DAEMON
113 AC
The Rogue Prince takes a deep sip of his wine as he looks around to the people in the wedding feast from a more isolated corner.
He is not in the mood for a wedding at all.
Especially that one.
How could his brother open his legs that much for the Velaryons?
He and Corlys achieved a friendship over the years, after all, they think in a similar way.
Yet, Corlys is achieving what Daemon always wanted: his legacy on the throne.
As a convenience, Corlys finds him in the corner and gets closer with a neutral expression.
“Good to see you, my prince.” The Sea Snake says with a short smile.
Daemon snorts.
“Corlys.
I presume that you are very happy today, right?” The prince asks with some mockery.
Corlys nods.
“Indeed.
It is a very special day for my family.
After all, my son will marry the heir appointed by the king and will be a future king consort himself.
And, in the future, my grandchildren will sit on the iron throne.
Why would I not be happy?” The Lord of the Tides asks.
Daemon frowns.
He can see what Corlys is doing.
He is pointing out his achievements over the prince’s failure.
He is showing dominance.
Daemon smirks.
“I thought that you were expecting a son from Laena.
Your plans changed?” The Rogue Prince asks with a too sweet tone of voice.
Corlys nods.
“Yes.
The king was very firm about his beliefs of keeping his daughter as his heir.
Thankfully, I managed to convince him to marry Rhaenyra to Laenor, keeping our houses in a strong tie.” The Sea Snake explains.
Daemon grunts.
“Good for you.” The prince says before taking another sip of his wine.
Corlys lays a hand on his shoulder, surprising the Targaryen.
“I know how neglected you feel, Daemon.
I know your frustration.
Let me propose one thing to you.
What about we arrange a marriage between our lines as well?
Once Rhaenyra and Laenor have a child together, we could arrange a marriage between that child and one of yours.” The Sea Snake offers.
Daemon laughs with an ironic smile.
“Not satisfied, Corlys?
You want to lay your hands on every single branch of my house?” The Rogue Prince asks, a bit bitter.
Corlys raises his hands in a defensive manner.
“I am only trying to solve the conflicts here.
You are a very important person in the realm.
Your satisfaction is very important for the stability of the Seven Kingdoms.” The Sea Snake proclaims.
Daemon smirks.
“I will think about it when the opportunity appears.
I will remember that conversation.” The Rogue Prince promises.
Corlys nods.
“Excellent.
Now, I have more people to talk to.
You should take a closer look at your children.
They might make your heart a bit lighter.” The Sea Snake says before nodding and leaving with a short smile.
Daemon smirks as he sees the Sea Snake walking away.
He can’t stand with a bunch of young kids for long, not even if they are his own children.
The Rogue Prince finds a person in the middle of a conversation with other nobles.
One that he really wants to talk to.
Daemon walks towards the group.
Lord Jon Celtigar, the Lord of Claw Isle and Protector of the Narrow Sea, makes a joke and the whole group of noble men laugh.
But, when he sees Daemon, his smile fades away.
He then looks to the other men.
“Excuse me, I have to talk with Prince Daemon.
I will be back soon.” The lord proclaims before leaving the group and walking towards Daemon with a nervous smile.
“My prince.
You need to talk to me?” The Lord asks.
Daemon frowns.
“Yes.
What is the current situation in the Stepstones?” The Rogue Prince asks with a serious tone.
Lord Celtigar takes a deep breath.
“Things are working out, but they are still tough.
We finished the towers in the islands, but the Triarchy started to come back.
We lost a bunch of ships during transportation.
They are always sacked and then destroyed.
The Triarchy will restart the war soon and we need to act soon.” The Lord proclaims with a frown.
Daemon sighs.
“How much time do we have to prepare?” The Rogue Prince asks.
Lord Celtigar thinks for a bit.
“I think we still have at least a year before they are ready to make a worthy attack to take the most eastern part of the Stepstones.
And you can bet that they will be more ready to deal with dragons this time.” The Lord says.
Daemon grunts.
“They can prepare as much as they want to.
