Daemon was surprised when he got an invitation from Rhaenyra to meet again in the secluded inner yard at night. Frankly speaking, he was excited to see his niece in a such setting again. She was astonishingly beautiful in the moonlight, and the conversations they held under the stars seemed so much more personal and intimate. He wanted Rhaenyra in his arms in his bed, but he couldn't have it (at least not at the moment) so such meetings were the next best thing.

When Daemon arrived at the inner yard, Rhaenyra was already there, sitting on the bench. She smiled and got up when he approached her.

'Missed me already?' he asked teasingly, making Rhaenyra blush a little.

'I wanted to talk to you about something.'

'About what?'

'Do you still love Diane's mother?'

Daemon stared at Rhaenyra for a few seconds because it was the last thing he had expected her to ask, 'Why are you asking?'

'Because I need to ask you something else, but I need to know the answer to this question before I do,' Rhaenyra said. She looked serious, nervous even, but not judgmental. That was one of the reasons Daemon fell in love with her. She never judged him, even if all the people around her did. She always tried to understand his side of the story.

'Okay. So the short answer is "no",' Daemon said and sat on the bench. Rhaenyra sat beside him. 'She died more than ten years ago, and I let her go. Maybe not right away but I did.'

'And the long answer?'

'She- her name was Iris. And I used to love her when I was young. At least, I think it was love. She was a free spirit who didn't meet the expectations of her family and so was I. I think it was the reason why we found comfort in each other in the first place. I don't-' Daemon sighed. 'I'm not sure if we would have lasted in the long run. I don't think we would have but the Gods took her away before we were able to find that out. And the memory of her... it will always mean something to me. She gave me Diane, and I will forever be grateful for that. But no, Iris wasn't the love of my life.'

Rhaenyra nodded when he finished, deep in thought. Daemon wasn't used to being quite that sincere with anyone, but he felt like it was the right thing to do. He didn't want to hide his past from Rhaenyra because his past was a part of him. And this particular part of his story wasn't even something he was ashamed about.

'You told me a few nights ago that when your wife is- um, out of the picture, you will want to remarry.'

Daemon wasn't sure he had said it quite like that but that was close enough so he confirmed, 'Yes, I did.'

'So I was thinking... Maybe you'll be interested in the role of King Consort?'

Daemon's brain short-circuited for a second. Did she just propose to him? He thought it was his job. To woo her and try to persuade her that he was the best candidate for her husband. That they could be happy together if she let him. He thought it would be a long process, he wasn't prepared for her being quite so... straightforward.

Rhaenyra was still waiting for his answer, and the questions "Why?" and "Really?" didn't seem to cut it, so Daemon reached out to take her hand in his. He loved touching her, even in such an innocent way. She was just so... he was ridiculously smitten with her, and there was nothing he could do to stop it from showing.

'I thought you considered marriage to be a burden,' he said.

'Yes, but ours doesn't have to be,' Rhaenyra answered. 'If you- I mean, if you truly have at least a resemblance of feelings for me.'

'Oh, little dragon, I have so much more than that.'

Rhaenyra's eyes lightened up with pure joy, and Daemon reached out to stroke her cheek. 'It would be an honor for me to be your husband, my little dragon. Not for the sake of the title but because of you. Because I want to be with you.'

'You are not playing games, are you?'

'I would never dare.'

Daemon wasn't sure who moved first, he just knew that a second later he was kissing her. It was tentative, exploratory at first, as if both of them were testing the waters. But then the kiss deepened, became more bold and heated. Rhaenyra wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers finding their way into his hair, and Daemon pulled her closer by the waist.

The position they ended up in was slightly uncomfortable (not like he minded), but then Rhaenyra pulled the hem of her dress up and basically climbed on him, straddling him. Daemon's cock immediately jumped in excitement, because he was kissing Rhaenyra, and she tasted so sweet and was just where he wanted her to be. The urge to forget about everything for a short while and just be with her was unbearable, but he knew he couldn't risk it. He had to be responsible. Or at least try his best.

So Daemon broke the kiss despite the fact that he never wanted the moment to end. But he was afraid his self-control might slip, and he would let it go too far. They were both breathing really fast, and Rhaenyra was smiling. 'I want you,' she said, and it was obvious what she was implying.

He wanted her just as hard, but he had to say, 'Not today, my little dragon.'

