The end of the year and the start of the new was quite a memorable affair in the Targaryen Manse. Just a couple of weeks after Prince Oberyn left with his Knights to return to Asshai and head back to Westeros, leaving his niece behind with her cousin, Nymeria Sand, a Dragon Egg hatched, and over it, a fight between siblings ensued.
Rhaenys was beyond mad when Aegon hid behind Azaerys, not daring to even meet her eyes.
Her little Brother, who loved taking naps with his Dragon Egg, usually sneaked into her room and stole her Egg to hold both to sleep.
Even after she repeatedly warned him not to do it, he was still mischievous, but now, an accident had happened and his face was very sullen.
The Egg that hatched belonged to Rhaenys, her green Egg, and the dragonling that came out, whilst Aegon was taking a nap, was jade-green with golden-bronze eyes.
It was beautiful, so beautiful that Aegon had stared at it for a good hour when he found it sleeping next to him. However, panic kicked in when the Dragonling woke up and their eyes met.
The little boy could feel their bond, and instead of being happy, he was scared.
Aegon rushed to his sister, carrying the Drgaonling in his arms, and though, at first, she was happy at the sight of the Drgaonling, she soon had a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Her brother repeatedly apologised to her and tried giving the young Dragon to her, but the little one would always call out to Aegon to take him back.
"I hate you!" She screamed at him and ran off with tears in her eyes, and Azaerys found Aegon huddled in his room, crying inconsolably.
The little boy was scared that everyone would hate him because he stole Rhaenys' dragon, but Azaerys just smiled at his worries.
He talked to the boy and told him that this was not the first time that something like this had happened in the Drgaon Households.
Though rare, not every Egg that hatched would bond with the person who had spent the most time with it, and since Aegon and Rhaenys were usually always together when she had her Egg with her, the bond between him and the dragon was not surprising.
It took him some convincing, and then Azaerys led him the see Rhaenys.
"I told you not to steal my Egg!" She shouted at him but felt bad when it unsettled the little dragon who was on her brother's shoulder.
"I am sorry." He cried again, and Rhaenys, who wanted to ask him to go away, flinched when she noticed the disapproving look in her eldest brother's eyes. "He stole my Dragon, Az..."
"Dragons can not be stolen, Rhae." He reminded her. "They choose whom they want to bond with. This little one chose Aegon."
She shed tears at his words and quickly wiped them away.
"It wouldn't have if I was there..."
"How do you know that?" He asked, and she frowned at his words.
On the side, the rest of the family was very tense, and even the Knights felt sad about what was happening.
Azaerys then walked over to his sister, knelt, and pulled her in a hug.
She cried in his arms, and once she calmed down, he told her what he had earlier told Aegon, and reminded her that the bond between Dragons was a two-way bond.
Viserys gently pushed Aegon to step forward when he saw that Rhaenys had calmed down, and even though she still glared at her little brother when arrived in front of her, her eyes softened when she saw how sad he was.
"It's okay." She finally accepted his apology and hugged him, and then tensed up as Aegon cried again, not believing her words.
It nearly broke her heart when he asked her if she hated him.
Azaerys gestured for everyone to leave the room and led them out, allowing the two siblings to sort things out between themselves.
At dinner later, Rhaenys was seen carrying the Black Egg with Red highlights, and Aegon was laughing as his little jade-green dragon nibbled his cheek and nudged its face against his.
"Have you named your dragon yet?" Ashara gently asked, and the young Prince nodded his head.
"Rhaenys did." He happily informed them. "His name is Rhaegal."
Elia held back her tears as she understood that her daughter had named it after her late father, and Azaerys happily smiled at the name.
"That's a beautiful name, but how do you know that it is a male dragon?" He asked, and both his siblings worriedly looked at him.
It was really hard to tell a dragon's sex before they would grow seven times the size they were when the Egg hatched, and though, usually, the intuition of the Drgaon Blood was spot on, especially the one they were bonded with, there had been cases where she-dragons bore male names and vice versa.
"It's a male dragon." He laughed at their expressions and laughed some more when they both cutely sighed in relief.
