After the meal, Rhaemon and Aegon took Alysanne, Arlan, Desmera, and Hobber and Horas away to show them the Hippogriffs.
The adults followed Rhaenys as she gave them a tour around the Pyramid, and showed them the water system and the pools, some of which had colourful fish inside them.
The Pyramid of Pride was truly a wonder of the world, and the guests were shocked at the details that had been kept in mind for its construction, which had lasted for over thirty years.
It was truly unlike anything they had seen before.
"Your Grace, may I ask where the City Lord is?" Garlan curiously inquired.
"Brother has gone to Sothoryos. He will be back within a moon."
"Sothoryos? Why?" He was shocked, and it was the same for the rest of them.
Except for Rhea, all of them had read and learned about the evils of Sothoryos, the diseases, and the terrifying creatures that inhabited it.
"He's going to bring a couple of Giant Apes to Dragonport. We shall see if our Beast Masters can tame them. If they succeed, we will bring more of them and use them to guard the City."
"Giant Apes?" Benjen frowned.
"Yes. Apes larger than the giants beyond the Wall." She smiled at the Stark, whose eyes quivered at her words. "Giant Apes are ferocious, intelligent, and extremely powerful. And the best thing is that they eat both meat and the greens. So, they are less expensive to keep than the likes of Wyverns, who are gluttonous creatures, always hungry for meat, and very restless and moody. They are harder to tame as well, and they scream a lot. Things are never peaceful with them around."
All of them looked at her in dismay.
"Why do you need the Giant Apes?"
"We have a lot of enemies," She calmly said, "So, we need to make the idea of war a hopeless affair in their minds."
Garlan nodded his head in understanding.
"Have your Good Sisters gone with him?"
"No. They are both with a child. Brother has moved them to a safe place so that they don't have to worry about anything else."
Her words caught them by surprise.
"May Gods bless them." Mina quickly smiled at her and expressed her well-wishes.
"Thank you, Lady Redwyne."
When the tour ended, they arrived at the top of the Pyramid and watched Aegon and Rhaemon flying around on Hippogriffs.
Alysanne was sitting in front of the younger Prince, laughing and having the time of her life.
On the other side, behind Aegon was Desmera, who was tightly hugging him, and his arm was around Arlan, who was sitting in front, and whose laugh brightened the smiles on their faces when they flew past them.
"Your Grace, can I take a ride on them?" Leonette shyly asked Rhaenys, who gently smiled at her.
"Yes, you may, Lady Tyrell. I will ask Rhaemon to give you a ride. Just remember to be very respectful to these beasts. They are prideful. If you raise your voice at them and be rude to them, they will never let you ride them and may even harm you. If you are rude to even one of them, the rest won't entertain you either. They have a very strong bond with each other."
"How fascinating..." Rhea could not help but have stars in her eyes, and Rhaenys smiled at her.
"Just request Rhaemon, and he will take you on a ride as well. Aelyx is a little reserved, and he might mind such a request."
"Thank you." She sincerely said.
Mina Redwyne's eyes stayed on her daughter, who was laughing merrily as she hugged Aelyx atop the Hippogriff.
"How old are you, Your Grace?" Janna suddenly asked.
"Fourteen."
The ladies surprisedly looked at her and were amazed at how tall she was for her age.
She was taller than them...
"Has a marriage been set for you, Your Grace?" Mina inquired.
"The Princesses of our family choose whom we want to marry, and the husband has to be from within the family," She revealed. "No betrothals are set for us. We just can not marry outside the family as we have to keep the Magic inside our Blood to ourselves."
"Magic?" Jeyne Fossoway raised her brow and gasped when Rhaenys suddenly drew her hand and created a small ball of fire in the air.
She played with it for a few moments and then she dispersed it, generating beautiful sparkles that mesmerised them.
"Yes, Magic. Have you never wondered why the Valyrians marry within the families and they rarely suffer any physical deformities and complications?" She asked. "It's because we are Magical."
"Targaryens went mad..." Benjen stopped when he heard her laugh as soon as he spoke.
"Yes, those foolish Targaryens went mad. They turned away from our Gods, lost the Dragons, lost the Magic in their Blood, and mixed their Blood too much with people who were lesser than them. And they paid the price. They were cursed for taking their blessings for granted."
Her words made them all feel very uncomfortable, but they also forced them to think and look at the history they knew from a new perspective.
"Your family never marries outside, Your Grace?" Mina curiously asked.
"Princes do. For Political reasons or if they fancy someone a little too much. They also take Concubines, whose children are considered legitimate. These things, however, depend on the potency of their Magic. If it's potent enough, they can marry outside or sire children on their Concubines to create Vassal Houses. And the Vassal Houses have to follow our Valyrian Traditions. Siblings must marry each other for several generations until their Blood is potent enough to marry outside again and create new Vassal Houses. The Hierarchy all depends on how potent your Magic and how pure your Blood is." She explained.
The Lady Redwyne nodded her head as if she understood her words.
"Have you decided on whom you want to marry, Your Grace?"
