Chapter 5: Shiera I / Maegor III

Shiera I 

22AC

Oldtown was without a doubt the most beautiful city Shiera had ever seen. Granted, she had never even seen a town other than Harrenton but the point still stands. It was built in stone, with all its streets cobbled and there was a certain smell of flowers in the air. The mighty Hightower, which was said to be taller than even the massive wall in The North, stood vigil over the entire city and could be seen from quite far away. 

Their carriage ride here was pretty rough, they sailed part of the way, across the Gods Eye and then down the Mander but they had to take a carriage from Highgarden to Oldtown. It was bumpy and miserable and even though she was embarrassed to admit it, she threw up a few times from the shaking. Eventually however, after around a moon of travel, they finally made it to Oldtown, now they were going down the cobbled paths of Oldtown towards the manse her family would be staying in for the royal wedding.

The long road to their manse was like a single line of a spiderweb which was the only way she could describe the city's labyrinthine alleys. Their route took them through all the different sights that Oldtown has to offer. Their retinue slowly traversed a crowded marketplace where most of the common folk pursued their daily toils, merchants hawked their wares and beggars offered quiet prayers for a coin's grace. Posted between them at regular intervals were the many men-at-arms of House Hightower clad in their polished armor and their banners unfurled to proudly display the sigil that marked their allegiance. The scent of exotic spices mingled with the briny air from the nearby harbor was something Shiera was smelling for the first time.

When their entourage was passing the Starry Sept, they heard a great roar resounding from the sky, followed by another somewhat quieter roar. Looking up she caught sight of two dragons, a silver one with golden wings and another one, coal black with wings like the ash that collected in their hearths. The sight was one Shiera wouldn't forget, a magical sight. The dragons were even more beautiful than she had ever imagined or read in any books of Harrenhall. She had read every single book about dragons and Old Valyria that she could find in the meager library of Harrenhall but seeing one in the flesh was so much more wondrous.

"Is that Balerion?" she asked nobody in particular, unable to contain her excitement. She had thought more than once about the great dragon, the one whom the conqueror himself rode and that burnt their great castle like wax candles and this one did match the description she read in her books. Black as night and quite big, she could imagine it spitting black fires with swirls of red on the walls of her family's castle.

"HAH! As if that tiny thing could ever destroy Harrenhal, you need to use your head more, little sister," Gargon quipped and she was unfortunately reminded of his presence. Her fat brother had been making rude comments for most of the tour and she wanted nothing more than to go away from him or at least have him shut up.

"Mayhaps you should take your own advice brother,"  ' and listen to your head more than your cock, ' she only thought the last part. Fully expecting what was now coming. 

"That is enough you two," her father stepped in after Shiera countered back. Her brother stuck his tongue out at her like a child and Shiera was again reminded of how useless her brother was. Never one to take lessons either in the yard or with a maester, constantly flirting with women, married or not. The only thing he ever cared to do was to abuse his Valyrian looks and wealth to get as much attention from women as he could. 

They were one of the few houses in the realm that boasted descent from Old Valyria. They had the same heritage and blood as Houses Velaryon and Celtigar, though they could never match the Targaryens who were the blood of the forty. However, like the Targaryens they also had silver-gold hair and purple eyes. Her entire family had purple eyes except her. She was born with red eyes, the hue of blood along with snow-white hair and pale skin. To be honest, she looked more like a ghost than a Valyrian, a fact she was always reminded of.

Thinking of the Velaryons brought her mind back to what her mother and father told her before they left Harrenhal. Her father Lord Daeron and her mother Ralla had urged her to try and ingratiate herself with the Velaryons, they were hoping for a match between her and one of lord Aethan's sons. It was not a terrible idea, the Velaryons were the second house of the realm and one of the most wealthy and powerful. House Velaryon had half of the small council in its grasp and traded with all the free cities and beyond them across the narrow sea.

In comparison, House Qoherys was in a deplorable state, to say the least. Her grandfather, Lord Quenton had died almost three and ten years ago, the death of his second son in Dorne finally putting his second foot in the grave, and with his death came the end of their royal favors. Lord Quenton boasted of a strong friendship with King Aegon and his Queens from their time before The Conquest. It was her grandfather who taught the royal family how to fight and even joined in fighting during the conquest, leading the Dragonstone contingent during the Field of Fire. That friendship resulted in them controlling the largest castle of the realm and some of the richest lands in all the seven kingdoms but with her Grandfather dead the young house Qoherys lost its direct connection to the royal house.

The other houses of Riverlands generally looked down on them for being new and thus less prestigious. Many thought of them as nothing more than upstarts who were lucky to be in the graces of the King. Shiera spat on all of them. Their great ancestor Gargon, who her brother so dearly sullies the name of, followed Aenar across the seas and settled on Dragonstone with the Targaryens and all others who decided to follow them. They were not lords but they did own more than a few possessions on Dragonstone, they had a respectable wealth brought from Valyria and connections with the local guilds of Dragonstone. 

Her grandmother, Lady Kaera, who had died giving birth to her second son, boasted a lineage even greater than their own. She could trace descent from Daella Targaryen, second daughter to Gaemon the Glorious, and Daenys the Dreamer who married one of the petty vassals of House Targaryen that followed them across the sea, like Gargon Qoherys. So through her maternal grandmother's side, she could even claim some dragon blood, it may only be a drop but a drop was more than most lords in the Seven Kingdoms could boast of. 

They may be more prestigious than meets the eye but they were still not in a good situation. The upkeep and maintenance alone of the ruined monstrosity called Harrenhal was enough to wipe out the coffers of any House, however wealthy it may be. And this was when disregarding the costs of potential repairs which was unimaginable, nothing survives dragonfire. Shiera was not the best at sums, but when her father called the leader of the craftsmen guild on Dragonstone to visit Harrenhal, the cost he said to him made her father go pale. He was often pale, almost as pale as her, despite even not being that old. Only nine and twenty yet the constant loss he had faced had taken its toll on his health. 

First, her uncle Vaegon died in Dorne, ambushed in the Red Mountains. The grief then took her grandfather, and his second wife, a daughter of Lord Tully, died soon after in childbirth. The only good thing she thinks happened to her father in the last two and ten years was her own birth. Daeron Qoherys constantly wore a scowl and had deep bags under his eyes, he mostly smiled only around her or her mother since being around Gargon only seemed to make his frown deeper. Her brother's actions brought her father constant shame and she certainly felt the same way. 

Gargon was in no way fit to be heir of Harrenhal especially when it was in such dire straits. Harrenhal held immensely productive lands which grew an abundant surplus of grains every year, yet collecting taxes from it was a cumbersome and time-consuming affair. Especially when many of their minor lords and landed knights looked down on them. Most of their income came from the small town of Harrenton which could only fund the upkeep of the castle. With the death of her uncle and grandfather, they could not count on many men or connections through marriage. So a match with House Velaryon could possibly be a solution to many of their problems, they were the one house who could provide them with a sufficient amount of both coin and men.

