Chapter 4
(Riverlands, 282AC)
A large army was marching through a flat plain with a few small hills surrounding the area, the army numbered little over twenty-five thousand men and they were flying colorful banners that all belong to the houses of the Crownlands.
The commander of this army was the recently appointed hand of the king, Lord Jon Connington of the Stormlands though his family is no longer nobility after having everything stripped from them by Lord Robert Baratheon.
Just the thought of what that useless whoring drunk did to his family was enough to make his blood boil and a rage to settle over his mind.
Jon wanted to take his army that the king had given him and head straight to the Stormlands to crush this rebellion at the heart of it, but those thoughts were dashed when that eunuch Varys found out some troubling facts from the North.
Eddard Stark had rallied the entire North behind him for this rebellion giving him an army numbering over ninety thousand men, and Eddard Stark had declared the North independent of the Iron Throne and named himself King of the North.
It had changed the whole face of the war, Jon like most people in the King's Small Council had thought that Robert Baratheon would be the heart and soul of the rebellion since he was the only one of the rebelling lords that had some claim to the Iron Throne through his grandmother.
But they were all wrong and it was Eddard Stark that was the heart and soul of the rebellion.
All their plans had to be changed and now the focus of the loyalist forces was to prevent the North from leaving the Riverlands for as long as possible, while another host could be gathered to destroy the northern army before they join up with the Vale and Stormlands armies.
The actions of Eddard Stark had taken most of the South by surprise, Eddard was a second son who was given a lordship that many firstborn sons would be jealous of and he had one of the most beautiful women in Westeros as his wife.
The Northern Lord should not have wanted anything more and that was true for Eddard Stark hardly involved himself with those that were not his close friends or family.
But if the rumors were to be believed then the mastermind behind the war machine of the rebels was Eddard Stark and that was news that nobody felt comfortable about. For the actions taken in the war so far were those of a seasoned veteran, not a young Lord who just lost most of his family and should be grieving, this would mean that Eddard Stark, or Rickard Stark before his death was planning for a war with the Iron Throne long before now.
It meant that the North that most of the South thought of as uneducated barbarians were far more formidable than any of them had anticipated, and the fact that nobody saw this betrayal coming was the most worrying thing.
Jon doesn't trust or even like Varys but he knew that the eunuch was very good at his job, yet Varys had been blind and deaf to the actions of Eddard Stark leaving many questioning his skills including the king.
Jon didn't pity the spymaster and it is just because Varys was too useful in the past so the king hadn't had him burnt at the stake already, but now with Varys being unable to provide much help concerning the North. It is only a matter of time before the eunuch gets killed if he doesn't find something to please the king.
"The scouts have returned my Lord," one of his knights rode up to him.
"What was their report?" Jon Connington asked already dreading the answer.
"Same as the last time my Lord, there has been no sign of the enemy in the vicinity of our army's planned route," the knight answered with a frown on his face.
Jon dismissed the knight and tried to ignore the chill that went up his spine from the scout's report which was the same report for the last two weeks since they stepped foot into the Riverlands.
There has been no sign of the enemy army, no scouts sent to report on Jon's army size, and no tracks of a large army moving could be found anywhere, it was as if they were being ignored by the enemy.
Which was an absurd thought, no sane man would allow an enemy army to march upon their location without at least trying to know the size of their enemy, not even that bastard Robert Baratheon would ignore them like this without rushing them to have a bloody battle.
Jon Arryn was a veteran of war and knew better than to leave himself blind to the enemy movement, so Jon doubted the Vale Lord was the one behind this silence from the rebels which meant it was Eddard Stark behind this sick plan.
At first, once they had not encountered the enemy all of the men had been relaxed and confident about their chances in the coming conflict, but as the days passed with nothing happening at all the doubts began to creep into the hearts of the men.
Was this a trap?
Where is the enemy?
Did they sneak past them and are headed for the Crownlands?
Are we going to be punished by the king for not having fought in a battle yet?
