Chapter 27

Chapter 27

ALICENT HIGHTOWER

Her feet moved automatically, and before she could register, she had stood up and rushed towards the form of her brother, wrapping her arms around him as she basked in the warmth of a family. Uncontrolled tears ran down her cheeks.

"You might want to be a bit careful with the waterworks, dear sister. Those two ladies will have my head if I destroy their hard work," he japed, making her laugh a little as she felt him cup her face and gently wipe away the tears.

A part of her still couldn't believe that it was really him, that he had arrived.

"How?" she finally spoke out in a broken voice. He smiled slightly.

"It was Prince Aenys," he answered, and she found her eyes widening as she looked at her brother since he had mentioned nothing of the sort.

"One of his men approached me in the market, saying they had brought letters from you for me and the Princess. He had also written to me inviting me to the marriage, offering me a ride to Bravos, and I decided to take it," he said with a shrug as he took out a letter from her pocket.

Alicent felt touched by Aenys's action, yet a part of her was a bit disappointed since Gwayne's words meant that.

"Father?" she questioned, and she saw his smile disappear as he slowly shook his head.

"I am sorry, Alicent."

She had expected this, yet for some reason, it still hurt. After her mother's death, Alicent had only her father to rely on. They had both comforted each other and cared for each other. Seeing that her father saw her as nothing but a broodmare to solidify his conniving plans hurt her.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she felt Gwayne stiffen in front of her.

"No, no. Please, what would people say if they saw the fairest maiden of the realm crying like this?" and she frowned at his words as she looked up.

"What are you talking about?" she questioned as her eyes narrowed. She saw him smile.

"I am just repeating what the birds sing about you, dear sister. They call you the fairest maiden in the realm, one who made a Prince slay a dragon for her hand," and her eyes widened at those words.

"NO," she nearly screamed as her face flushed, and Gwayne simply chuckled.

"I speak nothing but the truth. They are even planning a mummers show inspired by your tale," he continued, and she felt her heart drop as she heard those words.

"They have no idea what they are speaking of," she scoffed. She was the fairest maiden in the realm, which housed Rhaenyra and Jeyne Arryn.

"Haha, tell me about Bravos. How is life here?" Gwayne began a bit awkwardly as he sat her down.

"Life here is good. It's quite less hectic than the usual commotion of the Red Keep," she answered as she thought about her life in Bravos.

"And how about the Prince?" began Gwayne a bit hesitantly.

"Does he treat you well?"

"He does," she answered and saw a sense of relief appear on his face.

"Yes, I had thought so as well. He seems to care a lot for you," added Gwayne, and she nodded as her hand instinctively went to her belly.

"Yes, he is quite caring," she replied as she thought about the care he had shown her ever since her arrival in Bravos. Even now, he knew that she missed her family and had arranged for Gwayne to be here. She truly had made the right choice on that rainy shore that day.

"Tell me about Kingslanding. How is everything there? How's Rhaenyra?" she suddenly found herself answering, and the name that had always been on her lips felt a bit foreign as she uttered it after all this time. Gwayne grimaced at her question.

"Life has been quite hectic there. After the whole debacle at Dragonstone, the atmosphere in the capital became quite tense," and her lips thinned at that. She had expected as much, and her heart ached for her dear friend for having to live through such conditions on her own.

"The court was filled with rumors and allegations against the King for quite some time, that was until the King decided to go to war," her brother added, and she nodded. She had made that connection as well. Going to war would have shifted the focus away from the incident at Dragonstone.

"And Rhaenyra?" she added once more. Gwayne looked up at her as he slowly answered.

"The Princess misses you greatly. She spends most of her days with the Queen. I gave her your letter as well," he began, and she stiffened at those words. Gwayne reached into his pocket and took out a sealed letter and a small box.

"She entrusted me with these and apologized for not being able to be here with you," he began as he put them forward. Her hands shook slightly as she took the letter from his hand, her heart thumping in her chest as she saw the all too familiar handwriting of her dear friend on the front of the letter.

To My Dear Alicent!

She must have been quite engrossed in those letters since it was only her brother' small grunt that broke her out of her trance.

"Now, I know that the Sealord offered to walk you down the aisle. But I was hoping that I could have the chan…." And she didn't let him finish his words.

"Yes. I would love to," she answered, and he nodded slowly.

"Thank you," and just then, the door to her room was opened, and she looked up and found Blair and Antonie standing there.

"Out!" said the wife of the Sealord as she pointed at Gwayne. Gwayne tried to intervene, but she cut him off.

