Chapter Text
The Rogue Prince paced across Rhaenyra’s chambers, his left hand placed absentmindedly on the hilt of Dark Sister while his right was clenched behind his back. The Princess’s quarters were brightly lit from the midday sun pouring through the windows but the energy swirling around the Red Keep felt dark and ominous.
The blonde girl sat in a plush armchair in front of her fireplace, which still held the ashes from the previous night's fire. Her blonde locks pulled into a tight braid over her shoulder and her bottom lip was being torn apart from nervousness between her teeth.
“He’s dying, Rhaenyra.” Daemon’s voice was cold and detached once he finally spoke, the dread that filled his being oozing into the room from his words. They had returned to Kings Landing only the day before and the air was thick and hot from tension.
“No. You’re wrong. The maester said-”
“They are wrong. He is dying and as we speak Otto Hightower is plotting to put a 2 year old babe on the Iron Throne.” He snarled at her. His voice held no patience for her as it normally did. “Rhaenys is on her way and once she arrives you must listen to us.”
Rhaenyra could feel the room spinning around her. It has only been 4 days since her father had been injured on the hunt for Aegon’s name day. She could still picture the way Viserys had smiled a toothy grin at her and kissed her forehead before he left, and now he was laying in his chambers sedated by the maesters.
The boar had hit him straight to his chest. One of the tusks on the beast pierced his belly and the bleeding could only be slowed but not stopped. None of the Kingsguard soldiers were able to protect him.
It had taken the maester that traveled with them several hours to stabilize the wound enough to make the trip back to the Red Keep
“He will recover.” Rhaenyra said weakly. Tears stung her eyes and all of her childhood fears bubbled to the surface. “He can’t die uncle. He is the King!”
“Listen to me Rhaenyra-” Daemon made his way to her and kneeled down to be eye level with her, lifting her chin with his index finger to look at him. “You will be Queen, your father named you heir and it was his wish to see you on the Iron Throne.”
The doors of Rhaenyra’s chambers swung open as Princess Rhaenys pushed past the guards at the entrance. Her face was somber and there was a thin sheen of sweat on her brow, her hair was windswept and the Prince could smell the scent of Dragon on her leathers.
“I suppose you have a plan Daemon.” Rhaenys asked quickly, her eyes scanning the room to ensure they were alone. Daemon stood and took a step back from Rhaenyra, crossing his arms as he nodded. His eyes were weary and Rhaenys could tell that the last few days were weighing heavily on the prince.
“I do. But we’ll need yours and the Seasnake’s support.” He tilted his head towards the makeshift war table that sat close to them. “But first, please make Rhaenyra see reason. None of us wish for Viserys to die but the situation is dire.”
“He’s not dying!”
“Enough!” Daemon bellowed. His eyes held fury that Rhaenyra had never seen. She looked at him, truly looked at him, for the first time and saw that he was scared. Rhaenyra rose from her seat and moved closer to the Prince and Princess.
“He is my brother Rhaenyra. He is my flesh, my blood, the only part of my mother and father that remain; but he is dying. My brother, your father, would not wish to see your inheritance pulled from beneath you.” The room grew silent as Daemon's words pierced her heart.
Her father was dying.
“What do you suggest?” Rhaenys asked after a beat of silence. “Rhaenyra is unmarried, no heirs and the Hightower girl is heavily pregnant. Her father will no doubt use her fertile womb to establish why Aegon being named heir would be safer than Rhaenyra since a spare is on the way.” She made her way to the table next to them, a map of the kingdom laid before them.
“The Hightowers cannot move as quickly as they wish to,” Daemon said. His fingertips run over the map as if looking to find the answer to their predicament. “It would seem like they dare to overextend themselves while the King lay sick and injured. Until Viserys takes his final breath, they cannot do much.”
“I will ask you again cousin-” Rhaenys tilted her head towards him. Her eyes reflected the impatience her voice could not. “What do you suggest?”
Silence blankets over them as Daemon mulls over his thoughts in his mind. His eyes continue to scan the map before him, taking in the different houses and accounting for where their loyalties might lie.
