𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍'𝐒 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 | Ser Criston Cole

² ● manipulation is a virtue

ELISE

As she stared at her father's door, Elise wondered how she was going to ask him the question. Being a Hightower meant that she was part of a fiercely religious house, one that valued the Gods over everything.

Well, the Gods and family.

Family was all that mattered to the Hightowers. Even now when Alicent was still young, all she talked about was having children of her own one day.

Elise despised the thought of having children. She was convinced that she would be a terrible parent, just like her father... 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳... and she didn't enjoy the thought of having some old Lord's children just to further his house's bloodline.

And more importantly, she did not want to marry a child.

It was almost certain that she would marry for political gain for her father and not for love.

If Elise was part of a different house, her views might have been accepted.

But the Hightowers would not accept her that quickly, especially because she didn't value the Gods the way they did. She didn't value family the way they did. She might as well have not been a Hightower.

Elise didn't realize how much she had in common with her father, however.

Otto Hightower valued nothing more than power. Power was all he cared about, and being the second son of a noble house didn't give him much at first.

Now he remained Hand of the King, the most powerful position any Hightower had ever been bestowed upon.

But still, he wanted more.

Long ago when the King first learned that his wife was with child, he wanted his daughter to marry the King's son.

And Elise was the perfect fit for a princess. The eldest daughter marrying the eldest son. But a son was never something that the Gods were willing to grant King Viserys.

The first babe to be born was a boy who died after living only a day, and Aemma's second pregnancy resulted in two girls, leaving Otto with no one to marry his eldest daughter.

Trying to get his eldest son to marry Princess Rhaenyra was foolish, and Princess Maena was useless to him in more ways than one.

She, much like himself, was the second daughter of the King and had no way of securing the Iron Throne for herself or her children.

And besides the fact that any children sired from her womb would never be able to sit on the Iron Throne, many speculated that she would end up like Queen Aemma.

It was no secret that the Queen had issues with her fertility, and the Lords and Ladies of the court feared that Maena would turn out the same.

Maena could never give him what he truly wanted. His blood on the Iron Throne.

A knock on the door pulled Otto out of his thoughts. "Enter..." He spoke, his voice harsh. He did not like to be interrupted.

When he saw who was at the door, however, his demeanor changed. "Oh, Elise..." He trailed off, continuing his previous task of preparing a raven for Oldtown.

Elise slowly entered his chamber, her dark blue dress flowing behind her as she closed the door behind her.

"I apologize for interrupting you, Father." Otto looked up at his daughter, offering a smile that was meant to give her comfort, but it only made her more uncomfortable.

"A visit from you is never an interruption." If this were an ordinary situation, Elise would've smiled at his words, only for his comfort, but her face remained stoic.

"I've come to ask a question." Otto nodded, looking back down at the wax seal he was preparing. "Ask, by all means." He responded.

Elise thought hard about what she was about to ask and ultimately decided against asking her father what his plan for Queen Aemma's babe would be after he was born.

Thinking quickly to avoid suspicion, she looked down at her father's hands. "The Raven... who's it for?" Her father looked up, letting out a chuckle. It was a terrifying sound to hear.

"For your aunt in the Vale..." Elise nodded as she sat down on one of the open chairs as Otto put the raven down.

"You were wondering about the young Prince..." He spoke, causing Elise's eyes to widen. How did he know exactly what she was thinking? Was she that predictable?

"No." Otto stared up at his daughter. "Elise, I raised you. I know when you're lying." She sighed, looking down.

The only reason she wanted to ask her father what his plan with the babe was, was because she didn't want to be betrothed to a child.

She already knew about his plan to marry her to the King's firstborn son, but that plan failed the day the babe died.

She was foolish to think that her father would give up his efforts to have his blood on the throne.

"I won't make you marry a child, Elise." She felt a sigh of relief escape her mouth. "Thank you, Father." She said, not realizing what her father was already planning.

He could tell when she lied, but she could not tell when he lied.

Manipulation was a virtue to him, and he was so skilled at it that not even his own daughter could distinguish when her father was being genuine.

She just chose to believe him because she thought that the few prayers she'd said in her life would pay off.

Once again, Elise Hightower was foolish.

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A/N- AAAHH! Elise's first chapter! The plan is coming together...