Sounds, what fascinating beings they are, pouring into one ear and coming out of another. Sometimes, one can listen and catch those sounds while they are escaping away. That was not what Jacaerys was doing. After all, paying attention to anything other than the events of the yestreen demanded strong willpower which, unfortunately, he did not possess. However, he truly needed to pay attention; he was in a feast, where everyone could talk with everyone, and if upon calling his name, Jacaerys does not answer them, it would be disgraceful and impolite.
The feast he was attending was King Viserys' token of gratitude for the birth of Prince Aemon, the youngest son of his brother, Prince Daemon, who recently arrived in the Red Keep with his wife and their children. At this very moment, the two brothers were conversing on some juvenile topic, for the prince was constantly wearing his smug smile and the king was laughing heartedly. On each of their sides sat their wives, who mostly kept to themselves.
Jacaerys' family sat on a different table, and were here at least for an hour. The feast was not enjoyable for Jacaerys at all, there were many moments that he wished he could forget about altogether, such as their entrance to the great hall, when the announcer cried his name as 'Prince Jacaerys Velaryon.' He flinched at the name and later led out a hollow laugh for it.
Truthfully, Jacaerys no longer knew what he was; was he a Targaryen? Was he a Velaryon? Was he a Strong? Or… was he just a bastard?
Jacaerys Waters does have a nice ring to it.
On one side of the hall, a great table was set especially for the green side of the family, Aegon, Aemond, Daeron and… and Helaena. Jacaerys noticed that instead of her usual white dress, she wore a red one. And honestly, to Jacaerys, the red on her spoke of her inner dragon. She's almost always sweet and gentle and he wonders what would her anger be. He notes how all of them are white of hair and purple in eye colour.
His eyes drifted again to King Viserys and his brother, all of them had Valyrian features. When looking back at his own family, Jacaerys only saw silverness in his mother's hair. His brother, Lucerys, had brown hair and brown eyes like him. 'Strong' features indeed, he thought bitterly as his eye searched for Ser Harwin.
His father was standing by the great door, conversing with Ser Harrold Westerling. Jacaerys realised he could never muster the will to hate his father, even if his actions may have ruined his whole life. As he looked away from Ser Harwin, his eyes fell on a man who Jacaerys truly despised. For the slightest second, he looked eye to eye with Lord Larys, who was leaning on a wall by a lonely corner of the hall. He lowered his head as a greeting while wearing his usual knowing smile; the same one that irritated Jacaerys the most. And so, he turned away from his uncle, dropping his gaze to stare at his food.
"My lords and ladies!" King Viserys cried as he raised from his seat with the help of his brother, "In this esteemed night, we drink for my brother and his wife and the lovely newborn of theirs: Prince Aemon, named after the Spring Prince himself! May he bring us another spring with his birth just as his namesake did. Raise you cups for tonight, the house of the dragon rejoices in delight!"
Jacaerys saw many raised cups, even his brother had his goblet of almond milk in his hand. But he did not raise any cups for any newborn cubs of House Targaryen. He was not a Targaryen after all if Lord Larys' words were to be believed.
Jacaerys noticed a shift in the tone of the songs from regal to lighthearted and he realised it was the time to dance. He raised from his seat which picked Lucerys' attention. "Where are you going, brother?"
Jacaerys did not even turn to look at him, "I'm going to dance with a dragon," he stated as he walked forward. He dodged through the dancing partners and went straight in the other side of the hall, where his aunt resided. His Uncle Aegon was the first to notice him.
"Oh, look who's here, Aemond, our nephew—"
But Jacaerys did not give him the time to speak. He extended his hand to Helaena and asked, "Would you give me the honour and dance with me, princess?" He secretly glanced at Aemond and Aegon who were staring at him with mouths opened ajar. Jacaerys snorted in amusement at that.
Helaena looked at his hand, unsure how to answer. Jacaerys tried to encourage her with smiles and that seemed to work, for she then raised from her seat. "It will be my pleasure to dance with you, Prince Jacaerys," she said as she took his hand and walked away from the table. Jacaerys still could see the astonished faces of his uncles as he and Helaena departed to the centre of the hall.
"Jacaerys," Helaena whispered, "Do you know how to dance?"
