At The Beginning With You

Chapter 17

Baelon had said he would need to speak to her and that made her a bit nervous. This world was not made for women, they were the property of their fathers first and then their husbands. Since she was not longer Viserys's wife that meant that her family were the ones in charge of her once more and they could wed her to whoever they wanted. She was not sure she wanted to wed someone else, most men would not accept a child from another marriage, much less a girl with a dragon. Aemma would not leave her daughter, she would not go anywhere without Rhaenyra. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a knock on the doors.

"Enter." Her voice was soft and trembled a little. The only thing that kept her calm was that Rhaenyra was with Daemon and he would not allow anyone to hurt his niece. Aemma felt her entire body relaxed when Baelon was the one who entered her chambers, closing the door before moving closer. "Uncle, I am happy to see you. Have you brought me any news?"

"Yes, I have been contacting your brothers for a few days, since Viserys first brought the idea that he wanted to divorce you." Aemma stood and nodded, wanting to know what her brother had said. "They agreed to a new match for you if Viserys went ahead with his plans to divorce you."

"They did?" The fear returned, she knew she could not stay here without being wed to a prince, but it was still hard to hear she would be sent somewhere else so soon. "Did they say who they had chosen?"

"Aemma, I do not want you to be sad," Her uncle moved closer to her and took her hands in his much larger ones. "You can say no, you do not have to wed if you do not wish to."

"You know that is not true." She looked up at her uncle. "If I say no to this person my brothers will find someone else for me to wed, they would not allow me to remain unmarried and be a burden to them."

"You are not a burden." She could not help but notice how warm his hands were. "You are a princess and a Targaryen."

"Not really." She shook her head. "No one but grandmother ever considered me a Targaryen. I have heard what people say about me, the daughter of Daella, who was a weak and scared woman, so of course I should be weak as well."

"That is not true." One of his hands cupped her face and he ran his thumb over her cheek in a soft caress. "You are not weak, you are soft and sweet and there is nothing wrong with that."

She was happy he did not think her weak, she knew Viserys had. Her previous husband had believed it was because of her weak constitution that she kept losing their children. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the blow, she needed to know.

"Who did my brothers choose as my new husband?"

"They said that if you were agreeable, you could wed me." Her eyes grew so wide she was sure they were about to pop out of her head. She had not expected him to say that, she had not even known he was a possibility. Did he even want to wed her or wed anyone else for that matter? She must have stood there longer than she believed because Baelon cleared his throat. "Say something."

"You are asking me to marry you?" She had to be sure that was what he was saying. She was still surprised when he nodded. "But you do not want to wed anyone. Everyone knows how many women have attempted to seduce you and you have always said you would not wed again."

"Well, things change." She could not help but find it amusing how his face reddened at the mention of women attempting to seduce him. "This would be a way for you to stay here and be able to have Rhaenyra with you. You do not have to say yes, but it was the only way I could think to protect you."

"Uncle, I am very thankful that you wish to protect me and my daughter, but I do not want you to sacrifice yourself for me." He was sweet to offer, but she did not want to be a burden. "You will be king one day, and if you have changed your mind about marriage then you should wed someone you can love and who can give you children."