A Game of Thrones (Privat)

Aegon finished his last pieces of food when his son opened his mouth and started speaking. He interrupted himself and stopped. Aegon looked at him.
“Spit it out, son” he said, drinking the last drops of the wine. It was a really good one, and he was happy to be able to serve it during the tournament. He was proud over hosting the tournament; especially since his son was very talented. He hadn’t won every tournament, but he had been in top three every year. But this year it was more important than ever that Aelor won, mostly to keep House Baratheon from doing so.

---
Rhaenys was stroking her daughter’s hair while humming the lullaby she loved very much. She listened to Rhaena’s slow breaths as her daughter fell asleep in her arms, and it was as if she was transported a few years back when her children were younger. Even Aelor had allowed her to sing him to sleep in her arms, and the feeling was great even now when her children were almost all grown up. Rhaenys slowly got out of the bed, careful not to wake Rhaena up. Rhaenys kissed her sleeping daughter on the forehead before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her. She covered a yawn behind her hand as she walked into her bedroom. Aegon wasn’t there yet. Rhaenys undressed and climbed into her own bed with a book.

Aelor cursed himself for opening his mouth, spilling his insecurites to his father may not be a good idea. "Do you think that Rhaena will be well in time for the tournament? I know she seemed excited about it, I would hate for her to miss it." There is an honest concern in his voice, a worry for his little sister, whom he has a duty to protect to the best of his abilities. More than that is on Aelors mind but telling his father that he is afraid to fall and lose, is not something a man should to. He just hopes that he father doesn't know his heart and mind as well as the King thinks he does.

--

The handmaidens have cleaned and prepared the bedroom and bed, fresh linnens have been used to do the bed, their nightshirts have been washed, the chamber pots are clean. The maids are dutiful and hardworking, doing much to please their King and Queen, though some of the girls still giggle and blush at the sight of her husband, even more so after bath or if they catch him with less clothing than it is appropriate.

Aegon enters the room a while later, looking exhausted and worried, another and third cup of wine at least up colour on his cheeks. The quick, determined steps are headed straight for the bed as he works on undressing himself, fumbling slightly with the laces on his breeches after he's pulled the nightshirt over his head, holding a bunched up edge of the shirt under his chin while working on untying the knot that formed during his rush. "That boy speaks too much, Rhaenys" he signs sitting down on the bed , pulling off his boots and breeches before laying down on his warm bed.

Rhaena woke up when the sun’s rays made their way through the window to her face. She sat up, feeling much better today. She was about stand up when she felt it. Something wet between her legs. She felt how her stomach turned to ice when she slowly, slowly, liftet the covers. It wasn’t much, but there was a round, red spot. Rhaena felt how she lost all colour in her face. Her Flower.
“No, no, no” she whispered, feeling how desperate she started to feel. She threw the covers on the floor and ripped off the sheet from the mattress. Unfortunately, it had bled through.
“I’m not ready for this” she said to herself, using all of her strength to lift and push the mattress off the bed. As the mattress hit the floor, the door was opened, and Shelia and Yana entered. They gasped and walked up to her.
“Your Majesty – what’s goi-“ Yana started speaking, but stopped when she saw the blood.
“Your Grace, this is fantastic news” she squeled and Rhaena spun around, with a wild look in her eyes. She grabbed Yana by her shoulders.
“No, this is not good. This can’t happen now, and it won’t either. You have to help me cover this up, please” she said, feeling the desperation in her voice. Shelia, who stood behind Yana, gasped. Tears had started to fall from Rhaena’s eyes, dripping on the floor. They had never seen the Princess cry before; Rhaena never cried in front of people, she was too proud to do that.

It was as if the tears made the handmaids make up their mind; they were going to help their Princess. They flipped the mattress, and Shelia snuck the sheets out to the laundry, making sure that she was the one washing them. Yana helped Rhaena wash up, and made sure nobody else could enter the room until it was safe to do so. After an hour or so, Rhaena was dressed, and any evidence that she had become a grown woman was gone. She tucked her notebook under the mattress again and started pacing the room. What was she going to do now? She couldn’t cover it up forever.

