The eggs around them glittered even in the dark of the cavernous Dragonpit. Greens, reds, blues, golds, blacks shone around them in the dim light as the three siblings made their way deeper into the chamber.
"What do you think, Luke?" Jaedys asked her younger brother. Lucerys rubbed his chin comically as he strode about the steamy room.
"I don't want to be hasty, sister, this is a delicate business," he replied.
Jace huffed beside his siblings. "Will you go ahead and pick one already? We've been here near on an hour," he leaned close to his sister and whispered, "I told you it was a mistake to let him choose."
"It seemed like the noble thing to do at the time," she muttered out the corner of her mouth.
"Can someone pick me up? I think I see the one but I need a closer look," their little brother called from across the room. Jace brought his palm to his face before leaning his head on his sister's shoulder exasperatedly.
Ser Harwin came forward at that moment and swept Lucerys onto his shoulders. "Where do you see it, my Prince?" Jaedys watched as her brother directed the knight toward a dark brown egg in the far corner. The dragon keepers swept forward and collected the egg with great care before placing it in the coal pot, bowing, and carrying it out of the Dragonpit.
Lucerys grinned the whole way as they rode in the wheelhouse back to the Keep, his moment of responsibility giving an air of importance as he talked Ser Harwin's ear off. Jacaerys quietly observed his sister as she gazed out of the small window of the wheelhouse. He knew Jaedys avoided going to the Dragonpit, unlike Aemond, and he knew she had put on a brave face in going with them to choose an egg. Feeling his eyes on her, Jaedys turned to see her twin observing her quietly in thought. She gave a small smile before joining in on Ser Harwin's exchange with their younger brother. Neither of them detected the forced nature in her animated conversation, but she knew Jace did.
When they exited into the courtyard of the Keep Jaedys was feeling more herself. "Are we training today, Ser Harwin?"
He turned from where he walked a ways ahead with her brothers as the egg was carried into the castle. "I thought we might skip today, Princess. You should spend this time with your mother after her labors." She nodded and pursed her lips in disappointment. "But I expect you to stay sharp for our next meeting. You are to jump every fourth stone step and hold your balance on one leg for thirty seconds as you reach your mother's chambers."
She arched her eyebrows, "But that'll take ages!"
"Not if you go quickly," he smirked, "Come, lads. Let's leave your sister to it."
"Wow, Ser Harwin, I'm glad I train with Ser Criston. He goes much easier on us than you do on Jade…" she heard Luke exclaim as the three of them walked into the castle. She harumphed to herself as she watched them go. From this angle Luke's curls looked an awful lot like Ser Harwin's. She laughed at the thought and started what would be a long and arduous trek to Maegor's Holdfast.
"Mēre, lanta, hāre, izula," she chanted before jumping and holding her balance one-footed, her fingers holding up her long blur skirts as she went. "Mēre, lanta, hāre, izula." On and on she went through the winding halls and staircases of the Keep amidst the aghast eyes of the court. Most were friendly and used to her ways, but those that seemed to be favorites of the Queen clutched their hands to their chests as though she were committing a horrible afront. Jaedys couldn't be bothered. Smiling as she went, she was a dragon, and dragons did not suffer the opinions of lesser beasts.
"Mēre, lanta, hāre, izula," she continued up the stairs outside the throne room, passing several lords and ladies as she went.
"Congratulations on the birth of your brother, Princess Jaedys," one of them called to her.
"Thank you, Lord Caswell! Most kind of you!" she called back, eyes never leaving the stone steps as she continued her strange walk. She continued down one of the outside hallways and that's how Aemond found her, as she jumped her way around a stone bust of King Jahaerys. He had been casually looking for her all morning when he heard one of the pages mention to another the Princess's odd walk up from the courtyard.
"What new form of combat is this? You look less like a dragon and more like a deadly rooster," he laughed as he leaned against the stone wall. She looked up and smiled slightly out of breath.
"Ser Harwin has instructed I work on my balance as I make my way to my mother's chambers," she panted, "Now quiet or you'll make me lose count."
He tilted his head quietly as he observed her. What he imagined was once an immaculate braid had gone loose with stray hairs falling across her face and back. The green satchel he had given her for her nameday was slung across the shoulders of a very disheveled blue dress. But he knew she could care less. She jumped at the end of her count and continued down the hall, Aemond at her side.
