Sunrise and Moonlight | Bastard&Usurper Rhaenyra AU | House of the Dragon |

Otto I

AN: Hello.

So, as promised, here is a thiccer chapter. In this one, we are going into the nitty gritty of the politics of this AU.

Also, a quick reminder. This takes place the same day as the rest of the POVs. The day after Aemma's death.

I won't keep you long and will reserve my comments for the end notes.

I only want to give a small content warning for misogyny. It is an Otto POV, so we kind of expect it of him.

In any case, I hope you all enjoy. Feedback is always welcome.

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110 A.C.

"Will the Princess of Dragonstone be joining us today?" Otto asked, looking around the gathered Small Council. "Or are we to begin without her?"

"It is her nameday...'' the King began, eyes cast downwards and voice hoarse. "Allow her to enjoy the day. She need not worry about these ... clerical matters,'' he finished in what was almost a wheeze.

The King was in a sorry state, crumpled into himself and glassy-eyed. A constant tremble racked him, almost as if he was sick with a fever. Viserys looked like a broken man, clearly too grief-stricken to care about appearances and image.

Otto's eyes fell on the King's hand. It was on the table, tightly but gently clasped by the Queen. She was the rock he held on to, Otto thought. He did not think the king would be present at the small council were it not for the Queen. What little composure His Grace still had was thanks to her.

It reminded Otto of an anchor.

"And what about the Commander of the City Watch?" Lyonel Strong, Master of Laws, pipped up. "It is not unusual for Prince Daemon to be late.'' He finished in a neutral tone. There was no judgment, only a statement of fact.

"The Prince will not be in attendance today," Otto mused to the rest of the gathered council. "We all know where he flies." The Hightower noticed his Grace flinch as the words came out of his mouth; he also noticed the almost instant tightening of the Queen's hold on his hand.

Tension lingered after those words. It did not surprise Otto. The entire city had been tiptoeing around the issue for almost a day and a half now. No one wanted to be the one to broach the subject first.

That was one of the reasons Otto found himself regretting the absence of the Rogue Prince. Daemon would have had no qualms in breaking the silence that held the Red Keep in its iron grip. However, that was not the only reason Otto lamented his absence.

Despite everything, Otto Hightower had welcomed the inclusion of the King's brother into the Small Council. In Daemon, Otto had found a sympathetic voice against the encroaching dornish interests. The King's brother had become an unlikely, if tenuous, ally in the politics of the Realm. Even if the animosity and skepticism Daemon held for the dornish was only matched by the animosity and skepticism he felt for the Hand of the King.

"Then we can begin." Tyland Lannister, Master of Ships, spoke with a particular insistence. "I have urgent news on the Stepstones." The blonde breathed out.

The situation in the Stepstones had doubtless been the cause of many sleepless nights for the younger Lannister twin, who had just recently been appointed Master of Ships. The man was sure to bring them up in every Small Council session.

For years, Corlys Velaryon, the previous Master of Ships, had insisted on taking the Stepstones to secure the vital shipping lanes that ran through the Narrow Sea. However, when the King decreed that the campaign would come as a joint effort between the Crown and the Martells of Sunspear and that it would be the Dornish to occupy the islands, the Sea Snake left King's Landing in protest.