“Rhaenyra must wed the Hightower girl.” He finally said. His eyes moved to Rhaenyra.
“You expect me to marry my fathers soon to be widow?” Rhaenyra exclaims, her eyes widening. Her face grew hot and she could feel the tips of her ears warming. The thought of Alicent being so close to her once more made her stomach flip.
“Name Aegon your heir, marry the Hightower girl and raise the babe in her belly as your own.” Rhaenys pieced the plan together outloud. She turned to look at Daemon. “It’s not a bad plan, there are some obstacles but nothing undoable. Otto will feel as if he’s won but once the boy begins to grow Rhaenyra will hold influence over him. He will grow with few memories of his father and in their stead-” Her lilac eyes move to Rhaenyra. “Will be you.”
“Precisely.” Daemon nods. He glances back at the map on the table. “The Hightowers will have support in the south, however the vale and the north will remain loyal to Rhaenyra. With you by our side Rhaenys, House Baratheon and Velaryon will be loyal also.” He points to the different stone figures placed on the table's surface.
“And the boy?” Rhaenys asks.
“He can barely speak. His memories will include only Rhaenyra. Aegon will see her as a mother, perhaps even a sire. Even when he is of age, there will be no desire in him to usurp the throne. He will be raised to be a dragon and a true son worthy of inheriting the throne one day.” He moved small pieces around the map board as he spoke.
“He has a mother.” Rhaenyra finally spoke. Her words felt thick in her mouth and her voice sounded strange even to herself.
“Rhaenyra, the girl cannot remain free, if anything she would be little more than a prisoner in the Keep” Her uncle gave her a pointed look.
“No.” Rhaenyra said after a moment of silence. “I will not punish Alicent for the sins of her father. And I will also not force her to marry me. She’s been forced into enough marriages with our house.”
“Rhaenyra-”
“She is right, Daemon.” Rhaenys tilted her head towards the princess. “If we keep the Hightower girl as a hostage her father would only use it against us. It would be best for her to be loyal by choice than by fear. The girl has been Otto’s strongest pawn due to her marriage to Viserys.”
“We speak of loyalty as if she was not my childhood friend who bedded my father before my mothers ashes were cold.” The princess’s voice was low and full of venom. “I care not for her loyalty, I simply do not wish to mistreat her and push her further under her fathers influence.”
“That won’t be enough niece.” Daemon sneered at her as he clutched a small stone tower in his palm. “She must be loyal to you. She must love you or fear you more than she does her father.”
Rhaenyra’s nails dug into the palm of her hand, leaving small crescent moons in their wake. She and Alicent had not spoken more than a few words to each other in years. When the older girl had fallen pregnant, any hope of their relationship mending had been shattered, and when Aegon was born the hope disappeared all together again.
“Your uncle can be crass at times but he is right. The girl must hold affection for you for this to work.” The older woman reached out her hand to cover the younger girl's own. “She must also trust that you would never hurt her or her children. Otto will feed off of that fear and a scared mother will be your worst enemy.”
“Affection?” Daemon scoffed. “We do not need her to hold affection for her, fear would suffice.”
“Do not allow your feelings towards the girl's lord father cloud your judgment, cousin-” Rhaenys raised her eyebrow and scolded the Prince. “What will fear get us other than a girl who sees us as villains and supports her father’s ambitions?”
“I have something to show you both” Daemon pulls a neatly folded parchment from his breast without responding to the older woman. “Perhaps you are right. One of my loyal men brought this to me last night however I have no hard evidence of who wrote it. We need the girl to confirm it, whether through fear or affection, I will leave for Rhaenyra.”
-
Alicent paced in her chambers anxiously as her ladies in waiting sat whispering to one another. Her swollen belly was heavy on her spine and her legs had slowly gone numb as the pacing continued. The sun was lazily making its way across the sky and Alicent knew it would be dark soon.
Her son’s second name day had quickly become a nightmare when she heard the shouts of the Kingsguard soldiers as they ran into camp. Viserys had been covered in blood with nothing but a white cloak pressed to the wound, his already heavily bandaged hand pressed against himself.
