RHAENYRA
Rhaenyra awakens in chains.
She sighs. Not again. "What have I said about chains in my bed? You're going to scratch the varnish." And she hates the sound of the metal grating against the frame.
"I could hardly awaken you and ask you to come to my room first," Daemon had whispered into her ear.
"You could have used ropes, at the very least."
"You cannot surprise a sleeping person with ropes."
"Why ev—" Those were her last coherent words of the morning.
Rhaenyra awakens in chains.
But something is wrong. This isn't my name day…
There's something else off. Not only with the circumstance but with the chains themselves. But it is so hard to think.
Her head is full of clouds. Her blood is full of clouds. The clouds do not come from within; someone has put them there. She reaches for her throat, which the chains surprisingly allow for. They allow for a lot. She seems to have near full mobility. Almost like their only goal is to keep her contained to an area, rather than prevent her from moving around.
She wants to get up, to ask Syrax why she calls. She tries to fly above the clouds to that clear sky, but the chains will not let her pass. Not these chains, but other chains. Invisible chains that pull her down.
She falls back down into the clouds. So does someone else. But she does not fall all the way with them. Instead, Rhaenyra lands on chains. Sharp chains. Long chains. They slither around the bedsheets and under her body, leaving marks and indentations and even a few cuts. She studies one in the dim candlelight and discovers that they are covered in long links. They do not bend in circles, they bend at angles like a wooden toy snake.
No Amber Bride strangulation stunts for me, I suppose.
But why do they have so much lead? They are far too long. She studies it more, straining her eyes against the dark. It looks like they're made of gold.
I would be flattered, were it not for the ineptitude with which I believe these restraints were applied.
Her throat and her mouth are raw. Her lips are chafed, possibly split. There is a strange taste in her mouth, and it is not honey. Something has definitely been forced down her throat as she slept. She takes a few moments to consider, and then she does identify the taste.
Milk of the poppy. Thank the gods.
But also, what the fuck? Since when do I need to be forcibly addled? Who am I, Daemon? She reaches to her side and fumbles in search of a bedside cup of water.
One appears in her hand. "Here."
"Seven Hells!" She smacks it away and it clatters on the floor. She sits up and this time is not pulled back down by chains or clouds. There is a green viper next to her bed, mayhaps offering more of its venom. "Two decades in this family," Rhaenyra says. "And no one warned you about sleeping dragons?"
Alicent makes no answer, simply gets up from her chair and retrieves the cup Rhaenyra had knocked from her hands. She actually moves toward the pitcher.
"Don't you dare try to give me a floor cup! Have you not yet put enough into me of dubious origin?" Wait, did the Grandmaester stab her with a viper's fang? Is Aegon still paralyzed? So many questions, so she settles for the most pressing one. "I wasn't left around Aegon whilst unconscious, was I?"
"Of course not, Rhaenyra, I would never let that happen."
"The fact that you answered that way..." She sighs, really not interested in Alicent's parenting at the moment. But she'll do anything to distract herself from… No.
Now that she's upright, she can see where she'd been moved to. The one place she was completely certain had no secret exits: Maegor's Holdfast. Her father's room. Her father's bed. It still smells slightly of decay. As she suspected, not so much from her father, as for the lack of care given to his by-now museum of Valyria.
"How does a King end up with cobwebs in his room," her husband had asked. "Sick or no… Someone should have done it. Someone should have ordered it. If not him, than whoever is responsible for his care."
Rhaenyra had been suspicious of whoever was in charge of her father's care. It does not enthuse her to realize she has taken his physical place as well. She wonders what would happen if she manages her own heroic throne walk, then she decides to wonder later.
She stretches for the first time in a day. But then she looks down, and remembers the other reason she certainly did not want to be unconscious.
Fuck. I'm a stupid princess.
Her stays is gone, obviously. She's wearing a fresh nightgown that does not belong to her. It is hardly a surprise, it made little sense to let an addled person sleep for so long in stays. But also, fuck. I'm a stupid princess who keeps notes from my prince that I'm supposed to destroy, simply because I'm scared and I want comfort.
It seems even sadder when she thinks of it like that. She wishes she could tell herself it was overconfidence or forgetfulness, and not the embarrassing fact that she was just a stupid scared princess from Alicent's stupid fairytales who wanted to read about how her prince was going to come save her.
Alicent must have noticed her searching herself. "They found it, Rhaenyra. The ring. And the… note."
"Ugh, please tell me it wasn't C—"
"Of course not. It was the maids."
"Oh, I get maids now? So the Queen-in-Chains has some status, I see."