Does this commander know what he is doing?
He could be a coward that is avoiding facing the enemy in battle like a loyal man should do!
The doubts, fears, and worries of the men had gotten worse the more time had passed without anything happening, there were also many of the men that woke in the night screaming of being eaten alive by Direwolves and lizard lions, the feed for their horses and draft animals were ruined by rats which slowed the pace of the entire army down.
Jon had to put at least four dozen men to death for deserting the army in the cover of darkness, and twice that many had simply killed themselves from those dreams or simply died in their sleep.
Not a single arrow from the enemy was fired but already his army was starting to unravel at the seams.
Jon knew he couldn't keep killing the men to establish order or he will find his throat cut in the night as he sleeps, he needed to find the enemy and soon.
It was near sundown with no sign of the enemy forces which meant another day had been wasted doing nothing, he ordered the men to break to make camp for the night.
The men were about an hour or two in their work of making camp, the armor was removed and being cleaned, tents were being erected, fires were burning bright as the food was being prepared, and men were even starting to get into their drink already. They were completely relaxed then a murder of a hundred crows flew over them like a whirlwind of darkness making loud noises that only served to unnerve the men further.
Suddenly as if signaled by the flock of crows a storm of arrows filled the orange evening sky, Jon had just a few moments to realize what was about to happen before he raised his shield saving his life.
The same could not be said for many of those around him who were cut down by the arrows of the enemy, three more volleys of arrows were loosed against them killing hundreds or thousands he didn't have the time to guess.
Loud horns blared from all around them and an army of mounted cavalry carrying the banners of the Vale stood on top of one of the small hills in the area, how had they missed them?! Jon Connington screamed internally as the famous knights of the Vale charged toward them.
"Get the men in order and form a battleline of spearmen now!" Jon Connington bellowed out over the chaos that had taken hold of his army.
Some of the knights had heard his words and were starting to bring order to the footmen when another volley of arrows rained down on them shattering whatever control they had been trying to establish.
Jon Connington couldn't believe his eyes as he saw brave honorable men descend into chaos because they were caught with their pants down by the enemy. Didn't know they were fighting for something greater than themselves, someone greater than themselves! They were fighting not for the Mad King but for the silver Prince Rhaegar Targaryen!
He took a spear from one of the men near him and threw it right into the back of one of the fleeing men which stopped the rest in their tracks.
"All traitors will be put to death and their families burnt by wildfire! You will stand today and live or you will die trying to run dooming your families to death as well! Now get your worthless selves in that battle line and stop the enemy even if it means your death!" Jon Connington screamed his words with a rage that none had seen from him before which prompted the footmen to follow his orders despite their fear.
He had managed to put together a partially formed line of spearmen just moments before the knights of the Vale crashed into them obliterating all who stood in the way of thousands of armored knights on horseback.
The tide of mounted knights washed over his forces without pause and all he could do was hold on until the enemy charge weakens, the knights of the Vale eventually finished their charge but they didn't turn the battle into a melee, instead, they rode right through their camp and away from what remained of Jon Connington's army.
Jon Connington didn't know why the enemy didn't press their advantage but he wasn't going to waste any time on the mistakes of the enemy, what he needed to do now was to take control of what was left of his men.
He shouted out orders to his knights and the reports he got back were not pleasing, to say the least; he has lost more than half his forces in that one attack, and most of his archers and all of his spearmen were dead.
Any competent commander would sound the retreat at this point or surrender to the enemy, without archers or spearmen they had no weapons to break the enemy cavalry charges which are nothing short of a death sentence.
But Jon Connington did not sound the retreat or it was more accurate to say he couldn't sound the retreat, Jon knows in his bones that if he retreats all that awaits him is horrible death by wildfire while the king laughs at his screams.
Jon Connington had no allies that would speak for him the Red Keep; the Queen was too weak, the Dornish cunt Elia Martell hated him as much as he hated her, and Princess Shaena Targaryen hated Rhaegar and everyone involved with him outside of Elia, and her children.
