twin flames | daemon targaryen

twelve

Several months had passed since Rhaella prophesied the death of dragons and returned to the Red Keep. By that time, Alicent's babe had been born, a little girl named Helaena. Rhaella had assisted in the birth as she had with Aegon, and when her amethyst eyes landed on the newest Targaryen, Rhaella swore that she fell in love.

It was a bond unlike anything she had felt before, even with her own sister and mother. It was as though both their souls sang for each other, each recognizing the touch of the gods in the other. Rhaella vowed right then and there as she held Helaena, the babe screaming and still covered in blood, that she would do anything for her. 

Rhaella spent many of her days in the nursery with the children. Sometimes she accompanied Alicent to the nursery, other times Rhaella went on her own. Aegon loved Rhaella, even more than his own mother in some ways. He would have her play with him, the two holding up little dragon figurines as they played part in an imaginary world of the prince's own making. Aegon often including Helaena in their little games for he adored his baby sister. 

The wet nurses and other staff who helped with the young Targaryen children always smiled fondly when they heard Aegon's happy shouts and Rhaella's beautiful giggles. They were relieved to see the strong bonds between the half-siblings since Rhaenyra could not be bothered to spend any time with their father's new family. 

Rhaella had not told anyone in the Red Keep the specifics of her illness during her time in High Tide, always brushing it off as a cold she had received from one of the traveling lords or ladies. She did not even tell Daemon in her letters, which made her stress more than she had thought. She could not risk her letter getting intercepted, especially when the raven would have to travel through a warzone. She did not want to worry him either, and never spoke in her letters of her week-long illness. It hurt her, strangely, to not tell the confidant she had found in Daemon of what had been troubling her.

Rhaella often found herself flying through the skies on Gaelith after her return to the Red Keep when she could not handle the pressures of the Red Keep.

Sometimes Rhaenyra joined her on Syrax, the two sisters flying through the skies together as they had in their youth. However, Rhaenyra was currently off on her tour, looking for a betrothed in all the houses of the Seven Kingdoms, leaving Rhaella to fly alone.

Rhaella and Gaelith flew above the waters of Blackwater Bay, nearing the borders of the Narrow Sea. They had been flying for a few hours already, the sun reaching high in the sky.

She had not felt so free in many weeks. Rhaella could feel the sun beat into her skin as they flew under a clear sky, but she could not bring herself to care. The wind ruffled her hair, loosening her white-golden curls from the intricate braids Madelyn Tully, her newest lady-in-waiting, had tied that morning.

Gaelith grumbled appreciatively beneath her, feeling the same contentment as her rider at the beautiful weather and the chance to fly the long distance that day.

There was a shriek in the distance, causing both Rhaella and Gaelith to stiffen. The Targaryen princess turned to her right to see a red dragon flying towards her, its body growing bigger the nearer it came. The color of the scales, the elongated neck, and the additional wings along its back legs all pointed it to being one dragon: Caraxes.

Rhaella could not help the shout of joy that escaped her as Caraxes drew nearer, so close that she could see Daemon riding on top of him. Gaelith let out a roar, also recognizing the dragon she had begrudgingly grown fond of in the dragon pits of the Red Keep since Rhaella and the she-dragon had bonded.

The dragons circled each other in the sky, their scales glinting under the bright sun. Caraxes shrieked again, clicking noises escaping him in his excitement to see Gaelith and Rhaella, his red scales glowing like fire from the sun's rays.