Chapter Text
Saeranera was absolutely enamored with her dragon from the moment he hatched, just like before he hatched, Saera brought the baby dragon everywhere.
She was always holding the baby Nagho in her arms or letting him ride on her shoulders. He was a bit like a cat in the way he would nuzzle against the girl and demand affection. He was also a feral little thing, he would snap at people's fingers and hiss if they got close.
This was most common in dragons his age, especially with how protective he was of Saera.
Now, Daemon and Laena didn’t have hatchlings as children, Daemon wouldn’t have the patience as one and Laena was a Velaryon, so they weren’t properly equipped to help Saera with her small, feral dragon.
So Daemon sent a raven to King's Landing, informing his brother of Saera’s dragon, and the King sent his regards, as well as some of the best Dragon Keepers in Westeros.
5 moons after Nagho hatched, he had grown considerably. By the time the Dragon Keepers arrived, the white dragon was about the size of a dog. He was a wily dragon, he knew Saera’s voice as she would talk to him as an egg and took her commands mostly, but he was still a young dragon and they weren’t fully bound yet.
“𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔, 𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖙.” Princess Saeranera commanded her dragon, the white mount stalking towards a goat. He didn’t heed her command and growled lowly. The girl cleared her throat and tried again with more authority, “𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔, 𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖙”
The white dragon blinked and finally obeyed, he backed up a bit and looked toward his future rider.
“𝕯𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖚𝖈𝖍 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖍𝖔𝖗𝖘𝖊𝖘, 𝖒𝖞 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖌 𝖕𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘𝖘. 𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖒𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖉 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖍𝖎𝖒 𝖋𝖚𝖑𝖑𝖞 𝖘𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖙𝖊𝖑𝖞 𝖔𝖇𝖊𝖞𝖘 𝖞𝖔𝖚.” The Dragon Keeper, a man of 7 and 40 with dark hair, light monk clothing with some black armor put a hand on her shoulder. Saera listened to his words intently as her parents stood far to the side, watching their daughter. “𝕬 𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖆𝖓 𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖐 𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍. 𝕸𝖚𝖈𝖍 𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊. 𝖂𝖊 𝖈𝖆𝖓 𝖔𝖓𝖑𝖞 𝖍𝖔𝖕𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓 𝕻𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝕯𝖆𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖓 𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖇𝖔𝖞.”
“𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖎𝖘 𝖓𝖔 𝖉𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕴 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖊 𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖜𝖎𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓 𝖒𝖞 𝖋𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖉𝖎𝖉 𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖉,” Saera said confidently, smiling innocently as everyone chuckled and laughed. The girl turned back to her dragon and squared her shoulders, “𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔.”
The amber-eyed dragon turned to his rider, awaiting her command. She smiled and said, “𝕯𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖞𝖘.”
Nagho thrilled and crawled to the goat, the glow of fire lit up in his belly, and up his throat before brilliant, golden fire burst from the dragon's mouth and engulfed the goat.
As her dragon ate his dinner that night, Daemon and Laena showered their princess with love and praise.
Saera put as much of her attention into bonding with Nagho as she does with her studies and sword training. Much of her free time, she could be found reading next to her dragon, laying against him, and petting his snow-white scales. She showered him with affection and praise whenever he did as she said.
Whenever Saera went fishing, she would keep a bucket of some of the fish she caught and feed them to Nagho. He was growing steadily and faster than most dragons, as a year later he was the size of a pony and big enough for flying. Just in time for Saera’s 7th nameday.
It took some time for a saddle and riding leathers to be made, but by the time they were done, Saera was ready to fly.
The young princess, wearing black, red, and bronze riding leathers mounted Nagho, having plenty of experience from climbing on Caraxes and Vhagar. She sat on the saddle and strapped herself in. She swallowed nervously and looked to the Dragon Keepers, who nodded at her. Saeranera took a deep breath, she leaned forward and held onto the handles. “𝕾ō𝖛ē𝖘 𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔.”
The white dragon roared excitedly and crawled forward, building momentum before flapping his wings and taking off into the sky. Saera gasped and held onto the saddle tighter as the wind whipped past her, threatening to throw her off Nagho. He continued to climb higher in the air and his movements became wobbly. “𝕷𝖞𝖐𝖎𝖗ī 𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔. 𝕷𝖞𝖐𝖎𝖗ī.” Saera yelled over the roar of the rushing wind. Nagho screeched and obeyed, and the two were flying smoothly through the air. Saera relaxed and sat up in the saddle, looking around at the scenery. Everything looked so much smaller on the dragon's back, so much more amazing and beautiful. The ocean looked like a sea of sapphires and the trees looked like jades, the people looked like ants. The princess smiled, “𝕴𝖑𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓 𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔!”
