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"Your father's marriage to Lady Cassandra will be good, my darling." Alicent tells her. "You'll have a family again."
"I already have a family." Jaehaera flatly says
Her grandmother means well. But she doesn't help. She is convinced Jaehaera is distraught that her father is getting remarried. And unbeknownst to her father's mother, he already soothed any fear she had. That's why she loves him so much : they say he's quick to anger, slow to forgive, but his patience is infinite with her. He listens, he tries, he cares, and she knows he does because he wants to give her what he himself never received at her age.
When she asked him if he was forgetting about Helaena, if he didn't love her mother anymore, he took her on his lap despite his burns, his legs aching, and he held her the way she loves : close enough for her to feel his love but not too tightly so she doesn't feel ill at ease. He kissed her brow and told her a piece of his heart would always love her mother : she was his sister, his wife, she made him a father, and gave him three beautiful children.
He spoke to her like an actual person.
Not many people do that at court, assuming she's too young or a lackwit.
Not Aegon.
No, her father speaks to her the way he speaks to anyone; he just adjusts his words so she understands.
"I must marry, my love, because I made a promise to Lord Borros. His daughter Floris was supposed to marry your uncle Aemond, but he joined the Gods before they were wed. Lord Borros helped me during the war, he sheltered you at Storm's End. Marrying one of his daughters thanks him and gives the realm a new queen to love."
"And to give you a boy..."
He had looked sad but kept smiling.
"And to give me a boy. Jaehaera, listen to me carefully. As a father, I do not care what genders my babes are. I'm just happy to be their sire. I love you the same way I loved your brothers and love them still. But I am king. And a king must have princes to succeed him."
She could succeed him, she knows. She's his daughter, his only legitimate child. Her grandfather Viserys wanted her aunt Rhaenyra to be queen after all. But then her father came along, and her uncles. People fought over who should rule : the king's choice or what the Andal law and the traditions chose? These questions are too big for her, and she doesn't want to be queen anyway. If her father tells her he is marrying Lady Cassandra to thank Lord Borros, to keep his promise, to give the realm a new queen, and to, perhaps, give her more siblings, that's all she needs to know.
"Your mother is not replaceable, my darling. But I do hope you'll try to give Lady Cassandra a chance."
"She was kind to me at Storm's End. She played with me."
"I'm glad. But Jaehaera."
"Yes?"
"While I want you to be kind to her and give her a chance, I also want you to tell me if she is mean to you. If she hurts you. Because no one is allowed to hurt you. Not now, not ever."
She won't, Jaehaera already knows. She might not like her as a daughter but she would care enough. They could be friends.
"Of course, you do..." Alicent stutters. "But..."
"Father already told me everything." She cuts her. "With or without Lady Cassandra, I already have a family. But she adds more joy to my family if she becomes part of it."
And truth be told, she'd love to have brothers again. She misses Jaehaerys and Maelor dearly, new brothers won't replace them, but it'll ease the absence. And she'd love a sister, so she knows what it's like to have one! But her mother always told her to not to be too greedy. One single sibling would already be nice and if none comes, then the Gods decided her family already is complete.