𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔩𝔢

They had been married for almost twenty years and Aelinor still felt as if she hardly knew him. The day of their marriage, twenty year old Aelinor had stood in Prince Aerys’ chamber in a thin nightdress, ready to become his wife in truth. He had walked in, not looked at her, had taken a small needle to his finger to spread some blood on the sheets, and then climbed into the bed.

“You need not stay here,” He had said, “Your chambers are next door, if you desire.”

In the years since, Aelinor’s chambers had moved further down the corridor to allow for Aerys to have his beloved books closer to him. By this point in their marriage, Aelinor hardly saw her husband. It was not necessarily a hardship, but it was lonely. She had her ladies, she spent time with her goodparents — who were as understanding as they could be, having seen the man that their son had grown into — but there felt as if there was a void inside her.

She knew it was immature, childish almost, but she yearned to love and be loved. She had realised, as she had grown older and as her parents had gone to the care of the gods, that there was probably not a soul in the world that loved her.

She had had a friend in Dyanna Dayne, her goodsister, but she had perished after the birth of her sixth child. Six nieces and nephews for Aelinor to dote on, Alys and Rhaegal providing three more, and another two from Baelor and the late Jena. Eleven in all, all beloved by their Aunt Aelinor. She spent a lot of time with the children, especially those with their mother gone, but she longed for a child of her own. She knew her time had passed, she was forty now, but the longing remained. She longed, even, for the opportunity to try and become with child, but that had never occurred.

As she sat on the chaise, novel in hand, she found herself about to weep.

She did not call to Aerys as she left the room for her chambers, knowing he would be more annoyed at the disturbance than grateful for the knowledge of her plans. She slipped from the room as the tears threatened to fall from her eyes and tried to walk through the corridors calmly, to try and not look like she was about to cry and running away from her problems. In her rush, her eyes were down and she was not looking where she was going — determined to be anywhere but near Aerys — when she went thump into a strong, broad chest.

She looked up and saw Baelor, her goodbrother. He had always been a good friend to her, the closest brother in age to the one she was tied to. He steadied her with hands on her arms, strong and warm.

“Aelinor,” He said quietly, “Are you alright?”

She looked up at him and knew instantly he could tell she was not. He had been a sensitive man before Ashford, before he had been injured by his brother in the trial of seven, but after his recovery he had mellowed more, if that were possible. More women at court than ever were in love with him.

“Come to my solar with me, Aelinor. You do not have to tell me what troubles you, you may weep on me to your heart’s content, but I would not have you be alone.” He said, holding out his arm for her.

“You are too kind, goodbrother,” Aelinor replied, “I would not set you out of your plans.”

“My plans do not matter,” Baelor replied, which Aelinor knew was a lie, he was a King of six moons passing after all, “I would see you comfortable and happy first.”

She took his arm and followed him, appearing to all who passed as just a goodbrother and goodsister, spending time in the company of each other. Nobody would deny Aelinor that, not when they knew what Aerys was like, how he had abandoned his wife upon stepping away from the altar of the Sept on the day of their marriage.

Aelinor walked into the solar ahead of Baelor and perched delicately on the edge of the chaise by the fire, fighting the urge to sink into the cushions and furs. Baelor shut the door with a quick word to the Kingsguard that they were not to be disturbed except for emergencies, and walked over to her.

“May I sit with you? Or would you rather I sat at my desk and worked on treaties whilst you work through your feelings?” He asked quietly.

Aelinor shuffled up a little to make space for him on the chaise, and he sat quickly, an arm running along the back of the seat behind her. She looked up from her lap and saw him looking at her, the mismatched eyes that had been her friends for two decades looking back to her.

“Be comfortable, Aelinor. You need not stand on ceremony with me. I have known you long enough to know how you sit when you are comfortable. Your feet are on the floor rather than tucked beneath you. Settle in, and tell me what is wrong.”

“How well you know me,” Aelinor replied as she got comfortable, “Better than your brother does, I would wager.”

Baelor stood for a moment and poured them each a goblet of wine, handing Aelinor hers along with a handkerchief. He had seen her through her tears often enough to know she would need one.

“What has he done now?” Baelor asked. He had been asking this question to Aelinor for the last twenty years. She had had friends in Jena and Dyanna, he knew, and now they were gone. Alys had never been particular close to her, he also knew. He could only imagine how she had felt in the years since Jena and Dyanna had been taken. He had been grateful for her friendship in those years, too, a steadying female constant for his sons in the absence of their late mother.

