Author's Note: Wow! Thank you everyone for the wonderful feedback. It's great to see what y'all think about the characters so far/their motives. Episode three aired just last night, so if you haven't seen it yet, STOP READING NOW AS THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD.
Since episode three immediately jumps forward 2 years, that leaves a lot a lot a lot of time unaccounted for regarding Elaena at court. So this chapter will start just where the last episode left off, and we'll make up the time in a way that makes more sense for this story. Because of that, all events from the third episode will be compiled in the second chapter of episode three, and this one will be purely scenes of my own making. As always, I hope you enjoy, happy reading! -J❤️
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This chapter includes physical violence/attempted rape. If this is a triggering subject to you, please do not read onward. With that said, if you continue to read please use your own discretion.
THE DRAGON & THE ROSE - EPISODE THREE/PART ONE
The halls of the Red Keep buzzed with excitement following the engagement of the Lady Alicent and King Viserys, tradesmen of every kind and seamstresses from all over the streets of King's Landing filled the castle from dawn to dusk in preparation for the grand wedding. While Elaena thought it distasteful to throw such an extravagant event only a year after the shocking passing of Aemma, no one else except for Rhaenyra seemed to agree with her. It felt as if after her and the infant Prince's deaths when Rhaenyra was named heir, the whole city took a deep breath in and never exhaled. The Lords and Ladies of the court as well as the commoners exhaled with this announcement of a wedding, all of them feeling tremedous joy and relief in the hope of a potential male heir being restored.
While Elaena stood in solidarity with Rhaenyra, and wanted for her to be the future sovereign, she couldn't help but hear Daemon's last words to her echoing in her mind. They will never accept a woman as their Queen. She wanted nothing more than for him to be wrong about this, but the people's reactions to this news made her waver in her own beliefs that Rhaenyra could never be replaced. She feared for her cousin, for her position at court as the heir apparent of course, but also for her heart. She knew Rhaenyra had always felt like she wasn't enough for her father, and now that he was to marry her closest friend, Elaena knew that the young Princess would feel the final nail in the coffin: that she wasn't enough for her own father. And while Elaena had no power to stop this wedding, she did have power over one thing.
Her dark green colored gown dragged softly on the floor behind her as she approached Lady Alicent's chambers. This would be the last day the young girl resided here before permanently moving to the King's chambers, where she would be much less accessible, so there was no time to waste. Two guards stood before the room on watch, including Ser Maxon who did not seemed thrilled in the slightest to see Elaena.
"I need to speak with the Lady Alicent," Elaena said coldly, sharpening her eyes to let them know she did not intend for them to turn her away. "Immediately."
"Her Grace is preparing for bed and has requested no visitors, I'm afraid it will have to wait until the morning."
"Has her Ladyship already become 'Her Grace'?" Elaena asked, cocking her head to the side. "Have I missed the wedding?"
"No, Princess," Ser Maxon said bitterly. "You have not."
"Oh I'm glad." Elaena sighed with a small, feigning relief. "Then even if it's only for a few more hours, I still outrank the Lady Alicent and demand to be granted entry to speak with her."
"Yes, Your Grace." the other guard bowed his head "At once Your Grace."
"Ser Glover-" Ser Maxon began, challenging his partner's admittance of the Princess. But Elaena didn't care about their squabbles and walked through them, pushing the door open without knocking.
When she entered, she immediately saw Alicent standing before the mirror with five chamber maids, all of them making last minute adjustments to her wedding dress. Elaena moved silently towards her, her eyes pinned on the ornate gown of red and gold.
"Leave us, please," Elaena commanded, stopping directly in between Alicent and the mirror.
The chamber maids stood quietly, flitting their eyes to Alicent for approval. She nodded once, to which the five women scurried quickly to the door. While they didn't want to offend their future queen, they also knew what The Lost Princess was capable of when angered.
"How can I help you, cousin?" Alicent asked, a sweet but frightened smile on her lips.