… 

Her father then told her that the two dragons whom she spotted were Terrax and Quicksilver, the mounts of King Aegon's two sons. With the arrival of the princes atop their gorgeous and majestic dragons, wedding preparations were set to begin in earnest. The princes must have been impatient as they arrived ahead of their parents.

She watched the dragons land at the Starry Sept but she could not look for long, her father ordered the carriage to continue and they made their way to their manse. The manse itself proved to be quite modest though it was bound to feel that way to someone who had spent her entire life in a castle as large as Harrenhal. 

Harrenhal, the great folly of Harren the Black, was the largest fortress in the Seven Kingdoms or perhaps the world, even if it was a blasted ruin right now. The manse in comparison was of a modest size even if she compared it to the other manses that surrounded it. Made of stone and richly decorated she certainly would not complain about the provisions, their manse was certainly better than some of the inns they stayed at on their way here. Most of the inns were wooden houses converted into accommodations for nobles. Normally having wooden walls and thatch roofs. 

After her maids unpacked all the belongings she brought with her, she was quickly whisked away by her mother to pick out the perfect dress and jewels for the wedding and accompanying feast. Her mother was always an eccentric woman in the eyes of Shiera, though to most Westerosi it would be somewhat understandable. She was obsessed with looking ladylike, with makeup, pretty dresses, perfumes, and jewels to flaunt the dwindling wealth of House Qoherys and that of Shiera's maternal family, the Celtigars. Her mother was never the one to stop spending on jewels and dresses and Shiera had new pairs of both to wear at the wedding. 

"Oh this one is beautiful, Shiera dear," her mother said looking at one of her heavy gold necklaces with a large amethyst pendant. Shiera had long ago learned to just go along with her mother's whims and her choice for extravagant jewels despite being deftly aware of their house's less-than-stellar finances. She herself wasn't that fond of gold and jewels and would usually dress modestly. Even though she was not the stereotypical Valyrian beauty, Shiera was still quite proud of some of her looks, especially her flawless skin.

"I agree Mother, but how about this one instead? It matches my eyes" Shiera said quietly, being openly against her mother's ideas was a poor idea, more likely to make her stubbornly dig in her heels than to concede.

"Oh I suppose that one works, I so wish you were born with my purple eyes, amethyst is so much more beautiful than ruby," her mother spoke Shiera's thoughts. 

Looking at her brother always made her a tad jealous, he inherited the wonderful purple eyes and silver-gold hair of their Valyrian ancestors while she was stuck with her blood-red eyes and hair white as the clouds in the sky, she was looked at with more fear than awe. The smallfolk of Harrenton thought she was a ghost until she first visited the town at the age of ten. Though, her father always had different thoughts about her appearance. He would tell her that her skin was as flawless as the best silks from Myr and her eyes gave her an air of mystery which was only accentuated by her snow-white hair. Shiera always hoped more people would think about her like her father.

"Me too mother, maybe my children will have purple eyes," Shiera deliberately moved the discussion to children to shift her mother's mind off jewelry. Shiera had long grown accustomed to tuning out her mother when she started talking about motherhood so it was a common tactic by Shiera. She was sure some of the words said by her mother were valuable lessons but she had no intentions of becoming a mother for at least a few more years so she could kick that pot down the road. 

Successfully tuning out the rest of her mother's tirade she eventually got her outfit ready. She was to wear a black dress lined with yellow and red, her house's colors with a ruby gemstone clasped in a necklace draped around her neck to hopefully draw people's eyes away from her own. It was a modest dress and light jewelry but she tried it on before handing it off to the servants to have it ready, and she looked pretty good in the little mirror afforded to her if she said so herself.

After handing the dress off to the servants to have it prepared for the wedding she returned to the courtyard of their little manse. She was met with the sight of her father meeting with a messenger wearing the colors of House Tully. They were discussing the seating arrangements for the grand feast that was to be held after the wedding. House Qoherys would be sitting with her maternal house, the Celtigars, and not with Tullys as they usually do on most feasts. It was most probably Lord Alton's idea who was not only her uncle but also King Aegon's Master of Coin. The rest of the riverlords would sit as usual. It seemed that Lord Hightower was not quite experienced in dealing with the nobles from Riverlands as the Blackwoods and Brackens would be seated next to each other and would surely be bickering as they always did, much to Shiera's delight. 

Sitting with the Celtigars at their table also meant they would be separated from House Frey which made Shiera feel grateful as she wouldn't have to suffer from Lyman Frey's leers and creepy looks again. It would also put her close to the King and Queen. They were set to arrive soon and she could not wait to see Queen Visenya. She had read all about her and forced her Septa to tell her everything she knew about the Queen, which the Septa wasn't very enthusiastic about. Visenya Targaryen was the antithesis of what a Westerosi woman was. Queen Visenya was a skilled warrior, beautiful and fierce, she rode a dragon and married her brother, and she even sat on the Iron Throne. All in all, she could not wait to lay eyes on the woman. She did not know how long she would wait as the wedding would begin the day after they arrived so now all the different processions were simply waiting for the King and Queen to get to Oldtown. It also gave some straggler lords time to make it to the city. 

It was only a day later when the city shook from an unbelievably loud roar. It resounded across the city like a bell and everything in the city shook, from the paintings hanging on the walls to the walls themselves, and even the Hightower seemed to shake a little bit. Looking into the sky she saw the dragon that was called Balerion the Black Dread, the beast that turned her home into a ruin. And now she could understand why, it was far larger than anything she had ever seen or even imagined. Their entire manse and most likely even the larger manses awarded to the high lords would not be spacious enough to fit Balerion inside. Its shadow covered much of Oldtown in a pall of darkness and when Balerion finally touched down near the Royal Manse, the entire city shook from the impact.

She soon also caught sight of Vhagar, Queen Visenya's mount who was just behind Balerion. Less than half of Balerion's size but still enormous, much bigger than the two prince's dragons combined, and what a beautiful sight she was. With greenish-bronze scales that shimmered in the light, she was far more beautiful than the Black Dread, whose scales seemed to drink in all the light. It meant that Queen Visenya would actually be attending the wedding. She learned that she was largely absent from court for the better part of a decade. She would spend her time at the Aegonfort or on Dragonstone, the merchants from Kings Landing that she spoke to in Harrentown told her that the only time most people saw her was when she was arriving in the city or leaving it atop Vhagar. 

With the arrival of the King and Queen, a countdown began. All the lords scrambled to get ahead of each other in getting their wedding gifts prepared, mostly gold and jewelry. Her family's gifts would surely outmatch all the other Riverlords, they may not be the wealthiest lords because of their castle but they still held some of their wealth from before The Conquest. 

