Chapter 12
Daemon and Maenera passed through the corridors making their way to Viserys chambers for lunch. Entering the chambers were greeted with lunch already spread and their brother waiting for them.
"Well, this council meeting took a long time anything exciting?" Viserys asked while they took a seat at the table. Maenera waited to respond until she saw Viserys taking a bite out of his food.
"We were deciding who you are to marry." She said making Viserys choke on his food. He started coughing trying to dislodge the food from his throat. Daemon, the little shit, was laughing like a madman from his seat.
" You planned that!" Viserys accused when he finally got his breathing under control.
"I do not know what you mean brother." She responded trying to look innocent, but the smirk on her face betraying her guilt.
"What do you mean who I am to marry, haven't we decided that I won't?" Asked Viserys.
" Yes, but they do not know that." Responded Daemon.
"We needed to know who are the most likely candidates, to know who are we keeping you away from." Said their sister
"Keeping me away?"
"Of course, they are desperate to make their daughters queens. So they will try at first to convince you to choose one of them, of that fails they will try more unsavory methods. Like trying to get you alone with them or sending them to your room."
"Sending them to my room? Their reputation would be tarnished."
"Exactly. And you like the fool you are, will be marrying them to save their reputation." Said Daemon.
"Do not worry, brother. Me and Daemon will be with you all day and all night. We will save your virtue from these mean mean women that want to steal it." Maenera assured him and started snickering. What is today, making a fool out of Viserys day?
"Ha, ha very funny." Viserys responded sarcastically." But on a serious note. I really do not want to remarry. "
"And we will keep the vultures away, brother" his brother replied and Viserys could see in his eyes they he was serious.
"Plus I intend to make so much drama that they forget about you." His sister said
"How do you intend to do that?"
"Well my whole existence is a scandal onto itself. After the funeral, the very next day to be precise you will announce in front of the whole court i am your sister from Baelon's get and expose that I am legitimate. After there will be an uproar and an emergency council meeting, in which they will demand proof. We don't have it at hand but you will send for Vaegon who has the records. In this time both of you will help me find a sworn shield and to make my household, Rhaenyra's as well, she is getting older and only one attendant is too little for her. "
"You thought about everything didn't you?" Viserys asked part of him in awe at his sister, the other part being grateful they she will take the attention of him.
"And why are you so sure that we will abide with your plans?" Daemon playfully asked.
"Because you love me." That shut him up. A knock was heard at the door.
"Are we expecting someone?"
"Maybe something happened."
"Both of you are wrong. You are not expecting anyone, I on the other hand am expecting lord Strong. Now go away. Do some brotherly bonding.
The man in question stepped into the rooms and gave the royal family a bow.
"Your Grace, I haven't managed to offer my condolences. I am very sorry for your loss." Lord Strong said when he saw Viserys in the room.
"Thank you Lord Strong." He replied.
"Yes, yes now scram!" His sister demanded.
"You do realize that these are my rooms?" Viserys said.
"I wouldn't have meetings in your chambers if you had the decency to assign me my own. Now leave, the matters I need to discuss with Lord Strong do not concern you."
"Fine, you little menace we are going." Said Viserys landing a kiss on her cheek Daemon kissing the other cheek, before together exited the rooms.
***
Lord Lyonel Strong was a loyal man. Since he received the honor of being part of the small council he tried to serve the realm and the royal family as best as he could. The moment he heard of the passing of Queen Aemma he knew that things were about to change. He respected the privacy of the royal family and left them grieve in peace the passing of Queen Aemma and Prince Baelon, but to his surprise Prince Daemon appeared in the council room the very next day with a girl trailing after him and gave them a tongue lashing for starting the meeting without a member of the royal family present. It was well deserved he would say, the rules were rules after all, but the hand was adamant to start without them.
