❝ There was a feeling of inevitability when I met you. And our lives were fated to converge like some cosmic dance. And I think I had to break your heart and you had to break mine. ❞
As Cressida Black's lungs ceased to draw breath, Aurelia Martell's...
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"I'm preparing her — she's learning at every Small Council meeting she attends."
Edrick scoffed loudly. "And was that enough for you? Was attending meetings of our grandfather's small council enough to prepare you?"
Viserys ground on, the pain at his nephew's words slowly being replaced by the ever-present rage the dragons all carried."I've held the realm together this long, haven't I?"
Edrick straightened, a flash of guilt crossing his face for only a moment before it was replaced once again with anger. "Do not divert this conversation for your own ends, uncle; tell me, just how do you plan on preparing Rhaenyra for the throne? Or do you want her to be like you? Mocked and derided by the —"
Viserys hit him.
It was a quick blow, dealt by an emotional and untrained middle-aged man who instantly retreated back, as surprised by his actions as the man on the receiving end. The Reacher lord's head snapped sideways, the King's fist having landed solidly. Edrick felt his anger rise as pain blossomed in his jaw, hands clenching the desk fiercely, for a moment forgetting that this was his uncle, his king.
He took a few deep breaths, willing himself to accept this as it was, before turning his head back to face the ashen-faced king. "As I was saying, you are weak, Uncle. And Rhaenyra won't have the benefit of having been chosen by the lords, of being a prince. She'll be regarded as a spoiled girl wishing for more than what she is owed."
Viserys was still clearly reeling from having struck the one nephew he had, the boy he had spoiled endlessly whenever he visited court as a child, the closest thing he'd had to a son for years. "So you are trying to tell me you came here to order me around for her."
This time Edrick grunted. "Of course I did. You're setting her up to fail and don't even seem to realize it."
Viserys' lip curled, though Edrick saw a glimmer of doubt in his eyes. "How?"
"If you truly have to ask, Kepus, then I fear she is already doomed."
Viserys took another step towards Edrick, face snarling, and this time Edrick couldn't stop his response. He blocked his uncle's blow with his forearm, knocking Viserys' fist aside and stepping backwards, leaving the king to stumble.
He stared at his uncle in a mixture of surprise and disappointment for a moment before he shook his head and left.
━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━
Vaegon loved his family, the problem was always that he loved knowledge more than he loved anything and his family was always incapable of understanding him. That his father, desperate but still trying to come to some agreement with him and the happiness he wished for him, allowed him to go to the Citadel was in fact the best solution that could have occurred for both parties.
