It was strange returning to King's Landing. Taelerys didn't come back as the daughter of the king, now she came back to her home as a political hostage and a ward. The Red Keep opened the bronze doors for Taly and Lord Eddard Stark, who was appointed the new Hand of the King. She was relieved to finally be inside the closed gates. She decided to wear a hooded cloak when riding through my former home. Taelerys didn't want people to recognize who I was by my white hair. She wasn't really supposed to be here after the incident with Joffrey, but Ned secretly smuggled her in like a pack of jewels. Taelerys deserved to reclaim her family's remaining possessions. They had just returned from Aegon's Vault.
Taelerys groaned aloud from riding all day. "Finally, we'll be able to have a long hot soak, a big roast, and a featherbed to sleep in tonight." Taelerys was trying to make a conversation. Ned smiled with amusement. "We may not have had a long soak, a big roast, or a featherbed last night, but we did have a Valyrian steel stronghold and a warm fire to put us to sleep." he stated.
"I don't know if it was worth the Dark Fay watching us sleep," she frowned. "That was fucking scary."
Taelerys noticed her lord having a hard time retaining that smile. They sure had one hell of a wake up this morning. They had built a small fire and slept on the steel floor of the mountain vault that night. When they woke up, there were five obsidian suits of armor standing in a circle around them. The helmets were pointed towards the ground, directly at us. As if they were watching us sleep. Taelerys had screamed and she wasn't one to easily frighten. If the Dark Fay really were on her side, they sure had a creepy way of showing it.
"Agreed, but you might not want to swear while you're living here," Ned suggested. "We're in King's Landing and Robert does not know it yet. He won't have a choice as you are already here."
"And you're the only one who doesn't give a shit about what he says," Taelerys add.
Ned nodded in agreement. "Exactly."
A steward approached as they dismounted. They hadn't arrived in the castle for one minute and already Ned was needed. There was a meeting with the council taking place at the moment. The steward offered to cancel for him, but Ned declined, not wanting to offend the council before even meeting them.
"Taly, could you take the horses to the stables?" Ned asked, handing me the reins. He ripped off his riding gloves and tucked them into his belt. "Yes, my lord." Taelerys answered, bowing her head in respect. We were in King's Landing after all. Ned smile and bowed his head back.
"I will see you and the girls at dinner tonight," Ned told me. "And be sure to hide the eggs and scrolls somewhere safe."
Ned walked away with the steward. Taelerys noticed that the steward looked a little confused by what Ned had said and meant. Taly, however, knew exactly what Lord Stark meant. She had to hide the two dragon eggs that she had smuggled into the city. Taelerys peeked into my saddlebag to glance at the eggs again. She was relieved that they were still there and safe.
What Lord Stark didn't know was that in her other saddlebag, Taly secretly brought a bottle of wildfire. After hiding my dragon eggs and wildfire under the bed she was given in her new room, Taelerys returned to the stables to clean up Flame and Snowfire. She sat on a stool to picking out the tiny rocks wedged in Flame's hooves. Taelerys was wearing a tattered light green shirt and brown pants with worn leather shoes. Her long, white hair in a messy ponytail. After picking out the last rock, she released Flame's tensed hoof.
There was a knock on the stable door. Taelerys looked up to see a plump and completely bald man standing before her. He wore the finest silks of all colors that she hadn't seen in a long time, they had very long sleeves, which made it easy for the man to hide his hands. "Good day to you." she greeted him politely.
"And good day to you, Taelerys Targaryen." the man smiled back.
Taelerys was a little unsettled by him saying that. Then again, this man was very unsettling just by his appearance. Taelerys stood up from her stool, wiping her hands on a rag. "You're not supposed to know I'm here." Taelerys said.
"Well, what people aren't supposed to know is what I live to know," The man replied. "Wearing a cloak doesn't hide your heritage. I don't think the king even knows you are here."
She didn't say anything. Taelerys didn't know what to say. Her cover had already been blown. But, this man clearly wanted something. When Taelerys didn't say anything, the man spoke instead. "Forgive me for the intrusion, my name is Varys."
