Day after Baelon and Aemma's wedding night and Daemon is cranky. Rhaenyra comes up with an idea on how to help Aemma. I hope you guys like it. 🥰
Daemon Targaryen (19 years old.)
Rhaenyra Targaryen (3 years old.)
Daemon groaned and laid his head on the table, maybe killing his father was not such a bad idea. There were certain things a son should never hear and maybe he should not have made fun of his father's age. Apparently, more than half the keep was aware that Baelon Targaryen was more than capable of pleasuring his wife several times a night. Like a lot of times throughout the night. He needed to ask someone if there was a way to move his chambers far away from his father's, like to the other side of the castle. He would not be able to make it another night like the previous one.
"Good day, uncle." His small niece came running into his chambers and frowned when he groaned. Rhaenyra poked his cheek. "Are you ill?"
"I am tired." Daemon glared when Damon and Nyra laughed. Of course, they would laugh, they had been able to sleep all night without moans and screams keeping them awake. "Are we going to eat or not?"
"Wow, you do not enjoy mornings." Nyra sat Rhaenyra next to him and sat beside the small girl, Damon sitting beside his wife. Nyra kept smirking at him. "Did you not have a good night?"
"No!" He snapped and then swallowed when Damon glared at him. "I am sorry, I just need some sleep."
"Why could you not sleep?" His small niece asked innocently, making him flinch. "Did you have too much of the bad-tasting juice? You are always cranky after drinking too much of it."
Damon and Nyra burst out laughing and Daemon just glared at them. They were lucky that Rhaenyra was present and he could not say what he wanted to in front of her. The doors opened and his father and Aemma walked in. Daemon glared at them, annoyed at how refreshed they both looked. His father looked even younger this morning and Aemma did not look like a woman who had been fucked all night long.
Rhaenyra squealed before jumping off the chair and running to her mother. Aemma picked up her daughter and kissed her cheek.
"I missed you, mama." Rhaenyra wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. "Do I have to sleep with Nyra and Damon tonight?"
"No, You do not." Aemma sat across from Daemon, setting Rhaenyra on her lap and his father sat beside his wife. "You will return to your chambers tonight."
"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Daemon asked while glaring at his father. "We do not want to give her nightmares."
"Yes," His father's smile was not nice. "And we would not want you to be stabbed."
"Well, maybe we should speak about something else." Nyra interrupted before things could get out of hand. "I know that is customary for the bride and groom to take a few days for themselves after the wedding. Are you two planning on going somewhere?"
"We cannot." Baelon gave a nod to the servant who placed the plate in front of him before turning back towards Nyra. "We cannot leave Rhaenyra alone and my father is too ill to run the kingdom. He will be naming me prince of Dragonstone and hand of the king today, so I will have a lot of duties to attend to."
"He is naming your hand of the king today?" Daemon did not miss the strain on Damon's voice when he asked the question.
"Yes." Baelon smiled. "He is organizing a tourney to celebrate my wedding and my new position."
"Before you meet with your father today, we need to speak." Damon's entire expression had changed, gone was the amusement and now he just looked worried. "It is very important."
"I would also like to have one of the midwives Damon brought from Essos to examine you, Aemma." Nyra gave Aemma a small smile. "There are some things I also want to speak to you about."
After that they ate in silence, there was something not right. Daemon knew this had something to do with what had happened in the future and it was not good. Damon would have never reacted that way to his father becoming the official heir to the throne and the hand of the king. They could not speak about it now while Rhaenyra was in the room with them, there was no reason to worry the small girl.
"Where is Viserys?" Everyone looked up at Baelon's question. "Has anyone spoken to him?"
"We attempted to ask if he wanted to break his fast with us," Nyra cleared her throat. "The guard at the door said the prince was not feeling well and that he would not be leaving his chambers today."
Daemon let out a snort, of course, his brother would not be leaving his chambers. If Aemma had been his wife and then everyone had heard what happened last night, Daemon would have flown across the narrow sea and changed his name. His brother was not just embarrassed, he had been humiliated, people would be speaking about Baelon and Aemma's wedding night for years to come.
Baelon Targaryen (43 years old.)
Daemon Targaryen (33 years old.)
************************************************************************************************************************************************
Nyra was happy that her mother had consented to being examined by the midwife. Nyra wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong with her mother and find out if her miscarriages had been the product of a womanly illness or if her mother was being poisoned and made to lose children. Nyra had started to become suspicious when asking Aemma about being pregnant with Rhaenyra. Aemma and Viserys had spent most of the pregnancy at the Eyrie and Rhaenyra had been born healthy. As soon as they returned to the Red Keep, her mother started feeling weak and having issues with her pregnancies once more.
One of the spies Damon had placed with some of the maesters had discovered a divide at the Citadel. Some maesters believed that all magic was evil and so were the Targaryens, they believed that the death of the Targaryens and the dragons would eradicate all magic. Other maesters believed that there was good magic that could be used to help others. Rhaenyra wanted to know if all the masters in the Red Keep were conspiring against her family, and if they were then she and Damon would start getting rid of them one by one. Damon was speaking with Baelon and telling him about what had happened after he became heir and coming up with a plan to prevent it. They still were not sure if it had been poison or a natural illness.
"Princess." The midwife gave her a small bow while drying her hands. "Princess Aemma seems like a perfectly healthy young woman, there is no reason she should not be able to carry children to term and give birth."
"What could be causing her to have so many miscarriages?" Her poor mother had lost four pregnancies already.
