LAENYS VELARYON, Lady of the Tides, princess of Dragonstone, youngest daughter of Corlys Velaryon-Lord of the Tides-and Rhaenys Targaryen-the Queen Who Never Was.
No one in all the realms believed that Rhaenys was with child when she announced it pu...
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(sexual themes & scenes, suicide mention)
Torn pages from books littered Laenys' room, each fragment detailing the infamous reign of Maegor the Cruel, the notorious King of the Seven Kingdoms. The man who had annihilated entire houses and murdered innocents by way of beheading or ripping their hearts from their ribs. His six wives, married out of desperation for an heir, had suffered under his cruelty, with two meeting their deaths at his enraged hands. Laenys paced back and forth, her face lined with stress, and her eyes red and irritated from sleepless nights. Was this the man people likened her to? Someone as inhumane, selfish, and power-hungry as Maegor?
Her stomach churned with nausea.
Was this who she was? Cruel?
They had every good reason to name her as such. She had murdered Lord Borros, slaying him without mercy. Lord Dalton had met a similar fate, as had the late Lord Lannister, their deaths stained her hands with blood.
Was she truly as monstrous as they believed? Was there any redemption for someone who had walked such a dark path?
As Laenys paced she mumbled words under her breath, she tried convincing herself that she had good reason to have slain whom she did. Apart from the little boy, that poor boy. No more than four years in age, slain before he had a chance at life. More hot tears slid down her cheeks a wave of guilt attacked her like a rabid animal feasting his meal.
A soft knock sounded on her door before it opened, before the princess had time to gather her thoughts Lord Cregan walked into the room, his face painted with worry.
Laenys looked over at the door, watching as the Stark halted his movements, eyeing the torn pages on the floor... on her desk and bed. He noticed that they were all various stories from King Maegor's reign. His heart panged as he realized that the small folk's words had struck a cord, a cord that would be of great difficulty to heal. His eyes trailed up to the bed, messily arranged. He saw Laenys leaning against the wooden pole of her bed fixture. Her eyes stared into the empty space in the room.
"Do you think I am cruel?" she asked, her voice hoarse. Cregan face twisted with disbelief before he took another step towards her.
"No, princess..." he said before walking up to Laenys, his brooding figure cast a shadow across her sunken face. His hands cupped Laenys' face, her skin was icy cold to the touch. "You are not another Maegor. You are Laenys. You have the capacity for remorse, for change. Maegor relished in his cruelty; you are tormented by it. That is the difference."
Laenys eyes trailed up to look at Cregan's sympathetic expression, his eyes held a wave of emotion. He was right, here Laenys was. She had barely slept or eaten since the death of Prince Lucerys Velaryon. She had been tormented by nightmares, taunting her... frightening her to no end. It was an endless hell.
