Heavy is the head that wears the crown," he thought as he sat upon the Iron Throne. He looked down at his two wives, Lyanna and Elia, seated on thrones next to him—both extremely beautiful women. Without them, his life would be drastically worse.
Years ago at Harrenhal, it was Elia who helped him seduce Lyanna; she was Dornish, after all. When Arthur allowed him to win the joust, he looked to his wife. He knew what that look meant, and as such, he crowned Lyanna the Queen of Love and Beauty. If only it hadn't gone so wrong after, he thought.
The rebellion tore the realm apart, and he was still attempting to put the pieces back together. The realm was not the only thing torn to pieces, either; his family was as well. While he and Lyanna had married, the beginning of his reign was shaky after the rebellion. His father was slain by his own Kingsguard, Jaime Lannister. Dorne was unhappy because, in their eyes, he had dishonored Elia. The Reach was grasping for power in King's Landing. He had to put sanctions on the rebel kingdoms, which would finally end soon.
Now he had tried to weave a web of alliances throughout the Seven Kingdoms. His brother Viserys married Cersei, his heir Aegon was to marry Margaery, and his daughter was to marry into the Reach as well. He hoped his other daughter, Visenya (his second child with Lyanna), would marry into one of the former rebel kingdoms.
This brought to mind his second son. His mood darkened, something that both his wives noticed.
"Rhaegar, what is wrong?" Elia asked.
"Ah, nothing. I am just thinking of our second son," he replied to his wives. Both became sad at the thought as well.
At that moment, Arthur came through the door and knelt before the Crown. "I bring grave news, your Grace. We were attacked on our way back from Highgarden; there were few survivors."
"My daughter!" Queen Elia shouted desperately.
"Is fine," replied Arthur. "But something... someone saved us. He calls himself a Witcher, a magically mutated monster slayer. I watched him slay close to 30 men like they were nothing, fighting like a demon, dressed as a man."
The room went quiet at that.
"Where is this... man?" the King asked.
"Outside. Your daughter decided to bring him home," joked Arthur.
"This is no time for jests, my friend. The court will be recovering soon. I guess the realm will soon discover what he is." Arthur left the room.
Soon, lords of many of the Seven Kingdoms entered the throne room. A Northern retinue, with Eddard Stark at the head, entered the room, as cold as the lands he came from. He never forgave his sister for eloping with him without telling anyone. 'One more conspiracy still to discover,' Rhaegar thought.
Then the Riverlands heir, Edmure Tully, entered, along with Renly Baratheon, the Lord of the Stormlands. Finally, Jon Arryn, his Master of Justice, entered the throne room. For the first time in nearly 20 years, all the rebellion leaders were in the same room.
The purpose was to lift the sanctions the Crown put on the rebel kingdoms after the rebellion. This was merely a formal occasion to attempt to put away the bad blood of the rebellion and try to start a healing process. With the younger generation, it had worked quite well. His Master of Whisperers had told him about Renly Baratheon's indiscretions. He knew he was dooming his daughter to a lonely life, but he had little choice. 'Plus, if she's smart, she will act as Rhaenyra and Laenor did,' he mused.
Finally, Arthur stepped through the door, followed by his daughter, and next to her was the Witcher. Oddly enough, his cat eyes with Valyrian colors, Rhaegar thought, were not trained on him, the King, but on the Northern retinue. As he walked closer, Rhaegar realized his eyes were trained on Catelyn Tully. Finally, his eyes looked at Rhaegar.
Rhaegar finally said, "What gift should I give to the man who saved my daughter from slaying over 40 heinous bandits?"
The Witcher merely said, "Your daughter promised gold."
The King smiled and said, "That is not enough for one who did deeds such as yours. Kneel!"