Jon didn't know why Rhaegar's sister hated him so much but he could only guess she has wrongly blamed Rhaegar for not acting against the king sooner than now, to spare their mother the queen from her torment. But Princess Shaena had no idea how vital her brother's role is in saving the world from darkness, his silver prince can't act too rashly or all the world would be destroyed.
Another horn was blown and another group of mounted cavalry stood at the same hill the knights of the Vale just rode out from, these soldiers were not of the Vale but from the North judging by the banner of a crowned Direwolf that flew high above all other banners, which Jon has never cared to learn.
The Northern cavalry charges down the hill and he knew that he was not going to leave this battlefield alive, his only regret, as he waits for the wave of horses and steel, was the fact that he won't be there to see when Rhaegar put these traitors to death.
Jon Arryn watched the northern cavalry led by Lord William Dustin slam into what remains of the army of the Crownlands with calculating eyes.
The battle had been won on the first attack and while he didn't expect the enemy to surrender he had thought they would at least attempt to retreat from the battlefield.
Though a small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that the Mad King would have likely burned them all even if they retreated.
He almost pitied these men but they were the ones who chose to fight for that madman sitting on the Iron Throne, so they deserve whatever comes to them.
The enemy has been soundly defeated yet he could not get rid of this feeling that made him uneasy, he knew not what it was but he knew it was something real, not to be ignored as a random thought.
The sound of a warhorse riding up to his location drew his focus from the battle, a large man wearing bronze armor etched with First Men runes that granted protection to the wearer of the ancient armor, there was blood on the armor and sword from fallen enemies.
The armored knight was Lord Yohn Royce, the head of House Royce of Runestone and one of the greatest knights of the Vale, he was also a trusted friend to Jon Arryn.
"Yohn," Jon Arryn greeted the knight.
"My Lord," Yohn greeted his liege with a small bow from atop his warhorse.
"How are things?" Jon Arryn asked his friend who was in command of the vanguard.
"From what the men are saying; we only have a few deaths that were made because an enemy got lucky and some of the men got too cocky, we have less than a dozen injured, and most of the enemy forces that tried to flee were hunted down by a few hundred knights under the command of Lord Elbert Arryn," Yohn reports with a calm voice though there was a sliver of unease in the knight's voice.
"How did Elbert handle himself?" Jon Arryn asked with curiosity in his voice.
"He performed well my Lord, he heeded my commands without complaint and lead his men well even in the chaos of the battle. He will make a fine Lord Paramount of the Vale when this war is over Jon," Yohn said with a serious look on his face that changed to a smile when he said the last part to his friend.
Jon Arryn nodded his head in thanks for Yohn's words, he has lost all his children and Elbert was his only viable heir that had his blood, he couldn't trust the Vale to his cousin Ser Denys Arryn for that man was always flirting with his own death and one day he won't be so lucky to survive.
It is not to say Elbert didn't have any issues but some of those issues had been tempered thanks to Elbert's close friendship with Robert and Ned, especially Ned who made sure that the other two took their positions more seriously while still allowing them to be the young men enjoying their lives before they get chained down by the mantle of leadership.
Jon Arryn thanks the Seven every day that Elbert had stayed back in the Vale with Robert and Ned instead of heading to Riverrrun ahead of them for the wedding. It had saved his life for when news of what happened to Lyanna Stark had reached them, there is little doubt in Jon's mind that Elbert may well have joined Brandon Stark on his foolhardy quest to the capital, which would have resulted in his death as it did for so many others.
Coming close to possibly loading his heir Jon Arryn had since then had Elbert accompanied by some of his best knights at all times for protection, he also sends the boy out in battle with men like Lord Yohn Royce taking the more dangerous tasks to ensure he doesn't die before his time.
"Yohn, did anything feel off about the battle just now?" Jon Arryn asked with a serious look in his eyes.
