Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thanks for all the love in the last chapter, I'm glad you guys are all still reading even though this chapter #24 lol...So without further ado, I truly hope you all enjoy. Happy Reading ❤️


THE DRAGON & THE ROSE - EPISODE NINE/PART TWO


The walk towards Queen Alicent's chambers was a long one, a silent one too. Rhaena's mind was overwhelmed with so many emotions, each of them tearing at the corner's of her brain towards the front. But the biggest beast of them all was guilt...and fear followed closely behind it. While she knew that her reasonings for coming to King's Landing on her own had been valiant, she wished now that she hadn't come at all, that she hadn't acted so rashly on emotion.

She felt ashamed of herself for not listening to Cley, for forcing his hand in aiding her on this stupid quest. All she could hope for now was that he had succeeded in getting Rhaenys out of her imprisonment, and that they together they might be able to save her too. But she hadn't the slightest idea of how they could do that, or of what she could do to help them. Perhaps she shouldn't try to do anything else, perhaps she should just sit and wait without making any more stupid mistakes.

Each and every time she was faced with a decision on this day she had chosen wrong, her emotions had taken over rationality, and now it was time to face the consequences of that. Rhaena came to a slow stop next to Aemond once they reached Alicent's chambers, preparing herself for what she was about to face.

"I need to see my mother, immediately," Aemond said flatly, looking at the guard standing post outside the Queen's door.

"She's not in at the moment, I'll send a message-"

"Don't bother," Aemond muttered, turning around and pulling Rhaena's arm to come with him.

"Where are we going?" Rhaena asked nervously, struggling to keep up with his fast pace.

"Must you ask so many questions?" Aemond grunted, looking down to her with disdain.

Rhaena bit her tongue at his response, forcing herself not to say anything smart in return. She had wanted to tell him yes, she does feel the need to ask questions since they pertain to her very immediate safety and future, but she didn't say anything in efforts not to dig her own grave any further.

The two of them stopped outside another door with guards posted, then Aemond gave them a nod to open it. Once it was, he released her from his grip and pushed her inside. She stumbled forward, not appreciating his rough hand, then turned around to face him.

"My mother will find you later," Aemond said stiffly. "Stay put this time for me."

With that, the doors closed and were bolted from the outside, trapping her in with no means of escape.

"Rhaena?"

Rhaena jumped up in fear, then quickly turned around at the sound of the new voice. Her Aunt Rhaenys stood before her, a shocked look on her face. Rhaena felt her stomach twist further in its knot, for while she was grateful to see a friendly face, the fact that Rhaenys was still here meant Cley hadn't succeeded in his plan to free her. This meant that he was likely in the black cells of the dungeon, caught just like her. And because of that her and her great aunt could be stuck here as prisoners of the crown for the rest of their lives. Or even worse, they could be executed if they chose not to bend the knee to Aegon.

All of these thoughts were too much for Rhaena, too overwhelming for her to wrap her mind around. So upon seeing every part of her plan failed all she could do was crumple to the floor with tears.

"Rhaena, what are you doing here? What's the matter?" Rhaenys asked with concern, rushing to the girl's side on the floor to try and comfort her. She was shocked in general at her presence here, but even more so by the state Rhaena seemed to be in.

"I'm sorry Aunt Rhaenys-" Rhaena cried, lowering her head so she wouldn't have to face her, "I tried- I really tried-"

"Breathe, my child," Rhaenys said calmly, rubbing her hand over her niece's back, "Whatever it is, it's going to be alright. Just breathe."

Rhaenys let the girl cry in her arms for a while, trying to remain patient as she waited for her to be able to explain what was happening.

"I came back to save you," Rhaena mumbled into her aunt's shoulder, sniffling to try and regain some state of calm.

"Save me?" Rhaenys asked, feeling shocked that this was what was coming from the girl's mouth. "By yourself?"

