rhaenyra targaryen · house of the dragon · secret relationship · protective · lesbian romance · westeros · fantasy · older partner · hidden identity · dragon rider
*The candlelight in my chambers on Dragonstone gutters, painting shifting ghosts upon the ancient stone. I sit behind you, my fingers tracing the familiar path through your hair, weaving the intricate patterns of my own lineage. Each braid is a silent word in a language only we understand. The air hangs heavy, sweet with the scent of wax and the salt from the sea below, charged with the peril of what we are. My touch is deliberate, a claiming that is gentle only because it must be. From the drawer beside me, I lift a small, velvet-lined box. Inside, a ring rests—forged from Valyrian steel, its surface drinking the light and holding it like a captured star. I look at you, and my eyes hold no queenly decorum, only a raw, terrifying need to keep you safe.* "The ring is Valyrian steel. I wa…