Ｆｏｒ ａ Ｂｅｔｔｅｒ Ｆｕｔｕｒｅ [1 x 1 with smitty]

[the.smitty]

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Admiring the large direwolf, elaena vaguely wondered if the stories foretelling the connection
between a stark and their direwolf were true. Her blue eyes softened as brannon spoke of his
history with gendry, “I imagine the news of his passing was hard to heard, my condolences my
lord.” As the beautiful lady sansa arrived, elaena’s eyes drifted towards her uncle as a smile lit
up his rough features. “lady sansa, you haven’t aged a day!”

“I believe your son and my niece were just becoming acquainted with each other,” Tyrion answered
as he sipped at his wine. Watching his niece as he did so, she knew exactly what he was thinking – be
good.

“Of course, my lord,” elaena answered, gently grasping his muscular arm. She whispered a soft
farewell to Lady Sansa and her uncle before her attention turned towards the prince of death,
her soon to be husband. Oh god. She was aware her uncle and lady sansa would be discussing
the terms of their marriage.

“So tell me, how does the one earn a title as dangerous as the prince of death?”

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As the adrenaline from the flight coursed through his veins, rhaegon could have sworn his heartbeat
was echoing in his ears. Instead of attempting to keep up with the golden dragon and his beautiful
mistress the prince had settled on admiring their graceful movements from afar, amazing at how close
the bond between rider and dragon appeared. With a soft thud, drax landed on one of the opposing
rooftops, easily dismounting his fiery beast.

“Come on Aelyria, our parents are expecting us,” rhaegon called, offering the fair maiden an arm so
that he may escort her. The young swordsman was eager to see the future heirs to the kingdoms under
one roof, “and, I am eager to see who assumes dominion over Storms End now that Lord Baratheon
has passed.”

[blood queen]

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accepting the gloriously tanned arm with quick peck to his cheek, aelyria nodded. "they should alredy
be waiting in the main hall, if my memories of the castle serve me right. i know we don't know the lord very well
but he seems like a good man. unfortunately for us, we seem to be running so short of them."

she trailed her free hand slowly down his cheek and traced his jaw, before replying again, "but i know i have you,
and you me," she smiled at him; a rare smile indeed, twisting up her cherry red lips up as her cheekbones followed
suit.

"shall we, now? i have not ever heard of the lord and lady having children though, it must be so unfortunate. what
will happen to storm's end now? i do wonder." she replied, smoothing the folds of her riding leathers.

"and oh, dear me! i should get changed! mother and father wouldn't like to see this mess -- i'll meet you in our
chambers and then we'll meet everyone else." 'i am going to be in such trouble,' the crown princess thought as
her feet skimmed through the sun-warmed stones.


x

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"it is. gendry was like a second father to me," he whispered softly, allowing his full lips to curve slightly
upwards in his memory.

"and so do you, lord tyrion," the northern lady chuckled, "another dornish red? my my, and here i thought you
had abandoned them after elaena was old enough to understand!" her husband laughed alongside her whilst
petting the other direwolf, who was starting to growl at the soldiers behind them.

"oh, how wonderful." the lady agreed. "they seem to have take. to each other, haven't they? when do you think
they should get married? the realm is in some desperate need of good news, i believe -- gendry was like
another brother to me," she cast her eyes downwards for a brief moment.

-
"oh, that?" brannon did his best to look nonchalant, his insides boiling at him not to say a word of it to her,
in case she thinks him a monster. hailstrom squirmed a little next to them but he placed a warm hand on
her brow for her to calm down. 'she probably does too, so let's just give it a go,' the lord thinks as his footsteps
matched the lady's. "when i learnt the boltons' were behind a large part of my mother's... annoyances from her
past, i took up a broadsword and two daggers and rushed in to the dreadfort -- no one could stop me.

now, it is but a useless piece of land in the north. we were about to use it as farmland as it is so fertile," he
flashed his teeth, grinning wide. his eyes twinkling, he chose to speak again, "but let us not talk about the
past, i think i have already scared you enough. tell me of casterly rock, how is it there?"