The citizens of Pentos looked up and saw a small dragon of pure white swoop down above their city, roaring with a cheering child on its back.
The people cheered and waved to Saera, who eagerly waved back.
The Prince of Pentos, going on a walk through the Free City to greet his subjects with his guards, saw the Targaryen Princess flying overhead and a big smile spread across his face as the people's cheering caught his ears.
Nagho gilded lower just above the surface of the ocean so his tail dragged across the cool water. Droplets of water splashed on Saera’s face, giving her a cool pleasant feeling.
Two roars met her ears over the rush of the wind, one high pitch and one loud and bellowing. Vhagar and Caraxes appeared on both sides of Nagho. Saera smiled at her father and stepmother, “𝕭ē 𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔, 𝖊𝖌𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖙𝖆!” Nagho screeched excitedly and flew up, Vhagar and Caraxes giving chase.
The two older dragons tried to keep up, but Nagho was smaller and faster.
“𝕭ē, 𝖇ē, 𝖇ē!” Saera yelled, and Nagho went higher and higher into the air. She was sure her father was yelling for her to slow down but she couldn’t hear over the rushing wind as her dragon went faster and higher.
Before long, they broke above the clouds and Nagho leveled out, flying smoothly. The air was thinner, making it a bit hard to breathe but the view and euphoric feeling were worth it.
Saeranera became the youngest Dragon Rider in the history of House Targaryen at the age of 7 and a half. Later that night, after Daemon and Laena got Saera to land, the Prince of Pentos threw a party for Saera to celebrate her and her dragon.
Over the course of two years, Saera and her dragon Nagho would make leaps and bounds in strengthening their bond and getting much, much better at flying.
When Saera wasn’t working on her studies or education, she was with Nagho, taking care of him and soaring through the air. And though she wanted nothing more than to spend forever on Nagho’s back as they flew to the edge of the world, her father and stepmother ensured that the princess didn’t miss a single lesson.
Luckily for them, Saera liked her studies!
She liked learning about anything she could.
She was learning 4 different languages, Qarth, Asshai’i, Lhazar, and Dothraki, just for fun. Her father as teaching her battle and military strategies, as well as swordsmanship. In fact, her father had also gotten one of the best swordsmen in Westeros from Winterfell to help teach Saera sword fighting.
And luckily for them, the Prince of Pentos was a scholar with an extensive collection of books and teachers, teaching the princess philosophy, history, government policy, and greater sums. She was going to be the Lady of Runestone when she became of age so she wanted to learn as much as she could to be a good lady like her mother.
Daemon said that she was like a dragon hoarding knowledge, and Laena likened her to a sponge soaking up intelligence.
A little while after her 8th nameday, Saera and her father were invited to Kings Landing to be present for the birth of Rhaenyra and Harwin’s firstborn child.
Daemon didn’t really wanna go, cause the Hightowers would be there, but Saera begged him to go. She wanted to see Rhaenyra and Harwin, Uncle Viserys, and the new babe. She also wanted to introduce her uncle to her dragon. The Rogue Prince has been known to never be able to deny his daughter anything, so they left for Kings Landing atop their dragons the next day and arrived within a fortnight.
Vhagar had to land outside the Dragonpit because she was much too large.
Caraxes and Nagho crawled into the pit and their riders dismounted to let the Dragon Keepers handle them. Caraxes complied with annoyed ease, but Nagho became agitated seeing so many people.
Saera quickly left her father's side, ignoring him and the Dragon Keepers, and ran over to her dragon.
“𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔, 𝖑𝖞𝖐𝖎𝖗ī, 𝖑𝖞𝖐𝖎𝖗ī. 𝕻𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖊 𝖈𝖆𝖑𝖒 𝖉𝖔𝖜𝖓. 𝕴𝖙’𝖘 𝖔𝖐𝖆𝖞. 𝖄𝖔𝖚’𝖗𝖊 𝖔𝖐𝖆𝖞.” Saera petted her dragon's head and neck, shushing the beast and slowly calming him. After a small while, Nagho was calm and followed the Dragon Keepers into the Dragonpit.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be alright.” Daemon assured his daughter before leading her and Laena out of the pit and to the coach awaiting them.
