"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...
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132 AC, Dragonstone
"And Rhaenyra tried to murder me!"
As soon as those words left her lips, Valyria closed her eyes in realisation of what she'd just openly confessed in front of her entire council. Truth be told, getting to the bottom of the assassination attempt against her had been pushed into the back of her mind this past two days; Viserys's death, Dany's birth, the Greens' coup and becoming the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms – all of those separate events would have been stressful but together they were overwhelming.
"What did you say?" Daemon asked, his tone too calm. He definitely heard her the first time and now tried to comprehend the news. Everyone else seemed to share Daemon's feelings, staring at Valyria in anticipation of her explanation.
"I have reason to believe that Rhaenyra was behind the failed assassination attempt on me a little over a year ago," Valyria replied calmly, holding her husband's fiery gaze.
"And what is that reason?" Rhaenys wondered, standing beside her husband that appeared even more bewildered than the others. Due to his many moons of recovery from the fatal wounds he sustained at the Stepstones, he'd not been made aware of what happened in Dorne between Valyria and the Second Sons.
"Ser Berrick Cox," Valyria said and she saw a flash of recognition in Daemon's eyes. The other lords probably didn't know exactly who Ser Berrick was, but many did recognise the House Cox of Saltpans despite it being a smaller house in the Riverlands. "He's a member of the City Watch."
"And?" Daemon asked, grinding his teeth together. One hand rested against Dark Sister's pommel, gripping it until his knuckles turned white, while the other held onto the table in front of him.
"An old friend of Ser Berrick fights with the Second Sons – so he contacted them on behalf of Princess Rhaenyra," Valyria clarified, observing every twitch of a reaction her husband displayed to anticipate his next move. "Shortly after he visited Dragonstone just before my attack."
"And how have you come over all of this information?" Lord Corlys wondered.
"Ser Berrick told me," Valyria explained. "Or first he attempted to shift the blame over to Alicent and Larys Strong," she admitted, "but it was simply a ploy to hide the real culprit. An attempt to murder me and blame it all on the Greens."
"Alicent and that crippled cunt has every reason to want you dead," Daemon sneered. If a Hightowers name was mentioned, he could never see past his hatred.
"They do, but Ser Berrick was a close friend of Ser Harwin, Princess Rhaenyra's lover and the father of her sons," Valyria replied calmly. "He believes Larys Strong murdered his father and brother to take Harrenhal. He holds no love nor allegiance to Lord Larys or Alicent Hightower and his implication of them were far too rehearsed. Much like many other soldiers, Ser Berrick is a terrible liar. While the Greens are guilty of usurping the throne, they did not order my death by the hands of the Second Sons. Rhaenyra did."
