the blind knight - rhaenyra targaryen

xii

115 AC

PRINCE AEGON'S THIRD NAME DAY

Rhaenyra sat in the Godswood as Samwell sang the song she liked for the umpteenth time.

"Princess."

A voice calls out, making Rhaenyra sigh as she turns a page in her book. "Hello, Jessica." She mumbles, not looking up.

"The king sent me to find you." The clank of her armor is heard as she walks over and stands in front of the princess. "You should be thankful it was not someone else who found you first." Rhaenyra scoffs and spares the older girl a glance.

"Samwell." She calls out, causing the man to pause. "Leave us," Jessica smirks as the man leaves quickly, and she holds out her hand to the princess.

Rhaenyra smiles and pulls off Jessica's glove before kissing her palm. "Lavender?" She asks, making Jessica nod. "I don't want to go, Jessica. Why can't we just-"

"Stay here and hide away? Is that what the heir of the crown does?"

"Haven't you heard? Aegon's infancy is behind him. Soon, they'll do everything they can to remove me from my rightful place. Maybe Alicent's next is another boy, and I'll have more of a headache." Jessica removes her hand from Rhaenyra's and caresses her face.

"My Love-"

"Jessica. You cannot call me that."

"Why?"

"Because you won't even let me kiss you. It hurts when you refuse to break your vow." The redhead sighs, watching Rhaenyra's eyes close as she runs her fingers through the girl's hair.

She wished she could break the vow and bed the princess as she wanted, but the men on the Kingsguard hated her because she was a woman. Imagine if they knew she broke her vows as they did.

The hypocrites.

"If I could for anyone, it would be you. That is why I want you to accompany me to the hunt. The party is leaving, and I can't be alone."

"No one is here for me."

"It's not your name day, is it?" The blonde hums and stands as she looks at Jessica. "You could stay with me so we won't have to leave. I don't think Ser Harrold would need you."

"Rhaenyra-" She groans and throws her head back like a child before conceding and allowing Jessica to take her inside.

Soon enough, the party departs to the Kingswood, the Kingsguard follows behind the King's carriage, and Jessica wonders how miserable Rhaenyra must be. Beside her rides Ser Criston, who she highly recommended to the King when a guard has come down with a sickness. He'd only been working for the crown for a year, but at least Jessica now had someone to talk to.

"So, how are you enjoying being a King's guard?" She asks as her horse trots forward. She, Criston, and three others were manning behind the carriage while Ser Harrold and the others were in the front. "It's great. Much better than fighting in the Marches." The woman chuckles with a nod.

"That's fair. I don't miss it much, either." There's a pause before Criston speaks up. "You know, I saw your siblings. Mikaela and Dorian." Jessica looks over at him with a curious gaze. She wondered how her siblings were doing since they barely wrote. "How are they?"