CELTIGAR - House of The Dragon

Misplaced property

As she awoke with a grin on her face, Lady Rhea realized she had never slept better and opened her eyes, then sighed when she saw she was alone again. Her shoulders slumped and she readied herself for the day with the help of her handmaidens. Deciding she would wear the King's gift again, she slipped it atop a deep red dress, securing it around her waist with the same fabric she had used to fashion the wreath for her nameday tourney. She would be sure to show the King she was now wearing it again, it would cheer him up for sure. She wrapped Prince Aemond's dagger in a handmade sheath and tied it to her waist, leaving her chambers for the day. As she left, her gaze turned to the prince's quarters and she smiled, looking at her feet as she passed them. The prince must have left in the small hours of the morning and returned to his bed. She was greeted by Jaehaera and her mother, Princess Helaena as they made their way to the gardens. The young woman knelt in front of the little girl and opened her arms, letting the child give her a warm embrace.

"I found some of my old toys in my bedroom last night, would you like to have them?" Lady Rhea asked the small silver-haired child in front of her.

Jaehaera's face lit up in excitement and her mother thanked her friend, leading her outside, a smile on her face. Rhea carried on walking until she reached the main entrance, waiting for one of the guards to accompany her on her way to the Dragonpit. Soon enough, a light brown-haired man, older than her, caught up to her and they made their way through King's Landing, the knight's hand tightly holding his sword, ready to protect the lady if need arose.

Thankfully, they reached the Dragonpit without issue and the man signified to Rhea he would wait for her outside. She strode through the huge building and soon found herself by her dragon's side, stroking its scaly skin lovingly.

"Hello, my friend," she said calmly, her eyes scanning the beast's features.

It was a relatively big dragon, his scales a deep dark blue. He was a male dragon and had hatched when Rhea was still a girl, they had bound themselves to one another quite easily and Sapphire had become incredibly loyal to his rider, never letting anyone but Lady Rhea on his back, answering only to her. He was smaller than Vhagar, Prince Aemond's dragon, of course, as she was the biggest dragon alive, after Aegon I's dragon, Balerion, died. He was smaller than Caraxes, Prince Daemon's dragon, as well, but bigger than Syrax, Princess Rhaenyra's. Sapphire's egg was actually laid by Meleys, Princess Rhaenys' dragon, the Red Queen. Lady Rhea was very proud to be bound to such a fierce dragon, and, although she had never had to fly with him on any battlefield, she was confident he would make a fine opponent to anyone who might stand in her way.

"I think we might fly out, today. What say you?" Lady Rhea asked as she climbed on Sapphire's back, steadying herself on the saddle as the beast began walking towards the exit. The Dragon Keepers opened the doors and the blue dragon took flight, the young woman ordering it to fly higher and higher.

Flying was unlike anything she had ever experienced, it made her feel unstoppable, and yet terribly small, powerful, yet powerless. She wished to fly to Essos, one day, and fly over the ruins of Old Valyria, to witness its might for herself. For the time being, though, she would have to settle for the short trips she would usually take from King's Landing to Craw Isle and back.

The two of them circled the capital a few times and then went back to the pit. A small group of city folk had gathered around it to get a closer look at the dragon. Lady Rhea smiled at them as she ordered Sapphire to stand on top of the pit, his huge head held high above the people below as she gave the command she knew the people were waiting for.

"Dracarys," she exclaimed.

The dragon breathed fire in the sky and Lady Rhea smiled again as the people cheered, impressed by the beast's might.

As she left the pit a few moments later, she encountered Prince Aegon who was entering it himself.

"I heard you gave the people a show," the prince said towards her.

"They love it, seeing the flames up in the sky," the lady smirked back. "I'm sure they'd love it even more if you were the one on dragonback."

"Probably, but, as for right now, I was merely trying to find you, Sunfyre will have to wait, sadly."

"Why were you looking for me, Aegon?"

The two of them walked out of the pit and stepped into Aegon's carriage, riding through the streets.

"Daeron is leaving for Oldtown, remember?" Aegon reminded her.

She nodded.

"Why did you come looking for me? Could you not have sent one of the knights to do it?"

"Aemond was supposed to do it, but he's looking for his damned eye-patch. He seems to have lost it, somehow," Aegon stated with a slight touch of annoyance in his voice. "I am the King's firstborn son and yet I am the one sent out to seek people."

"You did it willingly, Aegon. And I'm not just people. I'm your friend, might I remind you." Rhea said, tapping his shoulder in a friendly manner.

The prince smiled at her and laughed, but the Lady Rhea suddenly registered what Aegon had just told her and her mind raced back to the previous night and the last thing she did before falling asleep. She swallowed hard as an anxious lump formed in the back of her throat. Did her handmaidens see the eye-patch on her bedside table? Did they report it to the King? Was it the true reason Aegon had come to fetch her out?

She rode in the carriage anxiously, fiddling with her silver rings and waited impatiently to finally get out of it. As soon as the carriage stopped, she rushed out and began trotting towards her chambers to retrieve the prince's eye-patch stealthily.

"Where are you going? We're all waiting for you," Aegon shouted as he watched Rhea turn a corner and disappear.

She pushed the door from her chambers open and saw it there, casually strewn on the piece of furniture. Her handmaidens must have seen it, they must all know by now, she thought.

Running down the flights of stairs she had just climbed, she caught up to her family, who were all standing next to one another, their backs turned from her. Just as she reached the final step, Aemond emerged from the side opposite her and their eyes locked for the first time that day. Rhea's initial reaction was to blush and look away, but as she felt the prince's eye-patch in her clutched hand, she called out his name, which caused his mother and brothers to turn to them without her knowing they could now see them. Aemond made his way to her, walking fast, her blue sapphire in his eye socket for all the world to see. He had a small, relieved smile of his face and let out an alleviated sigh. His hand reached up to her upper arm and he squeezed it lightly.

"Of course, it was in your quarters all this time," Aemond exclaimed.

"Aegon told me you were looking for it," she said, handing him his belonging.

He grabbed it and his fingers brushed against hers. She smiled shyly at him.

"Thank you, my lady," the prince thanked her while putting his eye-patch back on his head, securing it in the back. "You look beautiful, today. The chain-mail suits you."

She smiled at him, this time with confidence. She curtsied playfully, tugging at the sides of her dress which caused him to laugh.

"I shall have to take you into town to buy your new dagger a proper sheath, though. The one you have is starting to fall apart," Aemond stated as he took the piece of fabric in his hand.

"I'd like that," Rhea smiled.

They both turned towards his family and, as Rhea locked eyes with the Queen, it dawned on them they had all witnessed their exchange. Prince Aegon's gaze shifted from his brother to Lady Rhea's waist, where his brother's dagger was now fully visible and the faint smile carving itself on Prince Aegon's lips left no doubt he had identified it correctly. He gave his brother and Lady Rhea an amused look and nodded, shifting his gaze back to his mother who was breathing in deeply, her eyes fixed on her husband's ward's.