The Lord of Runestone didn't know why his liege Lord asked that question and while he didn't understand the question he thought deeply before he answered it.
"Nothing looked or felt strange to me, we had the help of those men Ned had sent to assist us in making this surprise attack work this brilliantly but nothing seemed strange," Yohn answered with a thoughtful look on his face.
Jon Arryn sighed and wondered if he was worrying over nothing for just a moment.
"To tell you the truth my Lord, things have worked out perfectly today and if Robert is being helped in the same way, then we may be able to crush the loyalist forces one by one before they can gather in large enough numbers to be a real threat. Hell, I bet those bastards in the Red Keep never expected the war to be going so well in our favor! The Mad King must be getting desperate by now!" Yohn commented with a confident grin on his face and determined eyes.
Jon Arryn froze, he repeated what Yohn had just said in his head a few more times and each time he did, the feeling of unease slowly became dread.
This was what that feeling was! They had been on a winning streak from the start of this war and not once had the loyalist forces managed to secure a single foothold in this war.
They were winning and in doing so they cornered Aerys given his temperament there is no knowing what a desperate, paranoid, and cornered Aerys will do to stop them.
The Lannisters had not declared for either side and knowing Tywin Lannister he won't pick a side until a victor is decided, Jon knows this, Robert knows this, Eddard knows this, Rhaegar knows this and Aerys knows this.
When word of their victory today gets out, there is a good chance Aerys will make use of his hostage on Tywin's son forcing the Lannisters into the war on his behalf just as he is doing with Dorne.
If that came to pass then the destruction that will be unleashed will be horrific, Tywin Lannister is a ruthless man on his best days, and on his worst days, he is nothing short of a cruel, sadistic, cold-blooded monster with no issues when it comes to protecting his legacy.
"We may have done too much too quickly," Jon Arryn comments earning him a confused look from Yohn.
"What do you mean Jon?" Yohn asked him sounding a bit lost.
"Things might take a turn for the worse soon and if we handle things wrong we might be the ones on the losing side of the war," Jon Arryn said with steel in his voice.
Further conversation was cut off by the sight of one of the crannogmen Ned sent to him rushing forward with hurried steps and nervous energy about him.
"What happened?!" Jon Arryn said quickly losing his composure for a few moments before calming down.
"An urgent message from King Eddard Stark; there was a surprise attack about a week ago from a Lannister army numbering forty thousand strong," the words of the crannogmen silenced all activity around them.
"Is Ned alright?" Jon Arryn asked with worry clear in his voice fearing the worst.
"King Eddard is alright, he was assisting Ser Brynden Tully in finalizing the surrender of the Houses of the Riverlands when the reports of the attack came in," Jon had let out a sigh of relief at the crannogmens words and nodded for the crannogmen to continue. "Ser Brynden Tully had immediately gathered a large host of Riverlanders to go reinforce his family home disregarding King Eddard's advice to wait for them to go in force. The Northern army moved out a few days after that and King Eddard said to inform you that he will handle the Lannisters and that Lord Dustin can return if he wishes but the rest of you should move South to join up with Robert Baratheon's Stormland army," when the crannogmen finished his report he moved away without waiting to be dismissed.
"Well fuck," Yohn exclaimed after a moment of silence.
Jon silently agreed with what his friend just said, the worst had happened and the only good thing out of the news he just heard was that Ned was still okay.
He knew that he couldn't move to help Eddard right now and given how far his army is from Riverrun, it would make a lot more sense to head south into the Reach and support Robert in crippling the Tyrell army before the Dornish joins in the war with Rhaegar at the head.
Mace Tyrell was no war commander and as long as he is the one in charge the politics of the Reach will hinder his actions while helping us, but if Rhaegar takes over all those divided noble houses will unite under the banner of House Targaryen as they always have.
"Yohn organize the men after what remains of the enemy either gets killed or they surrender, and inform Lord Dustin to make haste to Riverrun, we of the Vale will move out in a days time to the south," Jon Arryn ordered the large knight and the man nodded his head before riding off.
