Part Two - The Princess Paramount's Wedding (3)
Viserys Targaryen, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First MenLord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, couldn’t help but feel excited that after six years he would see his beloved daughter again.
He eagerly looked at the horizon, looking for his first glimpse of his daughter's little kingdom.
Beside him, Alicent tried her best to maintain her composure, unhappy she had to leave the safety of Red Keep for the barren lands of Stepstones just to attend the brat’s wedding. The seven year old Aegon was roaming the huge ship in boredom, looking for something to entertain him while the 6 years old Helaena and 5 years old Aemond sat in the shade with their nurses.
“DRAGONS!!” One of the sailors in the lookout nest bellowed in panic as everyone looked up to sky in either awe (Viserys and his children) horror (Alicent and most of the court on the ship) or avarice (Otto) as a flight of dragons flew over the ship, their resplendent scales of different shades shone under the afternoon sun.
“Dear Gods!” Viserys exclaimed in awe, admiring the juvenile dragons as they danced through the air, playing fighting as they swooped through the clouds. His children gathered around him and listened as he animatedly pointed out each dragon to them, sharing what scant memories he had of dragons with them.
By the time the ship arrived in the Veiled Island with its tall mist-covered cliffs, Viserys was holding Aemond for the first time since his birth, pointing out the silver and blue iridescent scales of one of dragons that was swimming curiously along their boat to the boy who was staring at it with avarice in its eyes.
After passing the boy back to his very pretty nurse, Viserys prepared himself to disembark and greet his brother, who looked regal especially with his beautiful courtesan beside him.
“Brother, welcome to Veiled Island.” Daemon nodded to him as Mysaria curtsy to the king.
“Your Majesty, it is an honor to host you and the Royal Court during your visit. Please, partake in our bread and salt.” Mysaria said in lilting High Valyrian as she gestured forward to a maid carrying a tray of bread, salt and some wine. “We have prepared some refreshment for you and the Court to enjoy in your suites of rooms before the feast tonight.”
Beside them, Alicent fidgeted, never taking the time to learn Valyrian. “Surely your courtesan,” the queen said with a weird emphasis on the word, “can speak common, Prince Daemon, or does she delight in snubbing her Queen?”
“Surely the queen would have learnt Valyrian seeing that she had married into a Valyrian family and borne children with Valyrian blood.” Daemon sneered. “And Lady Mysaria Targaryen is my wife, made official through our wedding under the Fourteen Flame, so take good care of how you address her, good sister.” He hissed back before turning to his brother, ignoring her loud splutters. “Come brother, your carriage awaits.” He gestured flamboyantly as an opulent carriage (imported from Pentos) awaits. “It is a long trip to my manse, Dragon Nest.”
The Royal Family squeezed into the carriage while both Daemon and Mysaria mounted their horses and as they made way up the cliff to the manse overlooking the island, Daemon smugly points out to his brother the developments achieved in the island including the beautiful glasses houses that they can see across the islands.
“-shared by 5 villages per glasshouse, it provided ample herbs and vegetables that cannot be grown normally here.” He pointed at one of them where villagers tending to the glasshouse bowed and waved as the procession passed their village.
“You’re saying Rhaenyra did all this?” Viserys was gobsmacked.
“Of course. She wanted to make sure people on this island would not starve if the harvests were to fail.” Daemon scoffed. “She was really shaping to be an excellent heiress presumptive before you exiled her.”
“I-I didn’t exiled her!” Viserys tried to defend himself but Daemon snorted.
“And what do you call sending her to barren islands without much support?” He turned away and pointed at a grand looking building where people dressed in blue came in and out in a hurry.
“And that is the Healer academy, established by Prince Vaegon to train more healers and advance healing techniques and methodologies. We have healers as far as Leng and Ibben teaching and exchanging medical knowledge with each other. And with Rhaenyra establishing healing houses in each island to provide health care to her people, death rates have gone down by 67%.” He said with pride for his niece’s achievement, remembering one of Vaegon’s apprentices presenting the latest numbers to the council recently.
Otto was gobsmacked as he listened to Viserys’s persistent questions to the bragging Daemon. It would (he grudgingly thought) impressive if this was true especially since she only had six years to achieve all this. He cursed yet again Gwayne’s failure to secure the princess’s hand in marriage.
She must have had such talented administrators working for her. He irrationally rationalized.
After a restful afternoon in the suite prepared for them (and sampling the exquisite sweets in the suite; he must get Daemon’s cook to move to Red Keep with them after the wedding is over so he can enjoy them everyday) He and the rest of the Royal Court that were invited to stay at the mansion came down for the dinner feast, he in particular was eager to see what Daemon had in store.
Staying in front of the family portrait in the antechamber before they could enter the hall, Viserys couldn’t help but stare in jealousy at the both regalness and virality of the painting, Daemon standing tall, holding the family heirloom bestowed to him by their grandfather the King, Dark Sister, his second wife looking mysteriously sensual in a Valyrian red dress beside him while they were surrounded by what could only the twin daughters he legitimize a few months ago and a young boy in Royce colouring that could only be his only nephew, Aelyx Royce.
