king for a day ¹ ━━━━ jacaerys velaryon fanfic

09

- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ CHAPTER NINE ❜┊˚ ̥۪͙۪◌
K.
❛ but i could tell that something had changed
how you looked at me then. ❜

WHEN THE Stark was born, the Lord of Winterfell rejoiced and celebrated the birth of a healthy baby girl— his brother, the girl's father, had less pride and more concerns. The young child, born from snow, always questioned if she could ever measure up to her brothers, whom her father was more keen about— due to the thought that either son of his could inherit Winterfell. She thought it would be nice, the whole being born into a noble family. But years began to prove her wrong. Politics, politics, blah blah blah political affairs. Her uncle's health was withering away, and her father found himself in a future position as regent, it meant more talk was beginning to circulate and less time focused on the girl. She thought that maybe if she wasn't her father's daughter, she wouldn't have to succumb to beating herself up about not being the standard.

The young girl was then brought under the wings of a wolf, one who will be known for his gray eyes, eyes that resembled winter storms. He was the one who taught her how to fight, how to swing a punch. Some may say that they were attached to the hip, and they were. They really were. The young Stark, for the first time, felt like she had someone to look up to— well, at least for now. It was sad to say that she had to leave her home for a new home almost every year, but growing up with someone who you could call your brother does come with some advantages.

One of these advantages was learning all sorts of random new skills, especially sword fighting.

"Strike with accuracy!" Criston yelled, blocking a blow from Eudora. Her much shorter stature didn't give her much pleasure to do as much damage as she wanted, but she was trying. Criston's constant yelling, however, was not helping her anger. "Stark, accuracy!"

"I'm trying!"

"Well, your efforts aren't showing!"

She could hear a chuckle from the prince fighting alongside her, causing Eudora to roll her eyes. She continued to strike at Criston, her sword clashing with the morning star.

Swing. Another miss

Clank. Another mere hit.

Bang! The weapon in Criston's hand almost slipped out of his hand, she could feel a smile creep onto her lips. The knight watched as she fixed her grip on her sword, ready to go down with a fight.

Aemond probably felt heroic, stepping in front of the girl before she could hit another blow. He managed to knock the morning star out of the knight's hand, and just like that the battle was done.

A rewarding smile came across the prince's face, pointing his weapon at Criston. Claps erupted from the crowd around them, Eudora reluctantly clapped along. This was the second time she rolled her eyes in a span of a few minutes.

"Well done, my prince," Criston complimented, his eyes not catching Eudora mimicking his words quietly. "You'll be winning tourneys in no time."

"I don't give a shit about tourneys," the prince then answered, eye contact not leaving the knight's. "Nephews, have you come to train?"

The word nephews caused some trigger in the Stark, her eyes darting amongst the crowd. And there they both stood, Jacaerys and Lucerys Velaryon. How they've grown since they last met. Yet same dark hair, same dark eyes.

For a moment, that brief moment, his eyes met hers. For that brief moment, time did stop, Jace didn't think of the people beginning to gossip about his arrival, Eudora didn't think of either Criston or Aemond's presence. She wished that the moment just stayed still.

He did want to approach her, maybe even offer to spar against her to just be near her after years. But Jace watched as his uncle approached Eudora, breaking their gaze from one another as she looked towards the older man, her interest now in the conversation rather than in his eyes. The Velaryon didn't notice the way his jaw clenched, or how his fist tightened, but something about how close his uncle is to his friend— pen pal, ex-friend, seemed to make him feel uptight. And he didn't like that feeling too much.

"You didn't tell me they were arriving today," whispered Eudora, watching Aemond take the sword from her hand whilst her eyes darted back and forth between Jace and the silver-haired prince in front of her.

"Surprise, here they are." He saw how her eyes kept darting back to his nephew. Aemond gave out a small light-hearted scoff. "I'll let you converse with the strong boy right there. We'll all have to be in the throne room soon enough."

"Excuse me?"

The silver-haired prince lets out a slight laugh. "I see the way he looks at you. Hmm, my mother and grandfather would be really pleased about this."

Eudora gave him a cold glare, the smirk on Aemond's face was begging to be wiped off. The tall prince walked away, which prompted the Stark to walk over to Jace. She only gave him a pursed-lip smile, not knowing what to say— or if she should say anything at all.

The one to break the silence was Luke, a warm smile on his face. "Eudora!" He greeted, engulfing her in a hug. Sure it wasn't proper, but it was nice to know the comfort of an embrace. "It's been so long, how've you been?"

"Amazing! Splendid actually, your Highnes—"

"No need to address us in those terms," Jace spoke, which caused Eudora to look back at him. He flashed a small grin at her. "It's been... a while."

"Yes, it has... So glad to," the girl had to clear her throat, pulling away from the hug with Luke to give Jace a small curtsy. "So glad to see you, Jacaerys." The younger brother could feel how tense the air had grown, neither of the two speaking to each other.

"... Eudora I was wondering why haven't—"

"Eudora, don't keep us waiting!" Aemond called from the steps of the palace, perching against the railings as if he were watching the entire confrontation. She could only give the brothers an apologetic look before running to the doors. What she didn't hear was Jace's rather disappointed sigh.

Luke began to pat his brother on the back, holding back a laugh. "We still have the whole visit to talk to her. We're fine."

((🫖))