A/N:Nearly retired with the site breaking, but I'm still here and still writing...for now.
Now, then. We have an important announcement below:
The mature/explicit version of Foxfire is now officially on A03 for anyone who wants to read it. Case in point, the latest chapter of Foxfire over there has a proper lemon and everything. I'd really appreciate any and all comments you might feel inclined to make over there. Dance of the Dread -the explicit version- isn't quite read over there yet, but I'll get to that eventually. Posting on more than one site really wears a man out.
Been at this for fifteen years, starting to feel some wear and tear...
In other news depression's starting to hit real hard these days. Like a sledgehammer paired with concrete. Sometimes I wonder why I do anything at all. can't claim to understand what's going wrong with my head anymore. I don't even know why I'm feeling this way! One moment I'm fine, then my mood craters for a few hours, then I'm back again for a bit, and the cycle repeats. On and on, round the bend, forever and without end! Its rather annoying; as though I've become a prisoner in my own mind sometimes.
Sure, what's one more mental problem on the pile. Not like I don't have enough, what with already being this old. Feels like every day is a battle sometimes. Meanwhile, my doctor insists that I'm fine. Take a health walk he says. Go fishing. You'll be fine.
*siiiigh* Right. Suuuure. Don't bloody feel fine, doc.
As ever, I own no quotes, references, quotes, themes or memes! They're simply tributes to legends far greater than I.
I'm just an old man who writes as a pastime. I don't make any money doing this, not a single cent.
Time and feedback will determine if this should remain a story. Simple as that.
In other words...everything is up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
Remember the Tarkus and Havel cameo a few chapters back?
We finally get to see them again.
And a minor timeskip ahead.
"...I shall wear this like a badge of honor.
Wear it in SILENCE or I will honor you again!
~A future scene.
Hail to the One
Battle lines had been drawn.
Naruto saw them in every face he passed as he stalked through the halls towards the Iron Throne, flanked by his guards. Heard them in every whisper. Tasted them in the very tension of the air. Truth be told, he no longer cared for the Red Keep's simple spite and gutless gossip. He had made his choice and he would live with it. The nobles only shamed themselves by acting like this. It was inevitable he supposed, perhaps even naive of him to believe otherwise, but he'd held out hope that everything would be alright once word of him and Alicent got out.
In his foolishness, he'd believed the House of the Dragon would grow stronger once he announced their engagement, that the realm hold itself together.
Instead it had begun to fracture all too easily.
All this in little more than a year.
How quickly things changed; how quickly the nobles turned on on another. Viserys did little to help; he seemed content to step back and let him speak in his stead these days. Today was another such day, forcing him to mediate the disputes of the realm and tend to other matters beyond his ken. He suspected his uncle would've handed the crown to him directly if he could get away with it. Only tradition and duty kept him from doing so-which was all to the good, so far as Naruto was concerned. He wasn't prepared to rule yet. He had enough to contend with already.
Parasites, the lot of them. Even now some simpered for his sake, while others glared at him:
All the while their words nagged at him in an endless animal bleat:
"There he goes again. Daemon's boy."
"Getting too big for his britches if you ask me."
"Not even married and making Hightower's daughter spread her legs for him she's some common whore. Has he no shame?"
"Shh! He'll feed you to his dragon!"
He memorized their faces, smiled at them, and filed their names away for retribution.
Tarkus rumbled a sigh behind his helm. "Say the word and we'll clear out this pack of parasites for you."
Havel grunted his agreement, eager to give his dragontooth club a swing. He had even less patience for such things. "It would be our pleasure, your Grace."
Your Grace. Ha! He wasn't even king yet, and everyone was acting like it was a foregone conclusion. Many of these people had bowed and sworn homage on the day Viserys named him heir, yet they turned their noses up at him now not only because he'd bedded Alicent before marriage oh no, but because the people loved him. The common folk couldn't stop singing his praises these days. His weekly oceanic jaunts with Balerion had seen Fleabottom eating better in this last year than it had in decades. The city feasted on a hefty bounty of whale and fish these days.
Loved by the common folk, hated by the houses. Oh, the irony.
Sometimes he wondered if it wouldn't just be easier to simply burn the nobles and be done with it. Just...burn them all. Put the fear of fire in them right and proper, ya know? At least the people of the realm contributed in their own way. They tilled the fields, ran the inns, sold their wares. What good were the nobles? Clinging to some semblance of importance all thanks to their father's father or somesuch. It made him sick. So few of them did anything good for the realm anymore...
He laid a hand on the hilt of his sword.
More than a few noble sons and daughters flinched outright.
"Tempting, but no." he said the words for their sake, as much as his own. "They get to live...for now."
Naruto stalked past them, climbing the steps to the Throne. Tarkus and Havel peeled off at the second step, ready to defend him if need be.
