𝑨 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 // 𝑨𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝑰 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒏

86. News Of Petitions

Rhaenyra held one hand on her swollrn belly as she walked down the stairs to the hall, Jace was leaning againgst the table with the maester, listening intently as the man spoke in High Valyrian. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember the words and pronunciations.

He had been studying High Valyrian all morning, not giving it a single break. She found herself thinking of Alyssa when she was a child in the keep, how she used to speak it, imoressing the maesters with her quick way of learning.

"The conqueror and his sisters sailed with a great army" He repeated after the maester. Translating everything he said in High Valyrian to their common tounge. Rhaenyra watched his consentrated look when the older man began speaking again.

"And landed, at the blackwater rush"

"Draniot" she corrected.

"Draniot, draniot, draniot." He repeated the same word a few times, his tongue tripping over the unfamiliar syllables. "Draniot... draniot... draniot," he said, his brows furrowing in concentration.

The maester nodded in approval. "Yes, that's it," he said encouragingly. "Keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it in no time."

He turned to his mother again "At the end?"

"The mouth"

"Mouth! Ah come on Jace, you knew that one" he exclaimed and gestured with his hands hopelessly. Rhaenyra could do no more then smile at him and his willingness to get it perfect.

"Perhaps that's enough for this morning" The maester nodded in agreement. "Yes, that should be enough for today," he said, his voice gruff but not unkind. "You've made good progress, Young Prince. Keep practicing and you'll be speaking Valyrian like a native in no time."

"No, no, I want to keep going, maester"

The maester raised an eyebrow, surprised at Jace's insistence. "You want to continue?" he asked, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

Jace nodded, his expression firm. "Yes, I want to keep practicing," he said, rather determined. "I won't get any better if I don't practice as much as I can."

The older man launched into a rapid-fire sentence in High Valyrian, the words tumbling out of his mouth in quick succession. Jace furrowed his brow in concentration, trying to pick out the individual words and pieces together their meanings.

"A-Aegon ordered that the trees should be..." His eyes lit up and he looked back at her with a smile "Killed"

The princess shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips "Felled, It is a related word. I don't expect you to learn High Valyrian in a day, Jace"

The Prince sighed, clearly annoyed that he couldn't get it right and ever so eager to prove himself "A Prince should honor the traditions of his forbears."

"Well, you will be a prince på quite some time, my son. You have pleanty enough tone to study." She assured, closing her hands around her belly.

She turned at the sound of the large door opening, her eyes widening in surprise at the sight of her husband, Daemon, descending the stairs. He walked with a scroll in hand, a serious expression on his face as he approached the pair.

"Leave us"

As Jace and the others left, closing the door behind them, Rhaenyra turned her attention back to Daemon. Her eyes flicked over him, taking in his expression and the way he sauntered over to her.

"What has happened?" she asked. Daemons demeanor remained the same as he handed her a scroll. "From kings landing" he said, his voice gruff. "Take a look."