Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you like my story, I'm sorry if the grammar is somewhat wrong but I will be checking it from time to time to correct some mistakes. Again thanks for the support and this is the new chapter (its crappy), I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 2

"What brings you here good brother? Did you by any chance miss me that you graced me with a visit?" Rhaegar asked as he watched Oberyn enter his solar.

The Red Viper slumped his body on the nearby couched and looked at him with his catlike dark eyes that reminded him so much of Elia. He didn't expect any of the Martells to visit him after they've imprisoned him in Vulture's Roost.

Vulture's Roost was an abandoned and ruined castle owned by the Martells and is located in the Red Mountains of Dorne; it was renovated to keep him locked up and away from prying eyes.

Sixteen years, he had been staying here for sixteen years without any news of the outside world and it is still a question to him how he was able to keep himself sane after years of being detained and isolated. The only company he had here were the servants and guards that Doran and Oberyn sent to keep an eye on him.

He didn't even bother thinking of escaping. It was useless and futile for he won't be able to survive the hot weather and the vast desert of Dorne without someone to help him navigate.

Aside from that, no one knew of his being.

Everyone in Westeros believed that he, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen the former Crowned Prince and heir to the Targaryen dynasty and the Seven Kingdoms, was dead. No one expected that he was able to survive Robert Baratheon's war hammer.

Robert was a fool to leave his body floating in the Trident without double checking if he was still alive or not but how can he do it? Rhaegar gave him some serious injuries before the war hammer hit his chest. The stag was so drowned with his victory that he immediately sent Eddard Stark to King's Landing to finish the war and quickly left to tend to his wounds.

It was Raymun Darry and the other Targaryen loyalists who survived the Trident that saved Rhaegar from death. He was brought to Castle Darry where he was swiftly attended by a maester.

His existence was kept as a secret and when he finally woke up from coma, he learned the bitter and tragic truth, his family didn't survive. The Sack of King's Landing happened moments after he was believed to be dead, Tywin Lannister ordered the deaths of his children and wife securing Robert's ascension to the throne as Rhaegar's brother and new-born sister fled to Essos to escape being killed by Robert's brother Stannis, whom he sent to secure Dragonstone.

Aside from that, he also learned of Lyanna's death which even broke his heart. He vowed that when he recovers he would kill Tywin and Robert himself but unfortunately, the Darrys informed the Martells that he was still alive.

They Dornish family sent soldiers to take him and bring him to Dorne, with his body still too weak to fight he wasn't able to escape and when they finally reached Dorne, Oberyn almost killed him and Rhaegar wouldn't have stopped him.

He no longer had the purpose to live, what was the use of breathing when the people you love are all dead? That moment he regretted fulfilling the prophecy of the Prince that was promised and completing the three heads of the dragon.

That moment, he stopped believing in stories, prophecies and songs and wished that he could bring back the past and correct his wrong doings. He shouldn't have crowned Lyanna as the Queen of Love and Beauty, he shouldn't have left Elia and the children in the Red Keep.

He waited for Oberyn to take his life but Doran intervened saying that he doesn't deserve a quick death, the head of House Martell believed that he should suffer the consequences of his actions and live his remaining days remembering Elia, Aegon and Rhaenys.

"Robert Baratheon is dead." Oberyn simply said.

Rhaegar stopped strumming the strings of his harp and looked at Oberyn with disbelief and anger.

Robert Baratheon. Dead. And not by my hands.

"How?" was all he can manage to say, rage built in his mind, he should have been the one to kill the bastard.

"Injured in hunting, killed by a boar." Oberyn replied and the anger from Rhaegar's chest shifted to mirth.

He had started imagining how Robert would die, a lot by his hands but he never expected that the guy would die in a simple hunting incident. He shook his head and played with his harp again.

"Seven bless his soul then." He said sarcastically and Oberyn chuckled darkly in response before his face became serious again.

"There's more."

"What?"

"Ned Stark has been branded as a traitor and beheaded by the new King. His boy is currently marching to the capitol with an army behind his back to rescue his sisters from the Lannisters."

Rhaegar's hands froze from tapping the harp and gave an incredulous look at Oberyn. A few months ago some of the servants informed him of the happenings in the capitol, they told him that Jon Arryn died and Robert Baratheon went to the North and asked Eddard Stark to become his hand and finally fulfilling his long goal of joining the House Baratheon and Stark by marrying his heir to Eddard Stark's oldest daughter.

Though he only met the man during the Tourney at Harrenhal and haven't got the chance to speak to him, Lyanna have spoken highly of his quiet brother. He knew from his former lady love that Ned Stark like all of the Starks is a man of honour and he had been very serious with duty and it surprised Rhaegar that a man liked him will be branded as a traitor.

"Apparently, he had named Stannis as Robert's real heir and claimed that Robert's firstborn and heir is not his seed. Stannis had sent ravens few days ago claiming that Joffrey Baratheon is a bastard born of incest by the Queen and her brother, the Kingslayer."

"The realm had been in chaos then, Renly Baratheon named himself as King and so is Balon Greyjoy." The Viper added.

Oberyn's words didn't really matter to him, he didn't care about the realm's welfare after the war but he did feel sorry for Ned Stark, he knew that the man wasn't a liar and he's probably telling the truth. What unsettles him though is that Oberyn was sharing these things to him and not one of the soldiers and servants with him.

