Immortal Dragon ON HOLD

Chapter VII

Rhaella opened her eyes, expecting to see the familiar stone walls of Winterfell. But instead, She was somewhere else. The air here was colder, sharper; the wind cut through the darkness like a blade.

Rhaella slowly looked around.

Towering black walls rose into the sky around her, and the ground beneath her boots was dusted with frost. Men dressed in black moved through the courtyard below. She frowned slightly. "This place is new..."

Curious, she began walking. Eventually, she reached the top of a narrow set of stairs. At the top stood an old man wrapped in black robes. He stood alone. Suddenly, the man spoke. "Who's there?"

Rhaella froze. "You... can see me?"

The old man shook his head. "No. But I can hear you, and I can feel your presence." His sightless eyes stared forward into the darkness. "Who are you? Women are not supposed to be here at the Wall. It is not safe."

Rhaella hesitated before answering. "My name is Rhaella." The old man stiffened slightly. A faint sadness flickered across his expression. The name clearly meant something to him. She continued. "I'm the daughter of Mikael." The old man inhaled sharply. Another wave of emotion passed over his face. Names from a family he had long believed dead.

Rhaella tilted her head slightly. "Is something wrong, mister?"

He shook his head gently. "No. It is only that... I have not heard those names in a very long time. They belonged to my niece and my nephew."

Rhaella blinked in surprise. "You're... a Targaryen?"

The old man nodded slowly. "I was. Before I took the black. I was once called Aemon Targaryen. But now... I am simply Maester Aemon."

Rhaella's face lit up with excitement. "You're family! My father named me after his sister Rhaella to honor her memory."

Aemon turned his head slightly toward where he sensed the girl standing. "You are a Targaryen as well, then. But how is that possible? It is said your father died at the Trident during Robert's Rebellion."

Rhaella smiled softly. "Well... that part is mostly true. My father was given a prophecy before the rebellion and when he was stabbed at the Trident protecting Prince Rhaegar. "He was told it was time for the prophecy to begin." She paused. "So, he was saved and sent to another world. A world where he could have the child who would one day fulfill that prophecy."

She gestured slightly around them. "And I'm not really here. This is only a dream for me. That's why I was so surprised when you could hear me." Aemon smiled gently. A long-forgotten warmth filled his chest.

Family.

After all these years. "When your father told you of Robert's Rebellion," Aemon asked softly, "did he tell you that all the Targaryens were killed?"

Rhaella nodded. "He did. So, I never thought I would meet anyone from my father's family. But here we are."

The two of them sat together for a long time. Rhaella told him about her life. About her brothers and baby sister. About her sword training. About the dragon egg she had found. And about the prophecy that surrounded her birth.

In return, Aemon told her stories. Stories of the Targaryen kings. Stories of the Night's Watch. Stories of the Wall and the long centuries of men who guarded it.

Eventually, Rhaella felt the strange pull she had come to recognize. The dream was ending. Aemon seemed to sense it too.

He smiled warmly. "The gods have given me peace tonight. To know the blood of the dragon still lives. You will make a great queen one day, young Rhaella."