The New Dragon Age

Chapter 25

The first part of this chapter will be from Visenya's POV. We will get a little inside look into her mind and her character. We will also see more of her interaction with Xanner. The second part will show how Aemond and Aegon are getting along after the big fight they had years earlier, and we also see how Aegon behaves now. We will get another glimpse at Aemond's relationship with Alicent. High Valyrian will be in italics. I hope you guys like it. 🥰

                                              Visenya Targaryen (12 years old.)

 

                                              Xanner Strong (15 years old.)

Visenya walked along the garden wall and let her fingers trail over the flowers. She loved the gardens, walking in them was one of her favorite things to do, besides reading. Here she felt at peace, the only other time she felt like that was when she was on her dragon, flying over the clouds. Visenya was not like her siblings, she was not outgoing or a warrior. She hated conflict and preferred to spend her time reading instead of with people. She could always be found with a book in her hands, like now. Her brothers Rhaegon and Baelon used to make fun of her because of it until her father put a stop to it. He had made it clear he would not allow that type of behavior from them or anyone and that Visenya was to be respected and protected. Visenya had wished several times that she was different, a warrior like her sister Deirys or brave like her little sister Aemma. She had wished they had never named her Visenya, she was nothing like the warrior queen. Visenya hated fighting, she preferred more delicate things like her dresses, books, and flowers.
Visenya loved all her siblings, but especially her sister Deirys and her younger sister Alyssa. Deirys had never made her feel like she needed to change or act differently. When Visenya was little she would be sad most of the time due to not having a dragon. Her uncle Aegon often told her the Gods had not deemed her worthy of having one, that she was an embarrassment to her family and should have never been named Visenya. Deirys had been livid when she found out and confronted their uncle. Something must have happened because she had not seen her uncle for over a moon after that. Then her father had come to see her and talked to her. He made it clear that he did not expect her to be a warrior or to be like any of her siblings. He told her she was free to be whatever she wanted and made sure she knew he loved her no matter what. Visenya loved her father, he was her knight in shining armor. He always defended her against everything. So did her sister Deirys.
Then Visenya's dragon had hatched and her happiness had been complete. Still, as she grew she was very aware of how different she was from her siblings. She would hide sometimes when something happened so no one would see her cry. Then when she was ten she had been training with her dragon and was hurt when he butted her a little hard. Tears had filled her eyes and her brothers had laughed, even Aemma had laughed. Visenya had left the dragon pit and hidden, so she could cry alone. Her hands were scrapped and she hated being weak. That was how Xanner Strong had found her, hiding beneath a tree, in the farthest corner of the gardens. Visenya knew who Xanner was, after all, his mother was one of her mother's ladies in waiting and also her friend. But she had not spent too much time with Xanner, he was always training with her brothers or with his father. She had expected him to make fun of her as her brothers had, instead, he had cleaned the scrapes in her hands and had smuggled a lemon cake out of the kitchens for her. He sat with her for hours and told her stories about his home and asked her several questions about her dragon and what she liked to do. And just like that, Visenya's heart was taken by a boy with auburn curls and gentle, smiling hazel eyes. After that, she would seek him out and he would bring her books when he realized how much she loved reading. He would ask her about the books she was reading and gift her her favorite flowers.
Visenya walked to the Godswood and stopped when she saw Xanner sitting beneath the heart tree. Unlike his usually happy demeanor, he looked sad today, defeated, his wide shoulders were slumped and his head was down. Visenya hugged the book tighter to her chest and walked closer to where he was sitting. She was about to reach his side when he noticed her and stood up swiftly.
"Princess." He bowed and looked away. "I apologize, I will leave."
"No!" Her voice was louder than she intended and his head snapped back to look at her. She bit her lip and looked at her book nervously. "You do not have to go."
She walked closer and sat down beneath the tree, after a few minutes he sat next to her, but did not say anything. He kept looking at the ground. Visenya did not know what to do, this was not the same happy boy who told her stories and stole sweets for her. He looked defeated.
"Is something the matter?" He looked at her and she smiled nervously. "I'm sorry if I am overstepping, you do not have to tell me. Is just that you look sad, and you have always helped me when I'm sad, so I thought that maybe this time I could be of some assistance."
"Thank you, princess, but I do not wish to bother you."
"It is not a bother. I might not be able to do anything significant to help you, but I can listen."
"My uncle was executed the day before last." Visenya nodded, she was aware. She and her other siblings, except for Deirys, had not been allowed to go to the trial or the executions, but they all knew what had happened. "He killed my grandsire, he had him burnt to death and he planned to kill my father, my siblings, and I. Just because he wanted power, he wanted to be the Lord of Harrenhal."
"I am sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for you and your family."
"It should not be." When he looked at her his eyes were hard. She had never seen him look like that before. He shook his head. "He was a traitor, he betrayed the realm and his own family."
"Yes, but he was still your uncle." Now he had a frown on his face. Visenya smiled gently at him. "You can still grieve for the person you thought he was, for the family member that is now gone. There is nothing wrong with that."
"I cannot, he was a traitor and did horrible things. Now my entire family will pay for his disloyalty. People will not look at us the same anymore."
"I look at you the same." He lifted his head and looked at her strangely, she gave him a small smile. "You are still the same, nothing has changed. Xanner, when someone betrays you is a reflection of their character, not yours."
His eyes widened and he looked at her like this was the first time he was actually seeing her. Then his beautiful smile returned, wider than the last time she saw it.
"You are very wise, princess. Thank you."
"I do not believe I am that wise, but I am glad I was able to help you feel better." Visenya took one of the irises her crown was made of. Her cousin Jaehaera was always making flower crowns for them, or sticking flowers in her tiara. Visenya handed him the flower. "You always give me sweets or a book when I am sad, or melancholy. I do not have anything to give you at this moment, so you can take the flower for now and I will find something you like to replace it with."
"No." He smiled at her, it was his sweet smile once more, there was no sadness in it. "I like the flower, I believe is the best gift I have ever received."
"It is not that great of a gift, is just a simple flower. You can find hundreds just like it in the gardens."
"That is not true." He pushed one of her curls behind her ear and Visenya felt her heart skip a beat. "There is no other flower like this one, this one is the most special one."
"I do not understand." Visenya frowned at the flower, it was pretty, but not the prettiest one she had ever seen. "What makes this particular flower so special?"
"Because you gave it to me. No other flower can ever replace this one."
Visenya's cheeks flushed as he smiled at her in a way that made her skin tingle. She had never met anyone like this kind boy.
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