Prince Baelor

The morning light peeked through the curtains of his room, and woke Prince Baelor Targaryen from his slumber. Beside him, his companion for the night mumbled something in her sleep and burrowed her head deeper into his chest, he laughed softly, it was so typical of her, she truly was a night time creature, and oh how much fun he had had with her last night. His last night of freedom, for today he would ride to Harrenhal to marry a girl he had never met before, and he would put children in this girl's belly, and why? So that his father could further his hold over the Seven Kingdoms and ensure that the Lothstons did not rebel again should Lucereon Blackfyre be mad enough to try and land in Westeros.

Sighing softly Baelor ran a hand through Alys's auburn hair, she was a lovely girl and she had been all his, ever since they had been little children she had always been his, and he had been hers. He could not remember how they had met, for it seemed to him now that she had always been there in his life for as long as he could remember, Alys had always been there, and he loved her deeply in his own way, despite what his father and his siblings might joke. It wasn't fair, why did he have to marry some Lothston girl? Why had Maelor or even Rhaenys not been betrothed to someone from a powerful house to remove the threat of the Blackfyres completely? Why had they wed each other, when it was quite apparent that father loathed the idea of sibling incest that had been so common throughout their family's history? Why was it that he, the second son, the one who stood not to inherit anything was not allowed to marry the girl he loved, and instead had to marry some girl for political reasons?

He understood it not, especially when uncle Aegon had allowed his own children to marry for love, though cousin Rhaelle had been married off to that drunken idiot Tyrek Baratheon, though for some reason she seemed to love him. Duncan had married that commoner, and Baelor's father had not batted an eyelid about that, and so why had he ordered Baelor to set aside Alys and marry some stupid Lothston girl? He cared not if he would become Prince of Harrenhal once the current lord Lothston died, he wanted Alys, he loved Alys, and if Duncan could marry some commoner why couldn't he marry Alys?

His father's words came back to him then as he lay in bed running his hands through Alys' auburn locks. "This marriage to Jasmine Lothston is important Baelor, it will secure the realm even further, behind the Starks and the Lannisters the Lothstons are one of the most powerful houses in the realm right now. They rebelled for Daemon Blackfyre during the first rebellion, but have remained loyal to the throne since then, but I do not trust them, your marriage to Lady Jasmine will ensure Lord Derryck's loyalty to the throne for years to come, and then when the man dies, you shall become a Prince of your own castle." King Brynden had said in that voice of his that meant there was no room for argument.

And yet Baelor had argued regardless. "But father, why me? Why must I marry into a house of traitors? Why did you not have Maelor marry the girl if you wished for House Lothston to remain more loyal to the throne? Surely old Lord Derryck would never have dared rebel had he known his grandson would be king?"

His father's face had hardened at that. In a cold tone King Brynden had reprimanded his son. "Enough Baelor the match had been agreed you are betrothed to Jasmine Lothston and you shall wed her, bed her and fill Harrenhal with children to strengthen your hold on Harrenhal. And you shall stop fooling around with that serving girl, what is her name Anya?"

"Alys!" Baelor had nearly shouted. "And why? Why did you allow Duncan and Jaehaerys to marry whomever they wished and yet you will tell me to marry some shrew simply for political gain, when the one I love is Alys. She would make a finer princess than some Lothston traitor ever could!"

His father had gone deathly silent at that and Baelor knew that perhaps he had gone too far. "It was not my wish for Duncan and Jaehaerys to wed whom they did. But they are not my sons, and Aegon wished for them to know their hearts desires. You are my son, Maelor and Rhaenys are wed, I cannot change that now, nor would I. You on the other hand, you will do as you are told and wed Jasmine Lothston and be done with it. I do not wish to hear anymore about this, not from you nor from your brother or sister." Baelor's father had said softly.

Baelor had bowed his head then and had said simply "At least allow me to meet the girl first."

His father had nodded his approval at that and now here he was the day of his departure to meet his betrothed and to get to know her a bit more before their wedding, and he found that he no longer wished to go to Harrenhal, if he could he would stay locked in Alys' embrace, in her arms forever, his father be damned. But he was a Targaryen and he knew how to do his duty. Sighing he sat up and got out of the bed and made for the washroom, he got in and showered quickly and by the time he had gotten out of the shower dripping wet, Alys was up, looking at him with those lovely green eyes of hers, and he found himself growing hard almost instantly.

