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123 AC, King's Landing
Alicent Hightower stood on her room's balcony and watched her father's escort leave the city, taking many of House Hightower's guards with him. It stung that he had done so obviously as a way to answer for her failures, or perhaps he even knew of her betrayal, that she had actively asked Viserys to send him back to Oldtown.
He had obviously been taken by surprise during the feast when Viserys announced that Otto would leave for the Capital, and of course, the humiliation that he suffered through thanks to her husband's reckless actions. He had been made a fool of in front of the Court, something that Alicent did not wish for in any way, just to keep him away from her children in fear that his growing obsession with Harry Potter, the sorcerer of Dragonstone, would endanger them. He had almost gotten Aemond killed, and she would not have it again.
Still, a part of her regretted betraying her father so. She had knelt since Dawn in the sept, hoping that her prayer would give her comfort, only for the Seven to forsake her, as they had done so for some time.
For years, she had felt her mother's presence, her warmth and love, with every prayer she made to The Mother. But lately, all she felt as if the gods had forsaken her, as if she was only talking to a statue, not the gods that she had gone every morn to pray alongside her mother.
She knew that she wasn't the only one to feel it, even if she pushed through this tribulation, knowing that this was just a test from the Seven. Or at least, she wished that it was. She did sponsor many of King's Landing septs, and many Septons had come to complain that donations had lessened and that fewer people, both noble and smallfolk, had attended their sermons, despite the influx of people that came for the Hand's tournament.
Perhaps it was the news of the unrest in Oldtown that had shaken everyone's faith? Alicent did not know, but a crisis of Faith was something that the realm did not need, not with everything else being so unstable. First with the Drowned Priests, heathens that they might be, and now this. So far, only the savages in the North and their tree gods didn't seem to have any issues with their faith, if one could even call it that.
It had been one of her nightmares that Rhaenyra or Daemon would rise to power and turn the continent into a godless realm, or worse, force people to worship their Valyrian Gods, that they would burn septs to the ground and outlaw the Faith of the Seven. Of course, it wasn't this drastic, but she could see the beginning of it all, starting with the sorcerer, and now people losing their faith.
Normally, she would have stormed through the Small Council and forced them to see reason, forced them to keep the Seven Kingdoms pious, for Faith was the only thing that kept everything from turning to savages.
Alas, instead, she stared at her father's escorts, watching it as it faded away into the countryside, and she couldn't help but remember the fact that he hadn't even spoken a single word to her since the previous night. Perhaps it was out of disappointment, perhaps it was out of rage. The fact that he chose to travel by land instead of at sea, obviously to take as many men-at-arms as he could, was further proof of this.
He had even commanded Gwayne to return with him, and Alicent had never felt so alone in the place that she had called home for decades, even if she knew that it was what was best for her children.
One of her servants, Joy, entered the balcony and curtsied, "Your grace. The Lady Hand is here to see you."
Alicent's eyes widened imperceptibly, but she quickly controlled herself, "Tell Ser Criston to let her in."
The maid nodded, bowed, and then left. Lady Hand. Viserys had made it official the previous day, offering her the Hand's pin in a ceremony at the start of the feast. It was sickening how much the Court changed its worldview in just a handful of days. Alicent did not miss that as the tourney progressed, fewer and fewer people wore Green, especially after rumours of her father being sent away to Oldtown started to spread.
She had spent years cultivating this court, slowly pushing them towards supporting her cause with the help of her father, and it felt like it was all a waste because Viserys decided it on a whim. Then again, that was the power of a king, to shape the realm to his whims, and Viserys hadn't acted like one in some time.
Then again, she could understand the confusion. For some time, the King remained abed, with the realm being governed by House Hightower in everything but name. And yet one day, the King went the Dragonstone and returned hale and healthy, while riding the Conciliator's dragon, all but tearing away everything her father built, and naming his former rival for the throne as his Hand.
Rhaenys had taken advantage of this confusion to cement her position in the Capital. The only positive thing was that she had not outwardly supported Rhaenyra, nor did she dress in Black, or in any particular colour. The Court followed suit, but that growing influence was something that Alicent would need to curtail, and this time, she would not have her father's help.
Speaking of the Lady Hand, Rhaenys entered the balcony with a neutral expression on her face, and she also followed her gaze, staring at her father's escorts slowly marching away from her home, "I did not think that you would go through with it."
"I beg your pardon," the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms asked with incredulity in her tone.
"I thought that you would have gone back to Viserys to ask for Otto to stay in the Capital. It looks like a foolish move to let your greatest protector leave in a time of uncertainty like this."
