6 Court
(Aemma POV)
Darkness ... that's all that I remember. Darkness and pain ...
As the darkness was about to claim me, he appeared. I don't know who he was, or why he was here. I only know that he came in my time of need. He is my knight in shining armour. He gave me something ... something to drink. I don't remember, but I do remember that the pain went away ... finally.
I try to open my eyes, but they feel like heavy boulders. I still manage to open them and look around the room. I am alone, only my knight is there. He seems focused on some linen in his hands and a few ... vials of some kind. I try to open my mouth, but no sound comes out. I want to call him, ask him who he is, what happened to my babe.
Where is Viserys?
Oh, I don't feel so good. The room starts to spin around me. Am I falling?
"Oh, you're awake.", I hear a melodious voice say and manage to move my eyes to the side where my knight is standing and smiling gently at me. Again I try to say something.
"...", but nothing comes out. He seems to understand though.
"You will have a sore throat for a while. That's due to your screaming when you were in pain. This is perfectly normal. However, if you want..." he says, grabbing something inside his clothes and taking out a small vial," ... you can have something for that."
I swallow hard and want to say something to him. He holds his hand on my shoulder gently.
"No need. If you want to say 'yes', blink once. If you want to say 'no', blink twice.", he tells me. A good idea. I close my eyes again and then work hard to open them again. 'Yes,' He smiles and then lowers the small vial to my lips. He did that before as well and then the pain went away. I take a slow gulp of the liquid. It tastes sweet, I have never tasted that before.
"T..ty ... t.an. .ou", slowly my voice returns and my throat stops burning. He encouragingly smiles at me.
"That's it. Go on, try it.", he says.
"Thank you for your ... help.", I manage to say and his smile widens. How can someone have such a gentle and beautiful smile, when he was so scary at first? I know that some might say, he isn't pretty, but that is just because people in this world, don't look deeper and haven't experienced what I have.
"Well done, Aemma. I was right, you do have a nice voice. You know there is someone that would like to meet you.", he says and for a moment I fear he is talking about Viserys. But he walks to the side, takes the linen bundle out of a ... box? and brings it to me.
"Congratulations, Aemma. It's a girl.", he says and my eyes widen. He lays my babe next to me so that I can smell her. She is beautiful.
"She's beautiful. You did very well. To go through what you did ... you have my greatest respect, Aemma. Hold your head high, this is your work. She is alive thanks to you.", he says. I look at him with a complicated expression. How can a man end up like that, in this world?
"Are you ... the coin?"
"Ohoho, indeed. Allow me to introduce myself, my lady. My name is Kisuke Urahara. I am a genius by trade.", he says, takes off his hat and bows to me.
"Hah.", I laugh at his introduction but before I can reply, the door opens.
.
Two women walk into the room, confusing me. They are gorgeous ladies. One of them has light brown skin with white hair, that not even the Targaryens have. The other one has white skin, similar to the Targaryens, but her hair is pitch black and she is wearing some type of armour.
I hear a 'squeak' from my right and see my saviour run towards the two ladies with a big smile on his face. The ladies also look happy and run towards Kisuke. They embrace each other tightly and Kisuke even lifts both of them up at the same time, making them giggle.
"I missed you two soooooooo much.", he says. The two ladies shake their heads and smile.
"We missed you too, Father.", the white-haired beauty says.
"Yes, but you never write.", the black-haired one says and smiles. This tells me that she is only teasing him. And given by the reaction of Kisuke, I am right.
"What?! I write to you every week but seldom receive a letter in return. All of my children leave me alone with the she-dragon who doesn't allow me to make some ... improvements to the koi fish, or any of our animals for that matter.", Kisuke sighs.
"Haha, Mother has you on the tight experiment leash."
"I think the 'Carp jumping over Dragon's Gate' was too much for Mother."
"Hahaha, yeah I agree."
