What if Rhaenyra Seduced Alicent to Dragonstone? Part 1
Dinner is mostly filled with the sound of her father talking and she or Laenor replying to him every once in a while. Alicent only talks to her husband and when he tries to push the four of them into conversation, she pretends to be busy with little Aegon who sits next to her. It is stifling and uncomfortable and Rhaenyra cannot stand it anymore.
“Excuse me, Father, I have a short announcement to make. Laenor and I have decided to move to Dragonstone in a months' time.”
She can feel Laenor’s questioning gaze on her face, but she ignores him and focuses on not panicking at her own words. They had just slipped out and now everyone save Aegon was staring at her.
“Rhaenyra, you’ve just given birth, you need more time to rest! You should stay here for a while longer; Dragonstone isn’t going anywhere.”
“I agree Rhaenyra,” her voice makes Rhaenyra tense, and Alicent looks just as uncomfortable saying it, “You should stay here. The Red Keep is your home, and Prince Lucerys is barely three months old. Prince Jacaerys is only 1, there is no need for you to leave.”
“The Red Keep might be my home, but Dragonstone is my seat as heir, and it has been neglected in my uncle’s absence. Besides, I think it would be good for the boys and their dragons to grow up there, uninhibited. Princess Rhaenys and Lord Corlys are only a short flight or ship ride away and we would visit often.”
The rest of the dinner is filled with the King trying to convince his daughter to remain in Kingslanding and Rhaenyra standing firm with her decision.
It isn’t until they are getting ready for bed that Laenor ambushes her.
“We agreed that going to Dragonstone was best for the boys?”
“I am aware of what I said.”
“Oh, good. For a second, I thought you had taken leave of your senses. Did you see the King’s face, did you see the Queen’s? This is completely out of the blue.”
“No, it isn’t Laenor, and you’d know that if you were here more.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Jace is a little over a year old, and Lucerys is only three months and already there are whispers and suspicious glances. I know you love them as your own, but the older they grow and the less Valyrian they look, the worse it will be. At least on Dragonstone, they can grow without the poison of court.”
“And Ser Harwin, where is he in all of this? Have you even told him of your plans?”
“...His father had been pushing for him to get married soon and produce...legitimate heirs.”
“You haven’t told him.”
“I will, tomorrow, I swear. I love him so much Laenor, he has been such a comfort to me, and I know he loves our boys, but he will never be able to openly love them as their father, and I think that will kill him inside.”
“...I’m sorry Nya, I just... I wish you had told me so I wouldn’t have been blindsided.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out...it just did. At least on Dragonstone, you won’t have to hide anymore, I’ll ensure your privacy.”
“...I wish I could have given you heirs. I hate that the gods have made me this way.”
“I don’t. You are a good man Laenor, in a world where such men are rare. I am thankful to the gods for giving me a friend I can trust.”
The month passes by quickly, especially with Laenor flying back and forth, making sure that Dragonstone will be ready for them when they arrive. Rhaenyra and her maids are packing away the last of her things the morning before they are set to leave. Most of the furniture will join the maids on the boat.
Jacaerys will fly with Laenor, and Lucerys will fly strapped to his mother’s chest. Their hatchlings had already been sent out a week ahead of them so that the dragon keepers on Dragonstone could get them settled.
The maids are keeping a close eye on the boys as Rhaenyra oversees the last of the furniture being moved.
“Your Highness, Her Grace is here to see you.”
Alicent sweeps into the room before the maid even finishes her sentence. She watches in silence as the maids finish packing all but a few trinkets before taking the boys and leaving the two women alone. She’s been picking at her fingers again; the habit had resurfaced after her father was sent away from court, and now they are red and raw.
“It doesn't have to be like this Rhaenyra, you can remain here with your husband and... children. I know the King will miss you dearly if you go.”
“And you, Your Grace?”
“...”
“Will you miss me when we leave, or will you celebrate finally having your chance to undermine me?”
“I am not...”
“Don’t think that I don’t see how you look at my sons, Your Grace. My boys are of my blood and have been recognized by my husband, and that is all that matters.”
“That is not all that matters! What about your duty to your husband, to your house!?”
“I have done my duty. I married the man my father chose, and I have birthed heirs recognized by my husband, and the King. If you’ll excuse me, Your Grace, there are still a few things that must be done before I leave.”
“That’s right, run away as you always have! I don’t know why I continue to try to speak to you. Leave me...”
“You abandoned me first! You were the only person who could have possibly understood what I was going through when my mother died, I needed you Ali, and you left me to crawl into my father’s bed! You left me first, so you don’t get to stand there and judge me, Your Grace!”
