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Chapter Text

Chapter 1

If you asked Aemond Targaryen personally and he decided to be honest for once, he would tell you that he was aware his brother Aegon would be a terrible king, too drunk, childish, and capricious. That did not mean he supported his older sister Rhaenyra; she would also be a horrible queen, capricious and vain.

In short, in his opinion, whether it was Aegon or Rhaenyra, Westeros was screwed, but family was family, and he had to protect his own. Right or wrong, they were family. Of course, he preferred to omit the hypocrisy of that because, in reality, Rhaenyra was also family, but only half.

Borros Baratheon was fucking boring and predictable; his four daughters, four betas, were as boring as a flat piece of wood. He was interested in... none of them. None of these Baratheon girls interested him in the slightest. Not Cassandra, not Maris, not Ellyn, and not Floris. Cassandra appeared demure and calm as befitted the eldest sister, but Aemond knew how to recognize a viper at a glance; he was a Targaryen and lived in the same Red Keep, he would be dead if he couldn't recognize one by now. Maris was intelligent according to her father, but it was evident she was jealous of her own sisters, so as a wife, she would be a nightmare. Ellyn was pretty at least, but nothing special, Floris was undoubtedly the prettiest of the four; he supposed she would do, though he didn't really care much.

Borros insisted on a sumptuous meal while they talked about engagement and dowry, not that Aemond cared much; this was simply something that had to be done. They were betas; he presented as an alpha at 11 years old, 8 years ago. He always knew he would marry a beta, omegas were extinct, the magical population had dwindled over the years, and if any existed today, no one had seen them. In the Targaryen family, no omega had been born in over 100 years. His brother Aegon was also an alpha, just like Rhaenyra and himself; only Helaena had been the only beta among the siblings, something she probably got from her Hightower side because the Targaryens were mostly alphas. Omegas were a myth that no longer existed. There was no omega for any alpha, not even for his older brothers. It was now normal for an alpha to be with a beta and, more rarely, for an alpha to be with another alpha.

It would have been nice to be born in a time where he could have had a pair of those beautiful creatures for himself instead of having to fight a stinking war for his stinking older brother against his equally stinking older half-sister. As he tuned out all the crap Borros was talking, he thought about how great it would be to simply mount Vhagar and fly, fly far away, maybe to the ruins of Old Valyria; even his mount, the oldest and largest currently existing, had never seen the land they came from.

He snapped out of his daydream when the arrival of his nephew Lucerys was announced. The kid was only 13 years old, another stinking beta like his father, Ser Harwin Strong. Rhaenyra's bastard still owed him an eye, he recalled as he watched him standing there like a wet dog with flushed cheeks. Well, he would admit he was a bit surprised that his half-sister had sent the bastard alone.

***

"The little Strong... you look good, wet like a dog... I mean, are you wet from the rain or have you pissed yourself in fear?" he mocked him. Lucerys must have seen Vhagar in the courtyard and therefore should have known he was here. To his credit, Lucerys ignored him and did not respond to his provocation. Instead, he handed a letter to Baratheon. The brazen man offered him one of his daughters… Lucerys sidestepped the issue, saying he was already betrothed to Rhaena. Not that Aemond blamed him; he also wanted to avoid the issue, but he couldn't. Borros dismissed the bastard, but Aemond stopped him.

"Stop there, Strong, you owe me something," he said, standing up and approaching the younger one predatorily. "You have a blade, I won't kill you, but you owe me an eye. Gouge it out, and you can run back to your mother's skirts," he said with a mocking smile.

Lucerys trembled but stood his ground.

"I did not come to fight, Uncle Aemond. I came as an envoy, not as a knight," he said, raising his brown eyes and looking at him with bright eyes. "There will be much time to fight in the future, but today is not that day."

"Your eye or your life," Aemond refused to listen to him. But Baratheon stopped him; he couldn't allow the boy to be killed in his hall, or regardless of what happened in this war, he would be dragon food at the hands of Rhaenyra and her husband Daemon. Lucerys gave him a bright and tired look, shook his head, and left, while he was held back.

Maris, the jealous little one, mocked Aemond, approaching him and whispering.

"Did the boy take your eye or your balls?"

Aemond glared at her as he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Talk to me like that again, and I'll rip out your tongue," he swore in a cold tone, and he would admit that he very much enjoyed the look of fear from the cheeky Beta in front of him. That would teach her her place when standing before an alpha.

"Lord Baratheon, if we have nothing more to discuss, then I too will take my leave," he said, straightening up.

Borros Baratheon shrugged.

"Go ahead, I have nothing to say about what you do outside my roof," he said, gesturing to his men to let him out.

Aemond hurried to the courtyard. Vhagar was still there in the rain, but Arrax, his nephew's younger mount, was not.

"Soves," he commanded Vhagar to fly, feeling the connection with his great dragon. Arrax was much younger and faster than Vhagar, and normally he wouldn't have a chance of catching his nephew on a clear day, but with this great storm, the lighter mount would be in trouble while for Vhagar it was nothing difficult to navigate the stormy weather.

He knew it was only a matter of time before he caught up to his nephew… then he would take the eye the brat owed him.

But he was wrong; he did not see his nephew in the skies after a while of flying.

***

"Vhagar… where is Arrax?" he whispered to his mount. The great dragon tilted its head to one side as if it understood Aemond, and then, to his surprise, turned around, heading back towards Storm's End… or rather towards the cliffs of Shipwreck Bay.

"Ohhh, clever brat, opted to hide," he mocked, "as if that were an option." Vhagar landed on the cliffs, the stormy sea crashing against the rocks a few meters away from their landing spot, the water falling heavily, but in the darkness, he saw it… a cave and the curled-up form of a dragon sheltering from the rain. He understood why Vhagar stopped where he did; his great dragon wouldn't fit in the cave, there was barely enough space for Arrax in it. Aemond smiled mockingly; that wouldn't stop him. Either they came out willingly or he would have Vhagar burn them both.

"Luke, Luke, little Strong, show yourself. Look, even your uncle will be so kind as to give you a second chance… just give me your eye and I'll spare your life," he promised mockingly. But there was no response. Nothing more than Arrax raising her head and looking at Vhagar, letting out a whimper. Arrax was a female mount… Vhagar advanced, but the dragoness growled, and Vhagar stopped. Vhagar was stronger and more powerful than Arrax, and Aemond was surprised that his mount retreated at the growl of the much younger mount. Arrax looked at Aemond with her small, vicious eyes, showed her fangs, and then lifted one of her wings, revealing what she was protecting inside. Little Lucerys, unconscious, trembling, cheeks red, and releasing the most heavenly and vicious scent Aemond had ever smelled in his life, a scent like burnt honey. They may have been gone from the earth for 100 years, but it was in the DNA of any alpha to recognize that scent… omega. His single eye glowed red, showing how close to the surface his alpha was, as he raised his hand to calm the dragoness. The dragons didn't understand the current conflict; in the end, they were dragons. The dragoness only knew that her rider was in trouble and that Aemond smelled familiar. After all, he was Lucerys' uncle.

Aemond suppressed a malicious smile as he approached the brown-haired child. The dragoness watched him closely but allowed him to get closer, moving slightly to let him into the space between her wings where she protected her rider from the harsh weather.

Lucerys' brown eyes opened, the glassy sheen of his eyes as his nose twitched, sniffing. He turned towards where the scent of Aemond's sandalwood was coming from, the scent of a Targaryen Alpha, and whimpered in need. Yes, because that was not a whimper of fear; Lucerys didn't even seem to recognize him on a rational level, only instinctive. That was a whimper of pure need, which made Aemond dick as a rock; the omega was calling to his nest.

Hell, Lucerys was presenting. The boy had just presented as a late-blooming omega and was having his first heat, and every part of Aemond's alpha DNA was ignoring all orders, only interested in giving the omega what the younger one was asking for.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Aemond almost purred, but despite his desire to pounce on the beautiful, needy gem before him, he moved slowly. The dragoness was a very real threat, especially in the mama dragon mode she was in with the omega. Oh, his Vhagar was stronger than Arrax any day, but at this precise moment, the last thing on Aemond's mind was to fight. He no longer wanted the eye or the life of this precious Strong nephew. Now, what he wanted was his whole body.

For once in his life, fate was smiling upon him, serving up the true grand prize on a silver platter, for which all of Westeros and the Free Cities would kill. The ugly Iron Throne was nothing, just a crude consolation prize compared to the discovery of an omega, a pure omega once again walking the world. His pair of stinking older siblings could keep fighting for the ugly and uncomfortable chair; he preferred to stay with this prize... and the best part... he didn’t have to do anything for it. The boy’s own dragon was offering him as a tribute, almost.

Aemond couldn't control the mocking smile as he knelt on the ground and extended his hand. If the scent had been heavenly, nothing prepared him for the touch of the omega's skin. Lucerys closed his eyes with abandon and total trust, nuzzling his cheek against Aemond's open palm, sniffing near his wrist, one of the spots where the alpha's scent was strongest. The omega seemed to like the scent because he moaned with a sweet voice that sent shivers through Aemond. Up to that moment, he hadn't thought he could be harder inside his pants, but that moan from the omega proved him wrong; he could get harder.

Aemond had never noticed how soft Lucerys' skin was. The Omega opened those big brown eyes again and looked at him with such longing that Aemond couldn't help but swallow hard.

-Alpha!" it was the first word the teenager had said beyond the whimpering and purring and God... that voice wasn't even human, that soft voice was everything that was right in the world and more.

-Omega!" he answered to his voice, a little surprised at how husky it sounded, realizing that he really didn't have his Alpha under as much control as he liked to boast. To tell himself that he controlled his Alpha... was nothing but a vile lie at this moment. He was rewarded with the sweet, needy smile of the younger one. 

-Alpha!" Lucerys called back to him. Oh dear, Lucerys was so good, so gentle at this moment, that Aemond could not resist rewarding him. He leaned over the smaller body and held the small chin, claiming those full lips that tempted him.  And the way Lucerys responded so eagerly and so awkwardly, opening her mouth and sticking out her little pink tongue, was just perfect. Aemond rewarded his good little Omega by deepening the kiss, mercilessly attacking the quality mouth of his Strong nephew. 

The smell, oh for the gods, as the kiss deepened, Lucerys' scent increased, the whole cave now smelling of a mixture of burnt honey and sandalwood. Though Aemond was unaware at the time, his scent was coming out in response to the younger one. The two of them, deeply engrossed, did not notice that they were stinking up the entire cave, but Arrax and Vhagar did.

Considering his young rider safe with the Alpha who smelled like family, Arrax rose and pushed the two of them as she walked very dignifiedly out of the cave. The dragoness walked over to where Vhagar had lain down in the rain on the sand and stretched out beside the great dragon in pleasure as one of Vhagar's huge wings shielded her from the annoying rain.

Aemond only registered the dragoness' departure for a moment. A very small and still rational part of him fleetingly thought it was good that she had come out, leaving them alone. What he would do to his nephew was something very private. Though another part, a larger and wilder one he honestly didn't care for, would fuck this little Omega even over the damned dragons themselves as they rode into the sky. The Omega was his.

Lucerys' small hands were clumsy but insistent as they tugged at the taller blonde's clothing, trying to rip it off. Aemond immediately forgot the two dragons as he pleasured the Omega, first removing his cloak, which he spread out on the floor, and then his shirt, Lucerys' hands were not shy as they touched his chest and stomach, feeling the Alpha's muscles before purring contentedly at what they found. Aemond was even quicker to remove the younger man's upper garments, Lucerys was not as strong and hard as he was, he was actually soft, lean and supple and that made him perfect, his skin flawless and unblemished. 

"Uncle, please!" the Omega almost whimpered with need. A very small part of Lucerys knew this Alpha was his uncle. Another part of him, the part that made him feel like he was burning hotter than the fires of his dragon, and that he would die if he didn't quench this fire, just knew that this was HIS Alpha.

-Shhh little one, I will give you what you want, be good for me, Luce, raise your hips-he whispered in his ear. The little one was so obedient and submissive, he obeyed, making it easy to remove his lower garments. And though Aemond may have had only one eye, it was more than enough to devour the whole perfect body now in front of him, he gently pushed the boy onto his wet cloak on the ground and appreciated the sight of this completely naked body in front of him. It was simply perfect. Lucerys' hands reached out to him in a silent invitation that the platinum-haired boy would definitely not refuse. He took off his tights awkwardly, but quickly kicked them aside and soon joined him. 

"Uncle, it hurts!!!" the Omega whimpered, his eyes shining.

"Where does it hurt, my beautiful and Strong Luce?" he asked, stroking his cheek.

-I feel like I'm on fire, Uncle Aemond," he sobbed, scratching at Aemond's arms as he clung to him.

