playιng: [he won't go] - [adele]

0:07─ㅇ────────────── 4:38

"Muña," Rhaenys whispered to Rhaella, who had fallen asleep. The young princess turned to Viserys, who played with his wooden toy horses at Rhaella's feet. She tapped his shoulder and pointed to the Queen.

He looked up at his mother, then back to Rhaenys. He quietly giggled, and his niece joined in.

"She sleep," Rhaenys giggled. "Muña sleep," she shut her eyes and drooped her head, an adorable imitation of her grandmother.

Viserys let out a roar of laughter, "Rhaenys, that is not your muña. She is mine."

Rhaenys opened her eyes and went to Rhaella's lap, where she poked at the woman's knee. "Muña sleep, Muña sleep," she chanted, laughing now.

Viserys rose from his seating position, and despite himself, joined in on the chanting, "Muña sleep, Muña sleep!"

She opened one eye and snored loudly, earning a snorted-laughter from her son.

Rhaenys drapped herself on her grandmother's lap, hugging her, "muña, wake up!"

Rhaella roared, trapping the young Princess and tickling her, "Now you've woken the dragon," she declared, working her fingers on Rhaenys' belly. The Princess squealed, beyond delighted. "Vissy, save Rhaenys," she managed to get out.

The young Prince fixed his mother with a playful grimace, "I will slay the dragon, Princess. I will save you," he lunged towards his dragon mother, tripped over Rhaenys' legs, and in his struggle to get up, his mother attacked him.

She tickled him under his chin and on his sides, leaving him to only ask for help from his niece, "Save me, Princess. This dragon is too fierce!"

"Fierce dragon," Rhaenys stood to her full height and charged to her grandmother, who only held her at arms length, turning her around, trapping her with her arm against the side of her leg.

Rhaella roared once more. "Which shall I eat first?" She asked her prey. "The boy," she turned to her son with a wicked expression. "Or the girl," she looked at Rhaenys then.

The children pointed to their opposite, neither courageous enough to be the dragon's first meal.

"Both then," she took one in each of her arms and hugged them tightly to her, planting kisses upon their heads and faces.

"The rat catcher, your Grace," Ser Barristan Selmy announced, letting the rat catcher in.

The young man bowed and strolled in with his contraptions and a female cat with two kittens behind her.

The royal trio stared at the man as he began setting up a few traps in the corners of the room.

Rhaenys observed as the man worked, her attention split between her family and one of the kittens.

The tiny black one with a torn ear was the one that mesmerized her as he played with the dust in the sunrays.

"Kitty," she called to it, wiggling her fingers to attract it to her. "Come here."

Viserys and Rhaella watched as the girl got up and made her way towards the kitten. She stuck a hand out to him, "say hello," she commanded him.

"Oh, Princess," the rat catcher chuckled. "This ain't no dragon. He won't go to you with a command. He requires a treat."

"A treat?" Rhaenys wondered.

The rat catcher handed her a dried anchovy fish, "Have him follow you with this."

Rhaenys took the fish and walked over to the carpeted area she had come from, dangling the fish in front of the kitten to coax him to follow her. She giggled as this method worked. The kitten bounced and scurried to her with grace.

"Be careful, dear," Rhaella warned the girl as she opened her palm for the cat to feed from.

As the kitten nibbled and licked Rhaenys' palm, the rat catcher had finished his work.

The two other cats began to follow him out, and so did the one with the torn ear, much to Rhaenys' displeasure. "Come back!" She shrieked, running after it and grabbing it harshly by its stomach only for him to squirm out of her hands.

The rat catcher grabbed the kitten with one hand and handed him over to the Princess. "Make sure you feed him real well, Princess. And give him a good name," and left them with that.

The girl proudly waddled back to Rhaella and Viserys, the cat beyond invested in the fish in Rhaenys' hand to notice it had a new owner.

She set him down in the middle of them, petting him carefully.

"What will you name him?" Viserys asked, finger hovering along the outline of the cat's torn ear.

"Kitty?" Rhaenys suggested.

The silver-haired Targaryens giggled. "You must give him a true name, little one," Rhaella prompted.

