Chapter 31: Chapter 24

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

A booming roar from Caraxes announced the Blood Wyrm's presence over King's Landing, as surely as the stench of the capital announced its presence to us. I didn't bother to have Vermithor announce himself, anyone looking up would be able to see him. Caraxes descended just a tad lower and began circling the tournament grounds just outside the city. Looking through my spyglass, a flood of men poured into the tournament grounds and removed the list fences, clearing the arena grounds. Caraxes descended first, Vermithor following behind, touching down and leaving a dust cloud floating up to the stands. I could only hope dragons didn't sneeze fire, the Stepstones weren't greatly dusty. After milking the echoing murmurs around the stands, Father dismounted Caraxes, taking care to not disturb the crown perched on his head.

Father held out his arms, walking just below the royal gallery. "Brother!" he called out. King Viserys had stood at once, a hand wrapped tightly around the balustrade as he looked down.

"Daemon," he responded, in a voice that was impossible to tell between pleased or not. "I have heard tell of your wars, and see that you now possess a crown of your own." Father smiled, gesturing for me to dismount and join him. Looking up, the other occupants of the gallery had also stood up to look down at the spectacle.

"I have claimed the Stepstones by Fire and Blood!" Father continued. Reaching up, he placed both hands upon his crown, and raised it off his head, towards Viserys. "This conquest, I do dedicate to you! My brother," he then knelt, followed immediately by me, "my King!" The entire arena went silent for several moments, and remained such as Viserys stepped back from his balcony and descended to the tourney grounds, flanked by two Kingsguard. After several moments, Viserys took Father's crown from his outstretched hands, and bid him rise. As Father stood up straight, Viserys approached and touched a kiss to each cheek, immediately followed by a hug.

"Welcome home, brother!" he said, loud enough for all to hear. Upon hearing those words, a cascade of cheers erupted from the crowds. As the cheering died down, Viserys announced the end of the tournament, listing off the names of the winners of the joust, our arrival apparently coinciding with the end of the final joust. Father, clearly, couldn't have timed it better. I'd almost thought it was planned, but it would be impossible to know when the jousts would end and the exact time the dragons would arrive.

After hushed words, Father gave me a smile and gestured for me to join the gathering royal party to return to the capital. "I will relay the dragons to the pit, do be ready for my entrance," he whispered as he stepped past me. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He'd already made his entrance, now he wanted to make another one?

"Lucerys!" Viserys suddenly called. My head snapped up to look my uncle in the eye as he looked me over, up and down. "You've grown some. A few more years, you'll be as tall as Daemon!" I let myself smile at that and nodded.

"He says much the same," I replied. With a smile, Viserys wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me along. I followed, resisting the urge to flinch and back away at the unwanted contact. Grit and bear it, grit and bear it, appearances, appearances. With a forced half-smile, I followed along, as the remaining royals descended from the gallery. My eyes first found Queen Alicent, in her rich green dress, flowing brown hair, and fiery hazel eyes. She looked me up and down for a moment, before adopting a face of neutrality. I took a silent breath, before bowing my head respectfully. She wasn't the girl who Father had lured to his bed anymore, she was Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Nursemaids behind her carried two small children, I presumed Helaena and Aemond. 

Aemond… burner of the Riverlands, a great obstacle… and a baby who burped loudly as the nurse carried him by. Or was that Helaena? They both had long hair and near identical clothing… my thoughts were interrupted by a little boy running up to me and staring up.

"Who are you?" he asked, pointing at me. Silver-gold hair and purple eyes, dressed in black and red. Okay, now I'd also found Aegon. He looked so much like a tiny Viserys. I gave a smile and crouched down to his eye level. Certainly couldn't hurt in the future to give a good first impression.

"I'm Lucerys, our fathers are brothers. You can call me Luke," I said. Keep it simple for the kid. His face scrunched up in thought.

"You uncle's son?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yes," I replied. After a few moments, a smile broke out on his little face and he rushed up and gave me a quick hug, before backing up.

