The moment that terrified Reina the most has arrived. The bedding ceremony always scared her, not the pain that she will feel, but the thought that people will watch it made her tremble in fear.
Although Aegon had spent the last few minutes trying to calm her down, paining him to see her in such a fragile state, she cannot bring herself to not think about it.
"I promise you, nothing will happen to you. You will not feel a single pain and everything will be over very quickly. You only have to be strong through this moment and be brave for me, if not for yourself." he speaks with a gentle voice.
"May you undress, my lady. I need to check you before...it starts." an old maester approaches Reina and rubs her arm. In the room, Alicent, Otto and Marton Tyrell had been chose to witness the act.
Her body flinches involuntarily at his touch. She understands the reason for his actions, but she cannot help but feel uncomfortable with him touching her. She gulps and nods her head.
The young girl lays on the mattress and flinches when the maester spreads her legs, looking down at her most private part, parting her folds with his fingers to inspect her.
Her breaths become shallow and she struggles to keep herself calm and still. She tries to block out her mind from the maester’s examination, knowing that all eyes are watching her. She tries to imagine herself somewhere else. She is not lying on this bed, surrounded by people, no, she is somewhere else, somewhere safe and away from this mess. Somewhere with her mother.
The old man walks away from her, letting Alicent draw the curtains. The presence of another woman makes Reina feel a more comfortable, relieved even.
Aegon gets on the bed as well, sightly on top of her.
Her heart skips a beat as she feels his body press onto hers. She feels nervous as she waits for what is to come next and her breathing starts to intensify once more.
He brushes a strand of her red hair from her forehead before kissing it gently, whispering into her ear: "Trust me."
The moment his lips make contact with her skin she freezes, her heart stopping for a second. This is everything that she had been nervous and afraid of, this is the moment when she would lose her virtue and become a woman.
Aegon slowly kisses her neck and spreads her legs, getting in between them.
She shivers uncontrollably as she feels him doing this. She tries to keep her body as still as possible, but her muscles are trembling and it is very obvious that she is struggling to stay calm and relax.
He thrusts into her, making her gasp in pain. In an instant her entire body reacts, her muscles tensing up and she shivers from the unexpected and unbearable pain. It was nothing like the maester had described and she found herself wishing he would stop. She tries to bite her lip to prevent herself from breaking down in tears.
Aegon notices her reactions and it makes his heart ache. He slowly pulls back and looks down at her.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." he whispers and puts his head in the crock of her neck, kissing it, hoping it would made her feel better.
Her body starts to relax when he does this and he notices this change in her reaction. It gives him confidence that he may be able to make her feel more comfortable. He gently strokes her hair and kisses the top of her neck, hoping that this will help alleviate some of her tension.
"It’s okay." he whispers softly, "We will take it slow."
She nods her head repeatedly, trying to ignore the pain.
He continues his movements at a slower pace, making sure to not hurt her. He moves with tenderness and gentleness and he slowly watches her reactions as they progress. He wants to make sure that the act does not hurt her and that it is a pleasant experience for them both. He kisses her on the neck again and moves to kiss her mouth.
His lips embrace hers, the pain that she was feeling moments before is now nonexistent, all her attention is on the kiss. A sense of comfort and affection washes over her as his lips press against hers and she allows herself to simply relax and enjoy it. It is passionate and intimate and she begins to respond to his movements and kiss him back, her lips locking tightly onto his.
He groans as she finishes and as he nears his climax, a sense of relief and satisfaction washes over her. Her body relaxing and her tension subsiding as the act ends.
Aegon pulls out of her, kissing her forehead one more time before opening the curtains, signalling the people in the room that their marriage had been consummated.
As the curtains are opened she sees the group of people looking at her and she feels the heat and the redness rising on her cheeks. She looks away, unable to bare the sight of them staring at her. The only thing she wants right now is to leave and to hide herself away.
The maester claps and approaches Reina, wanting to examine her once more.
"I will take care of my wife." he says, his tone sharp and demanding. He moves to block the maester from doing what he wants with his wife. He is determined to not allow such an intimate thing to happen in front of so many people and he cannot bring himself to allow her to be touched in such a vulnerable and private way, again.
"But my Prince...I have to make sure her maidenhood has been taken, properly..." the man tries to say, but is quickly interrupted by the Queen herself.
"The blood stain on the white sheets is the best proof you can get." she says sternly.
Aegon can’t help but feel uncomfortable with the fact that her purity was being judged as if she was cattle. But Alicent’s reply seems to have placated the maester. He nods his head and steps back from them slightly, realizing that his services were no longer needed.
Soon the only people left in the room are Aegon and Reina. She pulls her dress back on and tries to rearrange her hair.
He walks over to her and helps fixing her hair so it is in line with the expectations of a Princess. He then steps back and waits for her to finish putting her dress back on.
"Thank you." she says, forcing a smile on her face.
"It was nothing." he replies, his voice still strained, his mind still reeling from the events that had just transpired.
The act of taking her virginity was no longer on his mind, instead he was feeling guilty and remorseful for not making sure that she enjoyed her first time.
She looks lost in thought at the bed they were on moments ago and at the bright red stain on its impeccable white mattress.
"What do we do now?" she looks away from the bed and into his deep violet eyes.
“I suppose we are husband and wife now.” he replies softly.
He thinks about the significance of that word: husband. Now that they have officially consummated their marriage, there was nobody who could dispute that they are husband and wife. Now that he claimed her, nobody, not even the King, can force them to annul their union. He is relieved by the thought.
She nods, smiling a little, this time not faking it.
The relief on her face is visible and it makes him feel better than he has felt all evening. He leans in and kisses her on the forehead, trying to show her that he cares and he is not completely indifferent to everything that has happened.
"We must rest, come." he takes her hand and leads her out of that room towards their shared chambers.
The room is large and spacious, the walls made of white marble. In the center of the room is a large bed, with golden bedsheets covering it. It is lit softly by a series of candles that line the walls. He sits down on the bed and pulls her down for her to sit beside him.
"You have gone through so much trouble today. You will have to rest well tonight." he says, gently stroking her hair. He then leans over and kisses her on the cheek, hoping that the gesture will make her feel a little less strained and tense.
"I will not demand anything of you tonight. I want you to simply get some rest and to relax after this tiring and hectic day" he continues hoping that she will take him for his words and simply lay back and rest.
"Alright." she nods and she lays down on the bed, getting under the warm covers.
He lays beside her and gently pulls her in close so that they are lying close to one another. He wants to feel the warmth of her body as it is comforting to him.
She closes her eyes and a single tear falls from them and into her pillow. She feels sad and abandoned.
Oh...how she wishes her mother was still alive. She wouldn't have left her alone.
She would have helped her survive.
A/N : okay so the wedding part is done with this chapter, I hope you liked it ❤️