If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
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123 AC, Dragonstone
Baela Targaryen knew that there was something wrong with her twin. After all, Rhaena was her other half, and she knew that something fundamental was different in her. Rhaena was the studious one, the calm one, like their mother, while Baela was the adventurous one, like their father.
They complemented each other seamlessly, much like how their parents were perfect with one another. Baela pushed her sister into committing mischief, dragged her into plans that often ended with soot in their hair or scoldings from their septa, while Rhaena pushed her to focus during their lessons.
Yet, in the past weeks, Rhaena hadn't given her looks during their lessons for not focusing, seemingly just as distracted as she was herself. By the time Baela finished her new dagger lessons with their father, she rarely, if ever, could find her twin. She simply disappeared completely. She had thought that she was going to play with Solarys.
Baela had been excited when Rhaena's egg hatched. She would have loved nothing more than to share how to care for a hatchling, much like their mother taught her back when she was still alive. She hoped that Moondancer and Solarys would have been just as close as they were, like the Sun and the Moon. She was even slightly jealous that Solarys seemed to grow far quicker than Moondancer ever had, but that only meant that they would both fly their dragons at the same time.
And yet, they barely spent any time together.
To her shame, she hadn't noticed that, not at first. There was a lot that happened in the last few weeks: the dinner with the Potters, her dagger lessons, her stepmother flying away to King's Landing, and somehow healing the king, who she remembered being nearly at Death's door back during her mother's funeral.
The King and Queen coming to Dragonstone made everything hectic, and her father had been in a mood ever since that happened, which was odd, since his brother had been healed. Of course, her grandparents were summoned, and for some reason, her grandmother was the new hand instead of Otto Hightower. There was also the fact that seven men made of shadows tried to kill Harry Potter, and Lord Larys, the Master of Whisperers, was injured while trying to leave on a boat in the middle of the night, only for it to return, and he remained asleep under the care of Maester Gerardys.
Now that she thought about it, things had been very eventful since the sorcerer arrived in Dragonstone. She didn't think that Harry Potter was a sorcerer, just some traveller or merchant who gave them gifts to be closer to the royal family. They were great gifts, of course. Jace's far-eyes were amazing, and Luke's North pointing thing was very nice, even if her grandfather was more excited about it than she was. Even Joff's gift was nice, and her new dagger was the only reason Baela started learning how to fight from her father in the first place. However, Rhaena's gift was disappointing, even if she kept wearing that ordinary-looking bracelet with a dead stone in the first place. For some reason, Rhaena hadn't been angry at all, other than that first night, but that likely had to do with Solarys hatching the day after, which distracted her.
Now, of course, she realised that Harry Potter was likely the one who had saved the King, and now that she thought about it, also the reason why the King came to Dragonstone in the first place.
Nevertheless, it wasn't until a few days ago, after the shadow attack, that Baela realised that there was something truly wrong with her sister. Rhaena lied to her. She hadn't lied to her before, not on something important. But she had lied to her on that night, just to get Baela to go away, and instead went to speak with the sorcerer and Helaena Targaryen of all people.
Her sister had been in the same room as monsters, men of shadows, who wished to kill the sorcerer for some reason, and she could have easily died. That was the shock that made Baela look back and realise that something was different. She had made sure to pester Rhaena about the story, and it was then that she started to follow Rhaena around discreetly.
One thing she had noticed was that Rhaena had a few private conversations with their grandparents that she didn't know about. Baela couldn't exactly demand answers from them, but they had to have known that there was something different. She knew that it was likely something to do with the sorcerer, but that was a guess at most; odd things have happened ever since that man came to their shores.
There were a lot of little things, like Rhaena reading some odd books, this time about the North of all places. Why Rhaena wanted to know more about lands made of barbarians was beyond her. Rhaena also seemed to stare at the sea with Solarys for some reason.
She complained to her father once, only for the man to say that people changed when they claimed their dragons, and that Rhaena was exploring their bond. It seemed like a bunch of nonsense to Baela, but she never really knew what it was like not to have a dragon. A part of her hoped that he might be right, that it was just a small period of time where she would be distracted, but that all changed when she went to Rhaena's room after her dagger practice and found Solarys alone in the room, slumbering.
Rhaena hadn't left Solarys' side ever since the egg hatched, not even when they went to eat their meals, and yet she left her dragon unattended in her room. And so, Baela knew that she wouldn't have more proof than that. She sat on her twin's bed, trying to think of any explanation and waited.
She waited for hours until she heard a creek as Rhaena slowly snuck into the room, opening their door. Rhaena hadn't even noticed her, and so she spoke, "You've been keeping secrets."