"I'm not your cousin," Elaena said coldly, though her eyes were fierce with fire.
Alicent nodded once, her smile quickly fading. "You can't stop this wedding, Your Grace. Not even I can, so if that's why you're here-"
"You don't think I know that?" Elaena asked, her eyebrows furrowing together. "You don't think I know that no one, not even the King, has the power to stop this? It's far too late for that."
Alicent stood silently, picking at the cuticles around her nails despite the fact that they were already raw.
"You should stop that." Elaena looked down at the future Queen's hands. "You won't want bloody fingertips on your wedding day."
"Why are you here, Elaena-" Alicent finally asked. "-if you haven't come to try and convince me to walk away?"
Elaena stared at her for a moment, trying to pick her words wisely. "Starting tomorrow, you will be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. You will be the wife of King Viserys, and you will mother his future children. All of that is certain."
"And?" Alicent asked, trying to maintain composure. But Elaena could see that the wall Alicent had built around her nerves was thin and weak, ready to collapse.
"You will be all of these things," Elaena continued despite seeing this, knowing what she had to say was necessary to protect her cousin, "But you will never be Rhaenyra's mother."
Alicent stood still as stone, her cheeks reddening as each second passed.
"You may not believe me, and you have every right not to...but it's for both Rhaenyra and for you that I'm telling you this," Elaena said, her voice a bit softer now. "If you try in any way to act as a mother to her, she will immediately reject you."
"I'm not daft," Alicent said quietly, "I lost my own mother as well-"
"But no one ever tried to replace your mother, did they?" Elaena said strongly. "No one ever came into your life and took her place, tried to assume that role?"
Alicent said nothing with tears in her eyes, but Elaena couldn't tell who the girl was crying for... for Rhaenyra or herself.
"Listen to me and heed my words, or don't. But I think you would wise not to press this newfound power you'll have over her, as a queen or as a mother. She'll only resent you even more than she already does. Our ability to trust and love those around us is already miniscule at court, you both need each other as friends more than you do as enemies...but because of how things are it's up to you to try and mend the bridge between you two, not her," Elaena finished. She stared at Alicent for another moment, then turned to walk away. She had said everything she needed to. But Alicent hadn't.
"It wasn't my choice-" Alicent said, just as Elaena reached the door. Her voice cracked with tears as she spoke, causing a slight sting of guilt in Elaena's chest. Elaena stood still, her hand hovering over the doorknob as she listened. "It was my father's choice. I don't want this, maybe even more than Rhaenyra might not want it. Will you please tell her that?"
Elaena turned over her shoulder slowly before looking back at Alicent, her words soft with pain. "Of course I could tell her...but would it matter? Would it change anything for her?"
Alicent stood speechless, her mouth slightly agape. Elaena nodded once, knowing her point had been made and then left, leaving the future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms with her thoughts.
Three Months Later
"Lift your chin up," Elaena said softly, turning to Rhaenyra who had her eyes on the floor before them. Elaena had been summoned to the Small Council meeting together once they were done riding, and Rhaenyra was walking her there. Ser Cley silently followed a few steps behind them both, accompanying them as they made their way there. "You can't keep letting them see that this bothers you."
"But it does," Rhaenyra snapped, "Shouldn't they know that?"
"Trust me, cousin," Elaena responded, "They already know how you feel. We all do."
Rhaenyra pursed her lips as they walked, a flash of anger running across her face.
"Don't think that I'm not on your side Rhaenyra, I'm just trying to help you-"
"How can you help me?" Rhaenyra asked, stopping in her tracks in front of the small council doors with a hostile tongue. "Can you change the fact that Alicent is pregnant? Can you promise that it will be a girl that is born and not a boy? Or if you can't do any of that, can you ensure that even if it is a boy he won't replace me as heir?"
Elaena looked at her calmly before saying anything. She didn't know how Rhaenyra must be feeling, she didn't know how she would handle it all herself if their positions were switched. But she did know that Rhaenyra was alienating herself even further from everyone in her life because of these feelings.
