing the South, and she would probably appreciate a guide in the way things are done here."
Looking at his firstborn daughter, who seemed to be focused on the young man riding beside Ned, his eldest son, Robb he would assume, Rhaegar hid a grimace. Rhaenys was already planning her latest conquest, it seemed. She was already demonstrating the hedonist leanings that so many of the family was prey to, and even her arrangement with Ser Jamie Lannister hadn't curtailed them.
It was unfortunate that he'd had to dismiss the man from the Kingsguard after Tywin's exile, because Ser Jamie hadn't had any knowledge of his father's plotting, but he just couldn't take the risk. They'd had to find another place for him, but it seemed that as long as the Young Lion was still able to wield a sword in battle and still retained the respect of his former White Brothers, he was happy being where he was now.
At least Tywin's youngest son, the dwarf Tyrion, was managing Casterly Rock quite well, and seemed to delight in proving wrong the skeptics who saw only his misshapen form, and not the keen mind and insight that were hidden by the Little Lion's physical form.
Of course, his sister would have argued that point - if she hadn't been sent to the Silent Sisters, all those years ago. Cersei was deep in Tywin's confidence and would have continued to plot against the Crown, if she'd been allowed to join her father in exile. Rhaegar had actually been tempted to send her to work at one of Littlefinger's houses, since she had no problem using her body to get whatever she wanted, but Cersei would be far too dangerous if left to influence the men who bought her. The Silent Sisters, with their vows of silence and chastity, was a far more appropriate punishment for the woman.
Seeing that Ned and his family had arrived in the courtyard, Rhaegar stood, and with a wide smile stepped down to greet them as his subjects kneeled before him.
It seemed as though the gods were finally smiling upon them, as the sun came out from behind a cloud and illuminated the tourney grounds with its light.
End Chapter One