A Valyrian Heart

Chapter Sixteen

A laugh tears through her throat, she can't bring herself to stop even as Joffrey pins her with a glare. He shoves her away, not hard enough to hurt her. Baela is aware of the maid hurrying out of the chambers, she only stops laughing when a blanket is tossed at her. The King keeps his back to her. " Cover up! Do you have no shame "

Baela raises a brow at him, still, she accepts the blanket gratefully and wraps it around her body. This was definitely not how she thought her day would go, but it's not like she's complaining. " Your grace, I had a feeling you already knew. If I had somehow managed to traumatize you..."

" Oh, will you just shut up? Do you think I am that stupid like my mother has been subtle about the fact that she was fucking her own brother "

' Twin brother ' Baela meant to add. It was one thing being with a sibling, and another being with someone you shared a womb with. It was off-putting, even for someone like herself who had witnessed countless times such incestuous unions. She was to be married to her cousin, the same cousin who was married to his sister, while at the same time she was fucking the other cousin. By the sevens, Baela had witnessed a lot.

However, she understood why Joffrey was so upset about her bringing up the dirty secret behind his mother's affair. If his biological father was his uncle, it meant that the throne didn't belong to him. It was a lot like her uncle, King Viserys. The man was a good king, one of the most peaceful in all the history of Valeria. However, anyone with an eye could see the man was suffering in silence. A few times in the past when she had come to the red keep with her grandmother, she would see the look Viserys would give Rhaenys, If only the Queen who never was had gotten the throne instead, perhaps it would ease his suffering. And all this conflict between the Greens and Blacks wouldn't have existed.

Joffrey didn't look like he was suffering, and he was the king, wasn't he? He had no Targaryen blood, no dragon, and yet...he was King. Sometimes Baela would wonder how it came to be, how did the Baratheon house get the throne? Where have the Targaryens and even Valaryons gone? She's heard from him that her house no longer occupied Driftmark, though he refused to emphasize on the matter.

Baela could have easily found out herself, there was still the rest of Westeros to explore. However, there was deep fear rooted in her heart, fear that what she might find would be nothing more than the destruction of everyone she's ever loved. And with the way things were going back in her Westeros, she wouldn't be surprised if the entire Valerian house had been wiped off.

She feels a hand in her hair. Baela is brought out of her thoughts by Joffrey playing with her curls. She doesn't even though what he finds fascinating about her hair, perhaps it is the odd hue. " Your grace..."

" You are troubled "

" Aren't we all "

" What bothers you?"

" My father," Baela says with a sigh. Slowly she pulls herself to her feet, walks past Joffrey, and goes to curl up on his incredibly soft bed. He watches her with a slight frown on his face, then he moves and takes a seat on the bed " He wants me to marry my idiot cousin. Aegon isn't that bad, however, he is already wedded to Haelana, and he has Jaeheara and Jahaerys, he is happily married "

" Do not lie to yourself, my lady. We both know what kind of man King Aegon was "

" You wouldn't know anything! You can't just judge us from what you read in the books "

"Perhaps not. But I can judge by the constant curses you lay on him. " Baela gasped dramatically at his words. Since when had she ever laid curses on Aegon? She mutters something in High Valarian and Joffrey simply rolls his eyes. " marrying him will make you Queen will it not? You will have all of Westeros at your feet "

" That position will never belong to me, Helaena has had to deal with Aegon far longer than I have. She deserves to be Queen "

" And is marrying him the only thing that bothers you? "

" My father wishes to use me, as a tool. He wishes to keep tags on the Greens. He doesn't care about how I feel, not really. He expects me to give up everything and marry Aegon, only to have everything snatched from me again. All because Rhaenyra wishes to be Queen! She claims it's her birthright. Why can't she just spare us the pain and suffering and just accept that a Woman can never be Queen, just like my grandmother has? I'm tired. It feels like I'm going mad, and nobody sees it " It's a miracle that she wasn't crying. She could feel the tears stinging her eyes, but Baela had mastered the art of keeping her emotions at bay, not daring to show any weakness lest her enemies use it against her.

Joffrey simply tots, he doesn't show any sign of pity for her and the Targaryen princess finds herself liking him even more for that " She should drown your sorrows in fine wine, my lady " He reaches for the wine which the maid had brought earlier and pours them both a cup. He hands it to her with a challenging look which he knows she wouldn't be able to resist. He smiles when she accepts the Chalets, a genuine smile that makes him look younger and kinder than he is. " The best wine in all of Westeros. My Uncle ensured that I would have killed the bastard If he hadn't gotten Me exactly what I asked for "

" My, you are quite spoilt "

" it comes with being born royalty "

Baela merely smiles. ' not all of us ' she thinks ' some of us were born to suffer instead '. The sweet taste of the wine makes her moan slightly, a sound which sounded too sinful to have come from someone as dignified as herself. She is glad her completion doesn't allow the blush to show much. " This is indeed good wine "

" Like I said, only the best for the King of all the seven Kingdoms "

" And the future Queen " She adds

" Yes, and that too "

" It deserves a toast "

" Indeed it does "

They make a toast. And Baela is very much aware that she had emptied more than three cups within a short time, she feels herself going lightheaded. However all her worries fade into the background, she and Joffrey mumble absolute nonsense to each other, and they tell secrets they would have probably never told another soul. They were a lot more similar than she had thought before, and she felt so happy and lightheaded to be able to talk to someone who shared a lot with her, perhaps it was just the wine-talking

" You should kiss your father, " Joffrey says

" Why?" Baela laughs at the mere thought. So scandalous.

" It might get him to shut up and leave you be. Imagine doing it while he is in the middle of... giving you a lecture... The look on his face "

" It would traumatize him. He would think his...favorite daughter was in love with him "

" And wouldn't that be fun "

" It would be! "

" So try it!"

" I will, Your grace. But show me how to first "

" You can't simply...."

Baela leans forward and kisses him, it is a soft peck that leaves her giggling in delight. When she pulls back, Joffrey is still tense, he watches her with his beautiful ones. Baela sees an emotion twirl in his orbs before he leans forward and smashes his lips roughly against hers. They fall back on the bed, Baela sighs at the feeling of lips against the skin of her neck. Her consciousness was fading, no matter how hard she tried to stay awake, she simply couldn't. At the end, she gave in to the sweet lull of sleep

* * *

Baela wakes up with a start the next morning, her limbs flailing around and her heart beating hard in her chest. " You are awake " Joffrey's voice had her gaze snapping to his figure. He was seated on a chair, dressed in his royal attire with his crown seated prettily on his head.

" You bastard!"