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Rating:
Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warnings:
Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceMajor Character Death
Categories:
F/FF/MM/MMulti
Fandoms:
A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. MartinA Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Relationships:
Rhaenyra Targaryen/Laenor VelaryonJoffrey Lonmouth/Laenor VelaryonCorlys Velaryon/Rhaenys TargaryenDaemon Targaryen/Laena VelaryonRhaenyra Targaryen/Laena Velaryon
Characters:
Rhaenyra TargaryenLaenor VelaryonLaena VelaryonHelaena TargaryenAlicent HightowerAegon II TargaryenAemond TargaryenRhaenys Targaryen (Daughter of Aemon)Corlys VelaryonJoffrey Lonmouth
Additional Tags:
Self-Insertdance of dragonsAlternate UniverseTechnologySelf-Indulgent
Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of The Blacks, the Greens and the Reds Next Work →
Stats:
Published:2019-09-19Updated:2026-06-17Words:1,084,451Chapters:467/?Comments:4,066Kudos:6,016Bookmarks:1,174Hits:557,693
The Blacks, The Greens and The Reds
Loke_Lyon
Chapter 11: Interlude - Laenor
Chapter Text
"My wife is an enigma,"
Laena turned to him in surprise. They'd taken Seasmoke and Vhagar to a deserted beach North of King's Landing and had been sitting watching the waves in silence for some time. Gods, he could see why his Father hated King's Landing.
"I thought you liked her?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. When he'd been young, he'd thought that he'd marry Laena. It hadn't been hard to imagine, she was his best friend. She already knew everything, he couldn't shame himself in front of her. She would have been happy with a husband that didn't try and prevent her from flying.
"I do. She just doesn't make sense," he finally replied. His sister huffed before scooping a rock from the sand and sending it flying into the waves. Laena did not see Rhaenyra like he did.
She had been just four when they'd first met. Prince Baelon had died and Mother had told him that she was going to make him a king. He hadn't wanted to be a king, he'd wanted to fly Seasmoke and explore the world. He'd trailed about the Red Keep in misery until a small girl had ambushed him. Two years his junior and already so much more worldly-wise than him. They explored the tunnels together and afterwards his Mother had scolded him for doing so but he hadn't cared.
Mother hadn't made him king or even an heir to one. He hadn't been allowed back to court and it was a decade before he saw her again. She'd flown to Driftmark atop Syrax and begged for Lady Rhaenys to protect her. She offered to marry him but Mother had been firm. She would not do anything to invite Viserys' wrath down on them. Rhaenyra had stayed for a two weeks before her Father summoned her back.
She'd changed so much and in some ways not at all. She was still far more wordly-wise than he could dream of being with a smile that made it seem like she knew some kind of great secret no one else did. He'd thought he'd figured her out then. Why she'd been so afraid of Daemon? Why she'd sought him out as 'safe'? He'd seen the way her eyes had moved to track his sister as she'd danced with his Father's bannermen and captains.
When they'd been betrothed he'd assumed she'd find her own lover amongst her ladies and he'd have Joffrey and at some point she'd find someone suitable to bear their heirs. He'd told her as much as they'd sat on the bed after the wedding but she'd rebuked him. She'd told him they could not risk bastards, not with the Queen waiting for any slip up, not with Corlys watching them so closely.
He'd panicked and tipped off his Father by spending too much time at Driftmark. He'd been too heartsick at losing Joffrey and too terrified of the shame that would accompany Rhaenyra's realisation that he couldn't produce an heir with her. Father had made his play and he'd found his understanding of his wife thrown again. He'd always thought she was epitome of a princess. That she practised alchemy and had brought no ladies, no lords and no support to Dragonstone had shocked him.
Father had said that her obsession with whatever she was making would destroy her chances at the thone and had told Laenor he would ensure the whole alchemy business was finished with. That he would take a firm hand with the Blacks so that he could protect the rights of his unborn grandchildren. Mother had been little help, she had been weary of Father's methods but she'd agreed Rhaenyra needed to be reigned in.
She'd told him to bed her and bed her well. That she'd fall in line once she was married woman in truth. He'd asked his Mother if she'd fallen in line with his Father after being bedded and she'd sent him to his room like an errant child and not the man of twenty that he was. She thought that any child of King Viserys was soft, like he was.
"Don't misunderstand me, Laenor, I love the girl but she needs someone strong in her life," his mother had told him. How wrong they were, how little they understood.
At least he knew just how little he knew about her.
He'd thought her attracted to women but after watching her for the past few months he'd begun noticing something odd. Her eyes flickered to women as if she couldn't help herself but sometimes, if she wasn't aware she was being watched, her mask would slip and she would look disappointed. As if she had been expecting something from them that hadn't been delivered.
Men, himself included, had also provided a similarly puzzling reaction. When she allowed herself to look at them he could see the lust in her face and afterwards, she always looked vaguely unsettled. He'd prodded Joffrey into revealing that she had taken no lover in the six months they'd been apart. No man or woman had graced her bed, only books on such a wide range of subjects that many joked that she wished to become the first female Maester as well as first Queen.
And then there was The Book.
She was lying to him about it being a copy of a copy of a copy. She was lying about it being a relic from her childhood. He did not know why but he knew his wife had created these things. The manner of speech the author employed was too much like the manner of speech she herself used when she slipped. He'd heard too many of the strange words and phrases that peppered the text from his wife before the pages had come to light to believe that she'd last read it during her childhood.
Why would she not tell him she had written it?
"Oh! Speak of her and she will come!" came his sister's voice, interrupting his musings. He followed her gaze to the rapidly approaching form of Syrax. They hauled themselves up from the sand and did their best to brush themselves clear as Rhaenyra steered her mount in for landing. He knew something was wrong from the way she strode over the sand towards them.
"Uh oh, this doesn't look good. Have you angered her brother?" mumbled Laena. He didn't have time to reply as Rhaenyra reached them a moment later and waved an envelope bearing the Arryn seal at them. Laena took it as his wife caught her breath, he watched as she read through it and paled.
"There is some sort of plague in the Vale. The Eyrie has been sealed," his sister stated, handing him the letter. He felt his heart sink. Rhaenyra had been so sure her cousin was in their corner. He had no idea who the heir to the Vale of Arryn was but he suspected they'd drive a much harder bargain for support than Rhaenyra's own flesh and blood.
"It's a lie! There is no plague." It was stated with such anger and finality. Baffled, he risked a glance at his sister only see she'd done the same thing.
"Look at the signature on the letter," she growled. He did so. Ser Arnold Arryn, Keeper of the Gates of the Moon. "He is Jeyne's closest male relative. If women are excluded from inheritance then he is the man who inherits. The damn thing came on a ship in Grafton colours."
"You believe he's lying. That this is a plot against Lady Jeyne?" he asked. Rhaenyra nodded, eyes bright with fury. She was so certain. Why was she so certain? What did she know?
"If you're wrong, you risk allowing the Vale to be decimated by plague," his sister pointed out. He watched his wife's jaw clench and the fingers on her right hand flex. An old injury, a parting gift from the Uncle that had terrified her so. What had Daemon done that she ran from him when she wouldn't even bow in the face of plague?
"I am not wrong. There is no plague in the Vale, I would know if there was." He took a deep breath and made a decision.
"Laena, could you stay here and reassure the Black lords in our absence. It seems Rhaenyra and I will be travelling to the Vale to discover the truth of it."
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