All Men Must Die (Game of Thrones Fanfiction)

Chapter III

"Princess Rhaenyra, a raven arrived for you, your Queen Mother broke the seal" the servant girl Lady Stark had sent announced after she went to open the door.

"Do read it, Mya" Rhaenyra said while she scrubbed the dirt off her legs.

"My princess, I went to the place you told me, I think you'll find what I found most amusing. Find me in the training field after twilight" Mya read. Rhaenyra didn't need to be told who signed it.

Ser Roy Stone, also known as the Stallion, was Rhaenyra's sworn shield since birth. The Stallion was a bastard of Casterly Rock, he had also been Jaime Lannister's squire before Robert was crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms. Ser Roy was known as the Stallion because of a rumour that said that he killed a wild stallion barehanded the year Rhaenyra was born. Roy Stone got to be a knight after he saved Jaime Lannister during the war, seventeen years ago.

For Rhaenyra, Roy had been her father, he practically raised her along with her uncles. No doubt the princess excelled in boys' abilities. She had been trained in sword fighting since she could walk by Roy Stone and Syrio Forel, the latter being in secret, as her mother disapproved her daughter playing with swords. The Braavosi began teaching her after Roy saw she was skinny and fast. Rhaenyra had been a Water Dancer for as long as she could remember.

"Do you know who sent it, m'lady?" Mya asked and Rhaenyra nodded. Mya washed Rhaenyra's hair and massaged it with vanilla oil. When the princess rose from the tub, someone entered the room, "my prince, I'm sorry, but my lady is not yet ready-" Mya began but was cut in mid sentence.

"She's my sister, I've seen her nude for a as long as I can remember" Joffrey said and went past the curtain behind which Rhaenyra was, waiting for Mya to pass her a cloth to dry.

"Hello, brother, could you pass me that cloth over there?" Rhaenyra said as soon as she saw her brother.

"I heard you were attacked" Joffrey said, looking at the bruise in her face, "where was your pony?" Joff called the Stallion 'pony' as he called the Hound 'dog'.

"I sent him to check something for me as soon as I woke up. I'm okay, though, you don't need to worry" Rhaenyra told him as she passed the cloth in her arms, face and torso.

"You have a bruise there" Joffrey said, touching a bruise below his sister's left breast. Rhaenyra glared at her brother and smacked his hand away, "you've changed in the year you were gone, you have a fully developed woman's body"

Joffrey kept eyeing her, circling her. He took the cloth from Rhaenyra's hands and dried her back.

"Your gown is ready my lady" Mya said, giving Rhaenyra a thin silk robe for her to put.

Joffrey helped her out of the tub. Rhaenyra took the robe off and slipped into her gown, she had to hold her breath while Mya laced her. She had nearly forgotten how it felt to dress like a lady. The gown was an ivory colour with golden threads. Then, Mya brushed the princess's hair for a long time, making her hair wavy instead of its usual curly form. When it was curly, Rhaenyra's hair reached to the middle of her back, but when it was wavy, it reached below her waist. Mya made two braids at both sides of her face and tied them together in the back of her head.  It was quite cold so she put a light brown fur cloak and light brown leather boots.

"Let's go, Joff" Rhaenyra said, waiting for her brother's arm so they could walk together to where their mother had told them to go.

Joffrey eyed his sister, she was rather cheerful for being in a place full of strangers. Joffrey knew that Rhaenyra never liked strangers, since they were little, his older sister preferred to stay and read rather than going to pompous dinners with lords and ladies.

"Have you talked to Sansa?" Rhaenyra asked her brother.

"No, that I have to marry her doesn't mean I need to like her, much less love her" Joffrey said and Rhaenyra nodded hesitantly.

"You might find her charming, just like I did with Robb. He is such a gentleman" Rhaenyra smiled, Joffrey looked at her like she was a madwoman.

"I won't ever love her or anyone. You know that better than anyone" Joffrey pulled his sister closer to him.

"Mya, do me a favour and tell the kitchens to make sure they have lemon cakes" Rhaenyra asked the maid, to make sure she could talk alone with her brother.

"Yes, my lady" Mya said and left the siblings alone.

"Joffrey, we've talked about this. Father thought that sending me away for a year would make you forget that nonsense" Rhaenyra said sternly.

Before Rhaenyra went away with Stannis, her father had sensed something wrong with his two eldest children. He had sent servants to spy on his son and had discovered he followed Rhaenyra almost everywhere and spied her while she went to the stream to bathe. Robert thought the simplest way to make Joffrey forget his obsession was to send Rhaenyra away. Joffrey confessed his feelings for his older sister the day before she left.

"It is not nonsense, Rhaenyra!" Joffrey snapped, "I must have insulted the gods in some other life for them to punish me with you as my sister and not as my-"

"Joffrey stop it! You are my brother and I love you, but not like that" Rhaenyra said before snatching her arm from Joffrey's and leaving in a quick pace.

Rhaenyra couldn't believe her brother, they were siblings and nothing more. It would be as if the Queen and her uncle Jaime were lovers. It would be absolutely immoral and sick. Besides, Rhaenyra heart beat for one person and one person only. It was wired that someone could love other person after something as quick as a glance.

"Rhaenyra!" She heard her uncle's voice.

"Uncle Jaime, you can tell my mother that I am going. I just need to remember how to breathe with a dress" the princess said and the knight chuckled.

"I'm not here because of that. I heard you and Joffrey talking" Rhaenyra sighed and clenched her jaw.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, I don't know what to tell you. I know you may have strange feelings and-" Jaime started but was cut by his niece.

"Feelings? No. I love Joffrey just as you love uncle Tyrion or my mother. You don't need to worry, uncle." Rhaenyra said and went to leave for the feast but Jaime grabbed her arm.

"I have to tell you something, Rhaenyra. And you cannot tell anyone. You cannot tell your siblings or your mother, especially not your father" Jaime started and Rhaenyra nodded, "there is a reason behind the fact that neither of your siblings have Baratheon looks.."

Robb was already waiting when Rhaenyra arrived to the doors of the Great Hall. She smiled politely at him and went to talk to Arya. The young lady looked quite uncomfortable in the dress she was wearing.

"Hello Arya" Rhaenyra said, looking down at the girl.

"Rhaenyra, hey!" Arya exclaimed.

Sansa opened her eyes like plates at her sister, opening and closing her mouth like a fish, "Arya! She is the princess! Not some blacksmith's daughter!" Sansa exclaimed, gripping her sister by her arm and trying to drag her away.

"Sansa, I do wish to speak with your sister" Rhaenyra said, putting her hand on Arya's shoulder.

"Yes, my lady. I apologise for my sister's behaviour beforehand" Sansa said, before walking to where a girl was standing.

"You are not one to mess up with, are you, Arya?" Rhaenyra asked her.

"Well, I do wish to believe that I'm tougher than my brother Bran. And I want to be a knight, but Father thinks I'm joking" Arya said, "but you wouldn't know about it, would you? You're the princess"

"I think you'd be a wonderful knight Arya" Rhaenyra said and Arya looked at her weirdly, "I'm serious, you'd be better than many. But you are right, I'm the princess, things are expected from me, and that's why sometimes I wish I was a blacksmith's girl, I would do anything I wanted, I wouldn't use gowns, that's for sure" Rhaenyra said and Arya laughed at her last comment, the princess laughed too.