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It was a seemingly regular day when it happened, with King Daeron the Good holding court with his wife, the sweet and honorable Queen Myriah. Their revered heir, Prince Baelor ‘Breakspear’ Targaryen, stood on the steps of the dais with his beloved Lady Jena Dondarion, whose hand rested gently on her swelling belly. Though listening to and settling the disputes of the kingdom was tiring, the royals remained poised, allowing the nobles at court to admire their patience and empathy. The session was seemingly coming to a close when Prince Maekar made his way from the crowd to put forth his own request.
As the silver haired prince arrived in front of the Iron Throne, the room’s pleasant atmosphere disappeared. Gone were to genial faces of the lords and ladies at court, replaced with stony countenances of disapproval. Even King Daeron, known as one of the most affable Targaryens, allowed a small frown to grace his face before settling his expression into something more neutral as he studied his youngest and only omega son.
“Prince Maekar, did you have something to bring before the court?”
“Yes, your grace, I’d like to request an annulment from Prince Baelor.”
~~~
“Did you hear what happened? Apparently, a maid saw Prince Baelor leave Prince Maekar’s room early in the morning last week.”
“No! Isn’t Prince Baelor betrothed to Lady Jena?”
“Not anymore, the King demanded that the princes take responsibility and marry!”
“Poor Lady Jena.”
“Truly, and poor Prince Baelor as well!”
“Poor him? But he disgraced his betrothed-”
“But that is just the thing, Prince Baelor is adamant that nothing happened and that he was just searching for his brother to spar. My theory is that Prince Maekar made plans with his brother then left early so that Prince Baelor would have to enter his chambers, knowing it would look suspect!”
“Prince Maekar has always had cow eyes for his brother, I could see him wanting to marry Prince Baelor as his ancestors have.”
“Exactly! Prince Maekar claims there were no plans for a spar, but does he not spend every waking moment with Prince Baelor? I think he knew it would look bad and that their parents would be forced to wed them!”
“The King and Queen must be livid!”
“They are, not only for the scandal but for Lady Jena. You know Queen Myriah treats her as a daughter, so she is furious at the insult.”
~~~
“An annulment? What are you talking about, Maekar?” The Queen’s voice was incredulous, reflecting the bewilderment in her gaze. “You have been married for two years now, what can you mean?”
“Well, I don’t know much of marital relations, your grace, but seeing how Baelor and I did not share a bed on our wedding night, nor have we in the two years since, I think I can confidently say our marriage remains unconsummated. However, if there is a time limit on annulments, then I request a divorce. Either way, I’d like to dissolve our farce of a union once and for all.” Maekar responded with all of the dignity expected of his station, but none of the emotion of someone requesting a divorce.
“My boy, what could possibly have prompted this?” King Daeron questioned, finally stirred from his stupor.
“Besides the lack of consummation? There are a multitude of reasons, like the fact that this union was desired by no one and benefits the kingdom none, but the chiefest amongst them is that I do not want my nephew born a bastard.” Gasps echoed through the throne room, Lady Jena covering her mouth as if she were not currently displaying the fruits of her affair with the crown prince. Maekar looked around the room, confused and incredulous. “I apologize, is this truly news to anyone? Lady Dondarion stands beside Prince Baelor at this very moment, presiding over the session. She remains unmarried, despite her swollen belly, yet faces no scorn for we all know it is the royal family’s get, if not from how the father acts then from how the King and Queen call the babe their grandson. Why are you all pretending now to be shocked by my statement?”
The crowd of nobility slowly lost their facade of surprise, their hands falling awkwardly to their side as they avoided the young prince’s gaze. It truly was not news to anyone in the castle. It wasn’t even an unspoken thing, as everyone gushed over the love story between the handsome Targaryen prince and his beautiful Stormlander lady as well as the child she carried. Lords and ladies alike rejoiced at the news of the Heir’s coming progeny, toasting the child at feasts and discussing nursery plans at tea parties. Still, to hear the crown prince’s husband speak on the subject after remaining silent for so long certainly dropped a few jaws.
“It is just that bastard is such a…harsh word, especially in this court, that I think we were taken aback.” Queen Myriah responded before sending Jena a reassuring smile.
