succession | d. targaryen

ii.

299 A.C.
HIGHTOWER
•••

RHONDA HIGHTOWER WAS A WOMAN OF FEW WORDS. ELAENA TOOK AFTER HER MOTHER IN THAT REGARD. Together they could sit in silence for hours and simply enjoy the quiet that filled the air. Rhonda would work, she often made blankets or fixed her children's clothing while Elaena would read. They'd exchange a few words before plunging themselves back into the silence.

"Your father says that you're joining him in King's Landing," Rhonda begins.

"Yes," Elaena states, "He hopes to revive my interest in politics."

"And you think his efforts are for naught?" Rhonda asks.

"I think I'd much rather freeze in the North than return to King's Landing," Elaena tells her mother, "I am not suited for what Father expects of me."

"And what are you suited for?" Rhonda asks it's not meant to be a rude question, but she simply wishes to understand her daughter. Jocelyn's desires were clear. She wanted status and power. She wanted to climb as high as she could. Elaena's desires were unknown.

"I probably should have been a septa," Elaena says with a smile.

Rhonda snorts at her daughter's words, "You and I know you would have been a terrible Septa."

"I was pious as a child," Elaena says, with a shrug, "Perhaps I would have been a good one."

"You were pious as a child because you worshipped Jocelyn. You wanted to be exactly like her. Even though you were two years apart the two of you'd try to trick people into thinking you were twins," Rhonda says with a smile.

Elaena smiles as she recalls the memory and her smile slips as she recalls the reason they couldn't play their game anymore, "It's easier to tell us apart now."

"It's healed quite nicely over the years," Rhonda says softly as she looks at her daughter. Elaena knows her mother is trying to make her feel better, but it doesn't. It simply makes Elaena's stomach twist in a way that is uncomfortable.

"Thank you," Elaena says softly. She wants the conversation to be over and she knows how to end it, "I will do what is expected of me in King's Landing. I will attend balls and feasts and tourneys. I will smile when Father says smile and I will speak to whoever Jocelyn orders me to. I will do my duty."

Rhonda looks at her daughter. She knows that Elaena is shutting down00 and that they would soon lapse into silence as they had previously. Rhonda doesn't argue or fight. She simply accepts it.

Elaena took after her in that manner as well.

•••

"Baleor Hightower will be my new Hand."

They were the words that Daenerys had been hoping to avoid and yet they had been spoken. The announcement had been made and now Daenerys had to brace herself to once again occupy the same space as the Hightower sisters. Truthfully, she cared little for Jocelyn. She was a know-it-all and expected everyone to follow her lead, but Daenerys could deal with that. She had endured that behavior from Rhaegar for years.

It was Elaena's nature that had driven her mad. The soft-spoken one of the two, Elaena was perfect. She was beautiful and smart, she knew how to get anyone's attention, and that had been when they were young maidens before they were forced to grow up. Daenerys had desired Elaena's approval and hated herself for that desire all the same.

"When will they be arriving?" Shaena asks, less affected by their father's decision than her younger sister.

"Within a fortnight," King Aerys responds, "Baelor will be accompanied by his daughters and niece in his retinue. I expect the two of you to be kind and welcoming."