House Tully, who was barely wealthier than the rest of their vassals, was expected to give more as they were a Lord Paramount House, much to her amusement. Though it seemed that Houses Lannister and Hightower were competing to give the most. The Hightowers already took the lead with the manse they gifted to Prince Aenys but the Lannisters hauled in three enormous carriages filled to the brim with gold, a benefit of living inside of a gold mine. 

Apparently, the Gardener Kings used to own a large mansion in Oldtown, for when they would spend time in the city. It passed to the Hightowers after the Gardener line went extinct like many other properties they owned around the Reach which were given to the local lords instead of the Tyrells and House Hightower had apparently gifted it to Prince Aenys as a wedding gift. The large square near the Manse was also emptied of all its people and turned into a pseudo-stable for the royal dragons.

This was not just a steal for the royals however, with how lavish the wedding ceremony was and with the enormous feasts hosting many of the lords who attended, Shiera imagined that most of the gold would be gone before they left Oldtown. So in a way, the nobles were paying for the wedding they were attending with their gifts. Shiera laughed at the realization.

…

One day later the wedding began. Shiera got into her handpicked dress and joined her family as they all made their way down to the Starry Sept. It was an enormous building, with a dome and seven great spires that would have dominated Oldtown's skyline if not for the ever-present Hightower. It could comfortably seat all of the lords and it still had room for the Most Devout to join in the seating. 

The lords and ladies all filtered in, House Targaryen was already seated in a place of honor along with House Velaryon and the Most Devout. She could easily see the King, for who else would be that tall and wear a crown of Valyrian steel, all the other royals were not visible from her seating position much to her displeasure. King Aegon looked like he was someone straight out of a storybook. Taller than her father with the perfect blend of Valyrian features, even with his middle age many maidens still seemed to swoon over the King. ' Prince Aenys is likely still practicing his vows, ' she thought cheekily but she was upset she could not see the Queen or The Prince of Dragonstone. She would see them later at the feast but Shiera was starting to get impatient, she had gotten a glimpse of both of them atop their dragons but now she was so close yet she still could not see them. 

Then the trumpets were blown and Prince Aenys entered the sept, dressed richly in his house colors, a red and black doublet with the three-headed dragon emblazoned on the front. Two knights of Kingsguard in their white armor were holding the three-headed dragon banner and walked beside him to the elevated platform. His father, the King, then stood next to him and calmed his son with a hand on his shoulder. The two together were striking.

She had heard rumors from merchants that Aenys did not resemble his father but instead took after his mother but she was shocked at the difference. King Aegon Targaryen was tall and well-muscled, his face was well proportioned and he had a short silver-gold goatee on his face which hid some of the wrinkles that covered his aging face. Prince Aenys on the other hand only shared a passing resemblance to his sire. He was almost as tall but he was lanky, he surely had muscle but he probably was only two-thirds the weight of his father. His face was slimmer and his hair was long, he looked more beautiful than handsome in Shiera's opinion, the only thing that stated his sex clearly was the mustache on his upper lip.

Then another trumpet sounded and all the lords and ladies in attendance turned to view the bride. She was dressed in a pure white ivory silken wedding gown, gold, and diamond were freely sewn all over it and a small sea-green tiara rested on her head. House Velaryon clearly intended to flaunt their status and wealth as the second house of the realm. Lord Aethan Velaryon, the King's Master of Ships and one of the most powerful lords of the realm led his daughter down the walkway towards her soon-to-be husband. 

The bride and groom were soon facing each other and the High Septon began his boring sermons starting with the seven vows, the seven blessings, and the seven promises. Shiera had always been half-hearted in her faith, she prayed and would go to the sept with her mother but she never really found what the Septons and Septas said all that interesting. She was reminded of this when the Septon went on and on and on. She tuned out most of it and only once he quieted down did she tune back in. 

She had developed this skill long ago when dealing with annoying people and she loved it dearly, it saved her from many lectures. Once the High Septon stopped speaking, Lord Aethan, as the bride's father, removed her sea-green cloak from Lady Alyssa's shoulders and Prince Aenys soon covered her with his own, a black cloak with what must have been a red dragon on it. Lady Alyssa was now passed from her father's protection into her husband's protection. Prince Aenys and Lady Alyssa soon began their practiced words at the High Septon's prompting.

"With this kiss, I pledge my love," they said in unison, and then their words split apart.

"And take you for My Lady and wife" "And take you for my lord and husband"

"So they are now joined in marriage. One flesh, one heart, one soul, now and forever!" The High Septon roared and a thousand roars joined them as every soul in attendance cheered with the kiss that sealed the royal match. 

Once the applause died down the Targaryens and Velaryons both rose to stand next to the Crown Prince and his wife. King Aegon said some words but she was not listening. She finally got a real look at the Queen, Visenya Targaryen. She was slightly different than how she was described to her, she was wearing a simple dress, unlike the armor Shiera thought she would wear, just plain black and red with the dragon pattern on the front. On her hip was Dark Sister, her famous Valyrian Steel sword. Her hair was done up in a simple braid and she wore no jewelry besides a single, simple ruby necklace. Her face looked like it was carved from marble with the only feature marking her as a human being her gorgeous dark violet eyes and the smallest wrinkles that denoted her age. She was so engrossed with Queen Visenya that she forgot to look at the other dragonlord she so wished to see, The Prince of Dragonstone.

… 

After King Aegon gave his speech the Targaryens quickly marched out of the sept and flew their dragons to their manse. It was only a short walk but it was supposed to be a display of power, especially with Alyssa Velaryon joining her husband on the back of his Quicksilver. The rest of the nobles departed the Starry Sept in their respective carriages and slowly filtered into the royal manse to find their assigned seating. Shiera on the other hand had eyes for only one, she was trying hard to locate her or anyone one of the royals at least. She so badly wanted to get a chance to speak with Queen Visenya now she had seen her so close. But her father soon spoiled all her plans when he whisked her away to speak with the Velaryons.

She was then kind of forced into conversation with Aeron Velaryon, second son of Lord Aethan and if her father's wishes were met, her future betrothed. While her father tried to get into whatever conversation Aethan was having with his lady wife, Alarra Massey.

"Greetings, Lord Aeron," she opened with a casual greeting. She didn't have any interest in speaking with this Aeron but this would appear quite badly on her father's part and Shiera hated letting her father down. Her brother constantly gave her father's headaches and she did not want to contribute to that. She was not and would never be her brother.

"Greetings, My Lady. How are you liking Oldtown?" Aeron seemed quite nervous at this sudden greeting and while replying his words were haphazard. Well, this wasn't the first for Shiera.

"I like it a lot, especially seeing the royals and their dragons," Shiera answered nonchalantly, swaying lightly back and forth. It was hard not to be jittery in the exciting palace. 

"Oh? Do you like them too? So many I speak with are scared of them."

"Yes! Which one is your favorite?" Shiera wasn't expecting that reply and this young Velaryon did make her intrigued now, at least a little.