"Ser Cley came with me, but it was just us two," she said slowly, "I heard that Viserys had died, that Aegon was going to assume the throne and that you were being kept prisoner...I thought I could save you, I thought I could bring his crown back to Aunt Rhaenyra-"

"Why did you think you could do this on your own?" Rhaenys asked, seeming bewildered that she had done such a thing. "I assume you didn't tell your parents?"

"No," Rhaena shook her head shamefully, "I didn't tell anyone. I know it was stupid of me to do this, I just couldn't help myself, I was so angry-"

"I understand why you did it, Rhaena," Rhaenys said quietly, putting her hand on Rhaena's. "But while your intentions were brave and pure, I wish you hadn't."

"So do I," Rhaena muttered, looking down and away from her aunt again. "I took a risk, Aunt Rhaenys, a big one. And it turned out to be a mistake."

"The risk you took was no bigger than the ones your parents have taken over the years," Rhaenys responded, trying to comfort her a bit.

"Maybe so, but they always succeeded in what they did," Rhaena said through teary eyes. "Both my mother and father have always done the right thing no matter how dangerous or daunting it may have been, and they've always come out on top at the end. I'm an idiot for thinking I could do the same."

"I don't want to hear you call yourself that ever again, do you hear me?" Rhaenys said more firmly now, beckoning her niece to look at her.

Rhaena nodded, but didn't say anything, knowing that her aunt wasn't done with what she had to say.

"You made a mistake, yes, we all have. But that mistake wasn't you coming here, it was you coming here alone. No one has ever asked you to be the sole heroes of our family. No one ever asked this of your parents either, they know that the only way we succeed is if we work together, as a family." Rhaenys asked, her eyebrows raised. "Once we're home your parents will likely say the same thing I am."

"How will we get home, though?" Rhaena shook her head. "For all I know Cley has been taken by the guards, he won't be able to save us-"

Rhaena immediately stopped talking once the sound of the bars on the door were being removed, fear silencing any thought she had. Rhaenys helped Rhaena stand from their spot on the floor, the two of them ready to face whoever it was coming in. Rhaena stepped closer to her as the door slowly opened, feeling her aunt's arm reach around her shoulders protectively.

On the other side of the door was Alicent, who looked less than pleased to see Rhaena's presence here. Behind the Queen was Aemond and Ser Criston, but no one else. Rhaena felt a small wave of relief wash over her once she knew that Aegon wasn't here, but as she looked to her aunt she saw that she seemed more nervous for it to be Alicent present here instead of Aegon. Perhaps Rhaenys was right to be more scared of this woman; for while Aegon was clearly the most obvious danger to Rhaena at court, the Queen was a much sneakier and more coniving player of this game.

"What an unexpected surprise it is to see you here, Princess Rhaena," Alicent exhaled, stopping before them with a tired sigh. If Rhaena didn't know any better it seemed as if Alicent hadn't wanted Rhaena to be her prisoner, as if she had had enough on her plate to deal with without her being here. "I'd like to get this matter settled quickly, so tell me, why would you try and steal my husband's crown from his rightful heir?"

"Aegon isn't-"

"She did nothing that was not bid of her, Your Grace," Rhaenys interrupted, urging the girl to let the adults handle this matter. Aemond and Rhaena both caught each other's eye, the both of them knowing that this was a falsehood. Rhaena had admitted to him that it was her idea to come, that it was her alone who had come steal the crown for Rhaenyra. Rhaena waited for him to speak up and tell his mother this truth they both knew, but he never did.

"And who exactly told her to commit this treason?" Alicent asked, narrowing her eyes on Rhaenys. "How could she have known of the King's death, that my son was ascending? Most of the people in this city do not even know of it yet, let alone those who live on Dragonstone."

"What does it matter how she found out?" Rhaenys asked, shaking her head. "The result is the same. No harm was done by her, just let her go home."

"No harm done?" Alicent scoffed. "The very questioning of my husband's final wishes to have his son ascend is harmful. It's treasonous, even."

"I have a hard time believing that he would ever change his mind about his daughter being his successor, Your Grace," Rhaena finally said, unable to bite her tongue any longer on this matter. "He made it clear his whole life that she was his heir, that it should be her to sit the iron throne. Not your son."