"Oho, you two have grown bolder, have we? Well, Melissa, a bird tweeted into my ear that a certain secretary lost his head. I have to say, that was wonderfully done. But now both of you don't have husbands. Remember what I told you, if you want I can very quickly make you a-"
*BONK*
*BONK*
I watch with amusement and a bit of confusion as the two daughters hit my saviour on the head. Their relationship is very close. I have never seen something like that. I wish ...
"So, Father. Who is this lovely lady, that looks like she took an Urahara marathon?", Melissa asks.
"*cough* Well, let me present to you. Aemma Targaryen, 23-year-old female presents with abrasions on her wrists and feet, massive blood loss, a knife in her stomach and enormous amounts of pain. Differential diagnosis."
"Family history?"
"A series of similar cases. Her mother died during childbirth."
"Exposure to violence?"
"Massive yes. I caught the mother with a relatively blunt knife in her uterus."
"How long was she exposed?"
"The time between the first cry and my intervention was about 25 seconds."
"So we can include trauma. Physical and psychological."
"Indeed."
"What does the blood loss mean for Aemma?" asked Kisuke.
"Anaemia."
"What kind?"
"Extracorpuscular haemolytic anaemia."
"Oh? Well, we could look at it that way. How do we recognise haemolysis clinically?"
"Splenomegaly, jaundice, pallor."
"Why jaundice?"
"Released cheap ruby does that."
"Does she have jaundice?"
"No."
"Why?"
"You've already given her a blood-replenishing potion."
"Very good. So what is your diagnosis?"
"Complete idiot of a husband." "Complete idiot of a husband."
My eyes widen at their talk. While I didn't really understand what they were talking about, I knew what they both meant with the last sentence. I watched Kisuke looking at them for a moment without saying anything.
"... I am so proud of you.", he says.
"By the way, Father. Why are you calling her Aemma?"
"Because that is her name.", he says in a deadpan voice.
"Yes, but isn't she Queen or something?"
"She is my patient and as you know I call all of my patients by their first name. I couldn't care less for titles and such nonsense. Now, I will go to your mother and the shitty husband. Make sure no one enters here unless it's the husband or daughter. The rest you know yourself.", Kisuke tells them.
"Yeah, we know."
"Good. Now then, Aemma. I will go and leave you in the very capable hands of my two daughters. If there is something you need then tell them. No need to mind your words, we don't do that in our family. I'll return later to look after you.", he says and smiles at me.
"Thank you, " I say, tears running down my face. I am truly grateful for his help, even though I am unsure what he did and how I am still alive.
"Now now, no need to cry. I do what I do because I like it. I'll see you all later.", he says and then leaves the room.
.
I look at the two ladies and watch as they walk around the room and look for something. They are very systematic in their 'search' and I can't help but ask.
"Are you looking for something?", I ask them.
"No need to worry, Your Grace. We do this every time. A safety measure, since there is a real chance you or your daughter may be poisoned.", Melissa says making me worried.
"Melissa! What was that for? Don't worry, Aemma. It is simply a habit that we do every time. Here in Kings Landing, the danger for someone like you is very high. Father taught us to never trust the Citadel and its Maesters. So we are extra careful. By the way, my name is Alexandra.", the dark-skinned beauty says with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Alexandra."
"Nice to meet you too. And this is my sister, Melissa. We are going to take care of you for a while until you are better."
"Thank you."
"Oh, look at that. She is so cute~", Alexandra says when she looks at my daughter. I nod my head and look at her. She is truly a beauty.
"Oh my.", Alexandra says.
"What? What is it?!", I ask.
"It would seem ... that our Father has used the Y-X-exchange potion. Hehe, it seems he was quite angry."
"Angry? Y-X? I don't understand.", I say and look at her for help.
"There is nothing you have to worry about. She is perfectly healthy. You see, every human has a set of genes, which decides whether it will be a boy or a girl. Boys have an X and Y gene each. Girls have two X-genes. We use it to make sure the babe is healthy.", Melissa says and I relax.
.
