Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Lyanna Stark, The Winter Rose, was the youngest of Lord Rickard Stark's four children. She was a precocious child who preferred to ride horses and hunt bords instead of dancing and sewing. She was said to bribe her brothers for lessons in hunting and riding and was a major cause of headaches for her father. The death of the Lady of Winterfell had left everyone distraught, and all the Starks cared deeply for the last reaming symbol of their mother.

Lyanna Stark would sneak into her brother's entourage and go to the capital. It would be a perilous journey, and had she returned from the capital, she would have been punished by her Lord and brother Brandon. Yet fate would have another plan for Winterfell's beautiful rose.

In the capital, a match was already being made between Jamie Lannister and Princess Daenys, with the heir to Casterly Rock undergoing extreme scrutiny before he could marry Princess Daenys. Yet the late King's second son remained unmarried still and would have his heart captured by the Winter Rose of the North.

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DAENYS TARGARYEN

Daenys Targaryen was many things, but she wasn't blind, especially to the look in her brother's eyes. She had grown up with him and was acutely aware of that glint in his eyes. It was a look of desire and wanting and amusement.

The usual stoic face of her elder brother would often have a small smile on his lips these days, and she had caught him several times chatting and conversing with someone rather surprising.

Even now, his eyes were glued to the armor-clad figure of the person standing opposite to her. Lyanna Stark, the infamous Winter Rose of the North stood opposite to her, clad in spare armor as she held a sword in her hand. The way she held that sword told her that those rumors about the Winter Rose's preference for riding and hunting over sewing and dancing weren't exaggerated. Her stance spoke of practice and experience, and the thought of facing an opponent like that made her smile.

It had been quite some time since she had sparred in the yard, especially with the departure of Dame Brienne. There wasn't anyone left to spar against.

"Are both of you ready?" came the voice of her eldest brother from the balcony, and she saw the girl opposite to her give a small nod as she got into her stance. Daenys glanced up and saw Rhaegar smiling cryptically at Aemon, who had his eyes glued on her opponent, and she couldn't help but chuckle as she pulled down the visor on her helmet and took out her own sword.

Unlike the usual swords wielded by knights, hers was thinner, gifted to her by her father. It was a bit larger than a shortsword, yet thinner and shaped like a needle.

Rhaegar gave them both a nod and raised his hand. Before bringing it down with a shout.

"Begin!"

Lyanna Stark was first to move, her grey eyes gleaming behind her helmet as she swung down her blade at her. And Daenys had to say that the girl was fast. Yet not fast enough.

CLANK!

With a small step back, Daenys avoided the attack before she moved forward, and she swung her sword at her exposed shoulder. The girl reacted haphazardly and shifted to the right making her blade hit her armor.

But before Daenys could attack again, she was forced to duck as Lyanna Stark's sword swept through the air right where her head had been. It scrapped the metal of her helmet and she felt a rush as she heard the very wind rustle, and smiled as her grip on her rapier tightened, and she pulled it back before she launched her own barrage at the guest from North.

Her sword was thinner, and that made it difficult to parry blows, yet its lightweight and thin nature gave her a different advantage. It was the perfect weapon for exploiting the gaps left by the armor.

She saw the Northern woman grunt in pain as she struck her shoulder, followed by her side. The sword was a tourney blade with a dull edge and wouldn't pierce the skin, yet a strike would hurt quite a bit nonetheless.

"ARGH!" the Northern girl grunted in pain as she took a blow head-on, instead of dodging or parrying, and Daenys smile dropped as she saw her grey eyes glint as she slashed at her from the side.

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JAMIE LANNISTER

Jamie Lannister, the heir to Casterly Rock, had just spent an hour getting scrutinized by the Queen and the Queen mother. His time in the capital had been quite amazing, and he had finally begun to understand the sheer pressure of marrying Princess Daenys. He much like the whole realm was aware of the status of the Princess, yet only now did he truly just how much the royal family doted on the Princess. And it wasn't just the royal family, he had even gotten a strongly worded letter from his sister about treating the Princess appropriately.

It was like they thought that she was made of glass, yet the display blow in the yard went contrary to those thoughts. He stood on the balcony, with the King and Prince Aemon as the three of them watched the two ladies spar with each other.

Lyanna Stark and Daenys Targaryen danced on the ground with their blades, with the ferocity and precision of knights twice their age. Jamie himself was mesmerized by the Princess who tried parry the strike aimed at her side with her thin sword, yet the thin blade wasn't the best at this and could only slow down the incoming strike.

