Raging Flames || Gwayne Hightower

Chapter 1

"Visenya!"

What was currently happening was certainly a sight to behold. A platinum-haired girl, surely not above the age of ten-and-four, sprinting through the halls of the Red Keep, a young man clad in half-undone armour hot on her tail, him being the one that shouted her name mere seconds ago. As she sharply turned another corner and almost knocked over one of the king's guards, she halted in her tracks, panting. Said guard was baffled, to say the least. It was not a daily occurrence that a princess of the realm frantically ran around the Keep.

She barely gifted him with a small glance of her lilac pupils before she took off again as she heard fast footsteps getting closer. The guard glanced around the corner she had come from, curious as to what she was running from. As soon as his head peaked around the wall another figure nearly barrelled into him. The guard managed to step back just in time for the other person to run straight past him, right after the princess Visenya.

The guard blinked, blankly staring after the two retreating figures. Ser Gwayne Hightower, the Queen's brother, chasing after Princess Visenya Targaryen, his niece. Truly a sight to behold.

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After her uncle had been chasing her for the better part of an hour, he began to give up. The reason for the little game of cat and mouse had been Visenya. The young girl had decided that snatching her uncles helmet off the table next to him and immediately running off with it was a brilliant idea. well, for her it was.

Of course, he could've first put on the rest of his armour before beginning to search for the little culprit. yet he knew that if he didn't immediately follow her, it would be highly unlikely for him to see his helmet again in the forseeable future.

By now he had resided to walking instead of running through the castle, the princess having left him long in the dust. He mentally cursed himself in that moment for not only training her in sword-fighting, but also her stamina and speed in running.

Just as he was about to return to his chambers, a small noise right down the hallway caught his attention. the clink of metal. he turned around to see where the noise came from and what he saw made him sigh with relief.

Visenya was standing in the middle of the hallway, holding up his helmet with one hand, a teasing look in her eyes.

As Gwayne made a step towards her, adamant on getting his helmet back, she made a step in the same direction, away from him. He slightly squinted his eyes, carefully taking another step to test his theory. And, as he expected, she too took a step backwards.

He sighed, staring at her, seeing if maybe, just maybe, she would cave. The girl didn't move. Of course, he thought.

So he simply did the one thing he knew would make her give him back the helmet. He slightly tilted his head and expectantly raised his eyebrows, holding out his hand.

To his amusement, he could immediately see the discomfort in Visenya's face as he did this. That expectant and judging look always reminded her of Alicent. And Gwayne was the last person by whom she wanted to be reminded of her mother.

She groaned. "Okay, okay. You win, just stop giving me that look." Visenya then reluctantly walked up to Gwayne and placed the helmet in his outstretched hand, before taking a step back, looking up at him.

Gwayne simply nodded as thanks. "Now, niece, may I ask what train of thought brought you to the conclusion that stealing my helmet was a good idea?"

The girl sighed. She pondered for a second, not sure if she should tell him her troubles or make him suffer a bit more.

She was annoyed, to say the least. Gwayne had been practically ignoring her lately. Normally, the two would train daily. She would meet him by the training field in the early mornings and the would warm up before breakfast.

After breakfast, Visenya normally had her lessons with the Septa and Helaena, she never attended them though. She alway sneaked off to practise with Gwayne before actually following her duties as a princess.

Those training sessions were the only thing that made her day even slightly bearable. She would have surely combusted already if she had to be around those pompous lords all day, just to sit still and look pretty. She was a dragon, for the gods' sake! Even if she herself did not have a dragon, she had the blood of one coursing through her veins.

That actually was another reason why she was so insistent on training her combat skills daily. Like her brother Aemond, she made up for her lack of dragon with her skills with a sword or a bow and arrows. Even hand-to-hand combat.

In the last years, it was only her that had to prove herself though, since Aemond had managed to claim Vhagar, that absolute beast of a dragon. She would never forget how impressed she was when she first saw her.

But back to what Visenya was actually angry about. Gwayne had been ignoring her for the last few weeks, not training with her, barely even talking to her anymore. This behaviour made her angry and also sad. Her uncle was one of the only people she could stand in this god-forsaken castle. He was the only person that had at least a hint of humour. And most importantly, he understood her, supported her.

He supported her in her choice of not being the typical princess, but more a fighter, a warrior. She looked up to him. So having him not interact with her was scary. She was terrified of losing the only person that took her how she was, since her whole family looked down upon her.

And that was the reason why she stole his helmet. She had snuck into his chambers to do so. She knew it was childish and petty, but she did it anyway.

"You've been ignoring me. We haven't trained in weeks, Gwayne! Worse than that, you haven't even talked to me! Have I done something? If so, what?Because I can't come up with a simple logical reason for the way you have been acting the last weeks."

Gwayne sighed in response. He should've known what this was about. He was well aware of the lack of attention he had been giving her. He wasn't pleased by it either, but his sister and father had been adamant on him no longer training the young princess.

What you're doing with her is not fit for a princess. She does not need to learn how to fight. She needs to know how to be an acceptable lady. You will stop training her from this moment on, do you understand?

That was what Otto had said to him. He wanted to argue with him at first. He knew how important those training lessons with him were to Visenya. She had once told him, in a particularly vulnerable moment, that those sessions were the only thing she looked forward to during the day, that she enjoyed spending time with him.

He knew better than to speak up against his father, however. He knew Otto would have only threatened to send him off to Old Town if he refused him. Whereas Gwayne knew it was probably only an empty threat he did not want to risk it.

So he decided to ignore his niece, not wanting to face her tears and fury if he had outright told her that would no longer train her.

He opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by a female voice.

"Visenya! Gwayne!" Alicent.

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So that's the first chapter! I hope you like it and let me know what you think!

I will try to publish the next chapter within the next few days :)

Oh and just so you know, some of the things will not be completely like in the book and show. and the timeline will probably be a bit off too, but i hope it's not too bad :)

- S