“He has not done anything, as usual, he simply wishes to be left alone with his books. In turn, that leaves me alone. I was simply caught in my thoughts, that’s all. I feel better for being out of the library, at least.” Aelinor replied, sipping the goblet of Dornish Red he had poured for her.

Baelor similarly sipped his wine, silently encouraging her to go on. She knew that he knew some of her deepest secrets, things nobody else knew. She trusted him like nobody else.

“I long for a child, still,” She said after a moment, “Though I grow older and Aerys grows more absent, if such a thing is possible. I long for affection, for that companionship.”

Aelinor paused and took a deep breath, full in the knowledge that she was on the precipice.

“What if nobody ever loves me, Baelor? There is not a soul in this realm that really, truly loves me.”

The tears began to fall, then, and Baelor was quick to place both of their goblets of wine onto the table nearby, before he pulled her into his arms. Her head, dark hair in a neat updo, tucked under his chin as the tears poured from her, soaking into the soft velvet of his doublet. He clutched her close, her smaller frame fitting neatly inside his larger one.

As she cried, Aelinor could not think of a single time when Aerys had held her thus.

“Even if my brother does not,” Baelor whispered into her hair as her sobs began to calm, rubbing a comforting hand around her shoulders, “There will be somebody who loves you, Aelinor. Tell me, what can I do to make you happy?”

Aelinor froze in his arms, and pulled back.

“I do not recall the last time somebody asked me that question. I do not know what to say.”

“You do not have to say anything,” Baelor replied, “You can think for as long as you wish. Just know that nothing is beyond your reach.”

They sat there in the quiet a little longer, rain spattering the windows, sipping the wine in their goblets.

“I am sure you would not be able to grant me what I truly want,” Aelinor said after a while, breaking the comfortable silence, “which is an annulment. Our marriage is not true, but after all these years it is too much to wish.”

Baelor made a face at her and she did not know what it meant, but she had built up her confidence and would not be beaten by a man’s face now.

“I have never even been kissed, Baelor. How sad is that? I am forty and I have never even been kissed.”

Baelor looked at her for a moment, and recalled that Aerys had kissed his bride’s cheek in the Sept on their wedding day.

It was the least appropriate thing he could say to her, a King to his goodsister, but the urge pulled at him and he said it anyway.

“Aelinor, would you let me kiss you?”

He looked over at her and saw something he did not think he had ever seen in her before: hope.

“You would do that? For me?”

“Kissing a beautiful woman is hardly a hardship, Aelinor.”

Aelinor blushed — she could not recall the last time somebody had called her beautiful — and turned to him.

“Then, yes, Baelor. I would like that very much. I would like to know how it feels just once.”

She watched as he shifted closer to her, a gentle hand coming to rest on her cheek. Aelinor instinctively closed her eyes as he leaned in close, his lips barely brushing hers. He pulled back slightly, before he leant in again, this time his lips meeting hers fully. Aelinor sighed into the kiss, Baelor’s arms coming around her.

They sat there and kissed a little while, Aelinor luxuriating for a time in the feeling of his lips on hers, his arms resting around her.

It was he that pulled away, only for breath.

The way he looked at her, the tenderness in his eyes, made Aelinor want to cry anew.

“This has been a beautiful dream, Baelor, but I should go,” She whispered as she stood, gathering herself as she made her way to the door, “Thank you.”

She was about to put a hand on the door handle when Baelor stood and spoke.

“Aelinor, I…if an annulment is what you wish, I will look into the matter for you, discreetly.” He said quickly, as if saying it before he lost the confidence to do so.

Aelinor’s hand stopped halfway to the latch on the door.

“It is a nice thought, but what would I do then? I would be free of Aerys but nobody would marry me. I was rejected by a prince, or so it would seem. I am forty, too old to be producing heirs for Lords. I would be free, but stuck all the same.” She replied sadly, the arguments for and against a common debate in her mind.

Baelor did not speak for a moment, and then.

“I would marry you,” He said, walking over to her, “A prince for a king. I have three brothers, two of whom have sons. The small council are aware that I will not marry for any reason other than affection. I would marry you, Aelinor, if you would have me.”

