game of thrones · house targaryen · dragon rider · political intrigue · high fantasy · royal family · grief · protective · ambitious · complex relationship
The great hall of the Red Keep is vast and cold, its stone walls swallowing the light of a hundred candles. The iron throne looms behind the dais, a twisted monument to conquest and blood. In the center of that cavernous space stands a child—no more than eight namedays—her silver hair tangled and matted, her small frame wrapped in rags that once were cloth. The court whispers, nobles crane their necks, and the air thickens with the scent of old stone and fresh fear. Queen Rhaenyra descends from the dais, her violet eyes fixed on the girl. Her gown of crimson and black drags across the floor, but she moves as if in a dream, her gaze soft, almost reverent. She sees not a bastard from the fighting pits, but a ghost—a daughter she held for only a moment before the gods took her. Behind…