Dance with her ghosts

“Princess Rhaenys was named after the first Rhaenys, King Aegon's sister-wife, unlike Queen Rhaenys, who was affectionate, graceful, playful and painfully sweet, Princess Rhaenys was the reincarnation of Visenya: impulsive, fearless and with  such a a fire burning in her veins that her dragon wasn't the only one who made her enemies tremble. 

Rhaenys, the Queen Who Never Was, was a formidable woman, and an even more formidable and dangerous enemy to have.”

- Maester Stone in The Blood of the Dragon 178 AC

Rhaenys had long since moved away from the nonsense of the Court, she had been content to be called the Queen Who Never Was and had been content that she would never be Queen and that her children might be Kings or Queens but never rulers.

She had resigned herself.

That didn't mean she, or Corlys, had stopped fighting for the Iron Throne.

Rhaenys would gladly have Rhaenyra marry a servant for what mattered to her, Laenor would be much happier if he never had to perform husbandry duties, her son, being the good son he was, smart, honorable and well liked, could never satisfy a woman.

Rhaenys had known that since Laenor was seven name days old when she found him with his face smeared with red powder for makeup and her string of pearls around his neck, she knew, just as she knew about Jeyne Arryn and Lady Jessamyn and Ser Joffrey. So finding her son with a groom in the stables at ten and four name days was no surprise either.

It didn't mean that Corlys liked the idea, she had begged to send Laenor to Oldtown, to become a scholar, no children, no wives, no obligations, even if Otto had taken up permanent residence there, or banished him to Essos, more liberal, more acceptable, where their child could be himself and happy.

But Corlys' greatest weakness had always been power, he could be the richest man in Westeros and that fact had only increased his ambition and he had taken far more offense than Rhaenys when Viserys was chosen by the Great Council.

Rhaenys had faced a match she knew she wasn't going to win.

She had come to terms with that and accepted that the Iron Throne was a distant dream that would be lost to a man, weaker or stronger, men had a way of getting whatever they wanted in life.

But she hoped, for a moment, if Rhaenyra could take the Iron Throne then Laena would be Corlys' heir and Laena was fitting, she had that fire running through her veins, the one that wavered between madness and greatness and made her see the smallest political intricacies.

If Corlys had made Driftmark the richest island in the Seven Kingdoms, Laena would make it the richest island in the world.

But Corlys, oh, Corlys, Rhaenys loved him, really loved him, but he was far more ambitious and greedy than anyone could have expected, he had not been content with a Princess as his wife, what he really wanted was a royal grandson ruling their lands.

And he would not get one.

Because if Rhaenys was right, and she usually was, and the servants only confirmed her theory with their whispers, Laenor had married and fled the city in the middle of the night.

“Ser Laenor… and Lady Jeyne…”

“…I heard that the King was furious…”

“… the wedding… Princess Rhaenyra… Daemon… and…”

“… Lady Jeyne Arryn… pregnant… Ser Laenor… father…”

“In the middle of the night… the two of them… wedding… on Seasmoke’s back… on the Eyrie…”

“…Ser Laenor was supposed to marry the Princess… cancelled… Ser Laenor… Lord Corlys must be furious…”

Ah, Rhaenys was no fool, she had intentionally walked through the Red Keep, just to listen to the whispers, and what a rewarding walk it was.

Most Lords didn't care much for the smallfolk and servants that prowled their strongholds, preferring to act as if they were inconveniences that simply buzzed around them. The servants were far more observant than they should have been, they were, after all, everywhere all the time, head down and not talking, acting like they didn't exist, and if that wasn't enough, they overheard conversations they shouldn't and whispered to others.

And they didn't even realize they were the biggest spy network ever created.

Rhaenys had, walking throug many secret passageways, wearing black hoods and having hair not immediately reminiscent of a Targaryen, taken a small part in this spy ring.

So she knew that Queen Alicent had killed Larys Strong and made it look like an accident, she knew that the Queen was a cruel woman, swathed in flashy silk gowns, a pretty young face, curly angelic hair that didn't let the rest of the world see how brilliant her mind truly was.

It's not because she's been away from court, resigned to the quiet life of Driftmark, that she doesn't know how to play political games anymore.

