Tywin, two months after the fall of Kings Landing.

It was the hour of the wolf and Tywin was silently raging as he sat behind the ornately decorated desk in his chambers at the Red Keep. He did not have an issue about Robert's choice of Jon Arryn as the Hand of the King. No, the position of the Hand did not bother him much – Lord Arryn would be able to assert a degree of control on the King. And while Tywin may not be able to control Robert, he would be in a position, in the future, to assert some control over his grandson… at least once Cersei gives him a grandson. In fact, what worried him more was the revelation from Robert's younger brother, Stannis Baratheon, that the remaining Targaryens had escaped the combined new Royal Fleet.

Oh, how Robert raged. Most of the court, who were present in the Throne Room at the expectation that Stannis led the fleet to completely decimate the remaining Targaryens, winced at the rage from the King. Even Tywin was taken slightly aback as he glanced at the King's face turning red while Lord Arryn was telling him to calm down.

"Dragonstone experienced the worst storm in decades," Stannis exclaimed when Robert was panting in anger while leaning forward on the Iron Throne, "our fleet experienced immense losses, as did the Targaryen fleet. The Targaryen's and their allies must have used a smaller ship to escape when the storm had nearly passed and we were about to make sail after seeking shelter."

And the King raged again.

Tywin stared at the table in front of him and slammed the bottom of his rolled-up fist onto the tabletop. He knew this sudden outward display of his own anger was uncharacteristic and that it would surprise any Lannister Guards if they were in the room with him. He stared at the papers – all messages from his spies in Dorne, at least the ones who were not captured. Every missive stated that there was no sign of a girl of Rhaenys' description. And now he had to worry about the surprising revelation that Rhaella was missing.

During Stanis' questioning in the Throne Room, the King demanded to know why Rhaella being missing was a surprise.

"You said the Targaryen's escaped your grasp!" Robert exclaimed, his voice echoing throughout the throne room.

Tywin swore he could hear Stannis grinding his teeth before answering, "they did. We know for certain Viserys and the babe managed to escape. But all reports from the Maester and all present during the birth claimed Rhaella died." At that revelation, the whole throne room went silent as Stannis continued, "but her body was missing from the birthing chamber."

"What!?" Robert raged again.

Tywin saw Stannis take in a deep breath before answering, "everyone in the birthing chamber, from the Maester to the mid-wives claimed Rhaella died. Rhaella's body remained even after the last servant left the room and closed the doors behind her. Upon landing, I was told Viserys and the babe were taken by Ser Willem Darry to Essos, and that Rhaella died at the birthing bed."

"Could she have not been spirited away?" Tywin asked back at the Throne Room. As he sat at the desk, he could remember thinking Rhaenys' body was missing, and now they had to deal with Rhaella's missing body. Tywin wanted to grind his teeth in anger when Stannis shook his head before saying she could not have been spirited away since someone would have seen it happen.

"Perhaps," Stannis said before looking away from Tywin to Robert, "we are still scouring Dragonstone as well as the nearby villages for her body. We have yet to have any news."

Tywin doubted they would hear anything about Rhaella's body. As he remained seated in his chambers, he thought back to the mysterious disappearance of Rhaegar's broken body as well. He thought that the nearby Houses – including House Darry – could have taken his body away during the chaos after his fall. 'They would burn the body to the old Targaryen rituals,' Tywin thought to himself. But the disappearance of both Rhaenys' and Rhaella's bodies troubled him. And so, he could not help but wonder if Rhaegar's body was taken away as well. 'But to what end?' he thought. After all, the Targaryens, for all intents and purposes, were wiped out. A 300-year-old dynasty fell in the span of a little more than a year.

'Now begins the Lannister dynasty,' Tywin thought to himself, 'one that would last more than a thousand years.' For the moment, he pushed aside the thoughts of Rhaenys, Rhaella, and Rhaegar, along with Viserys and the new born babe. If Rhaenys, Rhaella, and Rhaegar were somehow – no matter how unlikely – still alive, then he would find them with his spies in Dorne and the Wall. He mentally reminded himself to send some informants to Houses Valeryon and Celtigar, along with other smaller houses which were Targaryen Loyalists.

