The Princess and the Queen 2: Viserys I
Laena sat to the left of Viserys on the Small Council table, her head resting on her right hand.
On her left was Jasper Wylde, then Grand Maester Orwyle, and Larys Strong at the edge of the table. Directly across from her was Lyonel Strong, Viserys' Hand. Next to him was Rhaenyra, and then Lyman Beesbury on her right. The seat directly across from Viserys, usually that of Jason Lannister, at the other end of the table was empty.
"We have waited for almost an hour, we should begin the council now, Your Grace." Lyonel Strong said.
"Where is your Lord Husband, anyways, Princess?" Jasper Wylde asked to Rhaenyra.
"The last I heard, he went into the city..." Rhaenyra sheepishly said, holding her enlarged stomach.
"And why would Lord Jason be going into the city when he knows that he is due to attend a council meeting? Especially considering that this is his first upon his return to King's Landing." Laena asked, knowing the answer to that already.
He wishes to spend time with his paramour.
"You may ask him yourself." Rhaenyra curtly replied.
Viserys sighed and slumped back in his chair.
Was it a mistake to allow Laena on the council?
Shortly after the name day feast where Laena wore a blue dress, Laena demanded that she should have a seat on the Small Council.
"Rhaenyra has a seat there," Laena said. "It is only fair if I do as well, as your lady wife, and the mother of your children."
Viserys was in no mood to argue with her, so he begrudgingly accepted her demands. But since then, she and Rhaenyra argued about every matter discussed in the council, be it large or small, significant or not. If Rhaenyra said yes, Laena said no. If Rhaenyra chose Blackwood, Laena chose Bracken. If Rhaenyra drank Arbor Gold, Laena drank Arbor Red.
There is no bloody winning with either.
However sick and tired Viserys was of their constant disagreements, it would be magnitudes worse to remove either of them from the council.
I could just remove both of them... No... I would not hear the end of Laena's complaining, and Rhaenyra would no longer be able to learn how to rule when she succeeds me.
What Viserys had to do instead was to suffer through it, as he did with just about everything else.
"I take it that Lord Jason is with his whore, then, Princess?" Laena asked, just to drive the dagger in deeper.
Seven hells.
"Surely he could wait a few hours, Lord Jason has just spent the last couple of months with her in Essos." Jasper Wylde said, sighing.
"You should ensure that your Lord Husband should attend council meetings, Princess. And lest he is unable to, he should inform us in due course." Laena replied, disapprovingly.
"I did not say that my husband was with his... paramour... the council just assumed that." Rhaenyra countered. "I stated that he was in the city, and if you wish to go there and look for him, you are free to... but I shall inform him of what you just told me." She replied, with a frown. "Your Grace."
"S-Should I not be sitting there..." Lyman Beesbury croaked, shakily pointing his frail hands to the seat across the table. "W-Where Lord... Lord Larys is..."
Grand Maester Orwyle looked at him with his head cocked, as if he was speaking to a sick child. "No, Lord Beesbury. Ever since Queen Laena joined the Small Council, you are to sit beside Princess Rhaenyra."
"Queen Laena?" Lord Beesbury gasped, before looking at Laena, his eyes wide in shock. "I did not... ahh... welcome to the council, Your Grace..."
"Queen Laena has been on the council for some time now, you must have forgotten." Jasper Wylde sighed, clicking his tongue in impatience.
"Yes... I may have misremembered... due to being so long away in... Volantis..." the old man replied.
"It was Braavos and Pentos, Lord Beesbury." Lyonel Strong said, correcting him.
"Maybe that too..."
"Should we just commence this session now, Your Grace?" Jasper Wylde asked. "It is unlikely that Lord Jason is to attend now, and if he is late, that is his own doing."
"Seven hells... the council is in session!" Viserys announced, but everyone had already sat down in their seats a while back. "Lyonel, what is the first item on the agenda?"
"Your Grace..." Lyonel Strong nodded, before squinting to read the parchment he had in his hands. "We only have one matter to discuss today, which is... a debrief of Lord Beesbury and Lord Jason's visits across the Narrow Sea." He said, sighing heavily.
