The journey was painfully long for the Maltheons. It took around four days to travel across the Sunset Sea and an extra two weeks to get to King's Landing. Unbeknownst to them, their dragons followed them the whole way to the Crownlands, staying hidden the whole way and never catching the eye of townsfolk or their riders.
They had finally arrived to the Red Keep where they were greeted by carriages and servants.
When a servant tried to grab one of little Maegon's bags, he politely refused, "It is okay. I got it."
"All right, my Prince." The servant excused herself, smiling at him and Maegon beamed at her.
Mikaela held onto her mother, who thanked all of the servants and carefully entered one of the carriages.
She sat in the carriage with her children and Reid who was exhausted. Maegor and Maxine sat with Steffon and Jaeron in the carriage behind them.
She waited until the carriages came to a stop outside of the gates of the Red Keep. There she was met with Ser Harwin, his helmet shining, and a soft smile on his face.
"Ser Harwin." Mae greeted him and put a hand on his arm. He greeted her warmly and greeted the children.
"My Queen. I am here to escort you. You have been summoned." Harwin informs her as Mae raises her brows.
"Summoned by who? We just got here." Mae questioned as she looked up at the tall man they called Ser Breakbones.
"The Princess Rhaenrya," Harwin revealed, as he let out an arm for Mae to take, escorting her to Rhaenyra's apartment, "She has requested I take you straight to her."
"Ah, of course. Then lead the way, Ser," Mae nodded to her children to follow after her. Reid rolled his eyes at Ser Harwin's antics as he carried Maia and held Matthew's hand, heading over to the Princess.
Two of Maekora's Queensguard followed after them, holding onto their swords in case of anything.
The walk to the castle was an interesting one. Banners of green were hanging almost all around the castle and the House Targaryen banners were almost completely gone.
Mae looked around, confused with the sudden color of green decorating the whole castle. Mikaela and Maegon held hands as they followed closely after their mother. Reid was also a little confused with the sudden color change and the very dim mood and ambiance of the Red Keep.
They finally arrived at Rhaenyra's apartment and Mae's heartbeat was so loud, she feared everyone else could hear it.
She could hear the sound of boys laughing inside and it only made her heartbeat race faster and her palms sweaty.
Ser Harwin opened the door and time stands still when Maekora locks eyes with Rhaenyra. A wave of emotions washes over her, leaving both girls momentarily speechless. Rhaenyra's eyes well up with tears as she quickly gets up to embrace her dearest friend. They held onto each other, afraid that this moment would disappear.
Mae pulls back slightly as she holds Rhaenyra's hands tightly. Their eyes meet and they attempt to speak, but their words fail them. Instead, they exchange a knowing smile, understanding that words would not be enough to capture the depth of their emotions.
Their moment is interrupted by Mikaela who embraces Rhaenyra, "Are you Princess Renira?"
Rhaenyra smiles at the young girl and kneels down, "Indeed I am. And you must be Princess Mikaela."
"You know who I am?" Mikaela is astonished by the Princess's words.
"Of course I do. Your mother was sure to tell me all about you. Including your dragon, Sōna." Rhaenyra tells her, as Mikaela looks over at her mother who is smiling at the sight.
Mikaela embraces Rhaenyra in a hug once again as they continue to get to know each other. Reid grins at his wife as he introduces Maia to the Princess. She is equally fond of the babe as she coos at her.
Maegon introduces himself to Rhaenyra and she gives him a tight hug. The young boy just had to ask, "Is it true that you have a dragon?" Mikaela also tunes in to the conversation, awaiting Rhaenyra's answer.
"I do. Her name is Syrax and she is absolutely beautiful. Would you like to meet her?" Maegon and Mikaela nod their heads excitedly as Maegon catches the eye of a boy behind the Princess.
Maegon makes his way over to the boy with a soft smile, "Hello. My name is Maegon. And you?" The boy is Lucerys who looks up at his mother. Rhaenyra nods for him to introduce himself.
"I'm Luke." The little boy mutters out as Maegon turns to Jace who is looking at Mikaela, "My name is Jace."