"It is but a temporary measure until the situation in Oldtown is dealt with. After all, the King is to be the protector of the Faith, and there is no man more capable than my father to deal with the riots in the Faith's capital of the Seven Kingdoms."
The new Hand of the King hummed, as if digesting her response, "A threat it might be, it is the responsibility of the Lord of House Hightower to handle, not his uncle, no matter how efficient he might be. You asked Viserys to send him away and used the situation in Oldtown to do so. Why?"
Alicent did not answer. She knew that Rhaenys was looking for a weakness, for a small crack in her armour, especially given that the woman was likely an enemy. No matter how much Rhaenys disliked Rhaenyra, House Velaryon was tied to the whore. She had acknowledged the bastards as her grandchildren, as much as she disliked it, and her trueborn granddaughters lived in Dragonstone, either as wards or hostages, should their relationship ever sour.
The older woman proved her perceptiveness as she continued, "It simply doesn't make much sense. You spent days arguing against sending your father away on the way here. Believe me, I am not complaining. I dislike your father very much, and I am glad to see him gone from the Capital. I will also do my best to ensure that he does not return and also take away every shred of influence he has over the Capital."
"And yet, you keep questioning me," the Queen answered, her irritation getting the best of her.
"I mislike not understanding the motivations of powerful people, and you are the Queen, the most powerful woman in the realm," the older woman stated. "And yet, I believe that I see it now. Something changed your mind when you arrived here, something your father had done, perhaps, in your time in Dragonstone, something that made you decide that you would rather weaken your position than face it once more. And there is only a single thing that forces someone like you to make such a decision."
Before the conversation could progress further, Alicent commented, while doing her best to stifle a sneer, "What do you want, Lady Rhaenys? I hope that you did not come here to taunt me."
The Lady Hand's smile widened at her question, "I wished to see if you had the making of a better ally than Rhaenyra, your grace."
Alicent growled at that, "If you came here to mock me, I must ask you to leave."
She couldn't believe the audacity of this woman. There was no doubt in her mind that this woman was firmly in Rhaenyra's group of supporters, which meant that this was either a cruel jape or some kind of scheme. Either way, Alicent wanted nothing to do with it.
Yet, Rhaenys uttered words that shook everything Alicent thought she knew about her: "Rhaenyra will never sit on the Iron Throne."
"What?" The Queen of the Seven Kingdoms asked dumbly.
"Rhaenyra will never sit on the Iron Throne. Viserys failed in preparing her to sit on it and is now dealing with the consequences. He cannot allow her to continue as she has, not after giving her so many chances at proving herself to him and to the realm."
"Viserys said this?" she couldn't help but ask, feeling completely unbalanced by this sudden turn of events.
"He is waiting for her to make a mistake, one significant enough to matter."
This… This changed everything.
Alicent must admit even to herself that the thought of Rhaenyra being queen terrified her, not just for the damage that she might do to the realm, but for what she could do to her children under Daemon's influence. Her father seemed sure that Daemon would do his best to ensure that his blood would not ever have a chance of sitting on the Iron Throne, and given that her children were Dragonriders and likely their children would be as well, they were a threat to him.
The strength of Rhaenyra's claim came entirely from Viserys. She did not make allies with the Lords of the Realm; in fact, she had insulted most of them during her youth. It was only the honour of the King's word, to the vows that they swore before Aegon's birth, that bound them.
And now that the King became healthy and hale, without any trace of illness plaguing him, and should he punish Rhaenyra by removing her as his heir, it would destroy the only pillar of support that she had, all in a single decree.
It would have been everything that Alicent needed, and that would be the end of the succession crisis.
After all, if a healthy king finally punished his daughter, then her indulgence and scandals might have been just a daughter taking advantage of her father's illness to act out, making her seem more like an ungrateful girl than a future queen. It didn't help that Rhaenyra's own succession was doubtful, given the parentage of her three eldest sons, which meant that Viserys would surely name Alicent's son as his heir, just as he should have so long ago.
It was perfect, beautiful, and completely and utterly dependent on Rhaenys' statement being correct: "How can I believe you?"
Rhaenys looked her straight in the eyes, and the Queen could almost feel their colour brighten through sheer emotion with which she spoke her next four words, "She killed my son."
And that single statement eased much of Alicent's doubts about the statement being true. There was no faking the emotion, the heartbreak of a grieving mother, the intensity of her anger and outrage at it all.
In that moment, Alicent realised that Rhaenys would do everything that she could to make Rhaenyra suffer. It truly was a wonder that the girl's selfishness and refusal to do her duty were finally catching up to her.
