Two Years Earlier

As the crag on which Griffin's Roost stood became ever more visible, the companions of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and their respective retinue must've breathed a sigh of relief. Even though they travelled with a prince of the realm and they were scarce any inn or lord that would deny them, the rough roads on the Red Mountains made for cold nights even for the lordlings of their station. But the prince himself paid no mind and stared into the distance past the keep, his mind heavy with his own thoughts.

Foremost of which was his troubling audience with the Prince of Dorne, Doran Martell and his reluctance in bethrothing his younger sister Elia to him. He did not like to lie and Rhaegar feared his duplicity would be obvious to the prince, it certainly was to Elia.

But in the end it was the princesses say in the matter was what pushed the Prince of Dorne to agree on the match.

"When we are wed my prince you need only to expose your secrets to me as thanks." She said with a sultry smile and her deep black eyes stated into his indigo.

Rhaegar's thoughts then drifted to Elia's features; her slender frame, lovely olive skin, and black hair and eyes gentle, good, and gracious. But he also thought of her frailty, due to her delicate health. But above all it was her kindess and a sweet wit is what endeared him to her. This would make their marriage better than most he'd witnessed but would also be strained in the upcoming years, gods be willing he succeed.

But he was brought back from his musings as Jon Connington, a spry young man with coppery red hair of eight-and-ten, trot his mount forward past him and to take in the view of his family's seat.

"By the gods it's been so long." The griffin lord exclaimed. "And it's become more beautiful than I remembered."

"That is the castle you boasted of Connigton?" Laughed a voice behind them. "Why it's little better than a towerhouse!"

Rhaegar and Jon turned to see Prince Oberyn Martell dressed in his queer Dornish tunic and flanked by his attendants, one of which was a woman riding a horse astride, most likely his paramour.

"Apologies my home is not to your liking Prince Oberyn." Jon answered with a courtly nod. "I had thought with you surrounding yourself with bastards and Essosi sellswords, Griffin's Roost would be the greatest of palaces, but sadly I'm mistaken."

With that the two exchanged of what he hoped good natured Barb's and insults, Rhaegar smiled and thought how long will these moments last?

Sarah covered her eyes but she's immediately blinded by the lightning flash. Then she felt the car violently jolt, like it missed landing on a ramp it rode off. It tossed her around like a ragdoll on impact and knocked both her head and knees hard on the dashboard. It only lasted a few seconds before the car stopped, but as Sarah's eyesight slowly came back she felt lightheaded and saw her floral sundress speckled with an odd shade of red. She turned to her uncle who was screaming something at her; it took Sarah a few seconds to finally notice the deafening ringing in her ears.

"Did we crash?" she thought. "And got struck by lightning?"

Her knees and elbows were bleeding and parts of her forearms looked like it was hit by a baseball bat. Sarah looked outside the cracked car window and it didn't show the old Welsh country road surrounded by green meadows she knew since childhood, but instead it was some kind of forest clearing, full of stubby looking trees with weird straight branches.

She tried to move out of the seat, but just the effort of that made her black out.

Banners of the Targaryen dragon and the Connington Griffins fluttered in the wind as prince and retinue approached the gatehouse which Jon mentioned guarded the sole land-facing approach of the castle and behind it is a long natural ridge called the griffin's throat. They were greeted there by what Rhaegar assumed was Jon's father, Lord Armond Connington, if his fiery red hair and fine silken livery was anything to go by. Along with Lord Armond were the occupants of the castle; from its sworn swords to its serving women they all knelt in front of their prince.

Rhaegar, Jon, and his sworn shields of the Kingsguard; the famed knights sers Barristan Selmy and Arthur Dayne, dismounted and walked towards the kneeling lord.

"I welcome you to Griffin's Roost your grace." Lord Armond said.

"Well met my lord." Rhaegar smiled and feigned sincerity as he'd been instructed many times by septons and tutors. The lords of the realm were proud and took slights to their honour seriously; and though he may not always agree with the man, it was one of many lessons he'd learned from Lord Tywin Lannister.

"Rise my lord." Rhaegar said as he gestured him to do so. "Jon has said much about his family and this castle."

