Chapter 32: Chapter 25

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"An unhealthy interest in alchemy?!" I asked, astonished. The giggling girl across from me nodded, before swallowing the food in her mouth. If that's really all the Greens can think of to tar her with, her PR doesn't need that much work, mostly just management.

"Yes, yes, it's what I said! Father brings in the alchemists for knickknacks of all kinds, and I like to ask them 'bout things. All my ladies say the Maesters have all the knowledge, but they've never picked the mind of alchemists or seen the vast stores of knowledge the Faith has! Lords with their libraries likely have works claimed lost to time, I know I do on Dragonstone! Gods, I cannot wait until I have full rights to peruse the place!" Rhaenyra finally finished. She said that all in one breath, I was shocked I could follow it all. Head empty, only books, I guess.

"Rhae, you are Princess of Dragonstone, are you not?" I asked. "Why did we not fly there instead of to this rocky beach?" A wave broke along the shoreline as Silverwing let out a smoke-filled yawn some 200 feet away. Vermithor had flown off to find something to eat. I could only pray he didn't take too many sheep. Uncle might well get irritated if too much of the royal coffers have to be spent on compensating shepherds.

"Because it's more fun to fly out here, and I can walk around more instead of just sitting on Silverwing until the sun sets!" she replied, without missing a beat. "'Sides, I just told you, they won't let me just take over the castle for what I want until I come of age. Father had all the staff replaced after Uncle Daemon left, they won't just let anyone with a dragon have the run of the castle now." Damn. I don't remember Viserys going that far in the original timeline, but this isn't anything like the original timeline in some ways.

"Anyways! Explain that warm table again?" Rhaenyra suddenly said, spinning to me and looking me dead in the eye, a look of excitement in her eyes. I really need to get her to work on retention.

"A grate over a charcoal brazier in the floor, a table set atop it with a quilt overlaying. Mayhap have the quilt placed inside part of the table so as to not stain it. The quilt traps the heat, charcoal doesn't smoke. Keeps you warm while you write something, or eat," I explained. Or play cards, but I'll make those later.

"Do we really need to tear the Kingdom down to make sure I'm Queen?" The question interrupted my thoughts. Gritting my teeth, I walked up to her and carefully unclipped her necklace, which she made no attempt to stop. Her face turned a light shade of pink as I backed up. With a smile, I handed it to her.

"Take this and spin it in your hand, be careful to not let go," I said. "Now, shall I explain?" The blush on her cheeks started to fade as she listened and started spinning the necklace in her hands. Quietly, she smiled and kept spinning the necklace around her fingers.

"You remember what happened with Cousin Rhaenys at the Great Council? The Lords of the Realm refused to consider her, they voted between Laenor and Uncle Viserys. This, despite Andal Law stating that Rhaenys was next in line for the throne, and Laenor after her. It's ironic, the First Men of the North voted to pass inheritance to a female line, forbidden except under dire circumstances by their own laws, and most of the Andal lords of Westeros voted to pass the throne to a lesser branch," I blinked, and shifted back to the topic at hand. And I moaned about her getting off track. "The Lords will go with whatever is easier to stomach. And crowning your brother as King would be that. We cannot let the Lords do such a thing. Otto gave you a boon: he ensured that Jaehaerys' precedent is that the King… or Queen, when you ascend, chooses their heir. What the lords want is immaterial. The Lords cannot elect Kings or heirs, lest we become utterly beholden to them. The Great Council must be a one-time thing." The necklace wrapped around Rhaenyra's fingers and stopped as she clenched her fist.

"That being said," I continued. "We cannot act without the Lords entirely. They have much more money and men than we could raise on our own. We can win battles until the sun burns out with our dragons, but we cannot collect taxes or hold land with them. Therefore, we shall need at least some of the lords."

"Jeyne," Rhaenyra interrupted. "She has sworn to support me until the end of her days. What of the Velaryons? Will they bend the knee, or will they rise for Laenor? With them comes Lord Boremund and the Stormlords." I took a breath. I could give her a vague answer that would make her happy… or I could be honest and we could come up with a plan, even if she wasn't a fan.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Laenor and Laena are my friends, and I know neither would enjoy fighting. But, even being his squire, I don't know what Lord Corlys has planned. He may still harbor ambitions to take the Iron Throne for House Velaryon." A grunt of annoyance came out from Rhaenyra as she crossed her arms.

