˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚

Jacaerys ran a hand through his now tangled locks in frustration with himself. He had made a fool of himself by tumbling through her door in his concern that she was concealing her worsening condition from him. In the moment, he had been so relieved to see her recovering from her illness, having had many sleepless nights over it, he had not fully registered what a brute he had acted by forcing the door to her chambers. He place both hands in his hair again and pressed his forehead to his desk with a groan. She must have been frightened by his behaviour, he chastised himself, particularly given her history with another man who had tried to force himself on her. His eyes darkened in anger at the thought. He would deal with that scoundrel one day, of that he was most certain.

His anger quickly turned up in himself again, however, as he considered that his lady may have feared similar advances from him, given his forceful entry into her room. He practically jumped up from his desk at the thought and began pacing his chamber, turning over in his thoughts how he could possibly apologise and make amends for his behaviour. He never wished for her to feel unsafe with him or that he would not respect her boundaries, he had only lost his composure in fear that her condition had worsened and she was too selfless to tell him.

An involuntary smile softened his expression at the thought of her stubbornness. He did not think she would ever allow him to care for her without some degree of resistance. No matter, he was more than prepared to coax and kiss her into allowing him to do so. He sobered once again. That was, if she wasn't too frightened by his antics the evening before. He comforted himself with the memory of her kissing his cheek before he had left her that evening...she hadn't seemed afraid of him then. He would apologise nonetheless and assure her that he would never force his way into her space again. He wished for her to trust in him and feel safe around him and he would do everything in his power to distinguish himself from that other rogue who had hurt her.

As the morning light filtered through his window, casting shadows along the flagstone floor, a look of determination simultaneously lit up Jacaerys' features. Whilst still early for the royal household, Jacaerys had memorized his love's schedule by this point and knew she would have already risen to begin her duties. He rose from his desk with urgency and exited his chambers in the direction of the Sea Dragon Tower, where he knew she would have begun her cleaning duties.

He knew his love too well to believe she would have heeded his entreaty the night before that she continued to rest until she was completely well. An indulgent half-smile softened his features, and he shook his head at the thought. She would make a formidable Targaryen princess and consort if he was already having trouble getting her to listen to him. Good, she would fit into her role and his family perfectly, and he was sure that their subjects would be as charmed by her and as willing to acquiesce to her every order as he was himself. His heart warmed at the thought.

Y/N smiled absent mindedly as she dusted the grotesque crenelations hanging upon the walls, shaped like basilisks, griffins and wyverns. Normally, these brooding gargoyles would leave her feeling uneasy and she would hurry to complete her survey of the sombre tower, not liking to be alone for so long with such creatures glaring at her from every corner.

Since Jacaerys had learned of her uneasiness in this room, he had made it a habit to rise earlier than he was wont to to keep her company whilst she carried out her duties. At first she had thought his actions strange, but upon questioning him her heart stuttered at the realisation that he was rising early before his own duties so that she would feel safe.

Not wishing to embarrass her, but unable to completely resist from teasing her a little, Jacaerys had responded by tapping the hilt of his sword and smirking at her. "Fear not my love, your prince will defend you from any beast that dares to frighten you, be they living or inanimate", he winked conspiratorially.

She had blushed furiously at his admission, only gaining a laugh from Jacaerys who nonetheless sought to appease her by wrapping her in an embrace. "I only jest, my dove. Do not be angry with me." She had broken into a smile herself, unable to maintain her stern expression as he held her in his arms. "You are a menace." Jacaerys' smile widened at her epithet, realizing at this point that an insult was often a sign of affection from his lady. He knew that she appreciated his assiduous care and concern for her happiness and wellbeing, even if she preferred to call it his 'hen-pecking', much to his chagrin. His company was a most welcome addition to her morning duties, though he grumbled the whole time that she should not have to do anything she thought unpleasant if she would only marry him.

Y/N laughed quietly at the memory of the characteristic pout he would assume when chastising her on this point. She could very easily silence him, she discovered, if she pressed her lips to his, leaving him with a dazed expression on his face when she broke the kiss. She had to laugh when he would reach his arms out to encircle her waist and try to pull her down to his lap into another embrace. Y/N enjoyed teasing the usually serious prince, tapping his chest playfully with her feather duster before she continued with her work.

Upon entering the Sea Dragon Tower, Jacaerys let out a sigh at seeing his lady dusting the gargoyles adorning the walls, routinely struck anew by her beauty and the wave of affection and love for her that always swept over him at the sight of her; there would never be an ordinary moment with her, her very presence investing the sombre darkness of the forbidding room with light for him.

He would normally have bounded up to her, impatient to gather her into his arms, but he found himself hesitating on the threshold of the door. He feared that she may not be pleased to see him, perhaps even angry with him for his transgressions the evening before, so a moment of hesitation passed before he found the courage to enter the room, and Y/N's head snapped up at the sound of his boots against the flagstone floor.

Having prepared for her to chastise him and to apologise profusely to her, he was pleasantly surprised to see her pretty features light up into a smile at the sight of him. He was even more delighted, almost believing himself to have passed into a dream of his own imagining, when she lightly tripped over to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, placing her head on his chest. He eagerly responded to her embrace, enwrapping her in his arms as he stroked her hair tenderly. "What have I done to merit such a greeting, little dove? I half expected I would need to get on my knees and beg your forgiveness for my behaviour last night. Instead I am rewarded for my transgressions by your embrace, my love."

Y/N looked up in confusion at his contrite tone. "Whatever can you mean, Jacaerys? I don't hold you falling through a door against you, if that is your concern," she laughed. "You're still as princely a figure to me as you were before you tumbled through my bedroom door." Jacaerys blushed and pouted a little at being reminded of his less than princely behaviour, though he was pleased she was amused by his antics rather than afraid that he meant to harm her by his intrusion. He didn't think he would be able to endure it if she had been afraid of him.

"So...he hesitated, you were really not frightened by my bold intrusion into your chambers last night? I swear it was only out of concern for you. I would never have tried to force entry into your room in any other circumstances' he rushed out, before she pressed her fingertips to his lips to stop his anxious outburst.

"Don't be silly, Jacaerys. I'm not afraid of you. I love you." His eyes widened at this, his heart skipping a beat, struck anew by the wondrous feeling of being loved by such a sweet creature. He closed his eyes and held her hand to his cheek as she pressed her palm to it. "I am relieved to hear it, my darling. I worried that my behaviour might have brought up unpleasant associations for you...that you might have been afraid lest I had ill intentions. I always want you to feel safe with me." He met her gaze with such warmth and love in his eyes and Y/N was moved by his earnest concern and sensitivity to her past traumas that she encircled her arms around his neck, wanting to be closer to him and reassure him that she felt safe with him.

Jacaerys lowered his torso to make it easier for her to reach him, wrapping his own arms protectively around her waist. "It is because you have always been so gentlemanly and considerate about my feelings that I knew you meant what you said when you told me you loved me and it never entered my head that you meant to harm me." He instinctively gripped her waist tighter at this admission, closing his eyes tightly, pained at the thought that someone had ever harmed her before and he had not been there to prevent it...and despatch the offender. He leant down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead before burying his head in the crook of her neck.

Continuing to stroke her hair protectively, he murmured against her skin, "I will always protect you" before pressing his lips to the point between her neck and collar bone. "I know," she whispered, entangling a hand in his hair. He continued to hold her in his arms, settling his head on her shoulder as she tightened her arms around his neck, drawing as much comfort from the embrace as he hoped she did. Both lovers felt that the other was holding their whole person, body and soul, in this embrace.

Though happier than she had ever been, secure in Jacaerys' love for her, Y/N continued to struggle against lurking feelings of inadequacy and guilt she couldn't easily explain to him. The more comfortable she became with seeking out Jacaerys' physical affection, she would find this dark feeling clawing it's way to the surface of her mind. Her previous physical experience with a man had left her with deep feelings of shame and guilt: perhaps it was her fault that he should have been led to believe such advances would be welcomed. Perhaps she was too forward, too affectionate. Perhaps she should be ashamed of her desire for Jacaerys too. She feared he would even be disappointed or ashamed of her if he suspected how much she really loved and wanted him, how much she wanted to touch him and for him to hold her. She knew how important the notion of purity was to Jacaerys' conception of the Targaryen dynasty, and she began to fear that this would extend to her, though he had reassured her most fervently that she was not to blame for her past experiences with a man who did not deserve her love and trust.

He had always stressed to her that what had happened to her was not her fault, that it was an assault and not to be confused with the physical love between two people who loved and respected each other. She was keen to bury the subject away, though Jacaerys had been insistent upon stressing to her that she shouldn't repress her trauma, but confide in him.

She remembered after she had recovered from her initial distress at revealing a memory she had buried so deeply in a shameful corner of her mind, he had gently taken hold of her hand to place it on his chest, exactly over his heart. Looking into her eyes with such love, he had proceeded to speak in a firm yet soft tone. "How you are touching me now is a good touch. I have consented to it and it is pleasurable and comforting to me." He had then placed his hand on her cheek with a feather light touch, stroking the pad of his thumb across her jaw. "Are you comfortable with me touching you in this way, my Dove?" She had met his gaze quizzically at this question, having been sure he should need no such reassurance, since she had already allowed him to touch her in this way so many times. "Of course, Jacaerys." He smiled reassuringly at her response. "Why is that?" "I...I don't know what you mean Jacaerys?"