"Don't push me away, Rhaenyra," Elaena said in a hushed tone. "I'm the only person left that is completely in your corner right now."
Rhaenyra said nothing, but her face immediately crumpled, her eyes reddening with tears. Elaena took a step forward and envelopped her in a hug, trying to pass any strength that she may have had to Rhaenyra.
"I could hardly breathe as it was before this all happened-" Rhaenyra choked, "I don't know how I'm supposed to do any of this-"
"You're supposed to do this with me." Elaena comforted her with a gentle voice. "With everyone that loves you by your side."
"Who else is there to love and support me apart from you?"
"I know you may not believe it right now, but your father does love you... You've had every right to be angry with him, to be angry with the world. But it's also okay to forgive him, as well as Alicent. I know you miss them both-"
"Did you forgive your father? Or Lynara?" Rhaenyra asked callously, stepping away from Elaena.
"What-"
"Did you forgive them?" Rhaenyra asked louder, her eyes filled with spite. "When he killed your mother and chose her?"
Elaena didn't know how to respond, feeling as if her mouth was frozen by ice and her feet trapped in quickstand below her.
"Then I suggest you take your own advice before trying to pass it on to me," Rhaenyra said bitterly, turning to leave. Elaena watched as she walked away, unable to do or say anything in return. Perhaps she was right, how could she tell Rhaenyra to forgive Alicent and Viserys when she had never forgiven her own father or step-mother? Who was she to tell Rhaenyra to do what she could not?
Ser Cley took a few steps forward, offering Elaena his handkerchief without a word.
"Thank you, Cley," Elaena whispered, taking it in hand to quickly dab her eyes.
"I'm sorry she said that, Elaena," he said quietly, making sure no one heard them both address each other so informally. "She wasn't right to say it."
"Wasn't she?" Elaena asked, sniffing a little. "Have I not done the same thing as her all my life?"
"Forgiveness is easier said than done," he responded. "And the circumstances surrounding each of your mother's deaths are different."
He ducked his head lower, not knowing what to say to make her feel any better about this situation. As a Karstark living at Winterfell, he had seen Elaena grow up with Lynara first-hand. He knew their relationship better than anyone else at court, and yet he still didn't have a better answer for her.
"We should go inside," Elaena finally said, wiping her eyes one last time before tucking the handkerchief into her hands. "Rhaenyra will forgive me or she wont, but I can't make that decision for her. And I'm expected elsewhere right now."
Cley nodded, then opened the door to the small council chambers for her. As she walked in, the room hushed, and she immediately saw Lynara sitting at the table with the others. If she was here too, there was only one reason why this meeting was taking place. Elaena walked to her seat and curtsied before them, feeling suspicion rise from her stomach to her throat.
"My King, My Queen."
"Please sit, Elaena," Viserys said apprehensively, motioning to the chair between himself and Lynara.
Elaena avoided Lynara's eyes, refusing to look at her. The conversation she had just had with Rhaenyra stirred up old feelings of resentment and anger, and she knew this conference would only add to those feelings.
"This meeting is to discuss marriage for me, is it not?" Elaena asked, feeling a lump in her throat as if she had swallowed a stone. She could feel Cley's eyes on her, but was unable to look back at him. He had seen her cry enough for a lifetime.
The rest of the table sat silently before the King gave a short nod. "Yes."
"To who?"
She looked across the table to see the Hand of the King sitting with a small and mischevious smile on his lips. "To Jason Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock," Lord Hightower said, amusement dancing in his eyes. Of course he was to be the one acting as a catalyst for this decision.
"I refuse," Elaena said stiffly, turning to face King Viserys. "I'm sorry, cousin, but I won't marry that brainless brute."
"The whole purpose of our coming to King's Landing was to find you a suitable match that benefited yourself and your house. Lord Lannister will provide you with a life most dream of, you'll want for nothing," Lynara said strongly, her eyes glaring as she spoke to her step-daughter.
