Dragons of Wolf and Sun
Toxicfireball
Chapter 3: The Joyless Tower
Summary:
Ned Stark, Elia Martell and Ser Jaime arrives at the Tower of Joy and find no joy,but sorrow.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Elia
It felt good for her to be back in Dorne. The familiar sweltering hot sun was comforting to her after all that had happened. She rode in a small carriage with her daughter, Princess Rhaenys, who despite her young age had been in relatively little trouble. She also was growing taller each day and thanks to Ser Jamie growing more cheerful and friendly. When she reaches age, I must ask Oberyn to teach her how to fight so she shalt not suffer my fate.
The red mountains around her would seem unforgiving and hostile to foreigners but to her, it gave her a sense of security. Perhaps this is why Rhaegar thought it was a good idea to hide Lyanna Stark.
Elia tried to suppress the memory of Aegon, the memory of her son being murdered by Gregor Clegane. I cannot think of that. If I do, I will end up crying the whole day. She had grieved for her son on the way from King's Landing to Dorne, she had cried herself to sleep every night. I must move on. She could not get rid of the memory of her son's head being smashed. Elia tried to suppress it as much as she could.
"Ser Jaime, what do you think of Dorne so far." She asked Ser Jamie who rode beside her carriage. He wore his full kingsguard armor which she could imagine was extremely hot.
"Hot," He said with a grimace "It's a bit of a wonder how dornishmen can tolerate. At least I'm not Ned Stark, he must be melting like a block of ice in this climate."
She laughed, something she rarely did now. She could imagine the ice-cold Northmen sweating like mad in the hot dornish sun.
"Princess," Martyn Cassel who had pulled his horse next to her carriage "We are approaching the tower of joy."
"So?"
"Lord Stark would prefer if you stay out of this." Martyn Cassel said
"Nonsense, Ser Arthur Dayne is my childhood friend. If anyone can broker a truce between both. It will be me." She said angrily I am not a weak flower. "Take me to the bloody tower!"
To her surprised, Martyn Cassel looked amused and said "Lord Stark said to expect this. Lord Stark said it would be good for you to negotiate with the kingsguard. He is afraid that you might not want to be there because you might not want to see his sister."
So that's why, Lord Stark dreads my reaction if I saw her sister. She did spark the war after all.
"I understand, nevertheless I must be there or I fear there will be bloodshed." She said. " Ser Jamie, please look after my daughter."
"With my life Princess." Ser Jaime answered
She mounted a horse Martyn Cassel had brought for her a northern one by the look of it. Not ideal for this kind of climate. She and Martyn rode straight for the Tower of Joy, a small round stone tower that looked terribly dull and had two stories. She reached the bottom of a small cliff in time to see Lord Stark, Howland Reed, Ser William Dustin, and three other Northerners facing off against the three Kingsguard. Their white cloaks behind them..
"Ser Arthur, please, I am here to protect my sister, like you are, we mean no harm." She heard Ned Stark say
"Is that what you claimed when you suggested her marriage to a child murderer and rapist." Ser Arthur said "And even if you are here to protect her, you are no friend of Rhaegar Targaryen"
"Ser Arthur, you have my word that I will not harm anyone in that tower"
"Why should I believe you?" Ser Gerold said, "You are one of the usurpers men."
Ser Arthur drew his sword,Dawn and said in a sad voice "Now it ends Lord Stark, I wish you good luck in the wars to come."
The three Kingsguard drew their swords, the northerners were about to draw theirs when she finally reached the tower and yelled "Lord Stark, please no!"
Everyone spun around and stared at her.
"Elia…" Arthur started
"Arthur! No! Please don't! The war is over!" She yelled "Sheathe your swords! There is no point in fighting anymore."
"We swore a vow." Ser Gerold responded
"A vow? To who? Aerys? Rhaegar?" She yelled back with a fury she never thought she had in her after Aegon... "Where were you when Kings landing fell? Were you not supposed to protect me?"
"I never thought that…" Ser Arthur started
"You never thought that taking a girl of ten and five from a Lord Paramount would not spark a war?" She yelled, "Only Ser Jaime stood true to his vows!"
All three kingsguard looked shocked at her last statement
"Ser Jamie slew the king." Ser Arthur said
"And in doing so saved King's Landing from a wildfire explosion! He is the reason why I am standing here!" She yelled "Let Stark through! I owe him my life and i do not believe he would harm anyone"
The three kingsguard stared at each other for a tense moment before Ser Gerold threw his sword on the ground. Ser Arthur and Ser Oswell followed suit.
"I have your word you will not harm anyone in that tower" Ser Gerold said
"On my honor ser." Lord Stark replied"Howland, follow me"
"Lord Stark, Ser Arthur will follow you." Ser Gerold see. Lord Stark just nodded and rushed up the stairs.