'If they are not found, then either they are dead and buried somewhere in secret,' Tywin thought, 'or they were taken to Essos.' In the meantime, he would have to begin making moves to prepare for the coming of his daughter and her marriage to Robert Baratheon. Due to the confirmation of Lyanna's death a few days ago, there was nothing stopping the union between Baratheon and Lannister.

Tywin, three years after the fall of Kings Landing.

While Rhea was staring in surprise at the revelation of the dragon egg back on Earth, Tywin was in his Solar on Casterly Rock reading the latest missive from one of his spies in Dorn. His lips pressed together before tearing up the missive and then burning the pieces in the low fire keeping the cold away during this particular night. There was no sign of Rhaella, Rhaenys, or Rhaegar anywhere in Westeros or the larger cities and towns in Essos. He had wasted tens of thousands of gold coins in his search to only come up empty handed.

Worse still, he suspected Varys knew something was going on… that Tywin was searching for something or someone. Tywin was not concerned with Viserys, who had come to be known as the 'begger king', nor was he concerned with Daenerys. They were no threat to the young Prince Joffrey, and they had nearly no support in Westeros. The Lords of Westeros still remembered the rebellion, and no one was looking for another war to install Targaryen's on the Iron Throne… especially not the ones born from the loins of the Mad King.

Deciding to not waste any more gold chasing ghosts, Tywin made the decision to call off the search for the three Targaryens he was chasing. If they had not been found in Westeros and if they hadn't been found in Essos with Viserys and Daenerys by their side, then it was very likely they were really dead. Perhaps their bodies stolen by loyalists and burned according to the traditions of Old Valeria. He would have the spies search for another year before calling it off. As he looked out towards the harbour of Lannisport, Tywin leaned back of his chair and was content; he owned the power of the Iron Throne after all. Or at least he would own it once Lord Arynn was dead.

Rhea, Colorado Springs.

Rhea was still coming to grips with what she had heard from Ashara, Colonel Dixon, and Lainie. She was staring at the carved box, her eyes resting on the supposed dragon egg while so many thoughts swirled in her mind. She was born in another world, and she came from the very same land as Ashara. Her parents and baby brother were killed in a rebellion instead of a car accident. She had uncles in another world… so she still had some family. But she couldn't meet them now because the new King would order her killed if she stepped foot in the land called Westeros.

Rhea looked up at the empty living room before looking back down at the dragon egg. As her eyes stared at the object, her mind went back to the memory of the woman – her mother – saying that she needed to find Ser Jamie.

'Who is this Ser Jamie?'

She wondered about what the woman, who she assumed to be her mother, and what she had said about her second-mother, Lady Lyanna Stark.

'Why did I have a second mother?' Rhea wondered. Then she couldn't help but think, 'why did I have a second mother? If that lady was my mother, then why do I have a second mother?' Rhaenys' lower lip trembled while wondering why her father thought Lyanna would be a second mother. Rhea resolved to ask Ashara when she returned; after all, Ashara did say she knew her parents very well. Leaning back on the sofa while wiping the tears from her eyes, Rhea heard the kettle whistle, 'hot chocolate with small marshmallows.' She smiled while thinking of the beverage and immediately felt horrible since she wouldn't be able to have a drink of the concoction with her parents and brother. Ever since she had started learning her numbers and letters thanks to Lainie's tutelage, Rhea counted her brother would have been around three years old to her seven years of age. She resolved to ask Ashara more about Elia, Rhaegar, and baby Aegon.

And there was something else.

Her eyes refocused on the dragon egg in the wooden box. Her mind went back to that nightmare of hers four years ago, a few days after arriving in the Dixon's home. As she continued staring at the egg, Rhea recalled the nightmare with the large dragon. It had landed in front of her and then opened its massive jaws and roared – she could still, after all this time, feel the ground shake. However, she had not learned about the existence of dragons back then, so why did she dream of that particular creature? Why was she still dreaming of dragons when she didn't even know about dragons? And then she wondered about the wall of ice and the scary people with glowing blue eyes; why did she dream of them? Why hadn't she had any nightmares of those scary men since then?

Leaning forward once again, Rhea could hear a distant THUMP! THUMP! She narrowed her eyes and looked around while exclaiming, "Lainie? David? Ash?" before she returned her gaze to the dragon egg. The distant sounds were coming from the egg. Her focus remained on the petrified object as she pushed away all other thoughts and concentrated on the egg; she could feel herself slide off the edge of the couch before going down on both knees. She could barely feel the carpet as she shimmied closer and closer to the egg; the THUMP THUMP sound was getting louder the closer she moved forward towards the egg.

