Please take your time with this chapter♡♡
I worked on it for a really long time and it is the turning point that will change everything :o

Also, this chapter is as long as 2 chapters actually! :)
Have fun!!

Edith had thought about Rhaeny's words for a long time that evening, but had not come to a solution.

Why was the princess here? What was her plan?

But the day had been exhausting and had made her tired, so she fell asleep before Aemond returned to the chamber with dinner. Of course, he had let her sleep. He had eaten quietly until he lay down beside her and also fell asleep.

It was not until noon that Aemond left the chamber again to resume his own duties. With that, he left Edith with Ser Colin.

"Will you be all right?" he asked her before he left.

Edith had to smile. His concern for her was really cute. "Of course, I have Ser Colin with me. I think I'll go for a walk in the garden." She answered him honestly.

She didn't have a plan for today yet, because she had given up on that sort of thing. Every time she had made a plan for the day since she had been here, something had come up. Something had always come up, which was why Edith only made decisions for the moment - at least she often tried to.

But if her plans for the day were already being thwarted, how could the plan work?

In fact, that afternoon she went out into the garden with Ser Colin. She enjoyed the sun on her skin and looked at the beautiful flowers in the garden.

Without thinking, she knelt Edith down in the grass, which by now was short and neat again. The garden looked reasonable again, cared for and trimmed. Somehow it bothered her a lot that the garden looked so neat again.

Nevertheless, she bent over and picked out the beautiful and the less beautiful flowers. In the end, every flower was beautiful and Edith was grateful for each one. It was a pity to plow them, but Edith needed the colorful flowers like air to breathe. The flowers reminded her of her mother and her family and it helped her a little with the homesickness.

Briefly she thought about what had happened the last time she had plowed flowers and the young woman got unpleasant goose bumps, despite the warm rays of the sun dancing on her skin. Quickly she tried to shake off the thoughts and let Colin help her back to her feet.

"The flowers are really very beautiful, Princess." Colin commented with his warmest smile. He was truly a warm person and far too innocent for this world. Westeros did not deserve a knight like him Edith thought, and yet she was glad to have him faithfully by her side.

"Thank you, Ser Colin." Edith returned his smile and continued her walk in the garden with him, holding the flowers tightly in her hands. "How was your mission yesterday?" she then asked much more quietly.

They were alone in the garden, but they couldn't be sure. Not here, not in King's Landing. Somewhere, someone was always listening or watching. Always.

"It's been a long day..." he began his tale and had a hard time suppressing his sigh. He ached all over and was tired because he had hardly slept, but he didn't want to admit that. "We had been in Flea Bottom all day cleaning up the streets." He said quietly.

"What do you mean cleaned up?" she inquired cautiously.

Colin's heart grew heavy. He hated what he had to do with the city guard and was anything but proud of it. He liked Edith a lot and she appreciated Still, he could not lie to her and told her the truth. "Criminals and no criminals were sent by us to the wall, some of the gold cloaks are escorting them there right now. Other less fortunate ones we had to..." Colin did not speak further, but he did not have to.

"On whose orders did you do this? On the king's?" the young princess wanted to know. The news Colin had just told her made her angry. It was not fair.

No man deserved to die for no reason, or just because he was different - being poor. But most of all, it wasn't fair to exploit the city guards for such purposes. They should be there for safety, not for causing danger.

"No, that wasn't the king." Colin quickly corrected. "The order came from the hand of the king."

Edith just couldn't understand it. Why did Otto Hightower give such an order?

King's Landing was on the verge of the King's death and a quarrel between the Targaryens was inevitable. The Greens and the Blacks just needed every man and woman they could get to strengthen themselves. How could the green ones just kill their own people or send them away? It did not make sense!

The Greens, of all people, needed everyone to be able to bypass the succession and overthrow Princess Rhaenyra.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She said to him just as honestly.

The two talked for a while longer in hushed tones about the previous evening. Edith even told him about her trip yesterday with Aemond and how happy she was on the dragon's back.

