As the King was discussing Rhaenyra's marriage proposal with Laenor to Corlys and Rhaenys, the protagonists of said marriage were walking along the beach of Driftmark. The sun shone upon them, casting its light over the beautiful view, with the noise of the waves crashing as their backdrop.
After a while of silence between them, Rhaenyra decided to be the first to break the impasse. "In truth, if it had to be someone, I'm glad it is you, cousin."
"I know this union is not what you would choose."
"I hold nothing against you, cousin," Laenor sighed as he spoke, his silver-white hair whipping in the sea wind.
"No, I—" Rhaenyra tried to articulate her words with tactful delicacy to her cousin, whom she already knew of his... particular... tastes—with whom he chose to share his intimacy and bed in a relationship. "Rather... Dare I say it is a matter of taste? I prefer roast duck to goose. I cannot say why."
Laenor looked at his beautiful cousin, smiling inwardly as she struggled so hard with this delicate subject between them. "It's... it's not for a lack of trying. There are those who like goose very well."
"I find it a bit greasy for my taste," Rhaenyra smiled at his words, her purple eyes mirroring the curve of her lips as she brushed a strand of silver-gold hair from her face. "I know that whatever agreement is being struck up there will not change your appetites, nor will it change mine."
Laenor looked at her with an intrigued expression. "And what do you propose?"
"That we perform our duty to our fathers and to the realm, and when it's done... each of us dines as we see fit."
Laenor's eyes shone bright as a wide smile crept onto his lips at her words, accepting her proposal. "Good. I like this idea, cousin. It doesn't feel so bad now, actually. I'm already liking the idea of this marriage."
"But... cousin," Rhaenyra looked at him honestly, hesitated for a few seconds, and in the end, she told him, "I must confess something first. It feels right to do so."
"What is it?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
Rhaenyra then spoke of the possible child already in her belly.
....
Laenor sighed before he spoke. "There is no problem, cousin." He took her hand while continuing with meaningful words. "I'm sure our incoming child would be a healthy one." Rhaenyra smiled brilliantly at his words.
They continued walking along the beach and chatting.
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—Inside the Hall of Nine—
Rhaenys swept into the hall, her stride measured, her ripe, sinful body swaying like a regal, slutty succubus. Spotting her husband, she remarked, "Viserys has taken to his bed while his ship is readied."
"Perhaps I... overextended myself? Pushed him too close to the edge?" Corlys sighed.
"My cousin chose to sail into this tempest, husband," Rhaenys looked at him as she cleaned her hands with water from a basin, her big breast subtly moving with her actions. "It was undignified of the King to drag himself here and beg for Laenor's hand."
"Where is Laenor?" Corlys asked her, wondering.
"He and Rhaenyra are walking the coast."
"Good. Do they seem... familiar?"
"They grew up together. I'm sure familiarity is not at issue." Rhaenys sighed at her son's... condition... How could he have developed such a...preference?... she will never know nor understand. What made her more frustrated was that he was a handsome man and girls loved him...she could only sigh at this misfortune and only understand him as his mother.
"Oh, I'm sure Laenor was already charmed with her. She's grown quite comely these last few years; she inherited the beauty of her mother and the family."
"You know his true nature." She rolled her eyes at him.
"He's still young. Surely he will outgrow it." Corlys didn't make a big deal of that. "There is no pleasure in the world like... bedding a woman," he added, embracing his wife. "And Rhaenyra is a woman who captivates men," he continued as he pawed the breasts of his wife. "Just like you, my wife."
"We are placing our son in danger." Rhaenys gasped a bit at his touch, but she looked at him seriously. "In more ways than just that problem."
Corlys thought for a moment about her words. "The lords of the realm bent the knee to Rhaenyra and swore obeisance to her."
"That was before there was a true-born prince named Aegon Targaryen. Rhaenyra's succession will be challenged." Rhaenys still pointed out the crux of the matter. "Knives will come out for her, her husband, and for their heirs."
"Our house controls the realm's navy and half its dragons. Anyone fool enough to challenge Rhaenyra's claim will be crushed."
"To what end, Corlys? Wealth? Power? Pride?" Rhaenys suspired with worry. "We are more likely to lose than win anything from this matchmaking."
Corlys looked at her eyes, embracing her harder. "Justice. By all rights, you should be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. You were robbed of the crown by—"
"I never wore the crown because the realm would not have it so."
"And I would remedy that... small-minded error by any means necessar—"
"I myself have put the business behind me, Corlys." Rhaenys interrupted his words, tired of this matter; she had a good life and family now. "Besides, you have heard the rumors transpiring in King's Landing about Rhaenyra and Daemon, and after seeing Viserys and his words about the firstborn, it surely is a thing... What you propose is not possible, even if you want it.
"Agh..." Corlys groaned in odium. It should have been Velaryon's renewed blood on that throne.
"There is nothing we can do, husband. But... this situation isn't all so bad, even if Laenor is being a shield for Rhaenyra. This works in favor of our son and his condition... At least there would be no rumors if it came to that about him. Also, this isn't all for nothing. It wins us leverage with the crown if we were to need favors, my cousin wouldn't be able to evade it."
Corlys sighed as he took a drink from the table and downed it in one gulp without commenting further.
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After separating from Rhaenyra, Laenor reunited with his lover, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, on the beach to talk about what he'd just discussed with his cousin.
"I've always feared the day you'd have to marry a woman." Joffrey laughed. "And now it comes. But this? This was something I never expected. And fuck, it's such a joyful thing, Laenor."
"Your betrothed gives you leave of her own free will to keep partaking of..."
Joffrey smirked mischievously at him. "So, was I the duck or the goose in this chat?"