Rhaenys turned to Viserys. Surely he knew more names than her. The only names she knew were Mama, Papa, Muña, and Vissy, but those were already taken. She couldn't name him after one of her mother's ladies either because she couldn't remember their names and to her they were all the same. She also couldn't name the cat after any of the kingsguards. They were faceless and nameless to her. And she definitely could not name him after the scary man who sat upon his sharp chair.

While she considered the kitten's name, her brows knotted in concentration, Viserys had plucked a book and began paging through it.

"Why not name him after a dragon," he suggested.

They both looked at the illustrations of the dragons that had belonged to their House.

She could not read yet, so she pointed to the first dragon in the book.

"Balerion?" Viserys tried the name out. "Yeah, that works, Balerion the Black Dread. The biggest Targaryen mount."

"Big dragon, but kitty small," she pointed out.

"The kitty will grow larger. It suits him. Balerion," Viserys called the kitten, who turned his head to him.

"Balerion," Rhaella called the kitten and he pranced his way to her, responding to this name as if he had always been accustomed to it, as if he'd always known this was his name.

•●•●•●•

"Why do you think he means to speak to me? He hasn't spoken to me before," Lord Walter Whent asked his brother, Ser Oswell.

The kingsguard reassured him, "it must be something important. Do not worry."

Walter snorted, "Do not worry? Brother, I pray to make it out alive from this meeting."

"He is not his father," Ser Oswell said plainly. "He is reasonable, and he cares for the wellbeing of the Realm. Besides, his gentle wife is with him."

Walter looked at him through the corner of his eye, "You seem to trust this woman as well."

"I do. Both of them."

Walter nodded, "Very well, lead the way."

Ser Oswell announced his brother and took his place outside the Prince's apartments.

"Lord Walter," Rhaegar stuck his hand out for Walter to shake, interrupting him mid-bow.

"My Prince," he greeted him curtly

"I thank you for agreeing to meet with me today. But please, take a seat, my wife won't be long, she is putting Rhaenys to sleep."

There seemed to be an infinite amount of questions and comments on the tip of Lord Whent's tongue, his face a twister of concern and confusion, but in the end, he voiced nothing.

"Ser Oswell tells me your only daughter has a nameday coming up in November," the Dragon Prince began.

Walter had not seen a Targaryen this close before. In truth, the Prince was strikingly handsome, disarmingly pretty. His silver-blond hair was braided, and tiny copper sunburst ringlets were intricately clipped into strands. This was surely his wife's work. He had not seen something like this in the northern regions of Westeros.

"Yes, she will be turning ten and five."

Rhaegar brought two cups and set them on a table, one in front of his guest and one in front of himself before taking a seat.

"The Princess," Ser Oswell announced, smiling to Elia as she slipped past him.

The woman was vibrant, in clothing, and in appearance. Walter had heard the Princess was of delicate health, but the Princess before him appeared as healthy as any other woman.

"Dornish red, my lord," she poured some from a pitcher she had brought with her.

She adorned herself with gold-bangles, earrings, and a headband that resembled lace with intricate patterns. The way she looks, one would think the Sun himself had been poured into her.

The Princess was pretty as well. Her warm skin and her smile easily lit up the room. He noticed the way Rhaegar looked at his wife. The Dragon Prince was not discreet in this. Perhaps the Prince also sees what Walter does and sees the Princess as a radiant lady.

"I've not had dornish red in years," he said, thanking the Princess as she filled his cup.

Rhaegar grinned up at his wife as she poured him some wine. "This one has been aging on Dragonstone for nearly two years," Rhaegar commented.

Walter wanted to ask if where the wine had been aged made a difference to the taste, but he could not risk offending the Prince, whose humor he did not know. He was not a friend and had to be careful and hold his tongue around the Targaryens. After all, this was Aerys' son, despite what Oswell had said.

He savored the wine, "it is sweet."

"Lord Whent," Rhaegar began. But the Lord did not hear the beginning of it. He was too concerned about being poisoned. If he had already taken the poison, "Harenhall is grand," the Prince's voice pierced through his worries. How long would it take for the poison to settle? "It is in my best interest that the Realm knows peace." Would it take hours? Seconds or days? "And that is why I would like to propose a Great Council. The Tourney for your daughter's nameday would, of course, serve as a cloak for this meeting with the greater lords."

