𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 & 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙨, 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘣 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬

𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫 | 𝖉𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓𝖘

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"ＭＡＥＫＡＲ！" ＲＨＡＥＮＥ ＳＣＲＥＡＭＥＤ ＯＮＥ ＬＡＳＴ ＴＩＭＥ， panting from exhaustion. She incoherently sobbed, tears blurring her vision as she looked around the black woods. Then, from her left, she heard a scream. A girl's scream.

Rhaene kicked Hura in the side, setting off in that direction. Soon, they were bursting through the trees to a clearing that had all the grass burnt black. She hurriedly slid off of her horse's back, slapping him on the rear to make him head back to the castle.

"Maekar," Rhaene said shakily as she watched her brother hold a girl by the hair in front of the flames that were rising well above her height. "You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." Maekar turned to her, grinning wildly. His eyes weren't green anymore, they were white - pure white.

Rhaene's own eyes widened. "Mae... please."

"Burn them," Maekar hissed, "I have to burn them." His voice was crazed, but his words weren't his own. "I can feel him in my head," he whimpered, "clawing his way back inside me." He looked back at her, tears spilling from his eyes. "Help me."

"I will, I'll help you - put the girl down."

He grinned. "Little Rhaene Targaryen, bride of ice, mother of fire - savior of the innocent. Let's see you save this one." Then, he threw her into the flames.

Rhaene gasped and rushed forward, only for a new set of hands to hold her back. "Hello, little dragon," a dark, gravel-filled voice hissed, "terribly sorry, but fate must take its course."

"Who are you?" Rhaene cried out.

"Jaysonn Rivers, your Grace." He chuckled maliciously. "And your brother there, he's not entirely mad. All it takes is a little warging to get him to do my bidding."

"Let go of me!" Rhaene screamed. Maekar was staring at the flames as if he was in a trance, watching the girl's skin blacken and blister. "What do you want?"

"Fire and blood." The man stepped around her, revealing a rather handsome face with crazed eyes. "Valar Dohaeris," he smirked before stepping back into the flames, drawing a knife from his pocket, and slitting his own throat.

Rhaene flinched, averting her eyes to Maekar, who had been released from his control. Her brother was watching in horror as the bodies burned. "Maekar," she sighed, moving over to him and embracing him quickly.

"What did I do?" he asked, tears spilling over his seafoam eyes. "Rhaenie, did I do this?" He looked to her for reassurance.

"No, you didn't." Rhaene's voice was firm as she grasped her brother's cheeks. "He did-" she pointed to the man's burning body "-and you tried to save her."

Maekar nodded, a sob breaking through. He grasped her tightly, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry," he kept whispering.

Rhaene nodded and held him, until she heard a familiar screech. Turning her head, she was met with a small bat-like body crawling from the flames.

"Hello, little one," she said, holding her fingers out. It looked at her for a long moment before grasping her hand in its claws and heaving its way onto her. "Maekar," Rhaene whispered, "look."