Undisclosed Desires

Chapter 3

Jarrett

Due to the sheer size of their family, Visenya felt a mile away from hers, although they were seated not so far from her. Her father sat closest, then her mother, then her brothers. She knew they had positioned themselves this way to keep Jace and Luke as far from Aegon and Aemond as they could manage.

Visenya watched as her Grandsire enter with the remainder of the family, her eyes carefully scanning over them. Her uncles and aunt had grown, she was surprised to see that Aemond was now taller than both his siblings, the last she had remembered it had been Aegon who had towered over them. Her eyes flitted over Aemond's face, noting the scar and the eyepatch, feeling that awkward feeling in her stomach, hoping that night wouldn't be brought up again.

She glanced to her side as Aemond took his place, her finders twiddling with her skirts as he spoke. "Uncle," she regarded him softly. "Some years," she commented as she turned her attention back to the crowded room, smiling at her aunt Rila when she spotted her. She was excited to get the eating out of the way so that she could go and properly greet people.

Visenya turned to listen to Viserys make his toast, giving him a kind smile and a nod as she raised her own cup, taking a sip, trying her hardest not to pull a face at the sharp taste of the red wine. She supposed having to remain in Kings Landing wouldn't be so awful when she could visit with her Grandsire, aunt and cousins often.

Visenya ignored Rhaenyra who was trying to catch her eye to encourage her to actually talk to Aemond, as she took a handful of grapes, trying not to smirk as her mother glared at her, hissing at her father to tell her.

"Visenya," Daemon said softly in a warning – knowing his daughter would throw the fruit in the air and catch it in her mouth, causing the girl to roll her eyes and take a grape, popping it into her mouth and eat it. "Tell me, Uncle," she turned to him in her seat slightly. "Where do you keep Vhagar?" she asked curiously. "I did not see her in the dragonpit when we arrived," Visenya guessed the ancient dragon was too large for the pit. Most maidens at their betrothal feast would want romance and flowery words, instead Visenya wanted to talk of beasts. Her own dragon, Rhoxas, had not taken kindly to being left in the pit.

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"Ah, yes, the age old Targaryen tradition of a good scrap at a family gathering," he smirked. At their own wedding Viserys and Daemon had argued fiercely over what Harwin had guessed was Rhaenyra. He looked down at his daughter in his arms, still bouncing her gently. "Hm, there'll be no fighting at your wedding little one, because your father will not allow you to be married until you're fifty," he told the tot, grinning when she gurgled in agreement. "She's strong, like her mother," he echoed back, watching his wife fondly.

He leant forward to eye his boys carefully. "You heard your mother, no fighting," he warned, his tone stern, but his face light with humour. Harwin used his free hand to raise a glass in toast, keeping it out of the reach of the babe. "No wine for you yet, and no more wine for you after that cup," he told Alecor with a small wink, knowing he would definitely leave a second glass unattended for his son when Rila wasn't looking, knowing he would take a scolding later on.

"They look good together," Harwin commented, watching the young couple before looking at his wife. He knew that his niece would often write to her aunt, usually in their own code. He had no doubt much of it was a young girl venting about her mother. "Visenya is stubborn, I wonder who she gets that from," he teased his wife gently. "But the Prince is not one to be trifled with either, Rila. She may see you as her only ally in Kings Landing," Harwin was sure they'd be seeing much more of their niece now that she would remain here after the celebration.

"Not everyone is as fortunate as I in getting the wife they always wanted," he told her, smiling. It was true, he thanked the Gods and the stars every day for bringing him a wonderful wife and mother to his children. "Perhaps it's the wedding, or I am getting sentimental in my age," he said, smiling as Daerys leaned over to her mother's arms eagerly. "If her first words are 'mama' I will be terribly cross, we'll have to have another one to even the score," Alecor's first words had been "Da', whereas Rylen's had been 'Mama', Harwin had jokingly made it into a competition now to encourage his daughter to say his name first.

As they began to eat, Harwin glanced at Rhaenyra, noticing her glancing in their direction, he offered her another nod to which she returned, seeming to relax. He was always concerned that their indiscretions would come to light and rip them apart. He also wasn't particularly keen at handing his daughter over for Daemon to hold. "Hopefully they won't be here for too long," he commented to his wife gently, using an arm to pull her chair closer to his, keeping it around her waist as he took another drink.