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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 15: Rebellion - Chapter 13
Chapter Text
I choked on the wine as a good portion of it went directly up my nose in surprise at the blunt question. Evidently she'd selected drowning in her attempted murder and here I was, like a fool, worried about poison. She was completely silent as I recovered from the shock of the question and her eyes never left me.
"Excuse me?" I managed to croak eventually.
"I believe I was quite clear. Tell me, what does your husband think of the fact you gave your maidenhood away to your uncle?"
I slammed down on my anger hard. I couldn't risk Rhaenyra'ing this into an even more messed up situation than it already was. Evidently, Rhea had believed the rumours that had circled the capital nearly four years ago. As much as I was trying to understand her position, how she must view it, I wanted to rip her face off. How dare she make me out as the villian? I was the victim! Her husband had…
No. Deep breaths.
"Do you know why Jeyne hates your father so much?" I asked after counting to ten several times. Rhea raised an eyebrow at the seeming change in topic but nodded eventually.
"He isolated her, tried to control her, sent her allies away from her," I recapped.
"I am aware. How does this relate to your indiscretions?"
"There was no indiscretion!" Damn it. Reign it in. Don't offend her, be nice. She knows her husband, she knows what he's like. Keep calm. My fingers ached but any sign of fidgeting would likely convince Rhea I was lying.
"Then tell me Princess, if he did not take your maidenhead, how did he earn his banishment?" She asked. I grimaced.
"He came to court during a tourney and made it clear he wanted me. I was fourteen, I'd seen how he'd treated Alicent and how he treated you, I knew what he was like and I… I wanted none of it but he did not stop! Would not stop! I did everything I could to get him to leave me alone. Even Alicent put aside our differences to help, so blatant were his wrongdoings," I sounded like I was on the verge of tears. Scratch that, I was on the verge of tears. The old terror of knowing what he was capable of, knowing what he'd do if encouraged was coming to the fore.
It had been all well and good to sit and tell myself that he would not, could not, act so overtly. That my status as Princess and his niece protected me, that I knew the future and as long as everything was on track I could beat him with ease. Faced with the Rogue Prince in all his terrible glory, I'd been less certain.
"Even Lady Rhaenys came to help but he had Viserys on his side. He had her sent away and then took her role as my flight instructor, no matter where I went he was always present. I went… I went to Driftmark, I offered to marry Laenor then and there. He would have gotten what he wanted if I hadn't, Viserys was wavering! He had my father call me back so I…" Tears forced me to pause.
I wasn't proud of how I'd chosen to get rid of Daemon but I'd been terrified. I'd started off so certain Viserys would betroth me to Laenor, that he'd refuse to annul the marriage between Rhea and Daemon but Daemon had been longer at court this time. Viserys had been wavering as Daemon spun him tale after tale of how miserable his life was with a wife like Rhea. If Viserys had given in, Daemon would never have stopped until he had me and once he had me, he'd never let go.
"I.. I invited him to my rooms. I goaded him, I said awful things and I pushed and I pushed until he got angry," I risked a glance at Rhea. Her eyes were blazing with rage but I didn't think it was directed at me anymore. In fact when she noticed me looking, her eyes softened just a little.
"He struck you?" she asked finally, as I struggled to get my breathing under control. I was crying in truth now and my aunt handed me a handkerchief. I took it gratefully.
"He knocked me to the floor. I had a knife f-for my protection but he-" I held up my aching fingers for Rhea to examine. She did so, cool fingers pulling my hand closer.
"He broke your fingers. Your Maester did a shoddy job with healing these," she noted as her probing touch found the misshapen part of the bone. I laughed, I couldn't help it and she shot me a startled look.
"Grand Maester Runciter was a piss-poor healer. Laenor never believes me. Mellos is even worse," I explained at her questioning look. It probably wasn't time to delve into my planned war against the Maesters, I'd probably sound unhinged. She let my hand go and sat back in her chair and I began massaging the ache away now that I didn't have to fear her misunderstanding the action.
"What happened next?" she asked.
"Ser Criston saved me. I don't know what Daemon would have done had he not been there. He was so, so angry. He drew Dark Sister and was ranting and raving and… Ser Criston heard and came to my rescue." The truth of the matter was Ser Criston had been lying in wait for Daemon. I'd expected him to hit me, curse at me… The memory of his foot snapping my fingers around the hilt of the dagger made me want to retch.
"I see. Then your father banished him only after he'd physically harmed his daughter." Her face twisted in distaste. I wasn't surprised she hadn't known. Viserys had covered the whole thing up, ordered the guards and servants to silence and cracked down hard on anyone who spoke of Daemon at all. "What did you say to goad him?"
"I… It was cruel." I said, swallowing heavily. Rhea raised her eyebrow and I realised I had no way of escaping this line of questing. Not in a way she would accept. Shame rolled in my gut as I told her. "I taunted him about… about h-his bastard. The one he lost to the storm."
"Cruel? Perhaps but you did what was necessary to defend yourself. Your father is a fool for letting it get that far," Rhea said. I took a few shaky breaths and let out a watery chuckle.
"At a guess, Viserys covered for his brother as he has always done and refused to address the rumours," Rhea sighed after a few moments of silence broken only by my hiccups and sniffles.
"Alicent was quick to spread the rumours you likely heard," I told her, nodding. She believed I'd capitalised on the incident to get the betrothal to Laenor and his vast amounts of Velaryon gold secured. I couldn't exactly tell her that it did not matter what I did, that Viserys was intending the betrothal anyway, she believed I'd betrayed our alliance first. The rumours had been her vengeance.
