ACT I — CHAPTER II
A Bᴀʀᴀᴛʜᴇᴏɴ Nᴀᴍᴇ

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Myra had wanted a sister, but she supposed that Joffrey would do.

She had been working on her studies with Helaena when one of her mother's handmaidens came into the library, telling her of her brother's birth. Myra leapt up from her chair, glad to leave the history of the Iron Islands behind, and followed the handmaiden to her mother's chambers.

When she arrived, instead of seeing her mother and the new baby, she saw Jace, Luke, and Ser Harwin.

"Myra!" Luke exclaimed, running over to her, "I picked an egg for the baby, come see!"

He dragged Myra over to the table where the cauldron sat. Myra gently took the lid off and saw the dragon egg inside, surrounded by embers.

It had become a tradition in their family for the previously born child to pick the new baby's egg. Myra had picked Jace's, Jace had picked Luke's, and now Luke had picked their new brother's.

"You made a wonderful choice. I am sure it will suit him well," Myra told him, kissing Luke's forehead and ruffling his hair. Luke took a step back from her, fixing his hair and smiling.

"How have your studies been, Princess?" Ser Harwin asked, smiling down at the young girl.

"As all studies go, dreadfully boring," Myra answered, sitting down on one of the armchairs, "I would much rather be in the training yard with you and my brothers."

"I would much rather you join us as well, but that is not up to me," Harwin said, a somber smile on his face as he looked down at her.

Before Myra could say anything, the door opened, and Rhaenyra and Laenor entered the room, the baby in her father's arms.

Myra stood up and went over to her father, trying to get a glimpse of the baby.

"Mother, look!" Jace said, running with Luke over to the cauldron. He carefully took the lid off, just as Myra had.

"We chose an egg for the baby," Luke told her, with the same excitement he had when he told his sister.

"That looks like the perfect one," Rhaenyra remarked, only glancing at the egg before going to take a seat. Myra, seeing the pain her mother was in, went to help her ease into her chair.

"Thank you, my darling," her mother said under her breath, just loud enough for only Myra to hear.

"I let Luke choose," Jace said, unaware of the exchange occurring between his mother and sister.

"Not every day an egg leaves the dragonpit, Princess," Harwin began, walking over to Laenor and the baby, "I thought it best to escort the lads.

"Laenor and I thank you, Commander," Rhaenyra said.

Her words were followed by an uncomfortable silence. Myra looked between the three adults. It was strange, she thought, to be aware of something that could never be spoken of.

"Another boy, I heard," Harwin added, smiling down at Rhaenyra.

Myra didn't like standing in between them, so she moved over to her father. Perhaps she could hold the baby.

"What a fine knight you are going to make, eh?" Laenor said softly, rocking the baby back and forth.

"Might I?" Harwin asked. Myra's shoulders sagged. She should've asked sooner.

"Ser Harwin wishes to be introduced to Joffrey," Rhaenyra said to Laenor.

Laenor had been off in his own world with the baby, and it took Rhaenyra's words to break her out of his daze.

"Of course," he answered.

"His name is Joffrey?" Myra asked, getting on her tiptoes to see the baby's face again.

"It is," Laenor smiled, handing Joffrey over to Harwin.

"Father, please, may I hold Joffrey?" Luke asked, walking over to Harwin and trying to grab the baby, followed closely by Jace.

"No, no," Laenor said, immediately grabbing his arms and pushing him, Myra, and Jace toward the door, "It is about time for you three to go down to the dragonpit."

Myra's eyes widened. She ducked under her father's arm and ran over to Rhaenyra, taking a seat next to her.

"Let me stay here with you, Mother," Myra begged, "All of your handmaidens will be worried about the baby. Someone has to look out for you. Let it be me."

A sad smile formed on Rhaenyra's face as she looked at her daughter, who was so much like herself, in some ways. She placed a hand on Myra's arm, giving her a comforting squeeze.

"I will be fine. You must learn how to communicate with a dragon for when you have one. Now, go with your brothers."

Rhaenyra kissed the top of Myra's head. Myra sighed, but stood up and followed Laenor and her brothers out of the room.

Laenor escorted them all the way to the dragonpit, partially to make sure they arrived safely, but mostly to make sure that Myra didn't try to run away and hide, which she was known for attempting — she had never succeeded.

As much as she dreaded going to the dragonpit, she was delighted to see Aemond already there.

"We started without you," he told Myra once she had walked over to him, "Aegon has already worked with Sunfyre."

"One less dragon I have to sit through," Mrya muttered as the Dragonkeepers brought Arrax up from the bellows of the pit.

"I heard you had another brother," Aemond said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you. I wanted a sister, but there are some things you cannot choose," Myra sighed, "His name is Joffrey."

"Joffrey?" Aemond questioned, "That's an odd name for a Velaryon."