"That was your purpose in coming here, Lynara, not mine. I don't want to be showered in gold a thousand leagues away from here-" she seethed, refusing to back down so easily. "I was promised a match that would keep me in King's Landing, my home."
"Well I'm afraid that unless you want to be betrothed to an infant when the King's son is born," Lord Hightower mused, "You'll have to agree to the match we've set for you."
"I won't let you drive me away so easily," Elaena said bitterly, her breathing growing more intense.
"Enough, the both of you," King Viserys said loudly. "You're making Rhaenyra look reasonable."
The two stopped speaking, but remained staring at each other with hatred behind their eyes.
"Whether you like it or not, Elaena, you must marry," King Viserys continued, his voice gentler now. "We all have obligations to the crown and to this family whether we like it or not."
"If I agree can I at least get to choose who I am to marry?" Elaena countered, her tongue sharp as a blade. "After all, not even the gods can grant Kings the power to force someone to marry, cousin. I must be a consenting party to whoever is chosen."
"Fine. Who do you have in mind?" the King asked with a small sigh.
"I don't know," she said honestly. "Not yet."
"Of course she doesn't," the Hand smiled, as if he enjoyed watching her flail, "I'm afraid the Princess will do anything to shirk her familial duty."
"It's not about familial duty, My Lord," Lynara sighed, avoiding Elaena's eyes as she spoke. "She's in love with Prince Daemon. She wears the necklace he gave her everyday as a symbol of this love. And just the other night I heard him in her chambers when we all thought he was at Dragonstone... She'll never agree to marry anyone except for him."
Elaena snapped her head to the side to look at Lynara, who had a contrite look on her pinched face. Before Elaena even realized what she was doing she had stood up and slapped her step-mother so hard across the face a burning hand print was left on the woman's pale skin.
"Do not speak as if you have ever been a part of this family, as if you know anything about me, you vile, vicious snake-"
"ENOUGH! SIT DOWN, NOW!" Viserys boomed, his face flushed with anger. He took a moment to compose himself as Elaena lowered herself into the seat. She stared daggers into Lynara's whole body, but the woman refused to acknowledge what just happened. He turned hostily to Elaena, his eyes wide, "Is it true? Was in he your chambers?"
"Yes," Elaena whispered, feeling her tears fall from her eyes. "But he didn't... we didn't-"
"And your step-mother speaks the truth? You love him?"
She had never admitted it once to anyone out loud before, not even herself. She despised the fact that this is how it would be said. "Yes."
"For thousands of years, Targaryen women have married without problem, they understood the necessity for it, above their own wistful wishes for love," Viserys said angrily. "And all of a sudden under my reign I have my daughter and the girl I treat as if she were my daughter acting like the world revolves around their own wishes. One of whom has no desire to ever marry and the other admitting she's in love with my brother, a man already bound in matrimony to another!"
The whole table sat silent as death, fearing even to look at the King wrong as he continued in his rampage. Even the Hand of the King who was more likely to chance a speculative and risky comment remained silent. Viserys stood abruptly, causing Alicent to jump a little in her seat next to him. He paced around the table, everyone awaiting his next word.
"Elaena," he finally said, stopping in his tracks. "You have until the end of the month to choose a suitor that must then be approved of by the small council."
"And if I refuse this option as well?" Elaena asked bitterly, her eyes blurry from tears.
"If you refuse and do not choose someone in 30 days time, I will personally see to it that you are married to Lord Rickard Stark, the Lady Lynara's brother. His wife died earlier this month and our ties with the north are growing weaker. A marriage between a crowned princess and their warden should fix it."
Lynara snapped her head to the King, disbelief and shock in her face at his words. This wasn't what she wanted, not in the slightest. The whole point of her coming to King's Landing was to marry Elaena off, to send and keep her far away from Winterfell so that she wouldn't be obligated to the girl anymore.
"Your Grace-" Lynara started, but the King wouldn't hear it, continuing his speech to Elaena.