Alicent looks uncomfortable, and Rhaenyra does not press the issue. She settles for another pressing question. "So, why are you here, Alicent?"
"I did not think you would be awake yet. You need to be monitored while the… venom is still in your system. They did not realize until afterwards that it should not mix with milk-of-the poppy."
"Great."
"They could not risk you waking before they readied this part of the room."
"You mean Rhaenyra-proofed?"
Alicent sits dow beside her again. "…Yes. But I did intend to be here when you woke. I didn't want you to wake up alone without an apology."
Rhaenyra is still very much feeling the effects of the poppy and whatever viper, literal viper, had poisoned her. She honestly does not understand why she is awake, save for the chains that had come alive to bite her. So she cannot be certain she is following Alicent correctly, and she can definitely not be certain she is being given an apology.
She fights the urge to lay back down. "What?" Thinking about it, she really has not slept since she arrived here. Mayhaps being addled was a little poetic in a way. Were it not such a dark situation, Daemon might even enjoy his justice.
"I am so sorry, Rhaenyra. I tried to prevent this. Please believe me that I did. I swear I fought for you. Ser Harrold fought for you. But in light of what happened, they all agreed you're too much of a flight risk. I managed at least… I got them to take the one off your neck. And once the rest of the suite is… Rhaenyra-proofed, I will try to make sure this stops."
Take me back, clouds.
"I… I will push the issue, I promise you. And I swear, the neck one will not come b—"
"Neck what?"
"The chains, Rhaenyra."
"Oh." She instinctively reaches for her neck, finally processing Alicent's words. "You chained my neck whilst I was sleeping? That's really not safe Alicent. Or comfortable," she complains. Mayhaps it was not the medicine that pained her throat then. Now she truly tries to fight the fatigue — who knows what other Hightower ineptitude will disturb her precious sleep.
"Rhaenyra, I pro—"
"I do not care about the chains, Alicent. I only wish to sleep. For forever."
"You will feel different in the morning."
"No. If I'm sleeping I'm not panicking." Fuck. Did I just say that aloud?
Fortunately, Alicent wants to engage with that comment even less than Rhaenyra does, and they both let it go. Alicent returns to her object of obsession — the chains. She rants and raves about the nonsense for some time before Rhaenyra has had enough.
Rhaenyra has had enough. "Alicent… Is this revenge for all the glasslighting? For the mop? For the mummy? Are you after my sanity? Tell me so I know."
"Rhaenyra I swear I take no joy in this. I will fight for you."
"For what?"
"For the chains, Rhaenyra."
Rhaenyra sighs. "I mean I'm uncomfortable — though that's more your ineptitude than the actual chains, I imagine. But so is childbirth, being a prisoner, and you know, rape. Be honest, Alicent. You want these chains gone for your comfort, not mine." She tries to lay down, but another chain bites her. "Alright, what even are these?"
"They were… Queen Rhaena's apparently."
"Good for her? I suppose."
She wants to sleep; she just wants to sleep. But Alicent cannot see the little problem anymore than she can see the larger one. At the least she might actually fix the little problem. She wakes herself up enough to speak with a clear, direct voice. "Who was here when I was chained to this bed, and had anyone in the room ever chained someone or been chained to a bed before?"
That was not the comment Alicent was expecting. Then again, Rhaenyra had no idea what she was expecting. "I… what?"
"Let me guess, Cole and some Hightower men?"
She nods.
Rhaenyra sighs and rubs her face. "Alicent there are different reasons to chain people to beds, and I do not think this works well for any of them."
I cannot. If I say it, it will seem motivated and I know not if they will believe me. But also, I simply cannot.
Alicent looks simply lost.
But someone else can. "Where was Aegon when this was happening?"
That at least she can answer. "The Grandmaester was attending to him."
"So he was not here?"
"Of course not, Rhaenyra, I told you that already."
"I cannot believe I am saying this… go get Aegon. He's probably still awake."
"What?"
"Just… Alicent I cannot do this. Get. Aegon! And, get your father or whoever has keys. But not Cole, for fucks sake."
The ineptitude. The eagerness. Such a hellish combination. The humiliations begin. The attacks on my sanity begin. Yet my sweet sleep eludes me.
And just as sleep eludes Rhaenyra, sense eludes Alicent. She simply sits there.
"Get. Aegon! I am tired and I cannot do this." I refuse to cry in front of them for the first time for such a ridiculous reason. "If I fail at going to sleep forever, I swear. I don't know what, actually. I cannot think. Please get Aegon and… whoever is in charge of this who isn't Cole. Seven Hells, bring Cole if you wish, just bring someone else with power too."
