What a year...at this point I do not know what to say, what comfort to offer or what updates to give.
A giant hug to everyone. I don't know your losses or your grief or your hopes and your support systems this year, but a nice, warm hug to everyone.
So onwards...
I got a couple of reviews recently. And this chapter was all typed out. In fact, the next one is too. I have not had the time to edit it much or send it across or even catch up with my beta (what can I say; words have become hard). I have corrected it a bit but I mostly have very little energy (surprise surprise), so forgive any errors.
Chapter 13
Arthur III
A sennight had passed since the royal wedding. As was customary, Rhaegar and Azalea should not have been disturbed for 3 nights, only maidservants going inside.
But it had been remiss. Viserys had thrown multiple tantrums, sobbing and screaming as he asked for Azalea. Dowager Queen had not been pleased and had confined him to his rooms, comforting him but also letting him know that Azalea was not available.
Azalea and Rhaegar had inquired of the outside world, and a maid had lightly informed them of the condition of Viserys.
When Dowager Queen had returned to check on Viserys in the evening, she found both Azalea and Rhaegar by his bed, fully dressed in royal garb and out of their room one night early.
Azalea was telling Viserys a story as he held her hand. The young prince had clung to her with all his might after his father was sent away and Queen Dowager recovered. Azalea had indulged him through it all, disciplining him but very lightly.
The early end to the wedding bed was a violation of royal protocol, just like not having the bedding ceremony. Although, the bloody sheets meant the union was consummated.
Dowager Queen was displeased but she did not say anything because Rhaegar had smiled widely and taken her into an embrace.
Rhaegar had since returned to his Kingly duties, Azalea did not. She had directed the stewards, but she did not venture out of her royal chambers a lot.
Arthur should have known that something was remiss. He should have seen it coming. Things had been going too well.
So, when a maid scrambled out hastily claiming that the queen was puking out blood, and screaming for a maester, Arthur ignored all propriety and entered the inside of his King and his Queen's bed chambers.
As Whent rushed with the maid to get the maester
"Stop the maid," Azalea said. She was in a light cotton nightdress, covered fully but Arthur was aware of how many protocols was he breaking.
"You need help," Arthur scrambled.
"She will cause hysteria, Arthur. I am fine." Even as Azalea said this, she puked a bucketload of blood onto the pot.
"You are not fine. Whent is with her. He knows discretion. What is happening? Why didn't' you…"
"Okay, then. Stop talking, listen to me. I need you to go and open my wardrobe." Azalea said.
Arthur began to protest but she cut him off, "I don't have much time, listen to what I say. Third panel, second drawer, there will be stone covered with fur. Bring it to me, now." And she puked again.
Arthur ran. It was even more inappropriate for him to enter her personal domain and see all her clothing, but he did as she said.
As he handed her the stone, she took it before instructing, "Don't let me close my eyes. Slap me if you must."
She swallowed the stone before her body started going limp and she started closing her eyes.
Rhaegar V
When he heard Valor's screeches, he thought something was remiss.
It was Selmy who told him within moments that he was needed in his bedchambers, barely getting the word queen out and Rhaegar all but ran.
He walked in right after the Maester and Whent as they entered, and saw Azalea sprawled on the door to the bath, blood everywhere, and his best friend, slapping her cheeks to keep her awake.
He felt his life leaving him. He leaned down beside her quickly.
"My King please ask Ser Dayne to listen to me. Step aside, Ser Dayne. I daresay you have done enough," the Maester began.
But before that could happen, Azalea opened her eyes widely and coughed out the stone that had gone coal black.
"That would be unnecessary, Maester Pycelle." Azalea said throatily, "I will be needing a jug of water with solop's salt, Lokyl tonic, and table salt and sugar."
"That's not…"
"Do as she says," Rhaegar said quietly as he supported Azalea.
"If the poison is allowed to fester…we don't what poison it is." Maester Pyclle still protested.
"All the poison is in that stone, out of my system. I need something for the blood and water I have lost. I would like to preserve my energy rather than argue with you." She said in a whisper.
"No stone can…" Pycelle began again but Rhaegar's deathly glare had him scrambling, "Quickly, Grandmaester."
