Terror in the bath

The Red Keep was far too complicated. The attendants led Ghost through turn after turn, bringing her to a refined-looking little three-story building. It was very stylish and brand-new.

The king had not assigned her a residence. These were guest quarters where visiting nobles stayed temporarily. Once the king made his formal announcement, she would move in next to the prince.

Such fine lodgings-could Varys have had a hand in this too?

She would be living with the prince in the future... Hehehe.

Ghost's head was now completely occupied by that face that looked so much like Jaime's.

There had been too much excitement today, and she had not realized it at the time. Later, recalling the man's armor, his distinctive eye and hair colors, and the Kingsguard following him, Ghost knew he had to be Rhaegar Targaryen.

Aerys's eldest prince, the future king of the Seven Kingdoms. In the original story, he had not lived to see his coronation...

But seriously, Rhaegar was so, so much more handsome than Prince Viserys!! (Repeat infinitely.)

Ghost kept bubbling over with pink fantasies... Right now, she was immensely grateful to Rickard Stark for sending her to King's Landing.

Rhaegar actually had a face that looked just like Goumi's. She could say it loud and clear: "I'm down."

Waaah, Goumi is so handsome. Big sis loves you...

Question: if one day you had the chance to spend a long time in zero-distance contact with your idol, what would you do?

Ghost: take advantage of being close at hand and get him...

Ahem, she was only dreaming. She certainly would not dare approach him directly. She belonged to two species-wouldn't turning into a dog to take advantage be wonderful?

Pretending to be a pet-she knew that job well~! (Lyanna: "This is how she ate our family into poverty. Ptooey.")

Then... how could she turn into a white wolf and approach him without arousing any suspicion?

Rhaegar Targaryen was no Stark of the North. If a white wolf appeared out of nowhere in the palace, it would probably be chopped up on the spot.

Ghost sank into a dilemma... Beauty had robbed her of her composure.

A dangerous dispute was playing out in the throne room...

Or rather, King Aerys was unilaterally and severely berating Prince Rhaegar.

Although Rhaegar and Ser Arthur Dayne had already crushed the Kingswood Brotherhood's rebellion, and their ringleader Simon Toyne had been beheaded by Dawn, King Aerys still refused to spare the commoners who had accepted favors and sheltered the bandits.

The Kingswood Brotherhood had shamelessly robbed passing nobles and merchants under the slogan of "robbing the rich to help the poor." After being declared wanted, they had also bribed villagers to cover for them.

"Two whole villages and a medium-sized town..." King Aerys roared madly. "Hundreds of traitors there, right outside King's Landing. And you actually let them go?"

Days of marching had left Rhaegar exhausted. He gently stroked his helmet. "Your Grace, they are only ordinary commoners..."

"They are rebels! They want to murder their king!" King Aerys howled. "And you, my son, will you defy me too?"

Faced with such a grave accusation, Rhaegar immediately knelt. His heavy armor pressed down on him until he could scarcely breathe...

"Burn them! Spare no one! Burn those traitors!"

Rhaegar closed his eyes. The king's executioners departed with their orders.

The silent Kingsguard accompanied Rhaegar back to his chambers, leaving two men to protect him closely. The others went to relieve those stationed with the king.

Both the king and the crown prince were in the Red Keep, so the Kingsguard did not all need to attend them personally. The others could rotate shifts and rest.

Without a word, the prince let the servants remove his armor and dress him in soft clothes. Then he flung himself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

He was too tired. He would bathe later.

The prince's bedchamber was unexpectedly plain. Only the large bed, hung with curtains of beads and all manner of gemstones, looked particularly lavish. There were no luxuries around it.

Some paintings and Rhaegar's silver harp hung on the walls. Low cabinets and chests were stuffed with books and scrolls of every kind.

Scrolls tied with ribbons of different colors lay neatly on the long worktable, along with a stack of books published by the Citadel-about legends from various continents and ancient prophecies.

"You need not pity those lowborn." Arthur Dayne, the Sword God of the Morning, stood ramrod straight in the room like an ornate steel statue. The divine sword Dawn hung within his easiest reach.

"As the king said, they accepted benefits. There would be nothing strange about their heads being chopped off."

Rhaegar covered his eyes with a hand and said dully, "They only wanted to survive too..."

"Go and rest, Arthur..."

Arthur Dayne bowed to the prince, opened the door, and walked out.

After a brief nap, Prince Rhaegar summoned his steward and asked about recent happenings at court. They had barely spoken before his energy failed him, and he fell asleep again in exhaustion.

Though he was only seventeen, young and vigorous, days of intense combat and marching through the wilderness had nearly drained all his strength.

Rhaegar slept until deep into the night before hunger woke him.

Aching all over and hungry, Rhaegar decided to go to the baths and eat something while he soaked.

Arthur Dayne followed soundlessly behind him like a ghost.

