A/N:
So I lied again...by accident.
There's actually two more chapters left after this one, including the epilogue. Sorry for any confusion. A couple ideas came into my mind, about how the story could end, and I decided to end it with another conflict...so be prepared.
Be prepared for anything to happen.
4 Months Later
"I want to prepose a treaty of some sorts." Visenya began as she addressed her Small Council late that evening.
"A treaty?" Brienne frowned in confusion. "We are not at war, Your Grace."
Visenya let out a sigh. "I understand that, however, the treaty proposal is not going to be in terms of war. It is in preparation if there ever is one within Westeros."
"Please explain, Your Grace." Sam gestured, frowning in confusion.
"When I was a child, living in Winterfell, I was reminded countless times of how horrible The Mad King was. I lived most of my life in fear that Robert Baratheon would find and kill me, just for being related to him." She explained. "If I do recall, since it was so long ago, I remember that some of the individuals in Winterfell almost shunned me when they found out who I really was. Already thinking I was mad as a child."
"While that is quite unfortunate, Your Grace, I do not understand where a treaty will occur." Tyrion sighed.
"My father murdered countless of innocent people, and tore families apart. But I think we all can truly say the same for his successors, and predecessors as well." She continued. "I want to make this treaty so that if a King or Queen should come into power, and their actions reflected that of The Mad King or others, they should immediately be removed from power. Regardless if they were chosen by the Lords or not."
Silence fell over the entire council, and Visenya shared a glance with Olenna, as she was the only person, other than Jaime, who heard the idea.
"Are you suggesting that...the crown's power is limited?" Edmure asked in disbelief, breaking the silence.
Visenya nodded. "Yes."
"Why?" Davos asked in confusion. "The King or Queen of the Seven Kingdoms was meant to unite the realm. Limiting the power, will stop that, and cause conflict."
"That is not the point." She countered.
"Then please do elaborate, because we are all utterly confused." Tyrion said with a shake of his head.
She let out a sigh. "No individual, regardless if they are the leader of the realm, should hold a certain power above the law. My father murdered so many people, and to this day, I am still paying for it. For years, people thought I was my father. Thought I shared the mentality he had. when in fact I am the opposite. I am trying to prevent the realm from having another Mad King."
"Her Grace is correct." Olenna confirmed with a nod. "We had a Mad King...we can even go and say we had Mad King's, if we include Joffrey, and we almost had a Mad Queen. By inhibiting the crown's power, this would allow for the prevention of another Mad King or Queen."
Visenya looked to Tyrion. "My sister wanted to break the wheel of her predecessors. This is the first step...but I can't do this alone. In order for this to work, the Lords of the realm need to be fully cooperative with this, as I want this to succeed and have everyone in agreement."
"What would be the consequences, if they were to go against the treaty?" Rodrik asked, as he had been silent the whole time.
"Treason." Bran answered for him, sharing a glance with Visenya, almost like he read her mind.
Visenya nodded. "That person would be tried for treason, regardless if they are a Lord, Prince, or ruler."
Silence had once again fell over the Small Council, and the only thing that was making noise was light sound of Maegor snoring by Visenya's feet. Visenya held her breath in worry, that none of them would agree to this. Almost like it could sense her anxiousness, Visenya felt the baby, still residing in her stomach (and was due to enter the world any day), squirm around, making her feel more sick to her stomach than she was before.
She had become rather stressed lately. In the last few months since Aegon returned from Essos, she had begun to feel the pressure of leading the realm. Not only did she worry for the people of Westeros, but she also worried for her own family. While the letters from Sansa, had shown that the North was prosperous, and the letters from Myrcella had shown she was happy in Dorne. She had become deeply concerned about her lack of letters from Jon.
Per the agreement of him heading back North, was for him to write. And as of yet, he hadn't, leading for Visenya to send Aegon out on another mission, to track down his brother. Visenya would've done it herself, since Sunspear had healed since the Sacking of King's Landing, but Jaime didn't allow for her to leave The Red Keep, given her condition.
Not only did she have to worry about where Jon and Aegon were, but she also had to worry about the 4 other dragons that were currently residing in the newly built Dragon Pit. While Sunspear had healed, along with Drogon, Visenya had to worry about Whitefyre and Vermithrax, and if they were being trained properly, which was Aegon's job.
But Aegon was North of the wall, tracking down his brother.
She also had to worry on where Euron Greyjoy had run off too. If he was planning a rebellion against her. If he somehow hired another group of mercenaries to murder her or her family.
And on top of all of that, she had to worry about the immanent arrival of her second child.
So in regards to the current situation with the Small Council, all she wanted was for them to agree to her terms.
This entire situation could go either two ways.
The council could agree to the matter, thus allowing for potentially peace to occur throughout Westeros and it's independent kingdoms, which is all Visenya wanted. Or they could laugh in her face and think she was truly mad.
She didn't need the pressure or stress.
Not in her current headspace at least.
The entire room was still silent, as Visenya continued to hold her breath, awaiting for an answer. Olenna let out a sigh, glanced to the Queen, before looking back to the various individuals seated at the table.
"Answer the poor girl!" Olenna scolded in annoyance. "She already is dealing with enough already!"
Rodrik nodded, before sitting up straighter. "I will agree to those terms. I know what it's like to live under the grasp of a tyrant, and I believe that Westeros could not afford to be ruled under one again."
Edmure let out a cough, as he also sat up straight. "I agree."
Much to Visenya's surprise, every single member of her Small Council agreed, making her extremely happy. Once they were all in agreement, Visenya changed matters to a different subject.
"Onto other matters, where are we on the search for Euron Greyjoy?" She asked in curiosity and worry.
"We are still unable to find him, Your Grace." Davos explained. "I have had my fleets scour the waters, for months, and there is still no sight of him."