"I am Mikaela." She embraces both boys in tight hugs as Maegon goes up to Lucerys ruffling his hair.
"Hey, we have the same hair!" He laughs as he takes one of Luke's curls and grabs some of his own hair and shakes it for Luke to see.
Rhaenyra and Mikaela smile at the sight and hug each once again. When Rhaenyra pulls back, Mae whispers in her ear, "My gods, it seems like everytime we see each other, you seem to grow more beautiful as the years go on."
"Stop it, your husband is right there." Rhaenyra quickly scolds her, but she still loved when Mae gave her such wonderful compliments.
"I am only saying the truth, Princess." Mae replies, as she makes her way over to the boys, eager to meet them. As Rhaenyra watched Mae head over to her boys, she takes notice of the dark circles under Mae's eyes and she had a burn scar across her cheek. She also observed the crown of charred thorns on her head.
The crown of thorns that was gifted to King Maekor I and was burned by his brother as a sign of rebellion. Now it was only a symbol of corruption and madness. But Rhaenyra chose to ignore the change of crowns and watched as Mae stopped in front of the boys.
It is Jacaerys who comes up to her and introduces himself as he bows his head at the sight of her crown.
"My name is Jacaerys," Mae smiles at the name as she bends down to introduce herself.
"It is nice to meet you, Jacaerys. My name is Maekora." Mae turns her head to the smiling Luke, "And this young man must be Lucerys."
"Yes I am." Luke shyly looks away.
"Your mother has told me a lot about you two. Yet, she did not mention how beautiful and sweet you boys are." The two boys giggle as Jace hugs Mae and she caresses his brown locks of hair.
Mae did not even think twice about their appearances, not caring that they had brown curly hair or brown eyes. Unusual for Valyrian parents but they were Rhaenyra's children and that's all that mattered to her.
"Mother told us stories about you. And that you have a big dragon. Is that true?" Luke asks her as he gets closer to Mae.
"I do. She is very big but she is the sweetest dragon you will ever meet," Mae gestured with her hands the size of Maxis, "And she is a very light green."
"Vermax is also green!" Jace squeals from the other side of Mae.
"Really?" Jace nods as Mae flashes him a smile, "Vermax is your dragon?"
"Yes, he is very tiny but I cannot wait to ride him."
"And what about you, Luke?" Mae asks the small boy.
"My dragon is Arrax and he is also very small."
"Ah, wonderful. Your dragons sound amazing, boys. They are surely in good hands if you are to be their riders."
They giggle as Mae cannot help but laugh with them. Luke looked so much like Rhaenyra and it melted her heart. Jace's kindness and compassion reminded her of Maecerys. They were truly a blessing.
"We have the same hair too," As Luke points to Mae's curls that hung loosely on her shoulders, "Like Maegon said."
"It seems we do," Mae giggled as she got up from her spot, "All right boys. I am going to go speak with your mother."
Maegon and Mikaela ran to go play with Jace and Luke as Rhaenyra and Mae spoke in the corner of the room. Harwin and Reid were deep in conversation with each other, with Maia asleep on his shoulder and Matthew lazily walking to the other children.
"How are you? Are you well?" Mae asked as she took a seat beside the Princess.
"I am doing well. Better now that you are here," Rhaenyra beamed as she got a good look at Mae's face. Mae looked tired and her once bright purple eyes were no longer shining. Mae took off her crown and placed it beside her as she and Rhaenyra continued to catch up on their lives.
"How did you know I was here so quickly?" Mae pondered as Rhaenyra laughed.
"It is a feeling I get. I did not even have to look out the window to know that you were here." Rhaenyra reveals as Mae slowly nods.
"I am happy that I am here with you and your boys."
Mae and Rhaenyra hold hands, she felt the ring on her finger still sitting on it after all these years. Reid turns his head to the girls as Rhaenyra laughs loudly at something Mae said. He squints his eyes at them, beginning to feel suspicious of their relationship.
"I trust that the ride here was not too harsh," The voice of Ser Harwin breaks him out of his staring spell.