She couldn't understand what he was aiming at. She loved him and had told him as much, why should he need to ask? "You do, darling. I know it may seem odd to you, me asking you this. I fear that others have not asked before," his eyes darkened, "but it is important, so I must ask you to answer me, if you can." He looked so earnest that she felt she must try for him, even if she did think it silly. "Because...I feel safe with you," she hesitated and he nodded encouragingly, continuing to caress her cheek. "Good, my love, continue." "Because I love you and I know you love me" she blushed, starting to duck her head in embarrassment before he brought his other hand up to hold her head in place, directed towards his eyes. "No, no, don't be embarrassed, darling. That's good, that's important. Is there anything else?" Encouraged by his coaxing, seeing that he was aiming at something important to him, she added the final reason she could think of. "Because you have never done anything to make me uncomfortable...I have never been afraid that you would hurt me." He nodded so encouragingly at her then, before removing his hands from her face and holding his arms out to her. "May I hold you?" Immediately seeking out his embrace, she placed her head on his chest, comforted by the soft beat of his heart under his tunic.

He wrapped an arm around her torso to hold her against him whilst his other hand cradled her head protectively. "My questions may seem silly to you, little Dove, but that is only because you have never been told how important it is for you to feel what you have so patiently described for me, when someone is touching you. What you have experienced before was not love, it was violence. I do not wish for you to confuse the two. It is important that you know the difference and understand that you can always tell me if something makes you uncomfortable, if you don't want me to touch you in a certain way or...if you do" he added, in a slightly bashful tone.

He pulled away from her only slightly so that he could meet her gaze. "Love is choice. It should never be forced or solicited without both parties' consent. I want you to understand that you can feel safe to touch me, he placed her palm on his cheek, "and to either solicit or reject my touch, with the full assurance that that is for you to choose, and for me to heed." Y/N met Jacaerys' gaze now with a light of understanding, tears glistening in her eyes.

No one had ever cared to explain this to her before, and so she had always carried a certain guilt within her that what had occurred had in some way been her fault. She was moved by his attempt to assure her that her choice and boundaries were things to be respected and honoured. That there was a difference between love and what she had experienced in the past, which she had long come long to expect as the only outcome of the advances of men.

Despite Jacaerys' reassurances that there was nothing in her past that should cause her even a moment's feeling of guilt or shame, Y/N found herself becoming more and more hesitant to either accept or solicit his affection. The more she found herself desiring his touch, the more guilty she felt, as if she were somehow impure for wanting him like that. She grew ashamed of herself every time she caught herself gazing at his lips, or wanting him to touch her, and would immediately recoil from his touch, making an excuse to leave his presence. Jacaerys had noticed his love growing increasingly more hesitant to touch him over the course of a few days and accepted it. She had only just felt comfortable enough to confide in him about such a traumatic moment from her past. It was not to be wondered at if she was more avoidant of touch, even if it was his loving touch. He would respect her wishes and not solicit any touch if he thought it would not be wanted at this time.

However, he did begin to grow really concerned when he saw how genuinely anxious she looked when she had embraced him one day and he had eagerly responded by kissing her cheek. She had immediately recoiled, and he was horrified to see a look of fear on her face. He gripped onto her forearms before he could think better of it. "What's wrong, my dove. Have I frightened you?" He enquired anxiously. He became even more worried that he had overstepped her boundaries when she quickly removed herself from his arms and stuttered out a response. "No, no...I just remembered I'm wanted somewhere else." Jacaerys was left stunned and horrified that he had frightened her with his affections as he watched her flee from the room. He resolved that he would not follow her now, not when his presence seemed to have caused her such distress, though it pained him to see her leave him in such a state of anxiety, possibly because of something he had done. He would beg her forgiveness later and hope that he could make amends for his transgressions.

Y/N chastised herself, as she arranged Jacaerys' desk in his room, for having put on such an embarrassing display before him earlier that day. He must have thought her very silly for immediately pushing him away and running away after she had just embraced him, but she couldn't help it. After Jacaerys had kissed her on the cheek, she had immediately wanted to feel his lips on her own and was overcome by a feeling of such intense shame that she had to leave him, unable to conceal her feelings. She hoped he wouldn't be angry with her. She loved him too much to lose him over something so silly. As she began to fold a stray cloak he had left on a chair, she resolved that she would apologise to him for acting in such a bizarre manner, and try to conceal her anxieties from him in future. No sooner had she made this resolution than the very Prince she had just been thinking of entered the room.

She panicked when he freeze at the sight of her, a shocked expression on his face. He must be angry with her then. She immediately ran up to him and buried her head in his chest, gripping his tunic like a lifeline. "I'm sorry for behaving like that earlier, Jacaerys. Please don't be angry with me, I won't be like that anymore." It was true that Jacaerys was momentarily surprised to see his love in his chambers, fearing that he had really displeased her, but he was shocked to see her so panicked and hear that she feared him to be angry with her. She had done nothing to solicit such a response from him, he was concerned only that he had upset her. In his shock at this unforeseen turn of events, he did not realise that he had not yet answered her, and became truly panicked when he heard her sniffles and felt his tunic becoming wet with her tears.

Mentally shaking himself, he cradled her head in his hands to see her face. "Hush, hush, whatever can you mean, little dove? I am not angry with you and I am most sorry for having given you that impression. In fact, I was about to go to you to apologise for heaving merited your disfavour earlier and was only surprised and gladdened to find that you were already here. It is for me to apologise to you for overstepping your boundaries earlier. I should have realised that you may not wish for me to touch you like that after what you told me not a few days past. Please accept my forgiveness and my word that I won't touch you like that again unless you ask me to." He was saddened and alarmed to see that her expression only seemed to become more anxious as he spoke, the tears continuing to pool in her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her to comfort her, not knowing what to do to make amends. "That is not...that isn't. Oh I don't know how to explain." Jacaerys stroked her cheek and nodded encouragingly at her. "Try, I will listen." She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and hesitated before she began to explain. "It isn't that I don't want you to touch me that made me leave so abruptly. It's that I do" Jacaerys caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb, "Do what, my love?" She looked away from him then, "I do want you to touch me." Jacaerys grew confused then, not realising why this would upset her, but resolved to get to the bottom of it. Turning her chin gently so she met his gaze again, he softly questioned, "and what's wrong with that?" She looked so troubled by his question, her bottom lip wobbling that he could not stop himself from pulling her more tightly towards him, urgently stroking her cheek. She spoke so quietly that he had to lean down to hear her. "It's wrong for me to want you like that. It's not pure. I feel as if...I’m not pure. You wouldn't want me anymore if you knew how much I want you. How I want you. You always speak of the importance of maintaining the purity of the Targaryen dynasty," she trailed off.

Jacaerys was momentarily stunned. He could never have anticipated that this would be a fear for her. That his darling girl, his pure dove, the only light in the darkness of Dragonstone, could believe her desire for his love and touch to be impure. He had never meant for her to take his words about the Targaryen line to be directed at her. He had only meant that he did not wish for the line to be sullied by traitors and usurpers like the Greens. He cursed himself for not having been clearer, for having only added to her anxieties when he had always meant to alleviate them. More disturbing still was the implications of her apology to him. Jacaerys felt physically unwell when the weight of her previous words fully registered for him. They echoed in his mind now: "I won't be like that anymore." His heart dropped into his stomach. Did she mean that she would allow him to touch her, even if it made her uncomfortable, because she believed she could keep his affections no other way? He could only understand it as the result of her previous experience with physical touch making her belief that it was something to be ashamed of. His heart constricted painfully at the thought. He grew even more determined than he had been before that he would deal with the scoundrel who had left her feeling so ashamed of her own desires and so willing to bypass her own boundaries to keep him. As if she would ever need to do such a thing! He would lover her and cherish her if she never wanted his touch in that way. The love between them was of that between souls, a bond that could never be severed.

A look of determination alighted in his eyes. He would show her that her desire for him and his for her, was built upon the purest love and respect. Far from being buried and treated as something to be ashamed of, she should fully embrace it. But he was also most anxious to show her that her boundaries were important to him and that she should always tell him if she was uncomfortable about anything. He would always love her and want her, in whatever way she would allow. It wouldn't matter if she never wanted him to touch her in a certain way, as long as she still wanted his love. Jacaerys realised he'd let too much time elapse between her words and him resolving all this in his head when she lightly pushed him away from her and took several steps back towards a nearby pillar, placing a distance between them, a look of despair on her pretty face. "I told you," she sniffled, "you are disgusted with me."

Jacaerys strode towards her and immediately closed the distance between them, placing a hand against the pillar beside her head, and weaving another around her waist,  imprisoning her within his arms. "No darling, don't say that. You’re absolutely fine, there's nothing wrong with you. I love and respect you. Adore you. Worship you. I am sorry that you have been made to feel this way and have suffered such feelings alone. I wish you had felt comfortable enough to confide in me before." He held her tightly to him and turned her face once again to his, preventing her from evading his gaze. It was important, now more than ever, that she should listen to him and see the truth of his words behind his eyes. "Your desires are nothing to be ashamed of. I want you to want me," he tentatively brushed his fingers against her waist, "to desire me," he gripped her waist more possessively, when she did not move. He leant down slowly, brushing his lips against her jaw, just below her ear  so that he could whisper "as I want and desire you." He felt her shudder against him as he said this and grip onto his tunic with a hand. She gazed into his eyes for a long moment then, before she seemed to find what she had been looking for in them and he sighed in relief as he felt her relax against his touch. "I don't know.." she hesitated and he waited patiently for her to finish. "I have always felt that it was shameful or unclean for a woman to have these desires. That others would see that as impure, that I couldn't want that."

