Chapter Text
Road to King's Landing
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During the spring and summer seasons, all the marriageable and well-born women of Westeros traveled to King's Landing with the intention of securing a good husband and guaranteeing a comfortable future. For some it was a childhood wish, for others it was a way to escape from their families.
Of course, during those months when the flowers bloomed and the heat became somewhat unbearable, parties and social events did not stop; all the great houses of Westeros were invited to dozens of extravagant parties and tea sessions during that time.
All the marriageable ladies eagerly awaited the arrival of spring to board their family ships, loaded with their best dresses, jewels and perfumes, hoping to leave that place as single women and return with a ring on their finger. All except Helaena Hightower.
Despite having grown up in an extremely conservative environment, Helaena had a free, adventurous and dreamy soul, who survived thanks to her love for nature and the wonderful stories found in the books of the mansion where she had grown up. For her, marriage didn't make much sense: why could a woman only aspire to have one husband? Why couldn't she have more desires than just becoming someone's wife? It simply seemed absurd to her.
"A woman finds freedom in marriage," her septa had once told her, when Helaena mentioned that she wanted to be free. "She goes from depending on her father, in your case, on her grandfather, to being dependent on a man who will give her all the comforts she wants and needs, in exchange, of course, for fulfilling his sacred function of producing heirs.
For Helaena, those words were just chains with another name; a golden prison that offered nothing more than a change of jailer. Every time she thought about her future as a wife, she couldn't help but think of her mother and the sad life she had since she married her late father, the way Alicent became a slave to an older man who only used her to procreate and to show off at parties and that, when he died, she became a slave to the title of widow that would haunt her until the Stranger took her away.
Just thinking about that made her chest feel tight and reminded her how far she would be from what she truly wanted if she got married; she wanted to be truly free, to be able to travel, to see the world and discover the wonders it offered, alone and happy.
Unfortunately for her, her grandfather, Lord Otto Hightower, had other plans for her. After convincing Alicent, Otto had made all the preparations for Helaena to debut at that year's social season in King's Landing.
“Even if he is my age, Helaena, if he has money and a title, marry him,” her grandfather had told her that morning, before she left for the port accompanied by her mother and her brother Aemond.
Helaena had reflected on what her grandfather had told her during the ride in the carriage, even coming to think that, at his advanced age, her grandfather had begun to rave.
Standing near the imposing ships and watching the crew load their belongings onto the ship on which they would soon venture to King’s Landing, she listened absentmindedly to the instructions her mother gave her.
“Now, Helaena,” Alicent said, stopping in front of her and fixing her traveling cloak for the fifth time, “do not separate yourself from Aemond, okay? A decent and respectable lady always has a companion.”
“What if Aemond is not with me?” she asked without much enthusiasm.
"Where else would your brother be if not with you?" Alicent left the ribbon of her cloak alone and looked at her daughter "A lady-in-waiting can always go with you; besides, I trust that you will soon find young ladies with whom you will form great friendships" as she said this, the ghost of a nostalgic smile appeared on her mother's face, who seemed to remember something. She did that often: remember happy times. Helaena continually wondered how it felt to have pleasant moments that one could return to from time to time.
Aemond appeared behind Alicent; his straight posture and the patch over his eye made him look intimidating. However, beneath all that rudeness was one of the most sensible people Helaena knew, and she couldn't be happier that he was the one accompanying her to the capital and not Aegon, who, despite not being a bad brother, had a severe problem with alcohol, which made him quite uncomfortable company.
“The crew says we’ll be leaving soon,” Aemond informed, “we need to start boarding.”
His mother nodded, her face wrinkled slightly in concern, and in a final loving gesture, she leaned toward Helaena and placed a chaste, subtle kiss on her forehead before turning to repeat the act with Aemond.
“Please take care of her,” she asked her brother in a whisper. He gave her a sidelong glance before nodding.
Aemond approached his sister and offered her his arm. Helaena hesitated a second before gently holding it, thanking him with one of her demure and almost imperceptible smiles.
Both siblings walked forward until they boarded the ship that would take them, along with many people, to King's Landing to begin the spring.
The sea wind stirred Helaena's golden hair, causing it to tangle, as if they wanted to free themselves from the ties that held them. In the distance, the seagulls screamed, almost in sync with the creaking of the ship that sailed the waters.
Helaena closed her eyes and breathed deeply, she had dreamed for so long of traveling by boat to a destination unknown to her, she never expected that, when she finally managed to leave Oldtown, it would be only to get married.
