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Jaehaera took slow breaths, staring at the wall in front of her. She felt her lungs shuddering in her chest, her fingers clenched tightly in her blankets.
She could hear the person in her room. Reason told her it was her mother come like she had so many nights before, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t make herself turn and look. She could see him now, that hulking thing with hot breath and damp hands, dark hair covering his face and eyes gleaming from their sockets, blocking all the light from the candles…
“Darling?” Her mother whispered, and Jaehaera’s next breath puffed out of her. “Are you awake?”
Jaehaera made a small sound, and her mother was on her a moment later. The Queen was a slight woman, but she gave Jaehaera all her weight on the small bed. Jaehaera curled into her mother, small hands wrapping themselves in soft fabric.
“Mama,” she sniffled, ducking her head beneath her mother’s chest. Helaena’s hands were cold but gripped her tightly, pressing her daughter close. “Mama?”
“Hush, sweetling,” Helaena said, shifting until Jaehaera felt herself being lifted. “Come, it’s not safe here.”
“Safe?”
“Yes, yes, we must go. We must… somewhere else. We should… we need…”
Jaehaera looked up at her mother. She’d become familiar with the way Helaena’s hands shook, her eyes darting around while staring at nothing. It had been several moons of this, and the young girl knew that it was easier to let the madness take hold than try to free her mother from its grip. She often felt she was getting too big to be held on her mother’s hip, but nothing could be said to the Queen when she became like this.
Jaehaera peered at the dark walls as the pair traveled through the hallways. A member of the Kingsguard jerked from his post outside the princess’ door, following them closely. Jaehaera studied him but couldn’t remember his name – it seemed as if they came and went quickly, and none of her tutors ever acknowledged them, let alone called them by name.
“Not safe,” Helena muttered. “They could… have to go…”
Jaehaera turned as much as she could in her mother’s grasp, looking forward instead of back. They were moving down the stairs now, Helaena’s steps silent on the stones.
“Your Grace,” a guard called, white armor gleaming in the dark. “It’s late, should you not return to your chambers?”
It was as if Helena hadn’t heard a word the man said, continuing her journey past the many empty halls. Jaehaera could hear the men speaking to each other behind them, their voices a soft murmur, but Helaena seemed not to hear that either.
“Mama?” Jaehaera asked, voice quiet.
“Hush, darling,” the Queen whispered. “We must not be heard.”
The air was cool when they stepped out of the castle doors. Jaehaera shivered in her nightgown, the thin silk doing little to block her from the biting wind. Fall had come on fast, and already there were whispers of winter. Grandam Alicent had recently made Jaehaera stand still for hours, measurements taken and garments tried on, all thick with fur and fabric.
“Cold,” Helaena whispered, the grip on her daughter turning even tighter. “Cold, cold, not good, not good…”
Her mother’s body was warm, at the least. The blood of the dragon runs hot, father always said, and Jaehaera could feel it against her now as she cuddled close.
Jaehaera knew where they were headed from the first turn in the courtyard, and she couldn’t help but perk up, tired as she was. Helaena almost always took her to her own chambers when she spent nights like this. Once, she had taken Jaehaera all throughout the castle, pacing the quiet halls endlessly until they had gathered a whole trail of guards, each joining the line at the sight of the Queen. They had only been found at dawn, grandam softly grasping mother’s shoulder and leading them all to her chambers, the three of them spending the day in bed.
But clearly now, Helaena had something else in mind. Safer, by far, than being trailed by the Kingsguard.
The scent of dragon permeated the air far before the pair entered the Dragonpit. Burned meat and iron were as familiar to the princess as gold and her father’s throne, though she was seldom allowed into the Pit itself. More often than not, a handler brought little Morghul to her in the yards. It had been years since a child was allowed alone with a dragon, Uncle Aemond always said.
“Your Grace!” A Kingsguard called, voice echoing in the quiet night. “You should wait for morning, it’s not…” He trailed off as it became clear the Queen was not listening, and stopped at the entrance to the Pit. It was ominous in the night, unattended and pitch black. Even those brave enough to care for the dragons were not so brave as to do so in the dark.
Jaehaera pulled herself away from her mother as they journeyed further inside. She peered around at the empty nests, trying to spot the dragons. Sunfyre lifted his gleaming head to peer at them as they passed, and Tessarion snored, smoke curling from his nostrils and sparks bursting from his lips in his sleep. Helaena ignored them both, stride never faltering.
Though Jaehaera knew her own future mount wouldn’t be in one of the nests, she looked desperately for him nonetheless, hoping for a glimpse of black and blue amongst the straw and dirt. He was nowhere to be seen. The young dragons spent little time this close to the surface, instinct telling them to burrow. The largest and oldest of the dragons were kept at the bottom of the pit, and the hatchlings knew they were safer in Vhagar's den than Tessarion's.