The girl it what surprised him the most, her and the fact that she seemed to have Prince Daemon trust. He let her speak for herself, give council and even held the meeting start until she arrived. He was ashamed to admit that when he first saw her in the first meeting his thoughts were not dissimilar to those of Lord Hand. It quickly became apparent that the thoughts were absurd, while the Prince seemed to hold genuine affection for her there was no lust in his eyes. Good, he thought, at least he could cross the title of pervert from the long list of bad attributes that the Prince had, the girl was mo more than two and ten. It became clear that the girl had some standing with the royal family and was well educated and intelligent. Her suggestion always on point, her cutting tongue always sharp for those that displeased her, Prince Daemon not once rebuking her on her behavior. Prince Daemon appreciated her input to the point that all the names crossed or underlined were with her approval. Lyonel saw the nods and the silent conversations that took place between them before a name was crossed or underlined. He was under no illusion that if the girl did not nod her head the name of his daughter would not be on that list.
What he couldn't understand was, why all the secrecy? Her name was not given nor her title, and he was not the only one with questions. Nobody knew anything about her, not even the Velaryons and they were kin to the King. There was obviously something afoot, so when the girl offered him a meeting in the King's chambers he was quick to agree. He didn't expect the King and Prince to be there, and he definitely didn't expect the level of familiarity between them. The fact that the girl literally threw the King out of his own chambers, was ringing alarm bells in his head. And the kisses that both the King and the Prince bestowed upon her were telling.
Now here he was left alone in the King's room with a girl of no more than two and ten, feeling unsure and wrong footed.
"Please my Lord, take a seat. " She said
"Thank you my Lady."
" I am sure you are curious of why have I requested your presence here."
"Yes, my lady, out of all the council members why I was the only one singled out?"
"You see Lord Strong, I wanted to warn you." She said and Lyonel could not be more confused.
"Warning me?"
"Yes, your daughter will never be queen. I didn't want you to be surprised when the decision is already made." She said and he settled thoughtful eyes upon her.
"I already assumed as such, my lady. Even if my Daughter has a good upbringing and good dowry, the Lady Laena Velaryon would be a much better choice for the realm."
"You misunderstood me, my lord. None of the girl will be chosen."
"And how are you to know that?" He asked, he was not malicious in his questioning merely curios. It was a bold affirmation to make.
"I have not introduced myself to you yet. My name is Maenera Targaryen, daughter of Baelon Targaryen, the Spring Prince and his second lady wife Aelera Snow. " Thing became clear then, the secrecy, the trust, the familiarity. The way she could command a room with no effort. The girl was a princess, she was well within her rights to make bold affirmations such as this.
"Am I to assume that none of the women will be chosen because the title of queen will go to you, my Princess?"
" No, no, gods no. While I love my brother and he loves me, we will not be marrying. We just see each other as brother and sister. My brother has decided that he will not be remarrying and when the time comes, Daemon will succeed him, should the unthinkable happen, and Daemon will perish, his daughter the Princess Rhaenyra will be queen. "
"Ah... What I do not not understand princess is why have you chosen to reveal all this to me?"
"Because my lord I need allies. We need allies. I need people that will support Viserys in his choice. My brother loved Aemma to distraction and none will compare to her in his heart and mind. That is why he refused to take a second wife when the council suggested. I love my brother, my lord, but he is just a man. One that has his weaknesses, when a young beautiful girl is going to console him in his time of grief, he will do the right thing to protect the lady's reputation." The princess said. And it was true enough. When the King is going to announce that he will take no wife, there are going to be a lot of people that will try to force his hand.
"Me personally, I could not care less about their reputation, but what I do care about is my brother having a choice. And his choice at the moment is not to have a wedding in the foreseeable future. "
The little princess was clever, with his support there will be 4 against 4 in the council, evening the numbers. Lord Commander, Prince Daemon, the Princess and himself on one side and on the other side, maester Mellos, the Lord Hand, Lord Beesbury and Lord Velaryon. The princess clearly wanted her brother not to be taken advantage of, his kind heart being a bad thing in this situation. He understood, after he lost 2 wives he refused to marry again. He had enough children and warm bodies could be found to alleviate the loneliness.