Edith was now sitting on a bench and had placed the flowers on her lap and on the free space next to her. As a precaution, Edith had already put small elastics in the pocket of her dress, which she actually used for her hair. She took the flowers and put them together in bouquets until she liked them and tied them with the elastics.

Colin on the other hand, stood next to the bench like the noble knight he was, watching her when he wasn't looking around the garden for anyone who might be eavesdropping on her or be a danger.

"I can't stop thinking about it..." Edith confessed softly. She was kept busy by the flower arranging, but her thoughts still lingered on Colin's tale. It must have been horrible for him.

"I shouldn't have told it." Said the young knight immediately guiltily.

"No, Colin. I'm glad you told me." Edith quickly interrupted him, looking up from the flowers to her bodyguard. "You are the only one who provides me with information about what happens outside the walls of the Red Keep. I'm glad of it, but at the same time I hate what it does to you."

"But princess. You're not to blame for any of this!" Colin looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm grateful to be able to help you. No matter what it takes."

Edith couldn't help it, but her cheeks flushed. She now put the two bouquets of flowers completely aside. "How does it feel?" she asked as softly as she could, and so softly that Colin had trouble understanding her. "Killing someone I mean." She added.

For Colin it had never been fun to kill, other knights and guards actually enjoyed it and Colin didn't find that normal. But what had to be, had to be and he would obey any order. "It's not a nice feeling to take someone's life when they don't deserve it, but you get into an adrenaline rush, which a lot of people find very.... awesome." He explained to her.

"But no matter how messy it is, I will kill any man or woman who stands in your way, Princess." Colin was a man of honor and loyalty, and now he was proving that once again. Edith was the Targaryen and the princess he supported, plus he considered her a friend against etiquette. "Your word is my command." With his last words he knelt in front of her and bowed his head, thus he was now at eye level with Edith, who was still sitting on the bench.him, which was why he was afraid he might lose her approval at some point.

Gently she put a hand on his shoulder and had to smile, although her eyes burned and her heart ached. She was more than grateful for him, for him as a guard and especially for him as a best friend here. Still, he was paying a high price for his loyalty to her and it might cost him his head someday. Edith hated how much his life depended on her decisions. It was a heavy burden for the still young woman.

"I can't put my gratitude into words, but I'll be able to show it to you someday, Colin." She squeezed his shoulder gently and smiled encouragingly at him. "I will grant your every wish when this is all over. I'll fight for titles and lands for you and-"

"No." He interrupted, finally looking her in the eye. "I don't want a title and lands are not important to me, Edith. I want to remain your guard and help you succeed. That's all I ask."

It was the first time Colin addressed her by her name without a title. Edith's heart warmed and she couldn't help but smile honestly. Still, she would give him everything he deserved.

"So humble, my friend." Smirked she. "We'll find a solution. We've made it this far, our way can't be long."

"I trust your word." Smiled Colin and now stood back up.

The two smiled encouragingly at each other, providing more courage and trust in each other. They seemed almost braced for what might come.

Only a little later, the sworn guard accompanied the princess to the maester. She still didn't like going to a maester, but since her pregnancy she had to do it regularly, at least Aemond more or less forced her to. As a compromise, she had herself examined and treated exclusively by the maester who had determined the pregnancy at that time.

The young maester with the pitch-black hair was already expecting the young princess. By now she knew the name of the man with the radiant yet awkward smile.

"There you are and oh what pretty flowers, Princess Edith!" said Maester Arwin delightedly as he opened the door to Edith and Colin.

"Hello, Maester Arwin." She greeted him and then thanked him for the compliment and handed the bouquets to Ser Colin. "Would you take one to my chamber and the other to the dining room, please?" she asked, addressing her guard.

Colin looked at her somewhat suspiciously. He often accompanied her to these appointments and waited for her outside the door, but rarely had she sent him away. Still, he nodded. "Of course. But are you sure? I can wait outside?" he asked quietly, so the maester couldn't hear him.

Arwin was spreading a new blanket on the daybed and then closed the window and drew the curtains so no one could see into the treatment room.

