Heir of Shadows, Rhaenyra x Alicent

Chapter 1. Rhaegar Targaryen

Rhaenyra's only fault in life is having been born a girl. As the eldest, and only, child of King Viserys a lot of pressure had been put on her to do what was best for the family and the crown. She did her part as well as she could in hopes that one day she would have a brother who could take on some of her burdens, but just after her sixth name day, her mother died whilst giving birth to a stillborn boy. Her father was distraught, both from the loss of his wife and the fact he had no living male heirs to succeed him.

"The realm will never accept a Queen." She had heard him say many times. The king refused to remarry as his council advised, leaving him with an impossible predicament.

It was not until well after her seventh name day that he finally came to her with a proposition. "Rhaenyra, my daughter, I wish for you to rule but the realm will never accept it. With no male heir of my own, Daemon is next in line for the throne.. but I cannot allow him to rule. I am left with a difficult but necessary choice."

"What do you propose father?" She had asked.

He hesitated before lowering a hand on her shoulder. "Become my male heir."

The plan was quite simple. Rhaenyra would change her name and appearance and pretend to be the male heir the King had never had. It was relatively easy to implement as the public barely knew of her.  The 'death' of Rhaenyra Targaryen caused nationwide mourning but the appearance of the young Prince Rhaegar filled people with hope again. Most did not question the appearance of this new child, it was not uncommon for royals to keep their children out of the public eye until they came of a certain age, and any suspicion people had disappeared as the years wore on. The King replaced his council after the switch, bar his hand Otto Hightower, and soon the realm forgot about the late Princess.

Rhaegar was a strong Prince, at only three-and-ten Rhaenyra had already mastered the performance of 'being a boy'. Luckily for her, she was taller than most girls her age and very fit from dragon riding and sport. Her hair was cut short and she always dressed in many layers to hide her newly forming figure. Her feminine face was often perceived as just being 'a beautiful boy' and she always spoke confidently to try and hide her high-pitched voice. Overall, she passed very well for a young Targaryen Prince, with her dark outfits adorned with silver dragon scales, bright violet eyes, and slicked-back silver hair. The realms delight. A handsome, intelligent, athletic Prince educated in the arts and combat.

Only a few knew of her secret: her father, the hand, her uncle, and a few of her closest servants. To the rest of Westeros, she was Viserys's heir, his son, the future king of the seven kingdoms. There had been a few close calls where a noble or staff member had almost caught her in a state of undress and accidentally revealed her secret, but overall many steps had been taken to ensure her secrecy.

Rhaenyra sat under the Weirwood tree reading a book she had found at the Sept as a bard played her favourite songs. She had little interest in military history but as her father had said 'all kings must learn'. Viserys's reign had been one of peace and she wanted her own rule to be the same, so she doubted she'd have much use for military history.

She had spent half her life as Rhaegar she walked, talked, and acted like a boy. It helped she had always behaved a bit more masculine than other girls her age and always had the headstrong mindset often found in young men. Although she sometimes yearend for the life she could have had she was happy with the freedom this lifestyle brought her.

Her attention was taken from her book as she heard footsteps approaching behind her. "Prince Rhaegar. His Grace the King requests your presence in the Great Hall."

Rhaenyra looked up and saw one of her servants, Edya, standing before her. She sighed softly, wondering what her Father could want with her now. "I will be right there, Edya. Thank you."