Author's Note: Hi everyone! As promised, here is the second chapter for the seventh episode! Thank you to all of you who are still sticking around and reading each week and giving your feedback. I'm so glad you all seem to be enjoying the story so far. ❤️
THE DRAGON & THE ROSE - EPISODE SEVEN/PART TWO
"Shh, shh, it's alright, it's almost over," Elaena said calmly, pressing a kiss on her daughter's head as she held her.
"It hurts-" Rhaena whimpered, squirming a little in her mother's arms as the maester made another stitch across the cut on her cheek.
"I know, darling, I know," Elaena tried soothing her, combing her hands gently through the girl's hair. Daemon sat next to them both, holding Rhaena's hand in his own for comfort.
Both of the girl's brothers sat across from them watching with wide and sad eyes. It had taken a long time for the maester to be finished with Aemond's sliced eye and the other children of the court. By the time he had gotten to Elaena's family to help them, Aemon's wrist had swollen twice its normal size and turned a nasty purple color. Upon seeing this the maester wanted to treat Aemon's wrist immediately, but Aemon had insisted that the maester help Rhaena before him.
When the maester finally cut off the end of the silk thread used for the fifth and final stitch, she let out a small cry, buring herself deeper into her mother's arms for protection.
"Well done, my darling," Elaena soothed her, giving her a small squeeze.
"That wasn't so bad was it?" Daemon asked lightly, tickling her stomach lightly to try and get a smile from her. But she seemed less than willing to comply with this, only crying harder now.
"It's going to give me a big, ugly scar," she cried, her tiny chest shaking with tears.
"Even if it does, it won't be ugly, it'll be marvelous," Viseryn said, walking towards her with excitement in his voice. Both Elaena and Daemon looked to each other with small smiles on their face, listening as he did his best to try to cheer his little sister up.
"Marvelous?" Rhaena asked, sniffling as she lifted her head up to look at him with confusion.
"It'll be just like mother and father's scars, proof that you're a brave warrior," Viseryn nodded, a proud smile on his face as he spoke to her.
"You really think so?" she asked, forgetting her sadness and pain more and more by the second.
"Oh yes, my darling," Daemon said with a cheerful voice. He leaned down low so that he was eye level with her, a glint in his eye shining as he spoke. "You'll be forever known as Rhaena the Brave."
Rhaena laughed a little at this thought, her smile beaming. But it didn't last long, for stretching her cheeks that far made her wound hurt.
"Here you are, Your Grace," the maester said, handing Daemon a cup with a very small amount of milk of the poppy inside. Daemon turned to Rhaena with a small smile, handing her the cup.
"Drink all of this up for me, alright? For the pain," he said to his daughter, watching as she slowly drank it. Her nose wrinkled from the recoiling taste of the drink, but Daemon could see she didn't leave a single drop left inside before handing it back to him. "Good girl."
"Alright now just close your eyes," Elaena said softly, leaning her daughter back to lay down in her arms. "The milk of the poppy will help you sleep."
"Wait, but I don't want to sleep-" Rhaena said with wide eyes, feeling betrayed by her parents for not saying that the drink would make her tired. "I need to stay awake and make sure you and Aemon get fixed too."
"We're going to be just fine," Elaena assured her, placing another kiss on the crown of the girl's head. "You just sleep, you need your rest."
They could all see the protest in Rhaena's face, but it didn't matter, for within a few seconds the drink had taken affect. Her eyelids quickly became heavy with sleep, then closed completely as she lay in her mother's lap. They all watched her drift into sleep for a moment, then turned back to each other so the maester could finish his work with the others.
"Your turn, son," Daemon nodded, walking over to Aemon as the maester prepared the next round of materials needed for aid.
"No, we should let mother go next," he said quickly, shaking his head a bit, "My wrist can wait, she might bleed out from the cut on her shoulder if we don't do her first."
