Kingdom Fall : Aegon II Targaryen

Gently Does It.

"You're asking if I would betray you or my brothers?"Annerys says with disbelief. "Never" Annerys tells her firmly. "Not for anything or anyone." Otto looks at her with that smug smirk of his when he watches her waddling through the corridors to visit Rhaella or her husband. They all assume that her choice has been made. That she has no will of her own, so easily swayed. And it's insulting that her own think so little of her.

Daemon nods at her and says "very well." And despite the still palpable tension of the room he stretches out his arms and says "let me see her then." Rhaenyra smiles glad that even if it's pretend for there to be a calmness restored to her family once more. She passes over Rhaella into her husband's arms. And the little girl, ever the happy babe, goes easily into his arms.

...

Daemon is bouncing Rhaella on his knee when the door opens once more and Alicent enters. And the room tenses once more. Daemon passes Rhaella back to Annerys and she eagerly takes her daughter back into her arms.

The Queen moves over to Anne and places her palm flat against her heavy stomach. "How's the babe?" Annerys would quite like to smack the hand away but that would probably be less than prudent.

"Fine." Annerys says shortly "although the maesters say that they'd fare better if their mother wasn't so worried about her brother's inheritance being usurped."

"Hmm." Alicent smiles. She strokes Rhaella's chubby cheek with her index finger. Before Annerys pulls away from her. And Allicents hand drops. It's then that Alicent takes stock of the room and realises the girl before her has been conversing or colluding with her parents so she quickly asks "Have you seen your husband this morning?"

"No, of course not." Annerys scoffs as she wrangles Rhaella's chubby little fist from her dark curls. "It's far too early in the day to expect to see Aegon. It's barely past noon."

"Good, that's good." Alicent says more to herself than as a response to Anne.

Annerys raises her eyebrows at the Queens response, it's highly unusual for her to be glad that Aegon remains abed this late into the day but she's too tired to care so she says "Alright, will you excuse me, your grace. I'm going to go seek out my brothers." And she leaves the room. .

...

She knows that there is no place more likely to find her brothers than the courtyard so that is where she begins her search. And that is where she finds them. As she draws closer to her brothers she hears the tail end of their conversation. Luke's fretts and Jace's "it doesn't matter what they think."

With their back to her they don't notice her as she approaches until she says "And regardless we take after our Lady Grandmother's Baratheon side."

"Anne!" Luke exclaims as he throws his arms around her. He's getting taller.

"Careful." She tells him gently. As in his excitement to reunite with his elder sister he cared little for jostling the babe in her arms or her belly.

"Sorry." He says as she withdraws. And Annerys brings a gentle hand to his cheek. So alike their mother and yet the similarity is completely unnoticed by Anne.

"Worry not little one." She tells her younger brother. "Although, you're not so little anymore."

"No." He says with a little pride. "Daemon says i'll need new armour to be fitted."

Annerys smiles sadly at her little brother. He was the first babe she had ever held. The first memory she has is of her mother passing the little bundle that was Luke into her arms telling her to be "gentle," and that "little things break easily." And she had wished then that he would grow so that they could play and now she looks at her ever growing brother so eager to please their Uncle and grow into new armour that will surely be used in the war to come. And she wishes he had stayed small because despite his new lofty height he's still so fragile. She wants to tell him to not "let Daemon push you into things you're not ready for." But she knows that what you're ready for has little effect on what the world expects of you. What Daemon expects of you.