A Crown of Winter Roses

Prologue Part 2

Elia had been out for days, her crying babe just inches away. Rhaegar couldn't stand seeing his wife this way, she was too sick, too ill, and the treatments the Westerosi physicians were using just wasn't working. 

It pained his heart.

Rhaegar pushed back Elia's stray curl, her eyes surrounded by dark circles. If he could take away the pain he would, but he couldn't. With a chastise kiss on her forehead, he held his son, Aegon. He was so small, his fair hair falling across his forehead. 

There was nothing they could do, they say; they can't wake her. Rhaegar had spent days huddled in this damned castle, just awaiting the sweet Dornish voice of Elia. Aegon smiled up at him, very few teeth had come few but he was only a year old, there was no cause of concern. 

The ever growing knowledgeable mumbles and sputters that fell from Aegon's mouth was enough to keep his two sisters amused whenever they were around, but here he was opposite his father and barely a murmur slipped from his lips. 

With his feet carrying them to the window, Rhaegar placed his son upright, the harp always remaining in arm's reach. Soft melodies filled the air, dancing with the silence that had once settled there. 

His son, the Promised Prince. 

"Papa, when will mother wake up? I haven't seen her in days?" Rhaegar's fingers stopped playing for a moment, his eyes cast towards the younger of the two girls, Rhaenys. She was the spitting image of Elia, from the shape of her lips to the way she spoke. 

"Soon, my little Princess, your mother will awake soon." He continued the delicate plucking of each string, making some music and making none. She approached, her own eyes growing wide at her father's actions. He hadn't played int he longest of times, and she loved the songs he would sing! 

"Papa, are the bad men coming?" Rhaegar didn't stop playing this time, he needed a distraction. Rhaenys was too young to understand what was happening, what that Usurper was planning. It made him sick. 

Her eyes grew wide as she watched her father. 

"Of course not Rhae, Papa will protect you always." He pulled her close this time, Rhaenys small hands winding through his pale hair. 

"And Aegon and Rosaerys?" 

"Always Princess, Papa will do anything for you three. He will fight to his dying breath, with only you three in mind." But there wasn't just the three of them; there was his new babe expected with Lyanna Stark. He hoped for a boy this time, a boy who would grow up to be just like his father. 

He would have a kind heart, he would seek fair justice, and he would love furiously. 

If Rhaegar died, what would happen to his children? He need them safe, with people surrounding them that cared for their well-being and weren't full of false promises. "Run along now, Rhaenys, I need to speak with your grandmother." 

"I love you Papa."