#the targaryen monarchy is chalk full of drama

[silver-dragonborn]

modern!rhaemond?

That's not a bad idea! But, of course, modern Targaryen would be based on the British Monarchy with all the dysfunctional relationships and family feuds that come with it.

How about this:

Rhaena and Baela are the daughters of the Rogue Prince, who broke away from the Targaryen Monarchy due to the estrangement between him and his brother Viserys. Tensions between them only soured further when Daemon married his distant family member Laena Velaryon instead of Rhea Royce. Hence, the twins never really became acquainted with THAT side of the family or their cousins born from their uncle's second marriage. They live comfortably in their father's estate, free from the world's prying eyes.

Aemond is the second son of a King. But, with his brother, Aegon II, stealing the spotlight with his party-boy behavior and drunken scandals, he's resigned himself to living in the shadows of his father and brother, traveling the world with his beloved dog Vhagar and focusing on his studies.

Rhaena lives in peaceful obscurity and is more than happy to work as a librarian in the city library. She spends most of her time writing a book on Valyrian History and hopes to complete it without distractions. Unfortunately for her, a distraction comes in the form of her first cousin, Aemond Targaryen, who seems to have developed an unusual interest in her.

“Will you have dinner with me tonight?” Aemond turned back to her, and somehow he was closer than he had been before, his lean arm touching hers, his left leg pressed lightly against her right one. Rhaena felt his body heat like lava all down her right side, triggering a restless impulse to press closer and see just how warm hot could get her. Very hot, she bet. Burning. Melting.

Oh, no.

Blushing fiercely, she shook her head frantically, braids whipping against her face as she waved her hands, squeaking, “By the Seven, no! We’re cousins!”

He laughed a deep and rich sound. “Does it matter? We’re Targaryens. That sort of thinking hardly applies to us.”

Rhaena’s blush deepened, and her palms began to sweat as the embarrassment started to sink in. One day, maybe once her book was published, she would move far away from King’s Landing and take a boat to Driftmark. Maybe live a life of solitude on the beach to recover from this embarrassing conversation. “I know that. It’s just… I mean… You’d be a big complication, and I can’t handle dating right now.”

Fuck. Aemond was laughing again, and when she realized what she had just said, she wanted to sink into the expensive leather of his car seat and disappear. But, instead, she stubbornly plowed on. “And then there’s my father. He’s your uncle, even though he’s been separated from Viserys for years; I don’t think he would be happy with me talking to you… Anyway, I don’t think it would be a good idea.”

Aemond didn’t say anything for a long time, just watched her with a completely unreadable expression on his face, eye darkening with something akin to desire as if he wanted to devour her.

“I will ask again, sweet cousin,” he finally said. Rhaena wasn’t sure how those six words could sound almost like a threat, but they did. Like Daemon, Aemond Targaryen was not a man used to being turned down. “You can try,” she snipped as the car slid to a stop in front of her apartment building. “And I’ll turn you down again and again and again until you get tired of asking.”

Another laugh, and this time, Rhaena smiled back.