king for a day ¹ ━━━━ jacaerys velaryon fanfic

01

- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ CHAPTER ONE ❜┊˚ ̥۪͙۪◌
SNOW ON THE BEACH
❛ but it might just have been you
passing by unbeknownst to me ❜

❝ To my dearest Eudora,
words cannot describe how intriguing yet annoyingly giggly you were at first.
I hate to admit this, but how I wish I could go back and live in the past.
Time has been... effortlessly cruel. ❞

WHEN Laena Velaryon died, Driftmark was plagued with misery and sorrow. Everyone was there for her funeral, anyone that could attend did. Even King Viserys Targaryen took it upon himself to come, bringing along his family.

It hasn't been too long since Jacaerys and his family have seen Viserys since they moved to Dragonstone. But among all the familiar faces, one seemed to be a stranger to the child. A girl, wide-eyed and wary, stayed by Helaena's side in silence. He wondered why she was here, or who this girl even is. But it wasn't till after they laid Laena to rest that Jacaerys would talk to her.

He dared not to approach her either, it was she who came to him. Jacaerys stood quietly by his cousins who mourned the death of their mother, he didn't know how else to comfort them- but the mutual understanding of losing someone close to them was there. There, as he stared at the ground beneath him, came the girl. "Rhaena, Baela," she said, causing Jacaerys to look up. Under the cloak she wore a dress, he noticed it was tainted with the lightest blue. She gave a quick curtsy. "Eudora, of the House Stark. My family wanted to wish you their condolences. It truly is hard to lose a loved one."

For a child, she spoke in such a mature manner. "I don't believe we've met before," began Jacaerys, turning to face the girl. He gave a nod toward her. "Jacaerys Velaryon."

"Eudora Stark," she introduced herself once more with a simple smile. "I'm here to accompany Helaena for the time being, before I go back to Winterfell."

"That's interesting- where is Helaena anyways?" The two took a quick look around, noticing Helaena wasn't anywhere near them both. Eudora's eyes widened as she realized she wasn't with her companion.

"... I'll have to go find her- I'm so sorry about that," Eudora gave a small curtsy. "I'll talk to you once more when I have the chance."

"Until next time-" before Jacaerys could finish his sentence, Eudora was off running away. His eyebrow raised in her peculiar running but gave it nothing but a mere shrug. Jacaerys had some business to attend to- which was to comfort his cousins, not to worry about some random Stark running astray.

-

THE next time he saw her was just an hour or two later when Helaena entered the castle with Eudora by her side. His mother told him and his brother to go off to bed, even if it was still late afternoon. But not wanting to cause any disruption outside, he and Lucerys reluctantly obliged. Eudora and Helaena, on the other hand, were nowhere to be found. Most people just let the two off the hook, they seemed as if they had no thought to cause anyone any harm.

The Stark and the Targaryen walked as they chatted gleefully about something, and Jacaerys was supposed to be asleep. He was wandering down the hallway, and rather faintly he heard the pair laughing. On a day that was supposed to be filled with grief, Jacaerys found it odd to hear them laugh. He took a small look at them from the corner of the corridor, watching as Helaena held out a worm with such fascination. "No arms, legs, or even eyes," said his silver-haired relative. Of course, they were inspecting the insects and creatures around Driftmark.

"Then how is it supposed to see?" questioned the Stark, her hands hovering in front of her eyes- yet peeking through her fingers.

"I'm not sure, but I'm taking this back with me to King's Landing-"

"Jacaerys- aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Eudora finally spotted the boy, Helaena noticed him as well and immediately hid the creature behind her back. He only blinked, like some prey caught in a trap.

Jacaerys only cleared his throat. "I was... I should- I couldn't sleep," he finally answered, causing the pair of girls behind him to exchange a look. "I'll be heading back to my room- goodnight."

"Won't you like to join us?" Helaena asked quickly whilst Jacaerys was about to turn away. He saw how hopeful the two girls looked, especially the Stark. But with every passing minute, the boy started to grow wary of the fact that his mother might find him out of his chambers, disobeying her words.

"Well-"

It was Eudora's turn to speak. "Please?"

"I can't- well I could- but-"

"But what?"

"I just don't... want to?" His reply caused the two girls to frown, Eudora's deeper than Helaena's. "Besides- we all should be heading to bed," he fakes a yawn before continuing. "It's getting awfully late. I'll see you both in the morning."

Just like that, Jacaerys spun around and started to take quick steps away, from afar he could hear them speak to one another. "Does he think we're mad for looking at a worm?"

"Not sure, maybe he's grown restless of me and my beetles." There it was again, the laugh on a grieving day.

❨♡❩