Beneath the Throne| Baelon & Aemma

Baelon Targaryen was the elder twin of Prince Aegon and the firstborn son of King Viserys I Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower. Yet despite Baelon's seniority, Viserys remained steadfast in his decision to name his half-sister, Princess Rhaenyra, as heir to the Iron Throne. The choice ignited whispers across the realm, sharpened by the scandalous rumors that swirled around Rhaenyra's closeness with her uncle, Daemon Targaryen. By then, Baelon and Aegon were little more than infants, too young to understand the storm brewing around their family.

As he grew, Baelon became all too aware of the court's ceaseless speculation-particularly concerning Rhaenyra's children. Her firstborn daughter, Princess Aemma Velaryon, was born scarcely a year after her marriage to Laenor Velaryon. Some swore Aemma was Laenor's trueblood child, while others claimed she, like her younger siblings, was fathered by Ser Harwin Strong. Though Laenor acknowledged them all as his own, doubt clung to Aemma's parentage like smoke.

Despite the enmity between their mothers, Aemma and Baelon forged an unshakable bond. Both Alicent and Rhaenyra warned their children to keep apart-whether out of political caution, mistrust, or the fear of scandal-but such commands only fueled their defiance. They slipped through the cracks of Red Keep vigilance, finding each other in shadowed corridors and moonlit chambers. Together they explored the streets of King's Landing, wandering far from watchful eyes into the bustling markets and even the notorious Street of Silk. By night, they crept into each other's rooms, whispering secrets until dawn.

Their meetings were reckless, dangerous, and forbidden-but never once were they discovered. Within the heart of a family divided by crowns and claims, Baelon and Aemma carved out a secret world that belonged only to them....