The Heart Of House Targaryen

The Heirs of the Dragon (3)

I stood, staring hopelessly at the wrapped bodies of my mother and brother, willing the tears to stay inside.

Daemon loomed over my shoulder, "They're waiting for you."

Filled with grief and anger, I couldn't help but say my piece to him, "I wonder if, during those few hours my brother lived, my father finally found happiness."

D: "Your father needs you more now than he ever has."

"I will never be a son..." I stepped forward, Syrax vocalizing softly. "Dr-" 

The words wouldn't leave my mouth. I looked at my father, a shell of the man he was only yesterday. One of us had to be strong.

"Dracarys."

Syrax stepped down the hill and set flame to the bodies.

---

Alicent visited me, though I feel I wasn't the best person to be around. Hurt settled inside me in a way that only hatred could bloom from. She was one of the few people I knew didn't pity me, having lost her own mother she felt sorry for me but rather focused on trying to make me feel better.

It was only the next day before I had to go back to acting like everything was normal. I resumed my job as the King's Cupbearer as if I hadn't just lost my mother.

Hightower: "Before we begin, Your Grace, I have a report I feel compelled to share. Last night... Prince Daemon bought out one of the pleasure houses on the Street of Silk... to entertain officers of the City Watch and other friends of his."

I eyed Otto carefully, knowing that anything reportable about my uncle would only end badly.

H: "He toasted Prince Baelon. Styling him... The Heir for a Day."

I nearly dropped the pitcher, how could he be so cruel? How could he be so true to himself of all days?

H: "I corroborated this report with separate witnesses. The evening was, by all accounts a... celebration."

My father quickly stood, "Send for him." he stormed out of the room. 

I looked between each of the men still sat at the council's table. A nod from Otto told me all I needed, I too stormed out.

---

A knock at my door pulled my attention from my book,

"Yes?"

Ser Harrold stepped in, "Your Grace has requested your presence, Princess."

I looked back at my book, "I do not wish to see him, Ser." 

H: "I am not to return without you."

I groaned, closing my book and following him through the castle. He escorted me to Balerion's room where my father was staring into the candle flames.

"Father."

F: "Balerion was the last living creature to have seen Old Valyria before the Doom." he turned to me, "Its greatness and its flaws. When you look at the dragons, what do you see?"

"What?" I felt angry again, not that I ever stopped, "You haven't spoken a word to me since Mother's funeral, and now you send your Kingsguard down-"

F: "Answer me. It's important. What do you see?"

I looked from him to Balerion's impressively large skull, "I suppose I see us."

F: "Tell me."

"Everyone says Targaryens are closer to god than to men, but they say that because of our dragons. Without them, we're just like everyone else."

He nodded approvingly, "The idea that we control the dragons... is an illusion. They're a power man should never have trifled with. One that brought Valyria its doom. If we don't mind our own histories, it will do the same to us. Targaryen must understand this to be King... or Queen."

My head snapped from Balerion to my father.

F: "I'm sorry, Kymyra. I have wasted the years since you were born wanting for a son." he smiled kindly and tears threatened my eyes, "You are the very best of your mother. And I believe it, I know she did, that you could be a great ruling queen." 

"Daemon is your heir."

F: "Daemon was not made to wear the crown. But I believe that you were."

I smiled, he believed in me. The only thing I've wanted since I was a kid, his faith.

F: "This is no trivial gesture, Kymyra. A dragon's saddle is one thing, but the Iron Throne is the most dangerous seat in the realm."

"I will rule it with the grace the realm deserves." 

He nodded, "I know you will. There's something else that I need to tell you. It might be difficult for you to understand, but you must hear it. Our histories... they tell us that Aegon looked across the Blackwater from Dragonstone, and saw a rich land ripe for the capture. But ambition alone is not what drove him to conquest. It was a dream. and just as Daenys foresaw the end of Valyria, Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men." he sighed, "'Tis to begin with a terrible winter gusting out of the distant north. Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds. And whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. When this great winter comes, Kymyra... all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne. A king or queen, strong enough to unite the realm against the cold and the dark. Aegon called his dream The Song of Ice and Fire." he clutched his dagger, "This secret... it's been passed from king to heir since Aegon's time. Now you must promise to carry it and protect it. Promise me this Kymyra. Promise me."

"I swear to you, Father, I will protect this secret, and this realm, with my life."

He smiled, kissing my forehead. "Your swearing in ceremony will be tomorrow. Get some sleep."

I nodded, "Good night, Father."

---

The next morning Alicent came to help me dress, 

"I can't believe I'm not dreaming."

She clasped a cloak around me, "You deserve it." 

I laughed lightly, "I deserve to rule the realm?" 

Her arms wrapped around me and her chin nuzzled into my shoulder, "Yes."

I smiled, feeling all the comfort in the world in her embrace. 

A: "Come now, you musn't be late."

The Throne Room doors swung open to reveal a sea of people, my people. I walked toward the throne, my head held higher than ever before. I turned to look at each face that I would rule over some day, Mellos calling out each Lord to promise themselves to me with the same line;

"I promise to be faithful to King Viserys and his named heir, the Princess Kymyra. I pledge fealty to them and shall defend them against all enemies in good faith and without deceit. I swear this by the old gods and the new."

I stared at each man as he knelt in front of me, the realization that they were not only my Father's men, but my own settled over me. I would need to take care of them, fight for and with them, consider each of their needs before my own, and prepare to lay my life for them just as they would for me. I have always been a Princess, but not just, now I was the heir to the Iron Throne and Dragonstone.

Mellos laid a Targaryen necklace around me and I turned to face my father in his throne.

F: "I, Viserys Targaryen, first of his name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, do hereby name Kymyra Targaryen Princess of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne."

We each bowed our heads, my place in the world now cemented.