CLUNK!

He winced as Lady Lyanna Stark's sword hit the armor on Princess Daenys side, forcing her to step back as she grunted in pain. Lyanna Stark hadn't escaped unscathed from their little interaction either, the numerous blows from Princess Daenys had done their damage making the Northern Lady give up on chasing after the Princess.

"They are good, very good," he found himself speaking, and that wasn't a lie. And though their skills could be comparable, Jamie's eyes were glued to the young Targaryen Princess with her silvery blonde rocks flowing out of her helmet like a waterfall.

The Princess got to her feet once more, and approached her Northern guest. Lyanna Stark saw through the Princess's attempt to move into her defense and swung her blade at her, forcing the Princess to step back.

The Princess tried to move in again, yet the Northern Lady was unrelenting and continued to slash as soon as the Princess stepped into her range.

In the end, the battle was decided in a split second. The Princess stepped forward, and the woman from the North shed at her per usual, but the Princess was faster. She spun on her heel, the sword brushing past her hair as she struck Lyanna Stark's hand with her sword.

"ARGHH!" the girl from the North grunted in pain, forced to let go of her sword. Yet it did not deter her, he immediately reached for the dagger strapped to her side, yet the match was already done.

He saw Lady Lyanna stop, as the Princess placed the tip of her sword near her neck, the thin sword skidding into the small gap between the neck guard and helmet.

Instinctively, he found himself clapping and saw the tension vanish from the yard as the two combatants looked at the source of the commotion. He watched them both still as soon as their eyes landed on him.

"Ser Jamie?" he heard the Princess mutter as she took off her helmet, beads of sweat glistening over her flushed face.

"An impressive duel, wouldn't you say?" began the King as they descended the stairs and walked up to the two ladies. By then, Lyanna Stark had taken off her helmet as swell, her lush dark hair tied in a ponytail, as she shook hands with the Princess.

"It was quite impressive," he replied as he heard the Princess speak up.

"I hadn't known you were this skilled with a blade, princess," complimented the raven-haired lady, and the Princess smiled.

"Thank you, you were pretty good yourself. The only person better than you would perhaps be Dame Brienne," said the Princess, and Jamie saw the Stark girl frown at those words.

"Dame Brienne?" she questioned. And before Jamie could reply, Prince Aemon spoke up from the side.

"She speaks of Lady Brienne of Tarth, she was the first woman knighted by our father. Usually, she would be here in the castle, but she is accompanying Lord Stannis at the moment," replied the Prince smoothly, and he saw the black-haired girl's eyes widen in realization.

"Ohh, so that is the official title for female knights," she exclaimed, and the Prince nodded.

"Indeed, it is. There have been two more after Lady Brienne, both of them were Prince Oberyn's base-born daughters," and he felt the mood in the yard turn somber at the mention of the Queen's brother.

"Though from what I saw, you could go toe to toe with any of them Lady Lyanna," complimented the Prince and Jamie didn't miss the red blush that appeared on the girl's face as she replied meekly.

"Thank you, my Prince."

He himself looked towards the Princess, who had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she stared at her brother.

"And I believe my sisters' words didn't do justice to your skill with a blade, Princess. I have seen knights less skilled than that," he spoke and saw the Princess's gaze turn towards her.

"Tha…" but before she could say any further.

"Ahh, I should have expected that you would be here in the yard!" a very familiar voice cut off the Princess. Jamie felt his heartbeat quicken as his head snapped toward the source of the words.

And he smiled as he saw those familiar Lannister golden locks on the balcony. The years had done little for his brother's stature, and his facial features had changed quite a bit. Yet even so, Jamie was quite sure that there was only one person of that stature and that hair in the whole realm.

"Tyrion!"

"Tyrion!" two people in the yard shouted. And he saw his brother chuckle as he and the princess yelled simultaneously.

"Ahh, don't worry, you two. There is enough of me for both of you!"

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RHAELLA TARGARYEN

People often thought of her as the oldest living Targaryen alive these days, yet those words couldn't be true. Yet she could understand why, for the other person had always preferred to live in obscurity, his royal heritage hidden behind the chain and the vows of a master yet always present in the balding silvery patches of hair on his head.