Jacaerys was confused but kept his face expressionless, "You never took dance lessons? I thought they were an essential part of a lady's upbringing."
"I did not have a ladylike upbringing," Helaena argued, "My mother wouldn't let me take dance lessons. She thought of my body too fragile for dancing."
Jacaerys sighed in frustration, although he was not frustrated of Helaena, but of her mother, the queen. "Worry not, princess. I will guide you." Jacaerys decided not to dance like his mother and Ser Laenor used to do—the dragon style they named it—but rather dance in a simplistic Riverlander style. After all, he wasn't a dragon, why should he dance like one? In fact, he was going to coerce the dragon whose hands was in his to dance like a common Westerosi noble as well.
And so, he put a hand on her waist and kept the other entwisted with her hand. "Your palm should touch my neck, princess," he instructed her. Helaena instantly put her hand on the back of his neck. And with that, they had passed the initial instructions.
Jacaerys locked eyes with the woman before him and with his nod, he hoped he had sent encouragement to her as they began slowly dancing. Gradually, a smile found its way on Helaena's face as she looked at his and her feet moving along each other. "Such rhythm, such balance…" she looked up to him, "I've only found it in flowers and butterflies."
"Men are animals too, technically," said Jacaerys, "We just forget it sometimes." He lingered on his words a few seconds. What would a lion do if he found out that he was not begotten by the one he called sire? Would he search for his true sire? If so, Jacaerys has already done that. But then what? Would he willingly die out of shame? But Jacaerys does not want to leave living. He has a family to care for. He looked at Helaena, her eyes widened with astonishment and her lips curled into a small smile. Would that smile be wider if Jacaerys allowed her to dance as she likes? A dragon always remains a dragon even if you cut her wings.
And so, he smiled at her, "Pray tell, Helaena," saying her name out loud still felt unusual to him, "Are you ready for the next phase of our dance?"
Her smile faded and a confused expression took its place, "Can't we continue this? I fear that I might ruin everything should we dance in another style."
Jacaerys shook his head in opposition, "It is not possible to ruin a dance, princess. We dance to feel relief, and I know you still have potential to reach that point. So why not try to reach the zenith of our dance?"
The princess still hesitated but after some thought, nodded her head in consent and agreement. Jacaerys smiled and slowly led her to a place that would give them the space needed for the dragonish dance. He let her to exhale a breath and empty all her anxieties.
And then, in once second, he twirled her around but pulled his hand off hers and led her to spine. She swirled for a few seconds and once she stopped, Jacaerys dashed and took her hand to redo it again. She laughed loudly and began jumping around. Although initially odd for Jacaerys, he too began copying her moves and now the two were jumping around each other.
Gradually, then began improving and improvising their moves; for insistence, Jacaerys dared to take her hand and raise it high while jumping and Helaena began swirling and jumping at the same time while also crying a gleeful laugh.
And so their dance went on like this for minutes with neither of them realising the events around them. As if their consciousness was locked in the deepest part of their minds until their dance was done. But for a split second, Jacaerys' mind released his imprisoned conscious and he realised that the song was beginning to tone down, meaning they had to end their dance some way. So he took both her hands and slowed down his moves. Helaena influenced by whatever he did, ended her jumping too. With the last note playing, they stopped with their hands entwisted to each other.
And it was at that moment when Jacaerys became aware of his surroundings.
His eyes looked around the hall, everyone were staring at them, as if they were mesmerised by their dance. On one side of the hall, his mother, Princess Rhaenyra looked at them with a confused curiosity while Lucerys was smiling in delight. On the other side, Aegon and Aemond were still shocked and bewildered. On one of the corners, Ser Harwin, standing side by side by his brother, had a warm smile on his face whereas Lord Larys' smile sent shivers down his spine. At the great table, Queen Alicent's cheeks were red with anger. Prince Daemon had a smirk on his face and one of his eyebrows was mischievously risen. But the look of King Viserys was the most hypnotising one for Jacaerys. His eyes spoke of lovelorn nostalgia while his kind smile and his tears showed relief. Jacaerys found himself lingering on his grandsire's face as he left Helaena's hands.
