𝐕𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞

𝐒ō𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐫ū𝐤𝐥𝐨𝐧

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P A R T  F O U R

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RHAVENA WAS CONVINCED she was wasting her time in King's Landing as she dressed for dinner with her sister and father.
No one there gave her much attention, having taken a back seat to her sister Rhaenyra when she was pronounced as heir to the throne.
Long ago, she would have preferred to return to Winterfell, but she had promised Rhaenyra to stay with her while things settled down a little.

But as it turned out, that time had stretched longer than Rhavena had thought.

So she devoted her days to reading and potions, as well as tending her vast garden, writing and answering the letters that came from Draven, and listening to her older sister's great frustrations. Occasionally, when Kalyax felt like it and returned to King's Landing, she would fly aimlessly for hours, until night fell and it was clear that she had to return. Like that day, for instance, and that was why she was now hurrying through the corridors, late for dinner.

Outside the door stood a man Rhavena didn't recognise at all, dressed as a guard, an attractive-looking man, she had to admit, he bowed in her direction and then opened the doors to let her in.

"You're late," was the first thing her father said, looking at her sideways and certainly displeased.
"Yes, I'm sorry, I lost track of time, did you start without me?" Sighing, and keeping her composure and the urge to roll her eyes, she smiled at the King.

Rhavena didn't even want to be there in the first place, her father should be grateful that she'd deigned to come at all.

"How could we not? After the first twenty minutes of waiting for you we were starving."

The youngest princess took a seat next to her sister, the servants immediately came over to serve her food and drink, and, although family dinners —especially since her mother died— were not her favourite thing, she too was starving.

Dinner continued in awkward silence, Rhavena was not the only one who found herself having trouble with her father; Rhaenyra and Viserys had also stopped talking as they had since Aemma's death.

"We haven't spoken much," her elder sister said, causing Rhavena to lift her head from her food and look at both Targaryens sideways. "Since..."

Since this family broke apart. Rhavena wanted to say, but chose to remain silent.

"And it is something I regret. We must be free to speak to each other."
"Well, father, you can say whatever you want, you're the king," Rhavena made her first contribution to the conversation, reminding them both that she was also at the table.
"I loved your mother very much," was Viserys' choice of words.

At the mention of Aemma, Rhavena set the cutlery down on the table and had to take a deep breath, her stomach churning with the emptiness the death of her mother had left inside her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had the courage to speak about Aemma out loud.