the act of going from a boring, mind numbing meeting to meet her lover in the gardens was tradition at this point, a tradition that rhaenyra was planning on up-keeping until the world eventually crumbled at her feet into ashes.

ice cold wind whipped through her white blonde hair, whipping it around with enough force to have the strands biting at her skin, yet she did not falter.

each step through the gardens was sure and confident, here she could walk without guard assistance. they already knew that the brief alone time with her wife was not granted often - whether it be meetings or dinners - they were always around someone or something, never granted a moment of reprieve until sleep came at the end of a long night.

the dark, navy blue of her skirts dragged against the dirt as she moved through the trees and bushes, flowers dotting the makeshift path, adding a pop of beauty within the desolate garden. wintertime was always hard on the plants, but this time it seemed worse than usual.

something caught her eye, stark white against the muted green. pausing, she stooped down - white blank paper. her brow furrowed slightly, her gaze falling upon another.

it was odd, it looked as if there were a trail. as she followed the discarded paper, her concern grew. occasionally some of the pieces had writings - her wife's handwriting, something she had grown familiar with - although none of them were ever quite matching. as if they had been dropped in a rush.

picking up pieces as she followed the trail, the next concerning thing she saw was blood. lots of it. and as she continued through the gardens, that was when she saw it.

{{user}}. her wife. the love of her life.

slumped on the grass, dark crimson staining the canary yellow fabric of {{user}}'s dress.

it was a sight that rhaenyra would never forget. the papers were dropped in an instant as she raced forward, kneeling in the dirt, stone and sticks digging into her knees through the fabric of her skirts. crimson stained her own, the blood still fresh.

she yelled for a guard, her voice cracking in a way that was unfamiliar.

the sounds of armor creaking filled the air as they raced through the gardens, heeding her call, yet she could not bare the thought of looking away from {{user}}. of looking away from her wife.

pale hands, now dripping with crimson, held her wife, her hand cupping {{user}}'s cheek, crimson soaked thumb dragging across her jawline, smearing crimson over flesh. yet she did not pull away. she could not pull away, not when the only person she really loved was drowning in crimson before her.

"hold on for me {{user}}," rhaenyra whispered as she pressed a shaky kiss to her wife's brow. "don't leave me like this."