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They said that they were a happy married couple, that Prince Daemon was in love with Lady Laena and married her for love. That he was devasted by her death. That his marriage with Princess Rhaenyra was one of convenance, only to gain more power and the Throne.
Lies. Fools. Fools all of them for believing that.
In all his life Prince Daemon Targaryen has been in love with only one woman. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. The Prince’s delight.
But how important could the words of a humble servant be.
It doesn't matter if this servant has known the Prince and Princess all their lives. And that she had been the privileged witness of their love story.
*
She had been present when the Prince had hold the Princess for the very first time. And had seen him fall in love at first sight, admittedly in a platonic way, but in love all the same. He gave in to her every whim and spent more time with her than her own parents.
The second time he fell in love was when she was five and ten. They had always been very close.
But that year, the Prince's love changed from that of an uncle to his beloved niece, to that of a man to a woman. And this love was more than shared. She had never seen them so happy as during this courting period.
*
But in the court happiness is not something that can survive for long, especially with all those snakes.
The king was weak and he let himself believe the whispers of the snakes who wanted to destroy the house of the Dragon.
As a result the Princess was forcibly married to her cousin, despite the fact that everyone knew that Ser Laenor preferred the company of his squires to those of the ladies. Well, everyone except the king.
*
But that had in no way discouraged their love, as the 1st born of the Princess could testify. Who had exactly the same eyes as Prince Daemon. Prince Baelon was the pride of his mother and his "uncle".
But the snakes continued to pour their venom into the king's ears. Launching rumors more abject than the other.
And this time it was the Prince who was forced into a marriage he did not want. After postponing the inevitable for as long as possible and raging against his brother, he ends up marrying the Sea Snake's daughter, Lady Laena Velaryon, who had always coveted the Prince.
With his two children married to Targaryens, the Sea Snake was guaranteed to have his blood on the throne. What an ambitious man that this Velaryon.
*
All the servants had been afraid that the Prince might have abandoned their Princess in favor of his new wife.
Except her of course.
But their concerns were quickly calmed when the Princess announced that she was expecting a new child. And there was no doubt for them about the identity of the father.
And like with Prince Baelon, Prince Daemon spent most of his time in Dragonstone.
His wife was also present, but he only had eyes for the Princess. And did everything to make her pregnancy go well. Thus was born Prince Aemon who was a perfect mix of the Prince and the Princess.
*
Even from the capital the king wanted to meddle in his daughter's life.
But the last letter made her really angry. He said it was wrong for her uncle to spend so much time at Dragonstone while her husband was always away and his wife most of the time in Pentos, that people were starting to talk and what a picture this could give.
Her hands were shaking so much with rage that she had to dictate her answer to Maester Gerardys. Her words were scathing. She told him that instead of worrying about her life and the opinions of others he should worry about his own wife.
Because if now gossips were to be taken for the truth, he had to know that for every night that the queen did not visit the king's chambers, Ser Criston Cole was warming her bed.
After that every letter from the king was returned to him unopened.
*
2 years passed uneventfully. Until that night.
The weather had been dark for days, and the long-awaited storm broke. In every sense of the term.
*
The next day the weather was still gray and she was surprised to see Caraxes flying over the castle with Syrax, when she woke up. The children were going to be thrilled. They idolized their "uncle" and loved spending time with him.
The Prince was in the painted table room, but he looked terrible as if he hadn't slept in days. The Princess was with him and she too did not look any better.
It was only 3 days later that she understood the reason for their mood. When she learned that Lady Laena was pregnant.
*
Prince Daemon stayed at Dragonstone for most of his wife's pregnancy, only visiting her a few times at Driftmark. Where she had settled since the announcement that she was expecting a child.
He said that during this time she needed her mother and the comfort of her childhood home more than a husband. These visits never lasted very long.
One of the Velaryons' servants told her that this had put the Sea Snake in a state of unbelievable rage, but this did not change Prince Daemon's mind, nor did Lady Laena's protests neither.
Another told her of a conversation (rather an argument) that she had overheard between the Sea Snake and Prince Daemon.
Apparently Lady Laena's father had blackmailed the Prince to have grandchildren.
For her, this had to be about his niece. Because the Rogue Prince was not a man to give in to blackmail.
The Prince had even specified during this exchange that he did not want children from this union, which was why the marriage had never been consummated until now. For him his work was finished now that she was pregnant.
After many heated discussions, he accepted to be present at Driftmark during the labor, but he stayed outside the room the whole time, contrary to what he had done for the two labors of his niece.
The delivery was long and difficult, at one point the maester was afraid to lose the mother and the babies. But they all survived, even if the newborns were much smaller and puny than the babies that the Princess had given birth to.
*
Everyone said that it was out of pride that he had come to present his daughters to the court and ask the king's blessing.
While he had done it to taunt and provoke his brother. The man who had separated him from his true love and who was doing everything to destroy their House. This had been obvious if people had bothered to look carefully. For as soon as the ceremony was over, he had abandoned his wife and children to go drinking with his former brothers in arms.
The Princess was also present. She was talking to her father again but their relationship was still very tense, despite all the king's efforts. As for her mother-in-law, the Princess ignored her completely.
Strangely enough, that evening, the Princess retired very early, claiming to have a headache.
The Prince and her were not seen again until late the next morning.
A few moons later the Princess announced that she was again with child.
*
But this pregnancy was different. She gained weight more quickly and was much more tired than in her previous pregnancies.
Everything was explained when the maester told them that there was a good chance that she was expecting twins. The announcement of this news filled the Prince with pride. But he was even more protective of the Princess. He forbade her to make any effort.
