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Rating:
Mature
Archive Warning:
Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories:
F/FF/M
Fandoms:
House of the Dragon (TV)Game of Thrones (TV)A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Relationships:
OC/Helaena TargaryenDreamfyre | Helaena Targaryen's Dragon & Helaena TargaryenDaemon Targaryen/Rhaenyra TargaryenHelaena Targaryen/Original Male Character(s)
Characters:
Helaena TargaryenDaemon TargaryenRhaenyra TargaryenKermit TullyDaeron Targaryen (Son of Viserys I)Aegon II TargaryenAemond "One-Eye" TargaryenAlicent HightowerOtto HightowerJeyne ArrynOriginal Rhea Royce/Daemon Targaryen Child(ren)
Additional Tags:
The Dance of the Dragons | Aegon II Targaryen v. Rhaenyra Targaryen EraAutistic Helaena TargaryenHelaena Targaryen Deserves BetterDragon Dreamer Helaena TargaryenOriginal Character(s)
Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of The Bronze Dragon Next Work →
Collections:
Heroes hive👀
Stats:
Published:2022-10-28Completed:2024-10-27Words:301,757Chapters:97/97Comments:984Kudos:2,279Bookmarks:489Hits:168,982
The Bronze Dragon
kornerbrandon, orphan_account
Chapter 8
Chapter Text
Many of us already know the story of Lady Jeyne Arryn. Coming to rule the Eyrie at a mere three years of age, my great grandfather Yorbert Royce would serve as her regent for many years. Yorbert saw off risings against Jeyne as she grew, eventually taking over rule of the Vale herself. Even when Arnold Arryn attempted a second uprising against her, Jeyne would be prepared to fight him again.
It is said that she and my grandmother grew close during the regency, yet the woman Lady Jeyne was reportedly in the company of the most was her dear companion, Lady Jessamyn Redfort. Only my mother and father are said to know the details of the relationship between the two women though, and they have both resisted my attempts to find out more.
"Are we there yet?" Daeron asked, earning a sigh from Daevar. The boy had been asking that nearly every few minutes for the last few hours. A raven had arrived at Runestone not long after Daevar's return from King's Landing, requesting his presence at the Eyrie for some reason. Of course, Jeyne wouldn't summon him there if she didn't have a good reason to. Perhaps the Hill Tribes were attacking again and a force was being gathered to strike back, or some important emissaries had been lost somewhere in the mountains and needed a party assembled to find them.
Daevar hoped it was the former. He hadn't had the chance to wet his sword yet, and the possibility of it happening against someone like Arnold Arryn was too good to pass up. The man had already rebelled against Jeyne once, and Daevar was resolved that if he attempted it again, he wouldn't live to see another dawn. Joining him was about half a dozen Royce guards, customary for any travelling lord, Kermit, and Daeron. Kermit was eager to leave the confines of Runestone for a while, while Daeron was brought so he could see the Vale for himself.
"No, Daeron. But we're getting close." Daevar pointed up ahead. "See that structure out in the distance?"
Daeron's eyes followed his cousin's finger, where he saw two long parapets built into the walls of the rocky pass they had been travelling on for seemingly forever. Built in between them, was a large stone bridge that arched over the pathway, guarded by two watchtowers.
"That's the Bloody Gate, one of the Eyrie's many defences." Said Daevar. "A few keeps like this help fortify it further, making the Eyrie virtually untouchable. Anyone wanting to attack the Eyrie had to march up this valley, no more than three abreast, with arrows raining down on them the whole way from those clifftops."
As soon as the party approached the Bloody Gate, they heard a voice call down from above. "Halt!" Everyone looked up to see a young man not much older than Daevar staring down at them from the battlements. He wore a steel plate cuirass embellished with the falcon of House Arryn over a simple leather gambeson. But his head was uncovered, revealing a head of lengthy brown hair that draped over both sides of a youthful, cleanly shaven face. "Who would pass the Bloody Gate?" The knight asked.
"Daevar Targaryen! Surely you must have recognized this, Ser Joffrey!" Daevar called up, banging a fist on his bronze cuirass.
After squinting for a minute, the knight named Joffrey, softened his expression. "Oh, Daevar! Good to see you!" He then turned to the rest of the guard. "Let them through. The Lady Paramount is expecting them."
"Thank you, Ser Joffrey!" Daevar said, signalling the rest of his party to follow as the gate began to open for them. "Runestone is open for you should you ever visit!"
