TW: graphic childbirth

***

Otto didn't bother to get up from the table he was sitting at when Mellos barged into his rooms.

'This is completely unacceptable!' the Grand Maester stated, holding a letter in his hand, while Otto regretted not locking (and then barricading because the locks didn't seem to stop certain people all that much) the doors to his chambers.

'May you perhaps elaborate, Grand Maester, what brings you here so late in the evening?' Otto asked, taking a sip of his wine and trying not to look as done with this conversation as he actually was.

'I have received the letter from the High Septon himself.'

'My sincere congratulations.'

Mellos blinked in confusion but continued, 'It is a very serious matter! Apparently, Lady Diane managed to corrupt the maester of Dragonstone. He renounced his vows! It is the biggest treason to the Faith!'

Otto just looked at Mellos for a few seconds and then asked, 'And?'

'Not only she is turning Dragonstone into an abomination, full of sin and perversion, but now she refuses to cooperate. The Citadel was ready to send her a new maester instead of that oath-breaker but she refused! And she said that if we try to force Dragonstone to accept a new maester, she would do everything in her power to make the Faith of Seven a minority religion!' the Grand Maester almost shrieked at the last words.

'She really said that?' Otto asked in amusement. He did appreciate the fact that most of Diane's threats were rather polite in nature. It made them even more interesting.

'That's what High Septon wrote,' Mellos said and then asked, 'What are you planning to do about it, Lord Hand?'

'Me?'

'Yes. You are a man of Faith-'

Otto refrained from rolling his eyes at that but only barely.

'-you should understand how big of an insult this is!'

'Shall I remind you, Grand Maester, that Lady Diane does not follow the Faith of Seven?'

'But House Targaryen does! And she as its member - even if not completely legitimate one - is obliged to-'

'She is, first of all, Lady of Dragonstone,' Otto interrupted Mellos again. 'And if you remember, late King Jaehaerys gave this island the autonomy to preserve Valyrian traditions. Which includes the Faith of Fourteen Flames. The fact that they allowed a maester to be present at Dragonstone was a courtesy. Which, as far as I understand, is no longer extended. There is nothing you or I can do to change that,' he added, hoping it was a good enough reasoning for the Grand Maester to get the fuck out of his rooms.

'Surely you understand the danger of this situation, Lord Hand,' Mellos said. 'Something needs to be done.'

'And I leave the decision about what exactly to you,' Otto said.

'The King respects your opinion, surely you can-'

'The King - yes. But Lady Diane doesn't respect anyone's opinion. Unless it's her father's, of course,' Otto said, even though he saw Diane give Daemon shit rather publicly once so he was not so sure about that either. There was also Rhaenyra with whom she was pretty close but Otto didn't want to bring the princess into this conversation. 'And Prince Daemon and I- he will not listen to any advice from me... or you for that matter.'

'So what do you propose? We should just let such a grave insult slide?' Mellos asked in disbelief. Otto had a distinctive feeling that Mellos was so pissed not for the sake of the Faith but because he still wasn't over Diane calling him out during the Small Council meeting. Pathetic, really.

'I propose we should discuss it at a later date. Preferably when it's not that late in the evening and none of us have any other matters to attend to.'

And it was only then that Mellos finally took in the whole scene before him. Specifically, Otto sitting at a table with a dinner served for two people. The Grand Maester blinked.

'You are expecting company?'

Otto sighed, 'I do, yes.'

Mellos opened his mouth to say something else but Otto interrupted him, 'And I am really grateful for you respecting my privacy, Grand Maester.'

Mellos pursed his lips. Well, now he couldn't even prod without being extremely rude, could he? Ugh, how is he supposed to know the best gossip then?

'Of course,' Mellos nodded and added, 'Good night to you, Lord Hand,' before walking out of his chambers.

When the doors closed after the Grand Maester, Otto let out a tired sigh. A few seconds later the door to his bedroom creaked open.

'I don't know why people keep barging into my chambers and accusing you of something,' Otto said, turning his head to look at Diane who was leaning on the doorframe with her arms crossed on her chest and a smile on her face. 'Not like I can do something about it, you are completely uncontrollable.'

Diane's smile widened at that, 'I get that from my parents. And you like it.'

'I do, yes,' Otto confessed, his lips tugging slightly upward. Then he gestured at an empty chair, 'Shall we continue where we left off?'

