Lion's Game

CH 11

"Just thinking about the future. Us... our family..." Her hand drifted down to her stomach. Their eyes met, her husband's smile grew. Their family was growing, hopefully, it would bring them closer together.

Rhaegar took her hands in his getting down on bended knee. "I love you, my beautiful wife. You have made me the happiest man alive. The seven truly have blessed me." She touched his cheek fondly. She loved him, and she knew he loved her in return but something about his behavior was concerning. Being the heir to the throne put immense pressure on her husband's shoulders. She needed him to stop pushing her away, if she could share even a moment of his unease or stress it would give her peace of mind.

"If you love me all I ask is for you to share with me what has been troubling you so much." Her husband's face falls as he stands and turns his back to her. She stood placing a hand on his shoulder, she needed him to be honest with her. Amara knew her marriage wouldn't be easy but she refused to be the wife that was left out in the cold. She was a young woman that was used to running a large household, being in charge, and being informed on everything.

She refused to be the typical submissive wife.

"Amara please... I've told you to leave it alone." She forced him to turn and look her in the eye.

"No Rhaegar, you won't tell me anything you've shut me out. You and I are in this together, if we can't confide in each other this marriage doesn't work. I am your wife, I want you to trust me." The desperation in her voice showing through more than she would have desired. The realization and guilt slowly seeped into his face. Amara didn't need or want his protection she wanted to be his equal.

She hesitates, telling her what had been going on behind the scenes would make her more vulnerable than ever. He was well aware his wife was capable of defending herself but that couldn't prevent him from wanting to protect both her and their son.

"Tell me Rhaegar, I can't be kept in the dark forever..." It pained him greatly to see his wife in pain, perhaps it was time she knew.

"I know... I love you Amara, and what I am confiding in you requires complete secrecy. The reports I've been receiving as of late are troubling me. And so, I've been discussing the assembly of a Great Council." Amara sucked in a breath, she too had heard the rumors of the king's troubling behavior. It was seeming to grow worse since the birth of their son, his heir now had a son of his own, his position was growing increasingly tenuous.

"A Great Council? That move is incredibly dangerous, if your father were to find out"

"He won't" Amara couldn't help but roll her eyes, rarely did secrets stay buried.

"If he were to figure out what you were plotting we could all be killed." This was why he'd been hiding away in the library for hours on end. The king's increasing paranoia had meant he had eyes all over the Seven Kingdoms and stretching across the Narrow Sea. Few people outside of the royal couple's inner circle could be trusted.

"I'm going to protect you and our children, your father seems to think waiting for my father to provide yet further proof is our best course of action. If we move too early we could lose the element of surprise." Amara closes her eyes praying their unborn child would come into a world better than the one they were living in. If any information of what they had discussed tonight fell into the wrong hands, they could all meet a fate worse than death.

Rhaegar kissed his wife on the forehead giving her a look that silently apologized for the burden he had placed on her.

The pair went to bed that night restless, their minds swimming with everything ahead of them. An unborn child and a king's growing madness made the heavy burden of the crown even heavier.