"Oh has he now?" Lord Armond turned to his son and they embraced for the first time in near a decade apart. The sight made the Targaryen prince smile genuinely. Whilst his own royal father, Aerys would at times show such affection to him and his baby brother Viserys, but they were few and far between. His rages were far more common and before he grew taller and stronger, both he and his mother used to cower before him should he fall into one.

The knights and servants slowly stood and attended to the princely retinue as their lord welcomed them and introduced Rhaegar and his companions to his family.

The next thing Sarah knew it was nighttime with the sky full of stars and nebulae, things she never saw back home or in Wales. A crackling campfire and an electric lamp by the now totaled sedan made a weird contrast that made her eyes hurt. Sarah herself was wrapped in blankets and a sleeping bag like a mummy. She tried to get up but a sharp pain in her shoulder made her stop.

She turned to her other side to see Uncle Nigel run towards her. "Sarah! You're awake!" Her Uncle cried. "I thought I bloody lost you!"

"What happened?" She asked still feeling groggy and her mouth felt like a desert. "Where are we?"

Her uncle sighed in relief. "You don't need to worry about that love."

"Why?"

"Just lay down and rest up, this'll be over before you know it."

Uncle Nigel was starting to freak her out, they've just been in an accident and he's just downplaying it like they got stopped by a cop. "I need my phone, I have to call Mom and an ambulance."

"Sarah please, you're hurt." Her uncle pleaded. "I'll look for it in the car, so just please stay where you are."

And as if on cue thick black smoke came out of the hood of the car which forced her Uncle to rush in with a fire extinguisher and with a practiced motion, sprayed the engine until it stopped smoking.

"Hey Uncle Nigel?" she called. "Do you still have your old Sat Phone?"

"That won't work here darling." he said closing the hood of the car.

"Why not?"

"That's a tad bit complicated." he said with a sheepish smile. "I promise I'll tell you everything when we get back, what'dya say?"

Sarah would've tried to pry the truth from him as any self-respecting member of her schools newspaper, but she's still in a lot of pain and her bandaged head made thinking straight hard.

So she just nodded and let the crackling campfire lull her to sleep.

When Sarah woke up again it was morning and to her disappointment she's still bundled in a sleeping bag on the ground and not in some hospital room attended by nurses. There were Band-aids on her cuts and full roll of gauze on her forehead, she felt like she fell of a horse but at least her shoulder just had a dull throb of pain not like the sharp burning pain yesterday.

With a wince and a groan she willed herself out of that stuffy sleeping bag her good arm being absolutely careful with other one. Thankfully her legs feet weren't as bad off as her face and left arm was.

Now without the punishingly bright LED lights and the campfire, Sarah took a good look around the place they were stuck in; There were more of those weird trees and with a closer look the spaces between each one was surprisingly uniform with enough space for a truck to go through, even ground wasn't normal because it looked more like a well maintained dirt road without an overgrown weed in sight.

"Where the hell am I?" She asked herself.

After the introductions were done with, Lord Armond asked for leave with matters of his lands and left the Prince Rhaegar and his party at the hands of Lady Alyssa Connington.

As they walked through the Griffin's Throat towards the main castle gate, Jon conversed with Lady Alyssa. Rhaegar merely listened to them as it wouldn't be proper to go between the family his friend was separated for so long. "Where might cousin Roland be?"

"I'm afraid my dear husband deals with the current string of banditry on Connigton lands."

"Banditry? Father nary said a word about such a thing in his letters."

"It's the unfortunate outcome of Lord Armond's quarrel with my father."

"Gods above! Surely he cannot still be slighted!" Jon exclaimed. "We have forgone the dowry and paid a bride price twice the amount!"

"Then you know not my father Jon."

"And nor does he with mine."

Rhaegars' interest was peaked. "If I would humbly ask where might these bandits be?" He interrupted. "Mayhaps my knights and I can give aid for your husband my lady."

"Whatever for? your grace?" Lady Alyssa turned to him and asked. "Lord Armond and my Ronald would be disgraced by the other lords if they were aided by the Prince of Dragonstone and two of the finest knights of the Kingsguard for mere bandits!"

"And what of me goodsister?" Jon asked in response.

