The House That Dragons Built

Helaena.

Helaena.

Helaena.

I'm sorry to disturb your rest.

Have you heard w-word from my mother?

No.

Nor do I expect to, until...

Did Aemond ask you to ride into battle with him?

Hm.

Lord Corlys imagined he would.

When I was a girl, I wanted to fly.

But now, when...

when I'm with Dreamfyre...

it's...

and then too much.

I think our father felt the same way.

He renounced the strength of dragons

and embraced a quieter life.

He did not wish to be changed.

You believe the dragons alter us in some way?

You now have many dragons.

Are you yourself not altered?

No.

Well, I do not wish to be.

I wished only to put an end to our contest

and restore us to our proper order.

Helaena.

Sister, I believe that you...

may be a dreamer.

That you...

see things.

I see f-flashes sometimes.

Some cl-clearer than others.

What did you see last?

A gray mare.

Mm-hmm.

What of Daemon? Have you seen him?

Hm?

The Winter Wolves, then.

Or Tumbleton.

Will Ormund Hightower be brought to heel?

I don't know.

You don't know? Or you will not say?

You may refuse me as your sister,

but I may compel you as your queen.

Now, tell me what you know!

Tell me there has been no mistake,

that I will prevail,

as the gods must surely intend. Tell me.

Mother.

I told you I would come, if I could.

Were you not taken captive?

Your sister was taken.

But I managed to stay hidden, to escape.

You have been so clever to remain here undiscovered.

I thought all had forsaken me.

How could I forsake...

my best...

and truest son?

The city has fallen, Aemond.

- - You're all I have left.

The road has been long and perilous,

so I'll be glad of a bed.

What of Aegon?

Aegon is most likely dead.

I did all I could.

And for you.

But I have failed you, Aemond.

No.

- I was too young. - Never.

I was just a child.

And in this moment I will give you a son.

Aemond.

Aemond.

- What have you seen? - Please.

Aemond.

Open the gates!

They've crossed the Blackwater Rush.

- How many? - Twenty thousand.

A day's march away. Two at most.

So, your dim but ambitious Dornish friend

died in the mud for nothing.

That is no matter.

I have a piece on the board now

that will bring the bitch to her knees.

And what is that?

- My prince-- - Move!

Where is she? Where's Rhaena?

I see we are dispensing with courtesies.

Is she here?

She flew, just after I sent to you.

I could not hold her.

Put her in chains if you have to, lock her in a cell.

Do you imagine it's so easy to force a dragonrider

to do what she does not wish?

She exposes me, too.

She beseeched me with tears in her eyes,

swore that she would remain here in hiding.

Talk of a dragonrider is rife in the Vale.

The villagers gossip of a wild girl in the mountains

living amongst nettles and sheep.

I am finished with the matter.

It is in my best interest now to alert the queen

- to her flight. - No.

You may blunt Rhaenyra's wrath,

but you will not evade it. Give me a day.

Please.

She has been here and there seeking news of Vhagar.

There's word of a sighting near Fairmarket,

so I can only assume...

We are two days behind Aemond at best.

I have long tired of this endless searching.

I cannot help but think I'm being punished by Rhaenyra,

or at least sent far from her sight.

She thinks of us only as tools to be wielded.

I wondered, my lady, if I might beg you for a kindness.

My father wishes for Alyn and me to be legitimized

and take the Velaryon name.

The queen is being reluctant.

You know my standing after the Gullet.

I do not think my words would have much sway with her.

But your father, perhaps.

Why this concern now with names and titles?

- - I understand your grievance,

but surely, you have a better thing in your dragon

than any lordly appellation.

It is only that if either of us were to marry.

That is...

if either of us gained the favor of some highborn lady.

He has spoken to you, then. Your brother.

Is it Vhagar?

No.

I did not think us like to escape the Red Keep.

But Ser Adrian remained steadfast and resolute.

He led us to a secret gate, and--

and I had enough coin with me for horses.

We tried to remain off the roads,

but the forests have become impassable in places.

There are wild men in the woods now.

I would not have arrived here if it wasn't for him.

Rhaenyra took the castle, but he remained loyal.

He helped me at great risk to his own person.

He is a gr--

Have I offended you?

No.

You are all I have left.

- -

This is he,

my protector and guide, Ser Adrian.

Your Grace.

Mm.

Well, it seems I owe you a debt.

I did only as my conscience demanded.

The queen dowager was treated shamefully.

- - Aemond!

Sorry, Mother.

There are secrets here, and I can trust no stranger.

Ah, there you are.

You're just in time for supper.

The maesters tell me the fat of livestock

is beneficial to the bones.

But I do wonder how something so slippery in substance

can truly be benign.

Do try the wine, Lord Corlys.

I find it wards off the fetid air of this place.

Mm.

What are you about, Hightower?

Is this some kind of final repast?

Pigeon pie before the executioner's block?

On the contrary.

We hope to enjoy the pleasure of your company

for quite some time.

You will be of great assistance to us in our little endeavor.

- As what? A hostage? - Hm.

Does the savage queen harbor such a tender heart

that she should cast away her crown

for the sake of her wayward Hand?

I think not.

The Velaryons, however,

with their lord as forfeit, the men of Driftmark

will think better of entering King's Landing.