The Emancipation of Rhaegar

Chapter 65

Unravel

Kingslanding

Jaime put off returning to the Keep for as long as he could have, he was sure he had scoured the city from top to bottom but there was no sign of her.

"What do you mean she vanished!?" Rhaegar had roared at him, trying his best to keep his composure as Jaime presented him with the unfortunate information. He felt all hope in his world dwindle, the gods had taken to punishing him. This was his punishment for being a Kinslayer. He would never free himself from the curse he had brought on himself.

Jaime hung his head; his own father shook his head in disappointment. "Have the City Watch check all the gates that were open today. Close them for now and question the guards."

There had been one guard who confessed to letting out a woman who was with child and man on horseback. He was brought back to the Keep, where Tywin was questioning him in the Throne Room.

"The man, what did he look like?"

"Pale. Black hair, milord."

"Was he slim, fat, tall, short?" Tywin asked, unsure of who he could be. But then again, he did not know the Northern lords that well.

"Slim and tall. He said she was his wife, and she got tired, so she was sleeping."

"What did she look like?"

The guard stood from one foot to another, "with child?"

"Yes, you imbecile she was with child. Her hair colour, build, shape?" He rolled his eyes, how the smallfolk got by day to day with brains the sizes of peas, he did not know.

"She had black hair, long ... I-I didn't get to see her very well milord," the guard replied. He stood in silence, trying to come up with something else to identify her, "she wore a dark red dress! It looked very expensive."

"That was her," Jaime said, he had remembered very well the colour of her dress. Unless there was another dark-haired, fine red dress-wearing, with child-woman in the city.

"Alright, take him from the Keep," Tywin instructed. The guard bowed his head and followed as he was led from the royal castle. "It is most likely the rebels took her, your grace." He turned to Rhaegar, who was sitting on the Throne.

Rhaegar felt his stomach sink for the tenth time that hour. "I told her to go to Dorne. I should've forced her onto that ship myself." He stood from the Throne. "I'm bringing her back."

"She is a hostage now; you must negotiate with Brandon if you wish to do so. We have no reason to believe he will be merciful," Tywin interjected. "Now is not the time to act in haste. Wait for him to tell you that he has her. For all we know, this might be an overzealous bandit trying to get some gold from you.

"No," he could not bear the thought of negotiating while Arianne sat in a camp with their enemies. She was definitely with Brandon. "That is my son she holds inside of her. The time for speaking is over. We have more men than they do. I am ordering all troops to the gates as soon as they can be ready."

Tywin bit the inside of his cheek, "it will take us two days to get to where they are. They might have set traps, call them elsewhere." There had been a watcher who had told them the Northern party had set camp a day's ride from Kingslanding.

"They will not move!" Rhaegar snapped back, looking at the older man who stood at the bottom of the steps with his hands behind his back. "It can take as long as it will take. The more time we waste talking, the more time Brandon has to kill her. Send a search party and sound the call, Lord Twyin."