"I understand his Grace's desire, and while I think that it will be beneficial for him to have a son, it is true that he has heirs. With yourself in the line of succession Princess, that would mean that he already has 3 healthy and young heirs, this not counting any children any of you may have. So tell me Princess what is required of me?"
"For now just your support when Viserys will break the news, both about the marriage and about myself and in my opinion itt will be beneficial for both of us if you would invite all of your children to the capital. "
"All my children? Well my heir, Harwin is already here, he is with the gold cloaks at the moment."
"I want to offer your daughters a place in my and Rhaenyra's households respectively. Your younger daughter as lady in waiting for Rhaenyra and the older one as lady in waiting for me. As for your son's, to be honest my Lord, me and Daemon need more friends, we are young and surrounded by stuffy old men, we need someone our age. Present company excluded of course." He couldn't suppress a smile. She was just like Harwin, he was calling him an old man too. He wasn't offended, after all he was trice her age, for her he had to seem old. Her offering his daughters places in her's and the little princess household was extraordinary. The princess at the moment had only Lady Allicent Hightower and the Queen only had 2 Ladies from the Vale. For his girls to receive an invitation as lady's in waiting was an opportunity he could hardly say no to.
"It will be done ,my Princess"
"Good, good. I hope you understand the need for secrecy until after Viserys makes the announcements. It will be a shame to cause a scandal during Queen Aemma's funeral."
"Of course, there royal family secrets will not be divulged from my lips. " He said and stand up sensing the dismissal. He gave her a bow and made his way to the door, when where voice was heard again.
"My lord, when I said all your children are needed in the capital, i meant ALL if them. The natural born daughter that you are trying to hide as well. " She said and he was shocked. He hadn't realized anyone else besides his family knew about Alys. The princess was suspiciously well informed. He gave a quick nod and left the room.
***
"I can't believe she threw me out of my own rooms!" Viserys exclaimed while they were making their way down the corridors.
"We already knew she was an impertinent little thing, I don't know why are you surprised." Daemon commented letting out a few snickers."Joking aside she needs her own quarters and wardrobe, if she is to stay with us."
"True, I will take care of it when we go back, speaking of which, where are we going?"
"Well, I think it will be a good time to do some training, it will do you good to spend that pent up aggression you've been hiding."
"You just want a reason to beat me into the ground without repercussions."
"That as well." His brother said smirking.
They made their way to the training grounds, knights, kingsguard and Lords alike were occupying the grounds. They quickly left to stand against the walls when it became clear that he and his brother were here for training and not just to observe. Both he and Daemon disrobed, ramaning bare chested and in their trousers.
"Training swords or live steel?" Viserys asked his brother.
"Let's take it up a notch. Let's work with valyrian steel. Poor Blackfyre hasn't seen much action since it came into your hands." His brother taunted.
"You are asking for it." He responded grabbing Blackfyre.
"I am always asking for it. Will you give it to me?" His brother asked taking Dark Sister into his hands.
They began to circle each other, the smile on their faces never faltering. His brother it seems grew bored and sung his sword throwards him. He parred the hit with his own sword. The dance began, easy at first, just to warm up, then slowly it became more intense, Viserys began to be more focused. The blood in his veins was singing, the aggression he suppressed for years rearing its head. The blows because more vicious and he could tell that Daemon was still holding back. That made him mad, he wanted a fight damn it, not to play knights and maidens. With a snarl he attacked and Daemon parred the hit but was surprised at the strength behind it, making him staggering a few steps back. A savage grin then came on Daemon's lips and he couldn't help but reciprocate. The fight began in the earnest then. Hit after hit, blow after blow, Viserys felt like he was flying again. Oh, how beautiful was his brother like this. Sweat on his brow, eyes focused, sword in hand and savage grin on his face. They haven't sparred since they were in their teens, and Viserys remember why now. Blood calls to blood , his father said and the blood in Daemon's veins was calling to Viserys in that moment. He remembered the last time they sparred, the fighting was too intense then, the anger, the bloodlust, the taunts, all of it. He and Daemon were already married by then, but all he wanted in that moment, in that fight was to throw the swords aside, smash his brother into a wall and fuck him silly. That is why Viserys put a stop in their sparrings.
