𝐈'𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 | 𝐀𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐞𝐧 𝐱 𝐎𝐂

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗 | 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆

^^^

🎵A Song For The Chapter:🎵

"Devil Side" by Foxes

^^^

The time for the Driftmark succession debate came surprisingly quickly. Before I knew it it was 12.00pm and one of the guards knocked on my room with the information that my presence was required in the throne room. As soon as he closed the door, I started screaming into my pillow. 

I entered the room late, as usual. The guards
did not even bother to announce my arrival, I just quickly slipped inside and ran up to my mother and brothers standing on the right side of the room. I noticed my mother's chastising look but ignored it, standing next to Daemon.

By the time I entered, Vaemond had already began to speak. He stood proudly upright, right in the middle of the hall, staring at Otto Hightower, seated on the Iron Throne. Apparently he was substituting for the King today, he was his Hand, after all. I snorted under my breath, immediately guessing that the situation had become even more complicated. Although I had faith in my mother's diplomatic skills, at this point I was almost convinced that Otto and the Queen would support Vaemond. 

There was a moment when my mother interjected Vaemond's words, accusing him of being driven only by his own ambitions rather than a desire to continue the Velaryon line. Alicent, standing to the right of the Iron Throne, snapped at her and reminded that her time to present the petition would come. There was a brief silence then Vaemond continued his rather dull speech. For a moment I surveyed Alicent with my eyes. I wondered how it was possible that she and my mother had come to an agreement to unite our families by having Aemond marry me. The two women hated each other dearly, so it seemed almost impossible to me that they would be able to agree on something so important without squeezing each other's throats. 

My aunt, Heleana, stood next to Aegon, staring into space. She too had changed, but as in Aegon's case, only in terms of her appearance. I hadn't had a chance to speak to her yet, but the way she stared at the wall with a blank, dreamy gaze only confirmed my belief that she was the same shy little girl I had seen six years ago.

My gaze shifted and my eyes met Aemond's grey-blue eye directly. He stared at me, upright, his lips curved in a slight smile. It was as if he enjoyed the fact that obvious insults were being thrown at my family and tha Alicent, despite her agreement with my mother, saw nothing inappropriate in her hostile attitude towards her. There was, however, something else in his lonely eye, something that, through the distance between us, I had difficulty identifying. So I ignored his gaze, once again fixing it on Lord Vaemond's back. 

After a few moments during which I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying at all, Otto spoke up and thanked Vaemond with a nod. Alicent smiled under her breath, probably pleased that the man did not fuck things up and gave sensible arguments that would easily enable him to take over the Driftmark. I no longer saw the point of my mother speaking on Luke's behalf at all. The matter was a goner.

"Princess Rhaenyra," Otto finally said. "You may now speak for your son, Lucerys Velaryon."

My mother raised her chin and, without looking at me or Daemon or even my brothers, stepped forward. She stood in the middle of the room, where the gathered lords and ladies immediately fell silent. I knew they were all just waiting for her to say something controversial, something they could laugh at at dinner tonight in their castles. 

Rhaenyra lowered her head slightly and began to stare at the floor, which was another mistake. Even I knew that when making petitions or requests before the crown you should look straight ahead, and preferably with your head raised high. I snorted under my breath, which did not escape Daemon's notice.