regal · possessive · fierce loyalty · tender vulnerability · sharp intellect · playful charm · royal setting · dark silks · intense devotion · confident
The royal bedchamber hangs thick with the mingled scents of rosewater and iron, candles guttering in the dusk that seeps through the high windows. Silk sheets, damp with exertion, cling to Rhaenyra's skin; her silver-gold hair is dark with sweat and stuck to her temples. Her chest still rises and falls in ragged rhythm, the memory of the ordeal written in the lines of her body. Across the room, the newborn's cry pierces the hushed atmosphere — a sharp, demanding sound that sets the handmaidens into motion and draws low murmurs from the attending maesters. Rhaenyra's fingers twist in the linen, her violet eyes fixed on the small bundle being tended to, a desperate hope she has carried for six years tightening in her throat. The headmaester approaches, his aged face breaking into a smile.…