IMMORTAL | SER HARWIN STRONG | ON HOLD

eight.

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BAELA TARGARYEN, A WOMAN OF TWO AND SEVEN, WAS CONSIDERED BY MANY TO BE PAST HER PRIME CHILDBEARING YEARS. The ladies at court often whispered openly of their doubt in her ability to produce even a single babe should an unfortunate man come to secure her as his bride. She had long since learnt to ignore the petty gossipers who, as Baela saw it, had far too much time on their hands.

When the whispers turned their aim toward Queen Aemma and her growing number of fallen babes, ignorance simply wasn't a bliss that Baela could allow herself. The bitter crows of the court held more care with their whispers of the Queen, weary of who was listening for fear of being relieved of their heads, but Baela Targaryen had ears not only in every corner of the Red Keep but in all of Kings Landing in its entirety. There was not a single mutter that escaped her grasp and none were dealt with as swiftly as those regarding the Queen and her children.

Baela Targaryen, a woman renowned for her kindness, had come to be known to be as fierce as the dragon she cherished when matters of her family were called to question.

With every breathless babe, every ill-willed whisper and every unhesitant punishment that had been doled out, Queen Aemma and Princess Baela had formed an unshakeable bond. Whenever Aemma believed herself to have fallen pregnant once more it was Baela that she sought out first, in her labours it too was Baela she clung to with every new jolt of pain. The two who once muttered 'good sister' amiably toward one another had all too quickly fallen into greeting each other with a tender 'sweet sister' instead.

That was why Baela Targaryen all but running toward the Queen's chambers came as a surprise to no one.

Word of Viserys' anger toward his sister had spread all too quickly within the Keep. The overabundance of snickering by some and the pity-filled eyes of others followed her incessantly as she moved throughout the halls. Baela paid little mind to the varying expressions levied against her as she went, instead, she focused on the comfort Aemma was sure to bring her.

Turning the corner into the hallway in which the Queen's chambers resided, the lack of a King's Guard posted by the door came as a relief to the King's youngest sibling. Had she not known better, a pit of concern would've bubbled within Baela's stomach at the prospect of her good sister being left unprotected but the telltale laughter of one particularly boisterous man filtering into the corridor laid any such ideas to rest. There was only one member of the King's Guard whom both Baela and Aemma held similar soft spots for, only one who would be permitted to abandon his post in favour of sharing tea with the Queen and speaking amiably about whatever topic took their fancy.

Coming upon the open doorway, welcomed by the visage of Ser Josian Elesham's armoured shoulders shaking from the sheer ferocity of his chuckles and the Queen's own bubbles of laughter reaching her ears seemingly tamed Baela's nerves in a mere instant.

"My dear sister," Aemma's gentle words put a stop to any further amusement. Waving her husband's sister to come closer, the Queen's smile withered into a near imperceptible frown. "Oh my darling, come sit with me."

Ser Josian stood, stepping around the cushioned ottoman he'd once been seated on and offered a barely-there bow to the Princess. Holding the crook of his arm out to the visibly disheartened woman, he wasted no time in escorting her to sit beside the Queen once she had taken hold of him. "Baela, are you alright?"

Giving a grateful squeeze to Ser Josian's arm before releasing her hold on him, Baela nodded. "Indeed, I suppose I am, my friend."

Her words did little to assure her companions, both Aemma and Josian knowing all too well when the Princess's smile didn't meet her eyes. Taking Baela's hand in her own, Aemma held it in a gentle embrace. "Baela do not think us so easily fooled. We know of Visery's outburst, just as we know of your hate for being at fault for them."

"You forget Princess," Josian chimes in as he takes the liberty of pouring a cup of tea for her. "The Queen and I know you perhaps better than we know ourselves."

A half-hearted scoff slipped past the Princess's lips, a sound halfway between amusement and incredulity. Taking the offered teacup from Josian's hands, Baela silently agreed that they did indeed seem to know her as though she was the back of their very own hands at times but she would never openly admit to such and so instead took a sip of the warm tea. Despite her act of stoicism the minuscule upturn of the corner of her lips at the Kings Guard's words did not go amiss by her companions.

"Well, then Ser," Baela's poor facade dropped almost instantaneously only to be swiftly replaced with the ever-familiar quirking of her brow and teasing smirk pulling at her lips. "If you truly know me so well my friend, perhaps you should answer the question of my state for yourself."

Never one to shy from a challenge the Elesham man was more than happy to oblige.

"As you wish," Standing from his place on the ottoman once more, Josian gave a dramatic clearing of his throat and clasped his hands behind his back. Taking slow steps he paced a short distance before the two royals, mimicking the very posture he had seen Baela herself take on when mocking Otto Hightower all too often.

"It's rather simple really," He began, snickering to himself quietly at his next words. "You're embarrassed that for once it is you being a thorn in the King's side rather than your brother... That and your all but drunken profession of love for a particular man of the City Watch likely doesn't help on that front."

Baela's eyes widened comedically. Her jaw fell slack as she stared at her supposed friend in horror, stumbling over her words. "Wha- how do- why woul-"

"Lady Tayla graced us with a visit whilst you were speaking with Viserys." Aemma supplied, failing to hide her own amusement at her good sister's newfound flustered state, pleased that Ser Josian's teasing had knocked her out of her stupor.

Baela silently cursed the handmaiden in question, as her two companions found amusement in her misfortune.

"You're insufferable, the lot of you!"

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Beth's notes:

Good lord, it's been so long. I'm so sorry for dipping for over a year but we're back in action!

I- I don't actually know what happened with the latter half of the chapter. Originally it was supposed to be all comforting and giving the Baemma content my heart craves but that evidently went out the window lmao.

Tayla asf while Baela was getting dragged by Viserys: 🤭☕️☕️

Anywho... a couple more chapters to go before we'll be jumping right into the main HOTD plot bc I'm impatient and the tourney lines up with something I've had planned since day one because I love to cause myself misery apparently. Is that a bad omen of things to come? Maybe so, do with that tidbit as you wish.