Wait.
Jealous?
Why would he be envious of his little brother?
He was King of All Westeros and father to two beautiful princesses and two healthy sons, why would he be bitter to Daemon when he was living in Stepstones thanks only to Rhaenyra’s handouts?
He shook off the weird feeling and entered the hall, looking forward to feasting and catching up with Daemon.
Alicent hates this.
She hates that she has to listen Daemon bragging about the brat’s achievements while they have to sup on foreign food that tasted terrible to her delicate palate, she hates the fact she looks frumpy in her elegant emerald velvet gown beside that whore’s divine, scanty dress, she hates the fact the children were banished to the nursery than be at the feast, showing off their royal blood in front of the court and most importantly she hates that barely anyone in this damned island had given her the scant respect and attention befitting her status as Queen Consort of Westeros.
Pushing around the weird salad in her plate, she watched in disgust as the king (never her husband; not to her, no, he is just a stepping stone for her family) shovel food into his mouth, moaning and praising as if the foreign filth was delicious.
She sneered and turned away, having to gestured the server twice to serve her wine (thankfully Arbor Gold that they brought from Kingslanding with them, one cannot trust alcohol in this foreign land).
By the Seven, how will she survive an entire month of this?!
“I noticed your daughters are not here, Your Highness.” She suddenly interjected, ignoring her father’s warning looks. “Surely they are not snubbing the Royal Family.” She sneered.
“Yes, Daemon, where are my nieces? I would like to see them after Uncle Vaegon took the time to ask me to legitimize them.” Viserys looked around as if the twins would appear.
“They are currently in Moonstone, spending the week with their brother and his mother.” Daemon pulled a face the moment he thought of his first wife. “No snub on you, good sister,” he sneered, “but I rather the children spend what time they have together while they can than make them suffer through formality of the court.” He then deliberately turned his back to her and shared a tale with his brother about his recent visit to Pentos, leaving Alicent stewing in anger.
Boarding the ship again, this time to make their way to Bloodstone Island which apparently that was renamed to Moonstone to honour the late Queen Aemma, Otto watched at the stern of the ship as the Bloodwyrm carrying his Rouge Prince and his courtesan (no matter what people said, the Seven does not acknowledge the marriage, making her just a fortune grasping whore and their children bastards) when his man approached him.
“Well?”
“We were unable to gather information as the ship was heavily guarded last night and we were not allowed to disembark. Even the officers and dockhands we tried to approach and bribe were tightlipped and refused to answer our questions.”
Otto cursed. He waved the man away and stared broodingly as the ship sailed past the once desolate islands that now looked it was teeming with life and riches ready to be plucked, fishing boats and barges that it occupants waved at the Royal ship and another flight of dragons that flew over them that he stared covetously.
He really must figure a way to have his grandsons to bond with the dragons while they are in Stepstones.
Once again, Rhaenyra was at the docks, this time to greet her father after 6 years apart from him. Dressed in a Westerosi red and black dress, embroidered with golden thread and pearls, her silver hair was pulled back into a Valyrian war braid, paired with a Yi-Ti dragon-shaped hair crown and a pearl necklace that once belonged to her mother.
Tapping her leg nervously, Harwin grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles to calm her down. “It will be alright.” He whispered, kissing her cheek gently. Vaegon’s loud cough quickly separated the couple as everyone giggled.
“How long do we have to wait for them?” Vaegon loudly complained, glaring at Olyvar, as he tried to sneak away yet again. “I have important experiments that I cannot leave unsupervised.”
Rhaella sighed. “We cannot give them reason to complain during the visit and snubbing them is a sure way to do that.” She glared at him. “At least it’s not that hot.” She referred to the cloudy afternoon sky.
“Ship at sight!” One of the dockhands at lookout suddenly yelled loudly causing everyone to straighten their clothes and get into place. Rhaenyra plastered her sweetest smile she reserved for idiotic merchants and foreign diplomats as the ship docked.
She is going to need all the patience she’s gonna need for the next month.
Viserys vibrated impatiently as he waited for the sailors to lay down the planks so they could finally disembark. Unfortunately with the way the ship was docked, he couldn’t catch a glimpse of his daughter.
The moment it was secured and safe, he quickly ran down the plank, much to his wife's loud complaints and Otto’s warnings. The moment he stepped into the dock, he turned to greet his daughter.
At that very moment, there was a sudden break in the clouds, letting a ray of afternoon sunshine land directly over his daughter, blinding him.
Blinking rapidly, he couldn’t stare in shock.
His 10 years old daughter had apparently bloomed during their long separation into an elegant Valyrian beauty and yet all he could see was a ghost that had haunted his dreams for the past 8 years.
“Aemma.” He breathed out before fainting, everyone yelled as his Kingsguard managed to grab him before he accidentally hurt himself.