"And how are we meant to do that when Lord Jason is not present?" Laena asked, nodding to Lyman Beesbury who already seemed to be falling asleep.
The poor man can hardly remember where he went, let alone what he did.
"We did ask the two to keep a summary of what occurred... Lord Beesbury may have it with him, in that pile of parchment he has." Grand Maester Orwyle suggested.
"Lord Beesbury? Lord Beesbury? Lyman?" Viserys asked, but he remained asleep, dribbling saliva onto his black and yellow doublet.
Rhaenyra gently poked him on the shoulder, and he shook awake, almost falling off his chair in surprise.
"Gods! What..." Lord Beesbury yelped.
"Do you have the parchment containing the summary of your trip to Essos?" Lyonel Strong asked him.
"The Essosi trip? Yes... I do, in fact... it is somewhere here..." he replied, before shuffling through all the pieces of parchment in front of him. "The Blackwood and Bracken border dispute, no... the tax on timber imports, no... House Rosby's latest harvest, no... Gods... it must be here somewhere... I could not have lost-"
"Let me see the thing." Lyonel Strong said, reaching over and taking the pile. He looked at the pile for a moment, before taking the parchment that was resting on the top of the pile and returning the rest to Lyman Beesbury. "Here."
He went over the piece of parchment for a few minutes, squinting and scratching his balding brown hair while he did, until he nodded to himself before putting it down in satisfaction when he was finished reading it.
"What was summarised, then?" Rhaenyra asked, impatiently tapping her finger on the marble ball on the table, whilst Laena glared at her when she spoke, something she usually did.
Lyonel looked to Viserys. "Of course, before they even left for Essos, Lord Jason and Lord Beesbury's tasks became much easier once the magisters removed Prince Mykaris from his position, meaning Saera Mykaris was no longer Pentoshi royalty. Lord Jason also confirmed here that Prince Mykaris'... hunting accident... was no accident, to the surprise of nobody."
"If Prince Mykaris was removed as Prince of Pentos, where does Daemon Targaryen currently reside? I imagine he is not welcome in Pentos, or most Free Cities for that matter." Grand Maester Orwyle asked, his brows furrowed in concern.
"It is understood that Prince Daemon still resides in Pentos. I doubt that it would be easy to remove him from his manse, considering he still has Caraxes and Dark Sister with him."
"Did Lord Jason note if he ever saw my brother whilst he was there?" Viserys asked.
"I would imagine that he would be hard to not see, considering the big bloody dragon." Jasper Wylde scoffed.
"Yes... continuing..." Lyonel Strong said, clearing his throat. "First, the visit to Braavos was thought to be successful, with them being able to negotiate a new loan with the Iron Bank, which confirms Braavos' continued support towards the Iron Throne, albeit at slightly worse terms for us, which was to be expected."
"And of course, to limit the growing influence of the Rogare Bank. Corlys Velaryon may have routed the Triarchy, but House Rogare's continued trade in the far east still means that Lys, as well as Myr and Tyrosh by extension, are still a force to be reckoned with." Jasper Wylde added. "What of the visit to Pentos?"
"Equally as successful as per the account. Lord Jason quelled the magister's tempers through generous gifts towards them. His suggestion of transporting all of that honeyed wine from Lannisport was certainly put to good use. Three large galleys were also offered as gifts to the Pentoshi. Lord Jason kindly offered to gift one ship from the Lannister fleet, whilst two are to be gifted from the royal fleet. That, as well as numerous other offerings, including three hundred thousand golden dragons to the magisters, to be equally split between them. On behalf of the crown, they also negotiated a deal in which we must reduce our tariffs on any Pentoshi and Braavosi ships passing through the Stepstones, which is now a domain of the Seven Kingdoms."
"And were these endeavours successful? Are Pentos and Braavos satiated with all of this?" The Master of Laws asked.
