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War was always inevitable.
Men started wars for the dumbest reasons. Why was this one happening? Because of a throne. A throne rightfully belonging to your husband's mother. You wed Jacaerys not too long ago, and now were with child, the sixth moon. You wouldn't give birth yet. "No, don't go, Jace," You insist, grabbing his wrist to stop him."This won't be a battle you'll win. You will be outnumbered. I can't lose you."
"I must. They'll kill them if I don't. I couldn't save Luke." You frown."That wasn't your fault, Jacaerys. You and I are one. I can't..." He pulls you closer, and you needed that. His warmth's comforting."I'll return, my love. I promise. And for our babe." You sigh, before nodding."Go, then. Your mother needs her throne." He lets go, and you hope in that moment you're not making a decision you'd come to regret.
Your hand remained comfortably on your stomach. Would you have twins? Or a girl? Or boy? The possibilities were exciting. You should be happy, but it's a war right now, and getting pregnant wasn't one of the choices you should've made. War is no place for children. Yet the Greens seem to think so. You didn't have a dragon so you couldn't leave on your own. But you had no plans to, not in this state.
Pregnancy did that to you.
"Your grace, I wouldn't stress too much, it's not good for the babe," One of the servants had said to you. "I know, I won't, he'll come home, he never breaks a promise," You say, mostly reassuring yourself. A babe's growing within you, your babe must be protected. So, your worries eased. You and Jacaerys were thinking about names. Aemma, for a girl, to name after Rhaenyra's late mother, something she'd love, you're sure of it, and a boy, well, you both were debating on that. You wanted to instinctively call him Lucerys, after the brother that passed.
Still, you hadn't decided.
You wanted to do this with him and even though it had only been hours, you began feeling lonely. Emotions and hormones seemed to be all over the place. But you stayed put. You weren't going to be reckless. He had locked his own mother in her room. "Jacaerys?" You hear Rhaenyra call out. You stood up, wondering if it was best to tell her. "Jace?" She repeats, then you step into view."He's gone, your grace."
She would've fallen to the floor by those words.
"No," Rhaenyra whispers."My boy." "He'll live," You whisper, trying to convince yourself you were right. He has to, doesn't he? It pains you to see a mother like this, to lose a child. "He's going to be fine," You say again.
She looked at you, tears in her eyes."He shouldn't have gone. It should've been me." You look out the window. Baela's dragon was coming back.
Jace was not behind her.
Your husband was presumed dead.
Both he and Vermax vanished, Baela couldn't have seen where he had gone. Rhaenyra fell to the ground. You screamed, tears poured down your face. You could not help it. Then, you felt it. You screamed out again, this time not out of the pain from losing your husband.
You were giving birth.
Water dripped onto the floor. Rhaenyra froze."Early labor." Baela helped you."Come, Y/N. You're going to have a babe." You're led to your room. Screaming at the top of your lungs. Gods, this hurt. Why now? Why go into labor when Jacaerys is gone? You will at least have a babe to keep his memory and legacy going.
A midwife is summoned and the labor begins. This was your battlefield: childbirth. You weren’t sure if you could handle this. What if you and the baby died? What then? Another loss for Rhaenyra?
You always looked up to her. She was always the rightful Queen to you.
You push, but it’s still painful. They’d be small and there was that you’d lose your child since you had gone into labor early. Perhaps the grief is what caused it to happen.
“I see the head.”
You groan, pushing as hard as you could. You knew this would happen of course, when you first found out you were with child, but this was something you hoped to do with your husband by your side.
“Please! Get it out!” You yell, you don’t mean it of course, but the pain is overwhelming and you just want the baby to be here, to be alive.
Undoubtedly, there’s blood.
Not a lot but there is. And you hear a baby cry, you sigh of relief. “A girl,” the midwife announces, and begins cleaning the babe. Then the pain continues.
What?
You thought that was over. “Twins!” It’s announced, after cleaning the baby, the birth continues. How long has it been since twins were born in this world? You groan, you're given Milk of the poppy, which is soothing the pain. You're beginning to feel groggy, but at least it's continuing. "A head, your grace," The maester said. You just nod tiredly. The birth was a little difficult with your daughter crying in the background.
Gods.
You wanted to live, badly, to be a mother, the one you've always dreamt of being. Then, you hear more cries in mixture of your daughter's. By this point, it had been several hours of labor. You didn't dwell on it.
"A boy."
You smile, and the two babes are in your arms. Two babies, in one pregnancy. You might faint, but you won't. You're still a little groggy. They suck and drink the milk. You didn't think they'd naturally latch on.
Rhaenyra comes in.
"The babes, they're beautiful," She said."Do you have names?" You frown. You wanted to do this with your late husband. "Aemma, for the girl," You said, then considered the boy's name. There had been several Aegons so far. "Lucerys, for the boy," You then say, she smiles.
But the happiness could not last very long.
