"Muña, skoro syt issi ao mundagon? (Mother, why are you sad?)"
Rhaenyra looked down at her nine year old daughter.
"Skoro syt gaomagon ao pendagon iksan mundagon ñuha dreamer? (Why do you think I am sad my dreamer?)"
Daenys' pale eyes narrowed at her mother.
She knew something was wrong, knew the way people around court whispered to each other when they thought that Rhaenyra was far enough away not to notice them.
Rhaenyra pretended not to notice, but she wilted a little bit each time it happened.
They whispered behind their hands about Daenys, about Jacaerys and Lucerys, about her mother's swollen belly and the child who had not been born yet.
Would they look like Daenys?
Would they be dark like their brothers? Sir Laenor's or Sir Strong's?
No one dared say it aloud, that would be treason, but they whispered.
And Daenys always listened to the whispers.
Sometimes they even whispered that perhaps Daenys herself wasn't really the daughter of Sir Laenor, despite her moon gold hair and sapphire eyes.
But no, only so many people had Valyria in their blood, so of course Laenor was her father.
After all, she had been so small when she was born, its was just an early labor.
Then again, perhaps The Stranger himself had visited Rhaenyra's bed, or Balerion, God of Valyria, death incarnate.
She looked like the daughter of death, they said, paler than even her mother, nothing like her supposed lord father.
She didn't care really, if anything she loved being able to turn cold wide eyes on the gossipmongers and send them scuttling away.
But her mother cared, and she loved her mother.
She loved her brothers, Sir Laenor, and Sir Harwin. She was even somewhat fond of Sir Laenor's "friend" Sir Qarl Correy, with how often he seemed to be around.
So maybe she did care, for them if not for herself.
Jacaerys pushed between Daenys and Rhaenyra before she could answer her mother's question.
"Hey! Quit talking in Valyrian! You know I'm not that good at it yet!"
Rhaenyra chuckled, her 8 year old son's outburst bringing a genuine grin to her face.
"Well then you will just have to keep practicing won't you? Until then your sister and I get to keep all the secrets we want."
She winked conspiratorially at Daenys.
The tension broken, Daenys smiled softly.
"Perhaps you and Luce should go to lessons instead of the dragon pit tomorrow? You can hardly control Vermax if you can't speak Valyrian." Daenys teased her brother.
Jace turned his nose up at her. "Just because you prefer books to dragons doesn't mean the rest of us want to suffer!"
Daenys gasped indignantly, "I do not! It's just that Nagga is still too small to start training yet." She defended herself.
Her dragon, Nagga, was named after the story of a sea dragon she found in one of the Maesters' books. Her scales shone like mother of pearl, and they were Velaryons after all, so it seemed appropriate to name the dragon who's egg had shared a cradle with her after a sea legend.
She had been slow to hatch, slower than Jace or Luce's eggs, and only learned to breath fire a couple of weeks earlier.
"Whatever," Jace waved a hand in her face "you should come with us tomorrow anyways, we've got a wicked prank planned with Aegon!"
Rhaenyra frowned gently at her son. "You aren't planning anything cruel are you? Aegon isn't exactly the best example to follow."
"No, no! It will be funny, we'll all get a good laugh. Anyways, Daenys you're always spending time with Helaena or Aemond and never with us, you really should come!"
It was little Luce piping up that finally swayed her. "Yeah Dany! Come with us!"
His cute little curly hair falling into his eyes as he looked up at his big sister.
She had been a baby still when Jace was born and had never really known life without him, but by the time Luce came around she was already 4, and remembered him as the tiny red faced chubby cheeked baby her parents had first introduced to her.
It meant she had a certain weakness for his pouting that she didn't hold for Jace.
She was certain to feel the same any day now when her littlest sibling decided they were ready to meet the world.
She nodded at them both, to which her mother gave her an approving smile.
"Well my little dragons, if you are all three going to the dragon pit tomorrow you best get some sleep. Taming dragons is no small feat! I would know, corralling you three all the time!" Rhaenyra playfully bared her teeth at them and chased them laughing around their sitting room.
She stopped suddenly, flinching.
Daenys ran up to her concerned by the look of pain. The boys stood uncomfortably by their sleeping room door unsure how to proceed.
Rhaenyra patted her arm gently and softly told her, "Not to worry, it seems this little dragon is done cooking. Could you fetch the midwife for me and then make sure your brother's get to bed? I don't want them to worry."
"What about father? Should I send for him as well?"
"He is probably out with Sir Qarl, you will have to send a squire out to look for them, but yes my dreamer, that would be much appreciated."
Daenys nodded, and ran to find her mother's midwife, and a squire to find her father.
Aemond was, he felt, quietly minding his own business when his niece Daenys came tumbling around a corner, slamming full force into him and knocking them both to the ground.
"Oof!" He let out a huff of air as the small girl landed squarely on his stomach, a mess of elbows and knees and entirely too much hair.
"Oh gods, sorry Aemond." She rushed as she climbed to her feet, somehow hitting him with her elbow again in her haste to stand.
He glared at her. "Where are you going in such a hurry that you can't bother to look where you are going? You were supposed to meet me in the gardens for Valyrian practice ages ago and never showed up."
"Mother has started her labors. I sent the midwife to her but I cannot find Father anywhere and had hoped to catch one of the squires down at the stables before they retire for the night. Perhaps they will know where he is."
Aemond scoffed. Laenor Velaryon was probably off with one of those very same squires, or his trusty companion Sir Qarl, he thought to himself.
But looking at Daenys's hopeful face he couldn't bring himself to speak the snide words aloud.
"Well come on then, you shouldn't be out looking by yourself. I'll help as long as you promise not to run me over again."
She flushed in embarrassment.
They walked in silence for some time before she spoke.
Looking up at her uncle, Daenys asked "Are you to go to the dragon pit tomorrow? Jace and Luce have convinced me to join them, but now I feel maybe I should stay with Mother."
"Why would I?" He shrugged bitterly.
At 11 years old Aemond was the only child who had not yet bonded with a dragon.
"Aegon keeps telling me I have to come anyways. He says I will never find a dragon if I spend all my time in the library and training yards. Really I just think he wants to lord it over me."
He felt comfortable sharing his thoughts with Daenys.
The quite girl was his favorite between her and his nephews.
The boys had a tendency to join in on Aegon's efforts to embarrass and taunt him.
"You should stay with your mother tomorrow, if we cannot find your father soon she will need someone to stand by and support her."
He remembered his own mother's labors with Daeron. Aemond had only been 5, but Alicent's last birth had been quite long and difficult. She swore off trying for more children after the experience, saying "The King has too many heirs as it stands."
They wandered the grounds for a bit, looking for Sir Laenor, or anyone who may help find him.
Finally they came across Sir Criston, who was packing away his training gear in the yard.
"Prince Aemond, Princess Daenys. What are you doing out here?" He inquired, giving Daenys a hard look, and Aemond a disapproving one.
"I'm looking for my father sir, have you seen him about?" Daenys politely responded.
"Not in a very, very long time Princess." Cole sneered.
Aemond stepped up to the kingsguard, giving the knight his own disapproving frown.
"Sir Cole, please send Sir Laenor to the Crown Princess's chambers whenever you do encounter him.
Come on Daenys, I don't think we will find him tonight."