Thus were born the Princesses Aemma and Alyssa. The Prince cried with joy the first time he held them in his arms.
*
Everyone talked about the long and numerous flights that Prince Daemon and Lady Laena took with the Princess. But what was rarely talked about was all the hours the Prince and Princess were nowhere to be found when Lady Laena retired to rest from her flights or to take care of her daughters.
Or of all the hours the Prince and Princess spent in the nursery with the children (Rhaena and Baela included). Lady Laena was rarely present.
Or the long walks they took on the beach of Dragonstone.
*
A new routine had settled in. The children were healthy and filled the halls of Dragonstone with their laughter and joy of life.
They were the joy of their parents who watched them grown with pride in their eyes.
Alyssa had become Baelon's little shadow and followed him everywhere. While Aemon and Aemma were almost inseparable. One could almost believe that they were the twins.
But one thing they had in common was that they were all very mischievous. The Princess said they got it from their uncle, to which he replied that they all got it from their mother who used to sneak into the kitchens to steal cakes.
In addition to the children, there were also their hatchlings. For the reason that, each egg placed in their cradles had hatched. And the Prince had made it his mission to teach them how to take care of the little dragons.
This did not prevent a few incidents, such as broken vases or the burning of tapestries dating from Aegon the Conqueror.
Ser Laenor came to visit them regularly, always bringing them lots of presents. This filled them with joy but not as much as the gifts from their uncle Daemon, who spoiled them as much as he had spoiled their mother at the same age.
*
Lady Laena and her daughters were seen less and less at Dragonstone, and each of her visits ended in screaming and crying. From the volume of their voices, it was no secret what their arguments were about.
Lady Laena wanted another child and Prince Daemon refused outright. The Sea Snake had his grandchildren, he had kept his end of the bargain, end of the story, he always said.
Some of the servants said that it was not a new child that she wanted. Lady Laena only wanted the Prince to fuck her again. Because everyone knew that the Prince had never shared her bed since the announcement of her first pregnancy. As well as the reason for her first pregnancy
And all her previous requests for him to spend more time with her in Pentos had been ignored.
Lady Rhaenys didn't understand her daughter's new obsession, especially knowing that the Maester had said that another pregnancy could be dangerous for her. It was a miracle that she survived the first.
Although the Sea Snake wanted a grandson, to make him the heir to Driftmark, he didn't dare interfere.
Apparently now it was the Prince who had something to blackmail him with, it was serious enough that it could destroy his whole life.
*
She had never known what to think of Lady Laena. Was she really blind to everything that was going on around her ? Being so immature and selfish, thinking only of having fun and flying with Vaghar?
Or did she knew exactly what her role was in this story, and the true nature of the relationship between the Prince and the Princess, but preferred to close her eyes as she enjoyed her life of privilege and freedom as the wife of the Prince Daemon Targaryen.
Even though that she did not have the stuff to be the wife of a member of the royal family.
She remained an enigma.
But what was certain, was that with all the tension between her and her husband, all the servants had started to bet on how much longer she would be the Prince's wife before an unfortunate accident happened to her.
Many said that she was still alive only because her mother, Princess Rhaenys, was Prince Daemon's favorite cousin. On that she agreed.
*
For a moon, the Prince was not seen at Dragonstone. When he finally returned, he seemed exhausted. As soon as he saw the princess he rushed to take her in his arms. They exchanged whispers. The only words she managed to hear were "it was intolerable""she is not my wife" " can't stand it " "if it didn't work he would find another solution" "but it was out of the question that he continued this farce any longer".
From the tone of his voice, she knew that the prince was at his wits' end. The princess was in tears.
His return to Dragonstone did him a world of good, and soon their beloved prince was back. He seemed to live again in the presence of the Princess, his nieces and nephews.
Another moon passed, before they received a raven from Driftmark, announcing that Lady Laena was with child.
*
This time it was different, the Prince went to see her more often, but always accompanied by the Princess. It was as if they knew something was going to happen.
They both stayed in Driftmark to support Lady Laena during her delivery. Which, according to what she was told, was even worse than the first. Her screams could be heard throughout the castle. At dawn on the third day she gave birth to a son, who lived only a few hours, which devastated the Velaryon house.
Lady Laena stayed in bed until the end, never recovering from the birth.
After a week she felt a little better and wanted to ride Vaghar. But she never made it to the dragon. It was Prince Daemon who found her and brought her back to her chambers so that the Silent Sisters could perform the last rites.
The Prince and Princess stayed for a few more days after Lady Laena's funeral, supporting the Velaryons before flying to Dragonstone.
Vaghar left Driftmark around the same time, to never return. Some fishermen said they saw her heading for the ancient Valyria.
Had she had enough of being around humans, preferring to go into exile to live the rest of her days in the solitude of the place where she was born? No one will ever know.
*
For his mansion in Pentos, the Prince asked one of his friends to sell it and bring all of his late wife's belongings back to Driftmark, so that his daughters would have memories of their mother if they wanted them one day.
When asked if he didn't want to keep anything for himself, he replied that he was finally free and he didn't want anything that reminded him of this past.
*
2 moons after the death of Lady Laena and 1 moon after the disappearance of Ser Laenor and his squire Qarl at sea. Prince Daemon and Princess Rhaenyra were married at Dragonstone according to the traditions of their house, without asking the king's approval.
Present were their children, all the servants of the castle and the Gold Cloaks who had left their posts at King's Landing to come and serve the Princess and the Prince.
It was a beautiful day, blessed by the Gods.
Thus began, in an official way, the golden age of Dragonstone. Who saw the birth of many more little Princes, Princesses and dragons.