There were so many confusing thoughts running through Visenya's mind. The way he spoke to her had her on edge for days. He retreated back to his aloof self and they entered a dance of silence. Each night they would sleep on the far sides of the bed, never once allowing themselves to touch. They spoke little about her succession plan, only interacting during lessons and meals.

Visenya admitted to herself that she was scared. She was terrified of how she felt for him, and how intense it was progressing. Two moons had passed since their wedding, and Alicent began noticing her lack of pregnancy. While they had begun to mend the relationship (after Visenya gave a quite believable apology with fake tears), Alicent was making comments.

"Are you sure you are doing it right, dear?"

That caused her face to grow beat red. She did not want to have this conversation with her husband's mother.

"Yes, we are. But I am still early into womanhood, my bleeding isn't regular yet. I am sure it will happen soon and I shall be with child shortly." Visenya forced a smile.

Alicent nodded and squeezed her hand. "Helaena is pregnant so her children could grow up with close cousins."

"Yes, and their father shall be the rightful king of Westeros."

Alicent's eyes widened and pulled her hand away. "Visenya."

"Oh, don't act innocent, Alicent. We both know Rhaenyra should not be queen. She has committed treason many times. By all rights, I ..." She stopped herself. She wasn't supposed to go in this strong. She was supposed to ease into it slowly.

"You want to usurp the throne from your mother? I must admit, I little expected to hear you want that."

"My grandsire shan't live forever. If I could find a way to be legitimized as a Targaryen even before my marriage to Aemond, then Aemond and I could rule and our firstborn child, your grandchild, would be on the throne. I want my mother to be called out for the liar she is. How is it that women like us do our duty every day and receive no special treatment but she is being rewarded for treason?"

Alicent watched her with worried eyes, wringing her hands. "If you ask to be legitimized, you will be setting yourself up for more embarrassment and shame. And you will then call into question the credibility of your brothers and Rhaenyra herself. She will not take kindly to that."

"I care naught for my mother's feelings. Laenor adopted me as his daughter and knew that I was not his. I respect that but if I go on and lie and try to say he is my father, then I am no better than her with the lies. I am the daughter of Rhaenyra and Daemon, and while they are married now, I was conceived when they were not. Alicent, Aegon does not desire the throne. Aemond and I do."

"You and Aemond have spoken of this?" Alicent asked.

"Briefly," Visenya nodded. "It has come up in previous conversations. So I wish to speak to Grandsire, I wish to plead my case."

"We both know that the king is blind to Rhaenyra's sin. He will tell you it is nonsense."

"A bastard can be legitimized by royal decree. If the king is too ill to sign, wouldn't that responsibility fall on the Hand? Haven't you and your father been running the court and acting in his stead?"

Alicent slowly nodded, biting the skin around her nails. "I will approach him on this matter and plead the case to him. Would Aemond be your equal or just Consort?"

"He would be King Regent, he would be my equal."

"Then I think he might just approve. We could crown you with the crown of your namesake. We can't arm you with Dark Sister for obvious reasons but I'm sure that Aemond would not mind Blackfyre."

"Don't worry, I will kill Daemon and pry Dark Sister from his dead body. He will die for the abuse I have suffered. I am taking control of my life now and he will rue the day he decided to cross me. I shall prepare a parchment with my request for legitimization and have it to you by the end of the day. Expect nothing less of a hidden attack."

"Just make sure this is absolutely what you desire. There are some things you can't come back from. Depending on what you say, this could be one of those things," Alicent warned.

"I stopped caring about that when Daemon choked me. There is a lot I stopped caring about. But I do care about this family and I promised to have lunch with Helaena and the children so I must part ways with you for now."

Alicent nodded as Visenya walked the halls, her red dress brushing up against the floor. It was red with black embroidery with sheer sleeves and a low back. Ever since her wedding, she had been experimenting more with dresses that made a statement. Her closet was mostly red and she had been trying low cleavage lines and backless dresses, and even dresses with armored corsets. And her hair was always braided.

