-Chapter 139-
-POV Rhaenyra Targaryen-
"Cousin," I said as I stepped forward to offer my hand to my cousin.
Aemon took my hand and kissed it while giving me a big smile.
He then looked at Alysanne and said:
"So here are the two future queens of our magnificent kingdom."
I smiled, then motioned to a distracted Alysanne to step forward and said to her:
"Come greet your uncle Aemon, my dear."
Alysanne complied and made a small, perfect curtsy, just as I had taught her, before saying:
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, my uncle."
Aemon smiled and said:
"The honor is mine, little princess."
"Hello, my name is Rhaena..." said one of the two little girls clinging to Aemon's side, reaching out to Alysanne.
"...And I am Baela," said the other, finishing her twin's sentence.
I raised an eyebrow at the overly... spontaneous attitude of the two little girls, and Aemon said:
"Don't blame them, it's my fault. I am a terrible father. I don't know how to set limits for them."
"Your boys don't seem to have that problem," I said, observing the two boys standing beside their mother, standing as straight as rods, silently watching everything around them.
"The boys are a different story," Aemon said in a more reserved tone before motioning for his sons to approach.
"Pay your respects to the king, the future queen, and her heir," Aemon instructed his two sons, who bowed respectfully before saying in unison:
"We greet Her Highness, the future queen, and her heir."
"It seems your boys are rather well-mannered," I said, gently caressing the cheek of one of them.
'And rather tall,' I thought as I observed the two little boys who were anything but little.
'Those two look nothing like five-year-old boys. They look more like ten-year-old children,' I thought, comparing them to my own sons, who were larger than normal children, surely due to their father's build.
I gestured to my children's nurse, who was taking care of them, and once she was close, I said:
"Here is my nurse. Since we have matters to discuss, she will take care of your children."
Aemon scrutinized me for a few seconds before accepting, then motioned to two young men and said:
"Accompany my children."
The two young men nodded and left without a word, accompanying the nurse, my children, and Aemon's children.
Then, my father said:
"Let's go. The servants will show our guests where they will be staying."
---
-POV Aemon Targaryen-
As we all made our way to the council chamber, I understood that my trial was about to begin.
But I was not afraid at all, because if I had decided to come to the capital after so many years, it was because I had chosen to take the bull by the horns and prepare the ground as best as possible for the war that was soon to come.
'By removing the alchemist Lin from Viserys, I have weakened his health, and in a few years, he will die just like in the original story.'
'The alchemist told me it was a very rare, non-contagious form of leprosy that slowly but surely consumed the entire body until it was completely devoured.'
'There is no cure for this disease. One can only fight against it for as long as the body allows,' I thought, knowing the physical condition of our dear king, whom I had condemned to death without hesitation, given the problems we had faced in recent years.
Observing Daemon, Larys, and Otto Hightower from the corner of my eye, I could sense discomfort, fear, and even anger in some of them.
'He had better be careful,' I thought, as I had now properly secured my investments and assets far from the long claws of these hyenas.
'Time for the counterattack, and let's see how well you handle taking the blows this time.'
Upon entering the room, I immediately noticed that there were not enough chairs for all of us to sit, and I said to a young cupbearer:
"Go fetch comfortable chairs."
"You are no longer in the Vale..."
"And where are you going to sit?" I asked, freely taking a seat to the right of His Majesty, while gesturing to my mother, my two wives, and my mother-in-law to sit as well, leaving Gunthor and Willem to stand behind us, hands on the hilts of their swords.
Otto Hightower's jaw tightened as he saw me sitting in his place without hesitation, taking up half of the available seats—a habit of mine that amused me.
"You..."
He stopped just in time, feeling his daughter's hand on his arm, and said nothing more.
So I added, seeing the young cupbearer at the door:
"Bring us another table as well."
"Very well. While we wait for the new seats to arrive, we could..."
"HOW DARE YOU?!!" Daemon roared, slamming his fist on the table.
"Dare to do what? I've done so many things in my life, unlike some people," I said, frowning, my falsely calm and smiling demeanor evaporating instantly.
"You had NO RIGHT!" Daemon shouted, furious.
"The right to what, Daemon?" said Rhea in a cold tone that, for a second, managed to put Daemon in his place.
Daemon, in a less venomous tone, said:
"Your damn son stole my kingdom and gave it to a mere pirate!"
"Your kingdom?" Otto said mockingly.
But Daemon, too angry at me, did not even acknowledge the mockery and continued, saying to me:
"Because of you, my wife is dead!"
I burst out laughing despite the raging anger threatening to explode and said:
"If your wife is dead, Daemon, it is solely because of you."
Daemon, sitting to the left of Viserys, abruptly stood up and shouted, furious:
"Repeat what you just said!"
"You killed her, Daemon," I said without wavering before adding:
"I warned all the ports affected by the epidemic, and I agreed to lift your exile. If you had been less proud, your wife would still be alive, and you would still be King of the Stepstones."
"You have no respect for the king. You are..."
"Shut up!" "Shut up!"
We stared at each other for a long time, then I said:
"You had no reason to act against me, and you know it. I never attacked you first."
"You allied with the Sea Snake, with whom I was in conflict, and you burned my ships!" he said, his anger still present, not diminishing.
"I made a trade alliance with my father-in-law, and you sank our ships," I said before adding:
"I merely returned the favor by burning yours in retaliation."
A short silence followed my statement, then I said:
"Own up to the consequences of your actions, Daemon. If you hadn't been foolish enough to be manipulated by the viper sitting next to you, we wouldn't have ended up here."
Daemon frowned at the insult before turning to Otto, who was staring at me, shocked by the revelation I had just made.
"What, have you lost your tongue? Aren't you going to take responsibility for the little Machiavellian plan you concocted?" I asked Otto Hightower, who was still frozen in shock.
"What are you talking about?" asked Rhaenyra.
I did not respond to my cousin but simply fixed my gaze on Otto, waiting for him to say something.
Feeling everyone's eyes on him, he turned to the king and said:
"Your Majesty, I swear that I..."
"Stop," I said in a nonchalant tone before adding:
"Stop lying. I'm tired of watching you wriggle around, thinking you can manipulate everyone until Aegon is old enough to claim what you believe is his. You should be drawn and quartered for nearly succeeding in bringing about the downfall of our House."
"This is pure slander. You have no proof of your claims. The king is just and will not execute me based on the word of a traitor," he said, spitting out the last word as if I had stabbed Viserys in the back, like Jaime Lannister.
I rolled my eyes, then said, feeling everyone's eyes shift to me:
"You have a real talent for twisting situations in your favor."
"Do you have any proof?" Rhaenyra asked, hiding her excitement well in her expression, though not in her tone.
"I don't need proof. It is obvious that it was him, and I am not even trying to prove it to have him executed. Because if I had wanted the death of anyone at this table, I could have simply hired a Faceless Man. The job would have been done quickly, believe me," I said before adding a few seconds later:
"We are all part of one and the same family, and that is why I have brought the children to meet the rest of their kin. I want our family to remain united to face the rest of the world, but it will be on my terms."
"Aemon..." said Viserys, trying to stop me.
"No, on my terms," I said before adding:
"I did not leave the Vale for the reasons I have just mentioned, but do not think that any of you, or even all of you together, can do anything against Urrax. Vhagar is already too much of a problem for you, and she is old and slow. Believe me when I say that, even alone, I doubt a single dragon would survive a confrontation with him."
Viserys frowned for a few moments at the threat but still said:
"What are your conditions?"
"I am a reasonable man, so I will have only one," I said before pointing at the pin Otto Hightower was wearing.