The Rogue Daughter (House of the Dragon - Aemond Targaryen Story)

Shock

RHAELLA

The feel of warm, worn leather rubbed against Rhae's cheek as her head lolled to the side. Pricks of pain synced with the soft jolting of hurried steps quickly turned to piercing stabs. A dry, throaty gasp slipped past her cracked lips.

Fire breather
Winged leader
But two heads
To a third sing

Her lids stuck together, making it difficult to open her eyes and once she did, she was met with the blurry sight of her father's neck and chin. There was hardly any light to see by, just a distant glow from a faraway wall scone. Violet eyes so dark they appeared almost indigo slid down to meet her gaze.

From my voice:
The fires have spoken
And the price has been paid
With blood magic

His mouth was moving, but it didn't quite match the muffled melody swirling all around. She couldn't tell if he was still singing or if her ears were just now catching up with the translation from his earlier song.

With words of flame
With clear eyes
To bind the three
To you I sing

The jolting steps sped up and increased her pain tenfold, but her plea to make it stop came out garbled. She felt a squeeze on her forearm in response, though he didn't slow his pace, and it finally occurred to her that she was being held close to his chest as he ran.

As one we gather
And with three heads
We shall fly as we were destined
Beautifully, freely

Dread filled her when she realized they hadn't yet made it out of the caverns and she wondered if they ever would as a particularly harsh jolt from the uneven ground sent her spiraling into the dark recess of oblivion once more.

---

The distant sound of a dragon's screech ripped Rhae from a dream.

Eyes wide and suddenly alert, she craned her neck toward the open window. Stiff and stuck on her stomach with her head twisted to the side on a thin pillow, the small movement was difficult and she failed to determine which dragon had flown by. She feared spotting the gleam of bronze.

"Caraxes wails like a child if I go too long without riding him."

Shifting her neck further until she felt a twinge of pain, she warily eyed her father, who sat in a nearby chair with a foot crossed over his knee and a book in his hand. She had no sense of how long had passed since her hazy memories in the caverns, but based on his comment, she suspected it had been quite some time.

Rhae tried to ask but her throat was so dry that she choked on her words.

Her father let out a long sigh and set his book on the windowsill before making his way to her bedside. She thought he was aiming for the glass of water on a small side table, but he lowered himself to his knees and leaned over the sheets until they were at eye level. "You've been out for nearly two weeks, kept unconscious by one of Maester Gerardys's concoctions. Since you are parched and unable to speak, you can take this opportunity to listen." His tone turned sharp and severe, even as he gently brushed a curl back behind her ear. "Venturing into the caverns alone was foolish and very nearly got you killed. Vermithor was the mount of King Jaehaerys and he's moped in that cave since the old king's passing. Had you bothered to ask, either I or the Dragonkeepers would have warned you that he's an old cranky brute on the best of days and a battle-hardened beast on the worst. You presented yourself like a gods-forsaken meal and he treated you as such. Had I not intervened when I did and remembered the words to the song my grandsire used to sing to his temperamental dragon, there would have been nothing left of you for me to find."

Despite the harsh delivery, Rhae knew her father spoke the truth. She should have thought things through better. Lured by the possibility of a bronze-scaled mount that would ensure she was forever free and worth the respect of the family she'd unwillingly be thrust into.