It does not matter.
We massacred them in the past and now Laenor and Laena are older and more capable.
We only get stronger and stronger.
I also used a lot of the gold of the crown to make new ships.
We are much stronger than before.
We also have Rhaenyra at a reasonable age to fight this time.” The Rogue Prince proclaims.
Lord Jon Celtigar holds a laugh.
“Sorry, my prince, but I don’t think Princess Rhaenyra is fitting to fight in a war.
She is clearly not Princess Rhaenys or Queen Laena.
She is not a warrior.” The Lord says.
Daemon frowns.
“A dragonrider is much more than a simple warrior, Celtigar.
The time will come where she must take herself to action.
She will understand that.
Either way, I want you to give me more reports about the current situation of the war in the Stepstones.
You talk too much about taxes in your letter.
Too much.” The Rogue Prince says with a sour tone.
Lord Celtigar nods, nervous.
Without a next word between them, Daemon leaves the Lord behind and moves on through the people, deciding to go find his wife.
After a while, he only manages to find the maids taking care of feeding his kids with some sweet delights.
He frowns at them, making the young women nervous.
“Where is my wife?” The Rogue Prince asks with a demanding tone.
The closest maid takes a step back.
“She was trying to find someone.” The maid says into a shy tone of voice.
The Rogue Prince frowns even more.
“Who?”
“W-We don’t know, my prince.”
Daemon grunts.
“Where did she go?” The Rogue Prince asks.
The maids look at him with concern one more time before a maid points out to a direction.
“She was going towards here.
I saw a guard guiding her.” The maid says into a low tone of voice.
Daemon nods and starts to walk in that direction.
Before he leaves, he feels something grabbing his left leg, or rather, someone.
He looks down and sees Helaena hugging his leg with a sad expression on her eyes.
“Kepa?
Can you take me to muña?” The little princess asks.
Daemon frowns a bit, but he sighs right after.
“Later, my child.
Later.” The Prince says before taking her hands out of his leg and leaving the maids to deal with the sad young child.
Daemon follows the directions and quickly realizes where it will end.
He knows every inch of the Dragonpit, after all.
He arrives in the entrance of the narrow part of between two parts of the Dragonpit, but then, he finds who he was looking for.
His wife walks out of that alley with the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard by her side.
They are surprised to meet him there.
Daemon frowns with irritation.
“May I learn why you two were there?” The Prince asks.
Alicent takes a few steps to the front, brave.
“Don’t imagine stupid things, Daemon.
I noticed the fact that Ser Criston was missing and then I searched for him to ask about his recent behavior.” The Princess explains and Ser Criston nods.
Daemon snorts.
“Sure.
I can’t tell if you did more than just talk, so I will let it slide this time.
Now, tell me Cole, what were you doing in that alley?” The Rogue Prince asks.
Ser Criston sighs.
“It is a long story, my prince.
One that we might not have much time to share here.
And for sure not in the middle of all these people.” The white knight proclaims.
As soon as he says that, they hear the musical call for the people to gather.
Daemon grunts and the three of them leave towards the gathering of guests.
The guests split in two lines, letting the middle section empty for people to pass.
The King, the Queen and the groom stand at the end of the line while the Velaryons stand on one side and Daemon and his family stand on the other side.
A carriage stops at the entrance and its door is opened.
From there, two maids in light blue dresses get out and stand by the sides of the door.
Then, a man steps out of the carriage and takes a deep breath.
“With much respect, all salute the bride, Princess Rhaenyra of House Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne!” The man proclaims before bowing and moving out of the line.
Finally, Princess Rhaenyra walks out of the carriage with the help of the two maids, smiling at the people that cheers her arrival with claps and whistles. This chapter is updated first at novelping(.)com.
As always, Daemon could only be impressed at the beauty of his niece.
Rhaenyra was wearing a large and very well made black wedding dress.
The dress was full of subtle details of scales and dragons that had some red into it to be noticeable.
Her long silver-golden hair flows freely through her back.
Her skin is flawless and her smile is as white as snow.