Over the course of their argument, the two women paced back and forth across the room. Without any furniture or decorations, Rhaenyra’s rooms feel abandoned. Like whatever love and joy had been there before, was sucked out in a few moments.
“I did my duty to the Realm! The King would have had to remarry, you should have been glad that it was me and not some stranger who would have tried to undermine your position every chance they got.”
“I know my father would have remarried! That is not the point, I did not care that he married or had more children, all I cared about, all I have ever cared about is that he took you away from me, and you let him! Not just him, your father as well!”
“I am not a toy to be fought over!”
“No, you were my best friend. The only person I trusted, but clearly you didn’t feel the same.”
“You got my father sent away.”
“He was caught spying on a member of the royal family! Not just any member, but the King’s heir and the King’s brother. What right did he have to do that? What right did he have to go to my father and accuse me of sleeping with my uncle? In his haste to discredit me, your father forgot his place.”
“That’s not true...My father has always done what was best for the Realm!”
“Like marrying his daughter, the child of a second son with no power of his own, to the King and then trying to get the King’s chosen heir pushed aside in favor of his grandson? If you miss him so badly, ask my father to welcome him back as a guest. You are the Queen; you have the power to do as you wish.”
“No, I don’t! If I had the power to do whatever I wanted, don’t you think I would!? I have been at the mercy of my father and now my husband, I have no power here!”
“...Once upon a time, you had me. If you had come to me at any time saying you didn’t want to marry my father or become queen, I would have taken you away on Syrax.”
“That is a dream from children Rhaenyra. Where would you even have taken me?”
“Would it have mattered,” they had stopped pacing and were finally looking at each other. Standing face-to-face in front of Rhaenyra’s bed. It was the only piece of furniture that wasn’t going to Dragonstone, and it would be the only sign that anyone even used the room in the first place, “We would have been together.”
Alicent is madly picking at her fingernails, the fight has gone out of her, but she doesn’t know how to move forward. Rhaenyra soothes her out of habit. The Princess takes the Queen’s hands and gently covers them with her own. Alicent avoids looking at Rhaenyra’s face and instead focuses on the callouses on her fingers from gripping Syrax’s reigns.
Rhaenyra’s hands have grown to be slightly bigger than when they were girls, her fingers still strong, though her grip is still delicate as she stops Alicent from hurting herself. Alicent doesn’t resist Rhaenyra’s touch, she closes her eyes and for a moment they are girls again, they are friends again and there is no pain or fear.
Rhaenyra draws her close until they are sharing a breath. Alicent feels the press of Rhaenyra’s lips against her forehead, once, twice...the more kisses there are, the more Alicent relaxes. Rhaenyra keeps kissing Alicent’s face.
It doesn't feel real.
“...Come with me.”
“...What?”
“Come with me to Dragonstone. You have done your duty to your father and married the King, you have done your duty to your husband and given him four children. What about your duty to yourself? Don’t you deserve to find some sort of happiness?”
“I can’t, your father wouldn’t allow it.”
“My father, or yours?”
Alicent’s breath hitches.
“I can’t.”
“You can.”
“Rhaenyra, I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You can come with me, bring the children. We can raise them together; we can be happy on Dragonstone.”
Alicent can feel the tears she had been fighting back start to fall.
“...”
“Whatever you are afraid of Ali, it doesn’t matter because you will always have me. Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, Daeron, they will always have me. My love for them isn’t conditional, they will always have a place in my heart.”
“Because they are your siblings.”
“Because they are your children. If I had been a man, I would have married you in a heartbeat.”
“Please...don’t...”
“I would have showered you in jewelry and expensive fabrics, read you poetry, and won jousts in your name.”
“Nyra...please...”
“If I were a man, Aegon would be my son and heir. Helaena, Aemond, Daeron, they would be mine as you would have been. I would love them, and dote on them, and I would spend the rest of our lives getting you pregnant because as angry as I was, I still thought you were beautiful every time you were pregnant with my siblings.”
“Rhaenyra...”
“Come to Dragonstone Ali, come with me.”
“...Yes...”
Their first kiss is full of all the emotions they are feeling rushing forward all at once. Rhaenyra presses their lips together softly. She slides her fingers between Alicent and doesn’t flinch as the other woman holds tight as if she were afraid this was all a dream. Rhaenyra doesn’t take more than Alicent can give and pulls back after a few seconds.
She wipes the tears from Alicent’s cheeks, and for the first time in a long time, they are on the same page.
“I will speak to the King...about...wanting to raise the children together and wanting them to know their Valyrian ancestry.”
“I will make sure your rooms are ready for when you arrive.”
“It may take weeks.”
“I will wait. I have missed you, Ali.”
“I have missed you as well.”