Who Dares Wins
Chapter III
Maidenpool, 282 AC
Rhaegar
"My Prince ?!"
The familiar voice brought a great deal of relief to Rhaegar Targaryen. They had finally found who they searched for.
Ser Myles Mooton looked exactly the same as the last time they saw him. Even as a young boy, he was tall. Now standing at 6'6, he was a bit taller than Rhaegar and Arthur. He still had his shaggy black hair and cold blue eyes, like all Mootons. Rhaegar was a bit amused to see that his former squire was trying to grow a beard.
"Myles ! I am happy to see you, my friend." The Prince said with fondness in his voice.
The man mentioned did not seem happy to see them. After the shock wore off, he stomped to the group and stood in front of them, judging eyes observing them with intensity.
"Happy ? You are happy ?" The former squire of the Prince said doubtfully. "There is no cause for happiness in these times, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean, Myles ?" Interjected Arthur, confused.
"Arthur ? I should have known you would be in this too." Myles spoke with a bitter tone in his voice before looking at the final person of their group and narrowing his eyes. "And this must be the Stark girl, the who-"
"Enough ! Myles you go too far" Interrupted Rhaegar, steel in his voice. "You will explain yourself, now."
Meanwhile, Lyanna Stark stood there, confused and disoriented. She looked alternatively at all the men before her while they spoke. Contrary to her usual personality, she stayed silent.
The young Myles Mooton took a moment to gather himself before shaking his head.
"Not here. Come with me, please" He clearly added the last part only for the Prince and Ser Arthur, his glaring eyes on Lyanna making his feelings clear for all.
With a simple gesture, he began to lead the Royal, the knight and the maiden deeper in the Keep. All three of them exchanging a look before following.
As they walked down a corridor, Rhaegar walked up to his former squire and tried to engage the conversation with him.
"Who were you shouting at, Myles ? We heard you from the entrance of the keep."
The Mooton knight did not even turn his head to answer. "It was my brother, the stubborn fool." He took a second to look on his left where Rhaegar was and continued "You know you have my loyalty, my Prince, now and forever. But your actions at the tourney…they will have consequences…for all of us."
With a sinking feeling in his gut, Rhaegar understood that he was too late.
"You have received news from King's Landing, haven't you ?" He asked quietly.
A nod was his only answer as Myles led them in a quiet room, most probably his chambers. They were on the opposite side of the castle from the Lord's solar.
Myles took a seat behind the main desk and looked at everyone that followed him.
"Please, you might want to be seated for what I have to tell you."
Rhaegar, Arthur and Lyanna exchanged a look, perturbed by the tone of their host. The knight pulled the only two chairs in the room and offered them for the Prince and the Lady, before standing behind them, his hand on the pommel of the sword on his hip.
Myles took a piece of parchment from his desk, looked at it before passing it to Rhaegar.
Lyanna and Arthur waited with baited breath as the dragonlord read the message.
They could see his eyes hardening and his brows furrowing as he took in the words written.
After he finished, he took a moment to gather himself before looking at the three people in the room with him.
Rhaegar could see Myles glaring at him and Lyanna, a rare thing for the formerly shy squire who used to follow him around excitedly. Arthur looked calm as usual but his eyes were telling a different story, and his fist was tightened on the pommel of this sword.
Lyanna was pale faced. Subconsciously, she understood that something terrible was happening and she had a sinking suspicion that she had a responsibility in the situation.
Rhaegar spoke with a calm voice despite the gravity of the happenings.
"This is a message written by the Hand of the King. Brandon Stark was arrested for treason and Lord Rickard is called to King's Landing for the trial. He will need to answer for his heir's crimes. Lord Mooton is summoned to act as witness." As he spoke, he kept his eyes on Lyanna. He saw her face paling even more and her fists tightening on her tunic. He turned to Myles. "When did this arrive ?"
"Today, just after noon. Considering how close we are to King's Landing, I would say that this happened yesterday or the day before that." Myles answered. Rhaegar did a quick calculation in his head and concluded that Brandon must have left a few hours after Lyanna disappeared and he must have really exhausted his horses to get to King's Landing this quickly.