"Lord Jason seems to think so. We are in no way or form in an alliance with either of them, but both the Sealord as well as the magisters have agreed to a non-aggression pact with us. Regardless of what Prince Daemon has done over the past few years, luckily, they see us as a better alternative than the Rogare-funded Triarchy and the slaving Volantenes. Neither wish to escalate hostilities and are keen to resume normal relations. However, mine own feelings on this - their resentment still lingers, and we must tread carefully around Pentos and Braavos. Prince Daemon's continued presence in Pentos does threaten this alliance, should he do something reckless again, considering Your Grace's... decision to keep him still as a member of this family, but I would feel that Lord Jason and Lord Beesbury's efforts were not done in vain."
"That is very good to hear," Viserys responded. "I shall be sure to congratulate Lord Jason when I next see him. And Lord Beesbury too, your efforts have not gone unnoticed."
"Y-Yes... thank you, Your Grace..." Lyman Beesbury responded, surprisingly still awake.
He is suddenly aware when someone bloody compliments him.
"So, what happened is that we gave away three galleys; over a quarter of a million gold dragons; and we now have to worse conditions set by Braavos on our loan; as well as reduced income from the Stepstones; and you call this a success?" Rhaenyra demanded. "We were fleeced. Surely, we should have sent our dragons there to show them our power, or at least negotiated better terms."
"I would think that Braavos and Pentos are familiar with what a dragon looks like, Princess." Laena sighed. "Considering your uncle has taken up residence there for the past decade."
"Dragons would not have solved this matter, Princess." Jasper Wylde calmly explained. "Pentos and Braavos were this close to cutting ties with us, due to Daemon's actions. We have sacrificed some, and better terms certainly were possible, you are correct in that, but it is certainly worth the cost to not anger two of the most powerful Free Cities."
"Princess, I know that your solution is often to suggest sending dragons and a show of force, but usually letters and trades are what solve crises," Laena said, in the sweetest voice imaginable.
Rhaenyra just scowled at that, and silently leaned back in her chair.
Here they bloody go again.
"Are there any other matters raised in Lord Jason's summary? Or are we free to conclude?" Viserys quickly asked, to stop them from bickering even further.
"One other matter that may concern you, Your Grace..." Lyonel continued, glancing up and down at the parchment. "Another development occurred during Lord Jason and Lord Beesbury's stay at Pentos."
"What would that be?" Viserys asked.
"This news has not reached Westeros yet, but around a week before they were to depart, Lord Jason notes that Saera Mykaris passed during childbirth." Lyonel gulped.
"That is terrible news..." Grand Maester Orwyle whispered. "May the Seven rest her soul."
"What of the child?" Rhaenyra asked, worriedly.
"No, Princess." Lyonel gently replied. "The babe did not survive either. It was to be a boy. I am sorry, Your Grace. He would have been your nephew." He said, turning to Viserys.
Viserys smiled slightly and felt a small tear forming in his right eye. He quickly wiped it away with his hand and took a drink of his wine to clear his throat.
I would have been an uncle. Daemon is still my brother, after all.
"That is certainly a tragedy." Viserys sadly said. "I shall send my condolences to Daemon as soon as I can. Did the boy have a name that I can mention in the message?"
"Yes, Your Grace. It is said that Prince Daemon chose the name Maegor for the babe."
"Maegor?" Jasper Wylde asked.
"Gods..." Laena Velaryon whispered.
"Does the name of the babe truly matter? He was just a babe." Rhaenyra angrily said.
"Yes," Viserys said sternly to the council. "He was my nephew. Now, seeing as we have no other concerns, this council is dismissed!"
This council of bloody snakes care more about my brother's choice of name for a babe than the babe itself.
Later in the day, Viserys went to his wife's chambers to speak with her.
Their animosity for each other has grown too much for my liking.
Outside of her chambers, Ser Criston Cole was standing guard at the entrance, as he always did. Viserys knocked on the door lightly and waited for a moment.
"Come!" shouted Laena from the inside.
Ser Criston opened the door for Viserys and closed it when he finally entered. Viserys smiled at Laena when he saw her and hobbled over to the bed and sat down. As he sat, he put his walking cane on his lap and wiped away the mud that was stuck on the bottom of the stick with his gloved right hand. Even his leather boots and the back of his black cloak were caked in mud, but Viserys didn't bother cleaning that.