Jacaerys eyebrows furrowed, his warm brown eyes filled with concern and love for her. Tenderly tucking a lose tendril of her behind her ear, he brought a hand up to caress her cheek. "They have not seen our love. I assure you, my love, that nothing could be further from the truth. Any desire you have could never be impure. Women should be free to experience the same love and desire men do without feeling any shame." He lowered his voice again, hovering his lips teasingly over the surface of her neck as he gripped her waist more possessively. "To have their desires satisfied by the man they love." He smiled roguishly when he noticed the blush blooming on his little dove's cheeks. He couldn't help teasing her a little, though he was entirely in earnest. He would have to establish one point before he continued any further, however. Pulling away so that he could meet her gaze. "I need to be sure of one thing, my little dove. I never wish for you to feel that my affections are only to be retained by you bypassing your own boundaries because you think it will please me. The very thought of it breaks my heart. It pains me to think that you do not understand the depth of my love for you and only you, not for anything you can give me beyond your love. It is not a physical thing which ties us together but a love, which tethers our very souls together. I will never cease to love you, no matter what form you allow me to show it."

He waited anxiously for his love to absorb his words, as she met his gaze. Though he was eager to embrace her, he was determined to convince her of the unshakeable, eternal nature of his love first. He needed to be sure that she wanted his touch before he went any further. He was equal parts surprised and delighted when she gripped onto his tunic with both hands, slowly pulling him down towards her, before she hesitantly whispered next to his jaw, "I want you to show me."

Jacaerys needed no further instruction from his love. He swept her into his arms, encircling her waist and shoulders as he pressed her gently against the pillar behind her, feeling her melt into his touch. He crashed his lips onto her own, feeling her wrap her arms around his neck. Their mouths moved urgently and hungrily in unison, both as desperate to feel the other's touch. With each brush of his lips against hers and each caress of her waist and forearm, he hoped to show her that he not only welcomed her desire for him, but that it was also not something to be ashamed of, but embraced. He broke contact with her lips, bringing a hand to her face and tightening his hold of her waist to arch her back so he could access her neck. He knew that she particularly liked when he kissed her there and was eager to show her that her pleasure was of the utmost importance to him. He placed an experimental kiss to her jaw, then another and another, encouraged by her sigh of pleasure, before trailing a line of lingering, soft kisses to her throat, all the way down to her collar bone.

Pulling her flush against him with one arm around her torso and another around her shoulders to support her as he tilted her back in his arms, Jacaerys continued to trail a line of kisses down from her collarbone to her chest, leaving her breathless, before pressing his lips to the precious space where he could feel her heart beating quickly. The thought that it was his own touch that caused it to beat so rapidly left his own heart stuttering, as he pressed two more reverent kisses to the same place. He was gratified to hear her sharp intake of breath, as she gripped onto his tunic, pulling him closer.

He paused then, his lips still hovering over her collar bone, checking that she was still comfortable with this touch before he continued. "Kiss me again," she whispered. Pressing another lingering kiss to her collarbone, Jacaerys responded in a low tone, "where, my princess?" happy to take orders from her. He would be only too pleased to acquiesce to any request she had, an uncommon feeling for a Prince used to ordering others.

Her voice came out quiet and breathless. "My heart." Jacaerys' felt his own heart skipping a beat at her request, realising that this was her way of telling him that she had understood what he had meant when he had pressed her hand to his own heart. She would always be loved and safe with him and that his love would come with no conditions or expectations of anything beyond what she wanted to share with him. Not only this, but that she now understood that her own desire wasn't something shameful to be suppressed, but something she should openly embrace and express to him.

Giving into the ecstasy of her touch, Jacaerys' own hands slid slowly from her waist, down past her hips to her thighs, before gripping onto the back of them to lift her entirely off the ground and hold her against him. For a second, he feared he had gone too far, that he might have frightened her. His fears were quickly allayed when she tightened her legs around his torso, and he became lost in the dizzying sensation of her, by turns, caressing and tugging his hair. He still had enough presence of mind to understand that she was reassuring him, as much as he was her, by touching him in this way; she was reminding him that she loved him completely, loved that part of himself that he had always found shameful, even if he himself could not reconcile himself to it.

 Y/N placed an index finger under Jacaerys' chin, leading him back up to her lips, which he immediately recaptured. He smiled against her lips, pleased at how confidently she was instructing him, secure in the knowledge that he would never judge her for any desire she had. Far from it, he was only too eager to please her. He kissed her again and again, as if she were the oxygen he was dying for.

He shuddered as he felt her hands slowly slide up his chest to his shoulders before she cupped one hand around the back of his neck. He leant his whole body into her touch, pushing her back further against the pillar she leant against as he tightened his grip on her waist. It was important to him that she felt comfortable enough to initiate physical contact with him. He wanted her to understand that he needed her touch just as much as she appeared to want his. He felt her fingertips move from his neck to tangle at the bottom of his hair, and he moaned as she experimentally tugged on his hair at the nape of his neck. Encouraged by his response, she pressed her lips to his more hungrily than before, teeth grazing his bottom lip as she entangled both hands in his hair.

Jacaerys only broke contact when he grew concerned that if he was struggling for breath, she must really be, but he pressed his forehead to hers affectionately as they both caught their breath. He slowly slid her back down to the ground, though he immediately encircled his arms around her waist, unwilling to let her go just yet, and smiled as she played bashfully with the brooch that held his cloak in place over his tunic. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek and wrapped her in an embrace, leaning his head upon hers. "I love you, Y/N. Your desires are not something to be ashamed of. In fact," he leaned back so she could see his expression as he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, "I actively encourage them."

Y/N immediately responded by slapping his chest in admonishment. "Don't be such a tease, Jacaerys. I just know you're going to be insufferable now." Jacaerys laughed before leaning down once again to whisper against her jaw, "I thought you liked that about me?" He eagerly moved to connect their lips when he saw her turn her head as if to meet his, and was surprised when the little minx quickly side stepped him instead, skipping a few paces away from him. It would not be the first time she had surprised him like this and had him running round tables in pursuit of her. She laughed at his look of bewilderment, his arms still held out where she had been a moment before. "No Jacaerys," she took a step closer to him, leaning her head up to meet his gaze as he automatically tilted his down. She wrapped a hand around his neck so she could whisper against his cheek, "you like that about me" before she kissed his jaw and quickly evaded his arms to leave the room, giggling at his dazed expression.

It wouldn't do to let her Prince become too arrogant, she reasoned. An involuntary smile made its way onto Jacaerys' face. She little knew how much he liked that about her. He would follow her anywhere.

Y/N had returned to her room that night, Jacaerys insisting on walking her the short distance from the kitchen to her room, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. Her love and trust in Jacaerys had not erased her trauma from her past experience with men or her fear that Jacaerys might blame her for what had transpired with the other man she had loved. She felt not only relief but also a sense of safety she had never experienced at his loving response and assurances that he would protect her heart and self from the perils of this world.

Her difficulty believing that a Prince like Jacaerys could truly love her and her fear that he might suddenly change in his manner to her had been the last obstacle holding her back from agreeing to announce their engagement publicly. His response to her revelation of her past experiences with men had convinced her more fully than ever of the purity of his intentions towards her and had cemented her trust in him. She would no longer allow herself to doubt him again.

Jacaerys placed a soft, lingering kiss on her hand, wishing her sweet dreams, although he continued to gaze lovingly into Y/N's eyes, a hazy expression on his face. After a moment had passed with him still looking at her as if she were the most wondrous phenomenon he had ever seen, which she was to him, Y/N could not help but laugh. At the bell-like sound of his love's laughter, Jacaerys shook his head and forced himself to pull himself together. At the teasing tone of his love's next words, he realised he must have looked like a gaping fool, having become lost in her beauty.

"Should not you be leaving, my Prince? Or has something caught your eye?"

Smirking at her teasing, he decided that she would have to learn the penalty for daring to tease a Prince of the realm. Taking a step closer to her, he watched in amusement as she looked quizzically up at him, before taking a step back toward her door. He followed her steps so that they were pressed chest to chest. Pressing her hands against his chest and looking frantically from side to side, her words came out frantic. "Someone will see, Jacaerys."

He took the opportunity of her turning her head to check for any witnesses to kiss her jaw, whispering against it, "what care I? They will only see their Prince kissing his Princess." At the sound of her sigh he continued to place soft kisses along her jaw, before beginning to make his way down her neck, causing her to shudder. He smiled against her neck, satisfied with having paid his lady back for laughing at his adoration for her.

Pulling away from her reluctantly to see the pretty dusting of pink on her cheeks, he playfully chucked her chin between his forefinger and thumb before kissing the tip of her nose. He did not wish to push her further than she was comfortable, especially after what she had told him that evening. "I really will depart now before I become lost in gazing at your beauty again, my love."