There would be no need, he knew. He was perfectly capable of defending himself.
The Iron Throne beckoned to him.
He didn't want to sit in this damn chair and play court; no, he wanted to fly away to the Stepstones and help Daemon-Father!-burn out the Crabfeeder. He knew he couldn't; because that would leave Alicent and Rhaenyra alone. They'd tear one another to pieces.
Rhaenyra has grown increasingly cold as the months went by, but as his friendship with her chilled, his relationship with Alicent only grew hotter.
Alicent at least remained hopeful -desperate even- to talk with her, but Rhaenyra simply wouldn't let her near. She wasn't letting anyone near, come to think of it. No one but that new knight of hers, Ser Criston Cole. What she did with him -if she did anything- was her own affair, but she was becoming outright hostile. It felt like the world stood on a knife's edge; the slightest nudge would send it flying off into salvation or disaster. He wasn't sure which.
And all this, because he loved Alicent.
Really, he did. He despised the idea of giving Otto more power, but he did care for his daughter. Her father would have to go however, and soon. Be it dismissal or an...accident. Simple as. As to the how, he hadn't decided, but it had to be done, and soon. Before this pack of parasites got anymore ideas...
Balerion stirred on the cliffs, sensing his thoughts.
"I hunger."
Naruto sighed. Hunger, was it? So did he.
By the gods, he was starving for some action.
He flung himself down on the Iron Throne, almost wishing it would cut him.
It didn't, of course. That would be too easy. His gaze sought the crow below him and a sigh slipped from his lips. "Shall we begin?"
(.0.0.0.)
"It would appear that congratulations are in order, dear daughter of mine."
Alicent knew that tone of voice far, far too well. It was nothing good.
"...they are, I suppose." she picked at her food. "Thank you."
She willed herself not to look up from her meal, carefully carving the steak before her into bite-sized morsels as Father looked on. It was not for her to falter here. She couldn't. She mustn't. She refused. If she looked at him now before she worked up the nerve, she would be lost. And that must not happen. He had no power over her, now. Not anymore. No matter what he might think.
"Whenever is the wedding?"
"Whenever we wish." she lifted the fork to her lips and took a delicate bite, chewed, swallowed, then set to another.
She, most pointedly, did not drink her wine.
...I see." She could almost hear the disappointment in her lord father's voice. "The sooner you wed him, the better. This isn't about family; this is about securing our legacy."
Her fingers tightened white-knuckled around her knife and fork. "I love him."
"Of course you do."
It was clear by his tone that Otto Hightower didn't believe her. Perhaps he was incapable of it. How cold his heart must be. It was hard, downright difficult at times, to believe she'd once called this man her father. Mother's death had changed him, and not for the better. These days he sought power and prestige above all else, no, to the exclusion of all else. She wondered if he even saw her as his daughter anymore. Doubtless she was just a pawn to him like so many others.
...when we wish."
He scoffed. "I beg your pardon?"
Here at last Alicent looked upon the man she once called father.
"I said, it will be when we wish." she fixed him with a steely glare. "You did not choose him for me. I chose him and HE chose me. Thus, it will be when WE wish. He and I. Not before."
He looked surprised, but didn't challenge her for once.
"As you wish." instead he steepled his fingers, laid his chin atop them, and attacked her where she was weakest. "Still, an obstacle remains. I understand the princess is most...distressed."
Alicent's blood ran cold at the unspoken threat lurking within his words. "Rhaenyra will see reason."
Father tilted his head. "Will she? I understand she's been quite emotional as of late."
She squeezed her knife harder, aching to drive it through his skull.
Emotional, he said?! Of course she was! It had been some time since she and Naruto begun their nightly...endeavors, and she had feared this might happen. Oh gods, she would have to confront Rhaenyra before he did or worst, before Father took it into his head and decided to have her removed. As though she didn't already know what they were doing.
There was something else, something she didn't dare speak of, not aloud.
She touched a hand to her belly. And took a deep breath.
For the future.
(.0.0.0.)
Alicent found her in the grove.
There she sat under the Weirwood tree, shoulders hunched, peering into a book in the fading sunlight. Well, glaring more like. She didn't so much turn the pages as she did attack them, flipping from one to the next, every few seconds with a brisk and savage dispatch. Alicent couldn't help but wince at the sight. She'd seen that scowl of hers many a time before and it was as much a warning as her silence.
"Rhaenyra...?"
No response given.
"Won't you answer me?
Silenced reigned. No words whatsoever.
"Please, if we could just talk about this...!"
She came closer, but her dear friend refused to even look in her direction.
Alicent felt her heart clench in her chest-no, be brave. She'd known this would be an uphill battle from the start. Rhaenyra had a fierce temper...and a right to be angry, she supposed. They'd spent so long dancing around the matter now that she couldn't help herself. Their friendship, if it could be called that anymore, dangled by a thread. If they didn't repair it, she feared they would become the most bitter of enemies. She didn't want that, oh gods, anything but that. If she would just listen...!