"'Nyra said I hug family," Aegon managed to say. With a chuckle, I gave his hair a ruffle before standing up. Alicent looked downright scandalized, grabbing Aegon's hand and backing up with him a distance, the boy waving at me with a smile. I glanced around briefly, before my eyes finally found the last member of the royal party.

The Princess of Dragonstone herself, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the Realm's Delight. Her silver-gold hair was let down on her shoulders, violet eyes watching me carefully, her dress a rich black satin. With practiced grace, she held out a hand. Well, certainly better than bowing . I gently kissed her knuckle, before she withdrew her hand. A moment later, she approached and gave me a gentle hug, leaving me to fight the blush threatening to spread over my entire face.

"Godswood, later," she whispered to me, "talk there." As the last word was spoken, she withdrew, a neutral smile remaining. "It has been some time, cousin," she spoke, loud enough for others to hear this time. I nodded.

"Driftmark, two years," I replied. She nodded.

"You've grown taller," she continued. "Before long, I shall be the one having to look up when we speak." I… didn't have any reply to that one. She'd been taller than me since we were five, and now we were the same height. Still, she didn't have to be so blunt about it. Didn't we talk about lessening the bluntness of things she said last time we met?

I politely nodded as the White Cloaks fanned out, the royal family climbing into a litter. With no room to spare, I was given a pony to ride up to the Keep. Two members of the Kingsguard that I didn't recognize rode on either side of me, one in front and one behind. Various people on the streets looked up as we rode by, some giving waves, largely children, with most bystanders just watching. Hmm… well, maybe that can change, make them smile and wave whenever I pass by. That would take a lot of time and effort to cultivate, but I supposed it would help. The only real spot of activity was the market, where the goldcloaks formed what seemed like a riot line, blocking pedestrian traffic from getting in the way of the procession.

We arrived at the Keep only a short time later. Father had not yet arrived with the luggage, so I was left to remain in my flying clothes. In any other context, wearing pyjamas in front of a multitude of people would be a major faux pas, yet somehow no one paid it a second thought. A groom took my horse and led it towards the stable as the royals stepped out of the litter.

"Jacelyn!" King Viserys called to a young boy who stood not far from the litter. "Run to the Steward, tell him to redo the seating arrangements for the feast tonight! I want my brother and nephew with the rest of us. And double the courses! Go, now!" The boy nodded and bolted into the Keep. I couldn't help but feel some sympathy, but given Viserys' attitude I'd seen so far, there was no way he was anywhere near as much a taskmaster as Lord Corlys. He'd probably be fine.

As soon as I could excuse myself, I broke off from the party and followed the still-familiar path through the courtyards, to the well-polished gates of the Red Keep's Godswood. Served little use but for clandestine meetings, but still maintained as if it were the throne room itself. Never would I underestimate the thoroughness of the Red Keep's cleaning staff.

I needn't have waited long, as Rhaenyra arrived only minutes later, followed by a Kingsguard knight. I forced myself not to frown as both stopped before me.

"Prince Lucerys," the knight said with a respectful bow. I nodded to him.

"Ser Criston. I see you have gained a white cloak. My heartfelt congratulations," I replied. The man stood and gave a smile.

"Indeed. The Lord Commander has spoken of myself succeeding him, a position I would happily take to further serve my- sorry, our Princess." Well that wasn't troubling at all. Said Princess stepped forward and gave the knight what I assumed was a chiding look.

"Ser Criston, I'll need you to guard the gate. Worry not, I'll tell you of all that transpired." The knight seemed disappointed, at which point Rhaenyra put a hand on Criston's forearm. Don't do that, don't do that . "I must ensure there are no prying ears. The walls have ears, one can never know who else may be listening. I must have a worthy and brave knight standing guard. I assume I may trust you to be that knight?" Okay, maybe that was more clever than I thought.

His ego clearly stroked, the knight relaxed. "Of course you may," he said simply. Rhaenyra turned around and gave a self-satisfied smirk, before walking into the grove. I followed seconds later as Cole moved in behind to stand at the gates with his sword now drawn and lightly touching the ground. It took nearly a minute of walking to arrive at the young heart tree. It as of yet had no face carved, but it set itself apart from the oaks surrounding it with its milky color and red leaves. I wonder if I could ever find some maple trees, surround a weirwood with some maples and birches and it would almost not look out of place.

