Chapter Text
For as long as she could remember, Rhaenyra feared marriage and the birthing bed. Seeing her dear mother grow weaker and weaker with each failed pregnancy stabbed the princess right in the heart.
Then her mother died in the birthing bed, killed by her father in the vain hope of a son who died a day later.
The Princess dreaded the day she would be forced to marry, fearful of whomever her father would sell her to, terrified that her future husband would do what her father had done and cut her open like a fish. The nightmares Rhaenyra had left her crying and shaking once she woke up.
The day Daemon returned from the Stepstones, Rhaenyra confided her fears to her uncle. Her fear of marriage, of sex, of childbirth. She used to tell Alicent all her secrets and fears, but then she married her father, and Rhaenyra realized that the little harlot had been revealing those secrets and fears to her father. Luckily, Daemon was not like Alicent Hightower.
That night, Daemon took Rhaenyra into the Street of Silk and to a brothel. They did not fuck, as some like to believe. Daemon took Rhaenyra there to show her there was nothing to fear about sex, he held her hand and explained what was what. Then he took her to a trusted midwife, who answered every question the Princess had, and in the end she and her colleagues were hired by the Heir.
One of Otto Hightowers spies followed them, but luckily Daemon had spotted him and quietly dispatched the boy.
After that, Rhaenyra’s fears lessened, but remained at the back of her mind.
Those fears seemed to disappear when she found Harwin and married him.
He was perfect. Handsome, charming, kind, considerate, loving. One in a million.
It took Rhaenyra some time after their marriage to talk herself into bedding Harwin. Her husband said he was willing to wait as long as she needed and fuck if that didn’t make Rhaenyra fall even more in love with him.
The questions and not-so-subtle jabs from Alicent about when Rhaenyra would do her duty to her husband were annoying as fuck, and her father's silence made her even more mad, but Rhaenyra would not allow herself to appear vulnerable to Alicent ever again. So she took those comments in stride and retaliated with calm, sarcastic comments of her own about the appearance of Alicent’s children with the king, delighting in the embarrassed and outraged look on her face.
A couple of moons after their wedding, Rhaenyra and Harwin lay together in a night of passionate lovemaking.
Then 9 moons later, they had their first child of many to come.
Rhaenyra loved being a mother, and with 4 children already she knew she wanted more.
Just a little while after Luke and Naerys were born, her new brother Daeron was born. Rhaenyra was uncertain of how to feel about her half-siblings. She despised their mother and loved but detested their weak father, so it was easy to say her relationship with them was… complicated. It didn’t seem like the right word but it was all Rhaenyra could come up with.
Aegon, at 5 and 10, was a drunken mess who leared at girls. Aemond was a spiteful, rude little boy who glared at everything and everyone, including her children. Helaena was a shy, gentle young girl, always keeping to herself and her insects, who looked more Valyrian in the face than her brothers. And Daeron was still young, so Rhaenyra didn’t know what to think of him yet.
Out of all her siblings, the princess found herself paying more attention to Helaena.
She had always wanted a little sister, wanted to name her Visenya, after the warrior queen. Now she had one but was born from that Hightower whore who was visibly disappointed when her daughter was born.
What use was a girl to the Greens? The only thing they could use Helaena for was a marriage alliance.
From time to time, Rhaenyra would see her half-sister out of the corner of her eye, so small and quiet, muttering nonsense to herself. There were times when Rhaenyra saw Alicent talking to the poor girl so harshly. The princess was not near enough to understand what was being said, but from the sad look in Helaena’s eyes, Rhaenyra could guess what the Green Queen said.
Rhaenyra wanted to despise her siblings, she was ashamed to admit it.
Their existence punctuated the fact that her dear mother was so easily replaced despite her father's proclamations of loving her so.
The Arryn’s were the only ones brave enough to call the King out on how he loved Aemma Arryn so much, yet he sliced her open with zero regard for her, and not even 2 moons later, wed the daughter of a second son from a lesser House. Jayne Arryn, Rhaenyra’s aunt and Queen Aemma’s sister, dressed in mourning clothes of black, had stood before the court and said this after King Viserys decreed that he would wed the girl.
At the time, Otto Hightower called for Lady Arryn to be summarily punished.
No one agreed with him, as the Lady was not wrong in her statement.
The King did not say anything to that, but the paling of his face and the blood that dripped down the arm or the Iron Throne was telling enough. Jayne Arryn was unpunished, and she was the first to swear fealty to her niece.
The Arryn’s and the Vale’s undying support provided much-needed comfort for her when Aegon was born.
The princess tried to suppress her hatred towards her half-siblings, but they looked so Hightower yet they carried the Targaryen name, and oh, Rhaenyra hated them and hated Alicent and all the fucking Hightowers.
But Helaena… Rhaenyra could see herself in the girl, surrounded yet so alone, with no voice, no choice, and so, so sad.
One day, the Princess of Dragonstone found herself approaching her little sister, she was sitting in the gardens, holding a butterfly in her hands gently, eyes tracing over its beautiful blue wings.
