The Bonebreaker, Harwin Strong

The Bonebreaker—Harwin Strong

"A wild boar attacked me, so I killed it."

Rhaenyra rubbed Rhaegar's head, her tone tinged with pride.

"Wow, the brave boar-hunting lady."

The words slipped out of Rhaegar's mouth before he knew it.

Rhaenyra's face darkened instantly.

Just as Rhaegar was suffering his sister's Fury of the Sleeping Dragon, a voice interrupted the siblings' warm moment.

"Princess, I heard you faced a wild boar all by yourself?"

The voice came from beside the roasting spit.

The siblings looked over at the same time and saw a burly man with curly brown hair and a thick beard.

Rhaegar found something familiar about the man's features.

But they had never met.

Rhaenyra knew him, though. She smiled politely. "I was just lucky, Ser Harwin Strong."

Hearing the name Strong, Rhaegar suddenly understood.

He realized where the familiarity came from.

Larys Strong, who had made him uncomfortable.

Rhaenyra noticed his expression and quietly explained, "He's the eldest son of the Hand, Lyonel. A famous knight, known as the Bonebreaker."

"The Bonebreaker? Does he break his enemies' bones?"

Rhaegar asked half-jokingly.

As Harwin skinned a pigeon, he laughed and answered, "That's right. In one tourney, I smashed some poor fellow's skull with my warhammer. The people who saw it gave me the nickname Bonebreaker."

"Impressive. You really must be a powerful warrior."

Rhaegar replied calmly. It was hard to miss the pride in the man's voice.

A knight with such an intimidating title certainly had reason to be proud.

After swiftly cleaning the pigeon, Harwin casually grabbed a rag to wipe his hands, then came over with a smile.

"I'm rather good at roasting meat. I saw the prince eat quite a bit just now. Would the princess care to try some?"

The big, tall man spoke with a lively wit and an easygoing air.

It was hard to imagine him smashing someone's head in on the battlefield.

Faced with the invitation from this rather handsome knight, Rhaenyra smiled apologetically and declined. "No, my father is waiting for me. No one can say no to the king."

"Of course. I'll be serving in King's Landing for a long time, so if you ever want to sample my cooking, you're welcome to visit."

Harwin was tactful. He showed that he wanted to be friendly without acting overly eager.

Rhaenyra saw something in him.

Respect.

Rhaenyra, who was a little older, could see it too.

Somewhat unaccustomed to it, she clasped her hands behind her back. Her smile grew more genuine. "I will, Ser."

Harwin smiled, bowed, and left them in peace.

That only raised Rhaenyra's opinion of him further.

Watching his sister look so pleased, Rhaegar felt baffled and pursed his lips.

"I'm going to see Father. Go wander around by yourself."

Rhaenyra still had to meet Viserys, so she had no time to chat. She hurried off.

Many nobles and lords were gathered at the camp, and they noticed the princess, covered in blood.

The noisy scene fell silent at once, and everyone quieted down in unison.

Rhaenyra hated being stared at like that.

She walked past with a cold expression, meeting the eyes of some of them along the way.

Most of the time, the princess's presence overpowered those around her.

The guilty ones were forced to lower their heads, unable to meet her gaze.

Rhaenyra curled her lips, disdainful of those cowards.

Watching her back as she drew everyone's attention, Rhaegar pressed his lips together. He seemed to feel a pang of loneliness.

The royal hunt was over.

Viserys immediately boarded a carriage and returned to King's Landing with his family.

For the siblings' mistake in leaving camp without permission, their father punished them both.

The princess was of marriageable age, but she disliked the matches the king had chosen for her.

Viserys went to great lengths to arrange a tour of the realm for Rhaenyra.

On the surface, the purpose was for Rhaenyra, as heir, to visit the lords great and small in each region and strengthen their ties with her.

It would also display the authority of House Targaryen.

And in truth, that was indeed part of the purpose.

Ever since she became heir, Rhaenyra had done little more than sit in on council meetings.

She had no real power.

And she wasn't familiar with the lords who had sworn fealty to her.

Viserys intended to raise Rhaenyra's profile and help her vassals accept her as their heir.

While accomplishing that,

he would also hold tourneys and feasts in each region.

He could use the opportunity to help Rhaenyra consider potential marriage candidates.

As Viserys saw it, if Rhaenyra didn't like the people he chose, she could pick someone herself.

She could take her pick from all the fine young men in the realm.

Surely there had to be at least one she liked.

That showed just how much this father cared about his daughter's marriage.

With his eldest daughter's problem taken care of, his eldest son, Rhaegar, was even easier to handle.

Using his recovery as an excuse, Viserys ordered Rhaegar to remain secluded in the Red Keep and forbade him from leaving its gates.

He even sent several maesters to examine him regularly.

They were to make sure his frail condition had completely healed.

Naturally, Rhaegar wouldn't accept being confined.

After arguing his case at length, he persuaded Viserys that his eldest son was old enough to begin his education.

So Viserys sent two elderly maesters to teach him to read and write.

He was done for.

When the ordeal began—being forced out of bed at six every morning, enduring eight straight hours of lessons, and having his homework checked the next day—Rhaegar was utterly numb.

Viserys didn't treat him like a child who had just recovered from a serious illness at all.

He held to the principle that if studying didn't kill you, you weren't studying hard enough.

Under this kind of crammed education, Rhaegar's formerly pale complexion improved somewhat.

But his dark circles grew worse by the day, worse than ever before.

"Damn maesters, damn Citadel in Oldtown. One day, I'll get back everything I've lost!"

As the two elderly maesters forced their lessons on him, Rhaegar practiced his writing and secretly steeled himself.

Rhaegar had asked Viserys when he would be free to leave again.

But the answer he got was, "When your sister returns to King's Landing, you may leave the Red Keep."

And so Rhaegar's longing for Rhaenyra grew unbearably deep.

He missed his sister so much!

Please come back soon!

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

King's Landing entered late autumn, its leaves turning yellow.

As a coastal city, King's Landing saw little change in its climate. The farmers in the fields were simply busier.

Rhaegar, in the Red Keep, received good news.

The sister he had been waiting and longing for was coming back.

Rhaenyra had ended her travels early and was sailing from the Stormlands. She would be back in King's Landing in just a few days.

Whatever anyone else thought, Rhaegar was overjoyed.

As soon as his lessons ended each day, he sat by the stained-glass window in the Red Keep's attic and gazed out at the sea.

He hoped to catch sight of Rhaenyra's ship on its way home.

"Wonderful! My sister's finally coming back. My miserable days are almost over."

Rhaegar felt a pang of sorrow over what he had endured for the past six months.

He did enjoy reading.

But when he had been frail and had no other activities, it had been a way to pass the time out of necessity.

It hadn't been like being locked away to study day and night.

"Prince, you'd best not say that too loudly. The king was furious when he heard the princess had returned early without permission."

Another voice came from inside the attic.

Rhaegar didn't need to look to know who it was.

Illyric stood by another window in silver armor and a white cloak, as straight as a spear.

"Ser, you know what my daily life is like. Don't you feel sorry for me?"

Rhaegar said glumly.

Illyric couldn't help laughing. "The king does hope you'll gain knowledge, but eight hours of lessons and homework afterward really is a little inhumane."