WHILE VISENYA, Rhaenyra, and Ser Criston walked through the forest, the girls' father was drinking his weight in wine after having listened to Jason Lannister talk for what one would deem as too long, and was now talking to Lord Lyonel Strong.
"We've sent out riders to find Rhaenyra, Your Grace. Visenya and Ser Criston went after her, so the hope is that they are together," Lyonel made his presence known.
Viserys groaned. "The girl is a heedless contrarian. If I instead forbade her to wed a Lannister, she would've run off with Lord Jason out of spite," Lyonel smiled at the troubled father as Viserys let out a small, almost inaudible, chuckle. "Who would know what Visenya would do if she found out about Tyland," he sighed. "A truly great Targaryen King I am. Powerless over mine own daughters of seven-and-ten."
Lord Strong proceeded to talk about the late king's daughters, and how it is tradition for them to drive a father towards madness. Something that Viserys seemed to silently agree with.
"Do you wish to hear my opinion on the matter?" Viserys sighed in exasperation before taking a guess.
"Should I guess? You believe that your son, Ser Harwin 'Breakbones', the strongest knight in the Seven Kingdoms, is the best match for Rhaenyra."
Lyonel softly moved his head up and down, briefly lost in his own thoughts, thinking about how he noticed something different about his eldest.
"You flatter me, Your Grace, but no. Perhaps my son has his eyes already set on someone else." Viserys listened without understanding the amusement in the man's words.
"It would seem to me the best match for Rhaenyra is the son of the Sea Snake, Ser Laenor. Some years ago, I counseled you to take his sister to wife. My reasoning remains the same. Laenor is of pure Valyrian descent. He shares blood with your cousin, the Princess Rhaenys. And he is the heir to the wealthiest house in the realm. The breach between your houses has not narrowed since I last spoke of it. It would do much to assuage Lord Corlys of any slights real... or imagined."
There was a silence.
"We must pray, of course, that Laenor survives the fighting in the Stepstones."
Back in the forest, Visenya had insisted to Ser Criston to let her help in making a fire for the night, and much to the knight's dismay, he couldn't refuse.
"Of course, Princess," he bowed slightly.
"Please, Ser Criston. There's no need for such pleasantries, I think after today we are totally past it. Aren't we?" Visenya raised a brow at him, making the brunette chuckle.
"Of course."
"Hey," Rhaenyra started, catching their attention. "What's that smell?"
Criston sniffed the air and furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, it smells... fishy."
Visenya rolled her eyes, letting out a small huff of annoyance, and raised a hand. "It is me, alright? I was helping Harwin with supper," she ended softly, surprising the two.
"Harwin?" Rhaenyra asked with amusement, failing to hide a laugh that escaped from her lips.
Criston listened, curious about it.
"Come on. Don't tell me you don't call Ser Criston, Criston when it's just the two of you," Visenya pushed Rhaenyra's shoulder playfully and laughed together.
After a few hours, the three of them were staring absentmindedly at the fire while throwing little pebbles at it. Each thought about their different worries, mainly Visenya, as she was there in body but not mind.
Entranced by the different shades of red and yellow, and how they intertwined creating a beautiful dance.
She wanted to touch the fire.
Yet, her body wouldn't move and much less talk. Visenya had so much embedded inside that it was almost painful, and watching the fire made her feel understood. As if she and the element were the same.
Visenya's a Targaryen after all.
"They'll have no choice but to, Princess." She heard Criston say after Rhaenyra had asked him if the realm would ever accept her as their Queen.
The horses grew uncomfortable all of a sudden, catching the attention of their humans. Rhaenyra and Criston looked around them as the latter unsheathed his sword to strike if needed.
Visenya didn't move an inch.
The knight carefully strutted in a direction, certain he would find the source in the deafening silence of the forest when a big boar ran forward and knocked him to the ground.
Rhaenyra kept her alarmed eyes set on the animal and moved to the opposite side of her sister as it turned around in their direction.
And before the boar could be close enough, Visenya moved to shield her little sister, letting the animal set its focus on her and overpower her for a second but not enough to hurt her.
Letting every single thing she lived come crashing right that moment.
Her mother.
The poisoning.
Aemond and Alyssa.
Not finding the culprit.
Daemon's silence.
Her father's negligence.
Not being able to protect Rhaenyra from the world.
"AHHH!" Visenya screamed after she let her hand find its way to one of the two ordinary daggers strapped to her sides, with the roles now reversed, and stabbed the animal repeatedly with no end.
One, two, three... Visenya lost count after the first drop of blood stained her face, slowly coating her whole body as she cried with each stab.
She was so lost in it that she didn't even notice how Rhaenyra had joined her with her other dagger.
"Nyra," Visenya stopped and looked at her sister who didn't answer back, she let her weapon fall to the ground and repeated her name.
"Nyra..."
The platinum-blonde cried, her movements slowing down.
Visenya wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders, forcing her to retreat on her attack. The warmth of her embrace snapped her out of her actions and loosened her grip on the blade.
Rhaenyra cried and let herself melt in her sister's arms, tightening her hands around her in case she would disappear.
