A Song Unsung
This chapter will be short. I only chose to write this because of the divergence that takes place. I didn't want to leave you guys in the dark about the "rebellion" in this story. It should give you a pretty good view on what happened but fear not all or rather most questions will be answered as the story goes on. It will also be all over the place in terms of time due to me getting most of the rebellion out of the way. This should also be the last dual POV chapter for a while (I believe). A quick warning there are some characters that may seem OOC but things happen and it changed them.
Chapter 3: King Aerys II Targaryen/Prince Rhaegar Targaryen
282 AC, Kings Landing
Just like any day since the defiance, King Aerys sat in his solar alone. It was times like this that had allowed him to dive deeper into the madness that always existed deep within his soul. His mind constantly conjured thoughts of betrayal, although his assumptions were not entirely made up. There were many men within his realm that had plans to see him off of the throne. A crazed sequence of mumbling followed by a low laughter filled the airspace around the king.
"The Silver Prince, ha, he thinks himself to be smarter than I, the dragon himself?"
The king stood up and marched to the throne room. Following behind him was his youngest kingsguard, Ser Jaime Lannister. Aerys wearily eyed his throne as he sat down. After many years of sitting on it he had finally learned to watch the iron thorns of his throne.
Just then a man rushed into the throne room. He wore a surcoat with the Targaryen sigil on it as all guards placed in the Red Keep did. He stood there silently, as if waiting for permission to speak.
"Well out with it, you mindless fool." Aerys hissed as his temper quickly flared.
"I apologize, your grace." Aerys glared at the man, the guard decided to quickly reveal his information before the dragon's wrath was brought down upon him.
"I've come to inform that Lords Stark, Tully and Tyrell have arrived and so has Ser Elbert Arryn. He comes in place of his ill uncle."
"What of the Baratheon brat and Tywin?" Aerys questioned.
"Lord Baratheon is visiting his mother at Storms End. She has been ill of late and word around the realm says she's living—." He was interrupted by an ear splitting scream.
"I do not care for her health. the king has called for him!" Aerys fumed, "What about Tywin?"
The guard shifted nervously, "He sent a messenger in his place."
The young man flinched as Aerys opened his mouth to scream again but he remained silent. He looked to be in deep thought. The guard stood motionlessly waiting for a command.
"Stark is bold enough to answer my summons and the rest think I asked and not commanded. Tch, today they will learn to fear dragon fire once more."
283 AC, Griffin's Roost
"My father is a fool indeed. His madness has started a war. I've lost much on this journey." The prince thought of his old friend Ser Arthur as he wrote, "But yet it led me to my love and the third head of the dragon."
He smiled as he looked at the sleeping form of Lyanna Stark before continuing to write, "Though I fear my love does not truly know what our love will bring upon Westeros. Though it doesn't compare to what is to come. The prince that was promised will rise against the darkness that looms over us all. The song of ice and fire will finally be sung."
His writings were interrupted by a knock at the door. He heard Lyanna shift in their bed. He stalked towards the door to reprimand whoever thought it wise to disturb them.
He swung to the door open revealing Ronald Connington, cousin of Lord Jon Connington and castellan of Griffin's Roost.
"What is it, Ser Ronald?" Prince Rhaegar asked the man.
A grave look appeared on his face, "The king has exiled my cousin—."
Before he could finish his sentence he was pushed aside, "His grace has called for your presence."
It was Lord Commander Gerold Hightower. He stood looking down on the prince. Rhaegar almost frowned at the man but he kept his composure. He had lost almost of his trust in the members of the kingsguard but he knew they would not spill his plans for they were once conspirators.
"What are you doing here Ser Gerold?" Rhaegar asked, "It is not safe for Lyanna and my child, you could have been spotted."
"I assure you, my prince, I was not spotted. Your secret is still only known to a few." Gerold told the prince, "Your father has commanded you to lead the forces of the throne."
