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Rhea Royce had not wanted to come to wedding of the Crown Princess. But her goodfather, the Old Lord Stark had said he and Rickon were coming and Aemma would have wanted her their. So for the love she once bore her cousin Rhea joined the Starks along with her own banner men, William, and her children. Fifteen year old Ben named for his grandfather, and her eleven year old twins Arthur and Liam. Her serious and kind Ben, fierce and Lou’s Arthur, and grumpy and sarcastic Liam. The pride and joy of House Royce, the next generation that would lead her House to greatness long after she was gone. The greatest gifts that Alaric had ever given her. The man she lost ten moons ago to the mountain clans. The man she avenged a week later. 

As the feat commences Rhea is hyper aware of the location of her children. She had awaken that morning to a North wind a feeling deep in her gut. She had hold Benjen and Rickon to be on guard. The Old Stark had looked at her for a moment and then told Rickon to double the guards on the children. Rhea is speaking with William with Rickon, Arthur, and Liam at her side. She drinks warm water and avoids the Targaryens and the Hightowers like the plague. Her cousin Lyonel Strong and his son Harwin are speaking to Bejen while her Arryn and Blackwood kin are nearby as well. The followers of the Old Gods always band together during gatherings like this. All is going well and Rhea almost lets down her guard. Until she sees Criston Cole moving through the crowd with murder in his eyes. 

He is moving towards the knight Joffrey Lonmouth who is speaking with Laenor Velaryon and her own son Ben who had been curious to ask about dragons. Rhea had said he could speak to the heir to Driftmark but to not speak to any of the dragons without her near. And in the moment Criston raises his swords in his fists Rhea acts on instinct. She lets loose her long hidden abilities. The abilities she has used to sixteen years to suppress her Soulmate bond. The abilities that are shunned and hated by most of Westeros. 

Her eyes go white as William grabs her as her knees buckle from not using the abilities for so long. And the wolfhounds in the hall, all four hairy creatures sitting under the tables eating on the scraps of their lords, move in unison. Moving as fast as their long legs will carry them they converge on Criston Cole. Two go for his legs, one for his sword arm, and the last his throat. The man screams in agony as his sword barely misses when Ben Royce stood and clips Joffrey Lonmouth in his left shoulder. 

The hounds hold the man down to the ground as blood drips from the wounds inflicted upon him and he is barely able to breathe due to the hound holding his neck and barely breaking skin. All in the crowd look and see the Old Stark shouting his good daughter’s name, Rickon Stark racing forward to grabs his nephews, all of the banner men forming a circle around William Royce who hold his cousin Rhea from collapsing. Her amber eyes have turned white. All see those eyes and know a warg is amongst them. The King rises from his seat but all eyes are on his brother the Rouge Prince. His brother who was standing by the wall before this occurred. The brother who shouted in pain a moment ago and now looks at Rhea Royce with his dangerous dark purple gaze. Those eyes that now look at her with a possessive gaze. His eyes are also glowing as are the white eyes of Lady Royce. 

Laenor has pulled Joffrey away and Velaryon men run foreword towards the fallen figure of Criston Cole. A moment later the hounds release the fallen knight and run towards the Royce party growling at all who look. Rhea Royce’s eyes turn back to their amber gaze but now her eyes are crying blood tears. Bright eyes and blood tears. The signs of a Soulmate bond. Beloved by the Old Gods. Eventually her eyes will bear one of their original colour and one the same colour as her soulmate and vice versa. She closes her eyes and hears the commotion. She opens her eyes and sees the blood dripping down the eyes of Daemon Targaryen. Their eyes meet across the room. The bond is open for the first time in sixteen years and their hearts beat as one. All are looking at her with wild wonder and grand fear. Her son is safe. But now Rhea must suffer the consequences she has been hiding from for almost twenty years. She will be reviled by all of Westeros now. 

But almost none of this matters. Their hearts beat as one and Rhea wants to cry in relief. She is so tired of hiding. The King shouts out commands and demands orders. But Daemon Targaryen holds her gaze as he moves through the crowd towards her. Rickon draws Ice from his back and moves to meet the Rouge Prince who narrows his eyes and draws Dark Sister. The two renowned warriors meet and Rhea knows blood will be shed if she does no intervene. 

