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RHAENYRA
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WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK
USERNAME:
RHAENYRA
text ❖ audio ❖ video
Soon your duties will not be those of a son, but a husband. [ And she hopes to be far from his thoughts when that time comes — but she also knows, in the same breath, that he is referring to his duties as her heir, rather than any obligation he might feel to her as his mother.
Her fingers curl around his more definitively, as his do, and she turns, without thinking, to rest her cheek against his hand, a brief nuzzling that precedes the soft press of her lips to his knuckles. It is a gesture she would not offer toward anyone, especially when it is her hand that is most often held out in expectation of kisses, but her appreciation and fondness permeate through it.
His remark, then, prompts a playfully defiant look, followed by a scoff, and she lifts her arm slightly, indicating the space where he can tuck himself against the side of her body, the way he used to curl in when he was still a little boy. The way Luke had, weeks before Storm's End, even after insisting he was much too grown for it. A part of her aches, now, to recall the memory, and she does not think she can be blamed for selfishness here. ]
Come. [ A soft entreaty — because she wants him snuggled up against her, because it may be the last time they have opportunity for such a thing ever again. ]
Her fingers curl around his more definitively, as his do, and she turns, without thinking, to rest her cheek against his hand, a brief nuzzling that precedes the soft press of her lips to his knuckles. It is a gesture she would not offer toward anyone, especially when it is her hand that is most often held out in expectation of kisses, but her appreciation and fondness permeate through it.
His remark, then, prompts a playfully defiant look, followed by a scoff, and she lifts her arm slightly, indicating the space where he can tuck himself against the side of her body, the way he used to curl in when he was still a little boy. The way Luke had, weeks before Storm's End, even after insisting he was much too grown for it. A part of her aches, now, to recall the memory, and she does not think she can be blamed for selfishness here. ]
Come. [ A soft entreaty — because she wants him snuggled up against her, because it may be the last time they have opportunity for such a thing ever again. ]
I am not certain I prefer that to the game of wolves.
[ she pauses. ]
Do you believe our House could stand together again? If there were a greater threat?
[ when daemon refused to share information with her, even after she saved jacaerys. when they did not seek her killer, as she did theirs. when daemon beats her boy bloody in the name of training.
and she herself has punished him now, though it brought her no peace. rhaenyra loves a man without remorse for his cruelties or respect for her family. alicent cannot help but wonder if she shares his views. ]
[ she pauses. ]
Do you believe our House could stand together again? If there were a greater threat?
[ when daemon refused to share information with her, even after she saved jacaerys. when they did not seek her killer, as she did theirs. when daemon beats her boy bloody in the name of training.
and she herself has punished him now, though it brought her no peace. rhaenyra loves a man without remorse for his cruelties or respect for her family. alicent cannot help but wonder if she shares his views. ]
In both cases, our enemies were unknown to us. I'd much rather know who seeks to do harm to me.
[ a pause from her end, and rhaenyra briefly lifts a hand to her temple, pressing against an ache that threatens to emerge. ]
We appear to prefer having the privilege of threatening one another ourselves, rather than leaving it to any others.
[ she hasn't addressed alicent's role in throwing daemon down the stairs, breaking his arm, but it's the closest she's come to alluding to it now. they're not content to leave one another's fate to anyone else when they can wield control over it. perhaps it will remain so, while they are trapped here, but was it not so from the beginning, when they found themselves on opposing sides? ]
[ a pause from her end, and rhaenyra briefly lifts a hand to her temple, pressing against an ache that threatens to emerge. ]
We appear to prefer having the privilege of threatening one another ourselves, rather than leaving it to any others.
[ she hasn't addressed alicent's role in throwing daemon down the stairs, breaking his arm, but it's the closest she's come to alluding to it now. they're not content to leave one another's fate to anyone else when they can wield control over it. perhaps it will remain so, while they are trapped here, but was it not so from the beginning, when they found themselves on opposing sides? ]
Edited 2025-03-02 11:24 (UTC)
[ Alicent huffs a breath, almost a laugh. Mayhaps that is true. A small comfort, when external dangers abound. ]
Indeed.
I shall keep you apprised, should I learn anything of what’s to come.
[ and she will — after homelander reveals the temp v to her, it is rhaenyra and aemond she calls, bringing their family together against what’s to come. ]
Indeed.
I shall keep you apprised, should I learn anything of what’s to come.
[ and she will — after homelander reveals the temp v to her, it is rhaenyra and aemond she calls, bringing their family together against what’s to come. ]
[ the fact that it is the women of this family that are willing to pledge and honor peace to one another, while the men seek to cross blades over even the slightest transgression, isn't lost on rhaenyra. ]
I do not seek to bring any war to this place, especially when there are those here who have no part in it.
Others may not believe it is possible, but I will strive to see that a truce holds.
I do not seek to bring any war to this place, especially when there are those here who have no part in it.
Others may not believe it is possible, but I will strive to see that a truce holds.
I believe you. And I know that you will.
[Even if only half, they're sisters. That has to mean something.
She goes quiet for a moment, trying to think of something else to help bridge matters]
When it gets warm again, do you want to catch crickets with me?
[nailed it]
[Even if only half, they're sisters. That has to mean something.
She goes quiet for a moment, trying to think of something else to help bridge matters]
When it gets warm again, do you want to catch crickets with me?
