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Their mother had not been happy with Aegon's little scheme, or the outcome of it. Alicent had fretted over her son, but since she couldn't punish somebody for it, more than give the two of them a harsh talking to, her anger dissipated uselessly into the ether, leaving the queen exhausted and worn, looking far older than her age. Aemma had felt bad for her, but his scar had been a price Aegon was willing to pay and, at least, he wasn't missing an eye. If anything this had been the best possible outcome for that situation.
Alicent had also asked her to cover the eye, finding the sapphire unnerving and not being the only one at court and so, with a heavy heart, Aemma had obeyed, putting her customary eyepatch back on. At least she knew the sapphire was still there, even if she could not see it in the looking glass, the weight of it being oddly comforting.
After getting scolded by their mother, Aemma had dragged Aegon to their sister, who had been in her own chambers and sewing, the young woman rising to her feet when she saw her brother-husband's face.
“What happened to you?”, she asked, one hand rising as if to touch, but then dropping again as she thought better of it.
Aegon shuffled awkwardly, looking anywhere but at his wife and Aemma rolled her eye.
“He tried apologizing to me by gifting me a sapphire eye, after I didn't take it he meant to gift me his eye and I stopped him from cutting it out, though his cheek got injured as a result. Congratulations, sister, your husband's a moron.”
Halaena nodded and sat back down on her couch, putting her sewing supplies aside.
“Oh, I already knew that.”
Aegon opened his mouth as if to protest, but a pointed stare from his sisters stopped him and the prince gracelessly flopped into a chair, Aemma sitting down next to their sister.
“I was trying to apologize... Granted, it might have been a little extreme, but the punishment should fit the crime, should it not?”
Aemma leaned back at that, crossing her arms over her chest and giving the young man an unimpressed look.
“Oh? If that's true then I guess Helaena can go around fucking any man that catches her fancy, since that would fit your crime, hm, brother?”
Both her siblings startled at that and stared at her in befuddlement.
“Wha-? Adultery isn't a crime.”
“For a man.”, Aemma corrected her brother with a hard stare, “A woman will get a caning and a day in the stocks if she is accused of adultery, not even caught at it, but accused of it. Hardly fair, don't you think?”
Aegon looked distinctly uncomfortable at the direction the conversation had taken, glancing at Helaena, who was not looking up from her hands, which lay neatly folded in her lap.
“I- Well, what do you want me to do about? You'd have to talk to the Master of Laws about that and I doubt he'll do anything...”
The youngest princess stared at her brother, single eye boring into his very soul.
“That's true, but not the point I was trying to make. You apologized to me and I accepted that apology, but I'm hardly the only one you need to ask for forgiveness. You've hurt Helaena for the entire time of your marriage and I think she deserves better, don't you?”
“Aemma, it's fi-”
“No, it's not.”, surprisingly, it was Aegon who interrupted her and not Aemma, his form slumped into his seat and his lavender eyes swimming with remorse, “Aemma's right, I'm sorry. I have not been treating you right... I will do right by you, Helaena.”
His sister-wife glanced at him, trying to discern how sincere he was being.
“Thank you for your apology, Aegon, but words are wind. You will have to prove to me that you truly mean it.”
“I will.”, Aegon said, his eyes softening in regret, “You deserve better than me, Helaena. You should be married to someone better, someone you love and who loves you back.”
Helaena met his gaze, a rarity, and smiled softly, tilting her head slightly as if she knew something he didn't.
“But I am married to someone I love... Maybe I will be married to someone who loves me as well, once you stop destroying yourself, Aegon. Maybe you can be the prince you gave up on being after you hurt Aemma.”
Aegon winced at that, looking away briefly, his expression morphing into something almost wistful as he looked back at them.
“I did, didn't I? I wanted to be a great knight and dragonrider, instead I became a drunk and a harlot, bringing nothing but shame onto our house.”
Aemma swallowed, being unfamiliar with this melancholy side of her brother, having been spared the sight, both through him spending his time away from the Red Keep, and her own avoidance of him. It was heartbreaking, in a way, to see his spirit so shattered by his own weakness. Wanting to lift the mood a bit, Aemma smirked at her brother.
“I'm sure Ser Criston would welcome you back with open arms, if you decided to pick up the sword again.”
Aegon spluttered at that, looking at her as if she were insane.
“Do you wish for me to die? He'd have my head if I showed up now, after skipping practice for years. I can feel the way he looks at me, that man is just waiting for me to show my face in the yard so he can beat me black and blue for shirking training!”