"I must leave for King's Landing as soon as possible." Said Rhaegar, with a determined voice. "I need to see what these accusations of treason stand for."
"My brother is not a TRAITOR !" It appeared that Lyanna was fed up with being put to the side. "I will go with you to King's Landing and I will fight the King myself if I need to !"
"I would advise against that, my Lady" The mocking tone in Myles's voice made Lyanna spin around to face him, glaring. "You are not well liked in the crownlands and the welcome you would receive would not be warm."
Lyanna stomped to the knight and stood in front of him. The scene would have been funny if the circumstances were not so dire. Indeed, the girl looked absolutely tiny next to the knight.
"I. WILL. GO." She screamed. "You will not stop me !"
Rhaegar sighed and looked at Arthur. "I think the Lady is tired, do you still have some of the Essence of nightshade that the maester gave us ?"
Arthur lost his composure for once and looked alarmed as Lyanna whirled around and was now glaring at them.
"My Prince… I don't thin-" He began
"Please, Arthur. I need to speak with Myles. Alone." Rhaegar asked calmly.
The Sword of the Morning deflated and turned to face the Stark.
"My Lady, please, let me guide you to your chambers." Arthur said, with a note of pleading in his tone.
"NO !" She cried to the knight before turning to Rhaegar. "You will not get rid of me ! I will come with you to free my brother !"
A couple of guards came in the room, alarmed by the shouts. Rhaegar looked worried for a moment before a nod from Myles assured him that yes, they were loyal men of his.
The Prince took off his hood and his silver hair immediately gave away his identity.
The two guards instantly bent the knee before the Silver Prince.
"My friends, please could you take the Lady to her chambers ? Ser Arthur here will accompany you." He addressed the guards and Arthur softly, despite Lyanna screaming at him and beating her fists on his chest.
The guards approached Lyanna.
"My Lady, please let us guide you." One of them tried, gently.
Instead of coming with them in peace, she instead proved why she was called the She-Wolf of Winterfell.
She turned on them quickly and before they had time to react, Lyanna sent her fist in the face of the one that spoke, breaking his nose.
"I said NO !" She shouted before turning to Rhaegar. "I swear on the Old Gods and the New that if you do not let me come with you, I will NEVER forgive you !"
Rhaegar looked regretful for a moment before hardening his eyes and nodding to the guards.
The one who got his nose broken immediately seized Lyanna and half-carried her out of the room while the second guard was trying to catch her arms and legs as she kicked in every direction.
"NO ! NO ! NO ! RHAEGAR !" She was screaming and fighting as she was carried out.
Arthur gave a severe look at Rhaegar and followed them, closing the door behind him.
Rhaegar and Myles, who got up during the altercation, exchanged a look and sat again. The shouts coming from Lyanna were getting distant before soon disappearing.
"Now, tell me why you were screaming at your brother." Ordered Rhaegar, his voice hard.
Myles sighed, deflating back on his chair.
"He intends to leave for King's Landing on the morrow. I wanted him to give me leave to raise the levies and prepare our lords for war." He answered softly.
"I believe I can still prevent that war from breaking out." Replied Rhaegar calmly. He was mentally reviewing the timeline of the events in the books, there must still be a way to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
"My Prince...Rhaegar, you cannot be sure of that." All these confrontations clearly took their toll on Myles, he sounded…tired. "And my brother is a fool. Even if you can stop the war, raising the levies and calling the lords will cost us next to nothing. On the other hand, if there is a war and we are not prepared, it might be the end of House Mooton…"
"I agree, and I think you are right." Rhaegar took a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing. "If there is a war…Will Lord Mooton declare for the Crown ?" He looked firmly into Myles's eyes, trying to catch the smallest hint of his thoughts.
His former squire was clearly offended. "Of course ! House Mooton is ever loyal ! How could you ask that ?"
"You know why." Rhaegar stayed firm. "House Tully is directly linked to Brandon Stark…You know you will have to choose if the worst came to pass."
"I know, damn it !" Myles screamed, standing up. He then deflated when he remembered who he was talking to. "Forgive me, my Prince."
"There is nothing to forgive." Rhaegar replied softly.