[the.smitty]

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“whenever the occasion presents itself, one must celebrate the life of the living before joining
the deceased.” Lord tyrion replied, idly signalling the crimson guards to fall back. There was no
need for such protection in the company of friends. His eyes following the young to-be’s, “the
first day of winter is a month away correct? A unity between our two houses may be well received
then.”

“my condolences for your loss, it is unfortunate to meet again on such terms.”
__________________

did she touch a sore subject? as she listened to brannon’s story, the young lioness wondered if
he really was as fearsome as the fierce rumours proposed. “how brave of you lord brannon.”
she complimented as they rounded another corner, a soft laugh escaping her lips as she spoke
“It would take a lot than a wolf to scare me.”

“casterly rock has never looked more beautiful, the gardens almost glow and the birds sing
every morning.” She started, imagining the beautiful castle in its current glory. “when was the
last time visited? It would be a pleasure to have you see the castle after all these years.” elaena
offered, as she turned to look at the young lord. although elaena was convinced she wouldn’t be
fooled by his charming smile and hypnotising eyes, she did enjoy his spunk.

“how is the North? I can’t remember the last time I saw snow.”

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A taunting electric buzz shot down as he kissed aelyria’s cherry red lips, how could a woman
so versatile and alluring have this effect on him. Forcing himself to focus, Rhaegon finally
spoke, “the realm isn’t what it use to be Aelyria. I’m sure father has already found a new lord
to rule over storm’s end. He is always two steps ahead of everyone.”

Raising an expecting brow, he nodded his head and watched as the fair maiden almost floated
to her chambers. “Don’t let mother catch you,” he advised as he ran a rough hand through his
white locks, mumbling about women and social standards as he ventured to his chambers. His
free hand firmly resting on his sword as he passed through the halls, the sound of soft voices
and timely foot falls echoing from various hallways. How many people had gathered to comme-
morate lord gendry?

[blood queen]

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melting into the kiss, she threw her arms around rhaegon's neck, allowing herself
to be comforted by his warmth. after they pulled back, she only remembered to nodd listlessly, gazing in
at the same orbs that looked back at her. sighing, she gave him another quick peck before racing off.

now, she was in her extra-icy-cold bath, refreshing her dusty body as she scrubbed vigorously at her skin,
removing any impurities before rinsing and climbing out of the large ivory tub, taking care to dry herself.
she never liked having handmaidens bathe or dress her, she only wanted to do it herself.

after selecting an appropriate mourning dress and having called her trusty lady-in-waiting sierra to help
her on the jewelry and other statepieces, aelyria walked out of the bathing room, and called for rhaegon.
x

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the lady sansa and her consort smiled courteously at the idea. "wonderful! winterfell will be overjoyed
to hear the news, i hear." "it will be wonderful to lift the dreary mood after mourning, and a cause for joy and
celebration it will be!" the consort added. "now then, before we settle the preparations after the burning, what of the
location? i'm thinking of hosting the actual ceremony in winterfell before travelling south to casterly rock for
the tourneys."

-
"well, i suppose it had more to do with revenge," brannon let himself admit, "nothing i'd regret though."
he stole another glance at elaena, the corners of his mouth twitching as he admired her golden hair & cerulean
orbs, nothing like the wildfire green his mother often warned him about. hailstrom did not even look at her
twice, which was probably a wonderful sign -- he knew how territorial and aggressive his direwolf was with other..
ladies. this had to be good.

"it certainly sounds wonderful, my lady. perhaps you could show me after our wedding night?" he teased, looking
for a crack in her stone cold facade. "i could show you around winterfell if you wish, though i think i'd rather keep
you warm more often. it's almost winter now, and i'd hate for my pretty lioness to freeze up north."