***

'What are you doing?' Daemon asked when he saw Rhaenyra sitting on the bed and kind of... prodding her stomach a little.

'I am not sure,' she said with a frown. 'I am feeling weird.'

'What kind of weird? Giving birth kind of weird?' Daemon immediately asked.

'I don't- hmmm,' Rhaenyra's eyebrows moved closer together and she prodded her stomach some more, and then suddenly smiled, 'She kicked right into my hand.'

Daemon looked at her suspiciously, 'So you are not in labor?'

'I don't know. But I would know, right? It is supposed to be painful and all that.'

'Well, when Iris was giving birth to Diane, she broke my finger so...'

Rhaenyra blinked in surprise, 'What?'

'Well, I was holding her hand, and... the point is that now I know I should offer you my forearm instead,' Daemon said proudly. 'And it wasn't too bad, it somehow healed overnight-' he cut himself off. Rhaenyra raised an eyebrow. 'That's another moment I should have suspected she was a witch, isn't it?'

'I find you adorably oblivious,' Rhaenyra let out a laugh and started slowly getting up from the bed. 'So I guess it's nothing then. When I go into labor, I probably won't-' Rhaenyra suddenly stilled, and a few seconds later Daemon saw the water dripping on the floor from between Rhaenyra's legs. It wasn't a lot but it just kept coming. The princess looked down and absently finished, '-miss it.'

There was a small pause and then Daemon asked, 'Should I go get Abby and Haisa?'

'Um... yes,' Rhaenyra answered, putting a hand on her stomach absently. 'I think the baby is coming tonight.'

***

'...didn't want to let me near the children because of how my fingers look. She got herself convinced that it was a mark of evil or something. And then a little boy runs up to us and declares that my fingers are dark gray because the Stranger touched me but realized that I am so important that he just had to let me go. And so they all needed to respect me,' Diane said with a smile, taking a bite of her steak. 'You know, I quite like that,' she added. She might not believe in the Faith of Seven but as someone who died and came back in time, she quite appreciated such an interpretation of her stained fingers.

'I figure the holy sister wasn't happy,' Otto pointed out, the corners of his lips tugging slightly upwards.

'Not at all. You should have seen her face. She didn't expect a seven-year-old to weaponize her religion against her like that.'

'Did you have a good time?'

'I mean, it is an orphanage but... I suppose? The kids are nice, the holy sisters... not so much,' Diane said, making Otto chuckle. 'But it felt kind of surreal to be in that place. It felt... cold somewhat. Like a place to store unwanted children until they are old enough to kick them out,' Diane added with a frown. 'I've heard about the orphanages, of course, but I have never been inside of one before.'

'Aren't there orphanages at Dragonstone?' Otto inquired.

'Not really, no. Don't get me wrong, there are orphans because life happens but they are always raised by a community.'

Otto frowned, 'What do you mean?'

'It's always neighbors, friends of their parents who take the child in. Usually, people try to keep the poor thing in the village they have been living in so as not to force them to leave the only place they have known as home. Dragonstone is small but when you are a kid it feels fourteen times as big,' Diane said. 'And if it just so happens that no one can take a child in, the doors of Dragontemple are always open. And it's not the same as that dreadful place I have visited. If you don't have any family, madias and lēkias become your family. It's hard to find an unloved child at Dragonstone,' she added with a smile.

'You take great pride in that place, do you?'

'It is my home. I am sure you feel the same way about the Old Town.'

'Not... particularly.'

'No?'

Otto sighed, 'It has been years since I was there the last time. And if I were to come back... it wouldn't be a place that I had left, would it?'

'No, I suppose not,' Diane said thoughtfully. 'Well, you are doing alright in King's Landing, I might say,' she added with a smile, making Otto chuckle. 'Home is not always the place that you were born or raised in. Sometimes it's a place where you feel most at peace. Sometimes it's not even a place.'

'What is it then?'

Diane put her elbows on the table, propped her chin against the back of her hands, and smiled, 'Sometimes it's people who you deeply care about. People who feel like home to you.'

Diane knew this feeling all too well. As a person who spent a big chunk of her life traveling all around Westeros and Essos, not staying anywhere for long, not coming back to Dragonstone for long periods of time, she found home in people. It felt more secure to find home at Dragonstone now but there were times when she did not have that luxury.

'I suppose I can... see the point,' Otto cleared his throat before changing the subject back to a safer conversation. 'So you grew up at Dragontemple?' he asked.

