A Prince of House Targaryen

A Cry of Loss

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Rhaella Targaryen

The king was a stubborn man.

"I am never going to be queen, but he will not let me marry for love." Rhaella had maintained her tenuous thread of dignity throughout the duration of court. Smiling graciously when she was called to stand before her grandfather on the iron throne; Princess Rhaella was the very epitome of courtesy when he explained his plans to marry her to her brother, Prince Aerys. She even thanked Jenny of Oldstones for bringing forth the woods witch who hailed the prophecy of her child being the Prince that was Promised. "It's all lies. Azor Ahai is nothing but a fable from some old book of Asshai. My son will not be the Son of Fire reborn."

Joanna Lannister, one of the princess's ladies-in-waiting, brushed the tangles from Rhaella's hair and smiled into the frosted mirror at the reflection of the Targaryen beauty. "I believe in the stories of Azor Ahai." The fair-haired lioness carefully placed the thick-bristled brush on the table and sat beside Rhaella. The two had become fast friends since Joanna had come to King's Landing, and the princess trusted her lady-in-waiting utterly.

"I will have to tell him, won't I?" There was an insufferable sadness lingering in Rhaella's voice, as though she felt the weight of her royal status a sudden and overwhelming burden upon her shoulders. She looked tired and withdrawn from all hope of finding a solution. The night had arrived, and it was this time when Rhaella was at her least composed. Only Joanna ever saw her like this; forlorn and lost. Elsewise she remained the picture of strength and serenity.

"Yes, my lady. Ser Bonifer deserves to know you are no longer a free woman."

Rhaella snorted. "I have never been a free woman, Joanna." Despite not being in line for the iron throne, Rhaella was closely watched and guarded by her grandfather Aegon V and his men. In part, she felt that ser Bonifer was to blame. If he hadn't named her the Queen of love and Beauty at the tourney of the Hand, she would not have been spotlighted by her grandsire's spies. But the rest was her own doing; foolishly using the King's Gate to come and go from the city. Of course it was the most heavily guarded by the City Watch, but Princess Rhaella had never had to think much of soldiers and spies.

Joanna rose and took a candlestick in its little brass holder, slipping her finger through the little hoop with which to hold it safely off the mantle of the princess's great hearth. The fire within crackled gently; a soothing sound that oft helped the princess ease into a dreamless sleep. There was something about fire that always calmed Rhaella; she had always assumed it was her Targaryen blood. In fact, at that very moment one of her cousins was making arrangements to leave for Summerhall; one of her favourite castles that her family owned, with plans to attempt to hatch a dragon egg he had been given as a child. Rhaella found the whole idea fascinating, and begged her father if she could go. He granted her permission to do so, but now Aegon had seen an end to those plans. Rhaella knew in her heart she would never forgive him if her cousin was successful and she missed the first dragon in thousands of years being born into the world once more. Never.

"Might I give you some council, Joanna?" Rhaella turned on her little wooden stool to face the lioness and smiled sincerely. Joanna nodded and lifted the candle closer to her face. "If you are arranged to marry a man you do not wish to—..." The princess fell silent. Joanna's eyes were glued to the rushes lining the stone floor of Rhaella's room, an unusual expression sweeping across her face. "What is it?"

Lady Joanna looked up and regarded the princess a moment. "I am returning to Lannisport after you are married, my lady. I am to marry myself."

"Who? Who will you marry?" Rhaella was concerned that Joanna too had been forced to marry someone she did not love, or even care for at all in fact. But the way Joanna smiled suddenly, and her cheeks turned a rosy colour that only accentuated her Lannister beauty led Rhaella to believe otherwise.