No one spoke a word, just staring at the two in sheer silence. Perhaps that is why they were able to hear the words coming from the city. Jacaerys looked through the large window in the castle and saw black smokes of the last night's burning still going strong in the city, but now instead of cries of pain, there were shouts of desperation and anger.
People stormed to the windows one by one to see what was happening. Even the king raised from his seat, "What in the seven hells in going on!?" he roared. After that, the hall fell into chaos, some were speculating about the events and some were panicking. Ser Harwin instantly exited the hall with the gold cloaks.
Unlike everyone else, Jacaerys was not panicking, for he knew who was probably responsible for this and to confirm his theory, he began walking towards Lord Larys. "Care to explain what is happening, uncle?" he asked.
His uncle smiled, "Nothing unusual for a city at the peak of a riot, nephew," he answered, "A fire erupted, a revolt started. It's only the natural progress of peasants' rebellions."
"That doesn't answer my question," Jacaerys lied, for it partially did, "Why there is a revolt out there in this very day? Why there was a fire breaking out last night? For what purpose did you start this fire?"
Lord Larys raised an eyebrow, "Do you think me responsible for this, nephew?"
Jacaerys crossed his arms, "I see no one else able to do such things."
"And if I confess that it's all my doing, what would you do?" Lord Larys asked.
Jacaerys thought for a second, "I'd ask you to help me get there immediately to investigate about this problem." He did not know what he could do for the people, but he knew he had to be amid them. He could have alerted the start of the fire, but cowardly turned away. The guilt pained him in his heart.
Lord Larys' smile faded and he frowned in confusion, "You? Why should you walk between the peasants and solve their problems?"
"Because I turned away from them when the problem was still small," Jacaerys answered, "I was coward to turn away, my honour has been sullied."
Lord Larys did not retort but instead put a hand on his chin and thought for a moment. "Very well," he finally answered, "Follow me." He began walking and Jacaerys followed him. They passed through the masses of noblemen and noblewomen. Amongst them Jacaerys could see his family members. He tried to hide his face from them, after all, he did not desire to be seen alongside Lord Larys.
Few steps away from the great door, Jacaerys heard a cry calling him, "Prince Jacaerys!" he turned to the source and saw Helaena running at him.
"Princess," he looked nervously at Lord Larys who stopped at once when seeing the princess, "How may I assist you?" he tried to be neutral in his speech.
"Where are you going?" she asked breathlessly once she reached him.
"Nowhere," Jacaerys answered.
"Not true entirely," said Lord Larys, "Prince Jacaerys and I hoped to get to the people amassed in the city, princess."
"What?!" Helaena widened her eyes, "Are you mad?" she asked of Jacaerys.
"You wouldn't understand, princess," Jacaerys replied, "I have to be there."
Helaena opened her mouth but no words came out of it. She frowned in frustration and clenched her fists, "I cannot allow you to go."
"You cannot stop me," said Jacaerys as he turned to his uncle, "Lord Larys, let us go, we must not tarry." He began walking to the door.
"Wait!" Helaena exclaimed, "If I cannot stop you, then I will come with you!"
Jacaerys stopped abruptly and turned back, "I won't allow you—"
"But I will," Lord Larys interrupted him. Jacaerys looked at him with disbelief but he only answered with a wicked smile. "No harm would threaten Princess Helaena's life, I will assure you of that."
Jacaerys pursed his lips, he knew there was no way he could deny his uncle's wishes. He hated it, but gave up, "Fine, but the princess should stay with me all the time."
Without another word, the three of them exited the hall. Jacaerys noticed the lack of guardsmen in the halls and found it very odd. Lord Larys walked to a corner darkened with an extinguished torch. He again pushed a brick inside and revealed his secret passageways. Jacaerys turned to Helaena who looked completely shocked and amazed by the revelation and chuckled in amusement. "These days are very strange, aren't they, princess?"
"Indeed."
"Are you coming, my prince and princess?" Lord Larys asked as he crawled into the secret hall. Jacaerys and Helaena followed him inside and they started to walk through the secret passageways.
"We're here, successfully," said Lord Larys as he opened another of his secret doors by pushing a brick into the wall.
"Which part of the city are we, my lord?" Jacaerys asked, "We need to get to the masses as soon as possible."
