Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Rhaenyra screamed as her insides felt like they were being torn apart. She had been in agonizing pain for the past ten hours and no one seemed capable of doing anything. The healer kept telling her everything was well and the midwife kept saying how she was doing great. It did not feel like she was doing great, it felt like she was dying. She could not believe her mother had gone through all of this several times. She did not understand how women could enjoy having children. She cursed her father, Laenor, and her stepmother Alicent, but most of all she cursed Daemon. She hated that her uncle and the father of her child was not here, that he had left her alone. The man who told her he loved her more than everyone else had left her all alone. She was aware that her father had exiled him, but he had left without even saying goodbye or attempting to speak to her.
Rhaenyra had sent him several letters, begging for him to come back or to take her with him. Instead, a few moons after announcing her pregnancy she had received a letter from Daemon, letting her know that he had left Westeros and headed to Essos. Rhaenyra had gone into her chambers and cried for two days straight. She had refused to speak to anyone, screaming at her father when he attempted to come into her chambers. She made sure to let him know that everything was his doing. She told him that she hated him, that he had ruined her life. Her father had been shocked, not understanding why she was so upset. She could not believe that after all these years her father still did not understand why wanting to wed her to Laenor was a horrible idea. Laenor did not want her as a woman, he did not want any women. Laenor preferred men and had no interest in even attempting to be with her. Rhaenyra had told Laenor she was with child, not wanting to lie to him. They were supposed to be courting.
Rhaenyra had also written a letter to Daemon, letting him know about her pregnancy, wanting him to know he was going to be a father. She never got a response, she did not even know that he had received the letter. All Rhaenyra could feel now was hate for everyone who had been a part of her present misery. She had wanted to die, wanted to spill blood, instead her blood was the one being spilled.
“Princess, I need you to push a bit harder.” Rhaenyra glared at the midwife, trying not to snap at the woman again. “The babe is almost here.”
Rhaenyra squeezed one of the maids' hands, grinding her teeth as she bore down. Her body felt like it wanted to give out, her breathing fast. Two hours went by and it did not feel like she was any closer to the end. Then the midwife yelled that she could see the babe's head. It took less than twenty minutes and then her child was born. She was a mother.
“Congratulations princess.” The midwife handed her the babe. “You have a beautiful daughter.”
The moment her babe was placed in her arms all the pain she had felt went away. She felt her entire body warm as tears filled her eyes. Her daughter was perfect, with silver blonde hair. She could not tell what color her eyes were because they were closed, but she was completely in love. All the pain she had felt these past few moons disappeared. She was not stupid enough to think it had gone away completely, she knew the pain and the feeling of abandonment was still there and would return in the future. But for now, nothing was more important than her child.
“Can I come in?” Rhaneyra looked up at the sound of Laenor’s voice, nodding at her cousin and gesturing to him with her head. Laenor approached her and sat on the side of the bed. “The healer said you had a daughter.”
“Yes,” Rhaenyra kissed the babe’s forehead, turning her towards Laenor. “She is completely perfect.”
“She is beautiful.” Laenor ran a finger over the babe’s cheek. “She will steal hearts all over the world.”
“All I care about is that she is happy.” Rhaenyra smiled as the babe pursed her small lips. “I will try my hardest not to make the same mistakes my father made.”
“You are already doing better than your father.” Laenor smiled at her frown. “By not wishing she was a boy.”
“I would never wish her to be anything else.” Rhaenyra could not imagine wishing for anything else, her daughter was the most amazing being. She smiled at Laenor, before frowning at the way he was looking at her. “What is wrong?”
“I received a letter from my mother, it was an invitation.” Laenor’s look was apologetic. “Daemon and Laena are marrying eight days from today.”
Rhaenyra felt her heart clench, her chest felt tight as she looked down at her daughter. She could not help but feel sad for the small girl, her father would not be with her. Daemon had abandoned Rhaenyra completely and their daughter.
“It is okay that you want to go to your sister’s wedding.” She and Laenor had left Kings Landing when both their fathers had insisted on her and Laenor getting married. They had been living in Dragonstone, but Rhaenyra had been planning on going to Essos to look for Daemon. Apparently, there was no need, Daemon had returned, he was just not interested in her. “I will wait for you to return if you do decide to stay please just send me a letter. I just ask that you do not tell anyone what my plans are.”
“Do not worry, I have no interest in staying.” Laenor’s reassuring smile made her feel better. “I was thinking that it would be good for me to go. I will be able to announce the birth of your daughter, as long as she was born before Daemon’s wedding she will be considered legitimate.”
There was a law that had been set by Aegon the Conqueror, stating that all children born from two unwed Targaryen parents would be legitimate. The only catch was that the parents could not be wed to anyone else. Since Visenya had been born before Daemon and Laena’s wedding and Rhaenyra was not married, that meant that her daughter was a legitimate Targaryen princess.
“I do not want you to get in trouble with your family.” Laenor had helped her more than anyone else. “I can just send letters to all the major houses.”
“Do not worry, my father could not be more upset with me if I tried.” Laenor kissed her forehead and stood up. “I do need to know the name of your daughter. I will need to know what to call her.”
