𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧 ➵ jacaerys velaryon

Prologue

☁️ ·̩͙✧

MEVANYA STOPPED breathing as the footsteps of her septa and a few guards echoed down the corridor, the girl held her breath so they couldn't hear her. She was close.

When there was finally no sound of them, she slowly emerged from the dark corner she had been hiding in and celebrated victoriously in silence. With a big smile, she ran towards the training field.
There, amidst the shouts and clashes of wood, her brothers and nephews were training along with Ser Criston Cole. Or actually, Aegon and Aemond did most of the training, while Jace and Luke stood off to the side simply watching. Mevanya had always found the resentment with which her mother's guard treated her nephews absurd and unfair.

A huge, excited smile spread across her face as the oldest Velaryon's gaze fell upon her, and she began to jump up and down excitedly as she waved her hand. The boy grimaced and tried to act as if he hadn't seen her, but with her little excited fuss, she had already attracted the attention of the others.

"Oh well, look who's here, the silly little baby," Aegon laughed, as if his joke had been the best.

But his sister simply stuck her tongue out at him and looked away. Her stupid, self-centered brother was not the one she was interested in at the moment.

"Mevanya," Ser Criston Cole called to her.
"Ser Criston, please, please, please, please, can I train with you?" Lifting her dress and running to the man, she begged him with clasped hands.
"Princess, I don't know how many times we have to repeat the same thing. But the answer will always be no. You'd better go, your mother must be looking for you," the man played it down so much that if it weren't for the faked respect with which he spoke to her, he might as well have been talking to a fly.
"But why not!" insisted the girl, tired of never being received for training.
"Because princesses don't fight, now please leave, princess."
"But... Jace! Please, let me train with you." Pouting, she approached the boy, but he went back to acting as if he hadn't even seen her.
"It's not the time, Mevanya," he said without even looking her in the eyes.
"Do they have to tell you again, or are you even dumber than I thought? Go away, Mevanya!" Aegon shouted, shoving her lightly.

Jacaerys looked up when the girl was pushed, but when he saw that she was fine, that she was only looking at him in pain, he lowered his gaze again.

Mevanya glared at her brother with hatred and before turning away stepped on him so hard that the boy cried out in pain, then ran away, letting the tears fall when none of the men could see her.

She ran across the training yard until she reached a weapons locker and hid there to cry. She didn't understand why no one wanted her, why no one accepted her, she just wanted to train, she just wanted him to stop acting like she didn't exist, she just wanted someone to believe in her, that she could fight and train like a boy too.
What Mevanya didn't knew, was that someone had been watching her during their discussion outside, and that man was opening the warehouse door looking for her.

"Princess?"

When Mevanya heard the man's voice she let out another involuntary sob, and without wanting to look up, she replied as rudely as she could through her tears.

"Go away! It's clear to me now, I'm just a stupid princess!"

The man's voice was not heard again, only his footsteps coming closer and closer. When he was in front of her, he bent down to the ground so he could reach her, and it was there that Mevanya looked up, seeing the Commander of the City Watch between tear-fogged eyes. Ser Harwin Strong had a gentle little smile on that hard face, one that managed to stop Mevanya's sobs.

"You are no foolish princess, My Lady. You have courage, and are quite persistent, that is something to be admired.

The girl wiped her nose with the sleeve of her dress and looked down at her hands, playing with her nails.

"My brothers don't think so. Neither does Ser Criston. No one, really."
"That's not true. I believe it."

Mevanya lifted her gaze to the man again, her eyes beginning to sparkle more with hope than tears at that moment, and Ser Harwin's carrying gaze was managing to carry away the bad feelings inside her.

"Really?"
"Mhh, really. But more importantly, you must be the one to believe it."

Mevanya smiled slightly. No one had ever said those words to her before, words that made her feel better. Her sister Rhaenyra was the only one who cared to see her sad, and her mother rarely allowed her to spend time with her.
When the intrusive thoughts returned, and Ser Harwin noticed, the man rose from the floor and walked over to the wooden swords to grab two and toss one in her direction.

"This for what?"
"What do you mean, what for? Wasn't it your wish to be able to train?"

The girl's sombre and sad face immediately lit up at those words. The sadness vanished as quickly as ashes and she leapt up from the floor as she listened with her heart leaping with emotion to Ser Harwin Strong's directions.