"Oh, I like Balerion. He is the biggest and the most ferocious, the famous Black dread!" Aeron responded with a smile and his hands trying hard to describe the size of Balerion which brought a smile on her face too. Aeron was three years younger than her if she remembered correctly but that age gap was not terrible. Her grandfather married a girl some odd twenty years his junior, so she could work for three years. Also, objectively speaking while Aeron Velaryon wasn't someone who would steal ladies' hearts at first glance, she could do much worse than him. Old Valyria was very present in his looks.

"I prefer Vhagar. Have you ever met her?" 

"I have seen her before but I have not spoken with her yet. I have spoken to Prince Maegor though."

"How did you manage that? I thought he did not leave Dragonstone until this wedding?" She was deftly curious about The Prince of Dragonstone. Queen Visenya's son was a mystery to the vast majority of the realm. The whispers painted him as a prodigious child and she wished she could speak with him.

"Oh, the Targaryens visited Driftmark before they went to King's Landing. I sat next to him at dinner and we spoke for a long time. Father said that I would be joining him in King's Landing after this wedding so perhaps I will speak to him again."

"You will not speak to him tonight?"

"No, my father is making me sit far away from my sister who will be sitting with Prince Aenys. Meanwhile, Prince Maegor will be sitting near them because he is a Targaryen." Aeron's voice clearly displayed how dismayed he was.

"So what did you talk abo–" she was cut off by her father before she could continue her conversation.

"Shiera, let's get to our seats, his grace will soon be opening the feast."

Shiera quickly took her leave from Aeron with a smile that seemed a bit deflated. Many other nobles were also quickly arranging themselves in their seats as soon as King Aegon stood up from his position. 

She quickly moved towards her table and sat next to her mother and Lord Lucifer Massey, lord of Stonedance and her mother's uncle. Her seating was advantageous for what she wanted. She was seated in the Crownlands section despite her house being Riverlords because of her mother. Rhalla Qoherys nee Celtigar was the sister of Lord Alton Celtigar, master of coin, and with their house being so small they got royal approval to switch seats. It was probably for the best, given just how many Riverlords showed up. They completely filled their tables even without them there.

Their table was close to the royal table. That one seated just the Targaryens, Velaryons, and the High Septon. The table she was sitting at was close by, she could see all the Targaryens and for the first time got a good look at the Prince of Dragonstone. 

There were many whispers about Queen Visenya's son, so many that they even perforated throughout the realm. The whispers were almost not believable. He started walking before his first name day, he was speaking before his second. He was reading before his third. He started training with the sword at age three. He claimed his dragon, at age four. He was the delight of the keep, so much so that the title The Prince of Dragonstone started being whispered around the kingdom. Finally, she heard that he started squiring for the famed Ser Gawen Corbray at just eight.

She thought of all of this as she looked at Prince Maegor. He was almost as tall as his brother the crown prince, despite the age gap. He was also more filled out than his brother, looking like their shared father King Aegon, just writ small. Though she could see parts of his mother, namely his high cheekbones, and their eyes were identical. He was not truly muscled, from what she could tell, but he was not skinny like his brother, Shiera would describe him as well-proportioned. 

While Shiera was busy assessing Prince Maegor her lecherous brother was leering at Prince Aenys's bride. Setting aside her disgust for her brother lusting after a married woman, she could not really blame him. Alyssa Velaryon was a vision of beauty, everything Shiera wished she could be. All of the typical traits of Valyrianscombined with the finest and most beautiful clothes and makeup gold could purchase; there were plenty more heads beside her brothers that were turned to look at Lady Alyssa.

Then the food started coming out, plate after plate of some of the best food she had ever tasted. The Targaryens certainly put those gifts to use, Yi Tish duck, spices she had not even imagined before, and fine Arbor Gold for every single guest, and this was just one of the several courses planned.

After the first course was taken the dance floor opened up, Prince Aenys and Lady Alyssa took the stage first followed by King Aegon and Queen Visenya. It shocked her to see the famed Warrior Queen in a dress and dancing but it seemed she was leading King Aegon around so she smiled. When she looked back to the table to find Prince Maegor she found an empty seat, searching the room from her seat she spotted the prince leaving the hall at an adjacent exit. 'How interesting' she thought to herself. 

Maegor III 

22AC

The cold air and clear night sky were a welcome reprieve on my face as I stood out on the balcony. The manse that Lord Manfred had gifted Aenys was extremely richly decorated, it was overwhelmingly stuffy in there. Countless tapestries, paintings, beautiful rugs, priceless jewels, and other grandeurs I could not name. Coming from the comparatively lightly decorated Dragonstone this place was so very alien to me. 

Dragonstone was not lacking for splendor mind you, there were beautiful tapestries that depicted all sorts of different scenes from our family's history. Aenar's flight from Old Valyria atop his dragon Essovius, One about how Gaemon the Glorious brought fire and blood to the foolish pirates who dared to attack the island he called home atop Archonei, Most recently made was Aegon's crowning by Visenya at the mouth of the Blackwater. 

Our family history fascinated me but my mother was rather tight-lipped about it all. I had no idea why but she did not care to speak about any of our ancestors between Gaemon the Glorious and my grandfather Aerion. I wanted to ask Aegon about it when I got the chance. ' Maybe he will be less tight-lipped, ' I thought as I squeezed my hand into a fist.

I had a voracious appetite for knowledge in this world. A consequence of forgetting my older memories. The constant reminders kept the important details fresh, along with my journal hidden in my room on Dragonstone. My knowledge of future happenings was vital to my survival after all. 

I would have to focus on that later however as the last few days had been terribly busy. Getting to the city and learning of Lord Manfred's early wedding gift nearly made me and Aenys fall off our feet. ' Seriously, these lords are so wealthy that they could just gift a mansion that could house hundreds of people away for a wedding?! ' I thought with astonishment and that was just one of the crazy events that happened to me over the last few days.

Our entire time here had been bewildering, when we first arrived we received bread and salt from Lord Manfred Hightower at the Starry Sept, we would have to cross the bridge to get to the Hightower and we could only really land at the Sept. Then we were given a tour by Lord Manfred himself through his city. The only place I actually found interesting was the Citadel, it was essentially a college on steroids. We were permitted entry due to being princes and I saw literally thousands and thousands of books, scrolls, and other scraps of paper that held knowledge I could only imagine about. A person could spend their entire life here and I doubt they could make a dent. 

After completing our tour of the city we were taken back to our dragons to move them to the cleared square, House Hightower had uprooted an entire market area to house our dragons, when it was just Quicksilver and Terrax it was comfortable but I imagined it would get more cramped when the living mountain that was Balerion arrived. 

My mother and father had sent us ahead to have fun in Oldtown. Aegon wanted us to explore and speak to lords and do whatever we wanted. My mother wanted me to use the time to get acquainted with the city, she did not want me looking like a fool. Then Lord Manfred gifted Aenys the manse, we were intending to rent a nice manse but the gift floored me and Aenys, we had spent the night just talking about the absurdity of it all. I also used the chance to finally talk with Aenys properly about some things. I was still ruminating on our discussion even now. 