"Of course. I will have to pay her back in kind for shaming me so," Rhea snorted. I wasn't going to interact with that. Rhea was a proud woman and the rumours had clearly angered her. She'd been embarrassed by the thought of Daemon carrying on in full view of the court with me and engineered a confrontation only to be proved wrong.
Twice the humiliation and now she had a target for revenge.
"Lord Denys would have me believe this notion of Jeyne's to seize Gulltown has your full support," she stated finally, jarring me from my thoughts.
"I suggested it in truth. Jeyne did not want to do so but agreed as long as you gave your support."
"Surprising, I would not think Jeyne gave much thought to anything I did," she said, as if challenging me to prove her wrong. I took a deep breath. If I let what had happened between Daemon and I, the old fear and self-recrimination, stop me from bring Rhea and Jeyne together then he would have won.
And I was not going to let him win.
"Jeyne is the first female ruler of the Vale and we are in a time where the role of women is questioned. I would hazard a guess that you could name one man who is representative of that. The one you'll always hate because he's the one you think of when men make out your aren't worthy of your seat," Rhea frowned at me and I realised that person was likely Daemon. Heedless, I forged on. "That person for Jeyne is your father. He made her feel unsafe and for the first time in her life she was unsafe because she was woman. She likely sees him in every sneer, every vaguely disloyal vassal."
"So you would have me grovel for the sins of my father?" asked Rhea, archly. I shook my head. Rhea was too proud to admit any wrongdoing on her part but even if she wasn't having a complete dick for a father was not illegal. If it were, we'd be sharing a cell.
"I would have you make common cause with her. As long as Royce and Arryn are split, both are vulnerable," I urged. "You're father died before Jeyne could truly gain closure, confront your father over what he had done. Mayhaps if you and her find common cause to succeed where he was so certain you'd fail, she can move past it."
Rhea was silent for some time, mulling over my words.
"I will speak to her tomorrow. I can not promise anything," she huffed, finally. It would have to be good enough. The Royce were Jeyne's second most powerful vassal followed closely by the Graftons. If the Graftons were taken out of the picture and replaced with Arryns whilst the Royce stood behind her in support it would stop rebellion against Jeyne's rule dead.
I left soon after, hoping that no one could tell that I had been crying. It would simply add fuel to the fire of the rumours that I had slept with Daemon and now his wife had confronted the harlot that had lured her husband from her.
Laenor was no where to be seen so I assumed he was visiting Jon. I felt a pang of… something after that. I wanted someone to hold tonight, someone to reassure me, and he was the only acceptable candidate. I couldn't let anyone else see me vulnerable, it would become a black mark against me. A sign I was only a woman after all, unworthy of being queen. Too emotional.
I coiled up amongst the bedding and squeezed my eyes closed. I had knowledge of the future, I knew the players in this game, knew which way they'd jump if something bad happened so why did I keep messing it up? How did I keep getting people so wrong?
Ser Criston, Prince Daemon… I had to be better. At some point I fell asleep, with only the thoughts of missed possibilities and mistakes to accompany me.
Jeyne and Rhea were missing when we gathered for breakfast the next morning. Not that anyone commented although Jessamyn kept shooting worried glances at the seat that Jeyne would occupy. We were all subdued and I hazarded a guess that no one had slept well the night before judging by the tired eyes and quiet voices. At least Laenor was in fine spirits. I'd been right about my theories in regards to his whereabouts last night, as it turned out.
Breakfast finished and servants appeared to begin clearing the area whilst those of us high enough station were invited to Rhea's solar to discuss the Graftons and what could be done. It seemed that Rhea had made good on her promise to speak to Jeyne because that's where we found the Lady of the Vale, scowling at a cup juice like it had just insulted her. Jessamyn slipped past me and sat next to her, looking to be two seconds away from putting a comforting arm around her. Instead, Jeyne pulled her eyes from the cup and smiled softly.
I watched as they stayed like that for a few moments, heart aching with want, until Rhea cleared her throat.
"I have spoken with both Lady Jeyne and Princess Rhaenyra regarding this plot to seize Gulltown," she started. I felt myself tense up, nerves rolling in my gut. "Both have convinced me this is the best course of action in the face of Grafton treachery and so I will do my duty as a Royce of Runestone and a vassal of the Vale and support my liege lady in this."
If my sigh of relief were audible, no one commented.
"Lady Rhea has some valuable information regarding Gulltown's defences," Jeyne said. "It seems Ser Roland returned with about two thirds of the men we sent running from the Gate of the Moon. The entire city has been on alert and Lord Grafton has been raising men from the surrounding villages."
"He intends to force a siege. He hopes that political pressure from a long engagement will force you to the negotiating table," said Lord Gerold.
"He may be right. Already Lord Corbray and Lord Hunter write to me of their displeasure at my march," said Jeyne, gesturing at Rhea's desk. Two letters bearing the ravens of House Corbray and the arrows of House Hunter.
"They protest because Lord Grafton's sister is married to Lord Gawen Corbray and Lord Hunter is Gawen's Goodbrother. They will not rise for Lord Humfrey but honour demands they do something," said Lord Denys. Jeyne grimaced but nodded.
"He has no other potential allies in the Vale. His son's wife is a Manderly but I would warrant they wouldn't ride to his defence, even if they could get here in time," Lord Gerold said, placing a fatherly hand on Jeyne's shoulder.
"If it helps I can send a few galleys to the Sisters as a show of support. Driftmark still has a sizable home fleet, it would be no trouble," Laenor told her, eyes eager. I watched Jeyne carefully, hoping she would not get cold feet. To attaint an entire line was no small thing. Finally I saw her give in.
"Very well, you've all made your points. Lady Rhea, I will need to borrow your Maester to send out my decision to the Vale."
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