"Of course!" Joffrey nodded. "Oh, and send my regards to Lady Alyssa!"
"We certainly will, Joffrey!" Daevar shouted back as the Gate shut behind them. The massive fortification had sparked Daeron's attention, and he looked to Daevar for an explanation on it as they walked through.
"That, there, was Ser Joffrey Arryn. He's been a Knight of the Gate for several years now.."
"He was a knight at ten-and-five!" Kermit said, shaking his head. Joffrey was a good three years older than they were, but the fact that he had achieved a knighthood three years before they were usually given was nothing short of amazing.
"Is Ser Joffrey the son of Lady Jeyne?" Daeron asked as the party made their way through the Bloody Gate.
"No." Daevar shook his head. "Lady Jeyne has never taken a husband, and has no children. He's a younger cousin of hers. Don't ask which cousin; I have no idea. The Arryns are a large family, Daeron. They even have a branch in Gulltown under Isembard." And he certainly makes the most of it , Daevar thought. The Gulltown Arryns had been founded years ago, when a branch of the family married powerful merchants from the city. They weren't discussed by the rest of the family, but Daevar suspected that it was down to pride more than anything else. And the fact that the Gulltown Arryns could match them in wealth despite having less power. Even that was up for debate though; House Grafton nominally ruled Gulltown, but Isembard had enough coin to make quite a few men forget their allegiance. Not that the Graftons were liked anyway. "Joffrey is just about the finest warrior in the Vale. He holds his office as Knight of the Gate well."
For the next few miles, the party continued to educate Daeron on everything they knew of House Arryn, only for that to end as soon as their destination came into view. Daeron couldn't stop marvelling at the sight of the Eyrie. The Red Keep was certainly an impressive structure, having a remarkable view of the Narrow Sea and trade ships at the ports, but he had grown a bit too accustomed to the sight of it over the years. The Eyrie, on the other hand, was a very new sight to behold. It wasn't any bigger than the Red Keep, in fact it was quite small in comparison, but it was beautifully constructed.
Daevar smiled at his cousin; the look of amazement on Daeron's face reminded him of the times he had first visited the Eyrie with his mother. He suddenly felt his smile fade away as the memories returned to him. My mother… His recollection of that day was limited, but Gerold had made a point to tell him the story of that fateful day over ten years ago.
It was early in the afternoon that his mother decided to go on one of her usual hunting trips for deer. Julia was troubled by the notion of her going off on her own, but Rhea Royce was a stubborn and independent woman, refusing to be coddled or guarded like some virginal princess. She was already an excellent rider, and was deadly with her bow; a finely crafted instrument, it was one of Rhea's most prized possessions, carved from fine birch wood, and strung with a combination of hemp and the finest of horsehair. She was more than capable of looking after herself. After all, she had managed to rule over Runestone on her own despite her husband's constant absence.
Daevar remembered tearfully running out of the keep and into the courtyard as his mother prepared to leave. "Mother, don't go! I'll miss you!" He cried.
He then recalled his mother kneeling down to his level with a smile and kissing his forehead. "I won't be gone long." She had said. "I'll be back before your any wiser. I love you." Daevar then watched as his mother mounted her horse and rode off.
Daevar shook his head, in a desperate attempt to escape the thoughts running through it. That had been the last time he had seen his mother alive, and he would never be able to get the image of her return out of his head. He still saw it most nights when he closed his eyes; her lifeless body being brought into Runestone on the back of a cart, skull caved in and neck broken. He shook his head again, as if trying to dispel the thoughts from it.
"Are you alright, Daevar?" Asked Kermit, frowning slightly.
"Yes, Kermit. I'm fine." Daevar replied. "Come on, we should get to the Eyrie soon. See what this summons here was all about."
By the time they'd ascended up the path to the Eyrie and through Stone, Snow, and Sky, the three waycastles leading up House Arryn's ancient stronghold, Daeron was as tired as ever, but proud that he'd actually managed to ascend that far despite his age . He turned his attention to Daevar, who was barely breaking a sweat. Evidently, his cousin had made this trip several times before.
Their entrance to the Eyrie was less grand than Daeron had anticipated, with only a few guards standing to attention as they walked through the courtyard. The only visible person of rank was a man standing near the door to the Eyrie's main keep, wearing a tunic with three black ravens holding three red hearts. Daevar smiled, recognising him. "Is that you, Ser Corwyn?"