“It would not be a marriage of love.”

“It would be a marriage of affection, Aelinor. You would be by my side, involved in my life, keep me company in my bed if you chose to. I could justify the annulment to the council by saying I need a queen, and who better but you? You have been at court for twenty years, you would be an asset beyond comprehension to me. It also happens that I am fond of you. You do not need to make a decision now, but think on it. I cannot imagine Aerys would mind.”

“I cannot imagine Aerys would notice,” Aelinor replied, “I shall think on it Baelor. Thank you.”

She left the room without another word and made her way to her chamber, hands shaking. Her hands shook as she took down her hair, as her maid helped her into her nightclothes, as she sat at her vanity after the maid had left, looking at herself in the glass as if she had been made anew.

As she laid in bed, the sheets soft against her skin, she considered the idea of Baelor lying beside her, and how she didn’t mind that idea.

When she woke the next morning, Aelinor woke with one thought on her mind.

It would be, she thought, rather easy to fall in love with Baelor.

And what terrified her was the realisation that the idea of being in love with Baelor didn’t terrify her at all. In fact, she couldn’t find any argument against considering herself halfway there already.

Her maid brought her breakfast on a tray, which she ate in bed, a note tucked beneath the plate. She opened it once the maid had left.

I hope you slept well, your first night as a kissed woman. I spoke to Aerys, he will confirm the marriage was never consummated. The choice is yours. You can have the annulment and marry me. You can have the annulment and not marry me. I would not hold it against you, not you who I hold in such high regard. B.

It made her heart race. She turned it over on her hands, noting one more bit of writing on the parchment.

Come and see me in my solar once you are dressed. There is something I wish to say that I did not have the confidence to last night.

That really made her heart race.

She dressed quickly and traced the familiar route back to Baelor’s solar. She knocked on the door when she arrived.

“Enter.” Baelor’s voice called. Aelinor opened the door and stepped inside, finding Baelor sitting with the Small Council around him, and Aerys too.

“Aelinor, come in,” Baelor said, gesturing for her to take a seat by the fire, “We have been hard at work this morning.”

Aelinor crossed the room and sat where Baelor had said, the very seat she had sat in the previous evening when he had kissed her. She noted that Aerys did not look at her, not through any malice, but through distraction. He was stood by Baelor’s bookshelves.

“We have been considering the matter of the annulment, Aelinor. It is agreed by all that, should you wish it, it will be granted. Aerys has admitted to pricking his finger on your wedding night to smear the sheets with blood. We had all assumed he had done as much, I will admit, but to hear it from his own lips seals it,” Baelor said, coming to sit beside her, “You needn’t decide on any other matter, nor should you fear being made to leave court or your rooms. Simply, if you wish to no longer be married to Prince Aerys, you need not be.”

“I wish it.” fell from Aelinor’s mouth before she could stop it, the truth racing out of her like it had been on the precipice for who knows how long.

“Then it is done. Grand Maester, I’m sure I can trust you to draw up the appropriate paperwork. From this moment, let it be known that the marriage of Prince Aerys and Lady Aelinor Penrose has been annulled, it never being consummated. The lady will, however, always remain a cherished member of our family.” Baelor said, looking to the Maester. The old man nodded and left the room to continue his business.

Aerys followed him, not even sparing a glance for his former wife.

Maekar followed quickly after Aerys.

“I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” he muttered as he left.

The rest of the council were soon to follow, and Aelinor found herself alone in the solar with Baelor once more.

She let out a deep breath and sunk back into the cushions, Baelor joining her on the chaise.

“You are free, Aelinor, if you want to be.”

She looked at him curiously, and he knew why.

“What did you want to say to me? That you did not have the courage to yesterday?” She asked, sitting up a little to move a little closer to her.

Baelor reached over and took her hand.

“I did not realise until you left for your chambers, just how much I like you. Then, when I was laying in my bed, I considered the idea of you by my side and found that I liked the idea very much. I could love you, Aelinor, very easily, if you would have me. I…I want to marry you.”

“Do the Small Council know this?” Aelinor replied, hardly recognising the sound of her own voice.

“They do. They know that I wish to wed you, to make you my queen, if you would have me. Will you?” He asked, raising her hands to his lips to kiss them, “Let me show you what marriage can really be, a true partnership. Will you marry me, Aelinor?”