Naveena TARGARYEN :||: Queen Series #3

9) Go And Introduce Yourself

Rhaenys
The days were getting colder and more dreary, accompanied by fresh snowfalls, the white blanket covering the ground as far as the eye could see. Winter was definitely coming, but I knew firsthand it would get much colder than this before it truly came. The melted snows in the training yard of Winterfell littered the area with freezing puddles that speed through your boots if you were unfortunate enough to step in one. I was having a hard time staying upright in the slick mud. Brienne had agreed to train with me, taking a break from Podrick, the young squire I'd met in King's Landing who had been passed to her service. His swordsmanship was not quite up to par, and Jon had wordlessly started training him.

Brienne stood in front of me, holding herself back, her sheer size could throw me to the ground if she wished it. But she stood there and took my blow after blow, each gaining more power and becoming more erratic. It didn't help I was in Rhaenys form, a body that did not have the muscle memory or tone used to sword fighting. I grunted, using the moves I had memorised and tried to make my unwilling body comply. I noticed her parry and dance us around in circles but never make an offensive move. My arms were starting to strain under the weight of the training sword, and I knew I could not keep this up for long.

I bellowed in frustration, bringing the sword around and Brienne met the blow easily, her breath coming out in pants. The courtyard had noticeably gone silent, Jon and Pod pausing their training to watch us with caution.

Brienne and I stood in that locked stance, our swords between us. "You are angry, my lady?" She said carefully.

Stepping back, I withdrew my sword and straightened up, her doing the same but neither of us made for the refreshment stand. "Rhaenys?" I heard Jon ask and he squelched through the mud over to where we stood.

"I am just frustrated, I know how to fight with a sword. I'm just not used to this body."

"And this body is not used to be put through such hard work," Brienne counter gently. "You have the technique, you just need to work on your strength and practice so your movements become second nature."

I exhaled sharply trying to rein in the onslaught of emotions going through me. Brienne's compliment had been nice but it did nothing to quell the sense of failure growing in the centre of my chest. I was the queen of the north and right now, I would be killed within the first few strokes of battle.

Brienne eyed me up and down. "You are angry about something else?"

"Jahalla is still not eating properly," I sigh, listing one of the many things that were plaguing my mind. "She can hunt for herself but game is scarce and if she keeps eating all of the North's supply of meat we will have nothing to feed our people when winter sets in."

"We need your dragon, we cannot let her starve," Brienne assured.

"And I cannot let my people starve. We need more animals for the winter," I shook my head, trying to rid the thoughts of helplessness from my mind. "It's nothing you need concern yourself with, we will figure something out. I just expected a lot more of myself."

A comforting arm wrapped around my shoulders and the sword was tugged from my hand as Jon tucked me into his side. "We do our best and your skills with a sword are obvious, my love." He pressed a kiss to my temple. "I think that's enough training for today, we will start up again tomorrow."

Brienne and Pod nodded, following us to the sword rack. A rush of footsteps from the stairs and Sansa appeared in the doorway to the second floor. "Jon! Rhaenys!" She called to us from the verandah, waving around a small scroll.

"A raven from Dragonstone," She said quietly when we reached her and my head snapped up.

"Who's it from?"