32
----
112 AC
Kingslanding
Daeron Nymeros Martell
----
"You seem to be recovering well, being able to stand already is ahead of my expectations. You are a lot stronger than you are given credit for..." I pass her another serving of 'green juice' that is mainly made like this to conceal the shimmer.
This cup has less than a tenth of what she took the first time, and she is up and wobbling on her legs already. I think it is mainly because she is tired of being in this room mainly, she definitely has some underlying trauma. She avoids talking about her husband and what happened as much as possible. It feels like she is just holding it all back, I do not know how long she can last like that. I foresee a big freakout or just a mental breakdown, I am growing concerned.
"Well I want to be able to stroll the gardens and get some fresh air soon, I am tired of smelling the same stuff. I need a fresh breeze and some budding flowers, that or just some sunlight." I snort and shake my head as she lowers herself back to her bed.
"I can get you a wheelchair... a trip through the gardens sounds nice." She shifts herself and gently crawls back against the headboard with a pillow behind her back. "If not me I can still get you one and have someone else take you around." She purses her lips before slowly starting to nod.
"I would not be against it." She reaches for the cup she set down and brings it to her lips and starts drinking.
"Sounds like a plan, I will hunt one down and get you out of here for a quick trip." Drinking the juice her face scrunches up but she finishes it with a sour expression. "I should invite Rhaenyra as well, I am sure she will want to join us." She shakes her head as she sets the cup down.
"Well I guess you have not heard, Rhaenyra is being named heir and will be busy the next few days. She won't have time for anything but preparing for the ceremony her F-Father is setting-g up." She wrings her hands and looks toward her lap, I am not an expert on the mind but she seems to be getting worse.
I do not want to trigger her so it is best to go about searching for answers slowly, I need to bait her into wanting to tell me. I just hope nothing sets her off before I get to the obvious source of her stress, I want to help her but I do not know how. But the Lady who will be my good mother wants a trip through the gardens so even if I have to carry her I will get it done.
"I see, I did not hear about that but I guess that is why I saw Caraxes fly off not too long ago..." Seems Daemon will be squatting in Dragonstone for a while and Rhaenyra is about to become the crowned Princess.
I am sure there will be some kind of problem kicked up about our engagement, we might even be asked to kneel to her. With her being the next Queen and me being her husband and also the heir to Dorne they will expect Dorne to be formally joined into the other Kingdoms. I was expecting this but my Father was not, I am unsure how he will react to this but I am sure he will be rushing the wedding. If before there was time to let things fall into place, now it will be a rush to have it all official.
Rhaenyra just went from the start of a pact and a good Lady of Sunspear and Princess of Dorne, into making me her consort. Well, I do not know for sure if I am considered a consort but I know the title grinds my gears a bit if I am honest. No one calls a Queen a 'Queen consort' but that is what they are, but a King by marriage is always a consort before a King. This is why it is even more important to make a name for myself in the Stepstones, fear will stop a lot of wagging tongues and setting me off.
Though I expect most of the 'wagging tongues' will just be bitter and jealous men who want to be me. I mean a giant dragon and the future Queen of the seven kingdoms as my wife, it certainly attracts jealousy.
"I will head off to see about that wheelchair, I am sure I can find one." Aemma nods and I make my way toward the door with an odd mix of emotions.
----
"It certainly does smell better already." I comment as I push Queen Aemma through a path between some flower bushes, a smile on her face I have only seen when she holds Visenya.
"It does." She sounds more at ease and that lifts a weight from my heart, I would hate to save her and then she goes mental or something.
If that happened it would have been better to let her die and find peace in eternal rest.
My thoughts go back to Rhaenyra and the plans I have thought of over the years when I imagined this day. She will have as many Lords as her father can summon come and swear to her, many are already here from the 'heir's tournament'. That is a great start that she can build on to earn the loyalty to prevent a lot of future trouble. This time around she will be married and will not travel Westeros in search of a husband while insulting most of the Lords. That will also help her not make enemies with petty men who will already judge her for being a woman who will have more power than them.
Instead, when I am done in the Stepstones we could even travel Westeros together in a Royal progress. We have dragons and that will make it quite quick if we wanted to hit every Lord's seat and have a talk with them. Security will be an issue if we do it on Dragon's back though, making a name for myself in the Stepstones war might fix that though. If people have any ideas of hurting my wife when they hear she is doing a Royal Progress it would only take them learning her bloody husband is coming with her. I am sure I will earn some moniker while burning ships and men alike on the Stepstones.
"Not that I do not appreciate it, but you are oddly silent." Aemma speaks up breaking me from my thoughts.
"Just thinking." She hums and I can practically feel the desire to be entertained come off of her, she has been stuck for quite a while and is very bored.
The only thing she has for entertainment is getting a book or watching her new daughter but Visenya is sleeping with ten guards watching over her. I can say one thing about King Viserys, he was rocky during and after the birth but he is on his feet now. Visenya is rarely out of sight of at least five men sworn to die for her. She also is only drinking her mom's breast milk now, something I am thankful Aemma started without me having to worry about it. It will likely never come out but I am almost positive there was foul play in some of her baby's deaths. Likely a wet nurse slipping them a poison or maybe even a Maester doing it calling it treatment for a common ailment.