"I'm not going to bleed out," Elaena laughed lightly, "Besides, your wrist is already swelling and the longer we wait the more difficult and painful it will be to set it straight again."
"Come on, lad," Daemon said with encouragement, slapping his son on the back a little. "We need to have you fixed up if you're ever going to hold a sword again."
"I was terrible with a sword before and I'll be even worse now whether my wrist gets fixed or not," Aemon said with exasperation, his eyes flitting nervously to the maester as he neared him. "I'll never be a good fighter so we shouldn't even bother-"
"You need your hand for more things than just wielding a sword, Aemon," Elaena said more firmly, shifting her fast-asleep daughter in her lap to lean towards him. "This isn't up for debate, you're having your hand set back into place right now."
"Don't be afraid, it can't hurt worse than when you broke it," Daemon said, sitting with his arm wrapped around Aemon's shoulder. Both he and Elaena looked to each other, knowing that the pain of setting the bone would indeed be more painful, but there was no use in telling Aemon that, there was no use in making him more scared than he already was.
"It will only take a second to set the bones again," the maester explained, taking Aemon's hand gently into his own. Aemon winced as he did this, the swelled and bruised skin sensitive to even a touch as light as this one. "Afterwards I will wrap it so that it can heal properly. And then we're finished."
Before Aemon could get even more scared and back out of this, the maester quickly snapped the bone back into place, the loud cracking sound making everyone jump with a bit of shock. Aemon screamed loudly as this happened, the pain too much not to.
"There, the bone is set," the maester said kindly, carefuly taking the cloth in his hands to wrap around Aemon's wrist. Elaena watched as her son started to softly cry, small streams of tears rolling down his face. But he didn't make a sound, he tried with all his might to hold the pain in.
"Well done, son," Daemon said, patting him gently on the back.
"You were so brave," Viseryn said softly, a singular tear rolling from his own eye. Though Viseryn hadn't been injured like his siblings, both Daemon and Elaena could see he felt their pain all the same. She knew her son felt guilty for walking away practically unscathed after it had been he to take Aemond's eye, he felt guilty that his siblings bore the injuries and scars. While Elaena understood her son's feelings, she was only glad that he was unhurt, that Alicent hadn't succeeded in taking her eye. The less injury there was to her children the better.
"Brave indeed, we're very proud of you," Elaena agreed, nodding as she looked to Daemon. The two of them exchanged a small look of pride for their children, whispers of a smile on each of their faces. Despite the horrors of the night prior they knew in their hearts that their children only did their parents would have done. They protected each other, as well as the others they loved.
"There," the maester said, tucking the last strand of cloth in so that Aemon's wrap was completed. "Now remember, don't take off the bandages or try to use your hand until it regains full strength."
"Yes, maester," Aemon said quietly, sniffling as he cradled his wrist in his other hand.
"Now it's time for you, my love," Daemon said, looking to his wife again. Elaena nodded, pulling the collar of her dress down so that the large gash Alicent had made on her shoulder was exposed for stitching. The maester began to clean the wound with alcohol and a cloth, the burning sensation making her flinch a little. But she choked down the pain, needing to be strong if only for the sake of her children watching.
"Now that you three are all tended to, we need to talk about what happened last night that caused all these injuries," Elaena started, her eyebrows raising a little as the maester began his first stitch. She breathed in sharply through teeth as he did this, saying her next words with a clenched jaw from the pain. "What were you three doing outside of your room without us, in the middle of the night no less?"
"After you told us to bar the door and left to go find father, Jace, Baella and Luke came to our room," Viseryn started to explain, his eyes filling with a bit of shame. Both of the boys knew that they were in trouble, and there was no around it. "They said that Aemond had stolen Vhagar, so we went to go confront him about it."
"We know why you wanted to go, what we don't understand is why you didn't think to wait for one of us? Or any adult for that matter?" Daemon asked, his voice firm now too. "How many times have we told you that you are not to go anywhere without your mother or I there? What made you abandon knowing that?"
