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"We have royal wombs, you and I. The childbed is our battlefield."
- Aemma Arryn.
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Rhaenyra had never really thought about her mother's words after her death. Not until now.
What had women done to deserve something as painful as childbirth? It had been Rhaenyra's first pregnancy and from the pain she would not mind it to be her last. It had been hours already, but the baby was still not out yet. Just as stubborn as his or her mother, she thought while screaming on top of her lungs.
She could not really remember how long she had been in labour now. Two hours? Maybe three? She had lost track of time already. Her royal womb did not make this any easier. She would rather be on the battlefield right now, that was for sure.
Four midwives and a Maester had been running around her room for the whole now. One of them was holding the Queen's back to give her some stability, a young midwife was rushing around the room to get water and towels and the other two older women were standing at her feet to help the baby get out. The Maester was supervising them.
Of course he was. He was a man and would only get involved once things got serious.
And then there was still Leanor. He had been at Rhaenyra's side for the whole time, holding her hand, being insulted all the time and nearly passing out from all the stress and the... sight he had to endure for a few hours now.
„You called the midife a ‚cunt' for the fourth time now, Rhaenyra... Maybe you should think about other insults?", Leanor chuckled next to her, while she had to endure another cramp. Rhaenyra could honestly not remember how many times she had already insulted the midwives, the Master or Leanor. Well, none of them had to bear a child right now.
„And maybe you should shut your mouth until the baby is here...", the future-queen clenched her jaw before she screamed again. Squeezing her husbands hand hard enough to nearly break his fingers.
It took nearly half an hour and countless other ‚you are all cunts' until Rhaenyra could finally hear a high-pitched scream from between her legs. The baby was here. And it was alive. Thank the seven gods. Her body was still numb from the pain and the exhaustion.
The midwives were rushing around the room even faster than before, cleaning up the baby and wrapping it into white blankets. From the corner of her eye, she could see how Leanor raised his eyebrows at this scene. Men were always such a burden during labor. And so useless.
"It's a girl, your grace. But-", the midwife looked down at the baby in her arms. The woman looked rather worried, as if something was not quite right with the newborn heir. Rhaenyra and Leanor both raised their eyebrows. Panic was starting to build up in their stomachs.
„What is it?", still exhausted, Rhaenyra tried her best to look up to the other women. Sweat was dripping down her forehead, her hair was all over the place and she could barely lift herself up. Leanor was doing his best to help her. „Give her to me. Now!"
A moment of silence later, the women went over to the princess and carefully placed the newborn onto her chest. The baby was so tiny that Rhaenyra was afraid to even touch her... But as soon as the tiny girl had been laid on her chest, her heart skipped a beat and she sighed in relief. All the pain was gone for a few seconds when Rhaenyra had a first glimpse at her daughter.
Both Rhaenyra and Leanor smiled as happily as they could. She was beautiful. Her skin was as fair as Rhaenyra's. There was not much hair on her scalp, but the little fluff on her head already looked quite dark. It was not the silver hair that someone from the Targaryen or Velaryon would have. The missing silver hair, that had made the midwife go silent earlier. What a surprise.
Well, it was no surprise to Rhaenyra. Or Leanor. With a brown-haired father it would have been quite a rarity for the baby to been born with silver hair. But since Leanor Velaryon was her betrothed husband and the official father of her child, this would not be the official answer. However, this would be a question that Rhaenyra would solve when she was not feeling like dying.
„What will you name her, your Grace?", the Maester had moved himself up from his chair. He had not moved a muscle during the whole labor. Holding a sheet of paper in his hands, he would be the one to be responsible for writing the baby's name down for the family-books. And to write a note to her father and Queen Alicent, to inform them about their new grandchild.
„Rhaella", the Queen whispered quietly while stroking her daughters brown hair. She was still exhausted and could barely hold her child... Leanor had placed his hand on their daughters stomach and played with her tiny hands. „Rhaella Velaryon. Princess of Dragonstone."
—- HOW HAS THIS STORY FAVORITES ALREADY? THANK YOU SO MUCH, I FEEL HONORED. <3
As you {probably} noticed, this will be a slight House of the Dragon AU / Fanfiction. Rhaella Velaryon is the addition to Rhaenyra's other children - which makes her the older sister of Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey.
I will try to stay close to the TV show and the books so there will be spoilers in later chapters. There will be Spoiler!Warnings for every Chapter that has not been covered by the TV-Show yet... Don't worry, this will still take some time hehe. But I will add some own ideas and chapters, ofc!
{I will also post some oc!edits on TikTok on @tschaikovsky - if you would like to follow me there. <3}