"It's just…Why did you take her from her family ? I do not understand." Myles asked desperately. The question was on his mind from the moment he had received the raven.
"I made a mistake, Myles." Answered the Prince, his voice was sad. "Not for leaving with her but for the way I did it. I could have done it in a better way. She did not want her marriage to Robert."
"I know, my Prince. But it is not up to you to save every damsel in distress. She has three brothers and a father. They could have done something for her if the situation was so dire."
Rhaegar took a moment to absorb everything that was being said. Behind him he heard the door opening and light footsteps coming in his direction, signaling Arthur's return
"She already tried, Myles. She was desperate and she begged me to take her away !" Rhaegar began to pace angrily. "What was I supposed to do ? Abandon her to her fate ? You too have heard the rumors around Robert Baratheon, I could not leave her." He then looked at Arthur, searching for support.
"It is the truth. She was the one that came to the Prince, not the other way around." The honorable kingsguard said.
"Seven hells !" Cursed Myles, he too was now standing up again. "What will you do now, my Prince ?"
"We must ride for King's Landing with haste. There is no other choice." Rhaegar answered, determined. "But first, I have a favor to ask of you."
Myles rubbed his forehead. "Why do I have the feeling that I will not like that ?"
Rhaegar chuckled humorlessly. "Because you won't. I need you to protect Lyanna Stark for at least the next moon, maybe more."
"Only protect her ? I could send her on a ship to White Harbor in the next twenty days." Myles replied, bemused, behind the Prince he could see that Ser Arthur was frowning severely.
"No Myles, you misunderstood. I need you to protect her." Rhaegar replied, the emphasis on the word protect making Arthur frown even more. "She must not leave the keep." Added the dragonlord firmly.
Internally, he was wincing. He a lot of difficulties adjusting from the mindset of a modern soldier to one of a Prince of royal blood in a medieval world. He had to remember that weakness, even with friends, could lead to his death or worse, his family's.
"I have no choice, I can not waste a bargaining chip like that, even if I have to look like a monster in their eyes."
Suddenly, Myles understood what was asked of him and he answered while gritting his teeth.
"A hostage ? A few moments before you were talking about freeing her from her fate and now you want to keep her prisoner here ? How chivalrous of you, Rhaegar." The former squire could not be more sarcastic if he tried.
"You overstep." This time it was Ser Arthur that spoke, and his voice was glacial. "You are still speaking to your Prince."
Myles immediately realized his mistake and backtracked. "You are right, I beg your forgiveness, Your Grace. Your demand just took me aback."
Rhaegar surveyed his former squire, his lilac eyes were now cold.
"See that it doesn't happen again. Now what say you about my request ?"
"I accept my Prince, I swear that I will protect Lady Lyanna at all costs." Myles answered obediently.
"Good, Arthur and I will directly depart for King's Landing then. I will require supplies for the trip." The men in the room were aware of the Prince's tone. Gone was the amicable dragonlord, they were now with their liege and they would obey.
Rhaegar had to maintain a fragile balance between being friendly with his subjects and being strict when he needed to. He could not tolerate being talked back like that, even by friends.
His training in the army made one thing clear to him, if your subordinates didn't think you were strong enough to lead them, then you had to prove them your worth or withdraw yourself from command. Otherwise, they would walk all over you and when the circumstances are dire you could not afford to have a weak chain of command.
Rhaegar did not have any intention of appearing weak and indecisive.
Myles could not hold eye contact with his Prince, it was like they were back in time, when they were a simple squire with his knight.
"I will give you all you need, my Prince. I will have a guard bring you wine and salted food for the trip." His voice was respectful. "Will you need anything else ?"
"Raising the levies and calling the banners is a good idea, Myles" Rhaegar said, his voice was warm again. "If you need help persuading your brother, you can use my authority and my name, I trust you. He must not leave for King's Landing." He added firmly.
Myles lifted his head and straightened his posture.
"I will not fail you, Your Grace. You can count on me, for everything." He said the last part pointedly and proudly.
"I know, Myles." Rhaegar replied with a gentle smile.
Three days later, around Stokeworth
They had ridden hard from Maidenpool, only taking pauses to sleep and eat.