"Rhaenyra, I am the Dowager Queen."
"And yet I remain the Queen-in-Chains, against your wishes. Bring me whoever has the power to implement their own wishes. And Aegon!"
Alicent stands up. "Very well."
These people do not know what to do with me. This is more dangerous than if they did. I'm going to die here — by accident.
I do not care, I am going to sleep forever.
Alicent opts to summon Otto and Aegon only. Despite the distance he needs to cover, Otto arrives first, of course. Because this day that conspires against her sanity is not yet over. He strides in and speaks in that condescending, smug tone. "Her Grace has a complaint about her treatment?"
"Fuck you. Where's your depraved grandson? I cannot believe you have not been utilizing him more. He might be your greatest asset for something like this."
Aegon then mercifully stumbles in. It appears he'd yet to go to bed and had to be tracked down. He pours himself a cup of water from a table out of Rhaenyra's reach, looks at her and grimaces, and pours a second cup that has presumably not been on the floor. He actually brings it over to her.
She drinks the whole cup before continuing, then checks to ensure her nightgown has not ridden upwards. She tosses her blankets aside. Neither Otto nor Alicent notice the point she tries to make. "Aegon, please tell them the problem here so I can fall asleep forever."
"I'm with you there."
"Aegon!" she insists.
"Oh. Right." He assesses her.
She fights the urge to lay back down on the biting snakes. What the fuck is in that snake venom. Or was it the miscarriage? Or the not sleeping for days on end whilst being held captive? Or the being assaulted? Or being addled whilst already unconscious? Hard to tell.
"Ah…" he says. "I see the problem here."
"What?" Alicent asks.
"Might I ask first, why is Rhaenyra chained to the bed?"
I hate you all. I hate my husband. I hate my cousin. I just hate you all. This is why my father withered away in this bed. Not a bad idea.
"Aegon, be serious," the old viper scolds him.
"I'm asking an honest question."
"Aegon," Rhaenyra helps. "They need specifics. They're stupid."
"Oh. Okay. Why is Rhaenyra chained to the bed right now? Aemond isn't even here."
Ugh.
The old viper answers. "We need to keep her contained to the annex until we can better secure the room, go through the items so she cannot make weapons, train staff to supervise her."
Aegon is pacing the way Rhaenyra's old tutor would whilst quizzing her. "Now, who did this? Who was here?"
"Kingsguard, myself, Larys's maids, some Hightower men."
"The maids without tongues right?"
"What?" Rhaenyra cannot help but ask.
"So," Aegon professes, with his hand actually under his chin. "What we have here, is a room full of people who have probably never chained anyone to a bed, or been chained to a bed, trying to chain someone to a bed. Whilst the one person who was married to Prince Daemon and therefore definitely has been chained to a bed, was unconscious and therefore unable to instruct them. Is that correct, sister?"
"Yes."
"He would chain you? Oh, Rhaenyra," laments the green viper. The old viper shakes his head in disgust.
Aegon actually exchanges a look of camaraderie with Rhaenyra, then continues his instructional pacing. "Right. So you only want to keep her from wandering around. You're not trying to immobilize her. Which is obvious, because the chains are lax." He stops pacing to pick up one of the lengths. "Far too lax, honestly. They pose a safety risk. Even if they are the strange angular ones that don't coil around necks as easily, you cannot have loose chains, especially sharp chains, oh these are nice chains."
Aegon takes a moment to admire them. Rhaenyra is more certain now that they are indeed plated gold. "Right, umm… They either need to be tightened to prevent her from moving around — if that's your goal. Or just one limb will suffice, probably an ankle. This halfway-between strategy… not working. It's just too many loose ends from too many directions. Everything gets tangled while she sleeps. Reeks of inexperience, and does not work for any situation. And look," he says as he gestures to Rhaenyra herself. "She has marks everywhere. You're going to end up with lacerations."
Alicent had lit more candles as they waited and so Aegonn is able to inspect her now, which does not particularly enthuse her, but she's too tired to really object. He peers closer. "And you had something on her neck earlier, it looks like? That is not for sleeping. That is for when a prisoner is upright and moving, torture, or for fun depravity reasons. Not to contain a sleeping prisoner of status."
He had made an admirable effort to keep his eyes mostly off of her chest, and Rhaenyra pulls the blanket back up before he can completely fail. Best to have one person here whose presence she can tolerate.
Ugh, Aegon. Of all people.
