CELTIGAR - House of The Dragon

Lady Rhea, of House Celtigar

As Lady Rhea Celtigar, Heir to Claw Isle's, seventeenth nameday approaches, King Viserys I wanted to ensure his ward would have the celebration she deserved. That meant organizing a great tourney in her honour, inviting Lords and Ladies from all the Great Houses and lots and lots of banquets.

The King, although now sickly and slowly rotting, was once Lady Rhea's father's closest friend, which is why he took her in and raised her as his own when her own father was found dead all but twelve years ago. The Queen dressed her in the finest silks and ensured her chambers were never far from hers, she loved the girl as if she had come from her own womb. Together, they hired the same teachers as their heirs, put them in the same clothes, fed them the same and raised them in the hope they would always treat her as family. The King's heir, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, cared for the girl, in an almost motherly fashion and had chambers installed for her "sister"'s comfort on Dragonstone in what is believed used to be Queen Rhaenys's quarters when she and her brother King Aegon I and his other sister-wife Visenya lived on Dragonstone before the Conquest. Although their age difference was quite impressive, Rhaenyra and Rhea were great friends, confiding in each other, trusting each other with their lives.

Queen Alicent was stood in the Great Hall of the Red Keep, overseeing the preparations for the tourney that was coming in two days when her gaze fell upon Lady Rhea's delighted expression. Her hair was the same as her children's, long silver locks which framed her heart-shapped face and soft jawline flawlessly; she truly could have been one of the Queen's babes. She smiled upon the girl and welcomed her in a warm embrace.

" I do hope my nameday is not causing you too much trouble, your Grace", Lady Rhea smiled sincerely.

" Not at all, sweet girl. 'Tis only fair we give you such a celebration, after all the years you have spent by our sides. You might even find yourself a suitable husband there, with all the Lords who have been invited, you might make a splendid match for yourself, now that you are of age", the Queen answered, squeezing the girl's hand lightly.

The silver-haired girl nodded and looked at her feet, her dress flowing lightly in the warm wind surrounding her. It was indeed time for her to find a husband, a suitable one at that, to finally have a family of her own and leave the Red Keep. She swallowed hard and looked up at the Queen who was smiling at her and cupped her cheek.

" Do not trouble yourself, my sweet child. You are young, still, the King does not wish for his ward to marry and leave the Red Keep yet. Two of his daughters are successfully married, it is my understanding he wishes to keep the third one around a little while longer", the Queen whispered lovingly.

Lady Rhea's face flushed with red and her heart felt full with love at the fact that Queen Alicent had called her the King's daughter. She truly loved the man and could never repay him for her childhood among the Princes and Princess Helaena. She felt like the luckiest orphan in the whole of Westeros, and, to be fair, she most certainly was.

The women's conversation was cut short by servants who came to the Queen with questions regarding the feast soon taking place, so Lady Rhea was dismissed and she was left to wander the halls of this great castle she called home. She decided she would visit her adoptive sister Rhaenyra when she would be settled. Her nameday celebration was made even more special by the fact her adoptive sister was coming back to the Red Keep to celebrate it, as the Princess had not been back for a long period of time since the birth of her third soon with Laenor Velaryon, Joffrey. Things had worsened between her and the Queen when her son, Lucerys, cut Prince Aemond's face and rendered one of his eyes useless, forever scarring the Prince. Since then, Princess Rhaenyra lived on Dragonstone, and it was Lady Rhea's duty to come and see her once every three months, to give news of and to the King who missed his first daughter and heir greatly.