"Nervous?" her brother asked her, with an amused smile playing on his lips.
“I could not claim to be right if I were not, brother,” she replied, her eyes fixed on the harbor of Oldtown, now dwindling in the distance. She wondered how long it would take her to swim to the harbor if she threw herself overboard now.
Perhaps her grandfather was not the only delirious one in that family. Her brother’s laughter took her away from the improper thoughts that were running through her head.
“You will be fine, sister. You are the ideal that every man yearns for in a wife,” Aemond stated, with an unwavering certainty in his tone. Helaena had to make a superhuman effort not to snort.
“You say that because you are my blood,” she replied, leaning on the ship’s railing, looking out at the vast expanse of the sea as the salty breeze caressed her face.
Aemond shook his head and leaned next to her on the railing. “My word is like gold for that alone,” Aemond took one of her hands delicately, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You will get a husband this season.”
Helaena gave him a long, analytical look before shaking her head and letting out a sigh.
“I hope the Gods don’t hear you, brother,” she murmured.
During the nights she was on the ship, Helaena prayed to the Gods incessantly asking for mercy for the future that awaited her.
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The beginning of the social season in Westeros was a nightmare for any titled, single man in the kingdom, because it was no secret that, although the ladies were looking to get married, it was the mothers of said ladies who did not stop harassing potential prospects, offering their daughters as if they were cattle to be sold.
All the knights (and not so knights) hated the endless length of the season, but none hated it more than Jacaerys Targaryen-Strong, who since the age of eighteen had been the object of attention from every mother in the realm. They didn't just stare at him, they pursued him with a zeal that even the queen herself found surprising. It was torture in every sense of the word.
His father did nothing but mock him whenever the fateful start of the season approached, and his mother was not much help either, as she was the one who pushed him to meet the debutantes in the hope that, at the end of the season, a Targaryen-style wedding would take place.
He knew that his mother had no bad intentions, but there was enough with the ladies trying to get his daughters in his eyes without having to deal with his own mother.
He let out a pitiful sigh before leaning on the ship's railing to look out at the vast sea, which stretched infinitely before his eyes. He had been sailing for two days now and knew that there were still a couple of hours before the great capital of the kingdom could be seen.
"Excited?" asked Lucerys, coming to his side and imitating her older brother's pose.
Jacaerys let out a humorless laugh before shaking his head.
"You have no idea," he replied half-heartedly.
Both brothers fell silent as they looked out at the horizon, enjoying each other's company.
"Mom doesn't do this to be cruel," said Luke, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them.
Jacaerys turned his face to look at his brother, who smiled at him with affection and amusement.
"Yes, I know," he replied.
Jacaerys was aware that his mother did all the things about forcing him to participate in social events and meet young ladies with the sole desire that he would find a love as pure as the one she and his father had.
As a child, Jacaerys longed to find a love as beautiful as that of his parents, full of complicit whispers, playful smiles, conversations full of laughter, kisses and looks full of desire, passion and love. But, more importantly, he hoped to find someone with whom he shared not only love, but also a pure friendship. Everyone in Westeros admired his parents' relationship for how in love they were with each other, even after so many years of marriage, but he admired his parents for the vibrant friendship they had, a friendship that had only been He had grown stronger over the years and had nurtured the love they undoubtedly felt for each other. But as he grew older, that desire became a burden, perhaps because, whether he found love or not, he was obliged to marry.
A marriage was unavoidable for him, and although he had been avoiding it for years, he knew that he could not escape the responsibility forever. He would be the future Duke of Dragonstone, one of the largest and most prosperous regions of King's Landing, and he needed to find a wife with whom to have an heir to the title. It was his duty.}
The time he presented himself to society as a man ready to marry, he did so with the idea of having fun and experiencing what other young men of his age lived and maybe, just maybe, finally find the love that his mother boasted so much about, but he soon realized that it was far from what he had imagined. The men only talked about which debutante was the craziest and made bets on who would marry first, while the women did nothing but harass them with marriage prospects, and the mothers hovered around them like vultures, ready to throw their daughters at them.
It was unbearable.
After that first season he decided he would never attend again, and he had managed to find an excuse for each subsequent season to avoid participating in such events. Jacaerys was determined not to set foot in King's Landing again until he could no longer delay finding a wife.