"Emagon ao rhēdan aōha arlie lēkia? (Have you met your new brother?)" he asked.
"Daor (No)," she replied, "Nyke mērī gīmigon bona issa iā lēkia. (I only know that he is a brother.)"
"Ñuha muña ēza ūndegīon zirȳla (My mother has seen him)," he said, "Aōha muña gūrotan zirȳla naejot ūndegon zirȳla sepār tolī īles āzma. (Your mother took him to see her just after he was born.)"
At this she paused her steps. "Gaomas bona daor pryjagon ao hae pirta? (Does that not strike you as odd?)" He shrugged and continued walking.
"Nyke pendagon ziry jeldan naejot ūndegon se rūs, (I suppose she simply wanted to see the babe,)" he paused, "Naejot ūndegon lo ziry issa tolī hae ao iā tolī hae Ser Laenor. (To see if he looks more like you or more like Ser Laenor.)"
At this she narrowed her eyes at his back. "Why should that matter?" she growled.
Aemond turned to look at her, "Ao sagon daor laesdaor, Jade, istia ūndegon ao se aōha lēkiai issi daorun hae zirȳla. (You're not blind, Jade. You must see you and your brothers are nothing like him.)" She turned red at this. He knew it had bothered her greatly that she did not look more Valyrian, she who also did not have a dragon.
"Skoro syt gaomagon vestrā kesi ra? (Why do you say these things?)" she asked sharply, "Skori ao gīmigon ziry jenigon nyke (When you already know it bothers me.)"
His brows shot up in alarm and he reached out to her. She smacked his arm away and crossed her own facing away from him, her step count forgotten.
"I am not saying this to hurt you, but surely you must have noticed," he said softly as he moved nearer.
She narrowed her eyes at him, "I am not blind, Aemond. I know what I look like," she scoffed waving her hand, "My grandmother Rhaenys is a Baratheon through her mother. My grandmother Aemma was an Arryn. Both Houses have dark features. That is all."
"Is that what Ser Laenor tells you?" he asked.
"Issi ao brōzare ñuha kepa iā pirtirys? (Are you calling my father a liar?)" she demanded.
He shook his head and leaned in close, whispering, "Nyke ȳdra daor pendagon issa aōha kepa. (I don't think he is your father.)"
She stepped back looking into his face, searching for some hint of a jest between friends. When she saw none, she felt anger rising. "Bona mazverdagon ñuha muñar pirtirys. Skoro syt pōnta pirtir?! (That would make my parents liars. Why would they lie?!)
"To protect your family. To protect you, as I would," he said softly putting his hand on her shoulder.
She shook her head, holding his gaze. "This is a lie," she whispered, "A lie I'm sure your mother has put in your head." She pushed him away attempting to walk away from him.
"Why would I lie to you? You should know I would never. I would never aim to anger you," he pleaded as he blocked her path.
"No, but your mother would not care," she rounded on him, "She who demands my mother's presence from the birthing bed. She who disapproves so heartily of my family. Are you so easily fooled?"
"Are you?" he shot back. She felt her fists clench.
"Pār ivestragon nyke lo qilōni iksis nūmāzma naejot sagon ñuha drēje kepa? (Then tell me, who is it that's meant to be my true father?)" she questioned sarcastically.
"Gaomagon nyke drējī emagon naejot ivestragon ao? (Do I truly have to tell you?)" he asked giving her a knowing look. She blinked at him for a moment. Then his eyes seemed to send a silent signal to hers. She looked down at her feet, back down the way she had come, and back at Aemond.
"It's not true," she whispered. "It's not. I would have known. He would have told me."
He blew out a small breath, "I just thought it was time you knew. Everyone else already seems to know."
She shook her head, glaring at him. "I don't believe you," she hissed at him before marching past and making her way to her mother's chambers.
Jaedys bristled as she walked down the halls of the Red Keep. She could not believe what Aemond had told her, how he dared to call into question the honor of both her parents and how he had implicated Ser Harwin. He was her sworn protector, nothing more. The affection he felt for her was that of a mentor, a friend.
And yet— said a small voice in her head— Aemond would not lie to me. No, he would not lie, but what he was suggesting was quite impossible. Would it not explain everything though? No, it would not. Her light brown hair was easily explained away by her Baratheon blood, nothing more. Even if her grandmother herself did not have the looks of a Baratheon. She wrestled with her thoughts and irritation towards Aemond all the way to her mother's door.
