The tale of Ice and Fire

Chapter Twenty

King's Landing, 284 AC

The next morning, when Iclyn woke up, he found a note and an envelope underneath it, on his nightstand.

He took the note and he was faced with Rhaegar's neat handwriting:

My love,

First of all, I wanted to apologize for sneaking in your room while you were asleep. I originally planned to give you the letter in person, but when I got in, I couldn't bring myself to wake you, you were so peaceful, so beautiful.
I've missed you, my love. I have never thought that I could miss someone this much, but, as always, you are the only exception.
I'm sorry, I'm rambling, but I have so much I wanted to say yesterday, but words wouldn't come out of my mouth.
I didn't get the chance to say anything that I planned to say.
I wish I could stay here with you and explain everything to you, but I have to go, my love. My father has ordered me to lead our armies to the Trident to face the rebels. So I've written to you  everything I wanted you to know in that letter, my love.
Please, read it and try forgive me and your sister, we didn't mean it to happen like this, but if you have to be mad at someone, let it be me.
In case I don't make it back, know that I love you to the moon and back, Ice. You're the best thing that ever happened to me.

Your loving husband,
Rhaegar

Iclyn held the letter between his fingers, pondering whether he should opened it or not. On one hand he was really curious to know what his husband had written him, but on the other he wasn't ready to know how his husband had fell in love with Iclyn's own sister. He remembered well how the day before his husband had tried to evade his questions about his and Lyanna's relationship.
The northerner sighed and moved towards his vanity and sat on the chair. He opened the small chest on the table and took the pendant necklace that Rhaegar had gifted him, the same one he had used to storage his magic while he was pregnant.

“Reducio.” he whispered, moving his dominant hand over the letter, which shrunk to the size of an almond.

Iclyn opened the locket with eyes full of tears. It wasn't suppose to happen like this. Rhaegar was supposed to stay with him and with their baby. That locket that was supposed to hold a lock of his baby's hair. A memento of the greatest gift the couple had received: their little miracle.

A single tear made its way down the princess' cheek. He quickly wiped it off, before picking the shrunk letter and putting it in the locket for safe keeping. He knew he wasn't ready to read it in that moment, but that one day he would be strong enough for it.

He closed the locket and gently slipped the chain around his neck, choosing to always keep the letter with him as a reminder of both Rhaegar's love and betrayal. To always remember that if his husband and sister weren't so selfish, his father and brother wouldn't have died there in the Keep. And more importantly, to remember the child he hadn't had the chance to hold in his loving arms.

Casterly Rock, 284 AC

Tywin looked down the balcony of his study into the garden he had built for his late wife.

He carefully observed his heir interact with his bastard. He couldn't believe how carefree Jaime looked playing with his son.

Jaime was laying on the green grass with Kedric raised above him in his arms, 'flying' like a bird. The child's laughter  echoing in all the keep.

Tywin wasn't a fool, he knew his son. He would not throw away the vows he had made when he became a kingsguard carelessly, certainly not for some nobody. Plus, he had seen the princess and the northerner features on the babe were the last confirmation he had needed to confirm his assumption.