The same thing happened now. The bloodlust started turning into lust, labored breathing, grunts and sword clashing could be heard and all Viserys wanted was to fuck his brother against the wall, uncaring of the audience. Daemon disarmed him and put Dark Sister to his neck, their eyes never faltering from each others, violet on purple, gaze burning. Viserys felt like a bucket of cold water was poured on his head when clapping was heard. He averted his eyes and Daemon took his sword of his neck. They both turned their heads towards the clapping sound and saw their sister making her way towards them.
***
Maenera found herself alone in her brothers quarters after the meeting with the Lord Strong. She wanted to pat herself on the back for a job well done, in just a few days, she managed to convince Viserys not to marry, to make Rhaenys accept her responsibilities, to eliminate the White Worm and gain an ally, the time spent with her brothers was a bonus. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't much, but she was still human, she couldn't clap her hands and make everything right and all she has done until now was a good start. She saw that the things are going to be a little chaotic after the funeral and it was alright, she could manage. She closed her eyes and felt the sensation that came just before she was pulled into a vision.
She saw a flash of her brothers fighting, swords clashing. The vision was interrupted abruptly. Were they training, fighting or fucking? The vison wasn't clear. What was clear it was that they were at the trying grounds, fighting with swords while naked. That was a weird combination, but each to their own she supposed. She couldn't take the chance that they were trying to kill each other, with the Targaryen family you never know, so she picked up her skirts and started running towards the training grounds. People were quick to get out of her way when they saw a little white tornado running towards them, a good thing, she didn't have time to avoid them.
When she arrived in the courtyard she saw Viserys and Daemon locked in battle, savage grins on their faces. They were aroused she could recognize that, it wasn't that surprising. The Targaryen brothers always have been half in love with each other. Aegon and Orys, Maegor and Aenys, Aemon and Baelon and the list goes on, but she never saw her brothers fucking in any of her visions, that is why this scene had taken her by surprise. She saw Aemon and Baelon, and wasn't that a position, no child should see her father in, but never her brothers. The spectators were watching the fight with interest, probably because Viserys wasn't training very often, but they didn't seem to notice the heat between Daemon and Viserys.
They were beautiful, the thought hit her. They were an antithesis of each other, too different yet so alike. Both had light hair and their similar features were a good indicator that they were brothers, but that were where the similarities stoped. Viserys was chubby and short, while Daemon tall and slim. Daemon had well defined muscle all over his body, Viserys was a little round around the middle but with strong arms, Viserys had short hair and violet eyes while Daemon had long hair and purple eyes. Daemon was a hurricane and Viserys was a silent storm, both devastating in their beauty. She could feel something in her belly, a flutter. This is what lust should feel like? She saw sexual acts in her visions since she was a child but they never sparked anything in her body, but now looking at the intense fight between her brothers she felt like her body was set aflame.
Daemon disarmed Viserys and put his sword to his neck. She wanted Daemon to cut him a little, to see the blood pour down on her brother's chest. She wanted to sink her teeth into their neck and claw at their skin. She shook her head and threw those thoughts away. She had a mission she couldn't be distracted by her pretty brothers. She began clapping and she broke the spell Daemon and Viserys were in, both turning their heads towards her.
"That was an amazing show." She said
"Why thank you. We live to impress you." Daemon sarcastically replied.
"Consider me impressed. Now come, gather your belongings, we have much to discuss." She said and turned on her heels starting to walk back into the Red Keep.