[nailed it]
[ there is the unspoken that may need to be broached between them, but based on the tenor of helaena's messages, it doesn't seem that she even has knowledge of those events. and rhaenyra is already aware of how this strange place can take them from two wholly different points in time.
there is also no reason for her to outright refuse, so she decides to humor the request. ]
You may have more of an aptitude for it than I do.
there is also no reason for her to outright refuse, so she decides to humor the request. ]
You may have more of an aptitude for it than I do.
And when that time comes, Mother, you will miss this. ( Jace says it with more lightness than the conversation calls for, when they know that this is not what either of them mean. But it is also the truth. When he and Baela wed, she will be his priority first. She will be the family he prioritizes, his children too before the needs of his mother. Then it will be duty to the crown, yes, but duty to the family that will inherit it as well. Perhaps he will seat a son on the throne after himself, perhaps a daughter. Either way, it will be his heir and Baela who come first.
The affection is not lost on him. He smiles, softly where she cannot see. As he grew, he'd felt that such a thing was not suitable for a young man trying to prove he would not always hide behind the skirts of his mother. But her affection is always something Jace treasures, for he is aware that amongst dragons it is not so common a thing. So when she entreats, he clicks his tongue as if put out but moves to tuck himself into his mother's side like he is a boy. An arm slips around her back and draws her close, for even leaning in he is a bit too large to hide against her side.
Silence passes for a moment, before he speaks, ) I miss home.
The affection is not lost on him. He smiles, softly where she cannot see. As he grew, he'd felt that such a thing was not suitable for a young man trying to prove he would not always hide behind the skirts of his mother. But her affection is always something Jace treasures, for he is aware that amongst dragons it is not so common a thing. So when she entreats, he clicks his tongue as if put out but moves to tuck himself into his mother's side like he is a boy. An arm slips around her back and draws her close, for even leaning in he is a bit too large to hide against her side.
Silence passes for a moment, before he speaks, ) I miss home.
I will. [ Confessed on a sigh, and Rhaenyra doesn't think she can be all that faulted — or subjected to potential jesting — for how honest the statement is. Yet the responsibilities that await him as husband are not just part of his duty as the prince and future king, and they are not merely a part of how his betrothal to Baela will further strengthen their claim. They are a reminder that he is no longer a child with the inclination to hide behind his mother's skirts; he is her firstborn, and a young man who has already been tested by the threat of war.
In the same instant, now that she can no longer embrace Luke in this way, and now that her other children have been sent far from her, far from any danger, her arms ache to hold any of them at all. She doesn't expect that Jace will move to hold her in return, the weight of his arm settled around her frame further proof of his maturing in that regard — and after a moment, she curves into him instead, tipping her head to rest it against his shoulder before she draws the blanket closed around both of them. ]
I know. [ It is a longing she herself has, and one that may not even need to be stated aloud when he can surely hear it in her words. ] There are times when I close my eyes and convince myself that I can still hear the dragons beneath our feet. Hear the sounds they make that would so often soothe me to sleep each night.
In the same instant, now that she can no longer embrace Luke in this way, and now that her other children have been sent far from her, far from any danger, her arms ache to hold any of them at all. She doesn't expect that Jace will move to hold her in return, the weight of his arm settled around her frame further proof of his maturing in that regard — and after a moment, she curves into him instead, tipping her head to rest it against his shoulder before she draws the blanket closed around both of them. ]
I know. [ It is a longing she herself has, and one that may not even need to be stated aloud when he can surely hear it in her words. ] There are times when I close my eyes and convince myself that I can still hear the dragons beneath our feet. Hear the sounds they make that would so often soothe me to sleep each night.
( Once, Jacaerys had look at his mother and seen a woman infallible and beyond weakness. As he'd grown from child to man, she'd been the pillar of their family that held strong as his Lord father had slipped away to train or drink with his sworn man. Her choice to let those beyond the royal lines, those with silvered hair and Valyrian eyes, upon dragon-back had changed that. Not for the fact that it was a poor choice, but for it had shown him that she too was driven by fears for her own survival. She was human too, not a Valyrian goddess in the flesh.
It makes it easier to pull her close now, to feel that protective urge he'd felt once as a merely a son shift into something he cannot name. He wishes to protect her still. As son, as heir, as a grown man who has been raised with honor even if the nature of birth has some within these halls claiming that he can never know it.
Jacaerys holds Rhaenyra close, indulges and realizes that he needed this moment as much as she had. ) The Library will not grant us our dragons, but maybe we can ask for something like the sounds of our home.
I miss the winds blowing through the Sea Dragon's tower, the waves crushing into the shore. ( a pause, ) I would listen to Joff trying to bargain with Maester Gerardrys to allow him to leave his lessons early for hours if I could.
It makes it easier to pull her close now, to feel that protective urge he'd felt once as a merely a son shift into something he cannot name. He wishes to protect her still. As son, as heir, as a grown man who has been raised with honor even if the nature of birth has some within these halls claiming that he can never know it.
Jacaerys holds Rhaenyra close, indulges and realizes that he needed this moment as much as she had. ) The Library will not grant us our dragons, but maybe we can ask for something like the sounds of our home.
I miss the winds blowing through the Sea Dragon's tower, the waves crushing into the shore. ( a pause, ) I would listen to Joff trying to bargain with Maester Gerardrys to allow him to leave his lessons early for hours if I could.
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