"Can you just have water, love? Until he comes back?" He asked her softly.
She nodded.
"I will need a warm bath. With Hibiscus essence. The rest of the toxins are going to come out through my skin." She murmured, "You should get out of the blood Rhaegar, it is staining your clothes."
Rhaegar gave her a look, "I am fine. Can I move you?"
"I will get out, I don't want you covered in blood. Just give me your hand…" But Rhaegar had already plucked her off the ground. Azalea would give me a look of disapproval but would wrap her arms around him anyway.
"I will get the maids, discrete ones. And Ashara?" Whent said.
Azalea would nod her head, "The fewer people know the better. I want a guard on Maester Pycelle lest he sends words outside."
"Let the Kingsguard know. Leave Darry and Martell by Mother and Viserys. They are not to come out of their rooms. I want everyone else outside this room or with us."
A couple of hours later, Azalea had bathed. Rhaegar almost wanted to assist but she had sent a furtive glance around all the men and shook her head.
The Maester had come with the pitcher and Azalea had already had 3 glass full.
The bath and that had returned some color of her cheeks. Some.
Everyone but the Kingsguard and Ashara had left the chambers.
As Azalea had filled him when he lifted her in arms earlier, it was a late-acting poison called the gentle curdle. She was likely poisoned on the night of the wedding itself.
She had been feeling a little sick all week, but she had thought it was related to the sheer exhaustion of trying to do a lot around the keep before the wedding and it was catching up. There was no need for a lockdown because the responsible parties were already gone.
Thankfully, she was familiar with the poison.
And the stone she had used, Bezoar, acted as an antidote to most poisons including the one, which she had made Arthur got to her because her maid had run off before listening to her.
There had been so much blood. Azalea was so petite in her stature. He had never thought of her as fragile before today, but he wondered how her tiny body was handling the aftershocks. And he had just been so surprised at how factual and non-shaken she had been through the whole ordeal, giving him crisp information without emotions.
She had made him rummage through the drawers. He had done that while carrying her in arms and downed two bottles of a wine-colored potion.
"Blood replenishers," She had murmured to him.
He was just insisting that Azalea retire to bed, after all the treatment and bath when his mother would burst in the chamber with Darry and Martell following.
It was an odd sight. All of them in the same room huddled around Azalea. Thankfully, all the blood had been cleaned.
"What is the meaning of locking me inside my chambers?" His mother was not pleased.
Rhaegar was emotionally spent.
"The Queen was poisoned." Arthur took over for him, "The King just wanted you safe while treatment was administered to her."
"First sennight of the wedding and poisoning. What an omen!" His mother would murmur.
"Why is the palace not sealed?" Martell asked.
"Because I was given the Gentle curdle," Azalea said softly.
"Is that supposed to mean something?" Darry would ask.
Azalea's gaze was fitted on Martell, "Prince Lewyn, tell your brother about Gentle Curdle."
"It is a slow-acting poison. The Queen was likely given it on or before the wedding." Martell would inform, and then with pain and dejection, he would look at Rhaeghar, "Your grace, it is also a method my sister favors."
Rhaegar thought his rage would burst out like molten fire. Darry and Selmy had pushed back his mother and Viserys and stood between Martell and the rest of them.
"Leave him be. He did not know." Azalea simply said.
Arthur was the only one to relax his stance somewhat.
Hightower asked, "Your grace, how did you know Prince Martell would recognize the poison?"
"It is a cousin of Long Night, a poison favored by Dornish. Arthur recognized it too." Azalea would say, "As for my intuition about Prince Martell's more intimate knowledge, The Yronwood daughter, Morna died of the gentle curdle a few sennights before Prince Doran was born."
"How is the Yronwood heiress connected to all this? I know Martells have had a struggle forever…" Whent would ask.
"Princess Wera's late husband Sable favored her in years before his match to Princess Wera. Word was that the affair continued much after the wedding." It was his mother who answered quietly.
Princess Wera had been a lady-in-waiting for his mother. He trusted her knowledge on the matter.
"There were rumors that she had gotten with child while Princes Wera was pregnant. The princess did whatever she could to restore her honor." Azalea's words were polite and sugarcoated in diplomacy.