We had just arrived in the manse after dining with Lord Hightower and the High Septon when I broached the subject. I did not know how to do this naturally so I leaned into my childish appearance and growing childish nature.  

"Hey Aenys…" I abruptly changed our conversation and Aenys stopped talking about his friend Alyn Stokeworth. 

"Yes Maegor?"  

"What do you think about the High Septon?" I turned up my childish innocence. The one defining feature of Maegor's reign was the war with the faith. I knew they were dangerous but I needed to see what Aenys thought.  

"He seemed like a good man to me, about as respectful as the rest of the Lords we met no?" Aenys answered easily and I decided to keep pushing.  

"Do you think he means it?"  

"What? Do you think he is feigning loyalty? Why would you think such a thing Maegor?" Aenys looked a little shocked at the notion the High Septon might be disloyal.  

"Because he is powerful, brother. The Faith has their own courts and their own army, and the High Septon leads them all."  

"Sure he does but the faith crowned our father, they are nothing but loyal and true vassals, just like any other nobleman, what is your concern?" Aenys was so carefree it shocked me. 

"Have you not heard the whispers? I heard the faith does not like the marriage between our mothers and our father," I said with some exasperation. 'Maybe referring to incest will make him take this seriously.'  

"Are you on about that too?" Aenys said with a great sigh. "Everyone always says that but the smallfolk love me and so do the nobles. Incest is a Targaryen tradition, I am sure the faith will make an exception for us," Aenys finished looking kind of tired of talking with me.  

'Has he been lectured about this before?' I thought with interest before I was cut off from continuing.  

"You need to stop snooping around as much, the faith is filled with loyal vassals of our father, and questioning their loyalty could only insult them. Spend some more time with them and you will see." 

"But…"  

"No buts, you are being paranoid over nothing Maegor, the faith is of no concern to us. Father has assured me." Aenys answered easily and our conversation ended there.  

I had been unable to broach the subject again and to be frank, I had no idea how. Even if by some butterfly effect the faith was different. Their strength still concerned me. The Catholic Church in my old world was much weaker and they still managed to bring several empires to their knees. I would have to keep an eye on the faith more. If they slipped up it could be my opening to defang this monster lurking in the shadows. 

…

Once my parents arrived and the wedding began, I found the proper ceremony very boring; I shared my mother's complete indifference towards the Faith. Their traditions and stipulations were boring and I had no intention of ever truly worshiping them. Especially because they were all disloyal, traitorous, fanatic, bastards. I would need to make a plan to deal with them, I just did not know exactly what to do yet.

My own personal feelings aside I had to marvel at how my father had been meticulous in his planning of this wedding. Every detail was ironed out, every lord had his perfectly designated place to see my brother and his beautiful bride. Then once all the monotonous speeches were over with, we all mounted our dragons and flew towards the manse. It was only a few second flight but my father was insistent on displaying our power. 

We touched down in the square and moved towards the manse. The feast was to be held in the Great Hall of the Manse so as to fit all the different Lords and Ladies who would be attending. Each subdivision would be segregated into its own sections. There were three tables for Reach lords, two tables for most other regions, and one table for the Crownlanders, Iron Islanders, and Northmen. 

There was to be some time before the feasting began, so my mother told me, 'Go out and meet the lords,' and just walked off. I was left floundering with just that instruction. Up until that point, I had spent my whole life with knights and some of our vassals, and I was definitely out of my element. I kind of just stood there while the rest of my family fanned out to speak with the different lords. Then, a golden-haired man and his golden-haired daughter sauntered over to me.

"Good day, Prince Maegor," the older man said to me and I was kind of uncertain what to do. My mother had resoundly failed me in this regard. I knew how to interact with the smallfolk and knights. But the only other major lord I properly met before coming here was Ser Gawen and technically Lord Aethan, but I only saw Lord Aethan for a feast and Ser Gawen did not care for formalities. ' So I guess I will just have to wing it, ' I thought with some real reluctance before I returned the man's greeting.

"Greetings, Lord Lannister."

"Greetings, Prince Maegor. I hope you find this day as well as I do." 

"It is certainly interesting, my lord," I said with my fake smile but I was suspicious. ' His tone is friendly, ' I thought to myself and pondered this situation. I had some very choice feelings towards the Lannisters, after I met Aenys I resolved to face these preconceptions and decide if they were fair. I had a real serious bias against House Lannister from what I remembered about the original timeline, whether they would prove to live up to my distrust would have to be figured out.

"And you are, My Lady?" I turned towards the girl with him, deciding to escape the interested stare he was giving me. 

"I am Johanna Lannister, my prince," she spoke softly, similar to how Alyssa spoke on Driftmark. 

"Well it is nice to meet you, Lady Johanna," I said with a smile before I turned towards her father. 

"So what brings you to me instead of my brother, Lord Lannister?"

"I will greet Prince Aenys at a later time, when he is not being accosted by Baratheons and Hightowers. For now, I would like to speak with the King's second son."

"What would you like to speak about then, my lord?" 

"Please call me Lyman, my prince."

"Of course, Lord Lyman," I answered easily. His wanting to be less formal suited my desires plenty fine. 

"What do you think of this manse, Prince Maegor?"

"It is certainly extravagant, a truly absurd wedding gift."

"I agree, Your Grace. Gold is a much more versatile gift than this unwieldy palace."

' Well he is not wrong, ' I thought ruefully at the time. My brother would likely use this manse a few times but I wondered if it would be enough to justify its upkeep. If anything it was sort of a white elephant. He would barely get any use out of it but he would have to pay for it now. ' This was kind of a perfect political play by the Hightowers, ' I thought with some amazement. They had not only given the prince an extremely expensive wedding gift but he also foisted off an expensive property onto the crown. I was impressed by their political plays.

"My prince?" During the silence after he spoke his daughter then decided to step in. Her father looked livid but I jumped at the chance before he could reprimand her.

"Yes, Lady Johanna?"

"Is it true you killed a cat with your sword?" 

I was caught speechless when she said that and her father then quickly butted in, likely trying to salvage the perceived damage his daughter had just done.

"I apologize for her discourtesy, my prince."

"No, it is alright. What are these rumors you speak of, My Lady?"

"I heard you killed a cat when you got your first sword."

"Where did you hear of this?" I asked with venom dripping in my tone. I had certainly not butchered a kitten when I was young. ' Surely I would have remembered that no? ' I thought with a little worry. My memories before I turned four were fuzzy, I certainly hoped I did not butcher a cat.

Lord Lyman no doubt caught the dark look in my already dark purple eyes and jumped in once more. "My prince, there are an abundance of rumors about you throughout the realm, no doubt mindless drabble from the smallfolk."

"Rumors about me? Why would the smallfolk bother?"

