Her lessons were cancelled, and she sat across from her father at their dining table, both sitting in silence for what felt like hours.
Neither had spoken since her slip up.
"Father, I-"
Harwin held his hand up. "I do not want you around Aemond any longer."
"It was not him, Father, Aemond and I do not talk about that. I have known, Father. For quite some time now, actually."
Harwin pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Kris started feeling her heart race, her breath shortening. "Papa, please do not be angry with me." Her voice quivered.
Harwin's eyes flew open in an instant. "No, sweet girl, I am not angry with you. I should have known, truly. You are smart, and you have eyes."
"And I do not think of you differently."
"I am glad," He sighed. "But Kris, Jacaerys and Lucerys do not know. Despite their hair, they still believe they are Laenor's sons. Do not think badly of Rhaenyra, this was not her first option."
"Of course not." Kris shook her head, wanting to change the subject. "Can I take sword lessons from you, Papa?"
"I beg your pardon?" He suddenly laughed.
She frowned. "Don't laugh at me."
"No, sweet one, I am not laughing at your expense. I am laughing at the turn of the conversation, and slightly because you never fail to surprise me. If you want to learn to defend yourself, I think that is a splendid idea."
One week later, Harwin led her down to the training yard just as the sun began to set. He had explained to her it was considered improper for a woman to train, so they had to find a time when no one would spy them.
She pointed to her father's sword. "Can I use it?"
"No, not in a thousand years. The damn thing weighs more than you. Pick up a wooden sparring sword, we start with the basics. I will go easy on you."
Kristyne frowned at him. "Do not go easy on me just because I am a girl. Teach me as you teach Jacaerys and Lucerys."
Harwin held his hands behind his back. "You are asking me to be rough, Kristyne. You are my daughter, there is a difference."
Kristyne rose a brow with a smirk. "Is there, though?"
The smugness of her implication made him grin, but he shrugged after. "Fine. You are nine, old enough to make this decision. Sparring sword up and ready."
Kris held it up best she could, getting a feel for the hilt and weight. It took her moment to adjust, a moment she apparently did not have.
Harwin walked behind her and used his wooden training sword to whack her elbows. "Elbows in, Kristyne."
"Ow, Father!" She frowned.
"You asked me to teach you the way I teach my students."
Kris rose her chin to look at him, nodding once. "Fine."
Next, he hit her ankles. "Spread your feet a bit more for good balance. Hitting the wrong part is the best way for your brain to learn what to focus on. Now you know how much the elbows hurt, and that was not even a sharp blade. Pain can help your brain correlate which parts need to be corrected. I would never permanently hurt you, but training comes with bruises. Pain can be the best teacher."
Kristyne rose the sword and lunged to swing at him but he easily blocked and walked past her, hitting her spine. "Do not lunge, let the weapon be your extension. We must work on the basics before you try fighting. You must crawl before you can walk."
One week after that, Rhaenyra noticed a light bruise on her arm. "Dear heavens, what is that?"
Kris looked up from her book with a wide smile. "Papa is training me!"
Rhaenyra looked at Harwin with a scowl. "Harwin, you are bruising the girl."
"And yet I have never seen her more eager than when she waits to train," Harwin chuckled from the chaise, helping Luke with his reading.
"Girls cannot fight!" Jace frowned.
"Yes we can!" Kris shouted, tackling him to the ground.
"Such strong arms already, we must call you Junior Breakbones," Rhaenyra smiled. "Jacaerys, apologize so that you may stop rolling around like animals."
"Sorry ..." Jace said and they both sat up. "NOT!" He stuck his tongue out. They both got up and she chased him around the room.
"I am raising animals," Rhaenyra shook her head and looked at Harwin. "The day I agreed to help raise your daughter, I agreed to add to my pack of heathens."
"What a handsome bunch of heathens," Harwin grinned, tickling Lucerys' side.
Kris chased Jace until they rounded the footable and she tried lunging across to catch him. In hindsight, trying to jump over a glass table was not a good idea. And Kris learned that, when she fell right through the glass.
"So, what lesson did we learn today?" Harwin asked with a sigh while Maester Gerardys got a few stitches in.
"It is not as if it hurts," she winced as the maester sewed into her skin.
"You do not have to be so tough, Kristyne, it is okay to feel pain and fear."
"You are tough, Father, and I want to be just like you."
Harwin tried to hide the way his heart swelled at her words, but it was impossible and he settled for a smile. "I do not know what to do with you at time," He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "For being so tough. Would you like me to have some lemoncake waiting for you?"
"No, I despise that stuff," She shook her head. "Pudding?"
"What kind?"
"Plum, the best kind."
"Then plum you shall have, Lady Strong," Harwin ruffled up her hair.
"Lady Morning!" She laughed at him.
