Three moons after Azaerys brought Lyanna to Siren, on the evening of the second day of the eleventh moon, hours before Rhaelyx, Starfyre, and Silvexis returned from Ulthos, the Kharzik twins entered labour only moments apart.
There was a sense of emergency in the manse, and when Viserys, Ashara, and Arthur rushed to the door, they found Arianne, Daenerys, Allyria, little Eleana, and Missandei worriedly pacing around, the air thick with the sharp tang of herbal poultices and the faint, metallic scent of anxiety-sweat.
Ser Gerold Hightower and Ser Oswell Whent were sitting down the hallway, and the latter was whetting his sword to keep his nerves calm, the rhythmic scrape of stone against steel echoing softly in the tense corridor.
The two kingsguard stood up and bowed to Ashara and Viserys from far away, and after they acknowledged their greeting, the queen immediately asked a question.
"Who's with Lyanna?"
"Jaerra and Elia are with her in her room. She's fine," Allyria informed her sister and brightly smiled at her husband before entering his arms. "I missed you." She sweetly said.
"So did I," Viserys smiled and planted a kiss on her head. "The kids?" He inquired.
"They are with them."
The prince nodded to her and then excused himself to go check up on his kids.
He had terribly missed the sight of them in the last two moons.
When he knocked on the door to Lyanna's room, he only had to wait a moment before Jaerra rushed over and opened it.
"Vis!" His lover beamed and jumped into his embrace, and he laughed and spun around with her before sharing a chaste kiss, the familiar warmth of her body grounding him amidst the chaos outside.
He then entered the room, greeted Elia and Lyanna, and walked over to the other side of the bed where Rhaegar and Shaena were playing with the four little dragonlings.
The one that was bonded to his son was a red-coloured dragon, the same as Rhaelyx, but of a darker shade. As for the one who was bonded to his daughter, it was a cobalt-coloured she-dragon, who was very beautiful.
There were two more dragonlings in the bed, one that was a dark grey she-dragon, and the other was yellow, almost golden. These two dragons belonged to Maelor and Maena, who were peacefully asleep inside their cot.
None of these dragons had been named, and it would not be until years later that they would receive their names.
These dragonlings were Rhaelyx and Draegon's children, from the clutch of four that his she-dragon had laid last year.
Viserys planted kisses on his twins' heads and then carried his daughter when she opened her arms to him.
He laughed when she fell asleep as soon as she laid her head on his shoulder, and shook his head to Jaerra, who had stepped forward to accept her.
Rhaegar, seeing that Viserys was carrying Shaena, urged his father to pick him up as well.
The three ladies in the room giggled as Viserys walked left and right in the room, carrying his two children in his arms, who were peacefully asleep, their soft breaths warm against his neck.
As if prompted by the sight, the red and cobalt dragonlings fell asleep as well, snuggling with each other, and the grey and yellow dragons grew a little restless.
Knowing what she had to do, Jaerra picked the two up and placed them in Maelor and Maena's cot, and within moments, the two dragonlings too fell asleep.
"Rhaegal and Lyrax are getting restless. They want to see Aegon and Rhaemon," Lyanna informed the prince, who smiled at her.
"Rhaenys is keeping an eye on them. Your son spends most of his day exploring the city, learning sword-fighting from her and Boros, and archery from the Kharziks. As for Aegon, he has been staying in the library for most of the day, and if not there, he is in the arms of Mrymadora. However, Rhaenys does force him to train with the swords and also makes him join Rhaemon in archery lessons. Both are doing fine."
Elia and Lyanna nodded their heads.
"Arthur will soon take Silvexis, Rhaegal, and Lyrax to Sothoryos. We will have Aegon and Rhaemon meet them there. I will go together with them."
"Thank you." The Stark brightly smiled at him.
"Have you decided on the name?" He curiously asked, and Lyanna happily nodded her head.
"Zaeron Ostaryen." She placed her hand on her belly and smiled.
"Ostaryen?" Viserys raised his brow at her.
"Yes. Laeha and Laena have agreed to accept him as their son. Azaerys alluded to the future where Zaeron would take their daughters as his wives, and so, he will bear the Ostaryen name." She lightly said.
The Targaryen prince, however, meaningfully looked at her.
"I heard that you did not inform your brother and his wife that you were carrying a child."
Lyanna's smile strained a little.
"You don't want people to know that Zaeron is your child?"
