Queen Haelyx Peverell - Alternative Ending

Haelyx looked at the raven that came from the Citadel. Summer was approaching. His belly was big and round with five months of pregnancy, his breasts were full, but Iolanthe no longer wanted to drink the milk that flowed from them. Her little girl was starting to get teeth when she turned one year old and she wanted to eat baby food, which turned out to be cereal pasta.

Haelyx was trying to talk to her only in High Valyrian. Which helped Edmyn, since they had decided that that would be the official language of Avalon. Iolanthe had also started crawling, around the same time as Maelor.

Helaena's gaze at her belly was one of longing and desire. Haelyx knew that her cousin wanted a very large family, but more and more Maesters had told her that it would be almost impossible for her to give birth again.

Especially since Aegon seemed to have become impotent after a very mysterious illness in his testicles that caused panic among the nobles and made them stop going to brothels. The girls in the capital's brothels were going hungry as they stopped serving nobles and only serving commoners for a few coins.

Owning a brothel was expensive. The worst ones were cheap to maintain, the difficult thing was to change the girls constantly since they died a lot both from clients and from illnesses. But normally you needed access to a doctor, sheets, cleaning, teachers, musical instruments and good food. And take care of the girls so that they looked good and were healthy. In the end all that was quite expensive

Queen Alicent took advantage of this to try to ban brothels in the capital. But she didn't get very far and earned the enmity of many nobles by doing that. But the fact was that many prostitutes from low-ranking brothels left the capital for other brothels scattered throughout the seven kingdoms.

Haelyx was so proud of having taught Edmyn how to do that curse.

Iolanthe's egg had hatched showing a beautiful multicolored dragon. Jaelarys, the dragon of hope. That's what Haelyx had called him after an argument with Edmyn. It was a beautiful dragon that had made the Crown Princess's family come out of Dragonstone to see.

Aegon had said that he was not as pretty as the golden Sunfyre, but it was obvious that he was jealous of Iolanthe's beautiful dragon.

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Haelyx was lying on a chaise lounge with her prominent belly sticking out as if she were wearing a balloon under her dress. Her pregnancy was so advanced that she did not dare to walk more than a few steps out of the rooms. She could barely see her feet and the Master had said it would be a big boy, maybe twins.

Given this knowledge, the Queen had exempted Haelyx from any activity at Court and had sent her to her chambers with orders to rest. There were also more maids around and a lady-in-waiting who was the daughter of a Tully standard-bearer knight. Melisse was a sweet thirteen-year-old girl who had come with the hope of getting a good marriage. She had magic, but she couldn't use it.

A knight of the royal guard was in her room staring at her.

He didn't like her. He had been sent by the Hand of the King and he was a spy. Haelyx was seventeen years old and married. But she could feel the Hand's gaze on her. Lust was almost as difficult to contain as the hunger for power.

But there were other things that worried Haelyx. Too many lords looked at her with lust to bother caring about them. They would not attack her, not while her child was in her womb.

One of her concerns was Helaena's daughter, Jaehaera. The girl... She wasn't well. She had noticed it before, but the more time she spent with the girl the more evident it became that something in her mind was not right. She was like she was still a baby, she barely spoke and needed to be attended to at all times. She was slow to develop and very quiet.

Helaena and Queen Alicent did everything they could to hide it, but Haelyx knew that the day would soon come when they could no longer hide it. Jaehaera was an idiot, or as they said in Harry's life, she was learning delayed or mentally retarded. That's why she had asked a craftsman to make these little wooden tablets and now she was painting them. She was too pregnant to sew and embroider.

She had already taken care of doing everything possible for her unborn child before giving birth. And yes, they were twins. She was making these little tablets to help Helaena's children learn to read. On the one hand the word, in the common and High Valyrian language. On the other hand, the drawing of what the word was.

It was something Harry's children had had, but they used it to learn runes. An imitation of the Montessori method. She just hoped that they would let her help Jaehaera to the point that she could take care of herself.

She finished giving the last touch to the new board and sighed.

-Are you feeling well, Your Highness?

