Chapter 502: Princess of Summerhall

Rhaegar sat down gently, leaning against the glazed window, sunlight casting a warm glow on his face.

Helaena cherished the moment of tranquility. She lay down beside him, gathering her dress and curling her legs, her slender form relaxed. Gathering her hair, she rested her head affectionately on her brother's lap.

The midday sun shone brightly.

Helaena closed her eyes, savoring the familiar scent of orchids, her jeweled earrings glinting in the light.

"The damage to the Sea Snake is a troubling sign," Rhaegar spoke abruptly.

"You should heed Aemond's advice," Helaena murmured, reluctant to open her eyes, nestling her head against him like a pampered, contented deer.

Rhaegar's gaze softened as he murmured, "He is too young and impetuous. In his quest for honor, he overlooks many things."

He loved his brother dearly, and appreciated his devotion to history and the martial arts. But Aemond's malleable and fragile mind worried him.

"As a child, he craved praise and was willing to be Aegon's little follower to get it," Helaena said calmly, taking her brother's hand. "You should probably compliment him more, like a mother would."

Rhaegar pondered this suggestion, then replied, "Forget it."

Aemond's desire for approval was complex.

The suggestion rejected, Helaena remained quiet, like a sleeping beauty in a fairy tale.

Rhaegar loved the intellectual beauty that brought him inner peace. His eyes lingered on Helaena's delicate features as he tenderly caressed her cheek.

As his hand moved down her neck, tracing the contours of her dress, Helaena suddenly opened her eyes, her voice dry. "Rhaenyra is too bossy."

Rhaegar froze, his hand pausing. "What brought this on?"

Helaena sat up, looking directly at him with a frustrated tone. "She can't even spare me a dragon egg."

Rhaegar was momentarily puzzled.

"She's hostile to me," Helaena continued, wrapping her arms around her knees and burying her head in the window.

Rhaegar reached up and lightly touched her cheek. "She was hostile to Jeyne and never spoke about you."

"That's her way of being hostile to me," Helaena said, her body tightening. She shook her head to avoid his touch, her voice trembling. "The same tactics. Jeyne was almost destroyed by her."

Dumbfounded, Rhaegar withdrew his hand, his expression stiffened.

Helaena was relentless. "That child, the Vale doesn't recognize her."

"Okay, stop it!" Rhaegar abruptly interrupted, his voice tinged with anxiety.

Helaena fell silent, curling herself into a tight ball, resembling a bundle of white yarn.

Heartache flickered in Rhaegar's eyes. Fighting his inner turmoil, he softly reassured her, "I'll fix what happened in the Vale. It won't happen again."

The events Helaena referred to stemmed from the midsummer of 122 AC. At that time, Rhaegar had recently ascended to the throne and was consumed with political affairs across the kingdom. A six-month war had nearly brought down half of Westeros' noble houses.

Rhaenyra became queen and assisted with the stabilization of King's Landing. Jeyne, pregnant, proposed a marriage. Rhaenyra reported the matter to him, showing great generosity by agreeing to Jeyne's request to marry him as his consort. However, behind the scenes, there were manipulations.

Rhaenyra intercepted Jeyne's private letters and responded in Rhaegar's name with a single word: "Wait." Jeyne waited until Rhaegar had dealt with the succession in Highgarden and until her first daughter was born.

Unmarried pregnancies were deemed scandalous according to Westerosi traditions. Although Rhaegar didn't care initially, being king, Jeyne had her concerns. Rhaenyra intercepted the letters, falsified messages, and delayed their marriage.

When Rhaegar finally went to the Vale to marry Jeyne, a group of Vale nobles opposed to female heirs exposed the unmarried pregnancy, attacking Jeyne's inheritance. Rhaegar did everything in his power to maintain Jeyne's status as Lady of the Vale, but their daughter was branded a bastard and could not bear the Arryn or Targaryen name.

Furious, Rhaegar considered eliminating the rebellious Vale nobles, but they had all contributed significantly to the War of the Narrow Sea. With Rhaenyra's influence and their contributions, he ended up only executing a few outspoken lords to quell the unrest.

Adding to the frustration, Rhaegar's father, Viserys, supported Rhaenyra both openly and behind the scenes. Rhaegar still couldn't grant his daughter a proper surname. In his rage, he refused to assign her the usual bastard's surname, leaving her without a proper title.

This led to conflicts between Rhaegar and his two wives. It wasn't until two years later, when Jeyne gave birth to a second daughter, who bore the Targaryen name, that relations between the Iron Throne and the Vale began to mend. That same year, Rhaenyra gave birth to Maekar.

Rhaegar, persuaded by Viserys, brought Rhaenyra back from Dragonstone, leaving Jeyne and her first daughter to bear the brunt of the family feud. Though Jeyne married into the royal family as she wished, she failed to secure an heir with the Arryn name and spent years in seclusion in The Eyrie. Their first daughter, due to Rhaegar's initial mistake, was disqualified from bearing the family name.

Helaena sniffed and buried her head between her knees, regretting, "I shouldn't have stood by back then."

She knew that Johanna had pressured Rhaenyra to intercept the letter but failed to intervene in time.

She had kept her distance, thinking it was none of her business. It was only when the incident unfolded and she learned what had happened to Jeyne that she began to reconsider.

Wracked with guilt, Helaena chose to leave the Red Keep, missing both the name day and the wedding.