"I believe it's a Baratheon name," she told him, "It isn't too odd. We do have Baratheon blood from my grandmother."

Myra had only met her paternal grandparents, Lord Corlys of Driftmark and Princess Rhaenys, a handful of times, but she still admired them greatly.

"You all have Baratheon blood?"

Myra turned to Aemond. He was looking at her as if what she had said was foolish. Her father's words rang in her ears, and she did her best to keep an unwavering face.

"Yes, we all have Baratheon blood. I do not know how one of us could not," she said.

Aemond looked her up and down, "I suppose it could not be."

Myra didn't say anything in response. Instead, she focused on Luke, who was giving commands to his dragon.

From what she could tell, Luke was good with Arrax. He had good control over the dragon, and his Valyrian was well articulated. Although Luke and Arrax were both still young, so there was room for him to grow even better than he already was.

When the dragonkeepers determined that Luke had done a proficient job for the day, they took Arrax down into the depths of the pit and Vermax was brought up for Jace.

Myra loved Jace, she truly did, but he was not nearly as good with his dragon as Luke and Aegon were with theirs. This was painfully obvious, especially when he had to follow the other two.

"Call Vermax to heel, Prince Jacaerys," one of the dragonkeepers told him.

"Dohaerās!" Jace said immediately. Vermax stopped, peering at Myra's brother closely. Then, he gave out a roar, causing Jace to jump back.

"Kelītīs!" he said. The dragon halted a ways away, just as Jace had commanded.

The dragonkeeper closest to Jace praised him in High Valyrian as another brought a goat for Vermax to eat, which immediately piqued the dragon's interest. Myra had to hold back a smile, as she knew that Jace had no idea what the dragonkeeper had said to him — his Valyrian was not the best.

Vermax stalked toward the goat that had been tied up near him. Two times Jace commanded for it to halt, to no avail. It wasn't until the dragonkeeper that had just praised him commanded for Vermax to stop that he did. The dragon roared in anger, its eyes not leaving the dragon.

The dragonkeeper began to say something to Jace in Valyrian, while another translated it for him.

"You must hold mastery over your dragon, my young Princes," she said, "As Prince Aegon has with Sunfyre. Once they're fully bound to you, they will refuse to take instruction from any other."

Watching her brothers train with their dragons only made Myra more envious of them. She yearned for a dragon of her own that would refuse instruction from any other. She wanted to fly through the skies on her own, without it having to be with her mother on Syrax or with her father on Seasmoke.

"Can I say it?" Jace eagerly asked the dragonkeeper closest to him. He nodded in approval.

Jace looked back at his siblings and uncles in excitement but was quickly redirected by the dragonkeeper, who pushed him forward. With a smile on his face, he said, "Dracarys, Vermax!"

Vermax slowly approached the goat, and then cast it to flame, just as Jace had told him to.

Myra was thankful when their lesson was over. She was eager to get back to her mother and Joffrey. She thought her brothers would be as well, but instead, they hung back, waving her along.

"You two would rather stay in the dragonpit than spend time with your new brother?" Myra questioned, her eyes narrowing at their odd behavior.

"We will spend time with him, just not right now," Jace said, as they both pushed her towards the entrance, "Tell Mother we will be there soon."

Myra looked past Jace and Luke and saw Aegon leading Aemond to the ramp that led down to the depths of the pit.

"What are you planning?" Myra asked, tilting her head as she stared at her uncles.

"Nothing," Luke said quickly, "Just go, please!"

She was getting tired of fighting them, so she left. Myra practically skipped up to the Red Keep and her mother's chamber. When she arrived, she energetically knocked on her mother's door. It was Elinda, one of her mother's handmaidens, who answered.

"Hello, Princess," she greeted with a smile, "Your mother is very tired and the baby is asleep. Let me —"

"She may enter," Myra heard her mother say. Elinda opened the door and the little princess bounded inside and over to where her mother sat, in the same seat as she was before, but now dressed in sleep attire.

"How are you feeling, Mother?" she asked, taking a seat next to her.

"I feel better as each minute passes," Rhaenyra answered, then placing her hand on Myra's arm and giving it a squeeze, "I feel much better now that you are here with me. Now, tell me, how was your lesson?"

"As boring as always," Myra sighed, leaning back in her chair, "I am grateful to Aemond for sharing the misery with me. But I suppose that is selfish of me, to be happy that he is in misery."

"It is not selfish to be happy of company," Rhaenyra said, "I am happy to be in your company. Speaking of company, where are your brothers?"

Myra shrugged, "I believe they are still in the dragonpit with Aemond and Aegon. They were pushing me out of it after our lesson. It was very strange, but I figured it was something for only boys to see. Which only hurts my feelings a little bit."

"Why don't you go and spend time with Helaena? Do something only for girls?" Rhaenyra suggested.