Helaena smiled sweetly at her husband.
“Maybe a bit of a beating would do you some good, husband mine.”
The two women laughed as Aegon looked at his wife in utter betrayal, then slumped, resigning himself to getting stomped in the yard tomorrow.
There was a beat of companionable silence, the likes of which had not existed between the siblings since they had been children. It was nice.
“Aemma... why do you do that, dress the way you do? You know it makes people say terrible things about you. Mother hates it, too.”, Aegon asked after a while, studying the low-cut dress she was wearing, the fabric a deep red with white roses trailing down her skirt.
Said girl shrugged one shoulder.
“I don't want to be involved in the court's games. I am neither Black, nor Green. I'm no pawn for grandfather and mother to command and I express that in my wardrobe. The scandalous nature of them only further distracts from the fact that I technically have no allegiance, despite who my mother is, or who I am to marry.”
There was another beat of silence, both her siblings looking contemplative.
“I see where you are coming from.”, Aegon said slowly, tugging uncomfortably at his own deep green tunic, “I am rather uncomfortable with the people that wear Sunfyre on their clothes... I don't want the throne, I never have. Let Rhaenyra have it and maybe have mother on the Small Council, if you can have a ruling Queen then I'm sure you can have a female Hand of the Ki- uh, Queen.”
Helaena nodded, eyes distant, not in the dragondream way, but in the thoughtful way.
“That would be a good solution, though I don't know if grandfather would agree to it, or mother, for that matter.”
Aegon shifted in his chair, fidgeting with his buttons the way he had done since he was a little boy.
“It doesn't matter whether she wants it or not. They can't force me to be king.”
Aemma sighed, heart heavy in her chest.
“They can always drop a crown onto your head, Aegon. I mean, you could just be dragged to a sept and crowned, it's not like you could fight your way out of a crowd of smallfolk, not to mention the Kingsguard. They may not harm you, but they would certainly keep you there no matter your protests... Actually, if you start training again the Green part of court might see that as a confirmation of your desire to be king. They'd see it as you preparing for war.”
Her brother ran a hand through his hair with a defeated sigh.
“Shit... Maybe I should just spend all my time with Helaena, then. No one can call me a usurper if I spend all my time wooing my lovely wife, after all.”
Helaena covered her mouth at that, though her snort of laughter was still audible, making both Aegon and Aemma smile, though for different reasons. The older princess sobered quickly, though, her pale purple eyes soft and sad as she glanced at her husband.
“I am not the only one who would benefit from a bit of your time, brother. The twins may be just babes now, but they won't be forever. They should know their father.”
There was a heaviness that settled over them at those words, the silent understanding between the three of them that none of them had ever truly known their father, not even Aemma who spent her days caring for the sick wraith that the king had become. They knew how much it hurt, to be of no consequence to the man that had sired them.
“I'm sorry.”, Aegon said quietly, his voice rough as his gaze hit the floor, “I just- I don't know what to do with them and they are so tiny... What if I hurt them on accident?”
Aemma rolled her eye.
“You won't hurt them. They may be small, but they aren't fragile. And all they need from you right now is your love... Is that truly so hard to give?”
Mutely, the young man shook his head, his eyes widening when his wife rose to tell a servant to get the children.
“What are you doing?”, he asked nervously, only to be pinned in place by his sister-wife's gaze.
“You wanted to spend time with them, did you not? Best start early. You have six months to make up for, after all.”
Aegon shrunk into his seat a bit and stared, wide-eyed, when the twins were brought in, Helaena taking Jahaera and Jahaerys being handed over to a reluctant Aegon after Aemma directed the maid to him.
The prince held the little babe awkwardly, both afraid he would drop him and scared that he would crush him with his grip. His uncertainty made the babe nervous, the little boy starting to fuss immediately.
“What do I do?!”, Aegon asked, looking to his sisters for help. Aemma snorted and took the babe from him, something that calmed Jahaerys down immediately.
“You're too scared, he can sense that and it makes him nervous. Just relax, you won't hurt them, or drop them, or anything.”
Helaena stood and handed him Jahaera, the little girl being the less fussy of the two and usually being a good sport about even strangers holding her. She hadn't even made a fuss the one time the twins had been to visit Viserys, the smell of rot and incense having made Jahaerys scream his head off before he had gotten anywhere near his grandfather, while his twin had merely blinked at the sick man, even latching onto one bony finger with a gummy smile. Jahaera was definitely the easier of the two babies and proved that by blinking up at her nervous father and waving one chubby hand at him, snagging a fistful of his tunic and dragging it towards her mouth so she could chew on it.