-Yes Melisse, I'm fine. Only this pregnancy is taking away my strength. I hope they are twins. Two boys with Edmyn's red hair and beautiful blue eyes. They would be so beautiful

Melisse looked at Haelyx through her brown eyelashes.

-I think two girls with white hair and purple eyes would be very pretty. – And there Haelyx knew that Melisse was in the Queen's pocket. The Queen had gone to pray to the Seven for twins as soon as the Master said they could be twins. Every day, every woman she knew said that her belly indicated they were going to be girls just because her belly button didn't stick out.

Damn…. Was Haelyx's belly button sticking out proof that her baby had a cock? Who had invented such superstition or common knowledge? According to Harry's memories, that was complete nonsense.

But most noble women looked at her navel and said that the baby in her belly was a girl because of her belly. Haelyx knew the family wanted girls, soon. On Avalon, Hedwig's four remaining eggs were being guarded by the house elves and the Winged Order.

The Winged Order was Avalon's version of the Kingsguard that Edmyn and Oscar had christened. They were distinguished from the others because their helmets were designed to look like dragon wings and their armor had dragon engravings on them. Unlike the Royal Guard, their vows were temporary, lasting five years at a time, for both men and women.

Haelyx had always found it strange that her ancestors trusted men to protect her wives. But the patriarchy ran strong in Westeros and the trust of her relatives was great... Haelyx knew that among her many distant relatives there were several bastards who had been legitimized without it being known that they were bastards, Rhaenyra's children were an exception.

And she knew that Rhaenys' mother had had an affair with her Kingsguard, although that was not public or private knowledge. Haelyx herself only knew because she had read it in the mind of the leader of the Kingsguard that he had seen them when he had barely taken the oath.

Not that people really cared. Everyone knew that the members of the Royal Guard went from time to time to a discreet brothel and several of them had known bastards. Just like the men of the Night's Watch, who went to Villa Mole to fuck with prostitutes….

No Moleville itself was made up of Night's Watch bastards.

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Haelyx was watching her stepmother and father arrive at the Capital through an enchanted mirror. The Queen had a constipated face that was strange to see on her. It seemed like she would rather face the rats than show courtesy to her stepdaughter.

Then something caught Haelyx's eye. Aemond looked at Lucerys. But not with hatred or desire for revenge. That was… Desire, love. Was Aemond gay?

For some reason that made a lot of sense. He did not visit brothels unless they dragged him, he was always surrounded by pure men, Haelyx had never seen him talk to a single woman,... And it was not that Aemond was not successful, on the contrary. The dark and tortured prince was popular among romantic maidens thanks to the songs of the minstrels and bards who toured the country.

But Aemond would not approach them. Even his complaints about not marrying Haelyx were because Haelys was a maiden of Targaryen blood and she should marry a man of Targaryen blood. The knowledge learned by the family

Gods old and new, it was so clear once thought coldly.

Haelyx felt her unborn child's kick on her bladder and she gasped before getting up to pee again. She unraveled the incantation as Melisse's footsteps approached. The young woman entered with her hair tied up awkwardly and some makeup on her face. Not much, because she didn't have much makeup at this time, but enough to catch people's attention.

-Melisse? Who have you dressed up for?

-My lady... Several single nobles have come with Princess Rhaenyra.

Haelyx sighed and sat up straight in her seat.

-Wash your face and let your hair down. I'll help you pick it up

-I did it wrong? Normally one of the maids helps me, but they were all busy. – Melisse seemed nervous and Haelyx reminded herself that she was barely thirteen years old and she was already desperately looking for a husband. She knew that the girl's family didn't have much money or influence, but poor girl was desperate to get a good marriage.

Which was quite sad to think considering that Haelyx herself was just over seventeen years old. She would have liked Melisse to be a girl, that she could dance under the trees of the forest of the Gods barefoot without fear of being judged. It was very sad that the girl couldn't do that.

-Let me. You have a beautiful curl, I know that the fashion is to brush your hair away from your face, but some loose strands look better on you. – Haelyx worked quickly. If Melisse got married she would have a new spy in less than a week. She was better a known evil than an unknown good

Then she turned to Melisse and helped her with her makeup. It was fortunate that only she had seen the young woman, others would have said that she was dressed like a prostitute. The Queen's influence was still strong at Court. Even though all traces of green had disappeared from the walls and the tapestries and mosaics had returned to their original state.