"I know you are her brother, but if you don't leave this room, your sister will not be walking down that aisle. So, out!" she said with a menacing smile, leaving Gwayne starstruck.

In the end, he could only sigh as he left her room, leaving her with her two friends once again.

In the end, Blair and Antonie rushed to her side and began to straighten out her dress, adding the final touch to their makeup. Yet all this barely registered to her as she opened up the letter Gwayne had given to her with shaking fingers.

Her heart shook as she read the first words.

To my dear and only friend!

0000

RODRICK ELROSE- Captain of The Company of the Rose

The Captain of the Company of Rose frowned as he watched his men settle down on the island. The campaign in the Stepstones had been nothing short of a disaster until this point.

The Sealord had contracted them to lead the campaign on half of the islands while they reached an accord with the Royalty in Kingslanding. Yet negotiations had broken down, and they had been forced to retreat back constantly as the armies from the Kingslanding kept on pushing and pushing, the 'Rogue Prince' himself leading the vanguard on Dragonback.

Without being able to plunder the main coves of the pirated, he and his men had been left with only scrapes instead of the rivers of gold and jewels they had been promised.

And right there lay the whole problem. Dragon. A revered beast that kids and men dreamt of slaying. Fools are those who dream of such things and those who let them. Seeing the massive beast up close had made it all pretty clear. Seeing it spew torrents of fire from its maw, burning men and ships alike, had been quite a sight.

It reminded him of the other prince he had met, the Dragonslayer. He was said to have slayed a dragon twice the size of the one which the Rogue Prince rode. And Patrick could hardly imagine the size of that mighty beast. Now he could also understand the reason his ancestor had chosen to bend the knee to Aegon, despite the courage and resilience of his men. Even now, there were people in the Company who kept in touch with their families in the North, yet with each passing year, that number grew smaller and smaller.

Suddenly his heart shook as he felt the very air shake as a distant growl shook him out of his thoughts. He walked out of his tent and was met there by his aide Kimber, the redhead who seemed quite agitated.

"You need to see this," said his paymaster as he led him outside before pointing above at the sky.

And Rodrick felt his heart drop as he saw the massive shadowy beast circling the island. His heart shook as he recognized the all too familiar red-scaled beast. He had seen it burn down men and ships with a single breath, and it was a dragon with a long and thin neck, much like a snake.

It was the Blood Wyrm, the dragon ridden by the Rogue Prince. Daemon Targaryen.

The Dragon growled as it circled their island a number of times before it began its descent, his men were perplexed and had drawn their weapons. However, each of them was acutely aware that they would do little in front of the mighty beast.

Rodrick himself made his way through the crowd as he rushed to the place of the dragon's landing.

"ROARRRR!" the ground shook as the dragon landed on the ground with a loud thud, roaring loudly as his men backed off.

Rodrick pushed to the front and watched the Prince take off his helmet, and his Valyrian features were marred by dirt and grime. His armor was also dirty, yet the look in his eyes was one of contempt and pride as those amethyst eyes scanned the crowd.

"I wish to speak to your leader!" he shouted, and murmurs began to reverberate through the crowd as he stepped forward, sword and shield in hand.

"I am here! What brings you to our shore Prince Daemon!" shouted Rodrick and watched the Prince descend down from the dragon's back as well. And Rodrick's eyes landed on the sword strapped to the Prince's side, and it was the infamous Darksister.

"Why are you here, Prince Daemon?" he questioned once more as he felt the Prince's probing gaze glance over him. The gaze reminded him of his brother, especially when he had mentioned dismantling the men of the Triarchy. There was disregard and lack of care in that gaze as if he was speaking of ants rather than men.

"Huh, you are quite different than I had imagined you to be, especially given the title you seem to have," began the Prince with a mocking smile on his face.

"The Bloody Wolf!" taunted the Prince. And Rodrick gritted his teeth as he ignored the taunt and asked again.

"I ask once again! Why are you here, Prince Daemon? According to the negotiations, you were to remain on the other side of the Grey Gallows," he began, and the Prince simply smirked in response.

"Ahh, the negotiations," spoke the Prince haughtily as he broke out into a small laugh.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but they are nothing but a load of bullshit!" Rodrick gritted his teeth at that attitude.

"As for why I am here, it is quite simple, I would say," began the Prince suddenly as his dragon walked forward and placed its massive head right above the Prince, growling and glaring at them with its yellow eyes.

"I have come to give you and your men a chance! The same chance that my ancestors once gave them," began the Prince as he pulled out his sword, and Rodrick felt dread pool in his heart as the Prince finished.

"KNEEL OR BURN!"

