Chapter 22 - Under The Moonlight

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(Baelon's POV)

"My Prince." one of the maids said as I walked towards Helaena's door, "She's in there." 

I nodded, "Right." I said as I opened the door and walked through it, "Helaena?" 

As I walked inside, I saw that she was sitting on her bed, reading a book. Her hair was let down, draped on her shoulders, glowing in the light of the candle. It was night-time and after supper with my parents, I decided to come and visit my dear sister. 

She looked up, "Oh, Baelon I-" She said before widening her eyes slightly, "Y-You...." 

I stopped in front of her bed and felt a bit of nervousness, "Y-Yea..." I said, "I cut my hair, like you wanted..." 

She set her book down and crawled out of her bed, walking up to me with a bewildered look on her face, "It..." She said as she reached me, "It looks good." 

I scratched my cheek, "Thanks..." I said, "I hoped it did...." 

She reached up to my head, carefully as she gently ran her finger through my hair. I had leaned in closer to her almost instinctively, allowing her to do that. 

Then, to my surprise, she ran her finger down to my cheek and gently caressed it. But after those few seconds which my entire stomach was filled with butterflies, she immediately pulled her hand away. 

"I..." She said as she stepped back, "I'm sorry." 

I smiled, "It's okay." I said softly, "Worry not." 

She nodded, "I like it...." She said with a bit of a glint in her eyes, "It suits you." 

"I did it for you." I said as I looked away

"Thank you...." she said as she placed her hand in front of her

"What are you up to?" I asked her

"Uhm." She said softly, "Reading." 

I nodded, "That's nice." I told her as I looked at the book, "Do you need company?" 

"I would like yours." She said as she looked at me

I smiled, "I'm happy to hear that." I said, "But....." 

"Yes?" She asked

I reached for her hand, grabbing it gently, and pulled it up, "I wish for us to do what we did as children." I said to her with a gentle tone, "Would you like that?" 

She looked at me, "You..." She said as I held her hand with both of mine, "You wish to read to me? Atop Balerion?" 

I nodded, "May I?" 

She nodded as she blushed slightly, "Yes." She said, 

"I would love that." 

*************

Balerion let out a deep rumble as we approached him, his massive head was laying on the ground as his large eyes opened. 

I was holding Helaena's hand as I walked up to him, "It's me, Balerion. Easy." I said in High-Valyrian

"Maybe..." Helaena said softly, "We shouldn't do this....he looks tired..." 

"It's fine." I said as I chuckled, "Come." 

I pulled her along gently as I walked up to Balerion's snout, who snorted loudly in response to my voice and Helaena's. 

I reached over and patted his scales, feeling the warmth of the Black Dread. To think that this massive creature was once ridden by the Legendary Conqueror at some point in time, it was unbelievable. He was a piece of Targaryen History....no....a piece of Old Valyrian History. 

And now, he was my Dragon. Something I carried with pride. 

"Come now." I said to Helaena as I placed her hand on his snout, "He won't bite." 

"I know..." She said softly as she patted his snout gently, "But still..." 

Balerion let out another rumble in response to being touched by her, it seemed that he did not mind one bit. 

I looked at Helaena, the moonlight reflecting off her hair and skin, she looked beautiful. She was looking at Balerion as she held her book in one hand, touching him with the other. It was a nice sight, seeing my beloved sister touching the mightiest of dragons. 

I chuckled, "Come." I said as I pulled her along, "Let's go." 

After a few minutes of climbing and helping Helaena, we both made our way to the top of his head, the Black Dread letting out occasional rumblings in response to us stepping on him. Other than that, he was fine with it. We used to do this plenty of times when we were much younger so he was used to it. 

We sat down in a spot where his scales were the smoothest, looking up at the night sky. 

"This...." She said as she sat to my right, "I like this. We have not done this in a long time, have we not?" 

"No." I said as I felt a breeze hit us, "It has been a long time." 

I looked at her as she opened her book, "Brother, we forgot a candle.." She said as she looked at me, her hair flowing in the breeze, "How will we read?" 

"Ah." I said as I looked at her

Her hair made her look like a goddess, the moonlight reflecting off it and making it shine. She looked at me with her beautiful and gentle eyes, it was like I was dreaming of the Maiden herself. 

She stared at me for a few moments, not saying anything. 

I blinked, "Is something the matter?" I asked her

She shook her head, "N-No." She said, "I just....I really love your hair now...it really suits you..." 

"Oh. I suppose I will keep it like this from now on." I said as I smiled

I then saw that some of her locks got in her face due to the breeze. I reached for it and with one finger, I moved it out of the way and tucked the hair behind her ear. Without thinking, I ran my hand towards her cheek, feeling her soft skin with my hand. 

I then gently caressed it as she looked at me with a soft gaze, "Helaena..." I said softly

"Yes?" she said

Then, as if I was possessed by something, I leaned in closer to her face, hesitating almost. All this while she didn't react at all, not moving as she just looked at me.

This caused me to stop and make sure that this was alright. 

"I..." I said as our faces were but an inch from each other, "Should I....s-stop...?" 

Her eyes looked like she was in a daze, I could feel that her breathing was a bit faster than usual. 

"N-No....It's okay..." She said softly

"Okay...." I said as I rubbed her cheek, "You're so beautiful...." 

I leaned and kissed her on the lips, feeling her jump up a bit but immediately easing into it as she patted my cheek. 

It felt good. 

It felt right. 

I didn't know why. 

I just kissed her gently and slowly, feeling her hand on my cheek as I ran my to her shoulder, our lips meeting together. 

After a few moments of kissing, I pulled away, a bit surprised at this. I felt my hear beating rapidly, I didn't know how to respond to something like this. I did this on impulse, I had no idea it would get this far. 

"I..." I said as I looked at her

Helaena looked at me, she was blushing, "O-Oh..." She said softly, "Baelon...." 

I looked down, feeling my own face getting red and hot, "I'm sorry...I..." I said

"It's okay..." She said as we both turned to face forward

I felt Balerion move his head slightly, causing us to bump back into each other. 

"Ah." I said as grabbed onto Helaena almost immediately to hold her in place, "You okay?" 

She had bumped her face into my chest and I was holding her by the waist as she looked up at me, "I..." She said softly, "Yes." 

I looked at her, she looked so beautiful under the moonlight. 

Again, without thinking, I leaned in and kissed her once more. 

Under the Moonlight.