And then, their eyes met, and Rhaenyra smiled at him.
Her purple eyes were filled with joy at that moment and Daemon felt something was…
off.
He was used to the eyes of adoration Rhaenyra gave to him, but this time there was something wildly different in her gaze.
When she used to look at him, Daemon would always see the bright eyes of pure adoration.
A niece that holds her uncle in a high place in her heart.
And now, those eyes are gone.
In its place, there were other eyes that he was well used to receiving from other women.
Lustful eyes.
Eyes of desire.
Eyes of a woman.
An experienced woman.
That gaze leaves him with conflicting emotions and he is only able to frown at her, making Rhaenyra move her eyes from him.
He has a lot of questions, but for now, he will have to deal with the fact that he has a very smart wife that is very capable in noticing things.
Surely enough, when Daemon looks at Alicent she is looking at Rhaenyra with a frown of pure irritation.
Yet, she says nothing for a while, she is not surprised, which in turns surprises Daemon, who is even more lost now.
And then, Alicent finally says something.
“I think your seeds have finally grown, Daemon.
Congratulations.” The Princess proclaims with an ironic and angry tone.
Daemon frowns in silence while he looks at Rhaenyra walking her way to her father while she smiles and waves to the nobles.
Now, with a lot of frustration, he has to agree with his wife.
Rhaenyra finally meets her father at the end and bows to him and Laena with respect.
The crowd goes silent.
“You grace, as a humble bride, I came here to take responsibility, as was demanded from me as a princess, as the heir, and as a daughter.” The Princess of Dragonstone proclaims with a respectful tone of voice.
Viserys smiles at her and takes her hand before kissing the back.
“I am very proud of you, my child, and your mother would be too.” The King proclaims before hugging his daughter and letting a pair of tears roll down his cheeks.
The crowd applauds the emotional moment of father and daughter.
Daemon frowns while his wife smiles at the scene.
She looks at him with a slight frown of her eyebrows.
“What is irritating you now, husband?” The Princess of brown hair asks.
The Rogue Prince snorts, still looking at his brother hugging his niece.
He moves his mouth to his wife’s ear.
“There is something off here and I don’t like it.
Rhaenyra is…
changed.
Can’t tell how much.” The Prince whispers, frowning.
Alicent didn’t look as surprised as he expected.
Instead, she nods and looks back at the princess, who is now hugging the Queen.
The two young men trade some words, smiling, but Daemon can’t hear what they are saying.
Rhaenyra then turns to Laenor, the two smile formally to each other.
Laenor bows and kiss Rhaenyra’s hand, whispering something as well.
The crowd applauses the whole act.
The King raises his hand in the air and everyone stops to hear him.
“Now, with the Princess among us, we can go to the inside of the Dragonpit and have a first short feast before going to the tourney.
I could use some food instead of more wine.” The King says before laughing.
A lot of nobles laugh with him.
As the nobles struggle to pass through the entrance of the Dragonpit, Daemon takes slight looks at Rhaenyra, who is smiling to everyone, confident.
The Rogue Prince is still very troubled.
As the crowd enters the Dragonpit, Daemon can now see the open round camp of the Dragonpit full of chairs, tables and food, with the traditional bigger table for the royal family.
As everyone takes their seats, they start talking, eating and laughing around the whole building.
Daemon sits by Rhaenyra’s right side.
On his own right side is Alicent.
He knows how tough the situation is when he looks to his left and Rhaenyra smiles at him with a slight shine on her eyes.
“You look well, uncle.” The Princess proclaims with a sweet tone.
Daemon frowns, smirking a bit.
“So do you, princess.
Are you…
satisfied with your marriage?” The Rogue Prince asks, letting a bit subtle the real question.
Rhaenyra laughs a bit.
“Well, it is my duty.
Laenor is a nice man and the celebration looks good.
It could be much worse.” The Princess says, trading a short smile with Laenor, who looks a bit shy and uncomfortable.
So, no.
Daemon thinks.
He knows very well what kind of man Laenor Velaryon turned out to be.
