the blind knight - rhaenyra targaryen

xviii

As the princess's labors began, young Reyanna found herself trying to stay calm as she approached the King and Queen's chambers.

She was sent to inform them that Rhaenyra had begun giving birth, and in the last month or so that she'd been here it was Reyanna's biggest task. As she runs up the long steps, she pulls up her dress to prevent herself from tripping.

When she reaches the top, she finds her elder cousin, who greets her and backs out of the way.

"I have been sent to inform you that the Princess has gone into her labors." She informs, making the King delightfully chuckle. A smile finds the Queen's face, an insincere one, but the girl didn't know that.

"Thank you." She grabs the girl's hand sweetly. "I have a request of the Princess that I would like you to relay."

"Of course, my Queen."

"As soon as her child is born, I request that she find me immediately." Reyanna tries to hide her shock at the request, but her poker face is revealing. "Um...of course." It wasn't the first outlandish request Queen Alicent made of the Princess through Reyanna, but this was easily the cruelest.

She bows to the Queen and exits with a lump in her throat. Her hand instinctively reaches out for Jessica's as she exits, making the woman frown. "What are you doing?" Jessica asks.

"You're coming with me." Jessica chuckles, letting her hand slip from the smaller one. "I cannot, my Lady. I am sworn to the Queen, I cannot leave."

"I thought you were sworn to the Princess." Jessica shakes her head and straightens back into her post. "That was years ago, I am sworn to her no longer."

"Well, I don't care. I need your help."

"Reyanna, I cannot lea-"

"Tell them it was an emergency." The girl turns away, not leaving room for debate, and the lack of authority Jessica expressed toward her kid cousin made her feel pathetic.

She felt obliged to help Reyanna in whatever she needed to do, having not heard the conversation between the young Lady and the Queen. Reyanna pauses, looking behind her with a smile as her cousin trails down the steps.

"I appreciate this, cousin." Jessica nods. "And what is this emergency?" Her questions are not answered, and it gives her a sense of dread when she notices the path to Rhaenyra's room. "Is this why you asked about the Princess?" Jessica asks when she stops in her tracks.

"Jessie, I don't care about a grudge you held a million years ago, I need you now." Jessica wanted to turn around and run back to her post, but that would make her somewhat of a coward, and she'd already run away after killing a man.

Facing Rhaenyra couldn't have been too hard, she did it every day.

When they arrived, the sound of Rhaenyra's cries was muffled by the thick doors that Ser Criston Cole stood before. Without a word, he only nods, opening the door for Reyanna.

"Stay here," Jessica grunts as Reyanna enters the room, and hears Criston chuckle. The redhead looks at him with a level expression. "She's quite demanding, hmm?" Jessica smiles curtly, not giving the man much thought. Before Alicent practically declared war on the Princess, she drilled it into Jessica's mind that anyone who sided with her was their enemy.

Criston offered himself as Jessica's replacement, and Jessica pledged her undying loyalty to the Greens.

It was certainly a black-and-white way of thinking, but it wasn't wrong. The prospect made Jessica wonder if Rhaenyra had bewitched him too. "So, what brings you here?" He asks, taking her out of her mind. "I am not sure, but Reyanna said it was an emergency."

In the room, Reyanna has just relayed Alicent's request, and the midwives are helping the Princess during afterbirth.

Averting her eyes away from the blood on the floor, she watches as Rhaenyra is cleaned up. "You don't have to go, I'm sure the Queen will understand." The young girl says, making Rhaenyra chuckle. "I greatly appreciate your concern, Reyanna. But I have no choice." She tries to stand, groaning as Reyanna uses her arm to pull the Queen up.

"I brought Ser Jessica to help you." Rhaenyra's eyes widen and Reyanna tries to give a comforting smile. "She doesn't know why, but I demanded her presence." A smile found the blonde's face.

"You demanded?" She asks with a weak chuckle, making the younger girl nodded.

This was one of the many moments the future Queen had considered snatching Reyanna up for Jacerys, possibly as his future Queen Consort. She'd be a considerable improvement from Alicent.

"I will help you walk." Rhaenyra sighs with a nod as a midwife hands her son over. The doors suddenly burst open as Ser Laenor enters with a smile. "A boy. I've just heard."

"Yes." Rhaenyra grits out as Reyanna helps her toward the door. "Where are you going?" He asks with a frown. "She wants to see him," Rhaenyra mutters as Reyanna swiftly opens the door for her. "Now?"

"I believe she sent me to say 'immediately'," Reyanna says to the man, making him sigh. Jessica watches with a frown as Reyanna nods for her to follow. "If Ser Laenor is here, why do you need me?" Rhaenyra tries to tune out Jessica's voice, but Laenor turns to her for a second. "Did Alicent send you?" He asks, not evening trying to greet the knight.

"The Queen did not, but Reyanna said it was an emergency."

"It is. Help her." Jessica raises an eyebrow with an agitated expression, and Reyanna innocently smiles. "Please." The knight sighs, moving to where Reyanna stood. Rhaenyra begrudgingly lets Laenor and Jessica take her toward the steps. "Well, this awkward," Laenor says with amusement, making Jessica grunt.

"Was it terribly painful?" He asks Rhaenyra, who looks at him as if he's crazy. "Oh, Gods. I took a lance through the shoulder once." He says, making Jessica roll her eyes as they trail down the steps. "My deepest sympathies." They pass through servants that bow to the Princess and Lord.

As they approach the bottom of the steps, Rhaenyra hunches over and begins to groan and shiver. "What is it?" The bell tolls as they both watch her worriedly. "What is it? What is it?"

"Fuck." She mutters.

"Do you need me to hold the child?" Jessica offers, making Laenor look at her with a frown. "Why? So you can toss him out the window?" Jessica scoffs as Rhaenyra looks annoyed between them. "It will take less weight she has to carry, Ser Laenor." The resolve she held that kept her from caring for Rhaenyra slipped only for a second when she noticed the Princess desperately nod.

"Yes. Please." Jessica takes the baby, and they begin to walk up the steps, and a Lord stands before them. "Princess, Ser Laenor. It is a privilege to be amongst the first to congratulate you."

"Thank you, Lord Caswell." Rhaenyra lets out weakly. "If I may be of any service."

"The day may yet come, my Lord." After a few more steps, Rhaenyra groans once more, trying to shake the pain from her head.

"We are turning back, all right? She can come to us, all right?" As Laenor is ready to turn back, but Rhaenyra shakes her head. "No. Not unless you wish to carry me down those fucking stairs." She groans out.

"I can." Rhaenyra looks up at Jessica. "Carry you down the stairs, if that is what you wish." Rhaenyra could feel the genuine nature of the statement, and the shock almost makes her pass out. "That's alright." Jessica nods, and they continue to walk to the King's chambers.

When they enter, Alicent greets them, trying to hide the amusement from her voice. Rhaenyra sits in a chair as Alicent silently watches Jessica place Laenor's 'son' in his hands. "Thank you for helping them, Ser Jessica," Alicent says, with a condescending tone. Rhaenyra looks over at the redhead, who bows and swiftly leaves the room.

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hope you guys have enjoyed the chapter, and I promise I WILL update the daenerys book within the week.