Chapter Twenty Five: A Freaking Westerosi Wedding, Part Three.
Twenty First Day of the Eleven Month, 113 AC.
I was freaking livid!
Am I the only person on this damned planet that does not need constant maintenance? What the hell was Rhaenyra thinking? Is that Rhaenyra? What has she done?
Those were the thoughts racing through my head as I mounted Sky and she launched herself.
As soon as we were in the air I decided that I had been too harsh.
I admit that I was not the wisest of men, I make mistakes and try to move on.
Granted moving on requires surviving said mistake.
Oh Shit! Oh Shit! Oh Shit! I screamed internally as Sky drifted down to the courtyard on a collision course with Rhaenyra.
Or at least the figure that I thought was Rhaenyra, If I am wrong about this then I nearly jumped to my freaking death for no reason.
For her part, Sky just focused on getting us down in one piece before I strangled her in a panic.
On the bright side, the dragon coming down caught the figure's attention as it froze in place while the young dragon came in for a landing.
Fortunately, the adrenaline was still numbing me to my idiocy enough that I could swing off Sky as she landed and stomp over to the figure.
As I closed the distance and I got a better look beneath the hood, my face hardened into a scowl.
Why is my sister such a damned fool?
"Good evening, sister," I said as I twisted my scowl into the closest thing to a smile as I could manage.
I could tell that she had been crying, the puffy eyes, the runny nose, the tear stains ruining the makeup she had probably put on to make herself more appealing.
At present however, her face was frozen in shock.
As to whether it was shock at being caught or what I had done, I could not say…
Alright it was probably at being caught but I was allowed the illusion of being cared about damn it!
"Ga-Gaem," She smiled at me but it was a shaky smile. It was probably just a lifetime at court that let her even put up the pretense. "Hello."
As I closed in a caught a whiff of something.
Oh great, she's drunk.
You know what? I will take it as a win that she at least needed to be drunk to think that this was a good idea in the first place.
"Out for a stroll?" I asked dryly.
She blinked and cleared her throat to keep her voice straight, "Y-yes, it is- that is to say that it is a good n-night for a walk."
Holy shit, she's a mess. She could barely keep her act straight. No wonder she screwed Strong in another life.
It was hard to keep my irritation at her given that light.
It actually hurt to see her like this, she was not even seventeen!
I did not care how she was raised or the standards of this world, she had too much pressure on her.
Worse, she was my family.
She was kin
She was my Rhae.
"You do not have to pretend, Rhae," I smiled. "Not with me."
"Wh-what do you mean?" She was still trying unfortunately.
"You were running from the Tower of the Sword," I said softly. "Tell me what happened?"
"I-I do not know wh-what you mean," she stuttered but the façade was crumbling. Tears were welling up in her eyes again.
Where are you Ser Criston? I want to kill you for what you have done.
Nothing complex, just three feet of steel down his damned throat.
"What did he say to you?" I pressed. "What did Ser Criston say?"
Hoh boy, I hope that I am not misreading this.
"Ho-how?" She asked, her voice trembling.
"Do not worry," I smiled. "No one will know but me, you know that. You do not have to pretend not with me."
As I finished repeating the line it seemed to have struck true.
Rhaenyra collapse onto her knees, I rushed to both give her a hug and pull her cloak back together. No one needed to see the heiress of the Iron Throne naked in the middle of the courtyard, bawling like a damned child.
I had the decency to flush at the glimpse but only for a moment, it was hardly the time to care about such a trifling matter.
I pulled her close to me and let weep.
"He would not have me!" She sobbed into my shoulder as I stroked her hair.
"It's alright Rhae, let it all out," I was thankful that it was so late. If any servants saw us they would have to die.
I freaking hate Westeros.
The one night I don't have my guard, I cursed.
She pulled back her head and stared me dead in the eye. Her's were red from the fresh tears.
"He wanted me to go with him, Gaemon," She told me with something too blank to be called composure. "He said he would take me far away, I couldn't. Gaem, I couldn't leave."
I pulled her back into my arms again. "It's alright. Rhae, It's alright."
"I can't leave," She sobbed. "I am nothing without this. I cannot leave father, I cannot leave Syrax or you or that fucking throne!"
"I understand," I cooed softly.
"What if he died Gaem? I would be nothing but some whore! If father did not catch us and kill him anyway. What was I to do?" She asked me as if I might have the answer. "I gave him everything I could! I gave him my favor! I begged father to make him the Lord Commander! I even offered him my maidenhead!"
Damn it Viserys, get off your wretched bed and actually be a father when it is needed!