"Worry not, my prince," his uncle answered as he moved aside from the opened door, "Just go ahead and see for yourself."
Jacaerys eyed him with suspicion but he and Helaena walked forward with no opposition. He found the place they stepped into very familiar but not until he heard a dragon's roar did he realise that they were in the Dragonspit. He in fact saw his own dragon, "Vermax!" he exclaimed in joy as he dashed towards him, but then stopped abruptly as he reminded himself that this was not where he wanted to be. "Lord Larys, why are we in the Dragonspit?"
Lord Larys shrugged playfully and feigned an innocent smile, "I thought mayhaps you would like to ride a dragon into the masses. After all, we are weaponless against a furious crowd."
"But, my lord, I do not have a dragon," said Helaena as he eyed the many dragons in chains.
"But you could claim one," Lord Larys argued.
Jacaerys frowned in confusion, "Are you sure this is a good time to claim a dragon? She might get hurt."
Lord Larys crawled to him, "A dragonborn should never remain dragonless. Targaryens without their dragons are but sad beings. They need them to live," he said as he put a hand on Jacaerys' shoulder and directed him to Helaena, whom, apathetic to their words and argument, was staring at a dragon protected by the dragonkeepers.
She slowly walked forward, as if the dragon was calling her to do so, and Jacaerys realised no one was stopping her. In fact, everyone looked very calm about a young princess attempting to bond a wild dragon. When he tried to run towards her, Lord Larys' hand pulled him back. Helaena without interruption of others, reached a dragon of pale blue colouring and silver markings. Dreamfyre, Jacaerys widened his eyes when he recognised the she-dragon.
The dragonkeepers freed Dreamfyre of her chains and she began creeping towards Helaena. The princess raised her hand and the dragon willingly let her put it on her head. She whispered some words in High Valyrian and she groaned playfully in response. She claimed Dreamfyre and mounted her and the dragon roared in joy. Jacaerys' mouth was opened agape from shock but Lord Larys was smiling.
Helaena dismounted Dreamfyre and ran to them. "Congratulations, princess," said Lord Larys, "You are now a dragonrider."
"Thank you, my lord," she smiled with excitement as she turned to Jacaerys, "Now we may fly together to the masses and calm them down."
Jacaerys sighed in embracement, "I'm afraid that's not possible, princess. Vermax is yet too young for me to ride him."
"I fail to see how that would stop you from flying, my prince," said Lord Larys.
"Elaborate?" Jacaerys asked.
Lord Larys began crawling to Dreamfyre, but stopped at once when the dragon groaned. "Er… well, due to Dreamfyre's grumpiness and my foot, I cannot elaborate that much. But the dragon is big enough for you two to sit upon it."
Jacaerys hated it that he found the argument appealing. He only needed to know what Helaena's opinion was. Lord Larys seemed to want the same as well as the two of them unspokenly asked her the question only by looking. "I wouldn't mind," she answered, "I do not know Dreamfyre that well, but through our shared bond, I feel she wouldn't mind either."
"Wonderful," Lord Larys did not even give Jacaerys the time to ponder upon the events unveiling before him. He crawled towards Helaena and fell on one knee. Then he closed his head to her ear and whispered something to her. After a minute or two, she nodded and promised him; about what? Jacaerys did not know.
Eventually, the dragon let him mount her. Jacaerys sat behind Helaena as she took the saddles and readies herself for her first flight. He thought to encourage her with words but oddly enough, she looked very confident with her dragon. And as she cried 'fly' in High Valyrian, Dreamfyre flew to the air, flapping her wings in doing so.
Jacaerys turned his eyes to his uncle. Lord Larys was looking at him too, smiling a knowing smile. They locked eyes until Dreamfyre exited the Dragonspit.
Against Jacaerys' expectations, Dreamfyre did not fly towards the smoking part of the city, but instead, she began flying on the opposite side of it. As if she wanted to get out of King's Landing. Jacaerys looked at Helaena, who did not seem to mind it and then realised what Lord Larys might have told her. He would've told her to stop if the sense of flying wasn't so gratifying.
And so, King's Landing faded in smokes as Dreamfyre flew where her rider wanted to, which was unknown to Jacaerys.