The glass was deep on her upper arm and shoulder, and the stitches left for a gnarly scar. Thankfully, her dress sleeves were long enough to hide it. But it motivated Kristyne.
Pain is the best teacher.
She was dedicated, training with Harwin every evening, learning everything he had to offer. But his physical training also came with deeper lessons.
"Always be the smartest in the room, but never let them know just how smart you are. Let them underestimate you until you have a chance to gain the upper hand. If you present your knowledge too soon, you shall be seen as a threat. You are a woman, Kristyne, you can not keep pretending you have the same rights as a man, you will get into trouble."
"But it is not fair!" She groaned, pushing herself up from the ground.
"I know, Kris, I am not saying I agree. But I do not want you to be under anyone's suspicion. You have to be able to conceal your strengths and know when to use them instead of tackling someone into a glass table just because they insulted you."
"That was months ago, Father."
"And yet you always chase Jace when he insults you. Never show your weaknesses. People will notice and they will use them against you, they will use them to manipulate you."
"No one can manipulate me, I will have you forever."
Harwin paused his lesson and knelt before his daughter. "Kristyne, I shall die one day. And I know it will hurt, and I know that for a time, you will not be alright. But you cannot let anyone hurt you with your own pain. What do I always tell you about your mother?"
"That the Stranger never truly takes anyone away and that she is always with me."
Harwin nodded. "Correct. Speaking of, I have a gift for you. I know your nameday is not until next week, but I want you to know how proud I am of you."
Harwin pulled a small cloth drawstring pouch out of his pocket, handing it to her. She emptied the contents onto her hand and a necklace fell out. The chain was a beautiful white gold gold and the pendant was three gems in the color of their house: red, green and blue.
Kristyne teared up at the beauty of the necklace. They were decent sized gems, big enough to cost more than anything they owned. On the back the pendent was a small inscription.
Always with you. H & A.
"Your mother and I loved you immensely before you were even born, Kristyne. You are my most prized accomplishment. I know I have made mistakes, made decisions that could jeopardize you, but nothing is as true as how much I love you."
"More than the boys?" She whispered.
Harwin nodded. "I do love them, but you are my priority. You always will be. My duty to you and your mother is the air I breathe."
She threw her arms around him and sniffled. "Please stop speaking of dying, I cannot bare to think of it."
Harwin held her until he decided they were done for the day, and put the necklace on for her to wear.
All the while, Aemond was quietly watching from a window. He could not hear their words, none of the implications, but he could see the affection.
He was jealous.
He was a prince, and yet a lady of no royalty was richer than he in something far better than money. He would trade all of his riches to get that sort of affection from either of his parents, yet all he got was a loveless father and a mother that channeled any sort of affection into criticism and reprimands.
So the next day, while he waited for her in the tunnel, he rolled his eyes at the necklace she proudly wore. "You did not tell me you had been training with your father."
Kristyne frowned at him. "Because that would be ridiculous and -"
"Oh, stop it. I saw you with my own eyes, Kristyne. I do not see why you need to lie."
"And I do not see why you cant ever be in the same mood two days in a row. Every day is different with you, Aemond. When you are in a poor mood, you release your frustrations on me and I hate it."
"And yet you still come back! Maybe you should spend more time with your brothers!"
Kristyne's eyes widened with rage and her nose flared. "I told you to never bring that up and you agreed!"
"You do know!" Aemond accused.
"You speak treason, Aemond. You treat me poorly because you know I will come back because I do not have other friends, but neither do you! Your own brother bullies you, and I am the only one you can escape to. So have a good day and if you do not change your attitude by tomorrow, consider me not your friend - whether you admit it or not."
Kristyne stormed off, electing to spend the remainder of the day with Rhaenyra. "You seem upset, darling," Rhaenyra spoke softly, placing a gentle hand over hers.
She wanted to tell Rhaenyra that she knew, that she knew her sons were her own brothers, but Kristyne could not find the words. So she focused on her book in front of her and hummed to herself.
"Did your father tell you I am pregnant again?" Rhaenyra asked.
Kris froze and slowly took a deep breath. Things started to make sense, why her father had mentioned he put them in jeopardy. She wanted to be mad at their blatant stupidity, but how could she?
When Harwin looked at Rhaenyra, Kris knew what love looked like and it made her believe in it. It also helped that she got along with Luke and Jace.
The next morning, Kristyne returned to the tunnel and was surprised to see Aemond there with a book in his hand.
"Did you know that Orys Baratheon was rumored to be Aegon the Conqueror's half brother? It was never confirmed but heavily suspected, but blood or not, they had such a close bond."
They looked at each other a few moments without speaking, and Kris realized this was his version of an apology.
"No, I did not. What a shame that must have been, to know and love someone as your brother and not be able to acknowledge it."