"Any thoughts you would not mind sharing, I would like to use my mind for something new with everything that has been running through it recently." I am sure that is an understatement but I am happy to see her coming out of her shell a bit.
Even this whole trip through the gardens is a surprise, I did not think she felt comfortable enough with me for this. But I am enjoying seeing my future good mother slowly open up to me and also use me as a crutch in her recovery.
"I was thinking if Rhaenyra is going to be Queen my marriage to her got much more complicated." She chuckles and I see the back of her head nod.
"Yes it has, but I am glad the engagement was made official before she became heir. I imagine it would have been a much different story if it hadn't been." I am sure it would of at the very least taken much longer to hash out a deal between the King and my Father.
"I am glad as well, if I may say you did an excellent job raising her." Left unsaid 'also making her' because she gave Rhaenyra some killer hips.
"Thank you, it was rough at times but I am sure it was just as difficult as what your Mother went through raising you to be a fine young man. I will admit I was doubtful, to begin with, and was even worried about the marriage but you have changed my mind. I feel like you will make a good husband for my daughter and I should complement your mother raising you as well." Her voice turns joking toward the end but I am sure my mom would preen under such praise.
"Her head would swell." I mutter and Aemma chuckles in response, she turns her head to side-eye me as I guide us down one of the paths with a walkway.
"Be nice." She scolds in a tone I almost take seriously before I see her lip curl up as she turns to look forward. "What do you think will be most complicated going forward?" She quickly changes back to the original topic, she takes on a mentor-like tone and I smile seeing her light up even more.
Seems she needed this more than either of us knew, maybe she will start recovering even faster with some of her mind clutter clearing up.
----
112 AC
Kingslanding
Rhaenyra Targaryen
----
I was not expecting to find my mom's room empty, I almost panicked before I heard she was pushed out in a wheelchair. But the surprise to learn it was Daeron who pushed her was shocking, to say the least. I am not scouring the biggest section of the gardens to find them to see what they are up to. I am not even sure which of them planned this as I know my mom was getting cramped in her room but I did not expect her to have Daeron take her out.
I am sure she is still angry and hurt about what my Father did so I think that is why she did not ask him to do something like this.
"-is it really?" I hear Daerons voice and walk toward it finding him sitting on a bench with my Mother in a wheelchair beside the bench.
"It is, if you do end up going there with her I hope I can also travel with the two of you somehow. It has been too long since I have last seen the Eyrie and I would love to see it with my daughter's." I approach and Daeron is the first to spot me and smiles while nodding, I can feel his eyes lock onto my lips and I feel a tingle in my body almost stopping me in my steps.
"Well I can always ask her, is that not right, Rhaenyra?" He tilts his head to the side but his eyes never leave my lips and I feel nervous.
I was just told about some threat coming to end all of life that Aegon the conqueror saw in a dream and I am more nervous with Daeron gazing at me.
"Ask what?" I manage to get some words out as I travel the rest of the distance and take a seat beside him on the bench.
"I was just talking to your Mother about some things and I said I think a Royal Progress would be a good thing to do. She kind of bluntly let me know you are being named heir and I was just thinking about things that would have to change. Being Queen and ruling Westeros means Westeros needs to at least somewhat know you, and it would not hurt to know your husband as well. A Royal Progress would go a long way, plus I am Dornish and little to no one has ever seen me before I came to Kingslanding on a dragon. So you not only will have your gender against you from Lords being skeptical about your rule but you also are marrying a Martell." I blink slowly taking all that in, things that I thought about but hearing it out loud so suddenly makes my stomach twist and turn.
"He is right, lots of Lords will not accept a Queen sitting on the Iron throne and her having a Dornish man as a husband is only an extra blade to use against you. He makes a strong ally with dragons and the thirty thousand spears of Dorne but letting the Lords talk to you a bit more personally together would go a long way with them. Most people living in Westeros have never even seen their K-King... letting them see you will draw them to you when it is time for you to sit on the throne." Mother seems a bit off but her words sound true enough, I need to think about this some more.
If they are right and I know they are about people not wanting a girl on the Iron Throne, a Royal Progress could help. It could also show a little of our power more intimately if we bring along our dragons, seeing Gaelithox next to their castles will put our power into perspective for them. I should bring this up with my Father and have his help planning it out, this is not something that can happen on short notice. We will need to let all the Lords we will visit know we are coming so they can prepare.
I smile at Daeron, he keeps showing more and more interesting sides to himself. I expected him to know how to rule since he is the future Prince of Dorne but he seems pretty quick of wit as well. I am glad, it will be nice to have him support me as my husband and help me get ready for the responsibility I have found on my lap.
But I still keep getting a tingle each time he looks toward my lips and I know he is thinking about the kiss. I just hope my face doesn't blush too badly or my Mother will start asking questions.