"Well, I did notice something strange when examining the princess." The woman guided her towards where Aemma was fixing her gown and took one of Aemma's hands. "This white line on the princess's nails is similar to some poisoning cases I have seen for people who have taken turpentine."
"Turpentine?" Nyra could not remember where she had heard that name before.
"Yes, it is a common remedy used to help women miscarry, but it can be fatal if given the wrong dose." Aemma's eyes widened as the midwife spoke and she looked afraid. "If controlled correctly someone can be poisoned for years and it would appear as if the woman is losing the child naturally. But with continuous use, the body becomes weaker and weaker until the person dies."
"Thank you." Nyra took a pouch filled with gold and handed it to the woman. "I would like for you to be the only one who tends to Princess Aemma from now on, and if you could check her food and drink for turpentine or any form of poison."
"I would be honored, princess." The woman bowed to her and Aemma before leaving the chambers.
"I was being poisoned?" Aemma looked terrified and Nyra was angry. Her mother had been taken from her and she wanted blood. "Why?"
"Some of the maesters believe that magic is bad and that Targaryens are part of that magic because of our bond with our dragons." Nyra's eyes widened as she remembered something from the Valyrian books she had read in Dragonstone. "But there is something we can do about that."
Aemma had a confused look on her face as Nyra went to her dresser and pulled out two dragon-riding outfits.
"Uhm..." Aemma scratched her head. "I do not think I understand."
"Targaryens become stronger and harder to kill once we are bonded to our dragons." Aemma still looked confused as Nyra handed one of the outfits to her. "The midwife said that you are healthy and while there are some signs of you being poisoned, they are not so obvious anymore. Which means that most of the poison is out of your system."
"I am following you so far." Aemma raised the dragon riding outfit. "But what does it have to do with this?"
"If you are able to bond with a dragon, whatever remains of the poison should leave your system completely. Then all we have to do is monitor you until we find out who is against our house."
"You want me to claim a dragon?" Aemma was looking at her like she had lost her mind. "I cannot, the laws are very specific, only a Targaryen in the line of succession is allowed to claim a dragon."
"You are a Targaryen." Nyra gave her an amused smile. "You are married to the heir to the throne and your children will be in direct line of succession to the throne. If anyone has a right to claim a dragon that is you."
"The king will not be pleased."
"That is why we are not going to ask him." She pushed her mother towards the dressing screen. "It is better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission."
Her mother still did not look convinced, but she did as Nyra asked. She hoped this would work because if it did not she would have to take her mother to Dragonstone.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************
Aemma believed she had to be crazy, that was the only explanation she could think of as to why she had agreed to this. Aemma had heard the stories about her mother Daella, a delicate and shy, tongue-tied girl, who was easily frightened and quick to cry. She liked flowers but was afraid of gardens, bees, and cats. Everyone thought that Aemma was just like her mother and would never claim a dragon. But when Aemma looked at her daughter, the younger and older version, she did not see a fear-driven girl. Her daughters were bold and courageous, the youngest dragon rider since the doom. If Rhaenyra was like that, it meant that Aemma could also be bold and courageous. She definitely had been bold the night before, climbing over her husband and begging him to take her. Her face reddened as she remembered all the things they had done.
She took a deep breath as she moved deeper into the dragon pit, following the path leading to the caves where some of the dragons were housed. Vhagar was not there, she was too large to fit in the dragon pit. Neither were the older versions of Syrax and Caraxes. Aemma attempted to remember what Nyra had said to her and closed her eyes, attempting to calm her mind and her breathing. After a few minutes, she felt it, a pull in her chest, like someone who had been waiting for her a long time. It felt like a missing part she had not noticed was gone until it had been found. She opened her eyes and followed the feeling. Somehow she knew exactly where to go, even though she had never been this deep into the dragon pit before. Then, she stopped.
The dragon in front of her was beautiful, it was a she-dragon. She was pale blue, with silver markings, silver crests, and pale blue wings. The only dragon Aemma had ever been close to was Syrax, who was still a small hatchling. This dragon was very large and very pretty, she also felt familiar. Aemma moved closer to her, she made sure not to move too fast, but not to hesitate too much.
"You are very beautiful." She had learned Valyrian when Daemon would teach Rhaenyra. Aemma held up her hand and took deep breaths, making sure her hand did not tremble. "I was wondering if you would allow me to ride you. You have been alone for a long time and I believe we can be good for each other."
Dreamfyre stared at her for a few moments, and it almost felt like she was judging Aemma. After a few moments, the she-dragon lowered her head, allowing Aemma to run her hands over her muzzle. As soon as her skin touched the dragon's scales, something seemed to snap into place and she could feel Dreamfyre's emotions, she could almost hear her. A smile covered her face.
"Let us get you out of these chains." Aemma did not hesitate, taking the chains of Dreamfyre and she felt the dragon's pleasure at being set free. She climbed on Dreamfyre's back and secured the chains around herself like she had seen Daemon do from afar on several occasions. Once she was secure she noticed Dreamfyre looking at her. "Fly."
Before she knew it they were on the air and Nyra was on Syrax next to her. She could understand why Baelon, Daemon, and Rhaenyra loved this feeling, there was nothing like it. What she could not understand was the reason why Viserys did not enjoy this, even after his dragon had passed he had never attempted to claim another one. It was like he had forgotten that he was a dragon.
Aemma Arryn (18 years old.)
Rhaenyra Targaryen (17 years old.)