The Targaryen woman took a deep breath and continued, "I followed Viserys' foolish decision because my family's fate was tied to it, and I could do nothing against it. I stood aside for Laena's children. But now, I am not powerless, and I have not forgotten what Rhaenyra has done to my family. You are the same. You have just proven to me today that you have outgrown the urge to obey your father's decisions and make some of your own, even at his detriment, for the good of the realm. You are growing into being Queen instead of just your father's daughter, and that makes you a good ally to have by my side, especially given recent happenings."
Alicent clung to that last comment, as she did not have the time to fully consider the older woman's offer, "What recent happenings?"
"The tensions in the Faith are not just contained within Oldtown. It's spreading all over the Seven Kingdoms. I do not know the scale of it, for the lack of a Master of Whisperers hinders the Small Council heavily, but I do know that it has spread even here, in the Capital, to a lesser extent. As much as I dislike admitting it, Daemon did a good job elevating the City Watch all those years ago, so there hadn't been too much violence on the streets of King's Landing, but that is but an eventuality. Thankfully, I have a solution, one that would benefit you greatly, your grace."
Rhaenys handed her a piece of parchment with a few notes written inside. It only took a glance for Alicent's eyes to widen as she realised what it was, yet she couldn't help but exclaim, if only to ensure that she hadn't imagined it, "What is this?"
"You wish to be remembered as a pious Queen, do you not? The Faith might even call you the Blessed Queen one day, should this plan work and we successfully convert the Iron Islands, which had resisted the Seven for thousands of years. Lord Harlaw sent us a letter claiming that the fighting was lessening, with most of the nobility and Drowned Priests dead. And in a time of a crisis of Faith, something like spreading the Light of the Seven should appease the unrest of the population, don't you think?"
It was an attractive offer, one that would see her remembered in the annals of history in a way that her father wished he could. It also made her extremely suspicious.
Which was why Alicent gave the older woman a hesitant look, "And what do you gain from this? Why not attach it to your name instead of mine?"
"I will forever be remembered as the Queen Who Never Was. No matter what I accomplish in my life, that will be my lot in history, the woman who could have been Queen. This will not benefit me much, but this should show the world and your father that House Hightower still has some power in the Capital, and also a small taste of what we can accomplish together. You don't have to give me an answer now. There will be a Small Council meeting in a few days where I will bring up the subject. This can be either a joint effort on both our parts or mine alone. That is your choice."
Alicent looked away for a few moments, deep in thought about the offer. She had to admit that it sounded good, but whether it was a poisoned fruit was something that she did not know, not yet.
The Queen's gaze unconsciously drifted towards a particular mirror, one that Harry Potter had gifted her when she left Dragonstone. She couldn't help but feel reassured as she saw the confident figure staring back at her. Still, she didn't remember bringing it out of the balcony, which was strange. IT must have slipped her mind.
As for Rhaenys' offer, Alicent had spent years finishing the Good Queen Alysanne's projects, with a few orphanages and septs for the smallfolk. Her father had pushed her to do them as a way to endear herself to the smallfolk and to provide a contrast to Queen Aemma. Despite her kindness, the woman had been far too ill with every pregnancy to focus on the Smallfolk.
She had to admit that 'Blessed Queen Alicent' had a nice ring to it, and she would be known as the woman who introduced the Faith of the Seven to the Iron Islands, a full kingdom, even.
But first, she had to get a better understanding of the woman who wished to ally with her. She would admit that she had spent very little time around Rhaenys Velaryon. With her being Rhaenyra's goodmother, she knew that he had little chance in swaying her from her position. Alas, things were different now. "If I am to agree to your proposition, I would need to know what your plans are for the Small Council."
"As I stated before, the lack of a Master of Whisperers is a severe liability for the crown. It will take some time to find an adequate spymaster. I do not have any plans to change the seats in the council anytime soon. Your father chose some good advisors to the Crown, even if many are obviously inclined to favour House Hightower."
That was… good. Rhaenys could, in her role as Hand of the King, overhaul the Small Council completely; the fact that she would leave it with many of its members supporting Aegon's claim was a very good sign that she was sincere in her efforts. Then again, aside from Lord Jasper Wylde, Tyland Lannister, and Ser Criston, the allegiance of the rest was dubious at best. Then again, Rhaenys hadn't even mentioned Lord Corlys coming to the Capital as well, which represented another factor that she couldn't account for.
Despite speaking with the older woman, Alicent realised that she had not taken her eyes off the mirror for some time. Before she could give a proper response to the woman's offer, she tore her eyes from it and finally looked her in the eye, remembering the man who had given her the mirror in question, "What of the sorcerer?"
And for the first time since the conversation started, Rhaenys looked completely taken aback from her question, "What?"
"What do you plan to do regarding Harry Potter and his wife?"
