𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑒 - 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑛

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King's Landing, 112 AC

The wind carried the salty smell of the sea, mixed with the more... pungent smell of the busy streets of King's Landing. Gwayne Hightower slowed his horse as he approached the city gates. The journey from Oldtown had been a long one, punctuated by stops at castles, taverns and inns, but at last he was at his destination.

King's Landing.

He felt a very different energy to that of Oldtown. He felt the energy of a place where much destiny hung in the balance. And most of all, he could smell shit. So it was true, though he couldn't remember it, as he rode his horse through the streets towards the Red Keep, Gwayne couldn't ignore the stench emanating from some of those streets. Fortunately, it was short lived.

The steady pounding of his horse's hooves on the cobbles seemed to grow louder as he rode on. He looked around, watching the city that had gradually faded from his memory as he grew up within the walls of the Hightower.

When a beggar approached, Gwayne grimaced in disgust as he looked at him with his characteristic contempt and condescension. He did not turn from his horse, it was the beggar who stepped aside to avoid being trampled.

It took him many more minutes to reach the gates of the Red Keep.

The sun was beating down on the tall towers of the Red Keep, making them almost sparkle against the clear sky. In the courtyard, a familiar silhouette awaited him, straight and elegant as if sculpted in expectation : his sister, Alicent Hightower.

Though he hadn't seen her for four years, Gwayne couldn't have been mistaken. She hadn't changed that much. She had matured and looked more like a woman now, but she was the same. Her long red hair and her brown eyes were still the same.

Gwayne pulled lightly on the reins to stop his horse a few paces from her. A smile lit up her face, a mixture of weariness and affection. As for Alicent, she crossed her arms and studied her brother with a hint of amused, restrained annoyance.

"I would have expected you sooner," she said, breaking the silence with the casualness she remembered from their relationship.

"Hello to you too, dear sister, it's good to see you again," he teased her. "The journey from Oldtown to the capital is longer than you might think," he continued in the same tone.

"And I suppose it's less of a rush if you stop at various taverns, inns and castles instead of camps set up in the woods."

Gwayne's smile widened, proudly guilty of these barely concealed accusations. "Why should it be any different ?"

Alicent rolled her eyes in a smirk before watching her brother. At least he hadn't changed that much. She had written to him over the years. They'd exchanged a few things to maintain a bond, whatever it was, but not enough for her liking. Now that she saw him face to face, she told herself that she would try to make up for her mistakes, especially their father's mistake of sending Gwayne home alone.

She took a deep breath before smiling, her tone slightly mocking. "You look like you've been through a storm, brother. I'm surprised you're still presentable."

Gwayne shrugged and raised his hands in mockery. "And yet, look at me, still as charming as ever."

"Charming, perhaps, but the smell of horse doesn't lie." In response to his sister's remark, Gwayne simply chuckled.

There was a brief silence, between satisfaction that their complicity had not completely disappeared and a touch of unease, especially for Alicent. She feared she wouldn't be able to find the words to bridge the distance that four years had created between them.

Only four years, but at their age, those years counted double, maybe even triple. They were the years when you were formed, when you became what you would be for the rest of your life.

"Father expects you to shine at the tournament. I think he's betting on you," Alicent said suddenly.

"Then he'd better not bet too much. Those riders look fierce."

"Fierce, perhaps. But none of them receive weekly letters from our father reminding them of their duties."

Alicent saw her brother roll his eyes with a slight sneer. She regretted her words. Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to remind him of the pressure their father had put on him as soon as he arrived.

To make up for it, she tried to change the subject to something more frivolous and something she knew best : the court and its ladies.

"The ladies of the court are already whispering about you. They have heard of Gwayne Hightower, the handsomest knight in Oldtown."

Gwayne raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his sister's words. He wasn't fooled : her subtle change of subject and attempts to flatter his ego were obvious. But he decided to play along, amused by this little charade. After all, he was not insensitive to this kind of attention, far from it.

And it was all half-truths or half-lies. The ladies of the court talked a great deal about the knights who had just arrived and who would be taking part in the tournament. What they might or might not have heard about them. And Otto Hightower had been proclaiming loud and clear for weeks that his son would be at the Heir's Tournament, praising him to anyone who would listen, without really knowing what had become of his son.

"They will be very disappointed. I'm only here to shine on the lists, not in their tales of love."

