Chapter 50

Chapter 50

JEYNE ARRYN

The news about the Princess being pregnant had taken her by surprise, though it shouldn't have. Prince Aenys had asked her to keep the news to herself, and thankfully, only four people in the castle knew of this, including herself and her little redhead, and both had been sworn into secrecy by the Prince.

He had then told her to rest after giving the cooks instructions to prepare something simple for the Princess. Now, only after having watched the Princess eat something under his supervision did he return to the Hall, yawning as he plopped down on a chair, and she could see tell that he was troubled by the way his hands continued to play with the coin in his hand.

"You seem troubled, my Prince," she questioned and saw the Prince's head snap towards her, and he slowly nodded as he sighed.

"Indeed, I am," he replied.

"It wouldn't be because of the Princess being with child, for she isn't the forest woman to get with the child before her wedding, and the Princess is set to marry in half a moon; I don't think it would matter much in her case," she reasoned, and he shook his head.

"No, no. It's not about that. It has to do with our discussion from last night," he replied, and she nodded, remembering now of how he had not even slept at night and had spent the embarrassing the knights of the Vale.

"What of it?" she probed, taking a sip of the wine as they sat side by side at the head of the Hall.

"I just fail to make sense of it all. The Throne is her birthright by all means, and I cannot understand why she would give up on it like this," he questioned as he leaned back in his chair.

And it seems the Prince was quite oblivious to certain things despite being a highly learned man.

"Why do you think the Princess wishes for you to replace her?" she questioned, and he frowned as he answered.

"Because she believes that there is a slight chance that if a Council is called, Daemon could win, or the vote could be close, causing a civil war," he reasoned out, just as the Princess had last night, not seeing the whole picture.

"Indeed, and let us assume that a war does happen, you would fight for her," she confirmed, and he nodded.

"Of course," he answered without any hesitation.

"And then what would happen afterward," she now moved on to the point the Prince was missing.

"She would be the Quee…." He stopped as he realized the Princess's worry, and she saw his mind race as it all clicked together for him at that moment.

"I have heard often that you intend to return to Braavos once this all is finished; without you here, her reign would be tumultuous…."

"… But if I am here, the Lords will turn to me, recognizing me as the true keeper of power in the capital," she reasoned out, and she nodded.

"And that you and Lady Alicent are also the only relatives the Princess has, and by giving up her position, she would basically be able to keep both of you here with herself, and I believe that such a notion also gives her a sense of security," she added and saw him lean back, as he slowly sipped his ale, his fingers tapping the table before he finally turned to face her.

"What do you think I should do?" he questioned.

"As the ruler of the Vale, I would say that you should accept the Princess's offer and become the heir…." and that was what she honestly thought, though he just deflated and his lips thinned.

"… You are a learned man who would perhaps make a better King than even the Conciliator himself," she added, and he shook his head, though she wasn't finished yet.

"But as Jeyne Arryn, and as a Lady, I would hope that you would reject her offer," she saw as his head snapped towards her at those words.

"Yes, that is asking much of you, for I know that you have built for yourself a whole life in Braavos. Yet I believe that such an opportunity is quite a rare occurrence, a chance to seat a woman on the throne. I don't know when we will get such a chance again," she said.

"We did get a chance before when the Lords chose my brother Viserys over Rhaenys," he pointed out, and she shook her head.

"The whole realm knew that the King didn't wish to see Lord Velaryon ascend the throne. Moreover, he had already once changed his succession, making Prince Baelon the heir over Princess Rhaenys," she said before she pointed toward him.

"And that is also what makes you an anomaly and the most powerful person in all this," she pointed out. Just as King Jaehaerys had once decided the fate of the continent in his favor, this time, all that power was in his hands.

And much power it was, he was quite literally being handed the throne, and when any man would have jumped at the opportunity to claim all that power for himself, the man had refused. He was an anomaly, an anomaly that would have his name written in history no matter what he may choose now.

Aenys Targaryen had done too much to be simply forgotten. His advancements in the field of medicine were nearly revolutionary, and the institutions he built were famous all over the world, from beyond the Wall to Asahi itself.

"I don't know what will happen in the future, what the lords will do, what Prince Daemon will do, yet a part of me believes that despite all my earlier apprehensions about the nature of Rhaenyra's rule and power, just the fact that a woman would ascend the throne would change the realm for the better," she finished and could see the Prince apaying rapt attention to her words.