"And what can I do for you, Master of Whisperers?"
Varys casually strolled around Flame. "I was curious about you. It's been seventeen years since a Targaryen has been in the capitol. I just wanted to come here and see you with my own two eyes." Varys confessed, patting Flame on the side once.
"A spider doesn't have two eyes, and you only have your two ears." Taelerys reminded him.
"Ears that stretch across each corner of the world," Varys added. "My ears have told me a great deal of many things about you and Lord Stark, as well as your brother and sister across the Narrow Sea."
A lump formed in her throat when he said that. Taelerys sincerely hoped it wasn't bad whatever it was about Viserys and Daenerys. That made Taelerys feel uneasy and vulnerable. Varys probably knew me better than I knew myself.
"Like what?" I nearly snapped, sounding slightly sharp. Her arms were crossed impatiently. Varys gave Taly a friendly smile. Though it only served to creep her out further. Like he knew something that I didn't, which he probably did. "How you used to climb through the inner walls of the castle—" Varys began. He knew about that? "—How you broke your ankle when you were fourteen years old by tree climbing—" Theon had shoved me out of the tree. "—How you and Arya are close as friends could be—" Anyone could see that. That one made her scoff. Then, Varys paused for a moment. "How you went hunting with Lord Stark on Mount Balerion." he finished.
She felt my skin begin to grow more hot. The heat was burning the back of herneck and face. Lord Stark did tell the Usurper that he was going hunting with her. He didn't specify where though. Taelerys wondered, did Varys really know what we were doing? Did Varys know that we unlocked Aegon's Vault? Taelerys answered her own question. Yes, he did. Varys would know that. This man was no fool.
Taelerys snickered once, trying to play it off. "Yes, I wanted to go hunting with my lord, I'm not your typical lady."
Varys nodded a couple of times, taking the information in. "My little birds say you nor Lord Stark returned with any skins or pelts."
Damn, this man was observant. He didn't miss a minor detail. "Bad luck," she insisted, picking up a rough brush to get the dirt off of Flame. "Don't you have anything else better to do than spying on people's day-to-day activities?"
"Secrets are worth more than silver or sapphires," Varys told me, bowing before her as if she were queen. "Until we meet again, Lady Taelerys. Your being here is secret with me, I assure you."
That didn't exactly reassure Taelerys though. Meeting Varys left a unsavory taste in her mouth. She felt like Varys could be her best friend, but at the same time, her worst enemy. Taelerys was going to have to be even more careful with my secrets. His little birds were everywhere. She could escape the gold cloaks, but not the birds.
Things had not gotten better within the Stark household. Sansa blamed Arya for Lady's death and told her that it should have been Nymeria who died. And it was Ned who had to tell Arya that Mycah was dead. Arya was completely lost in rage and sorrow for what happened to her best friend. Throughout the night Taelerys heard Sansa crying in her sleep through the wall whileArya brooded silently throughout the next couple of days. She wouldn't speak to anyone. Taelerys gave Arya her space to mourn for her dead friend.
While setting up her room, she noticed that Mycah's chest of gold was hidden in one of her crates of clothing. Taelerys set down what she was holding to fish it out. She sighed once remembering what Mycah had told her. That poor kid. His poor parents. That was when Taly realized it, they wouldn't be poor. Not after she gave them what Mycah had intended to give them. She picked up the small chest and searched throughout the household for Mycah's parents. They had been given a leave of absence for the first week they would work at King's Landing. Taelerys thought that was ridiculous.
Their son was gone forever.
She knocked on the servants quarters, one of the maids answered. "I would like to speak with Mycah's parents," Taelerys informed her. "Tell them it's a friend of their son's."
"Jorge and Marieh?"
"Yes." she answered. Taelerys didn't even know the names of Mycah's parents.
The maid nodded once before shutting the door. Taelerys waited patiently at the door for a few moments. The door slowly opened. A woman with the same red hair that Mycah appeared. There were dark circles under her reddened eyes. The death of her son had no doubt taken a toll on her. Beside her was a man, and Taelerys could tell that Mycah was definitely his son. They had the same brown eyes and nose.
