❝ If there was ever two people who deserved a happy ending, it would have been us. ❞
The Fates were against Malkym Thorne and Rhaenrya Targaryen from the start. No matter what decisions they made, or paths they took, it all lead to the same end. But...
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𝖂hen the storm had rolled in across the horizon, most had been able to tell that this would be the worst storm that anyone had seen in decades. It had started calmly, with rain lashing the walls and roof of the keep, before thunder had rolled in, accompanied by lightning and howling winds, the rain turning torrential.
It had almost seemed poignant that the storm was when their son had decided to come into the world.
The labour had been long and painful, screams mixing with the winds and echoing through the castle walls as if it were haunted. Before finally, just as the storm began to abate, a boy was born into the world. He was perfectly sized, with the start of dark hair appearing on his head, as was the nature of the Thorne family, and when he opened his eyes, dark brown stared up at all those around him, marred with flecks of gold and green. His mother had held him, hoping for him to stop crying, but the boy had started again and it seemed to call the storm back to them, shaking the walls of the keep once more.
"What do we name him?" She had turned to her husband, holding the small boy out for him to see. The man picked up his son, the second of his children, rocking the tiny boy as he looked down at him. His mind flicked through a multitude of names from his house's long and proud history, trying to work out what would be best to call the boy. "My love?"
"Perhaps..." He trailed off, thinking on his decision. "I wish to suggest a name, one that holds a great history, but I fear it would curse the boy."
"What do you speak of?"
"I wish to name him after the strongest fighter of our house, but he broke a blood oath and I fear that I will curse our son should we name him the same. Bad luck will follow him." The man huffed, letting his son grab his finger as the boy's eyes opened once more.
When his father met his eyes, the elder man saw something in them that scared him. There was an oldness to this boy's soul, like he had walked the earth before and had come back for retribution. Past the innocence and the childish nature that came with the fact that the baby was just born, there was a coldness to him, like there was something waiting beneath the surface for the opportunity to come out.
"You name him." His wife looked confused at her husband's change of hearts. "You name him. I fear if I name him with a Thorne name then there will be too much power, too much pressure, a sort of burden that he will not be able to live up to. You name him."
"It is just a name."
"It is not just a name, it will become a curse." His wife took the baby back, rocking her son gently. When she looked in his eyes, she could see none of what her husband feared. All she could see was her son.
"How about..." She trailed off for a moment, thinking of a name. "Coren. It is a good name, a strong name. Does it have a history that you are worried about?"
Her husband thought for a second, before shaking his head.
"No."
"Then that is settled." She smiled. "Our son, Coren Thorne."
It was only a few nights later, when his father hovered above his crib, that he dared to utter the name that the boy would have been called.
"Malkym..." It seemed only to murmur the name in their ancient home would have the walls drawing a breath, ready to tell stories of the warrior who had walked these halls hundreds of years earlier. "I would have named you Malkym."
Coren's eyes snapped open, watching his father with an unnerving gaze as his father took a step back.
"But there is too much power in that name, my boy." Coren's eyes fluttered close, as his father back away, trying not to think of the coincidence that seemed to be Coren answering to Malkym, when he would not answer his own name.
But what he feared was true more than anything else. Malkym Thorne had sworn to protect his wife and had failed. This time around, he would not fail.
𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀
Hiya,
So, this marks the final chapter of Donna, and the end to Rhaenyra and Malkym's story. This was always going to be a tragic love story between them, unfortunately, but yes, Malkym died well before his time, and Rhaenyra never loved anyone after that. I thought that it was best to end the book here, because, in my opinion this was the best end point for the story. I did weigh up continuing in, but it wasn't one that I felt could work as I would just be writing the show with Rhaenyra thinking of how much she missed Malkym every few lines. The epilogue used to be super depressing, so I've changed it to make it a little less so.
Thank you so much for reading, voting and commenting. I hope you guys enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Even though there are questions left unanswered, sometimes that is the way it is left in history, and Malkym's death is kind of better hidden. There were multiple people who could have killed him, and I felt it better to leave it open ended to allow people to come to their own conclusions. Just a reminder, this is a prequel to the actual Queens of Eternity series, in particular Angela which continues with Thorne's like great, great, great, grand nephew Coren Thorne and Daenerys Targaryen, or there is a spin-off with if Malkym lived, and if they'd had a daughter, called Dragon Dynasties.