"As long as the family knows, it's fine."
"Why?"
"It might create problems for Rhaemon in the future. The people of the North... they would see Zaeron as an abomination. In their eyes, I would be Azaerys' mother, and bearing children for him is a taboo that they believe that even the Valyrians did not commit. We have had instances where half-siblings married each other, first cousins is a common union, uncles have wed nieces, and aunts have wed their nephews, but there has been no reported incident where a mother was involved with her son and bore him a child. With Zaeron being an Ostaryen, he would stay away from Westeros and make Essos his home."
"You are not Azaerys' mother, Lya." He sighed.
"I know, but the people of the North would not think that way."
"Do you know that there was once a tradition in the North, several thousand years ago, where fathers bore the first rights to their daughters?" He suddenly said something that stunned everyone in the room.
"What do you mean by first rights?" Elia frowned.
"Once the daughter had flowered, during the winter solstice, her father would spend seven nights with her, where he would take her maidenhead and help her become a woman. A lot of girls ended up carrying a child for their fathers, and the mothers of those girls would claim the offspring as theirs after the births. In some instances, fathers took their daughters as their wives if they were widowed. The same way, in some clans, mothers were the ones to guide their sons to adulthood. However, these traditions disappeared a few centuries before the Long Night, over 8000 years ago. The free folk started seeing deformities in their children and believed that marrying their kin had been disallowed by the gods. Now, they avoid even marrying within their clans. But unions between kin still happen and are acceptable, just not between parents and children, and brothers and sisters." He smiled and chuckled at their shock. "South of the Wall, the parent and child unions ended as well, but marriages between first cousins happen to this day. Faith of the Seven does not permit a marriage between an uncle and niece or an aunt and nephew, but Old Gods allow it. On the other hand, Old Gods don't allow the union between step-mothers and sons, Faith of the Seven had the same view, but when Lyonel Hightower took his step-mother, Samantha Hightower, as his paramour for thirteen years and had six children with her, the new High Septon allowed them to marry, reversing the decision of his predecessor, who had deemed it a sin."
"I told her about Lyonel and Samantha, but she just wouldn't listen. The truth is that she just does not want to be looked down upon by her brothers," Elia giggled, earning a glare from the Stark.
"Just let me do what I want. Besides, the Old Gods have no priests and high septons to reverse or make amendments to the codes." She said, and Viserys smiled.
"Only times."
The Stark raised her brow at him, but Viserys did not explain what he meant.
"Of course. I was just telling you that it would not require much effort to convince the Northmen to accept your and Azaerys' relationship, should you decide to make it public in the future."
"I don't care about making it public. As long as you know, and the family accepts it, I am fine."
"Of course," the prince dropped the matter. "Has your brother agreed to marry Alysanne to Rhaemon?"
"He is not opposed to the union, but wants to wait until they grow up and can make their own decision."
"Good," he appreciatively nodded his head.
"How were things in Ulthos?"
"Easy. I don't think the man-apes would be returning for the next few years. The Kharzik towns are expanding, and a new town, the Giant Ape Town, is being constructed."
"Wow. So they liked the giant apes?" Jaerra excitedly asked.
"Yes," Viserys nodded his head. "We will be receiving two hundred hippogriffs at the start of the coming year for those thirty young giant apes. They have asked for thirty-six more for the next year, and we will receive another hundred hippogriffs for them. Sixty-six giant apes for three hundred hippogriffs. The Kharzik tribes, except for the Shadowcat Tribe and the Wolf Tribe, have also decided to gift us twenty Kharzik warriors each as the protectors of the two princesses that are about to be born. The Shadowcat and Wolf Tribes will be giving us forty warriors each."
"They only want thirty-six more?" Jaerra frowned.
"For now, yes."
"And the griffins?"
"Azaerys has not allowed their trade." He shook his head. "They are magical creatures, and even we don't have a lot of them. If a Kharzik tribe ends up possessing them, then they would gain superiority over the other tribes, and wars might be waged over these griffins. Azaerys has forbidden the exchange of griffins."
The four of them chatted for a while, and then Viserys took the kids to their room and left them there in Jaerra's care.
He had his dinner with the kingsguard and the captains of their household guards and then walked towards the room of the Kharzik twins.
Despite the thick walls, their painful screams could still be heard, piercing the air like sharp daggers, and everyone seemed very anxious.
Arianne could be seen wincing from time to time, recalling the pain she had suffered during childbirth.