The floor sloped slightly downwards as the pair made their way through the Pit, journeying down cavernous halls and further into the earth. There were no lights lit as they traveled from the entrance, the light of the moon disappearing almost entirely by the first turn, though Helaena moved confidently nonetheless. They were still far from the end of the hall when Helaena finally slowed, turning into a small alcove and shifting forward.
“Dreamfyre?” She called, voice steadying. “Are you there?”
Jaehaera watched with wide eyes as a head moved forward, a soft glow coming from its maw. Dreamfyre’s mouth was open just enough for her to hold a soft flame, giving them more to see than just darkness. Her horns cast shadows across the walls, sharp lines splitting the room.
“My girl,” Helaena breathed, moving closer. Dreamfyre closed her mouth and extinguished the flame, but Helaena moved forward even without sight towards her dragon. There was a great rumbling sound and then heat scorching Jaehaera’s skin, a snout held before them.
Helaena moved forward until she could press against the dragon, letting Dreamfyre take some of Jaehaera’s weight so she could free a hand and stroke along the pale blue scales. Jaehaera let her own hand reach out, pressing against hot scale and skin. She could feel the beast’s next rumble through her teeth and eyes.
“Yes,” Helaena said quietly. “You’ll keep us safe, won’t you? Who would cross you?”
Helaena and Dreamfyre moved easily as the woman shifted further into the den, the dragon twisting until her body blocked the entrance. Jaehaera let herself be lowered slowly, only flinching a bit when Dreamfyre let out a short but loud call out towards the hall. The sound was at least turned away from the den and its domed walls, the sound traveling away from the pair and their sensitive human ears.
Helaena’s hands finally left Jaehaera as she settled into the straw. Jaehaera took the moment to lean away, letting herself breathe without the feel of another body pressed against hers. The heat was comfortable here, knowing it meant dragon and sure protection.
Dreamfyre’s movements were noisy as the beast settled, claws dragging against stone and wings shifting straw. Jaehaera could tell when the tail wrapped behind her, scooting until she could lean against it.
Helaena didn’t speak as she settled in herself, and the trio sat together for what felt like several long minutes before there was a disturbance.
Helaena gasped at the sound of shrieking, but Jaehaera sat up and couldn’t help her grin. “Morghul!” She cried, knowing the sound of her dragon’s voice as sure as her own. “Are you there?”
Dreamfyre grumbled again, but the flap of wings gave away the young dragon coming into her den. There was a soft light, Dreamfyre’s mouth held open again, and Jaehaera held her arms open as Morghul dived over Dreamfyre’s body.
The dragon was already bigger than Jaehaera herself, but that didn’t stop her from doing her best to wrap her arms around the thin body. She felt wings press against her back, a tail twist around her leg, and she squeezed as tight as she could. She loved her mother’s dragon, but Morghul was hers.
“Not you,” she heard Helaena spit a moment later, the light from Dreamfyre having died again. “No, no, you go, get out!”
Jaehaera pulled her face away from Morghul at the hysteria entering her mother’s voice. “Mama?”
“Out! Out! Get out, begone, go!” There was a sad screech, and Morghul whined in response.
“Mama!” Jaehaera cried, leaning forward to press her hands against her mother’s face, trying to silence her. “Stop!”
“She can’t– she has to–” Helaena was gasping now, her voice twisted. “No, no, not without the boy, she can’t… we have to be safe, we have to– get out, you foul thing, get out!”
“No, no, no,” Jaehaera murmured, reaching her arms high into the air. She could feel the moment Shrykos flew to her, the air disturbed around her head and her nightdress dancing around her ankles as she ducked behind her. “No, mama.”
“We must be safe,” Helaena insisted, though Jaehaera could hear her collapse back against Dreamfyre, the dragon’s soft grumble in response. The Queen’s words devolved from there, turning into soft sounds more than anything else, and Jaehaera knew that she had lost her mother for the night. Grandam always became most distressed when this happened, father frustrated, but Jaehaera knew there was nothing to be done.
She sat on the straw once again, allowing both of the young dragons to gather close to her. They weren’t as warm as Dreamfyre, but she felt the same pull in her heart when they pressed to her.
Jaehaera laid fully on the ground this time, laying her head on Morghul’s shoulders, snout pressed to her belly and wing covering her head. Shrykos curled herself over her legs, breath puffing across both Jaehaera and Morghul's bodies. Helaena’s mutters didn’t stop, but Dreamfyre began a soft rumble that almost drowned them out.
Jaehaera let her eyes fall shut, content to know that she could not be reached behind the wall of three dragons. Behind her eyes, she saw her brother once again.