𝕴𝖓𝖋𝖊𝖗𝖓𝖔 ✵ Maegor Targaryen

𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊; 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖔𝖎𝖘𝖔𝖓 𝖎𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖛𝖊𝖎𝖓𝖘

  “I think you are exceptional at this, sister.”

  The encouragement of her good sister made a chuckle go past her lips. The first time she held her little niece it felt undeniably weird, her hands trembling. The baby’s face was just like one of an angels and yet she seemed so fragile, as much as she’d slip out of her arms at any given time and die. But such a thing did not happen, and now she truly got the hang of it. The giggling babe now in her arms once again, giggling happily.

  “I am the best aunt around.” Shiera boasted proudly, a playful smile on her face. “And she is the most adorable niece in the whole entire world.”

  Tickling the baby, Shiera had a laugh of her own. The castle was bathed in a comfortable silence, Alyssa wearing a warm smile on her lips, overlooking her good sister playing with her daughter.

  “You could make a really good mother one day, Shiera.”

  The girl froze for a second, and head turned to the other woman. A good mother. Words that made her heart skip and stomach coil into a tight knot. Eyes narrowed with a small shake of her head.

  “I do not think I am made for this.”

  The brief moment of honesty shifted Alyssa’s features into confusion and then a silent understanding. As if for a small moment, she confirmed Shiera’s fears, as she shared them too. The guilt for thinking of herself during Rheana’s birth was still there, deep inside of her. She did not dare tell her friend that during such a painful moment all she could think about was herself and the future pain she’d have to face as a woman.

  “Being afraid does not make you inadequate to be a mother. It makes you smart.” The woman had a gentle smile, shifting up from her seat and stepping towards her. “Men need boys for their own, to pass on the names. But girls are only ours to love, to raise and to keep safe.”

  No child was truly safe from the duties, and Shiera knew it. Boys had to be heirs and girls, married off as soon as they would come of age to gain their fathers advantage. She did not want so for herself, her wants still the same. Desiring to be free to travel, free to love as her heart desires. Growing restless each and every time she was talked about on duty. Before she could even grasp it, the words flew out of her mouth, her concerns spilling out.

  “I want to be loved, seen and cherished, Alyssa. I don’t want to be just an object, a prize used to pop out future dragon riders for some lord or other.”

“You do not have to. The king and queen did not pressure you into marriage.”

  It was true, and it riddened her with guilt over being upset about this. She was most privileged and yet it seemed to not be enough. Princess or not, all women seemed to follow the same path. Day by day she became more aware of it. But there was something else nipping at her soul. Alyssa took Rheana back, gently patting her back and soothing her to sleep.

  “Or is this about Arthur?”

  Arthur. He was a perfectly nice man, with good manners. Galant, kind and spirited. And yet felt something hold her back, the silent grip that tightened more and more she thought about it.

  “I surely think he is so very sweet. ”

  He was really sweet and the way he smiled lightened up every room he was in. It made her heart skip each time without fail and still, she was still afraid. Afraid that this all might be an act, and after all, a big majority of westerosi lords shared their dislikes for Targaryens. The dislike of their customs, their dragons, everything that made them gods above men as they put it.

  “It’s just…” Shiera let out a sigh, pacing back and forth like a lion in the confines of an invisible cage. “I am afraid.”

  “I was too, you know, before I married Aenys. I wondered what kind of a man he was, if he would respect me and love me. If he would at all care about me.”