"As a ruler of Vale, your ascension would be ideal for me; as I said previously, you would make a very competent and able King. Yet, as Rhaenyra's cousin and a woman who has ascended to power herself, I believe you should assure the Princess of your support, assuage her fears," she continued as she glanced towards.

"And the history books may not write of you as King Aenys if you do so, but I do believe the Queen maker would serve as the symbol of loyalty and duty for centuries to come."

Silence reigned over the table for some time, and she could see him reach his decision as his eyes glinted before he turned to face her and gave her a small nod.

"You have my gratitude for this, my lady," he began, and then he frowned.

"I remember you had a problem with pirated harassing your ships, right?" he questioned suddenly, and she nodded. They had yet to have a serious discussion regarding that. Though with the absence of the Velaryon fleet, she wasn't sure that the Crown could even help them in that, and she would die before asking someone associated with Prince Daemon for aid.

"Consider it handled."

0000

OTTO HIGHTOWER

The whole castle buzzed with activity as the city prepared for the wedding between the princess and his son, yet beneath that flurry of activity lay a subtle tension, an unsettling storm that threatened to rear its ugly head at any moment.

And that tension had only gotten more palpable since the night Prince Daemon's dragon had taken flight once more, his destination unknown till now.

And most of it would not have been his concern, for he was set to resign from his position, yet that had been put on hold as Lord Strong's son had died mysteriously one night, though from the rumors circling in the castle, and how his body was found near Prince Daemon's manse, he could feel that there was more to it than a simple death.

Regardless, he watched as Lord Strong joined him from the other side and frowned. It seemed that the King had them both to the Council chamber, though such a thing was becoming rather common as the man prepared to take over his position as Hand, something which still irked him.

The man gave him a small bow as they entered the Council room, and as soon as his eyes landed on King Viserys he knew that something had gone wrong.

Viserys stood there gazing outside into the city, his face flushed as his eyes sharpened in what seemed to be both concern and rage.

"Your grace," both of them bowed and he turned to face them, motioning for the guards to close the doors behind them.

They moved closer to the King, as he pointed towards a missive lying open on the table.

"This came from the Vale in the morning!" he said, and those words raised a certain suspicion in him, yet he refused to believe it.

Yet, as he picked up the missive and skimmed through it, his eyes widened as he read through its contents.

And his suspicion had been right. Daemon Targaryen had indeed flown to Vale and caused a scene.

More than that, the man had found himself an ally. A very powerful ally in the form of Corlys Velaryon.

And as he imagined the implications of this unholy match, he knew that this was as much a declaration of both Prince Daemon and Lord Corlys's intentions.

"This is not good, not good at all," Lord Strong cut in from the side as Viserys turned to face them.

"Not good! Not good, this is disastrous!" Viserys shouted, surprising both him and Lord Strong.

Viserys then moved towards the chair and sat down on it.

"Both of them are making a show of it, not even hiding their treasonous intentions. I had hoped that, with time, they would see the error of their ways. I had been lenient, hoping that this whole mess would resolve by itself, yet this." He pointed towards the missive.

"This cannot go unanswered!" he roared, and it surprised him to see the King so vocal about this. After the melee, both he and Prince Aenys had asked the King to intervene and admonish Daemon. Yet the King had not done more than barring the bastard from the castle and stripping him from his position of captain of the City guard.

For what the man had attempted, this was nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Though it was now well known that the King was not fond of overt actions, it had not come as a surprise to him.

That is why he had been surprised by the death of Larys Strong, for he had learned that the man had been responsible for leading Prince Daemon into the castle, and given what had happened afterward in the nursery, he had an inkling that it was none other than Aenys behind the man's demise.

"Corlys has overreached and now wishes to seat his own blood on the throne through treachery by joining hands with Daemon! This cannot stand!" Viserys roared as he looked towards them.

"Tell me what can the Crown do. The man has already resigned from his post, and I will have Aenys try and talk some sense into him, yet if he refuses to see the error of his ways, I want to have a plan of action ready," he said, and he nodded though with Viserys being as angry as he was, perhaps it was time to revisit the matter of Prince Daemon.

"Lord Corlys has reached beyond his station obviously, but by your grace, he has joined hands with Prince Daemon. We cannot overlook the fact that it is the Prince who is the main instigator of all this," he stated and saw Viserys look nod as he sighed and nodded.

