Chapter 40
ALICENT HIGHTOWER
The tension within the Capitol had reached its peak. The King's health continued to deteriorate, and in the small folk whispered about the coming of a war. The realm had enjoyed nearly half a century of peace, but now war was upon the horizon.
Yet this was going to be a war unlike any, for steel would be meaningless in this war. No, this was to be a war of dragons, and in the war of dragons, the realm would burn. Yet Alicent was selfish.
She did not truly care for the war or the realm, for she had no power to save them. No, she cared for only one soul, and one soul only, and had been trying her best to save her from the reckoning coming her way.
Daemon's intentions were obvious to all, and yet none dared to stand against him. Even Rhaenyra's own mother, for all her folly, did failed to see the depravity of her good brother, and so she knew that she had to act.
And in this realm, there was but one person with enough power to defy the rider of Ceraxes. A woman whose name was revered from the deserts of Dorne to the confines of Moll Town beside the wall.
A woman loved by all, who rode the dragon of the Old King himself. The Blessed Princess, Gael Targaryen.
"My lady, I beg you. Please save Rhaenyra," and she had tried searching for another way, and yet had found none. So, now she sat here, pleading with her to save the only person in the realm who brought a smile to her face.
The Princess's face shifted at her words, though she did not immediately answer her request.
"You speak of Daemon's plans to marry her," and she nodded.
"Everyone within the castle knows that the King's body is failing him, and if Seven forbid he were to pass..." and speaking such words infront of a member of the Royal family could be held as treason, yet the Princess did not deny them.
"...then Prince Daemon would sit on the throne, and he has made his intentions quite clear," and so she had come here.
"Please, help her. She has no desire to marry Daemon," and tears welled up in her eyes as she begged her.
"Save her," and the Princess looked into her eyes, and there was conflict in those eyes.
"And what would you have me do?" Gael Targaryen asked, as her fists clenched in frustration.
"Daemon is the heir, and to challenge...."
"I know that the King has asked you to be his heir," and now those eyes widened.
"How do you know that?" she asked, and Alicent's eyes fell to the floor.
"My father sits on the King's Council. The King told them this himself, and asked that preparations be made for a ceremony," and though it was somewhat unconventional, the realm would be better for it.
"That was until you refused to give him an answer," and so she had come here hoping to convince her to take the offer.
"You must accept the throne," and Gael shook her head.
"I can't," the Princess refused.
"I have no desire for it. This city has already taken five precious years of my life from me, and I do not have any more to give," the Princess began.
"The realm will sort itself out, but I cannot accept the thro..."
"But you must, my lady. If not for yourself, then for the thousands that will suffer if Daemon takes that throne. Thousands that include your own niece. If he becomes the King, then Daemon will be unstoppable," and the Princess sighed and began to rub her head.
"I know," she added.
"But I have already asked too much of Galen. I cannot ask him to give up his entire life for me once more. I can't be so cruel to him again," and now the realization dawned on him, as her reluctance began to make sense.
For five years, thousands upon thousands of people had written to Galen, urging him to return to the Seven Kingdoms. They had begged and pleaded, and yet the kind healer had refused their pleas.
He had sent his men. He had sent his medicine. His methods, and yet he had stayed away until now, when it was revealed he was returning to these lands once more.
"You intend on settling down with him," Alicent realised her intentions, and the Princess gave a slow nod.
"I have waited five years for this. He has spent all this time becoming powerful enough to protect our lives, and so I cannot ask him to dedicate his life to a place that nearly took his life," and the Princess rose from her chair.
"I don't wish to impose on him any more than I already have," and she sympathised with her, and yet her love pushed her to continue.
"Healer Galen saved my mother's life," she began, as she remembered that fateful day when, in her most desperate moment, she had run to him for his aid.
"I was too young to understand that we were enemies. That my family had wronged him greatly, and that my own father had orchestrated his expulsion from the Citadel," and when she had learned about it all later, she had been heartbroken, as she came to realise the dilemma that she had put him into.
"For many years, I felt that I owed him a great debt, and so five years ago, when I saw the realm turn against him, I remembered the generosity he had shown me, and decided to pay back the debt I owed him as I gave the Lady Elsa the keys to his cell," and the Princess was not surprised by it.
"I know all this," the Princess whispered, but she shook her head.
"Yes, but before he left, I asked him if he regretted saving the very people who had turned their backs on him?" and the reply had come by the hands of Lady Elsa, and she saw the Princess still at those words.
"What did he say?"