He delighted as She playfully swatted his shoulder, her eyes glittering with suppressed laughter as she whispered, 'be gone with you, you rogue." Assuming an expression of mock despair, Jacaerys sighed dramatically. "Alas, I am always to be thought a scoundrel by my lady." Y/N giggled at his antics before she grabbed him by the forearms and he allowed her to turn him away from her and in the direction of the hallway he needed to take. "Off with you now or you shall have no more kisses." At this he whipped his head around with a petulant look on his face that only made her laugh harder. But Y/N quickly realised that she had not gotten the upper hand over Jacaerys as she turned back to open the door to her room and felt him peck her on the cheek. Whipping her head around, she saw him grin boyishly at her before turning to run down the hall before she could. As she watched his red cape disappear around the corner, she absentmindly pressed her hand to the place on her cheek he had kissed.

Y/N looked bashfully at the matron after she had emitted the fifth cough in the last ten minutes, earning her a withering look of disapproval. The damp and chill of the ancient halls of Dragonstone had done nothing for a constitution already weakened by years of little sustenance and much hard work. Jacaerys had said as much when he'd noticed his lady had developed a small cough a few days past. Y/N had promptly dismissed his worries, not used to having someone care for her wellbeing so attentively since her late mother passed. She found her heart stuttering at Jacaerys' gentle kindness towards her, intermittently pressing his palm to her forehead or the pulse point on her wrist, his eyebrows furrowing in concern her rebuffs did nothing to appease. Nevertheless, she did not wish to be a burden, especially when Jacaerys had much more important matters of state to attend to.

Things had carried on in this manner for a few days, with Y/N finding it increasingly difficult to conceal her worsening symptoms. What she had believed to be a minor cough, hardly worth worrying about, had developed into a searing headache and tremors, which left her feeling as if she were on fire everywhere. As she made her way blearily to the last room she had to clean that day, she found herself stumbling at points as she fought the blinding pain and heat in her head. Making her way to the window, she raised her shaking arms to raise it and air the room. She huffed in frustration as she struggled to move the pane even an inch, her trembling limbs, weakened by fever, preventing her from doing so. She continued to struggle until a gentle hand took hold of her elbow and moved her aside.

Recognizing the gentle touch to be that of Jacaerys before she turned to him, she stood aside. Jacaerys immediately moved passed her to lift the pane up for her in one swift movement, before turning back to her, his warm brown eyes filled with concern, and his lips pulled into a tight frown.

Breathless from her efforts, despite their ineffectuality, Y/N breathed out a thank you to Jacaerys, barely able to manage what she hoped was a reassuring smile. She knew she had failed to allay his fears for her health when he quickly stepped towards her, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. His eyebrows knit together in panic as he felt her frantic pulse against his hand, which he had encircled around his lady's delicate wrist once he had felt the heat of her forehead. "You're burning up," he said, his voice laced with concern. Y/N quickly withdrew her wrist from Jacaerys' grasp and moved a pace away from him, causing his eyebrows to draw together in confusion. Attempting a laugh, which came out weaker than she intended, she attempted to push aside his concerns. "It is only from performing my duties, I assure you I am quite well."

Shaking his head at her, a look of determination etched itself onto Jacaerys' features as he promptly stepped forward and gently, but firmly, took hold of both her elbows in his hands. "You can no longer push aside my concern for you. You are unwell and you cannot convince me otherwise. Why do you continue to pretend to be well and continue to avoid me? I am convinced it is to prevent me from enquiring into your wellbeing and I cannot account for your behaviour."

Jacaerys had grown increasingly concerned about the state of his lady's health over the last few days, despite her frequent entreaties for him not to worry himself over her. At his persistent enquiries and, he thought, sly checks of her pulse when he would hold her hand, Y/N had finally resolved to avoid him altogether, until she was well again. This had proven more difficult than expected, as Jacaerys had easily ascertained that this was the case, following her last successful avoidance of him when she had changed the schedule of her duties. This time he was more prepared and it was only two days before he had discovered her changed routine and had come across her struggling to raise the window. Under normal circumstances, he would have been only too delighted to gallantly open the window for her and tease her over it, in the hopes of inciting her pretty blush.

The sight of her trembling arms and the fevered flush on her features were cause for alarm, however, and he quickly strode forward to assist his lady. His concerned frustration at her blatant lack of concern for her own health, when it was the utmost priority for him, and her avoidance of him had entered his voice as he questioned her but he quickly relented when he saw her continue to shiver under his gaze. Sighing, he swiftly removed his cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around his lady's, pulling it securely around her, before embracing her and holding her head against his chest.

"I do not mean to be severe, my dove, but you must concede that I have cause for concern."

Meeting his gaze for the first time, when she had been steadfastly attempting to avoid it, she relented at the tender concern she saw behind Jacaerys' eyes. With a shuddering breath, she spoke in a quiet, hoarse voice. "Alright, alright, I admit I haven't been well. And I may have been avoiding you a little," she added, bashfully. Jacaerys closed his eyes for a brief moment, a look of hurt passing over his features before he quickly schooled them. "Will you tell me why?" he asked, his voice tentative, as if afraid of the answer but determined to get to the bottom of her avoidance of him anyway.

Wringing her hands nervously, she spoke her next words in a quiet, meek tone. "I didn't want to bother you. It is only a minor thing and you have far more serious concerns to attend to. I do not wish to be a burden."

Jacaerys' heart stopped at this. He hadn't been expecting this answer, having never even considered that his love would consider herself a burden to him. He resolved that he would have to assure her that she could never be so to him. He only wished that she would allow him to care for her. Sighing, he pulled her closer to him, rubbing his hand up and down her back to comfort her. "Oh my dove, you could never be a burden to me. I had much rather you allowed me to take care of you. I urge you to believe that you are precious to me beyond all else and that your wellbeing will always be my highest priority."

He had to lean down closer to her head to hear her response, which was muffled as she leant her head against his chest. "I have never had anyone, not since my mother, to care much about whether I was well or not, and I am not used to it." Jacaerys tightened his hold of her and stroked her hair tenderly before responding in a hushed tone, "you have someone now. I will always care for you." Pulling back a little to smirk at her, he added in a teasing tone, "that is, if you will let me. I am, at least, getting to know your evasive ways by now," he added, playfully pinching her cheek before brushing his knuckle lovingly against it. His smile only widened in response to his lady's pretty blush and bashful attempt to direct her gaze away from him.

"Uh uh," he tutted, "you shan't escape me so easily, my dove. You shall be cared for, whether you will it or not." He pulled his cloak more securely around her, a soft smile gracing his features at the thought of how it looked much better on her. "I insist that you return to your chambers to rest until you are well again. I shall escort you there myself." He chuckled as he saw her pretty mouth part and her eyes widen, anticipating her refusal. He titled his head downward so that his lips brushed her jaw, just by her ear. "Either you will allow your Prince to walk you back to your chambers willingly, or I will have no further qualms about carrying you there myself. Your choice, my love."

He inwardly revelled in her sharp intake of breath as he pecked her jaw before pulling away. He knew she had a particular penchant for him kissing her there, and he was always pleased to give her pleasure. He could not deny that his own confidence was buoyed up by this assurance that he affected her as much as she did him. However, he furrowed his brows together now in an attempt to show her that he was serious and would take no further refusal, though it was hard to be firm with her doe eyes looking up at him like that. In normal circumstances, he would deny her nothing, but he would take a fim stance when it came to his lady's health, especially now he knew she was so heedless of it herself. "Don't be silly, Jacaerys. The rooms won't clean themselves, and I have many left to do. I can't just abandon my duties over such a trifle."

With what Jacaerys thought an adorable humph and nod of her head, which signalled her confidence that she had won this round, she attempted to move around him further into the room. Jacaerys struggled to repress a smile at her antics, especially since she had unknowingly done exactly what he had not only expected but also hoped she would do, since it allowed him to do what he did next. With an exaggerated sigh, Jacaerys shook his head and spoke his next words in a tone of mock contrition, though he was secretly very pleased with the opportunity she had given him. "Alas, I did not want to have to do this, but you give me no choice, my dove."

Y/N turned back to him, her head tilting in confusion before a look of mild alarm alit on her features as she seemed to realise what he meant. Too late. She emitted a small squeak when Jacaerys wrapped an arm securely around her shoulders before reaching down to sweep her up by the backs of her knees in one elegant motion. Wrapping her arms around his neck in shock, Y/N turned her head to face Jacaerys with a withering look. He only laughed at her expression before winking and striding confidently in the direction of her chambers. Y/N mentally conceded that she had lost this round but, wrapped securely in the arms of her Prince, who cared so assiduously for her, she could not find it in herself to be sorry.

Jacaerys smiled in contentment, looking down in wonder when he felt his Princess place her head on his shoulder. He wished he could always have her this close, feeling her breath fan his throat and her delicate arms wrapped around his neck, a sign of the trust she placed in him. His concern for her wellbeing was the only thing tainting his happiness in this moment, but he was pleased that his love finally seemed to be relenting on that point. He hoped that the way she was tucking her head into his shoulder now meant that she would allow him to care for her.

