As Lady Rhea Celtigar, Heir to Claw Isle's, seventeenth nameday approaches, King Viserys I wanted to ensure his ward would have the celebration she deserved. That meant organizing a great tourney in her honour, inviting Lords and Ladies from all the Great Houses and lots and lots of banquets.
The King, although now sickly and slowly rotting, was once Lady Rhea's father's closest friend, which is why he took her in and raised her as his own when her own father was found dead all but twelve years ago. The Queen dressed her in the finest silks and ensured her chambers were never far from hers, she loved the girl as if she had come from her own womb. Together, they hired the same teachers as their heirs, put them in the same clothes, fed them the same and raised them in the hope they would always treat her as family. The King's heir, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, cared for the girl, in an almost motherly fashion and had chambers installed for her "sister"'s comfort on Dragonstone in what is believed used to be Queen Rhaenys's quarters when she and her brother King Aegon I and his other sister-wife Visenya lived on Dragonstone before the Conquest. Although their age difference was quite impressive, Rhaenyra and Rhea were great friends, confiding in each other, trusting each other with their lives.
Queen Alicent was stood in the Great Hall of the Red Keep, overseeing the preparations for the tourney that was coming in two days when her gaze fell upon Lady Rhea's delighted expression. Her hair was the same as her children's, long silver locks which framed her heart-shapped face and soft jawline flawlessly; she truly could have been one of the Queen's babes. She smiled upon the girl and welcomed her in a warm embrace.
" I do hope my nameday is not causing you too much trouble, your Grace", Lady Rhea smiled sincerely.
" Not at all, sweet girl. 'Tis only fair we give you such a celebration, after all the years you have spent by our sides. You might even find yourself a suitable husband there, with all the Lords who have been invited, you might make a splendid match for yourself, now that you are of age", the Queen answered, squeezing the girl's hand lightly.
The silver-haired girl nodded and looked at her feet, her dress flowing lightly in the warm wind surrounding her. It was indeed time for her to find a husband, a suitable one at that, to finally have a family of her own and leave the Red Keep. She swallowed hard and looked up at the Queen who was smiling at her and cupped her cheek.
" Do not trouble yourself, my sweet child. You are young, still, the King does not wish for his ward to marry and leave the Red Keep yet. Two of his daughters are successfully married, it is my understanding he wishes to keep the third one around a little while longer", the Queen whispered lovingly.
Lady Rhea's face flushed with red and her heart felt full with love at the fact that Queen Alicent had called her the King's daughter. She truly loved the man and could never repay him for her childhood among the Princes and Princess Helaena. She felt like the luckiest orphan in the whole of Westeros, and, to be fair, she most certainly was.
The women's conversation was cut short by servants who came to the Queen with questions regarding the feast soon taking place, so Lady Rhea was dismissed and she was left to wander the halls of this great castle she called home. She decided she would visit her adoptive sister Rhaenyra when she would be settled. Her nameday celebration was made even more special by the fact her adoptive sister was coming back to the Red Keep to celebrate it, as the Princess had not been back for a long period of time since the birth of her third soon with Laenor Velaryon, Joffrey. Things had worsened between her and the Queen when her son, Lucerys, cut Prince Aemond's face and rendered one of his eyes useless, forever scarring the Prince. Since then, Princess Rhaenyra lived on Dragonstone, and it was Lady Rhea's duty to come and see her once every three months, to give news of and to the King who missed his first daughter and heir greatly.
The Princess's quarters were only a short walk from where she was, so she walked with a pep in her step, letting the wind brush her hair as she walked.
A knight was guarding her door, and, when Lady Rhea approached, he lowered his head and let her in. It had been months since she had not seen her closest friend and confidant. The Princess was pregnant again, from her second marriage, with Prince Daemon's child, the King's brother, she had already given birth to three boys, Jace, Luke and Joffrey. Jace and Luke were about Rhea's age, and, had the relationships between Rhaenyra and the Queen not tarnished, they would have kept being raised together, but she instead was made to stay in the Red Keep and keep company to the King's sons and daughter.
Rhaenyra was sitting, her back to the door, watching Jace and Luke play cards before her. Lady Rhea scratched her throat and the Princess turned to face her, a look of pure delight on her face when she realised her sister stood in the room. Rhaenyra tried to stand but Rhea prevented her from it.
"Do not rise for me, please. You must rest", she said softly. "How are you? Tired?"
Rhaenyra sighed and sat back down.
"Tired does not even begin to describe it, my good sister."
Rhea sat close to her and the Princess grabbed her hands to put them on her swollen belly.
" But it is all worth it. Do you feel that?" She asked, referring to the stirring of her unborn son in her womb.
" I do, it's wonderful, still", Rhea exclaimed, enthused at the idea she would have another nephew in mere weeks.
"'Tis a very exciting time for all of us, Rhea. I wish you soon will know it for yourself. But not too soon, I wish to keep you here in the Red Keep with us all for sometime still. You must visit us more on Dragonstone, too."
Rhea smiled and turned her head towards Lucerys who was only three years younger than her, he looked up at her and nodded, and Jace soon did the same.
"How is our favourite aunt doing?" Jace asked in her direction.
She stood up and smoothed her blue dress, then walked over to the boys she called nephews and stared outside the window.
"Happy to see everyone could be here for my nameday celebration. 'Tis something I never would have thought to happen again, and it gladdens me it is for such an occasion."