Once she was close enough, Rhea heard a distant voice calling out to her. But she ignored that voice and began reaching out for the egg. She could feel her arm lifting and moving forwards before resting on the stone egg. Rhea could feel warmth emanating from the egg. It was strange… she could feel in her heart that this was strange, that a piece of stone should not feel warm. And the warmth seemed to rise, the stone seemed to get hotter and hotter as the strange sound continued… in fact, it seemed as if the sound was coming from the egg. Her eyes were transfixed on the egg, the distant voice getting closer and closer before she felt someone hold her hand and then lift it off the egg.

Rhea gasped, blinked, and then looked up to see Ashara holding two plates, Lainie carrying two mugs of something steaming, and her eyes then went towards Colonel Dixon staring at her with a look of concern. Rhea's eyes went down to the egg – the sound was gone now – and then back to the Colonel gently holding onto her hand. What was going on?

"Rhea, what happened?"

Rhea's eyes went towards the other mugs of liquid on the table – she could just barely make out the white and rose-coloured marshmallows in one of the steaming cups from her vantage point. She then turned her sights back towards the egg. She then looked up at the Colonel while Ashara and Lainie, both of whom placed what they were carrying down onto the coffee table, then kneeled on either side. The Colonel gently placed Rhea's hand back down on the egg, and she could still feel its warmth.

"Rhea?" Lainie spoke with concern in her voice.

Rhea wondered what the Colonel and Lainie would say if she revealed hearing the strange sound and feeling the warmth coming from the egg. She wondered if they would think she was getting stranger and stranger; and with there being no family on Earth, and her family in Westeros being in danger by her mere presence… where could she go? Would she be sent to another family? All of the thoughts in her mind frightened her at that moment – her family was gone, her home was gone, her memories were gone. What would she do if she was sent away?

Looking back up at hearing the sound of the Colonel's voice, "Rhea, what's wrong? You called for us." Rhea looked back down at the egg and shook her head while whispering "it was nothing, I was just thinking about mother, father, and Aegon." She raised her hand off the egg before turning her head towards Ashara. There was another question in her mind, why did she have a second mother? Didn't her father love her mother?

"Why… why did I have a second mother?" Rhea whispered. She noticed the look of sadness on Ashara's face before looking away towards the egg. Rhea was playing with her fingers while her arms rested on the table top, "did father not love mother?"

Rhea looked at Lainie and the Colonel who looked at each other before turning their attention back to her. Lainie shimmied sideways and placed ah hand on her back before saying, "I'm sure your father loved you, Rhea."

"HE did," Ashara said leaning forward while the Colonel placed a steaming mug of liquid in front of each of them, "Rhaegar loved you from the moment he knew Elia was pregnant. Elia loved you as well… after having you, she fell ill…"

"She fell ill?" Rhea asked.

"She was always sickly ever since she was a young girl," Ashara said in a gentle voice, "but she was a string willed person. Someone who would hold her head high in-spite of any troubles. She never even allowed wetnurses to feed you, despite how sick she felt… she would always insist on feeding you herself. Never a wetnurse."

Rhea looked up at Ashara with sadness before looking back at the egg.

"Rhaegar sang to you every day whilst playing on his harp," Ashara said just before Rhea furrowed her eyebrows at recalling one of her earlier nightmares of hearing a harp playing on the distance. She could still remember what she had seen, especially the design of the harp… only the harp… as the strings were plucked by invisible hands. Rhea looked up at Ashara as the latter continued, "they loved you very much."

"But…"

"Rhaenys," Ashara said, "I do not know the entire story behind why your father took a second wife in the Lady Lyanna Stark," Rhea felt her heart fall when Ashara spoke that particular truth. And what Ashara said next raised her feelings slightly, "what I do know, is that Rhaegar and Elia loved you and Aegon with all their heart. I know that previous Targaryen kings… such as Aegon the Conqueror… took two wives and… well… the Conqueror had a reason for taking two wives."