"Never," she repeated the answer he had given her.
"I will never regret saving a life," and a subtle smile came upon her face.
"I know not how you feel about him, but I can say with certainty that Healer Galen will never forsake these lands, for he is the kindest soul I have ever known," and the city had turned on him. They had killed his friends and ruined his life over a few lies, and yet despite all that, he bore them no hate.
None at all.
He blamed himself. Blamed his weakness.
"So, I beg you, Princess. Do not forsake us...." and yet before she could finish, the doors behind her swung open, as a man walked into the room.
"Princess," and it was none other than the Hand of the King himself.
"Lord Strong, what are you doing..."
"Princess, I apologise for my abruptness, but you need to leave the city," and she was taken aback by his words, as she laughed slightly.
"And why would I do that?"
The expression on Lord Strong's face shifted as he bit his lip and met her gaze.
"Because the King is dead...." and just as he uttered those words, the world stilled around her.
"What?" Alicent gasped.
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GAEL TARGARYEN
The words shook her entire being, and just a few days ago she had met with Baelon and they had been talking of him just now. But now he was dead. Gone, just like her father and with his death, war was coming for them all.
"How could it happen?" and the King's Hand had no answer for her.
"It happened so suddenly," he began.
"He was fine before going to bed yesterday, yet he woke weary and ill today. I wanted him to rest, but Prince Daemon came to see him, and despite my objections, he let him into his chambers," and his nervousness was enough to tell her what may have transpired afterwards.
"In his dying moments, he told the Prince the truth that he had replaced him with you as his heir. He asked him to honor it as his last wish, but the Prince refused," and now he met her eyes.
"He promises war!"
And she was still reeling from the shock of her brother's death, yet now she had to deal with a war as well. A war for a throne she had no desire for.
"The city is his," Lyonel Strong admitted with some disgrace.
"The guards and the Gold cloaks are mostly loyal to him. They will follow the Prince," he admitted, and loyalty was a fickle thing.
"But fearing such a day, King Baelon had me devise a plan to have you head to Riverlands and have the lords all pledge their loyalty to you there," and Alicent stepped forward.
"Please go, and take Rhaenyra with you," she begged, but she shook her head.
"I did not ask for this," she spoke in indignation, and she had no desire to be the Queen. She did not wish to rule over the Seven Kingdoms.
"I am afraid you have no choice," the Lord Hand added.
"House Tully, House Stark, and House Martell have all already sworn loyalty to your cause. We just need to get you to the Riverlands safely, and they shall raise an army for you," and so war was here.
"We can retake the city then. Despite his various attempts, Prince Daemon has found only the Tyrells to support his cause, and the Lannisters are still torn between him and the Velaryons, but we cannot waste any time." he stepped forward and handed her the missive with her brother's seal.
"Even now, with every passing second, the Prince gathers his men to stop you. Somehow, he has become aware of our plans, but we can do this. I have prepared a few men and horses that can escort you to the Dragonpit, and once you are mounted on the Bronze Fury, none shall dare to stand in your path," and Alicent Hightower came forward.
"Please, my lady. Go and take Rhaenyra with you. She will be far safer with you than she ever will be in these Halls with Daemon," and Gael had never faced such a choice in her life.
She had never thought that she would face such a choice, and now she was stuck once more in a choice between her love and her duty.
She had to escape the City, but the direction of Vermithor's flight would decide on her fate. She could head to the Bay and take the open waters and search for Galen's ship. She could forego her claim and let the realm burn.
The Velaryons would never accept him as the King, and war would ensue. Some of her own supporters would turn to the Sea Snake, and thousands would die once more as dragons would dance in the air.
Or she could do as her brother had asked of her. She could go to Riverlands and summon an army there. She could write to the Sea Snake and Rhaenys, to alleviate their rage. Perhaps even offer them a seat on her council.
It was a difficult choice, and now once more she found herself holding the fate of the realm in her hands.
"Go and bring Rhaenyra," she ordered, and in the end, she had made her choice. Or it had been made for her. Because Gael, for all her faults, was a kind woman, and she knew it well that thousands would suffer if Daemon was allowed to ascend the throne.
It tore her heart to burden Galen like this once more, but she knew that he would have made the same choice as her.
"Forgive me, Galen," she whispered.
"Thank you, my lady," and with that, Alicent Hightower rushed out of the room, as she turned towards her brother's Hand, yet before she could say anything, the bells rang announcing the King's death as Lyonel Strong looked out the window.
"Come follow me, my Queen...."
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