A/N: EDIT: Hardly any feedback for this chapter. That's unfortunate...I really did my best to get this one out in time, though I had to cut it short...T_T
WARNING: This chapter gets a bit dark.
That said, looking forward to your feedback~! Every bit helps, especially with my confidence issues...
Many thanks once again to newboy (a reviewer) for offering up a font of idea to use in the reviews. They all sound wonderful, and I'll be sure to use them! You rock!
I really, truly, want each chapter of this story to feel like an actual House of the Dragon episode on all fronts. Hopefully I succeeded.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me. I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time. Time and feedback determine the update speed of this story, Simple as that. In other words...its up to YOU, the reader.
Did you really think I'd forgotten about Criston Cole? Oh, no, no, no...
Alicent and Naruto have had their moment with the traitors.
But who hasn't? That's right. HER. She swiped this chapter. With a TFS reference no less.
Here we go~!
"Three they are, and threefold their dynasty shall be...
All must choose their sides in the war to come.
Which will you choose?"
~?
In the Dark
Criston Cole awaited his death.
And why shouldn't he? He was a ruined man; battered, beaten and broken besides, missing an eye to boot. He had little left in him beyond a deep-rooted weariness and an aching loneliness, a burning desire not to be free of his chains, but rather, this very life. He'd long since told the torturers all they wanted to know in the hope that one of them would end his suffering.
They had not.
What was the punishment for assaulting a royal these days? Beheading? Burning at the stake? Drawing and quartering?
One of those was cleaner than he deserved, but any death was better than none.
By the gods, he just wanted it all to end.
Hadn't he said enough? Seen enough? Suffered enough? Apparently not; because his captors had left him here to languish in the dark like a rat. Or maybe he was a rat, skittering in the gloom, foraging for crumbs upon the cold stone floor.
No, that way lay madness. His body and will were long since broken, but his mind he would keep.
He had to. He must. Right...?
It was no use; in truth he no longer knew how long he'd lived down here. Not long enough for his wounds to heal, certainly. Someone had been kind enough to bandage the ruined half of his face with a dirty rag, but that was all. They weren't feeding him. Like all other prisoners before him, he was left to waste away, to lick moisture from the dank walls to sustain himself.
He wasn't sure why he bothered; it wasn't enough; he could feel himself withering away, wasting with every day.
He'd long since become delirious, drifting in an out of consciousness.
Sleep offered no reprieve; nightmares haunted him.
Dark had his dreams been of late; he was losing the ability to distinguish truth from reality. Gibbering horrors plagued him and sometimes, when he tried to focus his thoughts, he heard the chatter of rats in the walls. He was going to be devoured, either by them or his own broken mind.
But what was that just now? A noise in the dark?
The door to his cell opened abruptly, startling him terribly.
He looked up, squinting as someone entered his cell, torch in hand.
...hello, Cole."
Oh gods, he'd really gone insane hadn't he; surely he must have; because she would never be here otherwise, never come to visit him, not after all he'd said and done. For you see, his guest wore a long, flowing dress of beautiful black and red, with a pair of fine sword belted to her hip, her long hair drawn back into a loose braid slung lazily over her shoulder, violet eyes almost glowing in the gloom. She looked beautiful. Regal. The very picture of a princess, no, a future queen.
He recognized her, even in his madness. Gods be good, how could he not?
This was the woman he'd sworn to serve; the one who ruined him.
"Rhaenyra...?"
"Don't be so surprised." his former patron set the torch in a sconce to peer at him. "Naruto and Alicent each sent off their adversaries recently. It's only fitting that I be the one to bid you farewell."
A bitter laugh left his lips as he hung his head to avoid looking at her. "Is that what I am to you, now? An adversary? Your enemy?"
"You didn't have to be." the sorrow in her voice dug deeper than any dagger. "You chose this, Cole."
As if he had any choice in the matter! Would that he could control his own emotions. Would that he could have avoided falling for her. Would that he had never accepted this hateful position as her protector. But he'd been blinded by her glory, by her beauty, by everything that she was and would be. And in due time, he'd fallen for her. How could he not?