"What forces, I've received no word of an army marching here?" Rhaegar asked with a slight frown on his face.
"We shall wait for Prince Lewyn to return here with his dornishmen and we will meet up with Sers Barristan and Jonothor and their forces. We will end this madness at the Trident." Ser Gerold said not in a commanding voice but it was a tone that commanded respect.
"I will not leave my wife and child alone, not at this time." Rhaegar argued in defiance.
"Oswell and I will remain here with her. " Ser Gerold told him.
"My father would allow his Lord Commander to stay out of battle?" Rhaegar asked surprise.
"His grace told me to do whatever it takes to get you to lead the forces. He said that a dragon should be the one to put the stag down." There was a slight look of disapproval on his face.
A small sense of happiness filled the prince at the thought of ending the rebellion. Rhaegar still seemed to be conflicted but he knew he could not refuse. His family would be safe here with Ser Oswell and Ser Gerold. Despite their fading relationship they were still two of the best knights in the land.
"Fine, we shall leave as soon as Prince Lewyn arrives with his dornishmen. If you would excuse me, I have some business to attend to." Rhaegar said shutting the door.
He sighed as he sat back down. A strong desire to get in bed with his northern queen but he had to continue writing, especially now that he was marching off to battle. The rest of his night was spent writing down his legacy. The moon hung in the sky as exhaustion had finally got a hold of the crown prince.
The days seemed to fly by. The time to march was now upon them. Rhaegar held Lyanna as he said his goodbyes. Tears stained her face as she clung to him.
"You don't have to go, tell your craven of a father to lead his own army!" She yelled.
"I cannot do that, though my father is not the man he once was. I will not abandon the realm in its time of need. The people of Westeros need to be reassured that not all dragons are untamed." Rhaegar told her as his sense of duty overwhelmed all other emotions.
Lyanna looked up at him with fierce eyes, "You will not survive if you go. My brothers are out for blood, not to mention Robert and his blind anger."
Rhaegar gave a sad smile, "My love, I am sorry for what my father did to yours but this is something I must do. Without a dragon at the helm this war will be lost."
This caused more anger to enter Lyanna's eyes, "You take your enemies too lightly. Brandon is full of wolf's blood. He is a warrior fear around the world. Robert is fiend with his hammer and Jon Arryn has a decent mind for war."
Rhaegar remained quiet for a moment before speaking once again.
"What of your other brother?"
Lyanna looked down, "Ned was always quiet but there was always a silent fury behind his icy mask. I fear Eddard will cause the most damage. He has the mind and the might to do so."
She looked up at Rhaegar with pleading eyes, "My prince, promise me you will not meet my brothers or Robert in personal combat."
The prince grabbed her head and gave a soft kiss on her forehead, "I am sorry, I cannot do that. They will no doubt be looking for me and it would not do well for my men to see their prince and commander fleeing from the fight."
Lyanna seemed to have no fight left in her. Rhaegar released her and gave one last smile before he rode off with his army. As Rhaegar became a mere figure in the distance Lyanna looked back towards the kingsguard left behind to protect her and her unborn child.
The silver haired knight looked back towards his family. Something caught his eye further behind him. He rubbed his eyes as the sun hit them. He blinked a few times as he thought he saw a man but the sun was interfering with his vision. In the end he chose to believe it was his mind playing tricks on him due to his lack of sleep lately.
"My prince, is everything well?" Prince Lewyn said snapping him out of his thoughts.
"All is well, how has my father since all of this chaos begun?" Rhaegar asked the prince of Dorne.
Prince Lewyn remained silent. Rhaegar smirked, "You may speak freely. No words spoken between us will reach my father's ears."
"His grace has gotten worse, his madness knows no bound now. The queen gathered your siblings and sailed to Dragonstone." Lewyn said with a grim look on his face.
"What of Elia and my children?"
"She and the children were staying in the Hand's Tower but now Ser Jon has been exiled, I know not what has become of them now." Prince Lewyn told him.
