Extra: Happy Children

The Princess of Dragonstone

Rhaenyra considered her days in King's Landing busy and troublesome. She's not talking about her childhood; no, she's talking about now, when she came back from Dragonstone to prepare for her wedding.

It had to be perfect. Marrying Gwayne wasn't a match approved by half of the kingdom, despite it finally satisfying Otto Hightower's wish to seat one of his blood on the Iron Throne eventually. Corlys and Rhaenys were no doubt angry about being skipped again, especially after what Laenor did...

She sighed. For all of Amy's faults, she was the only one who supported her scheme to help him in her immediate family.

But thinking of Laenor wouldn't help. At least Laena had approved. Rhaenyra had finally picked a perfect style of dress to wear, when—

"Princess," Criston called outside the door, "Prince Aegon wishes to see you."

"Tell him I'm busy." Couldn't a girl enjoy some private time?

"He said it's urgent." There's a hidden amusement in the knight's voice. Was this revenge for not including him in most of the wedding plan? Oh please, for as good as a knight he was, Rhaenyra knew from experience that she couldn't trust his taste in clothing.

Criston was dear to her, but his temper and tendency to be envious had been troubling.

Rhaenyra sighed, "Let him in, but tell him if this isn't actually urgent, he would have Seven Hells to pay."

A mere moment later, the door creaked open and Aegon entered, his eyes nervously glancing around. "Father and Mother aren't here, are they?"

"Do you think they're going to hide under my bed? Of course, they aren't." She crossed her arms. "Tell me what trouble you've put yourself into and convince me to help you. You have thirty seconds."

"Wait, Rhaenyra, this isn't my fault—"

"Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight..."

"Alright, it's Aemond, he made a mess of things and... Helaena tried to take care of it but she's only making it worse... Father and Mother absolutely couldn't know this, you're our only hope—"

"You realize that you aren't exactly making your case appealing?"

Surprised by her rebuke, he went silent, his mouth opening and closing several times like a fish stuck on land. Rhaenyra sighed. "Just tell me where they are."

—

Rhaenyra almost screamed when she arrived at the crime scene.

The floor was wet. A sticky, paste-like white powder was everywhere. But the biggest offense was the shiny blue fragments that were once a flower case lying on the ground and the wooden practice sword beside Aemond. Would playing outside kill them?

Both Helaena and Aemond were kneeling on the ground, trying to salvage the mess. "I'm back!" Aegon announced, and they raised their little heads instantly.

"Rhaenyra saves us!" Helaena raced towards her and caught her hand with her two small ones. Rhaenyra could feel the sticky cold paste on her fingers.

"Yikes." This was the first word that naturally came out of Rhaenyra's mouth. Helaena faked a look of hurt as Rhaenyra pulled her hand away. "What's this disgusting white paste?" Rhaenyra asked.

"Glue-powder," answered Aemond, his fingers still poking at the fragments. "Helaena's idea."

"Let me guess. One of you broke the case." Rhaenyra mercilessly glared at them one by one; Aegon awkwardly averted his gaze. Helaena let out a nervous chuckle. Only Aemond stared back fearlessly.

"I did," The youngest child admitted. "And I'm trying to fix it."

"...By making the room even messier, I can see." Rhaenyra sighed. "Stop trying to pick up the pieces, you're only going to prick your little fingers."

"Criston," When Aemond finally crossed his short little arms and stood aside, Rhaenyra called, "Please call some good servants, loyal ones that will keep their mouths shut. We'll have to get someone to clean this up."

"Gladly, Princess." Her loyal knight accepted the 'quest' with as much enthusiasm as a dead fish.

"Wait, Ser Criston!" Aegon stopped him, then turned to plead with Rhaenyra. "This won't work! Even if they keep quiet, Father or Mother will soon notice that the case is gone. And that case is Mother's favorite..."

"Moreover, it's Laenor's gift, a symbol of peace between the Hightowers and Velaryons," Rhaenyra added. "Not that I expect children to understand."

"Cousin Laenor was a kind man and seemed to be fond of us on his last visit..." Helaena mused. Suddenly her eyes brightened, "Oh! Rhaenyra, do you think we can ask him to bring a new one—"

"Not when he's on another journey and years away from Westeros." Rhaenyra cut her off. "Last we heard of him, he's enjoying his time in the Summer Islands, searching for trade opportunities so you can taste those 'chocolates' that your mother craves so much."

"Mama said it might be bitter, and we'd need to add milk to sweeten it." Helaena started to smile, her eyes stared into the distance as she imagined the flavor Amy had no doubt described a hundred times.