Walter could feel sweat forming and slowly, slowly sliding down his temple and cheek. Was it this hot when he got here? Is this a symptom of poisoning? He wondered who had done it. The Last Dragon Prince, or the Sun's daughter? "A Tourney? And I assume you would like to discuss the funding of such a tourney. Harenhall can accommodate half the realm's lords and ladies. We can feed them, their horses, and their knights, but if we want to truly sell this, we must give them a tourney they will talk about for generations to come."

The silver dragon sipped from the same wine as Walter. At least he had not been poisoned, and he let a chuckle go, reining it back with a cough to mask his nervousness.

They discussed the details, Rhaegar agreed to fund a part of the event, and both vowed to be discreet. The King might be too paranoid to leave his castle, but he had eyes and ears everywhere. He might not leave and spoil their plans, but if he caught wind of this scheme before it took roots, it would be devastating.

When only Elia and Rhaegar remained, with his wife standing in front of the open window as the Sun showered over her, he couldn't believe how he hadn't gained the courage to do something sooner.

It had taken Elia's encouragement and promptness for him to act. Her love for her children, his mother, and...him?

He thought about this for seemingly the first time. This thought took his breath away, and he had to hold onto the edge of the table to steady himself and his thoughts. Did Elia love him, too? Was there enough room in her heart for him with all the things she already held dearly? Did he love her? He knew he was fond of her, that she was his confidant and a pillar to hold him up.

He loved his daughter and his mother, but these affections were different.

He acknowledged he could come to love her. She made herself easy to love. The nights he visited her to simply talk, or even the ones where they'd engage in marital activities, were proof that their's could be a marriage of love. It could blossom into something more. She sneaked into his heart quietly and began making a home there. So he wondered again, had he already come to love Elia, and it was such a quiet thing that he could not recognize it yet?

"When this comes to pass, Elia paused, her back to him now. "You must take initiative to arm your people for this Long Night. When death rises and begins to march south... there must be a mention of something that can stop them in a scroll or in a book."

"I have been researching the archives we have here. Perhaps a visit to the Citadel is in order. But when we return to Dragonstone, we might want to go over those scrolls."

He continued staring at her as she looked out the window. Her eyes traced over the horizon. Sailboats would appear and vanish into the horizon, but none bearing her family crest.

Doran was meant to arrive any day now, and Elia had been expecting him since he sent word for his arrival.

It would only be him and Arianne since Oberyn was busy with other affairs, and Mellario had just given birth and could not travel.

She slowly turned to him, "Serious measures must be taken, Rhaegar."

•●•●•●•

The King only briefly met with Doran. He seemed more tolerant of the Dornish Prince than his sister. He addressed him well and even laughed his dry, unused laughter that eerily reverberated in the throne room.

The King once again promised what he had promised Doran's mother, that he would make water swell and burst from under Dorne. His eyes glazed over as he spoke of the canals and creeks that would slither across the sands of Dorne.

But if the Dragons could not conquer its people, what makes them think they can tame the land?

He quickly made his way to meet privately with Elia, his small company trailing behind him. He greeted Arthur and gorged on the reunion with his uncle and their shared memories of Princess Loreza. He was allowed into Elia's chambers, the smell of incense greeting him immediately.

His spears lined up to the left of the door to Elia's apartments, while her swords lined up to the right, Arthur being the closest to the door and Lewyn next to him.

There was a total contrast between the guards, the dornishmen wore oranges and leathers, and had suns embroidered into their chest pieces, while the kingsguards wore their white cloaks and steel, and the three headed dragon on the center of their chest pieces. All men guarding the princess and her brother were dornish. However, their loyalties were different. But the dornish spears would always be loyal to their princess, no matter who's name or colors she wore. It was the heat that ran in her veins that tied them to her and any fond memories they had of her or her family.

"You are as cool as your steel, Arthur Dayne. Has it been so long that you do not recognize me anymore, cousin?" One of the guards spoke up, not facing his kin, but looking straight ahead.

Arthur looked at him through the corner of his eye, then turned to face the man across the door. "Felix," he greeted the man who still did not turn to him.

Lewyn turned and cracked a smile. "You are nearly unrecognizable when you aren't being knocked off your feet, Felix," he jested.

At this, Felix finally turned to them, red in the face and with a half protest ready to voice. "Prince."