"But how do you know of…"
"I bartered information with the Iron Bank when I went to get my affairs in order. The House of Lannister and Nymeras Martell had the most to lose with our nuptials. I wanted to be prepared with the recent history of both houses. I had personally thought that Princess Wera would have gone with something less flashy and messy. Guess I underestimated her hatred for me."
"We do not have proof." Hightower would say.
"Whatever do we need proof for?" Azalea would ask.
"We cannot bring her to justice. Whatever are we going to use for justifying war with Dorne…" Dayne would say.
"War with Dorne?" Azalea looked surprised, "There will be no war. We cannot afford it. Not when winter seems less than a year away."
"She tried to kill you a sennight from our wedding, likely on it." Rhaegar would grit his teeth.
"And you would rage war on the realm on a desperate decision from a dying woman?" Azalea shot back.
Lewyn Martell got sadder at that and rather shocked.
"She has months. Her eyes are getting sick green. She just wanted her children settled before she left the world." Azalea would whisper, her eyes holding compassion for Prince Martell.
"She got the Butterfly Fever. They managed to make her better but the ordeal left her weakened. She should have not traveled to Harrenhall but she had hoped…" Prince Martell began.
"That Crown Prince and now the King would be convinced of her daughter's prowess." His mother finished.
"How does that…"
"Rhaegar, she is dying. I do not think that the rest of the Martells were involved. A war would be ill-advised, especially because there will be no lasting effects on me." Azalea would say softly.
"That is not justice." Rhaegar would say hotly.
"But it is the play that preserves the realm." Azalea was not budging.
Rhaegar did not get it. How was she not outraged? She had been so upset at the thought of the injustice that Lord Blount had been served. What about herself?
"Dorne will not take an accusation lightly. Especially because we do not have anything. We cannot be sure of who was the one who did it. The security was rather tight but all it takes is a brush against skin. There are just so many people who are likely candidates. We have intelligence but no proof. Even if Prince Martell opens as a witness, all we have is word that Princess Wera prefers that poison. That is not enough to indict the leader of a great house." Azalea's tone was cajoling.
"They hurt you, the woman I love. Even if I forgo that. They hurt their queen. There need to be consequences. As a King, I cannot embolden, we cannot …" Rhaegar began, but his anger was beyond words now.
"I am not saying that we do nothing. But this needs to be handled more delicately. You are angry. I understand. I probably would feel similarly if something were to happen to you. But Princess Wera is dying and will not be the one who suffers the consequences of war regardless."
'What if she tries it again?" It was Whent who spoke.
"She won't. She suffered a seizure the night off before your coronation, your grace. It was her pride that got her to the court and likely to arrange the poisoning, but when she left the capital way before the wedding, she was already bedridden. She likely has days," Martell would say softly, "I had not thought her to be capable of this because of her physical condition."
"Forgive us if we do not take your word on that Prince Martell," It was Azalea who spoke that, albeit with a little regret.
Prince Martell looked hurt, but he nodded.
Everyone was looking at him now. Rhaegar looked outside, the sun was about to set.
"Let us reconvene tomorrow. As Azalea said, the tempers are running high. I want all my engagements canceled and any food and water which is brought to any of us to be tested. Just the 2 maids and when they are not here, I want them under guards. Similarly, for mother and Viserys. Ser Hightower, you are with Viserys. Ser Darry, take care of Mother. Arthur and Selmy are outside our doors. Whent and Martell, I need you to take patrols in the corridors… "
A dragon screeched.
Azalea would look at him and then proceed to throw open the balcony door. Valor's face was in Azalea's form as he sniffed over her.
Azalea crooned to him, rubbing his nose and then plopping a kiss between his eyes. Valor would nudge her, stay close, and then fly away. Azalea was watching him fly away.
"Ser Martell, I would like to speak to you in my solar in a bit," He would say pointedly, "Ashara, can you keep the ladies distracted about Azalea? And ask Willem Darry to stay on Maester Pycelle, Ser Hightower."
After getting affirmations, he would dismiss everyone because Azalea needed to sleep.
