"The blood of Lucerys will be repaid tenfold. A brother for a brother."
In which Daenys Velaryon, the oldest child of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon, must come to terms with the fact that the man she loves has committed an unforgivable crime...
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"And I know it is over, but still I cling"
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Daenys awoke to a throbbing headache and a face that was on fire. She blearily opened her single eye to see that she was still sprawled out on her mother's bed, although her familiar presence was nowhere to be seen. Gingerly lifting herself a little, she peered around the room and was surprised to see her brother Joffrey curled up on an armchair nearby, curled into a position that had to be uncomfortable. She frowned, sending another bolt of pain through the left half of her face, and she winced. Her features felt stiff as if the maester had stitched them into place the night before.
Shifting herself to sit up and face her brother properly, Daenys said his name. It came out a hoarse whisper but his eyes flew open all the same and he jolted up to stand.
"Daenys!" he exclaimed.
With his brows furrowed and his eyes wide, he looked startlingly like Luke. She had never realized how similar they were, she never had to, but now as she traced the slope of his nose and the curve of his cheek with sorrow, the resemblance was uncanny. At his concern, she yearned to give him a reassuring smile but she could not bring herself to it. She didn't think she had it in her to smile again.
Joffrey stepped closer and reached out his arm before stopping short, his hesitation palpable.
"Everything alright, Joff?"
"You're hurt," the brunette boy whispered, his lower lip trembling, eyes watery. "You're hurt really bad. You must be in so much pain."
"It's not so bad. It doesn't hurt," Daenys lied. It came easy to her, even as her brother looked at her in disbelief. "It doesn't hurt at all, so you don't have to worry about me."
Gingerly, Joffrey settled himself at her bedside, watching her intently as if he could scrutinize the truth out of her. Still, Daenys made no move to alter her statement, instead choosing to stretch out her arms in his direction, prompting him to immediately collapse into her side.
"I thought you weren't going to come home!" Joffrey's voice was thick with misery.
"Why ever would you think that? This is my home."
"No. Grandsire said that King's Landing was your home now that you're married. But..."
He trailed off, unsure of his next statement when he felt her stiffen. He was not so young as to not be aware of the talk that permeated the air of Dragonstone. He was not the naive little boy his older siblings and parents thought of him.
"Mother and Father didn't think you'd come back either," he finally said. "They wouldn't say why, and I thought...that you were gone like Luke."
