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Daemon X

- "The sight of your naked body leaves me trembling and wanting. And as a song upon my lips, you fill me with emptiness after the sweet melody is gone".

Rhaenyra was naked on their bed, bathed by the reddish light of the low fires of the hearth that made her pale skin glow. 

She lay on her side supporting her head with her hand and stared at him with dark and lust-filled eyes as he recited old Valyrian poetry to her. Her silver-gold hair was loose and fell in large waves around her. Her locks filled his nostrils with their scent of roses and honey, of everything sweet. With her other hand she played with some of her ringlets, rolling them on her fingers only to let go and let them fall over her breasts.

As Daemon recited the last words of the poem, he stretched his hand and brushed his fingers against her high cheekbones. Rhaenyra’s eyes never left his.

Her mouth was slightly parted and the way her tongue ran over her plump lips, making them red and moist, made for the most erotic sight. He was not so sure she did though, for she shivered when he touched her again, lowering her eyes with the typical shyness she had in bed. 

-I can think of no better way to celebrate the new year, uncle. - she said in little more than a whisper.

Daemon was kneeling in front of her, naked as his own name day. Her cheeks became a dark pink as she noted him watching her and the way her eyes drank in his body.

He set the book aside and she pouted a little. The prince felt himself grow even harder at the sight of her full breasts, her waist, and her shapely thighs, particularly what they had between them. Her glorious sex, barely hidden behind a thin layer of light-gold pubic hair.

Daemon’s own body had little hair to speak of. Just some on his chest, barely any in arms, legs, and between them as well, a darker shade of silver than his mane. 

Rhaenyra stretched her hand and traced small patterns on his stomach with the tips of her fingers. She looked up at him. 

-I must confess that when you told me to remove my clothes and lie comfortably on the bed, I was not expecting you to pull out a book and read poetry to me, my dragon.

Daemon lay on his side facing his niece, a smirk playing on his lips.

-I keep telling you that the secret to a happy and successful marriage is a little bit of mystery, my princess, alas you never believe me.

-Quite the contrary, uncle, you are the person I believe in the most. You haven’t recited poetry to me in years though… so I was surprised.

Daemon raised an eyebrow at her.

-I am doing it now, Rhaenyra. Sweet, beautiful Rhaenyra. - his words earned him a giggle. - And you should be appreciative of my efforts for instead of having you on your back, I am reading words of love and devotion to you in the most perfect tongue there ever was.

-Are you?

-Kessa. - he confirmed. - Se olvie vok ēngos syt se olvie vok ābra. - “The most perfect tongue for the most perfect woman.” he said.

Rhaenyra said no more. She pulled him on top of her and delivered him a passionate kiss, her tongue sliding over his lips gently as she asked for entrance. Daemon opened his mouth and moved his own tongue against hers, deepening their kiss and bidding her to give him more.

When they parted, it was he who spoke.

-Happy new year, my sweetest niece. And may I say that you, like a fine vintage, have improved over the years in every way. And every year that comes, you only make me a happier man. 

She smiled at him.

-I don’t know how time can pass so quickly. ‘Tis the one hundred and twentieth year after the Conquest. Where does time go? 

Daemon chuckled as he remembered that once he had told her something similar. 

-This year I will be three and twenty, and in just a few days, Aegon will celebrate his second name day… Just yesterday I was still a girl. Now I am a mother, of two princes nonetheless. 

-And may I say looking still so desirable after two pregnancies. Even more than when you were still a girl. - Daemon replied, eyeing her body. - You are the most beautiful mama.

There was no denying that Rhaenyra was fuller now. Her breasts, her hips, her thighs. Even her arms were no longer as slender, yet he loved it. All of her. To Daemon it only made her more desirable. That she was a mother now and had a mother’s body, and that it was to his children she was mother to.

Rhaenyra giggled.

-I am? - she playfully asked. - Must be from spending so many hours riding, my dragon.

Daemon raised an eyebrow.

-Me or Syrax?  

-As much as riding you is fun, riding my lady Syrax is a much better workout.

-Perhaps I have been making it too easy for you then, my little dragon. - he replied. - But then again, nothing compares to the feeling of having you writhing and screaming with pleasure beneath me as I thrust into your sweet cunt. In fact…

His niece raised an eyebrow.

-Is this your way of saying that we are done with the poetry?

-This is my way of saying that you should lie on your back and spread your legs, Princess Rhaenyra, so your uncle can fuck you into oblivion.

Her face turned serious.

-Does the big bad dragon want to play rough? - she asked in an innocent voice.

Their eyes met briefly and before she could blink, Daemon had pushed her on her back and crawled between her thighs. All the while he kissed her and ran his hands over her large breasts, teasing her pink nipples until she was breathless.

Daemon rocked his hips against hers, feeling the wetness that pooled at the juncture of her thighs. He smirked again, smelling her arousal. He licked her skin and felt himself growing harder, she did the same to him and he moaned. 

His hand brushed against the apex of her thighs, searching for the sweetness she kept there. His fingers caressed her flesh, the hottest part of her. He was not so gentle, but neither was she in a mood for it. Rhaenyra begged him to take her and just as Daemon grabbed his member and began to guide himself inside of her, there was a knock on the door. 

