Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Chapter Eleven

Rheagar sighed heavily as he rubbed at his eyes to try and banish the sleep from them, he had not been sleeping well lately due to his father's continuing instability, the man seemed to grow more and more paranoid with each passing day and he constantly felt as if he was being watched, which he most likely was.

He glanced down at the letter on his desk, it had come from Casterly Rock with another letter. The first letter was for his father, informing him that Cersei Lannister was on her way to the capital with her brother joining her. They would be married in a matter of weeks and Rhaegar was not looking forward to it.

Cersei Lannister was no doubt a beautiful woman, a blind man with half his wits would be able to tell that but the woman...did not seem particularly intelligent. She was by no means stupid and he was judging her by only a few scant interactions but considering how smart Tywin Lannister was and how smart Johanna Lannister had been he had been expecting more from their progeny.

Again, it was an unfair judgement considering he barely know the woman but he needed a wife who was his equal in intelligence, he was playing a dangerous game and he needed a partner in that. Someone who he could ask for their opinion and he knew he would be receiving sound advice from them.

In reality he knew that he needed Elia.

Elia had been his friend long before she was ever going to be his wife and he had always trusted her opinion and when his father had informed him that he would be marrying the Dornish princess he had been silently praising his good fortunes, having Elia as his wife practically assured House Martell and all of Dorne's loyalty and he would Elia's intelligence on hand.

And then in the span of a breath his father seemed to decided that Dorne was no longer trustworthy and that Elia was no longer good enough for his first-born and the contract was broken.

Now Elia was married to Eddard Stark and she was further away than ever.

Rhaegar hadn't been in love with Elia. He had valued her as a friend and a confidant and respected her intelligence but he had not loved her. Would that be the difference with Cersei Lannister? Would he love her but be starved of intelligence and friendship?

Was love worth the lack of all else?

He still wasn't sure why his father had chosen to wed him to Cersei, he had been ranting and raving for months about how much he hated Tywin, how the upstart would dare to think that he would marry his son to a servent's daughter and how he had stolen Johanna from him and Rhaegar didn't want to think about what that meant.

And then one day he had summoned Tywin to court and arranged to have Cersei married to him, it was the sanest Rhaegar had seen his father in a very, very long time. He had hoped that it was the start of his father recovering but even then he knew that had been a naïve hope. His paranoia was as strong as ever and he had most likely agreed to the match so that he would Tywin's only daughter as a hostage to ward Tywin off from trying anything.

Rheagar sighed and shook his head to try and clear his mind of these thoughts, he had more important things to worry about at the moment. The second letter was for him and had been delivered straight into his hand when his father hadn't been looking by Lord Tywin's rider.

If he was reading it correctly, all the letters had been written in code, then it was Lord Tywin assuring him of his loyalty and that he would stand by him and that he saw his marriage to his only daughter as cementing their alliance.

Rhaegar was grateful for the reassurance and decided that when he saw Tywin Lannister again he would need to thank him in person, his loyalty was too valuable to risk. Tywin was his closest ally and if pushed then his armies could be here within a week and he needed them for when he would take the throne from his father.

At that moment the door to his study opened and Jon Connington stepped in, the man was tall and wide and his red hair was matched by his red face. He knew that many people mocked Jon for his appearance even despite the fact he was hand of the king, the man still seemed uncomfortable in his new role but Rhaegar knew that he would suffer it for him.

"My prince." Jon said respectfully, nodding his head. "I hate to intrude but your father has sent me with a message for you. He intends to dine with you and your mother and brother tonight, he would like you to inform them of this arrangement." His tone informed him of everything Jon's words did not.

I'm sorry Rhaegar, you know how is.

Rhaegar nodded and sighed at these silent words before he stood. "Thank you Jon, I will see to it now." He left the room quickly, his hope for a quite supper with his mother and little brother ruined, he had promised his mother that he would try and eat with her and Viserys tonight and he had been looking forward to it all day.

"More than that, are you running from something else?" A little voice inside his head whispered and Rhaegar frowned heavily, picking up his pace. He was well aware of Jon's feelings for him, he spent a lot of time with Jon and he was hardly the most subtle man and it didn't take him long to figure it out.

He supposed that some men would be disgusted, would probably have Jon banished from their sight if not have him executed. He supposed that others, who were kinder would have gently let the man down. Rhaegar, once he had figured it out had done neither, he told himself that if Jon had ever confessed to him then he would let him but, recently he wasn't sure.

He had always been able to appractice the female form and even lust after it, he had desired Elia and did not imagine that he would have any difficulty conceiving a child with Cersei but he had certainly not been blind to the fact that his friend was an extremely handsome man.

His strong arms, pale skin that burned even more easily than his own, his stern eyes that only seemed to soften for him. A strong, muscular back and thick legs and his thick red beard which always looked like it would scratch in his skin in such a delightful way. There had been many a night when he had dreamt of Jon and he wondered if maybe...

