The Winter Queen

Chapter 5

Laena is 22 and Laenor is 21

Viserys

Where had the time gone? Two months had passed since he received Lord Rickon’s acceptance letter regarding marrying their heirs and it was now time to leave King’s Landing for Winterfell where his beloved little treasure would immediately become a wife and stepmother. He could  scarcely believe how quickly the time had passed even as he watched his little girl’s belongings be packed up for her new life and home at Winterfell.

Despite how it did sadden him that in less than five weeks time he would have to say farewell to her, leaving her in her Lord Husband’s capable hands so far away, he was also very eager to become a grandsire and he knew Lord Cregan was definitely capable of siring children.

Yes, Viserys did know that he had put in his initial letter to Lord Rickon that Rhaenyra and Cregan were to live at Winterfell, but he also had to hope that, after Rhaenyra had birthed a few children, that they would make the journey South and stay for several years, letting Rhaenyra and her children bond with the newly conceived babe in Alicent’s womb and his future children with her. Oh, it was going to be grand! His grandchildren and younger children all being about the same age and thus being perfect playmates for one another. Ideally, Rhaenyra’s children would marry her siblings and they would all live happily together in the Red Keep! Yes, that is what he decided he would pray for, grandchildren to marry his children so he and his beloved daughter could share in the joy of being grandparents of the same children some 20 years or more into the future.

Rhaenyra

She would be leaving the only home she’d ever known soon to marry a total stranger, lay in his bed and bear his children. Alicent had already come and spoken to her about her duties as a wife in the marriage bed and how agonizingly painful it was to have her maidenhead breached and taken but how it was her duty to not complain or cry out in discomfort or pain. Alicent told her that soon she would be Lord Cregan’s little plaything.

Despite this, in many ways Rhaenyra was very glad to be leaving. No, she did not have any idea on what sort of men Lord Cregan and Lord Rickon were, but what she did know is that Queen Consort Alicent was only going to be there for less than a week and after that, her step mother would have far less say in her life than she did at present. After all, a month-long journey was not something one could do on a mere whim in order to terrorize her step daughter.

That was also something Rhaenyra vowed: she would be a far better step mother to Benjen and Alys than Alicent had been to her. If anything, she sincerely hoped that despite becoming their father’s wife, that she could truly become their friend. Yes, she did know that it might be hard, especially once Cregan put a baby in her but she did have to hope as they were going to be the first kids about her own age she’d ever gotten to spend much time with as her cousins Laena and Laenor were 7 and 8 years older respectively.