King Viserys and a couple of members of his kingsguard, as well as Queen Consort Alicent and her sworn shield Ser Cole, were there to greet them in the Red Keep. Rhaenyra couldn’t because she was confined to her chambers until the babe came, and Ser Harwin was with her.
Saera rushed forward and embraced her uncle, prompting a hefty laugh from the king. “Hello, my dear. How have you been?” He smiled at his niece, who smiled back.
“Great! My egg hatched two years ago, and I’ve been flying him ever since. Come with me to the Dragonpit and I’ll show you!” Said the excitable princess, practically jumping on her toes.
“We will later, my dear.” Viserys smiled at his niece before greeting his brother and his wife.
The young princess cast a look at the Queen Consort and her sworn shield from her peripherals, she looked displeased at the sight of Daemon and his daughter. And she was wearing a green gown, she must have gotten more after the wedding. Ser Cole also looked angry, no, that wasn’t the right word to describe the look on his face. Maybe jealous?
Eventually, they were shown their rooms to rest in before meeting Rhaenyra. Saera’s room was the same as she left it, so she fell asleep easily, but with green dresses on her mind.
The next day, Saera, Daemon, and Laena were invited to break their fast with King Viserys, Queen Alicent, their children, Rhaenyra, and Harwin.
Aegon was bigger, older than the last time Saera saw him. He was 7 now and had all the traits of Old Valyria, except for a couple of things. His eyes were brown, like his mother's, and the roots of his golden-white hair were red and would likely become more visible as he got older. Saera had a feeling he would take on more of the look of his mother when he got older as well.
Helaena, Viserys and Alicent’s second-born child, was about 4 with hazel blue eyes and natural golden hair that would darken in time. There was a dazed look in her eyes as she stared down at her plate
Aemond, Viserys and Alicent’s second son, was 3 and a half and had brown eyes and auburn hair as well. He was staring at his lap with an angry look in his eyes.
Honestly, If not for the Valyrian features, mild or not, they would be just another face in Oldtown that no one would look twice at. Queen Alicent seemed to know this, which explained the angry, constipated look on her face.
Something Saera noticed about them, was that all three children were wearing green.
Daemon noticed at the same time as Saera and his jaw clenched. The Hightowers were calling to war with the Targaryens and Viserys was either too blind to see, or he didn’t care. He was just smiling like everything was just dandy.
The young princess felt pity towards her oblivious, weak uncle.
It wasn’t long before Rhaenyra and Harwin joined. She had certainly grown over the past couple of years. She was as beautiful as ever, much taller, and glowing in her blue and golden gown with her very pregnant belly. Saera, abandoning all the proper etiquette of a princess, jumped up the moment the Heir Apparent entered the room and embraced her friend, being very careful of her belly. “𝕹𝖞𝖗𝖆! 𝕴’𝖛𝖊 𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚.”
Rhaenyra laughed and hugged her back. “𝕴’𝖛𝖊 𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖔𝖔, 𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖉𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓.” She replied in their mother tongue. Saera and Harwin helped the Heir to her seat before taking theirs. “𝖀𝖓𝖈𝖑𝖊, 𝕷𝖆𝖊𝖓𝖆. 𝕴𝖙’𝖘 𝖘𝖔 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖙𝖔 𝖘𝖊𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖜𝖔. 𝕳𝖔𝖜 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚?”
For a couple of minutes, they conversed in Valyrian, making a few jokes about Daemon, with King Viserys butting in a few times.
The Queen Consort looked more displeased at that, and Saera wasn’t too surprised to find that she hasn’t bothered to learn Valyrian. Harwin, however, had a look on understanding behind his eyes. Their future children were to be princes and princesses of House Targaryen, so it made sense for him to learn so he could understand what his wife and children were saying.
After breakfast, King Viserys went with his niece and sons to the Dragonpit to meet the girls dragon.
The Dragon Keepers stood nearby, in case anything happened and they needed to step in, as Saera motioned her dragon to her. The white dragon crawled to his young master, his golden eyes flickering over the new people cautiously before Saera calmed him with gentle Valyrian words and a soft hand on his snout.
“𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖍𝖔, 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖎𝖘 𝖒𝖞 𝖚𝖓𝖈𝖑𝖊 𝖁𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖞𝖘.” She says as the dragon nuzzled into her.