"You told us yesterday not to not ever talk about choosing sides again, you told us that we didn't understand what we were talking about," Viseryn said slowly, looking at his mother. "We wanted to show you that we could defend our family too, we're old enough to understand."
Elaena sat with her mouth slightly open, a bit speechless by these words. The last thing she had wanted was for her words to have been the catalyst for what happened the night prior. They were meant to guard her children from taking matters into their own hands, not encourage them. Daemon and her exchanged a bit of a heartbroken glance, then turned back to their sons. Daemon cleared his throat a little, choosing his words carefully. "I understand that you wanted to prove yourselves, but it's our job to protect the family, not yours."
"Aemond was hurting Rhaena... and Baella, Jace, and Luke too...were we supposed to just let him?" Viseryn asked, his eyes welling with tears again. His lip trembled between each part of his sentence, making Elaena's heart twinge with guilt. She could see the hurt in her children's eyes, they were truly unable to understand why they were in trouble for doing what they did.
"We have every much a right to protect our family as you, it's our duty as well," Aemon finally said, his voice small.
"While we both admire that, you're still just children, boys of only nine and seven," Daemon said more gently now, "You're not meant to carry that duty yet, not for many more years."
"Yes, we're both very proud of you for sticking up for your family, but next time you'll come to us first. There'll be no more sneaking out at night without us. It's too dangerous," Elaena agreed, putting her final words on the matter out into the world.
"Yes, mother," they both replied, looking down at their hands and away from their parents.
"Now off to your room, both of you," Elaena continued, "Help Ona pack up you and your sister's things. We leave for home in a few hours."
The two boys stood and walked with their heads hanging low to their rooms, their parents watching them closely. The maester pulled his thread through with another stitch, making Elaena wince in pain again.
"Are you almost finished, maester?" Elaena asked impatiently, wanting this grueling process to be over more than anything.
"I still have at least four or five more stitches to make, Your Grace," the man replied, piercing her skin again with his thick needle. "The wound itself is in a tricky area, and Your Grace's moving and talking does not make the stitching easier to complete."
"Let me take Rhaena then," Daemon smiled a little, reaching down to take his sleeping daughter from his wife's lap. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to put her down in bed."
"No, don't bother, you stay with them and make sure the boys are alright. I know they needed that conversation but I could see that it hurt thema ll the same. I'll be there as soon as this is done."
"You don't want me to stay and hold your hand?" Daemon asked, a small smirk on his lips.
"While it would be nice I think I can manage without it," Elaena laughed lightly. "Our boys need you more right now."
"Alright then, I'll see you soon," Daemon responded. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving, allowing Elaena to lean back in her chair with a small sigh so that the maester could finish.
She looked out of the window before her to the sea surrounding Driftmark, trying to take her mind off of the pain of the needle stabbing into her open wound. As she stared at the violent waves of the sea she couldn't help but think about what the fight between all the children must have been like.
Flashes of each of their faces entered her mind, making her feel sick to her stomach. For a child to attack another in such gruesome ways was difficult enough to wrap one's mind around, but for a child to attack their own cousins in such a way was truly shocking to her.
Elaena knew that tensions were rising when it came to the divide within the family, but she never thought for one moment that the tension would boil over in the way it did, that it would be the children and not the adults to lash out at each other. She hadn't wanted any of the children to become so involved, but it was clear now that the hatred all the adults had for each other was being passed on to them.
The more that her and Rhaenyra fought with Alicent, the more their children would fight as well. So she was glad to be leaving for Dragonstone, glad to put distance between her family and Alicent's. Other than doing this, she had no idea what she could do to keep her children out of it. And deep down she knew that leaving for Dragonstone might not be enough to do it. The reality of it all was that they were becoming just as involved as she was.
A small knock sounded in the room, pulling her attention from her thoughts.
