55
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112 AC
Kingslanding
Aemma Arryn
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Watching Visenya sleep away with her little hands clenched into fists I smile even as the worry stirs inside of me. Rhaenyra is pregnant and I am beyond happy but the worry that comes with the childbed is crushing me. I do not want her to go through what I had to go through even though I know she will not. I always had difficulties in the childbed and I am pushing that onto Rhaenyra with my concern when she may never struggle as I have. I also do not believe Daeron is so in a rush to have a babe that he would have her cut open even if he can heal her.
Daeron likely has no idea and will be happy about it but I do not expect him to be longing after a son for some dream he has seen. He loves my daughter and I know he will not let her suffer, I would not let it happen anyway. If I must stab the Maester myself when he pulls out a blade to cut her stomach I will, she will not suffer as I have.
I know she will still suffer the pain any woman has but that is something every woman knows and eventually goes through if they get with a child. I know she is stronger than me and will push the baby out with no problem and I will get a beautiful grandchild to love. Visenya will have a close-in-age niece or nephew, maybe it will be a boy and they could even wed. I know not what the future will bring but I do know my daughter will not be split by a blade to pull her baby out, I won't let it happen.
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112 AC
Kingslanding
Viserys Targaryen
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I blink and then rub my eyes before looking down at my daughter's stomach, half expecting to see a swell in her dress. I feel my mouth go dry as the words echo through my mind 'I think I am pregnant' almost like my lungs can't find air after those words. I look back up to her eyes as she stands rooted in place and I finally can take a deep breath.
"Are you sure?" She shrugs and I motion for her to take a seat as I have a feeling this will be a long conversation.
"The Maester told me nothing but the healing woman Myriah brought told me I have the early signs of pregnancy. I can say without a doubt I feel like my body is different now that I am thinking I am pregnant. My heart is always racing and my stomach has sudden fits where I throw up and am dizzy." Her Mother always got sick at the start of the pregnancies she had, maybe she really is.
"Why did the Maester not tell you anything?" I ask with no small confusion as the Maester should have suspected something if a 'healing woman' can point out the symptoms.
"I visited him when I thought I was ill but he seemed to think it was nothing, the only thing he recommended was coming back to him if it continued." I nod but find it strange as the man should have guessed it could be a babe with how she was not long ago married.
But with this, if it's true Dorne will be fully brought into the fold regardless of what nonsense is happening in the Stepstones. Things can smooth out easily once she has her own heir to one day be the Prince or Princess of Dragonstone after her. I do so hope it will be a boy though, it will ease a lot of the future problems if her heir is a male.
"I am glad for you Rhaenyra but you should still head to see the Grand Maester once more and have him give you his thoughts. He has likely seen a hundred pregnancies and I do not know why he would not have told you that you could be pregnant." I stop as I see her nodding with a thoughtful look. "Have you sent word to your husband, I am sure he would like to hear the good news." I would also like to see him even more now to discuss the mess he is making down south.
"Myriah flew off to either Sunspear or directly to the Stepstones to get word to him." She smiles and it brings joy to my chest to see her like this, even if I have to hear hundreds of complaints about her husband 'being ambitious'.
Regardless if he is ambitious or not his babe is in my daughter now and anything he does lay claim to will pass to that babe. Rhaenyra's heir will unite Dorne and any of the lands Daeron claims into the Iron Thrones rule. So he can do as he pleases capturing lands so long as the previous owners of those lands don't cause problems for my current lands.
The only problem I could see is if he added the Stepstones and the disputed lands to Dorne's lands making it one of the most powerful of the 'kingdoms'. They already have dragons and if they had the power brought from the growth in land along with the next ruler of Sunspear being Rhaenyras second born, I fear conflict. It will have to be managed carefully as it could end with a 'second son' feeling jealous and wanting more and starting a war of dragons.
I should know best of all, Daemon says it's not the throne he wants but he holds Dragonstone hostage with a large portion of the Gold cloaks. He waves away any attempt I make to send a raven to ask him to hand the seat over to Rhaenyra. He has his own wife in Runestone who he has ignored all this time and refused to give a babe. I need to put this matter to rest sooner than later before it can fester any longer, I do not want to set a bad example of how a King treats his brother when he causes problems.
