The Realm's Delight

Chapter 18

There comes a time in every person's life when they must choose to either stand by or stand against. For me, the time was whether I would let Tyland get away with killing his brother.

Kinslaying was one of the worst sins that a person could commit, whether it be in Westeros or any other world out there. And the man had murdered his brother, a brother he had once shared a womb with, a brother he said he loved with everything he had.

Tyland claimed he had done it out of love for me so that I could marry him and have the might of Casterly Rock directly. With Jason dead, the rule of Casterly Rock went to Tyland, since there were no sons of Jason around to take the claim. The plan was sound, but could I believe him? I had made him swear, but could I trust that he would keep his word?

I decided that I would take this gamble, to believe in the love that made him a Kinslayer. Besides, should Tyland act up, I knew where the body was. One word and Tyland would be executed for Kinslaying. Mysaria hid the body and she had proven herself loyal to me. In her, I can put my trust.

He planned to kill Jason and take his place, pretending that Tyland had vanished. A sound plan, if not for the fact that Jason and Tyland were completely different people. They might be twins, but their mannerisms, sense of wardrobe, the way they presented themselves, everything was as different as they can be. So an alternate plan had been laid.

The official story was that I woke up the next morning and found myself alone in bed. I would assume Jason had woken early for some reason and go about my morning rituals. I would show proof of me losing my maidenhead in the form of blood on my sheet, and as the day progressed, I would ask where my husband was.

A search party had been arranged by Father to search for my 'missing' husband, to look at every corner of the capital to find him. Ravens were sent to the nearest castles for inquiry. In the end, Jason Lannister was never found and assumed dead. I had gone into 'mourning' and refused to eat or drink properly. Eventually I 'recovered' and resumed my duties as heir. As I was married to Jason, I was still the Lady of Casterly Rock. Men were already at my heels ready to marry me, as if the decision was on them.

Casterly Rock expected only their kin on the seat of Lord, so I obliged them. I married Tyland in the middle of the following year at a smaller wedding to which only family was invited. Tyland had wanted this, which was the reason for everything happening in the first place. I did not mind it either. Tyland was a kind and gentle man, even if he went all Abel and Cane to have me.

And then a few months later I found myself pregnant.

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Being pregnant absolutely sucked. Even the slightest of work made me want to go back to bed and retire for the day. But even sleep didn't seem to rid me of this fatigue.

I was tired most of the time and had the appetite of a boar with how much I was eating. I saw myself gaining weight associated with pregnancy and did not like it one bit. I knew that once the baby was born, I could easily cut the weight down, but that didn't help with my feelings about gaining it in the first place.

I could not ride my dragon, could not practice with my sword, I had a constant headache that made me want to cry. And there was the morning sickness, a whole mess on its own.

But on the Brightside, I was not alone. It could be because of how things had changed, but Alicent became pregnant with her third child around the same time as I had. Aemond Targaryen was born late, a whole four years after Helaena was born, where he should only be a year older. Not that it mattered really. It just gave Alicent and I time to just be in each other's company and chatter excitedly about the babies that were to come. Both of us were excited about our respective pregnancies and the pregnancies of each other. Our happiness was shared by our respective husbands who showered us with attention. Though for father, I was also pregnant and he was keeping an extra eye on me. I was his eldest, and I was also the daughter that came from a mother that had grown weak with each birthing before dying on the birthing bed. He was scared, but he did not show it around me.