"It's my duty, my God-given birthright and my crown."
- Mary, Queen of Scots
In which Valyria Targaryen returns to the Red Keep and becomes a key player in the game for the Iron Throne.
....or....
In which there isn't a person in the Se...
THE UNION OF THE PRINCE OF DORNE AND THE REALM'S JEWEL ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
117 AC, King's Landing
"You are not making this journey and that's final," Valyria said firmly.
"Need I remind you that I am your King, Lyria," Viserys snapped at her. "You can't order me to do anything."
Sighing in annoyance - stubbornness truly was a trait shared by all Targaryens - she sat down on his bedside. Since the tragic wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor that had ended with the King collapsing, he had been bedridden. His fragile health could not handle all the stress.
Now, a moon later, it was time for Valyria to travel to Dorne for her wedding with Prince Qoren and Viserys was insisting on coming along. Ridden with guilt for how he wasn't there for her when she married Lucian Lannister, he wanted to do better this time. When Valyria left for Casterly Rock she had been furious with him and he had not heard or seen from her in years - that was not something he wished to repeat.
"I won't abandon you again-"
"Viserys," Valyria took the hand that still held all his fingers between hers, "you are not abandoning me. I know that you wish to come with me - but you have to care for your own health right now. Do you remember how sick you became during the trip to Driftmark? You'd have to endure days of that before you reached Sunspear. I am a grown woman, I can give away myself a second time."
"You shouldn't have to," Viserys sighed tiredly. "Perhaps this alliance with Dorne was a bad idea. Otto was very adamant about it, after all."
"Otto was likely adamant about you accepting Qoren's proposal because he found it offensive when I attended the Small Council meetings. He wanted me shipped off to Dorne where I could force my opinions on somebody else," Valyria reasoned. "The alliance itself can be an important step in unifying Dorne under Targaryen rule. This far, we have only ever fought against them."
"You think Prince Qoren will bend the knee?" Viserys asked, surprised by her ambition.
"Judging by how he spoke when we met, no," Valyria confessed. "But I will be the Princess of Dorne and my influence will at least not worsen the chances that Dorne one day will be placed under Targaryen rule. From the day our first child is born, House Martell will have dragon-blood running through their veins."
"Shouldn't that be a cause for us to worry?" Viserys pointed out. "What gives us strength is that the ability to fly dragons - to bond with them - is kept within the family."
"Mayhaps we should change our words from Fire and Blood to 'Kept within the family'," Valyria joked. It might be her Stark blood coming into play, but Valyria had never understood her family's insistence to hold onto the incestious traditions of their ancestors. Daeron Targaryen, her father, had shared those views - she knew that. He had a total of seven sisters but chose to marry outside the family either way. Albeit, many of those sisters had not lived long enough to be candidates even.