"They content themselves with petty rumors of royalty. Bards will lie and twist anything to make their meager income. Your absence from court has piqued their curiosity, you need not pay them any mind"

"I may not need to but I do. I can assure you Lady Johanna, I have killed no cats in my life."

Lady Johanna smiled but her father was the one to speak again. "That is good to hear, I was hoping that was a lie, we Lannisters are fond of cats."

His reference to his sigil made me smile and I tried to get back towards a more pleasant topic of discussion but I couldn't help but think about the rumors he spoke of.

"You said rumors. What other lies about me have spread about this kingdom?"

Lord Lyman looked reluctant to answer but after a short pause, he cleared his throat and deftly explained to me just how much sabotage I was facing. "There are many, my prince. There are rumors that you hacked a palfrey to death after it kicked you, and you slashed the face off a stableboy when he ran to help the poor beast" 

The look of horror on my face must have been powerful as Lady Johanna went wide-eyed at my reaction. ' I can see where this one came from, ' I thought bitterly but I was still upset about it. I had befriended a stable boy a few years ago. It was nothing serious but whenever I escaped my lessons we would share a few conversations and play a few games. I was often bored during my chores and finding a friend on the island I could play childish games with was a nice disruption to my monotonous life.

We played some games for roughly a sennight before my mother had learned of my new friend and he and his family were soon reassigned and sent away from the castle. I was upset with my mother but she just said " A prince should not mingle with the smallfolk "' and dismissed my concerns. I would have made more of a fuss about it but I was soon gifted a saddle and adding dragon riding into my schedule soon wiped the boy from my mind. 

I guess a twisted version of the story got out. I could see how they would come to the conclusion. There was a stable boy on Dragonstone. He began interacting with me and then he was gone. It was not an enormous leap to the story but it still pissed me off. 

"My prince?" Lord Lyman looked a little concerned about my silence but his words snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I did not kill a palfrey or the boy supposedly attending it. That one is another lie, Lord Lannister"

"I figured, my prince. I heard you have much more interest in swinging a sword in the training yard. Is that rumor false as well?" 

"No, that one is true, Lord Lyman."

"Fascinating, you may just be every bit the warrior your father is."

"I hope so, Lord Lyman,"  I said as I scratched my cheek. Becoming a warrior was practically vital in this world and I would not skirt this necessity. It helped that I was gifted with a monster of a body. Only ten and I was already stronger than some men.

This conversation had slowed greatly and now I had nothing left to talk about. I could let him lead me around for the next while but I decided to end this conversation. I was feeling quite awkward speaking with him and I wanted to go and speak with my mother. ' Surely she has to have more information about the rumors, ' I thought with assurance, she knew basically everything that happened on Dragonstone and I wanted to know why she did nothing about the rumors.

"I apologize my lord, but I must speak with my mother." I was genuinely remorseful about cutting this conversation short but I wanted to get out and get some answers.

"Very well, my prince," The Lord Lannister did not put up much of a fight to keep my attention and I practically ran to my mother, she was speaking with a brown-haired and eyed young man and his family. 

"Greetings, Mother," I butted into her conversation with haste, she would be displeased but I needed to get in before I was lost.

"Maegor, did you enjoy speaking with Lord Lannister?" she said with an annoyed look. ' Great, not only is she upset but apparently she has eyes in the back of her head, ' I thought with some annoyance. Things rarely slipped past my mother's ever watchful eyes which was why I wanted to ask her about the rumors. 

"Good day,  Prince Maegor, it is nice to finally meet you," came the response from the lord my mother was speaking to. I had not seen her interact much with lords so it was interesting she would even bother mingling. 

"Greetings, Lord Arryn," I responded and quickly took a look at his doublet. It was a white falcon on a blue banner so I felt it was safe to assume. 

"I was just going to ask your mother about you, might you tell me what you think of the celebrations?" He seemed friendly, more so than Lord Lannister whom I felt was largely faking it, or he had ulterior motives.

"It is interesting, very different from Dragonstone."

"I agree," my mother jumped in and soon I was on the back foot once more.

"So why are you speaking with Lord Arryn, Mother?" I wanted some answers before she returned to ignoring me.

"Lord Arryn wanted to speak to me, so I am returning the favor."

"Indeed, Queen Visenya and I are old acquaintances and I wanted to catch up."

"Ohhh, you are the King Who Flew," I said with some realization. I knew the story, but my mother did not speak much of the boy.

"So you know of me, that is nice to hear," he responded with a smile. 

"So how is Ser Gawen? Your mother appointed him master at arms of Dragonstone some time ago but I have not heard from him since," Lord Ronnel continued, and before I could say anything my mother answered. 

"He is doing just fine. He spends most days teaching my son."

"Haha, so that is what you wanted him for, I thought it a little strange appointing such a high lord to master at arms."

I smiled awkwardly at the notion. I loved my mother and it was clear she loved me but to say she was an unorthodox parent would be an understatement. She placed a sword in my hand at three years old and I have basically been glued to it ever since. To think that she would personally appoint such a well-renowned knight to Dragonstone just to be my teacher. 

Before I could continue my part in this conversation I was quickly shooed off by my mother. "How about you go speak with Lord Ronnel's sons. I hear they like the yard almost as much as you."

It was worded like a request but it was more of a demand. My mother did not request much, especially when she had the authority to demand. 

"Of course, Mother," I quickly demurred and separated with the Arryn boys. There were two. Both had brown hair but one had a set of gray eyes instead of the brown of his father.

"Good day," I said with some hesitation. I had no idea of their names and was a little embarrassed to ask.

"Greetings, Prince Maegor. My name is Artys and this is my brother Jasper," the larger of the two boys said and I nearly sighed in relief. I was terrible with names and I felt bad when I forgot them when I was the one who asked. 

"Are you any good at jousting?" Artys asked me and I was kind of caught off guard, then I remembered I was speaking to children so I should not be expecting much profound conversation. 

"Uhm, I am alright, much better with a sword in my opinion." 

"I prefer swords," the younger Arryn jumped in and our conversation continued like this for a time. We discussed tourneys, favorite stories, swordplay, and preferred sword style. I spoke with them for what felt like a fairly long time before my mother interrupted us and we shuffled towards our seats.

The feast was even more extravagant than the one I had on Driftmark. There were to be seven courses as a nod to the faith and the first one was a delightful Yiti duck with spiced vegetables and fresh fruit. I knew that my father was pulling out all the stops for this wedding and the food proved it. You could probably buy a palace or three with the money spent on this feast. 

However, the conversations being had around the table were far less interesting than when I was on Driftmark. Due to the more formal nature of this feast, people had to use the niceties and platitudes during conversations and it was terribly boring. My brother was also accosted by all the other people at our table like the High Septon and the other members of House Velaryon. So I could not really speak with him. With my mother also distracted from speaking to my father and Aeron deftly seated far from Alyssa, I did not really have anyone to speak with. After there was a break in the food for dancing and mingling I slipped out of the party. ' I need some fresh air, ' I thought as I sneakily left the room. I did not want my mother to be upset with me for leaving early.