Rhaegar did not see Lyanna again after that time in Myles's solar, he imagined that she was probably cursing his name and regretting ever coming with him.
He knew Arthur was not happy with him for the way he handled things and after they joined Oswell he saw the two of them talking animatedly more than once. However and as usual, they did not directly question him.
Rhaegar did not know how to feel about that.
In his team, it was common enough for his men to speak their minds on the plan. It was considered the height of arrogance and foolishness for an officer of the Special Forces to not listen to his squad. That did not mean that they decided for him. He still had the final say on everything, but each of them was a specialist in his chosen domain and had the right to add his insight on the planning.
In this world however; even if he had a close relationship with his kingsguards, even calling them friends, there was still a polite distance when they spoke to him. Rhaegar did not think that it was a conscious thing but it was there. A subtle acknowledgment that he was superior, not just in rank but as a human being too.
He imagined that it was the difference between the relationships he had on earth and the ones here. After all, he was a not a royal before.
Briefly he wondered if that was the way the royal family of England was treated too.
Back to the present, they were now on the road near Stokeworth and by choice they avoided every village or inn on the way. Rhaegar's objective was to arrive in King's Landing just before Lord Rickard.
If his knowledge of the timeline was correct, Brandon Stark and his companions must have been imprisoned just after his arrival in the capital and the raven calling for their Fathers to come plead for their cases must have followed the arrest.
Considering the message's date of arrival, Rhaegar estimated that they must have been in cells for at least five days.
The Prince and his two kingsguards were still a day away from the capital.
Lord Rickard should have been on his way to Riverrun to attend his son's wedding when Brandon was arrested. If he diverted from his path and began to ride to King's Landing as soon as he received the raven, like he remembered from the books, then they should arrive just before the Stark Lord and Rhaegar was confident that he could still salvage the situation.
However, every night from the moment they left Maidenpool and Lyanna Stark behind, he has been plagued by nightmares and visions. Rhaegar felt pity for the original version of himself because those were the exact same dreams that he suffered from all his life.
Now that he felt them, he was not surprised that in the cannon universe the Silver Prince went 'mad' and could no longer distinguish the real from the imaginary.
Every night was the same.
First, he would see two familiar brown eyes before hearing sobs and smelling smoke. A voice in the dark calling him, pleading him to come. Where ? He did not know.
Then, he would hear a distant battlefield, the roar of men and the clashing of steel. He could smell the blood and the shit. The mud and the rain. Behind those noises, he could hear the rush of a river.
Last, the visions would change and he would see the death of everyone he held dear. Elia, Rhaenys, Aegon, his mother, Arthur, all would die painful deaths. What was most worrying was that the deaths he saw were exactly how he imagined them from his readings of the books.
"Does that mean that I will fail ? Is my family fated to die ? Did I change nothing ? Why do I know those eyes ?"
These questions and visions were plaguing him every night and preventing him from getting any rest. The resulting weariness made his melancholy worsen, which made his thoughts even darker resulting in a vicious circle and aggravating his mood.
He knew that he will not be in the best state of mind when he will confront his Father but he had no choice and no time to rest.
He just hoped that it will be enough.
Meanwhile, King's Landing, in the black cells
Brandon
Brandon Stark was stupid and he wanted to bash his head against the walls to punish himself.
His father, Lord Rickard Stark, always told him that the wolf blood was the strongest in him and that he had to control his rashness in order to avoid making stupid and costly mistakes.
Well, look at him now, in the black cells of King's Landing awaiting a trial for conspiring to kill the Crown Prince.
But nobody said anything about the fact that the silver haired cunt kidnapped his little sister just a few days before and that there has been no sight of her since then.
The unfairness of it all was maddening.
He was currently sat against a wall in a small cell with only one bed and no privy. Sadly, all the men that came with him to King's Landing were in another cell far away from him and he was left to rot here alone.
Kyle Royce, Elbert Arryn, Jeffory Mallister and his young squire Ethan Glover did not hesitate for a moment before following him to the capital on a mad ride to free his sister.
He did not remember a time where he rode faster.
His companions were as enraged as him when they learnt of the kidnapping and they kept to his pace all along, a feat rare enough to be mentioned.