Aemon Targaryen, son of Maekar Targaryen, uncle to Aerys and Rhaella Targaryen, was the oldest living Targaryen alive. Born as the second son, the man had chosen to become a maester, leaving behind his legacy and family.

After the tragedy of Summer Hall, she had forgotten all about the man, unlike Aerys, who still remembered their estranged uncle. She remembered him writing to the Citadel, and then weeks later, a man of nearly the same build as their father had appeared. That had been the first time she had met Aemon Targaryen, a simple and comely man who helped her and Aerys through the grief of the tragedy of Summer Hall.

Yet the same man had a dazed look on his face as he watched the three young little dragons play with her three children. His eyesight was affected by disease and age, yet thanks to advancements, surgery had been done, allowing the man to see once more with the aid of what her husband used to call 'spectacles'.

"I never thought I would see the day!" he muttered in a dazed tone as he slowly reached to touch the dragon dancing on her daughter's shoulders. The little dragon snapped its head towards the aged man, becoming a bit agitated but docile as Daenys muttered reassurances continuously and her uncle touched the young dragon.

"Dragons! Real dragons!" he continued in a dazed tone and she could sympathize with the man, she herself had been dazed much like him when the three dragon eggs had hatched.

She saw him look at her, his metal chain adorned with various links showing his mastery over several fields clunk ah he spoke.

"I had always thought that Aerys was special," he began in a soft tone, and the mention of her departed husband made her heart ache.

"This just confirms it for me. Was he truly blessed with dragon dreams?" his question left her a bit dazed, for she hadn't told the man about this. In the end, she nodded, choosing to share the secret of her husband with the man, since he was family after all.

"Dragon dreams!" he repeated in a dazed tone, as Qyburn led the man to a chair. It was quite a bit to process.

"So, why have you called me here, Rhaella?" the man finally questioned. And Rhaella gulped as she nodded at Qyburn, who handed the man a piece of parchment.

"I wanted to hear your opinion on this edict my husband wrote?"

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Aemon Targaryen the Elder, better known as Maester Aemon was the second son of King Maekar Targaryen. Being the spare, the man chose to join the Citadel after his brother was blessed with heirs of his own. It would have been the end of the man, yet the tragedy of Summer Hall would bring back the man to the capital at the request of his nephew King Aerys who would keep the man as an advisor in the initial years before appointing him as Citadel's liaison to the University he began building with the infamous Qyburn and the Alchemists Guild.

It was a political appointment that many in the Citadel sought to reverse yet held their hands in fear of retribution from the King who never truly looked favorable towards the order.

Maester Aemon's diaries are amongst the best representation of the transformation of the realm that took place in King Aery's time. The advances made in science and health and various other fields are cataloged with great accuracy, along with a detailed description of the King's role in all such discoveries.

The King Aerys offered the man the position of the Hand, yet the elder Targaryen would refuse the offer citing his aversion to the politics at court. He would live his life in solitude, trying to give form to Aerys's University, which would then become the house of thousands and thousands of inventions and breakthroughs over the years.

After the birth of the Dragons, the dowager Queen, Rhaella Targaryen would call for the man ( he was away from the capital for some reason ) to consult with him about the Edict.

Aerys Targaryen had written on the edict that it would only ever be applicable if all three of his children were to sign on it, hence leaving the decision in their hands. After much deliberation about the legal and societal ramifications, the three children of King Aerys chose not to sign on the Edict hoping to prove themselves better than their ancestors who tore the realm in Half but two decades ago in the Dance of the Dragons.

Some scholars speculate that there were, in truth two parts to the Edict. And the family chose to act on the second part, which contained King Aerys's second plan to avoid the dance.

Expansion and Colonization.

The only proof that points to such a case is that for three hundred and fifty years the Targaryen family remained satisfied with ruling the seven Kingdoms, yet in the reign of King Aegon VI, the realm would see a change in policy and would begin the age of Conquest with the Royal family attacking and colonizing the Lands across the Narrow sea, much like the Valyria of the Old.

"Aemon Targaryen has often been the name of second sons. Famous second sons. From Aemon the dragon knight to Aemon Targaryen the Maester, and then Aemon Targaryen the hero of the Dawn, the name has a solid history."

- Rhaena Targaryen 1014 AC ( The Targaryens Beyond Kings )

Note: He is also suspected to be the first person in the world to undergo cataract surgery and have an intraocular lens implant (an ox's lens was used before the invention of the artificial lens ).

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