"And with them goes Lord Baratheon," she mused. "But what other Stormlords could we turn to? Connington is the next most powerful nearby, but Lord Roy may be reluctant to be called upon by a Princess after what occurred with Aunt Saera. The Marchers will only follow a warrior, and you are yet a child like myself. The others are too weak to properly lead a true opposition. We may yet have to wait for Lord Boremund's death, and attempt to court Ser Borros." I shuddered at the thought of trying to recruit Borros, and remembering how that went for my namesake in the original timeline. "Oh, don't give me that, Luke! He may be a bit stupid, but he was nothing but courteous at his wedding to Lady Elenda. He can be spoken with."

"If we are to court him as an ally," I offered, "what can we offer him in return?"

"Marriage," she replied snappily, flipping the necklace in her hands again. She looked away momentarily as she realized the harshness of her tone. "Sorry. But… offer him a marriage. A Princess for a son of his, or a Prince for a daughter of his." Well, that had been what decided his allegiance in the old timeline. Even if both sides had waited until the last minute to begin any kind of preparations. It was like both had deluded themselves into thinking the other side would back down and there certainly wouldn't be bloodshed over the Iron Throne.

"There is something in your plans that worries me, Luke," she said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Your wish to use the smallfolk as part of my power base. They have varying laws in all regions of the Seven Kingdoms, Jaehaerys' code did naught to address that. And what lords would support me knowing we wished to give the smallfolk power against their betters? We do want to win me a throne, yes? Not tear down Westeros and rebuild it brick by brick." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Rhae, we may yet need to. What I told you about the Lords still applies. The smallfolk are… well, not quite able to tell facts from fiction as easily— but that also means they are more swayable. They may yet accept a woman as their ruler, more simply than the lords of the realm," I said. Rhaenyra still looked unsure. I wasn't sure I could blame her. The idea of giving any form of power to the peasantry was alien in Westeros, and she'd likely been raised on the idea of her being better than even the lords, Father had certainly tried with me and Baela.

"Alright, we'll try it your way, then," Rhaenyra said. "But, you will tell me all the plans you have, and everything will be attempted on Dragonstone first." I opened my mouth to respond, but she placed a finger on it with a glare. "No! I will not put in place policy that will not work, it will be tried on my island and if it fails, we will not attempt it across the Kingdom!"

"Dragonstone may not have the money for every—" I began, but was rapidly cut off.

"You're the heir to the Stepstones, Luke! Money will not ever be something you're lacking in. Any of your ideas will be tried on Dragonstone, or not at all. Understood?" She was definitely not taking no for an answer.

"Alright, alright," I conceded. Her face didn't move.

"And," she added, "I will hear of everything you wish to do. No going behind my back. You will help me win the throne and help me reign, but it will still be me that is Queen." I nodded. "Swear it, Lucerys." I hesitated for a moment. What if I need to do something quickly and she's not around? Either way, I had to swear now or she wouldn't do anything. When did she become this thorough?

"I, Prince Lucerys Targaryen, do swear to serve Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen of Dragonstone loyally and truthfully, to inform her of any plots and plans, and to be true and faithful to my word," I finally said.

"Your third part was just a repeat of the first," she said after a moment, near monotone. I blushed as I looked away.

"I can't think of oaths that simply! I promise to tell you whenever I'm planning or plotting something, that's all I wanted to say," I insisted. Rhaenyra stopped to consider that for a few moments, before nodding.

"And if you break the oaths, Silverwing eats you!" she finally says, far too cheerily for the words that just came out of her mouth. "Now come on, sun is getting far too low in the sky, people will start asking questions soon. Just saw Vermithor land up the beach, can probably get to him by the time I get Silverwing up in the air, now let's go!" Before I could reply, she'd already taken off for her dragon. What have I gotten myself into?

Notes:

To boil down Rhaenyra's deal with Luke there at the end: "You can do whatever you want so long as you prove it works."