"If you don't find a suitable match on your own by the end of the month, you will marry Lord Stark. I don't care if I have to hold you down before the High Septon myself. And once you're married you will leave King's Landing immediately to spend the remainder of your days in Winterfell, banned from returning to the Red Keep ever again. Do you understand my terms?"
"Yes, Your Grace," Elaena muttered, feeling as if she were about to be sick.
"And should I hear anything as close to a whisper of you not picking a match for yourself in the attempts to be with Prince Daemon, our agreement will be null and you will marry Lord Stark before the month's end. The information revealed today about your feelings for him is to to stay in this room and to be put to bed from all of you. I will not have your purity or innocence in question to destroy the potential of other matches, do I make myself perfectly clear to all of you?"
Elaena nodded as the others spoke in agreement, unable to speak as she tried to keep herself from having a complete and total breakdown. How was she supposed to choose someone else to marry by month's end when she couldn't even move or breathe without thinking of Daemon?
"Now leave, all of you," the King exhaled, his face knotted with frustration. "I've had enough of this."
Elaena stood quickly, avoiding Cley's eyes as she marched out of the room towards her chambers.
"Princess Elaena!" he said, following her out of the room with worry for her. He quickly moved to catch up with her, but once she turned the corner out of sight from the others leaving the small council chamber she began to run. She bolted as fast as her feet could carry her, not wanting anyone to see her cry anymore, least of all Cley. She hated that he had been in the room with them when all of that was said, she hated that he heard everything.
"Elaena!" he shouted once more, dropping the expected formality while in the presence of others as he chased after her.
Once she got to her room she slammed the door behind her and bolted the door. She could hear Cley soon outside of it, knocking for her to open it, but she ignored him. Soon after she could hear Lynara's voice outside of the door as well, demanding for herself to be let in. Elaena had nothing to say to her ever again. Not only had she revealed her deepest feelings before the council, she also told them about her secret meeting with Daemon as if it was a regular gossip session with the other ladies of the court. She had given no regard to either Elaena's feelings or her safety at court. If rumor had spread around the castle of Daemon being in her private chambers with no chaperone, she could have effectively been labeled as a whore with no chances whatsoever of a decent marriage to anyone, an outcast from the rest of court for the rest of her days.
Ignoring the sounds of Cley and Lynara on the other side of the door, she immediately marched over to her writing desk and sat down. Not knowing who else to turn to, she frantically pulled out a piece of parchment and her quill to write to Daemon. Her hand shook as she dipped the tip into the ink and wrote out his name. But after that, she couldn't think of what she should write. What was she supposed to say? Your brother knows about us? Come back and whisk me away before he makes me marry someone else?
The last time they spoke four months ago their conversation ended with her saying that it wasn't possible. How could she flip like a coin and now demand that he take her back? Because despite everything said and done today she still wasn't willing to let him kill Rhea Royce for her. She wasn't willing to compromise her morals for her own selfish feelings like her father had done. So there was nothing to be said other than her sharing her heartbreak about it all with him. And if she did that, he wouldn't understand. Not when the solution was so simple in his eyes. So she set down her quill and crumpled up the piece of parchment into a ball. She stood, violently throwing it into the fireplace next to her. She watched as it burned, the edges of the paper turning black as the flames licked away and ate it up. Elaena sunk to her knees as she watched silently as his inked in name fade from existence, leaving her all alone.
Three Weeks Later
Hidden in her room, Elaena hardly left her bed in the weeks following the small council meeting. There were only three people in her life that she wanted to talk to and yet she couldn't talk to any of them. The person she wanted to talk to the most was half way around the world fighting in a war against the Crabfeeder, while one lived in the same castle but refused to speak with her. Leaving the only one left being the boy who already knew everything that had happened. She couldn't bring herself to face Cley, especially when she knew that he would be nothing but understanding. His kindness overwhelmed her, and the reason behind it overwhelmed her even more. She knew Cley was in love with her, and while she held love in her heart for him she knew she'd never be able to reciprocate what he felt about her. So though she desperately needed to talk to someone, she refused to talk about her broken heart with a man who wished it was he that she loved.