"You did all you could," I whispered.
From the way her weight felt, she did not have a lot of strength left in her.
"He said I was cruel," she whimpered. "When I went to him tonight, he asked why his cloak was worth less than my crown? Why his honor was such a pittance in the face of my honor?"
Cole, I am going to have Sky stick her tail down your throat until you stop moving, then I am booking the first ship to Asshai and resurrecting you to repeat it until I am satisfied.
"I did not have an answer, Gaem," she muttered as she rested her head on my shoulder. She was too tired to cry anymore. "What would I say? What could I say. I am damned either way."
"You do not need to answer," I kissed her brow. "You did what was right, you have to be strong, but you are not alone. I am with you. Always, my sister. Always."
Except that I did not know if I could be, or if the day would come when she saw me as a foe.
I thought that I might well be a liar if I said that it was not for the best of the kingdom if she had vanished with Ser Criston regardless of what fate might befall her. She was intemperate, short-tempered, spoiled, arrogant and short-sighted.
Hells, I was no longer even sure how much of her future reputation was an exaggeration and how much was fact anymore.
Yet I was being honest in I would not and could not leave her to her fate. Maybe I am just a product of my original upbringing, maybe I had just gotten too attached, but family meant something and for better or worse that drunk dolt was my kin.
"I know, Gaem. I know-urgh!" She dipped her head and proceeded to empty her stomach on my lap.
I swallowed down the need to imitate the action and just re-embraced her.
"It is alright," I murmured. "It is all right."
She did not answer but I felt her go limp.
After a while I realized that she was snoring.
I chuckled quietly to myself.
"The things we do for family," I said to myself.
Just then, I heard the soft cadence of sabatons hitting the ground as I raised my head in the direction of the sound.
Ebermen was running towards me, in full armor. My smile broadened in amusement at the sight.
The man had always seemed to be entirely too mobile in full armor but it was only then that I could appreciate how hilarious it was to see a man running in such a dress with the movements of a sprinter and seeming completely unbothered by the metal. Plate might be lighter than one expected but the man seemed as if he were running naked for all that it impaired him.
By the time he reached me and pulled off his helmet, Sky had already moved behind us.
"That was reckless-," He began before he refocused his eyes on Rhaenyra. "Ah, I understand."
"Really," I raised a brow.
He shrugged as he wiped the sweat from his brow and pulled his helmet back on. "As much as is appropriate. How do we proceed?"
I took a breath to collect my thoughts, which turned out to be a bad idea given what I was covered in.
"We need a bath, both of us," I muttered.
Ebermen nodded his armored head as he pulled the princess into a bridal carry as best he could without waking her.
He stopped when the cloak slid off a little.
I rushed to adjust it, she looked like a giant baby in swaddling clothes by the time I was done but it could not be helped.
I smirked up at him as I finished stuffing her hair back into her hood, "Still understand enough?"
"As you say," the knight sighed.
I nodded, "Good, let us get her back to my chambers."
Ebermen nodded as we began to sneak our way back through the castle.
He follows without question, I reflected. I wonder what the others will do?
I had no choice but to trust my people, I could not dump Rhae in her quarters, much less in her state.
I was vividly aware as we walked that if I had misjudged even a single one of my staff, it was over.
Grow a pair, I growled at myself. You just rode a fucking baby dragon down six stories, you can stand to have a little bit of hope.
As luck would have it, my certainty about bringing Rhae back to my chambers was rapidly reaffirmed as we ran into Harwin Strong as we made our way down one of the snaking halls.
"Prince Gaemon!" He greeted us loudly. "How goes your evening."
"Well enough, thank you." I am covered in vomit and Ebermen is carrying a body, how did you thinkI was doing?
"You seem rather busy!" He smiled. Oh, great anther drunk. Explains a lot but not what I need right now.
I smiled up at the giant. "Very much so, have a good night."
Without saying another word I continued forward with Ebermen at my tail.
Sky stopped in front of the Strong for a moment and brought her face within an inch of his before exhaling a plume of smoke to his face and continuing on as if nothing had happened.
She probably wanted to help him sober up.
Kind soul, Sky. The very definition of compassion.
...
We thankfully made it back to my quarters without incident. The guards were so bloody busy looking after the lords and their rowdy men that the guard had been forced to thankfully cut back on night patrols. Or unfortunately given that that allowed Rhaenyra to sneak out in the first place.
"Your grace?" Even with his helmet down (I was fond of my guards being hard to identify to outsiders) I could recognize Morgan's almost feminine voice.
