Chapter 42

Chapter 42

RHAENYRA TARGARYEN

Night had fallen, and by now, half the castle slept. The other half, on the other hand was busy in their preparations for sleep. Sleep had eluded her as she found her mind wandering to the scenes from earlier in the day.

The scenes from the tourney haunted her, watching Daemon whack away his sword at Gwayne mercilessly with a smile on his face. Had it not been for Aenys, the mood in the castle would have been even somber, as she had seen it in his eyes. Daemon had meant to kill him.

Why? She found herself questioning. There was a time when Rhaenyra had been fond of Daemon, had enjoyed his company and his boisterous, nonchallant nature. Yet things had changed, and it had all begun with her father choosing as an heir over him. One Crown, a crown that he was not even meant to have.

Yet he wasn't the only one his father had removed from the line of succession. No there was another person who had been pushed farther down when she had been made the heir apparent to the throne.

She came to a halt outside the door of that person. Two guards stood outside Aenys's chamber. She had already confirmed that Alicent was in her own chambers with Aenar, and he was alone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly opening the door and entering his room.

The room was dark, a small candle illuminating the otherwise dark room, and her lips thinned. As she was about to walk out, she heard a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Who is there?" she heard Aenys call out, and she stilled as she replied in a small whisper.

"It's me, Rhaenyra," she answered and could hear the surprise in his tone as he answered.

"Rhaenyra," he said as the room lit up as he lit up the lamp by his side. The wounds from the morning were bandaged still, and she could tell from the puffiness and narrowing of his eyes that she had probably roused him from his sleep.

"If you are looking for Alicent, I believe she is with Aenar. He was having trouble sleeping," he told her, and she shook her head.

"No, the truth is that I came here to talk to you," she said and saw that he was surprised, though he still sat up slowly, minding his wounds as he gestured for her to take a seat.

"What brings you here at this hour," he questioned as she sat down, chewing her lip as she thought of appropriate words to mouth it out.

In the end, she decided to simply ask it as she looked up into his frowning eyes.

"Do you wish to be King as well?" she questioned and felt him still at her words before he sighed and leaned back before he questioned her.

"Is this about Daemon? About what happened in the tourney?" he questioned, and she nodded, not surprised that he was able to reason out the reason so quickly. After all, no one could question the mind of Aenys Targaryen.

"What do you think being a King or Queen represents?" he questioned, and she thought about it before she answered.

"Power, it represents absolute power," she answered, for that was essentially what the crown was. Aenys nodded at her words.

"Yes, indeed. And the love of power is an insatiable demon, one that resides in all humans. Daemon is no different than any other man in his desire for power. Yet what many fail to understand is that with power like the Crown comes equal responsibility, for you hold in your hands the fate of millions of people directly and even more indirectly," he answered as he looked towards her.

"You said every man desires power, yet you don't. You bent the knee when Father made me his heir, and even now, I have never seen you show any desire for the crown," she cut in sharply, and he raised a brow.

"You are wrong," replied Aenys. His words made the whole temperature of the room shift as she frowned at his words.

"I desire power as much, Daemon, perhaps even more," he answered, and his words shocked her.

"And make no mistake, I hold power, significant power. I have enough wealth that it would put entire cities to shame. My fame stretches from one corner of the world to the other," he boasted, and it was the first time she had seen him boast like this. And in the flickering light of the flames, she could perhaps see his resemblance with Daemon for the first time as those eyes lit up.

"I could carve out a kingdom for myself anywhere I want, and people would flock to my lands at my call," he finished, and his words somewhat unsettled her. Of course, Rhaenyra was aware of his influence and wealth. She had seen it firsthand in Braavos, yet she wasn't aware of its magnitude.

She had heard the whispers in the court speaking of his power, and yet the words coming out of his own mouth held more power, and she knew them to be true in her heart, for Aenys was never fond of lies.

"Daemon wishes to be King because he believes it to be his right, acting like a petulant child. He, who has no regard for duty or family, wishes to be King for he believes it will fill the gaping hole of nothingness he harbors inside his heart, yet he is wrong. To him, the Crown is his by right, and he will not stop until he has it in his grasp," Aenys told her in a chilling tone as he looked her in the eye.

