Chapter 10
Viserys was left alone with his sister, after Daemon fucked of gods know where and Rhaenyra left to visit her dragon with one of the kingsguards. He started to work on his Valyrian model just to occupy his time, while his sister was looking into the distance out of a window, humming some songs he didn't recognize and falling sometimes into a vision or the other. The silence was comfortable but something was nagging Viserys.
"Why are you treating us differently?" He suddenly said making her jump in her seat.
"What do you mean?"
"Daemon and I. It's easier for you to talk to him, to be playful and show that madness that I know is lurking around." He wondered since last night when she met her brother. There was an easy camaraderie there. Was it because of the age difference, but that was farfetched, Daemon wasn't all that much younger than him.
"You are the King and the head of Targaryen family. Your word is law. " She responded and that left him with more questions than answers.
"What does that have to do with anything? I am still your brother, we are all children of Baelon. "
"Yes we are all that, but my word or Daemon's, his decisions or mine cannot go uncontested just because we have a crown on our heads."
"So you treat me differently because you disagree with my decisions?" He was still confused.
"I think that since Visenya we had lousy heads of the family, I think that putting a crown on top unworthy heads is not what a king makes. "
Her words cut deeply, but he expected it when he asked. His sister was not one to mince her words. He knew Maenera abstained of making his opinion of him known till now because of the circumstances. Him being in mourning cut him some slack, but small comments still made through in the conversations. Her words from last night were ringing in his head. "You butchered the Kind Queen for a dying babe."
"Don't try and spare my feelings, i want to know exactly what you think."
"Alright." She said and he could see she was preparing herself." I think that Aegon should have never be king. He was a weak man that didn't know duty if he was hit on the head with it. Visenya should have been queen in her own right as it was valyrian law. She was the firstborn and she was the head of the family long before Aegon became king. I think that Maegor was right in taking the throne and squashing the rebellion. I think that Aenys was even weaker than his father and so we're his sons after him. I think that Jaehaerys was a mediocre king and a bad head of house. And lastly I think that the title of King and head of family should have never gone to you. "
"I think that you are easily malleable by those around you, you have a too soft heart and lack the cunning and slyness necessary to make even an mediocre king. I think that you are so lost in that dream that you had that you are going to make grave mistakes in order to fulfill it. And I think that you should not be head of the family because you forgot how to be a Dragon."
Maenera took him entirely too serious when he said that she should not spare his feelings. He thought that what was said to Rhaenys was bad, but no, this was worse, much worse. And again not untrue. He knew he had his failings but for them to be laid bare by his sister hurt.
"Who... Who would you think should have taken the throne? Rhaenys?"
"Do not ask questions, you already know the answer to."
"Daemon"
"Yes."
"Daemon didn't even put his name down in the Council."
"I know, he wouldn't have, he loves you too much. He knew you wanted it and made it happen. Did you know Rhaenys ask for his help? He said no of course, but the parallel is worth considering. You didn't even asked him, just assumed he is on your side. "
She was once again right, he didn't ask. Why would he Daemon was his brother. He hadn't know that Rhaenys had asked him for help and was denied. His brother never said a word about it.
"For his support she promised him a lot. An annulment, a valyrian bride and the title of hand. She promised him stability as well. She promised him that once she was queen your daughter will be betrothed to her son and that will make her a Queen, and their children and his will be betrothed as well unifying the bloodlines. "
Viserys didn't have any words left. That was a lot, all those promises, his brother would have surely collected, was all his brother ever wanted.
"But of course, as all Targaryen men before him, Daemon loved his brother too much. He gave up everything he ever wanted, for you. A weak man, that didn't even had the decency to ask for his brother's help."
"Daemon will be King after me." He defended weakly.
"Are you sure about that? My visions show me differently, my visions show me you naming your 8 year old spoiled daughter as heir, a thing that started a civil war."
"Daemon would never usurp Rhaenyra." Of that he was certain. His brother could never hurt those of his own blood.
"Who said anything about Daemon usurping Rhaenyra? No, no Daemon accepted your decision in a very Daemon fashion. He threw a tantrum, stole Baleon's egg and fucked of to Dragonstone where he announced that he was marrying his whore who is pregnant." That sounded about right." The civil war wasn't about Daemon, the civil war was about men's inability to see a woman on the Throne. That and your daughter didn't helped matters much, like the spoiled little princess she was she thought that she was about any laws and duties and had a few bastards that she tried to pass as legitimate, sprung away almost all her supporters and as if that wasn't enough she gone mad and killed her only unwavering supporter."
"Daemon, she killed Daemon." He was going to be sick. The future Maenera was painting was a horrible one and he knew, he knew she still didn't tell him everything. Part of him of him regretted that he asked.
"Yes... Indirectly. She sent orders to bring Nettle's head, a bastard girl that she believed Daemon was sleeping with. Nettle was actually his bastard daughter, Daemon send her away and left to fight alone, still supporting Rhaenyra, after everything. He won the battle, Daemon is a one man army when he has a goal, but lost his life in the process."
