from the ashes - hotd

izula

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Carrden believed he had to be cursed by the gods to spend one more day in the carriage. His legs ached, he might have not had a large build, but he was tall, and the carriage only offered a certain amount of wiggle room. Even when the horses stopped to rest their hooves and quench their thirst, and he was able to stretch his legs for a short period of time, his extreme dislike of Otto Hightower made being in the older man's carriage almost unbearable. Though the Lord Hand spent much time asleep, just his face made Carrden's skin crawl.

The male Aelius spent much of his time trying to entertain his rather quiet little sister. It was not completely uncommon for Raina to be quiet, however in the presence of someone she was very comfortable with, like Carrden, she would not stop talking. She would tell Carrden of the stories she was reading or ask questions about his time in Braavos. However, for much of the trip her emerald eyes looked out the carriage window, her mind elsewhere.

However, after five days of travel, Carrden watched his sister's eyes lit up at the sight of King's Landing. In a way, Sunset Harbor and the capitol were slightly similar. Both large cities with large populations, however, it was clear one city managed themselves a little better than the other. Even from the carriage, Carrden's nose was engulfed by a smell he could not place. He caught a slight glimpse of a naked blonde boy running beside the carriage, the child's face dirty and bruised. Carrden furrowed his eyebrows, and almost wanted to say something, but as quick as he saw the boy, he was gone, lost in the crowd of people.

In a way, Raina found King's Landing to be beautiful. However, there was a very stark contrast between the two places. Sunset Harbor's streets were lined with white homes and blue roofs; the capitol had orange roofs that could be seen for miles. Climate wise, it was much the same. In the distance she could see the Narrow Sea, the dazzling blue waves as they crashed against the beach. A gasp left her mouth as she caught sight of the Dragon Pit.

While she had never seen a dragon, they fascinated her to no end. Their bond with the Targaryen family was very interesting and she hoped that her future husband could share some knowledge about it. Raina had read her fair share of books regarding the royal family and their ancestors, and how they came to power in Westeros. However, the libraries in Sunset Harbor did not have a lot of information about Valyrian magic and how it was used to bond man and dragon or how this bond contributed to the Doom of Valyria. She was at least excited to see the library in hopes that her everbearing curiosity could be tamed about the topic.

"Carrden look!" Raina had grabbed his hand, attracting not only his attention but also Otto's, "The Dragon Pit."

The teen boy rolled his eyes, "Of course you would point that out."

Raina grinned, not caring about her brother's indifference towards the building or the beautiful creatures it housed.

Otto gazed at the girl for only a second, not expecting her to be excited about dragons, of all things. Perhaps there was hope for her and Aemond. While Otto did not care for the creatures, his grandson's bond with his dragon was something that the prince, himself held in high regard.

Weaving through a couple more cobblestone streets, the carriage finally passed through a gate and entered the Red Keep. Raina felt nerves bundle in her stomach as she finally realized she was about to meet the royal family and her betrothed. She tried not to think of her impending marriage to Prince Aemond, over the course of her journey. However, her mind kept going to it. She had a million thoughts about him. Would he like her? Could they get along? Would he have similar interests as her? Could he love her? In her heart, she was troubled with the thought of her marriage ending up like Meya's. Her dear sister, a heart as kind as her's, did not deserve a marriage like that. Meya deserved to be loved by a man who truly wanted her. When Raina was younger and had no concept of marriage and love, she did not see the problem with Jarok Lannister, but now years later, perhaps she would understand better than she could have imagined.