"Morgan," I greeted him tiredly. "And?"
"Omeld, My Prince," The dashing Westerlander bowed his helm in acknowledgement. "Best if we do not ask?"
In for a penny, I braced myself/
"My sister is felt somewhat unrestful so I am helping her refresh herself before she sleeps," I smiled as I made my way in.
"The princess?" Morgan's voice was almost ear-piercing in surprise and Omeld quickly slapped a gauntlet on his breastplate.
"Quiet!" The blonde hissed at the brunette. "I somehow doubt she'd be bundled up if we are meant to notify the entire damned castle."
"Of course," Morgan nodded as if Omeld had literally just had the idea.
Sweet kid and good with a sword, I sighed internally. Dumb as a brick though.
Omeld nodded though as they pulled away from the door, "No one will disturb you, my prince."
"We will hold the door, your grace," Morgan nodded, puffing up as if I had just asked him to hold it against an army.
"Guard the door if you will then," I nodded my gratitude while quietly praying that they would not run off the tell people about what was happening.
I need to trust them, I tried to assuage my increasingly frayed nerves.
I felt their steps as they moved closer in behind the closed door to make it clear that I was not to be disturbed.
There was barely time to think after that, I refused to give myself time to do so.
I had the night servants wake the rest of the household in a flurry of orders, all forty-eight had gained pendents over years of employ. I had helped these people at every opportunity, reassigned those who showed the slightest sign of treachery, they had seen the tomb. I had helped them, their families, their friends, defended them, had limbs broken and lives ruined for them.
I needed them, I pleaded with them on the honor of those pendants to help me fix the mess before us.
There was no choice but to trust their reassurances and pledges.
It felt strangely like signing my own death-warrant.
By the time that the bath had been prepared, I had come to a strange sort of ambivalence. There was nothing left to do but to let those cards fall where they might.
Thankfully the tub for my night bath was already full, not terribly warm anymore though.
As I pulled off my clothes, I turned to Sky.
"Fire, low." I asked.
Her temperature regulation was about as fine-tuned as a deaf-man's harp, but Sky managed a small plume of fire under the tub to reheat the water to boiling.
Nessa and one of the maids (Clarice) laid Rhaenyra down on a chair and moved to leave.
"Are you certain that you wish to be left alone?" Nessa hesitated as if she were leaving me with a bear.
"I have Clearsky," I pointed out.
"Not what I meant, My Prince," The caretaker sighed. "Rest assured that your orders will be carried out. You can count on us."
"I know they will be," I lied.
But Nessa looked at me for another moment. "I am not certain you do, My Prince."
I raised a brow.
"We might not be so highly born as you," She smiled warmly. "But we understand gratitude and you have done more in even the briefest span than one should ever hope for from a lord. We are yours, My Prince. As much you are ours. And I do not just speak for myself when I say that."
"I know that," I smiled my best smile. I want to believe you, I really do. But who knows what is beneath a smile and a kind word.
Nessa sighed, "Mayhaps someday you will."
With that, she excused herself and left the room.
There was nothing I could do about the adjutant's words.
I sighed and wet a cloth before wiping myself down.
"I really hate tonight," I muttered to Sky, who snorted in what I thought was agreement. Dragons are terrible conversationalists. "I have managed to be vomited on, been forced to rely on people that I can't trust and learned that I am apparently an idiot for either being too trusting or not trusting enough. The worst of it is that I am still probably the most stable member of the family."
I pulled off Rhaenyra's cloak so that I could repeat the process. Then a thought occurred.
"Wake up sister," I nudged the girl.
Her eyes opened up a little, "Gaem? What are you doing here-"
She blinked a few times as she became aware of her surroundings.
"Where am I?" She asked.
"In my bathing room," I said flatly. I handed her the cloth and went to sit by the window. "Now please, clean yourself up. We have to get you back into your chamber before anyone knows that you are missing."
She stuttered something before getting to work.
I stayed mostly out of not trusting her to not drown herself in the tub or something similarly stupid and dramatic.
"Thank you Gaem," She said as she lowered herself in the tub. "I am sorry you saw that."
Huh, I guessed that she either vomited up most of it already or she just got over her alcohol faster than most. "Do not worry about it."
She laughed, "if anyone else had seen me…"
Scratch that, I can still hear a bit of a slur.
"No one did," fortunately. "Focus on getting yourself cleaned up. It will be dawn in a few hours and tomorrow will be a busy day."
"Tomorrow," she said as she soaked. "Tomorrow, I marry."
"It is for the best," And it is not as if there is a choice.
