[Set after Chapter 6 of you drain all the fear from me.]

a mother dragon

Viserys had been quite moody since Rhaegar and Elia departed. Truthfully, he had been difficult even before they left. It had been a struggle to get him to see them off with her, but he had given in eventually. That didn't stop him from being sullen and scowling the whole time though, and refusing to meet his brother or good-sister's eyes. Rhaella had been embarrassed about his poor attitude, but her son and good daughter took it in stride. One day, Viserys would understand just how lucky he was to have a family that loved him so dearly, no matter how poorly he was acting.

Rhaella had been hoping that her son would calm down, but his dark mood persisted. When it began to interfere with his lessons, she knew that she had to step in before Aerys did.

"Viserys, this has gone on long enough," Rhaella told him firmly.

She had requested that he be brought to her room so she could speak with him. She had dismissed everyone from the room, though Ser Oswell was just outside. This was as private as it was going to get, and her son was not leaving until he opened up to her. He was seated beside her on one of the couches, but he stared determinedly at the floor.

"What has?" the child muttered.

"Your poor attitude. You have been lashing out at everyone, and refusing to pay attention during your studies. This is not behavior fitting of a prince," she scolded him.

"It doesn't matter," Viserys argued, finally looking up at her. "Rhaegar doesn't care about me and Elia's gonna give him sons and I'm not his heir anymore so I don't matter!"

The words rushed out of him, and Rhaella felt her heart break for her poor boy. How could he ever think that he did not matter?

"Sweetling, of course you matter. Your brother loves you very much, how could you ever think otherwise? No amount of children that Elia may birth will ever change Rhaegar's love for you," Rhaella promised him, cupping his face gently in her hands.

"But Father said Rhaegar left because he doesn't care about me! He said he doesn't want me as his heir, and that's why he's gonna go make babies with Elia!" Viserys whined, his violet eyes glistening as he stubbornly held back tears.

Rhaella frowned. It was bad enough Aerys made everyone else miserable, but did he have to say such things to their child? He truly was paranoid if he felt the need to sow mistrust between his two sons. Well, she would not let him turn her boys against each other. Targaryen against Targaryen never ended well. The mere idea of Viserys being encouraged to usurp his brother terrified her. She wanted her boys to be better than those who had come before them. Better they be as Aemon and Baelon, than any of the disastrous sibling relationships in their family history.

"Rhaegar does care about you very much. He loves you enough to not want you to ever have the burden of sitting on the throne," Rhaella told him softly.

Viserys frowned at her, his little face scrunched up in confusion. "I don't get it."

"Being a king is far from easy. The more power you have, the more people will want to take it from you. Rhaegar would spare you from that stress and danger," she explained.

Her son's face lit up in understanding. "Oh! You mean like the traitors Father always talks about!"

Well, that was not quite the connection she was going for, but close enough. When he was older, she would explain to him that his father saw danger even where there wasn't any. But for now, she would leave him innocent to the true depths of his father's madness. She couldn't risk him saying the wrong thing to Aerys and bringing his wrath down on all of them. If she had it her way, Viserys would never go near his father at all, but that was out of her control. Aerys was determined to mold Viserys to be like him, and Rhaella was left to do damage control.

"Yes, my love. I have no doubt that you could be a great king, but why would you want to be? As a prince you will have far more freedom, while still enjoying the power of your birthright," Rhaella told him.

Viserys smiled at her, but then he looked distressed again. "I told Rhaegar and Elia that I hate them! So now they're gonna hate me!"

Rhaella smiled fondly at her son. "They could never hate you. They know that you did not truly mean it. But if you are that worried, how about I help you write a nice letter to them so you can apologize? I'm sure that would make them very happy."

"Thanks Mama!" Viserys said excitedly. "Can I write it in Valyrian? I'm getting good at that! Oh, but Elia can't read that, can she?"

"I'm afraid not, so you best write in the common tongue. But perhaps you can suggest that your brother teach her Valyrian?" Rhaella pointed out.

Viserys nodded excitedly. "Yes! She's our family now so she should know our language! And when she has babies, I can teach them Valyrian too."

"That is very sweet of you. How lucky am I to have such a thoughtful son?" Rhaella told him, kissing the top of his head.

Viserys soaked up the praise and hopped off of the couch. "Thanks, Mother!"

He paused on his way to her desk and looked back at her. "I promise when I'm bigger that I'll protect you and Rhaegar and Elia and Father."

Viserys looked so determined in that moment, and so unlike the sulky child he had been minutes ago. It both filled her with pride and with concern. She did not want her son to burden himself. Rhaegar already had far too many worries to contend with. Could she not at least spare her younger son? But Viserys was a Targaryen and a prince, and he was currently second in line for the throne. There would always be burdens for him to carry, and she would rather have him face those with pride than resentment.

"We will all be very grateful for your protection, my brave boy," Rhaella assured him.

That earned her one more sweet smile from her precious son, and then he was clambering onto the chair and grabbing an empty piece of parchment. Rhaella got up and stood behind him, watching as he carefully began writing his letter. Although she had been the one to encourage Rhaegar and Elia to go to Dragonstone, a part of her selfishly hoped they would return sooner rather than later. The longer they were gone, the easier it would be for Aerys to sink his claws into Viserys. There was only so much that she could do to protect her youngest son. At least for now, Viserys was still her sweet and good boy. She could only hope that she could continue to protect him from his father's madness.

Noiz: Well, it's not an actual update to the main fic, but it's still connected! I thought it would be fun to have one-shots set in this AU from other POVs. Feel free to leave suggestions/requests. I can't promise to do all of them, but I'm sure I can get inspiration from some of them.

Thanks to Aviantei for beta'ing this! They are the best, and they keep me going. Go check them out!