"It is good seeing you again," Lewyn greeted the man.

"To be fair, Arthur had eight years on me when I took to the sword," he added cheekily. "Surely we are on equal footing now that time has passed. Shall we test it out sometime, cousin? While I'm still here. What say you?"

Ser Arthur turned with a mischievous smile tugging on his mouth, "I take my duties seriously, cousin. No horse play while I'm in white."

Felix chortled, "I do take my duties seriously, cousin. I see you are still a tight ass."

Lewyn barked out a laugh. Stifling it when the Spider walked by.

"A pleasant reunion, yes?" He glanced at them.

"Yes, my Lord," Arthur was quick with his reply.

His eyes darted to the closed door. Lately, there seemed to be an uptick of private meetings. The eunuch took note of this and took his leave.

"What webs might the Princess be weaving?" He wondered out loud.

A bit of time passed when Ashara strolled in with Rhaenys in her arms. The child wore a dress of her father's house colors, but this was unmistakably Elia's daughter.

"Announce me, brother," she urged him, not sparing him a look. She turned her head and was greeted by smiling violet eyes. "Felix!" She adjusted the child in her arms and threw an arm over her cousin's neck. "Oh, how long it's been. How are Aunt Alma, Elda, and Owen?"

"They are all well, Ash. And your mother upon hearing I would be accompanying Prince Doran sent her well wishes too, to the both of you," he gestured towards Arthur. "She dreams of your reunion and hopes her son might loosen up a bit more and write her back some time."

"Oh Arthur," she chided him. "You know mother is a sensitive lady, and yet you deprive her of your affections."

"Go with Mama," Rhaenys said softly to Ashara, leaning into her.

"Yes, but please say hello to these gentlemen, Rhaenys. They are your mother's countrymen."

"Country country, hello, hello," the little girl greeted them.

This got a laugh from all the dornishmen there. Finally, Arthur announced his sister, and she left Rhaenys with her mother, greeting Prince Doran, and then heading back to her own apartments.

"Country country, hello, hello,"Rhaenys greeted the stranger.

Doran's eyes shone like diamonds, amused with this girl already.

"Why Rhaenys, you are just as beautiful as your mother." He turned to his sister, "Mother would have loved to meet her."

They had already shared a bittersweet moment in their mother's memory, but Elia still felt raw after crying. This could easily make her cry again, but Rhaenys began meowing, as if she knew her mother needed to be humored.

"Balerion is my kitty," she told her uncle. "Balerion is big," she stretched her arms wide to show them.

They watched Rhaenys entertain herself with empty cups and silverware, then Elia spoke up. "He will tell you the same thing I have. But he will share the details of it later. Brother, we will need your support for this council to work out. You must put yourself...Dorne in alliance with him. Everything, the Realm is counting on -"

"The Master of Whispers, Lord Varys," Arthur announced.

The dornish Princess and Prince exchanged a glance. While Varys had extended his friendship to Elia, she did not know how clued in on the plan he was. So they spoke nothing of it.

"Prince Doran Martell," he dipped his head. "And Princesses Elia and Rhaenys."

The little Princess's head perked up at hearing her name, but no eyes were on her, so she continued building her towers of spoons and cups.

"I understand the King still has an eager eye set on Dorne," Varys spoke plainly.

Doran nodded, "there's a promise he's been holding onto for two generations. He wishes to see Dorne flow with water, but..."

"It is not in Dorne's nature to change," Varys offered. "Unbowed, unbent, unbroken. Only through alliances will Dorne take a seat at the table."

Elia glanced once more to Doran, attempting to gauge how much the other man might know.

"Is that not the nature of most affairs? Give and receive. Insurance is the safest way to move, and Dorne must move its pieces mindfully and strategically."

"I take you enjoy a good game of cyvasse."

Doran chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "My wife enjoys the game, and I learned the rules from her. I do not enjoy her mind games on the board. I prefer a match I can surely win."

"Then the dragon must be your piece of choice."

Elia watched them carefully, a memory rushing across her mind. Oberyn was teaching her the rules of the game of cyvasse after he'd returned from the Free Cities. They sat under the shade of a blood orange tree, the wooden board set up between them, each with their respective pieces lined up in front of them.

