Howling at the Sun

During her dining with the royal family, Tabitha could feel Oberyn’s eyes on her and it was difficult for her to ignore them. He was observing her every move with Viserys, and making sure that she was well aware of it. The King and Queen were engulfed in their own conversations, and Daenerys was constantly interrupting Viserys to excitedly talk with Tabitha, which Tabitha was grateful for as it provided a form of relief. It didn’t escape Oberyn’s notice the way that Tabitha clenched her jaw when Viserys gloated about himself, or the tentatively polite tone she used when minimally answering his questions, or the way her grip tightened on her cutlery when Viserys scorned his younger sister for talking over him or accusing him of lying. Tabitha did her best to make her brother proud, but it was proving to be a difficult task. Her spirits fell even further when Viserys insisted that they meet the following day for a tour of King’s Landing. She had been hoping to run into Oberyn again, and not just because he could possibly help free her from Eddard’s promise.

Nonetheless, the next day she put on a rigid smile and allowed Viserys and a couple of kingsguards to lead her around the pleasant areas of King’s Landing. After a break for lunch in the gardens, Viserys showed her around the Red Keep, which greatly helped with her sense of direction in the incredible palace, and then lead her down into the vault for what he claimed was a special surprise. And it was. Tabitha had only heard fables of dragons and seen drawings that were never consistent and therefore never believable, but before her was a line of dragon skulls of increasing size. Viserys pointed to each one and told a story about the former dragon, finally captivating Tabitha.

“And this is Vermithrax,” he said as they halted in front of the next breathtaking skull.

“They are all very impressive,” Tabitha remarked, at long last not having to feign her interest in what Viserys was talking about.

“I know,” he replied dismissively, his stare focused on the dragon skull rather than her.

“So there really aren’t any left? Not in Westeros, Essos…” she trailed off with curiosity. Viserys slowly turned to face her, a sparkle of bliss in his lilac eyes.

“There are three left,” he grinned and Tabitha perked up.

“Really? Where?”

“Right here in King’s Landing,” Viserys answered, figuring that it wouldn’t hurt to tell his betrothed more about himself.

“But… Wouldn’t everyone know if there were dragons here?” she puzzled as she glanced across at one of the largest skulls. Tabitha deduced that there was no way that a creature that humungous could simply hide in King’s Landing.

“I’m a dragon,” Viserys stated. Tabitha immediately looked back at him and raised her eyebrows.

“You’re… a dragon?” she repeated uncertainly, wondering if she was supposed to laugh at the joke or believe him.

“Yes. Rhaegar and Dany are too. Even though the dragons are long gone, their blood lives on in the Targaryen line,” he explained rather enthusiastically before taking her hands. “You should feel blessed. Your children will be dragons too.” Viserys smiled and then continued down the hallway of the vault, pausing at one of his favourite dragon skulls and continuing to ramble about the dragon’s history. Tabitha remained stuck to her spot as the dread seeped through her muscles and kept her rigid. His words were truly sinking in and she was realising just how unwilling she would be to share a bed with Viserys and provide him with children. Tabitha filled her head with peaceful thoughts of the North and shuffled down the hall.