[the.smitty]

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Elaena glanced between the beautiful direwolf and charming stark, she had never seen
one a direwolf before and was amazed by the wolf’s calmness. a faint blush tinted her
cheeks and a genuine smile crept onto her lips as he mentioned their wedding night, “it
would be an honour my lord, i do look forward to it” she answered, a coy breaking through
her political façade. “tell me, what do you think of our arrangement?” she asked, aware
that the handsome lord had many ladies and commoners frothing over.

“if I have you by my side I’m sure I’ll survive those treacherous winters.” Elaena answered,
her a teasing tone evident in her voice as she continued. “are you sure you’ll be able to
handle the fire in the south?”

--

"a union between our two families is long overdue," tyrion began, a gentle smile
lining his lips as his aging eyes drifted between the couple before him. "indeed! a beautiful
white winterfell wedding sounds perfect, casterly rock will be well prepared for the joyous
tourneys. it will be good to have young blood flowing through the halls of casterly rock
again." tyrion answered as a maid approached them, informing them of the gathering occurring
in the main hall.

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Changing into a more somber outfit for the occasion, Rhaegon inspected himself in the mirror
as his friend and aid, Braydon, organised his next few outfits for the burning. Thankfully,
Braydon was skilled in choosing outfits that appealed to his parents’ tastes. “Thank you, Braydon.”
Rhaegon chimed, shooting a charming smile towards his friend.

Exiting his chambers, one of the Targaryen guards alerted him of aelyria’s request. “Glamourous
as always princess,” Rhaegon stated as he rounded the corner. His dark suit contouring perfectly
to his muscular body as he walked, “our presence is requested in the main hall, it is best not to
keep everyone waiting.” He prompted, winking at the beautiful girl as he inspected her outfit.

[blood queen]

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"of course, my prince." she answered letting her eyes drift to rhaegon's which were already inspecting
her outfit. she had chosen a black dress with "dragon-style" leather running across her top and covering her arms, which
was connected to a stiff embroidered skirt with a maroon chain, all the colors of their house. pairing them with a pair
of black leather boots adorned with another maroon chain, the outfit screamed princess of dragonstone -- a title
she was extremely proud to receive; the fact that the dress was quite tight around her upper body probably did more
to ensure onlookers than offer protection but that was alright, her darling brother's scowl will certainly make up for it.

"we'll be running late if you keep your eyes running all over me. now, shall we, brother?" she clasped her hand tightly
around his arm, the swell of muscle comforting as they paced across the now gloomy castle. when they finally reached
the newly constructed main hall overlooking the great wall, which was said to be imbued with magic during its construction, had its iron gates already lifted but thank the seven -- it was only her parents there.

"mother, father," aelyria bowed respectfully, "i trust that you had a safe journey here?"
"of course, my daughter. nothing will hinder us so much to not be able to attend our dear ally's funeral." lavender eyes
fixed at the pile of burning material focused on aelyria's violet ones and a gentle hand traced down her tanned
cheek as daenerys targaryen, queen of the seven kingdoms smiled gently at her. "and rhaegon, come
see to your father," her voice beckoned.


x

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"indeed," sansa agreed, "we must ensure that peace once again flows between our great houses." the
consort nodded, a smile curving up his lips as he replied, "winterfell's cold halls may even turn warm again from the
children they will have. the firstborn, of course would be heir to both houses, would they not?"

turning their attention to the servant, the consort helf out his arm for sansa and as she took it, they fell into
pace as comfortably and with a smile directed at tyrion to leave his soldiers and join them, the older generation
headed out towards the main hall.

-
pleased that the princess had finally warmed up to him -- "not literally yet though, we should see it happens only after
the wedding now," brannon reminded himself, he allowed a mirror of her smile to be shown along with a slight
smirk, "i'm glad to hear of it, my lady. as for our arrangement, i could not be any happier last hear to find that the
lannister heir so beautiful," he allowed his ice blue orbs to wander around before turning his concentration back to her
back to her face as he pressed a warm, gentle hand up her back, "and now it seems, quite a spine as well. i do love a
feisty lady," he flashed another grin as his fingers locked perfectly into place at her hips.

before he could regain his self control, the yound lord caressed her ear and whispered, "or are you referring to the company i keep in my rooms? not to worry, my lady. i will not allow such a matter to trouble you any more."