"And right now, you are the only one who stands in his way. And to fight this battle, you must realize what does being Queen means to you, and most of all, do you have what it takes to wade through a sea of blood and steel to walk up those steps and sit on that throne? Make no mistake, your path up those steps will not be easy."

And then, with that, she left the room, her mind racing as his words continuously ran through her mind. As she felt a shadow linger behind her, smiling as he continued to question her.

That night, after much trouble, she found slumber, and in her dreams, she found herself standing infront of her father's throne, her body submerged in a Sea of Blood, with wrinkly burnt arms pulling her drown, trying to drown her, as soft whispers rang around her

'Do you have what it takes?'

0000

OTTO HIGHTOWER

Otto Hightower sat in his office waiting for his daughter. He had received a missive from her earlier in the day asking for a meeting, and he had agreed quickly. It seemed that one good thing had come out of the tragic ordeal earlier in the day, and his blood boiled even now as he thought of what had happened in the melee.

Even a blind person could see what Daemon's intentions were, and if one paid even little attention to the happenings of the court, they would also know of the reason for his actions.

Daemon had wished to make an example of Gwayne, and as much as he loathed to admit it, had it not been for Aenys, he would have lost his son today. And wasn't that tragic? Owing a favor to the man whom he had shunned, the very man whom he had refused to accept as a good son.

Alicent's husband was a man of action. And though he was loathe to admit it, he could see the wisdom of his brother's words. Aenys Targaryen was an extremely valuable ally, one who could singlehandedly turn the tides in case of a conflict, and Otto had little doubt in his mind that a conflict lay ahead.

He had also come to understand his own misgivings about the man. Otto had always thought the man to be jealous of him, thought him to be after his own position as Hand. Yet he only now realized that the young Prince had little interest in the position of the Hand of the King, or even being King for that matter, despite a number of people believing him to have the makings of a true monarch.

There were whispers in the court that spoke of seeing the man ascend the throne in place of both Princess Rhaenyra and Daemon. Whispers that had become louder today, especially after that display of wanton brutality from Daemon.

There was a knock on his door, and Otto was quick to answer, already recognizing who stood on the other side from the soft knock.

"Come in," he said and watched as the door to his office opened, and Alicent entered his chambers.

She had changed out of her elaborate dress from the morning and was wearing a rather simple black dress, yet Otto didn't miss how this, much like all her dresses, was made of the finest silks he had seen.

"Alicent," he greeted as he stood up, though all he received in return was a simple nod, and as she sat down, he noticed the changes in his daughter. The previous Alicent had always seemed deferral, unsure of herself, yet the lady sitting infront of her looked him in the eye as an equal. Her gaze was strong and cold giving no indication of what went on in her head.

"It is good to see you, Alicent," he said, and she gave him a small nod.

"I believe the day has been tiring enough for both of us. Perhaps it would be beneficial for both of us to skip the small talk and move onto the main reason for this meeting," she said in manner which reminded him of the young Prince, and he was once again surprised by her assertiveness yet nodded nonetheless.

"Let's, so tell me why did you want to meet with me?" he questioned. Alicent sighed as she leaned back in her seat.

"I believe you are already aware that Rheanyra has decided to make Gwayne her consort, and from what happened earlier today in the tourney I believe the whole realm knows that Daemon has not taken the news kindly," she began and he nodded.

"He hasn't, Daemon covets his brother's crown. He has deluded himself into believing that both the Crown and Rhaenyra somehow belong to him," he said with a scoff and Alicent frowned as she asked in perplexed tone.

"Rhaenyra?"

And he was surprised that she didn't know of this.

"Before the campaign in the Stepstones, the King did for some time consider a match between Rhaenyra and Daemon," and he still couldn't believe that Viserys had done that, yet those were troubling times for your grace.

And Alicent seemed surprised by that.

"Though it was never brought up at a council meeting, the King did discuss it with Queen Aemma, and the good Queen saw the match for the atrocity and cruelty it was and convinced the King to see reason," he told her and may the Gods bless Queen Aemma for that, for sparing the realm another Maegor.

"It was around the time she was pregnant, and since the King never spoke of it, the rumors died down, yet Daemon believes that the match was final and that he should be the one to marry Rhaenyra," and he saw Alicent pale before she gasped.

"Gods be good!" she uttered as sank back in her seat. He did not chastise her for her words, for he had no right now.