"Look at me!"
The boot snapped shut.
"Is that a command, your grace?"
"Yes," she replied quickly, But it needn't be. None of this need be, Rhaenyra." She reached out for her wrist. "If you would but listen-
"Keep away from me!" she slapped her hand aside and jolted to her feet. "You aren't the queen yet."
Such anger in her voice. What could one do against such reckless hate?
"I didn't do this to become queen."
"Didn't you?" her eyes met her, red and damp; she must've been crying. "You have no idea what its like, do you?" her head tilted, regarding her like a dragon ready to bite. "To have no power of your own. You've always done as your father asked, ever obeying like a good puppet. You must've jumped at the chance when he told you to bed him."
Her pride prickled at the slight. "That's not true. I love the prince, just as I love you-
"Love?!" she scoffed. "What do you know of love?! You stole him from me!"
Was that what this was about? "You never showed any interest in him!"
"I was never given the chance to!" she flung up her arms with an outraged cry. "Instead he took everything from me! My father's dragon, my birthright, even you? And now you have the nerve, the gall, to come crawling back to me, seeking forgiveness...?"
Something in her heart hardened. "...I did not come here for forgiveness.
"No?" Rhaenyra crossed both arms before her bosom and scowled defiantly. "Then why are you here?"
Calm. She mustn't get angry. Stay calm. She dared a step forward. Rhaenyra skittered backward, and so she took another, forcing her back again. "I came here for understanding."
"There's nothing to understand." Rhaenyra took another step back, but failed when her back hit the very Weirwood Tree she'd been resting against. "You betrayed me. You took him, when he was never yours to take!"
The words tore open an old wound and her temper snarled free like a plume of dragonfire. "Then you should have said something!"
Her dear friend flinched, scowled, then rallied. "How long?
Please don't let her know. "How long what?"
"How long have you been carrying Naruto's child?"
Alicent flinched. She tried not to, but she couldn't help herself.
Rhaenyra saw it. How could she not? Oh yes, she saw, and something dark and ugly flashed across her face.
"You really are, aren't you." She stepped to her and now it was she who retreated, warding one hand over her stomach. "There's a little princess growing in your belly. Or a prince," her smile turned bleak and a peal of bitter laughter tumbled from her lips. "You were so eager to whore yourself out for him; and you think he loves you?"
"More than you."
Alicent cursed herself the moment the words left her lips.
She hadn't meant to say that aloud words! Her brief, petty rush of satisfaction wasn't worth it; because now her dear friend looked livid.
That tiny tableau of silence didn't last; Rhaenyra made a grab from her and she stepped back, retreating quickly.
Her back smacked into a broad chest.
"What's going on here?"
Alicent whirled and found the Prince himself standing behind her, flanked by Tarkus and Havel, face carved from stone. He laid a hand on her waist protectively and she shivered for all the wrong reasons. No! Not like this! How much of that had he overhead?! Some of it? All of it? None at all? She prayed for the latter...
.
..
...alas, it was not to be.
"Nothing at all, my love." the stammer was painfully obvious, even to her. "We were just talking."
He looked to Rhaenyra. "Then why did she lunge at you?"
"You don't know, do you?" She laughed a thim.
His brow furrowed, baffled. "Know what?"
"Your whore is pregnant."
Naruto froze.
Alicent buried her face in both hands. She wanted to weep.
Rhaenyra was actively trying to hurt her now, determined to wound her in the worst of ways.
Cruel. Spiteful. Wicked. What had become of her dear friend? Was it truly too late to pull her back from the brink...?
"But really," the outraged Targaryen prattled on, "You shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure this was her plan all along; to get herself with your child and lock your into marriage." she laughed again, a bitter despairing sound. "I don't know why you're so shocked. But what can one expect from a filthy Hightower?" her shoulders swayed in a shrug as she shook her head. "For all their preaching, all their morals, they really are a pack of degenerates and-
Naruto slapped her.
"...!" Rhaenyra's head snapped to the side with a startled gasp, stunned; for a moment it looked like she might burst into tears. Something deep inside her died in that moment. Alicent saw it.
Her old friend touched a hand to her throbbing red cheek and sneered up at him. "I shall wear this like a badge of honor."
Naruto raised a fist and growled at her, his warning clear. "Wear it in silence or I'll honor you again."
Alicent took her Prince by the wrist and dragged him away before they could come to blows.
Or worse.
(.0.0.0.)
She couldn't close the door behind them fast enough.
The very moment she did, his eyes were on her.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong." she wrung her hands, stared at the wall to master herself, inhaled a deep a breath, and took the plunge. "I...what Rhaenyra said was true." she raised her head and looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. A tiny little hiccup escaped her as they spilled over her cheeks. "Something wonderful has happened. You're going to be a father."