Azalea would fall asleep the minute she went to their bed once everyone left.
He would question Prince Martell, of course. He had no doubts about Martell's loyalty to his oath, just he would have been negligent if he did not ensure loyalty.
Gentle curdle was literally meant to curdle someone's insides. It was by no means painless. No, the gentle came from how long the curdling took and how prolonged the suffering was. It was also very rare. Nobody knew this outside Martells, but the key ingredient came from the venom of a scorpion found around water gardens.
For that matter, Martell looked dazed and aghast even as he gave Rhaegar the details of the poison.
Martell would apologize, so many times over. He had not thought his sister capable of this. He had written positively about Azalea. He had been upset at what his sister had done at the Great Council as well. They had a huge clash where he told her of his disappointment, only to be told that she was dying, and she wanted her children safe and secure. Lewyn had believed that.
Azalea was of the mind that it was cruel to ask Lewyn to be a witness against his sister. And Rhaegar was still wondering about that. He wanted Princess Wera to pay but he was also not sure if going against Azalea's express wishes would do him good.
Lewyn solved the dilemma by offering up to be a witness himself.
His mother would come around supper. He would not be happy to see her.
"You were supposed to be under protection, mother." He would murmur.
"I know Wera. You need me." His mother would say.
Even though his mother had hesitations, she largely agreed with Azalea. Azalea should not have kept key intelligence about Wera's illness from them but going to war with Dorne right after his coronation and as winter fast approached was not a good idea.
Rhaegar was not sure why Azalea had not told him about Wera's illness. He suspected it was because she was not certain and because there were no immediate things/ploys that Dorne needed. He did not explain it to his mother.
His mother was of the mind that it needs to be a clandestine defeat or surrender.
Wera was a highly ambitious woman. Always had been. And very prideful.
His mother was not shocked by her attempt to poison Azalea after what had gone down in the Great Council.
She would have warned him had she known the exact happenings of the great council. As it happened, she had spent some time questioning Arthur since the events of the afternoon.
"If anything, Azalea or I should be the one poisoning her." Rhaegar had scoffed.
"I am not standing by anything that she did or say, Rhaegar. I am impressed by Azalea's zeal for peace. I doubt if anyone would have been surprised if she unleashed Valor after the slurs she endured. But Wera lost. To a woman of her pride, it is a blow. She will try to restore her world by any means." His mother would say.
After his mother left, Rhaegar would spend hours poring over everything he knew about Wera and the status of Dorne and Sunspear with everything.
They could not afford a war. Azalea had the gold and they could incentivize the rest of the kingdoms but they had not been able to take Dorne earlier. They would not be able to take it now.
And it was stupid. They had so many things to do to undo what his father had done, to lay a solid groundwork for everything for the coming years. They did not know when the long night may strike.
But he could not just let it be. It was not a slight. Wera was willing to kill the woman he loved, painfully, all for a perceived slight that was merely unfulfilled ambition.
Rhaegar was not sure if the sight of Azalea surrounded in blood, Arthur drenched in her blood would leave him anytime soon.
Honestly, Rhaegar was afraid. He could not lose Azalea. He could not. He did not even want to consider the possibility.
Arthur had come in, saying that Selmy was replacing him briefly.
He looked shaken, "She was not afraid, Rhaegar. I was more afraid than she was. It was like she is used to dying or expects to."
Rhaegar did not have the heart to confirm it. But it did make him realize something. Azalea was not going to be outraged about people trying to kill her because she was used to people doing it to her. It was a pattern he had sensed. That is why she had taken risky maneuvers that put her in danger but helped him or the realm. It was the mentality of a soldier, taken to an extreme with no sense of self-preservation.
Rhaegar was not sure how to address it. He did not like it. Even if he ignored his feelings of love and helplessness, Azalea was the queen. No longer a soldier. She was not expendable. Maybe, that was the way to reason with her.
He and Arthur had tried to establish who all had touched her, but as Azalea had predicted it was very hard to establish just who would have brushed past her in the wedding reception.
Arthur would leave after some time.
Rhaegar would stay. His mind running a dozen matters but each thought being obscured with Azalea and her blood.
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