Final. A Desired Kingdom
Three weeks, Haelyx looked at the message that had reached her. It had taken three weeks to discover that they were not in Riverun and another six months to find out where they were.
But they were no longer hiding and their dragons were well recognizable. Especially those of Helaena and her. Haelyx stood up carefully with her five-month pregnant belly and walked to the nursery. Along the way she could see Helaena with one of the witches who guided her in her visions of the future
For the first time in her life, Helaena understood what she saw.
And Haelyx could not be happier for her cousin.
Edmyn was currently in the marshes training men in the fighting styles of the Riverlands. Oscar was with him, planning his wedding with the Court Witch Apprentice, Amerys.
Haelyx arrived at the nursery where Iolanthe had her toys set up and she wasn't the only one. Maegor also seemed to have great abilities. Jaehaerys also had magic, but the child in the nursery with the least magic was undoubtedly Jaehaera.
The girl had a nanny specifically for her and was flourishing. But Jaehaera was the closest thing to a person with Down syndrome that Haelyx could find, or maybe severe autism. At least he was becoming verbal now.
Haelyx sighed and walked over to the mirror
The surface gleamed and she could see Edmyn
-Are you disappointed that it's your wife and not your daughter in front of you? – Iolanthe had learned to use mirrors a month ago and was very excited about it, calling her father constantly
-How could I be when the most beautiful woman in the world is before my eyes? But I don't think this is a social call, we reserve those for dinner time. What is it, my love?
Haelyx waved the letter in front of the mirror
-My… Stepmother has found out where we are and who we are. She demands that we bend the knee to Westeros and make Avalon into another Kingdom. That we remember that our role is as lords, not kings in our own right. That if we do not obey, she already has the perfect person to rule Avalon without us
Edmyn mocked as anger boiled inside him. He could not show his dissatisfaction. Not now. This pregnancy was more delicate than that of his other children. Haelyx was weaker and often stayed in bed for days or weeks at the orders of the healers
-My love, you know that your stepmother is more bark than bite. Especially after her government has just started and is still weak. She cannot risk an open war with us. Our military power is greater than hers and she would have to get ships to bring her troops. It would leave Westeros unprotected for whoever wanted to take it. You know your father wouldn't allow it
-What I fear is that they'll use their dragons. We're three against four battle beasts, not counting the younger dragons that could make their debut in battle. And I can't help now. Why is it that every time a battle approaches you've made me pregnant? – Haelyx complained while caressing her belly
-Luck of opportunism? – Edmyn smiled. – We'll send an emissary with a copy of the treaty we signed with King Viserys, maybe that will dissuade them. If not... Well, the barriers are ready to activate. We'll close Avalon and protect it with magic from the rest of the world
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Haelyx was lying on a divan while a fan slowly gave her air without anyone holding it. The twins were starting to stand up and Haelyx had given them the same padded backpack she gave Iolanthe that would keep them from hurting themselves when they fell. Lily Luna Potter used that backpack a lot.
Iolanthe was running around holding Maelor's hand as they both laughed out loud. Jaehaerys was chasing them laughing as well while Jaehaera slept in a corner after getting tired on the fourth lap, they were already on the sixth.
Iolanthe left the formation and piled in with Jaehaera, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.
- What are the children doing? - Oscar had just entered and seemed strange at the sight.
- I told them they had to take a nap, they said no. They said they wanted to run. So I told them to run around the room until they felt ready to sleep. Apparently that's a lot of fun.
- Ah... Were we like that at your age?
- No, at that age I was being looked after by a very strict septa and an even stricter aunt. - Haelyx looked at the children. -It's great that they can be children. Innocent and sweet, I would have liked to be like them. But in the Targaryen family the ignorant and innocent are chewed until only their bones remain.
-Yes, I remember that. When you came to Riverun you were small in size, but more adult than any of us. – Oscar looked at his nephews. – My children will be more adorable than yours.
-Keep dreaming. Are you and Amerys okay?
-Of course. I already have the house ready for her and the wedding is in a week. - Oscar had prepared for the marriage, finally using the mansion that Haelyx and Edmyn had given him. He had decorated it and prepared it for a family, he had even prepared a small nursery that had made Amerys blush. The girl had said that when her future options were to be a prostitute she had never dreamed of being a mother, but now that she could be one she was looking forward to having a child with Oscar. - Who have you sent as a messenger to Westeros?
- One of the Unsullied. Greymoth volunteered in less than a second. We almost didn't even have to ask him.
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Rhaenyra watched as her council read over and over the treaty between King Viserys I and Queen Haelyx Peverell. It was extremely beneficial to both sides and very balanced, more so than a treaty with such a young nation would be, obviously her father had a sweet spot for his cousin
She shouldn't feel jealous about that, everyone knew her father had raised her cousin like he had raised Rhaenyra.