"Come in," she called out, keeping neck still and eye on the ocean so as not to interrupt the maester at work. The sound of armor echoed around the room as whoever it was approached. Elaena's eyes followed the figure from the corner of her eye until he was standing before her; Cley.
"I was hoping to speak with you privately, Your Grace, if you'd let me," he said nervously, looking at the maester. "But I can come back later if I'm disturbing you-"
"No need," the maester interrupted, tying off the last stitch on her neck. "I've just finished."
"Thank you for all your help, maester, it is much appreciated," Elaena responded, giving him a small smile.
"I was happy to help your Grace, Your Grace," the man said, slowly standing to bow and leave. Her and Cley remained silent as they watched him pack his things and leave, neither of them speaking until he was gone.
"What is it you'd like to speak to me about?" Elaena asked stiffly, remaining in her seat before him. She slowly and carefully feeling the stitched wound. It felt strange, as if tiny little spiders were nested along the long ridge of the cut.
Before he said anything, he cleared his throat nervously, his eyes flitting to the mended wound on her bare shoulder. His eyes remained there for a moment, and Elaena could see that he was truly pained to see her like this.
"Cley?" she asked again, pulling him back to reality.
"I wanted to come and tell you that..." he paused, collecting his thoughts before continuing. "I've come to ask you if I can come to Dragonstone with you. Despite our recent troubles, I did everything I could to protect you and your son last night. I wasn't going to let Queen Alicent hurt any of you. I'd like to continue protecting you and your family as I once did."
There was a long silence between them once he finished, leaving Elaena a bit paralyzed in her chair. She had certainly not expected a request like this from him.
"I thank you for what you did," Elaena responded rigidly, feeling her guard rise high as she looked at him. "But that doesn't mean that I suddenly trust you again...How could I when I heard you agree to do anything for her that day in the gardens of King's Landing?"
"That was when I thought this feud between you was only a petty one," Cley explained, shaking his head. "I didn't ever think that she would ask me to hurt you, to hurt one of your children. And when she asked that of me last night, I refused."
"Even so," Elaena said angrily, standing from her chair to face him. "I also saw the two of you being intimate together. How can I trust you ever again after seeing that? How would I ever know your loyalties truly don't lie with her?"
"I never wanted that," he said quietly, a look of shame washing over him. "If it wasn't the Queen pushing a relationship such as that I would have never accepted. But it was, I couldn't very well refuse her even though I didn't want it, even though I never even wanted to come back to King's Landing at all."
"So why did you come back if not for her?" she asked, shaking her head.
"She commanded me to when she heard you were coming back to King's Landing from Dragonstone. At first it was to just ask me questions about you, but then she had me stay, naming me to the King's Guard."
"She knew it would rattle me, seeing you standing with her," Elaena muttered, taking a step away from him to think.
"I was cold towards you and your family when you came back because I was jealous, because I wanted it to be me that stood by your side," Cley continued to explain, his voice hitching a little in his throat. "But not because I actually sided with her against you...Even when I wanted to I could never hurt you, not when I'm still in love with you."
"I love Daemon, Cley, I love him with my whole heart, that's never changed," she said slowly, turning around to face him again. A small tear rolled down her cheek as she paused. She knew this wasn't easy for him to admit to her, that it was already breaking his heart, but she also knew that she needed to say this. "I don't have any room for you in my life in that way. I just don't feel the same way about you as you do me."
"I know that," he smiled sadly, nodding to himself, "I always have. I'm not asking to come to Dragonstone to try and change your mind."
"Then why are you asking?" she asked, filled to the brim with confusion.
"Because I know what Alicent has in store for you all, for the future. I don't want to see you or your family hurt," he said more seriously now. "Before all of this mess, before I told you how I felt about you, we were friends. What's hurt me most over the years has not been losing your love, but rather your friendship...I've missed you Elaena."
"I've missed you too," she whispered, trying to hold her tears back as she stepped forward. She slowly put her arms around him, then hugged him tightly. She hadn't realized before now why she had been so angered by his betrayal, but she did now.
