OF BASTARDS & DRAGONS || Aenar Targaryen [1]

59 • ESCAPING KINGSLANDING

"The King?."

Alicent nods.

"And you are usurping the throne." Laena said in exasperated breath.

"It was my husband's dying wish." Alicent informs her stiffly.

Laena scoffs. "You lie." Laena scoffed out of breath.

"Believe it or no, it is of no consequence. Aegon will be king. I came here to ask your support." Alicent held her palms, tensed yet composed.

Laena seethed "Well, I must credit you for your boldness... Aenar and Daemon aren't here, so you had the nerve to ursurp the crown, all for what? Pride? Wealth? Power?"

Alicent sniffed. "House Velaryon has long allied itself with the Prince Regent and what has it gained you all? Rhaenyra's heirs are none of yours, It is your father who grasps so heedlessly for the throne. And even he has abandoned his seat, gone these six long years to fight a desperate battle, returning grievously, if not mortally, wounded, leaving your mother, Lady of Driftmark to chart her course alone. And Daemon isn't here either, he's on DragonStone, doing gods know what, abandoning your daughters for his own ambition." Alicent remarked solemnly, her tongue laced with manipulation.

Laena clenched her jaw. "The word of my house is not fickle." She led her daughters to go sleep on her bed.

Alicent immediately trails behind her. 'No. But, dear cousin..., Laena listen to me." She took hold of her hands. "you more than any soul alive understand what I say now. As much as you Daemon, I loved my husband, but I will speak the truth we both know. Your mother should've been queen." she says breezily with fickle honesty.

"I little thought to hear those words from you." Laenor tries to jack her hands away but Alicent held unto it.

"The Iron Throne was hers by blood and by temperament. Viserys would've lived his days a country lord, content to hunt and study his histories, but... here we are. We do not rule but we may guide the men that do. Gently...away from violence and sure destruction and instead toward peace." Alicent pursed her lips.

Laena held her gaze brazenly. "Ugh. Is it in the name of peace that you've imprisoned me?" She snatched her hands away, pacing back and forth. "And where is my brother Laenor and his wife Rheanyra?"

Alicent pursed her lips, fiddling with the rings in her fingers. "They're confined as well." she confessed.

Laena scoffed. "So you took everyone in the Red Keep as hostage, turning them against the Prince Regent? And what of my dragon?"

"If we are overmatched, I fear Aenar will be tempted to strike us, and war will ensue. Vhagar being here will make us formidable." Alicent sighs. "Without your dragon, he may be persuaded to negotiate....If....If it's Driftmark you want, you shall have it for you and your daughters to pass on as you see fit." Alicent blurts out, desperately trying to win the velaryon to her side.

"You are wiser than I believed you to be... Alicent Hightower."

"A true queen counts the cost to her people."

"And yet you toil still in service to men. Your father, your husband, your son. You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison. If Aenar were to be King, wouldn't it benefit you and your family? What more do you think the Hightowers will gain after making Aegon king?" Laena questioned.

Alicent said nothing.

"Your son is eight, still a child. It is Otto who will rule Westeros, cast you aside for a pebble and pour his honey into your children's ears and turn them against you." Laena chided.