Zaldrīzes Dohaeris (s.u.)

seven

The end of 283 AC was marked by the news of Lady Lyanna's death, an event that most, from both sides of the rebellion, had anticipated. News that angered King Robert to the point that it drove him mad with anger and hatred, to the point he laid hands on his wife in their chambers.

284 AC, however, started with the news that Aemma was with child, the news being shared during the first moon of the year despite the Queen being in her second term already. And surprisingly pregnancy seemed to suit her as she'd been able to wander about the Keep without anyone, but Pycelle, Septa Josie and her husband knowing that she was with child.

Shortly after the announcement of the Queen's pregnancy broke through the Realm, the public naming of Robert's Small Council followed, with Lord Jon Arryn staying as Lord Hand of the King, Grand Maester Pycelle staying as Grand Maester, Ser Barristan Selmy staying as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and Varys remaining as Master of Whispers.

The newest members of the small council included, Lord Oswyn Darklyn, from the Crownlands, who became the newest Master of Coin, Lord Cedric Lefford, of the Westerlands, who became the newest Master of Laws at the request of Lord Tywin, and Lord Stannis Baratheon, of the Stormlands and the King's younger brother, who became Master of Ships.

Shortly after the naming of the members of the Small Council, the betrothal of Lady Cersei Lannister to Lord Cedric Lefford was announced, which lead to their marriage before that same moon was over.

Due to the fact that Aemma seemed to be handling pregnancy well, and per the insistance of her Lord Husband, she often wandered the streets of King's Landing with her niece, greeting people and evading her guards's orders to not do anything with or for the inhabitants of the Capital.

It was often whispered within the Red Keep that the people of King's Landing saw more of Aemma daily than the King saw her in a week. But no one could deny that allowing the Queen to interact with her people that it had helped quell any mumbles of uprising against the Usurper's reign.

And the Septons couldn't deny that their Sept had been as attended as it started to be when the Queen began to attend mass along with the Princess Rhaenys.

It was clear that Aemma prefered the company of her people rather than the safety of the Keep, something that put a strain on her companionship with her Lady-in-waiting, who much prefered to stay within the safety of the walls of the Red Keep to walking around the dirty streets of the city she lived in.

Another thing that was common knowledge was that the King wasn't able to keep his cock in his pants while his wife was pregnant, often being seen keeping the company of the whores of the street of Silk, many of which weren't able to look at the Queen when they saw her around the streets.

But it seemed that Aemma paid them no ill wishes as she continued her visits and talking with people wanting to learn more about them and how they lived through out the city. No doubt teaching her niece that the popularity of the rulling couple depended on the whims and respect of the people they ruled, which in turn allowed the rulling couple to continue to sit the Throne and continue protecting the Realm and it's people.

It was sweet to see Princess Rhaenys playing with other children on the street while her aunt conversed or socialized with the vendors and inhabitants of the location they were visiting.

One of the places that Aemma often took Rhaenys to was the ruins of the Dragon Pit, holding her on her hip and she told the young Princess a thousand stories of how once dragons flew in and out of King's Landing. How whenever a dragon and their rider where in King's Landing, the Dragons would be kept in the large and spacious underground caverns of the Dragon Pit.

Telling her the tale of how dragons came to an end, of how the only thing that could completely destroy the Dynasty of the Dragon was itself. Stories that Rhaenys adored listening to, stories that had her dark brown eyes shinning with curiosity and wonder.

Of course, that with the stories of dragons, came their history, came Valyria and it's doom, Houses Celtigar and Velaryon were brought up and the way that the three Valyrian Houses escaped the Doom, how they had been little Lords and Ladies back in Valyria, but in Westeros they were Masters of their own elements, be it sky, sea and land.

And with those stories, came the Gods that the Valyrian worshipped, the Fourteen Gods, so designated after the Fourteen Flames that were Valyria's Doom.

Unfortunately, with the exception of the visits to the Dragon Pit, Robert had demanded that there was to be no mentiosn of Valyria, it's Doom and history and that Aemma was forbidden to speak with her niece in High Valyrian.

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It was on the the fifth moon of 284 AC that the happiness that had been surrounding Queen Aemma and her safe pregancy came to an end.

Robert's earlier demand that his brother Stannis lead an assault on Dragonstone was carried out, during a storm that destroyed any fleet still remaining under the Targaryen flag. A storm so great that it raged while Queen Rhaella was giving birth to her youngest and last child, a daughter. 

The garrison of Dragonstone was ready to sell Princes Viserys and the newborn Princess Daenerys to the Baratheons. However, just before Stannis sailed, Ser Willem Darry, the former master-at-arms of the Red Keep, led four other loyalists in smuggling Viserys, Daenerys, and a wet nurse from Dragonstone under cover of night, they sailed for the Braavosian Coastland across the narrow sea.

Leaving behind in the Keep the bed ridden corpse of Queen Rhaella as a distraction, taking only her crown as a memory.

It was this event, this action, that when Aemma was told the news sent her into labour a moon too soon, grief blinding her to her labour pains as she cursed her brother once more.