Just as he said, they were friends long before anything else. The betrayal she felt was not that her former guard and scorned love had gone to Alicent, but that her friend had.
"Let me come to Dragonstone," Cley said quietly, his muscles relaxing as Elaena hugged him. "Let me protect you as I did once before. As friends."
Elaena pulled away from him, looking up at him with teary eyes. "If I do, you can't ever betray me again. Not for anything."
"I won't," he responded, letting out a small exhale of relief. He then immediately withdrew his sword from its sheath, holding it flat in front of him as he knelt before her. His eyes immediately found the floor, staring forward as he spoke his vow: "I, Ser Cley Karstark vow to shield your back, keep your counsel, and give my life for you and your family if need be. I swear it by the old gods and the new."
Elaena's lip trembled a little as she breathed in, preparing herself for her part of the solemn oath.
"And I vow that you shall always have a place by my hearth, and meat and mead at my table. I pledge to ask no service of you that may bring you dishonor. I swear it by the old gods and the new. Arise."
Seven Hours Later
Elaena stood at the front of the ship, the wind blowing wildly around her as she watched the sun set over the horizon. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, not a single wave in the sea before them. It felt as if the gods had parted the path before them to Dragonstone, as if they wanted to help Elaena and her family leave the madness and infighting behind.
She closed her eyes as she held onto the wooden edge of the ship, breathing in the salty air. On the ship with her was of course Daemon, Rhaenyra, and their families, but also joining them was Rhaenys, Corlys, and Baella. The Velaryons had done everything in their power to keep Tyland Lannister's mysterious death kept quiet, and people seemed happy to comply with this after the drama in the throne room at Driftmark.
People easily accepted the fact that he must have drunkenly fallen to his death on the rocks, having seen him partake in lots of wine at the funeral. It was a tragedy of course, but more people seemed upset by the fact that Baella had lost a mother and a father now. The Velaryons made the excuse that they were taking her to Dragonstone so that she might be with her cousins for a while, which was true in part but false in others. They were really going to plan with Rhaenyra and the rest of the Blacks.
As well as them, Ser Harwin, Ser Cley, and another strew of fighting men were aboard the ship; all of them sworn protectors to one of the Targaryen families they followed.
Despite the madness of the last 24 hours, Elaena felt a sense of comfort in her heart as they all sailed back to her home, and she felt this for many reasons. She was proud of her children for what they did, how they so fiercely wanted to protect each other and their cousins. She was also happy that Daemon had allowed her to face Alicent herself, she felt respected that he knew it was something she needed to do alone. She felt resolved for making peace with Cley after all this time, and she felt pure unbridled joy to be going back home.
Every piece of her life seemed to be fitting in place again, making the dangers that surrounded her and her future less daunting.
As she thought about all of this, she felt Daemon slowly approach, his arms lacing themselves around her waist as he stood behind her. He ducked his head down, placing the most gentle of kisses on her injured shoulder.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, allowing her to sink backwards into his arms.
"I feel good," she smiled lightly, breathing in deeply. Before she could say anything more, Vermax let out a loud screech, flying above them. The two of them laughed a little as they watched the rest of the eleven other dragons follow behind her. She could hardly believe that they had so many of them, and despite more than half of them barely being hatchlings, she knew that they would be their greatest weapon in the war to come.
"They're getting bigger, Onyx especially... she's tripled in size in only a week it seems," Daemon thought out loud, watching as the horse-sized dragon flew over the water next to the ship.
"It's because Rhaena absolutely insists on having her fed twice as often as the others," Elaena smiled to herself, "She says she wants her to grow to be even bigger than Vhagar."
"And so she shall be," Daemon nodded, approving of his daughter's ambition wholeheartedly. He gave her a comforting squeeze, but Elaena could sense something was off with him as he held her, something was standing between them. She could feel that he wanted to tell her what it was, but for whatever reason he was hesitating.