Rhaenyra smiled a sad smile while stroking her belly. Taking it as her cue to leave, Rhea offered to take the Princess's sons out in the courtyard, to watch the knights train, which they gladly accepted and granted her a thankful nod from Rhaenyra who settled into her bed to sleep as soon as her room was empty.
Outside in the courtyard, the sounds of swords clashing and knights panting filled the space. Jace and Luke appeared truly glad to be able to enjoy such a show again and left the King's ward's side as soon as they stepped out of the castle. Lady Rhea walked alone for a few minutes before she found herself up on the surrounding bulwarks, leaning on the barriers as Prince Aegon trained with his brother Prince Daeron. The sleeves of her dress dangled from her arms as she rested her head on her fist, holding her breath to see which prince would win.
Of course, Aegon won, which granted him cheers from all the onlookers. Daeron looked up at Lady Rhea and winked, confirming her thoughts that he had indeed let his brother win, as he was a sore loser. The onlooking ladies and servants whispered to themselves as the third prince entered the training pit and raised his sword towards his mother's protector, Ser Criston Cole. Lady Rhea rolled her eyes at the display and turned to leave when cheers erupted from below her. Prince Aemond had just pinned Ser Criston to the floor, his sword on his neck. One swift movement and the man would be dead, yet he helped the man up to his feet and laughed with him, thanking him for his help. The three brothers kept training for a little longer while Lady Rhea walkled down the stairs and up to them.
" I never took you for a generous man, Daeron", she said loudly in his direction.
The aforementioned prince smiled at her comment and scooted down to avoid Aegon's sword. They exchanged a few back and forth comments, much to the amusement of the onlookers and, this time, Daeron did not let his older brother win. Prince Aegon's face was contorted in a downward pout and his brothers mocked him playfully.
" Yes, alright, well, if she's that good, why doesn't she train then?" Aegon bursted out angrily, throwing his heavy sword in Lady Celtigar's direction.
Unphased by his outburst, the girl caught it and walked in the training pit, climing over the barricades in an unladylike fashion. Her light blue dress was now full of mud, but she didn't seem to mind. She threw the sword back at Aegon, pressing it against his torso and grabbed a sword of her own, playfully poking it at her adoptive brother. They played around for a few minutes before the King and his Guard walked by the training pit. She swiftly handed her sword back to Aegon and bowed her head to the King.
" I apologize, my King. I only got caught up in the fun and didn't mean any harm-"
King Viserys smiled at her lovingly, raising his hand to silence her.
" It warms my heart to see you all, training in this manner", the King said, patting her arm. "Although, your handmaidens might not be happy to see the state of your dress, sweet child."
Lady Rhea smiled while helping Aegon put her sword away. Prince Aemond stood next to her, his eye patch still in place, even after his intensive fights with his brothers. He looked serious, as he always did, his arms crossed in his back.
" Well, happily for them, Lady Rhea will not be taking part in the tourneys for her nameday," Aemond spoke loudly.
"Sadly for me, I will not, indeed", Rhea confirmed, turning her back to the prince as she walked towards the exit.
Aemond bid goodbye to his father and caught up with Rhea, his hand raising to grab the girl's wrist softly.
"I wish you could, Rhea. Truly. You make for a fine opponent, even if you are a Lady", Aemond said softly, this time only loud enough so that she could hear.
Lady Rhea smiled softly, sadly and looked back at the princes who were still training.
" I wish it too, only, it would not be fair to the other participants, it would not be ladylike to have them all lose to me, on my own nameday", she answered the prince with a smirk.
Aemond walked her back to her chambers, slowly, watching her face as she joked about the tourney in her honour, smiling to himself. His eye wandered to the necklace she wore around her neck almost every day and his smile grew bigger.
"What is it, Aemond?" Rhea asked, turning her head to look into his eye.
He shook his head.
"Nothing, I was thinking of your last nameday."
"Oh, you mean, the one when you gifted me this gorgeous necklace?"
He nodded.
"Mm, and I was trying to think of an even better gift to get you this year."
Lady Rhea's smile grew wide and her eyes sparkled. She put her hand on her favourite necklace, a silver one, with a lovely sapphire held by one crab on each side, her House's sigil, and the stone that made her house wealthy back in Old Valyria. It was her prized possession, and she never took it off.
" I doubt you can achieve that in two days, Aemond. Besides, you sitting next to me at the tourney and gracing me with your company is enough of a gift, I know how you feel about those."
"I won't be able to sit next to you, this year, I'm afraid", Aemond stated, his eye looking far into the distance.
Rhea's stomach turned and she felt some odd feelings well up at the back of her throat, of course, how could she be so dumb? The King surely must have found a suitable match for his son and betrothed him to her, so he will have to sit next to his future wife, this year. What better way than a tourney to announce his second son will soon marry? She didn't understand why the prospect didn't enchant her, but she knew she would miss her dearest friend's company on that day.
"Has the King finally betrothed you to a worthy lady?" She asked and stopped walking.
Aemond was visibly confused.
"What? No."
Rhea looked up at him.
"Oh?"
" I meant to say, you might not be participating in the tourney, but I will. And I intend to win it", the prince stated with obvious pride.
Rhea, for a second, forgot where she was and jumped at the prince's neck, grabbing him and pulling him into a tight hug. For a short moment, the prince stood there, Lady Rhea so close to him he could smell the oil she usually put in her hair, before finally reciprocating the warm embrace and holding her close to him.
"But I thought, "fuck tourneys" and all that?" Lady Rhea asked, stepping away from him, a flush of red all over her face.
Aemond laughed wholeheartedly and resumed walking her to her chambers.