𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 | Stories Old

{ Coren }

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"𝕷ord Coren." Coren froze, scowling at the title before shifting to find Ser Barristan walking towards him. 

"Ser Barristan. I have told you to please not call me that." Coren's scowl deepened, picking at the scars on his knuckles as the older man joined his side. "Coren works just fine."

"I have noticed that it is was most called you but I did not think it was appropriate." Ser Barristan bowed his head. "Walk with me, if you would."

"Aye." Coren nodded. They were preparing to greet more soldiers that could help them to fight though Ser Barristan was not best pleased at using mercenaries, and if Coren was to admit it, then he would join Ser Barristan in that thought.

"I thought, over our last proper conversation. The one about your family." Ser Barristan explained. "I told you that I would think on it and perhaps it would come to me when we fought. But, a few days ago, when we had that meeting with the Master from Yunkai, and I watched how you interacted with the dragons and the queen and it came to me that evening."

"It did?" Coren twisted, eyes growing wide and Ser Barristan would admit that this was the first time that he had seen this sort of expression on the young man. Normally, the warrior was wearing a grin that had most contemplating whether they should hit him, or his face was contorted into a scowl, but this look was different. It was hopeful and almost childlike in a sense. "What do you remember?"

"The story we were told, I am sorry if it has holes in it because my nursemaid told me this when I was a child, this story was a cautionary tale, meant to warn others what excess pride was likely to do to you." Ser Barristan explained.

Coren's eyebrows furrowed. That was not what he was expecting.

"We were always told that the downfall for House Targaryen, the downfall of House Thorne began because a minor Lord fell in love with a dragon." Ser Barristan explained as Coren look away. This story was already hitting a little too close to home. Was he to doom both his and Daenerys' house again because he cared so deeply for the queen? "From what I can recall, the Princess of the time, she was the heir to the Iron Throne, set to be married to her cousin or uncle or another powerful figure but instead, she walked into a minor Lord from the Crownlands, the Thorne heir."

Coren spotted Falkor creeping towards them, shooting the dragon a narrowed eyed glare as he tried to focus on the story.

"She persuaded her father to marry the pair and they did, but the Thorne Lord became too cocky, too confident in her position and her protection and made enemies." Ser Barristan was watching the warrior, trying to read his facial expression and gauge what it meant. "He began a fight, challenged a man in a duel to the death and lot. He lost, killed and it started the downfall of the Targaryen's of the time. The princess, the Thorne Lord and all their bloodline were wiped out in a fell swoop soon after. The Thorne house had to raise themselves from the ashes, all thanks to the Lord's brother, and ever since then, the luck of the Targaryens and the Thornes have been equally as poor."

"I see..." Coren trailed off. The story was disappointing, upsetting in a sense to think that one of his ancestors had gone around picking fights and had lead to the death and destruction of his entire family. Maybe this man was similar to his own father, who had done the same and destroyed their entire house and Coren was like the Lord's brother, who was trying to rebuild it.

But what if it meant that he was destined to redestroy it?

"It does amuse me that even here, in Essos, so far away from your home and hers, that you have managed to find your way to the side of Daenerys Targaryen." Ser Barristan chuckled before noting the largest of the dragons prowling over towards them. "I think you have a follower. I am not sure how you remain so calm."

"Because he's just like a large, overly clever dog. Falkor, I can see you!" Coren turned, pointing at the dragon who growled in indignation and stood up. Shaking the dirt off, the dragon stomped towards them, growling and snapping his teeth, before shoving Coren slightly. "I was there when he was born. Just like the Khaleesi, I learn their behaviours and warning signs too."

"Yet Drogon left some nasty scars on your arms." Ser Barristan shook his head. "At the end of the day, they are still wild animals."

"Aye, that is true." Coren nodded. "But Drogon has a vendetta against me for some strange reason, so I think that also plays into it."

"There you two are!" The pair turned, with Falkor snapping and growling, a tail curling further around Coren's leg as he tried to pry himself free.

"Jorah." Coren called as Falkor snapped. "Get off, you big lump."

Falkor's tail hit the back of his knees in response, sending him flying forwards.

"Coren, the Khaleesi wishes to speak with you." Jorah got the words out through gritted teeth as Coren grinned, and disappeared, calling Falkor to follow.

The large dragon took off, following along behind him as he headed for where he knew Daenerys would be. It was feeding time, so she'd be with the other three dragons in a secluded area. 

Coren reached it, waving off the guards at the entrance and releasing Falkor's command to stay with him, as the large dragon rushed forward to push his brother's away from the food.