Jon only hopes that nothing unexpected happens again.
(Meanwhile at Riverrun)
The ancestral castle of House Tully was a strong three-sided castle, it sat atop an isle at the confluence of two rivers. Riverrun was bordered by the Tumblestone on the north and on the south by the Red Fork. Its walls were made out of red sandstone which rise sheer from the water and its battlements were crenelated, and had arrow loops.
Even with a small garrison, Riverrun would be able to resist a siege for years due to its position.
These were things she had been told constantly since she was a small child and she was told the same thing when she became a full-grown woman, it has always filled her with pride and a feeling of security that she never felt anywhere else aside from inside those walls.
She now doubts she will ever have those feelings again as she watches her family home burn.
Angry yellow and orange flames race across her home like a ravenous beast turning her previous life into ash, the thick smoke rose into the twilight sky like mangled fingers looming and terrible, the screams of those loyal men and women that were trapped in the castle as it was set ablaze were a sharp contrast to the mocking laughter of the men that started the fires, all this was seared into her flesh like the molten blade from a forge ensuring she will never get peaceful rest for many months to come.
It was all too much for her mind and yet nowhere enough for her mind to forget what was hanging just before the castle.
Hanging from wooden posts built by a loyal craftsman that did it to save his family was three corpses that sent searing pain through her heart at just a mere glance at them.
Two of the corpses were of grown men and the last was of a small child, all were male with bright red hair and bright blue eyes that always looked at her with love, yet those eyes were now void, dull and without life, the healthy warm skin was now pale and cold stained with the red blood that should have never left their veins, the smiling faces were now twisted in agony for all time.
Those three corpses belonged to her family; her father Hoster, her uncle Brynden and her sweet little brother Edmure.
Her eyes were wet with tears and she made no attempts to wipe them away to try to maintain the image of a proper lady as she had been taught to do her whole life.
"You have had ample time to say goodbye, let us be off Lady Catelyn Tully," the words spoken would have been confused as sympathetic if it was not for the cold, indifferent voice of the man saying them.
Hearing her name and title from the man who was responsible for all the suffering she has endured in such a small time sparked a deep, raw, and seething feeling of hatred that she had no idea she was capable of until now.
She turned her bright blue eyes filled with hatred that glisten with her tears and locked them with the cold emerald green eyes of Lord Tywin Lannister, the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands, and the murderer of most of her family.
"I would advise you against any foolish notions or what remains of your family will no longer be under my protection," Tywin said completely unfazed by her glare of hatred.
His words had the intended effect for as soon as she absorbed his words her anger and hatred fled her veins only for terror to take its place.
Catelyn turned her gaze from Tywin Lannister to the towering figure that stands behind the man, the figure was a mountain of muscle in blood-stained armor that came from all the loyal men that died trying to stop this monster from getting to her family.
Gregor Clegane, The Mountain that Rides, The Mad Dog of Tywin Lannister. Whatever his moniker she knew that man was no man at all, he was an animal wearing the skin of a man.
This beast had scaled the wall of the castle in his heavy armor under the cover of darkness while most of the men were busy fighting back the siege, the blood-curdling screams of the castle staff as he had butchered them woke her from her sleep along with Lysa and Edmure that were sleeping with her in her chambers.
She had grabbed her siblings close to her as she geared the scream beyond the walls of her chambers, she wanted to comfort and keep them safe, but she knew that they needed to get ready to run if the walls of the castle had been breached.
Catelyn had gotten herself dressed in a blue shirt and tunic along with a pair of brown leather riding pants, and boots as a dress would have not been practical for running away, she had Lysa dress the same way along with Edmure then she got a bag filled with gold, food, water, and a pair of daggers that her uncle had given to her in case there was a need for it.
She got them out of her chambers and had them running down the halls of the castle, she was heading to an area near the back of the castle that had a small area for storing small boats that could be used to leave the castle under the cover of darkness.