"Whether you find it hard to believe or not is of no importance. His wish for our son to to be King is the truth," Alicent said coldly, staring at the girl now with icy eyes. "And I will not tolerate a single person questioning Aegon's claim to the throne, not even his own cousin."

"And what will you do with her for questioning it? Hmm?" Rhaenys asked, taking a step towards Alicent, "Will you have her hanged like the other lords and ladies that refused to bend the knee?"

"Of course not," Alicent said with a false sweetness, "She is only a child still, acting on her family's wishes as you so stated. She will be given one chance to change her mind about Aegon's succession, for the Mother is merciful."

"I won't do it-" Rhaena shook her head, feeling tears fill her eyes again.

"Quiet, Rhaena," Rhaenys said sharply.

"No," she said sharply, looking at her aunt and then to Alicent. "I won't do it. I don't care what they do to me, I won't abandon my loyalty to my family so easily."

"I already said that I wouldn't hurt you, sweet child," Alicent exhaled. "But I'm afraid that you must bend the knee if you want the rest of your family to go unharmed."

Rhaena froze at these words, her mouth slightly agape as she listened. The Queen knew that Rhaena carried a bleeding heart in her chest for her family, that like her mother she cared much more for those she loved than for herself. Threatening them was the perfect way to get to her comply.

"Aegon will be coronated tomorrow afternoon," Alicent continued her threat, stepping in front of Rhaena with malice in her eyes. "You will stand with us when this happens, you will pledge fealty to him on behalf of yourself and your family. And to solidify your allegiance, you will marry Aemond."

"What?" Rhaena breathed, shaking her head slowly. She looked to Aemond who seemed equally shocked at his last requirement his mother made. They had all thought that this matter had been put to rest at the dinner table when Viserys was still alive, but obviously in Alicent's eyes it wasn't.

"If you don't do all three of these things, I will have no choice but to brand your family traitors to the crown. They will all be killed for not swearing allegiance to their new king, your brothers and cousins included," Alicent finished, seeming quite pleased with herself now. If Rhaena agreed, she would be getting everything she wanted.

"Even if I do agree to your terms," Rhaena responded, her lip trembling, "What makes you think that my parents will bend the knee? What makes you think that they would abandon loyalty to Rhaenyra, a loyalty they've had for decades?"

"Your parents may be loyal to her, yes. But speaking as a parent myself, loyalty means nothing when compared to the safety of one's child. They won't sacrifice their only daughter for anyone, not even Rhaenyra," Alicent said calmly, knowing that she was right. "I'll give you the night to think about your options. I do hope you choose the right one."

With that, Alicent turned and left the room. Aemond paused for a moment, staring at Rhaena who looked back at him with hate in her eyes. He then turned around, leaving the two to be locked back in the room. Once the door was shut Rhaena wiped her eyes, unable to believe that this was happening. She hated herself even more for coming now, for putting her parents in a position where they might lose another daughter, for putting herself in a position where she might lose them.

"Should you see my parents again, will you tell them that I'm sorry?" Rhaena whispered, begging herself not to cry again.

"You shall tell them yourself, Rhaena," Rhaenys said slowly, taking the girl's hands into her own. "We'll find a way out of this."

"How?" Rhaena asked, shaking her head. "I have to make a choice and whichever one I choose I doubt I'll ever see them again-"

"The choice is already made, you can't bend the knee," Rhaenys replied.

"But if I don't they'll-"

"They'll be named traitors? They'll be hunted down by the Greens? Your parents would have been branded traitors, whether you were hostage here or not," Rhaenys said strongly, squeezing Rhaena's hands. "They would never swear fealty to Aegon, not ever. And neither can you."

"But if I don't do what Alicent is asking me, what's to say she won't have me killed for it?" Rhaena cried. "Am I supposed to just let my parents go through losing another child?"