"I've come to meet my fate, and you make a jape of it?" Laenor rolled his eyes, though his lips twitched into a smile.
"Look—Rhaenyra will be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and you'll be her king consort. Think of the tournaments, the feasts, the battles at sea..."
"Will you wear your crown today, Your Grace?" Joffrey chuckled.
"You're a fool." Laenor grinned.
Joffrey shoved him lightly in the shoulder, and Laenor lunged at him in a mock attack. Soon, they were breathing heavily, faces inches apart, eyes locked in a heated moment.
"You'll need a sworn protector." Joffrey's voice dropped to a suggestive whisper.
"Mm-hm." Laenor grunted in agreement before they crashed into each other, lips ravishing, moans spilling between them.
"Well, this is better than we could've hoped for."
Laenor nodded, biting his lower lip.
"She's got a paramour of her own. And possibly a child already."
"You're already in a good spot without lifting a finger."
"Yeah... this situation with my cousin is a good proposal." Laenor lunged for him again, both of them losing themselves in each other.
----------------------------------------------------
- Aboard the Targaryen flagship vessel -
Rhaenyra was looking into the horizon, meditating on what had transpired in her day, when she was suddenly interrupted—by her personal guard, Criston Cole.
"Did sleep flee you as well this morning?" She smiled at him.
"I needed to see you, Princess."
"I confess I had a similar desire. It's been a while since we've seen each other like this."
"You have confided in me now and then over the years of our acquaintance." Criston tried to articulate his thoughts and feelings into words for her. "I feel—forgive me—that I... I know you... a bit."
"Mhm." Rhaenyra nodded with a smile at him. "I think you know me more than a bit, Criston. We kissed."
Criston smiled and armed himself with valor to speak his next words, risking everything for a possible chance of being with the woman he desired. "I've heard you say so many times how you loathe the lot of your position, that you are to be married off at your father's whim with no thought given to the yearning of your own heart... and now the day comes."
"Ser Laenor is a good and... and decent man, but you—you did not choose him. He was chosen for you."
"That's true." Rhaenyra looked at him weirdly as he spoke.
"If there were another path..." Criston suggested to her. "One that led to freedom... would you tread it?"
"What are you meaning, Ser Criston?"
"Rhaenyra, before I came here, I was a knight in the Stormlands. I have deep knowledge of the port at Sunspear, where I've seen the ships of Essos setting sail with their hulls full of oranges and cinnamon, and I've always wished to see where they went."
"Are you asking for leave?" Rhaenyra snickered. "I can relieve you of your duty, if you desire."
"W-what?" Criston stuttered at her answer. "No, I'm asking you to come with me... away from all of this. From the burdens and indignities of your inheritance. Let us leave it all behind and see the world together... where we'll be nameless, and free... free to go where we like, to love as we like. In Essos... you could marry me. A marriage for love, not for the crown."
Rhaenyra looked at him with a serious face before she couldn't avoid giggling at his innocent words. "Ser Criston, I... I don't know from where you got the valor to propose me such a thing... We are good friends, and you are my sworn protector, and maybe we have kissed once...and I may possibly give you more attention than a simple guard."
"But... I am the crown, Ser Criston. Or I will be. I may chafe at my duties, but do you think I would choose infamy in exchange for a bushel of oranges or a ship to Asshai?"
"To even remotely think of such an innocent dream of running away for such a simple affection we had?"
"No, Ser Criston. It is my duty to marry a nobleman from a great house, and Ser Laenor will make a fine husband."
Criston Cole gasped for air, hearing such heartbroken words from Rhaenyra as she looked at him with an amused face. "But... I thought... we had something... in the making... Rhaenyra...That there was a connection there."
Rhaenyra chuckled. "My... um... my marriage... does not have to be the end of our exploring friendship, Ser Criston. Laenor and I have an understanding. I've granted him leave to pursue his own interests... and in turn, he's granted me the same. Maybe we could continue where we left it. From a simple chaste kiss into something... more?"
"So you want me to be your whore?" Criston looked at her, not believing her proposal.
"I want us to continue as we began, with you as my sworn protector, my white knight."
Criston exploded at that, feeling already heartbroken and shocked by the reality of his absurd fantasies of desiring Rhaenyra. "I took an oath. As a... as a knight of... of your Kingsguard." He stuttered from the rage and injustice he was feeling. "An oath of chastity... that I've been attempting to break as I proposed you such words..."
"I won't tell anyone—" Rhaenyra tried to calm him down from such an excited state.
"No! I—I've... I've soiled my... my... wh—my white cloak. For even thinking about this, because I thought we had something more in the making, but for you, it was just a game..." He gasped. "And it's the only thing I have to my fucking name! And I was destroying it with my own hands... I... I thought if we were married, this would have been worth it... but hearing you say this like it was nothing at all to even think about..."
"I was such a bloody fool."
Rhaenyra looked at him with pity. "Ser Criston, you misunderstood in your own decision what we had between us. We are just a liege and her personal guard... who may have felt an emotional connection derived from the closeness we have because of your line of work."
"And I'm sorry for you and grateful that you thought for my well-being, for even thinking such a thing with me and, in the process, trying to break your vows. But the Iron Throne looms larger than me, larger than anyone in my family. Aegon the Conqueror united the Seven Kingdoms and put them on a path—"
Criston Cole felt his face blush with shame and anger at such things that he could no longer bear to be in her presence. Without saying anything, he strode away in large, quick steps, getting out of her sight.
"Ser Criston." Rhaenyra, with a smile, trying to avoid letting out a giggle, called out for him as she saw him running away.
Criston continued walking without looking back.