-Chapter 195-
-POV Laena Targaryen-
"Look, mom, this is for you," said Aerys, handing me a flower he had just picked from the garden.
I smiled at the little boy and said as I scratched his nose, "Thank you, that's very kind of you. Come give me a hug."
He jumped into my arms with a smile, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Viserys doing the same with Jeyne.
It made me smile gently because my goal had been achieved—unity in our family.
It was one of the things Jeyne, Aemon, and I had all agreed on, and I was glad it had happened so naturally and quickly.
'The events of these past few days helped, because I withdrew into myself, and Jeyne and the children were extremely caring with me.'
Jeyne, Aemon, and I had all suffered from disunity in our respective families.
It was absolutely out of the question that we let our children go through the same ordeals as we had.
'If we can't trust our family members, who can we trust in this world?' I thought, gently stroking the hair of 'my' son.
As soon as they each received a hug, the two of them ran off to continue playing a little further away.
I heard my mother sigh beside me and say, "They remind me so much of you two when you were little."
She didn't need to specify who she meant for me to understand that she was once again thinking of Laenor.
The faint smile that had just appeared on my face vanished instantly, and my mind couldn't help but recall all the events that had taken place since the beginning of this tournament: starting with Aemon's show of strength and domination, followed by Otto Hightower's execution, then the public assassination attempt orchestrated by Rhaenyra against her own brother, the general melee, Laenor's murder by his lover, the funeral, the discovery of the true murderer, Bryndon Hightower's execution, and now a fight between princes that could have ended in tragedy.
The more time I spent in the capital, the more reluctant I felt to remain in this viper's nest.
The question I asked myself with each new event was: 'Is this really the place where I want to raise my children?'
But each time the mother in me questioned it, the Princess would emerge from the depths of my soul to remind her of her duty—that she couldn't run away, because as long as Aemon lived, as long as I lived, as long as MY children lived, we would represent a threat to the rest of the realm.
So instead of letting them choose, we had to take the reins of this kingdom and reshape it as we saw fit.
'And we are close to achieving that,' I thought.
I jumped slightly when I felt a hand on my shoulder and, turning my head, I met my mother's gaze, filled with silent apologies, asking me how I was doing.
I smiled softly at her and said, "It's nothing. I was just lost in thought."
"You have children who need you. You must not falter," said my mother, trying to remind me that I had responsibilities.
I nodded, not needing her reminder, and closed the door of my wounded heart to my mind, erasing all the superfluous thoughts that constantly invaded my head whenever someone mentioned Laenor and the recent events.
"Look who's here," said my mother, her face instantly hardening, masking her emotions completely.
Looking in the direction my mother indicated, I saw Aemon arriving with Gunthor, and I swore inwardly because ever since Bryndon Hightower's death, the atmosphere between my mother and my husband had become icy.
They both had their own objectives, and the more time passed, the more I felt they would eventually collide because their goals placed them on each other's path.
'Just like with Laenor,' I thought, regretting that our final moments had been governed by matters of succession.
"How are you?" Aemon asked once he reached us.
I replied without warmth, "Everything's fine. The children are busy playing."
Aemon nodded, his enthusiasm melting away like snow under the sun, and just when I thought we'd have to endure an awkward silence, mother stood up, grabbed Aemon's arm, and said, "I'd like to speak with you."
Aemon nodded and, after casting me a quick glance, gave a nod to Jeyne and walked away.
I let out a sigh of relief and cursed myself for what I had just done, but I couldn't help but feel resentment toward Aemon.
This obsession with power had led us down a path of no return—a path that had hurt my brother before taking him from me for good.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and Jeyne said softly, "He knows he was wrong and he's doing everything he can to make sure it doesn't happen again."
"I know," I whispered, unable to take my eyes off his back.
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-POV Aemon Targaryen-
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, then added, "If you actually have something to say."
"You made choices that had serious consequences. Don't be surprised by those consequences now," my aunt said in a neutral tone.
I looked at her, not wanting to go down that road with her, and she understood that perfectly, for she asked:
"I was quite surprised to see you defend the Hightowers yesterday after what they did to us."
"And I was surprised to see you defend Rhaenyra," I shot back coldly.
That comment silenced her, and I added, "Besides, I've never been in favor of war. On the contrary, I'm in favor of balance in the realm."
"Really?" she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Really," I replied seriously.
She rolled her eyes, then said:
"To me, your position sounds more like control than balance."
"There's no difference between the two for me," I said, not hiding my true goal.
Seeing she hadn't been able to regain control in this verbal sparring, she sighed and looked away for a moment before asking:
"Does Laena mean anything to you at all?"
I didn't answer the question because it didn't deserve an answer, and that didn't seem to bother her much. Seeing my grim expression, she looked like she'd gotten what she wanted—she had struck a nerve—and she said:
"Laena is all I have left. I love her more than anything, and I'll never stand in her way. But I'll never ally myself with the Hightowers either. And don't bother telling me they weren't guilty of Laenor's murder or that they brought justice to him. Alicent knew and said nothing, which makes her complicit, because she tried to hide it."
I was surprised that she had the clarity to realize that despite the alternating grief and anger she'd been in since her son's death, but I stayed silent, sensing she wasn't done.
"However, you still owe me a favor," she said, surprising me, as I didn't remember owing her anything.
I frowned and asked, "What favor?"
"Laenor's murderer," she said, and it was like a light switched on in my mind.
"I brought justice," I defended myself.
"No!... Not only did you fail to bring him justice, but you didn't even bring me the head of his killer or the one who ordered it," she said, perfectly bypassing my defense and pointing out the real issue.
I was about to argue, but she cut me off, saying:
"You promised me I would kill him myself."
I clenched my fists because she was right, but I hadn't had a choice. Without that, I would've had to start a war and spill rivers of blood to restore our full sovereignty.
"Fine. What do you want?" I said, giving in.
"Alysanne."
"Not even in your dreams!" I growled, irritated that she was bringing this matter up again.
"At least think about it," she asked, in a slightly pleading tone.
I shook my head, and then she said:
"You can settle this once and for all. No more wars."
Seeing that my expression didn't change despite what she'd just said, she added:
"I can make Rhaenyra promise to make your son king instead of her daughter."
"She'll never accept that," I said, not believing Rhaenyra would ever go along with what she saw as the greatest injustice of her life.
"And if I can get her to change her mind?" my mother-in-law asked, then added:
"That could settle the succession question for two generations or more—and you would be the guarantor of that peace."
I took a second to think, and honestly, it was a very good offer.
But what bothered me about it was that I would end up stuck in the middle of both camps, in the pit, when up until now I'd been in the stands waiting for the fight between them to end.
'But the benefits are greater,' I added internally.
I have the Vale. Viserys will get House Velaryon without question, because I hadn't forgotten that despite Rhaenys' support, the real problem would be Corlys, who was on his way back. And once Rhaenyra is dead, he would become king.
'Even if we had to wage war against the rest of the realm, we would win easily.'
"It's tempting, but I don't trust Rhaenyra. She has a severe inferiority complex when it comes to me. She'll never agree to live under my authority if she has the power to do otherwise—or even the illusion of it. And I'm far too lazy to protect someone for one or two decades only to be stabbed in the back one day," I explained to Rhaenys.
"Think about it seriously. You can end this now. The cards are in your hands," she said, letting go of my arm and looking me straight in the eyes before finally walking away.
I closed my eyes and looked up at the sky, unable to make a final decision, because I truly did have the choice to end it now that I had cut out the rot from the realm.
But if I took this path, I'd be walking a narrow road with only one direction forward… and with someone I didn't trust at all.
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