"They won't lose you," Rhaenys shook her head, "You are Alicent's leverage, if she kills you then it is her who sets the precedent of it being alright to murder children in the war to come. It invokes the right for your parents to kill one of hers. She needs you whether she likes it or not if she's going to achieve the throne for her son as peacefully as possible."

Rhaena shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks as she spoke, "What's to say that she wants to achieve it peacefully?"


The Next Morning

After long back and forth discussion with Rhaenys about what she should do, Rhaena was moved to her own chambers, separating her from Rhaenys for the night. She had tried to sleep once in her own room, hoping that a night of rest might give her the clarity to finally decide what to do. But she hadn't slept a wink all night, and by the time the sun rose the next morning she was still uncertain of what choice she would make.

She had weighed each option thoroughly, but both of them seemed equally horrible. Everything ended in someone's pain, in someone's inevitable death. Perhaps this was her punishment for what she did, perhaps the Gods thought this to be her justice. She had thought herself capable enough to choose to come King's Landing on her own, shouldn't she be capable of deciding the future with this problem as well?

She remained silent and continued to think about what to do as the chamber maids helped her dress for the day. Each pull of the corset strings around her stomach made her feel more and more ill.

"Can I bring you anything to eat, Princess?" the chambermaid asked awkwardly, tying off the end of the dress to finish.

"No, thank you," Rhaena said numbly, "I'd like to be left alone now if that's alright."

The girl curtsied and then knocked twice on the door to alert the guards she wanted to leave. Rhaena watched as she left, then turned around to face the mirror. She smoothed the front of her dress, then tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ears as she examined her face.

Her eyes were bright red and swollen, clear signs that she had been crying all night. The rest of her skin seemed paler than normal, shining a ghostly white color that made it look as if she were sick. She didn't look like herself, but perhaps that was because she wasn't. She didn't recognize the person that made the decisions she had the day before, she didn't want to.

Viserys' death had been the first true loss in her life, and her reaction to losing him scared her. If she was willing to risk everything in reaction to him dying, what would she do if one of her parents died, or her brothers? If things went wrong today maybe she would never be faced with that problem, but if she ever did, she knew that she wouldn't make the same mistakes again. She'd do what she could to learn from this horrible lesson.

She exhaled slowly as she finished looking at herself in the mirror, then felt her eyebrows narrow together as she spotted something behind her. She slowly turned around, looking at the tall wardrobe in the corner of the room. She couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it the night before, that she hadn't realized what room this was. It was her mother's room.

She walked towards the wardrobe, then ran her fingers across the large Tyrell Rose engraved in one of the doors. She then put her palm against the Targaryen dragon, a small tear slipping from her eye. Her mother's two houses; Growing Strong, Fire and Blood.

All night she had stayed in her mother's room, she had laid in her mother's bed, and now wore her mother's dress without knowing it. All night she had been longing to be with her without realizing that a piece of her had been here this whole time. Though it didn't mean much, it was just a dress, just a wardrobe, Rhaena felt a small hint of empowerment from it.

She hadn't known what choice to make this entire night, she'd been asking herself which of Alicent's options she should choose. Now she knew that the only thing she should ask herself is what would her mother do. Elaena Targaryen wouldn't have accepted either of Alicent's options proposed to her, she would have create one of her own. And with this realization Rhaena knew what she needed to do, what she needed to be prepared for. She wasn't going to go down without a fight, but this time she was going to be smart about it.

Rhaena quickly started looking around the room for anything easily concealed that she could use as a weapon, anything that might give her the advantage should the time come where she needs to use it. There was nothing here though, nothing obvious at the least.

Perhaps what she needed wasn't obvious though, perhaps she needed to get creative if she wanted to survive. An idea suddenly dawned on her, and while it may have been mad it felt like the only option she had if she wanted to create a third path for herself. So she rushed forward, grabbing one of the candlesticks on the bedside table. She moved forward towards the mirror and swung it as hard as she could at the very bottom.

