When Luke and Nymeria were born Taelon was confident 6 children was a good way of strengthening the line.
Sure only four were Nyra's, one was Rhaes and one shall never be named but it was 6... that he knew of at least.
Taelon noticed Thorin in the garden and as cute as it looked when Thorin was picking flowers, he was supposed to be in the courtyard.
"Are those for mum?" Taelon questioned. Thorin spun around hiding the flowers behind his back. "What's that look for?"
"What look? What flowers? You don't see anything." Thorin corrected.
"Secret girlfriends?" Taelon mused.
"You can't tell Emma, it would break her heart." Thorin instructed.
"Who is it?" Taelon pondered.
"Helaena." Thorin answered softly.
"Oh bud thats sweet." Taelon assured, as Thorin held out the flowers he had picked. "Really sweet..."
"I think I like her." Thorin whispered.
"She's a unique girl." Taelon remarked.
"She is really smart." Thorin informed him. "When you decipher her riddles."
"I havent been able to decipher them myself." Taelon remarked. "What does tall falls and vicious truths mean?"
"I havent heard that one." Thorin countered.
"Maybe I heard her wrong." Taelon offered.
"She's really pretty too." Thorin went on softly. "Emma is pretty, she is but Helaena..."
"I get it." Taelon assured.
"Do you though? I don't want Emma to feel bad, I know how in love with me she is. Knowing I was giving flowers to another girl would kill her." Thorin said confidently.
"You know Rhaenyra and Emma have that in common." Taelon agreed.
"So you wont tell Emma?"
"How about you give your little sister one flower?" Taelon suggested. "That way she knows you love her too." Thorin nodded as he moved to the daisy's.
"Perfect!" Thorin remarked plucking it.
+
"Aemond, hey bud can I talk to you for a moment?" Taelon questioned as Thorin ran off on his flower delivery.
"Of course." Aemond agreed, Taelon knelt before him.
"You are a special boy and I love you very much, I don't know that I say it enough." Taelon remarked softly.
"I love you too." Aemond assured and Taelon reached out giving his shoulder a squeeze.
"I have something, I wanted to give you." Taelon pulled his necklace off of his neck. "This is a family heirloom." He held it up. "I gave one to Thorin and thought Aemond needs this too." Aemond smiled back at him as he placed it in Aemond's hand. "It's... been passed down through Targaryens... the... its Valyrian steel. Just a little bit but now you and I own a piece of Targaryen history." Taelon remarked.
"I love it!" Aemond declared hugging taelon. "I won't ever take it off, thank you Taelon."
"You are welcome." Taelon rasped as Aemond put it on.
"How do I look?" Aemond questioned.
"Like a true force to be reckoned with." Taelon declared proudly.
Despite trying Alicent and Rhaenyra's attempts they were not friends. It seemed with every birth Alicent grew more and more bitter. Rhaenyra was content with Taelon but Alicent wished she had fought harder for irrational crush before all this.
"Nymeria was it?" Alicent questioned.
"Yes and Lucarys." Rhaenyra agreed.
"So cute they are." ALicent offered.
"Yes." Rhaenyra agreed putting her book down.
"Well... I should go." Alicent remarked heading to the door. There was an unspoken tension that they would never be as they once were.
"MAMA!" Emma declared pushing past Alicent. "Look what Thorin gave me!"
"A flower, so pretty." Rhaenyra agreed.
"I love him and he is perfect and we shall wed!" Emma declared. "Just like you and father!"
"Well, that is a nice thought for the future." Rhaenyra remarked pulling Emma to her.
"No, I love him now. I think I should kiss him." Emma declared happily as she sniffed her flower.
"6 years old and already wanting to marry your brother," Rhaenyra chuckled.
"How old were you when you fell in love with daddy?" Emma countered curiously.
"I think I might have been in love with him forever." Rhaenyra remarked as she spotted Taelon lurking in the doorway.
"Forever huh?" Taelon questioned coming in.
'Daddy! Look what Thorin got me!" Emma declared holding it up by the stem.
"Beautiful." Taelon agreed.
"He is perfect, I love him and we shall wed!" Emma repeated.
"Will you?" Taelon countered. "I don't think I'm ready for that just yet."
"No dont be silly nothing changes, I still live here and come into your bed when I have a nightmare but I get to hold Thorin's hand all the time and maybe kiss him." Emma remarked.
"You really have this whole things thought out, dont you?" Taelon questioned sitting down next to Nyra as he pulled Emma into his lap.
"Well of course, I think I have loved him forever as well." Emma agreed.
Meanwhile Alicent saw Thorin giving Helaena a plethora of flowers.
"Thank you." Helaena whispered staring down at them. Thorin didnt know what to say, he didnt think that far.
"You are welcome... I was walking and saw flowers and thought Helaena would like a flower." Thorin remarked.
"Really?"
"No, I went looking for flowers for you. To give to you." Thorin corrected. Helaena blushed as she brought the flowers to her nose. "I saw a bug, it was black and red... black with red spots, no, red with black spots." Thorin corrected. Helaena perked up.
"Maybe we could... look for it together sometime?" Thorin questioned hopefully.
"I would like that." Helaena agreed.
"Mother?" Aemond questioned as she knelt in front of him.
"Yes my love?"
"Look what Taelon got me." Aemond remarked holding up a little dragon medallion.
"Oh its lovely." Alicent declared.
"He said it was a family heirloom. He wanted me to have it." Aemond informed her happily as his fingers ran over the dragon.
"Taelon is a wonderful man."
"He's the best." Aemond agreed fondly.