green lies, black hearts

XXXII

a/n - angst and more angst this chap, sorry not sorry my loves, and maybe some truths as well ;)

- mint

~+~

The Lord Hand

"He ensured it would look like an accident. Larys was certain of the man," Otto hummed, pleased with himself as he watched the fire crackle. His daughter sat in silence, auburn hair framing her face as she resorted to that wretched habit of hers: picking her nails until she bled. And then she lifted them to her lips and chewed. Otto turned to her. "Shaera Strong is no more, and your son will do what he must for the good of the family. He will see reason."

Alicent nodded slowly. To convince herself? Perhaps.

"Rhaenyra will also see reason, spoilt girl she still is."

"Maester Orwyle failed to have similar confidence," Alicent snapped. She lifted the demand of surrender Rhaenyra sent. "This! This fails to inspire a similar confidence in me!"

He waved a hand and crossed the room, pouring himself a glass of wine. Otto truly despised when his daughter acted more a queen than his daughter. How often she forgot it was he who put her in this position. He who gave her her power. He who put the crown on her head, and now her son's. An ungrateful girl, he mused silently.

"A false confidence on her part," he dismissed.

"She has threatened my son's life!" his daughter shrieked. A piercing sound. "She has demanded Aegon bend the knee or she will have his head!"

(A fear come to life for Alicent Hightower. How long had she been deemed mad for thinking her father once was right? How long had her children rolled their eyes when she swore Rhaenyra would kill them to keep her throne? How long had she been made to feel like a fool?)

Otto sighed deeply and turned to his daughter, leaning against a table as he sipped his wine. He did not fear Rhaenyra's empty threats. Women mad with grief always said things they did not mean in Otto's experience.

(Though, he was...surprised Rhaenyra had torn up the page he was so certain she would succumb to.)

"She also offered your children terms of peace if they swore loyalty to her. A weakness on her part, and I believe a true insight to her heart." He clicked his tongue. "She is mad with grief over the death of her babe. Pay no mind to her threats, daughter. She is there, and we are here, and the lords and ladies of Westeros know that Aegon is the one true king. Surrender will only come in the form of her own."

Alicent shook her head, dropping her face into her hands, and Otto rolled his eyes.

"She will blame us," she whispered.

(Alicent did not celebrate the death of a babe, and the news stirred illness in her gut.)

"How can she? The loss is hers and hers alone."

"Caused by the news of Aegon and her father, no doubt."

"Does information wield a dagger?" Otto set his glass down and glanced out the window. "Does it bear a banner of a golden dragon? Does any one person care that she endured the same as many before her? Many who could not blame anyone but the gods themselves? None will blame us, and she will only seem bitter and mad. Let her say what she wishes. Let her further prove that if she cannot endure one death, then she cannot endure a throne made of it."

(Alicent's eyes widened at her father's callous words. In a way, she understood. She understood and she agreed. But she also knew that some of the people of Westeros would blame her family on the princess' loss. Some would blame her family and call them cruel and murderers. Kinslayers-was that babe kin to her? How would the Seven look upon them all now?