Eddard
Eddard rushed up the tower's stairs with Ser Arthur behind him, his footsteps echoing throughout the tower. The smell of blood was obvious.
He burst into the main chamber, the moment he opened the door, he could smell blood, its smell was so strong. He then saw Lyanna, lying on a bed with winter roses and blood.
"Lyanna" was all he could say
"Ned…..? Is that you?" She replied weakly.
"It is." He replied shakily what happened? "Lyanna, I'm here. You are safe now?"
"Am I?" She laughed weakly "Father, Brandon. They are dead because of me. I will follow soon."
He turned to Ser Arthur and resisted the urge to gut him. "Why is she in such a bad condition?"
"The birth was too difficult." A woman replied, a handmaiden by the looks of her.
The birth? A child? Of Rhaegar and Lyanna? Oh no….
"There's a child?" He asked breathlessly
Ser Arthur nodded and said, "We were afraid what Robert might do with the babe and that you would not fight Robert over it."
So that's why there are 3 kingsguard here. To guard a Targaryen Prince.
A handmaiden carried over a baby, wrapped up in cloth. The babe looked mostly Stark, though his eyes were so dark in purple shades it looked black and looking hard enough one could detect the Targaryen in him.
He brought the babe over to Lyanna as she began to cry.
"Lyanna, don't cry, you are not going to die, I swear it." He said trying his best not to cry, gripping her hand
"Ned, my babe, his name is Aemon Targaryen, Ned, promise me. Promise me you will keep him from the monster that is Robert. Promise me Ned."She said, as tears flowed from her eyes, as her grip began to loosen.
"No, Lyanna you must stay strong, for your son."
The babe began to cry at the mention of him.
"Howland, Ser Arthur, can anyone do anything?!" Howland looked grief-stricken but shook his head.
"Promise me, Ned, Promise me you will keep him safe, that he will live a good life and that he knows that his mother loved him very much." She said in a drying breath that he heard too often from dying men..
He gripped her hand. "I promise"
"Thank you, Ned." The fear went out of her eye, Lyanna smiled in a way that tore at Ned's heart. However, slowly but surely, life left her eyes.
"No no, no! Lyanna." He said desperately but he knew she was dead. This bloody war has taken too much from me.
He felt his head spin, he put the babe in Howland's arm as he tried to find something to hold on to.
Images flashed in front of his eyes. The tourney at Harrenhal, Rhaegar crowning Lyanna with blue winter roses, Ashara Dayne, news of Brandon and his father's death, the mad king calling for his head and Jon Arryns wrought, the battle of the Stoney sept, his forced marriage to Catelyn Tully, the battle of the trident as both sides fought in the river, the noise, the blood, the smell.
Brandon was dead, his father was dead and now his sister was dead. It was all too much.
He felt his legs slacken, and his world blacked out.
Jamie
Whoever named this the tower of joy must have a dark sense of humor. The northerners stood around, grim-faced waiting for Ned Stark to appear. The two kingsguard stared at him with guilt. Why? They should be staring daggers at him yet, they regarded him with so much guilt and some pity.
"Lord Commander" He said as he approached them "Ser Oswell"
"Ser Jaime" Ser Oswell said while staring at Ser Gerold in a face full of apprehension
"Ser Jaime," Ser Gerold Hightower replied slowly "on behalf of the kingsguard Please forgive us. We doubted your honor, called you kingslayer, oathbreaker behind your back. We left you to guard the mad king while we were here, compliant in the events that started a war." With that statement, both Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell went to their knees "Please forgive us even though we know we do not deserve it."
What?
"Lord Commander I….." He stammered "There's nothing to forgive, I…."
"We need help up there!" Ser Arthur shouted as he ran out of the tower "Stark collapsed!"
Ned Stark collapsed? What is in that tower?
Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell instantly ran into the tower with Ser William, Ethan Glover, Theo Wull, and Martyn Cassel behind them.
"Ser Jamie, let's go." Elia Martell said "I need to see what mess the fool of my husband that made Eddard Stark collapse"
He entered the tower and almost immediately, he could smell blood and….roses? He ran up to the third level just to see everyone staring in shock at Lyanna Stark's corpse, Howland Reed was carrying a baby which could only be one person. The son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen
"Get Lord Stark out of here," Elia Martell said "Bring him to the horses and make sure he is okay. Lord Reed, the babe is Lyanna and Rhaeagar's is he not?"
When Howland Reed nodded apprehensively she said "I bear no ill towards the child, get him out of here and get him some care. Ser Jaime, Ser Arthur. Follow me"
Elia walked to the roof of the tower and she spun around and asked Ser Arthur in a voice of cold fury
"What the bloody hell did my husband do?!"
Ser Arthur Dayne took a deep breath and started the story of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.
"They met at the tourney of Harrenhal, you might recall there was a mystery knight, the knight of the laughing tree." When he and Elia nodded, he continued "When Aerys sent Rhaegar and me after the knight, we tracked him down to the weirwood forest that grew around Harrenhal. Only to find out it was not him but rather a her, the knight was Lyanna Stark."