…

The peace and quiet present on the balcony was to die for, the hall was extremely loud with all the different lords and ladies speaking and shouting, and with the music, I could hardly hear in there. It reminded me that the more I got involved with politics the more I found out that I was not a big fan of the nobles. 

I found almost all of them haughty and entitled, kind of like Lord Lannister and Manfred Hightower, most of them looked down on anyone they could get away with like their name and title is all that matters. Sure some of them were alright, besides the other children who were nice, one example of a good nobleman is the knight I was squiring for, Ser Gawen Corbray. 

He was a hardass similar to Visenya, he was a noble from a very well-respected house, House Corbray of the Vale. He was a noble but he did not hold complete disdain for the common folk, he respected strength and skill, and for that, I liked him. Even if he would kick me every time I would accidentally sleep in. He was also an absolute monster in the yard, wielding his family's Valyrian Steel blade, Lady Forlorn, with deadly efficiency.. 

Visenya had made me his squire so that I could, " learn from the best. " I was inclined to agree with her assessment. He was apparently famous for winning tourneys and campaigning against wildlings in the Vale, but I also had firsthand experience with his skill. Being in Kings Landing for the last half moon I got to see the Kingsguard practice in the yard. I would say Ser Gawen would beat all of them except maybe Ser Corlys Velaryon and Ser Robin Darklyn. My father's Lord Commander and The Darkrobin were not slouches and I think they could give any man alive a run for his money in a fair sword fight. 

Swordplay was one thing that I liked much more than I originally thought I would. At ten years old I was taller than all of my peers and taller still than many of the preteens and younger teenagers I would end up pitted against. Even here in Oldtown, the heart of Westerosi chivalry I resoundingly trounced all the squires Ser Gawen brought to me, he traveled here ahead of us so I could continue my training while in the city. 

I was starting to plateau in my sword skills and it was making me nervous. I could not wait until I was older and could compete against proper swordsmen in tourneys. I never expected to love swordplay the way I did but swinging a sword had a sort of therapeutic effect on me. I could shift my thoughts from my self-doubt and worry for the future and focus on the present. Ser Gawen told me that "to be distracted in a fight was to die," and he thoroughly beat that lesson into me. 

Those were my thoughts on the balcony when I heard the glass door open and a pair of feet step onto the marble balcony. I instantly turned around, fearing my mother or Ser Gawen but what found my eyes was a girl about my age. With a heart-shaped face, hair white as snow, and eyes the color of blood. I was a little shocked, she was certainly not like any person I had ever seen before, I thought my family looked unique but this girl put us to shame. She was dressed well, albeit a bit modestly. A black, red, and yellow dress with a red gemstone held in a silver necklace around her neck.

"Can I help you, Lady Qoherys?" I asked politely in High Valyrian with a raised eyebrow. I had escaped to a more private part of the manse and I was surprised someone found me. 

"What?" She asked with a look on her face like I spoke complete gibberish and I cocked my own head. ' Can she not speak High Valyrian? ' I thought with astonishment. I was sure she was a Qoherys because of the colors she was wearing but I thought they were Valyrians. Hell, my mother spoke quite highly of Lord Quenton.

I cleared my throat and switched to Andal. "Ahem, Can I help you, Lady Qoherys?" I asked again, trying to push away the awkward silence that grew between us. Switching languages was always awkward for me.

"... How did you know my house?" she responded hesitantly. It seemed I caught her off guard. 

"You may not have our exact coloring but your features are Valyrian, combining that with your dress and its colors. You have to be from House Qoherys," I rationalized my thoughts. Some may find my manner of speech weird but most adults just explained it away with my growing up around adults instead of other children, and the fact that I was apparently a prodigy according to the maesters. 

"Hmph, well aren't you clever, if you speak that way to everyone no wonder you are always alone," she retorted instantly with a smug tone and I coughed. I was so used to others speaking respectfully to me because I am a prince. Ser Gawen would speak to me this way and so would my family but I was not quite ready to hear that from a pre-teen girl. It piqued my interest greatly, ' a nice change of pace, ' I thought with a small smile.

"And why do you say I am always alone? I have never seen you before today." I was curious, I needed to know just how much damage the gossip from Dragonstone had done to my reputation after my meeting with the Lannisters.

"You are talked about quite a bit in the realm. Of course, you are Queen Visenya's son, The Prince of Dragonstone, so you would be like her," she said matter of factly and I could not deny it, I was quite like my mother. She detested the nobles and all their pomp and circumstance. I could not help but feel the same way.

 I had spent the last ten years of my life on Dragonstone, of course, I did leave the island on short visits to Dragonstone's direct vassals like Driftmark and Claw Isle atop Vhagar but it was only for short times. I would have flown there on my dragon Terrax but I took my first flight with him on my ninth name day, when my mother gifted me a saddle. So I did not have much of a chance to.

"So why are you here then? I hope it is not out of pity … Also, I am not actually The Prince of Dragonstone, it is just something the servants called me, the king gave me no such title," I said quickly, I hated explaining it, the title was meant to be endearing but it only reminded me that I did not control the fate of my own home. I knew I would always be welcome on my island home but the idea of someone else owning Dragonstone irked me greatly.

"Aww really? That is disappointing, everyone calls you that so I assumed it was a real title," she said with what seemed to be real disappointment in her tone and she pressed the tip of her foot into the ground. Once more I found myself helpless in this conversation. ' Who is this girl?' I did not remember any young Qoherys girl from my past memories and I wrote no such thing down in my journal years ago. 

"Anyway, I just wanted to see for myself if what people said about you was true … that you are not talkative and a loner," she answered my question before I could even ask it. She was being disrespectful but this conversation had gotten out of my hands so I hadn't the time to rebuke her.

"... So what is your verdict?" I asked with some hesitation. Talking with Aenys had helped me exit my shell a bit but I was still a little worried about what others thought of me. I would rather not be a friendless prince for the rest of my life. Especially in a world like this and especially knowing the original Maegor's fate. 

"I think you are interesting and I am still waiting for you to invite me to dance. Seriously, a lady had to seek you out to get a dance, what kind of backwards prince are you?" she said but quickly covered her mouth.

"You have quite a bit of bravery, my lady," I responded after catching her slip-up. She seemed to realize that she was being rude to a prince and got nervous. I smiled at the thought, she was flustered and thus I could gain control of this conversation.

"Referring to a Prince of the Realm in such a way, what will your father think?" I responded in a light-hearted tease. I had no intention of ratting her out, frankly, I liked her confidence and would rather not sink any potential friendship before it left the docks but seeing her fidget nervously was hilarious.