-Oh no! Not this shit again! We are not in King’s Landing anymore! Whomever it is can go fuck himself! 

They heard the voice of Maester Gerardys from outside the door, calling for them.

-Your graces, a raven came from Driftmark. The Lady Laena and Lord Corlys have written. - he announced. 

Rhaenyra got off from under Daemon and left their bed. She threw a robe over her naked form and moved to the door. All the prince could do was watch from the bed and groan with frustration. 

-I don’t know why you complain. - she noted. - A letter from Laena to me. And Corlys, I thought he was your friend. 

-I am beginning to doubt the friendship. - he replied. 

-Apologies for the late hour, princess. - Maester Gerardys said as Rhaenyra opened the door. - I do hope I was not interrupting anything.

-You were yes, so just hand her the message and get out. - Daemon said from the bed; he had not bothered to cover. 

Maester Gerardys did so and bowed, closing the door on himself after handing his niece the parchment.

-Must you always be so unkind to him? - Rhaenyra asked as she returned to his side. 

-I am unkind to almost everyone, Rhaenyra, in case you missed it. - Daemon replied. - Except you, my sweetest princess, for you give me such wonderful reasons to show you nothing but kindness.

-Well you shouldn’t be rude to our Maester Gerardys, uncle. He is very talented, a faithful subject, and, need I remind you, the man who brought our two boys into this world? We will forever be in his debt. 

Daemon let out a laugh.

-Come now, my pet. Forever in his debt? - he asked. - We made Aegon and Viserys. If someone is to be congratulated that someone is you and me. Giving Gerardys praise would be the same as thanking the servants, who bring you the food, for the delicious meal instead of the cooks, who prepared it in the first place.

His niece stared at him for a moment in silence. Then she handed him his message and read her own. 

Daemon did nothing with his own letter besides throwing it to the side. It lay forgotten on his bedside table.

-Are you going to share with me the piece of information that is keeping you from my bed for so long?

-We are being invited to spend a season in Driftmark and to stay there until Laena’s child is born. - she told him. - I trust Lord Corlys’s letter to say much the same. I want to go, Daemon. Laena was always there for me during my births, by my side and holding my hand. 

Daemon fought the urge to say that he would have gladly been by her side, holding her hand, had she allowed him. Instead he let her go on. 

-She is my dearest friend. I want to be there for her.

Daemon pondered for a moment.

-A few moons of eating and drinking at Corlys’s expenses seem fine by me. And Driftmark is just as Dragonstone, but with more ships. Besides, there you won’t have to attend so many tedious hearings I trust.

Rhaenyra’s smile lighted her face. Setting the letter aside and sat by him, crossing one naked leg over the other. 

-I was thinking we should go after Aegon’s name day, my prince. ‘Tis only one week away. We can go afterwards. What say you, uncle?

The mention of his firstborn son made him smile. The son he had waited so long for, the one he had dreamed of having mayhaps even before he dreamed of who should be his mother. 

“The son who will be king.” the Rogue Prince thought with delight. The boy who would carry his blood and who would make it that every king that came afterwards was from his line. Bugger that he would only ever be brother to a king and husband to a queen. His son would rule, and he would one day be father to a king. 

As he watched Rhaenyra though, he did hope he did not live to see that day. For if Aegon was king it would be Rhaenyra was no more, and what would life be without her? 

“My little dragon.” he thought, watching her in all her beauty. Stripped down of jewels, and silks, stripped of it all save her bedrobe. 

He thought for a moment of the two sons he should have had before Aegon but who he had lost instead. One son to a whore, because of his foolish brother Viserys. The other son to a princess, because of the cunt Otto Hightower, and likely his bitch of a daughter. He would have shared him with his brother Viserys, just as he did Aegon and Viserys. 

His brother, he had grown to forgive in a way, or almost. Viserys had given him Rhaenyra. But Otto and his daughter were another matter. They would pay, for Viserys would not live forever. 

Yet it would not be as soon as that, and at that moment, there was someone else he thought of, and with an entirely different intention than revenge. 

“Rhaenyra.”

Even her name was exquisite, though given not as much as her. 

He called for her. For his Rhaenyra. She turned her head. 

-You know, my pet, my delicious little dragon, we were having a moment before we were so rudely interrupted. Would you care to remind me where we were?

His niece gave him a rather seductive smile. 

-Oh Daemon, - she almost purred. - I think you were in me. 

“Almost.” he silently corrected in his mind, watching entranced as she discarded her robe and revealed her nakedness. 

He grew hard again.

Rhaenyra motioned him closer, her finger curling. 

Daemon took her in his arms and laid her on her back. Rhaenyra’s legs wrapped themselves around his waist and her arms around his neck. She kissed him until they were both out of breath and then he kissed her again, on the lips first, then lower. 

He took each breast into his mouth, gently sucking on her sensitive nipples that hardened under his touch. She squealed in delight and when he lifted himself to look upon her face again, he found her cheeks red. 

-I have been thinking them all day. - he confessed; his tongue traced one breast, and his hand fondled the other. - I think of them always. 

