Rhaenys

She was floating, disconnected from everything around her as she stared blankly at the knight knelt before Aegon.

Prince Rhaegar's daughter, she thought, the words reverberating in her mind.

Rhaenys spun on her heel, ignoring Teddy as he made to reach for her.

She couldn't stay in that room any longer – not when all the things she had thought she'd left behind came bubbling back to the fore. She felt unmoored, and Rhae followed the one thread tethering her to reality.

"Tweak!" she called, blood rushing in her ears as she glanced blankly around her room.

"Mistress Rhae called Tweak?" he asked, popping in discreetly.

"Take me to Auriga."

She was never more thankful for the elves' comfort around the dragons than now, landing steadily in the small clearing as Auriga tore forward.

Rhae took a deep breath, leaning her head against Auriga's snout, feeling the heat encompass her as she felt the ebb of emotions flowing through their bond.

Iacomus shifted next to them, his movements indicating his want to fly to Egg, and Rhae moved closer to him, resting a hand on his snout to help keep him calm as she hoped Aegon was doing on the other end of the bond.

There was a sharp crack, and Rhae didn't have to hear the dragon's hissing to know who had come after her.

"Auriga wants to know which human she needs to roast for making you upset," Teddy said, stepping closer to her.

There was a concerned look on his face, eyes shifting to the black of their mother as he said, "You're crying."

"I'm not crying," she denied, swallowing past the lump in her throat as she felt the wetness on her cheeks.

She had thought herself over crying for Rhaegar Targaryen – had done so for the last time before she started at Hogwarts – but she had underestimated how much Westeros would bring back unwanted memories.

Teddy wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. "I can string him up if you want."

"What would that accomplish?" she muttered.

"You're right," he agreed. "I know a spell to string him by his intestines."

She rolled her eyes, feeling her lips twitch half-heartedly at the morbid humour Teddy had inherited from his more questionable relations.

"Egg?" she asked, voice quiet.

"I don't know," Teddy said. "I came after you. I'm sure Mum and Dad are with him."

"You shouldn't have left him."

"Egg's not the one with the nightmares," Teddy replied lowly, arms tightening around her.

Rhae closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. Teddy had been her rock for so long, letting a little princess crawl into his bed in fear despite there being no indication that they would one day be family.

"He promised me, you know? Before he left Dragonstone. He told me he would be back soon to finish telling me tales of dragons. Instead he was off to make another daughter."

"He's a fool," Teddy murmured. "Only fools can't see what they have."

She took a deep, shuddering breath, mind flashing with memories of that night. It had been a stroke of luck that had Rhaenys avoiding the knife that would have killed her – a favour of the Seven that saw her make it safely to the nursery.

There had been no father to protect her, no knight to keep them safe as they all swore. Just Rhae and Egg and Mother, helpless as the keep fell to the rebels.

Seeing Arthur again had been like a dagger. He had been her father's man – had been her favoured Kingsguard after Uncle Lewyn – and he had left her to help her father break his promise.

And they've left that promised child to die, she thought sourly, knowing there was little chance the babe survived beyond the war. They left us all to die.

She wondered if he had promised Lyanna Stark to return to her, to return to their child as he rode to war. If he promised Grandmother Rhaella and Viserys he would return.

Rhae had no answer for those questions. All she knew was that they had left a trail of broken promises and a fractured realm in their wake, and it was left to those who had been damaged by it to put the shattered remnants together.

Teddy's magic flared the slightest bit, Auriga and Iacomus shifting so that they covered them from the swirling sand, and Rhae followed the thread to the weight of another promise, one tethered by magic and unbroken, letting it soothe her.


Viserys

He slashed viciously, destroying the straw dummy in his rage.

Three and ten years, he thought darkly, hacking savagely as he snarled. The training yard Oberyn had put together with the help of Lord Potter-Black was empty, the servants having fled at the sight of him, face cold as his eyes shone with his fury.

