Castles Crumbling

t h r e e

105 AC

Maegora awoke the next morning to someone gently shaking her. Pushing the hand away, she attempted to fall back asleep, pulling the silk blanket tighter to her chest.

"Maegora," A voice said, desperation seeping into the words "Darling I need you to wake"

"Mm, I'm awake. Partially" Mae responded, her voice muffled by the pillow. Her senses slowly came back to her, the smell of the room, the feel of the bed, the movements of a second person. As the fog lifted she remembered she wasn't in her room. She had fallen asleep while she was with her mother the night before.

A groan of pain was heard to her left causing the princess to shoot up rapidly in the bed. "Mother" Concern lacing her voice, her eyes shot to the queen's figure. "What is it, what's wrong"

Aemma whimpered out "Fetch the maester's my sweet girl, I'm afraid the babe is coming" Her hands clutched the sheets, eyes squeezed shut as another contraction came.

"The babe. Right. Alright. Maester's. Right." Frantically Mae jumped out of bed, hair in disarray as she ran out the door. Quickly, she located the closest maid and abruptly stopped her "Excuse me, yes, hello"

"Princess," The handmaid said in shock and gave her a small curtsy. "Are you alright, what can I do for you" Her eyes took in the princess's disheveled state.

"Fetch the maester's, tell them the queen is labor. Hurry!" Maegora did not wait for an answer before returning to the chambers. As she entered the room once more, her mother wailed in pain.

The young princess immediately knelt by the queen's side, grabbing her hand, her worried eyes landing on Aemma's face. "Mother, mother, I'm back, I'm here, you're going to be alright." She snatched a cloth from the bedside table and dabbed the queen's forehead, drying off the sweat that had started to build. 

Aemma, in too much pain, was unable to answer so she simply gave her a strained smile. Hit with another wave of contractions, the heavily pregnant queen let out a deafening scream, hand crushing her daughter's as tears cascaded down her face.

Maegora was terrified, never had she seen her mother so vulnerable before. She knew pregnancies were hard for any woman of the seven kingdoms, but her mother in particular had already suffered significantly in past from childbirth. She couldn't bear to see her go through another loss due to her father's unrelenting need for a son.

Suddenly the doors of the room swung open and numerous people came rushing in. They rapidly started crowding around the bed as the pregnant queen let out another scream. "You're alright, you're alright, you'll be alright" The young princess murmured against the side of her mother's head, squeezing her eyes shut, attempting to keep her own breathing under control. 

"Princess you must leave, you cannot be in here. We need room to work." A maester addressed Mae as he placed a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her away.

"NO" The princess shouted, harshly slapping the hand that touched her. "I will not leave my mother's side. You have more than enough room already." The maester sulked away as no one else attempted to move her.

Whilst the maester's prepped for the arrival of the babe and the midwives prepared blankets and basins of water, Mae kept her attention solely on her mother. She held her mother's hand uncaring of the pressure and whispered reassurances in Aemma's ear, determined to keep her calm.

"Oh my sweet girl, please do not leave me" She pleaded to her daughter in a haze, eyes fluttering shut as the pain worsened. The princess shook her head forcefully "I will not, do not fret. I will never leave you. I am here, by your side. You will be alright, I am not leaving" She rambled, attempting to reassure her while she wiped her mother's forehead with a cool cloth once more.