-I think of you as well. - she confessed, lifting her head to look at him. - Anywhere. Just today during the hearing, the merchants were speaking to me of the taxes and all I could think of was you. I started picturing you naked, touching me. - she grew redder. - Sucking my breasts, I know you love them. I had to make myself stay there. When the last two men came I… I heard nothing at all. I just told them I would think on it, but I always say that when I am not paying attention. 

Daemon chuckled. 

Most women would never admit to thinking about a man in such a way. Rhaenyra, though, Rhaenyra loved sex and gave herself with passion and with no second thoughts. She was anything but prude and she eagerly agreed to fulfilling his every wish, even those who would make other ladies cry with shame. 

Then again, he considered, most women hadn’t experienced such a proficient lover as he was, nor one who knew the things he knew about matters of the sheets, who could bring them the pleasure he gave Rhaenyra. 

He turned to her amused.

-Having been there, my niece, I can indulge you. Those two last men were complaining about the taxes demanded on them when they passed Volantis. The triarchs have seen them raised it seems. They begged you to bring the matter to your father so new terms might be set.

Rhaenyra lifted her head towards him, raising an eyebrow.

-You were listening?

-One of us had to, princess. - Daemon noted. - You forget I spent years serving the Small Council, first as Master of Coin and then as Master of Laws. I know how to listen to complaints, trust me, most times I just choose not to.

She gave him a wicked smile.

-And here I thought I had married a rogue and not a proper man. Where’s my warrior and quarrelsome prince, Daemon? 

-Naked and in bed with you. - he said. - Come to think of it though, my pet, you do say “I will think about it” many times. Are you confessing, my sweet princess and heir to the Iron Throne, that oftentimes you have your pretty little head somewhere else? That’s very careless of you.

She took a finger to his lips. 

-Don’t tell my father’s Small Council. - she whispered. - Half of them want to be rid of me already. 

Her fingers trialled over his chest. 

Daemon took a hold of her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing her. 

-Beg me sweetly and I won’t tell a soul. 

-Let me then. 

Pushing him to his back, Rhaenyra climbed over Daemon and straddled him. She trailed kisses from his neck, his chest, and slowly made her way down to his stomach. 

Daemon watched as her lips wrapped themselves around his length, while her hand gripped the base of his shaft. She moved her mouth expertly, letting her tongue lick his engorged manhood, coating it with her saliva before she slid down. He tangled his hands into her hair and looked down, marvelling at how her plump and red lips took him, how they moved along his cock, sucking him.

How innocent and irresistable she looked as she pleasured him and brought him to pleasure. The very picture of sweetness and perversion and how he loved it. 

Rhaenyra combined the two perfectly. Her face was that of a maiden, virginal and beautiful beyond measure, always blushing, her cheeks pink like the petals of the roses she smelled like. Yet her body had been made for pleasure, it begged for it in the way she moved and it made him a thousand promises. Rhaenyra, all of Rhaenyra he loved, and all of her made him wild to have her, making little matter if she was melting before his feet and pledging her love, or if she was slapping him across the face and cursing him. 

A goddess of good and wickedness, made of fire and blood like he was, and he always wanted more. 

His hand moved to the back of her head and he told her:

-Touch yourself as you pleasure me, my pet.

Rhaenyra stopped for a moment, and his cock left her mouth. Her purple eyes stared at him and then she giggled madly as he made a gesture, bringing his fingers to his mouth.

-As you say, but my hand does not feel as good as yours, my prince. 

Taking his manhood into her mouth again, Daemon looked on as Rhaenyra’s hand descended to her sex, and though his view was less than perfect, he could still see how Rhaenyra’s fingers moved insistently. His pleasure came soon enough and he released his seed into her waiting mouth, delighting himself at how she took everything he gave her, swallowing it. Then, bringing her fingers to her mouth, Rhaenyra continued to touch herself until her own pleasure came. 

“She truly knows how to please a man.” he thought, fixated into the look of joy she had about her. “I taught her too well.”.

As she fell next to him, Daemon grabbed her hand and sucked on the fingers she had been using. 

-Did I please you, uncle? - Rhaenyra asked in a small, innocent voice. 

He gave her no reply and instead covered her mouth with his in a hungry kiss. She almost jumped as she felt his fingers in her cunt but then she moaned again.  

Her body was still pulsing yet soon responded to him. 

-My, my, you are so insatiable, my little dragon.

Rhaenyra moaned into his mouth, she closed her eyes and parted her legs, allowing him to better touch her, caressing the little pearl of flesh above her slit, stroking it until she called his name. He was hard once more by the time Rhaenyra had her pleasure, and without waiting any further, he took his manhood and slid between her folds entering her. 

Her gasp was surprised and she opened her eyes, the bright purple in them hypnotising, holding him and never letting go. 

-Uncle… oh uncle.

His movements were fast, his thrusts deep and hard. Daemon pressed his forehead against hers and he pulled her in for another kiss. 

Rhaenyra hissed as he hit a particular spot in her and quickly she grew quite breathless. He did as well the more her walls tightened around him.

“What did Mysaria once ask me? If her cunt was the gateway to the temple of bliss?” 