She had tried numerous times to feel something, anything that a good wife should when she saw him hurt and bleeding but she could not help the relief that settled in her rib cage instead. His labored breaths, with the sickly sweet smell of wine on them, only annoyed her when she rushed to his side. She had spent the last 3 years learning to endure her husband and all of his vices.
But now, he lay dying in his chambers and the relief she had felt the first hours had slowly dimmed into an uneasy melancholy. Her father had been suspiciously silent since their return from the Kingswood. His normal scheming and politicking around her son had seemed to halt due to the King’s condition, which only caused more unease.
Aegon sat babbling while surrounded by the young ladies in her service as Alicent was lost in her thought. His wavy white locks bounced as he played with the wooden horses and figurines in front of him. The way he laughed and babbled should have filled her with love and devotion but all she felt was loneliness. The color of his hair and his eyes was so familiar to her yet so painful to see.
“Your Grace-” A Kingsguard soldier opened one of the heavy doors to her room and inclined his head towards her. “The princess has requested to meet with you.”
“The princess?” Alicent asked. Her hands subconsciously traveled to the swell of her stomach.
“I can tell her to return at a later time if you wish, my queen.”
“No it is alright.” She turned to her ladies in waiting and gave them a small nod. They quickly gathered their things and one of them picked up Aegon. “Please do not disturb us until dinner and ensure the young Prince goes to his wet nurse.”
When Rhaenyra walked through the doors, Alicent could feel her heart flutter in her chest. The younger girl was wearing her riding leathers and her cheeks were flushed. Her long golden hair was pulled back into intricate braids and it was clear she had just returned from riding.
“Your Grace I apologize for the intrusion but I couldn’t wait any longer to see you.” The princess came to a stop a few paces away from where Alicent stood. Her hands clasped behind her back and her head held high.
“There is no intrusion, Rhaenyra. I must confess, however, that your presence is confusing. We haven’t spoken in months.” Alicent motioned to the empty chairs where her ladies had been a few minutes before.
They sat in silence for a few moments, the air of awkwardness was heavy around them. Rhaenyra felt the parchment that was folded in her pocket between her index finger and her thumb, debating between the two approaches she could take.
“I will confess, there is a reason I have darkened your doorstep, your Grace, but it is not an easy thing to discuss.” The princess pulled the worn parchment from her pocket. She handed it to the queen without saying another word.
“I don’t understand.” Alicent replied as she opened the letter. She stared down at the sharp and crisp handwriting on the letter and felt her heart drop.
“My uncle intercepted this letter that was headed to your uncle-” Rhaenyra spoke so softly that Alicent couldn’t make out if there was danger hidden in her tone. “It is unsigned and the raven had no markings to distinguish it, however I believe you and I both know who wrote this.”
Alicent’s heart began to pound against her rib cage. The letter her father had written to her uncle was clenched tightly in her palm. His words of Aegon sitting on the throne would be considered treason. The uneasy feeling in her chest grew with every passing moment.
“Rhaenyra please-”
“I need your confirmation Alicent.” Rhaenyra glanced up at her. “I know your father wrote it. It seems your lord father and I will always be at an end with each other.”
“Rhaenyra you must know-” The brunette could feel tears stinging her eyes. What would happen to her because of her fathers carelessness and ambition?
“I have come with a proposition.” Rhaenyra doesn’t let her finish her sentence. She sits back in her chair and tilts her head towards Alicent.
“A proposition?”
“A proposal, if you will.” The blonde paused, her violet eyes meeting Alicent’s. “I do not know if you were involved in this scheme, Alicent, nor do I care. You and I both know that once Daemon and I show this letter to the other lords and bring attention to your uncle in Oldtown that he will cast your father aside as a traitor. Your uncle is a smart man, unlike your lord father, and he will sooner let your branch of his family tree decay and die than risk the fury of the crown.”