Oberyn was showing her a second defensive formation. He lined up Elia's mountain pieces, her elephants, light and heavy horses, and rabble scattered strategically behind the mountains. "Now, Elia, if I fly my dragon through your mountains, which pieces could stop it?"

She considered this carefully, remembering the rules. Her fingers lightly brushed over her catapults. Oberyn made a noise, and she looked up, then back down at the board.

"Three catapults in a triangle formation can take it down," she moved one catapult and waited for his approval.

He moved his dragon over one tile in the same row as Elia's catapult. The Princess grabbed a second catapult but recognized her mistake. By the time she had her three pieces on the board, Oberyn's dragon would have devoured the elephants and horses in its row.

She dragged a spearman and moved it sideways one tile, placing it just behind one of her elephants. It was a sacrifice that would make up for her earlier mistake. Oberyn moved his dragon a second tile forward, crossing the mountain ridge, taking Elia's elephant, and placing it to the side of the board. He smiled, a dimple blooming on both of his cheeks as Elia made a "shwoomp" sound to indicate the launch of a spear.

The dragon had been defeated, and it did not escape Oberyn the way in which Elia made her spearman stab his dragon's eye. An event every dornishman took pride in. The miraculous aim of a scorpion bolt that had pierced Meraxes the dragon through the eye and had taken down her and her rider. An event that would put an end to the merciless torching of a Dorne that would not bend the knee.

"A dragon is only good when one is playing defensive. Offensive or defensive, a spearman is my piece of choice."

Varys nodded approvingly.

"The Princess Arianne of Dorne and her handmaids," Arthur announced.

The girl had been asleep, too sluggish from the boat ride. A smile split her face, and she quickly bolted towards Elia, wrapping her arms around the older woman's middle.

"Oh, Lili, I missed you terribly!" She sobbed.

The Spider dismissed himself after setting up a cyvasse match for later between himself and the Prince of Dorne.

"I missed you too, Arianne." Elia kissed the top of the girl's head, holding her tight. "Arianne, this is Rhaenys. She is my daughter," Elia crouched to be closer to Rhaenys' height.

The girl smiled up at her mother and quickly wrapped herself around her arm. "Don't be shy. She is your cousin, Arianne."

Rhaenys waved her hand, "Hello."

The two began to play, and then "the Prince Rhaegar Targaryen," Arthur announced.

He was awkward around Doran, but courteous. Both men exchanged bows, and Rhaegar asked him about his travel. Then he turned to Arianne to greet her.

"Prince Rhaemar," she curtsied.

He chuckled, shook her hand, and bowed too, "Princess Arianne."

"It is Rhaegar, sweetling. His name is Prince Rhaegar," Doran corrected her.

"Oh, yes," she took in his features, his pale hair and his pale skin and his dark purple eyes. He had Rhaenys' eyes, or rather, she had his eyes. Even if they were both obviously kin, Arianne remembered her cousin had the blood of the dragon.

"May we speak of the upcoming tourney?" He asked Doran.

"Papa, you see Balerion?" Rhaenys asked her father.

"Balerion?" He turned to Elia.

"She was given a kitten and has named him Balerion. Perhaps we should go look for the Black Dread and show him to your cousin," she led the girls outside of her chambers, and they began searching for the black cat.

"I saw him in the courtyard,"Lord Varys said, trailing behind them as he made his way to the Throne Room.

Here he would whisper to the King of an upcoming tourney. Of betrayal and a kingdom that meant to usurp him and place his son on his throne.

The Seven Kingdoms meant to make a king out of Rhaegar and only Aerys could stop them.

Aerys the Bold. Aerys the Concilliator. Aerys the Good. Varys reminded him of the titles that the Realm had given him.

Hatred twisted in Aerys' heart. Surely, they could not treat his kindness, his era of peace, with betrayal. His mouth soured with the possibility of having his crown taken.

"It seems my son thinks himself a competent player for the game of thrones." He laughed his hollow, unused laugh.

A/N: sorry for the long break, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. I wanted to get the pov from other characters on how they see or feel about Elia or Rhaegar. Next chapter will be the entire events of harrenhall and after that there's only about 3 or 4 chapters left depending on how long they come out after editing a bit. Also there are no official rules for cyvasse so I just made something up lol. Also please ignore any grammar or typos I'm working on my phone and in small bursts when I have time.