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112 AC
Kingslanding
Rhaenyra Targaryen
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I sit at a table in the Grand Maesters having walked straight here after eating and talking with my Father. I think he is right and I should have the Maester confirm my potential babe as well to make sure. The healing woman seemed so sure of it almost as soon as I told her I was feeling sick and had not eaten anything strange. She told me she sees lots of young women come to her 'feeling sick' all the time and it is almost always pregnancy.
"It is still bothering you, Princess?" The aged man asks and I nod as he looks at me with a hard-to-read expression. "I might have something I could mix up to help ease your stomach." He turns around and heads for the table behind him with some different thing laid out on it.
"Am I pregnant?" I ask him as he lifts different things and smells a few of them, he stops lifting a small plant and turns to look over his shoulder.
"P-Pregnant? I am unsure what you mean by that Princess." I raise a brow as he starts putting away some of the things he brought out and turns to face me with a much more observant look.
"I am asking if I could be pregnant." For some reason, I feel strange about his reaction, is this not a man who studied at the Citadel and knows how to care for someone?
"You could be Princess, though I did not expect Prince Martell to get you with a child so quickly. It is certainly a possibility that you are experiencing these symptoms from his seed taking root. It is not unheard of even if some people take years to finally get with a babe after marrying." I nod getting the answer I want and it suddenly feels much more likely I am with a babe even after all the signs my body has been showing me.
I now more than ever want Daeron to be here so I can tell him so I can see how he will react, though I expect him to be happy. We certainly spent enough time in bed to make one even though it must have been one of the earliest attempts for me to already be feeling the sign. It very well could have even been our wedding night which would be interesting if that were true.
"I will go and rest now, I have much to think about." The Maester nods and I turn and head for the door with a smile on my lips and my hand ghosting over my stomach.
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112 AC
Stepstones - Bloodstone
Daeron Nymeros Martell
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"My Prince! Your sister has arrived and is seeking you out!" I hear the voice of one of the Dragons Teeth calls out from the entrance of the cave.
"I am on the way out!" I holler back at him as I look around the cave one last time and make sure nothing of value was passed over.
They had rooms in the caves some for meetings and even a few with beds and chests so I was looking after I drained them of the water that was left. Lots of steel was recovered and I am sure to repurpose it and a few other valuables came up as well. Some loot from their days taking a toll regardless if people wanted to pay or not, now it's my loot.
It suddenly hits me like a brick that the man said sister and not brother and I sprint out of the cave. The only reason she would come is if it was an emergency, I told her not to come or I would tan her hide for endangering herself. If she had a larger dragon I would not mind honestly, she could be a warrior for all I care. But her dragon is Sea smokes size and I worry for her on its back taking an arrow. Plus our Father was against it as well so she had to sit it out, if she is here something happened.
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"I did not expect you to already be finished with the war by the time I got here, I thought it would take a year or more." Myriah jokes as I find her in the empty command tent.
"Why are you here?" She can joke once I know everything is fine, I am worried something happened.
I know there are dangers back at Kingslanding but it's far too soon for the biggest threat to do anything. If Otto had done something such as having Rhaenyra killed then Daemon would most likely be heir again and he hates Daemon. There is no way in hell Visenya would be named heir so I doubt Otto did anything but that does not mean nothing happened. Other people could have done something and I feel dread and anger boiling inside of me at the thought of it.
If someone so much as touched her I will burn everything they love and own and then make them eat the ashes till they choke to death.
"You are going to be a Father." She blurts out after chewing on her words with an odd look on her face that had made my stomach churn in rage.
I feel as if I was flying on Gaelithox and he randomly disappeared and I am now falling to the ground. I shake my head and look at her again and she is just nodding with an understanding look on her face as I start sweating.
"Rhaenyra is pregnant?" She nods at my words and I swallow a lump in my throat. "Oh." All thoughts of burning things down drift away just like the ashes I was planning to make getting hit with a strong wind.
Except there is no wind in the tent, only the new reality of being a Father.