Chapter Text
The journey back to King's Landing had been a quiet one for Lady Elouise, and the days that followed had felt like a blur marked by the dull ache of grief, the empty hallways of the Red Keep, and Baelor's absence. The man she had loved, the prince who had courted her with such warmth and honor, was gone. And in his place, there was only cold stone and silence.
The idea of a future without Baelor had become something she couldn't comprehend. She had thought they had time. Time for the wedding, time for children, time to build a life together. But now there was nothing but the harsh reality of his death and a growing fear inside her that she couldn't even name.
Prince Maekar's summons came unexpectedly.
The note was direct and cold, much like the Prince himself.
"Prince Maekar requests your presence in his chambers." That was all it said, but Elouise knew exactly what it meant. She had avoided him as much as possible since their return, keeping herself to the quieter halls of the Red Keep. But she knew, too, that there was no avoiding this now.
When she entered Maekar's chambers, she was immediately struck by the weight of his presence. He was standing near the window, his posture stiff and his face shadowed by something darker than grief. His gaze was fixed on her as she stepped inside, and she felt the tension in the room before he even spoke.
"Lady Elouise," he said, his voice cold and measured. But there was something more in his tone, something taut, as though he were barely holding onto control.
"Your Grace," she said softly, curtsying, but her words seemed swallowed by the heavy silence that stretched between them.
Maekar turned fully to face her, his eyes sharp, his posture unwavering. But beneath his hardened exterior, there was a subtle shift—a flicker of something raw that he couldn't quite hide.
"I have noticed you've been ill as of late"he said abruptly, his eyes narrowing in a way that made her heart flutter with anxiety. "Nauseous. Weak. Are you unwell, Lady Elouise?"
The question was so blunt, so direct, that Elouise felt the air leave her lungs. Her mouth went dry. She hadn't told anyone yet—how could she have? The truth was too overwhelming, and she was still trying to make sense of everything herself. But now, faced with Maekar's unflinching stare, she couldn't deny it.
"No" she said quickly, almost too quickly. "I thank you for your care for my health Your Grace. It's just the effects of grief. Grief from Prince Baelor's death."
But Maekar didn't buy it. His eyes hardened, his jaw clenching.
"You're lying" he said coldly. His voice dropped to a dangerous pitch. "I've seen the signs, Elouise. I've been around enough women to know when they're with child. Do you think me blind?"
Elouise recoiled slightly, but there was no escaping the weight of his accusation.
"I'm not lying my Prince" she whispered, but her voice quivered. "I... I swear I'm not"
Maekar's eyes narrowed further, and there was something dangerous in them now, a hard edge that sent a shiver through her. He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming.
"I care little for your pretending Lady Elouise. I care only to ensure the honour of my late brother from such scandal" he demanded, his voice low but full of accusation. "Who have you lain with? Who is your accomplice as you have committed this act of treason?"
Elouise flinched at the words, her face going pale. "Treason? My Prince I would never act against the crown" she stammered, her voice barely a whisper. "I swear it"
Maekar took another step toward her, his face growing darker. "Then how do you explain this? How do you explain what I see? Do not think me a fool"
The weight of his gaze was crushing. His anger wasn't just for the child. It was for what he believed had been an act of betrayal, an act that had taken something from him-something that belonged to his brother, Baelor.
"Please I-"Elouise struggled to find the words, her throat closing with the tension building inside her. "I'm sorry. We-I— didn't mean for this to happen. We were going to be married. We were in love. I'm sorry. Please don’t tell. " She was sobbing now, chest heaving trying to get her words to form.
Her voice trembled as the truth came spilling out. "I drank the tea like he said, it was supposed to keep us safe from ruin. He promised me no man would ever know my shame, we would be married within the moon. Now the Gods have taken him from me as punishment for my sin. I thought him my husband, stupid girl, he told me we could wait, should wait but I-"
The words broke her. She had been carrying this secret alone, this secret she could barely comprehend. She had always been taught to wait, a Lady should not disgrace herself for any man and should lay only with her Lord husband, but the love between her and Baelor had been too strong, too overwhelming. And now, in the aftermath of his death, she was left to carry the consequences.
Maekar froze.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence. The tension between them grew thicker, like the space between them was filled with something unspoken, something painful.
But then, slowly, Maekar's expression softened.
He stepped back, a strange, heavy look on his face. It wasn't anger anymore. It wasn't even the cold authority he had carried before. There was something else- regret. A deep, gnawing regret that spread through him like poison.
He turned his back to her, running a hand through his silver-white hair as he paced the room. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with the weight of something he didn't want to face.
"Baelor..."Maekar muttered under his breath. "Baelor had finally..." He stopped, as if the words were too much to say aloud.
