Lyonel POV
Lyonel yawned and rubbed at his tired eyes.
By the Seven...
He had been waiting for what felt like half a day.
The room was quiet except for the occasional crackle of the torches fixed to the stone walls. Shadows danced across the small chamber, making it seem even darker than it truly was. The air smelled faintly of smoke, old wood, and spilled ale from somewhere beyond the walls of the strange establishment.
His backside had begun to ache from sitting for so long.
With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet.
His boots echoed softly against the stone floor as he began pacing.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Every few moments his eyes wandered toward the door.
Nothing.
Perhaps...
Had he been tricked?
No.
The ring had borne House Targaryen's three-headed dragon. The guards at the city gates had clearly known who he was. No ordinary man could have arranged something like this.
Besides...
He was waiting for the King of the Seven Kingdoms.
Kings did not answer to anyone's schedule but their own.
Lyonel let out a slow breath before sitting once more.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his fingers buried in his hair.
Just as he was beginning to lose himself in thought—
Click.
His head snapped toward the door.
It creaked open only a little before a hooded figure slipped inside.
The man shut the door quietly behind him.
For several long heartbeats, neither of them spoke.
The stranger slowly reached up and lowered his hood.
Silver-gold hair.
Calm purple eyes.
A face every lord in Westeros knew.
King Jaehaerys Targaryen.
Lyonel's heart nearly stopped.
He immediately dropped to one knee.
"Your Grace."
Jaehaerys regarded him for a moment before giving a small smile.
"Rise, Ser Lyonel."
His voice was calm and surprisingly warm.
"There is no need for ceremony between the two of us tonight."
Lyonel quickly stood.
"I... thank you, Your Grace."
Jaehaerys gestured toward the chair.
"Sit."
"I have wanted to speak with you as one man to another for some time."
Lyonel obeyed immediately.
He sat carefully, his back straight.
Jaehaerys took the chair opposite him.
For several moments the king simply watched him.
Not judging.
Studying.
Lyonel felt as though the king could see straight through him.
Finally, Jaehaerys's eyes drifted toward the sword resting against the table.
Adder's Fang.
"The sword," the king said quietly.
"Why is it not with my sister?"
Lyonel had expected that question.
"My king..."
"I delivered it to Princess Rhaena exactly as you commanded."
He reached into his satchel and carefully removed the folded parchment bearing Rhaena's seal.
"But she refused to keep it."
"Instead..."
"She gave it back to me."
Lyonel offered the letter with both hands.
Jaehaerys accepted it.
The room fell silent once more.
Only the crackling torches could be heard as the king slowly read every line.
His expression remained unreadable until the very end.
Then...
A faint smile appeared.
"It is genuine."
He folded the letter neatly.
"My sister's seal."
"My sister's hand."
He looked back at Lyonel.
"So."
"It truly belongs to you now."
Lyonel nodded.
"Yes, Your Grace."
Jaehaerys rested the parchment upon the table.
"But why?"
"What deed could convince Rhaena to part with a Valyrian steel sword?"
Lyonel hesitated.
"I..."
"I saved Lady Rhaella."
The king raised a hand.
"There is no need to explain further."
His voice softened.
"Saving the life of a child of House Targaryen is no small deed."
He rose from his chair.
Instead of returning to the door, he slowly walked around the table.
His boots echoed softly across the stone floor.
Lyonel instinctively stood as the king approached.
Jaehaerys stopped beside Adder's Fang.
His fingers rested lightly upon its pommel.
"I already know what happened."
Lyonel blinked.
"...Your Grace?"
"I know about the attack."
"I know about the bandits."
"I know that my niece was taken."
"I know that you rode into danger to save her."
"I know about the inn."
"And I know what happened afterward."
Lyonel stared at him.
"You..."
"You already knew?"
Jaehaerys nodded.
"I have eyes throughout the realm."
"Kings who do not listen become dead kings."
He lifted Adder's Fang from where it rested and drew the blade from its sheath.
The dark Valyrian steel shimmered beneath the torchlight.
"A ruler survives because he knows."
He looked directly into Lyonel's eyes.
"And I know far more about you than you realize."
Lyonel swallowed.
For the first time that night...
He felt nervous.
Not because he feared the king.
But because he realized just how much power sat before him.
Jaehaerys put the sword back into its sheath and slowly offered it back.
Lyonel accepted it carefully.
Then the king spoke again.
"Ser Lyonel."
"I have watched your journey from afar."
