𝐀𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐀 - 𝑰𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝑔𝑢𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒.
I APPRECIATE EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED THIS BOOK!! Thank you for a million reads <333
𝐃𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐎...
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AENORA DIDN'T TRULY REALIZE HOW much she missed her husband until nightfall came and she was sitting outside, watching her children play with Lydia and Emely.
Aenora felt her heart ache, but kept herself together by biting her nails. This was her way of coping with the almost unbearable anxiety she felt.
The Princess looked away from her three children and down to the ground.
She hadn't noticed Aeva had taken a seat next to her until a small hand intertwined with hers.
"Mama? Why are you sad?" Aeva asked, seeing her mothers face.
Aeva could always tell when her mother was upset. Even as a child, she always knew when Aenora needed comforting. Aeva had a different kind of bond with her mother than Rhaemax and Jaelyx. It was as if Aeva felt what her mother felt, as if she could read her thoughts.
Max and Alex on the other hand always knew how to make Aenora smile. They didn't always understand the way she felt, but they were they only ones who could truly make her happy. Both boys would do anything to make their mother happy.
"I am fine, sweet princess." Aenora said to her daughter, while faking a smile. "Lydia, Emely?"
"Yes, Princess?" The two maidens answered in unison.
"It's rather late, could you help me put my babies to bed?" Aenora asked as she put Aeva on her hip.
"Of course, Princess."
The two women took the hands of the two boys and followed behind Aenora as she walked towards their private tent.
Lydia and Emely laid the boys by their sister and left Aenora to put them to sleep.
"I'm not tired," Max folded his arms across his chest and pouted.
"Your eyes tell me different," Aenora ran her hand through the boys white hair. She smiled. He looked so much like his father, as did Alex. The thought of Daemon pinched at her heart. Gods, she wished they knew him. She wished he were there with them. Her family hadn't been complete for years.
Rhaemax's eyes were low, it was evident he was tired and that he was just fighting his sleep. Both, Aeva and Jaelyx had fallen asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
"My eyes cannot speak." Max told her with a grin.
"Oh but they do, little prince. They tell me that they wish to sleep. And I think you should listen to them." Aenora kissed his head before blowing out the candles. "Goodnight, son."
"Goodnight, mama." Max said.
Aenora held her dress an inch above the ground as she walked. Her knight along with her two maidens following her. She was still thinking about her love, who was so far away from her.
The moment she thought she'd have to give birth without him was the day she truly understood all her feelings for him. Aenora knew she could never have that sort of connection with anyone other than Daemon.
It was deeper than love, it was an understanding.
In all of the Seven Kingdoms Daemon was the only one who knew her better than anyone. Even herself. He knew her as well as Aemma once did. And, Aenora understood him just as much. She could read his thoughts just by looking at him. It was unworldly, their love.
Their relationship was more than just man and wife, it was a soulmate connection.
Aenora stopped walking when she realized she didn't know where she was. She looked to Lydia, then Emely, then her knight. All of them looked at her with confusion in their faces. They knew she was walking into the darkness of the woods, but by the expression on her face they did not dare to ask any questions.
The Princess stared at the two women and the man for a moment. Tears began falling down her face as she finally allowed herself to break. She could no longer conceal the pain she had felt for so long.
Aenora fell to her knees. Lydia and Emely dropped next to her, bringing the woman into their arms. They shared a look of sadness as they held her.
Lydia and Emely knew this was bound to happen. They saw how Aenoras pain and fear for Daemons grew like wildfire in the past year. She did well at hiding it from the children, but not so much with them. Every time they'd ask her about it, she'd lie and change the subject.
"The Prince will return to you, Aenora." Emely said as she rubbed her back.
"I pray every day that he does." Aenora paused and wiped her tears from her eyes. "But what if he does not come back the same? What if he is no longer the man that I love so deeply? What if he is different and I cannot find it within me to love that version of him? I know that is what war can do to a man."
"In truth, Aenora, that is always a possibility. But Daemon's love for you is without doubt. If he were to to be different, you are the only one who could bring him back." Lydia told her.
"What if I can't?" Aenora asked, seeking an honest answer.
"Because of your children, Aenora, you don't have a choice." Emely pressed her lips together.
Aenora knew Emely was right. She bore Daemons children and now wait with them for his return. It would be time wasted if she were to give up on him as soon as he got back.
"It's hard waiting you know? Having your children wonder who their father is and why he isn't there for them like their friends fathers are with them. Having them ask you to tell them of him." Aenora looked to the ground, watching small bugs walk across the dirt as she spoke.
Though Aenora wouldn't say it out loud, she sometimes wondered if it'd be easier to tell her children of Daemon if he were dead. These days she found it easier speaking of Aemma than she did Daemon.
Maybe it was because it was harder missing someone who was alive than someone who was dead, she thought.
The way Aenora thought was complex, some days she hated it and some days she was thankful for it.
Today, she hated herself for the way she thought.
It didn't help that her children would sometimes say they didn't have a father to other people. She understood that for the time they really didn't, and it felt as though they never would. She felt that being a mother could not only be the greatest thing in existence, but traumatizing. The birthing in itself was traumatic, but so was constantly worrying for them.
She worried they wouldn't know, or want to know Daemon.
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AUTHORS NOTE GUYS i'm sorry for not updating, it's been a crazy as hell weekend. i've been hungover now for three fucking days. but to say the least, i had some fucking fun. hennyways, thoughts