We start talking to each other and I get to know them. They are a very refreshing change to the court of Kings Landing. They don't lie, because they don't care about the political 'power' people here wield. They say what they think and don't lie. They are jovial and humorous and manage to make me laugh.
"There is something I wanted to ask you. You don't have to answer though, I was just curious...", I try to ask my question.
"You want to know whether we are Kisuke's and Visenya's adoptive children, because of our looks. Am I right?", Alexandra asks.
"Y-yeah. I was just wondering, you know normally the Targaryen bloodline-"
"Bah! The Targaryen Bloodline has nothing on our Father's genius. He cleansed all our genetic information and cured us of the madness that seems to plague them."
"Genetic?"
"A medical term. Anyway, you see the way it works in our family, is that at the age of 20, we take something we call, the test of maturity. This can include many things where we have to prove mastery over a few topics. After successful completion of the 'TOM' everyone is granted one 'Metamorphosis potion'.
Basically, we are allowed to change our looks however we want. The only thing we aren't allowed to change is our figure. Father says that we have to keep in shape ourselves."
"So he allows for you to change your appearance? And you are ... alright with that?"
"Why wouldn't we? Not all of our siblings do that though. Some are very happy with the way we look. We don't really change much though. Alexandra changed her complexion and I changed my hair colour. That's it. Our parents gave us very good genes."
"Haha, I guess they did. So how many siblings are there?"
"A few. Hahaha."
"Does your Father spy on you? Does he have many spies?", I ask them.
"Spies? Why do you ask that?", Alexandra asks.
"Well, he said, that a bird tweeted him about you. So I assumed he would keep a close watch over you.", I explained.
"Oh, that. Hahaha no, if Father says a bird tweeted it to him, then it was an actual bird."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Really?"
"Yes. He is ... eccentric."
.
.
(3rd Person POV)
In the dimly lit chambers of the throne room, 'King' Viserys sat upon his throne, his countenance heavy with the weight of his recent decisions. His great great great ... aunt, Visenya, approached, her regal presence filling the room with an aura of authority. She had changed from the time she and her siblings came to Westeros.
"Viserys," Visenya's voice rang out, laced with a mixture of disappointment and fury, "what madness possesses you to allow the Maester to wield the knife upon your own queen? The mother of your child, the love of your life?"
Viserys shifted uncomfortably upon his throne, his eyes unable to meet Visenya's piercing gaze. "I... I had no choice," he stammered, "the Maester said the child wouldn't come out, and I feared for both their lives. Aemma was said to die, either way, I-"
Visenya's eyes blazed with indignation as she stepped closer, her figure casting a shadow over the king. "And so you chose to sacrifice your Queen upon the altar of desperation? Have you forgotten the oaths you swore, the duty you hold as husband and father?"
Viserys bowed his head, a wave of shame washing over him. "I acted in haste, Visenya, blinded by ... fear and desperation."
Visenya's voice didn't soften at all, though her anger remained palpable. "The Targaryens have always had this curse. Generations of inbreeding and incest do that to a family. I despised the mindset that we were above all others, simply because our ancestors did a magical ritual. The Dragons are what gave Aegon power and allowed the Targaryens to rise to the throne. They didn't do anything else. But your arrogance blinds you. The need for an heir made you decide to kill your wife! You are a disgrace!"
The weight of Visenya's words bore down upon Viserys, his shoulders slumped in shame. Visenya had a way with words, that could cut someone straight into the soul. "Forgive me, Visenya," he whispered, his voice barely audible, "I have failed in my duty as both king and husband."
"That is an understatement."
Visenya regarded her brother with a mixture of disgust and disappointment before turning to leave, her footsteps echoing in the silence of the throne room.
"It is not me you have to apologise to. You better make sure to beg Aemma for forgiveness. Otherwise, I will return ... for judgment."
As she departed, Viserys remained upon his throne, a broken man, haunted by the consequences of his actions. He had decided to kill his wife, in order to have a son. The decision was not easy, but it didn't make it right. Now, he will have to live with his decision and a wife, who will never again, want anything to do with him.
