The House Of Dragons Must Stand United

The GoldTower Rebellion

Note: I had originally planned to make only one epilogue-type chapter, mostly in the form of bullet points highlighting key moments of Rhaenyra's reign. However, the details felt insufficient and here I am with only half of what I had planned for the epilogue. I will have to make another part. Also, there is a moment between Rhaenyra and Aegon in this chapter that had me writing a one-shot about their relationship, making the Dance more heart-aching. AUs about her bonding with her half-siblings always have me emotional. I'm not sure I'll publish that though. Maybe I will on AO3 when I publish this story as well sometime next week. For now, please enjoy this chapter!

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Rhaenyra spent her first night as Queen with the orphans and poor of Kings Landing. She called them all to the feast I had asked Alicent to have prepared. It made me extremely glad to see that the food which was going to be made for the lords to celebrate usurping Rhaenyra's crown was instead shared with those far more deserving. The true people of her realm. 

She didn't make the feast about herself. Yes, she had just been made Queen but she gave priority to the fact that the King had just passed away. She called the people to honor her father instead. There was an overarching sense of sadness following the news of the king's death. The people were not much familiar with Viserys as he had preferred seclusion in his final years but he was a good king. The people came to pay their respects and condolences to the late King's family, even Alicent and Aemond were present but stood at a distance, weary of the new Queen and more so of the new King Consort. However, while the sadness loomed, the people could not help but rejoice in the feast. When was the last time that commoners ate the food of nobles? When would the next time possibly be?

Mostly when noblemen or just rich people in general "help the less fortunate" it is a show for people to see or some selfish itch that they need scratched. The same wasn't the case for Rhaenyra. One look and you could tell that she found real joy in seeing the people, her people, happy. The highlight of the night was when two little girls came to Rhaenyra. You could see from afar that they were mustering their courage with each step they took, stopping multiple times and turning back but ultimately continuing on. They both wore a gray wool rag and a wool hat.

Rhaenyra looked down at the girls as they approached her.

"We're sorry for your loss our Queen," their tiny voices called out in unison. "Please accept our condolences."

The Queen dropped to one knee so that she would be at eye level with the little girls and grabbed a hand of each of hers.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me," Rhaenyra told them, her eyes glistening with the tears she held back. Without warning one of the girls threw her arms around Rhaenyra's neck. She was shocked but did not move. The other took it to mean that she could follow suit and gave Rhaenyra a hug of her own. Rhaenyra melted into the hugs as her eyes finally gave way for the tears to finally slide down her cheek. She held them for a few seconds before letting go, wiping away her tears, and encouraging them to go play with the rest of the kids.

"Mayhaps we could make a habit out of this my Queen," I suggested as Rhaenyra stood back up. She looked around the room knowing I meant arranging such events for commoners.

"Mayhaps we can," she agreed. 

"Sister," I barely whispered but caught her attention nonetheless. "I... had a troubled relationship with father... and we never got a chance to be close. I have reasons to doubt if he even loved me... but there was never any doubt that he loved you as you did him. I am sorry for your loss."

Unconsciously I had bridged the gap between me and Rhaenyra while I spoke and so now stood close enough for her to pull me into a hug when I finished. She hid her face in my shoulder as the tears started to pour. I placed a comforting hand on her back and angled her away from the crowd so no one could see the Queen weeping. All they saw was an embrace between siblings.