If it was not, he would not know what else to call it. 

His princess moved her hips meeting his thrusts, she was all but panting. Daemon kept his eyes open the entire time, admiring every little detail of her and marvelling as she twisted and whimpered from their lovemaking.

She finally cried out his name, coming apart in his arms. It was a sweet reason to cry, the very best, he should say so. He followed her soon, his climax powerful.

He came down from his pleasure and noticed that Rhaenyra had opened her eyes again and was staring at him with a smile. The princess placed some of his silver hair behind his ear in a loving gesture. His gaze followed her hand the entire time. 

In response, Daemon’s own hand moved a solitary ringlet behind her ear before he removed himself from her and laid by her side. He pulled Rhaenyra into his arms and nuzzled his face against hers.

-I think that if I could do just one thing until the end of my life this would be it. - she said. 

-You would trade your lady Syrax for your uncle?

Rhaenyra chuckled.

-Don’t tell her I said that. I fear she would never forgive me. 

The prince closed his eyes and smiled again.

-Another one of your secrets I will take to my grave. You are adding a considerable amount of them. 

His niece giggled, a lovely musical sound, as sweet as it was full of mishfit. 

-You are a generous man. I know you will save them well, especially as all of them involve you. 

Daemon traced her face with the tips of his fingers.

-As it should be, my little dragon. I want to have all of your secrets. 

She chuckled.

-Give me yours then. - she challenged. - My big bad dragon. 

With the warmth of the hearth filling their chambers, the delightful scent of Rhaenyra’s perfume, and the feeling of her soft skin pressed against his, Daemon felt himself close to sleep. His mind was all but drifting away when Rhaenyra’s voice awoke him. 

-There was another letter I did not tell you about. - she confessed. - That woman who you would have spy for us. Mysaria of Lys. She asked for leave to come here and tell us of King’s Landing. She says she knows things that might be of interest. 

He heard the doubt in Rhaenyra’s voice. He heard the jealousy as well, and the anger. 

Daemon stared deeply into her face. The very picture of innocence she was, and all about her was so inviting. Sleeping with Rhaenyra was akin to sleeping wrapped around the softest silk. 

-You opened my letter.

-Was there something there you would hide from me? 

She did not deny it and after everything he knew better than to complain. 

-You can open those letters if you will it. Nothing that Lady Misery can write about should concern you, not about me. - he said. - You are my wife, my niece, my lover. You are the mother of my children. She’s my spy. 

-She was once your lover. - Rhaenyra replied, anger sipping through her every word. 

-And then she wasn’t. - Daemon said. - And then I had other lovers, and then I came back to Westeros and then I had you. She’s my spy. 

-If she is to come here, I will be present. 

-I told you as much. Mysaria is for us. A pair of eyes at court when we are not there. 

Somehow his words seemed to sooth her. Her face relaxed and again she laid her head on the pillows. 

-I wonder what she wants.

The prince wandered the same yet he said naught more on the subject. Instead, he delivered Rhaenyra another kiss.

-Sleep well, my Rhaenyra. And happy new year. 

As the year turned, and the one hundred twentieth year after the conquest came, so came time for Spring, and of course, for their son Aegon’s second name day. The boy was their “new year baby”, as Rhaenyra had dubbed him, after all. 

Daemon was awakened early that day, and by the sight of a very excited Rhaenyra, sitting cross legged on their bed and with their son on her lap. 

She was still wearing her sleeping silks and her hair was loose and falling everywhere. She spoke to their son in High Valyrian as she gently combed his light-silver mane. He laughed softly. 

Someone, he guessed either Aegon or Rhaenyra, had brought his toy dragons to their bed. They lay scattered there, about five dragon dolls. One close to his head. 

Aegon’s big purple eyes stared at him as his son noted him awake. He opened his mouth in a wide grin which Daemon returned.

-You decide to rise early, Rhaenyra. 

-I certainly did! - she said at once. - It’s Aegon’s name day! I barely slept at all!

Rhaenyra rubbed her nose against that of Aegon, she filled his face with kisses and her fingers tickled him to his great delight. His son threw his arms around his mother, calling for her.

Sitting up and propping himself on the pillows, Daemon chuckled. No matter how the years passed, Rhaenyra had never lost her childish spirit, her giddiness, her excitement for such small things. A sharp contrast to the spoiled and haughty young woman she could also be, proud beyond measure and as far from the rest of them as a goddess might be. 

Not from him though, never from him. 

-You know, Aegon, - Rhaenyra told their son. - Two years ago I was in this bed with you in my arms wrapped around a very expensive silk cloth, just a few hours after you were born. You were small and robust with just a few wisps of silver hair and I couldn’t wait to show you to your father. And he came in, so nervous and so pale and when I told him you were a boy, he was so happy! He held you so tenderly, my little Aegon, and it filled me with joy. It was the happiest day of my life.

Aegon didn’t understand all of his mother’s words but Daemon did, and he smiled at the memory. He smiled at how she looked at him as well. 

-You are very sentimental today, Rhaenyra.

-Don’t tease. - she replied with a pout.

-Viserys! - Aegon said, turning to his niece.