The Queen still managed to make the entire Court made up of false Puritans and lying people. No one could really blame Haelyx for the purge she was doing among the nobles.

Pedophiles, rapists, scammers,... She was killing all the sinners on the Hightower side. They really should give herva medal. She was leaving on the Greens side only the true believers and practitioners of the faith of the seven.

She deserved a fucking medal, really. She laughed as she imagined Faith giving her the medal, after eliminating the main donors of it. People only donated to try to get in the way to heaven and the redemption that the seven promised.

Haelyx truly did not regret having placed so many servants under the imperius. She remembered the qualms Harry had had about using the curse and she didn't care. Harry was a man, a lord, and a powerful wizard in a less violent time. Haelyx lived in a place where you could have your tongue torn out for calling the Crown Princess's bastard children bastards.

Their situations could not be compared.

-That's it, go look at yourself in the mirror. --– she Said , dropping the brush with which she had been applying the girl's makeup.

Melisse approached the mirror and smiled. The girl had common features, she was not a great beauty. But she was sweet, and naive. Haelyx had to keep a good eye on the men around her. Edmyn helped her with that and they had already stopped two incidents with low-ranking soldiers who had “disappeared” in a mysterious way.

Of course neither of the spouses knew which dragon had eaten which damned soldier who had gone to abuse a noble lady. One under the protection of Queen Haelyx Peverell and King Edmyn Peverell

How could anyone accuse them of such a horrible thing?

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Daemon Targaryen did not like walking to the tower where his daughter and his son-in-law resided. He didn't like that tower, he only had memories of being scolded in it by his grandmother for all his mistakes.

Mistakes that were essentially being himself. Not to be the perfectly educated prince that Viserys had been. And enjoy his freedom

Later he understood why his grandmother was so rigid with the rules. The kind Queen Alyssanne had committed a very serious mistake in her youth. She had eloped with King Jaehaerys and they had secretly married. That had caused them great problems and difficulties. After that the Queen had maintained the line at all times, never stepping out of line.

Even so, that tower had been where his grandmother had felt free.

And now Haelyx lived there

Daemon rested his hand on Rhaenyra's back as they entered and saw Haelyx. She was lying on the couch, with a reddish robe open over her big belly. Her hair was tied back and she was caressing her belly with a smile on her face.

Too similar to Aemma, almost a carbon copy of Rhaenyra's description of the last time she had seen her mother.

-Father, mother... - Haelyx went to get up, but Rhaenyra stopped her and lowered her to the couch. Her belly was so big. Bigger than Daemon had assumed. Although the spies had told him that they could be twins.

Iolanthe was standing watching them. Well, she was holding onto the table before flopping down on her butt.

-It's only been a moon or two since she learned to crawl and she's already starting to stand up. She is a strong girl.

-She comes from a strong family. – Rhaenyra looked at Iolanthe. The girl had grown so much that she was almost unrecognizable, like all of her babies, but the girl was still very pretty. Almost as much as the woman lying on the couch. Daemon knew Rhaenyra was very pleased by that. That Iolanthe would be Joffrey's wife if everything went well.

-The twins didn't even crawl, they just walked straight. Laena was very angry about that. She said it was better to chase them when they crawled

Daemon saw Rhaenyra's restrained grimace. She had loved Laena, but she couldn't forgive her for marrying Daemon.

Lucerys approached and he asked if he could touch Haelyx's belly. She nodded and the boy brushed his hands past her before taking them away from her.

-The baby has moved, I have felt how the baby moved inside you!

-He is very active. – Haelyx ran a hand over her belly when the fabric began to shake from the kicks of the being inside. Daemon looked at his daughter's belly with a bit of interest and fascination.

Lucerys was placing his palms down carefully again, trying to chase the blows. Iolanthe climbed up the couch to her feet again and hit Lucerys' arm with her little hand. She then hugged her mother's belly and glared at Lucerys with her violet eyes.