"You know Arwin. He won't hurt me." She reassured him and then gestured toward the door with a nod after glancing briefly at the maester. Arwin was still smiling his laugh and humming a song she didn't know. "Maybe you should hurry after all." Edith had to grin. Arwin was irritating, but he was kind and was always careful when treating her. Besides, he didn't give her medicines or bad-smelling teas.

Ser Colin nodded and took the flowers before leaving the treatment room, leaving Edith alone with Arwin.

"You can go ahead and sit down, Princess." Arwin said, gesturing to the daybed, but he did not look at Edith. His gaze was devoted to his many cabinets and he seemed to be searching for something.

Edith complied with his request and sat down on the freshly made daybed, but she did not undress. She never knew what he wanted to check and therefore always waited for his instructions. Sometimes he just palpated her abdomen and sometimes her uterus or did other tests.

More or less, she trusted his work; after all, he had been present at Helaena's last birth and had helped bring Maelor into the world, plus he cared for Helaena in her postpartum and seemed to do his job well.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" she asked him, watching him curiously. There were many interesting things in his cabinets that Edith didn't know, but she didn't know if she wanted to know what they all were.

"Yes, indeed." He answered her and stroked his face tiredly, his round glasses slipping on his nose, which he quickly straightened. "Remember that gel from our last appointment?"

"The blue one?" she asked, then nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"I wanted to give it to you. It's good for your tummy and prevents unsightly streaks. I wanted to give it to you because you're at the stage now where your belly is starting to grow faster." Arwin sighed and stroked his face again. "I thought I had something left...I'm embarrassed now." He said glumly.

Arwin was funny, but at the same time clumsy and goofy that he seemed nice and alright again.

"I can wait? Prepare it all right." suggested Edith hypocritically.

The young maester nodded quickly several times. "Yes, yes I must. This gel has worked wonders for Princess Helaena's pregnancies! Even the queen used it back then." He told quite proudly and yet he sounded excited. "I just need to get something, I'll be right back!"

Arwin put on his beige coat and more or less stumbled to the door, as some things were on the floor. He seemed to have been looking for the gel for a while just so. There were bowls, boxes and similar things everywhere.

The princess had to grin when he then also got stuck in the door with his coat before he could get going. If he were not so clever and talented in his field, he would certainly be a good court boy.

Impatiently, Edith looked around the room and dangled her legs a bit, as her feet could not reach the floor. Then she got bored and lay down on the daybed. Still fully clothed and her legs crossed, she stared at the ceiling of the room.

At some point the door was finally opened and Maester Arwin returned. Edith didn't know how much time had passed when he returned, only that she had almost fallen asleep waiting. "You took your time. I almost fell asleep." Edith joked, still keeping her eyes closed.

Arwin didn't answer her and all that could be heard in the room was the clatter of metal and the click of a can being opened. "Maester Arwin?" she asked. He didn't speak and that made Edith suspicious besides he had walked in with a sure stride and hadn't even tripped or gotten caught anywhere. Realizing this, she opened her eyes and stared into an all too familiar face.

Startled, she wrenched her eyes open and tried to sit up to escape, but the older man's wrinkled hands grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her brutally back onto the couch.

With the pressure and the shock, her breath stopped momentarily and it took her a moment to understand what was happening. "Let go of me! Let go of me right now!" she screamed at him and tried to push him away from her.

The creepy eyes of Maester Ludwig stared down at her and he was clearly stronger than he looked. He stood bent over Edith, who was still lying on the bed, and pressed her down firmly.

"Shut up or I'll tape your mouth shut!" he instructed her roughly.

Edith was not impressed by his statement. Someone would hear her, and Colin and Arwin were due back any minute. Still, fear rose in her as she looked up into his face and barely held on against his grip.

"Hold still or I'll send someone to Princess Helaena and her children and they won't be so gentle with them!" he frightened her even more.

His words hit Edith's sore spot and she stiffened with panic at the idea of anything happening to Helaena or her children. "What do you want from me?" she wanted to know from him. Her voice trembled and she couldn't manage to look him calmly in the eyes.

