the blind knight - rhaenyra targaryen

xvi

The King and Princess were now on a ship back from Driftmark after setting a marriage alliance between the Princess and Lord Laenor as a gesture for denying marriage to Laena Velaryon.

Jessica had awoken and began to look for the princess on the deck. When she finds her looking out on the sea, she walks up the stairs, and Rhaenyra notices her with a smile. "Did sleep flee you as well this morning?" Jessica settles next to her, leaning on the side of the ship. "I needed to see you, Princess."

"I confess, I had a similar desire." Rhaenyra looks into Jessica's red eyes with a small smirk. The taller woman looks away and begins to fidget with her hands. "In the years of our acquaintance, you have confided in me plenty. I feel as though I know you quite a bit." The blonde's smile grows as she inches closer.

"More than a bit." Jessica picks at her fingers. "You have told me of you loathing the weight of your position. That your father will marry you off without an account of your own heart's desire, and now the day has come. You did not choose Ser Laenor. He was chosen for you, Princess."

Rhaenyra nods.

"If there were another way. A way that you could-" Jessica looks away with shame, and Rhaenyra grabs her hand, softly caressing it.

"Tell me." Jessica turns so that her back leans on the side of the ship. "All those nights during your tour made me think." Looking away from Rhaenyra, she sighs.

"Our nights of passion are not something I can forget. And my sense of duty and honor has clouded my mind. It has made me want to push you away, but I do not wish for it anymore." Turning back to the princess, she stands straight.

"Besides you and the overwhelming support of the King in honor of you, I have nothing, not truly. To see you marry another, will break my heart. You wanted to choose, and he was chosen for you. Wouldn't you like to make your own decisions?" Rhaenyra frowns.

"In the few years before I settled as a Kingsguard, I served in the Stormlands beside my birth father, and I was able to have freedom. It was once glorious. I want that for you, for us." The blonde tries to hide her expression as Jessica towers over her.

"We could leave. My family owns a fleet of ships, we could go to Asshai. We could be free, Rhaenyra. From duty, and honor."

Jessica knew how foolish it sounded to leave. She spent her life in the confines of the morals she wanted to abandon, and now she wished to abandon it all for Rhaenyra. Her ancestors would disapprove of falling for a Targaryen, but she didn't care.

Rhaenyra doesn't speak and turns away with bated breath. "I understand if you believe it foolish." If anyone else had asked her, Rhaenyra wouldn't even try considering it the way she is now.

"It's not." She walks away from Jessica, whose gaze falls to the ground. "I cannot abandon my duties. I cannot leave my life to trade for a ship to Asshai. You speak of your duty, and I have mine. Mine is to marry a nobleman of a great house, that is Ser Laenor."

Jessica frowns. "Was it not you who wished for us to marry?" The Princess sighs, shaking her head. "Rhaenyra. I broke my oath. I have broken it almost a hundred times for you."

"So break it again." She grabs the woman's hands once more.

"I have soiled my cloak too many times. I left my home to become something, and all I am is an oath breaker. It was not until we were together in the Keep that I understood how deep it had become. I just want us to be free, and I want this for you. For us."

"I can't leave, but this does not have to be the end. Lord Laenor and I have a mutual understanding. He will dine as he sees fit, as will I." Jessica looks out at sea, clenching her jaw. "So you want me to be your whore?"