"Because I want to hold the baby," Myra said, sitting up in her seat, "May I, please? It is all I have been able to think about since I first laid eyes on him."

Rhaenyra smiled, "Of course you may. Elinda, Joffrey, please."

Elinda went over to the bassinet in the other part of Rhaenyra's chamber and gently picked the sleeping baby up, rocking him slightly as she brought him over to Myra.

"Be careful not to wake him," Elinda said softly, placing Joffrey into Myra's arms.

Myra stared down at her new brother, a large smile on her face. She loved babies, and holding Joffrey made her long for a baby of her own. But she knew she was far too young, and that her time would one day come.

The Velaryon girl leaned back in her seat and gently rocked the baby back and forth. Together, Myra and her mother sat in peace, the comfortable silence filling the air as Rhaenyra's handmaidens fluttered around the room, making preparations for the heir.

Their peace was short-lived, however, as Laenor soon entered the room, holding Jace and Luke by their forearms. He entered so abruptly that he made Myra jump, which awoke baby Joffrey and caused him to burst into tears.

"Tell your mother what you have done," Laenor commanded, pushing his sons forward. Myra rocked Joffrey in her arms faster than she had been, trying to put an end to his crying.

Rhaenyra took Joffrey from her daughter's arms before turning to her handmaidens, "Leave us."

The handmaidens quickly shuffled out of the room as Myra looked at her brothers' sulky faces. She was already regretting having left the in the dragonpit and she wasn't even aware of what they had done yet.

"What was it?" Rhaenyra asked, although her voice did not hold the same anger as Laenor's.

"We, well, we played a trick on Aemond," Luke said softly.

"What kind of trick?" Rhaenrya pressed, smiling down at a once again sleeping Joffrey. Myra had no idea how she managed to quiet him so quickly, but she supposed it was a mother's touch.

"Well, we had a pig and — and we put wings on it and we — we told him it was a dragon," Jace muttered, looking down at his feet.

Myra's stomach dropped. Jace and Luke knew how Aemond longed for a dragon. More importantly, they knew how she longed for one, as well. In her eyes, this trick on Aemond was no different than if they had played it on her.

"Even worse, Aemond entered the bowels of the pit, again, and almost died," Laenor said, crossing his arms as he stared down at his sons.

At this, Myra got to her feet and stormed out of the room, ignoring the calls of her mother and father. She was too angry at Jace and Luke to even be in the same room as them. More importantly, however, she wanted to make sure Aemond was alright.

If he was, Aemond likely would've been taken to his mother's chambers, just as Jace and Luke were taken to theirs. So, despite her ill feelings towards the Queen, Myra made her way to Alicent's chambers.

Alicent looked as pleased to see her as Myra expected, "Hello, Princess. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Good day, Your Grace. Do you know where Aemond is?" Myra asked, "I heard he entered the bowels of the pit, again, and I wanted to make sure he was alright."

Alicent looked her up and down, and Myra could've sworn she saw the hint of a smile on the Queen's face, "He is fine. I believe he is in the Godswood."

"Thank you, Your Grace," Myra said. Alicent didn't reply. Instead, she closed the door right in Myra's face. This was the exact kind of behavior that Myra expected from the Queen, so she didn't let her coldness bother her too much.

Myra made her way down the Godswood and, sure enough, there was Aemond, lying under the weirwood tree, his eyes closed as he gazed at nothing. She walked over to him, making sure to make enough noise with her steps so that he would not be startled by her.

"Hello, dear niece," he greeted, opening his eyes and looking up at her.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked, tilting her head as she smiled down at him.

"I have memorized the sound of your footsteps," Aemond answered, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"You sound like your mother," Myra remarked, "May I lay with you?"

"Of course."

Myra laid down on the ground next to Aemond and stared up at the sky. It was a very bright day, yet there was no sun to make her squint her eyes. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, and she could imagine herself flying through the sky, feeling the clouds on her fingertips, Aemond by her side on his own dragon.

"I wanted to make sure that you were alright," she told him, "I am sorry for what my brothers did."

"Your apology means nothing to me," Aemond said, his voice rising with his anger, "It is your brothers who have done this to me, and them alone."

Myra scoffed, propping herself up on her elbows so that she could get a good look at her uncle, "You truly believe that Jace and Luke, who are six and five, orchestrated this on their own?"

Aemond didn't answer. Instead, he closed his eyes. Myra laid back down and plucked a flower from the ground, tearing the petals off of it one by one.

"I hold Aegon in very high esteem, you know that, but you and I both know he is no stranger to cruelty," she said, tearing another petal off, "You cannot ignore that he most likely had the largest hand to play in their trick."

"So your brothers are exempt from all blame because it was not their scheme?" Aemond questioned.