She struggles to stand on unsteady feets but Ben grabs her right arm, Arhur her left, and Liam moves beside his twin to help if needed. “Rickon.” She says it loud enough he can hear it. The nobles around are wary but do not intervene. Soulmates are rare and looked down upon by the Seven. But it is still law to never interfere. Even the maesters and septas know they would not be spared from the consequences. And these Lords would dare no intervene between a Targaryen and his Soulmate, let along the Rouge Prince. But Rickon Stark is knows for the battles he has fought against the Wildlings in the North on behalf of of his father. This is clash of Titans. 

Rickon stills upon hearing her and is tense as she moves with her children to stand just behind him. Daemon’s gaze bores into her own and then moves to her children. She knows there is no escape now. 

Chapter Text

When Daemon Targaryen was sixteen years old his eyes had begin to glow. The ache had begun in his eyes. It had happened at the wedding celebrations of the wedding of his brother and good sister. Daemon had begun to look around for the eyes that would match his own. For a boy who had always railed against the way the gods would choose a person to be someone’s other half. For their eyes to be a match and their hearts to beat as one. It was a phenomenon that was not that common in Valyria. But amongst those of the First Men and some of the Andals it still occurred. Daemon had seen the love his parents bore for each other. They had loved each other as a person could. Having grown up with that why would he ever wish to have a soul mate. 

But then the signs had begun to happen and Daemon had felt something he would never admit to. The elation that their was someone meant for him. Someone who the gods themselves had appointed. He wondered who it might be? For soulmates gazes could meet many times before the signs would come. His mind drifted to Rhea Royce. The proud and arrogant girl who vexed him at every turn. Aemma’s beloved cousin who was the darling of the Vale and who looked at the mighty dragons and called them overgrown lizards. He hoped whoever his soulmate was could handle dragon rides and he hoped she would be strong. Worthy of the blood of the dragon. 

But the elation soon changed to horror when the pain began. Pain so great the Rouge Prince fell unconscious in the middle of the ball. Rushed out the King and Queen blamed it on an injury from a spar earlier in the day. And when Daemon awakened the day after and could not see the Maester confirmed his worst fears. His sight would return. But his soulmate was dead. His father had comforted him.The King and Queen decided to keep it quiet and that the secret would never leave the room. 

As he sat blind in his room for two days Daemon did something he had not done since his mother died. He cried. He sobbed into his pillow in the dead of night. He cried for the soulmate he had lost. The life that they never had the chance to live. He cried for a love he did not want but now would never know. He mourned and felt something within him break that night. And when his sight returned and Daemon returned to court he returned something vicious and angry. Something wild and full of a rage quickly earned him an even deadlier reputation as he aged.  

Daemon took his lovers and never wed. And as the years passed he said he never would. After all their was no one worthy of him now. If he soulmate was dead he would have to settle for a fellow dragon and even that was denied him. At the wedding of his niece Laena Velaryon had been making eyes at him and he was tempted with the chance shown to him then. 

And then everything in his life came crashing down. Criston Cole attacked Joffrey Lonmouth and almost killed Ben Royce. And four wolfhounds came out of nowhere to attacked Cole and hold him down. Rhea Royce had white eyes and almost fell. Cries of wargs and witchcraft echoes around him. But then the pain began. He began to dry tears of blood and Daemon knew his eyes were glowing. And across the hall Rhea Royce began to cry tears of blood around glowing white eyes that faded to her normal amber gaze. 

And in that moment Daemon knew rage. He knew agony. He had so many questions and so much fire and hatred and sorrow. Why? Was the main question. But even that was washed away when he felt another heart beat in tandem with his. The ache turned into a fierce fire of possessiveness and protectiveness. A obsessive need to be near what the gods had deemed was his. He moved across the room and was met by Rickon Stark. Daemon drew Dark Sister while the Stark heir drew Ice. Daemon was prepared to fight to the blood. Nothing would stand in the way of claiming what was his. What had been hidden from his for years. 