Daemon looked around the room. 

-Our son appears to be correct. Prince Viserys is missing. 

-Tell you what, my sweet boy, - Rhaenyra began. - Your father and I shall get dressed and then we will go and fetch you and our Viserys, yes? 

-Our family certainly isn’t complete without him. - Daemon added. 

Grabbing the nearest toy dragon, Aegon jumped from their bed and ran out of their rooms, calling for his younger brother. Rhaenyra wanted to rise as well, only Daemon pulled her to his lip. Holding her face in place, he delivered her of a searing kiss. 

-I love you, Daemon. - she said as soon as he moved away from her. 

-You do. - he allowed. - Very well. 

-And do you? - she returned. - Do you love me back?

-Must you ask the obvious, my niece?

Rhaenyra giggled, and escaping his lap, she summoned her ladies and his grooms. 

Daemon chose some lighter colours that day, wearing fine cream and gold coloured garments. The fabric on the doublet worked to resemble dragon scales, and sleeves of a different material. His breeches were made of wool and his boots high and made of a soft and flexible brown leather. Rhaenyra in turn returned to him in a light-pink gown with long sleeves that fell to the flood, and her jade tiara over her loose mane of silver-gold waves. 

He thought she looked as innocent as a freshly-flowered maiden, and much more beautiful than any who had come before or after her.

He told her so as they entered their nursery. 

-I still wonder when you will decide I am to lose my title. 

-Why should you? Has any other ever compared to you? 

-You tell me. - Rhaenyra challenged, Aegon running to her. - You are the expert on women. 

Since Rhaenyra was to carry baby Viserys, Daemon carried Aegon. They started the celebrations by breaking their fast with their entire household in the Great Hall of Dragonstone. 

It was early morning still yet a casket of a fine, sweet volantene wine was opened, and it flowed all through their meal as cups were raised to Aegon’s health. Even Rhaenyra drank though it was not her usual to do so, so early in the morrow. 

She was laughing and giggling and her gasps and shrieks made others laugh as gifts began to be brought for Aegon. Many had come from King’s Landing, sent by Viserys who made a long apology, despairing of the fact that he was not able to be with them on Aegon’s name day. 

Daemon rolled his eyes at least three times reading his brother’s words. He returned the message to Rhaenyra who read it to Aegon. 

It was not until much later, when Viserys was taken for a nap, and they took Aegon to Aegon’s garden that Daemon brought up the inevitable. 

-Mysaria is to arrive tomorrow, before we depart for Driftmark. 

If he had any illusions that the joy of the day or the wine could make Rhaenyra more eager to accept Lady Misery, his niece made certain to show him such was not the case. 

-I know not why she feels the need to come to us in person. Unless someone is dead, I say she can write it over a letter. - every word of hers was sharp. - I do not need to see her. 

-Speaking for myself, I am set on making certain nothing like what happened last year can happen again before we know it. - Daemon replied. - Should the Greens try any such foolishness again, we will know so. 

-Because of your former whore?! - Rhaenyra asked with contempt, perchance a bit too loudly. - Somehow I doubt it. She has scarcely proved of much use. 

Daemon reached for her hand. 

-Your son is here. - he reminded her. - Keep your voice down. 

-Ah, so now you care of what he or Viserys might hear?! How you change your tune, uncle. 

Daemon gave her a smirk. There was something amusing about Rhaenyra’s jealousy, even if at present it was making his life harder than it needed to be.  

-It’s fatherhood. - he told her. - It’s softening my heart. 

-If you have one. 

-If Mysaria was not of use, I would not have been using her to have eyes in the Red Keep. 

-That is certainly a change of how you used her before. - Rhaenyra noted. 

-Her and many other women, and then I wed you and I have no more use for them. I have a wife now. 

-You had one before, you rogue. - she replied. 

-I will not stand by as you insult yourself by comparing yourself to Rhea Royce, Rhaenyra. - he quipped. - A Targaryen princess and the most beautiful woman alive is worth more than that. 

-Very well, then let it be noted upon that none of your former lovers act as your spies now. Only her. And you brought her into my life. Our life, uncle. - Rhaenyra’s face could well be stone. - You are my husband, Daemon. You are mine. Mine. And I will share you with none other. 

The way she said it broke no debate, but Daemon had no will to carry on the path Rhaenyra wanted to go, or have her throw one of her fits. By the gods, it was his son’s name day. Their son. Besides, he hated when they quarrelled. 

-Alicent might be a spiteful bitch yet on her own she is no threat. - he noted. - Her cunt of a father Otto though… that is another matter, and he has been lurking too close to comfort. A pesky worm that won’t go away no matter how much we try to stamp on it. Why had he been in King’s Landing?

-You underestimate the queen. - Rhaenyra countered. - That one does not need her snake of a father. She stands well enough on her own with her fake piety and limited charm, doing her charity work and feeling like the Father himself descended to us from the Seven Heavens. Parading my half-brothers around as if she is the only woman who has ever spread her legs and given birth. 

Daemon’s eyebrows rose.

He would lie if he were to claim he did not find Rhaenyra’s crass words amusing. 