“Hello, Helaena,” Rhaenyra greeted softly, sitting beside her sister while Ser Anrea stood by a few feet away. The princess left a respectable amount of space between the two of them so Helaena wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, seeing as she flinched away from touch.
“Hello, princess,” Helaena said quietly, keeping her eyes on the butterfly.
“Please, call me Rhaenyra.” She found herself smiling at the girl. Helaena nodded, flicking her eyes to her before retreating. The princess made small talk with her sister, and it took a little time, but Helaena soon opened up and spoke so passionately of butterflies, explaining their colors and what they meant. Her blue eyes lit up, and her smile was so beautiful.
Rhaenyra took a moment to look over Helaena, taking note of her dress. It was dark green, obviously, with gold embroidery, and made of a material that Rhaenyra knows firsthand is uncomfortable yet fashionable.
Rhaenyra looked at Helaena, she saw herself, so alone and sad, and scooted closer to her sister.
As their conversation about anything and everything continued, Rhaenyra slowly and gently pressed herself against Helaena, a steady presence to say that she was there.
Helaena, after a second of silence, pressed back.
In the distance, Syrax laid over her clutch of eggs and growled protectively. And the dragon in Rhaenyra’s heart roared and said ‘mine’.
Over the next few moons, close to a year after Daemon and Saera left for war, Rhaenyra and Helaena spent more time together, the princess even introduced her sister to her children.
They all clicked immediately, and her sweet boys were very understanding that Helaena did not like touch. It warmed Rhaenyra’s heart to see her children and sister playing together in the garden or their rooms, the normally shy and quiet girl now energetic and running all over the place with Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Naerys, laughing and smiling.
From a distance, Queen Consort Alicent watched with hateful eyes as her daughter laughed and played with those creatures, smiled, and allowed that little whore Rhaenyra to touch her.
It further enraged her when Helaena began to wear Rhaenyra’s old maiden gowns, Arryn blue, soft violet, and red.
Consort Alicent wanted nothing more than to snatch her daughter away from that spoiled brat and rip those clothes off of her, but she couldn’t do that in public in front of maids, Kingsguards, and the nobles who frequented the Keep, and she hadn’t had any time to speak to Helaena because she’s been having ‘sleepovers’ with those savages.
She tried to bring it up with the king, trying to convince him that Rhaenyra’s children were bad influences on their sweet daughter, openly calling them savages in a moment of desperation when Viserys kept denying her request.
The King's eyes screamed rage for a moment before he regained his composure, and in no uncertain terms told his wife that if she insulted his grandchildren again, it would cost her tongue. Alicent backed off after that, but only a little. Her father would have been able to convince the king to separate her daughter and Rhaenyra’s children, but alas, Otto Hightower was now a master and no longer the Hand of the King.
So the Consort watched from afar as her daughter mingled with those boys and bonded with that whore.
The precipice came when the children went to the Dragon Pit. From what Larys and Ser Cole tell her, they were there to bond and check on their dragons, Aemond decided to tag along and try to claim a dragon, while Helaena was invited by Rhaenyra and Jacaerys. Aemond was not able to claim a dragon, he was hissed away and almost burnt but was saved in time by Ser Cole and the Dragon Keepers, and made to stay on the sidelines, away from the dragons.
If that were not enough, at the sight of the Strong boys bonding with their dragons, Aemond flew into a rage and attacked Prince Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Princess Daenerys, bruising the elder boy and being torn off before he could seriously hurt him.
Whispers of that were already beginning to spread all over Kings Landing, the maids in the Keep now glared at her son anytime he passed by.
Along with that, Helaena, her sweet daughter had ventured deeper into the Dragon Pit with that little whores children, without supervision. When the others realized the children were missing, Rhaenyra and the Dragon Keepers rushed into the dark caverns, Ser Cole close behind, and found Helaena petting Dreamfyre, the dragon of Aegon the Conquerer's granddaughter, Rhaena Targaryen. Then, she climbed on the back of the beast and took her first flight.
Queen Consort Alicent should be happy for her daughter, it opened many more marriage opportunities and made people see her girl in a new light.
But then people began to praise Rhaenyra and her children for helping the second daughter of the king grow and claim a dragon. Oh, Alicent cursed those… those… that damn whore and her little abominations! They used her daughter to gain more support and favor over the smallfolk and the people of the realm!
She needed to get her daughter away from them! But how? The king would not listen to just her or her father.
But, maybe under the pressure of the Small Council, he would…
A week later at the next Small Council meeting, Alicent took the chance to get her daughter away from Rhaenyra permanently.
“My King,” Queen Consort Alicent began when Viserys gave her permission to speak. Rhaenyra hid her eye roll in her goblet of wine, wearing a red and black dress that showed off her shoulders. “I begin to miss my daughter as the days pass. I miss our sweet girl so very much, and I believe it is time she begins to learn how to be a proper lady. So I propose returning her to my care and maybe even fostering her in Old Town with my aunt and our Septas.”
Rhaenyra didn’t see red but was sure fucking close to it.