"We agreed that I will name her Dragon when the Egg hatches." Aegon excitedly told them. "If it is a male, we will call him Draegor, and if it is a she-dragon, we will call her Belaerys."
Those were the names of two of their Gods and also the names of two extinct Dragonlord Families of Valyria.
"I approve." He smiled at the boy, who was very happy that his brother and sister liked the names.
And only five days later, the Egg hatched, and Draegor, who was a dragonling with beautiful black scales, slashed with scarlet red, horns and wings that were scarlet, and red eyes, almost like burning coals, was truly a beautiful dragon. It was slightly larger than Rhaegal was at its birth, and even as a newly hatched dragonling, it had quite the temper.
Rhaenys was beyond happy when she sensed their bond, and she rushed right out of the Manse, down the vast ground behind it, where Aerylyx and Rhaelyx were resting.
She introduced her dragon to them, and both of them shot out flames from their mouth, baleful green and crimson as if to show that they were happy for her.
Rhaelyx sniffed her little brother over and over again, just like she had done when Rhaegal was born, and the little Princess, sensing that she wanted her to stay for a while, leaned against her wings as she told them about the God, Draegor, and the Dragonlord House that was named after him.
A week into the the new year, the last Egg hatched as well, and what came out if it was a beautiful cream-cloured dragon, whose wing bones, horns, and eyes were golden.
Allyria, whom the dragon belonged to, named it after Viserys. She called it Viserion and bravely faced the teasing remarks of Ashara, Elia, Lyanna, and Arianne.
And the Prince, whom the dragon had been named after, was blushing even more than her.
However, the most shocking thing happened a couple of weeks after Viserion's birth.
Nymeria Sand, the second oldest of Oberyn and a noblewoman from Volantis, came to Azaerys and went down to her knees.
"I wish to marry Ser Arthur Dayne." She put her case forward, and Ser Willem and the other Knights in the room, as well as Elia and Lyanna, frowned at her words.
Her aunt reminded her of the vows of the Kingsguard, but she claimed that Arthur liked her too, something which amused the Young King.
The Sword of the Morning, who was standing by his side, denied her claim.
"Ser Arthur, stand by her side," his words tensed up the Knight, but he obeyed the command.
Azaerys looked him in the eyes, stared into those purple orbs, and the man finally lowered his head.
"I took my vows, and I will honour them until my last day," He said and heard a disappointed sigh from his King.
"I never questioned your duty to me, Arthur." He said and then turned to look at the girl, who was fair-skinned, unlike the Martells, and had nobility in her bones from both sides of the family.
She was also quite reserved when it came to her body and sensuality, having taken after her aunt and uncle more than her own father.
Arianne had told him about how Obara, her oldest cousin, teased Nymeria for being a Septa, and even her younger sister, Tyene, made fun of her for how she never took a girl or boy to bed and was wasting her youth.
"A Kingsguard can hold no land, be the Lord of no House, and can not take a Wife, Lady Nym." He said to her and watched sadness mask her face.
"Isn't it cruel?" She questioned, "To stop a man from fathering any children and depriving them of the warmth of a wife or a lover?"
"It is." He smiled. "However, I am sure you understand why Kingsguard are not allowed these luxuries. Their loyalty needs to be to their King alone. The warmth of a wife, a young babe in their arms, the idea of a home where someone is waiting for their return, can make their hearts waver and force them to shirk their duties."
"Is Ser Willem not loyal to you? Would he not give his life for you, Your Grace? Can only the Kingsguard be loyal?" She questioned him, and her words started worrying Elia. "Jamie Lannister was a Kingsguard too, Your Grace. Still is. And he thrust his sword in the back of his King he swore to protect."
"He was a false brother of ours, and if I see him, I will cut him in half." Ser Gerold spoke up but turned quiet when Azaerys glanced at him.