-Be that as it may, Otto Hightower should not be received at court. - his niece allowed. - How father lets him return is beyond me, not after all he did. After he has plotted against me. Then again, I let your former mistress near you after all she did and all she was. So perchance I am as foolish as my father. 

Rhaenyra turned to him. 

Daemon sighed. She truly was intent on not letting the subject go.

“My stubborn thing.”

-You agreed to let her spy for us. - he pointed out to her.

Rhaenyra narrowed her eyes at him.

-Don’t push me, Daemon… If I did it was because you forced her upon me. I have fine reasons to dislike Mysaria of Lys, and you in close proximity to her given your… past.

Daemon laughed.

-You are such a jealous creature, my little dragon, so possessive.

-I am, yes. - she acknowledged. - Dragons don’t share what’s theirs and you are mine, uncle. - her hand moved to his arm and she gripped it. - I refuse to share you with any other! I will not stand it! Never!

-You do share your papa though.- he noted amused.

-Don’t provoke me, Daemon. - she replied with her little mouth pouting quite petulantly. - I will not stand any other with her hands on you. And you know what the consequences of your betrayal would be! 

He laughed again.

-Control yourself, princess. Our son is there, playing and mayhaps wondering why his mama is speaking with such a stern voice to his papa. - she let go of him immediately, her head turning to Aegon. - You have nothing to worry from me. You might have to share papa Viserys with the green bitch but I promise you daddy Daemon is all yours. 

His hand reached for her and he brought her closer, close enough that she was pressed against him. The moment he touched her cheeks, laying a caress there, she turned as pink as her gown. His hand dropped to her neck, and then it touched her bodice, forgetting everything around them, Daemon boldly squeezed one breast. 

Rhaenyra gasped before she pushed him away. 

-Stop it, uncle.

-Why should I?

-Because we are not alone. - she said, breathless. - I won’t have you take me in front of my ladies, in Aegon’s garden no less, before anyone who wishes to see us. 

-In our chambers then. - he said, pulling her to him once more. - Maybe you can sit on my face. 

She turned a proper red then and still oh so lovely. Daemon made good on his promise that night, yet come morrow, her displeasure was back. 

Daemon accompanied Rhaenyra to the Throne Room where she was to receive supplicants. Her mood was dark yet somehow lifted when she saw that many of the supplicants had brought gifts for their son Aegon, for his name day the day before. There were sweets and pastries, carts of fresh fruit, several toys, some simple others less so, and small trinkets. 

Rhaenyra soon was smiling, charming them all, as sweet as she had been in his bed the night before. 

-My son will be made most happy. - she told each petitioner as they laid a gift at her feet. - Just as I am.

“The Realm’s Delight indeed.”

The moment the last of them left, Rhaenyra jumped from her throne and ran down the corridors, eager to give Aegon even more presents. Daemon followed her, and while she distracted herself with their eldest son, the prince was presented with their youngest. 

-And a pleasant afternoon for yourself, Prince Viserys. - he said as the child was deposited in his waiting arms. 

Smaller than Aegon at birth, and less robust, yet still Viserys had been growing, fast and with no chances of slowing. He had a fine weight to him now, and his hair was now growing into silver-gold ringlets, in fact one escaped his white cap. Daemon removed it, setting his few curls free. In turn Viserys presented him with a toothless grin.

He lifted Viserys in the air to the boy’s delight. He shook his little fists, laughing loudly. 

-You will have just as many gifts when your name day comes. You’re a charmer I can tell, as much as your mother. They will all love you. 

Rhaenyra was still showing Aegon his gifts when Maester Gerardys came. Daemon motioned him to come to him and the maester let him know that Lady Mysaria of Lys had arrived.

Daemon followed him. 

He found Mysaria in the Chamber of the Painted Table, given its name for the great table that Aegon the Dragon had built more than a century ago. A great slab of wood it was, far too big and long to be used for something rather than what Aegon had used it for. Conquest.

The walls were black, stripped of any tapestries, there were only four windows, one on each side, to keep them from being completely bare. 

“Guess the Dragon would have nothing tempering his mind or pulling at his attention.” the prince wondered. 

Lady Misery had been staring out the main window near the balcony that overlooked the waters surrounding Dragonstone. She turned as he entered and her eyes dropped to the very thing he carried. 

-You brought company. - Mysaria noted, her eyes glued to baby Viserys.

Daemon looked down.

-Viserys. 

-I remember. - Mysaria said. - He was still the promise of a child in your niece’s womb when last we met, and now… 

-Now? 

He saw Lady Misery’s face lighten up, her pale eyes grew almost warm. She walked towards him and when she was near enough, she stretched a hand. Her fingers gave Viserys’s head the gentlest of caresses before she pulled them back.  

-Now he’s a little boy. The very image of you. - it made Daemon smirk. - He has your eyes. Your… everything. Even your nose, I think. A pity when his mother’s nose is so perfect and yours… well I need not say the obvious. 

-I remember you quite liking it. - he noted. - In fact, I believe there was not a part of me you did not like. 

Mysaria took a step back as the sound of steps was heard. Truth enough, the doors were pushed and in came Rhaenyra. 