"What do you want?" Marieh snapped at her, taking Taelerys aback for a moment. She gulped before speaking. "My name is Taelerys, I was a friend of Mycah." I stated, unsure of how to go about this. Marieh had interrupted her before she could continue. "I know," Marieh answered coldly. "Now what do you want? Wasn't our only child's death enough for you?"
"No, ma'm, I am truly sorry for the death of your son. I tried to save him from Joffrey and failed," Taelerys explained all at once, holding the small chest out to them. "We found a small box of treasure while on Mount Balerion, Mycah wanted to give it to you but was afraid you'd of thought he'd stolen it. I think it is only right that you have it."
"We don't want it," Jorge sniped. "Just get out."
Taelerys put the small chest into his arms. "Take it, Mycah would want you to have it," she gently tried to reassure them. That was when Marieh's eyes became filled with rage. She shoved the small chest back to Taelerys, almost causing her to drop it. "I don't want to make money off of my son's death, who do you take me for? A Lannister?" Marieh yelled at her, a few stray tears stemming down her face. "Now, get the fuck out!"
The door was slammed in her face along with a gust of wind. Behind the door, Taelerys could hear Marieh profusely crying with her husband Jorge trying to comfort her. Taelerys was almost in tears over this. Didn't they know that she tried so hard to save their son? She wondered if they blamed her for their son's death. That put a grave thought into her mind. Maybe Arya blamed her too. Taelerys walked away with the small chest of Aegon's treasure in her arms. She walked, walked, walked, and walked until it seemed like Taelerys was on the edge of the world. Her mind was in a total daze. It was as blank as a sheet of paper. Death, death, death, that is all that surrounds me. People dying.
She couldn't blame those parents for their adverse reaction. They were confused and devastated by their son's pointless death. Taelerys remembered being in a blind rage too when her family was murdered. It wasn't until Ned showed her kindness and when Jon was born that she softened up a bit. Not everyone in the world was as cruel as the Lannisters or Baratheons.
Taelerys suddenly realized that she was no longer in the Red Keep. She was in Flea Bottom, and getting the stares from all the peasants. There were people covered with dirt and flies, dressed in rags, and some of them, wearing absolutely nothing. Children on the street with nothing to eat. All lined up against the walls with bowls, begging for anything. Taelerys glanced at the treasure Mycah had gotten. Mycah and his family were one of these people. The poor, helpless, and defenseless. If Mycah's parents didn't want the gold, she knew that these poverty-stricken people would.
Mycah would like that.
Taelerys walked down the muddy and shit covered streets of Flea Bottom. She began taking handfuls of the treasure and tossing it at every person she saw. An elderly man whose ribs were showing and was wearing nothing but a lion-cloth, a woman with five children sitting on a blanket, two young boys leaning against the wall, and many more faces. Their faces all looked the same. Broken on the inside and out. Fixed once they saw this silver haired stranger giving them gold. Taelerys noticed that people began to follow and gather around her as I handed out gold. Some of the children approached Taelerys and asked for more gold. She gave them a couple gold Dragons. They ran back to their mothers the happiest she had ever seen them. That immediately began to lift Taelerys's spirits. The crowd began to grow thicker around her until she could hardily move. It wasn't just the gold they were eager for, it was this king silver-haired stranger before them. Taelerys could hear the murmurs and announcements being passed on throughout the crowd.
"Is that Taelerys Targaryen?" A woman asked aloud.
A middle-aged man answered. "The daughter of the Mad King?"
"Must be mad if she's giving out gold."
"She would make a better queen than the Drunk King."
"Her beauty is matched by her kindness."
"A true dragon."
The crowd began chanting for her, shouting and repeating her name 'Taelerys' aloud. She soon held an empty chest in her arms. Taelerys dropped it to the ground and somebody quickly claimed it. Even the chest held value, but not as much as the owner did. Taelerys felt the hands of these strangers touching her back, shoulders, legs, and grasping at her silvery hair. None of it was malicious or with sexual intent. They were merely reaching out for her. These commoners wanted to know who she was. They only want someone to walk among them, treated as equals. That was when Taelerys knew they were one in the same. Because she was always an outcast.