-Then let me put out your fire, little Luce,- Aemond said, kissing his lips before moving down to that perfect white neck that tempted him like nothing had ever tempted him before in his life. His fangs grew, wanting to bite, but it was not yet the time. He gave in to the temptation to move down to Lucerys's chest, Luce's nipples were erect, perhaps from the cold or perhaps from excitement, a fleeting thought through Aemond's fevered mind could not help but think how tempting his bratty nephew's pecs would be when filled with milk to feed his babys. He continued down, kissing Luce's belly and thrusting his tongue into his belly bottom, the smaller one a whimpering mess, his hands tangled in Aemond's long hair as his body arched in desperation. 

Oh, Aemond could clearly smell the scent of his nephew's, the scent given off by the natural lubrication of an Omega, so Strong, so delicious. He took one of Lucerys' feet and draped it over his shoulder as the same time he kissed the inside of Lucerys' thighs, so white, so smooth, like the whole little boy.

-Please, please, please - whimpered the Omega at the torture of not being touched where his body craved it most. And Aemond was weak for this omega, there would be more time to torture him to teach him patience, but now... now was the time to please him. He moved with a path of kisses up both of the boy's thighs to the treasure hidden between the Omega's two perfect, round buttocks. He completely ignored Lucerys cock, even though it was hard, but what really demanded his attention was Luce's ass. 

His ass was literally dripping with that natural Omega lubricant that was made to drive the Alphas wild. And when Aemond put his mouth there, he could understand why there were people willing to overthrow entire kingdoms for that prize. 

Aemond was no prude, nor was he a virgin at nineteen. He had been with a few girls and a few boys. He had tasted women's and men's, but he had never found it a fascinating taste, no, nothing was like the taste of Lucerys, it was simply not a taste that belonged to this world, it was a taste that would make even the strongest man a slave and an addict.

As he plunged his tongue into Lucerys, the younger man cried out, shuddering and pulling at his hair in desperation, wanting to stop the torture but wanting so much more of him. His body was going crazy with pleasure, he wanted more, but at the same time he felt he could no longer resist the pleasure and fire inside him. He whimpered desperately.

-Uncle Aemond, Uncle Aemond - he begged like a mantra. 

-Tell me, my sweet Luce, tell me what you want,- he ordered, pulling away as he licked and moved back up Lucerys' body to claim his lips.

-Your knot, please, I need your knot,- he begged with red glowing eyes, his Omega had control of him, the Omega knew what he wanted and wanted it desperately. Aemond's eyes were also red, his Alpha responding to the desperate Omega.

-You are so good, so obedient. You shall have it," he swore, kissing his lip at the same time he opened him with his fingers. Lucerys took it so well, tight but opening obediently to him, the Omega's natural lubrication helping a lot. 

-Please, no more, no more, Alpha," cried Lucerys with real tears. Aemond smiled amusedly, knowing what that tear in the omega's eyes meant.

He mocked him sweetly, but obediently gave him what he craved, withdrawing his fingers to replace them with his manhood, hard as Valyrian steel itself. 

Lucerys clawed mercilessly at his back like a cat, but Aemond savored every mark as the Omega lost his innocence to him. The way Lucerys' body slowly relaxed after the penetration was perfect. When he felt he could move over the Omega's longing whimpers, He closed his long fingers on the hips of the omega chestnut hair and began to punish him.

And oh heavens, he was born to be here, to be inside Lucerys was all that was right in the world... and it was only his. 

"Aemond, Aemond," Lucerys chanted his name like a siren leading him to his doom. And like a foolish sailor, Aemond was more than willing to go to his doom.

Maybe it was an eternity, or maybe it was a few moments, but when his knot began to form, it was only natural, Lucerys tilted his neck to expose it for him, and Aemond just let go, sinking his fangs in, biting, giving him his mark, bonding with him as only an Alpha could with his Omega.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

It was the smell of food that woke Lucerys. His body ached in places he didn't even know could hurt. All his muscles felt tight, but satisfied. He took a deep breath, lazily opening his eyes. The rocky ceiling puzzled him a bit, and his brain took a while to process what had happened over the past two nights, by all the heavens, he didn't know what to be more horrified by: the fact that he was an omega or the fact that he had fucked his uncle Aemond as if the world were about to end the next moment.

- "Finally awake," Aemond's voice, as always with that slight sarcastic note that reminded him a bit of his stepfather Daemon, let him know that the prince was to his right, but for the moment he refused to look. Maybe if he didn't look, everything would disappear like a bad dream. He clung to that childish hope for at least a whole minute before tilting his head uncertainly. Aemond was already half-dressed, his shirt loose, his feet bare but his pants already on. He was sitting next to a fire where he had a couple of fish roasting.

Lucerys didn't know what to say. What was one supposed to say to the uncle you had just fucked for two nights in a row? To add more detail, an uncle from whom he had taken an eye and who also wanted him dead. Lucerys had been in several uncomfortable situations in his short life, with rumors about his parentage as always, it was inevitable. But not even when his claim to Driftmark had been publicly questioned in the throne room had he been as uncomfortable as this moment.

- "I…"

"Save your words, you haven't eaten or drunk anything in two days besides semen. Drink," Aemond ordered, tossing him his wine skin, which he had filled with rainwater.

Lucerys caught it, uncomfortable with the other's bluntness. He only had his own cloak covering his lap; his uncle's cloak was beneath him, obviously having been lying on it. Opening the wine skin and drinking the fresh water granted him a few valuable seconds of silence to organize his thoughts. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he started drinking the water.

"Slowly, or it will make you sick," Aemond advised, his single eye fixed on his nephew. Reluctantly, the younger one obeyed. "When you're done, come and eat," he ordered, now pointing to the pair of fish roasting over the fire.

Lucerys wiped his mouth, closed the wine skin, and saw his clothes spread out and already dried on a rock.

"Could you turn around?" he asked, uncomfortable, wanting to get dressed. Aemond's smile was halfway between mocking and sarcastic.

"Why would I do that? I've seen and explored every inch of your skin," Aemond assured, laughing when the younger one's cheeks turned as red as the fire. "Go ahead, don't get shy now."

Despite his uncle's rudeness, the reality was that Lucerys was clean, which meant that his uncle had taken the time to clean him after thesex mess they both had been. Refusing to give his uncle the satisfaction, he held his own cloak to cover himself as he approached his clothes to get dressed. He could clearly hear Aemond's laughter and wasn't sure if he was mocking him for covering up or for the fact that his legs were trembling like those of a newborn deer. And no, they weren't trembling out of fear; they were trembling because his muscles were exhausted after the intense exercise they had been subjected to these past two nights.

He dressed clumsily but quickly to get it over with, then approached the fire uncertainly.

- "And Arrax?"

- "Outside with Vhagar. Both seemed to find the smell of sex in the cave offensive," Aemond shrugged mercilessly, speaking so crudely about his nephew, but it was amusing to see how the boy's ears turned red. "Eat," he ordered, handing him one of the skewers of fish.

Lucerys' pride wanted him to refuse, but his stomach didn't support that choice, choosing to growl at that moment, so he took the fish and took a bite. It was hot, but he was so hungry after all the exercise that it seemed heavenly. He devoured the fish in silence. When he finished the first one, his uncle handed him the second, surprising him to see that both were for him. He didn't refuse; he needed to regain his strength.

- "Can we say… that we're even?" Lucerys finally asked, uncomfortably gathering his courage. Aemond raised his eyebrow, looking at him as if he didn't understand. "For your eye, you've taken your revenge," he said, swallowing uncomfortably. "You said if I gave you my eye, you'd let me go. I didn't give you my eye, but I think you just took something much more important from me. So… can I go?"

Maybe it was a foolish hope, but he clung to it desperately. Aemond gave him a mocking smile.

"Let's say I'll take it as my payment and we won't mention that uncomfortable subject again… we'll leave it behind," he conceded, and Lucerys couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "But that doesn't mean I'll let you go. First… you are an omega, your kind has been missing from our world for over 100 years. Every alpha on earth has longed and prayed for the return of your kind, only to resign themselves to the fact that your absence is the punishment of the new and old gods towards us. The only comfort has been books that told us about our dynamic in a time better than the present. Reading and consuming every word with a vain hope of knowing how to treat you when you returned, of knowing everything about your kind. With you, your mother would be invincible, there wouldn't be a single man, woman, or army that wouldn't join your mother's side in this war just for the remote possibility of your hand. Even that you're no longer pure, most would happily overlook that for the chance to have you. Even that you bear my mark… it won't stop them, as long as they can fill you with precious children who might be omegas like you," he said bluntly to his face. "Second, you bear my mark, you begged for my bite, we are bonded, nephew… you belong to me in the purest and oldest way of our ways. I'll take you with me; you are my omega. Your mother will stay very quiet in Dragonstone if she knows what's good for her, and you and I will have a bunch of brats and end this stupid dance of dragons before it begins. See, a happy ending before it even starts."

Lucerys looked at his uncle, open-mouthed.

"You're crazy," the younger one decided. "I won't go with you willingly."

"Then I'll take you by force."

"Arrax won't allow it."

"Vhagar is bigger, stronger, and more powerful. You know it. If you want Arrax and Vhagar to fight, in the end, I'll get my way and you'll only condemn your mount to death… do you want that, sweet Luce?" he asked mockingly. Lucerys swallowed hard. No, he didn't want that. Arrax was a part of him.

"Uncle… please, let me go back to Mother," he decided to change strategy. What did it matter to beg after what they had done in the past two days? He didn't have much pride left to save.

"No."

- "She's my mom," he almost screamed in desperation. He really, really wanted to go to Rhaenyra; his mother always knew what to do, and his stepfather Daemon always made him feel safe.

- "You are mine," Aemond refused to yield.

- "You want to use me as a hostage. Your brother stole my mother's throne, and now you want to steal her son too," he accused. Aemond moved almost before he could see it, gripping his hands tightly and pressing his lips as if holding back.

- "The throne belongs to Aegon, and you were the one who begged for me, for my cock, for my knot, for my mark."

- "Grandfather left the throne to Mother, and I wasn't even in my right mind when I begged for you," he said through gritted teeth, trying to be brave, which was quite futile when his anguished and fearful scent was pouring out in waves. Aemond let him go as he felt the honey scent turn bitter.

- "We won't fight, Lucerys," he ordered. "Do you want to see our family destroy each other?" he asked. "That's what will happen if you don't come with me. Aegon and Rhaenyra will go to war if I let you go."

- "It didn't have to be this way," Lucerys said. "If they hadn't usurped my mother's throne. The place that…"

- "Enough, Luce," he ordered in an alpha voice, making the omega instinctively shrink. Aemond took a deep breath. "I don't want to fight," he repeated. "Be good," he ordered.

- "I'm not a pet, and you're not a damn Hightower no matter how much you and your brothers love to wear that repulsive green color. We are Targaryen," Luce shouted in what could clearly be termed a tantrum. Aemond had to remind himself that he was older and that the omega was distressed, to avoid reacting poorly.

- "You're right about one thing, Lucerys, we are Targaryen, we are dragons… and dragons always get what they want. Now let's finish getting dressed, we're leaving," he warned, getting up to grab his boots and put them on.

- "Uncle, please," Lucerys changed tactics again, seeing that he had no way to confront him. It wasn't just because he was an alpha; it was because, simply put, Aemond was the strongest of all of them in his generation. He doubted anyone besides Uncle Daemon (who was from the previous generation) was his equal. "I need my mom," and this time, the distress and tears in the omega's eyes almost broke Aemond.

He approached his omega, pulling him into his arms and letting him bury his face in his neck. The scent gland near his jugular helped to calm the omega. Soon, the crying turned into a lower whimper as he desperately inhaled the alpha's scent, calming down little by little.

- "That's it, everything will be alright," he spoke softly, stroking the brown hair. "Leave everything to your alpha," he was gentle this time, trying to soothe his omega. He was his; he didn't particularly enjoy making him suffer. Lucerys just needed to understand, and then everything would be fine.

- "I want my mom," the omega sobbed softly, almost drugged by his scent. The gland in his neck was one of those that had the strongest hormones to cause this kind of effect on his bonded omega.

- "I know, I know," Aemond knew, but it wasn't possible… not now. Maybe when his sister understood. Rhaenyra just needed to yield, then she could sit quietly in Dragonstone with her family, live a peaceful life, and Lucerys could see her. But not now, not now. Rhaenyra was too determined to take the crown that rightfully belonged to Aegon. It was obvious that his nephew didn't understand. Rhaenyra was his mother, and despite all his sister's flaws, Aemond would be the first to admit that Rhaenyra was a good mother who fiercely loved her bastards… a better mother than his own mother, he had to admit deep down.