He never should've come to Kings Landing. This city ruined people. Shattered dreams. Hopes. Lives.
He'd though he could cut through the corruption here; he'd thought himself better.
He knew better, now.
Still, if the princess was here, and she had those swords...
"You're going to kill me, then?"
"No." a slow shake of the head was his reward. "I'm well aware that you seek the sweet release of death. To grant you it now will be a privilege, one you do not deserve.
Something ugly stirred in him; the most bitter of jealousy. "No more than you deserve happiness."
Her violet eyes went half-lidded, reminding him of a dragon. "You forget yourself, ser."
"Do I?" He scowled up at her from where he lay. "It seems otherwise to me."
A pale brow rose, utterly unflappable. "How so?"
"You're using Uzumaki for your own ends."
"Is that what you believe? Quite the contrary." she clasped both hands before her belly, and unbidden, Cole found his gaze drawn to it; the way she cradled it, held it, protected it, really. "Even now I carry his child within me. What is that, if not happiness?"
Her words stung.
It should've been him.
Maybe that made him a hypocrite, but so be it.
"I wish I'd never met you." he all but bit out the words. "You've ruined me."
"In what way?" she shot back. "I made no overt offers towards you, I never once gave you my favor. It is you who read into things."
"Bitch."
She blinked at him, bemused. "I suppose I must seem so to you."
"You are!" He railed at her, mad with frenzy, blind to the consequences of his contradictory behavior. "A foul spider who drew me into her web."
Her expression didnt waver in the least. "I am sorry you misunderstood me."
"Your intentions-
"What intentions?" her lip curled not in annoyance now, but disbelief. "I never touched you. Never laid with you. If anything you were the fool for thinking we could be more than we were."
He snarled at her, undone at last. "You were meant to be mine!"
"I was never yours." the princess drew herself up with an indignant sniff. "I chose my partner and he is not, nor will he ever be, you."
She stepped forward and something in her eyes made him shrink back, pressing himself against the nearest wall.
You, Cristone Cole." she all but hissed his name, "Will be gelded," his very being flinched at the word, "And escorted to the Wall, where you will live out the rest of your meager, petty days in utter obscurity. I daresay no one will recognize you in the North. Any who do might well take advantage of you, so you should perhaps hold your tongue. And should you ascribe to some foolish notion of vengeance, or try to strike back at us, be it through proxy or intermediary...well...
Rhaenyra pointed.
He and followed her gaze, only to frown; why was she indicating his chest?
Cole tugged his tunic back, moving the threadbare fabric aside and balked at what he found there.
There was an eerie mark on his chest, painted in the shape of a dark spiral. It hadn't been there last night. Indeed, he hadn't even noticed it until this very moment. The eerie design seemed to shift and shimmer when he stared at it overlong, forcing him to avert his gaze as the beginnings of a migraine dawned.
"What is this?"
"My husband's work." Rhaenyra answered him, supremely smug. "He slipped into your cell and administered that seal while you slept. Should you draw near us without our express permission, or seek to lay a hand on any of the Targaryen bloodline without said permission, the results will be quite...explosive."
He bared his teeth at her. "Witch!"
"Call me whatever you wish." She shrugged a shoulder. " But it was not I who applied it."
"Do you feel nothing for the torment you've caused me?!"
"Should I?" the damned psychopath blinked back at him. "Naruto and Alicent may feel some semblance of remorse for their deeds toward our foes. I do not. You are an enemy, Cole. Enemies are meant to be bent, broken, and beaten. Nevertheless, it would be boring to simply take your bits and send you on your way...
Quick as can be, she plucked one of the blades from her belt and cast it down at his feet, sheathe and all.
Cole balked at it, fearing a trap. "What is this? A trick?"
Rhaenyra tilted her head to regard him as one might a stupid child. "I suppose you must think it so. Best me and I'll grant you a quick death. I may even allow you to leave this cell, if you so wish."
She was offering him release, in one form or another.