And the first rule of Game of Thrones has always been not to show weakness.

Rhaenys cracks her neck once and straightens her spine.

Time to face the beast.

"I'm here to see the Queen" she says to Ser Arryk, or Ser Erryk... To the Cargyll twin standing in the doorway.

The twin nods once and then opens the door, Rhaenys pretends to not to take a deep breath, there's nothing to fear from the Queen, she was wild in her youth, yes, but she's a Queen now, it's too inappropriate for her to continue to use a sword, ride a horse, or get involved in fights.

But you, Corlys' voice whispers into her neck, still challenge me to sparring matches in the training yard even after having two children.

But I, Rhaenys replies to her imaginary Corlys, and perhaps she was going mad, I am a Targaryen, and before we were Targaryens we were gods and gods do not obey the laws of men.

— My queen. — Rhaenys bows, carefully hiding her disdain, it should be Laena, Laena should be Aegon’s mother, the heir’s mother, but then she would also be the mother of a deformed child, cursed by the gods.

— Princess Rhaenys. — the Queen replies, from her pile of pillows, running a shaky hand over the sleeping Prince Aegon's hair, she still looks a little pale, with her curly hair loose around her face in a mock of greasy curls, her dark circles still deep, almost blue, and if Rhaenys is right, Queen Alicent faced the death and said "not today".— I was waiting for you.

Of course you were, Rhaenys thinks, very meanly, you married my son to a woman I saw once and sent him gods know where. 

— You didn't have the right. — hisses Rhaenys, lowering the mask of restraint, this woman, fragile as she is, has taken her child from her. — He's my son , and while you can play puppeteer with everyone in King's Landing, I won't let you do the same to my son.

The Queen does not answer, but carefully adjusts the blanket around the shoulders of the little girl with long hair who sleeps beside Prince Aegon, Rhaenys surmises that Aemond must be the baby in the cradle by the windows, perhaps, she thinks grimly, the Queen wants to air out the impure blood of his deformed brother.

— How far would you go, Princess Rhaenys? — the woman asks, finally looking up at her, and her brown eyes are slivers of stone, dark on her pale face, she seems to attract Rhaenys's attention, as if she were a girl being scolded and not a seasoned warrior. — How far would you go for your children's happiness?

Ah, so that's it.

Maybe it's a conspiracy, something to burn Rhaenyra enough for little Aegon to take the throne with the Hightowers controlling his movements.

Men like him, Rhaenys, remembers Grandmother Alysanne talking about Otto Hightower, when she first saw him in the streets of King's Landing, they think he has the blood of Kings just because they ruled a small stone city from the top of a Tower. 

— Because I would gladly have my Aegon become a cook if it made him happy. — the Queen carefully runs her hands through her sleeping son's hair, the boy groans, but doesn't wake up.  — And I would gladly save Rhaenyra from a marriage she doesn't want.

— My son should be King. — Rhaenys hisses back, and in that moment, she's more furious that Laenor is miles away than her real reason for coming here, to find out what plans are in the Queen's head.

— No, Rhaenys. — the Queen replies playfully. — Laenor could never produce an heir, and we know we cannot face a succession crisis.

— Still, you could have talked to me, or Corlys, we could have called off the betrothal. — the betrothal that was never finalized, but that existed, in everyone's mind. — Instead, you chose to tarnish my son's honor as a common knight who was found in a lady's bed and forced into a hasty marriage, Corlys would have understood…

Alicent laughs.

Truly, she looks at her face and laughs, merrily, a husky sound that shakes her chest and leaves her cheeks rosy.

— Rhaenys, look me in the eye and tell me that Corlys would not put Laena in Viserys' bed while my body was still warm. — The Queen waits patiently for an answer, her hands folded in her lap, looking very defiant for a bedridden woman.

And Rhaenys cannot do that.

Oh, she knows her husband, she knows what he is capable of, she knew him when her ambition was an idea maturing in his head, she saw him make Driftmark what it was, and she saw it when the ambition to sail all the seas was no longer enough. 

