5 The Tower Of Joy

The trio rode out further south, only stopping to rest and restock their water skins. They crossed the Blueburn and Cockleswhent rivers, avoiding any nearby settlements as they did so. After all, they were either Stormland or Reach Houses... neither of which Aerion or Jaime placed much trust in. Most of the Stormland Houses were loyal to Robert Baratheon and the Reach Houses, especially House Tyrell, were known to side with the winning force. House Targaryen had already lost the war and that much was clear. They had lost the crown prince in Rhaegar, most of their loyalist forces had scattered, King's Landing had fallen and the King was dead with no one to replace him.

Giving Aerion away to whoever was to be crowned King was a simple decision the surrounding lords would make in a heartbeat, except for those who were true loyalists. Unfortunately, these loyalists were not present where the prince travelled so he had to make due until he reached the Kingdom of Dorne.

So, they rode.

After three weeks, they reached the Tower of Joy. It was not far from the closest Dornish settlement, the Kingsgrave. Once they reach the Kingsgrave, the rest of the journey would be smooth sailing from there so they were quite relaxed. The trio did encounter a few outlaws there and there but the outlaws did not stand a chance against the magical prince and his brave knight. Together, the two were almost invincible against a group of men fewer than eight in number.

Aerion saw three men guarding the Tower of Joy, which certainly intrigued him.

"Jaime... aren't those the white cloaks of the Kingsguard?" Aerion observed from afar. "Ride closer."

"As you wish."

Jaime followed his command, riding closer. His eyes did widen as he saw three familiar faces, all of whom were his fellow brothers of the Kingsguard. The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard himself; Ser Gerold Hightower stood before them, along with Ser Oswell Whent and the legendary Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning! The knight Jaime had idolised from the beginning and even squired under when he was younger.

"Ser Arthur!" Aerion exclaimed with great delight.

"Why would they be here, of all places..." Jaime muttered, dismounting off his mount and helping Aerion to the ground. Both parties were just as surprised to see each other. It was a strange place to meet, after all.

The three Kingsguard walked down the steps of the Tower of Joy and bowed their heads slightly. Ser Gerold Hightower, being the Lord Commander, spoke first. "This is not the place for a prince..."

"And this is not the place for three brothers of the Kingsguard."

Jaime reply made Ser Arthur chuckle a little. "Your tongue remains sharp. Under the orders of Rhaegar Targaryen, we were told to guard this tower with our lives... until further notice."

"For what reason?" Aerion inquired.

"Unfortunately, it is a reason we cannot say." Gerold Hightower stated in response.

This caused Jamie to frown slightly. "Whatever you hide in that tower should not be a secret to our prince. Rhaegar is dead and so is the King, after all. Do you know what that entails, Ser Gerold?" Jamie paused for a moment before continuing "Prince Aerion Targaryen is now the head of House Targaryen and the Rightful King... nothing in the Seven Kingdoms should be kept a secret from him."

"Along with that, your true duties now lay in protecting the prince and following his orders... as a Lord Commander of the Kingsguard should do."

Ser Gerold looked to Ser Arthur, who nodded and spoke for him. "You speak the truth, Ser Jaime. Gerold was acting a little uptight earlier and forgot his priorities. Although it may bring some pain or perhaps even joy, the prince must know of the truth. But the prince alone will know... he will decide whether to spread it to you or not."

His eyes glanced across Jaime and Elia before turning around, signalling for Aerion to follow him. They climbed the stairs before reaching the floor of the tower. Aerion looked at the legendary Knight's figure with great reverence. He was the very representative of chivalry... Aerion found it hard to believe that he stood right behind him. It was the very first time he had met him in person properly as he was too young in their previous meetings. The memories from back then were all blurred by now, after all.

"How old are you now?" Ser Arthur asked.

"Three years."

"To think that you would grow so fast... ah, it is a great pity that I could not witness it myself. Your father is even less fortunate as he will never see the man that his son will become."

"If he cared so much, he would not have abducted Lyanna Stark and sparked the Rebellion," Aerion replied, rather fiercely at that.

