The Emancipation of Rhaegar

Chapter 7

"Eddard Stark, second son of Rickard Stark. Benjen Stark, third son of Rickard Stark. Lyanna Stark, first daughter of Rickard Stark."

He looked at the four siblings. They were nothing special, the boys all looked like their father and replicas of each other, just shorter, skinnier versions as they grew younger. The girl was no great beauty; she had long thick black hair that if pulled back enough, would make her face resemble that of her brothers. What a pity for he knew that her mother, Lyarra was a beauty to end all wars. Aerys waved his hand indicating that he acknowledged them, they bowed and curtsied again before being led off. Their conversation with Rhaella and Rhaegar cut short. Though the Lyanna girl stayed behind waiting for the younger brown-skinned girl.

"And, Arianne Sand, second daughter of Rickard Stark."

Rickard never told me he had a bastard?

The girl curtsied low when she reached them. His eyes almost rolled to the backs of his head. She was in front of him, flesh and bone. He looked to his wife, who was looking at him and then he looked to his son who gazed lustfully after the girl. Aerys was far too confused to understand what was happening.

Rickard created that? She looked far too similar to the girl he knew. Maybe they were more alike than he thought.

No. That is most definitely her. The gods are playing a cruel trick on me. The King stood from his seat; no one seemed to notice for the room was still full of music, laughter, and chatter. He ushered the girl closer with his hand. She looked nervously towards Barristan; the grey-haired man nodded his head. She shuffled closer. The young lady was dressed just as should be. Though there was something off about her.

Aerys turned to Rhaella. "What is that?" he muttered pointing to the girl.

"Lord Stark's daughter?" Rhaella responded frowning.

Aerys glared at her and then turned back to the girl. "And I've got a cunt." He whispered inspecting her face. Her scared purple eyes looked to his, wide open and almost screamed as they looked to his own purple eyes. Though compared to hers, his were dull and almost begging for death, hooded, their beauty shunned by the dark circles under his eyes and the pink around his eye.

He could not take it any longer. It was his mind being cruel to him. When he woke, the girl would look just as ugly as her siblings. He mentioned for Ser Barristan to follow him and turned to his wife. "Come." He said. The girl had aroused him, reminding him of the days he would fulfil himself with as much pleasure as he pleased and he needed that getaway once more. His sister-wife was the quickest way he could get that brief pleasure.

He saw his son turn his head from his mother and father, bring ring clad fingers to his lips and stare off into the distance somewhere. Aerys huffed to himself and walked out of the hall followed by Rhaella and Ser Barristan.

...

The girl was more beautiful than Rhaella had seen. Her assumptions were made from either high above for from a distance. Under the candlelight, she seemed to twinkle and shine. She smiled gently to herself as she watched her dance with both Jamie Lannister and Oberyn Martell. The most handsome and highest named pair of suitors in the room. A bastard at that. It had confused her, Jaime did not seem like one to parade around with a bastard. Oberyn, she knew to be different when it came to things like that.

She saw the way her son stared at the girl once she was dancing with Oberyn, almost as if she was cursing Oberyn to choke on his breath from his seat. She shook her head.

After I warned him anyone but her. Rolling her eyes she heard the song come to a close, Oberyn say his goodbye to her and Arianne return to her seat where her whole family was sat.