Rhaegar watched Robert drag a protesting Lyanna off into the godswood, he moved to follow after them in order to ensure that she would remain unharmed, when he was blocked by whom he assumed was just a boy acting as Lyanna's squire.
"You dare stand in my way?" Rhaegar said imperiously. Behind him Arthur stirred ever ready to jump into action.
"I am simply doing my duty as a sworn bannerman of House Stark." The boy said. Rhaegar took a moment to actually examine the one who blocked his path. The prince quickly realized that the person before him, though at first glance young, was simply short in stature. He noted the man's muscular build and confident stance and concluded that he would be a challenging opponent if underestimated.
"Is it your duty to stand by and watch as your lady is dragged away like that?" Rhaegar was growing impatient.
"My lady is in no danger from her betrothed, your grace." The Stark bannerman replied, his voice edged in steel. Rhaegar scoffed, was this little man suggesting that he was the greater threat to Lyanna's safety?
"And who are you to say such things?" Rhaegar was losing his patience.
"Pardon me, your grace, I am Lord Howland of House Reed, heir to Greywater Watch should my father still live." There was no warmth in Lord Reed's voice. Rhaegar realized that he was dealing with one of the principal banners of the North, a man that held power over a vast land that was practically unconquerable. Rhaegar would need to be more careful.
"I see, I hope you will find your father in good health when you return home." The prince replied diplomatically.
"If I may be so bold, your grace, I believe it is in your best interest to forget about Lady Lyanna. Dreams and prophecies are not always worth chasing after." The crannogman said in a warning tone.
Rhaegar's heart began to race. How did this man know of his dreams? Few within Westeros knew of such things, especially since the tragedy of Summerhall and the deaths of this great aunt Jenny and her woods witch friend. The few maesters he spoke to simply dismissed his concerns, but apparently the man before him had knowledge far beyond the wisest men in the realm.
"What do you know of dreams?" The prince demanded, unable to keep his excitement from his voice. Lord Reed's scrutinizing gaze would have caused lesser men to flinch, but Rhaegar was a prince and a dragon; he would not back down.
"I know that dreams can be difficult to discern and can often lead men astray. I implore you to turn from this path for I am sure of one thing: if you seek out Lady Lyanna it will only lead to the doom of your house." Lord Reed said gravely.
"How could you know that? Do you know how to interpret dreams?" Rhaegar struggled to keep the pleading from his voice, he was a prince after all.
"Nay, your grace, but if you must seek that knowledge then go to the Isle of Faces and petition the Green Men to share their knowledge with you. I must look after my lady and her betrothed now. I wish you fortune in the wars to come, your grace." Just as Lord Reed was about to turn and leave, his gaze landed on Ser Arthur and the famous sword he wielded.
"It is an honor to meet you Ser Dayne, I truly, truly hope we never have to meet again." With that the future lord of Greywater Watch collected Lady Lyanna's horse and hurried off in the direction that Lord Robert had fled.
Both the prince and his knight stood silent for some time, unsure of what to make of the strange crannogman. It was Arthur who spoke first.
"Prince Rhaegar, I think we should take that shield back to the king as you promised."
Rhaegar looked to his protector and friend and nodded, as they turned to leave the godswood. There was much to ponder and meditate upon. When his dreams had begun to grow clearer and more frequent, it was not difficult to interpret the general meaning of the dream. The prince that was promised would come from a union of House Stark and House Targaryen, from ice and fire. However, that did not mean it was as easy as approaching the Starks with an offer to take their daughter as his second wife. Without dragons to cow the faith, polygamy was not a viable path. The thought of putting Elia aside was a nonstarter as well. Even though their relationship was far from a loving one, he respected her far too much to explore that path. Not to mention the political backlash it would cause in Dorne.
So where did that leave him? The dragon needed three heads, and there were already concerns that Elia would not be able to carry another child after this one. He truly did find Lyanna to be beautiful and appealing. To have beaten those knights so thoroughly only served to highlight the strength that she would impart upon the prince. Perhaps he could have convinced Lyanna to join him as a paramour in the fashion of Dorne. Any bastards born could be easily legitimized when he was king. He would have had to discuss that with Elia first, naturally. Since her culture was more open to such arrangements, perhaps she would have been amenable to the idea. But ultimately this path was closed to him as well. Perhaps if she were being forced into an unwanted marriage with Robert, he would have had an avenue to approach her, but if the rumors were true, it seemed as if Robert had actually won her over with his trip to the North. He could not and would not interfere in a marriage between those in love. A loving marriage was something that both he and his own parents had wanted but had been denied. He was not so petty as to covet and rob others of that which he desired. And once again, the political repercussions would not be something he would want to deal with.
And so, his thoughts turned back to Lord Reed's warning. The man's words both excited and terrified him. As soon as the tourney was over, he would indeed seek out the Green Men. He had heard of them before of course, but it was difficult to sift the truth from the rumors. If they could give him the answers he sought after, then it was imperative that he speak to them. If pursuing Lyanna would be the doom of his house then he would need to know how to avoid such a fate while still ensuring the birth of the prince that was promised.
Doubt began to claw at his mind. Was he too focused on Aegon's dream? Lord Reed had said that dreams often lead men astray. But it was a dream that saved his family from the Doom of Valyria, so he couldn't dismiss them entirely. He couldn't afford to let doubt into his heart now. The second long night was coming soon. He felt it in his bones, it was as sure as the turning of the moon or the rising of the sun. But if House Targaryen fell, then there would be no one to stop the coming darkness.