[the.smitty]

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tyrion smiled at the idea of spirited children running around their castles, “the firstborn will be heir to both
houses, unless lord brannon and lady elaena declare otherwise.” Tyrion answered, agreeing with Sansa and her
consort. a feeling of deva vu washed over the old lion as he watched his friends lead the way, “ah, love.” he
muttered to himself before dismissing his soldiers and following the pair towards the main hall.

-

elaena was a smart lady, she understood tradition and was keen to stick to a few of them, their supposed
wedding ceremony was one of them. every little girl dreams of the day they fall in love and marry the man
of their dreams, el was one of them, despite learning of her arranged marriage to the prince of the north.
"of course, my lord, i wouldn't have it any other way."

beautiful? a mischievous glint lingered in her eyes as she calculated his words, was he lying? or was brannon
telling the truth? el tilted her head at his warm touch, "i expect nothing less, you wouldn't want to leave it
to the lions." el whispered, almost challenging him to prove it. she had worked tirelessly to restore the
lannister name to its former glory, a flirtatious prince would not get in her way.

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tearing his gaze away from her intricate dress to her beautiful face, rhaegon offered his aelyria a small
smirk. a perfect dress for the alluring princess, if only other men realised how deadly and poised the
young princess was. a small chuckle surpassed his lips at her comment, “if your wardrobe consists of similar
outfits, any man would have a hard time concentrating aelyria.”

As they finally reached the looming iron gates, his eyes settled onto the familiar forms of his parents and
his back straightened, tensing as he remembered his posture – this was a royal event after all. Nodding his
head respectfully towards his mother and father, rhaegon let go of aelyria’s arm, leaving her with their
mother whilst he joined his father. “my condolences for your loss father,” rhaegon whispered as he approached
the dark haired targaryen, his eyes matching the saddened expression on his father’s face.

“his prescene will be missed,” aegon answered before focusing on his son and daughter, “I am glad to see you
have arrived safely. we were beginning to worry about you,” aegon said as a small smirk appeared on rhaegon's
face. "you know how aelyria is father," he answered, as the pair glanced towards the princess and the queen.

[blood queen]

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turning away from her mother, she chuckled merrily and swatted at her brother. "annoying
as always, rhaegon?,"she finished, "i am sorry to be the cause of your worries, father. and mother."

daenerys let a soft smile curve her lips, "we are the last of the dragons in the world, my sweet.
we must protect ourselves and our kin like they are the world, for they are ours."

inclining her head, aelyria nodded a small "yes, mother." without having to turn around, she could hear
3 sets of footsteps approaching and the soft chatter belonging undoubtedly to the other two great houses.
stepping towards rhaegon to grasp his arm, aelyria lowered her chin in respect to the lord
tyrion who was walking alongside lady sansa and her consort as they stop to greet her parents.

"lord tyrion. lady sansa," she greeted, "as unfortunate as the circumstances of our meeting was, i am
glad for a reunion with our family's friends and allies. how have you fared in the journey? you have my
condolences, lady stark. you were very close, weren't you?"


x

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"don't look so glum my lord. surely you have found it as well?" sansa joked. as she approached the
targaryens, she lowered her head in a curt nod. "my queen and king. my deepest condolences," sansa offered
while nodding her head, before turning her attention to princess aelyria . "thank you for your concerns, princess.
my husband and i are well and i do wish we could have met in more pleasant circumstances. and yes, we were close.
we both cared for lady arya."

casting her eyes to the body atop the pile, she raised her head towards the blue heavens and offered a short prayer
to the old gods. exhaling softly she turned to face the royal family. "now it is time to move on." she clasped her
consort's arm tightly as a few tears threatened to streak down her porcelain skin.

