CELTIGAR - House of The Dragon

First Attempt

Two days after Aegon was crowned King, the late Viserys's body was to be buried in the Sept among his predecessors, in a public ceremony gathering the masses and the royal family. Tradition usually would have had King Viserys cremated by dragonfire, but, as he had been a King, he was to rest among the other Kings before him.

Still no news had come from Rhaenyra and her supporters and the anxiety levels were at an all time high among the Greens. Rhea had been appointed a new protector by the Hand, some low-born man whose reputation was less than ideal for a man of the King's Guard. Aemond has slept by her side both nights after Ser Willard was murdered, completely forsaking his own chambers. He would not leave her a side for a second, and could not care less if any one saw them together, after all, they would marry in three days and they would not need to hide any longer; he looked forward to that.

As the Queen and her daughter Helaena walked among the people, knights circled the room, keeping their eyes on them. Aegon had stayed behind in the Red Keep and had sent his brother as his representative at the ceremony, claiming he had much business to attend to. In two days' time, Aegon had already asked prominent families to declare for him, and if they refused, their heads were mounted on spikes to be exhibited at the gates of the castle, in an attempt to prevent any desire to contest his ascension to the throne. As of now, four heads, from Lords and Ladies, heads of their houses, rotted on each sides of the gates.

The former King's body was on display, and had been there for hours now, and, as the masses slowly dispersed, less and less people were actually inside the Sept. Swords, and all sorts of weapons, except on the King's Guards, had been banned from the ceremony, letting the royal family walk about more freely than they usually would. As the King's body was sealed in his tomb, Rhea saw Queen Alicent wipe a tear from her eye and the Lady Celtigar wrapped her arms around Helaena's own arm in support of her friend whose week had not been easy either. The poor woman had been raised to the status of Queen, and her sons heirs to the Iron Throne, a role she had never prepared herself for, nor ever wanted. Aemond stood witness to the touching scene between his sister and future wife and could not be more certain he was making the right choice. He had to leave his own sword and dagger outside the Sept, entrusting his mother's sworn protector, Ser Criston, with them. He was not used to roaming around without them, and he hated it.

As Rhea made her way to the exit and back to her carriage, she walked a few paces behind her family, turning back to glance at her adopted father's last resting place solemnly. Queen Alicent and her children carried on walking, not realising Rhea was not with them until they heard shuffling behind them and a scared gasp leave the prince's betrothed's lips. All of them turned and were soon surrounded by King's Guards, their sword drawn out in Rhea's direction. Aemond tried to move through them to go by his lady's side but the Guards would not let him.

Lady Rhea's protector, Ser Heden, had her in a backwards hold, his sword at the base of her neck, one of his arms around her body, gripping her tightly, holding her in place against him. Rhea's hands were raised at the man's arms, trying to push them away, but he was too strong for her.

"None of you move, or I'll slit the bitch's throat," the man spat, inching his sword closer to Rhea's neck.

The sword was so close she could feel its cold steel dig into her skin, her hands grasping at the knight's forearm. She did not dare move more and she could not see Aemond from where she was standing.

"Do something, Cole," Aemond urged his mother's protector and old friend.

The prince felt powerless as his lady faced a possible death, he tried pushing past the guards but they would not let him yet again.

"My lord, whatever you may want, I will give it to you," Rhea pleaded. "Let me go and we will forget about it, I swear it."

The man tightened his grip on her, violently pushing her back against his own body.

"Not a word, you slut," he spat again.

Rhea had a resolute look on her face as she lowered her arms. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second before opening them again.

Aemond could barely see her from so far, but he could hear her very clearly.

"If you wish to kill me, do it now, my lord. Let this be over with," Rhea enunciated bravely, her voice loud and without a trace of fear.

The man brought his sword closer to her neck, this time she could feel a cut start to bleed and she knew she would die, powerless, without the chance to even try to fight it.

"Why are you doing this?" the Queen's voice resonated. "Have we not treated you fairly in court? Have we not given you a position you otherwise would never have achieved?"

"I have been offered much more than you could ever fathom to slit the whore's throat. Nothing you could offer me would make me stop," the man shouted.

"Let it be over with, then," Rhea shouted as she raised her arms again, digging his sword further into her neck with her bare hands which started to bleed also. "If I am to die, I at least want to choose how I do it. Hand me your sword."

The man scoffed.

"So you can run away? Never, my lady." The man spoke vehemently.

"Mother, tell them to do something," Helaena pleaded.

The Queen finally gave orders to her knights to attack the man, exiting the state of fear induced paralysis she had been in, with a wave of her hand. Just as she thought, the man was a coward, and just as her men's swords reached him, he threw Rhea to the ground, expecting her to run to safety, but she grabbed Prince Aemond's dagger, which Ser Criston had thrown to the floor when he drew his own to protect his Queen, and turned to him, her eyes dark and angry.

"Who paid you?" She asked, inching closer to the man.

His sword was pointed at her but she did not back down.

"I asked a question, you bitch," she raised her voice.

As Ser Heden strode closer to her, she slashed his hand in a swift move with the prince's dagger. The man cried out in pain and Rhea picked his sword up, pointing it at him. It was heavy, but she had been used to using such swords when she trained with the princes.

"Please, my lady, I beg you, I am sorry," the man's demeanour suddenly shifted as he pleaded for his life.

As Rhea stepped closer to him, he tried to trip her and she plunged his sword in his neck, the only part she could access which was not protected by his armour. The man gargled blood for a minute before collapsing to the ground, dead. Rhea dropped the sword and turned to her family and the knights. Silence surrounded them and all they could hear was Helaena's relieved sighed as she pushed past the guards and rushed to hold her friend in a tight embrace, not caring that the Lady's blood stained her green dress.

Aemond stood back, both in awe and in shock at what had just happened. In all the years Rhea had trained with him and his brothers, he never would have expected her to be this good, to move as swiftly and lightly as she did.

Then, when his sister released his betrothed, he rushed to her, his hands reaching for her bleeding neck and hands, examining them.

"Are you hurt, my love?" He asked, his whole body, mind and face riddled with concern.

Rhea bend down to pick up his dagger and handed it to him, her eyes glancing angrily at the man she had just killed. The first man whose life she took, she expected she would feel all sorts of things, but in this instant, she felt strong, fierce. Like she could conquer anything. She looked back into her prince's eyes, her blue eyes under a dark shadow.

"I am fine, though I cannot say the same for Ser Heden, I am afraid," she answered, her chin high.