Farewell to Innocence

Tea with the Queen

The sound of giggling echoed through the garden, the summer air blowing a cooling air in from the port. Naked feet dangled from the low hanging branches of a tree, a very annoyed Gael sitting underneath it trying to read, while Daemon was making Aemma laugh by trying to make petals land in her hair. "You two are insufferable together. Can you not find anything better to do?", their aunt complained after enduring their antics a few moments longer, glaring up at the children. Both were sunburnt, freckles dancing across Aemma's nose that betrayed her Arryn heritage, while Daemon was covered in mud and potentially dragon dung. They had shed their shoes in favor of being able to climb better and were very much enjoying themselves up there, their Septa throwing disapproving looks in their direction, but letting them do it anyway. There was a time to be grown up, but neither one of the two had reached that yet.

"Well, why are you sitting underneath our tree? Go find another one, aunt", Daemon teased and landed a perfectly aimed berry in Gael's braid, which seemed to be enough for her. "Impossible! You're impossible, Daemon. Sometimes I think you've been raised by dragons instead of humans. Maybe you should put more time and effort into honing your manners and not ruining Aemma's alongside your own", Gael suggested, huffing in annoyance, before getting up from the grass with her book in hand and stomping over to sit in the shade of another tree close by. "You know, Aemmy. We could climb down and follow her", Daemon said with a mischievous little grin, but Aemma glared at him. "No, we cannot. Gael is right, you behave like a wild beast today, Dae. Leave her alone. We can play something else."

The boy cocked his head to the side and shrugged, looking around the garden. "We could sneak into the secret passages and try to find treasure. Or go to the pits and watch the dragons." The latter was not a suggestion Aemma ever agreed to, because unlike most of her Targaryen family members, she was less than fond of the creatures. Sometimes Daemon just dragged her along, hoping exposure would warm her up to the mighty beasts, but so far that had not quite worked out yet. "I think we won't do either one of those. Look over there", the younger girl whispered and nodded towards the castle door that led into the gardens, from which the Queen had just entered. "Oh no. Grandmother. The Septa must have told her I fell asleep during lessons today", Daemon groaned and rubbed his face, smearing dirt from his hands all over it. "Or that I accidentally cross stitched Gael's sleeve to my tablecloth", Aemma added, earning an indignant look from Daemon, who believed that the two incidents could hardly be compared.

They shifted uncomfortably, debating to climb down, but their grandmother had already spotted them and was approaching the tree with quick strides. "Good afternoon, you two", she said, peering up. "Would you be so kind and come down to talk to me? I am getting a crook in my neck", the Queen announced good naturedly and waited for both to descend, Daemon helping Aemma out when she got stuck for a second. Back on the ground, both self consciously tried to brush some dirt off their clothes, though it wasn't working out too well. "It seems like you had a decent adventure again today. Daemon, as much as I appreciate your temperament, I would be ever so grateful if you could pay less attention to play and more to your education. Or stop sneaking into Aemma's chamber past your bedtime to tell her scary stories. You might be less tired during your lessons then", Queen Alysanne said sternly, but her expression was still soft and she reached out to affectionately muss his hair.

"Aemma my sweet girl, I was hoping we could have a cup of tea together and speak in private. Can you spare your friend for a bit, Daemon?" The white haired boy nodded and Aemma took the hand Alysanne held out for her. She gave Daemon one last grin and followed her grandmother back into the castle. The thick stone walls barely allowed any summer heat inside and so it welcomed her with a comforting coolness. "I forgot my shoes, grandmother", the girl noticed, but the good Queen just chuckled. "I am sure tea tastes just the same barefoot as it does with shoes on. Unless you plan to drink it with your feet, but I would advise against that either way", she jested, looking down at Aemma's mud crusted toes that pattered against the marbled floor. It was a blessing to see the girl had adjusted to living at the Keep so well with the help of Daemon, knowing how distressed she had been when Rodrik had left her with her mother's side of the family.

When they entered the Queen's private chambers, tea was already served there, together with little lemon tarts that Aemma was very partial to. Somehow the sight of them made the girl nervous. Adults treated her that way when they tried to lessen the blows of hard truths. Was she going to be sent back? Had she not behaved well enough? She braced herself for what was to come and already prepared the words for a plea in her mind as she slipped into a chair opposite her grandmother and lifted the cup of tea to take a sip. "Sweet girl, you have been here with us for a while now. How are you settling in? Have you come to like it?", Alysanne asked, looking over at her youngest granddaughter as she stirred sugar into her tea.

"Yes, grandmother. I like it very much", Aemma replied politely, mirroring the Queen's motion to look more elegant, mud covered clothes aside. "I see you have made fast friends with your cousin Daemon", the Queen continued and Aemma's face lit up at the boy's name, head bobbing in an eager nod. "Yes! He plays with me every day and I really like that. Back at the Eyrie I never had someone to play with, because I was the only child in the family. It is nice to be around him and Gael now", the girl said and Alysanne noticed how she no longer called the Eyrie her home, as she used to before. Good. As hard as it was, Aemma would not be returning to her father's seat of power, other than for visits. The Keep was where she would belong now and it was reassuring to know that she had adapted.

"How do you like your cousin Viserys?"
The girl seemed to be taken aback by the question, as if she had never even considered it before. "I...he seems polite and well mannered", she offered, but it was very obvious that she didn't know what else to say about the boy who was so much older than her. Against expectations and encouragement, the two had barely ever spent time together, because they had nothing in common. Viserys was almost an adult and Aemma still very much a child. Nonetheless, they were betrothed, no matter how much Alysanne wished it was different. Daemon would have been the far better match for her, not just because of their closeness in age, but also the fact they already liked each other. None of that could be said about the match Rodrik and the King had decided upon.

"Well, sweet girl, your name day is fast approaching and your grandsire the King has decided that it is time for your wedding to take place. We will be celebrating it alongside your name day when you turn one and ten, with a big feast and tourney, isn't that exciting?"
Aemma's face fell and she stared at the Queen, unsure of what to say. Did people usually get married at one and ten? She had expected it to happen much later in life, if she was being honest. The last thing on her mind was being a wife to someone, when all she wanted to was fight invisible pirates and scour the secret passages for treasure. "But I...I am still very young, grandmother. Can we not wait?", she began carefully, not sure how to address it in a polite manner, without seeming like she was rebelling against the King's decision. Alysanne sighed and reached across the table to cup her cheek.
"You are indeed, my sweet girl, but your cousin is not. He is about to become a man and your King deems it important for him to be wedded then. But fear not, nothing will change for you. You are still allowed to play and be wild with your cousin. Your marital duties will not begin until you are much older. Just think of it as a big celebration in your honor, with a lovely dress made specifically for the occasion, and the next day you can go back to climbing trees." Aemma relaxed visibly and nodded, picking up her plate to eat some of the lemon tart, while her grandmother's heart ached for the girl. She had tried to change her husband's mind, not wanting Aemma to suffer a fate far too many women in their family had, but there was no arguing with the King sometimes. Luckily Viserys was not a bad young man and would not take anything from his child bride she wasn't willing to give. At least not yet.
"The seamstress will come tomorrow to measure you, so I want you to be clean and free of mud at that time. Now, go and take some of those lemon tarts to Daemon and Gael, before they get jealous. And please bathe tonight, sweet girl. I think you have half of the tree stuck in your hair", Alysanne laughed, while Aemma eagerly emptied her cup and took a plate full of tarts that the maid offered her, running back out of the chambers and to the gardens.