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Daemon tried to smooth over the slightly crumpled bank statement of the safe deposit he’d brought from Valyria.
Aemma had left him as an inheritance the very chest of gold she had been gifted from Viserys, the very same chest his father gave his mother when they were young and recently engaged.
Of course, Daemon hadn’t left it the same as he received it, no.
Rhaenyra was a princess. She deserved the biggest dowry in Targaryen history. Gold wasn’t enough, his little princess deserved more: diamonds, gemstones, platinum, lands and the most precious things in the world.
He had been checking it over and over again on his way to King’s Landing, to make sure it showed how much effort and dedication he had put into her dowry.
Viserys knew their customs, they were Tagaryens. Valyrian. He would understand, he had to.
Their parents were cousins. Their grandparents were siblings!
So many Targaryens married inside their family, it was how they kept their family blood royal and how they rebuilt their homeland. Aemma herself was their first cousin!
He fought the urge to look for a cigarette.
Rhaenyra didn’t deserve this.
He had to be pure for her.
No sex, no smoking… he was praying for the first fucking time in his life, donating to the temple, attending ceremonies!
For Rhaenyra.
Daemon was a screwed-up, the rubbish of the family, the most disposable of the cogs that composed the Targaryen machine. But Rhaenyra was different from anyone else. She was kind, and merciful, and happy!
Every day he wanted to be in her arms, every day she showed how much she wanted him and valued him.
The least he could do was make things perfect for her. The perfect proposal, dowry, wedding… all he could do to make her the happiest woman in the world. They were going to show it to everyone, he was going to show it to everyone how good he was for her.
Much better than Viserys ever cared for her. He would be by her side, he would let her be herself, and would never judge her.
Daemon checked for the ring box, cleaning the black velvet again before opening it. It was his mother’s ring too, resized to fit Rhaenyra’s finger.
Aemma had given it to him too in her will.
He still had her letter. Rhaenyra was the one who mailed it to him days before Aemma died; apparently behind her father's back, because her mother was bed-bound.
She’d apologised to him – the only person in their family who had done so in 15 years – and told him of how sick she was, something no one had even cared to inform him, which was ridiculous and hurt Daemon more than he thought he would.
He loved Aemma like a sister. He adored her since they were kids. Daemon deserved to be there for her to be by her side on her last days!
But he was only able to see her funeral, and even then his family acted like he wasn’t meant to be there, like he wasn’t grieving too.
Daemon had her letter in his hand when he went there, ready to show it to anyone who ever thought of sending him away, but no one did. They didn’t even talk to him, didn’t even ask how he was doing, even though they hadn’t seen him in fifteen years.
Except for Rhaenyra.
He remembered the way she looked at him, the raw pain etched across her face, with her eyes red and puffy, her shoulders trembling slightly as she sniffed. She took his side and his hand, and she clung to him. And Daemon realised how much she needed his support, and they leaned on each other.
Her father wasn’t even looking at her that day, it was Daemon who nudged her forward to take the fire and lit Aemma’s pyre, so she could be sent off in the way of their gods. Rhaenyra would have stayed there for a lifetime if she was given the chance – he knew it because he would too if it was his mother.
He swallowed down, taking the copy of Aemma’s letter from his pocket, the handwriting so different from her signature. Probably Rhaenyra’s doing, he imagined. His dear cousin was weakened by her cancer and her treatment, he wouldn’t expect her to use her energy to write something.
Dear Daemon,
I know this letter is many years too later, but I hope it finds you well. I wish the first time I reached out to you was with good news and happy words, but I’m afraid they aren’t.
I’m ill. I’ve been in treatment for cancer for a few years now, and recently, I’ve entered palliative care. I’m home with Rhaenyra and Viserys, and I’m doing my best to give them my best days while I still have them.
Sadly, I’m afraid those are limited, and I only have so much time to correct the mistakes I’ve made in this short life of mine. Not standing up to our family to protect you and embrace you when you needed it the most, letting you go, was the worst thing I’ve ever done. My deepest regret was not bringing you to my home when your parents closed their door on you.
You deserve family, and love, and affection, and support. You deserve to be happy, and to be embraced. I’m so sorry I wasn’t a good cousin to you, a good sister.
There isn’t much I can do now, but I hope my actions will at least be enough to open a door for you to join us again. Rhaenyra knows and she is ready to embrace you and stand up for you in our family.
As you are aware, I’ve received a dowry from Viserys, and inherited my mother’s dowry as well. In my will I’m leaving my mother’s dowry to Rhaenyra, and I’m leaving my own dowry to you. I’m hoping it will be what influences you to open your heart and find someone who will love you for who you are: a good man who deserves love, and a family – even if it isn’t the family you were born in by blood. I’m proud of your accomplishments – your books and your studies have kept me company since I’ve been bound to my bed.
I’m also leaving you my engagement ring, and I hope those two items will guide you and give you hope.
My doors are open for you, even when I’m no longer here. Viserys is stubborn, but Rhaenyra will never turn you away, and he would never say no to our daughter.
I understand you might be hurt from my silence, and for that I am truly sorry. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me, and though I don’t know what waits for me on the other side, I hope I’ll be able to watch over you.
With all the love from my heart.
27th of May, 2001Aemma Arryn Targaryen
The letter reached his hand on the 29th of May, and Aemma passed on the 1st of June, the day before his flight to Westeros.
It still hurt Daemon that he couldn’t speak to her, that he couldn't give his dear sister one last hug.
He took her advice, he had found love – not instantly after her death, no. Misarya was still in his life, he was still processing that relationship, but he knew he was never going to marry her.
Daemon and Rhaenyra clicked the day of Viserys’ new wedding, and since then he was smitten. They took things so slowly, but now everything was just right. The fact that she even wanted him was already the luckiest thing that had ever happened in this cursed life of his, it was why he wanted everything to be so perfect because she deserved nothing less than utter perfection.
He put the letter inside his pocket, then did the same to the bank statement and the ring, both in his breast pocket, and left the car, nodding to the driver his brother had sent him when Daemon called him and asked for an audience.
The house was quiet when he entered it, and he caught sight of a nanny shushing Viserys’ new baby into sleep.
Helaena was adorable, but every newborn was.
He checked his watch as he waited to be summoned, pacing back and forth. He knew exactly what he was going to say, exactly how he was going to argue with Viserys.
And once Rhaenyra got home, the first thing he would do was propose to her.
She would be so happy, he just knew that.
Viserys’ assistant was the one who came to find him in the living room – why he needed an assistant when he barely worked wasn’t something Daemon understood, but who was he to judge – and he tried not to just skip steps to get into his office, his anxiety making his fingers twitch.
Daemon stopped at the open door and took in a deep breath.
Alright.
He could do this.
“Brother,” he heard, and raised his head to find Viserys waiting for him in the middle of the room with a big smile on his face and looking very excited. “Come in! I just got off the phone with Corlys, and I have the most wonderful news for our family.”