The washerwomen shall take care of that.
It was just a small walk around the Red Keep, but the yard outside was extremely muddy following the storm the past night. Viserys seemed to sink into the ground as he walked from the Small Council chamber to Maegor's Holdfast.
"Why have you come here today?" Laena asked. She was cradling Aemon, who was still barely a year old. Laena wore a loose aquamarine dress made of silk and a white wool cloak on her, whilst Aemon had a blue doublet and little brown breeches and boots. His doublet was made of a soft fabric and was trimmed with a beautiful bronze pattern.
"I have come to see my wife and son," Viserys replied, smiling. He looked over to the boy, who had wavy, pale gold hair, and violet eyes so dark they almost looked black.
"A rare occasion," Laena said, rolling her eyes as she continued to rock Aemon in her hands.
"His hair reminds me of my uncle, also your grandsire. He was called Aemon too."
"Yes, I do know who my grandsire was. That is why I chose that name for him."
"I was reading the history books some days prior; it is said that hair of such colouration was rare even amongst the purest-blooded nobles, back in the days of Old Valyria."
"My mother told me that once. She said he was a great man, and would have made a greater king." Sighed Laena.
If that had happened, maybe I would never have become king, and would be free of this burden thrust upon me now.
"I agree with you on that." Viserys chuckled. "I was barely a grown man when he passed, but everyone knew him to be a just, honorable man, as well as brave and talented."
"The rider of Caraxes, he was. Nonetheless, he was killed by a bloody arrow." Laena scoffed.
Then, Aemon started crying.
His cries were loud, louder than any other babe Viserys had heard. Aemon wailed and wailed and wailed, until Viserys felt his ears popping. He screamed and kicked and punched, and streams of angry tears flooded out of his eyes. He didn't seem to tire, and his anger didn't seem to be quelled. Aemon's tantrums were a common occurrence, that everyone in the Red Keep was familiar with now.
"Y-Your Grace..." a handmaiden stuttered. "Aemon m-might need a f-feed..."
Laena then handed him over to the handmaiden, who scurried out of the room with all the rest of them. The sound of Aemon's cries echoed down the hall and didn't get any quieter. Laena, meanwhile, just sighed and sat on the chair next to her.
"He is a fierce lad," Viserys remarked, a comforting smile on his face. "Baela was almost as troublesome too."
"Baela was an angel compared to Aemon." Laena laughed. "His fury has haunted me every bloody day for the past year."
Viserys smiled at her, and they sat there in silence after that. The silence lasted for some minutes until he decided to break it.
"You and Rhaenyra should stop with this endless adversity to each other," Viserys said.
"Endless adversity?" asked Laena, looking up at him, confused.
"Both of you seem to disagree on every matter during Small Council meetings. If she says one thing, you say the opposite. Can you both ever agree on one damned thing for once?"
"So, this is why you came here," Laena said bluntly.
"The reason I allowed to you join the council was to stop your ceaseless pestering of me. It was not so you could use it to belittle my daughter at every opportunity." Viserys said sharply.
"Belittle her? I am simply voicing my opinion on matters. Is that not what councillors do? Provide council?" she replied. "It is not the fault of mine that she seems to be wrong on every possible matter. If you so wish for us to stop disagreeing on the Small Council, then remove her from it."
"I am not removing anyone from any council. Not you, not her. I have put her there so she can learn to rule through my example for when she finally ascends to the Iron Throne."
"Well, she certainly has learned from you. She matches your aptitude in diplomacy and ruling." Laena scoffed.
Viserys ignored the remark.
"What would it take to stop you from harbouring all this animosity towards her, then, apart from removing her from the Small Council?"
"We both know the answer to that." Laena softly whispered.
Viserys ignored that too.
"If you do not wish to make peace, then I shall do so on your behalf then," Viserys said, an idea coming to his mind.
"I do not follow." She replied, finally looking Viserys in the eye.