"Aerys' blood sits beneath Rhaegar's on the throne…your duty is to serve Rhaegar's son in all matters...Westeros will rise only for Rhaegar's son, Prince Viserys, not Rhaegar's brother."

The straw flew haphazardly in the air, bits of it catching on his clothes and hair as he let out a furious roar, the words ringing mockingly in his head. Damn them all to the seven hells, he thought darkly.

From the corner of his eye he saw Daenerys, a terrified expression on her face as she watched him, and Viserys flinched, sword clattering to the ground as he dropped to his knees.

"Dany," he rasped, throat raw as he turned his gaze to his hands.

The scar stood stark against his skin, throbbing in remembered pain, and Viserys breathed deeply to calm himself, tears falling unbidden from his eyes.

"Promise me, Viserys."

He closed his eyes in pain, the memory of his mother's final moments fresh in his mind as if he were there once more – ten and terrified as he clutched her bloodied hand in his, Dany cradled between them.

He had failed her. Failed them both. Viserys had sworn to protect Daenerys, to never let her feel the terror he had felt in exile yet here she stood, warily watching him as if he would turn on her at any moment.

As if he were the Aerys to her Rhaella.

"I would never hurt you…Dany, you know that, don't you? I'm a terrible brother, I know," he said intensely, voice quiet as if he were afraid that saying it louder would force the world to accept it. "But I would never hurt you."

"You're the best brother in the world," she said, throwing her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Liar, he thought. Daenerys was too sweet for her own good, too kind for the cruel world they lived in, but Viserys couldn't bring himself to steal that innocence from her. Not when the world would see to it.

Yet he'd failed all the same. Viserys had witnessed the way Lord Potter-Black's son treated his niece and nephew; cared for them as much as if they were the sister born to his father. Aegon and Rhaenys had no cause to fear Teddy, safe in the knowledge that he would die before he harmed them; that he spent countless hours practicing with sword and whatever magic he held so that he stood next to them in battle.

He had been awed at seeing Teddy use magic – at realizing Aegon and Rhaenys could wield magic – but Viserys had shied away from learning in fear. He couldn't know the danger that lurked within, tempting him daily so that he might see his shadows put to rest. Viserys would die before he harmed his sister – the only good thing in this world left of his mother – but he knew what he was.

He felt it every day – the constant ebb and flow of anger, of a dragon's rage that felt as if it were his lifeblood, a companion waiting to be unleashed. It fuelled him, kept his heart pumping steadily as much as it left him trembling in terror.

I'm not him, he reminded himself, recalling his mother's words and her smile. Rhaella Targaryen was the strongest woman he had known, and Viserys tried to pull himself through the haze of despair and cling to the words she had told him. I'm nothing like him.

"Vis?" Dany asked, voice hesitant and muffled against his shoulder. "Are we leaving again?"

"Not unless we want to," he said firmly.

He was drained; the rage was still there, simmering beneath the surface as he thought on the years they had spent moving from city to city in the care of men that had served his brother. He'd not seen Ser Arthur or any of his brothers in years; they had chosen Rhaegar – chose the prince over their king, a bastard over their queen – and he would wade through all seven hells before he let Dany go through that ever again.

"We'll be fine, Dany," he whispered, clutching tightly to her. "I promise."


Aegon

"Egg?"

He flinched, seeing the curious look on her face as she morphed to mimic him. There could be another out there that looks like that, he thought, swallowing at the sight even if it wasn't the same. Maia kept her face unchanged, only her eyes and hair changing entirely as her skin paled slightly to match Egg's tan.

He was ashamed at having fled the room and leaving his uncles to deal with it, but hearing the words had been enough to pull his temper forward, and Aegon struggled to keep Iacomus from reacting.

He could feel him; the Ironbelly's emotions clearer to him than anything after eight years together, and Egg took deep breaths, focusing on Maia to calm himself.

I'm fine, he thought, soothing the dragon before he decided Egg was in danger.

