masquerade | house of the dragon

prologue

"Have you gone mad finally Daemon? They burned High Tide to the ground!", Corlys yelled, throwing out the papers on the table.

"And right now we are trying so they wouldn't burn Driftmark and the rest of the Crowlands to the ground.", Daemon answered calmly in his seat.

It's been a month since the war ended before even it started. Alicent meant what she said to Rhaenyra the night that Viserys had died. She truly thought she would make a fine queen and that she was glad to see her old friend again.

But Rhaenyra wasn't true to her words and was not in it to bring peace to her house.

Alicent, in the times she could think straight, would curse herself for forcing Rhaenyra to stay. If she would've been more considerate, and more aware of her surroundings, she would never make such an effort. She would let her go and pray to the Gods she would never return. But Rhaenyra, for the first time in years, decided to listen to her as if she felt what was going to happen.

Viserys died that night just after he told his final wish that Alicent had misunderstood but of course, while Alicent wept for the king, Daemon was busy taking action. She was confided in her chambers, and so does Helaena and her children. Aemond threw into the dark cells under the Red Keep, four kingsguards left the castle to find Prince Aegon and shortly after they threw him too to a dark cell, far away from his brother's. A formal arrest was sent to Lord Tarly -Rhaenyra knew he would rather die than break his oath that was taken by his father nearly two decades ago, to capture the young Prince Daeron.

Ser Criston's throat was cut in his sleep before he even realized what was happening, Lord Larys Strong and his little rats were burned in the stables -where they tried to come up with a plan to warn the Queen, and Daemon personally spend hours with Otto. Only Gods knows what he had done to him but the screams covered the whole Keep, and he didn't do it in the cells, no, he did it in the now-dead king's rooms so that Alicent could hear her father's eternal pain. And his body was eaten by Caraxes, he was not even allowed to have a proper burial.

Rhaenys was dragged by two kingsguards from her bed to the crown room where they threw her to the floor and put a sword to her neck, pressured her to bend the knee to the new queen and she had to -for the life of her granddaughters. Maybe they wouldn't go this harsh on her if she would've taken their side the other day. But no, she backed Vaemond's claim over Driftmark, publicly claiming that Lucerys was not a Velaryon and therefore a bastard, just like his brothers Jacaerys and Joffrey. Daemon took Vaemond's head for this but of course, didn't dare to kill Rhaenys. Being a kinslayer wasn't a problem for him but he was not going to do such a thing in front of people. He thought of finishing her afterwards but Viserys had died and now they needed the Sea Snake's support.

Velaryons hated them both with their whole hearts but what choice did they have?

Aegon and Aemond were rotting in the cells, and Alicent's uncle and cousin -heir to the Oldtown were killed for nothing. The kingsguards that escorted Lord Tarly to Oldtown to bring Prince Daeron back safely butchered his great uncle and cousin in a single move. They were unarmed and had no intentions of any attack but they acted according to Daemon's orders and made the young prince watch everything. Their orders were also killing Alicent's older brother but if they would kill him too then who would take Oldtown's seat? Daemon burned both of them alive the moment they return from there with Prince Daeron by their side. But it was too late now, Ormund Hightower had closed his borders and now all the Reacher Lords were in rage -not that Daemon cared or not that Rhaenyra was even aware.

Daemon had acted against her wishes and rejected her orders. Went beyond his station and yet Rhaenyra forgave him -she was not strong enough to object to him. Her eyes weren't open yet at this moment.