Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Chapter Sixty-Six

Arthur Dayne took a deep breath in as he stared across the lake as tension turned knots in his stomach. He clenched and unclenched his hand around the hilt of his sword as he tried to stop himself from panicking and wondering how it had all come to this and how he had found himself being part of something that he would never have thought that he would.

Of course he already knew the answer, he was a knight of the Kingsguard and he was sworn to obey. He supposed in this case he could have refused to obey, he was not ordered to do this by the actual king but instead the King he had chosen to follow and there was no turning his back on this now. He had committed a thousand treasons, small and large, all in the service of getting that monster who sat high above them all on the Iron Throne off it.

But it was at moments like this Arthur wondered if he had simply traded one monster for another. There had been a time when he never thought that he would think of Rhaegar that way but now...now so much had changed. There was little and less that Rhaegar chose to keep secret from him but even he hadn't known what he had planned during the Tourney at Harrenhal.

He hadn't understand what he had been doing at the time, at first he thought that he might have been urging the Starks and the Baratheons to go to war, there had certainly been enough tension between the Great Houses of the North and the Stormlands and House Targaryen that it certainly could spark a war but Arthur had dismissed that idea soon enough as insanity.

If only he knew the truth back then, it would have seemed perfectly reasonable in comparison. The truth was worse than anything he might have ever imagined.

He knew that Rhaegar had such faith in the prophcey he had read about when he was a boy but Arthur didn't see the need for this, the Lannister girl had already given him a daughter and she was in perfect health to give him as many children that he needed. Despite the shameing that the Prince had given her at the tourney apprently she had had still accepted him into her bed the night before they had left for this hunt, though in truth what choice did she have in the end?

A cold wind blew through the night and Arthur crossed his arms to try and brace himself against it, even after all this time he was not used to this cold. It might as well be a stranger in Dorne, even at night when it did get cold Arthur would be in his bedchamber with thick covers to shield him from the chill until the sun finally returned and it's fire returned the heat that he had learned to love at a young age.

But in the North it seemed he was destined to be cold, even on the sunniest days in King's Landing he always seemed to be cold even as the other lords and ladies traded heavy velvets for cotton and silk. His squires always knew that when he turned in for the night, even in the hottest day of summer, he was to have a fire built in his bedchamber ready and waiting for him.

He was cold and tired and following a madman, he glanced over his shoulder to where Rhaegar was sitting crosslegged with a look of intense concentration on his face. He had not spoken much to any of them since they had set off how many days ago it had been, as of late it seemed as though they were blurring into one another, and when his Prince had spoken to any of them it tended to be simple commands or one word responses to any questions that they might have had.

Arthur knew what he had planned and many times since he had informed him of his plan he had tried to convince him to abandon it but none of his words seemed to reach his friend. He had gone to Jon Connington in the hopes that he might be able to convince him but given the fact that they were here now it seemed that any hope that the Hand of the King might reach the Prince had clearly been a fool's hope.

Why hadn't he stopped him? He could have, there was a time when the Kingsguard protected the King not just from those that would try and do him harm but would also protect him from himself if such action needed to be taken. Surely that applied to the future King as well? When he was the king that he had chosen to follow didn't that mean that he and his fellow brothers had more of a right to do what they could to turn him away from this path.

But whatever right they might have to intervene, the White Bull was silent on the matter and Arthur remembered the vow he had made to always obey. And so the Sword of the Morning held his tongue and had followed after Rhaegar as he had always done, even when he was never sure if doing so was going to be the right thing to do.

Arthur drew Dawn from it's sheathe and tested the balance of it, after all this time the blade felt like it was another part of his body. He had remembered the first time he had ever seen it back at Starfall when he was little more than a babe in his mother's arms, it was his first memory to see the blade hanging in place softly glowing and almost calling too him.

Soon enough once he had grown old enough to toddle around on his own two feet he had apparently always tried to take hold of the sword, his older brother had always taken great joy in recounting the amount of times he had nearly given their Lady Mother a heart attack and yet Arthur would always keep trying to take hold of the sword and pick it up regardless.

Even back then, it was all he ever wanted. The blade was beautiful, pale as milk glass and softly glowing with the light of a star. In the dimness of the evening, it burned like a bonfire, like a lone star resisting against the encroaching darkness.

Rhaegar saw it too, as his sharp command sounded out on the wind. "Arthur! Put that away! We will be seen." Arthur had sworn to obey and soon Dawn was returned to it's sheathe and Arthur was lost to the blackness and the cold once again.