Rhaena, practically jumping in fright, was funny. It almost made Baela forget why she was there. Well, no, she's been waiting for her twin for hours, and she waited for an answer, and she would have it. She simply tilted her head before speaking up once more, "So, do you want to tell me everything, or should I start guessing?"
"What are you doing here, Baela?" her sister asked, both confused and scared.
"Waiting for you," Baela replied, "I went to see you and only saw Solarys alone. I thought you wouldn't leave your dragon alone for too long, so I waited, and waited… You've been gone for hours, Rhaena."
"I went on a walk," Rhaena muttered, far too quickly to be convincing.
Baela raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "A walk. You went on a walk, alone, for hours."
She prepared to continue, only to take a proper look at her sister. Her eyes were puffy and slightly red, with traces of snot down her nose. Baela remembered these features all too well: "You've been crying."
"No, I haven't," her twin denied, "Why do you think I was crying?"
"You're my twin. Do you not think I would know if you'd been crying? What happened? Is it the sorcerer? Did he do something to you?"
"Lord Harry? Why would you think he did something to me?" Rhaena replied with genuine shock in her voice, something that made Baela realise that there was more to the story.
Still, she couldn't help but blow up, "What else could it be? I'm not stupid. I know that you've been disappearing for hours at a time. I know that it has something to do with the Potters. Did he put you under some sort of spell?"
"Put me under a spell? Baela, listen to yourself," Rhaena growled, "The Potters have been nothing but kind to me. They would never hurt me."
"So, you are close to them," Baela replied with triumph in her voice, "That's why you're so defensive of them."
Her sister's face paled slightly, and to Baela, it was all but a confession. She knew her sister well, as well as her tells. She flinched a bit when someone caught her, and she had been caught. Nevertheless, she didn't say anything, "Well, say something. Have you been meeting with the sorcerers?"
Rhaena shakingly nodded and sat down beside her, but didn't say anything. The trembling in her hands, Baela's sister was scared, terrified even, "Did they force you to do something? Did they use magic on you?"
When she didn't answer this either, Baela couldn't help but let her mind wander. The sorcerer had obviously put her under some sort of spell that stopped her from speaking about him. She didn't know how that worked, but he knew magic, and from what the Maester said, magic was a malevolent force, obviously feared for a reason.
With that in mind, she knew that she had one last option left, "I'm telling Father!"
As she expected, Rhaena's eyes widened in panic, "No, don't tell him. He'll stop me from going there."
Baela froze in her tracks. The sheer dread on her sister's face made her realise that she truly did not want to stop whatever was happening. She narrowed her eyes. "So you admit it."
Rhaena gulped but nodded, "It… It's not what you think."
"You just said you didn't want Father to stop you from going," Baela pressed, stepping forward. "Going where, Rhaena? Where have you been sneaking off to for hours at a time?"
Finally, after what felt like an hour, her twin answered, "I've been going to visit the Potters in their manse. They're nice and kind, and I learn all sorts of things."
"Magical things?" Baela asked with dread.
"No, nothing of the sort, just stories about the world, history mostly."
"And how did history lessons make you cry?"
Baela could see her twin fidgeting before finally speaking up, "The Potters gave me a few rules to follow. They're not unreasonable ones, but I broke one of them. I thought that they would ask me to leave and never return, that I wouldn't be allowed back. So, I cried."
"And were you? Barred from returning to their manse," Baela answered, feeling some hope soar inside her. Perhaps this would all resolve itself. Rhaena wouldn't return to the Potters' manse, and she would stop disappearing. However, everything returned to normal easily enough.
"No. They were disappointed, but not angry. I don't think I've ever seen them angry, now that I think about it," her sister mumbled near the end of her sentence.
That was a shame, but perhaps Baela had been too optimistic.
Baela frowned, not bothering to hide her displeasure. "So, you're still going to see them."
Rhaena didn't answer at first, just looked down at her lap, fingers twisting together. "Not for a while," she eventually muttered. "I have to speak with Grandmother and Grandfather tomorrow. Tell them everything. That's part of the punishment."
Baela stared. "Our grandparents know about this, then?"
"Yes. They saw me sneaking back into my room. They spoke with the Potters and came to an agreement. I'm supposed to speak with them to decide what my punishment should be."
Baela couldn't help but frown at that statement. The Potters had no business making any decisions about her sister. They weren't their parents or had any authority over them. They were royalty, future Dragonriders, and a few magic tricks wouldn't do much against their dragons. The fact that her grandparents had somehow let this thing happen, enough to even set up rules, made her dislike the situation even further: "The Potters have no rights to punish anyone on Dragonstone, let alone a princess."
