RED QUEEN | DAEMON TARGARYEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

"I shall make sure the children are ready," Daemon said when they reached the room, kissing Valyria's cheek before disappearing down the corridor. Upon entering, Valyria was struck by the sight of her little girl in a wedding dress.

It was unlike the dresses any of them were used to wearing – but probably something Elara had to get used to now when she would live in the North – and beautiful in its own way. Clad in white silks – with an underskirt of wool – that were fitted at the top and flared out at the bottom, Elara looked every bit like a bride any man would die for.

The sleeves of her wedding dress were full and the neckline quite modest for Dorne but probably a little deeper than the high collars in the North. Her golden hair fell down to her waist in soft waves except for the locks that were braided into a crown around her head. In honour of her Lannister heritage golden lion furs covered her shoulders and then there was of course her maiden cloak.

More importantly, her relation to House Targaryen was shown by the red roses that had been put into the plaited crown around her head. Since northerners had a tendency to look down on too much gold and jewellery the flowers were a beautiful yet simple form of styling her hair compared to a ruby tiara.

"My little girl," Valyria smiled, tears stinging her eyes at the sight of her eldest daughter. "How did you grow up so fast? I still recall the first time we entered these walls together after Lucian died. And now you are to become the Lady of Winterfell."

"I am still your little girl," Elara said, wrapping her mother into a hug while Cyrenna joined as well, wearing a pale purple dress to match her own eyes.

"Of course, you will always be my little girl. Both of you," Valyria looked between the twins. Then she cast a glance over at her friends who both looked emotional by the scene. "I have permission to cry because my emotions are not stable enough at the moment, you two have to be the strong ones."

"Right," Cecily shook herself out of it, straightening up, "I will save my tears for the ceremony when your attention is elsewhere. Speaking of that, we should probably leave now." Cecily and Serra gave a few final words of encouragement before departing, leaving Valyria with her oldest children.

"I have something for you," Valyria said, holding up a necklace that had been wrapped around her fingers. It was a silver chain with a pedant formed into a beautiful direwolf's head and the eyes were two small rubies. Not exactly the most expensive or eye-catching piece of jewellery but the details on the direwolf showed that a lot of work had been put into it.

"It belonged to my mother, your namesake," Valyria said, clasping the necklace around her daughter's neck, "and now it belongs to you: The Lady of Winterfell."

"Thank you, mūna," Elara said, growing emotional herself.

Valyria wiped away her tears before they could fall, "Don't cry. Your little sibling is making it very hard for me to not cry when other people cry."

"Everything is going to change now," Elara said, looking between her mother and twin sister. "I'm going to miss you both so much." The twins had rarely ever been separated since they were born so this would most definitely be hard for both of them. "I know I have to marry Cregan – I won't find a better man – but it's so far away. I will never see you-"

"You will," Cyrenna told her older sister. "You won't get rid of us."

"Cyrenna is right," Valyria nodded. "We are just a dragon's ride away." Noticing that her daughter seemed a bit more at ease, she asked, "Do you have any questions before the ceremony? It's normal for brides to feel nervous before the wedding."

"I'm — a little nervous," Elara nodded. "The bedding-"

"There won't be a bedding ceremony," Valyria assured her daughter. She went through one her first wedding and it was traumatising. "I spoke with Cregan and we agreed that the two of you quietly will exit the feast when time is near."