The Red Keep's luxurious, Roman-style, nobles-only baths were in the royal gardens, not far from the prince's chambers.

The prince brought few people: two personal servants and a maid, one to carry things, one to massage him, and one to help arrange his clothes and dress him.

Arthur Dayne was the only personal Kingsguard he brought, but it was no exaggeration to say that the Sword God of the Morning could take on ten men without difficulty.

Security in the palace was extremely strict at night. Apart from the guards on night patrol, any servants or menials who dared venture outside were executed on the spot. Even nobles were not exempt.

In recent years, more and more servants had died without a sound in the Red Keep...

Apart from his guards, the paranoid King Aerys allowed no one near his bedchamber, terrified of assassination. Even the queen and the second prince lived apart from him.

Prince Rhaegar, however, had no worries about wandering at night. He strolled leisurely along, munching an apple. The Gold Cloaks were long accustomed to Prince Rhaegar's fondness for roaming in the middle of the night. As he passed, they bent their knees lightly in obeisance, then continued patrolling as though nothing had happened.

"What lovely moonlight. I should have brought my harp," Rhaegar remarked.

Eating while bathing, then accompanying himself too? What kind of strange habit is that? Arthur Dayne thought.

"Arthur, go fetch my harp."

Arthur Dayne said, "No. I have to stay with you."

Rhaegar felt rather helpless. Arthur was good in every respect, except that he was a little too rigid. He never saw him smile all day.

"What could happen inside the palace? Go on."

Arthur Dayne hesitated for a moment. Patrols were indeed constantly passing nearby. He nodded and went to fetch Rhaegar's harp.-Rhaegar disliked anyone entering his room except his familiar personal maid and Arthur.

Rhaegar told the servants to fetch food, then stripped naked and jumped into the pool.

Calling this bath a swimming pool would not have been an exaggeration. Several golden dragon-head statues poured out hot water without pause. Exquisite reliefs covered the ceiling and floor, while dragon designs dominated the columns and decorations.

Rhaegar narrowed his eyes in comfort, the rising heat making him drowsy. A servant brought a wooden tray, and plates laden with all kinds of food and fruit were set beside the pool.

The prince shook his head. The steam had nearly put him to sleep. He had not noticed a chicken leg falling into the pool and gradually drifting into a corner.

Fresh water kept pouring in with a constant splash. The sound echoed through the enormous bathroom, drowning out certain strange noises.

The ripples gradually carried back a chicken leg with a bite taken out of it...

"Hm?" Rhaegar sat up straight.

The servants would never dare serve him food they had taken a bite from. What was going on?

He surveyed his surroundings warily. The more he looked, the more suspicious that large dragon-head fountain statue in the corner seemed... Some grease was floating on the water over there too.

Rhaegar stared silently at the angle between the statue and the wall, then demanded coldly, "Who's there? Come out."

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..." An eerie bubbling sounded behind the column in the corner.

Rhaegar: "..."

Could another noble young lady have sneaked in? Such things had happened before. They always found every possible means to slip through any opening and get close to him.

That shouldn't be it. After Father punished them, no one except that little girl Cersei had such nerve anymore.

Peeping and stealing food too??

To infiltrate the ironclad Red Keep and silently approach him...

Whoever you are, let's see how long you can hold your breath.

Rhaegar reclined comfortably again, reaching out to splash and play with the water.

Ghost, hiding at the bottom of the bath, was nearly suffocating.

The whole day had been thrilling and exciting, leaving her tired and hungry. The people of the Red Keep probably thought she ate like a bird. They had given her two slices of bread, a sausage, a cup of fruit wine, and a bunch of grapes...

Who the hell could get full on that??

She had only wanted a comfortable bath... And failed to resist sneaking a bite of the chicken leg that floated over...

Why did she have to endure a scene so embarrassing it amounted to social death!

Why had she run into someone so late, in such an awkward place...?

And why did it have to be Prince Rhaegar?

(Three soul-searching questions, every word weeping blood.)

Her clothes and everything were outside. If Rhaegar caught her stark naked... Mommy, she could bash herself to death on the spot for him to see.

But she did not know how to dive! A single misguided impulse had left her with no time to escape, and she could only plunge to the bottom of the pool.

She had held her breath underwater for five minutes already. Surely that broke the world record!!! Lord Rhaegar, please leave! You're going to soak your skin right off!

Several sensational headlines had already flashed through her mind:

"Shocking! Newly arrived fiancée harbored improper intentions, caught peeping at a man bathing"

"Midnight terror: prince ambushed by villain while bathing"

"Beauty to blame: who dared peep at Rhaegar bathing?"

And Rhaegar? He grew even more leisurely, even humming a tune in quite a good mood.

Gurgle, glug, gurgle, blub...

Ghost truly could not hold on any longer.

She had already started gulping down Rhaegar's bathwater...