It was not a pretty picture. When she told him that his brother will die with his dragon in battle he didn't think that his daughter was the one to sentence him to death. Like his sister said, it was indirectly, but Viserys knew, he knew that the moment Rhaenyra signed his daughter death warrant Daemon was lost. He knew his brother, he would do anything for his children, even if he didn't have any yet. The choice was between saving himself and saving his daughter, his brother must have known that sending his daughter away and fighting alone was a death sentence, assuming that his daughter was a dragon rider as well, because he couldn't imagine a world where a child of Daemon was not a dragon rider, bastard or not.
"So no Viserys, I do not treat you the same, because you are King and your word is law, and your uncontested actions will kill Daemon."
***
When the night began to fall Daemon made his was back to his brother chambers where he found a catatonic brother and a lost in visions sister. His brother was lost in his mind, white as a sheet looking into distance with unseeing eyes. He approached him slowly and put his palm on his brother's shoulder. His brother reacted bad, he jumped out of his skin, eyes franticly moving around the room.
"What the hell happened Viserys, when I left both of you were fine, now you look at me like you've seen a ghost and Maenera over there is so lost in visions she didn't even heard me come in."
"Fine, everything is fine, more than fine. We are good, perfect. Aren't we Maenera?" His brother asked a little too loudly snapping his sister from her vision.
"Huh?" His sister intelligently replied.
"Yes, see, we are fine. Now don't you both have some business to take care of tonight?" His brother asked taking both his sister and himself by the arm and starting dragging them towards the secret passages. "Yes, very busy I hear, a bad whore or something of the like, yes that was it, give her a stab from me will you? Bye now. " His brother said pushing them both out of his room and into the passage closing the door after them.
"What the fuck did you do?" Daemon asked Maenera.
"Why the fuck are you assuming I did something? Maybe he finally gone mad."
"What. Did. You. Do!"
"Fine. Viserys asked some questions and didn't like the answers."
"What questions?"
"Future questions."
"Let me see if I got this right. Viserys asked you some questions, probably about the future, and you gave him the answers, probably in the most traumatizing way posible to make him take different decisions." Daemon translated.
"Yes, that's pretty much it. "
"For fucks shake Maenera, give him a break."
" I was, he was the one that started asking questions!"
They continued their bickering as they walked through the passages. The bickering degenerating when they arrived in the city both of them starting to push each other. Maenera catching Daemon off guard, tripped him, making him fall straight to his face. He got up slowly and a smirk took over his face. She began to run and he gave chase. At some point or another they started laughing. He chased her through the empty streets, her laughter hitting the walls and creating echoes. Daemon finally catched her, she was a fast little thing. Right then, in that moment, she was the most beautiful creature he ever had the honor to lay eyes upon.
Maenera, in his arms, looking up at him with a wide smile, face flushed pink from the running and breathing fast. She was looking like a goddess. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on hers, their breaths mingling. They stayed like this for a time, just listening to each others breaths their hearts beating out of control. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Maenera already looking at him. Her green and lavender eyes staring into his violet ones. He took her head between his palms and kissed her softly on her forehead, afterwards he took her small hand in his and together started walking towards Misaria's brothel.
***
The brothel was full of naked women and men, drinking, singing and fucking. It felt blasphemous somehow, to bring Maenera here, but they weren't here for pleasure, they were here on business. With her hand still in his he made his way through the people to arrive to the room he knew Misaria was occupying. Without knocking he let himself in and low and behold there was the whore. Misaria scrambled to her feet and give him a courtesy.
"My Prince, you didn't send word you were coming. " He didn't responded chosing to pour himself and his sister some wine. After he gave his sister her cup and took a sip from his he began talking.
"Tell me my dear Lady Misery, at what point in time did you decided to betray me?" Misaria's eyes widened.
"My Prince, I can assure you..."
"I do not need your assurances. I need you to tell me when you decided it was a good idea to betray me."
He could see her lost for words, her breath quickening while still trying to maintain a straight face.
"I never betrayed you, my Prince"
"Now, now, don't be a lier as well. You started selling my secrets to Otto Hightower, what I am interested in, is when." Misaria was quiet for a time, before her eyes became hard and she tilted her head. He admired her fire once.
"When you fucked of gods know where and left me alone in this fucking city for months. " That was more than two years ago... Fuck.
"You do realize that you signed your own death."
"You can't kill me, you need me too much." She replied, but he saw in her eyes a flicker of fear.
"Good bye, my Lady Misery." He said taking his sword and running her through. He sat there looking at her corpse, his sword still in hand blood dripping of it.
"It's alright to be sad, you know. I know se wasn't just your whore, she was your companion and confidant, your friend."
"She wasn't my friend. " But I was hers remained unsaid. He cleaned his sword putting it back, took his sister hand and began walking home. If there were some tears in his eyes, his sister thankfully did not mention.