The screams also reminded Viserys of the pain that Allyria had suffered. It was truly something that made his soul tremble.
An hour later, the painful cries subsided, and two midwives came out with happy smiles on their faces.
"The mothers are safe, and we have been blessed with two princesses."
"Yay!" Daenerys, Eleana, and Missandei excitedly hugged each other.
They were the only ones who had not been informed that Laena and Laeha were going to have daughters. And the three clearly wanted more girls in their family.
"Please wait a while. You will be called inside after the mothers have fed the babies." They said and rushed down the hallway to grab some things to help clean the Kharzik queens.
A while later, Azaerys came out, carrying his two newborn daughters in his arms, and he showed their faces to them.
The girls had golden brown hair and fair skin, and their eyes were like sparkling silver, quite different from the eyes of their mothers which resembled grey crystals.
Arianne's heart melted at the sight of them, and she gushed over them together with Daenerys. Even Eleana was more reserved than them, but the sight was truly heartwarming.
"Their names?" Allyria asked as she accepted one girl in her arms and Ashara took the other.
"Haera and Haela Ostaryen," Azaerys informed them, and Viserys stepped forward and shared a tight hug with him, congratulating him on becoming a father again.
Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell were next before a week-long celebration was announced.
However, two maids immediately came rushing over to them and informed them that Lyanna had suddenly entered labour.
Azaerys remained calm whilst everyone else panicked a little, and after leaving his newborn daughters in Ashara and Allyria's care, he walked toward Lyanna's room.
There was a deep frown on his face which only Viserys noticed.
Late in the night, just a couple of hours before dawn, Prince Zaeron Ostaryen came into the world, almost taking his mother's life in the process. His hair was a mix of light brown and platinum blonde, and his eyes were sparkling silver, different from those of Starks and the same as that of his newborn half-sisters.
Viserys could not help but feel that Zaeron being named an Ostaryen was the will of their gods. And Azaerys had allowed Lyanna and the Kharzik twins' request, which only meant that it was the right thing to do.
Since Lyanna had fallen unconscious, it was Laena and Laeha who fed their milk to young Zaeron.
The Stark was not sad at all when she woke up from her unconscious state late in the afternoon and learned from Azaerys that she would never be able to become a mother again.
To protect her life, he had been forced to use magic, and the price was her fertility.
Viserys felt that there was more to it, but he kept quiet. He had a hunch that Lyanna had lost a big chunk of her lifespan. However, it was not something he even wished to bring up.
The next day, the Targaryen King went to the Grand Temple of R'hllor and returned with a female shadowbinder and three dragon eggs.
No one was surprised at the dragon eggs, but the girl, who called herself Quaithe, and who always wore a dark-red wooden mask and a black robe with red linings, had them all curious.
The only two people whom she talked to were Daenerys and Eleana, but even then, she never agreed to play with them.
She was always around Azaerys, following him like a shadow, and even as he would go on rides with Nefaerion and Aerylyx, she would stay under the same yew tree and wait for his return.
Daenerys, one evening, returned fuming after meeting with her, and when Ashara asked her what was wrong, she told them what the shadowbinder said to her.
"She said she would die together with Azaerys on a frozen lake."
The future Targaryen empress hated talking about deaths, and she never forgave Quaithe for talking about Azaerys' death.
She even had a fight with the Targaryen King. She asked him to send Quaithe away, and when denied, she pleaded that he, at least, kept her away from him, but the king sighed at her words and shook his head again.
When she threatened that she would kill the shadowbinder, Azaerys took her to his study, and hours later, when she returned, her mood was much better. However, everyone noticed that her eyes were red from crying.
She still did not talk to the shadowbinder and started ignoring her presence altogether. However, she never stopped Eleana from talking to the girl who always kept her face hidden.
As curious as everyone was about this mysterious girl, they eventually accepted her presence.
At the end of the third moon of 295 AC, Azaerys Targaryen left Siren with Quaithe on top of the newly received hippogriffs and more, taking two hundred and fifty of them to Dragonport.
On the same day, Viserys and Arthur returned with Rhaelyx, Silvexis, Rhaegal, and Lyrax from their expedition in Sothoryos. They also brought some gifts for the family, including six colourful little monkeys and some colourful parrots, who could talk, and also white-necked ravens and even white ravens, who could talk as well.
The kids loved those gifts, and the atmosphere in Siren remained as bright as ever.