ARTHUR II

"You do know that Lord Tywin will not take too kindly to your rejection of his dinner invitation?" Arthur said, closing the door to Rhaegar's chamber behind him.

"Of course," Rhaegar repeated as he walked over to his desk and sat down near a stack of old parchments."While he did us a great favor by swaying father's opinion on Grandison, I am not yet ready to consider his loyalties have turned to our favor."

"If anything I say we have only raised his suspicions. I wouldn't be surprised if he weren't trying to find a way to worm one of his spies into our midst."

Rhaegar looked up from the parchments, a melancholy look about his demeanor, "I am actually looking forward to it. The enemy you know can be one of the best allies you may ever have."

Arthur noticed the change in Rhaegar's demeanor immediately. He knew it well. The Prince was no stranger to melancholy, but it was an ere he wore more often lately than he ever had.

"A dragon for your thoughts, Your Grace?" he asked as Rhaegar gestured for him to take a seat on the opposite side of his desk.

"I am not certain if Lord Tywin's loyalties will ever truly be ours. The man is nothing if not an opportunist. The kind that would swear loyalty so long as the outcome landed in his favor."

"That is an affliction that Lord Tywin is not alone in suffering from, my Prince. Loyalty is a rare gift in the world today."

"I refuse to believe that to be true Arthur," Rhaegar said as he studied a particular parchment with tremendous attention. "We must not allow ourselves to give up hope in our fellow men. Too often amity is the death of trust. And when trust has been lost, faith is not took far behind."

"There is a fine line between hope and trust."

Rhaegar nodded, "As there is a fine line between caution and paranoia. A lesson that my father has surely forgotten, if he ever knew it in the first place."

Arthur noticed Rhaegar studying one of the parchments with particular attention. A look came across his eyes that made him seem aloofly hopeful. Arthur knew that look well. It was another of Rhaegar's favorites.

"If we succeed my Prince, everything will change. Not just here in King's Landing but all over Westeros."

"All over the Known World, Arthur. If I am right about what's to come, it has to. For too long we have been complacent. There are more important things to be worried about than that iron monstrosity everyone covets so dearly."

"It's the wars of the everyday people worry over most, Your Grace. Hunger. Disease. Acts of the Gods. I doubt that they would worry too much about the truth, even if we were to enlighten them." Arthur said taking a seat besides Rhaegar. "You are My Prince. My King. You are also the closest and most dear friend I have ever had. I say what I do to you now in the vein of frienship. Will it be worth it? What we are proposing will cause war. You must know that. Is tossing the realm into chaos worth some words written long ago by dead men?"

Rhaegar looked at Arthur with conviction as he grabbed the Kingsguard gently by the neck, "I value our friendship for this reason. For your ability to openly question me is one of the reasons I need you at my side. I know what I am asking of you and of our people. We will be walking through the Seven Hells and will be asking those who follow us to walk along with us. There is no other choice. The alternative - is far too horrifying. A long sleeping enemy wakens, Arthur, at a time when their very existence has fallen into myth and legend. This is more than just the words of dead men, Arthur, it is destiny. I am not angry at your doubt. There are men who doubt that dragons ever existed, despite their skulls lying down the hall for all to see. And you know why? Because they will never have an opportunity to see them. Yet there are men who do believe that dragons once roamed the skies and yet they will never have the opportunity to see their skulls. They have nothing to go on but the words of dead men and their belief that they are real. I am telling you, Arthur, as I stand here before you I believe with all of my heart and soul that a darkness is rising in the North and we must be prepared to stand against it. These are my people, Arthur. What kind of King would I be to ignore something I believe to be a serious threat to my people on the grounds that most people would write it off as mere stories."

While there was still a sliver of doubt in Arthur's thoughts, it took merely looking at Rhaegar to convince him of his cause. The Prince had that way with people. They looked up to him. They believed in him like Arthur belived. And they would follow him into the Seven Hells if he asked it. Perhaps that is what Arthur feared the most. Blind loyalty taking the place of reason. Arthur loved Rhaegar like he was his own brother and knew that unlike his father he was doing what he believed was best for the realm. That was enough to put his mind at ease.

"But do you really think this idea of yours was wise," Arthur said as he got up from his chair and began to pace once more. "Northmen are particularly prickly when it comes to their honor. What your propose would be a significant blow to both the North as well as your own."

"The thing you must realize the most about the North, Arthur, is that honor is everything. Which is why my proposal works so well. House Targaryen owes the Starks of Winterfell a tremendous remuneration that has gone too long unfulfilled. Lord Rickard is a man of honor, a true Stark to the core, but a man with tremendous ambition. Offer a man who seeks to rise not only his family but his people to the autonomy they hold so dear and prior arrangements are easily discarded. To return the North to autonomy and the Starks to the status of Kings of the North will be well worth the price paid for it. We need the Northmen if we have any hope of protecting the realm. They are our first line of defense."

"Say this works, and Lord Rickard agrees to what you propose. What of Dorne? You know very well that honor means as much to the Dornish as it does the Northmen, maybe more so. Thinking of what this will do to Elia - I don't see how her brothers or her people would support any cause we have to offer."

Arthur could see the sadness creep upon Rhaegar's features once again,"Elia fully supports this decision. She will come to convince her brothers of it in time. Elia is again with child. Considering how bringing Rhaenys forth nearly killed her she has been confined to her chambers with the exception of attending services at the Sept. The Maesters say that she has a malady of the heart. One that she has carried with her since childhood. Bearing children has only made this condition worse. The Maesters told her she could not bear anymore children, that the strain would be too much. They recommended we end it, but Elia refuses. If she survives the birth, the Maesters have said that it will most likely shorten her life. She is not expected to live to see her children reach adulthood."

"Rhaegar," Arthur said there aghast. He knew that Princess Elia had always been frail in health, but never knew it was this bad. "I am so very sorry."

"As am I, dear friend. I have always been fond of Elia but have never really loved her in a way that she deserves to be loved. Her devotion to me fills me with tremendous guilt and regret. Especially with her support in this. After the birth of the child, we are to head to Dorne where we will sit down with Doran and tell him everything. If Elia gives her blessing, her brothers will not refuse. They love her too dearly."

"Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"Fetch me a trustworthy raven. One that can be easily identified and intercepted before it reaches the Maesters. I believe I have swayed the Northemen to our cause. However for that to even work there is one other person whose support I must win over."

With a nod, Arthur headed out of Rhaegar's chambers. Once the man was out of sight, a small blonde girl emerged from behind a set of heavy drapes. With an unearthly quiet she moved her way on to the outside terrace where she quickly jumped to a secondary terrace and into the room next to the Prince's chambers.

There a fat, bald man who smelled like lilacs was waiting to hear what she had to say.