All but the two sisters were sent away so that they might share some time together in private. They partook of little cakes and sweet things, sat together upon the same cushioned couch with Rhaena's arm about Daenerys as they spoke of their own stories to the other. Many tears were shed, as much of joy as of sadness, and Rhaena keenly felt the sorrows and suffering her twin sister had faced. Losing her husband and child hit her hardest of all, but it seemed to Rhaena that Daenerys had bore through it masterfully and had emerged stronger than ever before. Perhaps she had learned her courage from her husband for he sounded to have been fierce and fearless as a dragon. "Do you think I would have liked him?" Rhaena asked softly as she finished cleansing her sister's face with a damp cloth before then placing a small round cake into her mouth in order to sweeten those tears. Daenerys smiled as she found herself chewing.
"I think you would have hated him, for my sake. I think were we together, you would have offered yourself up to him in my stead because I think you would have been far braver than I at that time. I was not as strong then. I was a weak girl completely at Viserys's mercy and beholden to his whim." Sighing softly, Rhaena winced sympathetically to hear mention of the brother they shared. It was a difficult conundrum, for although Viserys was her blood, she found herself unable to feel anything for him other than resentment for not better protecting their sister. Instead, she had discovered that he had been little more than a petulant child who took pleasure in hurting others and believed the world was owed to him despite having done nothing to earn it. He reminded her of Joffrey, and that thought alone was enough to sour any hint of sisterly affection she might have ever held towards him. "But Drogo would have loved you. Of that I'm certain. Perhaps he would have loved you more than me, because you would have challenged him. From what you have told me, I think you would have survived here even better than you did in King's Landing. You would have raced him on horseback and wrestled him in the dirt for the sake of my honour. He would have beaten you and laughed at you each time, but he would have loved you for your spirit."
"We can never know such things. I learned how to wear my skin like armour from a young age out of necessity but I always had friends to help and protect me. People who nursed my wounds and whispered kind words into my ears. You had no one. I think you are made of far tougher armour than I ever will be, Dany." Hearing her pet name caused Daenerys to smile widely and move closer to her sister in order to rest against her. She was smaller so it was easily done and Rhaena naturally moved herself to accept her sister against her frame until the two were huddled together and feeding one another grapes and pomegranate seeds. "You lost much, too much to ever truly be replaced or forgotten…but you walked out of those ashes and made yourself anew. We are the blood of dragons. We do not bend or break so easily. Fire makes us stronger, and now that we are together the entire world is not enough to stop us."
"Then you will stay with me and take back Westeros when the time comes?" Nodding her head, Rhaena promised it would be so. "They will celebrate our coming. The common people shall sing and cheer for us when they see us and those who stood with our brother Rhaegar will flock to us and we shall win back the Iron Throne which is ours by right."
"Right?" Rhaena intoned softly, causing Daenerys to twist her head in order to blink up at Rhaena in confusion. "Sister, no one truly cares who sits upon the throne. At least, the common people do not. All they care for is their holdfasts and their huts, their lands and flocks, their elders and their children. What difference does it make to them whether a Baratheon, a Lannister or a Targaryen sits on the throne? All they want is warmth in the winter and food in their bellies. And the bannermen? They will choose the side they think will best serve them and their Houses. Some may remain loyal to our name, true, but very few to be of any consequence and some may not even stir from their castles when we call." Lifting her hand in order to stroke Daenerys's hair, Rhaena continued to teach her sister a little more sense for it appeared she had retained a somewhat illusionary image of what awaited her on the other side of the Narrow Sea. "What they will see when we return are conquerors, and they will fear us because we will bring fire and blood and ruin. Our ancestor Aegon conquered the Seven Kingdoms and crowned himself king. A throne is not inherited. Not truly. It is won through blood. If you want the Iron Throne, my sister, then you must earn it. Win it from them. Win it from the Usurpers through blood…and from the common people through love. Be good to them. Shower them with food and riches. Dazzle them with smiles and kindness then they shall gladly call you queen before you even set foot in the throne room. A crown and a throne does not make you a ruler. It is the people you rule over who decide it." Large eyes blinked up at Rhaena in slightly stupefied wonder.
"You are as wise as Ser Barristan." She finally responded and Rhaena could not hold back her grin.
"Where do you think I learned, dear one?" They spoke a little longer until there was nothing left to be shared of their past, their thoughts now thinking only of the future. The night had aged but neither sister felt tired for their bodies were alive with happiness and refused to sleep whilst the other was so near to them. Realising that she was yet to meet her children, Daenerys swept Rhaena away in order to take her sister down to where she kept her dragons, Viserion and Rhaegal. A little drunk from wine and elation, Daenerys did not recall that her dragons were out of control, that the last time she had gone to them they had behaved aggressively and spat fire at her. All she wanted was to show them to her sister, to see her expression when she beheld live dragons for the first time. Giving the guards a swift command, the stone was rolled backwards but when the breath of cold air rushed to her face Daenerys suddenly realised the action she was taking. She froze. It was not safe, she should have remembered this before. Looking to Rhaena, Daenerys reached out in order to take her hand quickly as she had already begun to take her first steps forwards.
