My pride and my grief: For my sister...A Jaime Lannister Story

Ch-17:- Two corners

Notes:

Hey! So, this chapter deals with Casterly Rock and Dorne at once... Check it out! If its not meshing well, or if you like it this way, comment!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes .)

Back to Dorne...

Prince Lewyn was restlessly pacing the floor of his Solar. He had recently received a raven from Arielle, bidding him to call for a meeting of the Dornish Lords to inform them of the perilous mental state of the Seven Kingdom's sovereign. Deeply puzzled, he had done so, for she was the Ruling Princess of Dorne, and he was bound to her will. Today, the summit was to take place. He had sent Arthur Dayne to scout for for the arriving Lords. As Lewyn scanned his field of sight, he saw Arthur run towards him. 'Ser!' he exclaimed. 'I saw the yellow lemons of House Dalt, the golden quill of House Jordayne, the crowned skull of House Manwoody, the cockatrice of House Gargalen, and-'

The boy was shifting from foot to foot, grinning. Lewyn smiled. 'I take it that your brother is arriving?' Alnair Dayne had sent him a salutary missive informing Lewyn of his arrival a fortnight ago. Arthur nodded vigorously. 'Yes, Ser.' Well, thought Lewyn, at least I'll have one friend with me to weather what is coming. Adrian Gargalen and he, though good brothers, were not close. He felt his mood lift a little. 'What about the other Houses?' he asked. 'Most of them were too distant for me to see, Ser, but I saw the portcullis of Yronwood.' he replied. Uh-oh. Martells and Yronwoods were almost sworn enemies, and would have been, if not for ther civilizing influence of Targaryens.

'Ser?' queried Arthur. 'Why is Father not coming? Why is he sending Alnair?' Why indeed, mused Lewyn. 'Lords usually prepare their heirs by sending them to events such as this.' he placated the young squire. 'That's all.' 'Oh.' he assented. Suddenly, he brightened. 'There he is!' he called. 'Whoa.' restrained Lewyn. 'Relax.' The usually sober boy was in a joyful mood.

As Alnair Dayne cantered to a halt and dismounted, he smiled at his little brother. 'Could hear you shouting for miles. That excited, brother? Didn't think that my stolid little brother could holler that much...' he winked, as Arthur flushed a dark red. 'The other Lords are quite behind me, Lewyn. You'll have to wait a little.' Lewyn nodded tersely. Spontaneously, Alnair embraced his childhood friend, who relaxed visibly. 'Fear not. There will be no bloodshed.' he reassured him. 'Alnair?' questioned Arthur. 'Where is Father?' Alnair grinned. 'I finally persuaded him that I was old enough for embassies like this one, at 21.' Arthur nodded seriously. 'Lighten up, little brother. I swear, I fail to understand how you and Ashara got along so splendidly.' He laughed, shaking his head.

Arthur's thoughts immediately turned to his feisty sister. He and Ashara were polar opposites in nature. Already growing into a tall, raven-haired beauty according to Alnair, Ashara was everything he was not. His ebullient, charming, happy-go-lucky sister was the life of Starfall. He could picture her there, even now, clinging precariously to the Palestone Sword on a dare. She and Arthur had found Dawn, the ancestral sword of the Daynes, once, hidden carefully in his sheath at the armory. He had vowed then and there that the greatsword would be his one day, and she had laughed good naturedly.

Wistfully, he thought of Starfall, his home, and Allyria, the sister he barely knew. She had been barely 3 moons old, when he had to squire at Sunspear, not more than a week after their Mother's funeral. He winced. It wasn't her fault. He would like to see her again... His brother's voice cut into his thoughts. 'Arthur? You OK? You look lost.' Arthur shook his head. They were at the Great Hall. Prince Lewyn opened the gates and Lord Yronwood stalked inside, followed closely by the other Lords. They sat on the rich upholstery as Prince Lewyn went through the formalities, and the meeting to decide Dorne's fate began.

Returning to Casterly Rock...

Aerys sat in Casterly Rock's luxurious gardens, watching his wife socializing with Joanna Lannister. The sight of Joanna aroused something fierce in him. Was it merely juvenile infatuation, or something more? He would never know. Tywin had taken his Joanna away. Tywin. How could he have done something like this? They had been the best of friends during the days of their boyhood, days of innocence. Now, even his erstwhile friend was plotting against him, plotting his way into power.

Did he think that Aerys had not heard the whispers, the rumors, that he, the King of the Seven Kingdoms was mad? The burden of a sovereign was a lonely one, Aerys knew. The best way to deal with it was constant vigilance, for even his family and his fate were conspiring against him. Rhaella, his sister-wife was, as yet, incapable of giving the Prince Who Was Promised. She had had several stillbirths and miscarriages since the birth of Rhaegar.

And Rhaegar, his son... He tried to love the boy, and did love him, in a way. The boy had been extremely loyal to him, though bookish to a fault. Now, recently though, he was reserved and skittish with Aerys since the incident with Rhaella. Aerys remembered his desperate query, 'Why do you hate me?' he had asked. 'What can I do to make you love me?' Aerys had longed to shout and scream at him that his being a warrior was mandatory for the survival of the Targaryen dynasty, but had restrained himself with difficulty. Rhaegar was his son, after all, however inadequate he may be. Aerys needed to have a word with Rhaella about his childish conduct. He was the Blood of the Dragon, and the Dragon did not balk.

Rhaegar tried to swallow his discomfort. His father's sudden appearance had transformed a fun day into an anxious one. He could not seem to lower his guard with the King. 'The Dragon has three heads.' Father had insisted. What had that meant? Rhaegar shifted, unsettled, all senses alert, staring at his Father. Cynthia seemed to notice his unease, for she had left Oberyn's side and was coming to him, laughing, as Oberyn tried to tickle her. 'Rhaegar!' she called, but he did not hear.

Cynthia looked in the direction Rhaegar was staring, unresponsive. She saw a man with long silver-blond hair, flanked by two knights. The King. When she was wondering about the inexplicable change in her friend's behavior, a Lannister man-at-arms ran into the garden. 'Your Grace, My Ladies!' he called. 'We sighted the wagons of various Lords!'

Joanna immediately sprang to her feet, Rhaella with her. 'Your Grace, excuse me.' she requested courteously. Rhaella nodded. Joanna all but ran inside the Keep, where she was joined by Tywin. 'Relax Joanna. We already had everything prepared.' She nodded tensely. 'I'll get Jaime and Cersei. Tell the Septa to ready Cynthia.' Tywin nodded his assent. Thus they parted ways.

Scarcely two hours later, a fresh-looking Cynthia, accompanied by Rhaegar, Elia and Oberyn trailed beyond Arielle, Rhaella and Joanna, who had the babies, to go welcome the visiting Lords. All of them were officially coming to Casterly Rock to renew their oaths of alliance and fealty, but the Ladies were aware of the rivalry between several Noble Houses, and each was anxious, watchful eyes on their oblivious children, as the sound of chariot wheels and galloping horses could be heard from the Great Gate...

Notes:

The name I picked for Arthur's brother, Alnair, is the name of a star. I found it in Ramzes's stories, and I liked it, so... I really do hope that I've done justice to Arthur's, Lewyn's, Alnair's (he's not really OC, it's cannon that Arthur has a older brother, who was Heir to Starfall, and maybe Edric Dayne's father...) and Aerys's characters. Comment below in case of any kudos/concrit. No flames, please.