The Pyre for a hero

pure unbridled rage

Several days after the birth of Aerion and Daella Targaryen...

Daemon was in denial, he had always been a spiteful man but the anger he felt was unmatched. Everytime he heard the babes cry and Aethalrax's pained screeches, like a wounded child, reminded Daemon of why he felt like he was drowning in his rage. Shaera had yet to awake, her body not yet fully recovered from the harsh labour of bringing Aerion and Daella into the world.

Everytime Daemon closed his eyes, he saw the blood pooled on the bed and the sight of his sickly wife crying in pain. He saw her struggle and fall into a state of unconsciousness, it was too hard for him to bare. Daemon began to neglect any actual purpose in his life in favour of destroying whatever he came across.

The maester had begun to worry about Shaera, he feared that she may never wake up. Nobody knew the reason as to why she had yet to wake up and yet they all prayed for it, hope that she would wake and that their lives would return to what it should be; except even if she awoke, nothing would truly be the same.

At an ungodly hour of night, Daemon had enough of the consistent whispers surrounding the walls. He emerged from his chamber  to see a crowd of people around the door to the room where Shaera lay. He began to lash out against them, aggresively questioning what they were doing until he saw the maester leave the room with a slightly improved expression.

"My prince", the maester addressed but Daemon's scowl didn't lessen. He stormed past the older man and what he saw shocked him. He saw Shaera, sitting up and looking far better than she had for a few days. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair seemed to lack it's usual shine and yet he still thought she was perfect. Shaera smiled at him, she held her hand out for him to take. He rushed to her outstretched hand, he held it in his grip as he kissed her knuckles above where her ring sat delicately on her skin.

"Are you done with your emotional upset or must I chastise you for terrorising those who only wish to help?", Shaera spoke with a newfound seriousness, his face sunk like a scolded child until she laughed lightly.

"Only you, my flame, would make jests at a time this dire",

"And you, my love, would not have it any other way".

Daemon sat at her bedside,  his lips brushed against her forehead softly in fear that he would hurt her in such a fragile state. They sat there together for what felt like forever, the calm atmosphere was euphoric. Daemon began to panic when he heard her gasp.

"The babes? What of the babes?", Shaera began to breathe heavy. Seeing her on the verge of tears had Daemon feeling guilty for not spending time with their newest children.

"Aerion and Daella, they are twins. They are rather small but they are strong. Fighters like their mother".

"I want to see them",

"My flame-".

"I did not almost lose my life bringing them into this world only to be told that I cannot see them",

"I would not wish to withhold them from you but simply delay it if you are not back to full strength".

"When I was a girl, before my mother died, she used to tell me a story of what her mother would tell her. She would say that no matter what state a woman is in, she will grow in strength for those that she loves and then she would tell me that her strength came from the love she held for her children and her family. I never understood what she meant until Aemma's death, I thought I would never recover but I found strength in my love for my sister, for Rhaenyra and for you. And now, I will find my strength again if not for our children then for myself to carry on living for those that need me. Now, I would like to see our children. Are you going to have someone fetch them or must I go to them myself?",

"I will have someone bring them". Daemon reassured quickly, he knew that she would not change her mind.

"Thank you".

~
The twins were brought in wailing, Daemon took Aerion and placed him in Shaera's arms then doing the same with Daella. Shaera's face was bright with the beaming smile she had from just looking at her children. Their crying began to cease at the soft embrace of their mother. The small babes were warm against her skin, their heads tested gently against her chest. Shaera softly spoke to them, a promise she made to always protect them ad she did when her other children were born.

The babes were taken away to be fed. Once they were out of the room, Shaera began lashing out. She threw her pillows and bed sheets all over. A broken cry escaped her when she fell into Daemon's arms. He held her as she screamed and shouted about how weak she felt until she went to sleep; and yet he still stayed holding her, checking if she was still breathing every so often.

~
The next morning, Shaera stirred awake and saw Daemon still in the same position as when she fell asleep.

"My love?",

"Yes?".

"Have you slept?",

"Yes, do not worry". But his fatigued voice gave him away.

"If you do not want me to worry then do not lie to me, have you been to sleep at all?",

"I couldn't sleep because... what if, if something had happened during the night?".

"Daemon",

"Shaera, you could have died. How am I supposed to act when I constantly fear that my wife will perish!".

"I am not going anywhere. You cannot risk yourself out of fear of the unknown",

"I would do anything for you whether it puts myself at risk or not".

"Do not say that",

"Why?".

"Because I cannot bare the thought of me causing you any harm, in any form",

"You could never harm me, my flame".