The sobs calmed down as the physically and emotionally exhausted omega fell asleep. When his precious charge succumbed to sleep, Aemond finished dressing him gently, trying not to wake him or disturb his rest. Then he covered him with his cloak and carried him out of the cave. Vhagar and Arrax were there. The dragoness approached, wanting to see her rider, but Aemond stopped her with a gesture to not wake Lucerys. Carefully and with much practice, he managed to climb onto Vhagar, maneuvering with one hand while holding his sleeping omega with the other. He settled into Vhagar's saddle, where he secured Lucerys before telling his faithful mount to fly. Vhagar rose into the air, and Arrax followed obediently, going wherever his rider went.

Aemond allowed the dragon to follow without ordering Vhagar to kill or scare her off. His omega wouldn't be able to see his family for a long time, and if these little bastards were anything, they were very attached. At least the dragon in the Dragonpit would serve as some comfort to his little omega… or so he hoped.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

Even though Vhagar was very elegant despite her size when landing, it was still a heavy landing. Aemond was more than used to it, but little Lucerys, used to Arrax, a lighter and smaller mount, was not. The omega woke up startled, opening his chestnut eyes and grabbing the first thing he could reach, his own uncle Aemond.

And then he noticed where they were, King's Landing. At the Dragonpit. Aemond released the chains that secured them to Vhagar and stood up to dismount, but Lucerys could not find the strength to move. He did not want to move, he clung tightly to Vhagar's saddle. It was real, he was a hostage. He had to bite his own lip to keep from crying, he wanted to go home.

-Delaying the moment won't change things-Aemond's voice sounded to his left as he waited for him to dismount from the great dragon.-Vhagar won't fly at your command either, so come on-he ordered. Lucerys turned to him with annoyed eyes, this idiot was to blame for everything, he felt the fierce urge to push him to make him fall, it wasn't a fall that would kill him, but it would be satisfying especially considering Vhagar's great size. He would probably have pushed him if he had thought he could succeed, but the odds were slim.

Besides, Arrax would become defensive against Aemond if he did something like that, if Arrax attacked Aemond, Vhagar would defend her rider, Lucerys could not allow them to hurt Arrax. He forced himself to take a deep breath... This whole damn place still smelled of shit and sweat.

He ignored Aemond's hand and clung to Vhagar's stirrups to dismount. Aemond just smirked mockingly, letting him dismount on his own, while following him. Let him have that small show of independence if it made him happy.

Once on the ground, he made sure to pat Vhagar for her good work, glancing sideways as his nephew ran towards Arrax, caressing the dragoness. Probably thinking about his chances if he mounted her and fled, the sky was clear today, Arrax was a faster mount.

-Don't do it, don't make me kill her-Aemond warned calmly as if reading his mind, although the reality was that such a magical skill was not necessary, Lucerys' eyes were painfully obvious. Lucerys glared at him but reluctantly backed away. -Let's go, nephew.

-You're a horrible human-being-he growled, refusing to move from where he stood as Arrax and Vhagar followed the dragon keepers.

-Maybe, but I'm yours-Aemond reminded him, taking his hand and pulling him towards him. He dragged Lucerys to where a keeper already had his horse saddled and waiting for him.

-Prince Aemond-greeted the dragonkeeper - Prince Lucerys-he bowed again, a little puzzled to see the chestnut-haired son of Rhaenyra-Should I saddle a horse for Lord Velaryon?-he asked, ultimately his job was to take care of the dragons, the conflicts the Targaryen family might have were not their problem.

-Not necessary, he'll ride with me-Aemond assured, approaching and it was then that the keeper could smell and recognize Lucerys' scent. The way his eyes and mouth opened Aemond would admit it was a bit comical. The flaps of his nose were trying to capture more of the burnt honey smell of the omega.

-Uncle!-The way Lucerys instinctively turned to Aemond when the keeper fell to his knees unable to stand, stirred something in the platinum-haired man.

-It's okay-he hugged him to his chest to calm him down.-You're scaring him-he growled at the keeper, almost showing his fangs.

-Praised be the new and the old gods-the keeper had tears in his eyes-a miracle, a miracle among us again.

The commotion attracted more keepers and guards from the dragonpit, the tumult only further unsettling Lucerys who seemed to want to bury himself in Aemond's torso, frightened, and that fear made his scent much stronger reaching further, even further than the first dragonkeepers'.

-Stay away from the little mother, you're scaring her-a few of the few female dragon keepers growled, feeling distressed by the omega's distress, that little thing, that little miracle, the very essence of what the mother of the world was, should not be scared. Omegas within the faith of the seven were called little mothers, because it was said that the Omegas had been created, and formed from the same blood as the mother. Even followers of other faiths, such as followers of the Old Gods in the North, had similar legends that made that name used by the other religions of Westeros. Little mother. That is why even though the Dragonkeepers followed the gods of ancient Valyria, they also used that name, in the ancient Valyrian pantheon it was said that omegas were the flesh and blood of the main goddess of the pantheon.

As if just realizing the omega's fear, everyone stepped back. Omegas were delicate creatures, but this one should not fear them. Aemond lifted Lucerys and he automatically buried his head in the hollow of his uncle's neck, inhaling his scent and calming down.

-It's okay, they just want to see you, nothing else-Aemond reassured him. -They just had a little surprise, they are the same Dragonkeepers as always, the same ones you slipped away from when you made the pig prank here with Jace and Aegon-he reminded him.

-I'm sorry-Lucerys whispered against his neck-that was cruel-he admitted many years later.

-It was, but we were children back then-he reassured him. -Come, let's go home-he said, getting on the horse.

-This is not my home-the omega whispered a little calmer still under the effects of the alpha's hormones.

-It is now-he simply said, jumping behind him on the horse.

-Prince Aemond, let a guard accompany you.

-I don't need a guard-the blonde frowned and it was true, he was a fierce alpha.

-For the sake of Prince Lucerys-the female dragonkeeper said. Even if their job was the dragons, everyone felt the urgency to take care of the living treasure, the gift that had been lost for decades from the earth. Aemond thought for a second but nodded. Soon a couple of Dragonkeepers armed with their armor and spears got on a couple of horses to escort the two princes from the Dragonpit to the Red Keep.

The journey from the Dragonpit to the Red Keep was not particularly long, but Aemond was not prepared for what the presence... or rather the reality of what Lucerys was would cause. The omega almost buried himself against his chest intimidated by the presence of the people crowding the streets, many falling to their knees thanking the mother.

Even children were drawn to Lucerys' scent; the youngest would cry upon smelling the omega's distress, as if his anguish were their own. This heightened attraction to Lucerys' scent led people to keep their distance, to show the omega that they were not a threat. However, the crowd respectfully followed them on foot, even the vendors abandoning their stalls to join the procession. The residents of King's Landing were mostly common folk and followers of the Faith of the Seven. The followers of the Faith of the Seven believed that the disappearance of omegas had been a punishment from the Mother for humanity's misdeeds. Now that the Mother had sent them one more, they wanted nothing more than to protect the Mother's gift, to see the Mother's gift, the sign of forgiveness and blessing from the Mother... a little mother once more among them. Rumors that had been circulating that morning about Lucerys' bastardy and his two brothers, Jacaerys and Joffrey, seemed to have been forgotten.

Vile lies, bastards were born of lust, not love. Therefore, there was no chance that a child created from the same flesh as the Mother would be a bastard.

Aemond held the reins with one hand and placed the other at Lucerys' chest. It was almost endearing how the young boy tilted his head as if seeking the scent of pheromones at his wrist. Sensing that this seemed to calm him, Aemond let Lucerys take his hand and bring it to his face under his nose.

Lucerys closed his eyes, relaxing. For the commoners, it was a sight too beautiful. And Aemond had to admit that bringing the Dragonkeepers guard with him had been a good idea because although most were too concerned with scaring the omega to try to touch him, and contented themselves with looking, others more daring extended their hand as if they wanted to touch the "Mother's gift," as he heard them murmur. These were quickly pulled back by the rest of the crowd following them, but Aemond would not have been so kind if any had succeeded in touching Lucerys.

It seemed that half of King's Landing had emptied to follow them, for by the time they finally managed to reach the bridge that connected to the huge city gates that were the entrance to the Red Keep, the guards on duty were startled, their hands going to their swords upon seeing the prince arrive on his steed, with a guard of Dragonkeepers surrounding him and almost all of King's Landing following him.

"Luce, speak to them, you are their prince," Aemond said, releasing the reins to stroke the brown hair. Lucerys was a little scared, but he was also the son of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the blood of the dragon, and a boy who never backed down from anything. He looked at the crowd, Aemond had turned the horse's back to the Red Keep. He took a deep breath, not very sure of what he would say, and was surprised to see the absolute silence that formed, the eager faces to hear his words. He squeezed Aemond's hand tightly, unconsciously gathering courage.

"Thank you for accompanying us safely to our home. But it has been a long journey for me and my uncle Prince Aemond, you should go home now," he suggested, not very sure of what he was saying, but saying it with aplomb and determination as his mother would.

"Prince Lucerys, Prince Lucerys, little mother. Little miracle," whispers were heard everywhere from the town that felt blessed by Lucerys' simple words.

"Good job," Aemond congratulated him, as they passed by the guards and the crowd stood obediently without trying to cross the guard line that guarded the bridge but still not leaving, wanting to see their prince until the last moment.

The large gates of the Red Keep opened for them, and when they finally closed behind them, Aemond could relax. He had feared a riot all this time, not because he was worried about fighting, but because he was worried that Lucerys would be harmed. It was such a fragile existence that could disappear so easily and quickly that the thought was suffocating.

The courtyard guard was completely bewildered, seeing Prince Aemond bring a hostage. Because a son of Rhaenyra Targaryen could only be a hostage here at this moment, that is until the omega's scent hit them and then they understood the crowd, many of them fell to their knees.

Lucerys was bewildered; he had read all the stories like everyone else, especially because Jace liked to read and talk about when omegas existed and how great it would be if they were once again among them, but he had not expected people to react like this to his presence.

"Aemond!" That was the voice of the Dowager Queen Alicent, as she hurried towards them, she had been warned that Aemond was approaching... and with Prince Lucerys as a hostage... behind her came Otto Hightower.

Lucerys almost hissed when he saw Otto.

"Thief!" He knew this was the Hightower's fault, his and the Dowager Queen's.-Thieves, both of you," he asserted, being held by Aemond so he wouldn't advance towards them. Alicent looked at him harshly, as did Otto, still too far away for the scent to reach them.

But the nearest guard began to feel uneasy at the scent of the omega's fury, their instincts kicking in demanding to bring peace to the omega. Aemond himself felt it, but that woman was his mother and that man his grandfather. He lifted Lucerys, forcing him to put his face in his neck and releasing a strong dose of hormones that calmed the omega against his will, making him butter in his hands.

"Not now, mother," he ordered, walking towards them. His mother was a beta, but his grandfather was another alpha; he smelled Lucerys before Alicent did as Aemond approached.

"Not now, daughter," Otto Hightower repeated Aemond's words as he saw his daughter open her mouth. Aemond's hormones had led Lucerys to a state of drugged relaxation, and it would be best if Alicent's voice didn't snap him out of that state. Something told him that the guard would quickly turn against them if the omega felt threatened by them.

"Why did you bring that bastard here?"

"Shut up," Otto ordered, looking around, at least the guards hadn't heard his daughter's reckless words, something told him that the insult of bastard directed at Lucerys would no longer be as well received as in the past. "Let's have this conversation more privately," he ordered. Aemond finally passed by his side. "Aemond..."

"Lucerys needs to eat," he interrupted the platinum without stopping his pace, "order an early lunch, and we can talk... all together... warn mom, he is my partner," he warned his grandfather inflexibly without stopping as he entered the fortress.

He loved his mother, but he would not allow insults against Lucerys, somehow that made him... furious.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

Aemond walked straight to his rooms with Lucerys in his arms. He knew he couldn't use this tactic of drugging the young omega with his pheromones every time the younger one got upset, but for now, it was the best option. He didn't want to cause more stress than necessary to Lucerys.

"Prepare the tub in my room," he ordered a couple of maids without stopping his pace as he went through the corridors of the family dormitories towards his own room.

He hadn't really thought when they landed at the Dragonpit and rode to the fortress. The situation with the crowd had been unnecessarily stressful for Lucerys. He should have landed directly at the Red Keep... Let the pair of dragons stay in the Red Keep's yard, no one would die for that, and if someone had a problem with that, they could talk to Vhagar directly; he would love to see his dragon turn them into ashes. But he hadn't done it, and it was too late to regret it. With a bit of remorse, he stroked Lucerys's hair as the omega relaxed in his arms.

A couple of guards opened the door to his room, looking astonished at the precious cargo in Aemond's arms.

Once in his room, he walked to his bed, placing Lucerys on it. It was a bit endearing the way Lucerys's hands tried to cling to his shirt.