"I heard about your little adventure down in Flea Bottom, great job on trying to remain hidden," Ned said with displeasure at the dinner table, eating a piece of cooked pig. Taelerys shrugged once, taking a drink of wine. Now, she was cleaned up and wearing a bland blue dress. Her damp hair in a long silver braid. It took till the end of time to escape those people from Flea Bottom. The guards at the gates were shocked by Taelerys's appearance. The Targaryen girl wasn't supposed to be here. Taelerys knew that Lord Stark was going to get it from the Usurper.
"Who would want to go to that dirty little town?" Sansa remarked at her.
"Your welcome, my lord. You always taught me to be kind and compassionate to the poor and the week. Anyway, I went to visited Mycah's parents," Taelerys explained herself, ignoring what Sansa's snide little comment. "His parents didn't want the gold Mycah found, so I gave it to the people of Flea Bottom."
Taelerys looked over to Arya, who had stopped eating her lettuce and baked potato. A single tear rolled off her cheek and onto her dinner plate. Without a word, Arya got up and rushed to her room. Septa Mordane hollered after her, "Arya, you get back here and clean up that plate at once!"
"You clean it up!" Arya yelled back. There was a loud slamming of a door. The chair skidded loudly against the wooden floor as Septa Mordane stood up to go scold Arya. Ned suddenly lifted up a hand, motioning her to stop. "I'll talk with her, Septa," he assured her. "Arya is still upset over Mycah, give her some time."
Septa Mordane nodded in compliance. "I understand, m'lord."
Ned tossed his napkin and got up to go speak to his daughter in her chambers. Taelerys was left at the table with Sansa and Septa Mordane. Now, there was no conversation at the table. Of course, until Sansa spoke up. "Why would you visit that God forsaken place?" sneered Sansa with a glare. "Did you grow up in a barn? You're a lady, not a peasant."
Her blood began to boil as Sansa antagonized her. Taelerys bit into a piece of tomato. "That's the type of ignorant thinking that's gonna leave you without a friend." she smiled, showcausing the chewed up tomato between her teeth. Sansa's eyes widened with disgust. "You think I want a friend from Flea Bottom?" she scoffed.
For a second, Taelerys thought she was talking to the female Joffrey. Perhaps she had spent too much time with that blond cunt and his bitch of a mother for her own good. Taelerys gave a mere shrug. "I'd rather be friends with a peasant from Flea Bottom than that little blond idiot prince you're so in love with, the same prince who gave me these!" Taly then snarled, pulling back her sleeve and bandages to showcase the cuts. They had started healing, but the gashes were still bright red and scabbed.
"You were antagonizing him!" Sansa said in a loud voice.
"Oh please! That is a load of horseshit and I know that even you aren't stupid enough to believe it," Taelerys growled in an accusatory voice. "Arya is your sister and I might as well be your sister, having grown up with you all these years. And despite that, you defended him instead of us. Even though he had no business poking Mycah with a real fuckin' sword. You're the reason that Lady and Mycah are dead!" Her voice was absolutely dripping with venom.
"Taelerys Targaryen!" Septa Mordane scolded loudly. Sansa immediately burst into tears and ran up to her own room, her hands covering her face the entire time. Taelerys raised her eyes once before turning back to her food as if nothing had occurred. Septa Mordane was glaring at her the entire time. She nearly shoved back her food before throwing her napkin on the plate. "Unbelievable, you are twenty-two years old and are acting like a child! You should be setting and example for Sansa and Arya!" she nearly exclaimed. "You are worse than Arya!"
Taelerys was in no mood for a lecture. Her stinging eyes looked up to the septa with distaste. She could feel her eyes begin to water, Taelerys held back those tears as best as she could. "Ever since I was eight-years old I've told to act like an adult, never allowed to be a child. So give me a break," she hissed. "And I am setting an example for them. I was the one who defended Arya and Mycah from getting attacked by Joffrey! While Sansa stood there and did nothing but look beautiful! You don't sit back and let people walk all over you like that blond fucker did. So yes, I am setting an example to them!"
