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The pendant is shaped in the form of a dragon, embellished with tiny rubies, entwined around a crescent moon that houses little diamonds. Rhaenys has had it specially made, a gorgeous gift for her majestic girl.
A symbolism of their bond is not without meaning for the Princess recalls with deep fondness the very night she has taken Meleys out for a flight. Adorning the inky canvas are streams of shimmering stars, countless and radiant, twinkling akin to diamonds scattered across a darkened sea, and amidst them, rests the crescent moon, its silvery lustre casting a gentle, ethereal glow over the slumbering world below. The night itself is shrouded in silence, but the beat of her companion’s wings serves as a comforting sound to her ears, and the occasional happy, little thrills that escape through the dragon’s great maw do not fail to bring forth a smile of her own. Signifying the deepening of their tie is the look they have shared during their moon-lit dance, beneath twinkles by the dozen, when her dragon has turned to search her eyes, jaw opening slightly almost as if into a smile.
That has been many, many moons ago when they have newly bonded, Rhaenys but a tall child, and since then, Meleys has irrevocably become a part of Rhaenys. On her wedding day, when her father has breathed his last, during her highs and lows, through thick and thin, in good times and in bad: for more than forty years, her old girl has always been by her side, and she will remain so for many more to come until the time arrives when they are to finally breathe their last.
An end to Rhaenys’s little reverie comes in the form of Meleys’s head that softly nudges her chest, nuzzling her there while emitting a loud, rumbling purr, and she laughs amidst admiring the gift that marks the anniversary of their bond, now sitting proudly at the base of Meleys’s neck, sewn into the leather of her strap that holds the saddle in place. One hand flies to touch the dragon on the impressive plane of her cheek, another on the underside of her jaw as the Princess showers her dragon with loving caresses. The smile that settles on her lips at the sight of Meleys, eyes closed in contentment while revelling in her touch, is soft, born of endearment and bathed in warmth, whereas she feels against her body the vibration of her dragon’s thick continuous purr.
“Perhaps an outing would do the both of us good, Meleys. What say you?”
She merely muses, though her dear girl answers her with a low thrill, and overcome with fondness, she presses her forehead against the dragon’s.
The Red Queen, with her fiery scales and powerful wings, is not merely a mount but a steadfast companion who understands the deepest corners of the Princess’s soul. In the heart of her tumultuous world, where duties and expectations have left her to deal with loss after loss after disappointment after grief, there exists a sanctuary of unwavering support, which is her dragon. Truly, indisputably, no one understands Rhaenys better than Meleys does.
Beneath the warm, golden rays of the sun, they have flown across the ocean as they usually do, a lone princess and her beloved dragon soaring below the hanging clouds.
At times when the weight of her responsibilities presses heavily on her shoulders, her respite is found on the back of Meleys high above the sky. In the solitude of their flights, far above the burdens of the land, Rhaenys can cast off her regal front and take a breather. When shadows of doubt and despair looms over Rhaenys, it is Meleys who lends her strength. The dragon's roar echoes her own silent cries, a fierce proclamation against the darkness that is hell-bent in its pursuit to consume her.
On Meleys' broad back, alongside the wind whipping through the mane of her hair and the horizon stretching infinitely ahead, Rhaenys finds a rare and precious freedom. It is in these moments that she is able to confront her fears and frustrations, and it is her dragon’s fierce loyalty that acts as a guiding light when her world seems awfully dark and dreary. Beneath the watchful eyes of Meleys, she is not merely Princess Rhaenys, or the queen who never was, but a woman of flesh and blood, dreams and fears, feelings and desires. The dragon's presence always serves as a balm to her weary heart, a reminder of the wild, untamed spirit that she harbours within.
By the time they reach the shore and Rhaenys finds it deserted, she steers Meleys towards the sandy plains. It is onto where water meets land that the pair of them make a descent, and as soon as Rhaenys has dismounted, she makes quick work of getting rid of her boots. Rolling up her trousers until they rest beneath her knees, and her sleeves above her elbows, she gives Meleys a small playful grin before her bare feet carry her into the salty water, gentle waves sloshing around her legs as she wades the cerulean blue.
Meanwhile, the dragon watches her companion with curiosity, and when Rhaenys catches Meleys with a hint of hesitation in her demeanour, she calls out gently with a gesture of her arm.
“Ynot, Riñalbus.” (Come, old girl.) A touch of the Princess’s words, and her girl, ever good and clever, begins to move, water splashing and sending ripples all around, that sparkles like sapphires under the sunlight. Once within reach, Rhaenys receives Meleys with a palm on her cheek, the caress of the dragon’s breath on her face while delicate fingers stroke the scaly skin beneath. “Hegnīr.” (Good.)
As she slowly parts from her dragon, what begins to take root on her features is a blossom of a smile, bliss and mischief intertwined. Her legs carry her a few paces away from the dragon before she bends at the waist, arms sinking below the surface of the ocean, poised to attack. Meleys on the other hand, suddenly being distracted by a wandering flock of birds, is lost to her companion’s antics.
“Meleys.”
Rhaenys calls; her voice is accompanied by an armful of water that splashes against the dragon’s side. Once Meleys faces her, another armful follows, then another, and another, which, even though she knows, are nowhere near enough to effectively drench the dragon of Meley’s magnitude, the blitheness of it all greatly tickles the Princess. Meleys grumbles, extending her neck skyward to shake the droplets off that are trapped between her scarlet scales, whereas Rhaenys’s frame shakes with mirth.
However, the Princess’s triumph lasts but a moment long before vengeance befalls her, for with a mighty swoop of a tail, her dragon has sent a wave towards her way; it crashes into her body and leaves her soaked to the bones. Meleys’s smile is all teeth and tongue, as she all but growls, almost as if to say “It serves you right.”
Stripped bare of her armour of aloofness and uncaring of propriety, Rhaenys allows herself the indulgence in childlike jollity alongside her companion of forty years, laughing in authenticity, splashing one another, frolicking on the sand until the sun hangs low in the sky. Eventually, the pair of them find themselves sitting on the sandy plains in a comfortable quietude. Rhaenys traces patterns on Meleys’s snout that, despite its immensity, is stubbornly tucked onto her lap, and the Princess, not having had the heart to refuse her affectionate old girl, gladly pampers her.
The horizon, kissed by the sinking sun, glows with an artistic warmth, the sky but a vast canvas of molten gold and fiery amber, casting a gentle, golden light upon them while the zephyr is infused with a serene hush, broken only by the loud breathing of her dear girl resting by her side, and the distant call of a lone bird bidding farewell to the day.
Despite the weight of her responsibilities, the constant demands of her status, and the expectations that oftentimes threaten to crush her spirit, Rhaenys discovers solace in the bond she shares with Meleys. The dragon's fiery breath and the warmth of her scales are a comforting contrast to the cold, unyielding and ruthless reality of court life. With Meleys, Rhaenys finds the courage to face each new day, her heart fortified by the knowledge that no matter what she is led to believe, she is, and will never truly be alone so long as her dear girl is by her side.