"What kingsguard remains in King's Landing?" Rhaegar asked the dornish knight.
Rhaegar raised an eyebrow as he thought he saw Prince Lewyn freeze for a moment before speaking.
"Ser Jaime guards the king and your father sent Ser Arthur to do his bidding." Before Rhaegar could as what his father's 'bidding' entailed Prince Lewyn responded, "Only the two of them know where he has gone."
Rhaegar nodded and remained silent. He retreated back into his mind and lost himself in his thoughts.
"Lyanna, my love, I only hope I can make it back to you." His mind then shifted towards his family in King's Landing, "Elia, the Gods truly cursed us the day they made you barren. Even amongst our pain you had the heart to understand the need for the third head. You gave me two beautiful children and my heart will forever beat for that."
The days passed quickly as Rhaegar and his army arrived at the Trident. They arrived in the dead of the night. At the moment he was in the middle of a war council with the three kingsguard.
"Prince Lewyn you will lead your men on the left." The Dornish knight nodded, "Ser Jonothor, you will lead the right and Ser Barristan you will be with me. We will charge our full force and smash their smaller numbers."
"It will end here today, my prince." Ser Jonothor told them with his hand on his hilt of his sword.
"We march at dawn, get a good night's sleep, your best will be needed on the morrow." Rhaegar told the knights before dismissing them.
The night went by in a flash. Rhaegar was now donned in his armor and sitting atop his black steed. Ser Barristan sat beside him. Twenty thousand men sat at his back waiting for his command. Ser Lewyn had control of his ten thousand dornishmen and Ser Jonothor had command of ten thousand men.
He could see the opposing army on the northern side of the Trident. His blood rushed through his body at an alarming rate. He pulled his blade from the scabbard on his hip and pointed it forward.
"Today it ends." He whispered, "For his grace King Aerys Targaryen, Charge!"
The sounds of war erupted. War horns were blown. The clatter of steel plates filled the air along with the sound of hooves beating the ground. Soon the sound of blades clashing followed by the screams of dying men blocked out all other sounds.
"Ser Barristan, something is amiss." Rhaegar said as he sliced through a man's neck.
The prince looked around and saw many bodies littering the ground. There was a strong scent of iron in the air, thanks to the blood sinking into the ground and mixing with the river. A pit in his stomach pulsed giving him an eerie feeling.
"What do you mean, my prince?" The knight asked not taking his eye off of the men coming his way.
"I know not but something feels wrong." The Targaryen prince answered blocking a swing from a Knight of the Vale.
The two remained silent as they continued to defend themselves from the droves of rebel soldiers. Rhaegar cut down man after man. He remained mostly unchallenged until a massive armored hand snatched him off of his horse. He hit the ground hard. He looked up to see his attacker.
He was a massive man. On his chest was a sigil that he recognized, the chained giant of House Umber. An equally large war axe threatened to split his chest but his guard, Ser Barristan placed his sword under the axe stopping its progress. The kingsguard swiftly backed away as he knew he wouldn't win in a test of strength. Using Ser Barristan's attack to his advantage Rhaegar stood up. The prince stood up and lunged hoping to plant his sword between the Umber's ribs.
The large man used his inhuman like strength to quickly push Ser Barristan back and halt Rhaegar's advance. He wasn't fast enough to stop the blade from entering his side but he did stop him from hitting his intended target.
Despite the wound the giant moved to attack the prince but stopped as the sound of a war horn cut through the air. Due to his height he stood above most men. He looked towards the southern bank of the Trident and smiled. Rhaegar couldn't help but let his curiosity get the best of him.
He stood up and looked in the same direction as the Umber. What he saw sent chills through his spine, a snarling direwolf, the same one from Harrenhal.
"Brandon Stark." He cursed, "We're being flanked Ser Barristan!"