But then Rhea had spoken and stilled the Stark. She stepped foreword supported by her three sons by her late Stark husband. And when he looked at the four of them Daemon felt a hunger. His soulmate had given birth to three strong sons. Just imagine what their other children would look like? For it did not matter if these children held the Stark blood and look. They were now his just like their mother. His to love and to protect and shape and teach. Just as their mother was his to love and cherish and possess. Just as he was hers. No one would tear asunder what the gods had proclaimed. 

As the Royces moved foreword her eyes met his own. And he longed for the day soon to come when her eyes would reflect his own dark purple back into his own. Just as her amber would soon gaze back at her. She looked at him with a resigned face but something burned in those eyes. He would demand answers soon. She owed him that much. But she touched the Stark on the shoulder and said something in the Old Tongue. 

Daemon narrowed his eyes and was about to move until Rickon Stark sheathed his blade. Daemon began to vibrate with tension. Until   Rhea Royce, Lady of Runestone, reach out a hand to him. A hand inked with Runes on the inside on her wrist. A hand calloused like his own from handling a blade. And Daemon, adrift for years with no place or anyone to call his own, finally shed the curse of the second son. He grabbed her hand with his own free one. And as their hearts beat as one and blood dripped from their eyes that one emotion he had not felt in sixteen years drifted back into his heart. The elation came back like an old familiar friend. And he would kill anyone who tried to take it away from him again. 

Chapter Text

Much can be said of the children of Rhea Royce and Alaric Stark. 

Ben Royce, named for his grandfather. A compassionate and serious boy who inherited the amber eyes of his mother but in every other way was a Stark. Ben who was the pride and joy of his mother. Ben who would despite his kindness would grow to be a fierce and fair lord. A boy who was trained under both Alaric Stark, known as the Mountain Wolf amongst the mountain clans of the Vale and Westeros, and Daemon Targaryen, the soulmate of his mother and the infamous Rouge Prince. Ben Royce would help steer his House into the beginning of the Bronze Age as it is now known. A time of greatness and intrigue. One of the greatest feats Ben Royce would accomplish would be to show kindness to a young boy blinded by his own kin. The Heir to Runestone would forever earn the loyalty of Aemond One Eye that day and afterword when he agreed to foster the boy in the Vale. But that is a take for another day. 

Arthur Royce with his grey eyes and brown curly hair is perhaps the most famous of eldest three children of Rhea Royce. A boy whose wanderlust would lead him to every corner of the known world. A boy who would brave the shadows of Assai and the cold North of the Wall. A boy whose interest in travel would lead him to surpass the Sea Serpant in riches and legend. It was through Arthur and his marriage that Essos would become involved in the so called Dance of the Dragons. But legends take time to grow and his wanderlust will have to wait awhile. 

Liam Royce is the younger of the twins and is by far the one who inherited more the wolf blood of the three children of Rhea and Alaric. A prodigy with weapons Liam also had a fierce tongue that almost got him killed many times over his life. But his dedication to his blood is noted. It is Liam who would go on to avenge his father’s death but killing every single man who was member of the Stone Crow tribe of the mountain men of the Vale. This would lead to a war that end with Liam known as the Magnar of the Mountain Men of the Vale. It was Liam who would bring the Mountain Clans into the fold of the Vale. It was by his leadership and alliance with his elder brother and cousin heir to the Vale that Liam would begin something everyone thought impossible. The mountain men were fierce warriors who would forever be indebted to their Magnar for improving their quality of life with settlements, education, and trade. But it would by years before Liam would wield his sword in this struggle. 

For now the children of Rhea Royce are young but not stupid. As they are herded out of the hall but their kinsman they known something seismic has happened. Their mother has always told them Westeros was never to know of their warging abilities. They would forever be looked down upon for this. So the boys had kept it quiet when they would dream of wolves and howls and the cold of the North. But by saving Ben’s life Rhea has revealed her own mighty abilities and also her Soulmate bonds. 

Ben looks at the Rouge Prince who clutches the hand of the mother in her own. Who holds Dark Sister at the ready and who was prepared to shed blood against Uncle Rickon to get to them. Who is looking at everyone with a deadly bloodlust and would kill anyone who dared separate him from the one the Old Gods deemed his. 