Rhaenyra’s words were like ice running down Alicent’s spine. The thinly veiled threat caused rage to build in her chest but she knew that Rhaenyra was right. Her uncle was a self preserving man, he would spin this as her father’s ambition despite being a co conspirator to this plan.
“You came here to threaten me Princess?” Alicent asks through gritted teeth. “My husband lies injured and dying, and you came here to threaten me and my children.”
“I would never dream of such a thing, your Grace.” The blonde said quietly, her irises glint with an emotion Alicent cannot place as she leans in closer to the brunette. “I am simply here to understand if you share your fathers views or not. He wishes to place your son, who is barely 2 name days old, on the iron throne. If you had nothing to do with this letter than I am here to offer you mercy from your fathers actions.”
“Mercy?” Alicent scoffs. “Perhaps my lord father was right when he said you would put my children to the sword for your own preservation.”
Alicent regretted the words as soon as they left her lips. The blonde stood abruptly, looming over her, anger filling her eyes and voice.
“Your father is a traitor to the crown and you know it. You truly believe he cares for your child? Aegon is but a means to an end for him.” The younger girl said with a snarl. “If you confirm that the letter was written by your father, as a favor to you, I will not have him killed. But he will take the Black and serve his final days on the Wall. He will never see your children grow old and his poison will no longer continue to drip into your ear.”
“That is your mercy Rhaenyra?” Alicent said after a moment. “And what of my children and I? Will we be banished from your kingdom? What mercy do you have planned for us?”
Rhaenyra could hear the fear in Alicent’s voice. Her uncle’s words rang through her ears.
She must love you or fear you more than she does her father.
“That is what I came to offer you.” Rhaenyra turned away from Alicent and joined her hands behind her back, not being able to bear looking at her. “My uncle has proposed a wedding. You and I can marry, I will name Aegon my heir and the babe in your womb will be born and raised as our child, in exchange for your support and confirmation of your fathers letter.
Silence filled the room. The sound of Alicent’s breathing and heartbeat pounding echoed in her own ears.
“A marriage?” Alicent asked quietly. “Between us?”
“If you refuse-” Rhaenyra took a shaky breath, steeling herself for the second threat of the evening. “Aegon will become my heir and ward. Until I marry and have a true born child of my own he will remain heir. He will be raised in the Red Keep at my side. You will stay with him until your labor but once the baby arrives, you will return to Oldtown. The crown will continue to care for you but you will never see your children again.”
“You would dare-” Alicent stands, her right hand resting against her swollen belly while the other hand steadies her stance.
“Believe me Alicent, compared to what my allies call for, this is a tender mercy for you. The other option is to brand you a traitor alongside your father, strip you of any support from the crown and put you to the sword.”
“So I either marry you or I lose my children?” Alicent gives a humorless laugh “Or worse, death?”
Rhaenyra considers taking it all back, she considers turning to face the brunette and say that it does not need to be this way, but she can’t. Her mother paid the ultimate price for that damn throne and she would not lose it, not even for Alicent.
“You have until sundown, your Grace. Daemon is building support among the noble lords as we speak, Rhaenys is halfway to Winterfell by now to meet with Lord Stark.”
The brunette can feel a sob building in her chest as she sits back down. She doesn’t glance at Rhaenyra as the blonde turns to face her once more. The thought of looking at the blonde after this makes her feel as if bile is rising in her throat.
“The option is yours Alicent. I am a woman of my word, and so I give you this; if you marry me, Aegon will grow into a strong and just King, the babe in your belly will be loved and given Dragonstone when they come of age, you will grow old next to your children and there will be peace. You will never be summoned to my chambers, and your days will be spent doing as you wish. Marry me and there will be peace, I swear it to you.”
Alicent finally lets the sob break through her. How could Rhaenyra be so gentle and so kind after being cold and cruel? How could she promise her things that even Viserys couldn’t?
In a different lifetime, one that now feels as if it was centuries ago, Rhaenyra would joke with her about riding across the narrow sea and eating only cake. The thought of marrying Rhaenyra was the deepest indulgence that she had allowed herself when she was young. She would dream of being at the blonde's side forever but now that the prospect was here, it felt bitter on her tongue.