"Not at all. It was pretty smooth for the most part. Excruciatingly long, that is what I would say it was,"
Reid explained as he rocked Maia in his arms.
"Such wonderful children you have, by the way. They take after the Queen." Harwin compliments as he looks at Matthew and ruffles his blonde curls.
"Thank you. As do you," Reid replies, cooing at Maia.
"I'm sorry?" Harwin was taken aback by the comment and he defensively put a hand on his sword.
"Your children. They are wonderful as well. Is that not what you wanted to hear?" Reid subtly mocked him, as Harwin makes a move forward but is stopped by Rhaenyra, who puts a hand on his chest.
"What is going on?" Rhaenyra asks him as she looks at Mae who goes over to Reid. Harwin shakes his head at her and tells her nothing was wrong.
"What the fuck did you do?" Mae says, gritting her teeth.
"I was only complimenting Ser Harwin over here. Seems he didn't like it," Reid loudly says the last sentence as he laughs to himself.
"What did I tell you about making a scene here?" Mae dug her nails into Reid's arm, attempting to stop him from making things worse.
"You said to not say anything about the Princess. You didn't say anything about the Commander of the City Watch," Reid told her, feigning innocence.
"That is enough. Let's go," Mae felt like beating him. She could not believe he was doing this, especially in a place where he had no right to be acting in such a way.
She turned to Rhaenyra and mouthed an apology to her, but Rhaenyra simply advises her to leave in order to avoid an altercation. She met Reid's gaze who looked away as Mae gathered all the children to leave the apartment.
"I will see you later, Princess," Mae addressed her formerly as they all left the room.
Harwin was breathing heavily with fury, "How could such a sweet woman be married to that?"
"I am asking myself that same question," Rhaenyra mumbled as she watched the Maltheons leave, "Just ignore him."
•
Maekora and her family make it to their chambers and the children jump on the bed, playing with each other.
Mae walks outside to the balcony where she takes in deep breaths. She leans on the railing, watching the city below her when she feels two hands wrap around her waist. Mae immediately shoves him off, "How dare you act that way in front of the Princess? Have you no shame?"
"What about you? You dare act like that with her in front of me. I am no fool, Maekora," Reid spits out as he points his finger at her chest.
Mae does not fall for the bait as she continues to argue with Reid, "Why would you say such a thing?"
"Is it not true? I was only stating the truth," Reid tells her as he fixes his cloak, "Somebody could not handle it."
"It doesn't matter. Those boys are Rhaenyra's. Their father does not matter one bit. They will sit on that throne after her. A matter that does not concern you in the slightest."
"You don't talk to me like that," Reid counters, his hair falling on his face and his blue eyes dark with anger.
"I can and I will. And you have no right to speak that way to the Princess and Ser Harwin either."
"I just did. I am the King-consort. I rule right beside you. A matter that does concern me," Reid continued to press Mae's buttons until she had enough. She slapped him across the face, dragging him out of sight of the doorway to avoid the children catching a glimpse of their argument.
"And who made that happen?" Mae snapped at him, "That's right. Me. Do not forget yourself Reid. You are only a consort to ME. You would be nothing without me. You are simply a commoner whose name nobody even knew. You do not know how fast I can strip you of your rank. So go ahead, keep making a scene or I will have your head and make it a gift to the Princess."
The threat makes Reid's mouth drop in surprise. He did not actually think that Mae would say such a thing. Now he definitely knew that Mae was in love with the Princess, by the way she was constantly defending her.
He does not say anything as Mae walks away, her entire face changing as she set her eyes on her children.
Reid's behavior had gotten worse over the years. Their marriage was no longer a lovely and intimate one. He began to behave that way ever since they got back from Rhaenyra's wedding. Maekora began to think that it had something to do with the fact that he had been living in Ashbourne, a place he was not used to. And neither was his mind. She dismissed the idea and simply thought it was because he did not like the Princess or Mae's close relationship with her.
Now she fully regretted bringing him along and feared what he may do next.