Finally, he spoke again, his voice quieter, laden with emotion. "He was finally letting someone in. Finally trusting someone enough to love them regardless of propriety. And now you are left to face the punishment." He paused as if debating his next words.
“Did he know before the trial he was to be a father again?”
“No my prince. I had not seen a maester I couldn’t be sure. Only how I feel and my courses are now a week delayed tells me it’s true” That seemed to confirm Maekar’s fear knowing his brother would not have fought had he known, not risked being unable to see the child born legitimately.
Elouise flinched, her heart sinking with his words. She had never wanted any of this to happen. She hadn't asked for it. She hadn't asked for Baelor to be taken from her, or for Maekar to accuse her, or for any of this to spiral out of control.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Maekar interrupted her, his voice rising again.
"And I..." He paused, his voice trembling with a sudden emotion. "I took that from him. And now I've taken it from you, too."
"He wouldn't have blamed you. You were one of few people he spoke of during our time together. He was proud of you and loved you dearly" She all but whispered fearing his response.
"He should blame me. Everyone else will. I will"
Elouise could feel the shift in his tone, a softness creeping in that had not been there before. For the first time, Maekar's eyes were not filled with cold calculation or anger. They were filled with something else, something she couldn't quite place, but something that made her chest ache with unexpected understanding.
Maekar turned back to her, his face a mixture of regret and sorrow. "I..." His voice faltered. "I didn't want this. I never wanted to hurt him, though men will say I meant to kill my brother and I've taken more than his life with my mace"
Her heart ached with the depth of his realization, the guilt that clung to him like a heavy cloak. He wasn't angry with her. He was angry with himself.
"I'm sorry" he said, his voice rough. "I didn't mean to accuse you. I shouldn't have done that."
Elouise's throat tightened, and she nodded, though the confusion still lingered in her chest.
Maekar took a deep breath and then, with a quiet resolve, he spoke again.
"I will marry you," he said firmly. "It's the least I can do and all in my power I can do. I owe it to Baelor. I owe it to you. This child will be born with a name. It will not be born in shame nor a bastard without a father"
For the first time in their conversation, Elouise's eyes met his, and she saw something different in him now. She saw the man behind the anger, behind the grief and the man who, despite his guilt, was trying to do what was right.
She didn't know what the future held, but one thing was clear: Prince Maekar Targaryen, for all his harshness, was offering her a lifeline, not just for the child she carried, but for the future that had been ripped from them both.
"I don't want to ruin anyone else" Elouise whispered, her voice trembling.
Maekar's expression softened even further. "You're not ruining anything. We will do what must be done. For Baelor. For his legacy. Please." Perhaps the closest Maekar had ever been to begging.
"Hen lantoti ānogar. Va syndroti. Vāedroma." He spoke in his mother tongue of Valyrian before translating for Elouise "Blood of two. Joined as one. A future promised- Those are the traditional marriage vows of my people and your blood has joined with Baelor's through the life of the babe you carry. I hope that can bring you some semblance of peace" He continued as a lone tear of bittersweet release grazed her reddened cheek.
"The realm would not question a late Princes betrothed going on to marry within the family; for alliance must still be built between our Houses"
"What of questions when the babe comes too soon?"She searched his face for answers.
"They'll answer to me for any questioning regarding my wife and child, you needn't worry."
But there was still a part of her that wasn't sure she could go through with this. She loved Baelor, her heart had belonged to him and now she was supposed to marry his brother. She could hardly reconcile her feelings for Baelor with what Maekar was offering.
"My Prince..." she said softly, her voice trembling as she tried to work through the conflicting emotions.
"I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can marry you. I loved Baelor. How can I... how can I betray him?"
Maekar's gaze softened, and for the first time, his expression lost its usual edge. There was something vulnerable there, something that revealed just how deeply he, too, was struggling.
"Baelor wouldn't have wanted you to carry this burden alone" he said quietly, his voice almost breaking. "If he were here and I not, I know he would have done the same. He would have wanted the child to be protected, to be cared for. And since he cannot be here I will do what is right, for him, for you, and for the child."
Maekar stepped closer, his presence steadying her. "I am clinging to what's left of him. This child, Elouise... this child is all we have left of Baelor. And I swear to you, I will raise them as my own. I will love them as my own."
For the first time, Elouise saw Maekar not as a prince burdened by duty, but as a man lost in grief, clinging to whatever he could to fill the space left by his brother's death. And perhaps, for now, that was enough for her.
The tension that had filled the room slowly dissolved, and for the first time in weeks, Elouise felt a flicker of something like peace settle over her heart.
She was not alone.