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It is said that for every night Aegon the Conqueror spent in his sister Visenya's bed he spent ten nights with Rhaenys. That was true, but it wasn’t much talked about that on nights when he was away the youngest Queen required that Argella Durrandon, who since the conquest of the storm lands, had served as her lady-in-waiting to sleep in her room.

It was relatively common for a noble woman serving as a handmaiden to sleep in their ladies' quarters, however when Rhaenys began this practice the King expressed concerns that Argella would cut her throat as she slept in revenge and only the stubbornness of the second Queen was enough to dissuade him by saying that since the conquest she had spent a lot of time in Argella's company and that she could have hurt her on several occasions but had never done so.

Aegon's concerns weren't as unfounded as Rhaenys said, Argella often still had thoughts of revenge, it's certainly what her father would have liked and would have expected of her, there could never be a revenge at the height of the end of a dynasty, but killing the King's favorite wife would be a start. A revenge that would get her executed, so she wouldn't act on these thoughts because despite everything she still wanted to live.

And more than that, she wanted Rhaenys to live too.

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It had started shortly after the castle was taken, and Rhaenys went to meet her wearing the black and red armor of the Targaryens and saw Argella still wearing only the cloak that Orys Baratheon had given her after finding her naked and in chains.

Argella could see Rhaenys's confusion upon finding her in that state, and the confusion slowly turned into something different as her baseborn brother explained the situation to her. There was pity but not just that. At that moment Argella could clearly see what Rhaenys was thinking.

She was their Queen and they did this to her. They would do it to me too.

Rhaenys stayed by her side as the castle maester cleaned her wounds and told Argella to sleep in the same room as her saying that no one would dare touch her.

The next day Argella knelt before Rhaenys and swore loyalty to House Targaryen, as her father said no Durrandon would ever do.

That night, still in the room Rhaenys was occupying, Argella wept for the first time in a long time, all the pain that was inside her at her father's death and at the betrayal of her subjects leaving at that moment.

And while she did that Rhaenys stroked her hair and kissed her tears. In theory there shouldn't be anything kind about dragons, but somehow Rhaenys was sweet, and when Argella's lips met hers the Queen didn't stop her and soon the tears stopped and Argella began to moan for something other than the pain in her heart.

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Years later, at King’s Landing, Argella Durrandon woke up just before dawn to the sound of rain outside. She walked from Rhaenys's bed to the window and watched from the top of the Red Keep the rain fall over the sea and the city. Even after so long she still hadn't gotten used to the light rains in that part of the kingdom or how the waters swayed but never formed waves as if the sea itself wanted to destroy the buildings around it for the simple affront of existing.

She remembered the thunderous sound the waves used to make against Storm's end on rainy days. It was scary, but it was also beautiful.

Argella only noticed that Rhaenys had also risen when the Queen hugged her from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder and kissing her neck.

"What is on your mind?"

"Home."

Rhaenys didn't need clarification that she was talking about Storm's End. Rhaenys stopped hugging her and stepped forward, touched her face, her fingers lightly stroking her cheek, after a few seconds she said:

"You could still marry Orys, he would gladly accept you as his wife."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"I want you to be happy. Even if it means you going away. And I believe Orys would try his best to make you happy."

Argella considered for a moment. Orys had been kind to her and from what she'd heard he was ruling the Stormlands well since her departure. But he himself hadn't been the reason she'd turned down his marriage proposal to come with Rhaenys to this place.

There was an inherent humiliation in the idea of walking those halls like a lady, not a queen. As a servant of the Targaryens, surrounded by those who had betrayed her. Rhaenys had once been her enemy, but she had never betrayed her by trying to take her kingdom, after all, betrayal was something that could only come from a place where once there was loyalty.

And besides it was Argella who had the blood of Kings and Gods running through her veins. She would not continue a lineage of descendants destined to spend their lives bowing to the Targaryens. That shame would end with her.

“I prefer to stay here. With you."

Rhaenys kissed her, her lips as usual making life seem a little easier to bear.

"Go back to bed Rhaenys, it's too early."

"Only if you come back with me."

"As my Queen commands."

"I don't command, I ask."

"Alright, as my Queen asks."

Argella fell asleep again hearing the light sound of rain outside and feeling Rhaenys arms around her.