His Mother

Since the day Drake Velaryon had become Lord of the Tides, the castle of Driftmark had been the very definition of orderly and calm. It appeared that trend was ending today.

Since the day he'd beaten his first swordsmaster in a proper spar, Nikolaus Velaryon had almost never been observed to raise his voice, and in fact few people could point to a time he had from the moment he'd learned how to speak. It appeared that was also ending today.

The problem was, of course, as maids would no doubt tell each other, the new bride his Lordship had brought to Driftmark. A very wild, uncouth barbarian woman from the North, not that anyone would dare to say so in front of any of the family. There had been an air of much joy and celebration when it was discovered that the lady was with child, but no one had expected what that would come with.

"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO THE NORTH PREGNANT!" Nikolaus roared at his wife, shaking the room with his booming voice and startling the men who followed him. Glaring around the room with dark violet of eyes full of fire, he commanded them with very little equanimity. "Confine the Lady Seraya to her quarters until I return. If she escapes and takes a horse north, I will have all of you hung from the bow of the Sea Dragon for a week." None of them doubted he would do it, and they complied, as terrifying as the Lady Seraya Velaryon was when she was like this.

He stormed from the room, mind whirling with an unusual combination of fear and frustration. The farther he got from his pregnant wife and her threats of running all the way back home while carrying his child, however, the calmer he became, and the more his mind ran to the practical things he could do to ease Lady Seraya's anxieties. He was so deep in thought, that he almost didn't see his mother coming down the hall towards him.

"Is everything alright, Nikolaus?" She asked. Lady Visenya Velaryon was old now, her black hair streaked with white, and her gentle face lined with wrinkles, but she had never stopped carrying herself with a powerful grace that at once calmed Nikolaus and made him want to stand up straighter. That in itself was a bit problematic, as she was so much shorter than him that conducting a conversation with her required quite a bit of craning downwards.

He sighed and knelt down in front of her, as had become his custom when speaking to her. "All is well with the children. It only seems my Lady has become somewhat distressed with her pregnancy, and is desperate for the comforts of home."

The old woman tilted her head to one side, thoughtfully, scanning his face. He caught the hint of amusement twinkling in her eyes. She'd always done well at hiding it from his father, but Nikolaus knew better. "You seem surprised, my son. Did you not expect trouble upon the arrival of your first child?"

He met her gaze with his, then lifted his nose a little and took on an ever so slightly pompous tone as he said, "I have heard the troubles of men who struggled with it, but there are many things lesser men struggle with. The Lord of House Velaryon should not concern himself with them."

His mother laughed then, a sound he had always liked to hear, as rare as it was. "If you are not careful, your father will one day discover that you have been imitating him."

Speaking gravely, but just as amused, he answered, "His arrogance is one of the greatest gifts he gave me, after all. I should not waste it."

Shaking her head at him in quiet laughter, she kissed him on the forehead, and told him, "I will go to her, and try to calm her a little." And he found, as somehow was always the case when matching wits with his mother, that his spirits were much lifted.