"You carried out your orders."
"You refused to steal a priceless blade."
"You saved my niece."
"You protected innocents."
"You fought against impossible odds."
"And despite everything..."
"You remained a knight."
Jaehaerys folded his hands behind his back.
"Many wear white cloaks."
"Few deserve them."
He sighed quietly.
"My Kingsguard grows older every year."
"Some are ill."
"Some are nearing the end of their strength."
"I must think of the future."
He looked Lyonel directly in the eyes.
"I would have you become one of them."
The words struck Lyonel harder than any mace.
For a heartbeat...
He forgot how to breathe.
The Kingsguard.
The White cloaks.
The greatest honour any knight could ever receive.
Every child raised on tales of chivalry dreamed of wearing that white cloak.
His own father had once told him that no honour in the Seven Kingdoms surpassed serving beside the king himself.
He imagined himself standing beneath the Iron Throne.
A white cloak flowing behind him.
One of seven.
One of history.
His hands tightened around Adder's Fang.
Then...
He remembered.
The burned village.
The violated women.
The corpses lining the Kingswood.
Knights who had abandoned every oath they had ever sworn.
He remembered the old innkeeper.
The innocent people who had died.
He remembered wondering whether he truly deserved to call himself a knight when so many others had failed.
He lowered his head.
"Your Grace..."
"I cannot."
Jaehaerys remained silent.
Lyonel forced himself to continue.
"There are greater knights than I."
"I have only done what every knight should."
"I am not worthy of wearing the white cloak."
For the first time, disappointment flickered across the king's face.
Not anger.
Only disappointment.
"Think again."
Lyonel closed his eyes briefly.
His heart pounded.
"I cannot accept."
Silence filled the room.
Then...
Jaehaerys smiled.
It was a small smile.
One touched with respect.
He stepped closer and rested a hand upon Lyonel's shoulder.
"You have given me the one answer I least expected."
"Most men would have accepted before I finished speaking."
"You refused."
He squeezed Lyonel's shoulder gently.
"And because of that..."
"I respect you even more."
Lyonel looked up in surprise.
The king chuckled softly.
"I am not withdrawing the offer."
"If you change your mind..."
"The white cloak will still be waiting."
He walked toward the door before stopping with one hand upon the handle.
"Oh."
"There is one more thing."
Lyonel straightened.
"Many would like to meet the famous Ser Lyonel."
Lyonel frowned.
"...Famous?"
Jaehaerys laughed quietly.
"Your deeds have already spread among the nobility."
"I delayed the stories reaching the streets of King's Landing until after tonight."
"I wished to speak with you before every singer in King's Landing began making songs about you."
He opened the door.
"There is a room prepared for you here."
"Tomorrow..."
"Come to the Red Keep."
"I think you will find that many people are eager to meet the knight who saved my niece."
The king inclined his head.
"Until tomorrow, Ser Lyonel."
Then he disappeared into the darkness beyond the doorway.
The door clicked shut.
Silence returned.
Lyonel remained standing where he was.
His mind refused to catch up with what had just happened.
He slowly looked down at Adder's Fang resting in his hand.
A Valyrian steel sword.
A personal audience with the King.
An offer to join the Kingsguard.
He had refused.
His stomach twisted.
"...Shit."
He ran both hands through his hair.
"Shit... shit... shit."
What in the Seven Hells had he just done?
Jaehaerys POV
The cool night air greeted Jaehaerys as he stepped out of The Hard Rod.
The sounds of laughter, drunken singing, and lewd shouting spilled out from behind him before the heavy door swung shut, muffling them once again.
He adjusted the hood of his dark cloak, hiding the unmistakable silver-gold hair that would reveal his identity to anyone who caught even a glimpse of him.
His boots echoed softly against the cobbled streets.
King's Landing never truly slept.
Even at this hour, lanterns still burned outside taverns. Drunkards staggered through the alleys. Fishmongers prepared tomorrow's catch along the waterfront, while whores laughed from open windows.
No one spared a second glance for another cloaked man walking through the city.
Just as he preferred.
As he walked, his thoughts drifted back to the room he had just left.
Ser Lyonel Dondarrion.
The young marcher knight had impressed him from the moment he had fought with him against the Vulture King, but meeting the man in person again had only strengthened that opinion.
Honest.
Loyal.
Compassionate.
Courageous.
And perhaps most importantly...
Not ambitious.
Jaehaerys had offered him one of the greatest honours in all the Seven Kingdoms.
