Game of Thrones: The Ruler

Rhaenys took one final deep breath before she began her narration.

"When the news came that my father had been killed at the Battle of the Trident at Robert Baratheon's hands, we knew that the war had been lost," Rhaenys said. "So, my mother, along with her loyal guards, began setting up an escape route and a plan."

"Everything was finalised. A route had been charted out to escape through one of the Red Keep's tunnels, and arrangements had been made to smuggle the three of us- my mother Elia, me, and my brother Aegon along with a few of our royal companions out of the King's Landing on a fishing boat."

"Even so, King Aerys Targaryen was keeping a strict eye on every one of us. He, in no condition, was going to allow us to run away from the King's Landing. Even after death of my father, he did not believe that he could lose. He always kept blabbering about burning all his enemies. It was not easy to escape while he was still alive."

'He was thinking of the wildfire,' Jon thought inwardly. Aerys would have burned the entire city than allowing anyone to escape from it.

"Therefore, all the arrangements were handled by a very loyal guard of my mother and the wait was for the appropriate time," Rhaenys continued.

"You know about my uncle Doran Martell and his wife, Lady Mellario of Norvos?" she asked, to which Jon nodded in response.

"When Lady Mellario married my uncle, she brought with her a small entourage of maids and guards to Dorne. One among them was called Eouplia. She was a lady of Valyrian descent and, despite being a maid, a servant, she had been like a friend to Lady Mellario."

"Eouplia was of similar age to my mother, and the two became fast friends. When my mother married Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, Eouplia accompanied her to King's Landing. Although her presence faded from my mother's life and not many people knew about her, the two remained close," Rhaenys said.

"Eouplia had married one of Lady Mellario's guards, Wazunk, and he too had accompanied my mother to King's Landing. Like his wife, he was fiercely loyal to her. Wazunk was the one handling all the arrangements for my mother."

Jon nodded, already beginning to guess where the story was headed.

"Eouplia and Wazunk had a daughter close to my age. Like her mother, she had silver hair and purple eyes. Valyrian descent."

"The plan was that when Robert's forces reached King's Landing, chaos would spread throughout the city and the Red Keep, and we would use that chaos to flee. At that time, the men stationed by Aerys would no longer be able to watch over us."

"But suddenly, we received news that it was the Lannister army led by Tywin Lannister who had arrived at the gates, and for whatever reason the king believed that Tywin was still his ally."

"The gates were opened for him," Rhaenys said, almost hitching for breath. "And then began the massacre. Let alone the servants and the officials of the royalty, the Lannister army even killed the small folk if they encountered in their way."

"We were caught off guard. Although our plan was already in motion, we had not been prepared. The king's men had been watching us till the last moment."

"The Mountain…" Rhaenys spoke the name with unmasked hatred. "When he struck, Eouplia, Wazunk, and their daughter were in the same chamber as us."

"They realised escape for everyone was almost impossible. Even then, they made a last ditch effort. To give me a better chance, Wazunk changed my clothes and dressed me in his daughter's robes, while their daughter was made to wear my dress."

"The doors of the chamber gave way, and the Mountain, along with his companions, entered. His eyes first landed on Aegon in my mother's arms, and he strode towards him. Eouplia foolishly tried to resist him, and out of sheer brutality, he smashed her face into the wall. Then he snatched Aegon from my mother's hands and smashed him against the wall like a ball."

"My brother's entire body exploded in a mixture of his own organs, blood and gore," Rhaenys said. Tears were flowing in full flow from her eyes.

"Mountain's squire, Amory Lorch, moved toward the daughter of Eouplia, thinking her to be the royal princess. They might have never seen me, at least not from a close range. And Eouplia's daughter would have matched the description they might have had about me. The dress was another giveaway."

"This was the moment when Wazunk seized me and ran. Thinking us as of some servant, the duo did not pay much attention towards us."

"As we ran out of the chamber," Rhaenys's cheeks were wet with tears, "I heard the ear piercing scream of Eouplia's daughter. Those screams were followed by the equally painful cries of my mother. But Wazunk never wavered. He never slowed."

"Very quickly, he slipped into the tunnels of the Red Keep and we were out of the Red Keep. We were fortunate enough to find an isolated boat and Wazunk rowed us away."

Jon nodded solemnly. Rhaenys had been too lucky to escape from the Red Keep.

"We later heard that body of my mother, my brother and the supposed me had been mutilated so badly that no one was even to recognise the faces of the trio."

When Rhaenys finished, tears were flowing uncontrollably from her eyes. Even though, she had been small at that time, every memory was still vividly engraved in her memory. And today, after years, she had relived those memories. It was an extremely painful piece of memory, a horrifying moment in her life, something that could not be described in mere words.

She had always suppressed those memories and had never tried to thought about them.

Jon at that moment wanted to offer some comfort to her but he did not have any words to say. Sometimes, letting the person swallow their misery was the best one could do. Thus, he remained silent and gave her the space she might have needed.

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