Diane let him have it.

'I suppose you can say so, yes,' she answered. 'For all intents and purposes, it feels like a warm home... with an appropriate amount of blood being spilled here and there.'

Otto raised an eyebrow but then shook his head with a small smile. He probably should have expected something like that. 'Are there a lot of orphans at Dragontemple?'

'Not really, no. There are always a few but the age differs. When I was living there, there were five of us but there was only one boy who was close to me in age. Older by two years. Adrian and I used to cause so much trouble but I swear, the mandias and lēkias secretly loved it,' Diane let out a laugh as if she was suddenly reminded of distant good memories.

'You never mentioned him before,' Otto said and he would know, because he was listening to everything Diane was telling him. He still tried to convince himself that he was just trying to find something to get the upper hand in their political game but deep down he knew he just wanted to know more about her. He might or might not even have notes.

'Yeah,' Diane said thoughtfully. 'I haven't seen him in a while. When I was three and ten he went to Lys. There is this infamous artistic school or something. Adrian wanted more than anything to become an artist. He was good at it. But I haven't heard from him ever since.'

"A while" might be an understatement, if Diane was honest. It might be only six years in this timeline but actually, it had been more than two decades for her. And even though she held the memories of her childhood friend close to her heart, she moved on a long time ago. People fall off the face of the Known World all the time. If she would grieve any relationship that ended abruptly, she wouldn't have time to do anything else.

'Hmm,' Otto made a thoughtful sound. 'Why don't you write to this school-'

'I'm pretty sure it's an academy, now that I think about it.'

'-to this academy and inquire about him. If he ever made it there, they should have some records,' Otto offered. 'You do know his last name, right?'

'Yes. Adrian Ragero. But I better not. If he is still there, a letter from me might ruin things for him.'

'Why?'

Diane chuckled, 'Lys is the part of the Triarchy. And I am not Triarchy's favorite person right now, remember?'

'Right.'

Sometimes Otto forgot that this exceptional woman before him was not only smart, beautiful, and politically gifted, but also - apparently - an exceptional battle strategist. Prince Daemon never missed an opportunity to remind everyone that it was his daughter's plan that put an end to the War for Stepstones. And it would be expected for the Triarchy to be mad at her, considering what he knew about Dragonstone's recent agreement with Driftmark about improving the battle-readiness of the newly-built fort at Stepstones. Diane's insistence on securing the Stepstones felt a bit personal but Otto didn't feel brave enough to ask her why just yet.

'But I suppose comes with the territory,' Diane said cheerfully, pulling Otto back from his thoughts. 'Now, Lord Hand, I want to ask you a question. Because you have asked plenty and I have been oh so very generous with my answers,' she flapped her eyelashes at him in an overdramatic way, making Otto roll his eyes.

'What do you want to know?' he asked. He expected her question to be about his life at Old Town, or early days of being Hand of the King, or even about his first marriage.

What he didn't expect was for Diane to smile and ask, 'Is there any particular reason you hide a book of erotic poetry between two huge tomes on battle strategy?'

Otto almost choked on his wine. Diane propped her head on her right palm and patiently waited for him to come up with an answer. After a few seconds, Otto realized there was really no excuse for him to have it except for the sole purpose of having it. It didn't seem like he could lie his way out of this one.

'Perhaps there was a time when I enjoyed to read... such things,' Otto said vaguely. 'But it was a long time ago.'

Diane's smile widened. Before Otto could determine whether he said the right or the wrong thing, Diane was already getting up and going straight for his bookshelf. Otto didn't even question how she knew where exactly to look. She might have spotted it the last time she was looking through his bookshelf. Or maybe she was snooping around when he wasn't present... but if that was the case, Otto did not want to know.

'I do enjoy good poetry sometimes,' Diane said, coming back to the table with a book in her hands. It looked somewhat dusty which meant Otto did not lie. It was years since the last time he touched it. 'Did you read it to your late wife?'

The laugh that escaped Otto's throat was completely involuntary. Diane raised an eyebrow. 'No, I didn't,' he answered. 'She would deem such a thing an absolute filth.'

'Well, that's the point, isn't it?' Diane smiled and instead of coming back to her seat, she swiftly and elegantly sat on Otto's lap. Otto, who obviously did not expect it but was not about to object, steadied her with his hand on her back. 'If the erotic poems turn out to be modest, that's just false advertisement,' Diane opened a book on a random page. 'Do you have a favorite?'