Arthur looks at Grandfather and Uncle Rickon. He knows that even though Father is dead Mother is still considered kin through her own Stark blood and her children. Daemon Targaryen is now as goods as theirs. The Old Gods have said their peace. An if the North has to go to war over this then so be it. All of First Men descendent would support them. 

And Liam looks at the Rouge Prince and then his mother and he sees the depth of emotion in her eyes. he does not know why his mother had spent all these years lying. But he knows his mother. If she did is was for a good reason. And when his eyes meet the bleeding eyes of the Rouge Prince Liam knows that there is no going back. In those dark amethyst eyes Liam and his brothers now belong to Daemon Targaryen.

As the group heads to the quarters which they were given in the Red Keep the night will end with Rhea Royce sleeping in the same room with her children. The gaggle of boys in the bed with Rhea sitting in a chair beside it. Daemon Targaryen will sleep with his sword in his arms at the ready in the doorframe. Despite the anger and rage the elation in his blood had not faded. His heart beats in sync with the woman who refuses to parted from either her children or him. The woman who confounds him and earns his respect at every turn. 

And he knows every other past bond does not matter. Everything important to him now aside from his dragon are in this room. He knows this as surely as he knows a few hours past he merged his soul and heart with Rhea Royce. His lip is still bleeding from where she bit him and his back still aches from her nails. He knows that her throat and shoulders are marked by his own lips. It had been quick and result of the pent up emotions and a new forming bond. But he knows it is the first of man nights. She is his now as he is hers. No man will tear asunder what the gods have decreed. 

And in the night of Kings Landing howls are heard from beyond the city. It makes the small folk uneasy as rumours already spread of the Soulmate between the Rouge Prince and the Bronze Lady of Runestone. Rhaenyra Targaryen mourns for her uncle and declares Rhea Royce her enemy. Otto Hightower drinks himself into a stupor and curses Daemon Targaryen to the Seven Hells for taking what should have been his. And in the dark caves of Dragonstone a dark behemoth with eyes the colour of wild fire awakens. The beast feels something in its chest. A bond is forming. A child of Bronze and Fire has been conceived. A child who ride the dragon all though unconquerable. The Old Gods have spoken. 

Chapter Text

In the morning when Daemon Targaryen wakes he feels another steady heartbeat in time with his own. He opens his eyes on edge until his eyes land in the centre of the room. All piled up in the bed not made to fit four people are a family that over the past day and night have become his. Rhea Royce, his soulmate appointed by the Old Gods, migrated to the bed from the chair sometime in the night. The eldest boy is on the edge closest to Daemon while the twins are in the middle. All are sleeping peacefully. All are his. 

And in this moment Daemon knows why wars have been fought, why kingdoms have been toppled, and lives destroyed chasing this feeling. Yes, he still has anger and wants answers from Rhea. He wants to know why she lied and he spent sixteen years without this euphoria in his veins. This liquid gold in his blood fills him from his heart down his spine and has hardened in his bones. He has shed the curse of the second son; cursed to fight to find his place. He has found it. He belongs with the Royce of Runestone. A woman of the Old Blood and Ways. A woman who holds not fire in her veins but bronze and stone. And despite this she makes him burn. He will have his answers sooner or later. Daemon has never been a patient man. But know it feels like he has all the time in the world. The Gods have ordained this. There is no running from this. And if anyone tries to tear them apart the gods have mercy because he will not. 

Rhea stirs and blinks sleepily. Her eyes flutter and then lock on his own. Daemon’s heart skips a beat. Her one eye has begun to change. What was once amber now has a small speck of violet. It has begun. Daemon is sure a mote of amber is in his own as well. Pride and hunger and something primal fill him. Their hearts beat as one. Her own eyes are filled with trepidation and something hungry as well. But then the boys begin to stir and Rhea’s gaze turns to them. The love in her eyes softens her gaze and it makes something in Daemon tremble. He knows whatever the faults of his soulmate she is a women who revealed her deepest secrets for her children. He had given up on the thought of having children of his own. Now he can see children with her hair and his eyes. Now he has three boys to shape and protect. He is no longer alone. The Gods have spoken. And Daemon Targaryen for once does not find any cause to argue with their decree.