Jaehaeron Targaryen - The Northern Dragon

The Keys

Alicent loved reading to her King. It had become her most important duty, her favorite hobby, her greatest pride. She had spent countless hours in the library, looking for books about the North and its myths. Her Father had given her all the time she had needed to fulfill her duty towards her King, and Alicent had been so grateful and so overjoyed by this unusual excess of freedom that she had spent an entire day, climbing on the library's ladders to find the most exciting books there were under the watchful eye of her brother Gwayne. Said brother had then been forced to carry the tremendous amount of volumes his sister had selected after a long day of research, and bring into her room where Alicent had spent the next morning choosing the first book she would read to her king.

To her great disappointment, she had not find any tales of 'Bael the Bard' as Jaehaerys had asked. So she settled for a book about the Children of the Forest and their war against the First Men. A topic that had immediately caught her King's interest.

Jaehaerys had nothing but praises for her, her lovely voice, her perfect manners, her shy nature and passion for history had conquered the King's worn heart. It was so easy for him to pretend that it was his young darling Saera, behaving like a princess he had dreamt her to be, accompanying him in his slow travel towards the other side.

Alicent had easily overcame her timid nature when alone with her King, and the tales she had been reading her had bewitched her with how extraordinary they seemed. As a young Lady of the Reach, Alicent had been taught to be wary of magic, and all mystical creatures that were abominations in the eyes of the Seven. But how was magic heretical? Weren't Targaryens magic? Weren't their Dragons mystical creatures?

When she had asked the King for clarity, he had chuckle, coughed, and answered:

"There are the Gods, and there is the Faith. The Gods create, they give and they take. The Faith pretends and speaks in the name of the Gods without the Gods consent. Cherish the Gods, my dear, but be wary of those who pretend to speak in their name, for not all of them wish for the greater good."

Jaehaerys himself would never forget about Septon Mattheus, the fat septon who had always covered himself in the finest silk and best jewels, the fat septon who had tried to curse his wedding to his beloved Alysanne. The extreme opposite of The Old King's lost friend; Septon Barth. Barth had been more than just a septon or a Hand for Jaehaerys, he had also been a very close friend and the one servant of the Seven that the son of Aenys had listened to. Those words he had told Alicent, had been Barth's years ago.

However Jaehaerys was wise enough to advise Alicent to keep what he had told her for herself, for it was quite possible that her septa would not appreciate their wisdom.

Alicent had read for her King for almost a fortnight now, and except for the few times when she had to remind him that she was not Saera, it had been the greatest moments of her very young life.

Being the dutiful lady that she was, Alicent had taken if upon herself to bring her King water when he needed, had held his hand when his wavering mind stirred up his painful guilt, had brought him news of Jon and Rhaenyra whenever he'd asked. And for all of this, the Old King and his Great-grandchildren were grateful, so much so that Rhaenyra had knocked on her door one day to drag her to the garden in order to play with her and Jon. According to the little Princess, they had needed another girl to play Aegon's conquest, and that was how Alicent had been stuck being Princess Rhaenys, -Aegon's one and only love according to some sources- for a whole afternoon. To say that Alicent had been embarrassed to act as if she had been Jaehaeron's wife would have been an understatement. Yet, her Prince's beautiful and confident smile as well as a few words of reassurance had been enough to slow her heartbeat and cool her cheeks. Rhaenyra was a force of nature, a terror according to some handmaidens and servants, but a loving one with a contagious smile. The only one who could possibly control the Realm's Delight was her cousin Jaehaeron, who was nicknamed 'Jon' by his family, except his father who always referred to him by his Valyrian name. Alicent never asked him why he would rather be called 'Jon' than 'Jaehaeron' she simply hoped that one day, he would be familiar enough with her to allow her to call him 'Jon'.