'I don't remember much if I am honest,' Otto looked at the page as well. 'But well... I didn't get rid of it so I suppose some of the poems must have been good.'

'Oh, then maybe I should pick,' Diane smiled, skimming through the pages.

'Pick for what?'

'To read to you. I figured you like when I do that,' she smiled at him, and Otto questioned whether or not it was Diane's genius plan to kill him. Because the mere thought of her reading him erotic poems while sitting on his lap ... Otto might as well just die now and save her the trouble.

Every self-preservation instinct that he possessed told him it was a bad idea. But he was a weak man. And he had no desire to decline such a tempting offer.

'Pick something good then,' Otto said with a small smile and patiently waited for Diane to flip through the pages, his hand absently stroking the shape of her spine.

It felt so surreal to him to have an evening like that. And not because Diane was there, it was just... he had never been so casually intimate with anyone before. He had a wife and he had affairs but it was never like that. The sheer desire he had for Diane made even his soul ache sometimes but he felt pretty content just being close to her, knowing well that they wouldn't have sex tonight. Or tomorrow, or the day after. He was ready to wait, however long it took, and it bothered him. Because if he was ready to do that, what other things he was ready to do for her that he was yet to realize?

'Oh, I like this one,' Diane said. Otto looked down at the book but she closed it swiftly, leaving one of her fingers inside not to lose a page. 'No peeking. It will ruin the effect.'

'Alright, I won't look,' he promised. 'I will look at you instead.'

Diane smiled at him before clearing her throat and opening the book again.

'They say the darkness is full of threats,

I say the darkness is full of wonders.

I leave behind all my regrets,

You join me under the covers.'

Otto decided that from Diane's lips, it sounded way more provocative than it had any right to be. He vaguely remembered that poem, it wasn't even that filthy, but when Diane read it, it was the most seductive thing he had ever heard.

'Your lips on mine... and then you draw blood.

Your body is a place I found God,

Between your thighs I hope to find home,

To earn your love with everything I own.'

Diane was definitely having a great time if her self-satisfied smirk was anything to go by. She raised her eyes here and there to look at him and whether or not it was a part of her seduction, it was working.

'The wicked glint inside of your dark eyes...

I guess I really shouldn't be surprised.

You scratch my skin, desire swiftly wins,

And I comply with all your darkest sins.'

Diane turned more to face him, one of her hands ending on the crook of his neck and another still holding a book, even though she didn't seem to look at the passages anymore. Otto suddenly remembered that the woman before him had an exceptional memory. She probably memorized it the first time she read it and now used the book only for the show.

'The sun comes up but darkness stays beside me.

No use to run, it's always gonna find me.

She turns to me, her smile wide and cruel,

"I think you should accept me as your ruin."'

The last passage Diane whispered right into his lips, and the only thing Otto wanted at that moment was to kiss her.

The sudden knock on his doors startled him, and Otto would realize only later that his first instinct was not to push Diane off him but to grab her tighter.

Diane looked surprised as well, maybe even a little bit disappointed. She glanced at the door and then back at him. 'Are you expecting someone?' she asked quietly.

'At such a late hour?' Otto frowned. 'I hope no one died.'

'That would be the most unfortunate.'

'Yes. Couldn't they wait till the morning to not interrupt us?'

Diane snorted, and then someone knocked again, so Otto had to very begrudgingly lift Diane off him and go to open the door.

'Is anyone dead?' Otto asked even before he managed to open the door fully.

Athelstan blinked, 'No? No, it's uh- it's the opposite, actually. I'm looking for Lady Diane.'

Otto was just a tiny bit surprised that Diane's servant actually knew where she was but wasn't able to say anything because Diane appeared from behind him. 'What is it, dove?'

'Princess Rhaenyra went into labor and is asking for you.'

'Oh? Then let's go,' Diane said, gesturing for Athelstan to go ahead and then turning to Otto. 'Sorry, duty calls,' she smiled and pecked him on the lips. 'But I had a great time today,' she said, before hurrying after Athelstan.

Otto sighed and closed the door. Then he smiled. A great time indeed.

***

'Ugh, why did I agree to that again?' Rhaenyra groaned as soon as her contraction passed. She wasn't having a terrible time per se but as her contractions were getting closer together, they were starting to get on her nerves.

