----
112 AC
Kingslanding
Daeron Nymeros Martell
----
I suppose I should not be surprised that Rhaenyra followed me when I was told 'very' subtly that Aemma went into labor. Though both of us being kept out of the room was a surprise, I expected them to at least let her in.
"She sounds miserable..." Rhaenyra winces when a throaty yell is heard from behind the shut doors.
"You should have seen this one woman from Myr that my father got pregnant, she yelled so loud they put a pillow over her face. I swear I can still feel the headache throb every now and then from that day." She looks at me incredulously even though I was only trying to help.
"Your father got someone who is not your mom pregnant?" Oh, shit I walked into this one.
"Well my parents are very open in their relationship, they are not ashamed of what they do or do not do. I have a few half-siblings who I honestly spend very little time with but they are decent enough. After I claimed a dragon and flew back with it they let go of any past grudge from being the base-born and not the trueborn." That and I beat the unruliness out of them a long time ago.
"I do not know what to say, is that not a threat to you and being the Prince of Dorne?" I chuckle and shake my head remembering the face of my father's mistress when she first saw Gaelithox breathe flames and melt a building that needed tearing down.
"Trust me when I say my position as the Prince of Dorne and Lord of Sunspear is rock solid. Gaelithox will personally visit anyone who wants to speak differently on the matter, he has been itching to melt something recently." She opens her mouth to say something but the door opening catches her attention.
A servant walks quickly out before the doors shut again and I see Rhaenyra tense up in the corner of my eye. Every time the door opens the cycle repeats and she slips back into her shell of concern and ill-concealed panic. This leaves me to strike up the conversation again so she doesn't stew too much on what's happening in the room.
"How long have we been sitting here?" She asks in a low voice and I look down the hall to the sun and try to guess how long it's been.
"Few hours at least, I can try to peek in again if you want." I whisper the last part so the two Kingsguard at the door doesn't catch on.
"No it's fine, I don't want you to be sent away before she actually needs you..." She trails off and leans back into one of two chairs I dragged into the hallway so we could be comfortable. "Do all Dornish take extra lovers?" The question strikes me from a blind spot as I thought the conversation died but when I look over at her she seems a bit uncomfortable.
"People in Dorne are known for being promiscuous because they don't restrain themselves. The Dornish in general pursue anything that makes them happy even if it will get them in trouble. Most Lords and Prince and Princesses in Dorne's history have taken multiple lovers. But I think the question you wanted to ask is if I plan to take multiple lovers, correct?" She narrows her eyes a bit and I see the famous Targaryen fire lighting up within them as she grips the armrests.
"So?" She asks before looking toward the door as if it became the most interesting thing in the world.
I slip my hand palm up under her arm on the armrest and slide it down to her clenched hand forcing it open with my fingers. Lacing my fingers in the gaps I claim her hand much to her surprise as she looks around. It's not the first time we have held hands, she even has taken experimental pokes and prods at my muscle before but never in the open like this.
"I have no plans of that nature, my own parents have a great love for one another and more importantly respect and trust. They taught us how things like that work 'properly' and how they came about it, without all the gross details of course. But long story short they both decided they wanted it and as far as the half-siblings go neither wanted to leave a kid out in the cold. If and I mean 'if' something like that ever came up it would be well after we have a similar trust and respect." She nods as her hand grips mine back a little snugger with her lips quirking up.
I expected this kind of conversation eventually, my father is well-known to have many lovers after all. It is only natural that she would be curious if I planned to be the same. I just was not expecting the conversation to be now when her mom is screaming her lungs out, but stress seems to be eating at her so I understand why she asked. I also got my point across that it's not a priority while also keeping the door open so the possibility is always there but it's out in the open. She also did not react negatively giving the idea some real life but I am not a horn dog in a rush for some ass when I have not even scored the real prize just yet. I am also pretty sure she would be easy to convince, she takes longer than necessary looks at beautiful women while never doing the same with objectively good-looking men.
----
The door opens and King Viserys himself comes out with a beyond pale face, I would say he looks like a man who has been to war. Rhaenyra stands up as I jump to my feet, both of us knowing now should be the time we can enter. When Aemma started screaming bloody murder Rhaenyra cried before trying to force her way in and being held back. The screaming stopped but to my ears, it almost sounded like she was gagged.
If my guess is correct then Viserys would most likely not want his daughter to see what her Mother looks like currently. I pat my pocket and feel the small bottle of Shimmer and head through the door as Viserys stops his daughter himself. Turning to look toward the bed I see a near-lifeless Queen with her body laying limp with her limbs restrained. It seems she put up a fight until she had no fight left, the baby is in the Grand Maesters hands and he is rocking it while looking at me with confusion.
"King Viserys, I would remind you that the room needs to be cleared." Everyone stops what they were doing and looked toward me as I walk toward the bed.
"What do you think you are doi-." The Maester with the babe in his hands stops as I hold a hand up while looking at the wound that looks more like it was done by a butcher than a trained professional.
"Get out of the room!" The King shouts as he turns back toward the room, Rhaenyra pushes past him and gasps.