"You may not be interested in the ladies of Oldtown, but what about the ladies of the court, brother ? They will want to see you at the tournament. Some of them may even bet on you, but I doubt it will be because of your knightly prowess."

Gwayne chuckled amusedly, raising his eyebrows. "Let them bet on whoever they want. I'm not here to feed their romantic fantasies. Besides, I'm afraid their quill will be no match for my exploits," he added with more humour mixed with a hint of arrogance.

"So what did you come to King's Landing for, if not fame and favour ?" Alicent teased him subtly, a smirk betraying her amusement.

Gwayne shrugged slightly, an amused smile playing on his lips as his sister asked the question with a hint of mischief in her voice. Alicent, always elegant in her manner, sometimes knew how to make a point where she knew he would think, while making the blow so light as to seem almost harmless, a quality he readily acknowledged. It was a game between them, one of those that survived the passage of years and separations.

"Maybe just of what fills my plate and honours Oldtown." he replied casually, crossing his arms as if to emphasise the simplicity of his ambitions.

Alicent couldn't help laughing, his gaze softening. "That won't save you from the ballads the minstrels will invent," she joked with the same frivolity, a teasing gleam in her eyes.

Gwayne smiled, amused, and let out a light breath between his lips. The light tone of the conversation seemed to suit him perfectly, and he enjoyed Alicent's discreet jabs, who, he had to admit, fulfilled her role as big sister with a certain talent for getting through to him with grace.

"Let them try. As long as they sing just right, I won't complain," he replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, his words punctuated by a wave of his hand as if he were greeting an imaginary audience.

Alicent smiled amusedly before adding, with a hint of mischief in her voice, "I'm sure the ladies of the court won't stop talking about you for days to come. The Hightower Knight, so brave, so distinguished... I bet they'll be throwing flowers at you when you enter the fray."

Gwayne raised an eyebrow, amusement gleaming in his eyes. He knew Alicent's teasing tone well, but he could never resist playing along. "Flowers, really ? I hope they'll aim straight. It would be a shame to waste their efforts," he said, putting a hand to his chest to feign a bit of theatricality.

Alicent laughed slightly, that familiar complicity adding a comforting warmth to the atmosphere. "Doesn't it flatter you a little ? All those looks, all those whispers about the way you look..." she continued, the mischievous twinkle in her eye underlining the innuendo.

Gwayne, though amused, maintained a measured tone as he replied, "I have not travelled this far to be the hero of their tales. Let these whispers cease as quickly as they began."

His calm voice contrasted with the lightness of their earlier exchange, as if trying to restore a balance between their complicity and a hint of sincerity. Alicent, however, could not let such a reply pass without adding a touch of malice.

"So modest. But be honest, brother," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief as they walked quietly across the courtyard. "You could at least enjoy it a little. One victory in the tournament and you'll be the darling of all Westeros."

Gwayne smiled discreetly, his lips barely curling, but the slight twinkle in his eyes betrayed his amusement. "I am not here for glory or applause," he repeated. "And certainly not to become a minstrel's muse. But if it makes you laugh, I suppose it's a success."

Alicent raised an eyebrow slightly, fiddled absently with a flap of her dress, and replied teasingly, "A modest success, but a success nonetheless."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment, a soft silence punctuated by the sound of distant murmurs from the courtyard. Then, with a gesture of his head, Alicent invited him to enter the Red Keep.

"Come, come. Father must be waiting for you to remind you once again how much our name rests on your shoulders."

The lightness of her voice didn't quite erase the truth of her words, but she hoped at least to make that responsibility a little more bearable.

As they began to climb the steps to the Red Keep, Gwayne stopped dead in his tracks. A low roar echoed through the air and drew his attention. He looked up in surprise to see two dragons passing overhead, their huge shadows gliding across the cobbles. A shiver ran down his spine as he watched them.

"I never realised they flew so low."

Alicent, who had barely paused, turned a distracted eye to the silhouettes of the dragons that were already disappearing into the sky. Her indifference seemed almost instinctive, as if the spectacle had become commonplace.

"They tend to fly a little closer to the courtyard these days. Rhaenyra likes to get away."

Gwayne, on the other hand, was still following the creatures with his eyes, as if fascinated. An almost nostalgic smile played on his lips. He had seen dragons before, when he lived in the Red Keep as a child. But today he felt something different.