He just hoped that he did not lead them directly to the Wall. As heirs of Noble Houses, that was the biggest punishment they could receive and while there was honor at the wall, Brandon definitely did not want to abandon the company of women.
His dearest wish right now was to go back a few days before and keep his little sister close to him at all times.
He could not even remember the time where he lost sight of her, but at that time he was confident that she would find her way back to him if they were separated.
*Flasback to Harrenhall, a few days ago*
Brandon Stark was sent to Harrenhall by Lord Hoster Tully with a few of his usual companions in order to escort the Lady Shella Whent from the great fortress to Riverrun to attend her niece Catelyn's marriage to him.
A few days back, she had sent a raven to Lord Tully saying that Lord Whent did not want to leave Harrenhall and did not support her wish to visit Riverrun.
She requested his assistance with men to safely escort her to the capital of the Riverlands.
Just as he was preparing for his short trip, his little sister Lyanna came to beg him to allow her to come with them to Harrenhall.
Her exact words were :
"Please Brandon, I can not stay one more day with those southern cunts. I swear that I will kill the next one that comment on my attire if you leave me alone !"
Naturally, and obviously not because he was scared that she would do it, he accepted her demand.
During the first half of the trip, he congratulated himself on his decision. For the first time in the last months, Lyanna was herself again. She smiled and joked with his companions.
She raced against him on their horses and she seemed happy. Brandon was taken back to when they were children and chasing each other all around Winterfell.
When they arrived in Harrenhall, Brandon admitted that he focused less on his sister and more on the maidens and the wenches eying him up.
He smiled at all of them and when night came, he always went to his room in good company.
He saw less and less of his sister as the days passed, never noticing how her smile dimmed and her mood became somber.
On the day of the departure, as Lady Whent got in her carriage, Brandon finally noticed that Lyanna was not part of the group.
He went to stables to scold her on her lateness when he saw that her horse was absent.
Thinking that she probably went on a ride, he asked the stable boys where she went.
He began to panic when they told him that they had not seen her or her mount today.
He ran back to his group and quickly asked his companions if one of them noticed his sister today. His panic amplified when all of them answered by the negative.
All around the group, people began to notice the Heir of House Stark panicking and screaming questions at his men.
A courageous young boy approached them and spoke to Brandon with a deep bow.
"M'lord, are you looking for Lady Lyanna ?" He asked in a small voice.
Immediately, Brandon whirled around and began shaking the poor boy.
"Do you know where she is ?! Answer me !" Brandon screamed, all around them, people were beginning to get nervous in response as his companions were trying to make him drop the boy.
"I'm sorry M'lord, I only saw her with a man with silver hair, M'lord. I don't know anything else, M'lord ! I swear !" The young lad was clearly terrified as he shouted answers.
Luckly the noise attracted another passerby. It was the daughter of the innkeeper, she was just getting back from the well when she heard the boy shouting.
She came closer and as she saw the scene, she hurried to the Stark.
"M'lord, I heard rumors of the Prince being in the Riverlands ! She is probably safe with him !" She really tried to be persuasive, in order to make him drop the young boy.
Brandon stopped shaking him when he heard the voice of the innkeeper's daughter. Briefly, his eyes dropped down to appreciate the view before he focused again on her words.
Prince Rhaegar…That silver haired cunt was alone with his sister…The one that he crowned Queen of Love and Beauty a few months before…
As the gears turned in his head, he came to a conclusion that he did not like.
Maybe the Prince was raping his sister as they spoke !
He did not have time for this. If Rhaegar took his sister, he surely went directly to King's Landing, thinking the King will protect him from the fury of the North.
Well he was wrong ! Brandon was going to ride down to the capital and kill the fucker in front of his kingly Father !
He quickly turned to his companions.
"Rhaegar took my sister and is probably abusing her now ! Will you let him ?" He asked them, his voice was loud and proud.
Immediately, their faces became enraged and they shouted back.
"NO !"
"Good, we ride for King's Landing, NOW !"
They all obeyed and mounted their horses, muttering curses and promising death all the way.
Brandon quickly ran to the main carriage and spoke to Lady Shella.