“But is it not an accurate one? Prince Baelor and Lady Dondarion are not married, therefore their child will be born a bastard, even if you later legitimize it. I would think we would all like to avoid such a thing, especially in this court, but we cannot do that while my marriage stands. Unless you planned to allow Prince Baelor to take a second wife?”
“No, no! It is just that this is such a sudden request, don’t you fear the backlash of a divorce, my boy?”
Briefly clenching his jaw at the King’s casual use of endearments, Maekar breathed through his nose to calm slightly before responding. “Backlash? What possible backlash could I face that I have not already? According to the rumors, I am both a lush and prude. I compromised my brother and selfishly tore him from his beloved betrothed, then refused to give him an heir. Despite not being in my room when the supposed incident that forced this union took place, it is my fault! Because I, at four and ten, should have told my brother to not visit my room anymore. Because I should have put distance between us the moment I presented as an omega, so I could not tarnish the honor of the perfect crown prince. Because I should have exiled myself instead of allowing the marriage that tore apart the famed star-crossed lovers!”
“Maekar, calm down, I’m sure no one blames you for anything! And it is still early in your marriage, you may still have children. Don’t you want to bear the future king? Don’t you want to be King Consort?”
“Be Consort? I am not even treated as crown prince consort now! I do not reside in the consort’s quarters, I do not have ladies in waiting, nor have I received any training for the elevated position. It is Lady Dondarion in the rooms closest to Prince Baelor, it is she who has ‘close friends’ helping her with her duties, it is she who spends every afternoon with Queen Myriah. I do not even know if I would be a figurehead Consort, as I am rarely given the respect of my current station nor addressed as such.”
At the declaration, King Daeron tried to find a response. His mouth opened and closed three times before he turned to his wife for help. Queen Myriah could provide none.
With no response coming forth, Prince Maekar kneeled before the throne. It was not the bow of a confident prince nor beloved omega son. It was the plea of a subject to their ruler. “Please, your grace, grant us a divorce. If not for the reasons I’ve listed, then for your son. You know Baelor has been unhappy in this union, grant us a divorce and allow him to be with his love.”
Daeron couldn’t remember the last time Maekar called him father. It was this sudden thought, compounded with the knowledge that the omega did not think a plea for his own happiness might move the king, that convinced Daeron to acquiesce.
“I shall grant you an annulment.”
~~~
“Can you believe it? Prince Maekar was not even given instructions for his wedding night! I hardly ever saw my mother growing up, but even she prepared me.”
“Well it is hardly surprising, Queen Myriah has neglected him for years now! I always felt so bad for Prince Maekar when he was excluded from the Queen’s tea parties. But, of course, she invited Lady Jena and couldn’t make the harlot feel uncomfortable!”
“With a husband like the King, what can we expect from her? He allowed the constant shame of his omega son in his own court! Prince Baelor practically paraded Lady Jena around every day, openly touching and kissing her. The King even threw a feast when she announced her pregnancy!”
“How could the crown prince conduct himself in such a manner, has he no respect for his husband? His youngest brother?”
“The real question is how could House Dondarion allow their eldest daughter to lower herself so? A mistress with a child out of wedlock? My parents would die of embarrassment!”
“And even if they marry now, we all know that babe is truly a bastard.”
“With all of the murmurs that Daemon Blackfyre truly belongs on the throne, you’d think the royal family would have tried to avoid having any more bastards.”
~~~
Screeching loudly, Lady Jena Dondarion upended another piece of furniture in her rage. “They all call me a whore, like they weren’t fawning over me just last week! As if it wasn’t them calling Maekar barren! As if they hadn’t joyfully supported our relationship for years!”
“My love, you must calm down!” Prince Baelor implored while taking hold of Jena’s shoulders to prevent further destruction, “This anger is not good for the babe.”
“He did it on purpose.” Jena whispered, eyes widening with manic certainty, “He stole you from me, kept you prisoner for two years, and now paints the picture of a woebegotten omega scorned! Like we did anything wrong!”