Rather than continue life as it was, she remained in bed by herself as she went over all the names of the eligible Lords she could choose to marry, but each one left a sour taste in her mouth. The thought of being sold to any of them like a brood mare made her sick to her stomach. And despite the days slipping from her grasp like water would through her hands, she still had come no closer to making a decision than she had been in the small council meeting. Because with each day that passed she came closer to fully realizing she'd never be happy with anyone else than Daemon, and the sinister voice in the back of her mind that wanted her to remove Rhea Royce from the situation grew louder and louder each day. With Daemon's wife gone, she could easily have everything she wanted, and lose nothing save for the respect of the King, which in truth didn't matter to her anymore for he had already lost hers. It terrified her when she caught herself thinking about it, about the logistics of what it would take to kill Rhea. She didn't want to be that person, a person who does any evil deed for her own gain, but she would also rather die than live the rest of her life in misery.
"My Lady, I have your breakfast," Ona called from outside, tearing her from her thoughts.
Elaena stood from her bed and shuffled over, unbolting the door for her chambermaid. Ona walked through and curtsied nervously, then took the tray of food to her bedside. Elaena watched Ona quickly leave without another word. She was surprised by this, but then didn't have it in her to care. She wanted to be alone. As she began to close the door a brutish force pushed it open, causing her to stumble backwards from the impact. Once she found her balance and turned around, she saw Lynara force her way in with a member of the Kingsguard. She silently bolted the door and then faced Elaena.
"Get out, now!" Elaena immediateyl shouted, turning to grab a vase behind her. She held it up over her head as a threat, waiting for Lynara to leave.
"Elaena put the vase down before you hurt yoursel-"
Elaena immediately threw it with as much strength as she had, causing the ceramic to shatter in pieces against the door next to Lynara's head. Elaena immediately felt tears of anger well in her eyes as the woman stood stoically, not flinching.
"Can't we speak civilly?" Lynara asked coolly, her shoes crunching on the broken pieces as she walked towards Elaena.
"I don't wish to speak to you now, or ever again," Elaena breathed, marching away from her. "Not after what you did."
"Then don't speak, but you will listen to what I have to say."
"You can't make me." Elaena shook her head, feeling sick to her stomach as she dodged the broken vase towards the door to leave. "You can't make me listen to a single loathsome and foul thing you have to say."
"Ser Farley," Lynara sighed. The kingsguard member stepped in front of her before she could reach for the door, blocking her way with his massive body. He was three heads taller than her and twice as thick, with a cherry red scar running across his cheek.
"I am Princess Elaena of House Targaryen, first of her name," Elaena spat, her whole body shaking as she faced him. "Move out of my way, now."
"He's under strict order not to, not until you listen to me," Lynara said, sitting on the edge of the bed and beckoning Elaena to join her. "And don't even try to call for Ser Cley, he's been called away on another matter so no one will hear you."
"I am a Princess, you are not Lynara, you don't outcommand me-"
"It isn't me commanding him, Elaena. It's someone that does outrank you."
"Who?" Elaena turned to her in disbelief.
"Your younger cousin. She said it was high time you share your forgiveness towards me, and ensured me the opportunity to try and get it. So you see, your command is outranked."
Elaena shivered a little, feeling every bone in her body quake with anger. She silently walked to the chair and sat across from Lynara, filled to the brim with betrayal.
"I said what I did to protect you, Elaena, not hurt you," Lynara began vapidly. "You needed to realize that your infatuation with Prince Daemon is not feasible, it's not sustainable."
"You don't know anything about him, or my feelings for him for that matter."
"Do I not?" Lynara scoffed. "Was I not in the same exact position as you are in now? In love with a man who's married to another? You may believe you're different, that your love will beat the odds... but you two will never end up together, unless you're willing to do what I did to your mother."