"Going to leave without even saying goodbye my prince?" Alys joked.

"Never, my love. I simply wished to get ready in case someone tried to take me away from you before I could say goodbye properly." Baelor said before he came to the bed and made love to her. Once that was done, he put on his clothes, a black doublet and red cloak, Alys watched him from the bed her eyes crinkled with amusement.

"Why don't you look like a right little princeling?" She joked

Baelor sighed and said softly. "Alys you must rise and go before anyone sees you. It is early still, but soon two knights of the Kingsguard will be here, with my father no doubt. It would not do to have you here when they arrive."

Alys' amusement disappeared then and she frowned. "Trying to replace me already? Well I do suppose that that highborn girl will give you lots of pretty little children and I will just be some girl you fucked when you were angry with your father."

Baelor was beginning to feel his anger grow at her words; he leaned over the bed and kissed her fiercely. "Never say that Alys my love. You know I love you with all my heart, and when Maelor is king I will find a way to be with you."

Alys sighed then and said. "Very well my prince I shall leave you now, goodbye my love." And with that she got changed back into her serving girl's attire and left his room, leaving Baelor with a whole host of regrets and anger, anger at his father, at his brother and sister, and most importantly at those god damned Blackfyres.

He managed to straighten his doublet out so that by the time Ser Tywin Reyne and Ser Gerold Massey of the Kingsguard knocked on his door, he was dressed immaculately. He nodded to them and walked toward his father's solar, where he found his father dressed in a simple black doublet and breeches as if he was a sworn brother of the Night's Watch and not the King of Westeros, sitting opposite his father was the Hand of the King Edwyle Stark, internally Baelor shivered, there was something about the Hand that scared Baelor, it was as if Lord Stark could see right into his soul and knew its very contents, a felling that unnerved him deeply. His father looked up as Baelor entered the room, and smiled tiredly at him. "Ah good you are up. I trust Lady Alys enjoyed your last night together." His father laughed at the shocked expression that was undoubtedly on his face at that moment. "Oh come now Baelor, I am your father as well as the king. I know what goes on in my household. It was good of you to say goodbye to her, at least you shall both have the memories. But now I must needs know that you will not try anything with the girl once you are wedded to Jasmine Lothston."

"I shall not try anything with Alys once I am married father I swear to you on my honour as a Prince of the Iron Throne. Once wedded I shall be only dedicated to woman, my wife." Baelor replied seriously.

"Good." His father replied. "Ser Tywin and Ser Gerold shall both ride with you to Harrenhal, as will twenty of the gold cloaks. Once you arrive at Harrenhal send a raven to let us know. And when you make to move from Harrenhal and return home then you too should send a raven. Is that understood?"

"Yes father." Baelor replied seriously.

"Good now off with you. You must leave now, if you wish to be there by the time I said you would be there." The king said.

Baelor bowed and walked out of the solar, he said goodbye to his mother and siblings and his little nephew Aegyl who had just turned a year old. His father came down with the Hand and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Oberyn Dayne to see him off finally. As he mounted his horse, his father whispered in his ear "Be wary of the Lothstons son, trust them not, rely on your instincts."

Baelor nodded and once he had said a final farewell, he dug his spurs into his horse and rode off out of the courtyard of the Red Keep and out of the city toward Harrenhal and his betrothed. It took them roughly a week to reach Harrenhal in the nice summer weather, during that time Baelor came to better know Ser Tywin Reyne and Ser Gerold Massey. Reyne had been a part of his father's Kingsguard for many years now, and was a fierce swordsman as Baelor found out during their late night duels as they stopped and rested for the night, he was also a rather quiet man, reserved by nature, whereas his sworn brother Massey was more extrovert and boisterous, Baelor got on well with him, Massey was only three years older than him and so they talked about much, girls, swords and knighthoods being the hot topics.