As she reached the twins' playroom, she paused as she heard a familiar voice. "Vhagar, good job. Her name is Vhagar." Aemond said.

"And Isy?" Jaehaera asked. Since the twins were still young and couldn't get the V sound out yet, when they called her Visy, it sounded like Isy.

"Grey!" Jaehaerys shouted.

"Almost," Aemond responded.

"Ghost!" Jaehaera finished for him.

"Very good. Soon you will both get to name your dragons. There are many names to choose from. Some dragons are named after the Valyrian Gods. I know Skrykos hasn't been a chosen name."

"I wike that one," Jaehaerys said.

"It's a silly name," Jaehaera responded.

"Why don't you both get cleaned up before Aunt Visenya comes for lunch," Helaena spoke up. Visenya pondered if she should make herself known but Aemond began speaking again and she decided not to.

"She is coming for lunch?" He asked.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? Silly me," Helaena giggled.

"Hel," Aemond groaned.

"You need to stop avoiding her. Maybe tell her how you feel."

"I tried, Helaena. I'm being patient because I don't think she knows what she wants. She's still young and inexperienced. And when she wears those low-cut dresses, it's hard to be patient."

"You must continue to be patient. She will learn in time. You are honorable for that, Aemond. Most husbands would continue to force themselves upon her. You have been decent to her. But she's lonely, remember? Just because she needs room to grow and heal doesn't mean she needs to do it alone."

"She's so much stronger than I, do you think she would ask for help if she needed it?" Aemond asked.

"Women are taught not to ask for help," Helaena answered.

"She is unlike any woman I have ever met. I'm scared to be added to the list of people who have hurt her. I don't want to hurt her, not anymore."

Visenya smiled to herself. Maybe she was still judging Aemond too harshly. She had wondered if he even meant his apology to her two months prior, but she knew he would never lie to Helaena. She was his friend, a confidant. If he was going to be honest with anyone it would be her.

She finally walked into the room to make herself known and Jaehaerys ran to her. "Isy!"

"My little Jae, how are you?" She smiled and picked him up.

"Goo'. We learn about dwagons!" He smiled.

"There you are," Helaena smiled and kissed her cheek. "I invited Aemond for lunch since he was already here. I'm having your favorite brought up for dessert."

"Let me guess, is it plum pudding?" Aemond asked.

Visenya looked at him with a grin. "How did you know?"

"You used to ask for it all the time when you were a child." He noticed and paid attention to me.

Visenya nodded. "Yes, it is still my favorite."

Visenya sat down at the table in the playroom, bouncing Jaehaerys on her knee. She caught Aemond watching her from the corner of her eye and a blush crept on her cheeks.

"Isn't Visenya's dress nice today, Aemond?" Helaena asked. Jaehaera made grabby hands for Aemond and he picked her up, sitting at the seat next to Visenya.

"Yes. Quite delightful," He spoke as Visenya finally looked at him. He rose a brow at her and she looked away with a blush again. She could feel his eye watching her every move.

"Thank you, husband." Visenya reached for her goblet of wine and she suddenly felt his foot brushing up against her leg, almost spitting out her wine.

"I hear Grey Ghost flew over to Vhagar recently. He is rarely seen away from Blackwater Bay unless you are riding him," Helaena said.

"Vhagar sleeps on the other side of the castle, I am not surprised considering she is closer than the Dragon Pit and in a grassy plain by herself. She could use a friend," Aemond responded. His foot traveled up on her leg and she almost stopped breathing. "I mean, we are married. The dragons of married Targaryens usually end up bonding. Look at Syrax and Caraxes or Vermithor and Silverwing."

"Who says my dragon wants to be friends with Vhagar? We have both always been reclusive," Visenya said.

"You don't have to be," Aemond whispered.

She looked at him again and this time he placed his hand on her thigh, giving a comforting squeeze. She looked away, knowing her face must have been the same shade of red as her dress.