"So," I began, "you wanted to catch—" I was interrupted by a rushing and tight hug that nearly knocked the wind out of me. "...up," I finished. I relaxed and wrapped my arms around her back. It was… nice, to be hugged like this. Typically, it would only be Baela, or on occasion Laena, who would hug me. A few moments later, we broke apart.

"So, judging by uncle's ostentatious entry, I must assume there is some great matter to which you seek the assistance of the crown?" Rhaenyra began. I gave her a look and crossed my arms. After a moment, she sighed. "Luke, you have no inkling of how difficult it is to talk like that day in and day out and not become accustomed to it." That was the Rhaenyra I knew.

"Yes, he has come seeking monetary assistance, but as well to rebuild ties within the city. Many guilds no longer will finance the Stepstones campaign, and he seeks to change that. Mayhap with Viserys' assistance, or just through intimidating the local guilds," I answered. I could be direct with her, at least.

"Yes, Jeyne said much the same in her latest letter," Rhaenyra said. "And yet uncle could have done that all on his own. Why bring you?" I smiled and pulled a silver necklace engraved with rubies out of the pouch on my belt, holding it out for her to observe. Her eyes went wide for a moment looking at it.

"Oh?" she muttered, looking it over. "Valyrian?" I nodded.

"We found it on a pirate vessel, it carried many riches, but this was the real prize," I said. She gently took it from my hand, holding it up to admire it.

"So, I'm to be the prize you were brought to return?" she asked, looking directly at me. I held up my hands in mock surrender.

"Guilty. Gaining Viserys' support would be far easier with the Princess of Dragonstone supporting us as well," I said. Not the entire truth of what Father wanted, but… attempting to force away a blush, I blocked out that thought. Rhaenyra gave a smirk and stepped closer.

"You needn't have gone to such lengths, as I'm sure you're well aware. Of course I'll support yours and Uncle's endeavors! Father has never been able to tell him no, and with me assisting, anything you want will be yours," she said. I hesitated for a moment.

"Can I have the necklace back, then? It's worth quite a lot and I could probably bribe—" I was quickly interrupted.

"No, mine," she said, a smile still plastered to her face, as she held the necklace close to her chest. "The bribe has been taken, whether it was necessary or not." I hesitated a moment, then sighed. I wasn't changing her mind, and she could keep it out of my reach even if I did try to take it back. I gave a short bow. Well, can't hurt to mess with her a bit, we've been back to talking long enough .

"As my Princess commands," I said. Rhaenyra gave a guffaw at my saying that.

"Call me 'Princess' again and I'll punch you! We're more than that, we always have been!" Rhaenyra protested. I nodded and stepped closer to her. She looked at me a bit surprised before I began.

"You're correct, we always have been. Which is why I must ask: what were you doing there outside? Cole, I mean," I said. Rhaenyra shrugged.

"Sera told me that was how any maiden could convince a man to do as she wished," she admitted. "It has made getting him to do what I want very simple. He's become quite a loyal dog since."

"Rhaenyra, did Sera tell you why it does?" I asked. She shook her head. "Doing that makes him think you want to sleep with him , and for you that's dangerous, you know why!" Rhaenyra paled a bit and stuck out her tongue.

"Eww, gross. Of course I don't want to fuck him, he's… him! " she said, spitting on the ground to get the disgust from her mouth. "Bleh. Eww, I gotta stop that, I think I've done enough, he'll still listen now." I smirked. She's amusing when her guard drops.

"I'm glad the Princess sees sense," I said. Moments later, I raised my arm as Rhae playfully hit it with the bottoms of her fists repeatedly.

"I said don't call me that-" she said, though her grin had returned. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought to look behind me, and fell back off the path into the dirt, Rhaenyra falling on top of me and knocking the air out of me again. Immediately, she rolled off to my side and started laughing. The infectious sound soon spread to me, and that was how it was for what felt like hours, just us kids laughing in the grass of a forest.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Even if not, leave a comment telling me what you did or didn't like, and what can be improved. See you all next time!