"Also, sorry to disappoint but I do not know how to dance. I was never taught on Dragonstone," I responded with a more serious tone. Visenya Targaryen was an excellent teacher in some areas: Swordplay, reading and writing in High Valyrian, governance, even magic. Both fortunately and unfortunately for me she was not your ordinary mother, so while I excelled in Swordplay and language I was lacking in some of the other skills a Prince may have had if they were given a more standard upbringing. Namely, I could not dance to save my life and I was also rather unprepared to converse with other higher nobles. My mother never thought to teach me any etiquette aside from looking princely so I truly struggled in my first few interactions in King's Landing.

"No way…" she said with some disappointment, it seemed like I was not living up to the idea of a perfect prince. Which was fair, Aenys fit that role much more closely. 

"Well, then I will just have to teach you!" She quickly rebounded with a smile and it seemed that I lost the reins on this horse once more.

"Wha?" I said before she grabbed my hand and started to pull me inside. She was smaller than me by more than a head and probably half as heavy but she still pulled with surprising strength. 

"Wait, I am serious, I cannot dance!" I would rather not embarrass myself in front of the most influential vassals of my father. Especially not in front of Aenys or my mother.

"Nonsense, it is easy, it cannot be all that different from your fights in the yard," She said with a completely serious face. 

"What?! Are you mad?!" I whispered and yelled at her as we neared the main hall once more. ' Seriously what world does she live in?! ' my brain screamed.

"When you predict your enemy's movement and then respond, the concept is the same," she explained away her preposterous opinion, and in a flash, we were back at the main hall in time for a change in the song.

"Ask me," she demanded. It seemed that now that we were in the presence of others she wanted to follow the normal procedure. She must have gotten distracted again as she was technically acting out of turn, ' she is lucky I am not a normal prince ' I thought with a smile. 

I quickly rebounded from my shock and terror and reluctantly said "May I have this dance, my lady?" 

"You may, my prince," she said with a beaming smile and we entered the dance floor. 

Thus our dance began, I was not lying when I said I could not dance, I could not in my past life, and my new life added nothing so summarily my dancing skills stood at zero. So internally I already knew this would go poorly and I was not wrong in my assessment. 

"Wah!" she said with a wince. 

"Sorry," I said quietly under my breath. This was going to be humiliating, I just needed to control the damage.

It seemed that I was dragging us both down, I would trip and because I was so much bigger than her I would pull her with me. Her head hit my chest with a thump and I was beginning to break out in a cold sweat. I was messing all of this up, my only solace was the fact that Aenys and his wife were on the dance floor so they took most of the attention. 

"Stop thinking so much." I nearly froze when I heard the words. Aenys appeared behind me and was now giving advice.

"You are a novice so let her take the lead, there is no shame in it." Lady Alyssa said quietly, just loud enough to be heard over the music and the crowd. 

"Relax your shoulders and stop looking at your feet, look ahead and focus on communicating where you want to go," Aenys continued after his wife. It seemed that Aenys saw my pitiful display and was trying to help me. 

"You are a warrior, use those skills. Predicting her movements from the shifting of her feet and communicating through looking, nonverbal communication is the whole point of dancing," Aenys said finally before he and his wife twirled away.

Resoundingly embarrassed by my brother and my failure up until now, I quickly followed the advice he and his wife gave me. I desperately tried to predict her movements as she deftly took the lead in our little dance. 

I looked into her blood-red eyes after some hesitation and on a second look, they were quite enchanting. In a mysterious sort of way, very different from the otherworldly look I got when I stared at my family or a mirror. Then, it seemed to click in my mind, to an extent. 

' She wants to go left. ' I was quite happy after I was proven correct.

The dance went a whole lot better with Aenys's advice, I would have to thank him and his wife later. So we continued our dance to that beat. I still stumbled a little, and I would occasionally predict the wrong movement but we would continue our dance for the remainder of the song and I would even say I had fun.

When the music ended we broke off our dance and moved towards the edge of the room. Now that we stopped dancing I realized that I was sweating and suddenly got embarrassed. Dancing was about as difficult as I thought it would be and if Aenys had not bailed me out I probably would have embarrassed myself publicly. 

"That was fun, thank you for dancing with me Prince Maegor," she said with a smile and began to walk away. 

"Ah wait, I never got your name," I responded quickly, I do not know how but I guess I never asked it. 

She turned around and said with a beaming smile, "Shiera Qoherys," before she walked back towards her family. 

… 

"Thank you Aenys," I said with extreme embarrassment. He had been my savior today and as much as I was embarrassed to do so, I had to thank him.

"Haha, no problem Maegor, I am glad I was able to help you." He was back in his element it seemed and I was glad he had shaken off his nervousness. I spent a lot of time speaking with him on this excursion. I think I said more words of encouragement the sennight we were here than I did in my entire past life. He certainly needed it.

"Thank you as well, Lady Alyssa." I also had to thank my good sister for her help. She had also given me advice and without her and Aenys's help, I would have been lost.

"Think nothing of it Maegor, you are my brother now," she said with a smile and I would be lying if I said I was not a little jealous of Aenys. 

Alyssa Velaryon had the typical Valyrian features. A soft face, purple eyes, and gleaming silver-gold hair. She was a vision of beauty in her bridal gown and I could understand why Aenys blushed whenever he looked at her. Their marriage was a political one but I doubted it would remain distant. My father and mother had spent their time on Dragonstone discussing potential marriage candidates for Aenys. There were only a few truly considered candidates but they ultimately decided on Alyssa for a few reasons, she was from a strong and loyal vassal, her family hailed from Old Valyria like ours did, and she even had Targaryen blood from a few of my ancestors who married into House Velaryon.

My family tree was a little weird to think about at times. It was more of a straight line than a tree with all the sibling marriages but a few sisters had married out to other houses. I was still a little weirded out by sibling marriages but I understood the rationale behind it. The magic that allows us to ride our dragons is tied to our blood, thus its purity was vital, and even more so than that was the necessity of keeping dragons in the family. We are different from normal humans because we can ride dragons, if others gain our ability through marriage our image will be shattered. 

Before I could feel even more embarrassed, the festivities to end came from my father. It was time for bedding and now it was my turn to make my brother embarrassed. He got his licks in but now it was time for my response.

"Good luck brother, I want some nieces and nephews soon," I said with an overly friendly and childlike tone, and the blush that rose on both Aenys's and Alyssa's faces was oh-so glorious to see. They were soon removed from most of their clothes and ushered into their bed chamber for the night before we all separated to sleep ourselves.

My mother interrupted me before I could escape back into my room and soured the entire night when she said, "I suppose I should get someone to teach you how to dance hmm?" with a raised eyebrow. ' Oh great, not only did Aenys notice my dancing but my mother noticed as well. She will probably tease me for the next two moons, ' I thought dryly, I loved my mother but she had a habit of teasing me. It was kind of weird coming from her mouth but she smiled at my embarrassment so I guess she enjoyed it. So while I would probably get a fair bit of teasing for my actions tonight, I could not say I regretted the dance.