Rhaenyra and Daemon - Behind closed doors HOTD fanfiction

A loveless prospect/Unleashing the beast

Daemon

I didn't take Caraxes to Runestone, I wanted to be a bit more discreet than flying in on my dragon, so I traveled by boat to Gulltown and on horseback the rest of the way. May the Warrior give me strength to do the things that are necessary for the good of the realm, and to make me available for Rhaenyra before it was too late. Or at least to be able to make a stronger alliance to support Rhaenyra's claim to the throne. I have both selfish and unselfish reasons for the dreadful actions I now must take.

All through my life, I have sacrificed other people to get what I want and what my family needs. It's not because I enjoy it, I do it because I want to keep my family and our legacy strong. We are Targaryans and nobody stands above us, everyone else must know that and if they forget, I will remind them. Are we evil? Perhaps. Am I evil? Probably. I can live with that. Life itself is evil, with death as its only real promise.

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I could say I didn't have a choice but I did, and I decided on the darkest one available. I took the life of my wife, not directly but for sure her death rests upon my shoulders. I'm a man used to killing, but I have never before killed a woman. I don't feel guilty about it, my soul is too dark and hardened for that. I couldn't stand the insults anymore, so I snapped. I made a decision and now I must live with it. My biggest concern is if Rhaenyra will figure out what I have done, or whether she will believe the "accident story." I don't want her to think of me as a murderer. She is the only one I would beg forgiveness from.

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I knew I wasn't going to be invited to the wedding, but here I was, I invited myself and was here to offer Rhaenyra a getaway should she want it. Caraxes was ready and I had prepared to have some things sent to us if she wanted to be saved and run away with me to the Braavos instead. I wasn't exactly sure which choice I wanted her to make: to stay and marry Laneor or run away with me, but I had to give her the option at least. After all, it was my fault that she was forced into this marriage. My scandalous, almost seduction of the young and innocent Princess. If they only knew.
It was fortunate that Viserys succeeded in keeping it quiet at least, for the good of the realm.

If Rhaenyra should run away with me it would be a completely different story. We would be banned from the Seven kingdoms and never be able to return, and Viserys would never forgive either of us, but I have decided that it would be worth it. My whole life I had always tried to put the Targaryen family first (I had married Rhea Royce after all). Whisking Rhaenyra off was the opposite of that, but I told myself that her happiness was worth it, should she make that choice.

Rhaenyra

My betrothed was alright, at least he danced very well. Things could have been fine if it wasn't for the brooding guard in the corner and the blond Prince at the end of the table. Ser Criston looked absolutely distraught where he stood, he took my refusal hard. Daemon had invited himself and no one had dared to stop him at the gates. A part of me was pleased to see him and wanted to drag him to a dark corner and kiss him. The other part of me wanted to strangle him, both for what he had done to me and also that he had the nerve to show up here. The idea that he and me being seen together and behaving normally should set a stop to the rumours about us, was pretty stupid. It felt like our chemistry beamed through the room every time he looked at me. Or was that only in my mind?

As I dance with my future husband I can feel the stares on my back from the two men: a cold-and-hot stare from Ser Criston Cole and a steamy burning stare from Daemon. I have a hard time concentrating on the steps in this dance, thank the Seven, Laenor is a skilled dancer and he successfully leads my conflicted body without effort on the dancefloor.