He also took note of the fact that her contentment in his arms, when someone could easily come across them and ask questions about the nature of their relationship, meant that she was also beginning to feel that she could announce their engagement. He hoped that day would come soon. He wished to remove any burdens from his love and for her to take her place at his side. He would not pressure her, however. She had been given so little choice over her future in the past, and he would not add to those constraints. In this moment, he was content merely to hold his love in his arms.

Despite her seeming comfort in his arms, even at the risk of being seen by prying eyes, Jacaerys had taken a lesser known passageway back to his lady's chambers. He did not wish to give her cause for alarm if someone should see them together and it should call for explanations which she was too ill to concern herself with for the moment. Gently setting her down by her door, though he immediately regretted the loss of her from his arms, he caressed her cheek before brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

He attempted to school his features into a serious expression, adopting a sterner voice than he was used to assuming with his love. "I want you to rest until you are better, my darling. If you step outside your room to go about your chores I assure you now that I will hear of it and will have no hesitation in coming down here to enforce my orders. I hope I have made myself clear." He raised his eyebrow, his eyes boring into hers as he said this.

He was surprised when his attempt at using his gravity as a Prince to enforce his care for his lady's wellbeing only elicited a laugh from her. His look of confusion only made her laugh harder until she was suddenly beset by coughs, and Jacaerys' eyes widened in alarm. He promptly closed the space between them, rubbing her back up and down as he untreated her to take long, slow breaths.

When she recovered from her coughing fit, she placed her head on his shoulder, allowing him to enwrap her in an embrace. Placing his head lightly on hers, he continued to rub small circles on her back when she moved her head to rest against his chest. "You begin to really alarm me, my dove. I apologise if my tone before was too strong, but I only wish for you to allow me to care for you."

"I don't mind it, Jacaerys. In fact, I rather like it when you scold me like that, it shows you care. It's nice to be cared for." Jacaerys' heart soared at his lady's uncharacteristic declaration. He delighted to know that she welcomed his earnest care for her. It was all that he wanted: for her to want him, to need him as he did her and to look to him as a source of comfort and protection. He attempted to conceal the self-complacent smirk that lit upon in his features at her admission, burying his head in her neck. "Don't get too smug now, my Prince. I can feel you smiling." Chuckling at this, Jacaerys nevertheless straightened to meet her gaze with a serious expression that he hoped conveyed the truth of his next words.

"Of course I care. I care for you above all else. I care about you morning, noon and night. You are most precious to me." Y/n smiled softly at this and grazed her knuckles against Jacaerys' cheek, whose hand came flying up to hold her hand in place. "I will rest tomorrow but I can't be expected to lounge about all day, neglecting my duties. I am no courtly lady." Jacaerys huffed petulantly at this. "Only because you steadfastly thwart my attempts to make you so by marrying me. One would think I were urging you down the aisle at the point of a sword."

At Y/N's sweet laughter, Jacaerys relented from his frustration a little. It was so difficult to be even remotely irritated by one so sweet and lovely. "I assure you I will go willingly one day. Just give me time." Jacaerys bowed his head and nodded in deference to her wish, desiring her to know that he would not pressure her if she was not yet ready. "I would kiss you now if I could, if not for fear of making you unwell too." Jacaerys' head quickly snapped up, his eyes alight with eagerness. "I care not for the risk, my love." Jacaerys lowered his head to meet her lips, and huffed in displeasure when Y/N only lightly tipped his head to the side with a laugh. "Well, lucky for you, I do care if I make the Prince of the Realm unwell, so there shall be no kiss for you until I am better."

Jacaerys assumed a sulky expression Y/N was sure he wasn't aware of, and she had to fight to repress further laughter, fearing she may really start to impact on his ego if she laughed at him again. With one last brush of her hand against his cheek, Y/N turned into her chambers for the night, softly closing the door behind her. Jacaerys stood outside her room a moment longer, holding his hand to his cheek where she had touched it, just as she had done when he had kissed her cheek a few days ago.

Jacaerys drummed his fingers along the table in the Council Room, struggling to restrain himself from his desire to go down to the servants' quarters to check on his love throughout the day. His thoughts constantly turned on if she was resting, if she was feeling better or, he feared, worse, if she needed anything, if she wanted him. Whilst his duty to his mother and the war effort prevented him from storming down to check for himself, as he wished to do, he sent various members of the Queen's staff to check on her wellbeing and report on it to him throughout the day.

He was relieved to hear that she had remained in her room to rest instead of going about her duties, as he feared she would attempt to do, though he wished that he could be with her to tend to her himself. He did not care for the thought of her being unwell and alone with no one to care for her, and the realisation that she had been up until this point saddened him. Though he could not undo the past, he would make sure that she was never left alone and uncared for again. He saw it as not only his duty, but his privilege to care for his lady and it was with this in mind that he strode purposefully down to the servants' quarters, later that evening, after finishing his duties for the day.

The hour was late, past the royal household and servant's dinner hour, evidenced by the guttering candles lining the wall and the absence of another soul in the kitchens. Sighing with relief to find himself alone, as he had hoped, Jacaerys began pulling out the supplies he had seen his lady use to make the hot beverage she liked so much, and which he had carefully watched her prepare for him several times now. He carefully went through the steps of heating the milk and mixing the chocolate powder, although he had forgotten the exact ratios.

He continued to stir the mixture, hoping that he had remembered the process correctly, before tipping the steaming milk into a teacup, which he placed on a tray, alongside a vase with a small snowdrop in it. After finishing his duties for the day, he had made the short flight on Vermax to the forest glade where he had located the snowdrop meadow, hoping that the sight of her favourite flower would cheer his lady. When she was well again, he resolved to ask her if she would like to see the meadow in person, but for now, this one would have to do. Balancing the tray in one hand, he knocked lightly on his lady's chamber door, hearing a brief rustling before she cautiously opened the door, clearly not expecting him.

He only caught a brief glimpse of her, before she quickly shut the door, her eyes widening in alarm when she saw him. He stood there, confused at her response, wondering if she was too unwell to see him or if he had unknowingly upset her by not coming to see her before. Recovering from his confusion, he knocked gently upon the door again, and spoke in a hushed voice.

"Are you well, my love. I apologise for not coming to check on you before, I was prevented from doing so by my duties. Otherwise, I would have come sooner. I can leave, if you would prefer it." He said the last part in a tone, which revealed a hint of sadness. He needn't have worried. However, as she promptly opened the door again, her form wrapped, he was pleased to see, in the cape he had purposefully left in her possession, yesterday. In her haste to evade his attempts to kiss her the night before, Y/N had turned into her chambers, still wearing Jacaerys' cloak around her shoulders.

Making his way back to his own chambers that night, he smiled softly at the image of her lovely form encased in his cloak, hoping it would keep her warm. The image continued to comfort him throughout the next day; if he could not be with her in person, her heart warmed to think that his cloak might offer her comfort in his absence.

A blush bloomed on his cheeks at the realisation that she may have been embarrassed to appear before him in only her nightgown, and he mentally rebuked himself for not having forewarned her of his visit. The vision of her before him with his cloak around her was, nevertheless, most welcome. Of course, she did not realise that he had kept his own token always about his person to feel close to her.

Early on in their acquaintance, Y/N had left a frayed blue ribbon out on a book she had been reading, when she did not know he observed her. When she had quit the library, Jacaerys had pocketed the ribbon and had smiled when he saw Y/N return to her book the next night to find it missing. He had felt bad about it afterwards, and had since gifted her a deep blue, velvet ribbon, trimmed with silver lace and intricate foiling to replace it. For his part, he would much rather have the frayed ribbon. It was superior in his mind for being her ribbon, and he had continued to keep it in his tunic, where his heart was.

Drawing his mind back to the present and to his lady, who stood with an uncharacteristically bashful look upon her face as she looked up at him, he smiled at her. The hours he had passed in her absence had seemed so painfully long to him, particularly when he was already so concerned for her, and his delight at seeing her was clearly impressed upon his features. He lifted the tray of hot chocolate and the flower out to her.

"I hope you have rested well today, my dove, and that you are feeling a little better since last night. I hoped that this might help you to sleep."

Y/N looked from the tray to Jacaerys in surprise, speaking in a hesitant voice.

"You made me hot chocolate?"

Jacaerys expression turned sheepish as he looked from the tray to his lady's eyes.

"I certainly tried. I believe I remember the process from watching you did it several times. I hope I have done it correctly. Of course, you don't have to drink it, I just thought..."

"Thank you, Jacaerys. That's so sweet." He was relieved to see his lady smiling brightly up at him, happy to have pleased her, if only with such a simple gesture.

"It is no trouble, my sweet. Have you felt better today?", concern re-entering his voice.

"A bit better today, and I'm sure much better for drinking your hot chocolate."

Jacaerys continued to smile lovingly at her, not for the first time, becoming lost in gazing at her and not feeling the moments pass. Her gentle cough brought him back to his senses, and he bowed jerkily before wishing her sweet dreams, not wishing to cause her discomfort by lingering too long by her chamber door.

Y/N had laughed when she closed her chamber door on Jacaerys. She drank the hot beverage eagerly, her heart warmed by his sweet gesture, even if the milk was a little lukewarm and he had put a tad too much chocolate into the mixture. The fact that he had made it made it perfect. She wrapped his cloak tighter around her shoulders, as if it were really his arms wrapped around her. Sipping the drink he had made her, wrapped securely in his cloak, Y/N found it difficult to feel too gloomy, despite her illness.