"Yes. I will be marrying my Older Brother. He is the only one I desire," She informed them, and they all surprisedly looked at her.
"Isn't he already twice married?" Rhea hesitantly asked.
Rhaenys shook her head.
"He has four wives. I will be his fifth."
"Would it not create problems?"
Rhaenys smiled at her.
"The Hierarchy depends on how potent our Magic and how pure our Blood is." She repeated her previous words, and they understood better how important it was for them to keep their blood pure.
Their family mechanics were very different and not something they could completely understand. And their Faith was very different than theirs.
They had their own Gods and Laws.
"Your Grace, forgive my indulgence, but I am curious. If your brothers marry outside to girls who don't have Magic in their Blood, their children will be weaker compared to the children of wives who are Magical?" Mina frowned.
"Yes, but their Magic will grow stronger over the generations if their legacy sticks to our Traditions. Since men are allowed to have multiple wives and concubines, they can, out of caution, keep a magical wife to ensure the they are not harming the future of their legacy."
Lady Redwyne's eyes brightened at those words.
After Aegon landed close to them and helped Arlan and Desmera off. He placed a kiss on the young girl's knuckles when she curtsied to him and thanked him for the ride.
Curious at their interaction, little Arlan raised his hand as well, and the Prince smiled and kissed his knuckles too, which prompted the onlookers to laugh at the sight.
Rhaemon and Alysanne finally landed as well, and Rhaenys then asked her brother to take Lady Leonette Tyrell on a ride, which he happily agreed to.
Rhea, Jeyne, and Janna could not resist it as well, but Mina managed to hold herself back from making the request.
As for the two men, they were embarrassed to ask the two kids to fly them around.
They also learned that Hobber and Horas had offended a Hippogriff. The latter had tripped and fallen in front of one, and his brother had created a commotion and screamed his lungs out, which made the beast hold a very low opinion of them.
None of the Hippogriffs were now willing to give them any rides.
Seeing the fuss her two sons were creating, Mina's face darkened, and she took her leave first. Janna, Garlan, Jeyne, and Leonette thanked Rhaenys for the meal and the tour and excused themselves as well.
However, when Benjen was about to take his family back to the Inn, Rhaenys asked him to stay for a while.
Rhaemon took Alysanne and Arlan to his room, and Aegon and the Targaryen Princess led Benjen and Rhea to a Private Hall.
"What do you want to discuss, Your Grace?" The Stark curiously asked.
"Nothing, Ser Benjen. I have brought you here because someone has requested me to bring you to meet her."
"Who?" He raised his brow, and even Rhea was frowning.
Before Rhaenys could answer, the door at the far end of the Hall opened, and a Lady, who was wearing an outfit not too dissimilar to that of Rhaenys, brisked inside.
The moment Benjen laid eyes on her, he froze, and soon his body started shaking.
Lyanna did not care about anything and just hugged him as soon as she arrived in front of him.
Her little brother, who could never mistake her for another person, hugged her back. And the grown man cried, shedding his tears without a care.
Rhea was bewildered at what was happening, having never seen her husband break like he was doing right now, but as soon as she heard the name that escaped his lips, her mind buzzed.
"Lyanna..."
"Look at you, all grown and strong," She laughed when she separated from him and wiped away her tears. "You are a head taller than me now."
Benjen laughed at her words and nodded his head.
He carefully looked at his sister, and seeing the bright smile on her face, his heart was relieved.
She seemed happy, and she was beautiful. The times seemed to have been kind to her. Her eyes were bright as ever, and her smile as genuine as he remembered it to be.
He was pretty sure that he looked several years older than her now.
"When I heard the news that the ship sank..." He stopped himself and shook his head, not willing to spoil his sister's mood, and then he suddenly realised something and brightly smiled. "My wife, Rhea. I married as you had asked me to. I even have two kids..."
"I know. Azaerys shared all your news with me." Lyanna smiled and then greeted Rhea by grabbing her hands before sharing a hug. "You are beautiful!"
"I must say the same to you..." The Lady smiled and looked at the lady before her in shock.
Lyanna Stark, whom everyone believed dead, was alive and well, living in Dragonport...
"Don't keep my heart. I am not as beautiful as you are." The Stark shook her head.
"We will go check on Rhaemon, Mother." Aegon lightly said, catching their attention, and smiled when the lady gratefully looked at him and then at Rhaenys.
"Thank you, Rhae."
"I just did what Brother would have done." The Princess said and then took Aegon out of the Hall.
Benjen stayed silent until the two left, and then looked at her sister, furrowing her brows.
"They are Rhaenys and Aegon Targaryen?"
"Yes," Lyanna nodded her head. "And you have already met my son, Rhaemon Targaryen."
Rhea's eyes widened in shock, but Benjen had already realised by now that the little kid who reminded him of his sister was his nephew.
"Ben..." His wife, who was confused about what was going on, called out to him.
At first, Benjen did not know where to start, but then he summarised things that had happened all those years ago.
Everything she learned, made her feel more and more unwell, but she kept silent.
There were so many lies, and so many layers to what had truly happened during Robert's Rebellion.