"I assume that House Martell will remain neutral in this chaos." Rhaegar simply stated.

With the bad blood the Martells still have for the Baratheons and Lannisters it was obvious that they won't be taking part in this blood bath. Doran and Oberyn were still angry and bitter with what Tywin did to Elia.

Oberyn shook his head, "No, but we will be backing another claimant to the throne. One with the most rights and has more legit claim to the throne than anyone else."

Rhaegar was standing near the railings of the ship and was staring at the deep blue waters of the ocean when he felt a soft nudge on his side. He immediately looked down and sighed as he saw the direwolf sitting next to him, its pink tongue stuck out of its mouth and its golden eyes boring unto him intently.

At first, he didn't want to believe that the creature was a direwolf but Lyman Darry insisted that it was and that that Eddard Stark was supposed to kill the direwolf two years ago but decided to let it go, and it was also the same wolf that was owned by Sansa Stark, the young woman that they rescued (or more liked kidnapped her) from the Tyrells.

It was part of Oberyn and Doran's plan. With the Tyrells siding with the Lannisters and Stannis pressing his claim of being Robert's heir, the only ones who weren't interested in gaining the Iron Throne were the Northerners, and those people were the ones they need to side with if they wanted to get Daenerys back to Westeros.

When Oberyn went to visit him and told him that the Martells will only back a Targaryen claimant, he thought that the Viper meant it to be him, but Oberyn only scowled and told him that it was Daenerys whom they plan to help.

Rhaegar sighed in relief, after everything that has happened to him, the last thing he wanted was to become the King of Westeros. He was still haunted by the deaths of his beloveds and with no more will to live, he was just waiting for the old age to claim him.

But with Oberyn's call and the knowledge that his sister is gaining an army to take back what's hers gave Rhaegar motivation to continue, he will help his sister ascend the throne. That was why he agreed to help save Lady Sansa from marrying Willas Tyrell and become an instrument of claim to the Northern Kingdom.

Sansa Stark was a very valuable piece of the game, with her brother hailed as the King in the North and her other siblings believed to be dead, she was considered as the key to the largest kingdom in Westeros, the heir to the Young Wolf.

That was why she was a vital part of the game; she'll be their leverage, their tool to gain the Northerners help. With her in their hands, they might be able to sway the Young Wolf into helping them bring a Targaryen back to the throne.

It was another reason why the Martells won't be rallying behind him; they doubt that the Northron people will support him after his episode with Lyanna and the deaths of Brandon and Rickard Stark.

Shaking his head, Rhaegar looked at the stars above before deciding to check on Lady Sansa. She had suffered a mild concussion and some broken bones thanks to her direwolf friend who seemed to be very excited to reunite with its owner that it scared the young lady's horse.

He walked slowly towards one of the cabins that held the Stark girl. He had heard a lot about her from Varys who was secretly helping them, from his letters, they learned that the Lady Sansa had suffered a lot from the Lannisters.

He clenched his fists in fury when he remembered what he saw earlier when the maester treated the lady. She had scars on her back, some were fresh and some already fading, and caused by the Lannister bastard who ordered his Kingsguard to beat her whenever her brother and his men won a battle.

It angered him to know that the boy was staining the reputation of the Kingsguard knights and that he was even madder than Rhaegar's father. Aside from that, he also learned that the boy king made Sansa looked at her Father's rotting head in the traitors walk and threatened to rape her before their marriage.

He knew that he wasn't the only one in rage after reading Varys' letter, Doran and Oberyn were also disgusted especially that women are given high regard in Dorne and abuse was against the law.

Rhaegar slowly opened the door and stepped inside the cabin. A small lamp was hanging on the ceiling illuminating the place.

He carefully walked towards the end of her bed; Lady Sansa's direwolf followed him inside and immediately curled on the rug near the cot, its golden eyes following him as if interested with what he will do next.

She was sleeping peacefully as if nothing happened to her and Rhaegar thought that it probably might be the effect of the milk of poppy the maester gave her. Her clothing was now changed into some Dornish garb, a dress Arianne had provided him.

When Doran told him of the plan to save the girl, he imagined that he'd be freeing a lady with large grey eyes and brown hair but he was surprised to see her in Tully colouring.

She was beautiful though; tall, slender and regal looking and even if he didn't see her eyes, he bet that they were blue and not grey. He had seen her mother before in one of his visits in Riverrun, Catelyn Tully was a beautiful young lady and many of the Riverlander lords have sent their sons in hopes of catching her heart but it was Brandon Stark whom Hoster promised his daughter to.

Sansa Stark was a little copy of her mother or even more beautiful than Catelyn Tully ever was with her hair full of auburn ringlets, high and sharp cheekbones, small pointed nose and pink plump lips, she didn't have any of the Stark features on her except for her pale blemish free skin that was almost the same as Lyanna's.

She looked so fragile and helpless when he first saw her that it triggered his protective instinct. He wouldn't want anyone harming her and the idea of the pretender king hurting a fine delicate flower made him want to kill the boy.

He doesn't know how long he had been staring at her sleeping form but for the first time in years, Rhaegar Targaryen felt alive and accomplished. Keeping Sansa Stark safe will become his other purpose to live.

Yes, the direwolf is indeed Lady, Ned Stark didn't kill her in my story.

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