A hush fell over the crowd as the doors to the throne room opened loudly.
When everyone turned to face the entrance, they were greeted by the sight of you and your husband walking in proudly.
You each paused in your steps as you took in all the eyes that were on you. Having never minded being the center of attention, you could only allow a secretive smile to grace your lips as you noticed you had the focus of the entire room.
Daemon was no different as a similar smirk grew on his face before he offered you his arm.
After taking it, you both moved in sync as you began to walk with confident determination toward the front of the room.
Upon reaching the King who was sat on the throne, you let go of the Prince's arm as you stood less than a foot's width apart.
Viserys only allowed the quiet to remain in the room a moment longer before finally saying,
"Brother, what is the meaning of this?"
As a show of respect, Daemon bowed his head before speaking.
"My King, we come before you with grave news."
Looking you both over, Viserys sounded concerned when he said,
"What news causes you and your wife to appear at court as if you were heading into war?"
It was a valid question since you both were dressed in varying degrees of light armor with weapons in hand. Daemon's rested on the hilt of his sheathed sword while yours held the curve of your bow.
Your husband's answer was foreboding as he replied,
"News that will surely lead to a battle."
When the King's concern turned into confusion, he chose to say,
"Talk plainly, for I have no desire to decipher any of your riddles today."
And though he had been addressing your husband, you were the one to announce,
"There is a traitor amoung us, your Majesty."
As your voice carried throughout the room, the nobility and courtiers in attendance began to murmur amongst themselves since news of a traitor was no small matter.
When they fell quiet again at Viserys' command, he proceeded to ask,
"What do you speak of?"
Taking a few measured steps forward, the Prince began to explain.
"As we all know, our new Princess bravely took an arrow that was meant for me."
Looking back at you, he said,
"And I will forever be grateful to my good Lady wife for doing so."
Flashing him a small smile, you watched as your husband returned his gaze to his brother.
"But that does not negate the fact that she was harmed in what we know was a planned attack against me."
Beginning a slow pace, Daemon continued his explanation by saying,
"The only way the shooter would have known that we were traveling to the town square that day was if someone told him about it beforehand."
The Prince's voice was direr as he assertively said,
"There was only one person, other than myself and you, your Highness, who knew we were going to take that exact route since they were the one to plan the trip."
Furthering his point, your husband said,
"And in planning the trip, they knew they were planning my demise."
Locking eyes with the traitor, Daemon finished by saying,
"Is that not right, Lord Hightower?"
With the accusation made, scandalized gasps filled the room as the Lord in question glared daggers at the Prince.
The King looked at his brother as he said,
"Those are serious allegations, Daemon."
With a deceivingly calm shrug, your husband responded,
"Well he committed a serious crime, Brother."
Hearing a scoff of disbelief, your eyes landed on the man who held the title of 'Hand' as he began to speak with impassivity.
"My King, these are baseless claims. They have no proof to support what they accuse me of."
Smirking, you were all too happy to contradict him as you said,
"Well, we do have the shooter."
Having had his eyes on the King, you took great pleasure in the way the despicable man's head snapped toward you as your words reached him.
Calling for the guards, you all turned to watch as the assassin was dragged into the room with two knights on either side of him.
Basically being held up by the stoic guards as the chains around his wrists and ankles weighed him down, the captive was dropped to his knees when his arms were unceremoniously let go upon reaching the foot of the throne.
Leaning forward in his seated position at this new development, Viserys took note of the man's ragged appearance before asking in a demanding tone,
"Did you attempt to end the life of my brother, Prince Daemon?"
Having already accepted his fate, the man simply nodded his head while keeping his eyes down.
When the King asked for the reason behind his actions, the assassin licked his lips and replied in a hollow voice,
"Because, I was contracted to kill him."
And then sneered out as an afterthought,
"But the bitch got in the way."
Before anyone could react, you used the hand that was not holding your bow to throw a swift punch at his face.
When he collapsed to the ground after taking such a hit, you simply motioned for the guards to heave him back up to his knees before looking down your nose at him and saying with venom,
"You will show respect, or you will feel my wrath."
Jerking his head in a quick nod to show he understood, the menace called a man dropped his eyes to the floor in submission once again.
After giving you an impressed look, Viserys finally asked the question that your audience wanted to know the answer to.
"And who was it that contracted you?"
This time, your captive did not speak. But he did allow his eyes to land on the person who had promised to pay him handsomely, and neither you nor your husband were surprised to find his gaze had fallen on Lord Hightower.
Knowing that this was slowly becoming a losing battle, Otto declared with a note of urgency,
"This is mere hearsay, your Majesty! I still see no proof other than the word of a killer."
Having expected to hear such a rebuttal, Daemon was calm as he held up a small object.
With a triumphant smirk, he said,
"Missing something, Hightower?"
That is when Otto and the King realized the object he was holding up was the gold lapel pin of the Hand.
Eyes widening at such a reveal, the Lord felt a cold sweat break out on his neck as he realized why he had not been able to find the damn thing.
You picked up where your husband had left off and explained,
"That pin was retrieved from the home of the assassin by members of the Kingsguard. He freely admitted that he stole it the night he was hired to kill the Prince which proves the only person that could be responsible for the assassination attempt is Lord Hightower."
The King turned his head to look at his most trusted advisor and asked with disbelief,
"Is this true?"
And since Otto could say no words, his silence spoke volumes.
As his treachery finally sunk into everyone's minds, you heard the young Queen quietly say with devastation,
"Father, what have you done?"
With every eye in the room on him, you all watched as his put-together facade fell apart.
"I did what was necessary for our family!" His voice exploded. "I did what was required to ensure it was our blood that ascended the throne!"
The deluded passion he was speaking with made his chest heave as his nostrils flared with unsuppressed rage.
"I did what needed to be done so that there were no other claims to the Kingdom."
Furious, Viserys stood up as he all but shouted,
"Rhaenyra is my heir! You know that!"
"And Aegon is your first-born son! The throne rightfully belongs to him!"
And it was with that statement that you knew he had sealed his fate.
Because even if the King did not believe in the charges you levied against the Hand, for him to declare that he was trying to change the line of succession was a blatant act of treason that could not be ignored.
So after a quiet moment where he decided what to do, Viserys eventually announced in a solemn voice,
"Lord Hightower, you are hereby to be executed for the crimes of sedition, attempted murder, and treason come first light tomorrow."
The tense silence that followed the King's declaration was broken when Otto let out an enraged yell while pulling out a dagger from his belt. His attempt to rush your husband was thwarted when, in a flash, you had an arrow drawn, knocked, and shot into his shoulder in the exact same spot his assassin's arrow had hit you.
Walking over to him in an unhurried fashion after the impact caused him to hit the floor, you proceeded to stand over him as you calmly said,
"Remember this tomorrow. Remember that it was a woman who bested you. Remember that it was a woman who kept you from succeeding."
Smirking down at him, you said,
"And remember that it will be a woman who will ensure that Rhaenyra succeeds."
Feeling your husband's presence join you in standing over the pitiful creature, your smile turned ruthless when he said to the defeated lord,
"Your memory will be forgotten and you will fade to nothing." Giving him a grin that was just as callous as yours, he happily stated, "It will be like you never existed."
Whether from the pain of your arrow or from the sting of your words, tears welled in the condemned man's eyes. But you did not care as you gestured for the guards to pick him up off the floor and escort him to the dungeons.
As the crowd behind you started to discuss the drama that had just finished unfolding, you turned toward Daemon as he turned toward you.
Locking eyes, you each became engulfed in a sense of victory as the threat that had loomed over you was finally vanquished.