"Is she the princess?" Rhaenyra seemed amused by the conversation, thinking she had probably deceived this boy.
"You guessed it. She is the eldest daughter of the King of the Seven Kingdoms." Haldor nodded slightly, approving Rhaenyra's words, but for some reason, he was a bit confused about this girl.
"Is she beautiful?"
"Rumors say her beauty is nothing out of this world. Some even mention they wouldn't marry her, even if they were her betrothed." Haldor wanted to test this girl to see if she was indeed his betrothed.
Haldor's words angered Rhaenyra, who said angrily, "Being the princess's betrothed, you should have cut the tongues of those who said that."
"I did. All of them now only speak with hand signs."
Rhaenyra seemed slightly calmer and said, "So, are you willing to marry?"
"I will be faithful to my betrothed. Certainly, we can all make sacrifices in our decisions for the good of many. As a human, one desires to have their own choices, but being a prince, I have obligations that affect many more people than I can imagine."
The consequences of his words must be repaired by actions and deeds.
Even if the princess he married wasn't to his liking, it shouldn't matter to anyone but him.
Millions of lives and a future free from darkness were in his and the princess's hands after all.
These words made Rhaenyra reflect, and she said simply, "We only live once. Won't it be okay to do things as we please?"
"That's the problem. Other people also live only once, just like us. We have privileges belonging to a high-value family, but those privileges come with obligations that we must follow, not just for pleasure."
Haldor paused and said, "I'm sure you also have your own obligations. You must be strong and stay calm to avoid making mistakes."
Rhaenyra looked at Haldor's hand extended forward, and soon small currents of water began to surround it slowly. "Since I was little, they've tried to kill me. My father assumed it was the factions of my other brothers, so when I tamed my dragon, he began the cleanup to keep my appointment as heir strong."
"At that time, I trusted no one, not even my father, who had an objective idea of me in general. So, having no one, I began to create my own strength. I traveled to the far north to make an alliance with the armored bears."
"When I finally had my strength, I discovered the White Walkers. I knew I had to tell my father, so I captured him, and after a long time, we decided to travel south to share the news."
Haldor felt at ease; being with someone his age perhaps made him feel more comfortable despite actually being older than he appeared. "If there were a war between my people and the Seven Kingdoms, we knew we would lose against the White Walkers, but if we united and combined our forces, there would be no enemy we couldn't defeat."
"That's why I don't care if the princess is unattractive. As long as she agrees to marry me and be loyal, nothing else matters." Haldor showed optimism, which further annoyed Rhaenyra.
"You talk a lot."
"Sorry if I bore you with many meaningless words. I rarely share my things with someone else, so I took the trouble to do so with you." Haldor smiled a little before forming an ice rose that wasn't cold at all and handing it to the lady beside him.
Rhaenyra looked at the ice flower and took it without saying a word. When she looked up to say something, she found that Haldor was nowhere to be seen, as if the wind had taken him away. "He doesn't seem like such a bad choice."
…
Haldor looked at Rhaenyra from a farther distance and asked, "Is she the princess?"
"She's the only woman, besides the queen, in this castle with that hair color. She should be the princess." Lucían responded, turning around to follow Haldor.
"I'll get ready for dinner. I hope it won't be as uncomfortable as I think." Haldor said as he headed back to his room.