He licked his chapped lips and glanced toward the blade. "You can't be serious. You're no match for me."
"I quite disagree." she drew her own weapon with a flourish and he realized it wasn't a blade at all, but a long fencing dagger of some sort. "I've been training most diligently from the moment I met my husband. And you are presently far from your prime."
Cole moved forward, just a touch.
Rhaenyra kicked the blade his way. "Pick it up."
He looked at the blade.
"Pick. It. Up." she demanded.
Inched forward, now.
"Pick it up," she crooned, "Or I shall call my guards and have them take your leg as well."
Anger seized him.
So be it! He'd wipe that smug smile from her face!
His body moved quickly, his hand lunging forward as he snatched the blade up, ripping it free from its sheathe. It was a good blade, excellent sharpness, and decent weight besides it. Muscle memory served him well and he found himself settling into a familiar stance.
If he was to die either way, he would be spiteful.
Rhaenrya didn't bat an eyelash, not even when he stabbed for her belly and the child within.
Much to his surprise, she slapped his sword aside with ease, forcing it high, leaving him wide open.
A flash of silver was his only warning before her sword flickered in and cut horizontally across his throat.
It was a shallow cut; had she used more force he would've had his trachea severed outright. It still stung and wept blood, forcing him to clamp a hand over the wound. He backed away, eyes wide as his mind reeled from this unexpected development. What was this strength?! She was just a girl! Only a woman! A spoiled brat of a princess! She shouldn't be this strong!
"Slow." she chided him. "You used to be much faster than this."
Incandescent, he charged back in, only for her to parry him and carve a cut into his right cheek.
"Sloppy." another rebuke, right in the pride.
He stabbed for her throat!
"SAD!"
She danced aside with impossible grace, let momentum carry him past, then smashed the flat of her blade across the back of his leg, driving him down to the ground.
His good eye flicked up to her, tracing the length of the blade. "What have you done?"
She saluted him with her blade. "I've become who I was meant to be."
Her words infuriated him. She didn't deserve this happiness.
"Foul creature ! Lurching to his feet, he pressed the attack like the madman he'd become, raining down blow after blow, driving her back to into a corner. "I don't have to take this from you!" He howled at her, striking in a frothing fury. "You wicked, manipulative, frigid witch...!"
His sword fell to the ground with a dull clatter. Odd. He didn't remembered dropping it...
.
..
...hold a moment, why couldn't he feel his sword hand?
Baffled, he looked down. His eye bulged.
His hand...!
An agonized cry tore past his lips as he finally beheld it there, lying at his feet, still bleeding red.
He clutched at his ruined wrist in vain, unable to comprehend what just transpired.
"I...you...how...?!
"A pitiful showing." Rhaenyra flicked the blood from her blade and advanced upon him. "Still, under any other circumstance, you might've had a point there. "Except I never lie," her blade flicked out, jabbing into his chest to force him back, back, back again until his back struck the wall. "I love my husband AND my wife equally, and there's no one alive who can comprehend what the three of us are about to do next." she leaned close, all but forcing her weight against the edge of her weapon, nearly impaling him where he stood.
And then she delivered the coup de grace. "So in other words "Ser" Criston, kindly hold your tongue."
Steel slashed across his face, disfiguring him further.
He crumpled to the ground, trying to hold his nose onto his face, to no avail.
"Hmm." through ringing ears, he heard the princess mock him. "Naruto must be rubbing off on me. I usually don't play with my food in such a manner. And you said such hurtful things to me. For that, your punishment will be more severe. I suppose I shall have your tongue for starters...
Once more, the door opened behind her.
Someone emerged from the shadows; or rather, several someones.
Three women in armor, appeared to surround her, wearing colors of deep black and red. One of them carried a heavy chest...
"Impressive, aren't they?" Rhaenyra crooned at him, heedless of his pained whimpers. "We've been busy this last week. My husband has his Lord of Ravens and his Inquisition, while I have my Sisters of Battle. We'll have to found another Order of some sort for Alicent, I suppose, it wouldn't do for her to feel left out." She touched a finger to her chin, idly considering. "Then again, she professed some interest in those odd little mechanisms Grand Maester Mellos left behind...