"Oh, stop being so dramatic!" The Septa snapped. "Your behavior was absolutely atrocious tonight."
Her anger flared inside her like blazing wildfire. Taelerys nearly jumped to her feet. " Oh, but Sansa can talk that way at the table! I see how it is."
She grabbed her plates before marching them to the kitchen, before retreating to her own room. Sansa's pathetic sniveling could be heard all the way to her room. Something that annoyed Taelerys immensely. But, her own tears were spilling from her face too. So, Taelerys couldn't get on her back about it as much. Even if Sansa was responsible for her own suffering. Taelerys attempted to be quieter than Sansa was. And at least the Septa wouldn't be as mad at her for just tossing her dinner and not cleaning my dishes. Taly had never had any ill will towards Sansa before. All she ever did was sew and gossip about fairy tales, Sansa was just very lady-like although she did have her bratty moments. Taly didn't hate her for it...until now.
She pulled the dragon eggs from under the bed. How they were so beautiful in the small flames of the dozens of candles surrounding my room. Taly made sure there were plenty on the floor, my night stand, my desk, and the iron candle holders. She had the curtains closed so no one could see. Taelerys enjoyed sitting on the floor with all the candles ablaze, in front of her two dragon eggs, and reading the rare texts she had gotten from Aegon's Vault. This was the first time in a long time that Taelerys felt truly happy and safe. Every now and then, she would glance up to gaze upon her dragon eggs. White and green. The swirls of the rainbow and bronze refracted separately from each egg. In the very least, the dragon eggs offered Taelerys comfort. She wasn't the only dragon left in Westeros.
Dragons have a strong connection to magic. When a dragon is born, the magic in the world grows even stronger. Mortals that are able to use magic, in particular with the blood of Old Valyria, are able to tame and control dragons. After all, dragons are attracted to power. They will only respect those who have it.
There was a quick rapping at the door. Taelerys nearly flung the valuable text out of her hands, she was so startled by it. The paper would've caught aflame in the sea of candles she had let go of it. Taelerys recovered and put down the dried bloodied tome, Blood and Fire. She carefully stepped through the horde of candles before opening the door. It was her Lord Stark. He glanced over my shoulder to see the darkness and the candles. Ned smiled with amusement. "Reading in the dark?" =
"I don't want anyone to know about them, remember?" Taly reminded him.
"Of course, just don't burn the place down."
I rolled my eyes. "I am a dragon, I don't burn."
"No, but this building and all the people inside it will." Ned pointed out with a chuckle.
If only he knew about the wildfire hidden underneath her bed. A dragon ought to breathe fire when surrounded by lions. Ned went straight to business. Taelerys noticed that he had his hands behind his back. When he showed them, Ned was holding the small Valyrian steel rapier Taly had given Arya. Shit, she cursed to herself. Now, Taelerys was in trouble. "I'm guessing you got this from the vault when the three of you decided to go exploring?" he guessed.
Taelerys only nodded in response. Ned entered her room and said in an authoritative voice, "This is no toy for a child, least of all a girl."
"And yet I have a sword as well," she interjected.
Ned was just as angry. "That can easily change, Taelerys. I have given Septa Mordane the task of turning Arya into a lady and you are not making that any easier for her. A sword is not something my daughter needs to be playing around with."
"I was taught me how to use a sword, you gave me a sword, have I ever played around?" She asked, standing up independently. "Arya doesn't want to play around either. She really does want to learn."
Ned Stark exhaled deeply, lowering his head of black hair. He was reminiscing about something, she could see it. It may have been a different story when Taelerys learned how to use a sword and bow, but when it came to his own trueborn daughter. That was definitely different. "You and Arya have a wildness in you. 'The wolf blood', my father used to call it. Though I suppose in your case, it's 'The dragon blood'. Lyanna had a touch of it, and my brother Brandon had more than a touch of it. It brought them both to an early grave. And it brought your family to an early grave as well."
His voice sounded so sad. Ned did not often speak of his father, brother, or sister who had died during the rebellion. Taelerys realized quickly that I wasn't the only one to have lost family in the war. Sometimes she had forgotten since Ned hardly spoke about it.