As soon as the words left her mouth Lynara's face dropped, realizing what she had just said, what she had just revealed. Elaena's brows furrowed together as she repeated what she heard. "What you did to my mother?"
"I meant to say your father, it was just a misuse of words," Lynara quickly recovered, shaking her head once to rid herself of the nerves on her face. "My point is that-"
"No." Elaena stood slowly, her rage boiling over. "I heard what you said, and I heard it clearly...it was you."
Lynara sat silently, breathing heavily out of her nose. She had been caught out, and she knew it. Anything she did or said would not help her, but neither would her silence.
"You were the one who poisoned my mother?" she whispered. "And not my father?"
"You're misreading things, Elaena," Lynara said nervously, her hands white in her lap. "Don't be hasty to jump to conclusions-"
"I'm not jumping to anything, you told me the truth to my face after 10 years of lying about your involvement in it," Elaena cried, "Did my father know you were going to do it? Or did he only take the fall for you to protect you from the repurcusions? You were noble born, sure, but you were never a royal. You would have been executed for what you did to my mother, to the queen to be."
"Elaena-"
"You had me believe for our entire lives together that you had nothing to do with it!" Elaena cried, "You had me believe that my father was a conniving murderer who plotted against my mother!"
"He was," Lynara stood, her eyes red with hatred. "It was something we agreed to do together. Your mother stood in our way for years, since before you were even born."
"I may not be able to prove it, not after all this time with only your word against mine..." Elaena seethed, "...but I can make sure that you suffer every moment of the rest of your life. In fact, I mean to."
Without another word Elaena turned on her heels to leave. In this moment she didn't care any longer who she would marry, she didn't care about what the rest of her life had to offer. She only wanted one thing, and that was for Lynara to pay for what she did with death and fire.
"Stop her," Lynara said quickly as Elaena tried to leave.
Quicker than blinking she felt Lynara's guard backhand her, the metal armor on his hand cutting into her skin at first contact. She felt herself fall to the floor, lightheaded and bleeding with a searing hot pain in her face. She moaned a little as she tried to stand, but immediately felt the blow of his steel toed boots into her stomach. She gasped loudly for air as she fell back into a fetal position on the stone floor. The sound of Lynara's footsteps echoed through the ground towards her until she saw the woman's blurry figure in her vision.
"I didn't want to have to do this Elaena, truly I never did. You were in an innocent in this. But if you tell the King the truth you no longer will be, and I know that I'll have to pay the ultimate price for what I did. I don't plan on ever doing that."
Elaena spat at her, bloodied spit spraying on the hem of her dress, "Go to hell-"
"Don't act like you're any different from me, Elaena. As if you haven't thought about doing to Lady Royce exactly what I did to your mother," Lynara said shortly. "Don't act like it's not something that's tempted you from the moment you knew you loved Daemon."
"You're wrong-" Elaena choked, still struggling to find her breath.
"Then you're stronger than I was." With that, Lynara stepped away, giving the brutish guard one nod. "Remember... it has to look like an intruder came in. A ravenous heathen looking for a piece of the Lost Princess."
"You won't get away with this, the King will find out!"
"Not if you're dead," Lynara said coldly, turning to leave the room.
"You-"
Elaena couldn't finish her thought though, met with another agonizing kick as Lynara left the room. Before she had time to register the pain, she felt the man shove a piece of dirty cloth down her throat, preventing her from screaming. Her eyes widened as he moved on top of her, nailing her arms to the ground with one hand so that she couldn't move. Her back rolled over the broken shards of the vase, sinking into her skin as she struggled. No matter how hard she wanted to fight back, his strength and sheer size overwhelmed her as he began to tear at her skirt. She willed herself as much as she could, pleading to the strongest parts of her to do anything to stop him. Though the basic instinct of terror wanted her to freeze and not fight back, she forced herself to try what she could before he could violate her. But under his weight her fullest attempts to fight him off only resulted in her squirming on the ground like a helpless earthworm in the dirt.