"Think of the prophecy. Ice and Fire, The dragon needs three heads, The Prince Who Was Promised. You can not afford to be selfish." Another voice in his head whispered and Rhaegar wondered if this was how it started for his father, listening to the voices inside his head.

So many people had said that Aerys hadn't been much different from Rhaegar when he had been younger and the thought that might one day turn into him had caused several nightmares before and would most likely cause them for several nights to come.

He shook his head wildly, he would most likely cause himself to reach his father's state if he though about it too much.

He found himself standing outside of his mother's room, he had apparently been so caught in his thoughts that he hadn't realised that he made the fairly lengthy walk from his study to her room, he could hear Viserys laughing loudly inside and he could almost hear his mother's sweet ladylike giggle if he strained his ears.

A part of Rhaegar hated himself for having to go in their and ruin it but he knew that he had, his father had burned men alive for less than disobeying him, even if it was just not joining him for dinner.

Rhaegar took in a deep breath and pushed the door of his mother's room open and walked in. Viserys, who had been laying on the floor playing with a toy dragon carved out of wood, gasped and jumped to his feet with a cry. "Rhaegar!"

The little boy rushed over to his older brother and threw his arms around his legs, he looked up at Rhaegar with wide adoring eyes. "Mother said that you would have dinner with us tonight but I didn't believe her! I thought you would be too busy."

"Well, now you always know to know that I will never lie to you my love." Rhaella said with a gentle smile and stood to great her elder son, walking over to him and cupped his cheek. "Hello my boy, are you well?"

Rhaegar sighed and shook his head. "Mother." He began and hesitated for a moment when he saw the worried expression cross his mother's face. "Father has commanded us to dine with him to night."

Rhaella didn't have much time to react as Viserys reacted first. "No! It was just supposed to the be the three of us eating in mother's room, I wanted to show you all my new toys! Father won't care! I won't go, you can't make me!" The little boy screamed, his face turning red and tears flowing down his cheeks.

Rhaella quickly scooped up her son and began to hush him. "Hush my love, it's all right. It's going to be okay, your father will be glad to see you."

Rhaegar didn't think he had ever seen his mother lie before and he knew how hard it was for her considering she had just promised his brother that she would never lie to him.

"I hate him, he scares me and I want him to go away. I want him to die." Viserys muttered, his voice muffled from having his head buried in his mother's neck.

"My love, you must not say that. Do you understand me you must not say that!" Rhaella stressed and Viserys simply sobbed, Rhaella sighed and looked up at Rhaegar. "Tell your father that we will be there shortly my dear." She said before she turned and carried Viserys over to her large chair and rubbed his back to try and comfort him.

Rhaegar nodded and left the room, he wanted to try and offer Viserys some comfort as well but he knew that his mother would be better at it and he would simply get in the way.

He sighed and slowly began to make his way to his father's dining room.

Rhaegar felt uncomfortable as he sat at the other end of the table, he was at the exact opposite of his father and he was staring at him unblinkingly. His father had taken to that habit lately, hoping that if the person he stared at what was plotting against him then it would break them and them to confess, even if they did nothing wrong.

His father looked terrible, he was rail thin from not eating enough due to fearing being poisoned and having a food tester eating his food but even when the tester survived he still did not eat in fear of the poison being slow acting. His hair was so long now that it went all the way down to the bottom of his back, he had a long beard and his nails had grown so long that they were actually starting to hook.

Viserys and his mother were sitting at either side of his father and while his mother was used to hiding how she felt around her father Viserys was not and he kept glancing between his mother and his brother for help, Rhaegar's heart swelled with pity because he understood, he understood how hard it was to be near their father. His descent into madness had begun when Rhaegar was around Viserys's age after all.

Thankfully the servants soon brought their food in and placed it on the table so they could just look at their plates.

They managed to make it through the first two course without any problem but during the main course, a roast pig stuffed with grapes and grains and served with potatoes, his father started to mutter darkly.

"Aerys, is everything alright?" Rhaella asked her husband gently, not wanting to provoke him.

"That foreign whore of Rhaegar's has married Rickard's spare!" Aerys spat darkly. "The serpent and the wolf plot and scheme, they think I don't know. But I do! I see them!"

"Princess Elia had to marry someone father, I'm sure there is no plot there." Rhaegar tried to sooth but it only seemed to enrage the king.

"Do you think I am a fool! I am the king, I see a plot where there is one! Foolish fucking boy! Out of my sight, now!" Aerys stood up and grabbed Rhaella's arm. "You! With me!"

"Father! Please I didn't-" He tried to say but his mother shot him a look and glanced at Viserys who was cowering and crying into his hands. Rheagar slacked and watched helplessly as his mother was dragged off.

Rheagar walked over to his brother and picked him up and whispered into his ear. "Don't worry little brother, it won't always be like this. I promise you."

His father had sealed his fate now, he would not allow this any longer.

Soon, he would sit the iron throne and his father would be rotting in the worst cell that Rhaegar could find.

End of Chapter Eleven

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