Eventually Harrenhal's looming towers emerged in front of them dark and imposing. They were met by the captain of the castle's guards one Ser Tristan Rivers, a big broad shouldered man who looked like a bull. He led them into the hall of a hundred hearths, where they found Lord Derryck Lothston sat rigid as a statue on his weirwood throne. "Greeting Your Highness," Lord Lothston said in his waspish voice. "You will forgive me if I do not rise; my knees are not as strong as they once used to be."

"Of course my lord, it is my honour that you have agreed for me to come and meet your daughter the Lady Jasmine." Baelor replied. Running through all he knew of Derryck Lothston in his head, the man was the son of Danelle Lothston and some unknown lord whom she had never named, she had petitioned Baelor's grandfather to have Derryck legitimised, and Baelor's great uncle Brynden Rivers had agreed to do so. Derryck Lothston himself had married twice, his first wife had given him two sons both of whom had died fighting alongside Baelor's father, and the second wife had given him only one daughter, the Lady Jasmine. Derryck Lothston was a deeply proud man, who bore insults and slights harder and longer than anyone else safe Walder Frey.

"Yes, yes all well and good. Lothar, bread and wine for the guests." Lord Derryck bellowed a hunched man came forth with bread and wine, and Baelor and his companions ate and drank, with the guest right now there to protect them, Lothston spoke once more. "How long do you wish to spend at Harrenhal my prince? How long will it take you to know my daughter?"

Baelor swallowed not sure how to proceed with this. "A week maybe two at the most. I do not wish to overextend my welcome my lord."

Lord Derryck made an odd noise at that. "My Prince you must stay for longer than that surely. How else will you get to know my daughter, and the people that you soon shall rule over when my time comes?"

Reluctantly Baelor agreed to stay for a moon's turn, no longer. That night there was a feast and dancing. Baelor met his betrothed for the first time at that feast, Lady Jasmine Lothston was a beauty that much Baelor knew on first sight, she had lovely olive skin and lush dark black hair, and her eyes, gods her eyes were like a seduction, she moved as if her every move was a seduction, and Baelor found himself completely enraptured with her. "My Prince, how lovely to see you." Lady Jasmine said as she curtseyed before him.

Baelor swallowed once, and then confidently said "You as well my lady. And may I say you look exceptionally lovely tonight." He was delighted by the blush that crossed her cheeks at his words. They sat and talked throughout the night and danced as well, and by the end of the night Baelor came to find himself wondering why he had been so worried and against the match, his father obviously knew what he was doing. Lady Jasmine was fiery, and passionate and she was smart, he was able to have a conversation with her about just about anything that they chose.

The feeling only intensified over the month he was in Harrenhal in which he got to understand that underneath all her fire and passion there was a lady who was quite concerned with the welfare of her people and with ensuring there was enough for everyone, be it food or water or learning utilities. He kissed her two weeks into his stay at Harrenhal, usually he would not take so long to kiss a girl, but with her he found that he simply wished to take things slow and not rush anything, they would have their whole lives to get to know one another intimately. They had had a fair bit to drink at a feast one night where Lord Jarryck, Derryck's brother and Baelor's father's master of whispers came to visit, Baelor saw the two men hunched over talking to one another throughout the feast though what they discussed Baelor found he could not care. Instead he drank and talked and danced with Jasmine and her friends, and listened raptly as her friends regaled him with stories of their adventures in the Riverlands, and he regaled them with the stories of what he and Maelor and Rhaenys had gotten up to as young children and even now as adults. He had walked her back to her rooms, when she turned round and kissed him square on the lips, he felt his arousal strongly, but he knew he could not do what he really wanted to do just yet, and it was with great reluctance that he broke the kiss.

He was not so strong during the feast that was held to say goodbye to Lord Jarryck who Baelor learnt was making his way back to King's Landing, as he had been summoned by Baelor's father to attend some urgent council business. At the end of the feast, Baelor and Jasmine were locked in each other's arms kissing and groping each other as if their lives depended on it, and soon they stumbled back not to Jasmine's rooms but to his own, any protests Baelor might have voiced- and they were few- about what they were about to do, died down the minute Jasmine removed her dress from her body in one swift motion to reveal herself naked. "I couldn't wait, not for another two moons." She said huskily.

