dancing with our hands tied | r. targaryen

xxvii.

125 A.C.
KING'S LANDING
•••

"MAKE YOURSELF SMALLER, ARGELLA," BRANDON INSTRUCTS HIS DAUGHTER, AND SHE OBEYS HER FATHER'S COMMAND AS SHE turns to the side and uses the sword to block her brother's attack. Beric pulls back and tries to hit his sister again, but she quickly sidesteps.

"Come on Beric!" Argella encourages and the younger of the two tries his best, but Argella gets the upper hand as she knocks her brother over and points the sword at him, "You're dead."

"I know," Beric responds. Argella holds her hand out to her brother and Beric accepts her help.

"You're getting better," Argella tells her brother.

"Doesn't feel like it," Beric mutters, "I keep losing to my sister."

"Older sister," Argella states as she twirls her sword, "And future Lady of Storm's End. It's an honor to be bested by me."

"It's a humiliation," Beric mutters.

"It's a learning experience," Brandon tells his son as he comes over and takes the sword from both Argella and Beric, "There is something to learn from every loss."

"Like I am not good?" Beric asks.

"You are good," Argella reassures her brother. Beric looks at her and Argella places a hand on his shoulder, "You are."

"You don't become an excellent swordsman overnight," Brandon states, "It takes practice and you are improving."

Beric sighs and nods his head. Brandon smiles at his son as he messes up his hair. Brandon looks over at the side where Durran stands waiting patiently in practice armor.

"To the dummies Durran," Brandon orders.

"But father!" Durran whines, "I'm ready to fight!"

"You can hardly hold up a sword," Argella tells her younger brother. She looks across the training yard where her younger sisters stood, watching as Cassana practiced her archery, "You should be with Cassana working on your archery."

"A bow is a coward's weapon," Durran retorts.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're dead if an archer hits you right here," Beric as he places a hand over his brother's chest, giving him a gentle shove. Durran falls over and quickly jumps to his feet, charging at Beric who quickly sidesteps him sending Durran to the ground again.

"A bow isn't a coward's weapon," Argella says as she pulls her brother up from the ground, "It's no different from a sword. A weapon is a weapon. It's best you know how to use both."

Durran looks over at Cassana whose arrow hardly misses the bullseye.

"You almost got it!" Falia cheers on her older sister as she claps her hands together. Cassana smiles as she looks at her younger sister. She grabs another arrow aiming it at the target and this time it's a bullseye.

"Well done, Cassana," Brandon says and Cassana spins to find her other siblings watching her. She smiles at them and drops into a curtsy. Brandon chuckles as he gathers his children, "Come on, your mother will be finishing up soon and it'll be time for dinner."

"Why don't you and mother hold court together?" Beric asks curiously.

"Because I hate court," Brandon answers as they head toward the castle, "And your mother loves it."

Alayne sits in the Round Hall listening as Lord Estermont spoke of a poor harvest due to his field flooding. Lord Estermont was young, perhaps a couple of years older than Argella. His father had died due to a chill, leaving him in charge.