Alyssa merely turned her back went on her way. Earning waves of harty laughter from his companions and leaving Jon more red-faced than the time in that dornish pillowhouse.

"Warriors sake Alys! I've grown since two and ten!"

"Fine, I guess I'll have look around."

"NO!" her uncle yelled. "Don't go wandering off! Better yet no leaving the car!"

Uncle Nigel's outburst made her step back, in all her years of knowing him; he never raised his voice at her. He looked afraid too, more than any time she'd ever seen him. He wiped the motor oil in his white shirt and rummaged around in his pile of stuff in the car.

"You can have this in case of anything happens." He gave her a worn tazer gun. "Touch anyone in the skin with that and it'll drop em in second."

"What's happening?" Sarah looked at her present for a second trying to grasp the vague words her Uncle just said. "Is someone after you?"

"I told you I'll tell you later when we get back." He said with a reassured smile as he rummaged through his trunk. "And don't tell your mother about this, she'll have me drawn and quartered."

She sat back down on the front seat and tried to get her phone to work. "Fine, just chill out Uncle Nigel."

"Sarah dear I'm the most chill historian you'll ever meet." The banging soumd from the engine block said otherwise. "So chill in fact that it's the reason why don't teach anymore."

"Mom says you were fired."

"That's just how those fops in Cardiff University spin things."

"Haven't you been teaching middle school for like two years now?"

"Honestly! Does Izzy blab about everything happening in my life."

"She's just worried about you, heck I'm worried about you." "Mom also told me you haven't showed up at work for months."

Her Uncle stopped. "I've been… preoccupied."

"With these Runestone thingies?"

"Yes, among other things…"

"D'you wanna talk about it?"

"Later Dearie, we have to get get out of here first."

"Hold up, where is here exactly Uncle Nigel?"

"Let's just say I'm not too keen on spending another the night here." Despite his smile and calm, there was an air of dread in her uncle's words. "Just sit back and play that Pokemon Go or something."

Sarah couldn't tell if it was joke or not.

Prince Rhaegar saw the entire household of Griffin's Roost was in a midst of preparing a feast in honour of his arrival at the expense of Lord Armond Connigton. Faded yet lavish tapestries were placed by the walls depicting the history of house Connigton, arched windows displaying myriad diamond-shaped panes of red and white glass, all of it greeted him upon entry.

He then requested Lady Alyssa a room in which to retire in until the feast begins. He was granted by her the east tower; the tallest of the castle's. It offered a view of the surrounding countryside and all the bards and mummers gathered by the gates, and a small town of merchants selling their wares grew inside the town closest to the castle.

Yet he stood alone by the window brooding as he looked on at all this. The tourney in memory of the late Lord Steffon Baratheon and the return of his son Robert to his family's seat of Storms End was little more than a fortnight away.

Rhaegar dreaded to treat with the young lord, especially if words about him were to be believed. Robert had no love for him or house Targaryen, for it has nearly been a year since Lord Steffon died along with his wife Lady Cassana in a shipwreck as they returned from a fools errand ordered by his father, to find a bride of noble birth from an old Valyrian bloodline.

Arriving at such an ill fated day when he's been newly betrothed, would definitely be seen as an insult not only to Robert but to the memory of his father.

If given the choice he'd rather not court Robert Baratheon to his cause, but he was left no other choice.

A loud knock snapped him from his thoughts."Your Grace, Prince Oberyn and Ser Jon Connigton wishes an audience with you. "Bid them enter Arthur!" Rhaegar replied.

His two friends entered and took a seat claiming the table near the fireplace. A silence fell before them and Oberyn was the only one unaffected as he took a few swings of strong dornish wine from his seemingly endless supply of wineskins.

"I thank the both you in accepting this burden." Rhaegar said to them. "I've given the both of you some inkling of my plans in the past.

"But it is time to fully explain to the both of you what mean to do here." Rhaegar held in his hand a piece of parchment and gave it to Oberyn.

He broke the wax seal and as he read it a look of surprise was etched in his face.

"Have you gone mad? And has my brother been as well?" Oberyn exclaimed stood as he stood up and his dark brown eyes boring down Rhaegars' liliac. "Does Elia know?!"

