The Mouth of the Dragon, The Eyes of the Lamb

Chapter 9

Laenor burst into Rhaenyra's chambers when the maester was finishing tending to her wound. She had sent her children to bed long ago, and Daemon was standing behind her in silent support.

"Rhaenyra..."

"Sit, Laenor."

"I should have been there."

"That should be our house motto," Rhaenyra said with a small smile as she watched the maester walk out of the room. "Listen to me, Laenor. We have a...proposition for you."

Laenor arched a brow as he looked from Rhaenyra to Daemon and back again. "What kind of proposition?"

"What if we could be happy? Truly happy with someone we love?" Rhaenyra asked as she took Laenor's hands in her own. He frowned as he kept staring at his wife.

"Nyra, what are you going on about?"

"What if she could marry the man she chose, and you could be free to live with your lover?" Daemon asked from behind her. Laenor looked at him, and, for a moment, hope shone on his face.

"How?"

"You would have to die," Daemon said with a shrug. Rhaenyra glared over her shoulder, but Daemon couldn't see it.

"That's the opposite of me living a happy life with my lover."

"You wouldn't really die, Laenor. We would fake your death. Kill some other poor sap and burn his body so he isn't recognizable."

Laenor smirked as he looked at Rhaenyra. "Have you been thinking about this for a while, Nyra?"

She grinned back as she shook her head. "No, Laenor. But we're miserable, and we both know it."

Laenor's smirk faded and turned into a frown. "What about our children?" He wasn't sure he could leave them, especially Lucela. She was his pride and joy, and she had lost so much already.

"They will be protected and well taken care of. You have my word," Daemon swore as he placed his hand on Rhaenyra's shoulder. Laenor stared at him in silence before he took a deep breath.

"Can I say goodbye to Lucela at least? My baby girl," his voice broke slightly. Daemon understood immediately that Laenor was close to the girl. He loved her just as any father would love his only daughter, and they were asking him to leave her forever.

"You can see them all one final time, Laenor. We would not deny you this," Rhaenyra said softly.

"What will you tell them?"

"That you died." Rhaenyra's voice was barely a whisper.

"Does this make me a bad person? A bad father?"

"No, Laenor. Do not ever think that. You are giving our children a fighting chance against Alicent's. They will need to learn how to fight, and what better man to teach them than Daemon now that Harwin is gone?"

Laenor nodded silently and stood. He looked at Rhaenyra and Daemon with a sad smile before pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I do love you, Rhaenyra. You're my very best friend."

"And I you, Laenor."

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Jace, Luke, and Joffrey didn't catch on that Laenor was really telling them goodbye. He knew that they would be okay with the news of his death. It was Lucela he was truly worried about. His death would destroy her and leaving her was destroying him.

He eventually found her in the chambers that she was staying in with her plant book in her lap. She wasn't reading it; she was tracing the design on the cover with her finger.