Naruto's face went blank; no, that wasn't the right word. His mind, his very existence, blanked out as his thoughts fizzled.
Well, a small, rational part of him mused. That was bound to happen sooner or later.
The rest started whooping with incoherent joy. Something along the lines of:
'I'M GONNA BE A DAD! I MUST TELL EVERYONE!'
And he would!
In hindsight, Alicent probably expected so many things from him in that moment; shock, anger, confusion at the very least. After all, she'd just sprung the mother of all surprises on him. She wasn't prepared for the sheer visceral flash of joy that swept across his face. In an instant he stepped to her side, swept her up-heedless of her startled squeak-then spun her around, and pulled her into his arms.
Panic dawned a second later.
"I'm sorry!" He set her down and stepped back, holding her by the waist. "I shouldn't have done that. The baby...
"Its fine." she sobbed a little, a delighted, happy sound and buried her face against his chest, nuzzling him. "I'm not made of glass. You're not angry?"
Angry-why would he be angry?! He was going to be a father! Again!
He'd do things right this time; wouldn't screw things up as he had in his last life, before he'd given said life to Balerion so long ago.
"You're right!" he gave Alicent a light squeeze. "This...this the best news I've had all year. Who else knows? Do the Maesters?"
...No." she shook her head. "Just you...and Rhaenyra." Her face crumpled and he read her like a book. "She guessed."
"Rhaenyra...ah, shit." He kissed her forehead with a sigh. "I shouldn't have slapped her back there."
He saw the worry in her eyes and dipped lower, lips lingering on hers, now.
It'll be alright. I'll talk to her. Everything's going to be alright...
Alicent no longer believed it would be. Not at all.
A/N: Well, I'm sure we all saw this coming, did we not?
Only time will tell if things shake out for the better...but this IS Game of Thrones after all...
Well? Should this be continued? What say you? Yay or nay! Really need to hear back from you all, here.
As ever, the Embers rule Remains; sad as that may sound, its the truth. If folks don't like this story...well, it won't be continued. Most likely, I'll leave the first chapter up and consign the rest to the void it comes to that. I haven't the time to write something folks don't like. Two jobs keep me terribly busy as such that I have barely any time to write.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Now, then...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly!
And as ever, Le warning!
SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Granted, some are pretty far in the future, but still.
Timeskips are coming soon~!
(PREVIEW)
"See that? She has a dragon in her belly. A prince, I'd wager!"
"Uncle, you're drunk."
Viserys only laughed. "And why shouldn't I be! Today is a day for celebration!"
Otto's hand flew to his throat. "What is this...?!"
A finger tapped his shoulder. He turned.
And saw them.
Hail prince Aegon's second nameday!"
She'd found her.
It had taken time, but here at last, she was triumphant. Father couldn't nay-say her now.
She'd found her quarry, tracked her to this abandoned beach.
Laena grinned like the child she still was at heart. "Found you~!"
Vhagar growled and lifted its head to glower at her, sand sloughing off its back. Fire built in the back of its throat.
"No!" She hissed in angry Valyrian and thrust an open palm forward in the face of its flame. "Obey, Vhagar! Yield to me!"
"Brave of you boy, but foolish. I thought you would've learned your lesson by now."
What can I say? I've always been a slow learner.
Daemon read the note. And he began to laugh. Loudly.
Naruto caught the crossbow bolt in his hand.
"Always loved crossbows." he grinned, considering the barbed shaft. "Never used 'em myself. They take too long to reload. I, on the other hand...
He whirled and flung it back, skewering them in the face. Their corpse pitched back. The others balked.
They were still balking when Balerion swooped down out the clouds and landed beside him.
"Go ahead." he cooed. "Run for it. More fun for us."
Balerion sniffed.
Who was this small mewling creature and why was his partner offering it to him? Humans were strange.
"Say hello to my son, Balerion.
His partner's mate looked concerned. She needn't be.
The Black Dread sniffed once and laid back down.
Protect the child.
"Father!"
"Ooomph!" Naruto grunted. "Jeez, you hit hard!"
The boy's mother smiled. "Is it any wonder? Your son takes after you, husband...
"Its not fair." his son sulked. "They're all bigger than me, and they all have dragons. I don't."
"You're young. There's still plenty of time," he sighed as he saw the pained look on his face. "Alright. Come with me."
"What?" the boy balked a little. "Where are we going?"
"To the dragonpit. Where else?" he slung an arm around his shoulder. "We'll enter it together. Today's the day you find yourself a dragon. I've got one in mind...
EDIT: Hope this made you smile. I'll be sure to chat with you all when I get back from work! Have a great day~!
I'm still in pain, but I'm trying to push through.
Warm regards,
~Nz.