The day of the tournament is here, all of the young Lords, knights and the Prince (of course) are getting ready, their armour is being put on by their squires, it's not as heavy as a true battle worthy armour would be but it's heavy nontheless.
That weight and more is heavy Prince Aelor's shoulders, the nervousness must not show, even less infront of the Baratheon boy, dragons have no weaknesses and he would be damned if it would show even for a moment.

--

The joust isn't until later in the day, as the competitiors hesd for the swordfighting ring the crowds have gathered. The royal family sit in the dias , lavished with pillows and fine meals and wines, some of the higher Lords have a seat near the King, as does his hand Darius.

The contestants move towards the roaring of the crowd, a deafening noise for anyone.
A group of Lordlings, knights and the Prince (of course) dressed in their house colours, all from a bright yellow to the haunting black and red of house Targaryen. Aelor can't help but to look up towards the dias, half wishing he could be there sipping fine Arbor wine. His gaze moves towards the other men, a seemingly weak bunch, the fights should be easy enough.

A small smile crosses his face as he sees his sister, happy that she is well enough to watch the tournament. Aelor straightens his back, holding his helmet under his arm. It's a very intricate helmet, the three headed dragon is covering the side of the helmet and the visor, made to look intimidating.

The roaring and cheering from the crowd with each name that is mentioned. A defening cheer comes from all around as Prince Aelor's name is mentioned, he bows and waves to the people. Aelor gaze move towards the Rose banners, smiling slightly as he sees the girl with honey coloured hair, he's forced to look away, remembering his duty to his family and the damage such actions and impulses did. A pretty face is all she is , just like the maids, nothing special, besides , a match has already been made for him. "A pity" Aelor muses, "the poor can marry for love, a Prince can not" a useless sentiment and it will only cloud his mind for the fight.

It was a day filled with excitement and pride in the air. The Houses had come in all day, and they all prepared themselves for the games. All kinds of Lords and Ladies were there, and their children. People are gathered around the ring where the tournament is held. Rhaena sat next to her mother, who sat to the left of Aegon. Rhaena studied the men lined up in the middle; all the different colours of the Houses made the line pretty. The announcer announced each House and its contestant, and people cheered.
“Aelor Targaryen, fights for House Targaryen”. People cheered, and Rhaena clapped her hands, as did the King and Queen. The announcer went through the line, and the last person came around.
“Eric Baratheon, fights for House Baratheon”. People cheered here, too, except the King. Rhaena clapped her hands, leaning a bit forward to get at better look at the boy. His hair was dark brown and wavy, probably the most beautiful hair she had ever seen. As Eric walked up front and bowed to the Royal Family, Rhaena could swear that he looked her directly in the eyes and smiled.

“It seems like you’re enjoying the Games more this year, Your Grace” Yana said, who sat next to her. Rhaena looked at herself, leaning forward and probably had an exciting look on her face. Rhaena was known for not enjoying events like this, but somehow she had a feeling this year, it would be much more fun.

Aegon's eyes are fixed on the Baratheon boy, disliking the excitement he stirs in Rhaena as obvious from the applause. The yellow of the sucoat is a stark contrast to the reds and blacks of his own house , a reminder of the past. Rhaenys takes her daughters hand, squeezing it gently, reminding her to calm down but her deep brown eyes are set on her son, praying he will not forget his duty. The Queens posture is firm and intimidating, her black hair is in a three fine braids on either side of her head and one on the top, which intertwine to the back where her hair is loose but combed so finely that it looks like black silk.

As the contestants scatter to make room for the first fight, Aelor stands back as he is not first, a lucky advantage most would say, giving the Prince a chance to study the others techniques and skill.

--

Two fights in and Eric has won a match while a lesser Lordling of House Uller of Dorne looses, leaving Aelor to fight one of the Tyrell boys, Joss, a fairly good swordsman, his footwork is unfortunately not on par with the Prince, letting Aerlor get two good hits in before taking a sharp hit to the elbow. The action only urges Aelor to fight harder and faster, and with another quick flurry, Joss is on his knees as the final blow comes, making the Prince a victor of the match.

The crowd cheer for their Prince, the proud Queen seems to sit a little higher now.
Aelor raises his hand and smiles, turning towards the honeyhaired girl.

Rhaena felt her mother taking her hand. Really? When she finally was excited for an event like this, she wasn’t allowed to cheer? Stupid rules. She mumbled something inaudiable as she watched the first match. She wanted to cheer when Eric won, but she had to be satisfied with smiling instead. As Eric rode off the centre, he looked up at her again. It was quick and discreet, but Rhaena managed to catch it.

As Aelor won his game, Rhaena applauded and cheered with her family, noticing in the corner of her eyes how her mother sat more straight in her chair, obviously proud of her son. Rhaena leaned back in hers, watching the games go on and on. Eric rode once again, and he skillfully got the Tyrell boy knocked off his horse. This time, Rhaena decided it was okay to clap. She wasn’t supposed to choose sides in this, anyway. However, the boy hit his head quite hard when he landed, and a whisper went through the audience. Eric stopped, and quickly got off his horse, lending his hand to the Tyrell boy. He helped him up, and they walked out of the centre together. Not only was he cute, he was nice, too.

A scoff comes from the King, that is not something to be praised. A knight should be able to get up on his own, did the winter not teach these children anything?
As Aelor unseats two more men , for the last joust he's facing a larger man from the Vale, if he can hit the head or unseat him, Aelor will win and advance, something he is hoping for but unlike the swordfights, jousting can kill you. One wrong move you could become a cripple or die, neither of which would suit him.

Rhaenys leans forward slightly, worried about her son as he charges down the track; lance in hand and visor down. The amour design is based of a amour that Aelor commissioned for his nameday, one that is meant to be used while riding a dragon into battle, this is lighter but efficient, she hopes.

With a metallic thud the man falls , foot stuck in the stirrup, he's dragged until the horse stops. Aelor seems umharmed but is holding his hand up against his shoulder, the last blow may have dislocated his arm, something that needs to be taken care of quickly. The crowd does not seem to notice as they cheer, with that, the day is over and both Aelor and Eric have advanced to the next stage. (A month of tournaments is a long time but the men need their rest) so tonight the opening feast will beging as the Lords meet the Royal family and hopefully stay on their good side.

As the games for the day were over, Rhaena stood up from her chair. She was happy; not only for her brother, but also secretly happy for Eric. She knew she wasn’t allowed to think that; but nobody could read her mind. She didn’t listen to her father when he spoke about what a great day this was, and that the feast would continue in a few hours when the knights had recovered from the day. As soon as he stopped speaking and people started to move and walk away to do other things while waiting for the feast to begin, Rhaena bolted. If she was fast enough, she would get a good look at the knights walking out of the arena. As she walked out, she saw the contestants walking out, too. She was in luck; Aelor happened to walk next to Eric.
“Aelor!” she said and held up her hand in a wave. She got up to her brother, who was a very good excuse to get a better look at Eric.
“I must say, you did a great job out there, dear brother” she said and walked next to him.

---

Rhaenys watched as her daughter walked towards her brother, and smiled. She really hoped they would become closer someday. She turned to her husband.
“My love” she started as she put a hand on his shoulder.
“I have some matters I need to discuss with you, could we do it now, before everything starts?” she asked with a soft smile.

Aelor stops and looks at his little sister, smiling. His hair is a sweaty mess, falling out of the braid. "Thank you , I wasn't certain you were watching. They were formidable opponents." a good man never belittles his competition, it's dishonorable, that's one good thing the knights taught him. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

An unfamiliar voice speaks up next to him. "Princess, I am glad that you enjoyed the first day and I hope you will enjoy the rest." The warm voice of Eric Baratheon is unlike the Prince's.

--

Aegon turns to look at her, a small smile gracing his lips. "What is so important, my dear wife,that it can not wait until after the feast?" the slight annoyance turns to worry in his eyes. "Is Rhaena well?" he ask quickly
The other houses are getting ready for the feast, the girls are changing into finer dresses, still somehow hoping to charm the Prince.