𝑨 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 // 𝑨𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝑰 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒏

90. Queen Alyssa Targaryen

The door to the tower slowly creaked open, and Alicent, steeling herself, stepped inside. The familiar scent of herbs and parchment greeted her as she entered the Hand's quarters, and her father, seated behind his desk, looked up at her with a serious expression.

He seemed to understand what had happened, nodding his head slightly. "Well played,"

Alicent approached her father with a high chin, taking slow and measured steps. "This is not a game, father. People's lives hang in the balance."

Otto, his gaze unwavering, looked at her steadily. "Yet you treat it as one" a hint of irony in his voice. "Politics, power, strategy - it's all a game, my dear." Otto observed his daughter as she stood before him, a mixture of determination and tension written across her face. After a beat, he spoke.

"We have relied on each other all these years, and now it is the good of the family that we both desire."

He rose from his chair, taking a step towards her. "Whatever our differences, our hearts remain as one,"

"Our hearts were never one," she said, her voice betraying a hint of resignation. "I see that now. Rather I have been a piece on your board - your piece to play and maneuver as you wish."

Otto's expression hardened slightly, a flicker of annoyance flashing across his face. He took a step closer to her, looking down at her with a stern look. "If that is true," Otto countered, his gaze steady. "Then I have made you Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Would you have desired it otherwise?"

Alicent had to suppress a scoff at his words. She knew there was no denying the power she had gained. Yet, the weight of it felt heavy.

Would I have desired it otherwise? she wondered to herself, her mind racing. She fixed her gaze on her father and said, "How would I know?"

Alicent, her words laced with both resignation and a hint of bitterness, spoke again. "I wanted whatever you impressed upon me to want," she said. "And the debt now grows due, a price you were all too happy to pay."

Otto pivoted away from her, walking towards the empty fireplace. He spoke over his shoulder. "It wasn't a price," he said, his voice firm. "It was a sacrifice."

The room fell quiet as the weight of Otto's words hung in the air. He faced away from his daughter, his gaze focused on the empty fireplace. He spoke slowly and calmly. "No king has ever lived that hasn't had to forfeit the lives of a few to protect the many," he said. "I understand your squeamishness, my dear, but this is how power works. And this is how it maintains itself."

"Reluctance to murder is not a weakness!" she snapped, her voice rising with emotion.

"I have Aegon," she pointed her finger at herself. "We'll proceed now as I see fit."

She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "We will send terms to Rhaenyra on Dragonstone," she spoke firmly. "True terms, such that she may accept without shame.

Otto, his expression stoic, countered Alicent's statement. "If she lives, her allies will mass behind her banners, looking for her return," he said, his voice grave.

He stepped closer to her, his gaze fixed firmly on hers. "To leave the seed of her power alive is not just risky," he warned. "It's outright foolish."

"Then she must not return," she stated firmly. "My husband would have desired this mercy be shown to his daughter."

Otto watched her for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, he spoke, his voice taking on a slightly skeptical edge. "Your husband? Or you, his daughter's childhood companion?"