"They seem even more imposing than before," he murmured, almost to himself.

Alicent looked down at her brother, noticing his thoughtful expression. She gave a small mocking smile before replying lightly, "It's the dragons, Gwayne. It's not so much that they've changed, but perhaps you see them differently."

Gwayne sighed slightly, as if not quite ready to admit that she was right. His eyes remained fixed on the sky, where the dragons were slowly disappearing over the horizon. He simply shrugged his shoulders, trying to hide his fascination behind a detached demeanour. "Perhaps." There was a brief silence before he added thoughtfully : "When you see them in full flight, it's as if time stands still for a moment. They're a reminder of everything the Targaryen family stands for."

Alicent, hitherto light-hearted and mocking, allowed her face to darken slightly. A thoughtful glint crossed her eyes. "Nothing like a dragon to remind us who wears the crown here."

Gwayne's gaze finally broke from the infinite blue of the sky to rest on his sister. He arched an eyebrow, an amused smile playing on his lips. "I'm not sure that's what the kingdom is all about."

Alicent, though still amused, seemed to read beyond her brother's words. Her face took on a more serious look. "You say that, but you're in King's Landing now. That's what this is all about."

They were silent for a moment, as if weighing the weight of his words. Then they tore their eyes from the sky and the dragons and entered the dark, imposing corridors of the Red Keep.

✷

Visenya dismounted at the same time as Rhaenyra, her boots kicking up a light cloud of dust on the cobbled floor. She glanced for a moment at the dragonkeepers, who were busy leading Moonfyre and Syrax towards the massive entrance to the pit. The dragons, imposing and majestic, seemed almost docile in the face of these men who, despite their familiarity with these legendary creatures, were clearly cautious.

Without a word, Visenya turned on her heels and joined her sister, who was already striding confidently towards the carriage waiting for them in the shadow of the dragonpit. The doors of the elegant carriage opened to reveal Alicent Hightower, his graceful silhouette clearly visible in the daylight.

"So, Alicent, you've been around the Dragonpit all this time, waiting for us ? I'm flattered," Rhaenyra said with the natural casualness that was part of her charm.

Alicent smiled, effortlessly adopting her friend's slightly mocking air. Her eyes sparkled with amusement, though she had clearly already prepared her reply. "I knew someone would have to bring you back. Otherwise you'd still be up there flying in circles."

Visenya, who had been silent until then, stepped forward to join the conversation. With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she added teasingly, "That depends... Would you like us to take you for a ride on the back of a dragon ?"

Alicent immediately raised his hands in a dramatic gesture of protest, a horrified pout forming on his face. "Don't count on me ! My feet will stay on the ground, thank you."

Though her tone was theatrical, the two Targaryen sisters exchanged knowing glances. They were well aware that Alicent had no real desire to take to the air, even for the sake of a joke.

Rhaenyra burst out laughing, her amusement spilling over into a frank and sincere outburst. "It is true that to see you clinging to a saddle, screaming louder than the wind, would be an unforgettable scene."

The three young women climbed into the carriage, the wood of the passenger compartment creaking slightly with their movement. The richly ornamented cushions seemed to invite comfort, but as she settled in, Rhaenyra pouted slightly when she spotted an old book resting on one of the benches. She moved it nonchalantly before turning to Alicent with a grin.

"So, Alicent, how many pages of that old manuscript did you manage to read while you were waiting for us ? Three ? Maybe four ?" she asked teasingly, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Alicent, who was carefully adjusting the folds of her dress, looked up at her friend and replied with a hint of sarcasm. "Enough to know that you two like to fly last. You'll have to tell me what's so fascinating about seeing the roofs of King's Landing from above for the hundredth time."

The Hightower smiled slightly remembering that she had had time to greet her brother, and then to wait a long time outside the Dragonpit poring over that old manuscript before the Targaryen sisters finally landed.

Visenya, who had taken her seat opposite Alicent, narrowed her eyes slightly, as if stung by the remark. "That's because you've never tried it. Once you're up there, you can't just walk on cobblestones," she replied, her tone slightly defensive, but not without a hint of defiance.

Alicent crossed her arms, her expression falsely serious, before replying with a touch of irony. "Perhaps, but I still enjoy the cobbles, thank you. They won't throw me out of the sky."