"What is it?" she finally asked when it was apparent he wasn't going to say it on his own.
"What's what?"
"Whatever it is you're too nervous to say," she replied, turning around to face him. She smiled gently at him, but his face was anything but humorous. Her own smile fell as she urged him to speak. "What is it?"
"It's been so hectic the past day that I haven't had a moment's chance to tell you," he started, swallowing once. She remained silent, waiting for him to continue before saying anything else. "But now that we do have time I have to tell you. We promised each other to be honest, no matter what."
"Just tell me, Daemon, I'm starting to get scared," she said quickly, a million different thoughts crossing her mind as to what it could be.
"It's to do with Tyland Lannister," he said slowly, looking to the ocean behind her rather than her eyes. "He never admitted to me that he had a hand in Laena's death, that it was Alicent to put him up to it...in fact he refuted it most profusely."
"I'm sorry, what?" she asked quietly, feeling her stomach drop to her feet.
"Once it was clear that he didn't know what I was asking about it was too late. There was no turning back Elaena, I had to kill him," he continued, taking her hands into her own. "He would have alerted Alicent that we were onto them-"
"I understand why you had to kill him, truly I do," Elaena said breathlessly, shaking her head, "But we told Corly and Rhaenys that it was him, they're only with us because he was supposedly guilty, as well as Alicent. If they find out you lied they'll turn on us, our alliance-"
"They'll never know," Daemon assured her, "I promise you, they won't. And just because I don't think the Lannisters had something to do with their daughter's death doesn't mean I don't think Alicent is innocent too. I just don't know how she was behind it."
"I know that, but this is dangerous Daemon," Elaena said with worry, placing her hand on his cheek. "This information can't be shared with anyone but us two, not even to Rhaenyra. If it does get out it could make everything fall apart."
"I know," he nodded, then bowed his head down. He leaned forward, resting his forehead on top of hers with closed eyes. "Are you angry with me?"
"No," she whispered, inhaling him in. "As long as you aren't angry with me."
"Why would I be angry with you?" he asked, gently lifting his head up from hers.
"I spoke to Cley earlier..."
"What about?"
"He asked to come to Dragonstone with us," she said softly, trying to read his face for any reaction as she spoke.
"Did he?" he asked, not seeming as angry by the news as she might have expected.
"I won't tell you everything, it would take too long, but we reconciled things...as friends and friends only," Elaena continued, nodding a little as she spoke. "He swore an oath to protect me, to protect our family. He wanted to come to Dragonstone with us to do that. I said he should, but if you're not comfortable with it we can find somewhere else for him to help us."
"He can be in love with you for as long as he wants, it doesn't matter," Daemon said with a small smile, looking down at her lips as he spoke. "I trust you. I know that you're mine, and mine alone."
"I certainly am," Elaena laughed a little. Her smile softened as she looked into his eyes, feeling her heart lift in her chest. "Thank you, Daemon, for understanding."
"I saw how he defended you last night, how he defended our children. If you trust him now, so do I," he agreed, thinking for a moment before continuing. "Besides, the more people we have on our side the better. We need every sword we can muster for what's to come."
She nodded in agreement, then walked into his arms, pressing her face against his chest. The two remained silent for a while more, just standing together wrapped in each other's arms. There was no place in this world more smoothing to Elaena than being in Daemon's embrace, there was no smell more comforting than that of him.
"It's not going to be like it was, is it?" Elaena muttered against his chest, "Going home?"
"No," he responded, placing a small kiss on the top of her head. "It won't be the same at all."
Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for it being a much shorter chapter than usual. I have covid right now and am too tired to crank out 10,000 words today 😂
So despite it being shorter, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This is the last time you'll see Elaena's children as kids... the next chapter will start off with the final time jump of the show. It'll be a filler chapter of life on Dragonstone before the eight episode airs this sunday.
As always, much love to you all and thank you for reading! -J❤️