rise of Daenerys Targaryen

chapter 4

As soon as they arrived in Harrenhal, Rhaegar wasted no time and began arranging meetings between the great lords of Westeros. Lord Whent's tourney was a sham. In truth, the Tourney at Harrenhal was generously funded by the crown prince who wished to plot against his father. The Mad King would no longer terrorise the Seven Kingdoms and stain the honour of House Targaryen. Rhaegar would make sure of that.

Prince Rhaegar would meet with the liege lords of Houses Lannister, Stark, Tully, Tyrell, Martell, Baratheon and Arryn separately. He would have preferred to schedule a meeting with all of the lords at one time instead of playing messenger bird with each of the lords, but subtlety and secrecy were of paramount importance to the young prince, and if the king heard that Rhaegar was gathering liege lords and speaking with him, he would rightly assume that his heir was plotting against him. His father already did suspect Rhaegar of plotting with the lords of Westeros, which was why the king was attending the tourney, to keep an eye on Rhaegar.

The sooner that crown is removed from his head, the better, Rhaegar thought, taking another sip of wine to calm his nerves. Then he can't hurt anyone anymore. Not my mother, not Dany. Not Aegon or Rhaenys. He would not risk his daughter receiving the treatment Daenerys had. Rhaegar clenched his fists in rage, remembering the time he had walked in on his father fondling Dany's breasts while commenting that she looked like a better version of her mother.

"My prince," Jon Connington greeted. He was Rhaegar's most trusted friend, the only person he could trust with his plans. Jon guarded Rhaegar's door while he met with people he should not meet with. "Lord Lannister."

"Thank you, Jon."

The Old Lion strode into Rhaegar's room, as proud as ever. He bowed his head slightly in respect. "Prince Rhaegar."

Rhaegar stood to greet his father's old Hand. "Lord Lannister. Thank you for speaking with me. I trust you have a fair idea of what I want to talk to you about. Sit." Rhaegar gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the small table.

"You wish to overthrow a king," Tywin said frankly, "and you think I will help you."

He blinked, taken aback by the lord's bluntness, but recovered quickly. "My father is not well of late, as you know. In his old age, his mind has... deteriorated. It's not as once was."

"The king hasn't been well of mind in quite sometime, my prince. What makes you want to do something about it now?"

"Burning innocent men at a pyre has been quite a frequent occurrence in the Red Keep as of late," Rhaegar explained, pouring both himself and Lord Tywin some wine. "The stench of burning flesh in the throne room has become almost constant. He's started to burn men of higher birth, now. How long until he burns the wrong man and starts a war?"

Politics was something Lord Tywin could understand. The king's killing of lowborn men would not encourage Tywin to rally to his side, but the possibility of civil war might. Sentimentality was wasted on the Old Lion of Lannister.

"So what do you wish to do with our king?" Tywin asked. "Have him executed? You would be named a kinslayer."

"I would not have my father killed. It would not be wise to do so," Rhaegar admitted. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was time enough to reveal his plans to Lord Tywin. But if he was to convince Tywin, he'd have to show the richest and most influential man in Westeros that he had a plan. "I would wish to call a Great Council, to decide on the best way to deal with the king. Ideally, the crown will be stripped from his head and my father would be locked in his rooms, unable to hurt anyone ever again, but the most likely outcome of a Great Council is for the regency to pass to me, stripping my father of all power due to a king."