Rhaenyra will certainly not be satisfied with his preferences in bed.
Daemon opens a smirk once again.
“Good to know.
I hope you can find a common ground with each other.
I am sure that both of you have a lot of…
preferences in common.” The Rogue Prince says with a forced sweet tone while taking a sip of his wine.
Rhaenyra laughs a bit and Laenor looks nervous while smiling.
“I certainly hope that I get such a pretty family like yours, uncle.” The Princess says while looking besides him.
Daemon looks to the same side.
Alicent is holding Aemond on her lap, giving him some grapes.
The boy of three is munching on them with vigor while his mother holds him in place with a smile.
A short smile emerges in Daemon’s face.
“I guess I am lucky enough when it comes to my children, princess.
I hope you find a way too.” The Rogue Prince says with another provocation against Ser Laenor, who looks even more bothered.
Rhaenyra keeps her friendly expression.
“I am sure that everything will be fine, uncle.” The Princess says, less confident.
Daemon nods, satisfied with the answers he got.
When he moves his head around, Daemon finally notices the white knight in the corner.
Ser Criston Cole is standing on a dark corner of the place, observing specially two persons.
His niece and his wife.
When he looks at Rhaenyra, Cole looks bothered, but when he looks at Alicent he seems to relax.
When the two men meet their eyes, Daemon uses a severe expression and the white knight nods to him and looks away.
And once again, Daemon feels he is missing something.
He is confused and he hates it.
King Viserys gets up from his seat after eating and claps one time, getting the attention of everyone.
“Now, while we let the food rest in our stomachs, what about we don’t get a traditional dance?” The King proclaims before looking at the musicians, who start displaying a slow song.
As the song starts and some nobles start to get up, Rhaenyra looks at her uncle with a smile.
“Could you dance this first music with me, uncle?” The princess asks with a sweet tone, extending her hand to him.
Daemon frowns and looks at Laenor, who nods.
The Rogue Prince sighs and gets up from his seat with a short smile.
“Very well.
I can’t refuse a request of the bride on her own wedding, can i?” The Prince jokes before taking her hand.
Rhaenyra laughs.
Laenor gets up, turning to Alicent.
“Princess, I think it is fair enough if I ask you for a dance too, right?” The young Velaryon asks with a gentle tone.
Alicent smiles at him, catching the hand he offered.
“Of course, Ser Laenor.
The pleasure is mine.” The brown-haired princess smiles before getting up as well.
Daemon ignores the two.
Laenor is the smallest of his concerns when it comes to men trying to get too…
intimate with his wife.
As the pair moves to the center of the place, they start dancing to the rhythm of the song.
Rhaenyra fixates her eyes on Daemon’s, who finally gets to ask her.
“You look very confident today, princess.
Something happened?” The Rogue Prince asks in a whisper.
Rhaenyra smiles.
“You can say that.
I would say that I had a…
enlightenment.” The princess says while the song gets faster.
Daemon frowns.
“An enlightenment?” The prince asks.
Rhaenyra smiles with confidence as Daemon spins her during a part of the song.
“Yes.
I finally understand what I want and I am not letting people be on my way.” The princess proclaims.
Daemon snorts before smirking.
He holds her by her hips and gets closer, almost whispering in her ear.
“Se skoros gaomagon jaelā, dārilaros?
(And what do you want, princess?)” The Rogue Prince asks in High Valyrian.
Rhaenyra opens a malicious smile and an ambitious gaze as she gets her lips closer to his own ear.
“Ao.
(You.)” The princess says with a seductive tone, also in High Valyrian.
Daemon gets stiff on the place he is standing on after hearing that, not knowing what to do next.
“What?” The Rogue Prince asks in the common tongue, surprised.
Rhaenyra laughs, never losing her sweet and malicious tone of voice even then.
“Jaelan ao.
Daor vala nyke gīmigon kostagon sesīr ōregon iā qēlītsos naejot ao.
Nyke jorrāelagon ao.
Nārhēdegon se pāletilla.
Nārhēdegon īlva lentor.