"You sound like father," she muttered. "I must always do what is best for the realm."
"A good king finds a compromise," I noted. "A king who is a slave to the realm will resent it and one who ignores it will be killed by it. Not a pleasant way no matter how you do it."
Guess which one father is, I added sardonically.
"I want to be a good queen," Rhaenyra said. "It is what I was raised for, I do not know what I am outside of being heir."
"Being heir does not make you queen," I opined. "Sister, have you given Dragonstone much thought?"
"What of it?" She asked me.
I hated to take advantage, but she was at her most pliable at that moment.
"You want to be queen and I support you but have you even been a lady yet?" I asked.
She turned her head towards me and I met her violet eyes with my own. "What do you mean, brother?"
"Make yourself the obvious candidate. Go and rule, even if for a few months a year. Prove that you are a better ruler than any other claimant, prove that you are better than father," It felt wrong to use that word in reference to Viserys, viscerally so.
She starred at me for a while, "You resent father."
It was not a question.
Anyone else want to make observations that I do not care to voice tonight?
I smiled back and nodded as I rested my head on the wall.
Give and take it is then.
"I do," I said simply.
It took her a moment to answer, "It has been obvious since you were little. Gods, more little. You are only seven."
"Still a few months from even that," I shrugged, "I do not want to hurt my family, Rhae. Every breath he takes is another nail into that inevitability and I do not want it."
"What inevitability?" She asked.
A heart to heart in a makeshift sauna, when did my life become so cheesy?
"War," I sighed. "If not against mother then against half of the other lords in the realm."
"What?" she asked. She had been getting a bit more sober. "Gaem, you are still too young, I am the heir. They might bother father with it as it suits them, but they will not act so overtly."
I snorted, "Rhae we are foreigners and we always will be. I understand this better than the rest of us. Aegon, Rhaenys, Aenys, Jaehaerys they all understood that it is a delicate thing to rule without having to resort to roasting every single fucking lordling that dislikes us."
I looked at her and I felt tired. "They traveled Rhae, they did yearly processions. You have only toured a handful of the kingdoms once or twice which is far more than father ever did. You need loyalty, you need it to be personal. The moment we stop cramming our right to rule down their throats they will bite our hands."
She did not answer as she lowered herself in the water, "Were it so easy."
"Heh," Really? Going with an Arbiter quote? "I never said it was, one of the numerous reasons I do not want the Pointy Death-Chair of Doom."
That got a giggle, "Pointy Death-Chair of Doom?"
"Pointy Death-Chair of Doom," I nodded solemnly before letting my own laughter out.
We spoke a while longer about silly little things, mostly just little jokes to get a laugh or two out of her. I was done lecturing for the night and she still had a big day tomorrow.
Once she was out of the tub and pruned like it was nobody's business, I led her to my dressing room. Milton and Fin had managed to adjust the fit on one of Nessa's outfits and her cloak had been cleaned.
I kissed her goodnight and sent her off with two of my guards (Hubert and Hubert) to make sure she made it to her chambers safe (and a maid if I had any freaking luck).
As I waved her goodbye and closed the door I let out an explosive sigh.
"That was well-handled," Ebermen sighed.
"I thought you were green," I asked him with tired amusement.
He looked down at me, "I do not recall claiming that I am not blooded."
"You do not seem to favor either, My Prince," Nessa added more directly. "Why should we?"
I smiled as I made my way to my chamber after handing the servants two stags each and thanking them for their efforts. Be generous and be thankful and people are less likely to have you on the 'want to murder' list.
By tomorrow I would likely know how true Nessa's words were.
"Because it is the fashion," I commented.
"As you say," Ebermen said with a slight smile.
"Fashion is not everything," Nessa actually elbowed the big man, who merely took it with amusement as she immediately began to rub joint.
I shook my head at their spat, "Try to get some rest after everything is seen to Nessa."
"I can sleep when I am dead, My Prince," The caretaker waved me off as she turned to head to her room/study. "You have made something of a challenge out of the night!"
I chuckled before sobering as we entered the little wing with our rooms.
"I did the best that I could," I said.
"Better than most," The Bulwer shrugged. "I once had to do much the same for my own sister."
I looked up at him, "I did not know that you had a sister."
"I do not recall saying that I had one," There was mirth in his green eyes.
"Touche," I responded. "Try to get some sleep Ebermen, tomorrow is yet another long day."
"I shall," He responded as we headed to our own doors. "I would suggest you do so as well."
"Fair," I smiled. "You never know who else we need to get puked on and then carry across the keep."
"As you say," The Bull chuckled.