"She was both furious and afraid when Rhaegar found her and had brandished a sword at me and Rhaegar. Instead of giving her up to her father as she expected us to, Rhaegar discarded her armor all over Harrenhal and took only her shield to his father. Rhaegar crowned her to try and give her as a reward for beating the three other knights."
So it wasn't an act of lust but admiration
"However, Rhaegar had begun to fall for her, for reasons I cannot fully comprehend. From what he told me, she was to him a part of a major prophecy, the song of ice and fire he called it."
Elia scoffed at that line as Ser Arthur paused
"Lyanna was desperate over her betrothal to Robert Baratheon and had also begun falling for Rhaegar as he was to her at least, everything Robert was not."
"Thus, they eloped off, Rhaegar his head lost in prophecy, and Lyanna was not thinking clearly, only wanting to avoid a betrothal with Robert. Rhaegar had thrown his carefully constructed plan for rebellion against his father for a prophecy, me and Ser Oswell should have stopped him then, but we did not."
"However, news spread of her abduction, Lyanna had claimed to have sent letters to Riverrun in order to make sure her brother knew about her. It seems that the letters never reached Riverrun."
"Rhaegar brought her here and it was here she received the news of her brother and father's death. She wanted to go back to Winterfell but Rhaegar forbade her,it was then Ser Gerold found us and brought Rhaegar to war...and his death."
Elia Martell exploded with anger the moment Ser Arthur finished
"So in conclusion, you let my husband who was married to me run after a girl of ten and five drag her over half the continent, start a war and then lock a girl in the tower?!" She yelled "Lyanna does deserve some blame but she was a girl, I know I had done some stupid things when I was around her age. Rhaegar on the other hand is the crown prince and is over twenty! You! Ser Arthur Dayne, Sword of the morning, deadliest of Aerys Targaryen kingsguard let him do that? Weren't you his best friend?!"
"I screwed up Princess, I trusted my best friend too much. I should have stopped him before...I just couldn't…."
"Sorry to interrupt princess, Ser Arthur, Ser Jamie" Howland Reed said as he appeared, "Lord Stark has awoken"
Eddard
Promise me, Ned!
He opened his eyes and the dornish sun was the first thing he saw. He sat up and found himself in a small tent.
"Ned! You are awake!" Ser William Dustin said to him.
"Aemon!" He yelled anxiously "Is the babe alright?"
"The babe? It fine," Ser William said before he turned around and told one of Lyanna's handmaiden, "Inform Lord Reed that Lord Stark has awoken"
He got off his cot and tried to walk and would have fallen if not for Ser William catching him.
"Easy, you need to rest, Howland said you collapsed due to grief,"
"No, I have a promise to keep"
He got out of the tent and was supported by Ser William and saw Howland Reed followed by Elia Martell, Ser Jamie and Ser Arthur close behind
"Lord Stark, are you feeling better?" Elia Martell asked
"He is not" Ser William said
"I am well," He said
"Princess, I am sorry about Lyanna but you must understand that babe is my blood and I made a promise to—"
"Lord Stark, don't worry, I bear no ill towards her babe. I am not Robert." She said
"No princess you are not," He replied
"What do we do now?" Ser Arthur asked "Robert will kill the babe for sure,"
"I will bring the babe back to Winterfell, and raise him as my bastard," He said
"What?! I will not allow the heir to the iron throne to be raised as a bastard!" Ser Arthur yelled
"The heir is my daughter!" Elia said angrily "I hold no ill towards the babe See Arthur, but the heir is Rhaenys, we could let Lord Stark claim the babe as his bastard, no one would doubt Eddard's Stark word."
"I want you to know that I will not take up arms against Robert unless my blood is threatened." He said
"I understand, but now we have a more pressing issue, we need to get rid of the evidence" Ser William Dustin said
"I can bring the maids and handmaidens to Starfall," Ser Arthur said
"How about the tower?" He asked "We need weeks to tear it down,"
"I can destroy it, my lords," Howland said "Not by any physical means but by more ancient means"
Howland than explained that he could do things that no one would understand and said "Just watch"
They removed everything in that tower, including Lyanna's body. Howland simply asked for Ned's blood, Ned obliged, allowing Howland to cut him with a small bronze dagger. Howland then closed his eyes and said a few words in the old tongue.
The ground began to shake and then, the tower of joy collapsed. Howland looked exhausted by it and had nearly collapsed and was unable to ride, but the tower was no more.
Then, the group headed to Starfall.
Notes:
Heres the TOJ scene, I hope it lived up to your expectations (I don't think it did...). I would really appreciate comments as they really motivate me to release the chapters faster and improve my current and future chapters. Next up will be the last few chapters of Roberts Rebellion.