"Egg?" she insisted, tugging on his pant leg. He pushed away from the trunk, scooping Maia into his arms before making his way inside.

The portraits called out their greetings, worry flashing over the face of the one closest to him as Aegon ignored them, letting Maia down so she could greet them. There was an armchair next to a shelf of family journals tucked in the corner, and Egg sat there, stewing in silence as he absentmindedly watched his sister.

Was this why Viserys hated him? Aegon had lived a comfortable life in Potter Hall, and his grandfather's men had left his aunt and uncle to fend for themselves.

His hands clenched tightly, nails digging into his palm.

"You'll give yourself a cut like that," Henry Potter said lightly.

"I don't care," Egg muttered, eyes dark as he watched Maia. The portraits adored the little girl – they all did – and Egg couldn't help but think of what he would have done had it been left to him to protect her. If Teddy and Rhae had abandoned them and it was just Egg left to do so.

"You do care, Aegon. It's what draws people to you," Henry said.

Egg scoffed, his chin resting on his hand as he ignored the man. "Is that what you pulled together from a cut on my hand?"

He didn't want to talk to him. He didn't want to talk to any of the portraits, really. Not about this.

Each Potter lord and lady would have laid down their lives for the people in their family. Papa's parents had done so for him, and he knew Grandpa James would have done the same for the friends he considered brothers.

He missed Aunt Narcissa in this moment, knowing the woman would understand better than the rest.

"She's not the only Black you know," Aunt Dorea said, grey eyes watching him. Her sister stood next to her, the two almost mirrors of each other, and Egg blinked, not knowing when they had come and realizing he had spoken out loud.

"Come, little king. Tell us which of your family members are being unruly and not listening to their Head," Aunt Cassie drawled sarcastically.

Egg felt his brow twitch, glaring at the smiling woman.

"Is that not what troubles you?" she asked, brow raised. "Being a prince is difficult enough; being a king when you've older family members that don't want to defer to you to protect is a nightmare worthy of a Black."

"Is everything about unruly members of House Black with you?" he asked, lips twisting in irritation.

"Toujour Pur, Your Grace," she said with an ironic curtsy.

"Cassie," Aunt Dorea sighed, a dark look in her eyes as she stared pointedly at her sister.

"I have another sister," Egg said, letting the words hang in the air as he cut off Cassiopeia's retort.

"Has the time flown so quickly?" Aunt Dorea asked. "How long has it been?"

"What?" he asked, shaking his head as he registered her words. "Mum's pregnant?"

"You did not hear that from me," Aunt Dorea warned him. "She would have told you soon enough."

"There's another Targaryen out there," Aunt Cassie mused, grey eyes staring intently at him.

His eyes darkened, gaze flicking to Maia. Egg had taken his lessons seriously, learning everything he could before their journey to Westeros. He knew what was expected of him as the Head of House Targaryen – knew that Daenerys and Viserys were under his protection.

And now another, he thought darkly.

He cursed his birth father once more, furious at the mess he had left behind. Daenerys was warm to them, but Viserys disliked him and Egg couldn't blame his uncle. Not after the last Crown Prince had abandoned them to chase after a girl. Not when it seemed everyone had left them in the wind in search of Egg. In protection of a bastard, he thought. A bastard that could have died – was most likely dead.

He caught Maia as she flew into his arms, laughingly pressing a kiss to his cheeks in an attempt to make him smile.

For all that she was born to his parents, belonged to the Houses of Potter and Black more fully, Egg had always known his papa would never place one of his children before the other, whether he sired them or not. Herakles Potter-Black had taken on his titles and put the protection of family members he had once despised at the fore, and Egg had learned at his knee what it meant to be a paterfamilias.

Egg buried his face in her hair, thinking of the child Rhaegar had wanted so desperately he'd left them all to rot in King's Landing. That he'd gone to war and left his children and wife in the care of his mad father. Left his pregnant mother and young brother without the protection they would have needed in exile.

House Targaryen was fractured and it was left to Egg to put the pieces of it together.