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── ୨୧ ──
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Saera had said her goodbyes with a heavy heart.
Her mother kissed her brow softly, offering quiet blessings and holding her gaze a little longer than usual.
Her father reminded her, in the only way he knew how, of her duty to the realm. Helaena clung to her in a tight embrace, tears threatening but never falling.
Aemond brushed a kiss to her cheek in silent understanding. Aegon said nothing, only stood in the shadows distant as ever.
And then she was gone.
Saera departed for Dragonstone with her new husband, Jacaerys, and her half-sister-turned-mother-in-law, Princess Rhaenyra. Her new life waited across Blackwater Bay, and though her heart ached for the Red Keep and all it held, she held her head high.
By dawn, they reached Dragonstone. the smell of breathing in the ashes of an old battlefield still smoldering. The smell of wet stone after a storm, touched by the sea's rage.
Saera limbs felt heavier than her robes. Tired and overwhelmed, she could only think of the night ahead their wedding night. The one that would mark her as a wife in body as well as name.
Rhaenyra welcomed her warmly, escorting her to the chambers she would now share with Jacaerys a tradition for newlyweds. The room was grand but unfamiliar.
The fire was already lit, the air warm and scented faintly of lavender.
Inside, a handmaiden named Anne flitted about, unpacking her dresses and arranging her belongings with silent efficiency.
Saera's gaze found Jacaerys across the room. He stood still, watching her, "I need to bathe," she whispered.
Jacaerys turned to the handmaiden. "Anne, my wife would like a bath drawn."
"Right away, my prince."
Anne began her task, and Saera offered her husband a small, grateful smile. When the bath was ready, the handmaiden curtsied and took her leave.
