LABYRINTH | JACAERYS VELARYON

i.

IF THERE WAS ANYTHING AELYRA VELARYON HAD LEARNED IN THE LAST FEW HOURS, it was that childbirth sounded as though it was equivalent to hell on earth. Hearing her mother scream in pain for hours on end was enough to make Aelyra loathe the idea entirely. Not that she was meant to have heard her mother's labors, considering how adamant her parents had been that Aelyra and her brothers be kept far away from her quarters... but they hadn't been more than twenty feet away from the door before Rhaenyra's cries of pain were heard echoing through the halls of the Red Keep.

It had been Jace's idea to go to the dragonpit and choose an egg for the baby, likely to help ease little Luke's nerves, who had been so nervous the last few days as their mother's ladies and maesters told her how close she was to giving birth. It was a good idea, considering how excited Luke looked as they made their way down the path they'd walked hundreds of times by now, all three chatting amongst themselves about whether they thought the baby would be a boy or girl.

"It must be a girl," Aelyra said firmly once more, earning amused looks from both of her brothers. "Mother first had Jace, then me, and then Luke. Boy, girl, boy. So did the Queen! Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, Shaera, and then Daeron. That means that the next baby will be a girl for sure."

"I don't think that babies normally come in order like that," Jace pointed out, making Aelyra scowl a bit. "Lord Baratheon has a lot of daughters and no sons."

"It wouldn't be fair if the baby is another boy," Aelyra pouted, "I don't want to be the only sister."

Luke reached out to squeeze her hand. "But this way, you'll always be our favorite sister," he told her with his sweet little smile that always made her heart melt. "We can't have a favorite sister if we have more than one."

"It doesn't do well to have favorites at all," a familiar voice said from behind the three children, making Aelyra turn her head and smile when she saw who had spoken to them.

"Ser Harwin!" she greeted, spinning fully so she could properly address her mother's sworn protector. "Do you think that the baby will be a girl or a boy?"

The knight laughed a little, which normally would have made Aelyra feel like she was being treated the same as a small child, but Ser Harwin never made her feel young or stupid like other adults did. "I do not know, Princess," he admitted. "But in the end, isn't all that matters the babe's health?"

Sighing, Aelyra nodded, seeing her brothers do the same from either side of her. He was right, of course. No matter what, all Aelyra wanted was for her mother and the baby to be safe. She had heard people talk about how her grandmother, Queen Aemma, had not had good luck when it came to childbirth. She had died in the birthing bed along with several babies, Aelyra had been told, so it was no wonder that everyone was so nervous every time her mother was with child.

"We're going to pick an egg for the baby," Luke announced to Ser Harwin, making the man raise an eyebrow.

"Alone?"

Jace nodded confidently. "We couldn't just wait for someone to bring us, Ser. The egg must be ready for when the baby comes."

Ser Harwin hummed in acknowledgement. "Well, the egg carrier is much too large for the three of you to carry, so I suppose that it is a good thing that we crossed paths. I will accompany the three of you, if you do not mind."

"Not at all!" Aelyra chirped happily, always happy to have the kind knight around. He was always good to her and her brothers, even when others gave the three of them odd looks, and he was very good at being her mother's protector. Aelyra could not think of a single time her mother had been harmed under Ser Harwin's watch.