dancing with our hands tied | r. targaryen

xxxiii.

126 A.C.
DRAGONSTONE
•••

RHAENYRA MADE HER WAY THROUGH THE WINDING HALLS OF DRAGONSTONE BEFORE heading into the dining hall where everyone was taking breakfast.

"Good morrow sister," Helaena greets, a hermit crab in the palm of her hand.

"Good morrow," Rhaenyra says with a small smile, "New discovery?"

"Mhm," Helaena answers, "I have yet to come up with a name for him. I'm not even quite sure he's a him. Though I suppose it doesn't quite matter."

Rhaenyra shakes her head, "I suppose it does not."

Helaena notices a set of gloves in Rhaenyra's hands, "Are those your old flying gloves?"

"They are," Rhaenyra answers as she holds them up.

"Are they for Cassana?" Helaena asks.

After Cassana's claiming of Silverwing, Alayne and Brandon had made her promise to keep it a secret, not wanting to upset Aemond and Rhaena who had yet to claim dragons of their own and were of families of known dragonriders. Cassana had sworn she wouldn't tell anyone, and Rhaenyra had agreed that they could have lessons together but only once everyone had fallen asleep in the castle.

Rhaenyra knew that Helaena's knowledge of the gloves had either been due to her weird prophetic dreams or that Cassana had simply broken her promise and had told her cousin of her dragon.

"They are," Rhaenyra answers.

Helaena nods her head as she looks back at her hermit crab, "She didn't tell me anything. She reeks of dragon though."

Or there was a mystery third option that Rhaenyra had not thought of.

"Right," she mutters, and Helaena smiles as she looks up at her.

"Even the strong burn," Rhaenyra hears her sister mutter as she walks away. Rhaenyra spots Brandon and Alayne sitting with Daemon, Laena, Laenor, and Harwin who they'd managed to convince to leave King's Landing for a fortnight so that he could be close to the boys.

"This cannot be happening," Alayne says with a frown.

"What?" Rhaenyra asks as she takes a seat beside Alayne, looking over at Daemon and Laena.

"Laena is pregnant," Laenor answers, "And we are happy about it."

"Not all of us," Alayne says, "I quite dislike the father of her children."

Daemon smirks, "You know you can drop the act, Alayne. We're not at court anymore."

"But it isn't an act, Daemon. I do despise you, a fact that seems to get you all hot and bothered," Alayne says and Daemon's smirk slips away. Rhaenyra's brows furrow as she looks over at Alayne.

"What are you talking about?"

"Daemon?" Alayne asks as she looks over at him, "Why don't you take this one?"

Harwin looks between everyone greatly confused, "Do you all open your bed to others?"

"Mostly," Laenor answers as he eats a piece of bread.

"Very open," Brandon says nodding his head, "Extremely-"

Alayne hits her husband on the leg, "Stop, you sound desperate."

"I am," Brandon responds.

Harwin looks over at Brandon, brows furrowing, "Desperate for what?"

"Your cock," Daemon answers and Laenor begins choking on his wine at the blunt answer. Laena reaches over and pats her brother on the back as she hits Daemon on the arm. He simply shrugs, taking no shame in his answer.