The man looked their way, returning the grin. "Daevar, my boy!" He said, greeting him with a bear-like embrace that nearly took the wind out of him. He was a good twelve years older than Daevar and Kermit, tall and broad-shouldered like most men in their mid-twenties. At his waist was the familiar red ruby and lead pommel of the Corbrays' ancestral Valyrian sword, Lady Forlorn. Daeron for his part was amazed at seeing two Valyrian swords in one place, and wielded by two warriors no less.
As soon as the two separated, Corwyn turned to address Daevar's companions. "Kermit Tully! Good to see you again."
Kermit nodded with a grin. "Likewise, Ser Corwyn."
"And who is this lad?" Corwyn asked, turning his attention to Daeron. The boy was still young of course, but Corwyn could tell he was still a strong lad with a future in soldiering. He had a distinct bearing to him.
"My cousin: Daeron. Youngest child of King Viserys and Queen Alicent." Daevar then put a hand on Daeron's shoulder. "Daeron, this is Ser Corwyn Corbray. Another Knight of the Vale. He taught me everything I know about fighting."
"Even that fancy crossguard trick." Kermit added.
"Indeed." Corwyn replied, ruffling Daeron's hair briefly before turning back to Daevar with a pained expression. "Daevar, Arnold Arryn is here, trying to bring his case against Lady Jeyne again. He hasn't quite grasped that bringing his constant grievances to her is simply making her less disposed to keeping him around."
Daevar and Kermit both frowned at that. Ser Arnold Arryn, referred by some as the Mad Heir, had rebelled against Lady Jeyne once already and gotten off fairly lightly; not much more than a house arrest and a permanent revocation of any lands he had held. "My guess is that his son is staying quiet?"
"Eldric is smarter than his father, so yes." Corwyn sighed. "You're expected inside, Daevar. The presence of the Lord of Runestone would add some weight to Lady Jeyne's side of the argument." He said as he led them into the main keep. In the great hall of the Eyrie, Arnold Arryn, aggrieved as ever, was shouting at a clearly bored Jeyne as she sat on her throne, only smiling slightly at the sight of Daevar entering the room.
"You rose in rebellion against me, Ser Arnold. Be thankful that you have kept your position as heir at the behest of my lords." Jeyne said. Daevar had noticed that most of the lords of the Vale were in attendance; no doubt Jeyne had cut a deal with them to keep Arnold as heir in exchange for their support against him. At his side stood his son, Ser Eldric. Eldric was remarkably similar to Joffrey; both of them were ten-and-seven, and they were both excellent warriors who had been knighted at a young age. The similarities ended there though. While Joffrey was seen among the best the Vale had to offer, Eldric was largely distrusted by virtue of his father.
"I am a Knight of the Vale! I have a right to keep my own lands!" Arnold raged. He had once been a fit, firing warrior, too, but those days were gone now; his jowls were showing more and more with every passing year, and what hair he had left had gone from a dark brown to a withered grey.
"You also rebelled against your Lady." A sharp voice came. It was Jessamyn Redfort, the close confidant and advisor of Lady Jeyne, who stood beside her Lady in solidarity. "I would have struck your head from your shoulders for such disloyalty. Lady Jeyne however is a merciful woman–"
"My point exactly!" Arnold interrupted, before turning to address the other lords present. "A woman simply cannot rule the Vale! The Hill Tribes will have us for supper!"
A few men murmured their agreement until Daevar stepped forward. "Ser Arnold, there was a war. You lost. In any other Lord's court, you'd have lost your head for treason. Be thankful that Lady Jeyne is your superior, and they are not."
"Ah, yes. The Half-Breed of Runestone, is it?" Arnold demanded. "Strange for a Targaryen to be gracing us in our halls. One that doesn't have a dragon to answer his beck and call. One that was rejected by his own father, the second he was born." Daevar's fist clenched at that last comment, while Kermit stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword, only for Corwyn to dissuade him by simply putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Let it be, Kermit." He said. "He knows what he's doing. Watch."
"This Half-Breed also happens to be a Lord of the Vale, Ser Arnold. I outrank you." He said. "And I know Lady Jeyne to be just as capable a leader as any man in this room. I owe her a great deal, as do you. Your waste of a life being one of them."
Arnold, enraged, lunged forward and attempted to strike Daevar, and he likely would have if Eldric hadn't intervened at the last second, pulling his father back. "Apologies, My Lord. My father is rather emotional at the moment." He said, signalling to two soldiers over to see to his enraged father.