"I'm not going anywhere," Aemond assured, taking the smaller hands and kissing them. "I'm just going to get you some clean clothes. Is that okay?" he asked, but Lucerys just shrugged, still staring at him. It was funny how Lucerys's pride didn't let him say that it wasn't okay, that he didn't want Aemond to go away. But Aemond could understand and realize it. "Wouldn't you like a nice bath? To wash up and rest finally in a comfortable bed?" he tempted, and after two days of lying on the cave floor, the truth was that both things were necessary. Lucerys shrugged again but let go of his uncle. Aemond got up, feeling Lucerys's eyes fixed on him as he rummaged through his clothes for something smaller for the omega. They would have to have clothes made for Lucerys; his were too big, but for now, they would do.

They knocked on his door, and he ordered them to come in. Soon, a group of servants entered, carrying buckets of water to fill the tub and prepare the bath.

Aemond took his sweet time, first bathing Lucerys and then putting him to bed for a nap before dinner with the family, something he wasn't particularly looking forward to, but explanations had to be given, and he knew it. Once Lucerys was asleep, he himself took a bath to get rid of all the dirt and dressed. He was thinking of getting into his bed where Lucerys was sleeping when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he ordered when he saw his sister Helaena Targaryen enter, his sweet and strange sister. "Sister," he nodded to her.

"Aemond," she smiled, with that dreamy and lost look she used to have. "I brought this for Lucerys, I think they will be more appropriate than your clothes for him," she showed him what she had in her hands: clothes the size of Lucerys, new, clean, and in black and red colors.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, looking at the clothes. At first glance, they seemed perfect for Lucerys's size and looked perfectly new and clean. Where had his sister got something like that in such a short time? Helaena shrugged.

"I asked the tailors for it a couple of weeks ago; they finished them just two days ago. I'm glad they did it on time," she commented.

"Why did you ask the tailors for this?"

Her children with Aegon, Jaehaerys, and Melor, were too young for clothes like this. Jaehara was a girl, and everyone else around her sister was larger than Lucerys. Why ask for clothes exactly the size of Lucerys? But Helaena, strange as always, smiled at him, lost in her own world, shrugging.

"I saw it," she simply said. "I asked for a complete wardrobe," she assured. "Even a maiden's cloak in Velaryon colors." Aemond sighed, giving up trying to understand his sister and her strangeness. Why did Lucerys need a maiden's cloak?

"Thank you, sister," Aemond finally said, rewarded by his sister's smile.

"You know, there was a time when my marriage to Jacaerys could have stopped the Dance, but Mother rejected it... Jace would have been a good husband and father," she commented, distractedly looking at the bed where Lucerys was sleeping under the covers. "But it didn't happen, and the Dance had to go on, but now," she looked back at Aemond, "the Dance is changing again," the platinum blonde smiled.

Aemond didn't pay much attention, just pretended to do so. Most of the time, no one understood Helaena, but he was always willing to lend an ear and listen to her ramblings, even if he wasn't really processing what she was saying. But this time, something caught his attention.

"You and the bas...?"

"Shhh, don't call him that, he is now your good brother," Helaena scolded him, blinking sweetly. Aemond didn't take kindly to being corrected by most people, but his sweet sister Helaena was one of the few who could get away with it. 

"You and Jace?" him corrected herself. Her sister nodded.

-Yes, Rhaenyra proposed it to try to reunite our family, but mom was still very upset with her and said no. If she had said yes, Jace would have been a devoted and faithful husband to me, he wouldn't have had whores or bastards -she said calmly, with a certain touch of madness she always had- and your dragon wouldn't have been Vhagar but one of Syrax's children. Our sister offered an egg from the next clutch of Syrax for you, and that egg would have hatched for you -she commented with a distant smile- but that future wasn't meant to be -she shrugged.

-I... I didn't know anything about it.

-Mom and dad never told us.

-They told you.

-No, they didn't, I saw it -Helaena shrugged, just being herself. The sound of their voices, although low, woke Lucerys from his little nap. -Nephew -Helaena got up, realizing it first as if she had sensed it, the platinum blonde seemed to float towards the bed. Lucerys, still sleepy and confused, the first thing he saw was Helaena's platinum hair, and he smiled sleepily.

-Mom -he called her, mistaking her for Rhaenyra. Helaena sat on the edge of the bed, and strangely for her, as she didn't like being touched, she extended her hand and caressed his cheek.

-Do you want me to write a letter to my sister for you, nephew? -she asked innocently, ignoring Aemond's look.

-Aunt Helaena -Lucerys finally recognized her, realizing where he was. -Aunt -he held her hand- please let me go home.

-Even I can't leave here -the blonde reminded him sweetly. - But it's okay, Luce, being married isn't so bad, you'll have beautiful children, and if you're lucky, your husband will be too busy to pay attention to you... only occasionally -she said, thinking of her own marriage.

Lucerys and Aemond exchanged an uncomfortable look, Helaena had said something similar at the last family dinner they had had. Well, it was clear that Aegon wasn't a good husband, but few noble marriages were.

-But I can write to my sister, they can't stop me -she smiled sweetly with joy- and if they try to stop me, I'll take Dreamfire and go personally to deliver your letter to my sister -she smiled cheerfully as if she weren't planning things in front of her brother. Lucerys looked from her to Aemond, uneasy and unsure. He wanted to say yes to his aunt's proposal, but he feared Aemond's reaction. -You don't have to decide now, just think about it -she leaned in and kissed his forehead as she would with her own children- I'll see you at dinner... and nephew, don't let mom or grandpa upset you... you have the power now -she said distractedly, getting up and leaving as unexpectedly as she had arrived.

Aemond was still standing there with Lucerys' clothes in hand, and Lucerys still lay on the bed trying to understand and process his aunt... That was never an easy job, but even with her quirks, his aunt was definitely his favorite among all his mother's siblings, at least she didn't hate them.

-Helaena brought you this clothes -Aemond finally said, putting them on the bed. -We should get dressed for dinner with my... our family. It might be an uncomfortable dinner, but Lucerys... you have nothing to fear, I'll defend you -he reminded him uncomfortably, turning to leave to dress in his own chambers, leaving the private room for Lucerys to do the same.

Aemond finished getting dressed first, his dark green, almost black clothes, his patch in place, and his hair tied back. He didn't have to wait long for Lucerys to come out in the black and red colors of House Targaryen, the young man was a perfect sight.

Lucerys didn't want to go to that dinner, he knew what they would say about him, and he didn't want to hear it especially. But he wasn't a coward who would hide in his rooms. So he looked at Aemond defiantly, hiding the knot he felt in his stomach.

-Let's go -Aemond urged him with a sigh; he didn't want to go to this dinner either, especially. 

Lucerys walked beside him through the halls to the same hall where they had been gathered as a family eating the last time when King Viserys was still alive. They were the last ones, Otto, Alicent, Aegon, and Helaena were already there.

Aemond went to his place at the table and pulled out the chair for Lucerys to sit. Surrounded by greens and being the only one in black, Lucerys felt deeply uncomfortable. The discomfort eased a bit when his aunt Helaena got up from her place next to Aegon and turned around the table to sit on the other side of Lucerys, smiling at him. Between Aemond and Helaena, he felt slightly more comfortable... just a little.

The food was served in an uncomfortable silence; the only one who didn't seem affected by it was sweet Helaena. Alicent had the delicacy to wait for the servants to retire and leave them alone before speaking.

-Would you give some explanation? -Alicent asked Aemond directly. Aemond put the cup he had just taken back on the table.

-What is there to explain? Lucerys is an omega, I'm an alpha, we've bonded, end of story -he said sarcastically.

-Aemond -she growled, and he simply didn't answer her because at the end of the day, Alicent was his mother.

-He's Rhaenyra's son and he's a bas...-she didn't finish what she was going to say because Otto silenced her. Alicent took a deep breath, remembering her previous conversation with her father. -We're on different sides -she said instead. Lucerys snorted at that euphemism.

-Not now, mother. Lucerys is my bonded partner according to tradition, he bears my mark, and we will unite before the sept, end of the struggle. We have no reason to go to war, the simple reality is that Aegon is a shit king, and Rhaenyra would be too -he said directly, not caring to be so crude- if the realm is lucky, some old or new god will take them both before they can fuck up the realm too much. Put your pride aside, I'm marrying Lucerys, let the first daughter of Jacaerys and Baela marry Jaehaerys, and the matter is settled; in the end, a child of Jacaerys and a descendant of our own branch will rule, end of story. All that nonsense could have been avoided if you had let Helaena marry Jacaerys.

-They're bastards, my children will not marry bastards -Alicent erupted.

-Perfect, since they won't marry bastards, how about I just leave, so this bastard presence doesn't insult you with its presence -Lucerys jumped up from his seat- You can say whatever you want about my origin and that of my siblings, but in the end, at least we are TRUE TARGARYENS.

-My children are Targaryens -Alicent also jumped up, hands on the table -they are legitimate children of Viserys.

-Really? -Lucerys mocked, feeling his blood boil with rage -Because all I see here is Hightower and nothing else.

-How dare you?

-Am I lying? Look at them, they wear the pathetic green of your maiden house, not the black and red that is our Targaryen right. They live under the stupid motto of "We Light the Way" instead of the motto "Fire and Blood" that is the Targaryen, and it's your fault. You taught them to be loyal to YOUR maiden house, not to your married house. True Targaryens don't answer to gods or men, but you've raised them as sheep of the faith. You've turned the Targaryen stronghold into a fucking sept of the Seven, filling it with symbols of the faith and traditions of the faith, ignoring our Targaryen traditions except when they suit you... They are the ones who don't seem like Targaryens. They may have platinum hair, but they behave like Hightower, while at least the brown-haired children of Rhaenyra Targaryen, whom you despise so much, have never forgotten our primary loyalty, our blood, the blood of the Dragon... of course, a sheep like you knows nothing about being a dragon -Lucerys spat his words with venom. And considering that everyone was wearing Hightower green and not Targaryen black, and red, that he was the only one wearing the black and red of his house's sigil, it was a direct hit.

Aemond, Aegon, and Otto had seen the outburst a bit in shock, not expecting Alicent and Lucerys to literally go for each other's throats. Only Helaena ate calmly as if her mother and nephew weren't shouting.

-How dare you? You little blasphemous bastard, the Seven will punish you...

Alicent was interrupted by Lucerys' mocking laugh; in that moment, the boy looked too much like Rhaenyra.

-What Seven? The same ones who made me an omega? Did you hear the people, how they called me? Oh, let me, if you didn't hear it, I'll tell you... "Little Mother." They think I'm the son of their venerable goddess mother, they think I've been blessed by the Seven. Come on, let's go outside, shout "bastard" at me again in front of everyone, shout that the Seven were wrong and that I'm not a blessing sent by them... do it and let's see who wins then -he said with a ferocity that could only have been learned from the rogue prince Daemon Targaryen. Alicent jumped onto the table towards Lucerys, who was openly mocking her, but the boy was suddenly out of her reach when Aemond pushed him out of the way towards Helaena and received his mother's slap that scratched his face. Helaena, who seemed distracted, actually masterfully received her nephew, preventing him from being hurt in any way.

Lucerys' rage, which had erupted so suddenly, disappeared just as quickly as he clung to Helaena and began to cry, almost angrily because he didn't want to cry but couldn't help it. His aunt gently cradled him, whispering a lullaby in High Valyrian. 

-Never in your life try to touch Lucerys again. Don't make me forget that you're my mother," Aemond gritted his teeth and clenched his fists to calm himself. His grandfather was holding his mother, having pulled her back.

-Lucerys... it doesn't have to be like this -Aegon stood up, deciding to ignore Aemond, Lucerys, and Alicent alike -We are family.

-You stole my mother's throne -Lucerys sobbed, hiding his face in Helaena's chest without wanting to look at anyone -You behave like Hightower, your loyalty is with the Hightowers, not with the Targaryens -he muttered without looking at anyone, feeling safe with his aunt who, unaware of the fight, was soothing him.

-You don't understand, Lucerys, we're just trying to protect ourselves, to survive...

-Protect ourselves from what? -He finally lifted his gaze, looking at him with big, teary, and confused deer eyes.

-From your mother -he said patiently, leaning down to his height. He needed the omega to understand; his mother could be half obtuse about Lucerys, but he wasn't. This omega could secure his throne; it would have been better if he had married him, but Aemond had already claimed him, there was no going back, and at least his brother was loyal to him.