Rhaegar tore his eyes away from Oberyn in shame. "She's had her suspicions, but no, not to my knowledge."

"Sweet mother Rhoyne! And my brother calls me a fool that acts before proper thought."

"I must excuse myself then since this is clearly a matter of Princess Elia's betrothal." Said Jon confused yet polite manner.

"It also concerns you Jon."

After two hours of trying to get a signal Sarah's phone finally died and the power bank she brought with her has barely enough charge for it. Now she's just lying down on the backseat of her uncle's car after he 'fixed' the fumes coming out of the car floors last night.

The rational part of Sarah's brain was screaming at her to just walk away and find help. But her gut was told her otherwise and after that time Tony Callahan with the waterslide, she trusted her gut more.

So all she could do now was wait for her uncle Nigel to come through.

Sarah closed her eyes and hummed an Adele song hoping it'd pass the time faster, then she heard a gun shot.

She immediately jolted upright and got out of the car with her shoulder and head protesting with a sharp pain.

"Uncle Nigel!" She called, then another gun shot. "Uncle Nigel!"

Then another.

Then another.

Then it stopped.

She was mixture of fear, stress, and panic. Should she run away, should she hide, should she do both? Sarah just stood there frozen clutching her injured arm.

Then a scream broke through Sarah's trance-like panicked state. "Was that…" she turned to where the direction of the sound.

A still quiet again before a sudden burst of galloping horses came from the distance.

By pure instinct, Sarah grabbed her phone and tazer before hiding under the backseat of the car and locked the door. Her laboured breath and sobs was the only thing that cut through the sound of hoof beats.

Rhaegar stood in an eternal darkness all while deafening silence surrounds him. He found the nothingness peaceful; none stare with fear, none try to gain favor, no prophesy promising doom, and none of his father's cruelties. This reminded him of many a time when he was boy; having received displeasure from his royal father, he would hide away in his special place under the covers of his bed and wished for it all to go away, for him to disappear.

He wished for exactly this. He longed for it, unburdened by whatever horrors would come, whatever pain he would have to endure whatever or whoever he would lose. But thoughts of pain and fear seemed resonated with the darkness, for an unworldly mixture of noise assaulted The Silver princes ears.

And through the clamor, a voice stood above the rest of the blare. He made an effort to discern who the voice belonged to for he seemed to recognize it, but much distorted. Rhaegar followed the noise, that voice egged him on, and when it became distinguishable, he stopped in fear of what emotions further action might bring.

"Your Grace!" the voice pleaded. "Please Stop! No more!"

"You wish betray me?"

"Never-." A loud thump reverberated in the dark.

"You lie! You all lie!" the second voice proclaimed as if "All envy the dragon!"

To his horror Rhaegar remembered; this was the day he lost so much, a day that would be etched in his mind until his last.

The day he first saw the monster underneath his father, mayhaps he was a monster and he never noticed.

Then he awoke in a intricately furnished room prepared prepared at the expense of Lord Connigton. drenched in sweat, his sheets and bed clothes clung to body. "Bloody dreams." He said as he got upright.

There was still light out which meant the feast was a few hours off. So he washed his sweat with the clean water from a basin and changed to his red silken doublet and other fineries, then aptly left his room.

Ser Barristan greeted him on the other side of his door where he stood guard. His steel plate armour enameled white and accompanying white cloak of his order, contrasted with the east towers reddish brown brick interior which further accented his blond hair and pale blue eyes.

The lines on his face and receding hair made him look older than his three and fourty years, but he can still turn the heads of maidens and women alike.

With a caring smile he nodded. "Are you fully rested your grace?"

"Aye Ser Barristan, but what of you?" Rhaegar replied. "Surely even a Kingsguard would need rest."

"I thank you for your concern then your grace." Ser Barristan laughed. "But duty does not rest."

"Yet Ser Arthur was on guard." Rhaegar stifled a frown "Were you on guard long Ser?"

"Not that long." The knight said. "Just before you went out of your room."

Rhaegar and Ser Barristan decendend from the tower with Ser Barristan and he wondered whether the knights loyalties lie with him or his father.