Only the Maester stands dumbly in place as every rushes out of the room and I pull the bottle out and start dripping some onto the fading Queen. I put some on the Mouth and the wound itself as I get to work closing the wound manually.
I keep a side eye on the Maester who is paying no attention to me as the King takes the babe from him and rudely shoves him out the door. The King's face is haunted and I shake my head when I notice the baby in his arms is actually a girl. It might be fucked up to say this but I am glad it is not a boy so now I can cheer for the little thing to survive.
The door closes and water immediately shoots across the room and envelopes my hand and the blood flow that was already slowed comes to a stop. The Shimmer kicks in and veins become more pronounced and turn a mix of purple and pink. The Queen jerks on the bed but otherwise looks lifeless as I start healing her.
"This might take a while, I need to start from the inside and work out and I have to make sure not to miss anything. The good news is your butcher at least used a sharp blade even if the Queen screamed as if it was a dull spoon." A rare opportunity to lay into a man of 'higher' status and I am surely going to take it and make him as uncomfortable as I can.
I could of likely just given her Shimmer and the effects would have given her the strength she needed to make it through. The effects of the upped dosage are already obvious and she is taking smoother breaths and the wound is healing almost as fast as my own would. It makes me want to drip some more but I am concerned that she might heal a little too much and go on a rampage from the drug and her emotions of being tortured.
I shut the poor woman's legs and lower her arms to her sides as I climb onto the bed and straddle her lower legs above her feet. I place a hand on the blood-soaked bed and lean over her as I get the best look I can at what I am doing while cleaning and healing. I am almost a hundred percent sure she will not be walking for months but she will live. Sex is off the menu as far as I am concerned for her safety but I doubt she will want to see a cock after what the last one just did to her.
"Is she going to be..." I hear Rhaenyra behind me as the baby girl starts screaming louder than she has so far.
Hearing her sister shouting Rhaenyra stops talking and instead of looking at the blood finally looks toward her sibling. I can't see her face as I am focusing on what I am doing but I am sure the stiffness in her posture is a good clue. She must be feeling conflicted about the little girl who just got her mom cut open.
"Rhaenyra... I had to do what I thought was best..." Viserys starts talking as he collapses to his knees beside the bed and leans over it.
The baby is cradled to his chest with one arm and the other seeks out his wife to grab her hand with his own. Rhaenyra does not respond but I hear her clench her jaw as she also goes to her knees and takes her mom's other hand.
----
I bounce the little baby as I walk back and forth beside the bed, it took little to no time to heal her up but Neither Rhaenyra nor Viserys is willing to look away. They watch Aemma sleep peacefully after I cleaned her up and the bed, the baby being put aside the moment I offered. I feel a bit bad for the baby but I know how much Viserys spoils Rhaenyra and I know he will look out for this little girl once he calms down. Rhaenyra has taken peeks here and there but I can't tell how she really feels about it other than her eyes pouring tears.
A knock on the door grabs my attention and I look back at both of them and see them having not heard it. I look between the door and the bed and then finally rest my sights on the chubby-faced baby who is sleeping like a rock.
"Someone is at the door..." The door opens as I try to get their attention and I turn back around to see the Maester walk in with a few other people.
I guess the king told the Kingsguard to tell everyone to fuck off because it seems only the hand himself was able to get them to let them by. Otto looks straight to be baby in my arms with a thoughtful look before he brushes past me heading toward the King.
"I apologize your Grace, but I grew concerned when we heard nothing, and I..." His voice trails off as he looks down at the Queen sleeping with her chest obviously rising and falling.
The Bloody clothes and sheets tossed aside and clean all put on with her obviously being alive is the last thing he expected to see I guess. His dumbfounded look along with the others in the room looking at the scene in confusion shows they likely heard of the Queen's 'sacrifice' for her child. It would be impossible to hide it after the method that was used to get the baby got out, if she died it could be hidden but with her living it will spread. So her being healed after everyone was kicked out was getting out no matter what we did, and the look the Grand Maester is giving me tells me he has made the connections.
"The Queen needs her rest, she has been through a difficult birth and needs time to rest and recover." I speak up hoping these people will just turn around and screw off, I do not want the Maester within one hundred feet of my 'patient'.
I can already see the gears turning in his head, magic will be one of the first guesses and I can foresee them not taking to it kindly. The Maesters hate things out of their control and the leading thing in that field is magic. that and dragons. So I would not doubt the possibility of the Queen being poisoned or something to try and hurt me and by extension drag magic through the mud.
Well I prepared for this and the King will be having his own tasters and he agreed to let a taster from Dorne try all her food and 'medicine'. It was part of the deal we struck if I ended up getting directly involved so I would not be accused of doing something I didn't do. I also made it clear I wanted his grey rat to be hands-off until the Queen is perfectly healthy so I can not be blamed if he does something to her.
I keep rocking the baby as the King finally stands back to his feet and looks around the room, his eyes landing on the baby once before looking away. He looks at Aemma once more before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Seems the ball is rolling now and it won't be easily stopped, but I am glad it turned out this way and not both of their deaths.
The gender swap is a surprise but I guess anything can happen when something as big as the Martells having dragons happened in this world. I just hope the ripples won't be too big because of this and throw everything out of place, I have been looking forward to some things.