What happens when Rhaenyra and Daemon's night in the brothel turned out to be more than what the princess admitted to? What happens when a child is conceived that night? What happens when that child is a girl, born the perfect image of a Targaryen p...
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Rhaenyra Targaryen clung to her children as Laena Velaryon's stone casket was prepared for the drop into the sea. For a brief moment, the shadowy clouds parted and a ray of golden light shone down on Driftmark, as if the gods themselves were seeing Laena to the other side. The idea warmed Visaera and she fought the urge to smile during such a solemn moment.
"Salt courses through Velaryon blood. Ours runs thick, ours runs true, and ours must never thin..." Vaemond Velaryon looked at her and her brothers as he said the words and suddenly the happiness she had been feeling was gone.
Her mother shifted uncomfortably as the King glanced over at them as if he saw something he hadn't before. And then he laughed... Daemon, Laena's husband, the silver-haired man. The man from her dreams... He laughed and the attention of the attendees was on him; she could feel her mother's body sag with relief.
Then the clouds swallowed the sun as the casket was pushed over the edge of the drop-off, plunging down and settling on the ocean floor. Laenor stood there in an emotionless stupor, as he had been since he first heard the news; his sister's death had hit him hard.
Her father often told her she was too good for this world; too kind. She thought that maybe she got it from him; that's why the loss of his sister was so great, because it left his kind soul alone in the world.
Visaera glanced around the gathering, meeting a pair of violet eyes a few paces away and trying desperately not to smile at her uncle.
While death and sorrow had brought them all to Driftmark, she couldn't help the feeling of relief that coursed through her as she stared at Aegon. It had been little more than a week since their departure and yet it felt like months since she had last seen him. She longed to go and stand beside him; to clutch his hand in hers and lean against him for comfort. He grinned at her until the Queen knocked him on the back of his head and hissed something about "being respectful" in his ear. As the Queen turned her sharp gaze on the princess, Visaera averted her eyes.
When the ceremony ended, Jace followed Rhaenyra about, inquiring as to why they were not at Harrenhal, mourning the loss of Ser Harwin and Lyonel. Their mother scolded him, reminding him that Laena was family and Harwin was not. Visaera gave her brother a sympathetic frown, understanding exactly how he must be feeling. The future queen encouraged them to go comfort their cousins, Baela and Rhaena, and the children obeyed.
As she moved through the crowd, Visaera couldn't help but look at the prince who stood alone at the edge of the gathering. Prince Daemon, her father...
While she watched him, he watched her mother make her way around the opposite side of the stone yard. After a moment, he caught Rhaenyra's gaze and she smiled hesitantly at him, before averting her eyes. And then her mother realized that Visaera was watching the entire interaction and a look of guilt swept over her face. The princess did not react; she merely turned and took hold of Baela's hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
