𝒈𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 ───── a house of the dragon fanfiction.
⚘ written by 𝒍𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒂 . . . 2025
𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

"No, those hydrangeas are far too close together." Kaleyna shook her head from the main steps of the castle, her eyes wavering over a bushel of flowers compiled together as decor, hanging just below each barred window above.

She had previously asked Rhaenyra for her opinion, but the girl had claimed that the Hightower had made "something so simple become extraneously complicated". Kaleyna disagreed, seeing as the effort was in the princess' favor. She would be publicly named the Heir to the Iron Throne in the next two mornings, displayed to every authoritative lord or lady across the Crownlands.

The castle had to look decent.

"Already commanding the gardeners?" A deep voice spiked the air, drawing Kaleyna's attention from the aproned servants positioned atop the final step of their ladders. A familiar face welcomed her with a crooked smile.

"Lord Reyne. Your visit has been extended?" She clasped her hands behind her back, her knuckles brushing up against her emerald skirt. A coy smile played at her lips as she looked at the dirty blonde knight. He was attractive, to say the least.

He took a small step forward, mirroring her stance as his eyes darted up to one of the gardeners, who was on the brink of a long, exhausted fall. "It's quite cruel, really. Having them up there for so long, adjusting to your every desire." His tongue sharpened on the last word.

She scoffed, tilting her head to the floral display. "That's enough, both of you. We will continue in the evening." Heavy sighs lingered as the gardeners scaled down the wooden ladders. Although Kaleyna was of the few kinder nobles, she was nevertheless consistent in her requests.

"As I was saying, yes. My stay has been extended, at least until after the ceremony." He nodded, beginning to walk towards an arrangement settled on the left railing of the steps. His fingers reached out to gently grasp the petals of the white roses, breaking one off to twirl between his index and middle fingers.

"King's Landing serves your beauty an injustice, my lady. It disheartens me that it has been kept in such a dull place. Sixteen years now, yes?"

Kaleyna nodded with self-pity underlying in her features, "And yet my niece is being wed off before me. It's as if this city is stuck in time. I wouldn't be surprised if a Valeris had managed to sneak their way into the gates."

The pair let a bit of laughter slip from their bodies. Lance's chuckle was more strained due to his posture as he leaned against the stone railing, thumbing the petal between his fingers and leaking its fragrant nectar onto the beds of his nails.

The House Valeris was a notorious, noble house with deep roots of Valyrian blood. Their castle sat by the chilling sea adjacent to Driftmark, though their presence was nearly invisible to the rest of Westeros. But in the last century, rumors of witchcraft had speculated around their family when King Jaehaerys had recognized the unique beauty of a young Serilla Valeris. Her mask did not phase the Targaryen, as she had been known by another name when he was just a boy.

The King had remarked that the house had become in possession of the ability to pause time, and even age.

"Ah, I do miss the stories my mother whispered into my small ears about the speculation." Lord Reyne half-jested, tossing the petal into the air as if it were a playing coin.

Kaleyna observed the man from her spot, nestled across the stone steps. It was a wonder he wasn't married off yet, considering his claim to the castle of Castamere and his title.

She wondered what he was doing in King's Landing at all.

"Lord Reyne.." She muttered, her gaze shifting from the veins of the petal to the ones in his eyes. They were already latched onto her.

"Lance." He gently corrected, his pupils darting down to her parted lips as remnants of his name on her tongue entered the air.

A hint of a smile lifted onto them, raising her cheeks into a fuller state. "Lance."

For that one moment, the name Daemon had entirely been erased from her mind. But, a moment doesn't last forever.

"Breathe.." Kaleyna hushed, her fingers soothing the back of Rhaenyra's knuckles in a melodic pattern. The young princess merely looked away as the Hightower caressed her hand. She would be called into the Throne Room at any minute.

The younger Hightower adjusted Rhaenyra's cape, crouched down near the ground. She shifted any wrinkles in the fabric out of sight.

"I'm afraid," Rhaenyra started, her heart racing beneath the many layers of her dress and ornaments. "I'm afraid the people will refuse me."

Kaleyna moved her palm from the princess' towards her small, youthful cheek. Her forehead softly met Rhaenyra's for a small second, before Kaleyna swiveled her head to peer into the floor length mirror before the pair. In its reflection, Rhaenyra gave a half-hearted smile as their cheeks touched warmly.

