An evil eye had fallen on the peace and the prosperity of the seven kingdoms. The royal court was divided into two factions - 'The Greens' and 'The Blacks'. The seeds of war were sown long ago and those seeds had started sprouting.
Naerys Velaryon...
Queen Alicent was sitting in her chambers and drinking from a cup of wine. Her sworn protector, Ser Criston Cole was standing beside her. He gazed at the dragon flying in the sky while waiting for his queen to speak.
Alicent kept the cup on the nearby table and said to Cole, "Rhaenyra has asked my daughter's hand for her son. She says that we should get them married so that they can rule together when the time comes. Her audacity surprises me. The king is too lenient towards her and that's why she does whatever she feels like."
"That bitch!" Cole muttered under his breath. He said, "Did the king accept the proposal?"
Alicent laughed. She took the empty cup from the table and started filling it with wine. The wine in the jar could only fill half of the cup. She called out, "Genna! Come here!" A golden haired girl entered the chambers and curtsied. "Bring me more wine!" Alicent ordered. The girl took the empty jar and left.
Cole was waiting for the Queen's answer. She looked at him and smirked. Then she said, "The king said that it was the most judicious proposition. His precious daughter had asked for something. How could he refuse?"
"Did you...Your Grace, did you accept the proposal?" Cole asked. There was a tone of worry in that.
"Of course not! Am I mad?" Alicent said to Cole. She continued, "When Aegon, the first of his name, was still the Lord of Dragonstone, he and his sisters had 3 dragons. Did he not refuse to marry Argilac Durrandon's daughter and offer his bastard brother's hand instead? What did Argilac do? Did Argilac fear Aegon's dragons and let go of that insult? He cut off the envoy's hands who had brought the letter. Then he sent the severed hands of the envoy to Aegon with the message, ‘These are the only hands your bastard shall have of me.’ Bastards are born of lies and deceit. Why should I marry off my only daughter to that bastard of hers? I told the king that he is free to do as he wishes when I am cold in my grave. As long as I am alive and breathing, I will not allow that marriage to happen."
Cole sighed. He looked at Alicent and said, "Bastards are born of lies and deceit. They are treacherous by nature. They can not be trusted. It doesn't matter whether Jacaerys is called Ser Laenor's son or not. It doesn't matter whether he is considered a trueborn Velaryon or not. The truth is known to all. He is Harwin's bastard and he cannot be trusted."
"Aye!" exclaimed Alicent. She slammed her fist on the table and said, "Every word you have said is true, Ser Criston. The king even issued a decree to place a dragon egg in the boy's cradle. My Lord Husband is so desperate to prove that Jacaerys is not a bastard."
Cole chuckled. He said, "The egg will hatch on the day, a river flows from the mouth of that volcano on Dragonstone. When that pug nosed and brown haired Velaryon fails to hatch the egg, the whole realm will know what he is. I wonder if the Narrow Sea will be large enough for the Sea Snake to hide his face."
Just then, Genna entered the chambers. She placed the jar of wine on the table and left. Genna walked rather slowly. Her eyes were looking at whatever was lying in front of her. But her ears were listening to the conversation between the queen and the knight.
Alicent poured a cup of wine for herself. She sniffed the wine and then took a sip. Then, she cleared her throat.
"The Sea Snake is a danger, Your Grace," Cole remarked.
"I know that, Ser Criston," Alicent answered. She continued, "All of us know that he wanted his wife Rhaenys to ascend the iron throne. Then, he put forth his son Laenor's claim in the Great Council of 101 AC. But he didn't succeed. Now, his son has got a chance to be the King Consort. He is an ambitious man and he will not let go of that chance easily. Don't you see how he refuses to acknowledge that Rhaenyra's son is a bastard? That boy doesn't even share a drop of blood with him. But still, he gave him the Velaryon name 'Jacaerys'. It is not the blood that matters to him. He just wants someone carrying the name 'Velaryon' to ascend the throne."
Ser Harwin Strong's chambers:
Harwin sat down to have his meal. He looked at the plates in front of him. There was steak-and-kidney pudding, lemon cake and Dornish wine. He was the eldest son of the Hand of the King, heir to Harrenhall, brother of the Master of Whispers and Lord Confessor and lastly, the sworn protector of the Princess of Dragonstone. Is it not obvious that he would be served lavish meals? Moreover, the princess was very generous. So yes, it was very obvious.
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Harwin had not yet started eating when he heard the sound of a walking cane hitting the floor and someone dragging his foot. It was his brother Larys Strong. He greeted Larys and asked him to sit. Then he said, “It is good that you have come. I will not be able to finish the pudding alone. There is wine too. Help yourself, Brother.”
The two brothers started eating the pudding. Larys sipped some wine to wash down the food that was stuck in his throat.
Larys initiated the conversation. He said, “I met Princess Rhaenyra and Ser Laenor today. They were playing with their children. The black hair and blue eyes of Princess Naerys scream, ‘Ours is the fury!’ The little princess likes to pull hairs. She pulled my hair too. I squeezed my eyes in pain while she giggled and giggled. And Prince Jacaerys was playing with a ball. I was really amazed to see how strong the little boy looked. He reminded me of you.”
Harwin stared at his brother and said nothing. Larys smirked. Harwin did not like that smirk on his brother's face. So he said, “So you've started speaking those things too. Tell me dear brother, does believing in senseless rumours suit you?”
Larys said to him, “I am called Clubfoot, not Larys the Blind. I can see what is true and what isn't. Also, there is a reason why I sit on the Small Council as the Master of Whispers. You must not forget that. I know the dirtiest secrets of the Lords of the realm. You are no exception, Brother.”
“What do you want, Brother?” Harwin asked.
Larys laughed and said, “You cannot give me what I desire, Brother. So do not bother yourself. I just wanted to talk to you. I agree that not everyone gets the chance to fuck a princess. But my dear brother, people should have the fear of losing their heads too. What you have done is high treason. Losing your head in a war is an honour indeed. But losing your head after being branded a traitor will bring you no honour at all. People will spit on your grave. And remember my words! The princess will choose her crown over you every single time. She will not hesitate to take your life if she feels the need to do so.”
After a few moments of silence, Larys spoke, “By the way, the wine was good. But unfortunately, I can't drink anymore as I have some errands to run. So allow me to take leave of you, Brother.” Saying this, he left.
Harwin sat in his chambers. The silence was making him uncomfortable. But there was nothing he could do. He had brought that upon himself and he had to bear it alone.