Marrying Rhaenyra now felt like a perverse version of her younger self’s secrets that she would whisper into the night sky. Had the gods above heard her secrets and to punish her they would force her to live them in such a cruel way?
“Swear to me that my children will never be forced into a marriage that they do not want.” Alicent finally whispers. “Swear that if this baby is a daughter that you will not treat her lesser than Aegon.”
Rhaenyra steps closer to where she is sitting, her steps soft and gentle as the space between them closes.
“I swear it.” She murmurs.
The brunette feels more tears stream down her cheeks. She gives the blonde a slight nod and turns her face away from where she stands, letting her sobs shake her body.
When she finally feels her tears slow and her breathing calm she turns back to Rhaenyra, but the princess is no longer with her, only empty space is left where her childhood friend stood.
-
The King's chambers are quiet as Rhaenyra sits at her fathers side. His labored breathing echoing and bouncing from the walls. Only the soft moonlight streaming through the windows provided light in the chamber.
The Princess reaches into the basin that sits by the King’s bed and pulls a cool cloth from the water. Her hands wringing it out before running it gently across her fathers face. His eyes are closed and Rhaenyra can’t help but think that if not for his labored breaths, it would seem that he is only sleeping.
“I am so angry with you.” She whispers. “First you take my mother from me, then you take Alicent and now you are set to leave me also.” Her tears begin to fall as the words tumble from her lips.
When her father had announced his marriage to Lady Alicent she had felt her world fall apart around her. Her closest friend, the girl she held so much affection for, had been ripped away from her as quickly as her mother had.
“Daemon says that I must marry her now. She is angry and hurt with me, and I don’t blame her.” She continues to speak despite knowing her father can’t hear her. “You and her father stole her girlhood from her and now I am forced to steal whatever is left.”
“What if you were wrong to name me heir?” She asks, knowing that there will be no answer. “What if it should be Aegon? I am so ill prepared and at times I am not even certain if I wish to rule. Everyone swore their fealty to me, but it seems that it was only to appease you.”
Viserys takes a sharp breath and his body is racked with a cough. She moves closer to him, her words forgotten as she cups his face in her hand.
“Father?” She asks sharply. “Father, what is wrong?”
His eyes open lazily as his breathing becomes sharper, his mouth gaping open as he struggles to breathe.
“Aegon's dream-” His voice is hoarse and his eyes flutter open and shut again. He gives no indication that he has heard any of his daughter's words. “My only child. It is-” Another wheeze as he struggles to speak. “You must be strong.”
“I will go fetch the maester.” Rhaenyra jumps from where she was sitting on his bed but her fathers hand weakly catches her wrist.
“The prince-” Another labored breath. “Promised. It is you. My daughter.”
Her amethyst eyes scan her fathers face, his eyes are closed once more and his mouth still hangs open gasping for air. She picks up the forgotten cloth and gently rubs his cheek.
“Father please-” She cries as she continues to caress his rough cheek, the stubble of his beard feeling coarse even through the cloth.
His chest heaves, rising with a final breath before it falls and lays still. His eyes closing and the weight of his face falling against her hand.
-
“The dragon lays injured and I fear that we will be forced to move quicker than expected.
The beacons of Oldtown must burn green to light our way into a new age, with the King’s true born son at the helm. The righteousness and validity of his claim will strengthen the Kingdom and all those who believe in the Way of the Seven will follow.
Our enemies must be dealt with but I fear that some members of our just cause do not have the drive nor fury to see our customs enforced. Will we allow the first born son of our King to be usurped by a pretender? Will we allow the she-dragon to taint the Iron Throne and spit upon the face of our Kingdom? A woman could never lead us the way our rightful King will!
We must act and ensure that the southern houses know where to stand, we must ensure they understand what is at stake.
They must stand behind their true King!
They must stand behind Prince Aegon, King Viserys’ true born son and rightful heir!
Light the beacon. The Stranger is reaching for our King.
Let the Stranger take him, knowing that his son, his rightful heir will rule after him.”