Familiarity ||| Jacaerys Velaryon

four

For a while, Daemon and Alyssa travelled. Days, weeks. Stayed with friends of Daemons he'd made over the years, went on new adventures that Alyssa enjoyed. All of it was to get away from the tension in King's Landing without having to return to Runestone.

Alyssa did miss her mother. Knew her, mourned not seeing her for many weeks on end. Asked scattered questions about her. But Daemon was very skilled at being reassuring and keeping his daughter distracted.

And though Daemon despised Rhea and wanted to be rid of her, he didn't have the heart to personally kill his daughter's mother.

So it came as a complete surprise to learn that she'd been killed in an accident. Rhea fell off of her horse and cracked her skull upon a stone.

After nine days, she finally felt well enough to leave her bed. She died within an hour of rising.

When Daemon learned of his wife's death, he could not say he was overly sad. In fact, it finally freed him of a dreadful marriage pushed upon him by Queen Alyssane.

The only reason he felt badly at all was his daughter. That was her mother, the woman who raised her for the first three years of her life. And she still asked about Rhea.

Daemon hadn't intended to keep Alyssa from Runestone all her life. Just most of it. But with Rhea dead, that changed things. There was no reason for her to ever return. At least, not while she was too young to act as its lady.

He still had to tell Alyssa. Daemon wasn't welcome at her funeral, her relatives made that clear to him. But Daemon wasn't sure if she even understood what death was.

Small words were what he used. Keeping level with Alyssa when he told her that her mother wasn't coming back. That she wouldn't see Rhea for a very long time.

Tears, of course. But Alyssa didn't really understand that he meant never. That Rhea was dead and she'd never grace Alyssa's presence again.

Maybe that was what he preferred. For her to know but not understand. Alyssa would understand it when she was older. But he didn't have to deal with it at that very moment.

Instead, Daemon took Alyssa to the Eyrie to petition that the lands, holdings, and income of House Royce be passed to him while Alyssa was young.

After all, she was the heir to Runestone, it was her inheritance. Sizeable for a woman. Alyssa had many things going for her future. The title of princess, inheritance many others would marry or kill for.

Lady Jeyne Arryn, however, knew what Daemon was like. She'd had to fight tooth and nail to take her rightful place as the Lady of the Eyrie. And all Jeyne saw when she looked at Daemon was a greedy and cruel man.

"Runestone belongs to Princess Alyssa. All of House Royce's holdings will be given to the regent of Runestone until such a time that the castle passes to her and she can claim it for herself." Jeyne spoke cordially but that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"This inheritance belongs to your daughter, prince Daemon. Not you. It would do you well to remember that. You aren't welcome here."

Even if Daemon fully intended to give Alyssa her inheritance once she was old enough, Jeyne wouldn't let it happen. It would be protected from anybody until Alyssa claimed it, as was her right.