Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Westeros
Kings Landing, Red Keep year 280AC
Within the gardens of the castle, two babies were seen playing together. One had brown hair with purple eyes wearing a pink dress while the other had black hair with eyes a deep blue color wearing a white silk shirt and black pants.
A beautiful brown haired woman watched them with a smile as she knit a new outfit for the children, standing behind her was a man with hair a similar brown as the womans but was showing bits of grey in white armor and a long white cloak.
"It seems Rhaenys really likes the boy, so do you plan on telling your uncle where you found the boy? I am curious who was able con my little Elia into caring for a child that isn't hers." He says jokingly.
"Aye uncle Lewin, his is one of your bastards that one of those women brought in saying you had bed her nine moons ago. Seeing as you are a Kingsguard and not allowed to father children, I took him in so at least he enjoyed a mother's love." Elia giggled after she saw her uncle face.
"No I mean for real, not that bullshit story that you gave your husband. I know he isn't mine, that boy is too good looking to be one of mine. Perhaps if you said that little brother of yours Oberyn was the father I would believe it more but I know better, so who is the child?" Lewin asked curiously.
It has been several weeks since that fateful night in the garden, and Aiden has been the talk of the castle. His happy demeanor and handsome looks made him a star among the maids.
Elia at first thought it was all a dream, until she noticed the two babies within the crib when she woke up that following morning. Both children had fallen asleep after she fed them, she herself was exhausted from lack of sleep for three days due to her daughter being sick, so she placed both within Rhaenys crib, and she herself quickly fell asleep in relief.
Her only choice was to claim the boy a bastard of her family, giving him the name Aiden Sand. All knew he wasn't hers since she had been bedridden for six moons after the birth of Rhaenys, so to justify her caring for him was to claim what she did.
Unlike the other kingdoms, Elia's home kingdom of Dorne didn't look down on bastards in any way. Though they practiced the same tradition in naming babies born as bastards, all dornish bastards had Sand as their family name, that was as far as the similarities went.
This was mainly because most other kingdoms followed the religion of the Seven, they taught bastards were demons born of sin and lust, they couldn't be trusted and would plot against all true born to steal away what belonged to them.
So bastards were treated as less than human, only the kingdom of the North wasn't as bad since they did not follow the Faith of the Seven, the North worshipped the Old Gods.
Dorne culture was completely different than them all, they were more free spirited and open with their sexuality. Bastards were a plenty in Dorne, so bastards weren't mistreated in any way, unless they themselves had done something to bring mistreatment to themselves.
Although her husband Rhaegar, who was the crown prince of all seven kingdoms, didn't like that she had accepted without first discussing it with him, he did not give her too much trouble and even said that the boy could be his cupbearer and eventually squire once he comes of age.
He would teach him how to be a warrior to protect Rhaenys as well as any siblings she may have in the future. Rhaegar was focused on a prophesy that had been passes down since Aegon I Targaryen had first conquered all of Westeros with his two sister-wives and their dragons.
He felt the prophesy was about him, and him fulfilling that prophesy required his full attention. He was the "Prince who was Promised", and he had a duty to fulfill, and part of that duty was having two more children.
He knew agreeing in taking on the baby boy would keep her happy, this would in turn make it easier for himself as well, especially since she had just recently recovered from her birthing of their daughter, Rhaegar wanted to hurry and have the next two.
Rhaegar also knew the torment his father was putting his wife thru, when Rhaegar brought his newborn baby girl in front of his mother and father, while his mother Queen Rhaella held the baby with a loving smile, his father refused to touch her or even acknowledge her.
All the king said was, "She smells Dornish."
He said this because unlike the usual Targaryen traits of silver hair and purple eyes, Rhaenys' hair matched her mothers brown while her eyes were the purple of the Targaryens.
This had upset Rhaegar immensely, he was happy his wife was too sick to witness it and that his daughter wouldn't remember this meeting, it also completely made up Rhaegar's mind to end his fathers reign and take his place.
"Uncle, even if I told you the truth you wouldn't believe me. I will only say that he is truly a gift from the gods." Elia said with a smile as she watched the two children play in the garden.
"Aye, the boy is definitely special. I don't believe I have yet heard the boy cry or throw a fit. A smart little fucker too, I saw him set a toy perfectly so that when a Maester came to give Rhaenys some medicine, the Maester damn near almost fell to his death had he not caught himself. I dont think he likes those grey rats too much." Lewin said with a chuckle.
"Indeed he doesn't, I too believe I share the same feelings. Uncle Lewin, please ensure no Maester sees either child without mine or my husbands permission. I don't like how they couldn't help Rhaenys with her fever and in fact it was as if it had gotten worse so I question their knowledge on childrens health." Elia said with a stern expression as she had remembered Sho's words that night.
'Someone poisoned my baby, and the Maesters are one of the ones on my list of possible culprits. When I find out the bastard who tried to harm my daughter, I'll show them the true meaning of pain. Oberyn isn't the only one who knows poisons.' Elia thought to herself.
"As you wish Princess, I never really liked those rats much anyway. So I hear that now that you are once again with child and that your husband goes on a trip across the various kingdoms. He needs to show more caution, I'd hate to have to kill my own nephew."
Hearing her uncle's concern, Elia's face softened once again as she answered, "He is making preparations for the upcoming tourney at Harrenhal in honor of Rhaenys now that she is fully safe and healthy. The King won't be attending according to Prince Rhaegar, apparently the King doesn't think Rhaenys as a dragon but more snake."