Lucerys and Aemma were sweet babes, and they fed easily. They cried, like normal babies, but were easy nonetheless. That was a relief. You recovered in bed for the rest of the day while the babies were taken care of. But you also had to grieve on your own. Meanwhile, Aemond had gone to Harrenhal. Aegon was nowhere to be seen. You hoped Aemond wouldn't try anything on dragonstone for your children.
Jason Lannister had fallen in the battle, along with your husband. You could say it was karma.
Three days have passed.
You stare outside of dragonstone, the birth recovery wasn't so bad. "I figured you'd be here," Baela said, walking over beside you."Have you even eaten?" "I have," You say. You did. "Have you? Rhaena, too? your sister... I can't imagine," You sighed. "She's okay, I'm leaving again," Baela frowned."We have to. If they want a violent Queen, they'll get it." "She still thinks Alicent is good, that was the mistake," You whisper.
"I thought for a moment too."
Grief changes a person, and you no longer think peace can happen, not in this war. the greens have proven that. Sometime after this, Baela leaves. Rhaenyra's isolated herself. She's probably planning another attack. You stay in your room, isolation seems to work for you as you care for your babies. Lucerys is in your arms. Aemma is with your trusted Governness. You're trying, but you need support as a widow.
Bastards, you could guess what the greens would say, but they aren't.
You nearly fell asleep when you hear a dragon roar. It'd been 3 days and you thought maybe you're hallucinating a dragon. Baela was gone, you're sure of it. Rhaenyra might've left, but you doubted it.
You hand Lucerys over to the other governess.
"Baela? Back so soon?" You say, confused.
"I've missed you."
You freeze in your spot. It's Jacaerys. But, he's dead. He drowned in the waters. You know this. "Jacaerys, how are you here?" You ask, turning around. There's something different about him. It's everything. He had a sweetness to him, but you only sense death, and darkness. That sweetness is gone.
"The details aren't necessary," He tells you, kissing you deeply, and you embrace it. "Did you give birth?" He asks."So early?" You nod."It must've been because of the mere thought of losing you." Jacaerys kisses you again, more rough this time. You're enjoying it, but this... feels off. He's cold, very cold. "What happened to you? I heard you were dead," You ask, pulling away from the kiss.
"I lived. Now, I think, the Greens will finally get what's coming. They've earned it, don't you think?"
You step back."Jacaerys, what has happened? Please, tell me." "I'm just a little different, but I came back, and I wanted to come back to you almost immediately," He explained."But my thirst was too strong. It's contained now, of course."
"Contained? What does that mean?" You asked.
"I just want to meet the babe," He said."Then I'll explain." You chuckle."We had twins, Jacaerys." "Twins?" He said, shocked, but you could tell it was a good reaction. "You weren't here for the birth, so I named them Aemma and Lucerys," You explain. "I love you," He said."More than anything."
You smile."I love you too."
You bring the children out. You couldn't help but admire as he holds them. A loving father. "You must tell your mother," You say."She's devastated." "I know," Jacaerys sighed."Now, I owe you a story. I'm not necessarily human anymore." He said, while Lucerys in his arms. Aemma, in yours.
"Not human?" You say."I mean, I had an idea, I can smell death on you." "I washed up on the shores, Vermax was unharmed, hiding, but someone had turned me into one of them, a vampire," He explains.
You gasp. "I'm not going to hurt you, or them," Jacaerys said."However, I want to taste you, so badly. I've perfected my thirst. But just one taste of you, my loving wife." You feel compelled to say yes, so you do. Your children are taken from you to their rooms.
"Then, they will burn."
You want revenge just as badly as he does, but you also want to just enjoy the moments you have now that he's returned. The greens are only a small problem right now. You lay down on the very bed you gave birth in. He's on top of you now, and you relax as he kisses your neck before his fangs sink in, beginning to drink from you. The dizziness seems to happen right away. But he pulls back, and there's some blood on his lips. The feeling is complicated. It's like there's a thrill that comes from it, but fear at the same time.
"Just as sweet as I imagined it'd be."
You suddenly feel more exhausted, but you figured, after being fed on, you'd be tired. So, you try and get some rest, maybe you'd feel better in the morning. You close your eyes and you sleep. You dream.
You imagine Jacaerys dying for real in your dream, that he's been shot at, and Vermax has sunk into the sea.
It's a good thing it's just a dream.
Jacaerys wakes you, his arms had been wrapped around your waist. "Don't vampires stay up all night? I didn't think sleep was necessary," you chuckle. "I can pretend," He says, kissing your neck just a little."I have a plan. I want you to come with me, ride with Vermax."
You agree, immediately, knowing what he meant.
"Let's start with the red keep," You say. It's quiet, but he nods. The red keep no longer holds any meaning to him, now that they've corrupted it. It wasn't the innocent, just the castle, with those that have wronged you both.
Once you're in the air, the adrenaline kicks in.
They've woken the dragon, because despite what Alicent thinks, what Otto had thought, Jacaerys was still very much a dragon. Once you've reached the red keep, you hear him speak the words,"Dracarys."
You can tell he's smiling as the flames engulf it.