Ivestragī’s henujagon hēnkirī.
Naejot Essos.
Naejot mazverdagon iā arlie Valyria se īlva vestriarzir.
Kesan gaomagon bona syt ao.
(I want you.
No man I know can even hold a candle to you.
I need you.
Forget the crown.
Forget our family.
Let’s leave together.
To Essos.
To build a new Valyria and our story. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
I will do that for you.)” The princess proclaims with a decisive tone that almost leaks with her desire, ambition, and even affection.
And that whole speech causes a confusion of emotions on Daemon while Rhaenyra looks at him, waiting for an answer as they dance around, when the music starts going slower and slower.
First, Daemon feels surprised about the absurd offer.
Is she mad?
Then, the confusion hits and he tries to find any reason for that.
And finally, the more he thinks about it, the more irritated he grows.
Daemon looks at Rhaenyra with a deep frown and a serious gaze.
“Ao ȳdra daor shifang skoros iksā asking syt, riña.
Jaelā naejot ilzigon tolvȳn qrīdrughagon?
issi ao ribazmoqitta?
(You don’t understand what you are asking for, girl.
You want to throw everything away?
Are you mad?)” The prince whispers between his teeth.
Rhaenyra loses most of her confidence with the answer, but she still stays on her ground.
“Iksan ēdrugī hen tolvys ivestragon nyke skoros naejot gaomagon.
Jaelan naejot sagon dāez.
Dāez naejot sōvegon.
Dāez naejot jorrāelagon.
(I am tired of everyone telling me what to do.
I want to be free.
Free to fly.
Free to love.)” The princess proclaims with conviction.
Daemon grunts, finding it harder to keep dancing and evading any suspectful gazes.
“Ȳdra daor sagon doru-borto, Rhaenyra.
Iksā se dārilaros.
Emā mirre jiōragotan naejot ao.
Nyke jaelagon ēdan bona…
(Don’t be stupid, Rhaenyra.
You are the heir.
You have all offered to you.
I wish i had that…)” The Rogue Prince whispers with a bitter tone.
Rhaenyra sighs, resting her head on the top of Daemon’s chest, who is now in a more alarmed position.
She then looks up to him with fiery eyes.
“Iā zaldrīzes mazēza skoros jaelza.
Ao va moriot vestās bona.
Jaelan naejot dīnagon syt jorrāelagon.
Iksis bona tolī olvie naejot iepagon?
(A dragon takes what it wants.
You always said that.
I want to marry for love.
Is that too much to ask for?)” The princess asks with a frustrated tone.
Daemon snorts as he holds her with a more aggressive grip.
“Ao kostagon daor emagon mirre bona jaelā rȳ mirre jēda, Rhaenyra.
Ao jorrāelagon kustikāne naejot jiōragon skoros jaelā.
(You can’t have all that you want at any time, Rhaenyra.
You need strength to get what you want.)” The Rogue Prince proclaims with a severe tone.
Rhaenyra opens a short smirk.
“Sepār hae ñuha kepa dīnilūks ao se Alicent?
(Just like my father wedding you and Alicent?)” The princess says with a bit of irony.
Daemon frowns.
“Kessa.
(Yes.)” He says, something he can’t deny.
Rhaenyra laughs.
“Nārhēdegon nūmāzma hen zirȳ.
Īlon sepār jorrāelagon both hen īlva.
Konir sagon skoros ao jeldan, daor?
īlē va moriot se sȳrje vala isse ñuha laesi.
Laenor iksis daor sesīr vamiot.
Kessa dōrī sesīr tegun zȳhon ondos va nyke.(Forget about of them.
We just need both of us.
That is what you wanted, no?
You were always the best man in my eyes.
Laenor is not even close.
He will never even land his hands on me.)” The Princess says with a steady gaze.
Daemon grunts once again.
“Ao iēdrosa ȳdra daor shifang skoros ao iderēbagon.
Jēda ēza rēbagon, Rhaenyra.
Ȳdra daor sagon iā riña se arlinnon aōha kȳvana.