"Of course, Ser Eldric. No harm done." Daevar replied.
"I believe I have seen enough." Lady Jeyne said, causing a hush to fall over the crowd. "Arnold Arryn, in light of your actions against me, I see that there is no other alternative than for me to have you exiled, and removed as heir to the Eyrie. I pray that the Gods will find their justice in this."
As the crowd began to disperse, Daevar made his way to approach Lady Jeyne, who smiled as he knelt before her. "Well played, Lord Daevar. Any lesser man would have attempted to open his vein."
"Believe me, I was tempted to." Daevar muttered. "Lady Jeyne, I must ask, why simply exile him? He has committed high treason. My uncle or father would've killed a man for such an offence."
Lady Jeyne sighed, sitting back down in her weirwood throne. "I understand your dislike for him, Daevar. I do. I do not have much love for him either. But Arnold is my kin. My family. And while I know your father set a poor example the day he tried to claim Runestone for himself, there truly is no stronger bond."
Aemond had been sitting beside Helaena for some time now, helping her with her bugs and other creatures that were in her little collection. There was everything there, from spiders to cockroaches, to small worm-like things that had hundreds of tiny legs too small to be seen with an eye alone. Helaena had no trouble seeing them though, he noticed. Probably my eye. He fingered the ugly flap of skin where his left eye used to be. Most people would see him as nothing more than a grotesque monster now. Not to mention his martial training would be severely hampered by it.
I will take that brat's eye one day. Make a gift of it to mother.
"Fascinating creatures, Helaena." He said quietly as he watched one of them crawl over her wrist. He wondered what it was like, seeing everyone as so much bigger than you were. He had been the same way, once. The only Targaryen without a dragon. Now, he had the greatest dragon in the world-Vhagar, the Queen of All Dragons; the only dragon left who had conquered Westeros. The one ridden by Queen Visenya. And now she's all mine.
Helaena merely hummed in response. "They are, Aemond." Her mind was elsewhere too. She supposed marrying Daevar wouldn't be too bad. He had always been kind to her, and they had been friends since childhood. Mayhaps he hadn't had an easy life, but then again, few of them did in this world. She found it hard not to sympathise with Daevar. His mother had died when he was very young, and his father had all but abandoned him. She remembered him as a melancholy boy, rarely smiling, usually brooding, but that had changed after a few years. She did suspect it had something to dow with this Kermit Tully fellow that he had talked about.
"You are to marry Daevar now." Aemond said.
"Yes, it would appear so." She said nonchalantly. She did not really have much to talk or think about their betrothal at the moment. She could not imagine it being too awful though; he would be able to provide for her after all, and her mother had been giving her lessons in what it meant to be a proper wife. Care for your husband, make sure he has whatever he needs, and when he asks you to, fulfil his desires. The lessons had been given to her and Nesaena, but Nesaena seemed to have taken to it more readily than she had.
"Not so long ago…" Aemond began, a bit nervously, "Mother spoke about marrying us." Aemond said. Maybe there was still a chance if he could speak with her properly now. He could convince her to talk to their mother about the betrothal; get their father to overturn it, then the two of them would be free to marry each other.
"It seems that the circumstances can change, Aemond." She said. For a moment, Aemond thought she was making a jest about his missing eye, but dismissed it. His sister was too kind-hearted for that, and it was likely that she simply had not thought through what she was saying, especially when she found it difficult to pick up on cues from the person she was talking to.
"I suppose." He said, trying to push all thought of insult out of his mind. "And you are not opposed to marrying our cousin?"
"No." Helaena replied, twisting her wrist so the creature could keep crawling. "He is a friend, and we have known each other since we were young." It sounded a bit rehearsed, but Aemond got the point. There would be no turning her against Daevar. Frustrated, he turned his attention back to Helaena's little collection.
"How many rings does this one have?" He asked, changing the subject as quickly as he could.
"Eighty rings. Two hundred and forty legs in total…"
"Amazing how you can count that much." He remarked. Helaeana simply hummed in response.
Ultimately, there was not much that anyone could do after my grandfather betrothed my mother and father. Their future together was set in stone; and any attempt to break it would likely not go well for anyone involved. It was a message my uncle would've done well to remember, and his inability to move on would cause our family untold misery and pain.
Arnold Arryn was no doubt preparing a second uprising against Lady Jeyne, but his son was always more circumspect when it came to fomenting a rebellion. It was part of the reason why Eldric would become such a dangerous enemy in the years to come.
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