-Mom would never have hurt you. In her plans, Uncle Aemond was going to be the commander of the guards and armies. Mom said she had never seen anyone as brave and crazy since Father Daemon -he assured without paying attention to Aegon or his fear- You were going to sit next to Mom on her council, even if you weren't a good Hand and had to learn to be one, that was your place because you were her brother. She said she wouldn't allow what happened with father Daemon and grandfather Viserys, where Grandfather let Otto take Daemon's place just out of fear of what Daemon might do, to happen again. Mom wasn't going to be afraid of what you could do. She wasn't going to let the sibling relation be damaged by remote possibilities that were never going to happen -he repeated the words he had heard his mother discuss many times with his stepfather- And Aunt Helaena, Mom always said it was unfair how no one listened to her or appreciated her gift when our whole family had been saved by Daenerys the Dreamer, that we should be grateful to have a dreamer once again in the family -he sobbed- Even you -he looked angrily at Alicent with rage- Mom was so happy thinking that they had fixed things at that last dinner. She really believed in you, Alicent, that you could repair the friendship you once had... you know, one of the dreams my mother never fulfilled was taking you flying on her dragon. My mom LOVED you -he said, making Alicent cry. Alicent couldn't explain it; she had also loved Rhaenyra once fiercely, but things between them had messed up in a way that had no return, and Lucerys couldn't understand that-And you, Otto Hightower... Are you happy? Are you satisfied with the way you destroyed my family, or haven't you had enough yet? -he shouted, feeling that his chest hurt too much-I hate you, I hate you, you destroyed my family -he shouted desperately, clinging to Helaena as he would have done with his own mother. -My mother made room for all of you so that we could be a family again, even though she didn't like you and you're a viper -he said to Otto-mom didn't want Alicent to suffer your death, so your fate was simply to go back to Oldtown away from us. But you -he said, looking with his eyes red from crying at Aegon-Tell me, in your government where do we fit in? Tell me, and maybe I'll be willing to consider that you're not a monster -he demands.

Aegon looked to his wife-sister for help since the omega seemed to like Helaena, but as always, Helaena in her own world rocking the omega in her lap had nothing to say to help him.

Aegon, if he had thought of his sister, did not dare to have her near, but neither did he wish her any harm. He had been willing to give up Dragonstone for her, let her live there with her descendants. He didn't want her dead; he didn't want to be a kin-slayer. But no, he hadn't thought of a place for Jace, Luce, or Joff, they were just his sister's bastard children, and he clung to that bastardy for his claim, so he couldn't give them a place. But they could live happily on Dragonstone with their sister; he would even give them a subsidy so that they lacked nothing and lived well. As for little Aegon and Viserys, who were pure Targaryens, one day they could have a place in his court, they could even grow up with their own children, and maybe even a betrothal between his daughter and little Aegon, and if by chance the child his sister was expecting was a girl, he even thought he could engage her to his eldest son to end the dispute... but how could he explain that to his nephew without sounding horrible?

-That's enough. When you can talk like human beings, we can continue this conversation -Aemond stood up, picking up Lucerys. Helaena let him take him away -if you want to yell and keep fighting, you can call me alone. I won't let you distress Lucerys like this anymore -Aemond breathed deeply, as if he had nothing to do with Lucerys' distress.

Aemond left with Lucerys, leaving the dining room in a horrible silence with everyone pensive.

-He's telling the truth, Rhaenyra wouldn't be a good queen... but she would be better than you -he said to his husband- it hurts me for you, you never wanted a crown, but Grandfather and Mom led you to it... and it's a horrible burden. Neither you nor Rhaenyra were born to rule, really -Helaena said in a rare moment of lucidity before standing up- I'll go with my children -she commented calmly, retiring.

Alicent sobbed when her daughter left.

-They don't understand, they don't understand -she had been sincere at that dinner when she made peace with Rhaenyra, but then what Viserys had said... she was just respecting her husband's wishes.

-Calm down, Mom, we'll fix it somehow -Aegon hugged her.

-Daughter... -Otto began.

-Not now, father, I don't want to hear it now -Alicent cried, hurt, hurt by everything, by all the fear and anguish that were her constant companions.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

Baela jumped at the sound of metal against the wall, looking at her twin sister Rhaena and Joffrey who was with her.

"I'll call all my banner men," Rhaenyra's furious voice was the first thing she heard when she opened the door to her father's wife's office.

"Father, good mother," she greeted, confused. She had been quickly summoned along with her twin. Jacaerys, her betrothed, was on his way north to seek support. Lucerys had gone to Storm's End. Joffrey, at 11, had not been allowed to go help yet. Aegon and Viserys were too young to even be called with her, her twin, and Joffrey.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Joffrey ran to his pregnant mother, worried to see her so angry. Rhaenyra's fury seemed to drain quickly when she saw Joffrey embracing his son. "We have to bring the children back, Daemon."

"We will, and we'll get Lucerys back," Daemon assured his wife, stroking her back. "But we must calm down. If we attack directly, they could harm Luce. I'll send my men to try to recover him; I have loyal men in King's Landing," the rogue prince assured her.

"My baby, Daemon, I can't even imagine what they're doing to my baby," Rhaenyra looked at him desperately.

"They captured Lucerys?" Baela gathered the scattered pieces. "Do the greens have him captive?"

Daemon nodded to his daughter.

"How dare they!" Rhaena exclaimed furiously. Lucerys was her betrothed; it wasn't that there was lost love between them, but they were good friends. "We must take our dragons to them, father. We must recover Luce."

"There's more," Daemon sighed. Joffrey, Rhaena, and Baela looked at him expectantly and worriedly. Rhaenyra closed her eyes as if she didn't want to hear what Daemon had to say next. "Lucerys is an omega."

Baela held her breath. Rhaena staggered. Joffrey looked at them without really understanding the magnitude of it all.

"How is that possible?" Rhaena whispered.

"Forget how it's possible, how dare they? How dare those bastards hurt Luce if he's an omega?" Baela felt her chest tighten at the thought of Lucerys. He had always been very sweet to them, welcoming them as family and sisters when their father married cousin Rhaenyra, who from the first moment treated them as her own daughters.

Rhaena doubled over, vomiting on the floor. Baela fell next to her twin, holding her hair in concern.

"Bae, Bae... what if they're raping him? What if they're abusing him?"

Rhaenyra's eyes widened in horror as if she hadn't thought of that possibility. The pregnant woman's scream was so anguished that even Syrax, who rested in one of Dragonstone's many caves, roared in response to her rider's distress.

"I'll kill them all, I'll kill anyone who lays a hand on my son," Rhaenyra vowed.

"And I'll help you do it," Daemon swore.

****

-How dare those stinking Greens? Lucerys is the future Lord of Driftmark. This is an affront against us," Corlys Velaryon assured furiously.

The boy his son had raised as his own, whom he had accepted as his heir and who would marry his granddaughter, Laena's daughter, had been stolen and marked by that brat Aemond Targaryen. The blessing of the first omega in over a century belonged to THEIR HOUSE. After everything they had endured, Lucerys belonged to them, and did those upstarts of House Hightower think they could steal something else from House Velaryon?

"Husband," Rhaenys, his wife, entered with a serious expression and a letter in her hand. "Rhaenyra asks for our help to recover our grandson," she said, showing him the letter.

"And she will have it. I will call all of House Velaryon's fleet. The Hightowers have no right over our heir, and they will pay dearly for daring to lay their dirty hands on him. He is a Velaryon," he reminded her.

Rhaenys nodded.

"I will bring the fire of my dragon upon them. Names are always remembered, and he is a Velaryon," the queen who never was nodded. "We will recover him. The throne will be Rhaenyra's, then Jacaerys', and then the children Jace has with Baela," Rhaenys assured. "And Driftmark will be for Lucerys and Rhaena."

***

Jeyne Arryn, the Lady of the Vale and head of House Arryn, finished reading the letter that the raven had brought in shock. In silence, she passed the parchment to her faithful companion Jessamyn. The redhead read the letter in shock.

"An omega? The Mother has blessed us, the Mother has blessed us," Jessamyn touched her chest with emotion.

"The prophecies say that when the omegas walk the world again, it is because the Mother has given us a new chance," Jeyne nodded, faithful in her belief in the Seven. "Whom should we support, then?"

"Obviously Rhaenyra's claim. It's her son who is an omega... The little one hasn't presented yet, right? Do you think Joffrey is also a little mother?" Jessamyn almost jumped with excitement.

Jeyne hadn't thought of the possibility.

"It's not that easy... The news is from King's Landing; the Greens are holding Lucerys Velaryon."

"How dare they hold an omega against his will? We must call our banner men, my lady; we cannot allow such an affront against a child of the Mother," Jessamyn pleaded.

"The reports from the Green faction say that the omega is Aemond Targaryen's partner. While the Blacks claim that their prince has been kidnapped. Until the news is more reliable, we mustn't do anything. Whatever happens, the omega cannot be put in danger, he must not be a victim of crossfire, or the Seven will never forgive us. I will call my banner men, but for now, we will not march... we must really know what is happening," Jeyne decided. "Maybe the Mother is blessing Aegon's reign; the child presented himself right when his uncle was crowned," she commented thoughtfully.

"Or perhaps the Seven indicate that we should support Princess Rhaenyra, given that it was her womb that was blessed with an omega," Jessamyn opined.

"Both are possibilities," Jeyne sighed, she would have to pray for enlightenment from the Seven. "We must support whoever benefits Prince Lucerys the most between Aegon and Rhaenyra," decided the Lady of the Eyrie.

"Why choose between them? Even if Rhaenyra's womb is blessed with more omegas, the first son of the Mother to set foot back on our land will forever be Lucerys. If it's true that Aemond is his bonded partner, they must marry in the Great Sept, and the crown must be his. The Mother's firstborn son must be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms," the redhead assured her lover, speaking as if Lucerys were the first of many who were yet to come.

***

Desmond Manderly, Lord of House Manderly of White Harbor, almost fell to his knees when he read the letter, unable to believe his luck.

He had promised his house to Rhaenyra's cause after Jacaerys promised him Joffrey Velaryon's hand for his daughter. Now this news had arrived: Lucerys Velaryon was an omega. Joffrey, a couple of years younger, had not presented yet, but if he turned out to be an omega... This could only be a blessing from the Mother for his house. Even if the boy turned out to be an alpha, the secret of the omegas ran in his blood, so perhaps his daughter would give birth to little omegas with Joffrey. Although if the boy turned out to be an omega, he definitely could not marry his daughter; he would have to marry Medrick, his heir.

"Medrick!" he called for his son, rising.

"Father," the young man appeared minutes later, startled when the servants made him come. "Prepare yourself with our men; we will march in favor of Rhaenyra to recover your good brother... I want you to be especially kind to Prince Joffrey."

"With my sister's betrothed?" Medrick asked, puzzled.

"If we are lucky and the Mother blesses him, he will not be your sister's betrothed; he will be yours, and the future Lady of House Manderly," he warned. Medrick looked at him a little horrified, not understanding until his father handed him the raven's letter. Medrick was already a man; Joffrey was still a child, but upon reading the letter, the knight fell to his knees.

"Praised be the Mother. I swear to be faithful to my betrothed if he turns out to be an omega; I will never take another or look away, Mother," he swore there, understanding the blessing that had fallen upon his house.

***

The disaster in Borros Baratheon's office said everything that needed to be known, the raven's letter ruined. An omega, Lucerys Velaryon was an omega, he had had him within his reach and had let him go... had let him go with cursed and rude words. If his father were alive, he would surely hang him with his own hands, his father who had been faithful to Rhaenyra. If he had followed his father, and had given the boy guest rights, had thrown a feast for him, and had spoken with him instead of dispatching him, telling him that his mother was a bitch, the boy would have presented himself at his home. The first omega in over a century, the Mother's blessing, would have happened IN HIS HOUSE.

Furthermore, why was the damned Harwing Strong dead and not siring more boys on Rhaenyra Targaryen? Cursed be whoever had killed him. His own wife was pregnant, and he was sure it would be a boy this time; if Rhaenyra had one more brown-haired omega baby, it could be for his unborn son.

Although perhaps the detail was not in the Strong's mix with the Princess, perhaps it was just Rhaenyra... the princess was pregnant, and there were chances that it was another omega... Why the hell had he ruined all his father's good work and supported the Greens? He dismissed the boy, called the Princess a bitch; how the hell did he begin to fix the mess he made to get an omega for his own home? He feared that with what had happened, Rhaenyra Targaryen would not grant him one of her precious omegas even if he were the only option left.

Well, in that case... maybe he should continue to support the Greens, the Greens now had the boy, if Aemond and "the Little Mother" soon had a child, this could be for his own unborn son; they would be almost the same age. About the engagement he had proposed between one of his daughters and Aemond, and that he had accepted, that didn't need to be mentioned. The Mother's will was the Mother's will... although perhaps he could send Floris as a handmaiden and companion for the omega, Aemond owed him that now that obviously he would not marry his daughter.

***

"Elder brother, did you summon me?" Jacaerys greeted when a servant escorted him to Cregan Stark, the man of 29 years was the embodiment of the silent wolf of his family's sigil, the current Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Both had fit perfectly, even though Jace was 15 years younger, and they had known each other for a short time, they had already sworn as brothers. Jacaerys even promised that his first daughter would be for House Stark. Fire and Ice.

