111 A.L. King's Landing

Prince Viserys Targaryen

There were times when Viserys wondered how his uncle and his own father had coped with the stress of being hand. There were times when the intrigues and plots of court became too much for even he to handle, where he grew tired of constantly having to use his mind to think about what people were saying and whether they actually meant any of what they said or if it were all just flattery and nonsense. The only solace he found was in his family, after that incident with Alicent Hightower, things had been tense between himself and his wife Aemma for some time and rightly so, now though, now they were closer than they had ever been before. Absence it seemed truly did make the heart grow fonder in their case, they had both realised how much they loved one another and Viserys had realised just how much he relied on his wife for support and guidance when it felt as if he would crack under strain or pressure. And then of course there was his daughter, the jewel of his eye, Rhaenrya was a sweetheart, she was a maiden flowered now at fourteen and was attracting the attention of many, many young men from all around the kingdom, and Viserys knew that soon enough he would need to speak to the king about arranging a betrothal or marriage for her. At present though he was loathe to do so and wished for her to experience some more of childhood before the cold realities of life hit her.

There were other troubles pressing Viserys mind at the moment then his daughter's list of suitors. The outbreak of war between the Starks and Arryns had caused quite a stir at court and the kingdoms as a whole. With most of the lords and their men away fighting in the Stepstones, there was not much that could be done about that whole situation apart from try and end it as soon as possible, the king himself had written a very strong letter to both lords telling them in no uncertain terms to end their dispute or face the consequences, and yet neither lord had abided by the letter, and after a visit from Princess Rhaenys, the king himself had not taken the matter any further. This conflict as well as the war in the Stepstones had disrupted trade between the kingdoms and Essos, as both the lords and the Essosi were unsure of where exactly they were supposed to send supplies and goods, and the Lords of Westeros had suddenly been reminded of old grudges they had with one another. In the Westerlands Lords Crakehall and Kenning of Kayce had taken up against one another, in the Stormlands the marcher lords began fighting one another and banditry had become common. Then there was also the whole issue with Dorne now being a part of the Seven Kingdoms, many lords particularly in the Reach and the Stormlands had taken issue to that, and there were claims that there was raiding going on, on both sides of the fence, and it was all beginning to wear on Viserys. The King was handling those issues, but the one issue he would not touch was the one issue that might be able to end all the other issues, the issue of the Stark- Arryn war.

The Stark-Arryn war itself had divided the family as Viserys had never seen. He knew Princess Rhaenys and Prince Daemon were firmly behind the Starks for whatever reasons, and as such the Velaryons were behind the Starks one hundred percent and might even commit their navy to their cause should the chance arrive. Whilst the rest of the family, such as his uncle Daeron and aunts Leila and Rhaena were behind the Arryns and the Vale, out of mutual love and support for Aemma and their old love for Viserys aunt Daella. There was a lot of pressure on the King and the Prince of Dragonstone to intervene in the war, and yet both parties were remaining steadfastly silent on the matter and would simply say that the matter was not of their concern and that they had other matters to concern themselves with. Prince Aemon he could understand, the man had to worry about the war and his daughter Alysanne's upcoming wedding, the King though, the King should've ended the whole thing months ago instead of allowing it to fest and create all these other problems.

As the door the council chamber opened and the King and Ser Harrold Westerling walked in, Viserys pushed these thoughts from his mind. The other members of the small council were all present apart from Lord Corlys of course who was away on the Stepstones. Lord Lyman looked pale and withdrawn no doubt worried over trade, Lord Larys looked tired and weary, Grand Maester Runciter seemed happy about something or the other, Lord Boremund was on his last legs and would no doubt pass away before the end of the year. The king spoke then . "My lords, I thank you all for coming. I know the hour is late, but we have much to speak on. I would start with the war and how that is going. Viserys?"

Viserys was silent for a moment and then he said. "Prince Aemon sent a report summing up the basics of what has been happening with the war Your Grace. He writes that after a year of solid fighting, the fleets of the Triarchy have been broken and their leaders have been captured and killed." There was a murmur of excitement through the council chamber. Viserys went on. "He also writes that they are now planning to invade the Triarchy itself, to teach the Daughters a lesson and to add them to the Iron Throne's dominions."

There was a murmur of surprise in the council chamber, but from the way the king reacted, Viserys guessed he had known that this would be the plan all along. Something that was confirmed when he said. "That is good, with their fleets broken, their men in the Daughters will lose hope and perhaps will see the sense in bending the knee. Of course it will be no easy thing to bring all of them to the ground. Did my son say who would be leading the initial incursion and where they would be heading?"

Viserys looked at the letter that his cousin had sent and said simply. "Prince Aemon, writes that they shall be hitting Lys first, and from there shall be heading for Myr and then going for Tyrosh. And he says that they shall be taking all of their strength to hit Lys, as he believes that that is the most powerful of the Daughters and needs to be subdued first."

Lord Boremund coughed and then spoke. "Prince Aemon seems keen to end this war, but attacking Lys with the full force of the throne might not be the best idea. Surely that is what the Daughters will expect, and they shall be waiting for the dragons to be coming for them, and with Princess Alysanne getting married very soon, Prince Aemon himself shall not be there for very long. Perhaps an attack on Myr would be the best course of action?"

The king spoke then. "Aye it would be, which is why I do intend on leading the attack on Myr myself. It is time for Aemon and Alysanne to return home and plan for her wedding. Once that is done, I shall send for Aemon and he can keep fighting. I have sat in King's Landing for long enough, it is time for the people to see their king again."

Grand Maester Runciter spoke then his voice loud and clear. "But Your Grace, surely that is the worst decision you could make at this time? Surely if they know you are coming to fight them, the Daughters will try all the harder, and will work to either capture or kill you, and if that happens forgive me Your Grace, but I do believe we shall see the whole kingdom erupt into war. After all Princess Rhaenys will try her hardest to free you, and Prince Aemon is not exactly made of stern stuff to weather the storm. Besides the Stark- Arryn war needs to be resolved and trade and normalcy must be restored as well. Otherwise it will seem as if you are simply running away from your problems."

There was a long silence after that, and Viserys feared that perhaps his uncle might actually show some of that Targaryen temper that he kept hidden so well. So he was deeply surprised when his uncle spoke and his voice was calm. "What I plan on doing, is ending this threat once and for all. Rhaenys shall return to end the war with the Starks and Arryns, and the Triarchy shall break. I will do this, and once I am done, Runciter you shall know the meaning of my house words."