"I broke their trust, Baela," Rhaena said quietly. "They told me not to do something, and I did it anyway. It's not like I was tricked into it. They were clear."
"What could you have possibly done that makes you so ashamed?" Baela asked, curious.
Her twin fidgeted in her robes and took out a small medallion, "They asked me not to touch certain things in their manse. I grabbed this," she turned the medallion over in her palm, "It was glowing. I thought it might be some sort of pretty trinket that I could keep for later. The Potters rarely cared about jewellery or anything of the sort, so I left things."
"And what happened?"
"It turned out to be dangerous. I accidentally bled on it, and that activated the magic. It could have killed me. Lord Harry and Lady Daphne were able to stop it, but they knew that I had broken their rules."
Baela stared at the medallion. She could understand why her twin was so fascinated with it. There was a beauty to it. The wolf looks almost alive, and if she looked very closely, she could almost see a faint glow in its eyes, but that was likely a trick of the light. It looked very well-made, and the metal was unlike one that she had seen, almost white, truly.
"So, you went to a known sorcerer's manse, stole something, bled on it, and almost got yourself killed," at Rhaena's nod, she continued, "You're lucky they didn't turn you into a frog."
"They would never hurt me. They're very kind."
Baela stared at her sister. Rhaena truly believed that. She still remembered her days in Pentos, where the Magister who hosted them had been subtly demanding that their parents use their dragons to help the city. It was on that day that she remembered that no one did anything for someone else without expecting anything in return, if they weren't family, of course.
Rhaena was the gentle one, the one that Baela had vowed she would protect. The thought of losing her to some sorcerer made Baela's stomach twist. She still remembered the fear in Rhaena's eyes. She didn't fear the Potters. She was afraid that she wouldn't meet them again.
No, Baela's sister was too trusting, and it fell on her shoulders to make sure that Rhaena wouldn't be in danger. "I'm going with you to see them next time."
Rhaena's head snapped up. "No."
Baela blinked. "No?"
"I said no," Rhaena repeated, more firmly this time. "I don't want you to come."
Baela felt her chest tighten. "Why not? I'm your sister… your twin. I deserve to know what's going on."
"This isn't about you," Rhaena said sharply.
Baela's mouth opened in shock. "Not about me? You're my sister and you've been sneaking off, lying to everyone, and spending time with dangerous people, and somehow none of it involves me?"
"It doesn't!" Rhaena shouted, standing up now. Her voice cracked with emotion, but she didn't stop. "Everything I do, everyone always assumes you're a part of it! I just wanted something of my own for once. Something that wasn't shared!"
Baela took a step back. Rhaena had never raised her voice at her before. Her sister's eyes were wet with unshed tears, but her tone didn't waver.
"You've always had everything! Father's attention, the dragon egg that hatched first, the stories and the training. By the gods, you can't say that the topic of betrothing you to Jace hasn't come up. They want you to be Queen. And I'm nothing, just the other sister, that most people forget about, the Dragonless Targaryen. Even now that I have a dragon, no one cares. They're all so busy with the King and who gets to be Hand, that no one has even tried to speak with me other than our grandparents. Father has barely said any words to me for days. I wanted something that was mine, something that I could enjoy on my own."
Baela didn't know when she started crying, but the tears came quickly, hot and heavy. Her hands clenched at her sides, and she wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came out.
Rhaena seemed pale, like she hadn't realised what she had said until she heard it herself. Her lips trembled, and she took a step forward, "Baela… I didn't mean…"
However, Baela had already turned and left the room, not wanting to hear anything more. She couldn't breathe and felt like someone had wrapped her heart and squeezed it with both hands.
So, she ran. She didn't look back. She didn't wait for an explanation or apology. She just ran through the hallways of the Dragonstone, past even her own room, her eyes stinging from the wind. Yes, it was the wind, nothing else.
Baela didn't know where she was going, only that she had to leave. That if she stayed, she'd say something she couldn't take back. Just like Father always did.
She stepped onto the training yard and kept going, walking faster and faster until she reached the path to the cliffs, staring at the waves, her fists still trembling.
Moondancer came, and she could feel her dragon's concern through their bond. She hadn't called her, had she? But she knew to come when she was needed.
A small idea sparked in Baela's mind as she ran a hand over Moondancer's snout. She would make them pay. They would regret taking her sister away from her.
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AN: I'm really not sure about this chapter. It's odd, I had it planned out in my mind, but writing it was pretty hard. The idea was to have Baela be clever in seeing that there was something wrong, but confronting Rhaena in the worst way possible, only for everything that she'd been suppressing to blow up. It was supposed to be a mirror between Baela and Daemon, really, but I'm not sure I pulled it off, or if the fight felt natural. As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
[---]
If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.