"Younger brother," Cregan greeted; he had stopped calling him Prince in private at Jacaerys' request and since they had sworn as brothers before the heart tree in the godswood. Every time Cregan saw the young prince, he couldn't help but feel that he was seeing his little deceased brother; if his little brother had lived, he would be like this, as brave as his new sworn brother. "I fear I have bad news," he said, handing him the letter sent by Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Jace read the letter in his hands before crumpling it.

"How dare they?" he growled. One of Cregan's large hands rested on Jace's shoulder to pacify him.

"We will rescue your brother; your brother is my brother too," he reminded him. "Go on that great beast of yours back to your mother; I will gather my bannermen and as many men as I can, and as soon as possible, we will march towards you to help you rescue him," he swore without hesitation. Jace placed his hand on the Stark's large hand and took a deep breath.

"Thank you for your support, brother; I will wait for you," he nodded.

"The North will not fail you," he assured. "And Jace, whatever offense your brother has suffered... we will return it twofold... the North never forgets," he vowed.

"We will return any offense to Luce with Blood and Fire," Jace swore.

"And now also with unyielding winter," Cregan nodded, and Jace was grateful for the loyalty and help of his sworn brother; he had not erred in swearing as his brother, Cregan Stark might have been one of his greatest accomplishments in this life.

***

Dorne had danced with dragons before, and Prince Qoren Martell sincerely preferred sleeping with scorpions to dealing with those damned dragons. Or at least that was the case until now. Dorne was considered the rebellious kingdom, and the Iron Throne had a precarious peace with it since the end of the First Dornish War. Dorne was not willing to bend the knee, and another war with them was more of a headache for the Targaryens than it was worth, so they lived in a precarious peace where both kingdoms ignored each other.

The Targaryens claimed to be the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, including Dorne, and Dorne simply ignored this and continued to live under the rule of the Martells.

"Father?" Aliandra Martell, Princess Heir of Dorne and daughter of Qoren, looked at her father curiously, seeing him so concentrated. Qoren didn’t respond; he simply handed her the parchment he was reading. His daughter read it calmly before passing it to her younger brother Qyle Martell and younger sister Coryanne Martell. "Honestly, this is nonsense," Aliandra opined, taking a sip of her wine. "I’m not interested in supporting the dragons, but Rhaenyra Targaryen is the eldest and the firstborn. Trying to take away her inheritance rights just because she’s a woman... it shows how backward the Andals, with whom the Targaryens have mixed so much, are."

"Let’s not forget the rumors that the princess’s three Velaryon children are bastards," Qyle commented to his sister while Coryanne read the parchment.

"So what? What does the father matter? The mother is the heir to the throne, and the three brats came out of her womb. Whether they’re Velaryon or Waters, their blood is royal, and they are her heirs," Aliandra shrugged, seeing no problem. The Dornish, after all, were well known for their libertinism and made no distinction between bastards and legitimate children. In Dorne, it was one of the few places where a bastard could inherit; a person's worth was in their actions, not their birth. Among the Dornish, it was not uncommon to have a marriage for duty and a lover for love. In Aliandra's eyes, it was the same thing that had happened with Princess Rhaenyra: a husband for duty and a lover for love.

"I’m with Aliandra on this," commented Coryanne after finishing reading the parchment. "Those silly ideas that bastards are children of lust and not love are completely overturned now that an omega has been born from such a union. The mother or R'hllor, whichever you believe in, doesn’t matter. The truth is that the union they so criticized has proven to be blessed, giving birth to an omega." The Dornish were not the most religious people but respected freedom of worship in Dorne; you could find septons for the Seven as well as red temples for the followers of the fire god R’hllor.

"Don’t look at me; I’m not defending the Andals, just mentioning the facts that are 'important to them'," Qyle defended himself, shrugging. "And while I must admit it’s interesting news, unless there’s a way to bring this omega to Dorne, I don’t see how it concerns us," he added.

"And I don’t think the Targaryens will easily let go of such a beautiful creature," Coryanne laughed.

"No… although it would be interesting to have her," Aliandra admitted with a sigh.

***

Jason Lannister read the letter sent by his twin brother Tyland Lannister at Casterly Rock. His twin brother had jumped on the green bandwagon, and Jason had followed him faithfully. Besides, a small part of him saw it as justice for Princess Rhaenyra's snub after being rejected. There was a time when he was even willing to build a dragon's nest for her at Casterly Rock. He had been willing to make her the Lady of Casterly Rock and give her everything, but that was a long time ago.

But this, this changed everything. That whore had somehow managed to bring omegas back into the world. Or at least the first omega in centuries.

House Lannister had to assess what was most beneficial for them. Was it to continue supporting the greens? Or should they switch to the blacks?

There was a small possibility that the other Velaryon bastard, the youngest, was also an omega, or maybe not; the eldest, Jacaerys, had presented as an alpha. And a much smaller possibility that Aegon the Younger and Viserys could also be omegas, although the mix with the latter two had changed the father, and the Targaryens were well known for their long lines of alphas; Rhaenyra herself and Daemon were alphas.

On the other hand, although damned Aemond had rushed forward to secure Lucerys Velaryon for himself, the chances of the omega having more omega children were higher. According to the books, the key was to make the omega feel safe. The Citadel maesters had studied omegas decades ago when their population began to decline, discovering that if an omega felt threatened or in danger, they would unconsciously give birth to alphas, likely their biology trying to create a being capable of protecting them. Conversely, an omega who felt safe and protected would give birth to omegas; their biology sensed the environment was safe and conducive to bringing such delicate creatures into the world and did so. This had partly led to the extinction and decline of omegas. When there were still many omegas in the world, alphas made them feel insecure on purpose so they would give birth to other alphas who would be their heirs. The problem was that omegas were annoyingly fragile, the only creatures that could really let themselves die of sadness. That had led to their numbers decreasing.

On the other hand, studies showed that a happy omega would give birth to both alphas and omegas. And everyone knew that children born to an omega were much stronger than those born to a beta or an alpha, tended to live longer lives, and rarely got sick.

So it was just a matter of Aemond making the Velaryon brat feel safe even if he didn’t make him feel loved, and the boy would be a factory of little omegas, and one of them could end up coming to his home to strengthen his bloodline.

In that case, probably the best idea was to continue supporting the greens.

***

Elmo Tully clasped his hands behind his back thoughtfully. House Tully was a devout house of the Seven. And this new news really worried him. That little creature, the very child of the Mother, trapped in the middle of this selfish drama between the greens and the blacks.

The children of the Mother were like the Mother, tender-hearted. War was not good news for them; it was a sadness they should not be subjected to, not now that the Mother had granted forgiveness by allowing them to have one of her most beautiful creations among them.

War must be avoided. The omega should have a happy environment. He should be able to have his mother and his new partner with him. But Elmo Tully knew how selfish humans were and how much the power could blind them. Neither Aegon, Aemond's older brother, nor Rhaenyra, Lucerys's mother, would easily give up the power of the crown.

"Father," the cheerful voice of Kermit Tully, his son and heir, who caught up with him while walking through the courtyard, stopped him. "Why are you so thoughtful?" The young redhead was pure Tully fire: fire, joy, and youth, a good heir.

"I’m worried about the health of a little child of the Mother among us," he confessed to his son.

"Oh… the Velaryon child," Kermit nodded in understanding. "Do you think he’ll be okay?"

"I think we must find a way to ensure he is… or this time we must fear not only the Mother’s punishment again but also the Father's, who will have no mercy on us if we make the Mother suffer again," Elmo opined.

***

This was a meeting that Otto was not eager to have. Eustace, the chief Septon and representative of the High Septon, had been insisting on a meeting for DAYS. And Otto could no longer delay the matter.

So, he let the Septon in while he waited with his daughter Alicent and his grandchildren Aegon and Aemond. His granddaughter Helaena was not present; since the fateful dinner a couple of days ago, the omega had been hiding in Helaena's chambers with her great-grandchildren. And Helaena had shown a character none of them had expected; not even Alicent had been allowed into her daughter's chambers, where she spent most of her time with the Omega.

"Septon Eustace," Otto greeted respectfully. "Please, have a seat," invited the Hand of the King.

"Where is the little mother? I demand to see him," he said seriously upon noticing that the omega was not there.

"I prefer to avoid any kind of distress and tension for my omega," Aemond said tensely, unable to see his omega, was only worsening his already bad temper.

"You can talk to us, and when we are sure that everything uncomfortable has been discussed and nothing else remains that could cause distress, we will bring him in," Aegon said diplomatically.

Septon Eustace thought about it but considered it a good idea, so he nodded.

"The High Septon is traveling from Oldtown to here at this moment," he informed them. The High Septon was extremely old and frail, additionally ill; the journey could be fatal, which was why Eustace usually performed his duties. But upon hearing the news about the omega, the High Septon insisted on making the journey; even if he died, he wanted to see the Mother's blessing with his own eyes.

Alicent and her father were a bit surprised because the High Septon hadn't even been willing to come for her son's coronation, leaving it in Eustace's hands, but now he was willing to come for Lucerys Velaryon.

"That's good news, of course," Otto forced a smile, not letting the slight affect him.

"Obviously, this leads us to the fact that Prince Aemond bonded with the omega before marriage," he looked disapprovingly at the one-eyed boy. Not that Aemond gave a rat's ass about what the Septon thought.

"You know how young people can be sometimes, especially at the excitement of seeing a Mother's blessing before us. But rest assured, the marriage is being arranged and will be in the Great Sept itself. We hope you could officiate the union," Otto assured him.

"If the High Septon is not well enough to do it himself, it will undoubtedly be the honor of my life," Eustace assured.

Alicent felt a pang in her chest; not even her Aegon and Helaena had been united by the High Septon, and now Rhaenyra's bastard would enjoy that deference.

"Septon, about the rumors of the Velaryon children's bastardy…" Alicent began, not caring about feeling her father and her two sons tense beside her.

"Blasphemous words and gossip. King Viserys was right to threaten to cut out the tongue of anyone who uttered such slander. You should do the same to anyone who dares to offend the Mother's child," Eustace interrupted.

"Of course, of course," Otto agreed. His daughter could be very foolish despite his warning her a thousand times; the bastardy of those brats was no longer something they could use to their advantage. Even if Harwin Strong himself were alive and stood in the middle of King's Landing shouting to the four winds that the Velaryons were HIS children, NO ONE would believe him now.

"Well… it would also be good for the child's mother to be present. No one should disturb that day… so you should think of a way to arrange it," the Septon warned them.

Aegon blinked; that was almost impossible, his sister must be planning how to kill them all to get Lucerys back at that moment.

"You see, Rhaenyra is not very… happy right now," Aegon tried to explain.

"Then find a way to make her happy, Your Majesty," the Septon interrupted, not very interested in his excuses. "The omega was given a mother on earth; she should be able to have her by her side if she wishes," he said simply. "The Mother knows what she is doing, she would not choose any weak woman to bring her own child into this world," he reminded them.

Alicent clenched her fists, damn brat, why hadn't he died before showing up? How could things change so much just because the brat was an omega? He was still a bastard, a child of sin, a mistake of nature who had seduced her good son Aemond… why couldn't anyone see it?

"Well, now that the wedding is decided… Can I see the boy?"

"Come with me, I can't promise you that he will receive you, but we can try," Aemond stood up, not wanting to stay for the conversation he knew would follow between his family.

The Septon stood up more than eager and anxious. Aemond guided him to Helaena's personal quarters. Two Kingsguard stood watch at the doors of the room.

"Helaena, sister, Septon Eustace is here, he wants to see Lucerys." Aemond prepared to be ignored like so many times since his sister “kidnapped Lucerys” several days ago, the day after the disastrous dinner they had had, but to his surprise, the door opened. The blonde looked at him calmly and smiled at the Septon.

"Come in," she invited them to enter. In his sister's sitting room, Lucerys was sitting on the floor with Maelor in his lap, tickling him, while Jaehara played with Lucerys's hair and Jaehaerys sought Lucerys's attention. The omega turned to see them upon hearing them, unaware of the scene he presented with three little ones surrounding him. Calmly, Lucerys placed Maelor on the carpet, and with a pat on the heads of each of Helaena's twin children, he stood up.

"Aemond, Septon," he greeted, much calmer after these days of rest with his aunt.

"Your Highness," the Septon knelt before Lucerys, taking his small hand and kissing it, leaving Lucerys in shock.

"Septon, please stand up," he said, looking to Aemond automatically for help. He might be angry with Aemond, but he couldn't help seeking him for help, as if subconsciously believing the one-eyed blonde could fix everything.

"Septon… more calmly," Aemond reminded him sternly, standing next to his betrothed.

"Yes, yes, of course," he apologized, standing up while Helaena asked for drinks to be brought for everyone. "Are you well, Your Highness?" he asked Lucerys paternalistically.

The brown-haired boy nodded, bewildered, seeking refuge at Aemond's side without realizing it, although the Septon did notice and saw how protectively the alpha placed his arm around the omega.

