The King's Feast 19: Rhaenys I
"You only have yourself to blame, Corlys." Rhaenys sighed, pouring herself a glass of wine.
It was a pale Volantene purple, the same color as her eyes. She took a long drink of the wine before placing the glass back on the table.
"Blame? I am not at fault for the King's refusal to take action in the Stepstones." Corlys replied scornfully.
"That is not what I speak of. But what you are at fault for is constantly pestering Viserys to change the line of succession."
"He changed the line of succession by not naming our grandson heir as soon as he was born. Naming Daeron as heir would rectify his mistake and return things to the natural order."
"It may have, but once it was clear that he would not change his mind about it, you should have stopped pressing the issue. But you did not, and look what that has led to."
Corlys stood up from his seat.
"I should have stopped pressing the issue." Corlys scoffed. "That is what you told me fifteen years ago, after that damned council. It was a perversion of justice then, and Viserys' actions are shaping up to be another one now."
"That council, it's always the bloody council for you, isn't it, Corlys?"
Rhaenys still remembered the council of Harrenhal, ten-and-seven years, as if it was it was yesterday. All the Lords and Ladies of all the Houses across the realm were in attendance that day. She remembered standing in the Hall of the Hundred Hearths, with its slate floors and overlooking galleries on either side of the hall. She remembered how her mother, Lady Jocelyn, sat on the left of the grand hall, in her yellow and black gown, and how she consoled Rhaenys after the council voted for Viserys to become the heir instead. She remembered how full of rage she was after that, and how she just wanted to fly away on Meleys to one of the Free Cities, until her uncle, Boremund, convinced her not to.
I must visit my mother soon, the last time I saw her was at Uncle Boremund's funeral.
"That council robbed you of your birthright, my love. You should not have relented."
My birthright.
"I know, but I have moved passed that. We have gone over this half a hundred times. And I do not wish to do it again." Rhaenys sighed.
It should have been me, that is what I thought for years. And sometimes, I still do.
For years after the council, Rhaenys stayed brooding at Driftmark with her husband. Rhaenys refused to attend Viserys' coronation, neither did her husband, Corlys, nor the entirety of House Velaryon and House Baratheon. Rhaenys and Corlys both offered their fealty to the new king nonetheless, but their pride would not let them attend to ceremony. Though not as proud as her uncle, Rhaenys still was a proud woman, a trait which she likely inherited from her mother, as well as her jet-black hair.
That pride allowed her to remain bitter for years, and it was only when Viserys offered to name her husband to his Small Council was when the wounds started to heal. Corlys remained stubborn still, calling the offer an insult, but Rhaenys encouraged her husband to accept the position.
Corlys wanted me to rebel against Viserys, but I would never dare even think of such a thing. Our fathers were inseparable, I would not tarnish his memory by going to war with my cousin.
After returning to court and rekindling the bond she had with Viserys and Aemma was when she began to accept Viserys as the King.
Though I suspect my husband has never truly accepted him.
Whenever she interacted with her cousin, despite her acceptance that she would never become queen, the memories of the past still lingered. Rhaenys suspected that Viserys felt the same way, and that he always had a hint of regret whenever he spoke to her.
Viserys wishes that I should have ascended in place on him, and how can I blame him? He is a simple man, my cousin would rather live in a small manse with his family than rule an entire continent.
"You may have moved passed the council, but the same is happening again, this time to your grandson. You cannot sit idly by while this happens a second time. If you do, then you are no better than His Grace's inaction!"
"It was too soon, Corlys."
"Too soon?"
"Marrying Laena off to Viserys, that was the cause of this entire issue."
"Aye, she was young, yes. But we agreed she needn't have to bed him until-"
"No, her age was a concern. But I should have known my cousin better. I should have known that the guilt of Aemma's death would leave him reluctant to marry. He still misses her, and that is in part because he married so soon after."
"We had no choice to marry Laena when we did, with the Triarchy, and Otto Hightower-"
"And marrying her so early is what led to a loveless marriage, and his guilt over Aemma is what kept him from removing Rhaenyra as heir."
"What would you have done? Allow Otto Hightower's daughter end up as the Queen instead?"
And not let my family be dragged into another succession crisis.
Rhaenys scoffed, pouring herself another cup of wine.
"That would have been preferable looking back, mayhaps our daughter would not be left alone in the Red Keep with no family, which is what you have doomed her to, now."
"I doomed her to?" he laughed.
"With your endless desire for power, yes, you did! You knew that you were already on the bad side of His Grace, yet your... pride could not stop you from pestering him to make Daeron heir, no matter the consequence. And look at the consequences! You say that Laena and Daeron and Baela need allies here... yet your constant scheming and ambition has resulted them in being without any!"
"How can it be a desire for power, when I simply want the law to be followed?"
"Oh, Corlys, please. That excuse shall not work anymore. It is your desire for power that fuels your actions, do not deny it, I am no fool." Rhaenys laughed, sarcastically.
"I have heard enough, Rhaenys." Corlys said, bluntly, before storming out of the room, his golden chains clanking against his doublet as he went.
Rhaenys had to restrain herself from throwing the damned wine glass at the wall in a rage. Instead, she just put her head in her hands and sighed.
I knew the sort of ambitious man Corlys was when I married him, but I still love him, nonetheless.
Rhaenys and Corlys disagreed on a great many things at times, but that did not diminish their love for one another. Their disagreements often brought them closer together, and Rhaenys knew that they would see eye to eye once again.