Baelor said nothing only gathered her closer to him and kissed her harder, and faster as they fell toward the bed. He groaned as he entered her, and soon lost himself inside of her, cursing and moaning and groaning, both of them lost in the blissful feeling their coupling provided them. The next morning Baelor woke and found Jasmine gone, disappeared like a ghost into the night, he saw her not for the rest of his stay at Harrenhal and feared that perhaps she had told her father of what they had done. But it seemed not, for Lord Derryck told him that his daughter often sought some peace and quiet on the Isle of Faces around this time of year, for her "mother's death."

Baelor also spent some time with his future goodfather learning about the lands that he would soon rule over with Jasmine, he learnt which lords and knights sworn to Harrenhal could be trusted and which lords and knights would need to be brought to heel occasionally. "Of course as a Prince of the Blood, these lords will most likely be too scared shitless of opposing you or creating trouble for you." Lord Derryck had grumbled. That had been two weeks ago, and Baelor had not ridden out with his future goodfather, and so was surprised when Lord Derryck said he would ride out with Baelor as far as the Ivy Inn. But he voiced no complaints, he kissed Jasmine goodbye and then rode out with his future goodfather and Ser Tywin Reyne and Ser Gerold Massey of the Kingsguard as well as the twenty other men they had come with, Lord Derryck brought with him some thirty men, for as he said "You can never be too sure whether or not some bandits might try and attack us on the way."

They rode largely in silence, until the Ivy Inn came into sight on the horizon that was when Lord Derryck stopped his horse and indicated that Baelor should do the same. Curious as to what Lord Derryck wished to speak of, Baelor pulled up next to him and asked "My lord?"

Lord Derryck was silent for a moment before he spoke softly. "Your father is a good king my prince. Some might even say the best king since The Old King himself, despite the wars that have plagued his rule due to those bloody Blackfyre bastards. But there is one thing I must ask you my prince."

"My lord?" Baelor asked, not entirely sure where the conversation was going.

"Does your father think I am a fool?" Lord Derryck asked his voice still soft.

"My lord? I don't understand what you mean?" Baelor replied uncertainly.

"Your father, does he take me for a fool? I know exactly why he suggested this match between you and my daughter. He means to tie my closer to the Iron Throne so that I would not think to call my men to arms should Lucereon Blackfyre land in Westeros." Lord Derryck says his voice getting louder.

"My lord was it not you who suggested the marriage?" Baelor asks confused now.

Lord Derryck laughed, adding to Baelor's confusion. "Oh lords no, why on earth would I wish to marry my daughter, my heir to a son of a bastard such as you? Why would I marry my daughter into the line of the Falseborn, when I can marry her to the true prince of Dragonstone and have she be queen? No the marriage was Jarryck's idea; he planted it in the mind of your father, so as to distract him from the invasion."

"Invasion?" Baelor asked, turning around at the sound of leaves rustling in the distance.

"Aye Lucereon Blackfyre shall be invading soon, but your father will not know about it until it is too late. And you shall not be there to warn him. Ser Tristan." Lord Derryk bellowed.

And too late, Baelor realised they had been set up, Ser Tristan Rivers buried his sword deep into Ser Gerold Massey's chest, and arrows began flying from the nearby trees, Baelor watched horrified as his men fell to their deaths around him, Ser Tywin Reyne was engaged in a fight with Ser Rivers but looked as if he would not make it out alive. Baelor tried to draw his sword, but an arrow through his right hand prevented him from doing so. Derryck Lothston laughed. "Now now my prince, its rude to die loudly. But die you shall." And with that Baelor watched horrified as the man who would have been his goodfather drew forth a dagger, and as he tried to move off his horse, another arrow pierced his left hand and latched him to his horse, as Derryck Lothston moved his own mount closer to Baelor's, there was a sadistic smile on the man's face as he leaned in close to Baelor to whisper "The Black Dragon shall sit the Iron Throne, and I shall have my due." Baelor screamed loudly as the dagger was plunged again and again into his stomach and chest, he was dead by the time the dagger was plunged into his heart. Baelor Targaryen second son of Brynden and Rowena Targaryen died on the third day of the third moon of the 249th year after Aegon's Landing, three miles from the Ivy Inn.