The Dragon and the Rose // Aemond Targaryen

Act 2: Chapter 21

She ran through the Red Keep, careful not the trip on her dress. "Princess Viserra please!" Tristane commanded at his charge's heels. 

No she would not slow down. Her sister Helaena's labors had begun. She would not miss the child's birth again. 

Last year Helaena birthed two beautiful children, Jahaerys and Jahaera much to Viserra's dismay she had missed the labor. She'd paid a visit to Casterly Rock, the home of the Lannister's. 

Viserra briefly thought of her sister, all alone in that infernal room. She had only been fourteen. A child having a child. How could her grandfather stomach this? When she arrived, the maids paused to curtsy to her. But right now Viserra cared not for them only for Helaena. 

"Helaena!" she exclaimed rushing over to her sister, lying on the bed. She kneeled on the floor beside her and grasped her hand. 

"Viserra, it hurts. Make it stop. Make it stop hurting, please. Please!" Helaena cried. The midwives shushed her smoothing her hair back. Viserra felt frantic. 

"I'm sorry Hel, you can do this. Just push it'll be alright I swear". But how could she swear? Viserra had prayed to the Mother to give Helaena an easy labor but she was no fool. She'd read books on the birthing process and the female anatomy, much to everyone's horror. She knew that the younger a woman was the more likely there was for danger during the birth and after too. 

She remembered taking her findings to her grandfather and father but they both waved her away. 

Now, the maesters and midwives milled about. Gods there was so much blood. Why did the sheets have to be so white? Her stomach turned but Viserra forced herself to calm down. Helaena needed her. 

"Push Princess I can see the head" the midwife announced. Helaena strained against the bed "Gods Viserra please, help me". 

Suddenly a wail went through the room and Helaena sagged back onto the bed sighing and heaving. The babe! 

"Oh thank the Mother" Viserra said watching carefully as the maester took the child and cleaned the blood. "A boy Princess". Helaena smiled sadly, her eyes prickling with tears. "What's wrong Hel? Does something hurt". 

Helaena only shook her head closing her eyes off to the world and kept mumbling imperceptibly to herself. 

The midwife handed the babe to Helaena carefully, as if worried she was going to drop her own son. Viserra held back a scoff Helaena was an incredible mother. 

Her sister looked down at the bundle in her arms "Maelor" she said. Viserra smiled, it was a lovely name. "Prince Maelor Targaryen, the first of his name" Viserra said loudly so they all would hear her. She kissed Helaena on the forehead and thanked the midwives and maesters. 

"I'm...proud of you Helaena" she said uncomfortably. She wasn't used to all of this. Motherhood and child bearing. Viserra hated how women were just expected to understand all of this. Now more than ever she wished their mother was with them. 

Viserra held back a yelp as she had the urge to scratch at the scars on her arms. The ones on her thighs were still bearable. But the others simply hurt too much, the need to examine the wounds again ate at her but she pushed it down, she'd deal with all of it tonight.

She left Helaena to rest with her newborn and walked towards the Tower of the Hand where her grandfather and father would be waiting for her no doubt. 

When she arrived Viserra found the Kingsguard waiting outside the door, they nodded to her and moved away for her and Tristane to enter the chambers. Normally her guard would have been expected to stay outside but Viserra demanded that Tristane never leave her side, she'd had enough people abandon her already.