heh 😼

The cool winds of Oldtown bite at your skin, tugging at your gown as Daeron pulls you through the crowded streets, his grip firm on your wrist. The Starry Sept looms ahead, its dark silhouette bathed in the fading light of the setting sun. The scent of salt from the nearby harbor mingles with the distant smell of incense, and despite the beauty of the ancient city, all you can feel is anger seething in your chest.

“How dare you take me from Dragonstone!” you snap, your voice low but filled with fury. You tug against his grasp, but his hand tightens, his pace unrelenting. “You had no right, Daeron! You must take me back. You will take me back.”

His face, pale and sharp in the dwindling light, remains tense. His violet eyes flick to you, but he does not stop, does not yield to your demands. “I couldn't leave you there to marry Jacaerys. You were meant to be mine,” he says, his tone desperate yet determined. “I love you, Y/N. I won’t let you go so easily.”

His words ignite a fire within you, burning with the weight of your stolen future. “This is madness!” you shout. “Do you not see what you’ve done? You’ve stolen me from my home, from my family!”

“You’re Targaryen blood,” he responds, stopping at the steps of the Starry Sept and turning to face you. The people passing by give the two of you strange looks, but you don’t care. All that matters is the rising anger within you and the thrum of your heartbeat. “And Targaryen blood must stay pure.”

Your chest tightens at his words, his intention sinking into you. He had taken you not out of love, but out of duty, out of a belief in keeping the family line strong, unbroken by outsiders. “So, that’s all I am to you?” you spit, your voice shaking with a mix of fury and pain. “A means to an end? A symbol of blood and fire?”

His hands come up to your shoulders, his gaze pleading as he draws closer. “No, you’re more than that, far more. I’ve always loved you. Since we were children.” His voice softens, and you see something in his eyes beyond duty, beyond the pressures of his station. “This isn’t just for the bloodline, Y/N. I will love you, cherish you, protect you. I swear it on my life.”

You hesitate, your heart warring with your mind. There’s truth in his voice, an undeniable sincerity in the way he looks at you. But the weight of what he has done presses on your chest, suffocating and confusing. You had been promised to Jacaerys, and now everything has been turned upside down.

“Please,” he whispers, his voice breaking slightly. “Marry me. Stand by my side, as you were always meant to.”

Your heart skips a beat, caught between his words and the bitter reality of your situation. Can love truly grow from such treachery? You don’t know, but even as your thoughts swirl in chaos, you can feel the pull between you and Daeron, the undeniable bond forged in dragon’s blood and shared history.

With a deep breath, you nod once, barely perceptible, and his shoulders sag with relief. Before you can think further, he pulls you into the Starry Sept, where the High Septon waits.

The vows are spoken in hushed tones, and your fingers tremble as Daeron slides a silver ring onto your finger, the weight of it foreign and heavy. The Starry Sept is grand and cold, its vaulted ceilings seeming to reach toward the heavens, but it feels like a prison. Your heart aches as you repeat your vows, your mind still reeling from the events of the past few hours. 

When it's done, the ceremony leaves an emptiness within you. You’re no longer the daughter of Rhaenyra, destined for Dragonstone and a future with your brother, Jacaerys. You are now the wife of Daeron Targaryen, bound by the oaths you swore beneath the Seven’s watchful eyes.

Later, in the solitude of the chambers prepared for your wedding night, you sit by the window, looking out over the darkened city of Oldtown. Daeron stands nearby, silent as he watches you with an unreadable expression. The bed looms in the background, its presence thick with expectation, with the weight of the night ahead.

“Do you hate me?” he asks quietly, his voice almost swallowed by the sounds of the city below.

You don’t answer immediately, unsure of how to put your feelings into words. You look back at him, at the young man who had taken everything from you and offered only himself in return. “I don’t know,” you admit, your voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know what I feel.”

He approaches slowly, cautiously, as though fearing you’ll turn away. His hand brushes against your cheek, and despite everything, there is tenderness there. A part of you wants to flinch away, to push him from you and demand he return you to Dragonstone. But another part, deep inside, wants to believe him, to believe that perhaps, in this dark, twisted way, he loves you as deeply as he claims.

“I swear to you,” he murmurs, his thumb brushing over your bottom lip, “I will never hurt you. I will love you every day, with every breath. You are mine, Y/N, and I am yours.”

The words, soft and full of promise, melt the last of your resistance. You reach up, touching his face, your heart a chaotic mix of anger, confusion, and something that feels dangerously close to love.

The night is a blur of emotion—of whispered vows and lingering touches. You both lose yourselves in the heat of the moment, shedding the weight of your shared innocence in the embrace of one another. The world outside ceases to exist, replaced only by the warmth of his skin against yours, the steady beat of his heart beneath your hand. For a moment, you forget the war, the bloodshed, and the sacrifices.

Afterward, as Daeron sleeps beside you, his silver hair fanned out against the pillows, you lie awake, staring at the ceiling. The sheets feel too heavy, and the silence too loud.

Will this sacrifice, this union born out of desperation and desire, truly end the war? Can love, even one as complicated and fraught as yours, be enough to save the realm from the fires that rage on the horizon?