To Take What Is Rightfully Ours

Chapter 7. Taking Back The Necklace

'Rise and shine, Princess!'

The bright light hit Rhaenyra's eyes and she grunted unhappily, burying her head in the pillow. She and Daemon had a late (though very pleasant) night yesterday and today everything in Rhaenyra protested against waking up early.

Then someone jumped at the foot of her bed, and the princess was suddenly more awake because none of the servants would be bold enough to do that. She cracked one eye open. 'Diane?' she asked, confused.

'The one and only! Okay, come on, no time to waste. We need to get you breakfast and then write tons of letters. Which I'm not really skilled at, so you'll have to do most of it while I nod in approval with a smart face.'

'Wha-' Rhaenyra was cut off by a yawn. 'What letters? What are you doing here?' she sat up on the bed. Not like she was against Diane being here, but she couldn't quite figure out what was going on and it was disconcerting.

'Father asked me to be your lady-in-waiting. So here I am. And we need to write letters to the big houses of your choosing to find you some more ladies-in-waiting because, even though I'm fun, I'll probably suck at it,' Diane frowned. 'Or not. We will see, I suppose.'

'Wait, Daemon asked you-' Rhaenyra couldn't hide her surprise. When he escorted her to her room last night, Daemon and she talked about how to expand the circle of people loyal to her. One of his ideas was to find her ladies-in-waiting. She thought it was a good idea, she just didn't think he would get right on that.

'Yes, he did. And I'm taking it seriously...' Diane stretched on the foot of Rhaenyra's bed. 'Well, kind of.'

The princess giggled, 'Okay, I think we will have fun.'

'Also he wants me to be something of immediate communication between you two until you are married and it would be appropriate for you to be in the same room unsupervised.'

'He told you about us?' Rhaenyra asked, blushing despite herself. Last night was... incredible for lack of a better word. Daemon showed her just how good it might feel to be intimate with someone you are enamored with, and she couldn't wait for them to do more. She knew the basics (that still didn't sound very appealing), but she was sure Daemon would make it three hundred times better.

'Yes, he told me about your conversation last night. But don't worry, not in detail. Even though your blush tells me everything I need to know,' Diane smirked, making Rhaenyra huff and hide her face in the pillow.

Even though it was kind of embarrassing, it felt good not to be judged because of the things she did and wanted to do with Daemon. Alicent would be judgmental if she knew, Rhaenyra was sure of it. Her old friend was always about following the rules and doing your duty, while Diane seemed like the complete opposite. It felt nice to be supported for a change.

'So you are fine with it?' Rhaenyra checked, peeking over her pillow.

'With what?'

'With me marrying your father.'

'Oh, yes, sure. Every time you are in the vicinity, he looks at you like you're a deity come to life. I would be pissed if he didn't do everything in his power to marry you if I'm honest.'

'You have a surprisingly close relationship,' Rhaenyra noted. 'Don't take it as an insult or anything, I just don't see a lot of people being this close to their parents.'

She certainly wasn't as close with her father. And with her mother... They used to have a good relationship, but still not quite like Daemon and Diane. From what she witnessed they seemed almost friends, and Rhaenyra had no idea it was even possible to be friends with your parents.