When she entered, the scene before her caused her to halt suddenly. Ser Harwin stood rocking the baby in his arms while her mother sat smiling and watching. Whatever her mother was saying died on her lips as she looked to the door.
"Hello, dearest. We were wondering where you'd got to."
"I was just telling the Princess about the exercise you were meant to be doing on your way here. Did you manage it?" asked Ser Harwin as he continued rocking the baby. She eyed them looking between her mother and Ser Harwin, then to the baby whose hair seemed to be just as dark brown as her brothers'.
"No," she said slowly, "I didn't manage it."
"Well that's not like you," said Ser Harwin, "I expect you were eager to see your mother then."
Jaedys moved into the room and, avoiding the spot Rhaenyra patted next to her, sat on the chair opposite still observing the scene. Her mother was still flushed from the birth that morning, she thought. Yes, that must be why she seemed so out of breath.
Rhaenyra quirked her head slightly, "Everything alright, my love?"
"Yes, are you?"
Rhaenyra shifted slightly, "I will surely need time to recover, but as well as can be." Jaedys looked at Ser Harwin holding the baby in his arms, the image seemingly confirming everything Aemond had told her. Her jaw stiffened in anger. She looked back at him as he balanced the child on his armored arm. Had he held her like that? Had his eyes been so obvious in their affection this whole time? Aemond was right. She had been so blind.
"Won't Ser Harwin get in trouble for being gone too long?" she questioned. Rhaenyra looked at her daughter with some surprise. Usually, she could not get enough of Ser Harwin's company.
"You don't have to go, surely," she started.
"No, no, the Princess is right," he smiled softly at the babe as he gingerly handed him back to his mother, "The City Watch won't command itself after all."
"But we will see you tomorrow for Jade's lessons of course, will we not?" asked Rhaenyra.
He looked to Jaedys, "If it suits the Princess."
Jaedys shrugged slightly, "Sure." If he was surprised by her lack of eagerness, he hid it well. Pausing a moment he bowed before the two.
"Until tomorrow then. My Princesses." With one last look to Rhaenyra and the babe in her arms, he left.
Rhaenyra looked down at the baby then back at her oldest child. "Are you feeling alright? You don't seem quite yourself."
Jaedys gave a dark laugh and muttered, "Perhaps I'm not quite sure who that is."
"Has something happened?"
"I don't know," she crossed her arms, "Has it?"
Rhaenyra looked back at her daughter, neither of their eyes breaking contact. "I apologize if you're feeling rather neglected, my love, but one day when you are in the birthing bed I'm sure you will understand."
Jaedys shook her head pushing herself back on the chair dramatically, "Of course you'd think that. Silly Jade, she's jealous of dragon eggs so she must be jealous of the new baby."
Rhaenyra looked sadly at her daughter. "Well, is it not? I'm sure you must have felt robbed of Ser Harwin's attention just now."
Jade looked away from her mother narrowing her eyes as she placed her chin on her fist. "I don't want to talk about Ser Harwin," she said under her breath. Rhaenyra raised her brows slightly as she looked at her daughter. Realization seemed to dawn on her face. While she had dreaded the day she would have to have this conversation, she had been optimistic, naïve even, in thinking it was a long way off.
She cleared her throat, "Would you like to hold Joffrey?" she asked. Jade looked back at her mother, then to the bundle she carried. Nodding quietly, she rose from the chair and walked to the spot next to her mother she had avoided. Rhaenyra placed the baby in her arms. "Good, yes. You'll want to hold that arm a little higher for the head. Yes, that's it."
Jaedys brought her face closer to the sleeping baby, taking in the soft smell of him. She had loved the smell of Baby Luke as well. Bringing her finger to his small hand, she was delighted when he closed his fingers around her own.
"You held my finger like that the day you were born," her mother said warmly as she moved her disheveled braid and kissed her cheek. "You and Jace were so different the day you came to me. And you still are."
"Did we also have Ser Harwin's brown hair when we were born or did that come later?" she questioned still looking at Joffrey. She felt her mother stiffen beside her.
"Where did you ever get such an outlandish idea as that?" she questioned.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked looking to her mother. "Did you think I would not know eventually?"
