"Lord Corlys, please. See sense."
Not even bothering to hide his scoff, the Lord in question side-eyed the King before looking ahead as he gruffly responded.
"See sense? Let us be clear, your Highness. I saw sense when I agreed to your marriage with my daughter. It was you who insulted my house after you chose to marry the Hightower girl instead."
Knowing this was a truth that could not be avoided, King Viserys dropped his eyes to the table. He reclined back into his chair and raised a hand to rub his temple as he gave a deep sigh.
"I can see how my…choices might have been a slight against your family. What can the crown do to make up for its actions?"
Lord Corlys simply glanced back to the King in order to gauge the sincerity of his offer.
Upon seeing the man look back at him in earnest, the renowned sailor put a hand to his chin in thought.
After taking a moment to contemplate what to ask for, Lord Corlys began to speak.
"Your brother's marriage recently came to an end, did it not?"
Not seeing where he was going with this, Viserys hesitatingly replied.
"Yes, it ended with the death of his wife, Lady Royce."
With that confirmation, a small sly smile joined the expression on the Sea Snake's face.
"Excellent. Then I have the perfect match in mind."
However, before he could continue speaking, the King interjected.
"Now hold on a moment. Are you suggesting we betroth your daughter to my brother?"
As Viserys thought about such a union, he could not see it being very successful with Laena at such a young age in comparison to Daemon.
Chuckling lightly, Lord Corlys waved off such an idea.
"Not at all. What I am proposing is a marriage between your brother and my niece since it is high time she was settled."
As Viserys allowed his surprise to show, the other man continued.
"Prince Daemon showed great strength and character while we fought together in the Stepstones. I can think of no one better to take the hand of my niece."
As the King's surprise turned into confusion, he asked,
"But who is your niece? For I have surely never heard of her."
"That is because she has been absent from court in order to follow in the footsteps of her Uncle."
Still confused, his Majesty gestured for the Lord to continue his explanation.
"Her parents were lost to us when she was at a young age and has been living with my family and I ever since. As a high-born dragonrider, she is a woman that holds more power than most."
The Lord said with a reflective look in his eyes,
"Being the sole heir to her family's estate, as well as Commander of my fleet in my absence, she has a raging fire burning in her that could only possibly be tamed by a dragon. I believe your brother can be that dragon."
Caught up on one particular aspect of his explanation, the King incredulously said,
"Your niece is in charge of your fleet?"
Lord Corlys' smirk was proud as he responded,
"Yes, she has a strategist's mind, so I rely on her counsel often. It only makes sense that she is the one to lead them when I cannot."
As Viserys thought on all that had been told to him, he found himself eventually nodding in acquiescence.
"Very well. We shall betroth them to one another so that there may be peace between our two houses.
Pleased, Lord Corlys nodded as he stood from the table and said,
"Then I shall inform my niece of her impending nuptials."
"The girl is here?" asked the King.
"She arrives in a fortnight, but I will write to her today."
Lord Corlys replied before giving his thanks, bowing, and exiting the room.
The cool feel of the crisp wind whipped about you viciously.
But as you flew through the air on the back of your beloved dragon, it was like you did not even feel the cold.
All you ever felt when you were up this high, was free.
After flying a few circles around the city to enjoy such a feeling a bit longer, you began your descent.
As you neared the Red Keep, you could see a small group of people gathered near the landing area.
Once your dragon touched ground, you took your time in dismounting from your saddle.
After your feet were on solid rock, you turned to make your way to what looked like a welcoming party.
As you approached, it was Lord Corlys who stepped forward to greet you with his arms held out.
"Ah, my beautiful niece. Welcome to King's Landing."
Having not seen him in a few months, your smile was bright as you made your way into his paternal embrace.
"Uncle!" You exclaimed with obvious joy before pulling away. He took both of your hands in his as you said, "It gladdens my heart to see you once again."
The smile on his face was affectionate as he took a step back in order to take you in.
"I am grateful to see you as well. Even if it is not in proper court attire." He finished with a teasing note.
Looking down to see the leather trousers and tunic you were clothed in, you could not help smirking as you looked back to his eyes and replied,
"Well, one cannot properly ride a dragon if they are dressed in proper attire, can they Uncle?"
His sigh was fond when he said,
"No, I suppose they cannot."
After you both shared one last smile, you each turned toward the rest of the welcoming party who had been watching your interaction.
"My King, may I present my Lady niece, Commander of my fleet, and heir to High Tide."
With a bow of your head, you said,
"Your Majesty, you and your family honor me with your presence."
You then made sure to smile at him, his young wife, his heir, and his brother. Though, your eyes lingered when they landed on the Prince.
You held each other's gaze for a moment before he began to speak.
But it was only after he finished asking his question that you realized he was not talking to you.
"Does she even speak High Valyrian?"
He had looked toward his brother as he spoke in the tongue he was inquiring about, so he did not see your smile grow wider at his condescending tone.
It was only when you said,
"She does. Though if you wanted to know, you could have asked her yourself."
That the man known as the Rogue Prince glanced back to you with poorly concealed surprise.
Smirking to yourself, you forgot about the rest of your audience as you took a few steps in his direction until you were standing directly across from him.
In the Common Tongue, you simply said,
"I presume you are my betrothed."
The prince merely clasped his hands behind his back before giving a single nod to your question.
With a hum, you continued talking.
"Then allow me to give you a word of warning: I have been underestimated my whole life. I caution you against making the same mistake."
And allowed the kind smile to remain on your face, before turning back to the rest of the party.
"Now, it has been a long journey. Might I be shown where I will be staying?"
Sensing the tension growing between you and Daemon as he continued to openly stare at you after you dismissed him without a backward glance, the Queen was quick to say,
"Of course."
Before leading you inside.
And as you followed after her, you could not stop the pleased smile from growing on your lips as you felt the stare of your future husband burning into your back.