In truth, it stung Rhaenys just as much as her husband that the King refused to name Daeron as the heir. It brought back the old wounds of the council, and the bitter rage that ensued after it.
I would have made a better king than Viserys. In the same way, Daeron could be moulded to be a better heir than Rhaenyra. Maybe my mislike of my husband's ambition and plans is because deep down, I agree with him.
Rhaenys knew that she should have been content with a marriage with the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms, and a life most could only dream about, but the pain of her birthright being ripped away from her, not once, but twice, first with Baelon the Brave, then Viserys, still cut deep.
No... I cannot let the old rage take over. I am an old woman now, I have a family, I should not risk them over a matter that was finalised decades ago. But there is another matter arising now, regarding my grandchildren this time.
Rhaenys finished her glass of wine, and put the cup on the table before getting up.
All this talk of my daughter and my grandchildren, I must visit them before I leave on the morrow.
"Lord Corlys?" a page's voice called from outside of the chambers.
"Come." Rhaenys replied. "Lord Corlys is not currently here at the moment, boy."
"I... h-have a message..." the boy stuttered, a small rolled up parchment in his hands.
"Leave the message on the table, I shall notify him of it." Rhaenys said, as the page scurried out of the room.
On the way to Laena's quarters, she passed by many Lords and Ladies who greeted her respectfully when she walked by. Lord Bar Emmon, Lord Massey, Lord Lonmouth all stopped and nodded at her.
They all know of Corlys' removal. And they support Corlys, and by extension Daeron.
When walking across the middle bailey towards the serpentine steps, she passed by two Rosby squires sparring; some handmaidens giggling; and Larys Strong, the Clubfoot, deep in conversation with Alicent Hightower.
The guards posted by the entrance of Maegor's Holdfast allowed her entry into the gigantic building and Rhaenys entered.
This could have been my quarters had history gone slightly differently.
In the corridors of the holdfast were intimate tapestries, Valryian glyphs, and large banners showing the three headed dragon of House Targaryen. Laena's bedchambers were on the northern side of top floor of the building, opposite the ballroom.
Ser Arryk of the Kingsguard was standing outside Laena's chambers and smiled at Rhaenys when he saw her. He swiftly moved aside, his milky white cloak gently blowing as he turned.
"The Princess Rhaenys Velaryon." Ser Arryk announced.
"Mother!" Laena said, running to hug Rhaenys.
"Laena." Rhaenys whispered, embracing her daughter. Laena looked especially beautiful today, wearing a black and red gown, decorated with sapphires, and her silver hair was tied into a bun. Her lilac eyes had a hint of haunting sadness in them, and her outfit looked as though she was in mourning.
She is in mourning. She mourns that her father, mother, and brother have left her alone in this pit of vipers, to fend for herself and her son's birthright.
"I thought I would come and see you before I depart on the morrow." Rhaenys said, warmly. "And Daeron and Baela."
Laena smiled. "Baela is asleep, but Daeron is with. Come."
They went from the main chambers to the bedroom, where Baela was sleeping peacefully. She wore a tiny white and red gown, and her curly silver and gold hair drooping over her shut eyes. Daeron was sitting on the floor by the bed, playing with two small model dragons. He wore a black and gold doublet, with a dragon pin on his chest. His silver hair shone in the early afternoon sun, and his dark purple eyes almost looked blue in the light.
"How is my favourite grandson?" Rhaenys asked, before going up to Daeron and showering him with kisses.
Daeron giggled and tried to get away, before succumbing to his grandmother's kisses. Rhaenys played with the lad for a bit, until he got tired and wanted to return to his small dragons, so she let the Prince return to his hobbies whilst she and Laena talked.
"Wine, mother?" Laena offered, taking a seat.
Rhaenys hesitated. "No, thank you, I have already had some earlier."
"I know you blame father for… all this." Laena said, frowning. "But he is not wrong, mother. Daeron became a threat to Rhaenyra the moment she was born, and not naming him heir is a grave mistake on my husband's part. You know better than most about how a rival claimant will always be a threat."
Her father's endless ambitions have bled onto her as well, one of my biggest fears. But what I fear more, is that he is correct about it all.
"It's funny, I see you speak, but it is your father's words that comes out of your mouth."
Laena chuckled slightly. "This is what he told me weeks ago, that is true. I did not heed those words at the time, but since this... Father has been pestering His Grace for years about the issue of the succession, but only now he gets dismissed. I know my Lord Husband all too well, the man lacks conviction, he did not suddenly have a change of heart in the past day, no, I suspect my stepdaughter asked him to do this. Father was correct in that when the Iron Throne is at stake, people shall do anything for it. I think Rhaenyra is no different."
I know that all too well.
"Convincing His Grace to dismiss a council member is one, thing, surely Rhaenyra would not go to war with her own brother."
"She would not now, but in so many years from now, who can know for certain? If it came to her life or Daeron's, what choice do you think she would make?"
"All I want is keep our family safe, Laena. All this... plotting… against your children's sister only serves to endanger us... I should never have agreed to let you marry Viserys in the first place."
"What is done is done, mother. We cannot change that. The only way we can keep our family safe now is Daeron being made heir, you may deny it, mother, but you know it be true. And that is what I shall try and do, even with father gone. I will not stop asking my husband to change the matters of succession, and I shall not relent."
It troubled Rhaenys to see Laena so engulfed in her father's plans. But in truth, that was not what troubled Rhaenys the most. What troubled Rhaenys more was that she knew that her husband had the right of it all, that Daeron was a threat to Rhaenyra's claim.
And when people's claims are threatened, war inevitably follows.