The Time Curse (Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon Fanfic)

Chapter 5: The Curse of the Dragon Witch

Viserys was led through the halls of the red keep towards the room Aegon had requested for Morgana, directly next to his own. It was the fastest the decrepit old man had moved in decades. He knocked on the door holding his breath as he heard movement from within. 

The door opened and there she stood, as beautiful as the last time he saw her. His voice caught in his throat and his eyes filled with tears. She remained the same as she was in his dreams. 

"Hello, my little witch." Viserys finally spoke, his High Valyrian deep and gravelly in his saddened tone.

"Do I know you?" She asked and he realised the lack of recognition in her steel grey eyes. She examined him before her eyes fixated on the crown he was wearing, the crown she had made for Aegon the Conqueror before her first disappearance. 

"Have you met anyone named Viserys Targaryen yet?" He asked, trying to figure out where in the timeline she was. 

"No."

"Then this is your first time meeting me, but not my first time meeting you... Time magic is strange, no one meets in the right order." His purple eyes sparkled as if telling an inside joke that she was not yet a part of. 

"So this continues... the spell remains?" Morgana asked.

Viserys hesitated, realizing that she was so early in the timeline she did not yet understand what was happening. "Where did you come from before this?" Viserys asked, inviting himself into her room and sitting in the nearest chair. 

"I was at my wedding, about to marry Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya. But then the runes turned black and I appeared in the forest, in front of a statue." Morgana explained, feeling the same comfort she did with all Targaryen apparently. 

Viserys nodded, slightly giddy when he realized he would be the one to tell her about the Curse of the Dragon witch, just as she told him in his youth. 

"Yes, you appear in that same spot every time you time jump. Aegon the Conquerer had it built after the North knelt to him. How long you stay in one timeline depends on how fast the markings turn black, it varies each time. I'm afraid the curse is a part of you now Morgana until it is fulfilled."

"Fulfilled? How do I fulfill the curse?" The witch asked trying to figure out what was truly happening. 

"We don't know... We believe it has to do with your connection to the Targaryen line. It is one of the best-kept secrets of the Royal family. Some call you the kingmaker... I'm sure you'll find out why eventually. The magic in your blood calls to the Targaryen blood, dragon's blood, serpent blood it's all the same."

"The connection?"

"Right, the connection you feel we believe is part of the curse. You enter a timeline and are connected with the Targaryens. They love you and you can't help but love them back. I believe you called it 'like calls to like'. It is why relationships between you and the Targaryens move so quickly, neither of us can help it. But unfortunately, you never stay long enough for anyone to keep. You my dear are a fleeting light in the darkness that comes and leaves without rhyme or reason. King Maegor created a rule only known within the Targaryen family that we might love you for the time you are here, but when you go we can not wait... All of us who have loved you have wished to marry you, but you are gone before anyone can try."

"Did you?...  Did you love me?" Morgana asked head tilted like a cute kitten. 

His eyes softened as he smiled at the girl, "More than anything... The curse of a Targaryen heart I'm afraid." 

"I will love them?"

"You love each of them and when you are gone you'll love the next. It is an endless cycle and we don't know where it ends."

"Is that the reason I feel my magic in the walls? I've been here before... or I will be here." Morgana asked. 

Viserys smiled, pulling a blank piece of parchment from within his robes, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Viserys spoke in high Valyrian once more. The familiar words echoed in Morgana's ears as she looked at Maurader's map... only this time it read as Maegor's map. The map showed the castle in its entirety, showing where everyone was. 

She saw Alicent pacing in the King's quarters. She saw Aegon and Aemond's names beside one another in the halls. It was so familiar to her, she smiled with nostalgia as she spoke the words in high valyrian, "Mischief managed."

Viserys smiled, he loved seeing her like this. She had a sparkle of childlike wonder in her eyes, one he hadn't seen in a while. He melted under her small smile reminiscing over the time he spent at her side, before Aemma, before Alicent, before being king. He wanted her just like every Targaryen king before, just like every king after him.  

The curse to love and be loved by Morgana Slytherin. The curse of the Dragon Witch. 

However, it did cause him to pause. Why wasn't her newest partner, Rhaenyra, or one of Rhaenyra's sons? 

Morgana was called kingmaker because she always had a habit of loving kings. She always was connected to the main royal family. 

Even when they were not the heir, whoever had Morgana was the next king. Maegor the Cruel was not in line for the throne and yet he fell in love with Morgana only to become king himself. So why did Aegon ii Targaryen form the bond?

It wasn't just because he was male, Viserys knew for a fact that Morgana was equally attracted to both genders. Was Aegon destined to be the next king? 

He thought about his own rise to power, and how everyone before him in line died. Viserys wondered for one horrible moment if Rhaenyra and all her children would die, forcing Aegon into the role of king. 

The curse of the Dragon Witch was a harsh one, but it was oh-so euphoric to endure. 

He had loved Morgana desperately, as had his brother Daemon. As had his cousin Rhaenys if he recalled correctly. The devastation every time she was gone was agony, but the pleasure when she was there almost made up for it. 

The draw and alure of the Slytherin witch was irresistible to all Dragons. She just hadn't yet realised the extent of the bond they shared.

She glanced down at the markings on her wrists, already fading to a light grey. It was a lot to take in. She had messed up the time spell so thoroughly that mother magic had turned it into a curse. She was cursed to be lost in time forced to fall in love again and again only to be dragged away once more. 

Torment for playing with a concept she couldn't hope to understand, time. 

Yet another punishment she didn't deserve. 

"Am I happy?" She asked. 

"Sometimes." Viserys answered. 

"Is it real? The love I mean. It sound like magic forcing us to love." 

"It is as real as you or I. The love remains even after your gone, so I don't believe it is only the magic that connects us."

"...Will it end?" 

"I will always fear the day it does. But it has not ended yet." 

That was it. Viserys, though reluctantly, returned to his quarters and Aegon found his way back to her. He questioned what his father could possibly want and so she told him. She told him everything about the Wizarding War, the spell, and finally the curse. 

Aegon listened, highly annoyed and pissed off that at some point in her future she would be in love with his father. It was confusing and fantastical but he couldn't help but believe her. 

Though he knew now that it would end, he refused to save himself the heartbreak. He was far to infatuated with her to even try resisting his fate.

He would love her for as long as he had her. The same as so many before.