"Has your betrothed… been improper with you?" he tried to ask tactfully, but it was for the omega's well-being; they couldn't afford him being abused as that had led many omegas to die of sadness. Aemond tensed with a glint of rage, while Lucerys blushed.

"No!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed.

"My nephew has been staying with me since my brother brought him home, and so it will remain until the wedding," Helaena assured, sitting down as a servant arrived with drinks for everyone.

"Well done, Princess," the Septon praised.

"He is my nephew, it's my duty to take care of him," the blonde smiled calmly, sitting on the other side of Lucerys. Between Aemond and Helaena, Lucerys relaxed almost without realizing it.

"Your wedding will be grand, Your Highness," the Septon encouraged. Lucerys blinked, finally registering the words.

"My wedding?"

"Yes, your wedding," the Septon smiled.

"Why don't you come back another time, Septon Eustace? Lucerys didn't expect you today and it's almost his time to bathe before dinner," Helaena said in one of her rare moments of illumination.

"Yes, yes, of course. We will see each other soon, Your Highness," the Septon said goodbye. Helaena escorted him outside.

"Dayana," she called to one of her maids, "take my children to wash," she requested, watching Aemond and Lucerys standing side by side in silence. "Well… you can yell at him now, nephew," she smiled, closing the door once the three of them were alone.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

Lucerys forced himself to take a deep breath instead of shouting at Aemond as he really wanted to do. He was a Prince, after all. Second in line to the Iron Throne and future lord of Driftmark.

“And tell me, when this wedding, which I do not agree with, happens, and the sea-green and silver cloak of my house Velaryon is removed from me, will I be covered with the black and red cloak of the Targaryens, or will it be the white and gray cloak of House Hightower? Will I be forced to wear your hideous green?” he asked, dripping with sarcasm in every word.

“Lucerys…” Aemond restrained himself. Helaena was there, watching them with wide, calm eyes.

“Aemond Targaryen, perhaps you forget that I am also a dragon. Dragons do not crawl, and believe me, only by dragging me will you be able to take me to the Great Sept in a ceremony without MY FAMILY, without my mother, without my stepfather, without my brothers,” he swore with fire in his eyes. “No matter how much you want to hold me hostage against my own family, I will see my own death by my own hand before letting you use me against MY MOTHER.”

“We are bound,” he reminded him. “According to the laws of ancient Valyria, we are married.”

“Well then, that's the only marriage you will have,” Lucerys said, shrugging his shoulders though the redness of his ears betrayed him.

Aemond forced himself to take a deep breath.

“Do we have to make things difficult?” he asked the combative omega in front of him.

“You make things difficult,” Lucerys assured him. “If what Uncle Aegon said is true, it has an easy solution: I will marry you and even negotiate a marriage between Helaena’s children and my own brother’s. In return, my first child and heir will go to Rhaena, after how my betrothal to her has been broken… in return, give the throne back to my mother as it always should have been. With you as my husband, mother would never harm you. Even with the betrothal between Jace’s children and Aegon’s, the greens will have your blood on the throne as they so desire. It's a good deal,” he proposed firmly.

“Do you think I want any of this? Do you think I want this? Tell me honestly, Lucerys… do you really think your mother could be a good queen?” Aemond asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“A better one than Aegon at least,” he nodded. “At least my mother will rule for herself. With Aegon, it is your grandfather Otto and that crawling snake Criston Cole who rule. Don’t you realize they are using Aegon? Helaena told me, Aegon ran away on the day of his own coronation, begged you to let him escape, he didn’t want to be king.” Aemond turned to look at Helaena, surprised, but his sister only shrugged. She just told the truth. “Aemond… we can still fix this,” Lucerys pleaded, stepping towards him. “I’ll give you whatever you want in return,” he assured, extending his hand towards him, but Aemond stepped back.

“I think we all need to calm down,” said the alpha, turning around and leaving, passing his sister without looking at her again.

“He’s a big fool,” sighed the beta female as she watched her younger brother practically flee. She approached Lucerys and hugged the omega who looked devastated. “Have faith, little Luce, there is always a solution.”

“Aunt… would you still help me get a letter to my mother?” he asked. Helaena thought for a second but nodded.

“Yes, I would.”

***

"Running away from your little betrothed?" Aegon found his brother in the godswood within the Red Keep, where he himself had come to hide.

"And what are you hiding from?" Aemond asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at him.

"The council," Aegon confessed without any hesitation, sitting beside him.

"I was looking to be alone," Aemond said with a frown.

"I don't care," Aegon replied shamelessly. "You know something?" Aegon asked, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them as he looked at Aemond.

"I'm not a mind reader," Aemond said, not bothering to look at him.

"Since I was born, Mother and Grandfather drilled into my head that I had to ascend the throne or we would all die. Or maybe it wasn't since I was born, but at least since I can remember. Westeros could not be inherited by bastards... but the truth is, even if those Velaryon children were the spitting image of Laenor Velaryon, there would always be an excuse. The problem wasn't the bastards; I myself have a couple of them. No... The problem for most people is that Rhaenyra is a woman. And for our grandfather, that she isn't a Hightower, and for Mother... genuine fear that she would kill us. It's not the first time in this family that the legitimate heir's place is taken in favor of a man. Rhaenys Targaryen is the clear example of that. By primogeniture, she should be queen, and if they wanted to bypass her for being a woman, then the next in line should have been her son Laenor. But Great-grandfather let the Lords choose, and they were clear, overwhelmingly choosing Father. After all, Baelor's male line was strong: Father and Uncle Daemon. And Father had us, three living sons—you, me, and Daeron—and two daughters. Even if we count the children who died, born of the first Queen Aemma Arryn, the abundance of male descendants in our line is firm."

"And what's the point of this history lesson?" Aemond asked impatiently.

"They gave me this throne just because I was born a man and before you, for the interests of others, not because I wanted it... I would renounce it for you," Aegon said, and Aemond looked at him in shock. "It's true, and we all know it, I would be a horrible king. I have taken refuge in alcohol for years to escape the horror the throne represents for me. But you, you are much more capable than I am, in politics, in economics, even in the art of war. You would be a much better king than I."

"You are the firstborn."

"And as the Great Council of 101 showed, that means little. They bypassed Rhaenys and Laenor, much against Rhaenys' will, but the queen who never was always accepted the loss gracefully, not like us or our elder sister. We can bypass primogeniture once more in favor of someone more capable."

"And what does that solve? We are just changing the enemy, from our elder sister."

"Everything, don't you understand? Let's end a war before it starts. Neither Rhaenyra nor I. In this battle, only she and I would be the losers. You take the throne and take Lucerys with you. It will be his child who sits on the Iron Throne with you," Aegon said, shrugging. "I much prefer that ending than one where our dragons and we kill each other. I long to see Sunfyre fly free, not fly to war... I don't want to be a kinslayer, Aemond. I don't want to kill other dragons or risk mine dying, because this would be a war fought with dragons... that's the trouble when both sides in the battle are dragon riders," he tried to joke.

Aemond looked at his brother in complete shock, almost as if seeing him for the first time. And for once in his life, Aegon truly seemed like an elder brother and not just a simple drunkard.

"She won't accept that easily."

"Then offer to she help you rule, give her the position of Hand. I don't need it, let me live in peace as I always wanted. Or give Lucerys a higher position, don't make him just your consort like Mother was. Make him your Queen Alysanne, known for ruling equally alongside our great-grandfather Jaehaerys."

"Grandfather and Mother haven't gone through all this just to give up power so easily. I love Mother and respect Grandfather, but they could never have the control over me that they have over you," Aemond hesitated for a moment to say the last part, but it was the truth, so he finally said it.

"And that's what makes you a much better ruler than I am. You're not afraid to make your own decisions. I am afraid of failing everyone," Aegon confessed.

"And for that reason, they won't change heirs. Neither would Rhaenyra accept such a thing easily. We are literally telling her to renounce what she has been preparing for her entire life. What was promised to her even before you were born."

"I won't be asking either of them. I am the king... I will invoke a great council once more at Harrenhal as our great-grandfather did and renounce my crown. We will let the chamber of lords decide once more... let the will of Westeros be done. And we all know the truth; they want Lucerys on that throne. Since you bonded with him, all the cards have turned in your favor," he assured, stopping Aemond before he could speak. "And actually, I am grateful for that destiny. Maybe it's my own chance to escape, brother. Maybe invoking this council and doing the right thing is the only good thing I will do as king in this life," Aegon laughed, looking several years younger, as if shedding a great weight.

"Mother and Grandfather..." Aemond tried to reason with him, but Aegon could be as stubborn as any Targaryen and wasn't willing to listen.

"At the end of the day, Mother is a queen dowager and Otto is just the Hand of the King... they have no right to decide for the king. They made me king... I can make my own decisions," Aegon shrugged. "If they wanted to be the ones in charge, they should have crowned Daeron, the only one among us who is still a child, if they wanted to use the regency excuse to rule. I am an adult, which means I don't need any regent to govern. They always knew I didn't want the throne; it's their fault if they never thought I would take such a good opportunity to renounce that foolish crown," he joked, nudging Aemond's shoulder as he sat beside him. "Don't overthink it... or do you really want to go to war with our elder sister? Do you want to tear that beautiful nephew of ours between you and his mother?"

"But... it is your right."

"I don't want it," Aegon said, slapping his brother on the head with an open palm. "Get it through your head."

"But... Jacaerys is still Rhaenyra's eldest son."

"Fine... he is going to marry Baela, isn't he? Let him inherit Driftmark instead of Lucerys. In the end, we all win. Jacaerys, Rhaenyra, and I must renounce 'our right' for the good of the realm. We won't be the first to do it; Princess Rhaenys already did... Now it’s simply our turn."

"I... don't know what to say," Aemond said sincerely.

"You don't have to say anything... just be a better king than I or Rhaenyra would have been... and don't be as terrible a spouse as I am," he advised as an afterthought.

"That's not difficult," Aemond couldn't help but say.

"No, it isn't. Our sister was unlucky with me," Aegon admitted with a sigh.

"You could make it work, with our sister, you know? Helaena is a good woman."

"I know, but... I don't love her, nor does she love me. We were married because our mother forced us to, not out of love, not even out of desire. In this life, marital happiness will not be for either of us... but there are other ways to be happy, Aemond. Don't worry so much about my relationship with our sister and worry more about your own betrothed," advised the elder, though shorter, brother.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Aemond was actively keeping his distance from Lucerys for once, although he wouldn't admit it. Aegon's idea was a good one, and he wouldn't lie to himself and say he wasn't tempted by the Iron Throne. With the probable exception of Aegon, he doubted that anyone, at least fleetingly, hadn't felt tempted by that kind of power.

But, although the idea was good, he had no way of telling Lucerys; not with how fiercely protective he knew the omega was towards his mother. Saying "Luce, Aegon has agreed to renounce the crown, and instead, you and I will usurp your mother's throne..." didn't sound good at all.

Still, somehow, it had to be done.

"Are you planning to hide from your fiancé for the rest of your life?" Helaena's cheerful voice, entering his room without even bothering to knock, shouldn't have surprised Aemond. His sister had always been like that, odd, well now she was a bit more talkative since Lucerys was with them.

Lucerys seemed to have injected life into his usually quiet sister; that was a good thing and warmed a bit the heart that Aemond denied having at all costs.

"I'm not hiding," he growled.

"Little brother..." she called him, balancing on her own feet. His sister always seemed like a fairy.

"Hmm?"

"Do you really think Rhaenyra would be a bad queen?" she asked curiously.

"Yes!" he replied without hesitation.

"Why? And don't give me the questionable morals story that mom uses. Even if our sister had been with Harwin Strong, as mother accuses, he is dead, Laenor never cared, and that was a long time ago. Since she married Uncle Daemon she has settled down," she reminded him.

Aemond closed his mouth when his sister took away the argument he had been so easily about to spit out. And then he thought about it.

"She's a capricious girl. Father told her that the throne would be hers and she clung to it with her nails and teeth, she has never thought whether it is best for the realm or not."

"We are Targaryens, we are dragons. It's in our nature to be a bit selfish, nothing that can't be improved," Helaena denied. "The truth," she demanded.

And Aemond fell silent. He didn't know what to say to his sister, nor what argument to give her, he just knew that Rhaenyra shouldn't be queen. The sense of crisis and doom that loomed over his chest just thinking about it... he had no way to explain it.

"I just know. If she were queen... it wouldn't be good."

"For whom? For you? For our family? For Lucerys?" she questioned curiously.

"For everyone," he said seriously.

Helaena smiled as if she had the answer she was expecting.

"At the end of the day, I'm not the only weird one in the family," she hummed. "You should take Lucerys for a ride on your dragon... I mean, I don't recommend separate dragons yet, the weather is good and in this weather Arrax is faster than Vhagar, but you could take him with you on Vhagar. I'm sure that will lift his spirits a lot," she said, changing the subject so abruptly that poor Aemond was completely baffled. "Come on, what are you waiting for? Go get changed. I told Lucerys that you would take him for a ride on the dragon, he must be ready and waiting for you... you don't want to keep him waiting, do you?"

