Like Father, Like Son | House of the Dragon

Royal Celebrations - Part IV

Prince Aerion had fallen into a routine after the last couple of days, whenever he was not training or competing in the tourney, he spent his time in the company of the princess Rhaenyra, desperate to learn everything he could about her.

She had a love for jewellery, fine silks, balls and tourneys. Rhaenyra went riding on her beloved Syrax almost everyday, a magnificent she-dragon with yellow scales, every bit as formidable as the princess, speeding through the skies above King's Landing for everyone to see.

The prince shared details of his childhood at Runestone, not that there was any to speak of in his opinion, he much preferred to listen and learn more of her than tell his own story, that would be left to the history books for years to come if he had any choice in the matter.

Aerion's eyes flickered open, awoke by the tingling feeling of the princess's nails slowly trailing on his abdomen in a circular motion.

"The sun will rise soon, my ladies will be coming to wake me." she smiled up at him, planting a small kiss on his neck.

He remained silent, taking her hand and planting a peck on her knuckle, relishing in her morning beauty, how neat her hair still remained, though something still troubled him, Aerion felt weakened by his near defeat to Ser Mallister only a couple of days earlier, and it still weaned in his thoughts.

"You are doing it again." she playfully slapped his chest.

"Hm?" his brow raised.

"Not uttering a word, do I bore you that much, cousin?" she asked.

"No... No, it's not you. If anything, I am stunned by your beauty." Aerion said.

Rhaenyra rolled on top of him and planted a kiss on his lips, which was quick to turn into a dance of their tongues, then the princess playfully bit his bottom lip as they parted, drawing a small drop of blood. Aerion ran his hand across her cheek as her hair fell upon his arm, looking at her with utter desire.

"Soon, you will be named my queen of love and beauty." Aerion declared "Your favor and support are what give me victory, and make it so I shall never surrender, and that is more special than anything else in this world."

"I have enjoyed your company these past days, cousin, though it serves as a reminder of my fate to marry a man whom I do not love as I should." she placed a hand on his heart "Why could it not have been you? My only wish is that I had met you when we were children, maybe our lives would have been different."

"I asked my mother if I could journey to the Eyrie to ask for your hand." Aerion revealed "It's all anyone could talk about, the Realm's Delight visiting the Vale to search out her Prince Consort, but she denied me, as she has many times before." he said bitterly.

"Why?" she asked.

"When I was born, the Vale was recovering from a short-lived civil war between Lady Jeyne and her cousin, Ser Arnold. My grandfather, Yorbert Royce, served as Lord Protector at the time, and to secure Jeyne's hold over the Vale, we were promised to one another. My mother intends for me to honour that arrangement."

"He thought that if she was promised to the Blood of the Dragon, no one would dare act against her." Rhaenyra said, biting her lip in contempt.

"Yes." Aerion nodded "Not that it mattered anyway, Arnold fought to remove her once again and was confined to the sky cells after his defeat, only to be released a few years after, and now I must be what stops him from attempting to take power again and drive the Vale into another war. So, Princess, we find ourselves in a similar situation to one another."

"Then your upcoming tilt against Ser Gwayne Hightower could provide the perfect opportunity as to why you should be feared." her finger trailed down his arm "Just think, the brother to the Queen, defeated and maimed by the Bronze Prince."