'But-'

'We can't,' Daemon said firmly, making Rhaenyra pout. 'Despite what I might think about the rules, I believe we should follow them. Just this once,' he said, gently tracing her back through the fabric with his fingertips.

'Why?' Rhaenyra asked. 'No one will know. And we will marry so it doesn't even have to matter.'

'You're right but, unfortunately, it does. Let me just... let me do this right by you. We will marry, and then we can stay in bed for the next few months if you want to,' Daemon promised, making Rhaenyra smile. 'We will relax, and fuck, and then fuck some more,' he couldn't help but add, his fingers taking ahold of the back of her neck. Gods, having her so close was really testing his self-restraint, and he didn't have a lot of it to begin with.

'You are taunting me, Uncle,' Rhaenyra whined. Daemon knew that it was probably just a tad cruel, but he couldn't seem to keep his hands to himself. 'It's bad enough Diane made it sound so appealing...'

Generally, Daemon wouldn't want to think about his daughter in such an intimate situation, but he just couldn't not ask, 'What did she say?'

'Well...' Rhaenyra blushed. 'We were talking about marriage, and I might have mentioned that lying with your husband seemed like a chore you were supposed to endure. And she very strongly disagreed. So I asked how she knew... well, she knows. A lot,' she giggled, making Daemon smile. Rhaenyra was just so precious. 'She doesn't seem to care about her virtue like other women I know,' the princess added. 'And that's... refreshing. So she told me some things.'

'Like what?'

'If a man thinks that just having a cock is enough to please a woman, he would be terrible in bed.'

Daemon snorted, 'That's true.'

'Or that sex can be pleasurable if you are doing it with the right or skillful person.'

'Well, I do believe I'm right and skillful...'

Rhaenyra let out a laugh, 'I thought the same thing so I wanted to give it a try, but you are being no fun,' she fake pouted, and it only made Daemon want to kiss her more.

He groaned, capturing her lips again for a few seconds, 'You are not going to make it easy for me, are you?'

Rhaenyra shook her head with a smile, 'Not a chance.'

She leaned in for more kisses because she found out she quite liked them, and she was a greedy person. She wanted more. She was throbbing with desire between her legs like she never did before, and it was so hard to think rationally. She understood that they were in a public place and it was risky to even meet here, let alone do anything more intimate, but all that felt so unimportant at that very moment. She just wanted, wanted, wanted ...

And Daemon wanted just as much as she did. It became obvious when she shuffled closer and felt his hard cock through his clothes, pressing right where she wanted it to be.

Daemon abruptly broke the kiss. 'Fine, fine, you win...'

'I win?' Rhaenyra asked, her eyes slightly unfocused and her cheeks flushed. Oh, what a sight she was...

'A little bit. You win a little bit,' Daemon corrected himself. His brain was also not working properly, but he was trying, okay? He didn't have a lot of experience at being a responsible adult before so he was doing his best now. 'I won't take you tonight. But I will make my naughty little dragon feel good. How does it sound?'

Rhaenyra bit her lip, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She wasn't really sure what Daemon wanted to do, but he had her permission to do anything he wanted anyway so not like it mattered.

'I need you to say it,' Daemon insisted. 'Do you want that?'

'Very much.'

Daemon smiled, and Rhaenyra felt his hands sneaking under her dress. It felt foreign to feel someone else's hands on the bare skin of her thighs but so very, very exciting. The position they were in wasn't the most comfortable, but Daemon managed to twist his hand the right way. Rhaenyra let out a small gasp when he touched her cunt for the first time.

She was so wet for him that she was almost dripping. And Gods, wasn't it the best compliment? He caressed her lips, watching Rhaenyra's adorably concentrated face, and moved his finger slightly higher, finding her clit and giving it a gentle stroke. Her body jerked and one of her hands involuntarily grabbed Daemon's hair. He took it as encouragement, moving his fingers faster.

The first moans that escaped Rhaenyra's lips seemed to be totally involuntary. Her grip on Daemon tightened, and she started to move her hips to get even more friction. It felt good, so good, and she couldn't do anything but try and chase this feeling.

Daemon had a very strong urge to kiss her, but he didn't want to miss even a second of Rhaenyra coming apart. He wanted to see it, wanted to see her getting lost in pleasure and ingrain this picture in his memory forever. Her moans, the way she clung to him, how beautiful she looked... Daemon would have been afraid he would come in his pants like a teenage boy if he hadn't been so preoccupied with what he was doing.