She felt another blow across her face, which despite the pain she was thankful for, because it knocked the cloth in her mouth loose enough to spit out. The overwhelming rusty taste of blood filled her mouth, but she wasted no time before screaming for help at the top of her lungs. "HELP!"
The pitch of her screams hurt her own eardrums, but she didn't care. She screamed again and again until the man covered her mouth with his sweaty hand. But her call for help was enough, for the door opened quickly, revealing Cley. His eyes widened as he immediately pulled out his sword. He didn't hesitate for a moment before lunging forward, cutting into his backside with one clean stroke.
The beast of a man roared in pain, then unsheathed his sword to fight back. Initially Elaena feared for Cley's life, for this man was twice his size, but the second she saw Cley's eyes she knew that he had anger and vengeance on his side. It took only three more swings of his sword to kill the man, his blood spraying in her face as the final cut was made across his throat. Elaena sat motionless on the ground, covered in both his and her own blood and in pain all over.
"Elaena-" Cley exhaled, moving towards her.
"Don't touch me-" she said quickly, shrinking backwards, "Please- don't-"
"I won't," he stopped, his demeanor quickly shifting from murderous to gentle. "I just need to know if there's anyone else, or was it just him?"
"It was just him," she muttered, staring at the dead body at her feet. "But it was Lynara who told him to do it."
"Will she have fled by now?" he asked urgently, wanting to stop her before she had the chance to vanish without justice.
"No, she's probably in her chambers...I'm sure she expects I'm already dead, made to look like an intruder got me... She said you weren't anywhere close by to help me, that no one was. How did you hear me?"
"I was told you called for me at the dragonpit, but when you weren't there I knew something was wrong."
"Just go get the King," Elaena whispered, fighting her tears. "Go get the King, tell him what happened, then get Lynara and bring them both back here. I want him to see exactly what happened because of her."
"I'm not leaving you-"
"Yes, you are," she said strongly, her breathing erratic. "You're going to leave now and you're going to do as I said, and immediately come back with them. I won't risk her getting away with murder. Not again."
"Yes, princess," Cley said quietly. "Just bolt the door until I'm back."
He quickly turned around and ran from the room, moving as fast as he could towards the King's chambers. Elaena stood shakily, moving towards the door to lock it. But she stopped frozen in her tracks before she took two steps, thinking she had seen a ghost in the corner of the room...but it was only her own reflection. She walked slowly, barefooted through the pools of blood on the ground towards the mirror. Her whole body trembled as she examined herself. Her skin was pale as ice from shock, contrasted even further by the thick and dark red blood spattered all over her nightgown and face. Deep red and purple bruising had already begun to cover the skin around her mouth and eye, as well as her wrists from where he held her down. She lifted her shredded nightdress up as her lip quivered, afraid of what she was going to see. Across her stomach the same discoloration swelled to the surface from where she was kicked. She slowly turned around, seeing small shards of the ceramic vase lodged in her skin. She quickly dropped the hem of the dress and grabbed the blood-spattered blanket from her bed. She threw it over the mirror, covering the reflection with the velvet fabric before she saw anymore of the haunted figure looking back at her. This wasn't who she wanted to be, or who she was. This imposter in the mirror was not a reflection of her strength, and it certainly wasn't a reflection of her fury.
Author's Note: I know this chapter had a very dark turn for Elaena at the end. And while I'm usually against scenes like this, the purpose of it in the context of this story is to be a major catalyst for the development of her character. Until now, Elaena's been on the fence with her morals. We see her battling her darkest thoughts, trying to find a balance between the values of being a Targaryen Dragon and a Tyrell Rose. She wants to be good and moral, but she often finds herself being tempted by the strength that darkness has to offer her. This scene is a breaking point for her, giving her a giant push towards who she needs to be to survive what's to come ahead. And now that we've set up what happened in the two years that we lost during the show, we can follow the events of the episode in the next chapter. Until then, I'd love to hear what you all think so far! Your input means the world to me!