"I looked up to Lyanna as the big sister I never had. That time I saw her fight off a knight in the Tourney of Flowers, I did everything to try and be like her. And now, her niece, her spitting image, looks up at me in the same light. It makes me feel like Lya is here with me," Taly explained herself. "Do you know how that makes me feel, my lord?"
Ned didn't say anything, only exhale with frustration at this. "Yeah, it's a sadness and a pain to see my daughter be so much like my dead sister. I worry that Arya might be given the same fate as Lya."
Taelerys frowned at that. Maybe that was why Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna. To her surprise, Ned handed Taelerys back Needle. She hesitantly took the sword, away it might be snatched away again.
"The only problem with Lyanna was that she never took responsibility," Ned expressed to me. "You will take responsibility of teaching Arya. She won't listen to words of a septa, but maybe she will listen to duel of swords. A sword shouldn't be used for show as your dear friend Joffrey learned the hard way. If you can't properly use a sword, you don't deserve to wield it. Understood?."
Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. She had no choice but to accept and immediately nod. Pleased with his answer, Ned took his leave. Taelerys was left holding Needle her my hands. The fate of Arya in her hands as well. There was no way she could teach someone how to sword fight. Taelerys didn't know the first thing about it.
Eddard Stark sent his steward Vayon Poole to tell Arya to go to the Small Hall. The tables had been dismantled and the benches shoved against the walls. Arya was very excited on this day. Father allowed her to keep Needle and had even gotten her someone to teach her swordsmanship skills. She thought the room was empty, until I stepped out from a pillar. "You're late, Arya," Taelerys mumbled, rather annoyed by that. But, it was to be expected. She was dealing with Arya Stark. The girl noticed Taelerys holding a pair of slender wooden swords.
"You're my teacher?" Arya gaped, unable to believe it. Her grey eyes were very wide. That amused Taelerys, who grinned in response.
"Yes, your father asked me to teach you," She tossed Arya one of the wooden swords. Arya reached over to try and grab it, but failed miserably, and hit against the floor with a loud clang. Taelerys let out a sigh, tightening the back of her braid. She wore her 'play' clothes as Septa Mordane called them. A simple dark blue tunic over brown pants and sandals. "Clumsy," Taly snickered, before holding out her wooden sword. "Now pick it up and fight, grasshopper."
Arya picked up the wooden sword, she noticed it had a grip and guard and pommel. She looked nervous, having to hold it with two hands. "This is heavier than Needle!"
"You're not lifting a greatsword, you only need one hand for a piece of wood." Taelerys told her.
"But, it's too heavy."
"That's the point, you need to be strong and balanced."
Arya wiped her sweaty palms. "What if I drop it?"
Taelerys was amused by Arya struggling with the weight of her wooden sword. "Can you drop part of your arm?"
"No."
"This is not the common iron dance of Westoros we are learning, hacking and hammering, no. This is water dancing, swift and sudden. The common water dance of Essos, a perfect fighting style for one such as yourself, who wields a rapier."
"You know Essos sword fighting?" Arya asked, intrigued at the prospect of Taelerys knowing other swordsmanship skills.
Taelerys raised a finger with a bright smile on her face. "Water dancing."
"Water dancing." Arya repeated with an irritated look.
"I knew a little bit before, I used water dancing to knock Joffrey on his ass. As of late, I've been practicing and reading more about water dancing. It's a very interesting concept." Taly explained.
"Then you're not a teacher!" Arya blurted out. She was immediately disappointed to have Taelerys as her master, believing that the Targaryen couldn't teach her. With a flick of the wooden sword, Taelerys lightly swatted her on the legs. It was so quick that the swing looked to be a blur. Arya jolted back, almost falling over from the blow. Taelerys had a teasing smile on her face, raising my wooden sword in an offensive water dancing position.
"A true master is an eternal student," she glimmered. "Now, try to strike me."
"Did you read that from a fortune cookie?" Arya grumbled, pushing herself off of the floor. Taly shrugged before laughing once. "Okay, yes. I did." she admitted with amusement. Teaching Arya was going to be fun.