The Path to Freedom, a HOTD Fanfic

Prologue

"I saw her again. Last night."

They laid in the godswood, beneath the great oak tree. Rhaenyra 's head rested on Alicent's lap, as Alicent was turning the pages of her book. It was a lazy day in the Red Keep for the princess and her most dear friend. When the girls saw decades pass, and be hardened by the world and the fight for the iron throne, both thought fondly of these peaceful, boring days.

"Rhaenyra," said Alicent, "this sounds like the dream for an unruly young boy. Not a royal maiden."

Rhaenyra looked up. "How so?"

Alicent sighed and closed her book. "Girls do not have dreams of naked women walking in fire."

"Well I did, am I not a girl?"

Rhaenyra chuckled, amused at Alicents exasperation. The dream was ridiculous, she could admit. But it came so frequently... so vivid...it could not leave her.

Once in a fortnight Rhaenyra would dream, and in her sleep she saw a woman. She was young and petite, with dazzling blue eyes. Her golden hair was twisted in elaborate braids that Rhaenyra could never attempt. The woman stood in a room surrounded by armed men. Rhaenyra could not understand the language spoken, but the threatening tones of voices told her that danger was imminent.

The woman, however, stood unimpressed, and responded to these perceived threats by knocking an oil lamp to the floor. The room, no, the entire building was set ablaze, the men screaming to their deaths. The woman's dress, a sheer white silk, absorbed the flames until the heat reduced it to dust.

What astonished Rhaenyra most of all was that the woman herself did not catch fire. She walked though the flames, untouched, unblemished. She met a crowd of spectators outside, who dropped to their knees in her presence.

Rhaenyra took to calling her the Unburned.

"Dreams are just that, Princess."

Rhaenyra scoffed and closed her eyes. "My father seems to think otherwise. He's tormenting my mothers womb over his recurring dream."

Alicent smiled. "His dream is real, I am certain."

"Oh?" Rhaenyra yawned. "You think Mother will bear a son?"

"No. I will."

Rhaenyra gasped as suddent, searing pain tore through her chest. Her eyes shot open and saw a dagger, plunged to the hilt, staining her dress with her blood.

Alicent still held the dagger.

———

Rhaenyra awoke with a scream. Her back arched so violently she nearly sat straight up. Her voice gave out and her her throat snapped shut. She rolled onto her hands and knees, clutching her drenched nightgown where the imagined daggar was struck. Beads of sweat dropped to the sheets from her brow, and she became desperate for air.

She heard the door open, and Ser Criston's voice.

"Rhaenyra!?"

Rhaenyra shook her head, unable to catch her breath. She waved a hand at Criston, who nodded and closed the door. Criston approached her, taking a seat at the edge of her bed. He placed his helmet on the ground and waited as Rhaenyra slowly caught her breath.

"The naked lady again?" Criston asked with a sly smile.

Rhaenyra tried to lie, as she always did. She wanted to laugh it off and reassure her knight that all was well. But tonight...tonight she could not pretend anymore.

To both their surprise, Rhaenyra burst into tears. She grabbed her bedsheets and furiously buried her face into them, embarrassed she could not her sobs. She hated crying in front of others. Since her mothers death, Rhaenyra made it a point to save her grief for herself. She would only slip up in the comfort of her dear Alicent.