The King of Winters

Something is Missing

Rhaegar Targaryen

The scroll laid rolled up and crushed on the table of the Small Council. There was murmuring and muttering and voices speaking in hushed tones which was very unusual in the Small Council of Rhaegar Targaryen, King of the Andals, First Men and the Rhoynar. The council meeting was initially organised to make up the plans for the marriage of his son Aegon, but now the news which they were handling was a much less pleasant one than that of a marriage. 

'To King Rhaegar Targaryen, King of the Andals, First Men and the Rhoynar, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, with deep regrets we inform you that your brother, Prince Viserys was found dead, hanging from the Pearl House. We are sending the Prince's body back in the ship which brought him here with two ships of our own to provide protection in order if something bad happens on the way. The ship will set sail the same time as the raven with this letter takes off so it will reach you soon enough.' 

Rhaegar had read the letter again and again for at least a dozen times that he could bring out every words in the letter to make a new copy of that. Viserys was dead. That was what the letter said, Hanged from a brothel. When he read about the way in which his brother had been killed, the King knew for sure that it was no simple work of some sellswords or that kind. There were killings in the Pearl House before Rhaegar knew, the Braavosi men fighting and killing for the Black Pearl but this was not the one as that. Knowing his brother the King knew that he would've sought after the bed of the Black Pearl. His brother always had a thirst for claiming exotic beauties. He even asked him to give Ashara Dayne to him but Rhaegar had other plans for the Fallen Star before sending her to the depths of earth. And with a chance to get one of the most popular woman in his bed Viserys would never have missed that chance.

But no one would ever dare touch a Prince of the Seven Kingdoms let alone a Targaryen Prince even in the Free Cities. True that the Valyrians were not so loved in the Free Cities with their constant fights against the Grand Maesters of the Free Cities and their acts of slavery. But that was in the past and even if they'd had any problems with them they were not so brave enough to put their hands on a Dragon. 

Hanged from the Pearl House. His brother would've died in a slow but a sure death. And that troubled Rhaegar. Killing Viserys is one thing but hanging him from a brothel is another. It's not that Viserys had no enemies. His brother had a rare talent to make enemies rather than friends. If it had been someone with a personal problem with Viserys there was no chance for him to make it so public as this. He would've managed to hide Viserys' corpse as he managed to do with his guards' corpses. Rhaegar knew his brother was a thickhead who would use his mouth over that of his brain but even Viserys was not so stupid as to wander the Free City of Braavos without a guard. Hiding the dead bodies of his brother's guards but choosing to show the death of a Westerosi Prince in public, that was not a work done over some petty quarrel or a work done by some ordinary man. Doing that would make no sense unless the assassin wanted everyone to see it.

Yet no good will come from by showing Viserys' death in public, unless it was a threatening to them by someone who never liked their friendship with the Iron Bank or someone else who did the deed for entirely different purpose, Rhaegar never knew. He looked at his Small Council all confused and afraid about the news with even the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Gerold Hightower being unease at the news. 

"This is madness," Lord Baelish spoke out. "It should've been the work of the Baratheons or the Arryns or the Tullys or the Lannisters. Only they have problems with us to do this."

"No it couldn't be," Jon spoke out with a certainty in his voice. "Even if they have their problems, Arryn is too high in his honor to do a thing like this. And Robert... Viserys is nothing to Robert. He wouldn't have gone all the way to Braavos just for Viserys alone."