The Gentle Queen: HOTD

A Women|12|

"It bothers you, does it not?" Rhaenys asked Rhaenyra, who was looking at her father, who was walking with Lady Laena in the gardens.

"My father is the king; it is his duty to take a new wife and strengthen his line," Rhaenyra was all she said not looking at her father's cousin, who sat.

"I did not ask for a lesson in politics. I asked whether this bothers you." Rhaenys repeated looking at the girl knowingly.

"Laena is your daughter; does it bother you?" Rhaenyra countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course it does, but I understand the order of things," Rhaenys said.

"If you mean to elicit some anger from me, you should know that you are failing, princess." Rhaenyra warned

"Quite the opposite, whether it's my daughter or someone else's, your father will remarry sooner than late; his new wife will produce new heirs, and chances are better that one of those will be a male. And when that boy becomes of age and your father passes, the men of the realm will expect him to succeed him, not you," Rhaenys said, making Rhaenyra slightly angry.

"Because that is the order of things," she said, finishing speaking smirking at her.

"When I am queen, I will create a new order." Rhaenyra spoke with confidence as she turned to face the princess; her words made the queen, who had never was, laugh.

"How I wish that could be Rhaenyra, but the men of the realm already had their opportunity to appoint a ruling queen to the great council, and they denied it." Rhaenys remembered the young girl's bitterness clearly in her voice.

"They denied you, Princess Rhaenys, the queen who never was," Rhaenyra called, a sly smirk coming on her face, "but they bent the knee to me and called me heir to the throne."

"Do you remind your father's men of that as you carry their cups? Here is the hard truth that no one else has the heart to tell you: men would rather put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne." Rhaenys said stubbornly that this child should not get what she deserved.

"Your father is no fool; he knows this," Rhaenys said, leaning back.

"You are right," Rhaenyra agrees. "That is why he will never marry your daughter," Rhaenyra says confidently.

"no? We are the right blood, and of noble birth, he could not do better," the older princess said, tilting her.

"Your daughter is a child; my father is not an idiot; you are loyal to the crown because if you are not, then you are a traitor to the crown." Rhaenyra warned

"When he chooses a new wife and it is not your daughter, if you and your husband are anything but happy, loyal, and kind to his new bride, well, we wouldn't want to know what will happen," Rhaenyra reminded her, smiling sweetly.

"You may be right. Your father may not marry my daughter, but don't think it's because she's a child; as a certain red-haired, sweet Hightower child has certainly caught his attention." Rhaenys said, smirking, knowing she hit a nerve as Rhaenyra glared.

"She would never betray me," Rhaenyra said sternly.

"Maybe not her, but she has a greedy father, and your own father is not the man you think he is; she is just a girl of a second son; she cannot deny an order from the king," Rhaenys said, smirking when she saw the young Targaryen's shoulder fall.

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Lilly woke up feeling a pain in her stomach, and her thighs felt wet. She sat up, looking at her lap, gasping. When she saw blood, she leapt off the bed, rushing to the bell and ringing it to get a maid to come to her room, which one did moments later.

"Lilly, my dear, you called for me. Oh dear, what is wrong?" The maid, Laruen, said, seeing the young girl sobbing. "I am dying. I am dying, Lauren," she whispered, making the maid rush to her side.

"Breathe, my dear, why do you think you're dying? You look well," Lauren said, looking over the girl who was wrapped around in a blanket.

"I am bleeding a lot," Lilly whispered, pointing to the bed, making the maid walk to the bed, pulling the blanket down, and nodding at the blood.

"My dear, is it coming from your lady parts?" she asked, making Amara nod.

"You started your cycle and are becoming a woman," the maid said, making her nod, feeling scared. "Did your sister explain this to you?" she asked as she pulled off the sheets.

"Partially not a lot," Lilly said, making the maid nod in understanding.

"Well, I will draw you a bath and clean this up. You just sit there. Do you wish for me or your sister to explain these things to you?" she asked.

"My sister, please," she said, making the maid smile and head to draw a bath.

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"Lady Alicent, your being called to your sisters chambers I was told to tell you it is an emergency," a maid told Alicent, who was reading in her room, making her stand up and rush out of the room to her sisters.

"Lilly, what happened?" Alicent said, rushing into the room and looking around. Seeing her sister's bed stripped and her sister in a bath with tears running down her face, she walked up to the tub, crouching down on the side.

"Lilly, my sweet sister, what happened? Did you have a nightmare?" she asked, making Lilly shake her head.

"I started my cycle; I bled a lot, my stomach ached a lot, and I want chocolate. Why do I want chocolate? I haven't even had breakfast." Lilly yelled, throwing her hands up as Alicent giggled.

"Now that makes sense since the pain is normal, as is the craving. I personally crave pudding, and Rhaenyra craves her lemon cakes, but she always does," Alicent said, making Lilly giggle slightly.

"Did you get cleaned up?" Alicent asked, making her nod.

"Very well, let's get you out, and I will teach and explain everything to you." Alicent said she was helping her sister out of the bath. She then spent the next two hours explaining everything her sister should know about how to do things, why it was happening, when it would happen, and everything she needed.

"Thank you, sister. I think I am going to lay down. I am tired. Please don't let Father know." Lilly said as she went to her bed, making Alicent nod. Although she was confused by the plea, she had no reason to tell their father what happened.

"Very well, I have to see Rhaenyra anyway," she said, leaving the room. The moment the door closed, Lilly broke down in sobs that would break anyone's heart. She had bled; she could now marry and produce children.

"Lilly started her bleeding this morning; she was quite startled," Alicent said, making Rhaenyra gasp.

"Well, now we can all have crying parties. I thought she would have a few more years; she's only ten and two. You and I stared only last year," the princess said, making the Hightower nod and laugh slightly.

"Ya, me too, but I guess we were wrong," Alicent agreed.

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"My Lord, have you called for me?" Lauren said.

"Yes, I did. I was informed of an incident involving many maids going in and out of my daughter's chambers quite early this morning. What was that about?" He said he was making the maid nod and smile.

"Oh, Lady Lilly started her cycle, My Lord," she answered, making the man smirk and nod.

"Thank you; you may leave," he said, making her nod and bow before taking her leave as Otto smirked that his plan was going well.