"My Lady, my sister has been kidnapped and I must ride to free her. Forgive me, I will not be able to escort you to Riverrun." He said in one breath.
He did not even wait for an answer before turning and quickly going to the maester of the castle. Luckily, he was outside today to watch the carriage leave.
"Maester, I need you to send a raven to Lord Tully and my Lord Father. They must know that my sister, Lyanna Stark has been kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar and that I am going to ride to King's Landing to free her." Brandon ordered, his tone left no choice to the old maester and the man quickly walked to the rookery to send the messages.
The Stark Heir went back to his horse, aware that all eyes in the courtyard were turned to him, most of them bewildered.
He turned to his companions, all of them still looked angry and ready to fight.
"Let us ride my friends, for Lyanna !" His loud voice resonating in the old castle.
"For Lyanna !" They shouted back.
*End flashback*
They really exhausted the horses on the way to King's Landing, even killing some of them. Luckily as sons of Great Houses, they had more than enough coin to buy new mounts when they crossed an inn.
As his companions had more or less the same temperament as him, when they spoke at nights it was always about his sister or what they would do to Prince Rhaegar when they caught him.
Brandon was intoxicated by these words and his anger grew day by day.
He knew that he was always prone to be rash when angry but he could not help it.
Between that duel for his own betrothed's hand against that foolish boy and now his young sister's kidnapping, his patience was completely gone.
He would do to Rhaegar all that he couldn't do to the little man.
That is why when they arrived in the Red Keep, Brandon directly screamed for the Prince's head.
Now that he had cooled off in the cells, he could admit that it was not his brightest idea.
The King immediately arrested him and his companions and threw them in the black cells without ceremony.
The only smart thing Brandon did was to have a raven sent to his Father when they left.
Lord Rickard Stark would come for them and arrange things with King, he was sure of it.
One day later, King's Landing
Arthur
Ser Arthur Dayne was riding at the head of their group, Prince Rhaegar was in second place and Ser Oswell was in the back. They decided to form up in fighting position during the last part of their journey as this part of the King's road was infamous for its bandits concentration and they stayed like that for their arrival in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms.
Arthur, as usual, could smell the city before seeing it. The scent of shit invaded his nose and made his stomach turn.
His attention was soon attracted by the small scatterings of people he could see on the sides of the road, mostly women, children and elderly people.
He put this information to the side for now and increased his horse's pace, he could hear behind that his Prince and Oswell followed his lead and did the same.
As they were coming from the north of the crownlands, they would enter the city by the Dragon Gate. Usually at this time of the day, that particular gate should be deserted but today it seemed to be full of people.
The scene was so similar to Maidenpool that Arthur wondered if maybe they should repeat their scheme of leaving their horses outside of the city to better blend in with the crowd.
As soon as they got closer however, he decided that it was unneeded. Indeed, the line of people outside was massive but Arthur couldn't see any guard stopping them.
The smallfolks were probably slowed by the amount of people here and not by any form of control from the Gold Cloaks.
In any case, there was more than enough room for them to keep their horses and travel through the gate mounted.
As usual, Arthur began to scan the surroundings with his eyes. They were not in the wild anymore and in the city, the Prince was surrounded by enemies.
Surprisingly, as soon as they left the entrance area behind the gate, the city seemed nearly empty. Arthur struggled to remember a time when he felt this sensation. It was like King's Landing itself was holding its breath.
But why ? They were very careful on the way here and they should not have been spotted. That meant that there was no way for the King to know of their presence.
No, this peculiar atmosphere was due to something else.
Soon, they joined the Street of Sisters and Arthur was relieved to see more people on the streets.
They kept a slow pace, the horses were now walking side by side and the three men exchanged a look, a silent acknowledgement passing between them. They were now in the old dragon's lair and they would have to be prudent from now on.
The afternoon air was thick with the old familiar stinks of King's Landing. Arthur breathed in the scents of sour wine, bread baking, sweat and horse piss. The distant smell of shit from the nearby Flea Bottom was still prominent however.
They kept progressing on the street, passing the Dragonpits and the north part of Flea Bottom.
The night before, they discussed their path through the city and Rhaegar decided that he preferred not to cross trough the poorest part of the city.