Rhaegar frowned and took her hand firmly. "Don't imprison yourself in the past. I'm preparing for the ceremony this time. Do you prefer Dragonstone or Summerhall?"

Helaena looked up silently, her voice soft. "That would coincide with Aemond."

"Forget about Aemond," Rhaegar said, trying to soothe her. "Expecting him to handle marriage is like expecting all of Dorne to vanish into the desert."

Helaena pursed her lips lightly and decisively said, "Summerhall! Dragonstone is not my territory."

"Okay, Summerhall it is," Rhaegar agreed without hesitation.

Following Aegon's campaign in the Stepstones, Helaena and Aemond had been sweeping up the remnants of Dorne hiding in the desert. Rhaegar had named her "Princess of Summerhall" in recognition of her war service.

The estate had been completed as the Prince's Palace, renamed Summerhall by Helaena in light of the "Long Summer" sword and his "Prince of Summer" titles.

Giving Summerhall to Helena was a gesture of Rhaegar's love and perhaps a bit of his selfishness. Rhaenyra and Jeyne both had their own lands, but when Helaena left King's Landing, she had to rely on the hospitality of others without a place of her own.

Receiving his affirmative answer, Helaena's gloom cleared, and she smiled again.

Rhaegar ruffled her hair and joked, "How old are you, still acting like a little girl?"

Helaena closed her eyes reassuringly and suddenly asked, "Shall I prepare a dragon egg for that child?"

A niece without a family name is denied many rights. Dragon eggs were stored in the greenhouses of Dragonstone, under Rhaenyra's control.

Rhaegar restrained his laughter and mused, "She doesn't have a family name yet, but she will someday, along with a dragon egg."

"Okay," Helaena replied softly. "Dreamfyre has laid a new clutch of eggs. If you don't need them, send them back to King's Landing Dragonpit."

She was being cautious, knowing that Rhaenyra might cause trouble, so she kept the dragon eggs at Summerhall.

Rhaegar was speechless. "I'm still the king on the Iron Throne, not undermined by my own queen."

That child was special, inheriting his gift of prophecy. She avoided people and spent much time alone. If Rhaegar had wanted to send a dragon egg, he would have already done so.

It was like the situation with his second daughter with Jeyne. He hadn't acted because not being able to give his daughter a family name was a source of shame for him.

He vowed to rectify this and bestow both a family name and a dragon egg.

The wild hatchlings in the Smoking Sea, the alliance between Volantis and Slaver's Bay, and the Sea Snake's return from his injuries—all pointed to one thing.

Conflict was brewing into war. Rhaegar intended to seize this opportunity to correct some of the mistakes he had made since ascending the throne.

It would begin with the succession battle over Driftmark.

...

The Next Day

The sun rose over the harbor of Hull, bustling with activity.

High Tide, Guest Residence

A servant knocked early, bringing washing supplies and breakfast. As the morning progressed, Rhaegar, still sleepy-eyed, emerged from Helaena's room.

"Going somewhere?" Helaena asked, tying her hair back.

"Sea Snake is waiting for us in the Hall of Nine, I suppose," Rhaegar replied with a yawn. "Looks like I'm playing the villain."

Family conflicts were notoriously difficult to resolve, and one night was hardly enough for Sea Snake to stabilize his nephews.

"There's a favor to be done," Helaena muttered.

Rhaegar laughed. "I expected as much before we got to the Driftmark."

Their conversation the previous night had helped open Helaena's heart. Usually, she avoided Rhaenyra and Jeyne and tried to keep out of conflicts.

As they walked down the hallway, making small talk, they passed several silver-haired, black-clad figures. Rhaegar noticed their typical Velaryon dark-skinned faces. A middle-aged man who resembled Sea Snake led the group, followed by several others of similar age, whispering among themselves.

"A couple of Sea Snake's nephews," Rhaegar identified them. He recognized them from the War of the Narrow Sea.

"Who?" Helaena asked, adjusting her hair and missing the group.

"It's nothing. We'll see them in a moment," Rhaegar said casually.

Helaena nodded, not pressing further. They walked in silence for a while.

Helaena suddenly asked, "What about Baelon and the others?"

"Baela took them to play," Rhaegar replied. "The kids went wild and didn't even make it back to High Tide last night."

Helaena let out an "Oh" and then added, "Baelon's dragon egg hasn't hatched, and he wants an adult dragon."

"Yeah, the kid's pretty ambitious," Rhaegar said, feeling a bit relieved.

"The only proper dragon left is Dragonmont's Silverwing," Helaena noted. "Grey Ghost and Seasmoke are too young, and only Silverwing is masterless."

"Silverwing is fine," Rhaegar said helplessly. "I just don't know if Baelon can bond with it."

Grey Ghost had shown affection for Baelon, often trying to abduct him when they were in Dragonstone, but it hadn't worked out.

Helaena thought of their father's dragon, Vermithor, now living in the Dragon's Nest on the Isle of Faces, rarely used as a mount in recent years.

"I've heard from fishermen that Seasmoke has been roaming the Sea of Dorne," Rhaegar said. "Sometimes another dragon appears with it."

"Not Dreamfyre and Sheepstealer?" Helaena wondered. These were the only dragons known to roam nearby.

"Not sure. Maybe there are wild dragons," Rhaegar raised an eyebrow, recalling the messages left by Vaegon the Dragonless.

He searched for them many times and didn't encountered wild dragons in Sothoryos.

(Word Count: 1,841)