𝒈𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 ───── a house of the dragon fanfiction.
⚘ written by 𝒍𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒂 . . . 2024
𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒙

TW: CHARACTER DEATH

The halls of the Red Keep were deathly silent, save the piercing cries from the Queen's chambers and the rushed breaths heaving from the lungs of Kaleyna, who clung onto a staircase railing as the bottom of her shoes hurried up the steps towards the nightmarish room.

A line of handmaidens paced down the narrow hallway, milk white towels in arms as all color drained from their cheeks to match. Kaleyna's body numbed at the sight of the ghostly girls, whose feet nearly levitated across the stone ground with how quickly they were moving.

And just as swiftly, she followed behind. Her palms clammed at her sides as her fingertips kneaded at the itchy fabric of her dress, clawing for a sign -a sign that the entire day was a sick play on her beaten mind.

And then the door opened, tearing her focus towards the stripped sheets of the upholstered bed. The maids' nimble hands moved quickly at attempting to conceal the pools of blood seeping through the silk and into the mattress.

At its side sat Viserys, whose silver hair stuck to his tear-streaked cheeks as his forehead rested against his knuckles, which tightly held the barely viable hand of Aemma. Her nightdress was soaked with the salt of her sweat and her own blood, and her half moon eyes drooped as she gazed up at her husband; she was utterly oblivious of the decision he had made just seconds before with the maester that stood at the end of the mattress with a tight, solemn lip.

A hand gently caught the crease between her forearm and elbow, pushing her ever so slightly out of the room. Her eyes fell down to the cause of her struggled movement, recognizing the beige of its sleeve that could only belong to an attendant. Kaleyna lifted her head to meet the young woman's gaze, which was hidden beneath deeply furrowed brows; not ones created out of frustration or anger, but of a sense of discouragement and unfulfillment. As the air of helplessness lingered around the room, Viserys tilted his chin to observe the small scene.

"Get her out of here." He muttered, an angsty rasp suffocating his tongue as he glared towards the door. The hand held within his momentarily shifted at the sound of his exasperation. Aemma's head lolled to the left, her blurry gaze focusing on the young Hightower.

"Kaleyna..." Her melodic voice came out in a breathy whisper, a crinkled smile appearing upon her pale lips.

Kaleyna tore herself from the front of the room and knelt beside the mattress, taking Aemma's other hand in her shaking one. She felt that at any given moment, her heart would leap out of her tight throat. "I'm here, Aemma. I'm here." She reassured the Queen with a forced smile.

From her position on the floor, the attendants and maester started preparing a row of medical tools, splaying a variety of differently sized scalpels. Kaleyna inched her head towards the sound of the metal knives beating against each other in torment. Her eyes immediately narrowed, "What are you doing...?" And just as quickly, her head snapped in the King's direction. "What are they doing, Viserys?"

Kaleyna's voice drifted into a muffle as Viserys' mind faded into a state of sorrow. And all at once, everything seemed to occur in slow motion. Aemma's eyes slowly widened in realization, not long followed by a terrified wail. Her body writhed as two male attendants pinned her forearms against the mattress, restraining her from moving as the maester turned around, scalpel in hand.

Kaleyna thrusted her body from its knelt position and stood in front of the bed, attempting to block the maester's path. Her eyes began to burn as Viserys hushed blank affirmations to his wife behind her, and the door to the chamber creaked open. From its doorway, stalked one of the Kingsguard with a look of utter compliance.

"No! No, you can't!" Kaleyna continued to scream out, even as the knight violently grasped her arm and began to drag her from the room.

And she fought. And fought. All until her limbs gave out on the rest of her body, a guttural cry leaving her lips as the first incision was cut.

"What was your mother like?"

A fourteen-year-old Kaleyna gazed into the vanity before her as the blonde Queen gently combed her thick, dark hair. A silver-haired child laid asleep across her mother's bed, her curls dancing onto the sheets in deep slumber.

Aemma smiled, placing her warm hands upon Kaleyna's bony shoulders. "My mother... was a delicate woman. She was all too wary of us children, always fearful we may stumble into adulthood too quickly. But most of all, she was beautiful. She had hair that shined like the heavens, and eyes so violet, they almost looked in nature of lilacs." She described the late princess, Daella Targaryen in pleasant detail.

Kaleyna gave Aemma a crooked smile in return. "She sounded so... perfect. Almost like you."

"Perfect?" Aemma tilted her head in wonder. "My dear girl..." She lifted her fingertips to carefully tilt the girl's body towards her before cupping her small cheek. "I am not perfect, 'Leyna. Neither was my mother, nor anyone for that matter."

She continued, "Your mother would have been proud of you. For adapting in King's Landing, for supporting your brother, and for becoming the Queen's most beautiful lady in waiting." She gently pinched the apple of her cheek, before placing a small kiss upon it.

"But, Otto hates me, Aemma. He hates me for killing my mother, for not being with my father in his final days. He hates me for not being like Alicent." Kaleyna confided, her lips turning in a small frown. "You are all I have, and now you too have a child."

"Shhh..." Aemma moved to cradle Kaleyna's head against her chest, stroking the top of her head in a nurturing manner.

"You will always be my girl, Kaleyna. Always."

The wind blew harshly across the hill as the royal family gathered around two large pyres. Syrax watched from afar as the procession began, crying out in grief for the deceased Queen and Prince. And momentarily, the sound of its wail seemed to echo along the field as if it were a lullaby.

Kaleyna's feet crunched against the flat grass as she positioned herself beside Alicent, who silently wept into her auburn hair as it blew into her face. The elder Hightower searched for the other's hand between their black cloaks, before intertwining them in conjoined sorrow.

Feet ahead of them, Rhaenyra stood frozen in her own despair. Her chest rose and fell as her gaze locked onto the bodies laying atop the two pyres.

Daemon approached her from behind, whispering something into her ear. "They're waiting for you." His hand gently caressed her shoulder. Kaleyna caught it, thinning her lips and turning her head away, unaware of their conversed High Valyrian.

But, there was one word she understood. Dracarys.

The pyres were set alight by Syrax, the cloth-wrapped bodies burning in the wind as their ashes carried over to the funeral attendants, touching them for the last time. And in turn, Kaleyna inhaled the smoke, breathing in Aemma's air for the final time, as if it would bring her back.

𝒈𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 ───── a house of the dragon fanfiction.
⚘ written by 𝒍𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒂 . . . 2024
𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒙

words . . . 1262.
written . . . 10.31.24.
published . . . 11.2.24