"Ned gave me your letter, Lya. He was devastated when he received the news that the ship sank... You left no letter, no clue. We felt so weak and helpless..." He complained.
"We really could not trust people with any letters. The plan was always to leave no clues." She apologetically said. "I am happy you listened to my words and gave up on your foolish admiration for the Night's Watch..."
"You wanted to join the Night's Watch?!" His wife exclaimed.
"He had grown up admiring them," Lyanna informed her.
"It was an option I considered when Father and Brandon were killed in the King's Landing..." he lowered his head in shame. "It's where I would have gone had Ned not handed me your letter."
"I knew it. That was why I wrote the letter to you."
The three of them fell into silence, and then Lyanna suddenly giggled.
"My son seems to have taken a fancy to your daughter, Ben." She said and grinned. "I warn you. If you dare set a betrothal for her, we will steal her away."
Benjen laughed and shook his head.
"Catelyn tried convincing Ned to set a betrothal for Robb and Alysanne, but I refused it. I am not going to force my children into a marriage." He clenched his fist.
"Good." She smiled and glanced at the two of them. "The last I heard, you fought with Ned and left Winterfell with your wife and kids. What happened?"
Rhea tensed up at her words and lowered her head, and Benjen audibly sighed.
"It was over Jon. He's..."
"I know who he is." She nodded her head.
"Catelyn hates the boy to the core of her being, Lya. She can't even look at him, and her hostility towards the innocent child was getting out of hand." His fist tightened. "She fears that he will steal Robb's rights. She fears that Ned will have the boy legitimised. She even accused him of tricking her daughter, Sansa, accusing him of holding lustful intentions towards her and attempting to seduce her. A kid. She accused a kid who was being kind to his sister! She also strictly forbade Sansa from even playing with him."
Benjen's face turned red with anger, and his wife sighed and continued his words.
"Jon was heartbroken. I found him crying in his room, and when I learned what happened, I confronted her... she grew angry and said some things in the heat..." Rhea did not know how to put it, but her words never finished.
"She called you a Bastard and disrespected you, My Lady. Stop being so kind to her." The Stark cut his wife's words, and Rhea sadly lowered her head. "Do you know what she did the next morning?" He looked at his sister.
"What?" Lyanna frowned.
"She went to see Jon in his room. I overheard what she said to the boy. She begged him to stay away from her kids and to take the Black in the future. She told him that it was honour enough for him, and that if he truly cared for his siblings, he would not let his existence threaten their rights..."
Lyanna gasped in horror, and Benjen nodded his head.
"She was manipulating him into believing that he had no right to live. If you had seen how heartbroken he was after I entered the room and she left in panic, you would have taken her head."
"Did you not tell Ned?"
"I did." He sadly lowered her head. "He said nothing to her. He tolerates her way too much. And do you know what he said to me? He said that I was overreacting and that Night's Watch was an honourable place for Jon if that was his desire."
Lyanna looked at him in disbelief.
"Aye. I... struck him in the face and we fought. I said a lot in my anger, but he kept silent. In the end, he asked me to leave Winterfell..." His voice broke. "He did not allow me to take the boy with me. Now the kid is all alone..."
"Ned was not like this." She frowned. "I heard that he even created a Sept inside Winterfell for his dear wife. What kind of magic has she worked on him?"
Benjen shook his head.
"He just never got over the fact that Catelyn loved Brandon. She was never meant to be his wife. He too loved Ashara, and his heart has never felt settled with his wife. He never told us who Jon's mother was. Howland Reed swore to keep silent as well."
"He loved Ashara?" She frowned.
"Yes. Catelyn once confronted him about it. She asked him to tell her who the child's mother was. We don't know where she heard it, but she took Ashara's name. There are rumours that he had gained her favour after they danced together at the Tourney and that he had visited her tent on multiple nights. I had never seen Ned so angry in my life. The next day, everyone in the Castle was strictly forbidden from ever taking the Dayne's name."
"You know that there is no truth to those rumours, right?"
"I don't believe them." He shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "Robert was the one who started the rumour during the tourney. I don't believe a word he says."
"Robert?" Her face was evident disgust for the man, and Rhea lowered her head after she saw it. "What?" She asked her Good Sister, who hesitated.
"There are rumours about you as well, My Lady... They say you and Robert were in love, and..."
"He wishes!" Her face reddened in anger, and she lowered her head.
Benjen, who knew his sister's temper well, distracted her mind.
"I heard that after we left, Ned warned Catelyn that she must stay away from Jon and that she must not harm the boy. He threatened her that he would have their marriage annulled and would send her back to her father if she was ever found harming him."
"Yes, that's more like the Ned I knew," She nodded her head.
"He also promised her that he would never have Jon legitimised. The boy will never bear the Stark name."
Lyanna frowned at those words.
Unlike her little brother, she did not think that this decision was wrong. Then again, she had been influenced by the Valyrians around her a little too much. So, she changed the subject.
"Are you going to live in White Harbour from now on?" She asked.
"Aye," Benjen nodded.