Sweeter Than Evil ||| Cregan Stark

fourteen

Rhaenyra was pregnant with her and Daemon's first child very shortly after they were married. The timeline left a little question, at least in Daenys' mind, of when exactly the child had been conceived. She didn't spend much brain power on it, however, because it was unimportant and she was more concerned with getting a sister. Joffrey hadn't been a girl, so Daenys was banking on the first child Daemon and Rhaenyra had to be a sister.

She was aware of how being with child worked but her knowledge wasn't the most sound. Since Daenys stopped being tutored by Septas after they tortured her, she stopped learning about those things. It had caused Daenys to proclaim that she was dying when her very first monthly course started and Rhaenyra had to be the one to talk her down and tell her it was normal. She'd be bleeding for about a week once a moon until her childbearing years were over. What the fuck?

Daenys knew what becoming with child meant and she knew how it happened in theory. A man and a woman had to lay together. She didn't have much interest in it, nor as old as she was. Daenys was more concerned with the things she saw in her dreams and finding someone to train her with a sword.

The dream she had before the fight with Aemond was forever in her mind and Daenys made an entirely new sheet of paper dedicated to the dream. She oversized about what it meant, what the 'call' was, and where the flame that could never be snuffed was. How would she know what sighs she was supposed to look for? It was all very confusing and would take time for her to decipher.

More, after the death of Laenor and the fight, Daenys became determined to train with a sword. She was weak that night and had almost died because she was ill-prepared for any sort of fight. Daenys couldn't protect her brothers from the things she saw in her dreams if she couldn't even protect them against another child. She began her search for someone to truly train her in the art of sword fighting. Her search, at the beginning, yielded few results. Luckily, Rhaenyra had it taken care of it for her.

Rhaenyra knew Daenys held so much weight on her young shoulders. She knew she felt responsible for the lives of everyone around her and it took a physical toll that she was unable to help her brothers in that tunnel. Even without someone to train her, Daenys was on the beach with a blade swinging a sword at a dummy she made by stealing bundles of straw from the stables. Even if it took years, she was going to become a warrior worthy of leading a Kingdom into battle.

Daenys had been different since the incident on Driftmark. She felt weak and helpless in that tunnel, unable to do anything while she had her throat cut open. Daenys began to wear necklaces, once the maester told her she could, to cover the massive healing scar at the base of her throat. She was ashamed of her weakness that night.

It was out of the blue, really. When Daemon found Daenys in Aegon's Garden reading Targaryen history and told her to follow him. They weren't close, not near it. Daenys still didn't like how or what he said at his wife's funeral But he was her good father and she would listen to him because his position demanded respect. She put her book away, handed it off to one of the maidservants she was fond of, and followed Daemon through the castle. He was a renowned warrior and a man who cared for her mother. She couldn't lie and say she wasn't curious about him. So much mystery surrounded him everywhere, people didn't like talking about the Rogue Prince.

Daenys followed Daemon through the twists and turns he took within the castle and realized that he was taking her to the beach. Strange, she thought. But she decided not to ask any questions and instead wait for him to tell her what he wanted. It was better that way, so she knew more about what she was getting herself into.

It was only when they got to the beach and Daenys saw a real dummy in place of her poorly constructed bundle of straw and wooden swords sitting out that Daenys felt the need to question him. She wondered if Daemon had finally found a knight to train her, perhaps someone from his retinue or someone he knew who would train her properly. Not a half-assed attempt at placating her and never giving her real skills. The only person she'd trusted was Harwin but it was impossible to continue that training.