Breakbones and the Dragonrider

Chapter 12

Rhaenyra's eyes opened, but not without effort. The sun through the window was what had awakened her—or so she thought. As she rubbed at her eyes, she heard a crunching noise from the foot of her bed. She sat upright and saw the source of the noise. A young girl with curly, dark hair and brown eyes sat on the foot of her bed, and in her hands she held a biscuit that she was eating boredly.

Rhaenyra and the girl stared at each other. Rhaenyra felt a moment of panic, and looked to the side of the bed, worrying that Harwin was still asleep next to her.

"Ser Laenor is in the courtyard with the Kingsguard," the little girl said finally. Rhaenyra sighed. "Is your dragon with you?" the little girl asked, punctuating her question by taking another bite of her biscuit.

Rhaenyra smiled at the absurdity of the situation. "No," she said. "She's in King's Landing."

"I want to see a dragon one day, but father says I'm too young to come to King's Landing," the girl said, wiping crumbs from her mouth.

Rhaenyra sat up on her elbows, still groggy. "You bear a striking resemblance to someone I know..." Rhaenyra said with a small smile.

The little girl smiled, and opened her mouth to respond, when a voice outside Rhaenyra's sleeping chambers drew her attention away.

"Lyla," the voice hissed, repeating the name a few times. A face soon appeared at the crack in the door. "Lyla, what—oh, your highness, I am so sorry."

The woman who Rhaenyra assumed was Harwin's step mother curtsied quickly. She looked mortified as she reached for her daughter to pry her from Rhaenyra's bed.

"Lyla, I told you the west tower was off limits," the woman said.

"It's alright," Rhaenyra said, pulling her covers off of her legs, revealing bare feet. Harwin must have removed her shoes and tucked her in at some point.

"You must have been exhausted," Lady Strong said. "I'll have a bath drawn for you. I'll take this one back to the north tower where she belongs."

Lyla sighed and scuffled off through the doorway.

"Princess, I'll give you your privacy. We have lunch prepared in the north tower, and we would be honored to meet you properly," she said with one final curtsy before hastily closing the door behind her.

When Rhaenyra sunk into the copper tub full of hot water, her muscles screamed at her. She scrubbed the remnants of the last day off her skin and hair, and when her handmaidens dressed her in a cream colored gown, she headed down the tower stairs. A house servant was waiting at the bottom, and escorted Rhaenyra to the north tower.

As Rhaenyra followed the servant, she had a better chance to appreciate the interior chamber of Harrenhal. Its ceiling stretched several stories high, with archways and walkways in the open air. She felt a pang of regret, thinking sadly that this could have been her home until she ascended the throne, had her father considered Harwin as a match for her. She wondered sadly why it had never been discussed.

Rhaenyra was led into another wing of Harrenhal that she assumed was the north tower. When she had been brought into a room she assumed was used for banquets, she saw that the room was full of people standing, in conversation with one another. Knights sworm to House Strong, knights sworn to House Targaryen, Rhaenyra's ladies in waiting, and lesser nobles that must have lived in the shadow of Harrenhal, somewhere in the Riverlands.

Laenor turned to the half stair when he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He left his conversation abruptly, and met her at the top of the stair. He kissed her sweetly, and put his hands on her neck before looking into her eyes.