To Take What Is Rightfully Ours

Chapter 5. Taking Back The Right To Choose

Daemon hadn't seen his daughter since he went to talk to Viserys in private, and he was getting just a little bit worried. Don't get him wrong, he realized that Diane was a grown adult and didn't need supervision. He wasn't worried about that. It was just... Considering all the stories his daughter told him since she was sent back in time, usually when she abruptly disappeared, someone somewhere died or ended up in really bad shape. And not like Daemon would be particularly against it - in some cases, he would even be extremely supportive - but at that time the Red Keep was full of people Diane held a grudge against which meant a lot of temptation to throw someone off a balcony.

Daemon's worries were put at ease however when Diane and Rhaenyra came to the "family" dinner together. They were laughing and talking about something, and Daemon was happy to see Rhaenyra smiling. She didn't really have a lot to be happy about in recent years, and he was glad his daughter managed to cheer her up.

Otto, on the other hand, didn't seem very happy about the princess getting close to Diane. He even tried to voice his disapproval about Daemon naming Diane his heir, but thankfully Viserys shut him down pretty fast. And Alicent... Daemon wasn't sure what exactly her face was doing, but he figured it was a look of jealousy.

Good.

Alicent should see that Rhaenyra was perfectly happy without her.

Diane was seated next to him for obvious reasons, and it gave Daemon the ability to hear all the questions directed to her and maybe help out if she needed it. For the most part, she didn't, which was unsurprising but impressive all the same. Daemon wondered if they ever had family dinners like that in another timeline with Diane sitting with them. Well, surely not with Viserys or Cunttowers, but with him, and Rhaenyra, and all the countless kids they had. He hoped so. Because, even though Diane never held it against him and never complained, it seemed like she never really felt like a part of their family even though she literally died for them. Daemon hoped it would be different this time around.

When Viserys and Otto engaged in a conversation about something politics-related, Diane leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, 'Criston Cole is a traitor.'

Daemon glanced at the man who was standing near the door and guarding... something. It was weird they had guards at their "family" dinner in the first place.

'But he is Rhaenyra's personal guard,' Daemon answered quietly.

'Exactly.'

Okay, that was... not precisely bad, but not good. They had to deal with it and had to deal with it fast. There was no way to know if Ser Criston was already a traitor or not, so they had to operate on the assumption that he was. Which meant he couldn't be trusted with Rhaenyra's safety.

'Do you want me to slice his pretty little neck?' Diane asked, emphasizing the "k" sound.

Daemon looked at her. The thought was appealing, he wouldn't lie. But if they took out Cole now, they would have no idea who would take his place. No, they had to find someone who they could trust first, and then deal with Ser Criston. So Daemon answered, 'Not right now.'

'Sure,' Diane said cheerfully and turned her attention back to her plate. 'Just tell me when.'

Daemon couldn't help but chuckle. He created a monster and, Gods help him, he was proud.

***

Later that night Daemon left an invitation for Rhaenyra to meet him late in the evening and the instructions on how to use the hidden passages. His first idea was to take his niece to the city in disguise so they could have some fun, but then he decided to revisit it later. For now, he just wanted to talk to her in private.