𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐃 + 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭

Daella Targaryen sat in her daughter's chambers, braiding her silver and crimson hair, telling her the tale of the Red Comet and their house's ancestry. Maella's dress pooled around her knees as she knelt with her back to her mother. Her heart was always filled with warmth as she listened to her mother's soft voice and felt her fingers turn her hair into the very image of beauty and decadence. With her hair as her mother had done it, she always felt regal. "Our house was once the pinnacle of old Valyria, with flaming wings blessed to their bloodline from a powerful phoenix god, long forgotten to the realm. But remember my love, when is a gift not a gift?"

Maella loved to listen to her mother's stories, how she would weave tales of their gods or ancestors filled her early mornings and nights, when her mother braided her hair and undid it as the moon greeted its long time lover and the sun waved back, sending the gift of glorious colors. Her mother often said that the sun was a romantic. "The Old Gods grew jealous of their power, but they knew of their pride. So a comet was placed in the sky. Nothing such as that had been sighted before. Many people say that a comet means the birth of dragons, or perhaps a powerful omen."

The sun set their room alight, gilded patterns woven into the heavy curtains, rugs and tapestries winking at the mother and her child. "But our ancestors struggled to contain their curiosity, as they had the means to reach the great flaming rock in the sky . So, they made a day out of it. Devoted to themselves, their families and children flew into the sky. It was a beautiful event. Until the first of them touched the blazing red. It seemed to engulf them, hungry for their beating hearts. Many perished that day, loosing their wings.

"As they fell back from the sky, their hair seemed to be soaked in something . In terror, their hands flew to their hair, pulling the strands back but saw nothing. When the last of us had crashed into their high castles, and sought out the warped reflection of water, they were stunned to find one last gift from the phoenix. A kiss of fire, turning a portion of their roots red." With a gentle touch, she signaled that her braids were done.

"Mother?" She asked as Daella stroked her lose strands behind her ears, slightly tickling her neck. "Yes, my sweet?" Her mother stroked her cheek. Maella smiled shyly at her mother, searching her lighter violet eyes. "What do you think the Red Comet meant?"

Daella paused for a moment, pondering the question herself. "A warning, I think." She watched her mother, hanging off her every word. "For greed and vanity and their hubris." They had thought themselves better, powerful enough to greet a celestial phenomenon with mortal hands. Her mother inhaled sharply, exhaling with a smile. "On brighter topics, I believe the palace library is open today." Maella stood up at her mother's words, a jovial smile on her face.

The palace library seemed to reach on forever as she could never see the horizon of its end, as if it went around the globe. The shelves were a good four heads taller than her, sliding ladders reaching to the very tops. She would oft imagine a giant, reaching to the dust layered books with ease, and handing them down to her. Of course, she knew better than to believe in giants. Her eyes and finger tips traced the spines of thick leather bound copies. Ancient Valyrian texts and the Histories of Westeros available to all those curious.