-Viserys knew it, he knew who the Kings of Avalon were for years and he never said anything. He let them roam freely under his roof without any fear or qualms. – Corlys' words were true. Everyone knew the man wanted to curse the late King with all his might, but out of respect for his wife and the Queen he didn't…. Out loud, but he wasn't the only one cursing Viserus mentally
-The question is whether or not I can claim Avalon. – Rhaenyra looked around. – It is legitimately mine, those who got the land were my legitimate subjects and the land is the one that legitimately belonged to my family
The master of laws shifted uncomfortably
-Actually… It is not our land. King Consort Daemon proved it by giving his crown to King Viserys. When an inhabitant of Westeros conquers a territory outside the continent, he can name himself King of the territory in question and the territory will only become part of the Crown if the inhabitant in question gives his crown to the current King or Queen, just as the King Consort did years ago after conquering the Stepstones. But due to that same law, Westeros cannot give help or support to the new Kingdom without a proper treaty. It was done this way because it was thought that a new territory after its conquest would be weak and would need to depend on Westeros
-Why was such a Law created? It is very inconvenient for us. – Rhaenyra snorted as she leaned back in her chair. Her daughter had died in childbirth and she was still mourning the loss of her father and daughter in the same week
-The Law was created by Aegon the Conqueror himself with the idea that his descendants would be able to recover the Empire in Essos that once belonged to Ancient Valyria. It is designed so that Princes and Princesses with dragons and no hope of obtaining the Throne can have their own territories. But according to this Law, Queen Haelyx and her husband King Edmyn have every right to rule their land without giving us anything and without depending on us. – The old man searched through his papers and took out the scroll with the Law, in the handwriting of Aegon the Conqueror.
A law that fell into oblivion when Maegor tried to conquer a city in Essos and his father denied him, fearing that Maegor would become too powerful. After that, House Targaryen had so few dragons attached to its members that it was decided that all of them were necessary for the self-defense of the country and no one spoke of that old Law again. No King wanted his children to prosper so much that they created new Kingdoms. King Jaehaerys had expressly forbidden that Law to be mentioned to his children and he prevented with all his might that his children were linked to dragons
Daemon chuckled. The Conqueror was a cunning and very intelligent bastard. He had planned that Law to conquer Essos with houses of the Targaryen blood in a gradual and slow way until in the end the entire known world was under the dominion of the Iron Throne. But now that same Law worked against them because Haelyx did not need the protection of Westeros to defend her Kingdom
She had magic defending it.
The only possible explanation Daemon and Rhaenyra had come up with was that Haelyx must have found Visenya's secret library of magic and read every tome thoroughly and practiced magic to exhaustion
But when had she done that? The life of a Princess was very controlled. Haelyx was monitored almost all day, every day of her life. Septas, maids, ladies of the court, and guards. She shouldn't have had the time to found her own Kingdom.
Honestly, the only free time Rhaenyra had had alone when she was a Princess was the time she had spent with her sworn sword and her uncle. Plus she was now having an exhaustive search of the magic library in the tower and the surroundings of the place where Haelyx had lived all her life carried out
-And Haelyx knows about this law? Because if she doesn't we can pressure her into giving us her territories
The Grand Maester dropped his glass and everyone looked at him. The man seemed very embarrassed
-The Princess was always a great lover of the Conqueror's handwriting. She spent hours and hours copying the written documents he left behind to imitate his handwriting, as the Dowager Queen ordered all children to do. At that time under my supervision she copied almost all the files of laws and decrees in the Conqueror's handwriting. She knows the Law without a doubt, one of the most recent copies is written in his handwriting. Although she did not manage to finish imitating the Conqueror's handwriting, hers is still very beautiful and recognizable. – The Grand Master remembered when he was only a Master and had taught the children of the Dowager Queen and Haelyx to read and write. Princess Haelyx was very weak at that time, fragile as a flower exposed to the cold, but she was the one who complained the least about the long hours copying documents in the classroom.
Rhaenyra wanted to groan. Alicent had insisted that the children of the Royal family find a historical figure whose handwriting they liked and imitate it by copying the written documents left by them over and over again. Rhaenyra had not allowed that to happen to her children.
Especially since it was not a custom for children to improve their handwriting. It was actually a way to copy books and texts without having to pay the large sums that the Citadel demanded for the copies of the books. Rhaenyra hadn't wanted her sons to do something that was a custom of the lower houses. But now she saw that it had other uses, like knowing certain documents very well.