The bottom section of the mirror shattered, large and small glass shards alike falling onto the floor below. Rhaena bent down and picked up a fair sized piece of the mirror, then set it on the bed behind her. She quickly used her feet to try and sweep the fallen shards under the bed, erasing the evidence. Once that was done she grabbed the mirror, placing it on its backside to slide underneath the bed as well.

She lowered the bedskirt down onto the floor, then looked around her to make sure that there were no remaining pieces. A short knock on the door suddenly sounded, interrupting her attempt to cover everything up.

"Just a moment," she called out nervously. She quickly grabbed the piece of glass she had set aside, tucking it into the long sleeve of her dress for safe-keeping.

She then rushed over to the wardrobe and opened it, pretending to look for something in it.

"Alright, come in," she called out, shrugging the shard a little further up her sleeve so she was sure it wasn't visible to whoever was entering.

The door slowly opened, revealing Aemond. He walked in silently, watching as she closed the door to the wardrobe in front of her.

"I'm not interrupting am I?"

"Would it matter if you were?" she responded, sniffling once as she leaned her back on the large wardrobe. He didn't respond to this question, for both of them knew the answer. Rhaena then exhaled when it was clear he wasn't going to say anything. "Why are you here, Aemond?"

"I've been told to escort you to the coronation," he said slowly, his eye examining her the red dress on her body now. "I see you're dressed for it. Have you decided what you're going to do?"

"I have," she nodded, not giving him anything more than that.

He seemed a bit amused by this, a short and dry laugh escaping his lips. "And what would that decision be? We want to know before we get to the dragonpit."

"I plan to bend the knee," she responded, exhaling through her nose to release the tension in her shoulders.

"Really?" he asked, raising his brow with surprise. "I wouldn't have expected that."

"I'll do anything to protect my family," she said softly, trying to make this response sound as convincing as possible. If what she had planned was going to work, she needed to him to take her away from this room and to the dragonpit with him, he couldn't be suspicious of her.

"You'll do anything?...Even if it means allowing Aegon to ascend?" he asked, his smile falling a bit. "Even if it means marrying me?"

She swallowed roughly, shaking her head as she spoke, "I don't care about me. Only those I love."

"Then we should go," he responded shortly, turning to the side so that her path to the door was clear. "The carriages are waiting."

She didn't say anything in response, she only walked forward with her eyes on him. The two walked silently through the halls of the Red Keep towards the carriages, surrounded by a pack of guards to make sure that she couldn't escape. Rhaena could feel her heart beating faster as she felt the blade of glass scrape against her skin, as she tried to evaluate each and every second in time to see when she could make her move. What made her even more nervous was Aemond's gaze on hers. She could feel his eyes watching her closely, burning a hole in the side of her face as the two walked.

He was waiting for her to do something stupid, for her to run or try and fight her way to an escape. But she wasn't going to do anything like that, not yet anyways. This wasn't the time, she could feel it in her bones. When the time would be, she didn't know, but she would be ready for it.

Once the door to the carriage behind them was closed, Rhaena finally lifted her eyes from the ground, meeting Aemond's at last.

"Would you quit staring at me like that?" she asked, her voice a bit timid despite her best effort for it not be.

"Why?" he asked, tilting his head to the side a little. "Do I make you nervous?"

"Yes," she said honestly, inhaling shakily. "You do."

Aemond sat with this response for a moment, thinking it over silently. Rhaena couldn't tell if he was angry or pleased with her answer, but however it was that he felt about it seemed to bother him. Everything about how he interacted with her confused her, everything about how he treated her seemed to be contradictory.

Since this was the last time she planned to be alone with him for a long time, she planned to at least try and get to the bottom of it.

"Why did you let me go, Aemond?" Rhaena asked, feeling as if she had nothing to lose. "When I ran into you in King's Landing, before you caught me stealing me the crown."

"Finding my brother was paramount. I didn't have time to worry about you," Aemond replied shortly, his jaw clenching a bit. He obviously hated that she had asked this question, that she had put him on the spot like this. When it was apparant that he wasn't going to give a further explanation, Rhaena continued.

"You and Ser Criston could have easily killed Cley together, making me completely vulnerable," Rhaena shook her head. "Then one of you could have continued the search for Aegon while the other could have taken me to the castle. Why didn't you do that? It doesn't make sense to me for you not to have."

Aemond inhaled slowly, then exhaled even slower through his nose. "Believe me or don't, but I never wanted to see you in danger, Rhaena. My fight isn't with you."

"My fight isn't with you either... and yet it is at the same time," Rhaena responded quietly. "I fight for my family, and you for yours. Therefore at the end of the end of the day we are against each other whether we like it or not."

"If you truly believe that then why have you agreed to marry me?" he asked, leaning forward in his seat as he took his turn to ask her an uncomfortable question. "Why have you agreed to bend the knee?"

"I already told you-" Rhaena started, but interrupted herself with a sharp gasp through her teeth. The carriage had rocked to the side unexpectedly as they came to a stop on the bumpy road, causing the blade of glass in her sleeve to dig into her skin. The hair raised on the back of her neck as blood trickled down her wrist, and all she could hope was that the dark red color of her dress would be able to hide it.

Though this whole event had started and ended within the blink of an eye, Aemond saw that there was something more to it than just a bump in the carriage.

"What just happened?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he tried to figure her out.

"Nothing, I was just startled," Rhaena lied, feeling her heart beat faster as he stared at her. She knew that he didn't believe her, but she also saw in his eye that he didn't know what the truth was, he had no way of knowing. The only thing he knew was that she was acting suspicious.

"Don't do anything stupid in there, Rhaena," Aemond said quietly, his voice dark with intimidation. "For your own sake at the least."

Rhaena didn't respond, staring at him as she felt the wound on her wrist continue to slowly bleed. He exhaled a little then moved forward in the carriage, opening the door and stepping out. He stood outside of it, holding his hand out for her, but she walked past it, afraid that if she did take his hand he might see the blood or the blade. His mouth twisted a little with scorn, thinking that she was just being stubborn against him. She was fine to let him think this if it meant her secret weapon remained concealed.

The two then walked silently up the steps of the dragonpit, the sound of the people surrounding them so loud that even if they wanted to talk they wouldn't be able to hear each other. Rhaena's eyes widened as she looked at the thousands of people gathered, shocked by the sheer amount of them that had come to watch Aegon's coronation. Surely they all couldn't be supporters of his claim, surely they weren't all here and glad that Rhaenyra's succession was being usurped.

But as she looked past the line of guards securing her and Aemond's path to the center of the pit, she could see that there were more guards pushing all the commoners in. These people weren't here on their own accord, they were being herded in like livestock to watch the show.

Once her and Aemond made it to the center of the dragonpit, Rhaena looked up to see Alicent standing with a small smile on her lips. Once she made it up the stairs, Rhaena stopped before her.

"I'm glad to see you've made the right choice," Alicent said quietly. "

"I'm doing this for my family," Rhaena responded, shaking her head, "Not for anything else."

"Of course you are, my child," Alicent nodded, a more bitter look taking over her face.

Rhanea moved away to go stand in her place, but then looked over her shoulder to Alicent one last time. "One last thing, Your Grace."

"Yes, Princess?" Alicent asked, folding her hands in front of her.

"I'm not your child," Rhaena said coldly. She stared at Alicent for a moment who seemed a bit disturbed by this. But Alicent only smiled, tilting her head to the side as she looked at Rhaena.

"Maybe not yet, but soon you will be, if not by law alone, when you marry my son."

Rhaena's jaw clenched as she turned around to go stand next to Helaena. Aegon's sister-wife shifted uncomfortably as Rhaena stood next to her, obviously disliking her as much as her mother did. Rhaena stood next to her silently, then watched as Aemond stood on her other side. Though she was surrounded by enemies, this was exactly where Rhaena wanted to be. For when the time was right, she was going to make her move. All she had to do was wait for the right opening.

Suddenly Gwayne Hightower, Alicent's brother and the Hand of the King, started speaking, bringing the scattered chatters of the room to a silence.

"People of King's Landing," he began, his voice echoing in the now quiet room. "Today is the saddest of days. Our beloved King, Viserys the peaceful is dead."

Hushed conversation picked back up, the common people discussing amongst themselves about this news. But Rhaena knew that despite their whisperings, they had no real idea what this meant. They didn't understand the war that was about to befall upon them.

"But it is also the most joyous of days, for as his spirit left us, he whispered his final wish: that his first born son, Aegon, should succeed him."

Rhaena looked deep into the crowd, trying to gauge the reactions of the people. But as every one of the commoners turned to each other, she felt a pair of eyes in the crowd on her. She met this person's eyes, only to see that they belonged to Ser Cley.

Relief washed over her to see that he hadn't been taken like she was, that he had managed to escape somehow. Once he knew that she had seen him, he mouthed only one word: "Meleys."

She wasn't sure if she read his lips right at first, but then she knew that what she had seen was undeniable. If he was saying 'Meleys', that could only mean that Rhaenys was close by. Somehow he had found a way to get to Rhaenys and free her, and now Rhaena knew that the two of them had a plan in place to save her.

Rhaena gave a very small nod to him to show that she understood, and then struggled to keep her smile concealed. She was going to be saved. All she had to do now was wait for them to do that, and make sure that whatever she did wasn't going to conflict with their plan.

Her eyes turned away from him as trumpets sounded in the dragonpit, announcing the arrival of Aegon. She watched as he made his way through the tunnel of swords and up the stairs to where they all stood, feeling her relief replaced by a pit in her stomach. She had never hated someone like she did him, never in her life.

Rhaena watched as Alicent placed a kiss on her son's forehead, then stepped to the side for him to kneel before the High Septon. The pious man took a bowl of water and approached Aegon, dragging his finger across his forehead as he spoke.

"May the Warrior give him courage. May the Smith bring strength to his sword and sheath. May the Father defend him in his need. May the Crone lift her shining lamp and light his way to wisdom."

Once the High Septon was finished Ser Criston picked up a golden crown, the same one that Rhaena had tried to take the day beforehand.

"The crown of Jahaerys the Wise, and Viserys the Peaceful," Criston bellowed, his voice echoing in the silent hall as he held is over Aegon's head. "Let the Seven bear witness as it is passed onto Aegon Targaryen, second of his name, the true and rightful heir of the iron throne, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms."

Rhaena turned away as Criston lowered the crown onto Aegon's head, unable to watch her grandsire's crown become his. From the corner of her eye she could see Aemond staring at his brother, and in this moment she didn't know who was more disgusted by what was happening, him or herself. While her and Aemond were not aligned in hardly any way, she knew now that they stood together in not wanting his brother to ascend. But why Aemond was so fine with letting it happen was something she didn't know.

Ser Criston took a step backwards as Aegon stood, bowing his head immediately for his newly crowned King. Alicent and Helaena quickly followed suit, giving him their allegiance without question. Aemond reluctantly lowered his eyes, but didn't move his head.

Aegon and Alicent then turned to Rhaena, waiting for her to do the same.

"Come, Princess Rhaena," Alicent said, holding her hand out for Rhaena to join her. "Come kneel and swear you and your family's fealty for your King."

Rhaena felt her lip tremble a little as fear coursed through her veins, for she knew this was the last chance she had to do what she needed to. Her eyes flitted from Alicent to where Cley had been standing, only to see that he was gone. It was time.

Just as she was about to take a step, she felt Aemond take her wrist to push her forward. As soon as he did this he pulled his hand away, seeing that it was covered in the blood that had been soaking into the dark red dress. For a split second they made eye contact with each other, then both moved. Aemond took a step forwards to grab her, but she quickly yanked the blade of glass from her sleeve and grabbed Helaena. She spun her cousin around and held the glass to her throat, facing the rest of their family.

"No!" Alicent shouted, stepping forward with fear in her eyes. "Rhanea, don't!"