Rhaenyra burst out laughing, her amusement vibrating in the cramped space of the carriage as it began to move. She leaned forward slightly, a wry smile stretching her lips. "Don't worry, Alicent. If you fell, Syrax or Moonfyre would catch you... probably," she said, exaggerating the dramatic tone of her voice a little, clearly enjoying provoking a reaction.

"She would still have to dare to climb a dragon one day," Visenya added, a mocking smile lighting up her face as she exchanged a knowing look with her sister.

Alicent rolled his eyes with calculated exaggeration and crossed his arms in a false posture of annoyance. "Keep laughing, you two. Some people come to King's Landing without putting on an air show," she said with a hint of irony.

Visenya, curious, leaned slightly against the back of the carriage to get a better look at her friend. She knew that Alicent had been expecting another member of her family for several weeks. "Your brother has arrived, then ?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.

Alicent's face immediately softened at the mention of Gwayne. A smile appeared on her lips, but there was something different about it. Visenya noticed that it wasn't Alicent's usual smile, the one she wore out of politeness or in response to the Targaryen sisters' jokes. This one seemed more sincere, tinged with an almost nostalgic warmth.

"Yes, he arrived this morning. He seemed a little tired, but impeccable as ever." Alicent replied, his voice betraying a slight melancholy in his last words.

"It's a long journey from Oldtown. He must be happy to be here at last," Rhaenyra interjected, a little more calmly, as if she understood the significance of this event for her friend.

Alicent nodded gently, her smile brightening as she remembered her morning conversation with her brother. "Yes. He seems to have survived his journey from Oldtown... but just barely," she said, letting out a soft laugh. "I hope he spent less time in the taverns than in the saddle."

Visenya, her tone calm but clearly thoughtful, watched the proud smile that had settled on Alicent's lips. "He's come for the tournament, hasn't he ? He must be a very good rider to undertake such a long journey and to take part in it so soon."

Alicent, straightening his back slightly with involuntary pride, replied almost immediately. "He is. But let me stop you right there, Visenya : my brother is focused on his duties. He has neither the time nor the inclination for court intrigue."

Visenya, the corners of her lips lifting in an amused smile, crossed her arms as she leaned forward slightly. "What do you think we were going to suggest ? That he came to spy on the Targaryen princesses ?" she teased softly, a laughing twinkle in her eyes.

Alicent shook her head slightly, an exaggerated sigh but a smile on her lips. "I'd rather warn you. My brother is serious. All he cares about is his responsibilities and his training. Don't expect epic tales or romantic poetry."

Rhaenyra, always quick to turn any conversation into a teasing joke, feigned shock and dramatically placed her hand over her heart as if she had been offended. "No stories, no romance ? How austere !" she exclaimed, falsely desperate.

Visenya laughed, but kept her tone measured, as if weighing every word despite the lighthearted mood. "Perhaps he prefers to observe. Sometimes that's wiser than getting involved in the intrigues of the court."

Alicent replied, stung but amused, arching an eyebrow and adopting a mischievous expression. "Or maybe he's just clever. Which some people around here sometimes lack."

Rhaenyra burst out laughing, leaning forward slightly before shaking her head. "Good for him. The tournament will give him enough distractions without needing us."

Visenya, tilting her head with a grin, replied in a tone that mixed amusement and levity. "Don't worry, Alicent. I'm not interested in knights... even very serious ones," she concluded, returning to Alicent's first remark about her brother.

Rhaenyra, always ready to lay it on thick, straightened in her seat and said with a mocking smile. "We get it, Gwayne Hightower is an impregnable fortress. Duly noted."

Alicent, undaunted, replied calmly, his tone softer but his words precise. "Exactly. And it saves us from unnecessary rumours," she added, her smile becoming more discreet, aware of the tension rumours could cause in the sometimes hostile atmosphere of the court.

The three young women exchanged a last knowing glance before settling down comfortably, the tranquillity of the journey contrasting with the bustle that awaited them on arrival.

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So far I'm making pretty good progress with my writing. Chapter 2 is already written. I always wait until I'm a chapter ahead before I post a new one.

This chapter is also a gift - it's the birthday of a friend of mine who I met through this fantastic world of wattpad and fanfiction. AMadRoyal

Btw I hope you enjoyed the chapter ! Have a good day/night <3