CELTIGAR - House of The Dragon

War

 Rhea had gathered her husband and his brother in their quarters, Marian's chest on the Hand's desk. The three of them stared at it for minutes before deciding to open it. Aegon, disappointed, disheartened his sister could not meet his daughter in his stead, stood back next to Aemond, his hands in his back. The princess had told them all about her journey to the North, and how uneasy she had been as she left. Rhea placed her hands above the chest, readying herself to open it but Aemond's voice stopped her.

"Wait," he ordered. "What if it's poisoned? You touch it with your bare hands, the poison seeps into your skin and you die? You said you never touched it, you always had your gloves on. Why else would she ask for Aegon to be here?"

They all looked at each other and Aegon handed Rhea her gloves, which she slid on.

"I don't know, maybe because she loves him and whatever's in there is significant to him?" Rhea asked sarcastically. "Ready?"

She put her hands on the chest and lifted its lid slowly. As her eyes fell on its contents, Rhea wailed loudly in a gut-wrenching sound, her hands shaking as she left the chest fall open on the desk. Tears filled her eyes as both the King and the prince rushed to her side to see what could have caused such a reaction from her. Rhea's stomach turned and she had to hold her stomach to prevent herself from throwing up at the dreadful vision she had just been forced to see.

Aemond looked first and turned in head in shock, a disgusted look on his face. He would not let his brother peer inside the chest, pushing him back as he kept trying.

"Don't-" Aemond began and, as his brother successfully pushed past him, he caught him as his legs faltered under the shock and grief crashing all over him.

Inside the chest was Marian Snow's severed bloody head, along with her infant daughter's. Aegon's infant daughter.

The King stumbled back, grief overcoming his every thought. The pain he felt was unmatched, as if a hole had been ripped in his soul and his heart was skinned layer by layer with a rusty knife. He had no heart left, he thought. How he managed to stay up he did not know, all he could think about was how the love of his life had died along with their child. A child he had never met and now could never even look in the eye, never hold, never hear her laugh.

Rhea remembered the Starks had declared for Rhaenyra, at the start of the succession war, but she never would have thought they would do such a thing. Especially to an innocent northern woman and her child, barely a week old.

Mustering up all the courage she could find, she walked over to the chest, grief omnipresent in every one of her movements. She couldn't help but notice the poor babe did look like a spitting image of her father and it broke her heart even more than it already was. Aemond wrapped his arms around her as she cried never ending tears, her legs barely keeping her up. Had Aemond not held her so, she would have collapsed. He held her tight, his hand on her head, preventing her from seeing the contents of the chest again, her body shaking as she sobbed heart-wrenchingly. Aegon stood in a corner of the room and looked like he had been hollowed out, his eyes no longer shone, his lids fluttering as unconscious tears streamed down his face.

Aemond, wanting to close the chest, lifted his hand and noticed a note had been attached, sitting under the severed heads.

"An eye for an eye."

Aemond threw his head back, eyes closed and guilt swallowed all his other thoughts. Daemon, his own uncle, Aegon's uncle, was behind this. Had Aemond not lost control of Vhagar and killed Lucerys, none of this would have happened.

"This means war," he spat angrily through gritted teeth.

Aegon was never the same, after that day. He spent most of his days alone, in the dark, inside his chambers with the curtains drawn out. He drank countless bottles of wine a day and barely frequented the Throne Room any more. He avoided his Hand, his brother, and Rhea, a constant reminder of the events which happened in his study. He could not look at his other children, the princess and princes, without tearing up, and would not have them in the same room as him.

The Hand had security increased around the Red Keep, especially around Helaena's children, as Aemond was now sure Daemon would not try to harm only his, but anyone who'd sided with his brother's as well.

Rhea could not speak for a week because she was so stricken by grief, she spent her days in bed, talking about how she should have forced Marian to stay in King's Landing or at least given her a blade to defend herself with as she left.

Aemond, as the only one in a position to rule now, had sought advice from his mother who had urged him not to initiate any kind of retaliation yet, as that would be of deplorable consequence for the realm. After having grieved the loss of her father, Queen Alicent began trusting in her own opinion more, rather than the one the former Hand had imprinted on her since a child.

Darkness had cast its shadow on the Red Keep, and it seemed like the good days were well and truly over.

It had been over a month since the princess had flown back from Winterfell and she started to venture out of the Tower of the Hand more and more, especially to go and spend time when her niece and nephews, enjoying every second she could with them, fearing something might befall them if she left their side. Their usual cheerfulness was precisely what she needed in order to get better and process the loss of her friend.

Aemond strode in Helaena's quarters and smiled fondly as he laid eyes on Rhea, sat on the floor and playing with Jaehaerys and his sister with some figurines. He knelt by her side and kissed her temple, resting his lips against her head as his hand held its back, his thumb stroking her hair.

"Might I have a word, love?" He asked and helped her up.

She smoothed her gown and waved goodbye to the children, a genuine smile on her face.

"My heart," he started with a smile. "I need someone I trust to do something."

"Right," she nodded.

"There's only one person in the Red Keep I can trust with it, one person who's capable of doing it right." He spoke strongly, his role as Hand had given his even more confidence than he had before, and it suited him. He truly would have made a great King, Rhea thought. "You, my love."

"I had that figured out, Aemond. I'm sad, not an idiot," Rhea nudged him.

He smiled fondly.

"Good," he nodded, looking in the distance. "I need you to fly to Dragonstone and strike a deal with the Black Queen."

(A/N : i kinda made myself sad ngl )