"And according to Prince Aegon's reports there was no sight of him in the Free Cities, or elsewhere in Essos." Tyrion said with a sigh. "Perhaps he perished."
"I'll believe it when I see a body." Olenna commented under her breath, but it was loud enough for Visenya to hear it.
"Bran, have you found anything?" Visenya asked, turning her attention to the boy she considered her brother.
"No." The boy replied in a monotoned voice, making Visenya sigh in disappointment.
"Have the scouts seen anything?" She asked turning to Edmure. "Has he been spotted in the Riverlands?"
"Negative, Your Grace." Edmure sighed. "I am sorry for the disappointment."
She shook her head. "It is quite alright, that's enough for this evening. My sincerest apologies to keep you all so late."
Within a matter of moments, the rest of the Small Council members exited the chamber, leaving the Queen, and her direwolf to ponder in her thoughts. Leaning back in her chair, she sighed in defeat. Euron Greyjoy didn't want to be found, Jon didn't want to be found, Arya was somewhere in the world, and Aegon, was adventuring. Plus, due to the state of how far along her pregnancy was, she wasn't physically comfortable.
Her life at this moment, felt like her own personal version of hell.
She became deep in her thoughts, thinking about what she would do, to have Ned here. Perhaps he could give her guidance on dealing with all of these people and their personalities. He was wise on that matter. If he was still alive, she would've placed him on her Small Council. Him and Robb. It had been years since they died, but these days, Visenya had found herself thinking about them, and wondering what they'd say if they found out she was Queen of The Seven Kingdoms.
Ned would've been utterly proud. She was like another daughter to him. He taught her everything he knew. He would be immensely proud of how wise and anti-war she was. Robb would've probably laughed at the thought of Visenya being Queen. He would've made fun of her, and then once she was crowned, he'd be kneeling before her, ready to support all of her decisions.
"Are you coming to bed?" A familiar voice asked snapping her out of her thoughts.
It was Jaime.
She shrugged. "I lost track of time."
"Did they agree to it?" He asked, as he walked over to her to help her up from her seat. "Your proposal?"
"Not without some persuasion." She explained, as she stood up. "I expect ravens to be sent to the Great Houses later this week. The other issue is Euron Greyjoy."
He frowned as they walked out of the Small Council chamber. "Have they found anything?"
She shook her head. "No, and that worries me. Davos thinks he went down with his fleet."
"Perhaps he did?" He pondered.
"Maybe." She said with a sigh. "Is Helaena asleep yet?"
"She's been asleep for a few hours. Doriah had her sleeping in minutes." He mused, as they climbed the stairs to Maegor's Holdfast.
"Shocking." She quietly pondered. "Mira is the only person who can make her sleep quickly, hopefully, she'll feel better soon."
Mira, had recently become sick with a mild case of a summer sickness. To prevent getting the rest of the Red Keep sick, Mira isolated herself on Dragonstone, with a few Maesters to ensure she would not plague the rest of the castle. Doriah, who was another handmaiden, had taken over Mira's responsibilities while she was away, and was doing an excellent job.
"Is it time yet?" He asked, knowing he immediately meant if the baby was ready to be born.
She shook her head. "I'll let you know when it's time."
"How will you know?"
"With Helaena I was in pain all day, that progressively got worse. I am sure this will be similar." She tiredly sighed.
"Will you let me know if something happens?" He asked.
"I'll let you know." She sighed again, tired of talking, and ready to sleep.
No sooner she changed into her night clothes, she almost instantly fell asleep no sooner her body laid down in bed. She knew that both her body and her mind needed sleep. The physical and mental stress of being a Queen had finally gotten to her, and had begun to take it's toll.
She needed to rest.
She needed peace.
5 Hours Later
The aggressive knocking at the door, made her groggily wake up. Knowing that Jaime would get the door, she attempted to fall back asleep, and began to tune out the conversation. When she felt Jaime get back into bed, that's when she asked what was occurring.
"What's wrong?" She asked, fully half-asleep.
"There was a fire in the galley, nothing to worry about, and no one was hurt." He quietly explained. "Go back to sleep."
She didn't even hear the last words he said as she fell back to sleep. However, once again her sleep was interrupted...ten minutes later, with more knocking at the door. This time, the knocking was so aggressive, that Visenya immediately woke up, to it. Slowly, but carefully, she got out of bed.
"What're you doing?" Jaime tiredly asked.
"Answering the door." She firmly replied. "The one night I want sleep, I won't get it."
With annoyance in her eyes, she opened the door to see Gwayne, with blood on his hands.
"Your Grace, my apologies for bothering you." He explained with slight fear in his voice.
"You already bothered us once, what is it now?" Jaime asked as he walked up to Visenya and stood behind her.
"Doriah is dead, and the Princess is missing." The knight explained. "Princess Helaena is missing."
Visenya's eyes widened in that moment as she felt time stop around her. Everything froze. From her position, she could see Gwayne's mouth moving, and knew words were coming out of his mouth, but she couldn't comprehend what he was saying.
Someone took Helaena.
Helaena.
Her only daughter.
Her daughter.
She didn't know how to feel.
Pain.
Fear.
Anger.
Disgust.
Angst.
Horror.
Sadness.
A million different emotions were going through her mind, in that moment as she didn't know how to feel.
Helaena was missing.
Someone took her.
That's all she could comprehend.
Just as if her life couldn't get any worse, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, making her eyes widen even more, as she placed a hand on her stomach, as she also gasped in pain.
"Your Grace?"
"Visenya?"
"It's time." Was all she could murmur in that moment.
A/N:
I told you, be prepared for anything.
Shoutout to Martin Gui for your idea in the treaty.
As always, let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas.