" What the fuck is that ?!" Konno Haru yelled at Rhaenys in his heavily-accented High Valyrian as she ran along the circumference of the citadel with buckets filled with water. She was warned not to spill a single drop, or she would do it again. " Faster, you cunt! Faster! "
Had this been any other person, he would have had his tongue cut out for speaking in such a manner to a lady. But, as Quenton Qoherys was still at Dragonstone to protect their home and with Jaenyx and her siblings in the Storm kingdom, Rhaenys only had Konno Haru and his eldest son Arata to train her in the ways of the bow. They couldn't speak the common tongue at all and the only other tongue they knew was High Valyrian, which she understood completely but couldn't speak well at the same time. Seeing that and given that she also did not speak nihongo, Master Haru ordered in High Valyrian, " If you're going to learn the ways of the archer, you will do what I say when I say it. Whenever we're training, I expect you to give your all or you'll just be wasting my fucking time. For now, the only words that I want to hear from you is "Hai, sensei." Is that understood ?"
"Hai, sensei," Rhaenys mumbled.
" Stop mumbling! Is that understood ?" Konno Haru asked again, with more firmness in his voice that time.
"Hai, sensei," Rhaenys affirmed more clearly.
" I cannot hear you, you dragon bitch! Is that understood ?!" Konno Haru yelled.
Rhaenys felt dragonfire emerge in her insides and wanted to slap him hard in his face for addressing her in that way. Nevertheless, she stood straight. "HAI, SENSEI!"
Rhaenys didn't think much of Konno Haru when she first saw him on the ship that ferried Jaenyx to Dragonstone, and their interactions were far and few over the past year. But here, she saw Haru as a nasty bastard who clearly did not care that she was a highborn. Despite training the boys hard, Quenton Qoherys maintained decorum whenever he talked to Aegon and Orys. Then again, as he was from Yi-Ti, he was not bound to the Westerosi manner of addressing highborns. Moreover, Konno Haru and his son Arata were far more extreme in terms of training methods and way of thinking, with even the smallest infraction being grounds for them to cane their trainees. Fortunately, they were smart enough to not go that far with Rhaenys without getting severely reprimanded by their father, but that didn't stop their verbal assaults on her.
Both Konno and Arata Haru said that before she could start training with the bow, Rhaenys had to improve her endurance, her arm and upper-body strength, and mental fortitude. Rhaenys remembered when she was trying to explain the time she killed a stag after only two days of training on the bow.
" I… shot… a… stag…. with… bow.... after --" Rhaenys attempted to say clearly in High Valyrian.
But Konno Haru responded with, " Uh, wha wha wha wha wha what? "
Rhaenys tried to continue, " Two… days-- "
"D d d d d d d d," Konno Haru uttered while mocking her slow speech. " What of it?!!! "
Rhaenys didn't know if she could become more angry with how Haru derided her. No one ever talked to her that way.
" What you did in the past means shit to me, dragon cunt! " Konno Haru shouted while he leaned forward close enough that their noses almost touched. " You do as I say, you will be a good archer and nothing in the past will matter. Wakari masu ka?!
Rhaenys sucked in her pride and merely responded with, "Hai, sensei!"
" Now, go run up that hill and run back down ," Konno Haru pointed to the southern hill of their citadel.
" I… no… proper --" Rhaenys tried to explain before being cut off again.
" Run now!!! " he ordered. Rhaenys was so frightened by his tone that she obeyed immediately.
Konno Haru had her run up that hill for the next half day, all the while getting confused stares from the other troops and lords as to why a lady of House Targaryen was running in the first place. Rhaenys didn't know what he said in response, but his shouts were more than enough to dissuade them from asking further questions. By the end of it, her feet had blisters and her dress dirtied from all of the falling on the dirt as she ran down the hill.
Rhaenys' "training" had went on uninterrupted for the past three weeks. During that time, she had heard of the taking of Haystack Hall, allowing their troops a secure crossing of the Wendwater and making possible their construction of a bridge. Vaeron Rahitheon, one of Aevor Rahitheon's nephews and the victim of Darvin Hoare, was sent to oversee its construction. The last report she read on the advance into the Durrandon domains was that they were near Bronzegate. Even she understood that with Bronzegate secure, the road to Storm's End would be open. It was an approach that their enemies would definitely expect, but she was confident that her good-brother and siblings would find a way to throw them off guard.
Even a few weeks into the "training," Rhaenys still didn't touch a bow. All the while, she endured more of Sensei Haru's abuse. Words like "dragon cunt" and "dragon bitch" echoed in her ears the whole time, and she lost count of how many times she wanted to lunge at his throat and choke the life out of him. Wait a moment. Why do I want to do that? Why am I thinking such things?
At the end of the last lap around the citadel, Rhaenys was out of breath but carefully lowered the buckets onto the ground.
Konno Haru looked at them closely. " You dropped some water, my lady ," he observed.
Rhaenys softly groaned. " I… tried… best-- "
Konno Haru clapped in front of Rhaenys' face, wise enough to not slap it like he did with the others. His clap was so loud that it rang in her ears. " I don't give a shit if you tried. Trying is useless if you fail to perform even the smallest task properly. "
I want to fucking kill this guy , Rhaenys thought angrily.
Konno Haru stopped mid-sentence and stared closely at her. " What are you thinking now? Why are you distracted ?"
Rhaenys gulped. " Nothing ," she managed to say.
" Bullshit ," Haru retorted. " What are you thinking ?" Rhaenys clenched her teeth, which he noticed. " Oh, now I understand ," he nodded in understanding. " Do you want to kill me ?"
Rhaenys let out a strong exhale through her nose. "Hai, sensei." She expected more berating from Haru, as she had just admitted her true thoughts and it was only natural for him to strike back at her for such defiance.
Instead, Haru smiled. What are you smiling about , Rhaenys thought. " And so, the truth comes out. You think this is nonsense, my lady? " he asked in mock deference at the last one. " You wanted to learn the bow, but instead, I am making you do things that only servants do and your delicate little body can't handle it when you have to get down and dirty. Is that right ?"
Rhaenys maintained her stare at Haru. She didn't say anything that confirmed what she thought of all that Haru put her through, but she didn't need to.
" Let me explain something to you, Lady Rhaenys, something that I hope that your soft mind could handle. " Haru stood straighter and crossed his arms. " You think growing up in a noble family and living a carefree life makes you a good person? You think that the events in the past weeks would make you a stronger woman? You believe that nearly drowning and taking your first life makes you wise as to what the world is? Well, let me say something to you, woman. All of that means shit! Especially to those that live in the real world! "
What does this have to do with training , Rhaenys pondered. However, she continued to listen.
" You want to learn how to be an archer, but to learn the way of the bow, you have to develop everything else in your body. You have to have speed, since how fast you can draw and let loose an arrow can determine life and death. You have to have endurance, since an archer must be able to continue drawing the bow until after the battle is done. Most importantly, you need strength of mind, as you may not have the luxury of distance between you and your target and how you act when your opponent comes close to cutting your head off will determine if you live to the next day. That is what you highborns don't really think about. The details. When it all comes down to it, it won't matter if you're a lady. You either the better one in battle, or you can be the next corpse rotting for the flies to feed on! "
Rhaenys listened to all of this carefully. The more Haru spoke, the more everything made sense, and the more she began to realize how little she really knew about the world.
" You think that my insults to you are bad, Lady Rhaenys? Well, guess what. There are men who would look upon you and tear your clothes from your body before they hump you ," Haru continued. Rhaenys felt her eyes widen, shocked at how Haru said that men would rape her. " You think that having bleeding feet is painful? That's nothing compared to chopped limbs and gouged-out eyeballs. I am sorry to say this, but you're just a piece of meat and it doesn't matter that you have the blood of dragons. The only difference between us and pigs is that we can talk and think. Other than that, both us and pigs have flesh, blood, limbs, and eyeballs. "
Rhaenys couldn't deny that logic, which made it more difficult for her to stomach.
" You think about killing all you want, my lady. But understand that the little things add up. Once I am satisfied that you're in a good enough shape, we will proceed with the bow ."
Rhaenys had more to say, but she was too shocked at how logical Haru's words were to say them. She instead endured his penalty of running around the citadel, again with filled buckets.
But during that time, Rhaenys began to understand how Jaenyx became the man who arrived at Dragonstone. Konno Haru must have said similar things to him and made him go through hellish training, which would explain how he knew that Rhaenys thought about killing him. On the other hand, Jaenyx clearly trusted Konno Haru enough to endure his methods and became a very strong man as a result. Not just physically, but also mentally. She wasn't sure about Haru using personal insults during training, but she decided to just… bear with it.
On the other hand, their father, Lord Aerion, was not obviously displeased at Haru's methods.
" You are making her do servant's work, Haru ," their father spat. " I thought you're training her in how to use the bow ."
" It's a part of the process, Lord Targaryen ," Haru replied in his heavily-accented High Valyrian. " If she can have better endurance and strength, she can be a great archer ."
Their father scoffed. " You've been going at this for three weeks. And now, you're making carry buckets of water like a servant girl. "
Konno Haru cocked his head at him. " And how is that any different from how your daughter, Visenya, was trained? I hear she's quite the swordsman. "
" She had Dragonstone's master-at-arms to train her and all of the methods and drills she practiced had a purpose. I don't see that purpose in what you're doing ."
" This is how we trained back in Nihon, Lord Targaryen. Everything we did in our daily lives carries into how we fight ."
" But we're not in Nihon, or Yi-Ti, Haru. And quite frankly, I'm starting to lose patience with you're treating my daughter. My good-son might trust you, but I will not tolerate anyone calling my daughter a 'dragon cunt.'"
Haru was indifferent to their father's remonstrance. Rather than answer back at him, he turned to Rhaenys. " Come with me, " he ordered. Rhaenys followed him to the archery targets in the citadel, with their father close by. Haru pointed to the bow. " Pick it up. "
"Sensei?" Rhaenys asked.
" I said pick it up, damn it ," Haru repeated. Rhaenys did as commanded. " Now, draw the bow ."
Rhaenys was expecting herself to struggle with pulling back and for her arms to shake. But instead, drawing the bow felt… easy for her. " Again ," Haru ordered. Rhaenys did so, and the second time was also easy. " Now, grab those arrows and let them loose against that target ." Haru pointed to the circular target in front of them. Rhaenys was confused, as they never got to that point yet. " They don't have to hit the target. Just let them fly ."
Rhaenys pulled out three arrows from a nearby quiver and expected more struggling. It was one thing to pull back on the bow, but another to pull it back with an arrow. However, she found that her grip was… enough for her to hold the arrow without her fingers shaking. The first arrow flew and entered the ground. The second missed the circular target. However, the third landed on the edge. It was nowhere near the center, but it was enough for Haru that he walked back towards their father.
" You may not like how I train her or what I say to her, Lord Targaryen. But everything has a purpose, and now you've seen the results of my methods. Can you really denounce them now ?"
Their father said nothing, surprised at how Rhaenys didn't struggle at all when pulling the bow back. Not able to argue, their father simply returned to the manor house.
As for Rhaenys, she moved her fingers around while shaking her hands. They still felt sore, but was surprised that they had any strength at all when handling the bow. Konno Haru would an abusive son of a bitch in her eyes, but she began to see why Jaenyx became the man who appeared a year ago and became Visenya's husband.
However, Rhaenys got intrigued at Konno Haru. She walked up to him. " Why… you… low…. highborn? " she managed to ask. I really need to work on my High Valyrian .
To her relief, Konno Haru understood what she was asking despite the broken bits. " That's not a simple story to tell, Lady Rhaenys. "
" Can… you… say ?"
Haru sighed. " All right. Westeros has knights. Back in Yi-Ti, I was something similar to a knight. I had a code of honor, a lord that I was sworn to, and I knew my place in the order of things. And I was content. There were five hundred others like myself that were sworn to the same lord, a number not many lords back in Yi-Ti could command. But things were not to last. " Rhaenys stood straight. " I don't know exactly what happened, but the next thing I knew, my lord was executed by the emperor and I was forced to watch as my lord's keep, my home ," Haru hesitated before continuing. " Burned to the ground. Adding insult to the injury, they took my lord's wife and daughters and sold them to brothels ."
Rhaenys gasped. " I tried to fight back and demand justice ," Haru continued. " But, no lords would help me and they instead celebrated while my lord's lands were divided amongst themselves. I became a drifter, a warrior without a lord, and I had to sell my sword just so that my wife and children wouldn't starve. I then came across a group of shinobi, who I joined to avenge my lord and his family. I won't get into the details, but by the end of it, every lord who profited from my lord's death perished and I had to flee with my family along with fifty other drifters and their families away to avoid the emperor's agents. Eventually, my path led to Auryon Belaerys, Jaenyx's father, and he allowed me sanctuary in exchange for training his sons ."
Rhaenys nodded slowly, horrified at Haru's revealing his past, more so because of how unemotional he sounded as he told his tale. It was as if all the anguish and tears that was natural to such events had died in him long ago. Then, she began to understand why Haru became extreme with his methods and way of thinking. The society that was supposed to support him abandoned him and he was forced to seek justice on his own. He had a code of honor, which was spat on by the very people who created it in the first place. In essence, Haru had become a man that had lost faith and as a result had a negative view of the world.
" But… Jaenyx…. give… purpose ?" Rhaenys had to ask.
Haru sighed. " I made it very clear that I didn't care if you were highborn. After all, it was highborns that gutted everything I believed in and showed me what they really were. But for Jaenyx, it was different. After his parents and brother died, he had no one. As I was training him, he started to lean on me more. What made me stay with him is him clenching his teeth as I threw insult after insult at him. He could've given up, but he dug down and became a stronger man as a result. In fact, he only got through his family's deaths because of me. I became the father that he needed when his real one died ."
Rhaenys nodded, but more in thought. " Is… he… son… to… you ?"
" He is my student ," Haru replied. " But, yes. He is like a son to me. Just as I became a father to him . We'll continue with our lessons tomorrow. " With that, he and Arata turned around and went back to their wooden house.
Rhaenys sighed. As much as she couldn't blame Haru for his extremities due to his history, that last sentence on him being a father to Jaenyx didn't sit well with her. A father would show love to who they saw as their son and so far, she didn't see that. All she saw between them was cordiality and deference that was expected between teacher and student, but no warmth. I don't know if you became a father to Jae.
Rhaenys also was bothered about Haru boasting that Jaenyx becoming stronger only because of him. If that were true, then Jaenyx would have been just like Haru in how extreme and subdued he was. But during the past year, she saw Jaenyx become a loving husband to Visenya and a welcome addition to their family. She also saw that he had more emotional depths than most didn't expect of him because of the lack of expression that he showed others. Most importantly, he did care about others and showed that he was capable of showing love to not just Visenya. However you trained him, Sensei Haru, you never taught him how to love. That is something that you never taught him, so I don't know if you can call yourself a father to him .
Rhaenys was walking through a field of tall grass, her hands gliding over its tips as she looked around the green vastness. Looking at the sky, she could tell it was near dusk. Winds were blowing through the field, making the tall grass move like waves in the ocean. As if in a trance, she continued running her hands through the grass while keeping her eyes on the darkening sky.
Ahead, Rhaenys saw a tiny tree in the distance. Curious, she walked towards the tree that stood out in the emptiness of the green pasture. As she got closer, the winds became calmer and the pasture quieter. The tree also became larger and distinguishable, but all she could make out was that it had blood red leaves.
Rhaenys didn't know, but she felt something… drawing her to this tree. She could hear its thoughts, "They're coming. They're coming." It just kept repeating in her mind. Her blood suddenly ran cold as she looked back at the pasture and saw that the tall grass had stopped moving, the winds having died down.
Feeling a presence behind her, Rhaenys turned around and saw something emerge from behind the tree. It had yellow eyes just like Meraxes and had a growl that could be confused with her dragon's on a quiet day. As more of the thing made itself known, she saw that it was… a wolf. A big one since its height was at her waist. It was growling, but not one that meant harm.
Suddenly, Rhaenys felt grass behind her rustle. Out of the grass emerged phantoms in cloaks, their faces covered in their hoods. She counted seven of them, and they all wielded daggers. She heard them chanting, "Must kill the sin. Must kill the sin."
Rhaenys started to move away from the phantoms that would mean her harm. But to her surprise, she felt the wolf move past her and made its growling louder at the phantoms. She heard their chants turn to whispers, all of them saying the same thing "must kill the sin" over and over. It started to increase in her mind and she felt her breathing become faster. She stepped back fearfully as the wolf stood its ground at the seven phantoms.
Rhaenys then heard a roar, a dragon roar. She looked to her left and saw a dragon flying towards the tree. As it got closer, she saw it was Meraxes. It landed on top of the red-leaved tree and bellowed at the seven phantoms in challenge. When the phantoms didn't stop, Meraxes released her dragonfire without Rhaenys saying "dracarys," as if sensing her rider in danger and therefore not needing an order. Feeling its warmth, Rhaenys saw a stream of fire spread in front of her and heard the whispers ceasing. Fire spread through the pasture, consuming all and turning green to ash.
Rhaenys saw Meraxes jump down from the top of the tree and faced down the wolf. But instead of fighting or roaring, they gazed at each other, as if curious to the creature in front of them. Then unexpectedly, Meraxes and the wolf turned their heads to her, their yellow eyes piercing through her. As the fires spread further through the pasture, Rhaenys looked at the ground and saw one new grass sprouting up.
Before she could look closer, Rhaenys felt blackness form around her. She looked back at Meraxes and the wolf before she fell into the deep void .
Rhaenys launched herself up from the bed, breathing heavily. She ran her hand on her face and neck, both of which were drenched in sweat. Taking deeper and slower breaths, she calmed herself down before she laid back on the mattress.
Rhaenys had dreams before, but never like the one she had. This was… too vivid and yet not so chilly as to be a nightmare. Granted, those seven phantoms and the whisperings in her mind made her blood cold, but that was only a portion of the dream. She was happy to see Meraxes protect her in the dream from the phantoms, but she was confused as to why there was a wolf there, a large one at that.
Needing answers, Rhaenys went to her father's chambers in the manor house. As he was still Lord of Dragonstone, he occupied the ones Aegon used before he came to the citadel. She knocked on his door, but didn't get an answer. Knocking again, she found that the door was open and the chambers empty. Confused, she went to the solar, where she found her father talking with Taygor Leniar. What's he doing here ?
Their father noticed Rhaenys enter the solar. "Ah, Rhae. What are you doing up so late?"
"I could ask the same of you, father," Rhaenys replied. "Taygor, this is a surprise. I didn't expect you to be here, let alone with our father."
"He wanted to discuss Valyrian history with me, my lady," Taygor replied in the common tongue. Like Jaenyx, it had a unique Valyrian lilt. "Your lord father seems… quite taken with your family's origins."
"As should all who bear the blood of the dragon," their father quipped. "So, Rhae, what can I do for you? You wouldn't stay awake at this time of night if it weren't anything important."
After Rhaenys sat down, she explained what she dreamt. Both Taygor and her father listened closely, interrupting her only to ask for clarification. She couldn't answer that, as she didn't know the full meaning of her dream.
Rhaenys leaned back in her chair after she was done. For some reason, she expected them to look at her like she was out of her mind. But to her relief, they just looked… curious.
"And this is the first time you had this dream, Rhae?" their father asked. Rhaenys nodded. "I must say, I would consider anyone else having such dreams to be insane, but given our history and how we came to Dragonstone in the first place… it would be unwise to dismiss them so quickly."
"So, how can I explain it?" Rhaenys asked.
"Not exactly a common ability even for those carrying dragonblood," Taygor jumped in. "But… a dragon, specifically your dragon Meraxes as you saw her, appeared in this dream. That wouldn't happen if it was a common dream."
"And?" Rhaenys wanted to know more.
"Well, your ancestor, Daenys Targaryen, had such dreams before and that's what motivated Aenar Targaryen to leave for Dragonstone, ultimately preserving one of two dragonlord families left when the Doom occurred. Many scoffed at his seeming foolishness, but they all perished. What's interesting is that your family, Lady Rhaenys, is the only one recorded to have acted on such dreams."
"This is all good, but you're not answering my question," Rhaenys pointed out with impatience.
"I'm getting to it. The gods can reveal things that cannot be interpreted clearly at the first time. But I can guess that a grave danger is coming and that both a dragon and a wolf can be the salvation while also clearing the way for something new."
Rhaenys nodded, not completely satisfied with his answer but willing to accept it for now. "But why did I dream up a wolf?"
Taygor rubbed his chin. "That… I don't know. But you said that the wolf had the same color of eyes as Meraxes. All I can think of is that the wolf is somehow connected to the dragon somehow."
Rhaenys swallowed. "I'm worried about the grave danger part. I still hear their whispers in my mind." Even thinking of those whispers, she felt a chill run down her spine.
Their father pondered the situation. "It seems as if you had a very… troubling dream. How about you stay in my chambers tonight, like when you were a little girl?"
Rhaenys smiled at that, jumping at the chance to relive her childhood when their father embraced her when she had bad dreams. That night, she felt the warm comfort that her father gave as he held her close.
The next day was filled with more running around the citadel with buckets, only no one protested Haru's methods this time. However, before they continued, Rhaenys heard Ragaemor Tarareon call out to her. " Lady Rhaenys !"
"Lord Tarareon. What is it?"
Lord Tarareon handed her a message, written in Jaenyx's hand. As she read it, she felt more worried with each time. "Is this true, Lord Tarareon?"
" Yes, my lady. Lady Visenya saw their movements and Lord Belaerys confirmed them. "
Rhaenys nodded. The message said that Visenya saw troop movements coming from the Dornish Marches. From what she gathered, the Swanns of Stonehelm had gathered their troops had begun the march north, towards Bronzegate. From what she gathered, marcher houses as the Swanns had a fearsome reputation, gained from centuries of fighting the Dornish. Visenya also movement from Mistwood, which combined with the Swanns meant the Arrogant king was taking the threat from the dragons more seriously. He should, considering what happened to Black Harren .
At the same time, the Arrogant king was keeping the other marcher lords, his best troops, remaining where they were. That was good, as they didn't have to worry about combating all of the Durrandons' crack troops.
"How many more troops can we spare, Lord Tarareon?"
" A little over a thousand. We could call on the riverlords for reinforcement, but they would have to get the word from Lord Belaerys ."
"Get a message to my good-brother. Tell him that we will send him one thousand reinforcements and that we will need to have him call more troops from the riverlands."
" Yes, my lady ," Lord Tarareon bowed before walking away.
Rhaenys sighed. With the dream still on her mind and the new developments in the Storm kingdom, she knew that it was going to be a long few weeks ahead.