Chapter 4
“His grace has tasked me with your protection” said the man called Barristan as Regulus mounted, a large black stallion. They were headed to some place called riverrun to convince the rebels to surrender.
From what Regulus had overheard most of the rebel army had scattered once the usurper had been defeated. Now the usurper was in chains and Regulus had cast a silencing spell to keep him quiet when he’d finally tired of his constant screaming and ranting.
“Silencio!” He’d snapped with a wave of his wand. The man looked at him with furious blue eyes. His mouth opened to let out a flurry of curses only for no sound to come out. He struggled against his chains and Regulus felt eyes upon him from the men around him,
“What did you do?” asked Rhaegar with wide eyes.
“He was annoying me. Now he’ll stay nice and quiet” Robert struggled against his chains and Regulus aimed his wand at him once more. “This one has a lot of fight left on him. Well in that case, Crucio!”
Rhaegar stepped back as cousin Robert collapsed to the ground. His blue eyes bulging in agony, his body convulsed in unnatural ways shaking uncontrollably.
“Enough!” snapped Rhaegar and Regulus blue eyes turned on him.
Robert lay unconscious on the ground and Regulus turned to the new king coldly.
“Enough? Did you forget this man nearly killed you?” Rhaegar would never forget the feeling of his lungs being crushed.
“He is defeated, there is no honor in torturing a man that can’t fight back.”
For his part the sorcerer only scoffed.
“You should kill him. He is a threat as long as he’s alive. Kill him now and these rebels will have no king to follow. I’ll even do it for you.” He raised his wand aiming it at Robert once more.
“He is my kin,” said Rhaegar. “There is no man more accursed by the gods than the kinslayer. He will live his days at the wall for his treasons.”
“The wall?” Asked Regulus raising a brow.
“A giant barrier north” said Ser Barristan watching the way the sorcerer and the prince looked at each other. “Thousands of feet high, and thousands of miles long. Manned by criminals and volunteers.”
“So like a prison?”
Barristan nodded and the sorcerer turned away.
“So be it.”
***
Rhaegar watched as Regulus walked away. His long black robes flowing dramatically behind him. His men turned to him in worry at what they had just witnessed. Robert lay unconscious on the ground and he motioned to a couple of knights.
“Make sure he stays restrained, we are headed to Riverrun.”
“Yes, your grace.”
Mounting his steed he lead the charge to Riverrun regulus’ words playing in his head. On some level he knew the sorcerer was right. Robert had rebelled against the crown, he’d declared himself king. Things had gone too far for everyone to go back to normal.
They rode for hours and his eyes would occasionally fall on regulus. He had the regal baring of a high born person. His hands looked soft and callous free and his skin lacked the tan usually found on a farmer. His curls hung loosely around his handsome face and Rhaegar was reminded of another person with dark curls.
Lyanna.
Lady Lyanna waiting for him in Dorne, waiting to give birth any day now.
“There must be one more,” he had told her. “The dragon has three heads.”
“I saw it too” she confessed “in the Godswood of winterfell. A wolf with the wings of a dragon flying into battle against men made of ice.”
He must return to her. He ached to see her again. He ached for his children, little Rhaenys and Aegon still a baby in swaddling clothes.
“Your grace” called Lewin “up ahead Lannister banners!”
Rhaegar looked up and the sounds of the river filled his ears. The waters of the river only getting louder as he trotted up upon his horse. The gates to the castle had been closed and deep roaring waters separated him from the bridge gate.
“My prince” Tywin Lannister arrives upon a horse, the red and gold Lannister banners swaying proudly behind him. “Congratulations on your victory.”
“Lord Tywin we missed you at the trident” said Rhaegar coldly. Lord Tywin had been ignoring his father’s ravens for months, likely refusing to act until he knew what side would be victorious.
“It took time to gather my armies, I came to take Riverrun in your name and put those traitors to death.” Rhaegar looked at the castle, now a nearly impregnable island. “I have my men building trebuchets as we speak, we shall root out those traitors by raining stones upon the castle.”
“I need them alive,” said Rhaegar, not wanting anymore death. Lyanna would never forgive him if her brother died crushed under piles of stones.
“My prince-“ began lord Tywin before a voice interrupted him.
“I’ll take care of this” Tywin turned with flared nostrils to the young man stepping forward. Furious he glared at the boy in dark black robes who pulled out a stick from his pocket. If the boy noticed his annoyance he didn’t show it, instead turning to the prince “you need for men to cross the waters right?”
“Yes, we need to surround the castle on all sides” said the prince and “I need the people inside unharmed and alive” the boy rolled his eyes at the prince and Tywin felt his jaw clench.
The insolence! Who was this boy?
Whoever he was, he stepped to the edge of the water pointing his stick at the castle before turning back towards Prince Rhaegar and Tywin.
“Do step back i'd hate for you catch a cold.”
“What-“ began Tywin
“Glacius!” A gust of cold exploded from the tip of the boy’s wand and Tywin stepped back as the waters began to freeze before his eyes. He could see his breath and turned toward the waters of the river surrounding the castle. The rushing rapids slowed to crawl before freezing solid.
Lannister soldiers yelled in awe and terror as the boy aimed his wand at the waters. Fish froze solid beneath the ice and the cold seeped into the stone of the castle. The windows of the fortress exploded as they were coated in ice.
Rhaegar looked just as shocked as Tywin felt as the young man turned to him with a satisfied smirk on his lips.
“Your men should be able to walk across the ice right?”
Suddenly Tywin realized he was being spoken to and his emerald eyes turned to the young man.
“Yes” he responded just as cold as the ice. The boy's smirk remained on his face.
“Excellent I’ll leave the rest to you” he then turned to Rheagar. “Do you need anything?”
“No thank you.”
“Very, well” then the sorcerer turned and walked away.