"Daemon will not stop at this. He will continue his endeavor," he informed her, and Alicent shook her head as she questioned.

"What can we do?" she asked, and Otto considered what to say before he began.

"The realm holds little patience for Daemon's antics, and the only true support he enjoys is from the Lords who participated in his campaign in the Stepstones," he began, and even that was going to drop.

Daemon's actions at the tourney ground had not escaped the eyes of the Lords High and low, and the memory of Maegor's rules was fresh enough that parallels would be drawn quickly, and of course if a few houses were to encourage such discussions, then soon the comparisons would spread throughout the Court.

Yet that didn't mean Daemon was without appeal.

"But as much as I loathe him, Daemon holds a kingdom of his own now and has the respect of several Lords because of his martial prowess. But most importantly, the lords of the realm will not let a woman rule over them," and he saw Alicent frown at his words as she cut in.

"Winning a war doesn't make someone a good ruler, and I believe Rhaenyra would make an excellent queen," she defended the princess. And he doubted that, but that was not the point.

"She could be the second coming of King Jaehaerys herself. The Lords will not bow their heads to a Queen, at least not all of them," he answered and saw Alicent chew her lips before she questioned.

"Then what shall we do?"

He didn't reply immediately as he considered the words carefully before he sighed and spoke up carefully.

"There are whispers in Court, whispers about a more suitable candidate for the throne," he began and saw Alicent frown as she failed to understand to whom he was eluding.

"Some in the Court believe that the King should name his youngest brother, Aenys, as his heir."

And he saw Alicent's eyes widen before she shook her head.

"You are lying. Aenys would never encourage such nonsense," she said, and he nodded.

"And that is what makes these whispers powerful. From what I know, no one promoted this idea. It rose up naturally, and I can understand the reasoning behind it," he said as he leaned back.

"Aenys Targaryen is one of the most influential men of this generation. He is a famed warrior and holds considerable wealth," he began before he pointed towards her and added with a smile.

"He is pious and already has a legitimate heir. The Lords believe that his ascension would bring stability to the realm, stability which neither Princess Rhaenyra nor Prince Daemon can bring," he finished, and Alicent was quick to shake her head.

0000

LYONEL STRONG

A new Sun dawned in the capital and the Red Keep, yet the shadow cast by Prince Daemon's actions at the tourney yesterday still hung over the Red Keep. He had heard that half the castle had remained awake through the night, contemplating the happenings of the day.

He won't deny that he was amongst that half and had spent considerable time pouring over a rather ancient tome concerning the Succession laws of Old Valyria. And as he sat down with his fellow councilmen, and looked at the haggard face of the King, he could tell that the King had been much like him.

The meeting had been called earlier in the day, though given that the King had not uttered a word about his brother's actions, Lyonel was expecting the Lord Hand to make a move, to force the King to discipline his brother.

Yet whatever he had been expecting, the King's words would still come as a shock to him, and his entire council.

"First of all, I would like to inform all of you that Princess Rhaenyra is to wed in a moon's time," the King began with a smile.

"She will wed Ser Gwayne Hightower, and their children shall take her name," the King finished, and there were several mutterings about that. Congratulations were exchanged, though most of them were already aware of this, and according to him the match wasn't particularly a bad one.

Many would say that House Hightower had gained too much influence with Prince Aenys already married to Alicent Hightower, and now the Princess was marrying Ser Gwyne Hightower. However, such concerns could easily be rectified.

The only other option was Ser Laenor Velaryon, yet half the court was already aware of the man's preferences. Marrying him despite his lineage could have posed problems for the Princess. He glanced at their Master of Ships, who was looking at the King with a complicated expression, and for some reason, the King seemed to be avoiding his gaze.

"And other than that, I would like to inform you all of another decision which I have made," the King began, and the chambers became quiet again as all of them listened to the King's words with rapt attention.

"Despite the insistence of this Council, I have decided that I will not be taking a second wife," and his eyes widened at those words as he realized that perhaps this might have been the reason for the tensions among the Velaryons for the last few days.

"But your grace," Grandmaester Mellos began, but the King was quick to raise his hand.

"I have thought this through, and is hall bot be hectored over this," the King cut in sharply, as the chambers became quiet until a sound of a chair falling sprung through the chambers as Corlys Velaryon strode out of the Council chambers, the badge for the master of Ships left there on the table.

0000

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