His former paramour lowered her head. 

-Your grace. - she said, dropping in a deep curtsey. 

Rhaenyra had not come alone, her ladies followed her. Walking past Mysaria and thoroughly ignoring her presence, she took Viserys from Daemon. 

Her anger was plain to see. 

The babe was given to Careleen and the women were dismissed.

His niece pulled him to the side. 

-Don’t bring Viserys to where that woman is ever again! Ever, Daemon! This is not a jape. - Rhaenyra demanded. - Understood?!

Her grip on his sleeve was tight as could be. 

He lowered his head to hers. 

-Will you calm yourself?

-In the presence of your former whore while you have my son in close proximity to her?! - Rhaenyra hissed. - No! Say it now! Never again! 

He was in no mood for her, yet he let it go and gave her what she wanted. 

-As you say, Rhaenyra, it shall be done. 

-It will. - Rhaenyra repeated. - And we shall speak later. 

She let go of him and turned to Mysaria, finally acknowledging her presence. 

-Speak. - she demanded, not even presenting Lady Misery with a proper greeting. - Speak and tell us all. I am hopeful enough that if you had enough nerve to want to set foot into my island and my domain it is because you come to bring us valuable information and not more court gossip. Alas I have a distinct feeling I am hoping in vain. Am I wrong, Mysaria of Lys?

“That was fast.” Daemon thought to himself, “Rhaenyra is making a personal record of how quickly she can be unpleasant to someone.”

Mysaria’s face remained unchanged.

-Court gossip can be telling, princess. I would be less quick to dismiss it if I were you. May I sit, or do you wish me to remain standing?

-Do you plan on taking long? - Rhaenyra demanded. 

His niece made it clear she was not interested in making anything less uncomfortable for Lady Mysaria. 

-I have three things to tell you, your grace, three things spoken in the shadows of the keep, yet loud enough that the ears I own should hear them. 

-Make it quick and don’t speak in riddles. - Rhaenyra said, cutting her off. 

Mysaria did her bidding. She looked at Daemon while she spoke. 

-Your stepmother and her Greens have been whispering about your son. 

Rhaenyra snapped almost immediately.

-That bitch! - she cursed. - She still dares to drag my son’s name in the dirt, even after my father declared that no one was to question our marriage or Aegon’s position! Her and her greens, laughing at me! I knew it had been them starting the filthy rumour, likely bribing that High Septon to shame me. 

-Should they bribe another one, the Faith will have one less man. - Daemon promised her. 

-Not that son, the other. - Mysaria said. 

-Is she calling Viserys a bastard too?! - Rhaenyra laughed. - That would be very unimaginative of her part. I won’t put it past her though, after all, intelligence was never her strength.

-Perchance. - Mysaria allowed. - But that’s not what has been hot on hers and the other greens’ tongues, princess. They whisper about Prince Viserys’s dragon egg, wondering why it has still to hatch. They say it is a bad omen from the gods. That your and Daemon’s line is cursed, and that with you as queen, all your dragons shall die.

Rhaenyra threw her head back, laughing once more. 

-That is a good joke if I ever heard one! And her line is what?! Blessed?! With what?! A fat sullen boy, a plain plump girl, a little unpleasant cretin, and a boy who acts the dead fish?! She can go throw herself off the tallest tower of the Red Keep! Thanks to her, our Targaryen blood was sullied not once but four times! My father ought to never have married her! What does she know about our dragons?! What does she know about our House?!

Rhaenyra walked from one side to the other, turning the rings on her fingers around and around, cursing Alicent and her greens. 

Daemon remained where he was, silent. His anger, though, was evenly matched with Rhaenyra’s. 

-My half-brother Aemond has no dragon! - his niece noted. - That’s the crow calling the raven black! I cannot imagine people taking her or her disgusting words about my son seriously!

Mysaria smiled.

-For every voice who listens to the Greens two more protest against them. Prince Aemond has no dragon… and yet that leads us to something else I came to learn about. That is the reason for the king’s desire to come to Dragonstone, princess, and visit with you. - Mysaria said. - His Grace, King Viserys, wishes for his second son to claim a dragon so he might join his brother and sister in becoming a dragonrider. 

-What?! - Rhaenyra spat. - He told me he meant to visit me because he missed me! That he wished to see my boys! 

Rhaenyra went from anger to sadness and to anger again. Her hands curled into fists and she gritted her teeth.

Daemon stood and pulled her to him.

-Hush now, princess. Hush. Your father is a fool, of that we knew. That is why I keep warning you to not believe too much in his words, in him. - he lowered his head to her ear. - You know that I am the only one who is ever at your side. That only your uncle is steadfast for you. Only ever you. 

Rhaenyra lifted her face to his, she ignored that Mysaria was still with them. 

-He lied to me. He wants to come and take one of the dragons for the half-brother who Alicent likes to use against me. He wants to give one of our dragons to the son of a woman who torments me, who mocks my babes, my heirs. His heirs as well! - she noted, her voice rising. - They would probably want Vermithor. He’s the second most powerful of our dragons. 