Jacaerys continued to visit her for the next three days, each time returning with another hot chocolate, the flavour of which was improving since the cook caught him 'making a mess' and was compelled to teach him 'to do the thing properly or not at all'. The thought of the irascible cook scolding the crowned Prince elicited an affectionate laugh from Y/N. Jacaerys had been horrified when he realised he had, in fact, been making the drink wrong.

"But why did you not tell me so. You always told me it was perfect. I should not like for you to force yourself to drink it if it was inedible."

Laughing indulgently at him, Y/N had pressed her hand to his cheek, a gesture she knew usually had the effect of stopping Jacaerys in his tracks.

"It was lovely of you to make me hot chocolate in the first place. It was perfect because you made it." His bright smile, his eyes alight with adoration for her, was more than enough compensation for drinking some less than palatable hot chocolate.

By the fourth day Jacaerys came to check on his lady, he had even added a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg to the concoction, his conspiratorial smirk clearly conveying that he was pleased with his creation and now considered himself to have mastered the process. He schooled his features, however, before knocking on her door, not wishing to appear too smug just yet. He'd been wrong about his skill in the kitchen before. His lady was slower coming to the door than previous days, and she only opened the door a crack so that Jacaerys found himself trying to look around the door in search of her. Her voice came out to him disembodied behind the door.

"I am not feeling so well today, my Prince. I am not fit to be seen right now. Thank you for coming to check on me.

Jacaerys felt a sense of panic rising in him at the dry sound of her voice, as if it pained her to speak, and at her admission of feeling worse. Haphazardly placing the tray of hot chocolate and another flower on a nearby side table, he stepped closer to the door.

"How much worse is it? You should be feeling better by now. Can I do anything, get anything for you?" His words came out more frantic than he had intended.

"No no, thank you Jacaerys but I'm perfectly fine. Illnesses like this always get worse before they get better, I shall be recovered in no time. I wish you good night."

Jacaerys' eyes widened in alarm as Y/N began to close the door on him, not content to leave her without first seeing her and assessing her condition for himself. Her haste to evade him and her secretive manner led him to fear that her condition was worse than she was owning to him. He must ascertain her condition for himself before he even thought of leaving. Jacaerys placed his boot and hand in between the door and the wall to prevent it from closing.

"My love, you must be far worse if you will not even see me. Why will you not come out so that I can assess your condition. Perhaps I should call for the Maestors?"

To his surprise, his lady's voice came out panicked as she urgently entreated him to let go of the door.

"I will only do so when I am sure that you are not concealing how unwell you are. I...."

A brief struggle had ensued, with both parties pulling the door, which resulted in Jacaerys tumbling head first into the room.

Y/N's hands came flying up to her mouth in shock at her having sent the Prince falling into her room with her antics.

"Jacaerys! Are you alright?!"

Quickly righting himself, Jacaerys jumped up and strode purposefully to his lady, gently taking hold of her elbows in his hands.

"Never mind me. How much worse is it and what can I do to help you?"

His eyes flitted frantically across her features, trying to ascertain the nature of her condition, so he was caught off guard when Y/N pushed him away from her back towards the door. Hurriedly turning away from him, she addressed him with her hands covering her face.

"You can't be in here Jacaerys. I don't wish you to see me like this."

Now Jacaerys was really panicked. How ill was she?!

"Like what?! Do you have another ailment I am not aware of. Where is the injury?"

Jacaerys tried to move around Y/N to face her, but she continued to walk out of his path, much to his confusion. He couldn't understand why she was trying to hide from him if she had not been beset by some symptoms that she did not wish him to be aware of. He knew it was her nature to conceal anything that ailed her, for fear of being a burden. He would not allow her to evade him so easily, not when her health was at stake. Taking a gentle yet firm hold of her elbows once again, he turned her towards him, though she continued to cover her face with her hands.

"Stop with this silliness, my dove. Now calmly tell me what ails you and why you are hiding it from me, otherwise I will go mad."

Pulling her hands away from her face, she cast him a sterner gaze than he had yet merited from her.

"Oh Jacaerys, you are relentless. I am perfectly fine. Can't you see that I only closed the door because I did not wish you to see me look so unwell. I look horrible." After her outburst, she quickly turned her head away from him, her cheeks ablaze.

Ah. That had been it. She had been embarrassed to appear sick before him and he had, like a brute, forced her to open the door in his panic that she was seriously unwell.

He gently turned her face back towards him with his hand, bring his other hand up to caress her cheek. Dark circles formed purple crescents under her eyes, and her countenance looked paler than usual, her nose slightly runny, but Jacaerys only saw the most beautiful girl in the world before him. Still, if she was embarrassed and had not wanted him to see her, he should not have pressed her.

"You are beautiful, you needn't hide from me. I am sorry for forcing my way in, I behaved like a brute. It was only out of concern for you, my love. Will you forgive me?" He looked into her eyes penitently, watching her expression shift from irritation to one that showed she was relenting in her anger towards him. Reaching out to lightly grip his tunic in her hand, she responded in a voice that still held a hint of frustration in it.

"You did behave badly, but I suppose it was because you were concerned."

Jacaerys took hold of her other hand in both of his, pressing it insistently.

"It was, I assure you my love. If I had known you were merely uncomfortable with me seeing you right now I would not have pressed the point, though I wish you would not feel so. You never need hide from me. You are always perfect to me."

He held his breath a moment before the tension left his body, as she leant her head against his chest and laid her palm on his tunic.

"You fool." She laughed into his chest. "It's your fault if I sneeze on you."

Wrapping his arms around her, relieved that she had forgiven him and that she was now allowing him to hold her, he laughed at her appelation.

"Have I not formerly confessed to being your fool, my dove?"

Huffing in mock irritation with him, she nevertheless patted his chest.

"You did, my Prince."

Jacaerys continued to embrace her for a few moments before he kissed her hand and ran out of the room, swiftly returning with the tray he had left aside before. "A new attempt for you to try, my sweet. I think you'll like this one, " he added, a slight lilt to his voice that had Y/N struggling to surpress a smile at how pleased he was with himself. Taking a few sips from the teacup, she looked up at Jacaerys in surprise.

"This is the best hot chocolate I have ever had. What on earth did you put in it?"

Jacaerys smirked in satisfaction, as if he expected her to say that.

"A master never reveals his secrets. I suppose you shall have to simply allow me to make you more until you guess what the secret ingredient is."

Y/N tentatively handled the tiaras Jacaerys had so thoughtfully procured for her to look at, knowing by now of her fascination with princesses. She had been embarrassed about this at first, but quickly came to consider it as a further sign of his sweetness to her: that he not only indulged her in her interest, specifically reading of Targaryen princesses to her, but also actively encouraged her to view herself as one of their number. As his Princess. Each of the tiaras were more beautiful than she had the words to express and she could never have imagined, as a young girl dreaming of being a Princess, that she would be handling such precious objects. Each one bore an intricate design, encrusted with priceless gems of Ruby, emerald, topaz and quartz, as Jacaerys would explain whenever she asked what Each was called. So enamoured with looking into the gems was she, that she did not notice Jacaerys smiling fondly at her, as he leant against a nearby pillar observing her.

One diadem, in particular, caught her attention, its beauty evoking in her a sense of wonder surpassing that of all the previous ones. This one she lifted more tentatively, holding it to the moonlight to observe how it shone through the white gems like starlight distilled. She gasped as the light passed through the gems and she realised that the delicate foiling around them was meant to resemble snowdrops. Her favourite flower. She then noticed the intricate dragon design interwoven throughout the piece, closely resembling Jacaerys' dragon. She looked up at Jacaerys and met his own gaze, intently trained on hers, as if in anticipation of her reaction. She hesitantly questioned, "this is the most beautiful. Are these snowdrops? The gems looks just like the petals. And this dragon looks so much like Vermax." As she spoke, Jacaerys smiled knowingly, responding in a teasing voice: "I am glad that my Princess has found a crown to her liking although, of course, she have all of them."

Taking slow steps toward her, he took the tiara from her hands, brushing his fingers against hers as he did so, and placed it on her head. As he affectionately tucked a loose lock of hair behind her hair and stroking her cheek, he met her quizzical gaze with his own adoring one. "I hope you do not think it presumptuous, but I designed this one myself. I wanted to show you how much you are woven into mine own heart, my Princess." Her mouth parted in surprise at this. She had not thought that these tiaras were for her, they were entirely too beautiful, too precious.

The thought that Jacaerys had specifically designed this one for her, to resemble her favourite flower, interlocking with the symbol of his House, made her heart almost burst with affection for him. She felt tears welling in her eyes at his thoughtfulness, which caused a look of alarm to alight in Jacaerys' eyes, as he frantically took hold of her elbows in his hands. "What's wrong, my dove. Have I upset you in some manner? I did not mean to rush you, if that is it." Hearing the panicked note in his voice, she quickly silenced him, pulling the fabric of his tunic so that she could reach, as she crashed her lips onto his. As he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him, he lowered his head so she would not have to reach for him, and smiled against her lips as she brought a hand up to toy with his hair. It still warmed his heart that she should like his hair, even find it beautiful, when so many others had viewed it as an impediment. When she finally pulled away, Jacaerys making it a rule never to do so first, they were both breathless and Jacaerys not a little dazed as he struggled to say something witty. He only managed to say, "I take it you liked my gift, then, my Princess" in a breathless voice before she burst out laughing and he smiled in contentment at the sweet sound.

