10 Chapter 10 {Bonus chapter}
Gregor and Elia stood at the top of the steps and witnessed the confrontation between them and the Kingsguard.
"I looked for you on the Trident," Ned said to them.
"We were not there," Ser Gerold answered.
"Woe to the Usurper if we had been," said Ser Oswell.
"When King's Landing fell, Ser Jaime slew your king with a golden sword, and I wondered where you were."
"Far away," Ser Gerold said, "or Aerys would yet sit the Iron Throne, and our false brother would burn in seven hells."
"I came down on Storm's End to lift the siege," Ned told them, "And the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne dipped their banners, and all their knights bent the knee to pledge us fealty. I was certain you would be among them."
"Our knees do not bend easily," said Ser Arthur Dayne.
"Ser Willem Darry is fled to Dragonstone, with your queen and Prince Viserys. I thought you might have sailed with him."
"Ser Willem is a good man and true," said Ser Oswell.
"But not of the Kingsguard," Ser Gerold pointed out. "The Kingsguard does not flee."
"Then or now," said Ser Arthur.
"We swore a vow," explained old Ser Gerold.
Ned's vassals moved up beside him, with swords in hand. They were seven against three.
"Now it ends," Ned said with sadness in his voice.
"No," said Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, with a grin that was wholly uncharacteristic of him, "Now it begins, my lord."
With that, he gestured to the top of the stairs. The wolf lord and his retainers gazed upward, and there Gregor and Elia were, smiling as well.
"Welcome, Lord Eddard," Gregor said cordially, "Your sister awaits you."
Ned Stark and his six companions were notably confused by this sudden development.
The seven of them had come, fully expecting a skirmish. Instead, they were being greeted peacefully.
Fortunately, Eddard chose to have faith in Ser Gregor's words. He and his men sheathed their weapons, and they made for the staircase.
"Just you, Lord Eddard," Elia requested, "Lyanna is still recovering."
"Recovering from what?" Eddard asked, perplexed.
"See for yourself, my lord," Gregor proposed in good humor.
Ned kept one hand on the hilt of his sword as a precaution. He swiftly made the ascent up the staircase to the Tower of Joy. There, Gregor held the door open for him, and the Lord of Winterfell passed through.
He found his sister on a bed.
She looked the vision of health. That was all thanks to the persistent efforts of Maester Caleotte. She did not just look healthy; Lyanna was definitely going to live.
Gregor felt a little annoyed. Lyanna's life could have been saved all along if Rhaegar had been smart enough to leave a maester with her. Did he think childbirth was effortless or something?
There were three people there that Eddard had not expected to see at all. They were not Maester Caleotte, Prince Doran, and Prince Oberyn. Instead, they were the small girl sitting on Doran's lap, the tiny babe in Oberyn's arm, and the newborn babe Lyanna was cradling close to her breast.
"Lya…" Eddard whispered, amazed.
He rushed to his sister's bed and embraced her warmly. The wolf girl began to cry tears of joy as she hugged her brother with her one free arm.
When they came apart, Eddard gazed down at the babe in his sister's arms. He asked with a smile "Who is this?"
"The third head," Gregor remarked.
"I beg your pardon, Ser Gregor?" Ned stated.
"I shall explain in time, Lord Eddard," the Mountain asserted.
Eddard Stark was content with that answer for now. When he turned back to his sister, Lyanna informed him "Ned, this is your nephew, Jon. Jon Targaryen."
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While Eddard Stark was elated to be reunited with his sister at long last, he was stricken with confusion, as well. That confusion was only heightened when he heard the full name of his newborn nephew.
Ned turned from baby Jon to his mother, and he repeated "'Targaryen?'"
Lyanna merely nodded her head twice. Her momentary joy had disappeared alongside his.
"I know this raises a lot of questions," Lyanna admitted, "All I ask is that you give me a chance to answer them."
Eddard had not ridden hundreds of miles to find his sister just to judge her prematurely.
He agreed to allow her the opportunity to explain herself.