"No one can hurt you if you don't let them in," She mumbled in return.

"Hm," He mumbled.

"Can we wide dragon?" Jaehaera asked Aemond.

Aemond looked at Helaena and she nervously bit her nail. "Is that a good idea?"

"My father took me riding on Seasmoke frequently for as long as I can remember. He had extra straps on him to tie me in. And Alyssa Targaryen took Viserys and Daemon riding with days of their birth."

"Yeah, but you can strap a babe to your body. You can't strap a toddler to yourself." Aemond countered.

"Watch me try," Visenya rose a brow and smirked. His hand tightened around her thigh and she squirmed under him.

"Are you feeling well, Visenya? You look more pale than usual." Helaena asked.

He started rubbing his thumb in circles and she nodded. "I am feeling amazing, Sister. I just had an insightful conversation with your mother."

Aemond paused and they shared a look. She gave a small nod and he sighed in worry, pulling his hand away. "It's not awful. We shall talk later," She whispered.

He nodded and used his hand to push Jaehaera's hair back. The food was brought in shortly, a minced meat pie with sides of vegetables. Jaehaerys reached for some and Visenya started to cut pieces up for him.

"You're amazing with the children, Visenya," Helaena noted.

"I have grown up with four little brothers thus far. When Lucerys was born, he would only relax when I was around. I was only four at the time but we instantly bonded. I learned very fast how to hold a babe and help with care."

She could feel Aemond watching her again as she helped Jaehaerys eat his food. She looked over at him and he immediately looked away, attending to Jaehaera but she was more interested in being held by her mother.

"Awe, it seems all your nieces prefer the company of your sister," Visenya teased. I'd prefer you if I could open myself up to it.

"You are quite the funny fool, Princess," Aemond responded.

"I know. I suppose I spend too much time with my young family. My sense of humor has become askew. I suppose I should be as aloof as my uncle or as drunk as my other uncle."

Aemond glared at her. "We don't need another family drunk. I shall not have my wife be a drunkard."

"Who says I want to respect your wishes?" Visenya smirked.

He leaned close to her ear so that only she would hear his words. "Because I can hear your breath get shallow every time I command you with a blade in training. I suppose it's only natural when you feel a bit of attraction," He smirked.

Oh, was he right? She did notice herself becoming clammy and her chest was fluttering at his words. Was she ... aroused? The way he was looking at her ... she didn't understand the feeling. She didn't have a word for it nor did she have a description for it. She was clueless and confused.

"Hm," She simply responded, biting her cheek.

It didn't take long for the plum pudding to be brought out and she devoured it with a smile. Aemond was nursing the same spoonful, barely eating the dish.

"Aemond, I swear if you don't eat that, I will," Visenya said.

"Fine. Go ahead. I prefer lemon cakes."

"Nasty," She mumbled and grabbed his bowl. He watched her as she excitingly ate the dessert and helped Jaehaerys eat his. But the boy was getting tired and when he was tired, he started to get fussy.

"Jaehaerys, do you need a nap?" Helaena asked.

"No, Mama," He yawned. Typical children, Visenya thought with a smile.

"We can vacate so they lay down easier," Aemond suggested.

"Are you sure? I have so enjoyed this lunch with you both," Helaena smiled.

"Of course," Visenya nodded. "We can do this much more often. I have matters to discuss with Aemond anyways. We don't want to be a distraction for the children."

Helaena nodded and handed Jaehaera to the nanny. She reached for Visenya and hugged the younger woman. "Please visit more often, the both of you. I love you both dearly and I enjoy our time together."

"We will, I promise," Visenya said.

"Together?" Helaena asked.

"Together," Aemond answered.

Visenya pulled away from Helaena and kissed her cheek before leaving the room with Aemond. The only sound that came between the two of them was their shoes on the polished floor, not a word was spoken.

It was Visenya that finally broke the silence. "I need your help writing something to completely devastate my mother."

He smirked. "You don't even have to ask."