**Chapter 123: Sunfyre and Aegon**
"Brother..."
Hearing Rhaegar's encouragement, Helaena stood up carefully, her little head lowered even more.
"Don't be nervous. No one will blame you."
Rhaegar gently held Helaena's face, lifting her chin to meet his gaze. He asked, "Why are you here at the Dragonpit?"
This little sister of his, almost invisible most of the time, was rarely seen.
Feeling the warmth from his hand on her cheek, Helaena clasped her hands behind her back and looked at him expectantly. "Mother told me to come. She said all the children of House Targaryen must tame a dragon."
Rhaegar understood immediately.
He glanced at the two brothers standing behind her, seeing through Alicent's intentions at once.
Aegon's successful taming of Sunfyre had brought great pride to Alicent.
Helaena was nine years old, and Aemond was seven—both at an age suitable for dragon taming.
Unfortunately for the siblings, the dragon eggs placed in their cradles had never hatched.
Their only option now was to attempt taming one of the dragons in the Dragonpit.
Amused by the thought, Rhaegar took Helaena's small hand and said generously, "Come, there's a young dragon that hatched earlier this year. It's a beautiful creature."
Although Alicent was at odds with him and sought to undermine his position as heir, Rhaegar was not one to act rashly or out of spite.
Weakening Alicent's faction by forbidding her children from taming dragons was shortsighted.
Dragons were the treasures of House Targaryen.
Without riders, they could never realize their true potential.
Rhaegar had watched Helaena grow up.
She shared his prophetic dreams, a pure Targaryen in every sense.
Helping her tame a dragon seemed only natural to him.
"Brother, can I touch Sunfyre?"
"No, Sunfyre is a temperamental dragon. It might bite your arm off."
"..."
As they approached the golden dragon, Rhaegar overheard a conversation between his two foolish brothers from a distance.
"Aegon, are you planning to fly Sunfyre around?"
Walking closer, Rhaegar's face was full of amusement.
"Rhaegar!"
Aegon jumped in surprise at Rhaegar's sudden appearance, his expression uneasy.
He disliked his half-brother the most.
"Big brother," Aemond greeted nervously, fidgeting.
At just seven years old, his small frame was adorned with messy silver-gold shoulder-length hair. He wore a pale green tunic, his features bearing a slight resemblance to their father, Viserys.
"Hmm, you've grown taller."
Rhaegar let go of Helaena's hand and patted Aemond's head, smiling warmly.
Alicent had given birth to three sons and one daughter.
Though Rhaegar did not care for Aegon and his haughty attitude, he was otherwise a protective and dignified elder brother to the others.
Turning his gaze to Aegon, Rhaegar tilted his head and asked, "Aegon, what did you just call me?"
"N-Nothing..."
Aegon stiffened and instinctively stepped back half a pace.
Rhaegar shook his head, stepping closer to grip Aegon's shoulder with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "No, I think I heard something. Say it again."
"Gulp."
Facing his older brother's piercing gaze, Aegon's heart pounded as he swallowed nervously.
Truth be told, his legs felt like jelly.
Years of being put in his place had instilled a deep fear of Rhaegar.
If his siblings weren't present, he might have already bolted.
"Brother, why are you so tense?"
Sensing Aegon's unease, Aemond tugged at his sleeve, looking up with curiosity.
In Aemond's eyes, Aegon was a heroic dragonrider.
He firmly believed that anyone capable of taming a magnificent dragon like Sunfyre must be fearless.
Glancing down at his innocent little brother, Aegon clenched his jaw in frustration.
Why couldn't Aemond just stay quiet?
Taking a deep breath, Aegon decided to save face, reluctantly muttering, "Brother!"
"That's better."
Rhaegar patted Aegon's shoulder, his expression shifting into a smile.
Foolish brother, my name is not for you to address so casually.
"So, what's the plan? Letting Sunfyre out for a flight?"
With the tension eased, Rhaegar glanced at the golden dragon nearby and made small talk.
Sunfyre was no ordinary dragon, after all.
It and Syrax were hatched from the same clutch of dragon eggs.
Its scales gleamed golden, and its wing membranes were a soft pink. It was a magnificent, imposing, and strikingly beautiful dragon.
Sometimes, Rhaegar couldn't help but feel a little envious of Aegon, whose dragon was so stunning.
With a blank expression and distracted tone, Aegon said, "I brought these two to the Dragonpit to get a look at the dragons, and also to check on the dragon combat training you're implementing."
"Seeing the dragons is fine, but the combat training isn't ready yet," Rhaegar replied calmly.
"The Dragon Guard has just been expanded, and they're not familiar with the dragons yet. The combat training will have to be postponed."
"It's just shooting arrows at a dragon while it dodges. How hard can it be?"
Aegon muttered begrudgingly.
The so-called dragon combat training referred to the Targaryen family's traditional dragon-taming techniques.
A chain would be tied around one of the dragon's legs, and soldiers would fire arrows at it to train the dragon's ability to dodge attacks.
After Aegon the Conqueror's death, this method of training was discontinued.
In Rhaegar's view, dragons were the family's greatest strength.
Though the opportunity to ride dragons into battle might be rare, every dragon in the family should possess the ability to dominate a battlefield.
This belief was one of the reasons why he decided to revive the dragon-taming techniques.
Hearing Aegon's dissatisfaction, Rhaegar paid no attention.
The boy had always been a little dim-witted since childhood; he wasn't worth the effort.
Turning to a nearby dragonkeeper, Rhaegar commanded, "Go and bring out Tessarion."
Tessarion was a newly hatched dragon, named by Rhaenyra.
The dragonkeeper nodded and obeyed.
At the mention of another dragon, Aemond's eyes lit up, his gaze fixed intently on Rhaegar with an expression full of longing.
Noticing the boy's eager eyes, Rhaegar hesitated for a moment.
There was only one young dragon, which wasn't enough for both Helaena and Aemond.
After some thought, Rhaegar asked another dragonkeeper, "Is Dreamfyre still resting?"
"No, that dragon has just finished eating," the young dragonkeeper replied in halting High Valyrian.
"Bring Dreamfyre as well," Rhaegar instructed. "She's been in the pit long enough."
"As you wish, my prince," the dragonkeeper said, calling for assistance as he headed toward Dreamfyre's lair.
After giving these orders, Rhaegar placed a hand on each of the younger siblings' heads and ruffled their hair. "Two dragons. Whether you can tame one depends on your abilities."
"Thank you, big brother," Aemond said quickly, his face flushing with excitement. "I'll definitely succeed!"
He didn't care about the animosity between Aegon and Rhaegar.
All he wanted was to have a dragon of his own.
Helaena, on the other hand, was much quieter.
With her head lowered, she traced circles on the stone floor with her toe, her expression somewhat dazed.
She didn't go out often and had little concept of what dragons were.
Her mother had instructed her to come, so she came.
Now Rhaegar was telling her to try taming a dragon, so she decided she would try.
Aegon observed coldly from the side.
He looked down on Rhaegar's attempts to win over his younger siblings, considering them unnecessary.
With his foolish younger brother and absent-minded younger sister, how could they possibly succeed in taming dragons?
It had taken him several years of effort to tame Sunfyre.
"I'm not sticking around for this game," Aegon said, rolling his eyes as he walked toward Sunfyre in the distance.
At this time, the year was 118 AC, 13 years before the Dance of the Dragons.
Aegon's characterization follows the show's portrayal of him as an arrogant and apathetic youth.
As for Rhaegar, the author has distinct plans for each of his siblings.
(End of Chapter)