Would he hurt her friend? Might there already be people of his with her? Was Helaena already being watched or held as well? And her children?

And where the hell were all the damn guards in the Red Keep? Why didn't anyone hear them!

"It's not something I want. Not from you." He spat back at her. Ludwig looked grimmer than ever.

"Everyone wants something, including you! So what is it... is it jewels or gold? Or Valyrian steel instead? Tell me, but don't hurt Helaena or her children!" Edith's eyes widened in fear to the point that they already hurt, and her lips pressed together so tightly that they almost bled. "I'll give you anything, but please don't hurt them..."

"Oh you found a friend, how sweet!" he grunted, laughing the ugliest laugh in all of Westeros. It sounded cursed and it hurt Edith's ears. "You'd give me anything?" he asked again, smiling creepily.

Edith turned pale. Anything could mean many things. Goosebumps formed on her skin and she feared she was about to vomit. Maybe this way she could make his grimace disappear.

"So you do want something...where have you been? Aemond has been looking everywhere for you!" she snapped angrily. "You were the one with the fire in my old chambers, weren't you? Why? Why did you do that?!"

Immediately she had the images of the fire in her chambers in her mind again. The fire that had taken everything from her. Every piece of clothing, every letter and every little thing she had from her family. Everything had been lost - because of him.

"Clever child." Laughed the older man, wrinkles forming on his forehead. "I guess your beloved husband didn't really put much effort into finding me. Yet it would have been so easy, because I never left King's Landing." He confessed.

Shocked, the young woman looked at him. That didn't sound like Aemond. He had promised her then to leave no stone unturned until he found that bastard, but he had never been able to find him. Neither had his search committee, which he had put together the day in advance.

Aemond was crazy about her and would never give up the search. But to be honest they hadn't talked about the incident for several weeks already and other things had been more important.

"You bastard!" she yelled at him and was about to fight back again and finally get up, but Ludwig raised his arm and made her cringe again.

"I bet you won't say that again." He said, his voice sounding as hard and serious as the blade of a knife. His laughter was gone and only the madness in his eyes remained. "Although... it will be even nicer if you can never say anything again!"

Only now Edith took her eyes from Ludwig's and looked to his hand, which he held raised. Between his fingers was a syringe with an indefinable liquid. The syringe was not big, but it was enough to make Edith's blood freeze in her veins.

His hand was on her mouth before she could even manage to scream and she could only free herself from her rigidity when his hand with the syringe came closer and closer to her.

The young woman fought back with everything she had and with what she could. She tried to hit him, kick him and push him away. Finally she bit his hand, which was still on her mouth, and managed to distract him for a moment.

She slid off the bed and came down ungently on her knees on the floor. "What's in the syringe?!" she demanded to know from him, quickly standing up again and pushing the daybed in his direction to get more space between her and him.

Ludwig staggered, but he regained his composure far too quickly and tried to get closer to her again. He still held the syringe tightly in his old fingers. "Nothing to worry about now! You're going to close your eyes and sleep for a long long time." He told, then started laughing again. "I was lying! You will sleep forever..."

"You're crazy!" she yelled at him, looking around the room in a panic. She was on the other side of the room, far too far from the door. There was only a window behind her, but she wouldn't survive a jump out of there. "Why are you doing this?"

The man did not answer and reached behind him with his free hand to close the door. In addition, he moved a chair in front of the door. It was certain that it was safe.

"Talk to me!" she demanded in a panic as he approached again.

Edith grabbed the flowerpot next to her and threw it at the old maester, only unfortunately she didn't hit it because she was shaking too much. Then she took everything she could get her hands on and threw it at him, pressing her back hard against the wall and sliding anxiously by it farther and farther away from him. Her target was obviously the door, which he also realized, giving her no chance to escape.

"Who sent you?!"

"You know exactly who!" Ludwig pressed once briefly on the syringe and let a few drops squirt out of the tip.