Visenya softly caressed her hair, soothing her cries just like their mother used to do when they were little. Her heart slightly broke at her cries.
"I'm here, Sister. I'm here," Visenya firmly pressed her eyes shut with a few tears escaping. "You're not alone. I'm here, I'm here, Nyra."
Rhaenyra clung to Visenya as if she were the last drop of water in an endless desert.
Despite the sadness that swarmed her senses, Rhaenyra felt greatly grateful for having a twin and for it being Visenya.
The morning after the incident, they packed and left the area, they now were on top of a cliff overlooking the Kingswood. Visenya and Rhaenyra are on top of their horses, and Criston stands next to his horse— holding its reins.
Visenya stared out with dried blood on her hair and the sides of her face, letting the soft wind kiss her and Rhaenyra, who was just as bloody if not more than her.
The three of them turned around to the sound of rustling leaves yet again but found a white hart as it slowly approached and eyed them carefully.
A remarkable creature.
Snapping out of her daze, Visenya stopped Criston from unsheathing his sword, he looked up at the dark-haired Targaryen in confusion.
"No," she said softly without taking her eyes off the creature.
The Targaryen twins watched it in amazement as the sun hung low behind the hart, and after a brief second, it ran back into the woods.
This is the good omen we needed...
Visenya's gaze slowly lowered to the ground with a small smile, turning to see her sister, the smile fell, knowing how Rhaenyra dreaded this moment.
The one where they would have to come back to camp.
"Come on, Sister. We got a grand entrance to make," Visenya pulled on the reins and Rhaenyra followed behind her, Criston short on their tail.
Back at camp, the people seemed to be eating appetizers and drinking wine with the comfort of a big bonfire built to keep everyone warm despite their freakishly flamboyant clothes.
The twins' horses had been dragging the boar's corpse on a rack made of branches and caught the attention of their peers the moment they stepped into camp, making nobles, servants, lords, and ladies stop and look at them.
At the main table, Viserys, Otto, Lyonel, Harrold, Renold (Lyonel's second child), and Alicent with Aegon in her arms, stared at them as they got off their horses.
Harwin, who had been ignoring Larys after he couldn't stop talking nonsense, moved his eyes to stare at the commotion, and the moment he did, Harwin knew something that he couldn't admit to himself.
At least not yet.
Once the two dismounted their horses, Visenya and Rhaenyra marched past them with no emotion on their faces. Yet, Visenya remained with a regal composure that amazed many nobles.
Who would've thought... Both being covered in blood, Visenya caught the most attention. Positive and negative.
Harwin watched the girl he had gotten to know and appreciate these past moons, and smiled when their eyes met. Stirring their bodies with feelings that Visenya and Harwin had never felt, nor were they sure what they were about.
He sent her a playful nod with a smug smile on his lips, causing Visenya's stoic expression to break into a small grin.
Cocky man, Visenya laughed in her head.
As they walked together, Jason Lannister looked at Rhaenyra, whom he was sure to wed, in horror at the blood on her and grimaced.
Behind them was Criston with his helmet on as the three of them passed by the royal table. Renold's curious eyes set on the head full of silver hair with blood on the sides.
"Hell, that feels good..." Visenya moaned the moment her body got inside the tub full of boiling water.
The moment Visenya's lady-in-waiting, Meissandre, saw her all dirty and covered in blood, she prepared the bath immediately and wouldn't let her lady out of her sight in case she ran off, something Visenya wasn't going to do.
Visenya felt so grateful for her care that her mind almost went to think of her mother.
She let her muscles relax for a few minutes before she began to scrub off her body very thoroughly, and when she finished, Visenya decided to stay for a while inside the warm water.
"V– My lady?" Harwin corrected himself as Visenya opened her eyes.
"In here," Visenya called out without thinking it over. Harwin walked toward the voice until he reached a big red curtain-like door that didn't leave much for privacy, and when he saw light coming from candles Visenya called out to him.
"Harwin?"
He stepped inside, looking behind him, making sure it wouldn't open. When Harwin turned around and saw Visenya, his eyes grew twice in size and he started to mumble under his breath.
"Anything I can help with, Harwin?"
A question with many answers, and as noble as he is, Harwin composed himself before any unholy thought about Visenya could enter his mind.
Yes, she is intelligent, beautiful, and skilled at everything she does, but Harwin couldn't think about her that way. He respects her too much to do that.
Harwin looked away from her and clasped his hands in front of him. "I wondered if you were alright, Princess."
Mhmm...
"Yes, I am. You could say it was a bonding experience," Visenya smiled softly but her eyes held some pain. She moved her hand in the water, creating small waves. "Can you hand me the towel? The water's run cold."
"Of course," Harwin stepped closer to where he saw what he assumed to be the towel Visenya referred to. He unfolded it to make sure it was big enough to cover her at the same time he heard something behind him.
He turned around to see a very naked Visenya stepping out of the tub.
His eyes twitched with the intention of looking her over, but it never happened. Instead, Harwin offered her the towel while maintaining eye contact.
"Thank you, Ser," Visenya spoke softly as she wrapped it around herself and marched to the next tent, where her chambers would be.
Leaving a very 'stirred' knight behind.