Unfortunately for him, his mother was a very clever woman, and since she knew her eldest son well, she had planned everything. The moment he was informed that he had to go to King's Landing because his aunt Rhaenys, the queen, had requested his presence that spring, he knew immediately that it was a strategy devised by his mother to drag him into the season.
She knew him all too well, and though he grumbled during their journey, he accepted it, knowing it was inevitable.
He simply wished the debutantes weren't so pushy this year.
"Sarah will be there," Lucerys murmured beside him. "She always seems to be where you are." His voice was filled with sarcasm as he said that last bit.
The comment was so out of place that Jacaerys didn't know how to respond, so he simply shot a glance at his brother.
Sarah Snow, the bastard daughter of the Stark family and the adored half-sister of his childhood best friend.
He and Sarah had never shared a close bond, not even as children, yet as they grew up an inevitable attraction had sprung between them, leading them to grow closer and develop a friendship that was probably more than it should have been. And though he didn't see Sarah as wife material, Jacaerys couldn't deny that he liked her company. It was nice to have someone to talk to, and it wasn't hard to be himself when he was with her.
A grimace appeared on his face as he recalled the moment they were discovered together by Cregan Stark, the current Lord of Winterfell and his closest friend. Cregan had been as silent as the wolf adorning his family's banner as he entered the chamber where he found them in the most compromising situation they had ever been in.
He still remembered the reproachful look Cregan gave him that night, the disappointment in his eyes and the way his voice shook with anger.
From that moment on, their friendship had become distant. They talked, of course, but something had changed between them, and as much as they tried to avoid it, the tension had become unbearable for Jacaerys, who could only blame himself for it.
That night, as the taste of Sarah still lingered on his lips, Jacaerys swore he would not make the same mistake again.
But the attraction he felt towards her was strong, and the frustration and anger that boiled inside him every time he thought about how she had jeopardized his friendship with Cregan by not controlling herself. And not only that, but she had come close to dishonoring her family.
“Perhaps it would be best if you stayed away from her this season,” Lucerys murmured quietly, as if she had read his thoughts.
Jacaerys set his jaw, turning his gaze to the horizon.
“Yes,” he replied in a whisper, his voice barely audible, “that would be for the best.”
And as much as it pained him to admit it, Lucerys was right: he should stay away from her. Sarah was a complication he could not afford, and if he wanted to focus on his duty and find a suitable wife, he had to keep her out of his life. But there was something inside him, a childish, immature illusion, that thought that perhaps he was in love with Sarah, which made everything even more difficult.
A heavy silence settled between the two brothers, broken only by the gentle rocking of the boat and the soft song of the waves crashing against the hull.
A distant line appeared on the horizon, blurry and almost imperceptible, butJacaerys knew what it was: King's Landing, the great capital of the Seven Kingdoms, home of the Iron Throne, and the place where he would face the greatest challenge of his life.
He could see it already: dozens of ladies parading before him, each one more beautiful and elegant than the last, each one a potential wife who would secure the future of his duchy, and himself, standing there, having to choose one of them.
His heart sank at the thought of it.
It was inevitable.
As much as he despised it, he knew it was something he had to do.
Duty.
He hated that word more than anything.
Because, despite the many ideas and dreams he had, they were all overshadowed by that one word.
Duty.
Her grip on the railing tightened, and she could feel her nails digging into the wood as he looked at the blurry silhouette of King's Landing in the distance.
It was getting closer and closer.
And with it, the weight of her responsibilities grew heavier and heavier on her shoulders.
Lucerys, sensing the tension in her brother, reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You'll get through this, Jace," she said softly, her voice full of confidence. "You don't know, maybe this season is different."
Jaceerys snorted in disbelief and shook his head.
"How could this be different?" he asked defensively.
Lucerys gave him a mischievous smile and a suggestive look.
"I don't know. Maybe this could be the season I finally find someone to steal your heart," Luke said.
The confidence with which his brother said it made him believe that Luke wasn't just saying it to make him feel better, but genuinely meant it. But Jacaerys wasn't so sure.
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and together they stood in silence, watching the great city of King's Landing grow larger and more defined on the horizon, an overwhelming reminder of the fate that awaited him.
His brother gave him a small, friendly pat on the back before turning away.
"I'll go check on Arrax," his brother announced. "You know he doesn't like sailing."
Luke gave him a look that implied an invitation to come with him to keep an eye on Vermax. Jace nodded and headed with him to the cabins they had prepared for their horses. He hoped that, as always, visiting Vermax would calm him down a bit.
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