"Why…"

"That would be a story for another time," Ashara said with eyebrows raised at Rhea after the latter spoke. Even both Lainie and the Colonel said the reasons for taking two wives would be discussed at another time. Rhea could sense they were hiding something from her, but decided to ask questions at another time. In the meantime, Ashara continued, "as for Rhaegar, I do not know his reasons. I doubt we will ever know his reasons."

"Oh," Rhea whispered.

"I want you to always remember, Rhaenys," Ashara gently tightened her hold on Rhea's hand, "they loved you and Aegon. Always remember that." Rhea nodded her head before wiping the water she felt gathering around her eyes. But she made a decision about the egg and the unusual things she had felt and heard from it; she would tell Ashara, Lainie, and the Colonel at another time. For now, she wanted to simply just be.

Thoros of Myr, Kings Landing.

Thoros knew he was dreaming. For one thing, he had just ended hours of drinking with the King and he was not having the world's worst hangover. He remembered the reason why he was sent to Westeros in the first place; to convert Aerys the Mad from the light of the Seven to the Lord of Light. But he was unsuccessful at that, not that Thoros himself was very pious. And now, with the new King, Thoros felt an obligation to at least try and convert Robert. So, the previous night, the both of them spoke – for a few minutes; Thoros talked about the Lord of Light and Robert laughed and refused to convert. Ah well, at least he tried.

And the drinking continued on through to the early morning. He was even offered rooms in the Red Keep for the night, which Thoros gladly accepted. He needed to sleep off the cups of wine that had gotten to his head.

And that's how he knew he was dreaming. He expected to find a room covered in opulence. Instead, he found himself on a snow-covered ground littered with tens of thousands of bodies as far as the eyes could see. He was stunned at the sight before him as clashes continued between men whose armours were cracked and dirty; many had blood coming down their arms and chest plating. Thoros spun around as more and more men fought around him, and his eyes widened at the sight of who – or rather what – these men were fighting.

"The dead," Thoros whispered, his thoughts going back to the last dream he had years ago… soon after the Princess Elia and her children were presented to Robert. That dream too had the dead, except they were taking Winterfell and killing everyone defending the castle. But now, his sights landed on a figure standing still, wearing an all-black body suit while bodies that were dead now began to rise once again. But this figure in black had his attention. Even from where he was standing, Thoros could tell the figure was female and staring in his direction. He could not see the face of the figure since it was covered by a helm with a face-plate made of very dark glass. He looked up at the dark grey skies upon hearing the sounds of flapping wings along with four distinct roars.

"Dracarys!" Thoros heard the Old Valeryan word and his head refocused on the figure in front of him… a figure whose helm was taken off to reveal a face staring up at the sky. She threw the helm down onto the snow-covered grass and yelled again, "Dracarys!"

And then, the woman turned her head down towards him. Thoros could see that she was olive-skinned, she had shoulder length dark brown hair, pinkish hued lips, and lilac eyes… the eyes mesmerized him. She had an unnatural beauty about her.

"Dracarys," she whispered staring straight at him.

And suddenly her clothes started to catch on fire as did her hair. Thoros stepped back in stunned silence at the sight of the fire covering her body get hotter and hotter. His eyes then went to her right arm as it lifted a sword, the blade stabbed straight down into the ground. Even from where he was standing, Thoros could tell the blade was made of valerian steel. The mysterious woman placed both hands on the handle as her clothes and hair burned away; leaving herself to be as naked as when she was a babe. But it was the sword Thoros then focused on… the blade started to glow. It was red, and then white, the white got brighter and brighter until it caught fire. Seeing the flaming sword, all Thoros could think of was, 'Lightbringer.'

The woman - Thoros knew he needed to find her - then swung the sword, its blade pointed downwards, into the ground.

And that is when Thoros woke up. He was in his room at the Red Keep, and the sky was still dark. He was panting while sitting up, his hand on his chest. This was the second time he had dreamt of the dead battling the living. And this was the first time he dreamt of a figure who could very well be wielding Lightbringer. There were so many questions in his mind; Who was she? Was she Westerosi? When would the dead attack? Was the North still standing? Would the North Survive? Would humanity survive? And was the woman a Targaryen given her unique eyes? The last question meant he could not reveal his thoughts and dreams to the King since the latter hated all remaining Targaryens with a passion.

No, he needed to find this woman on his own. And soon.

"For the night is dark and full of terrors."

TBC