"Your anger is well justified." Arthur calmly replied. "However, prince Rhaegar did not abduct Lyanna Stark. They escaped out of love due to their circumstances... later marrying."

"Was that a jest, Ser Arthur?"

"No, it was not. The truth is hard to believe so your reaction is reasonable."

"And who oversaw this marriage?" Aerion wondered.

"A septon."

"His name?"

"... The details do not matter, my prince. All that matters is that the event occurred."

"A marriage that no one knows of."

Ser Arthur sighed. "For a child who has only seen three years, you truly are troublesome. The truth, however, remains the same."

Aerion heard a baby scream and it was from above. "That..."

"A new Targaryen had come into the world a day before."

"So you were guarding Lyanna Stark..."

"Precisely-"

The two heard some voices from outside and walked out of the Tower of Joy to investigate. A battle had broken out soon after, with the three Kingsguard below facing seven well-armed men. Aerion could clearly see that the seven men lacked in regards to skill when compared to the mighty Kingsguard, but they could certainly make up for it in their greater number.

Ser Arthur drew Dawn from its large sheath before giving Aerion an order. "Stay in the tower and do not leave until the battle is over."

He swiftly descended the steps of the tower before joining the conflict. Following that, the four Kingsguard tore through all seven combatants with some difficulty. Ser Gerold Hightower had received a severe wound once he had been surrounded by three men. Ser Arthur was quick to save him from immediate death, impaling one of the men with great ease and taking care of the other two by himself.

Ser Jaime slaughtered Howland Reed and proceeded onto Eddard Stark. The two had a great duel while Ser Oswell Whent killed his second man. In the end, all of the Kingsguard had defeated their combatants except for Ser Jaime.

Aerion wished to assist Gerold Hightower before but he was afraid that his fire would harm him instead. Due to the long distance, his accuracy would be worse and so, he placed his confidence on Ser Arthur. Now that the battle was nearing its end, he descended the Tower of Joy without worry and stood beside Ser Gerold Hightower.

Ser Jaime insisted that no one would assist him in the duel or he would kill them himself. So, Ser Oswell Whent went along with it and joined the group around Gerold Hightower.

"There is no doubt in my mind that this is the end..." Ser Gerold Hightower managed.

"I should have come sooner." Ser Arthur replied.

"You did all you could." Ser Oswell Whent looked down and saw Gerold Hightower slowly fading with death. "Rest well, brother."

"I will... but you must protect... the prince."

"We will, for it is our duty." Ser Arthur nodded.

"Good..."

His eyelids slowly closed as he would rest at last... forever.

"Are you still fighting the Stark bastard?" Ser Oswell Whent taunted. "So the rumours are true, King Aerys only gave you the white cloak to spite your father..."

Ser Jaime frowned slightly, parrying Eddard's strike and countering with a devasting blow to the leg. Eddard fell backwards and Ser Jaime stayed on the offensive, eventually disarming Eddard. Jaime kicked the Stark's sword away and put his sword to Eddard's throat.

He did not push further, however.

"He must live!" Aerion ordered, his voice resounding as far as it could.

"It's your lucky day, the true King showed mercy."

Ser Jaime chuckled and put his sword away, turning to Oswell. "You wished to say that I lack skill, Ser Oswell?"

"Took you long enough." Ser Oswell Whent commentated. "Perhaps you do."

"Hmph."

"Hold him down for a moment." Ser Arthur commanded before moving into the Tower of Joy. Elia soon joined them after the battle ended. She had moved further away from the conflict as the Kingsguard had commanded previously.

"So you're Eddard Stark," Aerion observed him behind Jaime and Oswell. "Your men helped Robert defeat my father in the Battle of the Trident. Then again, that was only because my grandfather unjustly burned your brother and father."

"If you want me dead, then just be done with it," Eddard stated.

"I do... a little, I admit. But it is not enough to not see reason." Aerion replied. "Knowing that I am protected by Dorne, Robert will certainly try to march south. I want you to prevent that from happening... or make the attempted invasion less severe, at the very least. In exchange, I will give you Lyanna Stark and her child."

If she manages to live past childbirth, that is...

"Does that sound reasonable?"

"Her child...?"

Eddard was quite confused.