-
"you sound as if you do not believe the words of a wolf. tell my, my lioness. am i not telling the truth?" brannon
allowed his arm to snake around the lady's waist and turned her around to look at him straight in the eyes. after a brief
pause, he adverted his icy eyes to the ground and let go of her slender body.

"we must get going, it is awfully quiet and we would not like others to wait for us. especially not the king and queen."
walking side by side with the lady after offering his lightly muscled arm again, he refocused his attention to the
numerous stone steps as they hurried to the main hall.

[the.smitty]

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A small tug teasingly pulled on her heartstring as she sensed coldness of the north,
dismissing it she nodded in agreement as they hurried into the main hall. A gentle
political smile lining her golden features as she laid eyes on the targrayen’s, starks
and lannisters alike. Thank the seven gods her targaryen friends were here, “my
queen and king,” elaena respectfully curtsied, doing the same for the two targaryen
heirs. as her eyes scanned over lord gendry’s body earning el deeply inhaled, she was
not accustomed to seeing the dead yet. Though her uncle had warned her that whilst
it was an honour for gendry to be burned it was also necessary as the young lord had
fought in the battle of the long night against the white walkers. El understood, yet
was not expecting the deceased to look so peaceful.

As the ceremony commenced following the king’s instructions, she whispered a silent
prayer in her head, her game face on as she pushed back a few tears. “least we forget.”
Tyrion muttered.

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rhaegon coyly eyed aelyria’s actions, his smirk fading as his mother started speaking. family
first, one of the few principles that were ingrained into his foundation. with a short nod of
his head, the young Targaryen agreed. aware of the approaching houses, rhaegon eyed the
infamous starks and lannister, his head dipping in respect to the heads of the two houses.

“may his fate rest in the gods' hands,” rhaegon whispered, he was never one for burnings and
funerals, empathy was not his strong suit on occasions such as these. thankfully, aelyria was
perfectly able to step in and entertain the other nobles in these situations. as the birds that
once cooed scattered again, his trained eyes shot towards the last two approaching nobles, the
golden lioness, and the dark wolf. offering an acknowledging nod to the pair, his eyes flickered
towards the servants finishing off the last touches, ready for the ceremony to begin.

aegon moved to stand closer to his wife after acknowledging the belated presence of elaena and
brannon, “may the ceremony commence,” he announced, his deep voice cutting through the air.
rhaegon gave a small comforting squeeze to aelyria’s arm, aware that they must maintain etique-
tte during the ceremony.

[blood queen]

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withdrawing her eyes from the mourning lady, aelyria turned her attention to the hard grip on
her arm. as comforting as he can be to her, rhaegon may come across to others as cold and distant
in times like this -- it was up to her to please their parents. greeting the newly arrived pair with a
slight nod in their direction & the glimmer of a smile to elaena, she then turned to stroke
her brother's arm before paying attention to the older royals' last words.

daenerys sighed, casting her eyes downwards in honor of her fallen ally. "it is time to bring the torches."
her clear voice followed suit after her husband and as they moved to light the pyre on fire,
she could not help but notice the close proximity in which the lannister and stark heir were
standing and not to mention the obvious reason why both her son and daughter were late
despite being on dragonback. coyly smiling to herself, she thought of the two grand wed-
dings and times of happiness the realm would experience after the melancholic event
of lord gendry's passing.


x

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noting the smile elaena immediately plastered on her face after his... unexpected aggressive-
ness, brannon instantly knew she had her own games to play and that it might take her a century to
learn how to best unravel her to reveal her own true emotions, "unless she learns to love me first." he
thought, the corners of his lips fighting not to curve up as they bowed to the king & queen before standing
beside their families, hands barely an inch apart. despite her sharp intake of breath as the lord's body first
came into view, brannon fought the urge to caress her back again -- and he had never, never felt
that way about a woman. never.

bowing her head before stepping in line with the queen to light the body, sansa did her best to dry her
tears before lifting the torch up towards the gigantic pile of burning material. "he was one of the heroes who
could not live without his one true love," she whispered as her consort rubbed circles on her arm gently in a
comforting gesture.