“Jahaera is the calmer of the two. Just hold her and she'll be fine.”, Helaena explained, brushing some of the fine pale hair off her daughter's forehead, “If you want you can open the laces of your tunic a bit and let her rest against your chest, babes enjoy skin contact.”
Aegon nodded, relaxing slightly as his daughter let out a giggle and gave him one of the big happy smiles that Jahaera had quickly become famous for, the little princess having stolen the hearts of all the servants that came into contact with the happy little baby, her twin being more of a little terror, Helaena and Aemma often the only people that could soothe the little prince.
“Err, sure, I'll do that, um, how do I-?”, Aegon stammered, fumbling with his laces with one hand, trying not to jostle the baby. Helaena pushed his hand out of the way, causing her husband to freeze as she undid his laces for him, a blush creeping up her neck and staining her cheeks as she quickly stepped away, waving a hand at him as if to say: there you go, the gesture unusually jerky for the usually so graceful princess.
Aemma hid a giggle in her nephews soft curls. How those two had even managed to have children was beyond her. Helaena sat down in her previous spot, still a bit pink, though her embarrassment quickly faded as she watched Aegon settle Jahaera on his chest, the little girl snuggling in with a happy noise. The awe on her brother's face would have been sweet if it wasn't so sad that it had taken him six whole months to hold his daughter in the first place. Aemma could only hope that her niece and nephew were in for many visits from their father in the future.
“...She's drooling on me.”, Aegon commented after a while, with only a slight grimace of disgust.
Aemma snickered at his predicament.
“That means she likes you, brother.”
The prince sent her a look, but his expression softened as he rubbed a hand over the babe's back.
“I will do right by them... and you, Helaena. I promise.”
His wife looked at him, searching his expression for the truth.
“I will hold you to that, Aegon. I gave you a son and a daughter, I fulfilled my duty as a princess of the realm. Any other children we will have shall be born of love, or not at all.”
Aegon nodded solemnly and Aemma had a feeling that things were definitely going to change at court, now that their brother was taking things more seriously.
What she hadn't expected was for her siblings to follow her in her silent rebellion, staring dumbstruck when Helaena appeared in front of her chambers to walk to a feast that was being held for Viserys' nameday, one he would only attend very briefly, decked out in crimson silk, white dragonflies chasing each other over her skirts and bodice, her hair streaming down her back unbraided, something only unmarried girls were allowed to do.
“Helaena?”, she asked uncertainly, only for her sister to usher her back into her chambers and start taking pins from her hair, unraveling the braids her maids had put it in earlier and tugging her eyepatch off to reveal the gleaming sapphire beneath.
“Aegon and I have decided to follow your example, since neither of us want to rule the Seven Kingdoms, and we wish to present a united front. This was the best way to do this.”, she cupped her cheek for a moment, smiling at the sapphire eye, “It really does suit you, sister.”
Aemma smiled and nodded, trying to wrap her head around this turn of events, following her sister towards the great hall were the feast was being held, looking around for their brother.
“Aegon will meet us in front of the doors, he had to get something to make our entrance perfect.”
Aemma snorted, she had forgotten how dramatic Aegon could be, of course he would want them to have the perfect entrance to scandalize court.
Once she saw him, she realized that they really would start a scandal. Aegon was wearing white, red dragons embroidered on his doublet, though they were done so finely, the red was more of an accent, enhancing the pearly white of the fabric. He was wearing the Maiden's white, a man, a married man well known for his adultery. Oh, this would definitely set the fox amongst the chickens. Aemma had to clamp down on a laugh, especially when her brother revealed two crowns of red roses that had white ribbons trailing down the back, which he set on each of their brows. Flowers that symbolized passion wrapped in the Maiden's white. The Lords and Ladies were going to have conniptions.
With a mischievous sparkle in his eyes Aegon offered each of his sisters an arm and the three of them strode into the banquet, after being announced, basking in the shocked whispers and offended glares. Judging by the way Aegon seemed to revel in the chaos, Aemma would bet that his wardrobe would consist of mostly white from now on.
How nice it was to get along with her brother, something they hadn't truly had since they were small. She had to admit that she had missed Aegon, the Aegon who had played pranks with her and not on her, who used to sneak her treats from the kitchens and help her learn her letters by reading from the storybooks to her, who had enjoyed any and all mischief as long as he could pull it off together with his sisters. It was nice to have him back.
…