If Queen Alicent had, in fact, died a moon ago, as everyone thought she would, Laena Velaryon would have been crowned Queen with a crown bathed in the birthing blood of a dead child and 3 motherless children, she would have been pregnant long before Alicent's body cooled and long before the time of mourning passed.

Corlys was not a cruel man, but he was an ambitious man who wanted the Iron Throne, and Laena had the misfortune to be born a girl, and like all girls before her, her father was her lord until she had a husband.

Still, Viserys is an old man, younger than Corlys, of course, but where Corlys aged like fine wine, Viserys aged like sour milk, he had a big belly, shed hair like buds, and so the whispers they said, he was increasingly tired, weak and worn out.

Rhaenys, reluctantly admits that she doesn't want Laena, young, sweet, vibrant and loving Laena, to marry a man like him.

For the first time in years, Rhaenys is speechless.

— Then tell me, Rhaenys. — the Queen begins, softly. — How far would you go to make your children happy?

She thinks of Laenor, so small he could fit in her arms, his neck full of pearls, twirling around the room to music only he could hear and saying I'm such a handsome prince, Mama, with a smile so big on his face that Rhaenys wouldn't have the heart to tell him that pearls were for girls.

Then she remembers that Corlys would come back from his trip and the pearls would be in a little red box, hidden in the back of the closet, and Laenor would look so sad, so dull, that she would convince Laena to have tea parties just so her son would smile.

She thinks of Laena, who cried every night because she didn't have a dragon, and then she remembers taking her in the air, swirling through the clouds on Meleys' back and the excited screams and her little girl screaming dracarys in such a loud voice.

And then Vhagar, Queen of the skies, the only remaining dragon from the conquest and how Laena had been on cloud nine after the grumpy thing had decided she was worthy, how she seemed to spend hours flying through the skies and being happy by herself.

Rhaenys thinks she understands her.

She will never really like Alicent Hightower, she is a complicated woman, full of schemes and tricks.

But she understands the woman.

There is nothing in the world that Rhaenys wouldn't do for Laenor and Laena if it meant they would be happy.

— Rhaenyra is not your daughter. — she protests, weakly.

— No. — Queen Alicent smiles sadly, and for a moment, she is nothing more than a bedridden woman lamenting past mistakes. — But she is the daughter of Aemma, and of Viserys. — she adds belatedly. — And that's enough for her to be mine too.

— Corlys won't take it well, he'll see this as an insult and demand blood. — Rhaenys changes the subject quickly, because her throat is suspiciously closed and her eyes are wet. 

— You are strong, Rhaenys. — the Queen replies. — But there is only one Queen, and Corlys may be the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms, but he is still a vassal of the crown, and he should be very well reminded that as much as he is the Corlys Velaryon, I am the Queen.

She understands the unsaid, you can have Meleys, and you can fight us if you want, but we have Laena and you know it, you wouldn't fight your daughter and Corlys can't fight alone without getting burned.

Rhaenys nods in agreement, the Queen is right, Laena is her daughter, but she has lived in the Red Keep since she was ten and two years old, she has accompanied Rhaenyra on her adventures under the Queen's guidance.

She gets up and turns to leave, there's nothing more to take from this conversation, they're both exhausted and there's not much else to talk about.

— Rhaenys… — Queen Alicent calls her and Rhaenys looks at her, Alicent is a beautiful woman, with brown hair, big eyes and a tapering body, she is beautiful, even lying on a heap of pillows and blankets and pale as a corpse. — Laenor is happy, I think a lot more than he could be here, being a King with Rhaenyra, he's in the Eyrie, with Jeyne and Jessamyn and Ser Joffrey, there's not a place where he would be happier.

Rhaenys nods once, she always knew Laenor's tendencies, but she also always knew that her son's happiness would be an illusion that would not be realized, he is happy now, but Corlys is not.

And Corlys, Rhaenys can handle.

“Ser Laenor, the Lord Consort of Eyrie, never had children by Lady Jeyne Arryn, it is rumored that there were so many unsuccessful attempts at childbearing that Lady Jeyne decided to preserve her heart and not try to have more children.

The two were deeply supported by their most faithful friends, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth and Lady Jessamyn Farman.”

- Unknown maester of Eyrie from his diary accounts, found in the year 997 AC by Alicent Targaryen