-He won’t have Vermithor. - Daemon assured her. - We will not allow it. I promise you that as long as Daemon Targaryen breathes, none of Alicent’s sons will own such a powerful dragon. 

-I don’t want him to even have any egg either. Much less one my Syrax has laid. - she said. - He won’t take anything of Dragonstone with him, I rule here and they are not welcomed!

-Perhaps we should give him a try at taming the Cannibal. - Daemon suggested, his face dark. 

That made Rhaenyra’s eyes grow wide. 

-No. - she immediately ruled. - I may dislike my half-brothers, uncle, but I don’t wish for their deaths. Just that they stay abay and away from my lands. Them and most of all their mother. - Rhaenyra paused for a moment. - I shall write to father and tell him that this is not a good time to visit, that we shall be at Driftmark and we don’t know when we will be returning. I shall also make it plain for him that I will not allow them to come when I am absent. 

-Will he listen to your wishes? - Daemon asked. 

He was always less hopeful than her where Viserys was concerned. He had learned the hard way what his brother was capable of. 

-He will. In fact, I bet this was not his idea but that of the queen’s. 

Lady Mysaria cleared her throat much to Rhaenyra’s annoyance. 

-As much as it pains me to say, Princess Rhaenyra, that is not true. This was your father’s idea. The queen had nothing to do with it. 

Rhaenyra turned to Mysaria in anger. 

-And how would you know?! - his niece demanded.

-This shouldn’t surprise you. - Daemon noted to his niece. - As much as we may dislike him, Aemond is still your father’s son. Every single one of his children has a dragon, it should only be fair he wants the same for Aemond. 

-I don’t care what he wants! - Rhaenyra replied. 

-There’s something else, princess. - Mysaria said then. - If it would please you to listen. Something involving someone quite close to you. Your ladies. 

-My ladies? - Rhaenyra asked, confused by Lady Misery’s words. 

-The Strong sisters. - she confirmed. 

-Yes. Not them have no worries, but someone from their blood has been conspiring against you. 

It could neither be Harwin nor his father. The first had the most irritating infatuation with Rhaenyra, and would probably happily surrender to death if that meant having his niece for one night. As for Lord Lyonel he was mayhaps a bit simple but a good and leal man, and Daemon knew him to be positively predisposed to Rhaenyra. 

-Larys Strong. Master of Whispers. 

-Yes. - Mysaria confirmed.

-A man full of secrets as he is, sooner or later one secret had to slip.

-When last Otto Hightower was at the capital he and Larys Strong met. Secretly of course. - Mysaria added. - And what could the former Hand have to say to the Master of Whisperers that required a meeting between the two, and a secret one at that? - she asked. - Was I to guess and I would say Larys wants to play the game of thrones and mayhaps he wishes to make use of the green pawns. For now it is speculation, but I will try to have ears and eyes closer to him in the future. ‘Tis no easy feat though. Larys is not like the others. 

Rhaenyra’s eyes narrowed. 

-You should bring me facts, not guesses. - Rhaenyra complained. - You should have been in that room, learned what Otto Hightower and Larys Strong spoke of. 

-As I have said, your grace, Larys is a creature of a different breed. I will find my way around. - Mysaria promised. - I will find someone who knows even the darkest secrets of the Red Keep. 

Rhaenyra smiled but there was no humour in the gesture. 

-The ghosts of the builders who Maegor put to the sword then. Try them, and let me know how it went. Is there ought more? - she asked of Mysaria to which she shook her head. - Good. See Maester Gerardys. He will give you coin and find you a ship if needed so you might leave Dragonstone before night falls. Safe travels. 

Rhaenyra never bothered to give Mysaria a final look, she waited for Daemon to offer her his arm and then the two left the Chamber of the Painted Table side by side.

As they entered their rooms he turned to kiss her, only Rhaenyra pushed his face away. 

-Not now, uncle. I have words for you and they cannot wait. - she added. - I will never again have her come to my domain. Never. All she said today can be said through a letter. I don’t want her here, much less near my babes. The babes I bled and suffered for. You will not challenge me in this, Daemon. Understood? 

-Should I get down on my knees, Rhaenyra, like the supplicants you receive? 

She gazed at him unimpressed. 

-Whatever your conscience dictates. 

-Very well, then I shall. One condition. - he replied. - That when I do it, I am naked, and so are you. 

He pulled her for a kiss but she escaped. 

-Are you going to play hard to get and run from me. - he asked with a smirk. 

Rhaenyra looked over her shoulder. 

-Mayhaps given your past with whores such a thing is not to your preference, hearing a negative that is, alas it was Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen you took to wife. 

Closing the space between them, Daemon took her in his arms and lifted her. A small gasp escaped her lips. 

-I do know who I married. - he said. - No one but you would dare to speak to me in such a way. Very well then, you can run away for now, my little dragon. I do enjoy chasing after you. It will only make your surrender all the sweeter. Tell me, - he moved a curl behind her ear and then pressed her lips there. - Are you wet for me, Rhaenyra. 

She bid him set her down and so he did. 

-Perchance. Perchance not. You won’t soon find out. 

He stole a kiss from her before she moved to the desk and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment. 

There was no mistaking who she would be writing to.