#apprehension

Valarr who first meets you in the Red Keep's garden during a feast for King Daeron's nameday. You had hidden yourself from the court and your family who wished for you to become acquainted with others. You had been strolling and decided to finally sit on a bench to admire the flowers and the stars.

Your eyes went wide and a chill ran over you when a voice spoke aloud, "Hello, my lady." You slowly turned your head to see the prince speaking to you and a million thoughts ran through your mind. You stood up a bit too fast and tried to clear your throat quietly. "Prince Valarr." You glanced around before continuing, "I was merely.." 

"Exploring?" Valarr had a witty smile and it immediately went away when you looked a bit mortified at his jape. He bowed his head as an apology while you looked flustered, "Apologies. I was only surprised to see the gardens occupied." He did his best to smooth over the awkwardness.

You nodded, "Indeed…I was exploring indeed and preferred the quietness." He winced on the inside, "Well, I apologize for interrupting your…time alone?" He watched as you tried to brush past him with your head bowed. "Good night, your grace." He merely stared after you and you disappeared back into the Keep's halls.

You thought that was enough humiliation on your end and you would go home the next morning. To your disappointment, your father extended the stay to speak more to his friends of court. You walked alongside him as he led you to the dining hall. Your steps almost faltered completely when you saw the Targaryen family sitting there.

Of course, the one time you do not pay attention to your father's words is the time he mentioned he is friends with the crown prince. You noticed three empty seats for you and your parents. With your luck, your father chose to sat in the middle one, across from prince Baelor. The other two options were to sit across from Valarr or Aerion. 

You immediately moved to sit across from Aerion when you felt a tug on your arm. Your mother gave a smile and walked past you to take the spot. You inhaled deeply before sitting across from Valarr and forcing a small smile. The smile on Valarr's face was immediately taken note of by his father and yours. 

A few days later was when the courting began with Baelor giving Valarr encouragement. He appeared in the gardens with a small carved box with a latch. There you were, reading alone and sat on a bench. You noticed a presence right away, but kept your eyes on your book. You stared at the boots from the corner of your eye and hoped the person would walk past.

The boots stopped right near you and that was when you finally looked up. You were a bit relieved to not see a stranger, but Valarr with a hand tucked behind him and his free one rubbing the back of his neck. "May I help you, your grace?" He cleared his throat lowly, "Valarr. You may call me Valarr." He added on, "I was wishing to speak to you, or rather, gift this to you."

He pulled the detailed box from his back and presented it to you eagerly. You set your book down and slowly grabbed the box from his hand. "For me? What is it, your grace?" He debated correcting you on the formalities again, but paid no mind as you opened the box and stared wide-eyed at the beautiful golden necklace with gems embedded. You could not muster any words while Valarr smiled a bit too pleased, "Please. Accept a token of my gratitude for becoming an acquaintance of my family." 

You never heard of a man gifting a lady such grand jewelry for becoming an acquaintance before, but nonetheless, you accepted it. It was not like you could refuse it in the first place. "Thank you, your grace."

A royal feast was now hosted a week later for Queen Myriah and King Daeron's wedding anniversary. Your mother offered to get you a new gown to suit the necklace you were gifted. Your father had already purchased new gowns for you, he was extremely eager for you to attend instead of retreating into a room. 

He was not so pleased when he heard your mother talk about the necklace, "And who was it that gifted you this necklace?" He rose a brow and tried to peer at the gold your mother clasped around your neck. Your mother gave him a look and fixed your hair. "Prince Valarr gifted me it." 

Your father was speechless for a moment and looked between you and your mother to try and comprehend your words. "He said it was because… we have become acquainted with one another." You paused to remember the exact words and your father scoffed dramatically. He waved a hand towards you and looked to your mother, "You knew about this acquaintance gift?" His voice raised a bit and your mother told you to ignore him. 

The three of you walked together for the feast and your father continued to annoy your mother by trying to agitate the answer out of her. She squeezed his arm tightly and your father made a face that made you laugh. The entrance for the feast was already open and you did not notice that Valarr was already peering past many court members to stare at you and smile at your laugh.

He immediately made his way over to your family and you immediately stopped laughing. You gave a polite smile and hoped your laugh wasn't too obnoxious. He bowed his head and your mother discreetly pushed up at your father's dropped jaw. The older man was in disbelief at the very idea that Valarr had been the one to become familiar with you.

Valarr nodded at the necklace and smiled warmly to you, "I am very glad you found the necklace to your liking, my lady." It was now for your father to close your mother's dropped jaw the same way when Valarr commented that the necklace had belonged to to the late Rhaenyra Targaryen.

You fiddled with some of your rings and walked alongside him to your seat next to his. He spoke to you all night and did not leave your side. He would quickly distract you with more conversation whenever your eyes would stray from him and become cautious of other people of the court glancing your way. 

— —

When the two of you married, it was more clear than ever just how much Valarr needed to distract you from your mind wandering. He would purposely nudge you to do things and remind you of your new title to do what you wanted. He even let you stay in your chambers to do your hobbies as long as you wished.

He scrunched his nose when his father finally brought up that you should be acquainted with the ladies of Dragonstone. The crown prince had finally cornered you in Valarr's study where you and Valarr were reading, one immersed in herbs and another in history that he wished to force inside his mind.

Baelor cleared his throat and Valarr stood right away to greet him while you gave a small bow and smile. Baelor gave you a knowing look and your smile turned to reluctance and Valarr shook his head. Baelor brushed past Valarr, "It seems as though it would be a nice day for the future lady of Dragonstone to become more familiar with her ladies." Valarr tried to make an excuse for you and Baelor patted his shoulder firmly. 

Now, you were stuck at a table in the gardens you love with ladies who were practically strangers. You would respond politely and make short conversations to keep up with appearances. However, you kept thinking of how you said things. You wondered if they were the right responses or if the ladies agreed with your statements to the point where they would not talk behind your back later on.

You stirred your tea and hoped for the day to come to an end already when your savior arrived. You practically beamed from the inside when Valarr casually strolled into your area of the gardens. "Ah! My ladies, I see that you and the princess are having quite the time?" 

Baelor was watching from his study's window and rubbed at his temple when he saw his son sweet talk his way out of things like he normally did, "That boy…" 

Valarr gave you a look and you set your spoon back down, "I do apologize, my ladies. I am afraid I will have to take my wife off your hands for the rest of the day." He carefully grabbed your hand as you bid your farewell. You almost giggled when he walked you away from them immediately. You were quite content with life now that you had such an understanding husband who wished only for your comfort over others.