( PART I; the heart's despair ) ⟵ ◊ ⟶ chapter 1: love lost.
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"THE WROTH OF WINTER," Vaella Paethorys could remember her brother Maegon saying years ago, when they'd spent time in the top of the tower of their keep, expressing sweet nothings and talking of their dreams. Maegon had always taken much pride in their house and it's words and was always the first to prove their power and worth. It would be such ambition that would bring him to his demise.
"Do you remember what that means?"
The longer she dwelled on the bitter sweet memory, the more painful it was to recall.
"I suppose I do," she had replied playfully as she looked up at the glowing glass that made up the roof of the tower. They were young then, merely in their early teens yet the love that their father had intended for them to have had long begun to blossom into something deep and true. She wished dearly to return to that day when everything was just as it should be, to the time that Maegon was alive and well.
"It means our house stands unchallenged. For who would challenge us, the Paethorys? We are the dragons of winter, touched by the Shivering Sea in the north."
She could still remember the way he had smiled at her that day so many moons ago, his lilac eyes seemingly looking into her soul the way lovers do. She used to marvel at the thought of him, at how regal and valiant he was to her and how their love would be perfect once they were wed. They were supposed live alongside each other, appreciate life together, fly together. From the young ages of two-and-ten, when their dragons had finally reached appropriate ages to carry riders, Maegon and Vaella could be found in the skies together more often than not. Maegon had been such a talented rider, always sure in his actions, until the fateful accident.
Maegon, with his deadly ambition and strive to honor their house, didn't turn down the opportunity to defend their family from the liberal tongues of lesser lords that slandered their names in envy. A dangerous bet, a mistake, and the deceit of spiteful hatred would take his life in an aerial battle between dragons.
Yet, as Vaella watched his still figure be engulfed in brilliant blue dragon fire, the memories of her brother still swirled in her mind. She could no longer feel joy at the thought of him and their love for one another as she used to. Instead, her sad lilac eyes focused on the stream of roaring flames escaping the jaws of her fathers colossal blue dragon, Gidrad, who was a crossed the courtyard. The beast unleashed its fiery plumes that roared and seared the funeral pyre that had been constructed for Maegon. Those that prepared him were instructed to make his body appear sleeping and peaceful, but Vaella could only imagine the mangled corpse that had plummeted from the heights of the sky and met the earth in the most unholy of ways.
The young woman's eyes followed the stream of blazing flames to the beasts massive head, where she looked with a saddened expression as the intense heat flared against her pale skin. She thought of Maegon's copper dragon, Kevlir, and how the beast would be riderless now. She knew that while they bid him farewell, Kevlir was most likely somewhere off in the clouds mourning his rider.