0000

OTTO HIGHTOWER

Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, the Second Son, the Hightower cunt, was often condemned to be an ambitious man. Yet, the truth was quite different, for all his ambitions were nothing but an instrument for the ambition of the man pacing in front of him.

Hobert Hightower, Lord Hightower, the beacon of the Citadel, paced angrily as Otto told him about the King's decision.

"DAEMON! Has the King gone mad?" his brother nearly screamed. And Otto had reacted quite similarly when King had informed him of his decision. Yet his ears hadn't deceived him, much like his brother's hadn't him.

"Indeed. The King is quite set in his decision," Otto informed his brother. And that was quite a change for the usually malleable Viserys. However, it had been quite some time since the King had lost that malleability. It had begun after the debacle at Dragonstone, and thinking about that still made him grit his teeth.

"The King cannot be serious. You have to make him see reason. Marrying Daemon to Princess Rhaenyra will be nothing short of declaring him King. This will be a repeat of Maegor ascending the throne once more," his brother and Lord lamented, yet Otto could only shake his head. He had already tried.

"I have already tried. Yet the King is quite firm in his decision and even refuses to entertain any further questions over this matter. His mind is made," Otto informed his brother, who grew pale at those words.

"This is nothing short of a disaster! You burned the bridges with the other Prince when you tried to top Alicent from marrying Aenys. Do you have any idea what this means for us?" the mere mention of her name made him grit his teeth.

"I did as you asked me to! You arranged the betrothal between her and Jason Lannister. I only tried to keep everything according to your wishes," said Otto through gritted teeth. Hobert stopped and glared at him.

"You and I both know that this is a lie," his brother said in a scathing tone making Otto angry. But before he could say anything, Hobert just made a sighing gesture as he sighed.

"That opportunity is gone. Now what are we to do about Daemon marrying Rhaenyra? There is no way we can have him near that throne. He would ruin everything we have worked so hard to achieve," said Hobert, and Otto nodded.

That was true. If Daemon were to get power, then he would be a continuation of Maegor's reign. Daemon's preference for the Fourteen Flames of Valyria over the prevalent faith of the Seven was quite well known, if he were to become king or even consort to Rhaenyra, then it would be a big blow to the power wielded by the faith. A power that was still in shambles after a Royal decree had banned the faith militants.

"Who else knows about this?" asked Hobert.

"No one. The King has only shared this news with me and his immediate family. He plans to announce it after the end of the war in Stepstones," Otto informed his brother.

"How did the Queen and the Princess react to the news?" Hobert asked, and according to Otto, that was where their only hope lay.

"Both the Queen and the Princess reacted poorly to the King's decision, especially the Princess who is quite averse to the match," the Princess had not left her room since the King had informed her about his decision and had refused to join him at meals.

The Queen herself had been quite distraught and had been trying to sway the King from this. Yet King Viserys seemed set on his decision. After Dragonstone, the King sought to emulate the image of a strong and powerful King, which led to stubbornness and brashness. The tensions in Stepstones were one example of that, where the King had praised his brother's brashness and applauded his actions instead of censoring them for putting a strain on relationships with Bravos.

"That is good. With both the Queen and Princes against the match, there is a chance they might be able to sway the King," his brother hoped, and Otto had to confirm him.

"I wouldn't be too hopeful about that. The King has been uncharacteristically stubborn in his decisions since Dragonstone. There is little chance that he would step away from this," Otto informed Hobert, who nodded, and he could see his mind racing as the Lord of Old Town thought of a suitable plan.

"I will think about this," said Hobert as he sat down. The matter was complex and would need subtle and deliberate manipulation.

"What about Gwayne, have you heard anything from him?" and Otto shook his head.

"No, though Princess Rhaenyra mentioned that he was approached by an associate of Prince Aenys who carried missives from the Prince and Alicent for him and her," he told her brother, who smirked at his words.

"Hmm, he always was a shred one," commented Hobert, and he was right. Aenys Targaryen had his own flaws. He was proud, quick to anger, and had iron in his spine. Yet none would accuse him of being an idiot.

"Though from this at least it seems like he cared for her, perhaps there could be chanc…" but before Hobert could finish his sentence, there was a quick knock on their door. Otto frowned and looked towards the door.

"Come in," he ordered. A servant stepped in and gave a small bow before he quickly began.

"Lord Hand, the Grandmaester is calling for you. He says it's urgent," and Otto frowned at those words, yet he still got on his feet.

"What has happened?" he questioned as he gave his brother a nod and left the room with the servant,

"I don't know Lord Hand, but he received a missive from Bravos!"

0000

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