rhea royce held the squalling baby close.
her child. not daemon's. never daemon's.
she would be no dragon, that was her promise.
and as long as she lived, she kept that promise.
━━━━━━━━━
⤹ in which the daughter of rhea royce
and daemon targaryen fi...
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Part of her hoped the last few days had been a prolonged bad dream and when she woke she would find herself still at Runestone, never bothered by the thought of marriage.
Unfortunately, she woke the next morning to the unfamiliar canopy of her guest bed in King's Landing. She buried her face further into the pillow. Maybe if she suffocated she wouldn't have to continue with this ridiculousness.
They had only been in the capitol for two days but already two girls had been sent home. On the first night at the welcome banquet, the Tulley girl became severely ill after piling her plate full of seafood. She was as green as Queen Alicent's dress when she ran from the throne room in a flurry. Then the next day, Alys Manderly was stung by a bee and the poor girl swelled up like a peach. They were assured she'd be fine as her mother hurried her off to the maester.
Yora hoped this string of ill fortune would end so she wouldn't be caught in its grasp next.
She heard a mixture of voices outside her room before Lynese burst inside, followed by Bryna and another maid who set about their morning routine. They threw open the curtains to let sunlight flood in and filled up the iron tub with warm water for her bath.
"Up, up, up." Lynese clapped her hands. "The queen has invited all the ladies to her chamber for needlepoint."
She dragged Yora out of bed, unceremoniously throwing her into the tub. The water hadn't fully heated when her maid poured it in and she spent the next several minutes shivering as Bryna scrubbed sweet-smelling oil through her hair.
"I actually wanted to visit the gardens today," Yora told her cousin's wife.
Lynese pursed her lips. "It's the queen. She has graciously extended an invite to us and we've already accepted it."
You mean you have, Yora wanted to say but bit her tongue. Only a few more days. Only a few more days. Only a few more days.
"Yes, of course," she finally said
The other maid pulled a deep purple dress from her trunk, laying it across the chaise. Yora dried herself and allowed Bryna to help her lace up the hooks on the back of the dress. They fixed her damp hair into a single plait over her shoulder and Lynese deemed her acceptable for the queen.
The corridor outside the guest rooms was grander than anything in Runestone. Tapestries depicting the Targaryen history lined the walls; dragons and white-haired figures danced together as Westeros formed under their reign. Gold chandeliers hung from the high-vaulted ceilings decorated with hundreds of lit candles.
She followed Lynese through the Red Keep, up and down several flights of stairs and around identical corners. How could anyone remember their way?
They came to a drawbridge leading to another castle within the castle. It was Maegor's Holdfast where the royal apartments were kept. Yora read about Maegor the Cruel in her lessons, about the role he played in constructing the Red Keep itself, and how he had all the builders slaughtered after it was completed.