To her good fortune, she did not have to do so alone. Elia was there to assist her.
Five minutes later, Lord Eddard Stark, Lady Lyanna Stark, Ned's six companions, the three knights of the Kingsguard, Prince Doran Martell, Princess Elia Martell, Prince Oberyn Martell, and Ser Gregor Clegane were gathered in the main chamber of the Tower of Joy.
Jon, Aegon, and Rhaenys were being tended to by Maester Caleotte and Wylla, the midwife Rhaegar had afforded Lyanna.
Lyanna was still too weak from childbirth to rise, so she remained in bed. She did manage to sit up straight with Elia's help.
Once she had the attention of everyone in the room, she proceeded to provide an explanation. "First of all, you should know that I was not kidnapped."
Eddard had already surmised that much, but he and his companions were still astonished to hear it from the wolf girl's lips.
"After Rhaegar crowned me at Harrenhal, I sought out Elia," Lyanna revealed, "My aim was to give her the crown of roses and beg for her forgiveness. At the time, all I could think of was of how much shame I must have caused her. Yet when I found her, she greeted me with kindness instead of hostility."
"I did not fault her for my husband's decision to give her the crown," Elia took over, "I was touched by Lyanna's bravery and empathy; not many women would have done what she did. I bade her to stay with me in my tent for the night. We talked well into the late hours. By daybreak, we were sharing our most intimate secrets with each other."
I'll believe that. Gregor had done the same with Elia aboard the Diligence.
"We each assumed that Rhaegar had a different reason for naming me his Queen of Love and Beauty," Lyanna stated, "Both our reasons turned out to be correct. My reason was the lesser, but it seemed the more obvious at the time."
"What was it?" Eddard Stark queried.
"Do you remember the Knight of the Laughing Tree?" Lyanna asked rhetorically.
Ned gave a light nod, and Lyanna announced "When Lord Howland Reed arrived at the tourney, he was harassed and beaten by three ruffians.
Those ruffians were squires to knights from Houses Blount, Frey, and Haigh. I stepped in and chased them off."
Eddard Stark turned to Howland Reed, and the crannogman proclaimed "It's true, Lord Eddard. At her own risk, Lady Lyanna fought to protect my honor. I am indebted to her for that."
"Although I had given the squires a taste of Northern justice, I was determined to teach them humility, too," Lyanna continued, "With Lord Howland's help, I acquired some armor and weapons, and I entered the tourney lists under a false name."
Realization quickly dawned on those who did not already know the truth.
"You were the Knight of the Laughing Tree?" Eddard presumed.
"Yes," Lyanna Stark confirmed, "As you know, I succeeded in my goal. I unhorsed the knights of Blount, Frey, and Haigh, and I encouraged them to guide their squires to be better people. Even after, I considered continuing to compete in the joust. Unfortunately, I had to cut my act short. You all know why."
"The Mad King had another of his many delusions," Oberyn Martell recounted in a dry undertone, "He was led to believe that the Knight of the Laughing Tree was plotting to murder him."
"When Aerys commanded the Knight to be brought before him, I fled," Lyanna went on, "Rhaegar was sent by his father to find me. He stumbled upon me whilst I was removing my armor. Seeing no other way out, I explained my actions to him. To my relief, he found no wrong in them. He promised he would not deliver me to his father… on the condition that I attend the rest of the joust. As a spectator only, of course."
"Then Princess Elia was not the only admirer of your 'bravery and empathy,'" Eddard noted, smirking.
He was quite amused by this discovery. Brandon may have been known as 'The Wild Wolf,' but Lyanna had always been the uncontrollable one.
It was just like his sister to do something as rash and reckless as partake in a tourney.
"So Prince Rhaegar crowned you for your heroics in the joust, my lady?" Martyn Cassel conjectured.
"That was what I assumed at first," Lyanna contended, "Then Elia told me her reason."
At that, everyone's focus shifted from Lyanna Stark to the older woman at her side.