"Pirtra, ñuha jorrāelagon (Lies, my love)," her mother said caressing her cheek, "Nothing but—"
"I'm sure you cannot bring yourself to say it out loud, because to do so would kill us, but please, Muña, gaomagon daor pirtir naejot nyke (do not lie to me)." She pleaded. Rhaenyra held Jaedys's gaze and nodded quietly, resting her forehead on her daughter's.
"Mēre tubis skori iksi ȳgha kesi ȳdragon nūmāzma ziry. Iksā ānogar hen zaldrīzes. (One day when we are safe, we shall talk about it. You are blood of the dragon.) That's all that matters," whispered Rhaenyra. Jaedys nodded, face against her mother. The two Princesses looked down at the sleeping baby, each of them lost in her own thoughts. As Rhaenyra's wound its way through the many faces of adversaries within the Keep who would surely fixate on the features of another child that looked nothing like her husband, Jaedys's mind was more fragmented.
Her first lesson in the game of thrones they were in would start tomorrow when she would have to play the part of Ser Laenor Velaryon's daughter. She would greet Ser Harwin as warmly as she did all the other times she had spent with him as her sworn shield. Jaedys would practice her stitching, read her histories, converse with her grandsire in High Valyrian, and be beyond the reproach of the Queen. No one would question her suitability as her mother's chosen heir. But that was tomorrow's affair.
He was not in the library. She had checked and waited. Nor was he with Helaena in their apartments. Helaena had smiled at her and said, "He shares his sorrow with the sad-faced tree."
He sat beneath the heart tree at the end of Queen Aemma's favorite garden. Dusk had settled over the King's Landing, making the dragon's breath along the pathways a deep blood-red in color. She could smell the charcoal before she reached him, could make out patches of soot on his green doublet even in the dark of early night. She did not hear cries, but from the way he sat hunched with his face buried in his crossed arms, she thought he might've wanted to.
He stiffened when he heard footsteps approaching on the grass, but relaxed when he realized who it was. She sat next to him, elbows and knees touching. Neither said anything for a moment.
"…īlē daor pirta (you were not wrong)" she said softly.
"Daoriot jemas (It doesn't matter)" he said into his arms still not looking up.
"But I am telling you, in my own way, that you were right, and that I was not, and I know you enjoy that…irksome as it may be," she replied.
"I don't care, and you're often wrong but I'm too honorable to say anything," he replied.
"That is not accurate, I think. But I am sorry for getting angry at you earlier. You only told me the truth. You were the only one and I'm sorry for how I treated you," she said, pausing, "I understand if you're angry at me."
"I'm not angry at you. I just don't want to talk about it."
She waited a few seconds and gave a couple small sniffs before asking quietly, "You did it again?"
He sighed loudly in frustration and rose suddenly. "Yes, I did it again. And you want to know why?" he asked turning around to face her, "Because our idiot brothers presented me with my very own dragon today. And I was a fool to believe them, to get my hopes up for even a moment."
"They said they found you a dragon?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes, and I felt incredibly stupid when Lucerys led out nothing more than a pig with wings. I had all but readied myself to become a dragon rider and they walked out the 'Pink Dread' for me to mount!" he kicked the ground in his anger.
"Nyke'll pyghagon zirȳ dovodedha syt bisa. Gundjis. (I'll beat them silly for this. Asses.)" she growled.
"Because that's all I need," he laughed, "A girl to fight my battles."
"Hey!" she said striding over to him, "I may be a girl, but I'm a Targaryen girl and that is not the kind you want to anger."
He sighed, "Yes, well Targaryen women are usually more ferocious on dragonback." He regretted it as soon as he said it.
She tightened her lip to keep from becoming upset. "I know you're saying this because you're angry, but I'm on your side."
He shuffled his feet and nodded. "I just hate it. I hate them. They don't care. They don't work as hard as you or I do."
She nodded taking his hand. "I know."
He looked at her, recalling their earlier conversation. "Are you alright?"
"I think so," she said pursing her lips, "In truth, I know not what to make of it or how it will change me, or even if it should change me. But I know that you did not give me the truth to hurt me."
"No, that I would not do," he gave a small smile. "We've certainly had a day."
She nodded, "I guess that's why Aegon drinks so much." They shared a laugh, happy to be reconciled with one another, before meandering into the Keep together, ignorant that their easy days together were numbered.