87
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114 AC
Sunspear
Daeron Nymeros Martell
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"Maybe he is just here to see the twins..." I mutter watching the red dragon circle Sunspear, a throb in my temple alerts me to an oncoming headache as I watch the Blood Wyrm head to land in the middle of the city. "Dumbass." He is going to have all the common folk up in a fuss with his dragon throwing sand everywhere and ruining food sitting out on the market stalls.
"He did not send a raven." Rhaenyra casually observes beside me but I still give her an odd look.
"There are no ravens that cross the Narrow Sea." Her lips thin as she grips my arm tighter but no words come out to defend herself.
...these baby girls got her drained in more ways than one.
Sucks because unlike with Aegon there is none for me... at least none of the stuff I want.
"Let me help you sit down, you will need all the rest you can get before whatever trouble he is here to stir up starts making things noisy around here." I turn gently pulling my Wife along as she leans her head against my shoulder with a low hum.
----
"The Prince of Pentos." I greet the Rogue Prince as he enters the 'sitting room' that is set aside for important guests.
Aegon and Visenya are on the floor as neither wanted to separate when I came to get my Son from his Grandmother. The twins are lying on a cushioned couch with Rhaenyra sitting on a pillow on the ground beside them while I stand behind the couch watching the guest carefully. I have no idea what he is here for and I doubt it's to hurt his family but it's hard not to feel a bit jumpy with this chaotic bundle of fire in the room... or within a hundred miles of my location.
"Niece." The Rogue Prince greets Rhaenyra who nods while keeping her hands busy fussing over the twins. "Nephew." He smiles at me and I can't help but want to gag hearing him call me something I never thought I would hear in this life.
Man, the Targaryen Family tree is fucked up, he is my cousin I think... but is he wrong to call me Nephew as well?
I am just confused but I think that was his intention.
"Nephew... that's new, almost as new as the crown you were." My eyes go from his own eyes and land on the silver circlet with red rubies on his head. "Reminds me of a crown I have seen before..." The Conqueror's crown looks way cooler than the crown he has on but there is also a big difference between a King and Prince and he still calls himself a Prince.
I would not be surprised to hear about the disappearance of the Conqueror's crown after he has visited Kingslanding and then the following news of him naming himself King.
Sounds like a Daemon thing to do.
"It was a gift." He responds with a sly smirk as he finishes approaching the front of the couch and he finally peels his eyes off me and down at the two bundles of sleeping joy. "Rhaenys and Nymeria." Rhaenyra nods as she lifts the bundled-up feet of Nymeria who is painted purple today.
"Nymeria." She sets Nymeria's feet down and runs a finger across Rhaenys belly causing the little babe to stir with little wiggles. "Rhaenys." Daemon hums and turns his attention to Visenya who has approached him using both her patented scooting technique and a turtle crawl.
"Visenya." I purse my lips as he leans down and picks up the girl whom I have come to care about as much as my own child, again the slight panic washes over me but I push down the intrusive thoughts.
Just one flick of the wrist for a whole lot of his organs to get fucked up.
But I also know the majority of his 'fame' is just him fooling around and he is not like that around those he sees as his 'kin'. The way he called me 'nephew' earlier might have been a 'sign' that I fall under that now or he was just humoring the both of the adults in the room while pointedly ignoring my proper title.
"Did you come with a goal in mind Uncle or are you just finally making time to visit family?" He hums instead of answering Rhaenyra as he sets Visenya down and looks at Aegon curiously.
My boy is sitting up all on his own with a hand on his toy dragon that was made to resemble Balerion. Aegon tilts his head much the same as the Rogue Prince who smiles seeing the adorable reaction. Aegon turns his head to look at his Mother and then looks at me before he seems to no longer care and attempts to reunite with Visenya who is sitting on the ground beside Daemon.
"Aegon." Daemon crouches as he watches Aegon reenact how Visenya made it across the carpeted floor, Rhaenyra leans back before he can get to his destination though, and pulls our Son into her lap.
"Don't rub your legs on the carpet you will rub your knees raw again." Rhaenyra quickly fusses over our boy as she makes room for Visenya to climb on her lap as well.
"I came to talk." Daemon speaks up watching his niece interact with the four young ones with a distant look. "I also came to see family." His words come out in a tone of voice I have never heard before as he wears the realest smile I have ever seen on his face.
I sigh wondering if I am a cunt for thinking about just tossing him out the window or if it's actually the best course of action for this random visit from the trouble-making Prince.
----
"So your plan is to make them bend and then keep them bent so they will no longer be a threat?" I ask as I lean back in my chair while watching Daemon closely.
"That is the plan." He nods happily as he pours himself some more of my special Dornish red.