"Falkor." Daenerys sighed and rolled her eyes, before giving the dragon's nose a shove and twisting back to find Coren. Her eyes softened, smiling at him gently. "Hi."

"Jorah said you wanted to speak to me." Coren ignored Drogon's huff before saying hello to the other two dragons, and twisting back to the smaller Targaryen woman.

"I wanted to ask how your arm was."

"Healing. It'll be fine." Coren showed her his arm, that was starting to scab over where Drogon had raked his claws along it. Daenerys huffed, touching the scabs with her clean hand and sighing. "How was trying to assess the mercenary situation?"

"Useless. We have a meeting with them. That shall be interesting." Daenerys sighed. "What have you been entertaining yourself with?"

"Ser Barristan's stories."

"Do tell." 

"He was merely telling me a cautionary tale that he had heard about my family and their pride and how it had caused both your house's and my own's downfall." Coren sighed. He was disappointed that his family legacy was so bleak. 

"Go on then." Coren turned back to Daenerys, before repeating the story back to her as she listened carefully. Finally, Coren came to an end with a shrug, as Daenerys shook her head and huffed.

"What's that supposed to mean? That little huff?" Daenerys blushed slightly at the fact he had picked up upon that.

"He has the story wrong."

"What?"

"He has the story wrong." Daenerys shrugged.

"You are telling me that this whole time, you knew about my family and didn't tell me?" Coren cocked an eyebrow, but the smile on his face told Daenerys that he wasn't annoyed in the slightest. "How could you?"

"I did not know that it was the Thorne family. I know it from the Targaryen roots." Daenerys rolled her eyes. "He got everything wrong. The way my brother told me, it was said to be a great tragedy. A relative of mine, oh gods, what was she called...? Rhaenyra. Princess Rhaenyra. She was going to be the first woman to become queen, named heir after her father and that was monumental. You know how our world is."

"Aye." Coren nodded, leaning forward as he listened to her speak, seeing her grow animated as she spoke of her history with a wide grin.

"It was expected that she find a suitor, Ser Barristan got that right. Many thought she would marry her uncle, or her cousin, but it was said that she walked into a young lord from a minor house, which must have been your ancestor." Daenerys explained, happy that she was finally able to share some of her few better memories of her brother telling her stories with someone else. "It was said that they fell so deeply in love that Rhaenyra refused to marry anyone else, for she loved this young lord so and they married, despite the disapproval of most around them who thought that he was beneath her. They had children together, three boys, Targaryen's through and through with dragons and everything a Targaryen could have, so the bloodline was secure."

"But I guess that most people were unhappy?"

"A female heir and a lower lord? Of course." Daenerys nodded. "The way Viserys explained, this lord was determined to protect his wife above all else, especially from the lies that the court wove and he was apparently, an incredible fighter. They knew not to get on the wrong side of him, but still, they tried. Then, one day, apparently he said the wrong thing and made himself even more of a target. He became a liability, a threat that they had to remove. Ser Barristan was wrong though, he did not pick a fight. It was said that the lord was killed and the assailant never found, one of the great mysteries of our house. Then, Rhaenyra was killed years later by her usurper brother, burnt alive and it was said that all of her children from this lord were killed in the fight. The bloodline ended there."

"That is slightly different to Ser Barristan's story."

"Aye." Daenerys nodded. "It is not a cautionary tale, more a tale of tragedy that these two people obviously loved each other so much that she was willing to forgo her title for him and he wished to protect her, yet in the end, both of them died. Maybe it was the start to our downfall, but I cannot bring myself to see that loving someone would cause that to happen."

Coren leant back against a rock, the pair watching the dragon's eat, as he thought. He remembered the words of his ancestor, the one from the sorcerer's home, telling him that he was destined to repeat what had come before him, but to do it better. Was this what he was destined to repeat? Was he set to remedy his ancestors mistake and his death? Was he supposed to protect Daenerys, to make her the first Targaryen queen to sit atop the Iron Throne? Or was it something different, was it saying that he was supposed to love the Targaryen, as his ancestor had done?

It was a lot to process and in reality, it all left Coren with more questions than answers. He needed to find out who the ancestor was, to find out his history and the truth because as of this moment, he had two contradicting stories.

Hiya,

So, this is part of why Coren's family is as it is, and what went wrong with his house. But there's two versions of the story, one was the previous Lord Thorne was prideful and arrogant and lost in a fight and the other that he was so in love with a Targaryen that he was killed for it. All fun and games and y'all are gonna love next chapter.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx