Better Than Revenge// Otto Hightower (1)

19. Heart Hurts

"Viserys." Gaena whispered.

"Hello sweetie." Viserys whispered back as she sat down next to him she slumped onto the couch her head falling to his lap. "What happened?"

"Heart break." Gaena answered honestly and Viserys stared down at her.

"I didn't know someone held your heart." Viserys remarked. Gaena opened her mouth but a small sigh escaped her lips. "Oh sweetie what happened?" Gaena turned to look up at him.

"I think I hate men now." Gaena told him simply.

"Me included?"

"No... Daemon is a dick but I like you still Vis." Gaena assured bringing a soft hand up to his chin. "How long did your heart ache after Aemma?"

"It still aches at times." Viserys admitted.

"Something in me..." Gaena brought a hand over her heart. "He broke it.' Her fingers trailed over her chest. "He broke it and I don't think its ever going to work the same."

"Oh Gaena." Viserys ran a hand along her side as she closed her eyes.

"My heart Vis."

"You didn't love whats his face." Viserys remarked.

"I didn't love...'' Gaena chuckled "Lewis." Gaena kept laughing and Viserys loved her laugh. "Lewis Lannister. It's really not that hard to remember." Gaena remarked.

"There's that smile I love so much." Viserys said softly.

"My heart hurts Vis."

"You never fall in love gently, that's why it is called falling." Viserys told her.

"Maybe next time I don't fall in love I... walk towards love?" Gaena offered.

"Sounds like a good idea." Viserys agreed leaning over and kissing her forehead. "Gaena... what do you think I should do about all this?" Gaena looked up at him silently. "Laena..."

"No. Don't do it." Gaena told him immediately "She is a child and I don't want Rhaenys here all the time I can barely stand her as it is."

"Gaena!" Viserys declared through a laugh.

"What? She is our cousin and she is awful and greedy and bitchy and I can keep going the list of names I can call her are endless." Gaena informed him.

"I'm sure they are." Viserys agreed. "I need to choose."

"You need to take your time. This is your life and your future and you need someone that is going to make you happy, not just someone the realm likes. You are going to have to deal with this woman everyday. For the rest of your life." Gaena reminded him. "Sure, don't chose a whore like Daemon but pick someone that makes you smile."

"Thank you Gaena."

"My heart breaks and yours is forced into a new relationship, we are quite the pair." Gaena told him. "Loveless and alone for ever."

"We are young." Viserys reminded her. "You so more than me but still, there is plenty of time for love."

"I hope you are right Viserys."

+

"No, please, Lord Lyonel. I have come looking for an unencumbered opinion." Viserys remarked leaning over the table with urgency.

"That's all I would ever give, Your Grace." Lyonel assured.

"Ever since my name was read by the archmaesters at the Great Council, I have felt Corlys Velaryon's envious gaze staring at me from across the Blackwater."

"You sit upon the highest seat in the realm, Your Grace. Proud men don't like having to look up." Lyonel remarked.

"Laena Velaryon."

"Lord Corlys is your Master of Ships and she is the eldest daughter of the wealthiest house in the realm. She comes from unimpeachable Velaryon stock and she has Targaryen blood." Lyonel told him. "What's to mislike?"

"She is 12."

"She will mature. "

"I never asked to remarry."

" As King, you have a claim on all things. Even those you don't want. Marriage is not an obligation you can put off for long."

"What if I was to reject Lord Corlys's proposal?" Viserys suggested

"He would not be like to take it well. I fear nothing short of a direct line to the Iron Throne would satisfy him. You should also consider that we find ourselves on the precipice of war in the Stepstones. And the Sea Snake holds claim to nearly half the realm's ships." Lyonel told him.

"He would not dare withhold them in the face of the realm's need. Who is he to hector me?" Viserys countered

"No one, Your Grace. But Driftmark makes for a better ally than it does an enemy. The Sea Snake has made a calculated reach, a fair play for a man of his position. If you truly want my unencumbered opinion..." Lyonel questioned.

"I do."

"You should wed Laena Velaryon, Your Grace. Sate Lord Corlys and fix him at your side, permanently, as an ally." Lyonel told him as the door swung open.

"Your Grace," Ser Steffon announced. 'the Princess has returned from Dragonstone.'

'Dragonstone?' Viserys questioned.

+

"Your Grace."

"You disobeyed me. You fled King's Landing without a word and you acted without The Crown's leave. You are my only heir. You could've been killed." Viserys shouted at his daughter.

"May I sit?" Rhaenyra said bored as she walked past him to take a seat.

"You went to Dragonstone." Viserys shouted.

"And retrieved the egg without bloodshed." Rhaenyra told him calmly. "A feat I'm not sure Ser Otto could've accomplished alone." She added. "Gaena has confidence in him but I do not."

"Yes, well..." Viserys chuckled. 'I sometimes forget how alike you both were.' He said with a sigh. 'Your mother's absence is a wound that will never heal. Without her... the Red Keep has lost a warmth that I dare say it will never recover."

"It pleases me to hear you say this." Rhaenyra told him "To know that I'm not alone in my grief."

"I wish I had known better what to say to you in the aftermath. I struggled to realize that my daughter had so quickly become a woman grown. But I know... she understands what is now expected of me." Viserys told her

"The King must take a new wife."

"I could never replace your mother. No more than I intend to replace you as heir. But you are my only heir and our line is vulnerable, too easily ended. And by marrying again, I may begin to ensure that we are better defended." Viserys told her.

"Against whom?"

"Whomever may dare to challenge us. I do not wish to make us estranged."'

"You are the King... and so, your first duty is to the realm. Mother would've understood this. Just as I do." Rhaenyra assured him.