warnings: mentions of death and grief!

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DAEMON'S mind immediately drifted to his girls as Laena's ashes were gathered and placed into an urn. The heat from Vhagar's flame never left the air as he held onto her remains. The sun rose over Pentos and there was one more thing left to do.

Tell his daughters they'd lost their mother.

And they will not be getting another sibling.

He heard Caraxes screeches and Vhagar's growls as he returned to the manse. Odessa saw the shock and devastation blurring the Prince's face, as he reentered after having stayed out on the shore for hours.

The urn was taken with care and now he could let out a shuddered breath as he stormed through the halls, passed the maids who had sympathy plastered across their face before they hastily returned to their chores.

Daemon was determined to not let a tear fall as he guided his daughters onto the rooftop. He was flooded with questions, questions he didn't want to answer but he knew he must.

A sullen smile tugged at his lips when he remembered all the times he and Laena stood and sometimes laid across there, staring out at the horizon just to think. But those bittersweet memories of his brave girl doing what she had done, left his mind as he gazed at their... his girls.

Baela stared at him expectantly, Rhaena fiddled with her nightgown, shifting on the ground and Daenys fumbled with the shell in her hand.

And that's when he uttered the dreaded truth.

The light from Rhaena's eyes faded, Baela's immediately pooled with tears and Daenys' head frantically shook as the shell plummeted.

Daemon couldn't bear to look at them, preferring to glance out at the shore than to take in their haunting expressions. Soon Rhaena's lips quivered and she rushed to the edge, sobbing, leaving her twin to collapse backwards and cry into her hands.

Daenys didn't know what to do, or who to turn towards, feet planted in the ground as she tried to ignore the pain clawing at her chest and dragging the tears out of her eyes. She felt their father guide them back into the middle before gripping them tightly, holding them together as if one wrong move and they'd all crumble. He kept muttering his apologies, wishing that it was all a lie but the twins kept sobbing.

Eventually, Daenys broke free of Daemon's grip and ran. She ran back into the place she called home, away from her father's screaming, away from the maids who tried to comfort her, away from the truth. Her aching feet carried her to the shore, where she panted and pleaded with the tide to wash over her like its harsh waves would remedy her misery.

Vhagar watched from a distance, silently grieving as Daenys screamed, calling her mother's name.

But it wasn't until her sisters attacked her with a forceful embrace did she cease.

Daemon bowed his head as neared, agonisingly watching his girls' knees give out and meet the sand that burrowed itself into their skin. They were too hurt to care. They'd lost their mother and he'd lost his wife and fourth child.

Laena may not have been his first wife, but he'd grown to love her and care for her fiercely. She'd given him some of the greatest joys he'd received that mirrored battle and bloodshed: His three dragons.

And it would take a great deal to put out their fire.

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END OF PART 1

a/n:

well, i'm a bit of an emotional wreck!

all i could think of was that deleted scene of daemon and his daughters, so of course i added that to this chapter. daemon, in essence, has lost "his peace" or the person who could subdue part of his rage and, the girls have lost their mother, their stability and the place they grew up, although it wasn't home, it was for them and now they'll be thrown into the chaos.

the fact not one word of dialogue was written in this chapter makes me more sad.

yes, next act my girl daenys will meet aemond, it won't be straight away but it'll be cute before everything hits the fan. the next act will take place solely on driftmark. new interactions, more tension, more dragons more everything.

but bonds will shift. any guesses between who?

do not ask when I'll be updating, I'll let you know because I hate to be badgered about updates. you can ask me about my thoughts or views on the future of the books but i won't spoil things so obviously don't expect too much detail. I've put the story as completed because Wattpad is being weird at the moment.

thank you for reading so far, feel free to reread or check out my other stories in the meanwhile, or even see my tiktok where I post my edits!

thank you for the support

- liv