There were a lot of images in her head, but unfortunately they didn't help her in the situation. She literally saw every familiar face in front of her eyes, but none lasted longer than a second until she saw the next face.

Who had it all aimed at her? Who wanted to see her dead so badly?

She was so afraid that she even thought of Aemond. But it couldn't be... it couldn't be... Aemond was her husband, he was obsessed with her and the child. Yes, maybe he even loved her. So why should he try to kill Edith? They were just at peace!

It could be anyone from the Greens, anyone in King's Landing.

"Did Prince Aegon send you?" she asked with a faltering breath, standing rigid. Alone, her arms moved and threw something at him again.

Sure enough, the book hit him in the shoulder and he staggered, even dropping the syringe. "No, keep thinking." Ludwig bent over to the syringe and picked it up again until the next book hit him on the shoulder, but this time he didn't drop the syringe.

It was indeed still intact and he seemed relieved, which could only mean that he had only prepared one syringe. Ludwig seemed to have been very sure of himself.

Edith was relieved to be honest that it wasn't Aegon, but that didn't make things any better. Someone had hired and paid Maester Ludwig to kill her.

"I tried the poison, then the fire, and both you could handle...but now you will not escape me. Take your last breaths. Enjoy them." He said what Edith had known all along. Ludwig had been to blame for everything. Why hadn't she realized earlier that these were all murder attempts? Deliberate murder attempts!

She had felt far too safe from him all these last weeks. She had thought he had gone away, but she should have known he wouldn't give in so easily.

"What do you get for this?" she asked him. Obviously she wanted to distract him with all the questions and stall for time until she could finally get free here.

The young woman reached for the shelf again, but her grip led nowhere. Startled, she turned her head and realized that the shelf was indeed empty. She had nothing left to throw.

Ludwig also realized this and started laughing dirty again. "More than you can imagine." He replied and slowly walked towards her. At least he was being honest. "So, can you figure it out on your own or do I have to help you?"

Edith looked nervously from the syringe, then to the floor, then to him, then back to the syringe. He was already way too close. The fear and panic were so great by now that she couldn't think. "If this is my last moment, then keep being honest." Escaped her without thinking. She really couldn't think anymore.

"It was the princess." Ludwig pressed his forearm on her larynx, thus pushing her against the wall.

"...Princess Rhaenys...?" she groaned heavily. She almost lost her breath because of his arm and the syringe was by now at her eye level.

"No." Ludwig looked almost disappointed as he shook his head. "The true heiress."

"Rhaenyra." Her aching eyes filled with tears.

This simply could not be true. Rhaenyra was her aunt, was her cousin, she had been like a close older friend. She simply could not be behind this! It was more likely that Aegon was behind it, even if that made just as little sense.

"I don't believe you!" she shouted at him. "Rhaenyra would never order my death! My parents would never let that happen!" Wildly, she shook her head, tears running uncontrollably down her cheeks.

"Your parents don't know anything, you stupid child." Ludwig pulled her closer to him by the fabric of her dress, only to push her away from him moments later and push her back against the wall.

A sound of pain escaped Edith. The impact had hurt more than it looked. The hot dragon blood in her veins already felt ice cold. How long would it take for the poison in the syringe to kill her?

"Rhaenyra would have no reason to! She loves me and sent me here to secure her crown and prevent war!" now it didn't even matter what she said. One of them would die, but she didn't know exactly which one yet.

But amazingly, she was not afraid of death. She was only afraid of the truth.

"She had every reason to be! You failed! Princess Rhaenyra should already be Queen Rhaenyra. You failed!" he said angrily as if he was the one who should sit on the Iron Throne. In his eyes you could see pure madness.

Ludwig kept screaming and screaming and Edith was screaming too, but no one in the whole Red Keep seemed to hear them or no one seemed to want to hear them. Edith wondered who else was on his side helping him.

"That's bullshit! You're lying!" countered the young woman with the brownish hair. "She would never do such a thing!"

The old man shook his head and let go of her, putting two steps of distance between him and her so he could get something from his jacket pocket. Then he handed her a bracelet.