Issa toliot.
(You still don’t understand what you choose.
Time has passed, Rhaenyra.
Don’t be a child and change your plans.
It is over.)” The Rogue prince proclaims before the song finally ends and everyone applauses.
Rhaenyra looks at him with a sad gaze.
Daemon lets go of her and walks away from the room at a steady pace.
His head is burning now, and he needs to get some fresh air and think about what is happening here.
As he finally gets out, the Rogue Prince takes a deep breath.
He then finally got to think a bit more.
The hatchling he rose came back to bite him in the ass, he sees.
He got the final result that he once wanted, but now, it is meaningless.
What else is also meaningless?
He really has some sort of legacy or he and his children will be just a bunch of lines in a book of an old cunt in the Citadel?
“I said that you would pay for your choices.”
Daemon turns back to face Alicent, who walks to him at an elegant pace and with a severe expression.
He frowns, confused.
“What do you mean?” The Rogue Prince asks.
Alicent smirks.
“Mazēdan mirri gūrēnilaksir isse Valyrio Eglie.
Naejot kostilus ao.
Nyke ryptan aōha ȳdragon lēda Rhaenyra.
Ao lanta sia tolī ojūdan naejot gīmēdenonnyke se Laenor lilāre va ao.
Ziry sizi ryptan ziry.
(I took some lessons in High Valyrian.
To please you.
I heard your talk with Rhaenyra.
You two were too lost to notice me and Laenor dancing near you.
He also heard it.)” His wife says in his ancestral tongue.
Daemon looks at her with surprise before laughing a bit.
“Iksā va moriot surprising nyke, ābrazȳrys.
Se, kessa, ēdi iā…
qopsa ȳdragon (You are always surprising me, wife.
And, yes, we had a…
hard talk.)” The Rogue Prince proclaims.
Alicent frowns.
“Kostā ivestragon bona.
Zirȳla jorrāelagon iksis iā pirtir se issa tolī ābrītsos naejot jiōragon ziry sir.
(You can say that.
Her love is a lie and she is too young to get it now.)” The princess says with a dry tone.
Daemon sighs with frustration.
“Nyke gōntan ñuha sȳrje naejot sagon tolī.
(I did my best to be more.)” The Rogue Prince says with honesty.
Alicent is still focused and serious.
“Se mērī run ao gōntan iksin tepagon iā qringaomatan jaelagon naejot riña.
(The only thing you did was give a failed wish to a girl.)” She proclaims.
Daemon frowns before he smirks.
“Se ao qringaomatan naejot dīnagon se dārys, hae aōha kepa jeldan.
Iksi mēre se keskydoso, isse se mōris.
(And you failed to marry the king, as your father wanted.
We are one and the same, in the end.)” The prince says with a strong tone of voice.
Alicent sighs and walks towards him.
She then lands her hand on his face…
as a caress, not a slap.
Daemon looks at her confused as she looks to him in the eye with a sad expression.
“Iksā paktot.
Iksi mēre se keskydoso.
Lanta bona qringaomatan.
Iksan biare bona ao iōrtan lēda īlva riñar.
Kirimvose.
(You are right.
We are one and the same.
Two that failed.
I am happy that you stood with our children.
Thank you.)” The princess says with a short smile before she kisses his cheek before letting him go.
Daemon frowns, still confused.
How much confusion can he feel in a day?
“We need to get back inside.
The tourney will start soon.” Alicent says, now in the common tongue.
Daemon grunts and then frowns at her.
“What is the deal between you and the knight?
I could see his gaze towards you and Rhaenyra.” The Rogue Prince points out.
His wife looks confused for a second before she shakes her head.
“We had a talk.
He told me some serious things.
We will talk with him before the tourney begins.
You will probably find his answers to be very…
clarifying.” The brown-haired princess says with a serious tone.
Daemon nods, curious.
As they pass through nobles to get back inside, Daemon can only think of the amount of shit he will probably still go through in this wedding.
And for the first time, he finally understands the reason why his brother drinks so much.