"Indeed, but I have made my decision regarding him as well," he said as he turned to face Lord Strong.

"When my brother returns, have him arrested and brought to me. He shall bend the knee to Rhaenyra or shall never set foot in these lands ever again," he announced, and the swiftness of the action surprised him.

From what he knew of Damon, the Prince would never bend the knew, and so the King would be forced to exile him.

"But your grace, this would make the whole realm aware of the rift in the Royal family, a rift that many would seek to exploit," and that had been the reasoning behind Viserys's inaction previously.

And the sentiment seemed to bother him this time, too.

"Yes, but there is no use in hiding from this. I must accept the fact that this family has been divided, and I know where I must stand," he said resolutely before glancing towards him.

"What of the Velaryons? What can we do to cripple Corlys's ambitions," he questioned again, and it was as if the Seven had blessed him greatly as the King sought his insight about how to take the blasted Sea Snake down a peg.

"The Velaryons have a massive fleet, and their coffers are filled to the brim," he began, loathed as he was to admit it. The Sea Snake's rise was not a coincidence. The man was a highly skilled sailor and had a good head on his shoulders in regard to trade and commerce.

"Yet most of their wealth comes from their trading. The Crown could simply raise tariffs on their ports, diverting trade to other regions, like perhaps the Vale," and Old Town, though he didn't say that.

"Speaking of the Vale, your grace," Lord Strong cut in from the side as both he and Viserys turned to face the man.

"The Lady Arryn requested aid to combat the threat of pirates, but now, without the Velaryon fleet at our disposal, the Crown will not be able to lend them the required aid to put down all those pirates," the man pointed out, and this was right now the biggest concern for him as well.

"Don't worry about that," Viserys surprisingly remarked, and both he and Lord Strong exchanged glances.

"Aenys has decided to lend them his own fleet, fifty of his ships, half of them filled with armed, able-bodied men will aid the Vale in this campaign against this pirate incursion," the King announced and that was something not mentioned in the missive.

"That is astonishing, but can the Prince have so many ships? From what I remember, a part of his fleet was destroyed in the previous campaign in the Stepstones," Lord Strong recalled quite correctly, though it seems the man was not aware of the true nature of those ships.

"Those ships were leased by him to Braavos, and in case of their destruction Braavos was to compensate him with greater number of ships, and it seems they have done just that," he told the man who nodded.

"That is good news, then. With Prince Aenys's fleet, we can cope with the loss of the Velaryon fleet," the future Hand added, and Viserys nodded.

And say what he may of Aenys Targaryen, the man-possessed character. He had stood by Rhaenyra through everything without any hint of disservice, and greed. For a man of his wealth and influence it was hard to find someone of such a strong character.

"Indeed so, but I want you to coordinate with Lord Beesbury and the other members of the Council about the measures we can take against House Velaryon," he ordered them, and both of them bowed.

"As you wish your grace, but there is something else I wish to point out," Lord Strong added, and the King motioned for him to continue.

"Your grace, the Gold Cloaks in the city are very loyal to Prince Daemon. And though it is the Crown that they derive their power from, most of them are very loyal to Prince Daemon. Arresting Prince Daemon through them could cause havoc in the city," the man remarked, and he saw Viserys frown.

"Is this true, Otto?" he questioned, and he nodded.

"Sadly yes, your grace," he replied and saw Viserys lean back into his seat.

"Since you have mentioned this, I am to believe that you have a solution for this as well, Lord Strong?" the King added as he looked towards the Master of Laws, who nodded.

"Yes, your grace. I believe appointing a new Captain of the City guard would be the first step, and given the absence of Prince Daemon we must do a quick and thorough restructuring of the Gold Cloaks, replacing all those with swayed loyalties," the man began and then it all clicked together.

Say what you of Lord Strong, the man had a very good head on his shoulders.

"And who would be the best person to do this," the King questioned.

"My son, your grace. Harwin, he is a captain in the City guard at the moment and is aware of their workings quite well. He would be able to accomplish the task," the man said, and Viserys nodded.

"So be it, have him waste no time and begin everything from tonight. I want Daemon's lickspittles out of the city, one way or another, but do make sure that the peace in the city Is not disturbed. I will not have the city in an upheaval as the Lords gather for Rhaenyra's wedding," he ordered.

"As you wish your grace."

0000

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