"Wait."
"Whatever for? I have waited a long time in order to meet your children, Daenerys." Looking upon her sister, Rhaena was surprised to find it contorted in hurt and strain.
"They are dangerous. I cannot control them any longer. They do not listen. They will hurt you." Blinking, Rhaena looked a little longer at Daenerys before then looking into the darkness which seemingly swallowed the entire world before her. Heat pooled in her stomach, the familiar sensation rising as something seemingly called her within. She had to go in there. She had to see for herself.
"I am not afraid." Gently drawing her arm free, Rhaena walked willingly into the emptiness before her without a hint of fear within her. Inside she could sense power unlike anything she had ever felt before, a raw chaos of magic and life which called to her blood and made it roar. Taking each step slowly and surely, Rhaena continued to stare into the blackness unseeing even with the light from the open doorway behind her. The blackness swallowed all. Around her the sound of clinking chains echoed like woeful moans, the scrape of sharp claws dragging upon the hardened stone until a guttural growl rumbled and reverberated until her bones rattled from the sensation. Coming to a halt, Rhaena held her breath as a thrill shot through her. Something was standing directly before her. Heat pooled upon a swift exhale of breath and swallowed her entirely, a presence of a mighty beast locking her feet where she stood as gradually, Rhaena lifted her head. Gleaming eyes glinted in the darkness. With a burst of fiery light Rhaena was introduced to two of her sister's children in all their majestic and frenzied glory. They screamed at her as fire darted from one's mouth, bursting upon the floor and against the pillars in a tumble of brilliant golden heat as the other drew back its wings and beat them once in threat. Both stared at her with rage in their eyes. Rage and hurt. The fire in her own blood came alive and it were as if Rhaena was able to feel everything they felt, as if her own mind were yearning to merge with theirs the way a fire would blend with other fires until it became one great wild mass. At present, Rhaena was too captivated to react with her instincts.
Scales of beautiful emerald green layered with bronze glittered in the firelight before her, rippling as the chest expanded heavily to draw breath. The other was cream and gold, utterly exquisite. They were incredible. Wonderful. Magnificent. Rhaena could scarcely draw breath. Then she recalled that these dragons were at present half mad and seemed as though they wished to roast her alive. Daenerys gave a frightened shout and began to rush forwards, commanding Viserion and Rhaegal not to hurt her sister, however as Rhaegal had snarled and opened his massive maw, Rhaena lifted her hand before he could rear his head and placed her hand upon him. The fire within her reacted to the fire within him. Both came alive and rushed to meet one another, magic pouring through Rhaena's entire body as she felt her mind touch against Rhaegal's and began to feel at his conscience, understanding that he was both basic and complex in nature. They did not think as perhaps she or any other person might, at least not in language and reason, but Rhaegal could feel so deeply and poetically it near enough brought Rhaena to tears. He understood her, too. Rhaegal quietened in an instant, the deep snarl becoming a low rumble before silencing altogether until he was utterly still and his brother also went silent as he sensed the presence of magic. Daenerys froze, staring at the scene unfurling before her.
Now curious at the arrival of something new, Viserion lowered his head in order to begin catching the scent of the woman to discover that her blood was similar to that of his mother, though not entirely the same. They were kin. That much the dragons could understand. She was their mother's kin, and so she was part of their family. This they accepted, and when Viserion lowered his head close enough to her, Rhaena stretched out her other hand in order to touch his face and felt herself meet with Viserion's mind too. It were as if their internal fires were now passing through each of them in turn, flowing endlessly one through the other as they communicated and Rhaena began to further understand the nature of the magic she possessed. Her sister was immune to the touch of fire. She possessed mastery over it. More than that, her magic could be used in other ways, such as being able to speak almost directly to a dragon's mind. They knew her now and would listen, Rhaena was certain of it, because in her they saw not a creature of flesh, but a dragon made of fire with a desire to fly just as they. Both dragons closed their eyes and growled warmly like a purr, lowering themselves further to the ground as calmly as tempered pups. Daenerys could hardly believe her eyes. "How are you doing that?"
"They are half mad, sister, because they are trapped in the dark and forbidden from taking flight. They crave for the skies." Gradually drawing her hands away, Rhaena turned around with the brightest of grins which bordered upon a look of madness, so much so that Daenerys was almost convinced she saw a glint of fire within her sister's lilac orbs but soon convinced herself it was simply a trick of the torchlight. "And I intend to sate their craving."