Blinking once, she caught herself and smiled serenely.
...Ah, but I'm rambling l, aren't I? Ladies?"
One of them opened the trunk.
Cole tried to clamor back when he saw them withdraw a pair of tongs, but it was no use, he had nowhere to go.
"I told you, didn't I? Your punishment must be more severe." She looked to her battlemaidens and nodded once. "Take the traitors tongue. See to it that he never utters such heresy against the crown again. You can take his root and stem afterwards. And See to it that he survives, girls. The Wall has no use for a dead man."
The tallest of them bowed. "At once, my queen."
Rhaenyra huffed. "I'm not a-oh blast it. Is this what he has to deal with? Its rather irritating. See to it, then.
Cole scrambled back as the trio advanced upon him the hot tongs "No. Not that. Anything but that!"
The Princess ignored him, already making for the door. "Goodbye, Ser Criston. The realm appreciates your service."
One of the Sisters forced Cole's mouth open. The second drew a knife. The third began to heat it over the still-burning torch.
As for Rhaenyra?
She left the cell just as they broke his jaw.
Cole's screams echoed long and loud into the dark.
A/N: Goodbye Cole, and good riddance.
Looking forward to your feedback! Do let me know what you thought of this chapter!
Would you like a timeskip? Or would you prefer we remain in the somewhat present moment a little longer?
For that matter, Do you wish for weekly updates to remain? Or would you prefer bi-weekly? I'll leave that to you, the readers. Do let me know! This story hinges on your feedback! Every bit really helps lift my spirits and inspire me in these crazy times. I appreciate you all! More feedback means faster updates! It's especially important, in these, trying times, with the main site notifications down. Every word counts and i appreciate you all! All these reviews really keep me inspired! Looking forward to hearing from you~! I should be able to update Sunday or EARLIER, time and health permitting.
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So in the Immortal Words of Atlas…
...Review...Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the Previews!
As ever:
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read at your own risk!
(Previews!)
Naruto's right ear twitched.
Had he heard a scream just now?
Nonsense. Must be his imagination.
It sounded like it came from the Black Cells, but-
Viserys frowned. "The Long Night? You are certain?"
he spoke of a terrible cold and the darkness to come thereafter.
Aliandra sat beside him. "Might we converse?"
His guard went right up. "That's not a good idea...can't we do this later?
She shook her head, setting her long dark hair swaying. "My father and I will be leaving King's Landing soon, so no, it cannot.
His throat went dry at the sight before him.
"Come to bed, husband."
"Won't you join us?"
Dang...
Alicent clicked her tongue at the dragon hatchling, holding up a bit of meat. "Sit."
"PUSH!"
The cry of a newborn filled the air.
A moment of silence followed. And then: "It's a boy, your grace!"
A sword is more than a weapon. Stick 'em with the pointy end they say. Ha! When you make a sword, the first priority is to make it purposeful and well-balanced. But a sword is also an object of power and has to express this power in its design...
...and this sword...
..is my gift...
...to you.
The white worm wishes a a word with you, my lord."
Naruto's brow shot into his hair.
"Who?"
"Daemon's lover.
"Ahhhh...
"If you fail to plan you plan to fail. This world is cold and cruel, and there are a few in it, who are steadfast. You, I think, are steadfast.
Visenya whooped, leaned back in the saddle, and flung up her arms. "Dracarys~!"
Bayle answered in a rush of crackling fire. The girl grinned.
Riding on dragonback was the best!
"Faster, papa! Faster!"
His daughter bounced on his back, grinning from ear to ear as she tugged at his hair.
Naruto smiled despite himself. "Feisty as your mother, I swear. Where's your brother hiding-
Someone leaped onto his back.
"Aha! There you are!"
"It turned out there was more than one person worth saving. So that's what I did, I saved her. Then I protected her. That's why people like you and I are here, son. We have a job to do."
EDIT: Hope you enjoyed! Have a great day!
Warm regards,
~Nz.