Aegon, of all people, continues. "I mean, you could tighten them and immobilize her. But there's little point while she's so exhausted and also… you don't need to do anything with her at the moment. Unless you were so concerned about escape that you didn't want her to be able to reach any of the individual manacles, but once again, the chains are so loose, they do nothing to prevent that." He shakes one of the very loose chains that spills from the covers for effect.
The fact that it is still him…
"Now, you could immobilize her as a power move. But I see little reason behind it if she's recovering from injuries and you're hoping for her to birth children. Honestly, one ankle will suffice. This," he makes a broad gesture to the whole bed, "is simply a mess."
They actually do concede after that, especially once Aegon points out the lacerations. They even graciously free her long enough to cross the apartment to the privy. No one is interested in giving her the complete invalid experience, apparently, especially without staff. Also, she's so addled, they must know she is of little risk.
Otto leaves once they've replaced only the one chain around her ankle. Aegon lingers with the green viper. "Worry not, I have your back, sister."
"Good." She lies back down and covers herself. "Now, I am going to sleep, for forever, to avoid confronting my reality in life."
"Me too!"
"I only request that if I'm still sleeping when my baby brother's time comes, give me one of Aegon's concoctions — one that actually does what it is supposed to do, and don't wake me up then either."
"Rhaenyra, I truly am sorry."
"I'm sorry we fucked up the chaining process whilst we were chaining you after kidnapping you so my son can steal your throne, rape you, and kill you once you've born his heirs," she says in her Alicent voice. It is far more nasal and nowhere near as good as her Rhaenys voice.
Aegon laughs. "She has you there."
"Rhaenyra, we're not going to kill you. We have no plans to kill you."
"That makes it better. Although, I take comfort in the fact that you'll probably kill me by accident with your ineptitude."
"Regardless… it wasn't supposed to be like this. Daemon should have been dealt with. You were supposed to have your younger sons, your mobility, your dignity. If there is anything…"
Rhaenyra pulls herself away from the clouds one last time before falling. She sits back up. "You're truly sorry?"
"Yes."
She nods. "Alright… there is one favour you can do for me."
"What?" she actually asks eagerly.
"Bitch, let me go! Wait, I am Queen. This is my palace. Get the fuck out!"
"I cannot let you go. Your uncle will kill us all, my sons included."
"Now he will! Seven Hells, I'll help. I'll fuck him on the Iron Throne whilst their pieces adorn it. Because they earned it."
"Alright," Aegon says. "You called me here to lecture about safety regarding depravity. I must therefore object to that scenario. Also, hey!"
"Alicent, you do realize that the more you cross me because you're scared I'll kill you, the more I want to kill you, right?"
Alicent sighs like Rhaenyra is an unruly child and not a grown woman imprisoned in a viper's nest. "Rhaenyra…"
"Get out, Alicent. I do not want you here."
"You need someone to watch you, should you seize due to the venom."
"Whose fault is that."
"It matters not. This is your safety."
"And what of my sanity?"
"I'll do it," Aegon says. "I am far more accustomed to the late hour than you are, Mother. And I'm still too fucked up from whatever I took to go do anything fun."
Rhaenyra decides to pick her battles. "He can stay. But if I'm chained he's chained. And those chains do not reach this bed."
"That's fair."
"Gods be good," is all Alicent can manage.
Otto had actually permitted Alicent a set of keys to the chains before he left, and she and Aegon combine a few lengths and attach them to a fixture by the door. Aegon would have free rein of most of the suite, access to the door, and the ability to check on her, but not the ability to reach her.
Alicent shakes her head as she secures the anklet. Aegon is completely unfazed. "I'll be honest, I'm a little aroused just by association."
"What?" Alicent exclaims and jumps away.
"By association, Mother. Not the situation itself. Rhaenyra understands."
Never. Waking. Up.
She is still enough in her right mind to force Aegon to test the reach. "As close as you can. Good. Now reach. Reach your hand as far as you can. Stretch. Good." It stops short of the bed, and Rhaenyra is satisfied.
Aegon picks a book and makes himself comfortable on a sofa with his feet on the table. Alicent leaves reluctantly, and Rhaenyra makes certain she sees Aegon's keys leave with her. Unsurprisingly, Alicent does not trust Aegon, or more likely, Rhaenyra, to leave Rhaenyra's key with him.
He's stupid, but stupid enough to trick into letting me go? Hard to say… He's also smarter than the rest. He actually knows what they're doing. He might be the only one.
Aegon crosses his legs and laughs when the chain clatters. "Whoever comes in the morning is going to be so confused."
I'll circle back later. On the small chance I ever awaken.
But she does not intend to awaken.