Lewin could hear the hurt in Elia's voice as she spoke on the kings feelings toward her daughter, he too didn't like it and also how the king was treating her, more as a prisoner rather than daughter-in-law.
It was why Lewin had made sure that he was assigned to protect her, not just because she was his own blood relative, but because times were getting bad. The king was falling deeper and deeper into madness as time went by.
King Aerys became known as the Mad King, he quickly became synonymous with Maegor the Cruel and Aegon II or better known as Aegon the Unworthy.
Before now there was always a debate between scholars on the worst Targaryen king, many said Maegor while others said Aegon, but now the debate was over. Mad King Arys became the worst king to date, which isn't surprising considering he enjoyed burning people alive and brutally raping his sister-wife violently afterwards.
The various realms had barely been held together, for the most part it was due to Tywin Lannister who was Hand of the King for years.
Tensions were building quickly between the throne and the various noble houses across the realm. All of this was caused by their fear of the Mad King, fear that they or a family member may be burned alive with Wildfire.
Though this wasn't the only reason, it was one of the main ones.
"I hope so my little Elia. I am a Kingsguard first. So if your husband is up to something, he needs to make sure its done in a recognized and legal way." Lewin answered as he returned to watching the children play once again.
Meanwhile Rhaegar was starting the next trek across Westeros, he had spoken to the houses in the south and knew which ones he could turn to his side, now he needed to go North to test to see where their loyalty laid.
After gauging the realms thoughts on his father, he planned to use the tournament he has arranged in honor of his daughters birth and subsequent survival past her sickness that almost cost her life, as a means to pull the kingdoms to his side so that he can overthrow his father. He knew his father wouldn't come since he refused to recognize her as a Targaryen at all.
What made Rhaegar even angrier was the fact that his father was the one to choose Elia Martell as his wife in the first place, and even so he refused to acknowledge his daughter simply because she had brown hair instead of silver.
However to Rhaegar's dismay the Mad King cancelled the tournament that was to be held which angered Rhaegar greatly, but there was nothing he could do but bide his time.
It wasn't long until Elia once again gave birth, this time it was a boy with the silver hair matching his father's but his eyes matched that of his mothers, black colored eyes.
Calling for a tourney once again, this time there would be no way for his father to stop this one even though he once again didn't want to fully acknowledge his newborn due to lacking both the eyes and hair, no matter what he was the male heir.
However the birthing went horribly and Elia barely survived, Rhaegar learned that Elia could no longer bare any children for the next time the chances of her or the baby surviving were next to zero.
This began to weigh heavily on Rhaegar who believed himself the "Prince who was Promised" the one who would save the world from eternal darkness. But according to the prophecy he needed a third child, he only had two.
As Rhaegar began to once again travel the realms, not only was he testing who still was loyal to him, he also began searching for another to give him the child needed to fulfill the prophecy.
Meanwhile the tension grew as the Mad King continued to grow more unstable, worsening the situation across the realm, many of the older houses with old grudges against the royal house began to truly see just how far the dragon had fallen.
No longer the invincible and untouchable power they once held, dragons were their greatest strength, but due to time and internal wars amongst their own family, all the dragons that the Targaryens once had have all died off.
There has been many attempts to hatch a dragon by the Targaryens, not only were they unsuccessful, they suffered disastrous consequences as a result. King Aerys' brother perished along with his wife and children in the fire that resulted from his attempt at hatching a dragon egg.
So seeing an opportunity some houses began to plot and scheme behind closed doors, setting up marriages to tie the largest houses to each other, ensuring they would be tied together in both victory or defeat against the dragon.
As the pressure built, and the kingdom moved closer to war, Elia and her children became hostages openly by the king rather than discreetly. Her and her children became tools to ensure Dorne remained loyal to the throne.
Thinking the timing perfect to plan his coup against his father, Rhaegar invited all the lords to the tournament he was holding to celebrate the birth of his son and heir Aegon IV. Once again his plan was fooled, not by the king cancelling it once again, but because he decided to attend the tournament as well.
This caused Rhaegar to once again need to adjust, he felt as if the world was against him, little did he know it wasn't the world that was against him, but a very distant relative that was working against him instead.
This relatives original name had been lost to time, he went only by the name Three Eyed Raven, his true name was Brynden Rivers. The bastard son of Aegon the Unworthy and a northern noble woman named Melissa Blackwood.
Cursed by the Old Gods after he began delving into forbidden magic and trying to perform forbidden rituals, after he was trapped beyond the wall he began to use his magic to invade the minds and dreams of many, shaping the world into a narrative that he needed.
He was the main cause for Aerys madness, making him see and hear whispers of enemies all around him. He was also the one to whisper to Aerys to go to the tournament at Harrenhal, which hindered Rhaegar's ability to end his reign.
The night of the tournament the Three Eyed Raven even visited Rhaegar's dreams, he knew what Rhaegar was after, he implanted a vision of a certain young and beautiful she-wolf into his dreams knowing that Rhaegar would think she was who he was looking for. He made sure to emphasize on the wording in the prophecy regarding the union of Ice and Fire.
The Raven knew that this would spark the war as his glimpses into the future had foretold, the war that would end the dragon completely and would make way for the next greenseer to be born.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone