The Bronze Dragon-A House of the Dragon fanfic

Chapter 37

With all the pieces in place, the Greens could finally make their move to sweep the Iron Throne out from underneath Rhaenyra. It would be done publicly of course; Aegon would be crowned anointed by the High Septon with seven oils, crowned with the Valyrian Steel crown of Aegon the Conqueror, and wield Blackfyre, the Sword of Kings, before thousands.

Such a public crowning would do much for Aegon's legitimacy. Any hope at a negotiated peace between the two sides was gone by now, not that my father noticed it. He still hoped that they could make one final push and avoid complete catastrophe.

It appeared that Lady Rhaenys was the only one able to see things clearly.

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Not much to her surprise, Rhaenys had been confined to her chambers for the entire day. A futile effort to get some sleep as night fell likewise went badly, unable as she was to shake the voice in her head that was shouting at her to do something . This was high treason no matter what definition was used, but the fact that Prince Daeron had likely been confined as well had likely complicated matters. If I can just get to him we can-

Her train of thought was cut off by the sound of a shout from outside her chambers. The door opened, revealing one of the Cargyll twins from the Kingsguard. He held out a cloak towards her. "With me, Princess. I cannot let this treachery stand."

Rhaenys stood. "How can I trust you, Ser Arryk?"

"I'm Erryk, Princess. There's a half dozen Hightower guards on their way right now. We have to go." He handed her the cloak, expecting her to follow him. Much as trust was in short supply right now, Rhaenys knew she didn't have much of a choice. The longer she stayed here, the more impotent she would be.

"What of Prince Daeron? Has he taken part in this treachery?" She asked, taking the cloak.

"No, Princess. He's been confined to his chambers as well."

"Daevar would never forgive me for leaving him here." Rhaenys replied. It would be difficult, but she was certain they could do it.

"There's no time, Princess. We have to go now!" He said, taking her hand and leading her out as quickly and quietly as he could. In times like these, he was grateful that he had read through the layout of the Red Keep regularly. Much as Maegor had tried to destroy all plans of the Red Keep, either some had survived or Jaehaerys I had mapped most of them out again. In no time at all, they were out of the Red Keep.

The view of the city was stunning of course. Any other time, she would've wanted to stay up here.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"South of King's Way." Erryk replied. "The Blackwater's this way." He added, leading them down into the city. Rhaenys was a little confused that the knight was still wearing his Kingsguard armour. Maybe he was hoping the armour would intimidate people into not asking any questions, but it certainly made them look conspicuous, even with the cloaks covering her silver hair.

The trip down to the city was fraught, but Erryk seemed to know what the Goldcloaks' patrol patterns were, and they seemed to thin out the further they got from the castle. Even so, they moved cautiously. Erryk doused his torch, conscious that a lit torch wandering the streets so early in the morning would inevitably invite attention. Even so, they were moving so painfully slowly that the sun had risen before they were even partway into the city. "I'm not leaving without Meleys." She said.

"They'll be expecting you at the Dragonpit. Just-"

"Keep moving!" Shouted someone.

"Go on, move!" Shouted another. There was a crowd beginning to gather in the streets, being marshalled by the City Watch. Erryk tried to lead them down another one of the city's winding streets, but there were Watchmen there as well. Some were mounted, while others pushed people along on foot. The sheer force of the crowd coming from so many directions forced them apart, and they became separated by the throng.