"That is not what I am saying and you know it. I am furious with them," Myra snapped. She dropped her torn-up petal and sighed, turning her head away from the sky and to Aemond, "Do you not understand? You and I share the pain of not having a dragon. We have an understanding with one another that no one else here does. Your pain is my pain, as I would hope mine is yours."

Aemond didn't say anything, once again. Myra turned her head back to the sky and closed her eyes, basking in the warmth of a sunless sky. After nearly a minute of silence, Aemond turned his own head to look at her. Hesitantly, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

Myra opened her eyes and peered at him.

"Your pain is my pain," Aemond said softly.

Myra smiled and squeezed his hand tighter.

•⋅•⋅•

"Your brothers have something they would like to say to you."

Laenor, Jace, and Luke stood at the entrance of Myra's chambers. Myra, who was just about to retire for the night, was not pleased with their interruption.

"What is it?" she asked, her arms crossed across her chest.

"We are sorry for what we did Aemond. It was wrong of us to trick him like that," Jace said, looking at his feet, just as he had earlier in the day.

"You should be apologizing to Aemond," Myra said, "You played no trick on me."

"But we hurt you," Luke piped up, "We know you want a dragon just as bad as Aemond does."

Myra looked between her brothers, who she loved and envied equally. She could never be mad at them, at least not for long, even if she tried.

"I cannot accept your apology until Aemond does. However, I hold no ill feelings toward you," Myra told them.

At those words, Luke ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her waist, burying his face in her stomach as he cried. Jace followed him, engulfing her in a hug as well and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"It is alright, I promise," Myra cooed, rubbing Luke's back and running a hand through Jace's hair, "Just promise me that you will both apologize to Aemond tomorrow."

They muttered their promises, Luke's coming out more muffled than Jace's.

"Please, do not cry," she whispered. Luke pulled his head back to look up at his sister, wiping his tears away.

"Everyone makes mistakes," she went on, "We are not defined by them."

While Myra admired her brothers, they admired her more than she could possibly imagine. She was the embodiment of what it meant to be perfect. They valued her approval even more than Aegon's which was part of the reason why they were so upset. When Myra ran out of the room earlier, they feared she would never want to speak to either of them again.

The three siblings held each other for a few more minutes as their father watched in the doorway, smiling. They were not a conventional family, but they were a happy one, for the most part. And, at the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

•⋅•⋅•

The next day, Myra was not in the mood to go to the training yard. Not because she still didn't long to be with them, but because she wanted to see Helaena.

Helaena was a little odd, but Myra enjoyed her company anyway. Time spent with Helaena was always quiet and peaceful, the same as it was when she held Joffrey in her mother's chambers.

As Ser Harwin was fighting Criston Cole in the training yard, Myra and Helaena were lounging in the library, resting on comfortable chairs and reading history books about Aegon the Conqueror and his reign.

"Do you think they were scared when they came to Westeros?" Myra asked, flipping the pages of her book idly, "To conquer seven realms was a big feat. Although, I suppose if they came here with the intent of taking over the continent, they had to be fearless. Then that makes me wonder why they decided to take over the continent, but there are some things you just cannot know, right, Helaena? Helaena?"

Helaena was skimming over the pages of her book, using her finger to guide her reading.

"Helaena, did you hear anything I just said?"

"For a dream," Helaena muttered, her eyes not leaving her book.

Myra tilted her head, "You think Aegon conquered Westeros because he dreamed he could?"

Helaena didn't answer. Instead, she turned the page and continued to read.

Her aunt wasn't always like this. Sometimes they could have quality conversations together, but others she would shut down, like she was currently doing. It almost made Myra wish she had gone to the training yard.

"I think I would be scared if I went to battle," the Velaryon girl went on, trying to start any sort of conversation, "I do not want to die, which I very well might in a battle. I wonder if Visenya was scared to die when she took Gulltown. That would not make her fearless, though. I am far from fearless. As I said, I would be scared to go into battle. I am scared to die, I think."

Myra laughed, "I would be quite useless in a battle, with how fearful I am. Do you not agree, Helaena?"

Helaena muttered something under her breath. Myra lifted her head to look at her, "What was that?"

But Helaena did not repeat her words. Instead, she followed her finger down the page.

Myra sighed, leaning back into her seat. Helaena's words often didn't make sense to her and, selfishly, she disliked it when she rambled on about nothing. She would rather hear her discuss something sensical, like the insects she liked to collect.

Eventually, Helaena did come out of her daze, and the two girls had a meaningful conversation about honey cakes. In the years that followed, both of them would look back at moments like these, and they would wonder how time managed to pass them by so quickly.

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WRITTEN: june 2024
EDITED: june 2024
WORDS: 3,924

AUTHOR'S NOTE! thank you all so much for all the love you've shown for this fic so far!! i wasn't expecting to get so many reads in a week.

i'm very excited to keep writing this fic and i'm glad it's worth your time lol. have a wonderful day :)