"It's the people without honour and dignity who betray, Your Grace. Swearing to have no wives or children does not make people honourable." She clenched her fist. "Arianne told me that you are different than your Grandfather. My aunt told me that you are unlike any Targaryen the Westeros has seen. My father holds you in high regard. The people of this town think that you are the messenger of the Lord of Light, and some even think that you are a God," she stopped speaking, and raised her head, "but are you really what they say you are? Or are you just another man with a crown?"
There was stunned silence in the room after her question, and just when Elia was to walk over to drag her niece away, Azaerys started laughing, and in an instant, relief washed over them.
"You are not scared of death and punishment, are you, Lady Nymeria?" He asked her, and seeing her lower her head, he chucked.
The Noble Bastard tensed up when she sensed him walk over to her.
"Why do you want to marry Arthur?" He asked.
"He is the one I want." She simply replied, causing Lyanna to grin at her words, impressed by her personality.
"Very well. I heard you are a very good fighter," said Azaerys, and before she could frown, she heard him call over a guard, "Aro!"
The guard who was stationed outside the hall, rushed inside.
"Your Grace."
Azerys looked at the boy who was sixteen, a fine fighter, who bowed to him, and then pulled out one of the Swords that Arthur was wearing on his waist.
"Stand, Lady Nymeria." He said to her, and there was an invisible power in his words that helped her get up on her feet very quickly.
The girl, who recently turned fifteen years old, accepted Arthur's Sword in her hand, and then confusedly looked at him.
"If you want to marry him, then you must fulfil two conditions. The first condition is that you must defeat Aro in combat. I will tell you what the second condition is if you manage to win," He said, much to everyone's shock. "No killing. We will all judge the result." He told her and the guard before he walked back.
Arthur frowned at what Azaerys was doing, but followed his King silently, giving room to Aro and Nymeria to fight.
Arianne had not lied, her cousin truly could fight, and could fight exceptionally well.
However, Aro had been in training under the Knights of his households, was a very good fighter, and was clearly at an advantage.
It was very clear that Nymeria stood no chance of winning against him, but she surprised everyone and fooled her opponent.
Aro wanted to end things when he saw the girl getting tired, and he made a single mistake, which was to use more force, leaving her an opening.
Nymeria spun around very recklessly, trying to get past his sword, which bushed past her arm and left a cut. She pulled out a hidden dagger from her boot, and before the boy could react, he felt the cold steel kissing his neck.
"Enough." Azaerys raised his hand, and Nymeria stepped back, storing her dagger away.
Her eyes resolutely looked at him, waiting to hear his second condition, not caring about her bleeding arm.
"Swear loyalty to me and my House, on not just your name, but on your Blood. Renounce any affiliations that you hold, religious, familial, and any others. Declare yourself the Servant of the House of Targaryen." He said to her, and finally, a hint of hesitation appeared on her face.
She was a bastard. Had no claims, but she had a father and a family.
Nymeria slowly went down to her knees and took a deep breath as she swore her Oath.
"I, Nymeria, renounce every affiliation that I had before this day. I pledge myself and my Blood as the Servants to the House of Targaryen, and its Lord, Azaerys Targaryen."
Hearing her swear her vow, Arthur was stunned. He never thought that the girl was this serious when she approached him yesterday and asked him to marry her.
The Young King walked over to her again, and this time, pulled out the Blood Oath that he was wearing on his waist.
As soon as he placed the flat end of the sword on her shoulder, everyone held back their breath and even Nymeria looked up at him in shock.
"Your Oath has been witnessed and remembered." He said. "I, Azaerys Targaryen, the First of My Name, with my Blood Oath, bestow upon you the Household name of Starlyfe. Your children and their legacy will bear the name of your household, and they will follow the Valyrian Traditions as a Vassal House to the House of Targaryen," said Azaerys, smiling at her, "Your Lord wishes to bestow you one more gift. Would you like to accept it?"
"Yes, Your Grace..." Nymeria kept the trepidation in her heart, and what was happening right now was something she had never even dreamed of in her life.
"Servant of Fire. Servant of Blood...." as soon as their Young King started reciting the ceremony of Knighthood, all the Knights in the room were in shock.
However, soon a smile crept on Ser Gerold's face, and even Ser Willem smiled.