She hoped they would be able to escape without being discovered but the Gods were not on her side that night.
One of them fell down with a cry of pain. Angry shouts and gleeful laughter followed soon after. There was a mad dash through the dark to get away from the looming danger that kept gaining on them no matter how fast they run.
There was a clash of blades and angry shouts of denial from the enemy, a man in all black with a head of flaming red hair and blue eyes stood with similarly dressed men protecting them.
Her uncle had arrived! The joy and relief that had rushed through her had made her stop running only for her uncle to shout at her to run, run, and don't look back ever.
Catelyn could hear the fear in the words her uncle shouted at them and that scared her enough that she followed his orders without hesitation. If her uncle was afraid then all of them had a reason to be afraid and that made a feeling of dread settle in her heart.
They had made it to their destination and a few of her uncle's men were there waiting for them. The men helped them all get on the small boat and as soon as they were the men pushed off, heading down the river away from the castle.
Catelyn had released a sigh of relief for she felt safety was within reach but her naive illusion was shattered when the men jumped on them. She thought the men had turned traitor but it was proven to not be so when arrows started to rain down on their boat.
The three men with them took the brunt of the attack which lead to their death and safeguarded her from harm, the weight of a dead man was much heavier than she expected but she managed to push the body off her, so she could check on her siblings.
Lysa was unharmed like her and that made Catelyn smile brightly at her little sister, she pulled the body off Lysa and turned to find Edmure only to have her heart torn apart when she was the arrow hurried in Edmure's chest.
Lysa had screamed in terror which alerted the men that had shot at their bloat that people were still alive, and they were women, not soldiers.
They were captured and only their identity as the daughters of Hoster Tully kept them from being passed around the men like a common whore.
Catelyn and her sister were thrown down before Tywin Lannister like sacks of flour at the market, the cruel man had praised the men that brought them to him and dismissed the man after tossing him a back of gold dragons.
The castle fell a few hours later when news of the death of Lord Hoster Tully and Ser Brynden Tully broke the morale of the men, the gates were lowered and the castle was surrendered to the Lannister forces.
Tywin Lannister wasn't interested in their surrender and instead had everyone in the castle that could fight slaughtered, then those that were left were locked inside the castle before it was all set on fire.
The Mountain had dragged the bodies of her father and uncle to present to his master like a good hunting dog, then those bodies were hung for all to see along with her brother's body.
Catelyn knew that nothing she would do or say will change her situation for the better, she couldn't be selfish now that it was just her and Lysa left alone in this cruel world.
She rose off the ground and brushed off her clothes, wiped her tears, and put on a pleasant smile that she had perfected over the years.
"I am at your command, My Lord," Catelyn said with the tone of a perfectly poised lady, none of her true emotions were anywhere in her voice and it repulsed her when Tywin Lannister nodded his head in approval of her.
"We will be returning to Casterly Rock at the break of dawn, you and your sister will be guests of my family until this war is over. Ensure she doesn't have another episode like before or there will be consequences," Tywin Lannister said the last part with a chilling tone of voice that left her cold.
"I will ensure it doesn't happen again," Catelyn promised in the same tone as before.
Dawn rose a few hours later and the fires still haven't been doused, even as she was loaded in a carriage with an unconscious Lysa smoke was still high in the sky.
Alone in the privacy of the carriage, she allowed herself a moment of weakness to grieve for her family for she knows that she will not have another chance like this when she reaches the Westerlands.
(Starfall, 282AC)
Ser Arthur Dayne groaned in pain from his resting place on the dirty and cold floors of his family home's dungeons.
He was covered in bruises that have turned from red to blue and now to ugly yellow, his new coloring was courtesy of the heavy beating he took when he was captured by over fifty well-armed Dornishmen.
His mouth felt dry and his stomach rumbled in hunger, they have not been feeding him more than they had to which given he was still a Dayne of Starfall, proved how far he had fallen in the eyes of his older brother.