"What do you mean you told him what?" he asked as his sister pushed him to get dressed.

"I told him you wanted to take him for a ride on the dragon, for a bit."

"But I didn't say anything," Aemond protested.

"You say thank you, little brother," Helaena huffed. "Hurry up," and she said goodbye cheerfully, leaving.

Aemond ran his hands through his platinum hair. When had his life gotten so out of control that now even his sweet sister Helaena seemed to have more control over his life than he did?

***

Lucerys was a worthy son of his mother, a proud and strong boy who had learned to be so in order to live with the whispers about his bastardy. So, although he would never admit it, he was excited about the idea of getting out of the oppressive Red Keep for a while. When Helaena told him that Aemond wanted to take him for a ride on his dragon, although he wanted to say no, the truth was he couldn't. He felt he needed the wind, the air. The Red Keep was suffocating him. So, pretending reluctance, he quickly dressed and then waited with his little cousins for someone to come for him.

He thought Aemond would come to fetch him to go to the Dragonpit together; he definitely didn't expect the thunderous flapping of two huge dragons landing inside the Red Keep. He looked out one of the windows and could see the enormous figure of Vhagar and the much smaller one of Arrax. His Arrax almost looked like a baby mount next to the colossal form of Vhagar. Lucerys couldn't help but tremble with excitement at the sight of his dragon.

"Oh, I think they’ve come for you," Helaena informed him, setting aside the incense she was playing with. "Go, go, you know you want to go…" the platinum-haired girl smiled.

Lucerys nodded, serious, and forced himself to walk out, at least until he was out of sight of his aunt and little cousins. Once he was, he ran, unable to contain his excitement, and it was a bit funny how the two Kingsguard who always followed him had to hurry in their heavy armor to keep up with him. That almost made him laugh, but he held it in.

"Arrax!" he shouted, entering the courtyard and throwing himself onto his dragoness, caressing her scales, her snout, and laying his head against her, trying to embrace as much of her as he could. "My girl..." he smiled with excitement.

"Come on," Aemond called him with a mischievous smile from Vhagar. "Let's take her for a ride," he invited him to climb onto Vhagar.

Lucerys almost deflated when he understood that they wouldn't let him ride Arrax.

"If I promise to be good and stay, can I ride Arrax?" he asked, looking at him with his best puppy eyes.

"Not yet, Luce," Aemond held back a laugh. "You and I know better than to make promises you can't keep, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lucerys huffed and was tempted to throw a tantrum, but the impulse lasted only a second. He wanted to fly even more, and if Aemond brought Arrax, it was because he would let the dragoness fly with them. With a sigh, he kissed his dragoness.

"Soves Arrax," he ordered, before turning around and walking towards Vhagar. The great dragon bent down a bit, and Lucerys mounted him, but when he went to sit behind Aemond, Aemond pulled him into his lap.

"Here, I want to hold you," the alpha said, inhaling the scent of Lucerys' hair. He hadn't realized how much he missed the smell of burnt honey and a bit of sea from his omega. He secured the straps to Lucerys, and then in just a minute, they were both in the sky. The dragons roared in unison, and Lucerys laughed freely for the first time in days as he felt the wind on his face. Aemond held him tight, wishing everything could be as simple as in those moments when they just flew with no other worries.

***

Rhaenyra looked seriously at Daemon as he finished talking with one of the servants and returned. The platinum-haired woman rubbed her belly; she was about to give birth, but there was still some time left.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“Uhmm… the guards… they’ve sighted Dreamfyre, and they say it’s approaching quickly,” he replied tactfully, knowing how much Rhaenyra cared about possible news regarding Lucerys, but also worrying about her advanced pregnancy.

“Dreamfyre? Like Helaena’s Dreamfyre?” Rhaenyra asked, getting up from the bed with a racing heart, with the absurd but powerful hope that her younger sister had defied their family and was bringing Lucerys to her. If that were the case, Rhaenyra would give her the world.

“I’ll meet her with Caraxes,” Daemon stopped her, knowing that Rhaenyra wanted to go in person. Rhaenyra sighed. She had to think about her unborn baby, so she nodded.

“Bring her, bring Helaena. I need to know why she came, I need to know about Lucerys,” she requested.

Daemon nodded, leaving quickly. Rhaenyra walked out more calmly, meeting her two stepdaughters and Joffrey, who accompanied her to the terraces of Dragonstone, knowing that their mother wouldn’t be able to wait inside. Baela brought her a warm cloak, and Rhaena asked for some hot tea to keep Rhaenyra warm.

“And Jacaerys?” Her son had arrived flying yesterday non-stop from the north.

“He heard the news and left hastily on Vermax,” Baela replied.

She had wanted to go with her betrothed, but Moondancer, her dragon, was still too young to carry a rider, so she had decided to stay to avoid delaying Jace. Rhaenyra nodded, looking towards the sky, hoping to see Caraxes and Vermax with their two riders coming with Dreamfyre and Helaena.

***

“Uncle and Jace!” Helaena shouted happily, waving her arms energetically in greeting when she saw the two dragons approaching. Soon, both leveled with her Dreamfyre, and Helaena had a rider on each side.

“Aunt Helaena, it’s not that we’re not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?” Jace was the one who spoke, shouting because one thing about riding on dragonback was that if you wanted another rider to hear you, you had to shout, especially since Daemon seemed to be sizing Helaena up for her coffin.

“Aemond inherited your look,” Helaena laughed sweetly, looking at Daemon before turning to Jace. “Obviously, I come with news about Lucerys.”

“Don’t try anything funny, niece,” Daemon warned, finally speaking.

“We’ll escort you,” Jace said, maintaining a diplomatic tone.

Helaena nodded with a soft smile, as if they weren’t in the midst of a cold war.

***

"It's them." Joffrey was the first to spot the three dragons approaching. Rhaenyra almost jumped out of her seat in anticipation.

As soon as the dragons landed at a safe distance, just a few minutes later, she saw the three riders approaching. Her heart nearly broke when she didn't see a fourth—her Lucerys was not there. The three figures approaching were Daemon, Jace, and Helaena.

Helaena greeted enthusiastically, waving her arm back and forth as if she were unaware of the situation they were in. Uncomfortably, Rhaenyra thought that her younger sister probably wasn't aware of the real magnitude of the problem. She never seemed to be aware of the social, political intricacies, and the world around her. Once, she had considered Helaena as a wife for Jacaerys, and although she was sure her son would be a good husband to her, the crown was too heavy a burden for a dreamer of House Targaryen.

"Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra..." Helaena detached herself from Jacaerys and Daemon suddenly, but as she ran directly towards Rhaenyra, who was between Baela, Rhaena, and Joffrey, Daemon let her be. "Sister, sister, I have something for you," she smiled cheerfully, pulling out a parchment from her tunic.

"Helaena..." Rhaenyra stopped her patiently. "What are you doing here?"

"Ohhh, it's a long story. I asked for a raven to send you Lucerys' letter, but they said no... so I took Dreamfyre and brought the letter myself," she replied, smiling as if it was the most obvious and logical thing to do.

Daemon and Rhaenyra exchanged a look. By the Old and New Gods, Helaena didn't realize that this was the calm before the storm, the prelude to war, and she had simply come to deliver herself into the mouth of the opposite side. She would think about that later, now the most important thing was the letter, thought Rhaenyra, and she almost snatched it from her hands, opening it with trembling fingers.

"Let's go inside, Mother," Jace said. "Baela," he called to his betrothed, "take Helaena inside, it's a long journey from King's Landing. Make sure she eats and drinks something and warms herself by the fire, we'll be right behind you."

With a look at Rhaena, her twin, Baela nodded, accompanying her inside.

"But I want to talk to my sister about Lucerys..." Helaena complained, allowing herself to be led meekly.

"You will, cousin," Baela assured her. "They will catch up quickly."

Jace watched them go inside before turning back to his mother, eager to see the letter that Daemon was already reading over her shoulder. He peeked from the other side, anxious to see.

"Mother, I don't know if this letter will actually reach you. Aunt Helaena said she would get it to you, but I fear her power here inside this oppressive fortress is as null as mine. If it does reach you, Mother, I failed in my mission, but you must not give up. You cannot let them use me against you. You must leave me; I am at my fate and it is my destiny. Jace is still here; he is your rightful heir, and there are Joffrey, Egg, Viserys, and my sister to be born. You are the rightful queen, Mother. You must leave me behind. This is war; we have to lose things to gain others. If I manage to save myself, it will be my destiny, if not, it will also be. None of this is your fault or your responsibility.

Always yours, your son Lucerys Velaryon, heir to Driftmark."

Rhaenyra stifled a sob.

"Foolish boy, what nonsense does he speak, I am his mother, I will never leave him behind, NEVER," she roared.

Daemon couldn't help but feel proud of Lucerys' bravery, but he agreed with his wife: they wouldn't leave the boy behind. At this very moment, their men were moving to rescue the boy.

"We should go with our dragons, Mother. We have more. And with Aunt Helaena here, they only have Sunfyre and Vhagar right now," Jace said. "Tell me, Mother, order me, and we will take our dragons, we will bring fire and blood to the Red Keep and its traitors and we will recover Lucerys. He will be here with us when our baby sister is born."

"Nothing I wish for more, but if we attack without care, desperation may lead them to kill Lucerys. I don't want a triumph that involves giving up my son," sighed Rhaenyra. "I don't want to sit on the Iron Throne bathed in Lucerys' blood. He was bathed in mine to be born, but parents must never bathe in their children's blood, Jace. NEVER. If I lost any of you, any one of you, I would go mad," she embraced Rhaenyra. "Come, let's talk to your aunt, I need answers."

"The trick will be understanding Aunt Helaena's answers."

***

When they entered the main hall, they saw Helaena taking a sip of wine sitting by the fire while Baela and Rhaena were charmingly entertaining the dreamer.

"Helaena," Rhaenyra called her attention.

"Sister..." Helaena smiled, "come, sit down, sit down, I have so much to tell you," she laughed melodically. "Do you know they are planning Lucerys' wedding to Aemond?" she asked, not understanding the painful squeeze in her sister's heart. "Well, Lucerys didn't know either," she said as if her sister had denied it, although Rhaenyra hadn't said anything. "So when he found out, he swept the floor with Aemond," she recounted nonchalantly, as if all of this were not part of a war but a trivial family dispute. "Lucerys swore to him that they would never have a wedding unless his mother was with him."

Rhaenyra couldn't help the tremulous smile; her brave boy.

"I'm glad he's getting on Aemond's nerves," Joffrey scoffed.

"Something like that," Helaena nodded. "His words were 'I will marry you and will even negotiate a marriage between Helaena's children and my own brother's. In exchange, my first child and heir will be for Rhaena after the way my engagement with her has been broken... In exchange, return the throne to my mother as it always should have been. With you as my husband, mother would never hurt you. Even with the engagement between Jace's and Aegon's children, the greens will have your blood on the throne as they so desire. It's a good deal.' I have to admit he's quite the negotiator," Helaena recalled Lucerys' words one by one.

"Lucerys' words are mine," Rhaenyra said hastily as she sat next to Helaena and took her hands. "You can tell Aegon, tell everyone. I will fulfill that promise of my son if they accept it," she pleaded almost desperately.

Jace and Baela looked at each other.

"Our children would make a great marriage with yours, Aunt Helaena," the boy supported his mother after looking at Baela, who nodded.

"Oh, I'm sure they would, if only they were half the men you, Luce, and Joffrey are, my daughter would be lucky in this life," she smiled dreamily.

"Then... are you here to support us? To help us?" Rhaena asked hopefully. "I swear I won't interfere, I'll even give my blessing for Aemond and Lucerys' wedding, so they can rule Driftmark together, and maybe my own children and theirs in the future can marry," she assured Lucerys' now ex-fiancée.

"Yes, I want Lucerys to be happy, he's very good with my children," she smiled sweetly. "You don't have to worry, I mean, they're already engaged, but that happened before... you know... things got a bit out of control," she commented, although the others found it hard to follow her. "But since he arrived at the palace, I've stolen him, he's with me and my children all the time... at least until the wedding. There have already been many rumors about the origins of my nephews, it's better not to have any about the future children of Aemond and Lucerys if a child is born too early. Besides, having children so young is not good. Luce is only 13 years old," she thought aloud.

"That's very kind, Aunt Helaena, thank you," Jace said softly, exchanging a look with his mother.

"You don't have to thank me, I'm their aunt," she reminded him, blinking confusedly.

Rhaenyra kissed her little sister's forehead.

"If only everyone were like you, sister," the older one told her.

"No... that wouldn't be good," she shook her head with a giggle that only she understood.