A thought came to mind. What if the prince would come through the line of Lyanna and Robert? Was it possible he had misunderstood the stag's place in his dream? What if the she-wolf in the dream was Robert's daughter and the dragon his son? Robert after all shared the blood of the dragon, and if the rumors of Orys' relation to Aegon, his House carried the blood of Valyria since its founding. Jenny's woods witch had simply proclaimed that the prince would be born from the line of Aerys and Rhaella, she did not say that it would be the next generation or even the one after that. Rhaegar smiled at the thought of how it all might fit together in a way that would not only keep the peace but strengthen the bonds of blood that kept the realm from tearing itself apart in the absence of dragons.
And so, he decided that he would do everything he could to build closer ties to Robert. It was not terribly difficult to tell that Robert was not fond of the attention he was receiving from his father. What he didn't understand was Robert's antagonism toward himself. Rhaegar vividly remembers the moment they locked eyes at the welcome feast. The malice he felt from his cousin was discomforting to say the least. Though he thought he had been making ground with Robert throughout the day, their confrontation moments ago reinforced the idea that Robert held something against him. Rhaegar suspected that the king had already sent agents to whisper in Robert's ear in order to turn them against each other.
Regardless, he had a promise to keep and so sought out his father. He hoped that this would build good will with his cousin.
"Your grace, I have returned from my search for the mystery knight. It seems as if he has disappeared and all that was left behind was his shield." Rhaegar presented the shield to the king.
"That was fast," The king said suspiciously. "Robert is still out searching, are you perhaps trying to cover for this traitor?"
"Robert and I actually found this together in the godswood. It was his idea to search there." The lie flowed easily from Rhaegar's mouth.
"Oh? And why isn't he here then?" The king replied, disbelief clear in his voice.
"Robert entrusted this to me as he wished to check in on his betrothed who had taken ill today." Rhaegar answered. Half truths are always easier to sell than outright lies.
"He dotes on his savage too much." Aerys snarled. After a few moments of examining the shield, the king stood and tossed it into a nearby fire, watching it burn with a disturbing fascination. The king eventually turned back to the prince and was almost surprised to see that he was still there.
"Very well, get out." The king said dismissively.
Though the king did not seem particularly happy that he would not have the chance to execute a traitor, it seemed as though he was beginning to lose interest in the whole affair. It was a small mercy. An anxiousness that Rhaegar didn't realize was building dissipated as he returned to his chambers in the castle. When he arrived, a servant informed him that Elia had retired to her bed early since she was still feeling weak from the trials of her second pregnancy.
Rhaenys was simply happy to see that her father had returned and spent what little time they had together regaling him with stories of her grand adventures around the massive keep. But all too quickly it was time for her to go to bed as well. Rhaegar found himself feeling exhausted after a day spent with his father and fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.
Opening his eyes once again. Rhaegar immediately knew he was dreaming again as he found himself standing before the Iron Throne. Sitting atop the throne was his father, but not as the man currently was. It was his father in his prime, before the defiance, looking strong and regal. Though curiously his father's long gold-silver hair was worn straight covering one of his eyes.
"Pathetic." His father called out. Though Rhaegar thought that his voice sounded odd. "You doubt yourself."
"I seek only to ensure that the path I am on does not lead us all to ruin." Rhaegar replied angrily.
"You are going to let a frog eating nobody turn you from the path?" His not quite father spat disdainfully
"There is no harm in seeking counsel from others." Rhaegar countered.
"We are Targaryens, Dragonlords of Valyria, we are above the rabble that infest these backward lands. You do not need their counsel, you order and they obey, you want and they give." The man on the throne raved.
"No king can rule without the consent of the people." Rhaegar argued back.
"Weak, my son will be the weakest king since the first Viserys." The man wearing his father's image said mockingly.
"The path you speak of is wrong!" Rhaegar shouted. "It is evil and no good can come of it. It is not a weakness to seek a different way."
"There is no such thing as good and evil when the survival of all mankind is at stake. You seek Peace? Let me show you the peace that awaits all should you stray from the path." His father's imposter let out a mad laughter as pitch black wings stretched out from the throne to envelope Rhaegar causing the world to go dark.
Suddenly the darkness was peeled back and Rhaegar found himself on a battlefield. But this was unlike anything he had read of or experienced. He stood on a snow-covered field surrounded by an endless hoard of walking corpses whose baleful blue eyes hungered to tear him limb from limb. All around him he could hear the screams of living soldiers being ripped apart as they failed to stem the tide. There was no leader amongst the living. No flaming sword to drive back the darkness, just endless death. And soon they were upon him, he fought back desperately, but they kept coming even after suffering wounds that would end a living man. He was quickly overwhelmed and began to be torn apart before he finally awoke screaming from that terrible nightmare.
Rhaegar prayed to all the gods who would listen that he would never have to experience that again. Unfortunately, it would be a nightmare that would plague him for the rest of his life.
A/N Surprise, double Update! I had originally written this and the previous chapter as one long chapter, but it was getting exceedingly long. In fact I think this gets me just over the 100k word count mark. I actually got feedback recommending I keep different POVs in different chapters. In regards to how this went, I hope I did Rhaegar justice. I am curious to hear what you all think about how he was portrayed here.