Arthur and Oswell were more than happy to comply with that demand as Flea Bottom was dangerous on the best of days.
The Prince decided to keep to the Street of the Sisters till they reached the central place of King's Landing before turning south and joining the street to Aegon's Hill and the Red Keep.
As they rode, Arthur was reviewing all possible scenarios for the confrontation to come in his head.
At this time of the day, the King or most probably the Hand were giving audiences and receiving complaints from the local nobility.
The Prince will probably need to present himself before the court and justify his actions before the King. Then he would have the hard task of proving Brandon Stark's innocence. That was the best possible outcome of all.
The other possibility was that they would be spotted at the entrance of the Red Keep.
Arthur did not know if the King ordered his son's arrest but if he did then Rhaegar would be taken to the cells and his position would be considerably harder.
As Kingsguards, Ser Oswell and him could theoretically protect their Prince from the Targaryen guards but if the King intervened they were honor bound to obey his order before all others.
Either way, Arthur thought that Rhaegar would be in for a rude day.
King's Landing
Rhaegar
They were now on the last few hundred meters to the Red Keep.
Rhaegar and his two companions rode slowly through the city in order to not attract the City Watch's attention.
The Silver Prince was a bit worried to see that once again this part of the city seemed empty.
They did not hear anything out of the ordinary in the city, even though it could be argued that they did not really try to fish for information.
But now, Rhaegar regretted it.
He was very used to this city considering that he had lived here for most of his life and it was the first time since his Father's imprisonment during the Defiance of Duskendale that nobles of all origins were absent in the entrance of the Red Keep.
Usually this street and all surroundings were filled to the brim with nobles, knights or castellans here to trade or speak with the King or, if they were not important enough, his hand.
Today, however, it was completely deserted and Rhaegar began to have a bad feeling. He could literally feel his stomach sinking.
He urged his horse forward and sped up his pace, his guards doing the same without a second of hesitation.
His long silver hair was whipping his face as his horse accelerated.
He only took off his hood for a few seconds to show himself to the guards at the entrance before dismounting and walking hurriedly in the Red Keep.
The doors of the Throne Room were already half open and he could hear screaming and jeering inside.
He turned his head on his right and sent a worried look to Arthur and Oswell before softly pushing one of the doors and walking inside.
Quick answer to the Reviews :
A big thanks to Salen01, , EdeaKramer, Rydoc, Aren Gisly, LordDarkness89, daspeedforce, back028, suppes1 ! Thank you for the support and the reviews !
Doctor Doofenshmirtz : First of all, I really like your nickname ! Bring back a lot of good memories. Thank you for you review and for taking the time to write your opinion, I agree that it was probably a bit too long but it was really important for me to write this part. I really want to build a complex character that knows suffering but is still capable of making decisions. It is hard to find a good balance but I will keep trying !
Apo21 : You are absolutely right ! I made a big mistake with the timeline but I will try to repair it from now on. For a few reasons, I do not want to keep to the cannon timeline for the aftermath of the tourney of harrenhall. Basically, the problem is that I do not want Rhaegar to have seen Elia and king's landing after the tourney. That means that Aegon needs to be born before the tourney.
I will try to find a way to detail that in the next chapters.
Here is how I see the timeline :
Start of 281 AC : Aegon's birth
End of 281 AC : Tourney of Harrenhall (originally to celebrate the name day of Lord Whent's daughter, now to celebrate the birth of the Prince)
Between 281 and 282 : Rhaegar doesn't go back to King's Landing with the rest of the Royal Party. He stays in the Riverlands.
282 AC : Brandon and Lyanna are visiting Harrenhall in order to get Lady Whent for the former's marriage.
282 AC : Lyanna hears that Rhaegar is close and escapes to join him and begs him to take her away.
282 AC : When he wants to leave Harrenhall, Brandon is alerted that Lyanna is absent. The rumor is that Rhaegar kidnapped her. He immediately ride to king's landing and send a raven to his father.
282 AC a few days later : He is arrested by the King and the hand's raven is sent to Rickard Stark. However he was already alerted by his son and is near the Antlers when he receives it.