The Realm's Delight

Chapter 8

I have made a slight change in regard to this chapter so the story flows better later on. Instead of Cregan, the Lord of Winterfell would be his father Rickon when he comes to swear fealty to Rhaenyra.

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Did I tell my father the truth when we talked about how I knew about the Prophecy? In a manner of speaking, I did.

I told him the prophecy and everything I knew relating to it. And when I was asked how exactly I knew, my answer was a simple lie. I told him I had dreamt it all.

But the simple lie had a profound effect on Father. He had his own dreams, smaller things that concerned only him and the people he was connected to. Like the son, he had dreamt off. But because of it, he was always fascinated by Targaryen dreamers. To know that his daughter was one was a revelation he did not expect but welcomes with open arms.

The days leading to my coronation as the new Heir to the Iron Throne had been filled with my father grilling me about every aspect of my dream, what I say, what I learned from it, and how they made me feel. He poked to know if I had other dreams, ones not relating to the great prophecy. I had many 'dreams', but he only knew about the Prophecy one. Well, that's not entirely true. I also gave him a snippet of the dance. I told him that I had seen our dragons die, and with them the end of our house. I had never seen Father so worried or scared after that revelation.

Outwardly Father had not changed when he talked to people of the Council or anyone else. But internally I could tell that he was already thinking of a way to save our House, to save the entire realm. We would need our Dragons when the Long Night came, and for that to happen the death of the Dragons needed to be prevented.

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"Have you seen the Princess?"

"No, my Lady."

"Damnit where are you Rhaenyra."

A clearly worried Alicent Hightower rushed across the red keep to find her best friend. It was the day of the ceremony finally. The Lords from all corners of Westeros had been gathering for the past few days, Lords that to Alicent did not seem too excited at the prospect of a female heir.

Alicent did not blame them, since this was not how the Westerosi tradition worked. But there was no other choice in the matter. It was either Daemon or Rhaenyra, and the realm seemed to be okay with a female heir for now. The King was still viable, they would expect the man to take another wife and pray for a son from that marriage.

Running around was a difficult task, especially in a dress that made moving so difficult. She had gotten ready before being asked to help Rhaenyra get prepared by her father. But that seemed like a lost cause since she couldn't even find the girl.

The moment she stepped out onto the yard of the Red Keep, Vhagar flew overhead, creating a strong kickback that made a mess of the arrangements that had been done, which also answered where Rhaenyra was. She should have known the girl would take to the skies on such a day.

There wasn't much she could do when the Princess was riding her dragon, not like she had a dragon of her own to give her chase. So she waited in the yard, watching as the giant beast flew so freely in the skies. She remembered her time on the dragon's back like it was yesterday. She was scared for her life. Her head spun and she would have fallen off the beast had Rhaenyra not been there.

The memory made her smile, warmth blossoming in her chest. It was one of her fondest memories with the girl who was so much more than just a friend to her. She wasn't sure what the relationship between them was like, but it was definitely something more than just friendship.