It was late on the next evening, when Y/N made her way back down to the servants' quarters after a long day. She had been particularly busy that day and hadn't found the time to meet Jacaerys at the library. She hoped he wouldn't mind, even if she herself missed him, but she quickly banished the thought. It was silly to think he should miss her after only a short time. As she rounded the final hallway back to the kitchens, to make herself a hot beverage before bed, she was startled to see Prince Jacaerys casually leaning against a wall, smiling and standing up straight when he saw her approach. She excitedly skipped up to him, grabbing his elbows in her hands as she smiled up at him. "And what brings you down her at such an hour, my Prince". Jacaerys could not stop his heart from stuttering at her appellation, knowing now that she meant to say that he was her Prince. Wanting to feel her touch, he playfully tapped his jaw, before she rolled her eyes and rose on tiptoe to kiss the place he had indicated.

Before she could, however, he quickly turned his head to capture her lips with his, smiling against her lips as he heard her startled squeak, before she raised her palms to steady herself against his chest. When she drew away, breaking the kiss, she swatted his chest playfully. "That was not very Princely". He lowered his head to kiss her jaw, "my apologies, my Princess. I hope you will forgive me." She affectionately patted his jaw, still encircled within his arms as he gazed lovingly down at her. His voice suddenly turning serious, he looked at her intently. "I was concerned when I did not see you today or later in the library. I worried that you were unwell." Her heart stuttering at his concern for her, she pressed her palm to his cheek as he placed his own above her hand to hold it in place and lean into her touch. "It was only that I had many duties to attend to today and did not have the tome, nothing more than that." He frowned at that. "I do not like to think of you working so hard that you only return to your own chambers at such an hour. If you would only let me tell my mother of our betrothal and allow me to have you moved to the Royal apartments, I..." she interrupted him once more with a quick peck to his lips. "Not yet, I will tell you when I'm ready," She added in a contrite tone.

He dejectedly nodded his head but took her hand and raised it to his lips, all the same." As you wish, my Princess. Would you at least promise to find me in the library to walk you back, in future. I do not like the thought of you traversing these dark halls alone at such an hour." Nodding at him, she playfully rolled her eyes at his protectiveness, even as her heart secretly skipped a beat at it. "Will you allow me to escort you back to your room now?" He asked hopefully. "I was actually just making my way to the kitchen to make a hot beverage before bed, would you like to join me?" He smiled jubilantly at her suggestion, taking hold of her hand. "Lead the way, Princess" He said, being sure he would follow her anywhere if she asked him to. Interlocking her fingers with his, she dragged him in the way of the kitchen.

Jacaerys smiled at the sight of her hand interlocked with his and affectionately squeezed hers as she led him to the kitchen. This late at night, the fire from the lanterns on the walls cast a golden, ambient glow on the stone walls, creating a warm atmosphere. As Y/N withdrew her hand from Jacaerys', he found himself reflexively reaching his hand out to recapture hers, making her laugh. Seeing his uncharacteristically bashful look, she patted his jaw affectionately and pointed at a nearby chair at the kitchen bench. "Take a seat Jacaerys. I'll make the drinks." Jacaerys obediently sat but was quick to ask her if he could help and was surprised when she laughed again. "That won't be necessary, My Prince." Smirking at her, he teasingly questioned, "and what is so funny, may I ask?" She could not repress her smile as she responded in an equally teasing manner, "only that I highly doubt a Prince would know the first thing about using a kitchen. Have you ever even boiled some water?" Jacaerys had a sheepish expression on his face as he said, "well...not exactly, but I'm sure I could learn and I would be very happy to help. You shouldn't be making me a drink for me after finishing your other duties. Perhaps if you show me how to do it, I can do it for you next time."

Y/N had been fully prepared to tease Jacaerys over his lack of competence in the kitchen, but his sweet offer to learn how to make her favourite drink for her made her walk up to him instead at his perch on a bench, so that she was between his legs, and kiss him. His arms immediately reached out to encircle her waist and pull her toward him. When she broke the kiss, she delighted to note that he had a slight dazed expression on his face. She loved to elicit such a response from kissing him, pleased that he should be as affected by her as she was by him. Rubbing his hands up and down her back, he smiled at her as he questioned, "and what did I do to merit such a response?" She brushed a lock of his hair from his forehead and smiled up at him, "You're just sweet." His smile expanded at this, as he pinched her cheek, "not as sweet as you, my Princess."

As he leant down to recaptured her lips, she pressed her forefinger to his lips before skipping away from him, his arms reaching out as if to stop her. She giggled at the pout on his face, "I shall never get my hot chocolate if I allow you to distract me." He smirked at this, saying in a cocky tone, "so you find me distracting, my Princess?" Rolling her eyes, she lifted the saucepan and held it over the stove she had just lit to boil the milk, "only because you are so annoying". She laughed as his pout, which she was sure he didn't realise he did, returned, finding the expression adorable. As she made the hot chocolate, mixing the heated milk and spices of cinnamon, cardamon, and nutmeg in the pot, she caught glimpses of Jacaerys leaning up from his seat to watch her, a look of intense concentration on his face. She tried not to laugh at his evident confusion, most likely thinking she was performing some feat of sorcery. Her heart warmed to see him mouthing the steps of the process as if to commit them to memory, for future reference. The thought of the Prince of the Realm making her hot chocolate was at once inexpressibly sweet and funny.

After ladling the warm milk, steeped in chocolate and spices, into two mugs, she made to carry them over to the table where Jacaerys was sitting. No sooner had she reached out to do so then she heard Jacaerys run the short distance from the bench he was perched on to her. Wrapping an arm around her torso, he playfully spun her so that she was behind him, smirking at her surprised expression. Lifting the tray with their drinks on it, and snatching a kiss to her cheek, he began to walk back to the table, inclining his head to indicate that she should follow him. She raised her brow in mock displeasure and placed her hands on her hips, "I am more than capable of lifting two mugs on my own, Jacaerys". Smiling playfully at her, he rejoined, "I would not want my Princess to burn her beautiful hands, not when her Prince can take the burden from her." She blushed furiously at this, not least because she had the hands of a serving maid, rather than a lady, and yet he still found them beautiful. No man had ever been so considerate of her wellbeing and of her feelings...not even when she had believed that one had been.

She shook her head to rid herself of that unwanted thought and instead redirected her gaze to Prince Jacaerys, her Prince, patting the bench next to him to urge her to sit. A smile spread across her face at the sight and she half skipped to sit beside him. As soon as she had sat down, Jacaerys frowned down at the small space she had left between them. Raising his own eyebrow playfully, as she had done before, he wrapped his arm around her torso and pulled her flush against his side. He smiled triumphantly at her as he saw her trying to suppress her own smile and look reproachfully at him. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips to the side of her jaw, whispering against it, "I prefer to keep you this close to me." Pulling away to see her reaction to his teasing, he smiled at the blush on her cheeks as she tried to turn her head away from his gaze. Gently taking hold of his lady's chin between his forefinger and thumb, he turned her face back to his, and stroked her jaw with his thumb. "I would have you be this close to me forever and always, my dove." He lowered his head slowly to press a reverent, lingering kiss to her forehead, before moving back to allow her space to recover herself from his attentions.

A moment later, Y/N interlocked their hands together on the bench and smiled shyly up at him. Quickly shifting his gaze from their interlocked hands to meet his lady's shy gaze, he looked into her eyes with a tender expression, dazed by the sweetness of her affectionate gesture. He squeezed her hand in his, content to feel her delicate hand enclosed within his own, as he raised their hands to rest them against his lap. She smiled at him in response, and he felt his heart stutter at her beauty and the comforting thought that she was pleased by his attentions.

For so long he had been under the painful impression that she would never return his love for her, and that he would be forced to love her in silence. Coughing lightly, Y/N pushed a mug, with her free hand, across the table in Jacaerys’ direction. "Stop looking so pleased with yourself, Jacaerys and try the drink I so carefully made for you." He smirked at her as he replied, "what was that, my dove? I will, of course, be only too pleased to try the drink you so lovingly made for me." He tried to repress a laugh as he watched a look of realisation pass over his lady's features at his emphasis on the word 'lovingly'. His heart swelled with affection for his lady as she adorably swatted his shoulder, "drink the hot chocolate, you knave." His face immediately fell from its previous look of elation at her appellation. Pouting, he grumbled, "what happened to your Prince?" Half hoping she would kiss him for his troubles, he was surprised, but no less pleased, when she lightly took hold of his chin in her hand. Tapping the tip of his nose, she laughed as she told him to "remove the long face. I will give you a kiss if you drink it." His eyes suddenly lit up as he quickly lifted the mug to his lips, burning his tongue in his attempt to claim the proffered reward of his love's affection.