With her back still pressed firmly against the wall, she looked at the small object in her hand. It was a bracelet made of blue beads, which she had made for Rhaenyra and given to her secretly, shortly after she had moved with her mother and brother to her and Daemon in Dragonstone.

Nobody knew about the bracelet. It had been a secret between the two of them, and Rhaenyra had even made her a bracelet of red beads, but it had burned with the fire.

The blue beads in her hand were a proof, which she did not want to admit. Rhaenyra had ordered Ludwig to kill Edith.

"Why?" she asked in a tearful voice. "She said I had time to come up with a plan."

"You don't see it, do you? You've become too dangerous, little Edith." Ludwig came closer to her again, moving his arm so fast that she just managed to turn her head away before the syringe could hit her neck.

She started kicking and punching at him again. "I didn't do anything!" she justified herself rushed off, because she was still trying to fight him off. "Let me talk to her!"

"She's not here! Not yet, but you won't live to see it once she is!" Again he tried to sink the syringe into her skin, but Edith, with the adrenaline in her body, managed to knock his arm away and then kick him firmly first on the foot and then between his legs.

She was able to achieve the desired effect and Ludwig sank to his knees in pain. Edith lifted her skirt for more leg room and kicked between his legs again, then stepped firmly on his hand with the syringe. His fist cracked and after her third or fourth kick it cracked so loudly that his hand must have just broken. Edith didn't stop until the syringe finally broke, she didn't care about his hand.

If she had been sane and not so panicked, she would never have done such a thing. At the latest, when she was in her right mind, she would regret this, no matter what horrible thing he had tried to do to her. He was just Princess Rhaenyra's errand runner.

Somehow Ludwig managed to grab her by the leg with his free hand, throwing her off balance so that Edith fell to the ground beside him. She managed to roll well in the fall and fell more on her knees and hip fortunately. Still, her unborn child was on her mind and she was willing to do anything to protect it.

No matter what it took.

He tried to grab her and was now hitting her as well, but she was fortunately able to fend off most of them. Edith was fast and skilled, because her father had taught her a lot early on. Almost as if he had prepared her for just such a moment.

Edith sat down with her knee on his belly and tried to fend off his arms, at the same time reaching for the broken flowerpot not far from Ludwig's head. "Tell me why!" she commanded him, her gaze cold and fixed on him.

Fear made her frantic and blind - Edith was no longer herself.

"You have allowed yourself to be impregnated, is that not so? You joined with the enemy, you let yourself be taken like a whore by both princes. You are one of them!" he finally justified himself.

His words made her nauseous. "Who else knows about this?" she asked him, slapping him hard across the face. "Tell me!"

Ludwig refused, but he now seemed to finally realize that his life could also be in danger and started talking. "Rhaenyra still has spies here. I'm also sure your Dear Parents know who you've been spreading your legs for!" she provoked him.

"You're a dirty liar!" Edith couldn't help herself and spat in his face, then she held the piece of concrete from the broken flowerpot under his chin and squeezed lightly. The piece had broken off pointedly and was definitely capable of ending his life quickly.

"And you a whore! A filthy whore who ruined everything! Rhaenyra should have rather sent your sister Rhaena, at least she's not as weak as you and would have done her job already! The Greens would be dead now!"

Edith didn't know what annoyed her more. His insult or his desire to see the Greens dead. But she was most annoyed by one thing.

"Don't you dare take my sister's name in your fucking mouth!" she screamed at him and then she just saw red.

It was as if she herself was just a spectator and someone else had taken control of her as Edith rammed the sharp piece of concrete down his throat with all her might. Over and over again and she didn't care that the blood eventually splattered towards her.

She kept hitting him until the piece broke in her hands and one could hardly recognize anything of Maester Ludwig's face. Only then did she let go of everything and slide away from him, as far away as she could. Startled, she stared at her bloody hands.

Edith Targaryen had indeed killed her first human.

***

Well, who sees the parallels to Aruna?

I hope you enjoyed this long chapter♡

What do you say about the events?

See you in the next chapter,
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