But not for long, moments later across the dark expanse of the lake two little shapes with bright lights at the front of them began to bob against the water and yet the light offered them no comfort at all. It was time and that thought filled him with no joy as behind him came the sound of his prince, his brothers and the rest of the men began their preparations.

Once the two shapes had came to a stop at the little island in the middle of the lake, they pushed their own boats out into the water as well. This was not all of their party, some men had to stay with the horses to make sure that they didn't run off as well as to make sure that none crept up on them. There was no light to guide them, the lights of the other boats had been carried on to the island and Rhaegar would take no chances that they would be spotted.

Perhaps the gods were watching them as they did not smash their boats into the island and brought them to a gentle enough slop and soon they were all climbing the sloop up on to the land and through the thicket of large white trees. It was eerie, the leafs on the ground swallowed the sound of his footsteps and the chill seemed to be a thousand times worse than it had been on the mainland.

From out of the darkness, hundreds of carved faces leered out at them. Some of the men were muttering under their breaths, a few curses here and there but most were offering prayers to the Seven to keep them safe. Arthur was silent, and he bore the glares of the northern gods with as much dignity as he could. It was almost like they whispering to him. Why have you come? You do not belong here? We see you. We know what you plan. Murderer. Liar. Thief. Coward. Man without honour. Leave!

They found what they had come for soon enough, she was kneeling in front of what seemed to be the largest tree on the island. Eight men were surrounding her with their heads bowed and their swords sheathed. There was no honour in this and no glory, there was only going to be blood. As they approached, the girl turned her head and let out a strangled cry as she jumped to her feet.

Her father's men jumped to her feet and drew their swords and fought well to defend their lord's daughter but they were outnumbered three to one and they were against knights of the Kingsguard. It was a slaughter over soon and the pale blade of Dawn was painted red. Rhaegar put his own sword away and walked over to the large tree where the girl was resting against the wood. "My lady."

Any shock and fear that the girl might have been experiencing in that moment faded away as soon as she heard Rhaegar speak and with a cry she launched herself at him, even from where Arthur stood he could see the hate and the rage in those grey eyes burning like a wildfire. Fierce she might have been but she was half a girl and small even for that age and Rhaegar caught her wrists. The girl began to curse like a sailor. "Fucker! Fucking bastard! You killed my Father's men! How did you know I'd be here?! I'm going to rip your head off and shit down your neck."

Rhaegar's face was calm as he held the girl back from him, his voice gentle like he was explaining something to a child. "I did not know that you would be here my lady, I certainly hoped so. I have friends in the North and the Riverlands, I learned soon enough when your party left Winterfell and when they arrived on the other side of the neck and I learned when your party turned towards the God's Eye when you had no reason to come in this direction. It seems my faith and my hope was reward, that's a sign if nothing else."

The girl stared at him like he was a madman before she let out another cry of rage and resumed her struggle to break free from his hold. Rhaegar let out a sigh and turned his glance towards Arthur. "Arthur, would you please come and bind Lady Lyanna's hands before she hurts herself and perhaps gag her as well. I doubt that she would be receptive to the idea of keeping quiet."

Arthur stepped towards them and looked at the younger girl, gods she was just a child. What madness was this and what madness had possessed him that had made him go along with it? Perhaps it was just his imagination but when the Stark girl looked at him he saw something that might have been a plea for help and Arthur remembered when he was knighted and the vows he had sworn.

Protect women, children and those who can not protect themselves.

And the Stark girl was all three. He thought of Ashara and baby Allyria and what he would do if he had heard that what was happening to Lyanna Stark was happening to them, he thought of Mother weeping, he thought of the shame that would radiate off of his brother. He thought of Elia's dark eyes staring at him like he was a stranger.

And then he looked back at Rhaegar and he had remembered the vows he had sworn to him, he remembered the first time that Aerys had burned the first of many traitors and the High Septon as well. He remembered the first time that Rhaegar had told him what he had planned with Lord Tywin and for a moment Arthur thought there might still be a chance for him to be remembered as a good man. The first time he had told him of his prophecy, that all the horror might be worth something in the end.

And so with a sigh, Arthur Dayne obeyed.

End of Chapter Sixty-Six

This is a short chapter but it's one of my favourites, I love getting into the heads of characters that we don't really get a chance too in the books and when a character is one like Arthur Dayne, one who is idolized by almost everyone that thinks of him and I loved to get inside his head.

So, shit's about to hit the fan. Hope you enjoyed it.

Please leave a review, a follow and a favourite if you enjoyed. Constructive Criticism is always welcome.

With a lot of love,

DiscordantSymphony