Sweeter Than Evil ||| Cregan Stark

sixteen

Daenys stood to face her visitor, strange for that late at night, and found the identity of the person to be even stranger. It was Daemon who pushed into her bedchamber and Daenys had half a mind to be concerned he was coming to her so late on her nameday. Did he intend to scold her about something?

"Good-father," Daenys said. It was the first thing that could find itself out of the maze that was her throat when she was surprised. "Can I help you with something?" Daenys prayed the answer was no, because she knew she would make a fool of herself, but then she didn't know why he was there.

Without saying anything to Daenys, Daemon tossed something small to her. She hadn't noticed it when he walked in, likely a byproduct of her being tipsy, but her reaction time was still fast enough to catch the small pouch that hit her in the chest. Daenys looked down at the soft velvet in her palms and studied the small black cloth, turning it over before she looked back at Daemon, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

Daemon still did not speak. He nodded toward the pouch and Daenys took him at the offer, curiosity getting the best of her. She pulled open the top of the pouch to look inside and found a sizeable amount of gold. A sizeable amount for those not of the Crown. Seeing what he tossed her didn't alleviate her confusion, Daenys felt further confused.

"Gold?" She asked. "For what?"

"You are a woman grown," Daemon said simply, clasping his hands behind his back. "There are simple pleasures of life to experience once you are grown. You will do it one way or another, I'm sure." He glanced back at her door. "Your knight won't be outside your door this night. Do as you wish."

Daenys continued to receive no clarity on what exactly Daemon was offering. She tilted her head and squinted her eyes. "To... do what?" Later Daenys would blame the wine for how obtuse she was being.

In response to her obliviousness, Daemon rolled his eyes and huffed dramatically. "Must I spell it out for you, princess? Surely you have not been kept so sheltered."

Gold. Woman grown. Pleasures of life. Knight gone. Oh.

Oh.

"Oh," Daenys said, the word drawn out as it dawned on her. Daemon was tossing her gold to go to a brothel. Like any male heir at the age of sixteen. Hell, a male heir would have already gone to a brothel or fathered a bastard at her age. But if Daenys had done the same, people would have talked. She knew that which was part of the reason she never cared to venture out and find a squire for herself. That and the fact that she was always too preoccupied and most of the squires feared her.

"Yes, oh," Daemon repeated, shaking his head. "You have been treated as a male heir would be all your life. Your ten-and-sixth nameday should be no different. Especially not as an heir to the Iron Throne."

Daenys' heart jumped to her throat as she thought about it and her cheeks were warm to the touch. "People would talk," Daenys reasoned, hesitant to jump into his offer without first considering the possible consequences.

"That is why your knight will be sent away. The only people in this castle who could talk are of your mother's court and she is not a prude either. Nothing leaves this island without her approval." Daemon almost turned his back to Daenys but he paused when he went to unclasp his hands. There was still something in his hands.

"Ah. I almost forgot." He brought forth a dagger with a note tied to it. The weapon was beautiful with an engraving Daenys couldn't see on the handle. "This arrived for you from Winterfell. I do not know why but the Lord of Winterfell seems to have sent you a gift for your nameday." With a look Daenys couldn't decipher, Daemon tossed the dagger onto her bed and walked toward her door, pausing at the threshold to speak once more.