The King came forward at the wave of his niece's hand and held his out for the dragon to sniff at. Nagho examined the appendage, looking at the bandage encompassing his hand and smelling something of rot underneath his scent.
After a moment, Nagho pushed his head into Viserys’ hand and purred deep in his chest, a deep, wavering sound that sent vibrations up the twos arms.
“𝕺𝖍, 𝖒𝖞 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖗, 𝖍𝖊 𝖎𝖘 𝖆𝖇𝖘𝖔𝖑𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖑𝖞 𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖓𝖎𝖋𝖎𝖈𝖊𝖓𝖙.” Viserys praised, his eyes crinkling in happiness.
Saera brimmed under the praise and smiled proudly.
“Why is her dragon so big if it's so young?” Aemond asks, a bit rudely. The girl can see a hint of envy in the brown eyes of the prince. Apparently, his egg never hatched in his cradle, and he hasn’t yet bonded to a riderless dragon. Neither had Aegon or Helaena’s eggs hatched in their cribs. At this point, Aegon had bonded to Sunfyre, a dragon younger than Dreamfyre that had once belonged to one of the Good King Jaehaerys' children.
Maybe they would when they’re older, Saera thought.
“I’ve been feeding him fish. He really likes them, especially the colorful ones.” Saera answered Aemond’s question, scratching Nagho under his chin. “The Dragon Keepers think he’ll be as big as Caraxes in a few years.”
“Won’t that be a sight?” Uncle Viserys chuckled, side-hugging his niece.
Saera and her family’s stay in the Red Keep were very… awkward, she guesses she could say. Queen Consort Alicent was cold and very bitchy, but she was trying to be subtle about it. It wasn’t working very well. Ser Cole kept eying Daemon and Harwin with this almost feral look in his eyes like the two just existing was an insult to him.
Aegon was a brat, plain and simple. He was a sad brat, and Saera saw him eyeing the wine the adults drank a few times. The more robust kind of wine, not the kind meant for children. Aegon picked on Aemond nearly ruthlessly for his lack of a dragon.
It was pretty sad, honestly.
While they waited for Rhaenyra to give birth, Saera would spend her time either riding on Nagho or sword training with her father.
Soon, the time came and Rhaenyra’s screaming filled the keep. Saera had been napping and woke up with a jolt when Rhaenyra’s screams and yells met her ears. Frightened, she ran to her father and mother, who told her she was having her baby.
Harwin was standing outside of the birthing room, Uncle Viserys was as well with Lyonel Strong, Harwin’s father and the new Hand of the King. The weary King looked pained as he stood there, listening to his daughter's cries, and Harwin was no better.
Saera was reminded that Queen Aemma had died on the birthing bed years before.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to lay an egg?” Saera had questioned Daemon, sitting in the Rouge Prince's lap.
Daemon and Laena chuckled at the girl’s innocent question. Harwin cracked a smile and Viserys smiled wetly.
The labor lasted for hours. It started in the early afternoon and now it was late evening. Saera had dozed off and woke to her father’s gentle nudging. The young princess entered the room and saw Rhaenyra laying against the headboard, and Harwin standing next to her, holding a bundle of blankets in his arms. The Heir to the Throne, frankly, looked awful. Her hair was in dismay and sticking to her sweaty forehead, her skin was pale and she was shaking, but the biggest, softest smile was gracing her lips.
The Rogue Prince hoisted Saeranera into his arms and walked over to the Prince Consort. The princess leaned over and peered down at the bundle. The baby was a boy, from what Saera heard, he had silver-white wisps of hair and dark violet eyes like Rhaenyra’s, and he had Harwin’s skin color.
“What's his name?” Saera asked.
“Jacaerys.”
The King absolutely melted when he held his grandson, boasting about how perfect he was, before passing him over to Lyonel. He wanted to show the babe off to the court immediately. Everyone was gushing over the babe, giving their congratulations to Rhaenyra and Harwin, but Saera noticed the sour look on the Queen Consorts' face at Jacaerys’ prominent Valyrian looks.
While everyone talked, Saera held little Jace in her arms and smiled down at the babe, who had no idea what the hell was happening around him.
“𝕯𝖔𝖓’𝖙 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖗𝖞, 𝕴’𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕲𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖓𝖘.” Saera kissed his forehead and hugged him as gently as she could.