"You are strong, and smart... and beautiful, Rhaenyra. Anyone who refuses you as their future Queen is a fool." Kaleyna watched as the girl's smile widened in the mirror, a sigh of small relief escaping her lungs.

Alicent appeared on the other side of Rhaenyra, resting her chin upon her friend's decorated shoulder. "They'll love you."

Rhaenyra nodded swiftly, turning her head to the side to clasp her free hand in Alicent's. There was a connection between the two that Kaleyna had never fully grasped. Within she knew, it was solely faulted by the difference of her age.

"Oh!" Kaleyna halted her dissonant stare, spinning her body towards a handkerchief laid atop a nearby dresser. "Before I forget..." She unwrapped an ornate brooch from the cloth.

Its surface was encrusted with the finest carats of both dragonglass and ruby, each cut bordered by a thin band of gold. The brooch took a flower-like shape.

Kaleyna cautiously pierced the fabric of Rhaenyra's dress, sliding the pin into place. "Alicent and I had it made and delivered from Oldtown weeks ago... just for this moment. And for however long you choose to wear it for."

The young woman stepped back to observe the full picture of the young Targaryen. "It's perfect." She whispered, just loud enough for the three to hear.

The door to Rhaenyra's chambers seeped open, a mousy handmaiden creeping past the wood to cautiously bow her head to the princess. "Your Highness, His Grace is ready for you."

She nearly tiptoed out of the room, attempting to not make a sound other than the blink of her eyes. Kaleyna eyed Alicent and Rhaenyra suggestively before falling into a fit of laughter. The maids were far too nervous around royalty.

At least, that's what Kaleyna and Alicent believed. They had spent a majority of their life in King's Landing, attached to royals' hips. Perhaps it was different for those of lower class. Perhaps their lives weren't as complicated as they could be.

"Well, we must go." Alicent interrupted, brushing her hands against the fabric of her own skirt awkwardly, pinching at the skin of her nail beds. Kaleyna shifted her body towards her before clasping their hands together, distracting the girl from her nervous habit.

"Alicent is right..." She muttered, giving Rhaenyra a comforting nod. "We'll be in the front beside the Hand. You don't even have to look at those frumpy, old lords."

Rhaenyra chuckled, her fingers playing with the many rings that bejeweled them.

The two Hightowers quietly left the room, leaving the princess in her own anxious thoughts before she, too, exited.

"I, Lord Lance Reyne, Lord of Castemere and Lion of the Westerlands, promise to be faithful to King Viserys and his named heir, the Princess Rhaenyra."

The lord kneeled before the throne, his hands sitting atop the hilt of his longsword as his knee scraped along the stone floor. His head was bowed as the Targaryen princess looked down at him, her cape twisted around her legs.

His eyes lifted to pierce into hers, his loyalty to the crown bleeding through his body. "I pledge fealty to them and shall defend them against all enemies in good faith and without deceit. I swear this by the old gods and the new."

A lump formed in the back of Rhaenyra's throat, her body resisting the urge to swallow it down. Lance stood, blinking in respect before he turned back to his designated seat along the rows of nobles.

Kaleyna watched him from her own seat, watched how his face turned ritualistic. He would die for his King; she was not so sure he felt the same about his Queen.

Viserys glided down the steps to stand shoulder to shoulder with his only daughter, a broad smile on his face which she found incredibly difficult to replicate.

"I, Viserys Targaryen, first of his name, King of the Andals, and the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, do hereby name..."

His words faded into the background of Kaleyna's mind as something in the window beside her shifted. Her eyes darted to her right, through Alicent. A dot in the sky moved closer and closer towards the castle. She could barely make out the shape of the object.

Wings. Dark wings. They fluttered up and down, loud enough to hear if she completely shut out the words of the King. A dragon.

A loud shriek left the mouth of it, bouncing off of the throne room walls. A shriek that belonged to only one dragon, a shriek she had continuously heard in the middle of the night when it was not properly fed.

Her face paled as she recognized the dragon, and her mind must have escaped her because within seconds she was feet away from the door exiting to the grounds. Her feet moved faster than her head could spin as Caraxes glided above her, silver hair glimmering on its back. Silver hair that grew from the most arrogant prince she knew.

He didn't have just one rider, she quickly realized. A woman latched her arms around Daemon's waist.

𝒈𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 ───── a house of the dragon fanfiction.
⚘ written by 𝒍𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒂 . . . 2025
𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

words . . . 1742
written . . . 11.27.24
published . . . 1.10.25