Amy had been close to blowing her cover, Rhaenyra recalled, when Laenor brought back the goods from Yi-Ti. The case Aemond broke was Amy's favorite because, to quote her, "My grandma used to have one of these!"

It's a miracle that no one had found that line particularly noteworthy and merely dismissed it as one of the Queen's eccentricities. Even Otto Hightower had only sighed and told her this wasn't true.

"Focus, Helaena," The sharp voice of Aemond scolding his sister brought Rhaenyra back to reality. "Chocolates can wait. Fixing this can't."

"You're not the one to talk when you're the one who broke it in the first place!" Helaena snapped back, "And you messed up the amount of glue-powder we needed!"

"Aegon was the one who told me to get—"

"Yes, it's all my fault, happy?" Aegon hissed. "Now will we go back to the matter at hand?"

At least one of them had some sense, Rhaenyra thought. "Just call the servants. As special as the case is, it's no family heirloom that couldn't be replaced. Your mother will be less angry with you if she sees that you have the initiative to clean up yourself and admit the accident to her."

Not that she thought Amy could stay angry at those three for more than a day. She put all her efforts into educating them, determined to provide them with what 'education' she had in another world.

Which, sadly, sometimes had... unforeseen consequences.

"Mama did say that a hero always admits their own mistakes, so that they can improve," Aemond mused, "I can do this. Just like..."

"Prince Sapphire?" Aegon asked.

"No, not Helaena's favorite character."

"Prince Sapphire is my favorite tale, but she isn't my favorite character. My favorite character is—"

"Children." Rhaenyra repressed the urge to groan. "Back to the topic. We'll call servants to clean this up, then at dinner time you'll tell Father and Alicent what happened, and I'll put in a good word for you three. Are we clear?"

Helaena nodded. "That's fair."

"...If Father asked, it's Aemond who broke the case and Helaena's idea to patch it up with glue-powder." Aegon glared at Rhaenyra for a moment, likely unhappy with her suggestion, but when Rhaenyra raised an eyebrow in response he quickly turned his head away. Good boy.

"It's settled then." Rhaenyra glanced at Criston. He nodded and left the room to call for servants. Strangely, he seemed to have more enthusiasm than before, a smirk hanging on his face.

"You did well, Princess," He commented and flashed her a knowing smile before leaving.

...He must have been amused by the children's antics, Rhaenyra thought.

"Now, before I pull you three out of this disaster and find your nannies to clean you up, tell me: what possessed you to play in this room of all places?" Rhaenyra asked. "Especially you, Aegon. You know very well what this room stores."

Upon hearing her question, both Aegon and Helaena groaned, their accusing gazes aimed squarely at Aemond. Of course it was the troublemaker's idea.

Aemond, for his part, shouted, "I'm not going to be left alone while you two play with your dragons."

Rhaenyra tilted her head. "You can very well claim a hatchling for yourself if you want, or try for an older one if you wish. No one will stop you."

Aemond proudly puffed up his chest. "I have no need for one of these. A true hero relies on his skills, his brain, and his heart."

...Amy, what have you done?

"Mama said it's in the order of 'heart, brain, skills'," Helaena corrected him, "And she never said we shouldn't have a dragon."

"That's because you two are weak!" Aemond spread his hands. "I, however, will rely on me and my sword along—"

Aegon rolled his eyes. "Aemond, last time we're on a practice field I beat you. Cleanly."

"You're three years older than me and even then just barely! Sooner or later I'll beat everyone."

Rhaenyra had heard enough. "I'll talk to your mother about this... dragon-hating thing you have, and I'm no longer interested in your reasons. Now, get out of this room and promise me that you'll keep swordplay practice in the field."

Aemond picked up his sword. "I won't come back, but you have to know that I'm right."

"It's your choice if you don't want a dragon, but I'll need to inform Alicent and Father about this," Rhaenyra sighed, "Because I'm your older sister."

"...That you are," Aemond grudgingly said.

"Don't mind Aemond, he's just being stupidly prideful," Helaena beamed at Rhaenyra, "Thanks for your help, Rhaenyra."

"I'm not! I'm right."

"Right, right, Aemond." Aegon tried his best to calm down the ready-to-explode-in-righteous-fury Aemond, then turned to Rhaenyra with a worried look.

"...You'll put in a good word for us, right?"

Rhaenyra laughed. "Of course! Trust me. When have I ever broken a promise with you three?"

"Never." Aegon smiled. Then they walked out of the room, Rhaenyra finally managing to send them out on their merry way. Dinner would be interesting...

Rhaenyra couldn't believe at one point she hated them for threatening her inheritance. They're all such noisy, lovable idiots.