Her guest remained silent at that. The topic had been on her mind for a while, and despite her father's obsession with the man, blaming him for his plans being ruined, which was more true than not, even if it didn't seem intentional, he had a point. The sorcerer of Dragonstone had been a fixture of her life for moons, and he had far too much sway over Viserys than she liked.
A small voice in the back of her mind, one that sounded suspiciously like her father, told her that he was too dangerous to stay alive, to arrange for his death and that of his wife. She shook her head at her thought. If a group of Shadowbinders failed to kill him and so had whatever witch her father thought to employ, the one who almost killed Aemond, then most assassins would fail. Perhaps the Faceless Men of Braavos could do it, but even then, his magic was a large unknown variable, and the price alone would likely bankrupt the realm.
The only positive part was that he didn't seem inclined to help Rhaenyra too much, or else he would have advised Viserys to take her as his Hand instead of Rhaenys. But that didn't mean that Rhaenyra wouldn't be able to sway him to her side, and that would be a disaster for hers and Rhaenys' plans, as the King seemed to trust the man implicitly.
Rhaenys, on the other hand, seemed to hesitate before answering, "We leave him be. My husband and I have spoken with him during our time in Dragonstone, and the sorcerer is a creature of whims."
Alicent frowned, "How so?"
"He doesn't care about the Iron Throne, nor the Seven Kingdoms. He has also been… restrained with his actions so far."
Restrained? Alicent didn't think that the man had shown an ounce of restraint in his life, starting from healing the King from an impossible disease, and influencing him to remove her father as his Hand and name Rhaenys instead.
The older woman must have seen the incredulous expression on her face, and she grimaced and continued, "He has been subtle about what he could do, but I can assure you that the chances that he would support Rhaenyra are minimal. I would rather not speak of the matter further, as it is better to focus on what we can control, and so I will leave you with a warning. Do not try to antagonise him. If anything, try to do your best to avoid him and hope that he will do the same to you. I heavily suggest that you heed my advice, for no good will come of dealing with this man. I will take my leave, your grace, and I look forward to working with you."
Alicent nodded and watched as the Targaryen walked out of her room before slumping down in her seat. That meeting gave her too much to think about, and she hadn't even broken her fast yet.
Deciding that taking a walk would clear her head, she walked out of the room, with Ser Criston following faithfully behind her and ordered her maids to give her some food. The Kingsguard was obviously curious about her meeting with Rhaenys but loyally did not breach the subject, while following Alicent as she walked aimlessly in the Red Keep.
For some reason, she found herself stopping in front of her grandchildren's chambers. She didn't miss that Helaena had left the feast early after putting Jaehaerys and Jaehaera to sleep, something that she planned on broaching with the girl.
As she entered, she heard a beautiful voice sing a melody that Alicent had never heard before. She entered, doing her best not to disturb either the voice or the babe, only for her eyes to widen as Helaena sang a haunting tune to her sleeping children. The Queen of the Seven Kingdoms did not know why the song affected her so, but she could almost feel the love she felt for her children with every timbre of the girl's voice.
Even the maids who sat in the corner seemed to be weeping in silence, as if afraid that their very breath would interrupt her. Helaena, herself, seemed almost glowing with a confidence that Alicent had never seen in her daughter before, let alone her musical talent. She couldn't help but feel an overwhelming warmth, love, and pride towards her girl.
Finally, Helaena's voice faded away, as if she had come out of some spell, and turned softly and muttered, "I love you as well, Mother."
Alicent embraced her daughter, and she swore that she heard her murmur, "Wings and towers, round and round. The spools are calmer hand in hand."
The Queen couldn't help but chuckle fondly at her daughter. It seemed like even after her changes from Dragonstone, a spark of her old self remained. She couldn't help but feel the sheer love that Helaena felt in her, like a faint warmth that comforted her.
Aegon had also changed for the better. She hadn't seen him drink a drop of wine, and even his barbs with Aemond lacked the normal heat that they held.
For now, she set aside her worries about her father and Rhaenys' schemes and decided to spend the day with her daughter. It had been a while since they had done so, after all. She couldn't help but think that perhaps, despite her father's absence, she was not as alone as she had thought.
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AN: I know that this is a bit of a slow chapter. It was something that I wrote before the Chroyane arc, which I decided not to go through with in favour of the arc. Unfortunately, I had the stupid idea of removing two of my wisdom teeth today, and just couldn't write an entirely new chapter. So I cleaned this one up a bit instead of not uploading one.
The idea was to show a bit about how the climate in King's Landing is changing with Otto being gone, as well as the start of an alliance between Rhaenys and Alicent, which I think most of you will see where it's going (no spoilers, sorry). As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
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If you want to support me, check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions on them, so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.