Pawn to Queen (A House of the Dragon Fanfic)

Bonus: Conquest Flashback (Derek's a dad)

Panting breaths and guttural moans bounced off the walls of the Queen's quarters.  Daenyra's nails clawed Derek's back as he thrust into her. He watched with fascination as her face twisted with pleasure. 

His large calloused hand nearly wrapped all the way around her thigh as he bent her into a better position. He nearly lost himself him her as she called out his name loud enough for the old gods in Westeros to hear. 

He loved her. He loved every inch of her in every position. He had been by her side since he was a sixteen-year-old lad. Now at age thirty and four, he could not imagine his life without her. 

He knew her better than anyone. He knew exactly how her mind worked. He could predict her orders before she even thought of them. 

He would know her blind. By her sweet pomegranate scent, by the fall of her foot when she walked, by the shift in the air of the room, he would know her. 

When he was fourteen he married a girl named Ava. She had gotten pregnant by him and being a bastard himself, he refused to let his child endure the same, so he married her. At the time he thought he loved her, so when the stranger took them both he was devastated. He joined the Kingsguard and a small dragon chose him to protect her. 

Even when he had failed to protect Ava and his unnamed son, the diamond of the House Targaryen asked him to protect her. Protect her he did. 

For all the years he knew her, he bent to her every whim. He fell in love with her when she was thirteen, not that he was proud of the fact but it was impossible not to. 

He loved her enough to fight a war for her, to stay by her side as she conquered the world. He loved her enough to stand to the side and watch as she married someone else. He protected her children as if they were his own. 

He loved her enough to follow her a million miles and through a thousand nightmares. 

It wasn't until he compared Daenyra to Ava that he realized he couldn't have loved her. Not if this is what love felt like.  

When Ava died, Derek went on living. 

Derek knew the same could not be said if something happened to Daenyra. For Derek Snow, there would be no after Daenyra Targaryen. There would be no life if she was not there. What would the world be without his golden Queen? 

He unraveled inside of her, collapsing on top as they both rode out their highs. 

He kissed her and it felt like the world came alive around him. He lay beside her, pulling his Queen into his chest. 

"Derek..."

He hummed in acknowledgment that he heard her. 

"I have something to tell you." 

He looked down at her, eyes shining with adoration as he waited for he to speak. 

"I'm with child..."

"That's wonderful, Daeny." He smiled kissing the top of her head. 

"N-no... the thing is... The babe is not Valaars, it's yours." She whispered, watching his expression shift to awe. 

"Y-you're certain?"

"I am..."

He flipped her over kissing her as if it was the first time, drowning in her presence. "I love you." He whispered with unadulterated joy as he peppered her face, neck, and shoulders with kisses. 

He knew they could never call him father. 

He knew he would never marry her. 

But she would swell with his child, they would walk about as a permanent union between him and his love. 

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Daenyra roared as she grasped tightly to his hand. He winced at her strength but didn't say a word as she pushed their baby into the world. 

As always Valaar was not there. He was off doing as his Queen commands and gaining support on her behalf, leaving Derek to fill the role of partner. 

He was terrified. 

Ava had died during childbirth. 

But he reminded himself that Daeny was not Ava. Daeny was the woman who birthed her first son while killing two men in the center of a burning building. Nothing could kill her. 

"You're doing wonderfully, my queen," Derek whispered as he pushed the sweat-drenched hair from her face. 

"Snow if you open your mouth once more, I will carve out your fucking tongue!" 

"It is time, my Queen. You must push." 

With the mighty roar of a dragon, Daenyra pushed her second son into the world. Derek smiled as they handed him the bundle. 

"Viserys Targaryen." She breathed out, smiling at the sight of her son. Her smile faded as another contraction shot through her. 

"Another babe, my queen! Twins!" The Maester announced as he ordered her to push once more. 

She did and her second daughter came into the world roaring like thunder. "Visserra Targaryen." She smiled as Derek let her hold their children, ensuring to stay close if she needed him. 

"They are beautiful, my lady." The maid cooed.

Derek could not help but watch in awe as the love of his life fed their children. They both had Targaryen features. Though he was certain some of his own facial features would grace their faces when they were older. Their silver hair stood out against their slightly tanned skin. 

They could easily pass for Valaar's children but both Derek and Daenyra would know the truth. 

His children were a prince and a princess. They were more than he ever dreamed they would be. As they grew it was easy to see how much Derek loved all of Daenyra's children. Part of him imagined they were all his. 

They were an extension of the woman he loved and he would protect them all to his dying breath. He did not care if he had to watch them grow from afar. He didn't care that they would never call him father. They were her's, and that's all he needed to know. 

Shortly after the twin's birth, they left for the final battle. 

Valaar never got to meet the twins as he died during the siege, not that Derek cared he hated the guy. 

As he stood in the throne room of Camalot. He stood with the children as their mother was crowned Queen of Essos with the Conquerer's Crown. 

He held his daughter as the woman he loved was declared the mother of the twin realms and he couldn't help but smile.