"We unite both of you by blood. Baelon shall be betrothed to Baela. And as a token of gratitude, one of Syrax's eggs shall be gifted to Aemon. I know that Tessarion and Moondancer have not laid any yet, and you are still waiting to put one in his cradle."
"No."
"No? Why not? It is a most judicious proposition, Laena. It shall unite both of your bloodlines and remove any grievances you have with my daughter." Viserys pleaded.
"It would only serve to make my daughter a hostage to Rhaenyra and Jason Lannister. It would solve nothing."
"A hostage?" Viserys laughed. "She would not be a hostage. Baelon is a good lad and shall make a fine man one day."
"Yes, he is a good lad now, but when he grows, he may become like his mother, or his father. Or Seven save us all, a mixture of both of them."
"Those are not valid excuses, Laena." Viserys sighed, putting his head in his right hand. "You shall both be combined in blood and there shall be no more conflicts after that. What other possible reason do you have to oppose this?"
"I have begun preliminary dowry negotiations for a betrothal between Baela and another. It would be unseemly to cease negotiations with them now."
"With whom? Why was I not aware of this?" Viserys asked.
"The Sealord of Braavos' youngest son. He is a boy of five. It shall solve any underlying tensions we have with the Braavosi and prove to be the foundations of a solid alliance." Laena quickly replied, whilst scratching her left ear.
"You lie," Viserys said.
"I lie?" Laena gasped.
"You would have mentioned this in the Small Council meeting. I know that you would never pass off a chance to boast about something you have done. And besides, you may think me a fool, but I've noticed that always scratch your ear when you lie." Viserys proudly responded, pleased that he saw through Laena's lie.
She remained silent to that.
I am smarter than you take me for, woman.
"Even if said betrothal was true, I can overrule it. I am the King, remember?"
"And I am Baela's mother." Laena said, glaring at Viserys. "The betrothal to Baelon shall not happen."
"Then you refuse?"
"Of course I bloody refuse. And I shall continue to refuse so long as I am still breathing."
"I shall discuss this with you again." Viserys sighed, before standing up to leave the chambers. "Maybe in time, you shall have a change of heart."
"Not likely." Laena said as Viserys was halfway out of the door.
I just wish there was an easier solution to all of this.
For the remainder of the day, Viserys had no duties to complete, so he spent the entire afternoon and evening working on his Valyrian model city.
He looked out of the window at the sky. It was the black of night now, but clouds covered all of the stars.
The hour is late, I should sleep.
Viserys stood up to walk to his bed. His back ached as he stood, and his knees creaked as he walked.
I have been seated for too long.
He did not need to change into his bedclothes, since he had already done that upon returning to his chambers. So, he gently placed the cane by the side of his large bed and carefully climbed in. He sat on the left side of the bed, before pulling his right leg onto it with his right hand. After that, he did the same with his left leg.
When he was comfortably underneath his blankets in the bed, he took a look at his left hand.
If I can still call it my left hand.
There was no actual hand now; the rot had eaten it all away and progressed past his wrist and was slowly moving his way to his forearms. The sight of the red and cream flesh with pus oozing out along with dried blood and grime of it was too much for Viserys, so he turned and blew out the candle by the side of the bed.
The room was darker now, though he could still see, due to the moonlight shining from outside, as well as a few candles that were still lit within his chambers.
Unable to get any rest, Viserys tossed and turned in his bed. His back ached in one position, and in another, his neck pained, and he remained uncomfortable.
It must have been about an hour of restlessness before someone pounded on his door.
The knock startled Viserys, and he quickly sat up in his bed, which sent a spike of pain through his spine.
Who could it be at this bloody hour?
"Come!" Viserys wearily said, rubbing his eyes.
In came a young household guard. He was wearing red and black armour, but his face was pink from exhaustion and Viserys could see sweat flowing down his forehead.
"Y-Your Grace!" the guard said, panicking. "It's Lord Jason Lannister, the Master of Ships!"
"Yes?" Viserys asked in confusion. "What of Lord Jason?"
"He's been stabbed. He's dying!"