“Visenya. Her name is Visenya Targaryen.” Laenor gave her a smile and nodded his head before leaving the room. Once the doors had closed she looked down at her daughter, running a hand over her head. “ Gaomagon daor sagon mundagon, ñuha jorrāelagon. Mazeminna care hen ao. (Do not be sad, my love. I will take care of you.)”
She would make sure her daughter would not feel her Daemon's absence. Her daughter would have all her love.
Visenya Targaryen (Newborn.)
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Laenor hated this place and he hated the people in it. The king had sent Rhaenyra away once he found out she was with child and still refused to wed Laenor. The king told his daughter that she would be disinherited if she refused to wed Laenor before the child was born. Corlys had yelled at Laenor, calling him every name under the sun for his failure to convince the princess to wed him. Laenor hated that even while his father knew of his preferences he still refused to acknowledge it. Corlys Velaryon thought that by denying Laenor’s interests they would just go away. Once Laenor refused to wed Rhaenyra his father had told him that he would not be able to count on his gold any longer. Laenor had left and Rhaenyra had taken him in. His sister had sided with their father and was happy to follow his instructions, happy that now she would be the one to inherit the Velaryon fortune.
When Laenor had received the letter from his mother with his sister’s wedding invitation he had been furious. They all knew Rhaenyra was carrying Daemon’s child, but apparently, that did not matter to his family. The only one who did not feel good about all of this was his mother. Rhaenys had traveled to Dragonstone several times to visit him and Rhaenyra. She had apologized to both of them and felt badly for how things had gone. Laenor was aware that none of the people in the great hall knew he was coming, which amused Laenor. They all believed they could keep things a secret, well, Laenor had a plan. Which was why he had been standing hidden for the past two hours, making sure that every lord and lady from the seven kingdoms was present.
He approached the door, nodding to the steward who was standing by the doors.
“Presenting Ser Laenor Velaryon.” He slammed the staff on the ground, making people turn towards him as he walked past them.
“Your grace.” Laenor stopped in front of the great table, bowing to the king before he bowed to the queen. “My queen.”
“Ser Laenor.” The king smiled, nodding at him. “I did not know you would be coming. I am happy you decided to be here to celebrate with all of us.”
“Of course your grace. I want nothing more than to be here with my sister and future good bother.” Laenor smiled at Laena who was frowning at him. Daemon looked a bit confused. Laenor turned until he was looking out at the room. “My Lords, my ladies. Before I congratulate Prince Daemon and Lady Laena on their future wedding, I would like to announce the birth of Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon's daughter. Princess Visenya Targaryen was born late last night, she is a healthy and happy babe.” The entire room was completely silent as Laenor turned back to the table, glaring at the people sitting there. The king’s eyes were wide, just like Daemon’s, while Laena and Corlys glared at him. His mother looked sad and Queen Alicent looked annoyed. Laenor gave them all a mocking bow, smiling at his sister. “Congratulations on your wedding, I hope you are both very happy together.”
He did not give them a chance to say anything, as he turned and walked out of the room. Voices rose as he walked past them, but he did not stop. Laenor had always loved his family as he grew up and believed them to be the greatest thing he had. He believed that his family would accept him for who he was, instead, it was Rhaenyra who accepted him and made him feel like he could be himself around her. Laenor had believed that Daemon had truly loved Rhaenyra, even when the man had been an ass to everyone else he had seemed to love his niece. Then Laenor had heard Daemon had taken his niece to a pleasure house and then left the next morning. When the king had attempted to get Rhaenyra to wed him she had told him that she was with child. Laenor knew she had been waiting for Daemon to return for her, and had been heartbroken when she discovered that he had asked Laenor’s father for Laena’s hand in marriage.
“I cannot believe you did this.” Laenor stopped walking, smiling to himself when he heard his father’s voice. “After what you did I believed you would at least be happy for your sister.”
“What I did?” Laenor turned around, glaring at his father. “You mean, the fact that I did not want to wed Rhaenyra and become king? Because we both know that I never wanted to wed her or be king for that matter. You are upset because I do not have your ambitions or live my life the way you want me to.”
“You have no idea what you have given up. You could have been king and our family name would have been in the history books forever.” Corlys moved closer. “Your sister is doing her part for our legacy.”
“My sister got involved with a man who will never love her.” Laenor was sad for Laena, even if she had abandoned him too. “She knew that Rhaenyra was carrying Daemon’s child and even after that she still went after him, not caring how she would hurt a young girl.”
“Rhaenyra being a whore is not your sister’s doing.” Laenor clenched his fists. “She saw an opportunity to make her life better and to go after what she wanted.”
“Yes, and she will be miserable for the rest of her life.” Laenor shook his head before turning around and walking away from his father. “I hope you get everything you deserve.”
Laenor left his father standing by the entrance, heading back to his dragon. He did not want to be here longer than he had to. He had wanted to let everyone in the kingdom know that Rhaenyra and Daemon had a child, who had been conceived and born before Daemon wed Laena. Thanks to that Visenya would be a legitimate Targaryen princess, not that Rhaenyra cared about it. But Laenor had wanted everyone to know that Daemon was a bastard who had tricked his niece, gotten her with child, and decided to wed another woman. He only felt bad for his mother, she was the one that would have to stay and deal with them.