At his slightly pained expression, Y/N brushed her lips against Jacaerys' in the ghost of a kiss, as his eyes fluttered closed in contentment. He little cared if he burned his mouth if the feel of her soft, precious lips on his would be the reward. Drawing away, she tapped his jaw, smiling indulgently at him. "You are a silly boy." A grin spread on his face at her teasing, "I am not sure how well that bodes for the realm, for the Prince to be a 'silly boy'" He sighed, "but If I am to be thought so, it is only on the condition that I am your silly boy." He looked into her eyes intently at this, hoping to convey the seriousness of his meaning behind his eyes, even if his tone was light and teasing. He really did mean to say that he would be happy to be called any playful insult she had for him, if only to be thought hers. If she would only continue to honour him with her love and trust and to look to him for comfort and protection, both for her person and her heart. He had not realised how long he had been staring at her, as if he couldn't believe she was real, he laughed again and he realised he must look a fool. Coughing lightly he took another sip of the drink to appease her. "It's delicious, you are most skilled." In truth, she could have made him a noxious concoction and he would have said much the same, favouring the drink merely because his lady had been the one to make it with her lovely hands. "I have never had such a drink." Smiling tenderly at him, she sipped her own drink and he nearly became distracted, again, in staring at her lips.

"It's called hot chocolate. My mother used to make it for me on special occasions when we had the money for the chocolate. It was rare but it was all the more special for it. Of course we wouldn't have made it with milk but it was just as nice with hot water. The point was that it was our special thing that we would look forward to doing together. We would take turns coming up with new recipes with the spices we had and it became almost a game to make the best recipe out of what we had." A dreamy expression settled onto Y/N's features as she relayed her childhood memories. "She'd usually save some for my birthday and she'd make me a cup before reading me a story. Those are some of my fondest memories, listening to my mother read me a story by candlelight, burrowed under the blankets. Even now the smell of it reminds me of those times and of her." There's always a steady supply of chocolate here, one of the many perks of serving Queen Rhaenyra." Y/N smiled nonchalantly at Jacaerys when she had finished her story but was surprised to see that his own expression looked almost pained. Before she could ascertain the reason, he carefully raised his knuckle to gently caress the side of her cheek, looking at her with a look of utmost concern. "It is a beautiful memory to have. I would love to have met your mother. I confess that it pains me to think of you suffering any hardships, my dove. I would shield you from any difficulties if could."

She found herself, once again, stunned by his consideration for her feelings and her past struggles. Even now he stared into her eyes with his warm brown ones, as if he wanted to protect her from all the evils of the world....even one so little as an absence of hot chocolate. That last thought made her laugh again, which caused Jacaerys to frown, not understanding the cause. He asked his next question in a tentative voice, as if fearful of her answer, "do not you believe me, my love?". She patted his chest affectionately, smiling as she responded, "it is only the thought of you defending me from a shortage of hot chocolate that makes me laugh." His eyes lit up mischievously and he smirked as he responded in a teasing tone. "I hope my lady will take my genuine concern for her hot chocolate needs more seriously. I shall have a shipment of chocolate brought in from the Gullet if it shall please my Princess. If I have to sack King's Landing for a steady supply, I will have no hesitation." He rejoiced as his Princess broke out into laughter at this, delighted to have elicited such a sweet sound from her, even if he was only half joking. He would have to see the kitchens had a steady supply of the drink for his lady and he would learn to make it himself, so that he could surprise her.

The Prince and his love talked late into the night, as the guttering candles along the walls attested to. Jacaerys paid little heed to the passage of time, engrossed in anything that his lady had to say, no matter the topic. His fascination with her far exceeded her own in even Princes and dragons, viewing her as by far the most wonderful being in existence.

One thought did keep clawing its way to the surface of his mind: What was the cause for his lady's continual evasions of his requests to announce their betrothal? He sought to understand what could be the cause of her delays and if he could remedy any concerns she might have. He could not but worry that it was her difficulty trusting in him that was the cause...that she had changed her mind about him. Resolving to uncover the cause without further delay, he took a deep breath as he prepared for her answer. "What is it that leads you to delay our marriage, my dove? Is it something I can remedy or...is it" He stuttered, "is it me that is is the problem? Do you not yet trust in the depths of my love for you?" She looked momentarily stunned at his directness, having hoped to evade this question for longer, she began looking frantically anywhere but his eyes. Jacaerys once again brought his hand up to gently cup her cheek and turn her face back to meet his own gaze. "Please answer me, my love. I am in agony fearing that it is your distrust in myself which causes this delay. If it is so, tell me what I can do to prove my love for you." He looked at her with so much sincerity and genuine concern in his eyes that she felt she could no longer conceal the real reason for her delay. Whilst she loved Jacaerys and could think of no greater happiness than marrying him, she was also painfully aware of her having felt the same way about another man who had betrayed her trust.

She could not completely erase the fear from her mind that Jacaerys would do the same. She realised that she would have to be completely honest with him if he were to fully allay her fears. She took a deep breath, as she prepared to reveal the cause of her delays and risk his potential rejection. "I wish to tell you something which should go some way to explaining my hesitation. But it may also change your opinion of me. You may not wish to marry me when you hear it. She spoke in a quiet, tentative voice, which expressed her concern that he would be displeased with her. Hearing her dejected tone, Jacaerys took hold of both of her hands in his, cradling them in his lap, as he urged her to continue. Gazing intently into her eyes, hoping to convey the intensity of his love for her in them, he spoke in a resolute tone: "I can already assure you, my sweet, that nothing could ever shake my most earnest desire to marry you. You are and shall remain the Princess of my heart, even should you decide, yourself, to cast me aside." Not fully convinced by this, but nonetheless comforted by his assurance, Y/N continued. "When I was younger, I fell in love with another man. He, too, told me he loved me and made a proposal of marriage. I was foolish enough then to believe in the honesty of his intentions, blinded by my love for him. I was made all too aware of his intentions, however, when...."

Seeing his lady hesitate, intaking a sharp breath and wincing at the memory, he squeezed her hands gently, hesitant to initiate any more intimate embrace as he began to understand what she wished to tell him. He struggled to contain his own anger with the man who had harmed his love, forcing himself to remain outwardly calm, so as not to further alarm her or make her believe herself to be the cause of his ire. Instead, he merely waited patiently for her to continue. "When he tried to force himself on me when I refused to give him what he wanted. I was fortunate that one of the servants boys came across us when they did and intervened. The thought of what could have happened still terrified and haunts me. I had known this man since I was a girl, believing him in earnest when he said that he loved me and wanted to marry me. I am not so naive as to believe every man's promise now. Whilst I do love you Jacaerys and really wish to be your wife, I cannot deny that I still fear that you will change in your manner towards me...that you will betray me in some way or another and that I will have been a fool again. It is hard to give another my trust fully when it was so cruelly trampled the first time."

As she finished speaking, he felt his heart string tugged painfully as he saw her lip tremble and her eyes brim with tears, as if she was trying her best not to fall apart in front of him. Her words had pained him inexpressibly, and he found himself struggling to choke back his own tears at the agonising thought of his love having suffered so much pain. He also fought to suppress his rage at the man who had dared to harm both his lady's heart and person. He could not fathom how anyone could harm one so precious and delicate. Jacaerys inwardly resolved that he would find this man, no matter where he was in the Seven Kingdoms, and he would kill him. He quickly filed this thought away, however. His main concern now, and always, would always be his lady. She needed him now. He knew he would have to approach comforting her delicately, in order to make her feel safe after revealing such a traumatic memory. Speaking in a gentle, cautious tone as if she were a startled deer, he asked, 'may I hold you?" He was relieved when she merely nodded before leaning her head forward to rest on his shoulder, and he carefully brought his arms up to hold her protectively to him, one hand caressing her head as he encircled his other arm around her waist. He rubbed his hand up and down her spine as he whispered soft assurances against her hair. "Hush now, my dove. I am here. Thank you for telling me, my brave girl, I understand now. Please believe me when I make you my solemn promise that I will never allow anyone to harm you again."

He held her tighter to him in a protective embrace, wishing he could take her pain from her and make it his own, as she whimpered into his shoulder. Whilst he would not reveal the full extent of his anger towards the villain who had not only assaulted his love, but had also made her feel as if she were to blame. His chest constricted in pain at his dove's admission that she even feared that he would place blame on her. Breathing shakily, he drew back slightly from their embrace to hold Y/N's face in both his hands, looking seriously into her eyes so that she would understand he meant every word he said. "I wish you to understand that none of what happened was your fault. It pains me to think that you would fear any judgement from me on that account, but I understand your feelings. The craven scoundrel who attacked you is solely to blame and you, my dove, are most brave for telling me something, which I know must have been only too painful to recount."

Seeing that her breathing was becoming calmer, as she looked into his eyes, he continued, stroking small circles on her jaw with his thumbs. "I am honoured by the trust you have placed in me in telling me this. I understand, now, your hesitation to trust fully in my love, knowing how cruelly your precious love has been abused in the past. I can only hope that you will allow me to prove in any way you will allow me to that my love and respect for you will never waver." As he finished speaking, only hoping that she would believe in the ardency of his love and respect for her, he was relieved when she buried her head in his chest. Responding immediately to her need for comfort from him, hating to see her cry and desiring only to make her feel safe and protected, he wrapped his arms more securely around her, cradling her head in his hand. As he continued to hold her to him and whisper soft assurances that she was safe in his arms, Jacaerys mentally vowed to protect his precious love from any harm and to personally despatch the man who had dared to harm her.