court of lies | robert's rebellion

prologue

283 AC, Tower of Joy

Ser Oswell Whent stopped sharpening his sword at the sound of horses and stood up nervously. He could not see who was coming from afar, but it was clear that they were only two people. Who could have found this place? he thought. Whether they were looking for the crown prince, he could not guess, but it should not have occurred to anyone to look for him in Dorne.

The prince, his sworn brother and the woman who was the cause of all the problems were in the tower, who knows what they were arguing about this time. As the horsemen drew nearer, he took his sword and stood up, eyes habitually watching for possible foes. But as the horsemen approached, an idea formed in his mind as to who they were. He quickly put his sword back in place and began to take a step back, swallowing. The horsemen sped up and reared right in front of him, Ser Oswell Whent had never been more frightened of someone in his entire life.

"Where are they?"

Hearing the loud voice of the man he respected and feared most in this life, he swallowed again, but of course, he did not break his expressionless mask, as he had been under the Mad King's service all this time.

"The room at the top of the tower."

The old but still strong man dismounted in one swift motion. The young woman who was his companion had already entered the tower without waiting for an answer. Oswell took a deep breath and looked up as Lord Commander Gerold Hightower followed after his niece without another glance at him.

He was grateful for these peaceful few months, even if he was on his toes. The real problems would soon begin. After a few more seconds of standing under the bright sun, he opened his eyes and saw his sworn brother standing at the top of the tower.

Ser Arthur Dayne was focused in all his majesty on the horses below. Oswell gave him a nod and began tying the horses to delay his entry to the tower, while Arthur slowly entered the watchtower with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. There was no yelling yet, and he hurried into Rhaegar's study before their guests arrived.

Quickly looking up from the scrolls he was reading, Rhaegar had also risen halfway up in his chair.

"What happened? Did they fin-"

"I always knew you were a fool, I just never thought it would come this far."

Arthur closed his eyes tightly. He missed hearing her voice so much... Even if she was angry, even if she was about to attempt to kill the crown prince and himself, having the chance to see her one last time filled his heart with happiness. Before his mind stopped working, he slowly moved away from the door. He knew that her next move would be slamming the door open with anger. Meanwhile, he saw Rhaegar, who was spending his last remaining seconds with folding his scrolls. Before he could warn him to speak properly, the door, unlike what he had predicted, opened rather calmly and there stood Atera, not with anger but with a blank expression.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

His dearest love, Lady Atera Hightower, was shining like a sun that day. Her blonde hair was, for some reason looked as dark as the night sky -hair dye, Arthur thought with surprise, braided tightly and she was wearing a rather simple maroon riding habit with long black boots. Rhaegar took a deep breath, and at least had the nerve to look a bit ...uncomfortable.

"I was not expecting to see you here.", he answered with a very calm tone and something flashed from Atera's blue eyes. "I would be more prepared if you sent word first."

Arthur closed his eyes. He always knew, thought, this day would come but he never prepared himself, just as Rhaegar said, for this to happen. Not counting this possibility was far better than facing the consequences of his actions. He was not sure if her, he didn't know what this was because he was used to her anger, not her blankness, accusations would turn to him but he knew he deserved it. He had so many chances to stop Rhaegar or tell the world about what happened. He chose not to, he chose to break his oath to his king and follow his prince.