When he noticed that Rhaenyra was getting closer, he whispered, 'That's it, my little dragon. Just let it happen.'

The sound Rhaenyra made when she came was more like a sob than a moan, but it was music to Daemon's ears nonetheless. It also boosted his ego quite a bit because he did that. He made it happen. He made Rhaenyra feel this good.

The princess blinked the haze out of her eyes, trying to catch her breath, and the first thing she said was, 'Wow.'

Daemon let out a laugh, 'Wow indeed.'

And then he kissed her because he couldn't get enough of her. The kiss was gentle and slow, and Daemon couldn't think about anything more perfect than this moment.

'You are... um... you are still, you know,' Rhaenyra blushed, pointing down with her eyes. It took Daemon a ridiculously long time to realize that she was talking about the fact that he was still hard. 'Do you want me to do something about it?' she offered, and wasn't she just perfect?

'Not tonight, my little dragon,' he answered. As appealing as this thought was, it was already really late, and he needed to make sure Rhaenyra made her way to her room without being noticed. 'But know that when I lay in bed tonight with my hand down in my pants, I'll be thinking about you.'

Rhaenyra blushed harder but seemed to be pleased with his words nonetheless.

***

'No!' Diane exclaimed as soon as she opened the door and saw Daemon standing there.

'I didn't even say anything!'

'You didn't have to! I know this face. It's your "Baela-just-got-her-first-blood-and-Laena-is-not-here-and-I'm-embarrassed-and-scared-so-can-you-please-talk-to-her" face!'

Daemon blinked, 'It's a disturbingly specific description.'

'It's a disturbingly specific face! It means you want me to do some emotional labor, and I hate emotional labor! Because it's hard, you know, killing people is so much easier...' Diane walked inside her room, still complaining, and Daemon followed her, closing the door after himself.

'Will it make it better if I say that I'm not asking for myself?' Dameon interjected. 'I'm asking for Rhaenyra.'

Diane sighed in resignation, 'What is it?'

'I offered her to take some ladies-in-waiting so that she won't be alone and won't seem like an easy target. And I ask you to be one of them.'

'But I'm too old for that,' Diane whined.

'Technically you are six and ten.'

'But in fact, you and I are the same age. I don't- is it really necessary? I already have my hands full trying to track down a person who is behind all this shitty campaign of making Aegon an heir to the throne amongst the common folk. They know how to cover their tracks.'

'I understand. And I will help you with that, I have some old connections I can reach out to, if you help Rhaenyra. She needs someone in her inner circle who I can trust not to hurt her. And I know you actually like her so it doesn't have to be such a hardship.'

Diane took a deep breath, obviously contemplating her options.

'And it's not for long. Only until we get married,' Daemon added. He was worried about Rhaenyra's safety with all the games they were currently playing, but he couldn't be with her all the time to make sure she was protected. At least, not until they were officially wed. So having Diane as Rhaenyra's lady-in-waiting seemed like the best option. No one would bat an eyelash if the two of them were inseparable.

'You are talking like you have a date in mind,' Diane said. She didn't agree verbally but it was pretty obvious she gave up fighting at this point.

Daemon couldn't help but smile, 'We talked about it today. She wants to marry me just as much as I want to marry her.'

'Really? Congratulations!' Diane exclaimed. 'I had no idea you wanted to propose so soon.'

'Well, I didn't. She proposed to me, and how could I ever say "no" to her?'

'She did? Oh wow, I've always known I like her for a reason,' she smiled and then squinted her eyes at Daemon. 'You didn't do anything inappropriate, did you?'

'I didn't do anything that could result in a baby.'

'Hmm, I guess it's as good as I can expect from both of you,' Diane chuckled. 'Even six years after your marriage you were still all over each other like fucking teenagers, so I guess it tracks.'

'Were we happy?' Daemon suddenly asked. 'In another time, were we happy in our marriage?'

'Yes, you were. You were the happiest I have ever seen you, and she... I hadn't really known her before you got married so I can't really compare, but it was obvious she loved you very much,' Diane assured him. 'And then- the war started, Rhaenyra's son was killed and... well, you know the rest.'

Daemon nodded. This time would be different. This time their happiness wouldn't have a time limit. This time their story wouldn't have a tragic end. He would make sure of that.