Daemon and Diane answered simultaneously.

'Because you love me very much.'

'Because you need heirs.'

They looked at each other. 'To be fair, the one doesn't cancel out the other,' Diane added. 'They can coexist in a peaceful harmony.'

'Nothing peaceful about that,' Rhaenyra grumbled, making another circle around the room. She was strong enough and bored enough for Abby to allow her to walk around the room to speed up the labor.

Even though labor felt exhausting, Rhaenyra had a clear understanding that she seemed to have an easier time than her mother ever had. Her baby was in the right position with a strong heartbeat and equally strong limbs, her body was doing what it was supposed to be doing at the acceptable time frame, so the only thing Rhaenyra could really do was wait until her body opened up enough to push the baby out. Abby said she was doing a good job which the princess greatly appreciated. 'I wonder if the dragons feel the same way when they lay a clutch.'

'I... don't think so,' Daemon frowned thoughtfully.

'Yeah, it's like nothing to them. Have you seen the size of the eggs and the size of our dragons?' Diane chuckled. 'It's a wonder they even notice.'

'Ugh, I am jealous,' Rhaenyra said, and then she had another contraction. Daemon, who was the closest to her, steadied her with his hands. Rhaenyra gripped him and breathed through it just like Abby taught her. 'Um- That- that felt like- um- Abby?'

'Yes, Your Grace?' Abby immediately said, getting up from the couch where she was sitting with Haisa.

'I feel like- an intense pressure,' Rhaenyra said. 'Like I need to push.'

'Oh, well,' the mandia glanced out of the window. 'I think it is a bit early for that but every birth is different so let me check you, alright?'

Rhaenyra nodded, and Daemon carefully escorted her to the bed. Abby lifted her nightgown and did a check that she had done a few times before to tell how far the labor progressed. 'So it seems your baby has no patience, Your Grace. I can feel the head.'

Rhaenyra's eyes widened, 'Already?'

'Yes, Your Grace. On the next contraction, you should push. Do you still feel up to doing it standing up?'

In Abby's experience, if the person in labor felt well enough, it was better to give birth squatting or standing up, or at least on all fourth. It made it easier for the baby to come out.

Rhaenyra nodded, and Daemon and Diane helped her to get up and kneel on the edge of the bed. Then they positioned themselves on each side of her so that she could grab onto them if she needed to and also so that they could hold her up while Rhaenyra directed all of her energy and focus into pushing.

'You are doing so great, my little dragon,' Daemon whispered, kissing Rhaenyra's slightly wet temple.

'You will have to shower me with presents for going through such a hassle of giving birth to your child,' Rhaenyra joked.

Daemon smiled, 'Oh, you won't have a place to put all of them.'

The next contraction hit, and Abby commanded Rhaenyra to push. It hurt like a bitch but the princess was dedicated to getting it over with as soon as it was physically possible so in four rather strong pushes the baby was out.

The morning light entered the room at the same time as the cries of a newborn baby sounded. 'You have a little girl, Your Grace,' Abby announced, and Rhaenyra wanted to cry in sheer relief. She probably did but what did it matter?

Daemon and Diane helped her to lay down on the bed after Abby delivered an afterbirth and Haisa handed Rhaenyra her daughter who had been cleaned up and wrapped in a clean, embroidered blanket. Daemon carefully lowered himself on a bed near his wife.

'She is perfect, isn't she?' Rhaenyra whispered, her eyes filled with tears. She had a daughter. A daughter with violet eyes and silver hair, half her and half Daemon.

'She is,' Daemon answered, carefully touching the baby's cheek with his fingers. 'Just like her mother,' he added, pulling Rhaenyra into his embrace with one hand and kissing her head. And if there were tears in his eyes as well, everyone pretended they didn't notice.

'Diane?' Rhaenyra called. 'Pass me the knife, will you?'

'Of course,' Diane smiled.

Rhaenyra cut her finger as Diane had taught her and then drew a line on her daughter's forehead. 'With the fire of fourteen flames shall the Gods grant you their favor, Visenya Targaryen. Shall you be guided in life by their wisdom and protected by their will. And shall you be welcomed in death by their mercy,' Rhaenyra said and kissed her daughter's forehead. Visenya made a sound, pushing her little fist into her own cheek.

'The name suits her rather well,' Diane commented as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Rhaenyra looked up at her and smiled, 'A fine name for a future Queen.'