“How could he have predicted this? He has been a pariah in society for years now, how could he have guessed that the lords and ladies would suddenly feel guilt over their treatment of him and decide to blame us to ease their own consciences?”
“‘Guilt over their treatment of him’? So now even you pity the harlot?”
“Of course not,” Baelor assured before quickly changing the topic, “But isn’t this what you wanted? We can finally wed and our Valarr will be born legitimate.”
“But we aren’t even going to marry properly! The King will have us quietly saying our vows in the castle sept in the smallest wedding a crown prince has ever had, while that omega was given a proper ceremony in the Sept of Baelor with most all the lords of the kingdom in attendance! King Daeron acts like he has never seen my belly before, that it is now something to hide, when it was he who threw the celebration two months ago! I am being treated like a mistake to be quietly covered up, how could I be happy with that?”
“Does it truly matter where we say our vows? We do not have time to prepare a lavish ceremony, not with the birth so close, but we will still be bound together. We will finally be one.” Baelor soothed, taking Jena’s hands into his own. “Be calm, my lady. Just focus on the ceremony and the birth of our son, everything will eventually blow over. With Maekar retiring to Summerhall, there will be nothing to fan these flames and people will return to normal.”
~~~
“Did you hear that Lady Jena gave birth during the wedding feast? They were barely able to take advantage of Prince Maekar’s kindness and provide the child legitimacy.”
“Well I guess we must start referring to her as Princess Jena now, don’t we? Along with her Prince Valarr.”
“Out of all of the Valyrian names and words to choose from, they picked ‘man’. It’s quite silly. Though I heard he doesn’t much resemble his Valyrian ancestry, so they had to do something to connect him to the dynasty.”
“Well at least he resembles Prince Baelor, so we know Prince Maekar didn’t give up his crown for nothing.”
“Is it truly a good thing to resemble such a father? Hopefully he grows to have more honor.”
~~~
The letter arrived on another innocuous day months after the infamous annulment, bearing the seal of House Baratheon. It was from the heir, Lord Lyonel, stating that he’d met Prince Maekar by chance while on his way back from visiting vassals, his party having had to shelter at Summerhall to escape a fierce storm. The future Lord Paramount expressed his admiration for the omega prince, stating that the alpha enjoyed their lively conversation and the sparring Maekar indulged him in. The letter ended in an official request for courtship between the pair.
Though requests like this were usually done in person, as omegas were rarely away from their parents before marriage, Daeron did not take offense. He couldn’t, really, given the unique nature of his relationship with Maekar and his son’s living arrangement.
King Daeron had never meant for his youngest to feel as he had. Truly, he loved all of his children and never wished them any strife. However, when the rumors doubting Maekar’s purity circulated, he had to act to protect them both. The marriage of Baelor and Maekar was the only solution that would save their reputations. And yes, he was angry! He was upset that the betrothal agreement he spent so long working out with Lord Dondarion would be for nothing, that he’d be losing two opportunities to tie powerful noble families to the crown, that he’d be giving those Blackfyre bastards the opportunity to slip in and take power. But he was angry at them both, not Maekar alone! Their relationship had been inappropriate since their presentation and they should have had the forethought to end it before all this scandal came to be.
However, given his actions following, he could see how his son, and the court, could assume he thought Maekar bore the sole blame. The problem lay in the amount of time spent between the pair. Being his heir, Baelor had always had monopoly over his attention and Daeron could not just stop their lessons because of one stupid mistake. But because he continued to allow Baelor to learn from his side, the court decided that Maekar was the one at fault and isolated him further. Myriah had not exactly helped the situation.
Queen Myriah had confessed her own unintended neglect to her husband the evening after that fated session. She had said she had only wanted to comfort Lady Jena, whom she had grown close to over the years and betrothal negotiations, and felt she couldn’t just abandon her. And, she quietly whispered, Myriah had had the thought at the back of her head that Maekar had wanted the marriage to happen, given his obvious crush on his elder brother. These thoughts had allowed her to continuously put off consort training, believing there would be time to eventually teach Maekar further down the road, when there was less hurt surrounding the decision to take Jena's betrothed. Only when she had tried to comfort herself with the lack of consummation did Daeron step in to scold her. He could not blame her for her relationship with Jena, given his own with Baelor, but there had been no guarantee that the marriage would be unconsummated. They had assumed it was and that the rumors of Maekar’s infertility had some weight to it, especially once Jena proved Baelor virality. Makear had deserved someone to prepare him, someone he could go to with questions and for comfort, and they had failed him.