Rhaegar looked around him. He could see that Prince Lewyn and his dornishmen had been broken and the charge led from behind had caused a lot of damage in such a short time. He knew what he had to do to finish this before more lives were lost. Though it seemed his counterpart had the same idea.
"Rhaegar, you ill-bred bastard, where are you?" Robert Baratheon's voice boomed through the madness.
Rhaegar quickly found a horse so he could match the massive man. He could see the top of the antler helm. There also the group of men being struck down by the swinging war hammer. Soon he appeared in his line of vision, clad in his Baratheon themed armor. He looked like the warrior himself sitting atop his warhorse. He could see his chest rise and fall as he eyed him with hate filled eyes. For a brief moment he saw the young man that was introduced to him as a child but the image quickly faded away revealing the snarling warrior charging towards him.
Rhaegar quickly forced his horse to turn to dodge a swing from the hammer. He swung his sword denting the steel plate on his leg but it didn't seem to faze him as he struck Rhaegar in the side sending him flying off of his horse. Robert dismounted with surprising swiftness.
Rhaegar found his footing with haste. He fortunately had time due to Robert being swarmed. He picked up a stray blade as his was nowhere to be seen.
"Prince Rhaegar!" A voice said getting his attention.
He in the direction he believed the voice came. He found the face of Ser Barristan. He opened his mouth to respond but the look of dread that appeared on his face stopped him. He heard him screaming again but this time he couldn't understand it but he instantly knew what was wrong when he saw him pointing behind him.
He turned to see Robert in mid swing. At that moment his life flashed before his eyes. He saw himself as a child with his nose in a book. Then it was his knighting, followed by his marriage to Elia. Although his marriage to Elia wasn't the happiest one it gave him two healthy children. His last memory was that of his goodbye to Lyanna."
"She didn't love you." He managed to get out before the hammer impacted against his chest. His chest was caved in, instantly killing him. The rubies encrusted on his breastplate were sent flying, landing in the flowing river.
"He's dead, Prince Rhaegar is dead!" A Targaryen loyalist screamed as he saw the prince fall.
Soon a retreat was called and the loyalist forces were on the move. The rebel forces took advantage of their loss of morale. They easily cut down the fleeing men. Roaring cheers were heard from the rebel army.
It wasn't long before all remaining crown forces were either dead, captured or scattered. Robert Baratheon lay on his back being tended to by their healer and around him stood the commanders of the rebel army. Eddard Stark, commander of the Northern forces. Jon Arryn, commander of the forces of the Vale. Brynden Tully led the forces of the Riverlands in place of his nephew. Last was Brandon Stark, he commanded the forces of a sellsword company he contracted.
"I got…the bastard." Robert grimaced as the healer cleaned his wounds.
"A messenger arrived and bad tidings with him." Jon Arryn said in a grave tone.
"What is it now? The dragon is dead and soon his father shall be, who else can oppose us?" Robert asked.
"The lion, Tywin Lannister rides on King's Landing as we speak. We know not of his intentions." His foster father told him.
The massive man growled, "Ned, take your forces and get to King's Landing at any means!"
"If I may, I have a suggestion." Brandon said speaking up.
All eyes were on him now. Robert gave him an approving nod giving him free speech.
"I will take my men to King's Landing and Ned can take the northern forces and lift the siege at Storm's End."
All remained silent for a moment, "As we are short on time, I'll allow it. I want King's Landing secured for me, Brandon."
Brandon smiled and dismissed himself. Ned bowed and left to rally his forces. Soon Robert was left alone. He allowed himself to give in to the exhaustion but something still bothered him. Four words continued to replay in his head.
"She didn't love you."
And there's the end of that. You may think that I left some things out and I did. Fear not, all will be answered as the story goes on. Before I go any further I want to say that although there are a lot of changes some things will be the same. Speaking of changes, magic and mythical things will be much more prevalent than in the books and the show so prepare yourselves. Until next time, LKnight out