Willing Heart / Ser Duncan the Tall / Vaera Targaryen

20. Cookies

~5 years later~

"Do you have time for a story?"

"Always. Do you have a book that you wanna read? Uncle Aemon sent a few more did you see those?" Vaera questioned. 

"No, I want a mommy original." Davina corrected. 

"Oh! Okay. Hmm." Vaera tapped a finger to her chin as she pondered, Davina climbed up into her mothers lap.  "Okay. There once was a beautiful princess named..."

"Davina!" Davina answered. 

"How'd you know?" Vaera questioned. "Did daddy tell you this story before?" Vaera pondered. Davina laughed out.  "Okay. Princess Davina was strong and smart and beautiful, with sparkly armor." 

"Sparkly armor." Davina repeated. "Daddy would look silly in sparkly armor." 

"He would." Vaera agreed.  "Where was I? Oh yes, and Davina did many important things for her kingdom, but the most important thing was her ability to draw magical pictures. Sometimes those pictures would come to life and make people happy or proud or feel special. Because she made their dreams come true on the parchment." Davina smiled holding up her most recent picture. "Just like that one!" vaera agreed kissing her cheek.  "But her magic was that she always knew what to say and what to do to heal people's hearts."

"Healing hearts?" Davina questioned. Dunk peered in on them. 

"Whenever you heal people's hearts, they can slay monsters, or build castles or bake cookies." Vaera agreed.  "They could do whatever they needed to do to make their kingdom a better place."

"can we make cookies?" Davina questioned with a mischievous grin. 

"It's bedtime." Vaera corrected. 

"Can we make cookies tomorrow?" Davina questioned. 

"I would love to!" Vaera assured.

"Night daddy! Tuck me in!" Davina requested reaching up for his hand.

"Dav, where is my kiss?" Vaera countered. Davina ran back to vaera kissing her. Vaera held her daughter hostage in her arms a moment longer. 

"I will be right back." Dunk remarked as he headed off with Davina. "What are you doing up? I already put you to bed, AJ." Dunk remarked. Aemon Jr stared back at him shaking his head. "Yes I did. Its so late and your mum and sister are making cookies tomorrow you need your sleep for that." AJ ran back to bed. Dunk chuckled tucking Davina in. "Night princess." 

"Night daddy." Davina pressed a kiss to his cheek and he blew out the candle. Dunk made his way back to vaera, she had yet to move from the couch. 

"Do you need a chariot?" Dunk pondered. 

"If you are offering." Vaera agreed reaching up for him. The night was filled with gentle touches and slopy kisses. Dunk had little love bites over him and Vaeras father would have been appalled at the places she let Dunk not only touch but kiss. 

Morning greeted Dunk with an empty spot where Vaera had laid, he reached over uselessly for her. Dunk pulled on some pants moving to Vaera's swaying hips as she hummed a hymn while cooking. He spun her around and she instinctively got on her toes trying to get closer to his lips. 

"Happy anniversary." Dunk whispered against her lips. 

"Happy anniversary." She echoed. "Can you believe Aj is four already? And Dav is three. I just can't believe how fast they are growing up." Vaera remarked. 

"You want another?" Dunk questioned brushing her hair from her neck as she turned around to continue mixing the eggs. Vaera hummed bumping her hips back into him. "I will take that as a yes." Dunk agreed dragging his lips over her smooth skin. 

"I had another dream last night, Aemon was there." Vaera remarked as she cooked breakfast. Dunk pulled back slightly but kept his hands on her hips. 

"You and your dragon dreams. Your brother Daeron had them too." Dunk recalled. 

"Yes, he did." Vaera agreed. "But these are different, I'm talking to Aemon, he is at the wall but its like in my dreams we can have these talks like he's right here in our kitchen..."

"You want to visit him?" Dunk questioned. 

"I do but its a long and hard journey." Vaera reminded him. "Even harder with two little ones." Dunk nodded in agreement. "It just felt so real." 

"Daeron's prophecy..." Dunk said with a distance in his voice. Daeron had thought his dream meant Aerion or himself would fall at Dunk's hand and Daeron was terrified. But it was Baelor, he fell while Dunk rose up in the end. Baelor believed in Dunk and Vaera wished they could go back in time and handle all that nonsense with Aerion better, so many good men could still be alive. 

"I got a raven from Raymun." Vaera offered instead. "You changed his life that day." 

"I didnt knight him." 

"But because of you the realms gained a good man, an honorable knight, one much like yourself." Vaera countered. 

"Lost a prince." 

"Dont carry that grief forever my love." Vaera requested touching his cheek. "I think if my uncle knew his fate, he would do it all over again."

"Mama!" Davina declared barreling into Dunk's legs, he scooped her up. "Cookies?"