Arthur had wanted to accompany Rhaegar to Sunspear but they were not going to receive a warm welcome from Doran Martell or Oberyn Martell. If he was with them there was a good chance that he would lose his head before any of them could make their case.
Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning and pride of House Dayne, was now nothing but a traitor in the eyes of his family, people, and his homeland.
He had remained at the Tower of Joy with Princess Lyanna and her unborn child, nothing had happened the first four days after Rhaegar had left but on the fifth-day things changed.
The enemy had moved in the early morning, they moved in complete silence even with their weapons which were something only people who lived, trained, or traveled the Red Mountains for years could do.
He was one of the deadliest swordsmen in Westeros but even he couldn't beat around fifty well-armed men that had the element of surprise on their side.
The fact that his own brother was the man in command of these men made it very difficult for him to raise his sword against the men that have loyally served House Dayne for decades.
Not that it would have changed much given a dozen men with crossbows that had come as well.
Arthur surrendered after getting his brother's word that nothing will happen to Lyanna or the child. His brother's response to the request had felt like a stab in the heart.
"I am a proud Dayne of Starfall and a knight anointed under the Seven, no harm will come to the woman or child for Lyanna is family by marriage and I don't ignore my vows or hide behind them like others. You have spent too much time among the filth of King's Landing, so much so that you have forgotten what a man wielding Dawn should be," the words were delivered with a visceral level of disgust and rage that made Arthur hang his head in shame.
Dawn was taken from him and he received a harsh beating from the men of House Dayne under his brother's orders. Lyanna was retrieved from the tower and they were on their way to Starfall before noon.
Coming home to Starfall to the happy faces of the people that lived in the castle made him feel a peace like no other, yet when he had returned in chains alongside the woman that had been the spark for a bloody war there was no peace to be found.
The sheer disappointment that was in the eyes of every single person that saw him made him feel utterly like trash, it was the first time since this whole thing had started that he couldn't avoid the truth.
He helped his friend cause a war by enabling his foolish behavior instead of stopping it. What did they expect; they could have their perfect romance and the world would just accept it.
Rhaegar has lived in the snake pit of a royal court his whole life, he should have known better than to start an affair with the Stark girl at Harrenhal. She was betrothed to Robert Baratheon and she wasn't even sixteen years of age yet, she was the only daughter of the Warden of the North, she was also his sister by marriage which should have given his friend pause if the other things didn't.
But Rhaegar remained determined to have the girl and it was with growing disgust that he watched Rhaegar seduce the naive girl into his bed.
Arthur knows Rhaegar believes he loves her and he might truly do, but that love didn't come from a good place, it came from a place of desperation brought on by a prophecy. Lyanna loves Rhaegar completely and whether that had to do with the perfect version of himself Rhaegar showed at Harrenhal or she had fallen for the man behind the mask he showed the world, didn't matter now.
This shouldn't have happened. There should have been no war. His sister should not be marked for death because of her husband fighting the Mad King. The love between those two should not have been given a chance.
Further thoughts were interrupted by the loud sound of the prison cell door being opened.
A cloaked figure walked into the cell and looked at Arthur with an intense stare that made him feel threatened.
"I have a proposition for you, Dayne," the thick Dornish accent of the cloaked man echoed off the dungeon walls, as the man hissed the name Dayne like an angry snake.
Arthur recognized the voice almost instantly and he knew that the fact he wasn't already dead was because the man needed him for something. And he had a pretty good guess what that something was.
"I'll do it," Arthur answered strongly.
"Oh, not even going to ask what you will be doing? Do you always just follow so blindly?" The man mocked in a voice of barely restrained rage.
"You are not the only one that loves her," Arthur said with a determined look in his eyes.
It proved to be the right and wrong thing to say to the cloaked man, for in the next moment he was liked in the face knocking him down with his consciousness slowly fading.
As his vision gets consumed by darkness a pair of dark eyes glared down at him with a rage he had been familiar with once upon a time.