- This is crap, all the riches of Valirya and we can't get them because we don't own them
- Well, there's another way. – Everyone looked at the last loyalist to the Greens left on the council. He was only there because Rhaenyra hadn't yet found a suitable replacement for him. – Conquest. We beat them in dragons and troops. It shouldn't be hard to conquer Avalon
- You won't turn your queen into an Oathbreaker and Kinslayer less than a year after taking the Crown! – Rhaenyra felt like slapping the man. The idea was tempting, Rhaenyra didn't doubt it. But doing that would mean breaking a treaty and attacking his own stepdaughter
No, the best they could do was treat the messenger Avalon had sent with a copy of the treaty well and pray for good trade relations from now on. Besides, Rhaenyra didn't know how far-reaching or powerful her stepdaughter's magic really was. Magic that apparently many inhabitants of her country could use and were trained for it.
One test had been seeing the messenger extend his hand and his cup fly directly into his open palm. The worst of all? He hadn't done it consciously, rather as if it were something normal and natural for him and he had smiled at the faces of astonishment around him.
If something as extraordinary as moving an object from one place to another in a room was normal, what would be extraordinary?
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Aemond was before a very pregnant Haelyx sitting on a throne with crystal wings and looking very comfortable. The throne room was much more beautiful and bright than he had ever imagined or seen in the houses of the nobles he had visited. Haelyx caressed her belly and looked at her cousin.
-I heard that my stepmother promised you to a lady of almost fifty years old who has modest properties on the border with Dorne
-She was forty-two years old and had three children. And her modest properties barely provided enough to feed her even though she was still of noble blood. – Aemond was furious about that. – I have come to ask for refuge in Avalon
-And what do you have to offer Avalon, Aemond? – The man clenched his fists before hearing his cousin laugh. – I'm joking, cousin, my house will always be open to you. But you should have seen your face.
-I don't think a Queen should joke like that
-I'm your cousin and I'm very bored during this pregnancy. – Haelyx leaned back further on the Throne. - How is Daeron? And your mother?
-Daeron is fine, he went to Winterfell and married a woman of his choice because his fiancée shot an arrow into his crotch and swore he would never marry. Those Mormont women are crazy...
-I find them inspiring. And your mother? How is she?
-She has joined the Silent Sisters.
-Rhaenyra has gone too far. I thought at most I would put her in a convent or force her to be a Septa.
Aemond shook his head slowly.
-My mother chose it on her own. She decided to dedicate her life to crying and constant prayer.
-Well... Well, I guess she knows what she's doing.
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Haelyx held her youngest son, Godric, in her arms. Iolanthe looked at the baby with love while Helga and Salazar seemed somewhat annoyed by the child with dark silver, almost gray curly hair and blue eyes.
The child had been born breech and had had her suffering for almost three full days.
Iolanthe left the nursery with Maelor to go to her lessons. Edmyn took Haelyx's hand as she left the younger ones at the nursery
-It's time to face the morning audiences, my love. Are you ready?
-Yes. – Haelyx looked at Edmyn. - How does it feel to know that you are leading the Kingdom that everyone wants to conquer?
-It feels as if my name and my wife's will enter the history books just because we wanted to create a safe haven for thousands of slaves and magic users.
-Then here we go, my husband. To the pages of the history books
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Haelyx Peverell. Edmyn Peverell.
The founding monarchs of Avalon, the Kingdom that rose from the ashes of an Empire. A land of peace, freedom and magic, with thousands of miracles and wonders filling every street, town and city
Their names were as famous as Aegon the Conqueror's and lasted longer.
Even today, hundreds of years after their deaths, many children bear their names and their statues are still visited regularly.
They were remembered as a deeply loving and wise couple. The Beautiful Sorceress Queen and the Gallant Warrior King. Their love story gave rise to many plays and love songs. From their love came fourteen children, all great Wizards and Witches who managed not only to create alliances, but also strengthen Avalon with their combined strength.
They also did something that had never been seen before and gave up their thrones and crowns when they reached a certain age that is not documented so that old age would not cloud their judgment and new blood could rule. They also personally cared for their grandchildren in their retirement and, although they retained power, served as more of an advisor to their daughter, Queen Iolanthe and her husband, King Maelor
They also sponsored many orphanages and made sure that every child in the country knew how to read, write and do math, something never seen before.
Queen Haelyx could most notably be seen after giving up the throne teaching talented children the magical arts and King Edmyn taught his grandchildren how to fly on a dragon, although he was severely scolded several times by his wife because he taught them stunts and tricks that she considered dangerous
Their lives ended peacefully one winter night at the age of 80 and 70. The night before they had been fine, smiling and happy, they went to sleep and did not wake up.
Two fruit trees were planted on their graves so that, even in death, they could continue to feed the inhabitants of their kingdom. Black apples, the sweetest in the world, and incredibly juicy golden pears.
Both trees are still alive today, and their fruits continue to feed those who want them.