Castles Crumbling / Helaena Targaryen/ Taelon Targaryen

17. Hilt

Favorite Ex / Ted Lasso out now!

Helaenas fingers reached for the hilt. Her hand hesitated as fingers wrapped around it. She looked to taelon for encouragement he nodded.

"Now what?"

"Hold it. Squeeze it. Grab it like you mean it." Taelon answered. Helaena gripped the hilt tight.

"Okay..." she breathed back.

"Thrust." Taelon whispered seductively in her ear. She rammed the blade forward hitting the dummy. "You are strong". Helaena smiled letting her hand fall from the hilt of the blade it remained lodged in the dummy. "Im impressed flower".

Helaena blushed at the nickname. She knew taelon called his wife my flower before and she liked that she was given the nickname as well. Made her feel special. He made her feel special.

What was this? It felt like a punishment. Few people had ever encouraged Helaena to talk and talk and talk, never interrupting all she had to say about her bugs, never dismissing her riddles.  But smiled asking her more. His boys too. They were so sweet. It felt like punishment knowing that taelon would marry someone else one day and leave her lonely. But she hadnt been married off to aegon yet. Maybe that was a good sign.

"You alright flower?" Taelon questioned and helaena blinked back to this beautiful moment with little corey in her lap and taelon and elio smiling beside her.

"Perfect."

"Keep that elbow up." Barton instructed. "You let it drop and it will go all over the place keep it up."

"Where is helaena?" Aemond countered.

"Dont know. Dont care." Aegon corrected. "Listen to barton."

"Shes always at lessons."

"No." Aegon drawled whacking aemond. "Shes only here when uncle taelon is training doofus."

"Dont call me doofus, doofus!"

Helaena had wanted to be the one in his arms. Helaena wanted it to be her ears he whispered into as he held her close during the slow dance and a shiver ran up her spine.

Taelon was so perfect in every way.

"Can helaena read me a story?" Elio questioned as clouds began to cover the sky. The men in the courtyard headed in the riders came back from their Hunt as raindrop started to speckled around them. And the twins knew on rainy days. They snuggled up with a good book or their toys and played with daddy all day.

" it would be my absolute honor little Elio." Helaena agreed.

Be careful who you associate with. A girl's reputation is all that she has. Helaena spending so much time with her uncle her older much older uncle some might think if taelon was anything like his brother daemon who prefered younger women that taelon was taking advantage of helaena. But in all honesty helaena felt as though she was taking advantage of him and his kindness taking advantage of the love he had so much to give. Taking advantage of the kids for a mother.

But she wasn't taking advantage of him. She couldn't be because he enjoyed her company just as much as she did surely. Or else he wouldn't spend so much time with her.

Taelon found alicent on the brink of tears.

"Alicent?"

"Im sorry." She whispered wiping at her eyes.

"Whats wrong?" Taelon questioned getting closer.

"Nothing."

"Convincing." Taelon countered moving to sit beside her in the gardens.

"Im worthless and useless."

"Says who?" Taelon demanded. She shook her head unable to answer. "You can't put your worth in someone else's hands like that. Whether those hands are stroking you or hurting you. It doesn't matter. Your value comes from inside. Whether you mean something to however it is that wronged you or not has nothing to do with how inherently valuable you are."

"Taelon would you marry helaena?"