The statement was absurd, fucking ludicrous honestly. Helaena had flourished under Rhaenyra’s unofficial care, slowly but surely coming out of her shell and bonding with children her age and her sister. Her nightmares and ramblings have lessened even! Helaena was happy, and Rhaenyra had foolishly hoped that Alicent wasn’t cruel or ambitious enough to not want happiness for her daughter.
She was wrong.
Now, the Green Whore wanted to send the sweet girl away to Old Town to be cared for by vipers, put down, and shamed by the Septa's loyal to the Greens.
Well, the Princess of Dragonstone would not allow that to happen.
“I wrote to my aunt and uncle and just received their response,” Alicent said, pulling out a scroll with the Old Town insignia. “They would be thrilled to house Helaena and have already prepared one of the rooms for her.”
She said that as if the matter was already settled.
“Father,” Rhaenyra stood as well, facing off against the Consort with her head held high. She had to intervene before her father was swayed by his wife's oh, so innocent doe eyes. “Targaryen’s do not foster, not in unfamiliar places with people who are not family. I believe sending Helaena away so young, and to people she does not know would be detrimental to her.”
“Helaena won’t be sent to strangers,” The Consort hurried to interject, a hint of anger lacing her tone. “House Hightower is her family-”
“Those of whom she doesn’t even know the names of.” Rhaenyra cut Consort off, satisfied in the flabbergasted look in her eyes. The Crown Princess turned to her father, looking into his eyes with a sad look on her face. “Father, I do not believe sending Helaena somewhere she is unfamiliar with, to a place she does not know will help her become more ‘ladylike’. I will admit, Helaena is a… peculiar girl with her liking for bugs and habit of muttering nonsense, but that is just who she is, and I fear sending her away to the care of Septa and Speton will take that away from her, and turn her into someone she is not.”
The King looked down at his daughter’s impassioned speech. His mind wandered to a conversation with Daemon a couple of years ago after returning to Kings Landing with Saera. Viserys inquired about his niece's education and suggested that Alicent would get her the finest Septas and Septon to teach Saera, and fatherhood must have changed Daemon, for the Rogue Prince restrained his rage and just clenched his jaw, and replied, “My daughter will never be put in the care of those Cunts of the Faith, especially chosen by a Hightower. You may choose to have your… children taught by them, but I will not have them try to beat that shit into Saera’s head and put her down.”
At the time Viserys wanted to address the clough language and subtle emphasis when talking about his children, the king could realize Daemon's caution for his daughter and dropped it.
Now, Viserys supposed Daemon’s caution of Septas and Septons from House Hightower was warranted. He caught a few glimpses of how they would treat his sons versus how they treat Helaena. Rhaenyra was right, his youngest daughter was a… peculiar child, not normal. Her pet bugs and ramblings drew many people away.
But he saw the way Helaena flourished under Rhaenyra’s care. She smiled more now, talked more, and was wearing her old maiden gowns of violet and soft blue, made of silk.
“I propose to have Helaena fostered with my children,” Rhaenyra continued, pleading eyes boring into the King’s tired ones. “I will raise her, nurture her, care for her. I will help her grow into a beautiful, strong, kind woman. A true Targaryen.”
His wife immediately began arguing against it, arguing that Rhaenyra said Targaryens don’t foster, to which the Crown Princess retorted that they foster with family, direct family, not other houses, especially lesser ones. Viserys noticed members of his council looking at his wife as if she were mad, and with the way she was acting and screeching, Alicent probably did lose her mind for a moment.
“Enough!” King Viserys snapped, and the two women fell silent. The king sighed. “Rhaenyra is right. Helaena is a special kind of girl, and she requires a special kind of care. My daughter, I entrust Helaena into your care.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Before nightfall, rumors would spread that the Queen Consort raged at the king, calling the Crown Princess unsavory terms, which resulted in her being confined to her rooms for the rest of the week. The next day, Rhaenyra and her household helped Helaena pack up her belongings to take to Dragonstone. The two princesses left for Dragonstone on the dragon's back, while her household and the princess’ belongings were on a ship.
It didn’t take long for Helaena to settle in Dragonstone, fitting in so seamlessly.
She flourished in their ancestral home, playing with the children, visiting the library, and bonding with Dreamfyre. Alicent forbade Helaena and Aegon from spending a lot of time with their dragons, deeming it ‘unnecessary’.
Rhaenyra had a whole new wardrobe for Helaena made. Her old dresses, bold shades of green, were made of material that caused her sister discomfort, so Rhaenyra commissioned blue, purple, red, and black gowns made of Lyrish and Pentoshi silk, some with designs of butterflies and others with dragon embroidery. Helaena squealed in delight upon seeing her new dresses, thanking Rhaenyra profusely.
(Helaena my baby <3)
Regarding her education, Helaena joined her children in their lessons with Maester Gerardys. The Crown Princess took it upon herself to teach her sister embroidery, reading, manners, everything a princess of House Targaryen should learn.
No one knew, but Helaena slept soundly in Dragonstone for the first time in her life. Her dreams were no longer of fire and blood, of death and betrayal. No, now they were of peace and love, prosperity, a new Era. Helaena dreamed, and now she wasn’t falling anymore.