Ruin Me

Chapter Six

"And it was without incident?" Rhaenyra asked as the princesses were escorted through the castle.

From the very moment her sister had returned from her quest, that her feet touched the ground as she dismounted Myrrax, both girls were surrounded by members of the Kingsguard as they were led towards the King's chambers. 

They had prepared for this. It was inevitable, their father's rage, but there was always something interesting about a father's love for his daughters. Somehow, no matter the transgression, there was always a rather large piece of his heart that was susceptible to love and that could never be angry at them for long. They prayed to the Seven that this would be the case for this somewhat larger transgression. 

"Not a single drop of blood spilt. And the look on Hightower's face was positively priceless," Daenyra grinned victoriously.

Rhaenyra reached over to squeeze her hand. "Well done, Dae. And thank you."

Daenyra squeezed back. "We are sisters. You never have to thank me, Rhae."

"We shall be sisters, that is if our father does not kill us for our actions."

Daenyra's smile grew. "He'd have to get through your General first."

Rhaenyra's smile was her twin. "Indeed."

And the guards opened the doors to their father's quarters.

"Your Grace," the twins greeted in unison with a nod of their heads.

"You disobeyed me," Viserys said sternly. "You involved your sister in council matters. You had her flee King's Landing without a word and you both acted without the Crown's leave. You could've been killed, Daenyra!"

"With all due respect, Father," spoke Daenyra, rather politically. "Rhaenyra simply asked. I accepted. It was my choice to fly to Dragonstone and do what Otto Hightower could not. It is my fault, Father."

"I am the one who asked her to go. The fault is mine," Rhaenyra said.

"No, it is mine."

"No, it is –"

"Sit down! Both of you!" the King bellowed, scaring the girls into silence. They obeyed dutifully as they sank into seats opposite their father. "You went to Dragonstone," he said, "but, you are right in the fact that it was not a feat Ser Otto could have accomplished alone." He gave a nostalgic sigh. "Sometimes I forget how alike you all are."

He was talking about their mother. They were both like their mother. Tenacious till the very end.

Daenyra's head dropped slightly. For her, the loss of her mother was felt more keenly every day. To lose a parent was one thing; to lose one that was so very beloved was entirely another. Her pain did ease somewhat, when her father compared her to her mother. Aemma's undoubtable strength was a quality Daenyra wished she inherited. What a strength it was to endure loss as Aemma had, to continue trying to create life in the harsh shadow of all that death. 

"Your mother's absence is a wound that will never heal," he continued. "Without her, the Red Keep has lost a warmth that I doubt it will ever recover."

"I know it pleases us both to hear you say this," Rhaenyra spoke for them.

"All this time, we thought we were alone in our grief," Daenyra added.

"I wish I had known better what to say to you both in the aftermath. I struggled to realise that my daughters had so quickly become women grown."

The twins smiled as they glanced at each other.

"But I know, she understands what is now expected of me," Viserys said.

"As it was expected of her," Daenyra murmured.