"Just stay back- don't take another step- or I'll cut her throat-" Rhaena breathed shakily, feeling the glass cut through the palm of her hand as she gripped it tighter.

Helaena held her hands up to surrender, trembling as she felt the blade press a little further into her neck, "Please, I have children who need me, Rhaena-"

"Let your Queen go!" Criston shouted, pulling his sword out to go towards Rhaena.

"Stay your ground, Ser," Alicent saiad quickly, blocking his way with her arm to stop him. "Don't do anything that might endanger my daughter."

"Rhaena don't do this," Aemond said calmly, taking a slow step towards her. She could see her blood covering his hand as he held it out to her, and his other was slowly reaching back for his dagger.

"I won't do anything if you all just let me go," Rhaena said, taking a step backwards with Helaena still captive. "Let me go and I promise I'll return her to you unharm-"

Just as she was about to finish a loud explosion sounded behind her. Dust and rock flew in the air around, and the sound of a dragon screeching over the screaming of the commoners filled her ears. Rhaena looked behind her to see that Meleys had bursted upwards from under the stone floor. The great red dragon then walked forward, and Rhaena knew that she was saved now.

In all the mayhem she quickly shoved Helaena forward, who then stumbled back into Aemond's arms. Rhaena dashed to the side away from them, looking at the glimmer of gold shining through the dusty air. She quickly plucked the crown off of Aegon's head, then turned to run back down the stairs. She was met by Cley who had his sword drawn, protecting her as they ran towards Meleys.

"Get up! Go!" Cley said urgently, turning around to guard her as she began to climb the side of the dragon towards Rhaenys' extended hand.

Rhaena grunted in pain as Rhaenys clutched her blood-soaked wrist, the touch making her wound sear with pain. But she didn't have time to give in to the pain, she needed to get up and get away. So she swung her leg around the saddle to sit behind her aunt, then leaned down to give Cley a hand up.

"Archers!" Criston shouted, "Fire at will!"

At these words Meleys leaned forward, screeching in all of their faces loudly. Once they were all seated they ducked, arrows flying just past their heads to try and stop them. Rhaena tried to make one last moment of eye contact with Aemond as Meleys turned around, only to find him trying to stop Criston from letting the archers have free reign. Why he was doing this she didn't know, but she wasn't going to stay and find out.

"Go Meleys!" Rhaenys commanded, steering the Red Queen out and away. The dragon ran forward through the sea of screaming commoners, then took flight through the doors of the dragonpit. Another round of arrows zoomed past their heads as they flew out, but none of them hit their marks.

Rhaena couldn't help but laugh a little as they soared over King's Landing, realizing that they had all escaped unharmed. And as well as that, she had managed to take the crown. She turned over her shoulder to look at Cley, whose face was ghostly pale as he looked down. He was certainly braver on the ground than he was in the sky.

"Ser Cley," Rhaena shouted, beckoning him to look at her. When he looked to her she held the crown up for him to see, a smile of triumph on her lips. "We did it."

"Aye," he nodded, his face still nervous, "But let's not do it again."

"You have my word that I won't ask anything like this of you again, I promise," Rhaena agreed, giving him a small smile. He nodded, then closed his eyes as she turned around in her seat.

While they had been victorious in their mission in the end, Rhaena hadn't forgotten how many times it had so nearly not been this fortuitous. She wouldn't forget what her aunt had told her the day before, not ever. She knew that she had had no business trying to achieve what they were walking away with on her own; the only way from here on out that she would do anything was to do it with her family.

As they flew past the edge of King's Landing, she saw Onyx laying on the ground waiting for her. When the black colored beast saw her rider, she quickly stood and took flight to join them. Rhaena watched as Onyx flew upwards until she was riding the wind next to them.

The five of them were all safe, and all going home. Back to Dragonstone.


Author's Note: So lots just went down! I hope this chapter was more enjoyable for you all, and I hope you got your fill of Rhaena's POV for a hot second, because with next week's chapters we are going back to Elaena's pov... and you get bet your booties that shit is about to go down.

Until then, thank you all for reading! ❤️