CELTIGAR - House of The Dragon

"The King is Dead,

Sat up in her bed, Lady Rhea couldn't help but think of the man in the chambers on the opposite side of the corridor. Grabbing a chandelier, she rose from her bed and walked out of her quarters towards his. She knocked on his door and, to her surprise, the door opened, revealing an empty room. She stepped inside, calling the prince's name. Her heart sank as she realised he was not here.

Disappointed, Rhea walked back to her own bed. She wondered where her prince could have been and, as she fell asleep, she toyed with the King's stone figurine, holding it close to her heart.

The next morning, Rhea awoke and felt glad the previous day was well and truly over. She felt it had lasted a whole week and her body was as sore as if she had been riding a horse for a month. As she opened her windows, a strange feeling came over her. The candles had not been lit this morning, and a deafening silence filled the halls. Putting on a thick robe on top of her nightgown, Rhea shivered. Usually, by this time every morning, her handmaiden would have normally already knocked on her doors to bring her breakfast, but, this morning, she was not brought anything, nor had anyone came and knocked on her doors. She began to grow wary of the situation and went to open her doors to see the King, hoping he was alright, but as she pulled on the handles, the doors did not budge. She tried to pull them again, harder, but failed again. Her brow furrowed and she began banging on the doors with her fists, hoping someone would hear her.

Several minutes of trying to pry the doors open later, Rhea gave up and sat down on the edge of her bed. Something was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong. In all the nineteen years she had lived in the Red Keep, she had never been kept from leaving her quarters and worry seeped into her brain.

She remained there, locked in her chambers, for the most part of the day, her worry soon turning into anger as she understood she was made to stay inside, like a prisoner and she refused to be treated as such.

As night began to fall, and as hunger roared in her belly, Rhea, who was pacing angrily about her room, heard her door handles rattle and she turned towards them, grabbing her dagger and readying herself for a fight. She tried to muster up all the courage she could. She had imagined a thousand different scenarios as to why she was kept inside her chambers all day, and, as the doors pried opened and revealed Ser Willard Caldwell, she gasped.

"My lady, the Queen has summoned you in her quarters and I am to escort you there," the man spoke in a hurry, out of breath.

He must have been running to reach her as fast as he could.

"Escort me? Like I am some kind of criminal?" Rhea scoffed, truly vexed.

"For your safety, and the King's."

"The King's?" Rhea questioned as she followed the knight through the dark corridors of the Red Keep.

"Everything will make sense soon, my lady, I swear," the man promised as he pushed the doors from the Queen's quarters open.

As Rhea entered and gazed upon the Queen's solemn face, she knew something had happened. The woman thanked the knight and he left the both of them alone.

"Please, sit," the Queen gestured towards a chair.

Rhea did as her Queen bid her and waited for her to speak again.

"What I am about to tell you, my child, may never leave this room," the Queen ordered sternly. "Do you swear it?"

Rhea nodded, her eyes fluttering. She fidgeted her fingers around her rings, biting the inside of her cheeks.

"My dear child, the King is dead," the Queen stated gravely.

Rhea gasped as her head jerked to look at the Queen, she brought a hand to her mouth, pain overflowing her.