A white cloak.
A place among the Kingsguard.
A position thousands of knights would gladly kill for.
And Lyonel had refused.
Not because he desired something greater.
But because he truly believed he was unworthy.
Jaehaerys smiled to himself.
"Perhaps that is exactly why he deserves it."
He rounded another corner until the looming silhouette of the Red Keep dominated the night sky.
The great castle stood silent above the city like a watchful giant.
Rather than approaching the main gate, Jaehaerys continued along the outer wall.
Eventually, he reached an ordinary stretch of red stone.
To anyone else, it was simply another section of the castle's foundations.
To him...
It was one of Maegor's many secrets.
He ran his fingers across the stone until they found a slightly raised block.
Press.
A quiet grinding echoed within the wall.
A narrow doorway slowly opened.
Jaehaerys slipped inside before quickly pulling it shut behind him.
Darkness swallowed him.
Only a few small oil lamps burned within the passage, casting long shadows across the damp stone floor.
These tunnels stretched beneath much of the Red Keep.
His uncle, Maegor, had ordered them built decades ago.
The man had been cruel beyond measure.
A tyrant whose name mothers still used to frighten children.
Yet even monsters occasionally left behind something useful.
The hidden passages had become invaluable.
They allowed him to move unseen through his own castle.
They allowed trusted spies to listen where ears were never expected.
And sometimes...
They allowed a king to leave the Red Keep without anyone knowing.
Jaehaerys walked through the winding corridors at an unhurried pace.
He knew every turn.
Every hidden staircase.
Every concealed doorway.
Finally, he reached a wall marked by a faded red X.
He pressed against the stone.
Another section of the wall silently swung inward.
Jaehaerys stepped through.
Before he could fully close the hidden door—
Two arms wrapped gently around him from behind.
"So..."
A familiar voice whispered against his shoulder.
"What was his answer?"
Jaehaerys smiled despite himself.
"He said no."
He felt Alysanne stiffen.
She stepped around him, her violet eyes wide with disbelief.
"No?"
"He refused?"
"The Kingsguard?"
Jaehaerys nodded.
"He did."
Alysanne blinked several times.
"I do not think anyone has ever refused such an offer from a king."
"Especially not one as young as Ser Lyonel."
Jaehaerys removed his cloak and draped it over a nearby chair before sitting on the edge of their bed.
"He believes himself unworthy."
"He truly thinks there are better knights than him."
Alysanne couldn't help but smile.
"That sounds exactly like the sort of man you would want wearing white."
Jaehaerys laughed quietly.
"It does."
He leaned back slightly.
"I asked him to think on it."
"I told him to come to the Red Keep tomorrow."
Alysanne sat beside him.
"I thought you intended to keep him away from court."
"You wanted him to remain your hidden sword until a place among the Kingsguard opened."
Jaehaerys nodded.
"I did."
"But I no longer believe that will happen."
"He has already made his choice."
"He may reconsider..."
"But I doubt it."
For a few moments, they sat in silence.
Finally, Alysanne tilted her head.
"Then why invite him?"
Jaehaerys looked at her.
She studied him for only a heartbeat before smiling knowingly.
"Baelon."
Jaehaerys chuckled.
"You know me too well."
"I do."
She rested her head lightly against his shoulder.
"Our son has hardly spoken of anything else these past few days."
"'The knight who saved Aunt Rhaena's daughter.'"
"'The knight with the strange white bird.'"
"'The knight who fought dozens of bandits.'"
She laughed softly.
"I believe he imagines Ser Lyonel to be ten feet tall."
Jaehaerys laughed with her.
"Meeting the real man may disappoint him."
"I rather doubt it."
"He could use another good example to admire."
She gently took one of his hands and placed it against her stomach.
"And perhaps..."
"Our next child as well."
Jaehaerys's expression softened immediately.
His hand lingered there.
A small smile spread across his face.
"I pray this child knows a more peaceful realm than the one we inherited."
"So do I."
She leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
"My love..."
"You have carried the burdens of the realm all day."
"And now you have spent half the night wandering through secret tunnels to meet one stubborn knight."
"I think that is enough work for one day."
Jaehaerys smiled.
"I believe you are right."
Alysanne rose and offered him her hand.
"Come."
Jaehaerys took her hand.
Together, king and queen extinguished the lamps.
Outside, the bells of King's Landing rang softly through the night, while high above the city, the Red Keep stood silent beneath the light of the moon.