If Lyanna loved Rhaeger - why did she need to be rescued?

[silentwanderer]

What makes you so certain that she didn't? Maybe it was just a monumental bad luck that Brandon's memo got side-tracked? And after Brandon's action and Aerys's over-reaction it didn't matter anymore.

I'm not saying that Lyanna didn't tell her family, I'm saying that love wasn't the reason she ran out with Rhaegar and therefore why word of this so called "romance" never reached to Winterfell, her fiance or Rhaegar closest allies.

It's not just Lyanna's family that was kept in the dark, its also Rhaegar's best friends (Dayne and Connigton), Elia's family and anyone actually close to them. I can't accept that the people actually involved in the story would have even less information than those who indulge in foul gossip.

[The Frosted King]

She wasn't responsible for herself. Women in this setting rarely are.

So even if she wanted to be with Rhaegar, sweating it out in Dorne, her desires honestly don't matter in this scenario.

If they're not rescuing her from the dragons brutality, they're saving her from her own stupidity/ foolishness.

[The Broke Howard Hughes]

Yeah by the time Ned went to get her the war was already over and Rhaegar was already dead. For all we know he just went looking for his little sister, a normal thing to do.

[the trees have eyes]

Yes, I am. It's not that difficult to have 20 trusted men.

To quote LF, "In that case I have a nice mansion in Valyria I would like to sell you"! Look at how closely Ned guards the secret all his life. The more people know the more at risk of becoming known it is. If you buy into the idea that Ned knew Lyanna was pregnant with Rhaegar's child then, given Bob's spectacular callousness over Elia's murdered children that Ned witnessed "I see no children, I see only dragons" [sic], taking his most trusted companions only is smart. Taking 20 or 40 men is no way to keep a secret, taking your six most dependable men is a better bet. As long as you don't expect some serious combat that is....

[the trees have eyes]

I really don't like the headcanon of Lyanna being this independent 21st century woman. Just my opinion

I think she was wild, Ned said she had a touch of wolf blood or whatever, not she was completely wild "screw you all I wanna be free" attitude

I think this wildness in her helped in her decision of running away, but it was not the reason why she did it

Exactly. She is betrothed to Robert and knows exactly what that means. An affair with the Crown Prince shames her family and Robert's and is a terribly reckless way to behave. She is young and, though a modern audience may struggle with this, her male relatives are responsible for her safety and her "honour". Cue Brandon's fury when he leans of her kidnapping by Rhaegar and Ned heading south to retrieve her. Whether she went willingly with Rhaegar, what he said to persuade her or win her over, is still a mystery.

[Pikachu101]

If they're not rescuing her from the dragons brutality, they're saving her from her own stupidity/ foolishness.

:agree:

I think there's more to Lyanna that George hasn't revealed, such as insight to her intelligence and realism. Sure she was right about Robert but at the same time she didn't see what was wrong with going off with Elia's husband.

Brandon knew what she was like, and I'm sure his insight to her personality is what caused him to go crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if he sussed out that Rhaegar took advantage of his sister's naivety and foolishness

[Nami]

:agree:

I think there's more to Lyanna that George hasn't revealed, such as insight to her intelligence and realism. Sure she was right about Robert but at the same time she didn't see what was wrong with going off with Elia's husband.

Brandon knew what she was like, and I'm sure his insight to her personality is what caused him to go crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if he sussed out that Rhaegar took advantage of his sister's naivety and foolishness

She's not that intelligent if she ran away with a married man just to be a "rebel"

[Ned's Epic Beard]

Why do people always say that only Robert thinks that Lyanna was kidnapped. There are multiple instances in the book where characters apart from robert think that she was kidnapped:

• Brandon thought that his sister was kidnapped and went to rescue her
  
• Bran in Got tells the story to osha story about the how lyanna was kidnapped and raped by rheagar . Measter luwin and rickon was there at the time and didn't correct him. Meaning they agreed with him
  
• When Robert thinks about lyanna then Ned says to him "You avenged her at the trident ". Why would he say avenged if he knew she wasn't kidnapped?
  

[Colonel Green]

It's not just Lyanna's family that was kept in the dark, its also Rhaegar's best friends (Dayne and Connigton), Elia's family and anyone actually close to them.

Er, Dayne was in on it. Connington didn't know, nor did Selmy, but Selmy explicitly remarked that Rhaegar tended to confide in a chosen few, Dayne among them. Why would Elia's family know? They were in Dorne, a thousand miles away.

Why do people always say that only Robert thinks that Lyanna was kidnapped.

Yeah, I don't get that either. It's clear that that's what everybody thought at first. Ned, in particular, was in the Vale when it happened, and wouldn't have had any more information than Robert. Ned would only have learned differently at some point around the Tower of Joy incident.

[Pikachu101]

She's not that intelligent if she ran away with a married man just to be a "rebel"

I never said she was intelligent, I just said we don't know what she's like; including her negative traits. All we know is that when Lyanna was 9 she was just like Arya, well 7 years makes a big difference to a woman's personality and maturity.

She could have been selfish, stupid or both; we just don't know. So when it comes to her family's reaction to the kidnapping, we don't actually know if Brandon went beserk because he thought Rhaegar took advantage of his naive sister or because he's pissed at Lyanna for dishonouring the family name.