-“Mommy, mine” – She said as she clung to Haelyx with her childish fists.

-She is in a possessive phase. – Haelyx seemed to be apologetic. Then she kissed her daughter on her forehead. – “My little princess, I am all yours. Your mom. You should not be jealous of Lucerys, he is good, he is kind, he is family”

-“No, mommy, mine”

-Does she only speak High Valyrian? – Daemon was amazed by that.

-Yes, I think she picked it up from when I taught Edmyn. She understands the common language, at least in part, but she refuses to use it. She is a stubborn person. – Haelyx hit her daughter's nose with her finger while the girl tried to grab it.

Daemon nodded approvingly. Although Haelyx was a half-breed she must have spoken the language of her ancestors. Although that girl had more stained blood than Haelyx.

Daemon looked at his daughter's belly and wondered if the next one would have the right color hair or not. He hoped so, the beauty that Iolanthe promised was typical of the Valyrian lineage, but Daemon would prefer her hair to be white, blonde or gray.

-“You're just a little girl. Do you think you can keep your mother like this?”

Iolanthe looked at him with a frown.

-“Get out, ugly” – Rhaenyra giggled at that and Iolanthe looked at her. - "Pretty"

-“And that's all her vocabulary. Although she also knows how to say dad”

Haelyx felt very proud of her daughter, and Daemon knew it. Very, very proud. She had acted well, speaking at the right moments with the right words. And Daemon couldn't even take offense because they were the words of a girl barely older than a baby, not those of an adult.

Daemon knew that his eldest daughter didn't like him, maybe she even hated him a little. He couldn't blame her, especially looking back at his past actions. He pushed her too far away from himself, seeing her as the incarnation of Rhea and everything he suffered from Rhea because of his damned first marriage.

He saw Haelyx as a half-breed unworthy of his attention, proclaimed that he did not want children, and then had two with his second wife. Always without wondering how that would affect his eldest daughter. Even when Haelyx fell ill and nearly died in early childhood he ignored his brother's crows and did not return to his daughter's side.

He left her alone to face death as the stain on the family she was his. he couldn't even remember whether he was happy or not when the ravens began to bring good news about Haelyx's health and how his brother had kept begging him to return to the capital to take her with him.

“The girl needs her father, Daemon.” Even he remembered that phrase, but he thought Haelyx would be better off with Viserys and Rhaenyra. Besides, Laena really disliked the idea of bringing Haelyx into her life. That was something he never understood and caused a lot of conflict between Rhaenys and Laena. The hatred that Laena had for a girl she had met very rarely, Laena herself recognized that she had no reason to hate Haelyx, but she hated her. She even went so far as to stop her mother from trying to claim Haelyx and take her to Driftmark to raise her.

Daemon always consoled himself by thinking that at Court, alongside Viserys, Haelyx would be fine. The news of the marriage at only eleven years old shocked him, but Laena kept him by her side because of her pregnancy. The daughter whom he had seen only a few times in her life got married without the presence of her father or her stepmother or any member of her mother's family. It wasn't until Laena's funeral that he learned the terrible truth behind the firstborn's wedding and repentance came.

Daemon had always accompanied his daughters to their bedrooms. It was a habit he had. If he had been there, he would have accompanied her and she would have been spared a terrible experience. She would have escaped a marriage with an inferior being without Valyrian blood.

And then, when he had seen her when she was thirteen... she looked like Rhaenyra, but also a little like her aunt Rael and her mother, Alyssa. Yet the Valyrian blood was stronger in her than he thought possible and they had wasted it by marrying her to a Tully instead of a man of suitable lineage. Maybe Jacaerys.

A part of him shuddered in terror as he watched her hold Aegon, the child was almost wider than her, if she gave birth he would soon split in half. Fortunately, young Tully had not yet put Haelyx to bed at that time.

And the two times he had seen them later he could see that they loved each other and that this man respected the traditions of the Targaryens. Even so, Iolanthe's hair was Tully red, which displeased Daemon.

He just hoped that the blood of Haelyx's next children wouldn't have such mixed blood.