"I can't help but hesitate to offer any support when you have yet to explain how this is good for me... or just anyone who is not you." Does he really think I am going to jump onto my dragon and help him fight the remnants of the Triarchy that seems to be hunting for a dragon for 'revenge'.
He is foolish if he thinks I will help him grow his little Princedom a single inch when it could very likely be a dagger slowly being sharpened to stab my own Son or his children in the distant future.
"No need to worry about what you will 'get' from this, there will be a substantial amount of loot and I will be splitting it half with you. Then there is the matter of land that I will need to divide up and give out for other people to rule over in my stead. I can offer land and whatever fancy titles you want to any of your supporters or future children." I hum and nod while checking for my wife's reaction to all of this and she remains neutral watching the two of us go back and forth.
It's hard to tell what she is feeling about this, at the very least this is going to screw with our future plans that we had in Essos. The trip we had planned once we took a long break after our Royal Progress might be thrown out entirely by Daemon's actions. But if he is going to do this regardless then 'helping' him means I gain something while standing aside means he might hold a petty grudge.
No doubt he blames me for the remnants of the Triarchy trying to kill him or whatever they did, to begin with.
"You did not name yourself a King." Rhaenyra speaks up as soon as I look away from her surprising me as she seemed content to listen for the time being.
"I did not." He nods in agreement.
"You will remain a Prince?" He nods at her question and she tilts her head but a slight 'gleam' to her eyes and her eyebrows coming together slightly let me know she is up to some mischief. "Will you bend the knee uniting any lands you lay claim upon to the Iron Throne?" I purse my lips as she just took a left turn out of nowhere and might have caused this meeting to go sour.
I mean I was thinking that myself the whole time but I did not want to seem like a greedy fucker right off the start. That is something I would have brought up in the next meeting about this as it will take multiple conversations before any of the Dornish force is called upon. We only recently sent them all home... well more than a year but still it's a pretty short break all things considered.
I also have my own plans with the Rhoyne and I do not need to take heavy losses before that is achieved. I need my men to be as fresh as possible and highly motivated which they are after the loot from the Triarchy was split.
"It would certainly give my Husband and his Brother more motivation to assist you if we all were to be united under one 'solid' banner." Rhaenyra speaks up again seeing the odd look her Uncle has but if I am honest he does not look upset or mad... maybe a bit amused.
"You have become much more bold since you married a Dornishmen." Daemons chuckles lowly as he taps his fingers on the table. "You are asking me to bend and devote any lands I have to the Throne before I even take them?" He chuckles more while shaking his head which for a moment she frowns at.
"My Husband took Lys easily and if he wanted he could have taken Tyrosh at the very least with a big enough garrison to keep order in the city. Myr likely would have had to be burned based on what he has told me and how they seemed more ready to fight to the last man." His lips thin the more and more she speaks while her voice becomes a bit haughty like she is showing off and the pride practically radiates off her. "But there is no telling what they would have done once the flames started burning the town to ash. To me, it seems the Conquering has already been done and the only thing that is needed is men to occupy and pacify the two free cities. They were left alone after they paid a 'tribute' but now that they have attacked a Royal family member... well my Husband can go all on his own to finish what he started." She tilts her head while lifting her chin and I can't help but feel amused by how much more aggressive she is with negotiating with her Uncle compared to the other Lords we have seen thus far on our Progress.
She seemed tough and witty when we dealt with the Stormlanders.
She was understanding and accepting when dealing with the Dornish Lords and Ladies and talked with them about their concerns they had with being brought under the crown with her wearing it in the future.
But Daemon... she seems to want to needle him to death or make him react poorly.
Maybe she just wants him to leave so another war will not start, she likely does not want me to leave just as much as I do not want to leave. Hell, I would rather not even think about war until Aegon is at least five name days, I want to be here watching him grow.
"I intended to bend the knee to Viserys once I had revenge and ensured there would be no future attacks upon our family." His stony look slowly morphs into a small smile. "But if it would please you more I could head to bend the knee to my Brother and pledge 'my lands' to the Iron Throne." Rhaenyra slowly nods but otherwise does not react as if she expected this result.
"Good." She meets eyes with me and smiles. "If you do that then I have no problem... which would just mean you need my Husband to approve." I nod while wondering how my Father will react to this, he will probably ban Daemon from ever returning.
But in all honesty, it seems more like Daemon needs men, a single dragon could destroy any repaired defenses the two free cities have put back up. So I might not even have to make an appearance other than for a few days during the capture of the cities. The Dornish spearmen can easily keep peace in the cities and I am sure Lewyn would love something to do. Lewyn could 'police' the Dornish forces and his dragon would add pressure to the Common folk keeping them from getting rowdy.
Who would have expected for Daemon to join in on the fun on the other side of the Narrow Sea?