What’s done is done, Daeron had decided. He’d always feel shame for how he handled the situation, but he cannot change that, he can only change how he acts going forward. He’d be there this time. If the courtship between Lord Lyonel and Prince Maekar was successful, because he did intend to give permission, then he’d give his son the support he needed. He’d make sure Myriah did her duty to prepare him, he’d plan the most lavish ceremony he possibly could and he would finally let his son know that he loves him. That he was never ashamed and if Maekar ever felt unappreciated in this new union, he could always come home to his family.
~~~
“I can’t believe the royal family did not attend Prince Maekar’s wedding!”
“To be fair, Lord Baratheon organized the ceremony very soon after approval for the match was announced. So soon that only their Stormland vassals were able to make the journey in time.”
“I think they still should have gone! It brings me to tears when I think of Prince Maekar sitting alone before his ceremony, still unprepared for what will follow.”
“Well, I think Prince Maekar wanted it that way. I think he hoped the short turn around would allow him peace without his ex-husband and his mistress from showing up to brag about their not-quite-a-bastard.”
“That would make sense…and he wouldn’t have to deal with his two-faced parents, who now, all of the sudden, speak only of his virtues when Prince Maekar is mentioned.”
“But the good thing is that it sounded like the prince wasn’t alone or unprepared! Apparently, Lady Baratheon has taken him under her wing and helped him ready. Much more than he could have expected from his family.”
“Will you two quiet down! That is the royal family you speak of, you could invite treason upon us!”
“Royalty they may be, but I’m not going to pretend to be unhappy Prince Maekar is finally away from them.”
“Oh hush!”
~~~
The invitation to Maekar’s wedding had caused quite the ruckus when it reached Kings Landing. Queen Myriah was almost hysterical, demanding the King order its delay or relocation. As it stood, they would not have time to put together a royal party and make the journey to Storm’s End. And in any case, a royal wedding should happen in the Sept of Baelor! Properly!
However, as Baelor stood next to his father reading the letter over the King’s shoulder, he knew her demands would be for naught. The invitation was not a tentative one and his father was not one to rock the boat. King Daeron the Good was a peacekeeper at heart and Baelor knew he’d rather miss his youngest son’s wedding rather than to make demands of a Lord Paramount and his heir. This thought brought him a great deal of sadness, as Baelor had hoped to use the upcoming ceremony as a chance to reconcile with his brother.
Baelor had been sending ravens for months now, stating his pleasure at their renewed station as brothers, and all had been returned unopened. His only guess as to why Maekar had been ignoring him is that the omega was scared Baelor was still angry with him. And while yes, Maekar had waited a long while to return his freedom and had done so in a much too public manner, Baelor didn’t care because all is well now! He had married Jena and their child had been born legitimate, as would any future babe they are blessed with.
Baelor would now have to wait for who knows how long before he could see Maekar again and reassure him of his forgiveness. Oh well, maybe the omega would make the journey to King’s Landing for his second child’s birth celebrations. Jena will surely give him a spare soon enough and he’d take the time to encourage his baby brother back into the family.
~~~
“I heard Prince Maekar is pregnant again.”
“Again! What is that, the fifth? That storm lord should give him a break!”
“Sixth actually! And I think it is Prince Maekar who runs that household. I know a maid who works at Storm’s End and she said the little princeling is in love with his babes, always wanting more. And Lord Lyonel denies him very little, so more babes they have!”
“If only the rest of the royal family was blessed with such fertility. Princess Jena is only now pregnant again, correct?”
“Yes, hopefully this one will live. Prince Valarr seems to be a good boy, but having only one heir is dangerous. Something Prince Baelor wouldn’t have had to deal with if he’d stayed with Prince Maekar, eh?”
“What have I told you two about gossiping? Shoo! Shoo!”