green lies, black hearts

XXVI

a/n - last one for the night, a bit of a cliffhanger, my apologies hehe. but for all my team green readers out there, this one's for you! enjoy and thanks for reading!! :)

- mint

~+~

The Green Council

Thunder cracked outside the windows. Rain poured in sheets, and the taste of lightning hung in the air—poignant as it was, none could ignore the feeling of hair standing on end along their arms and back of their necks. The sky was mourning, but for what, only a few would know.

A green queen sat in her chambers. Not alone in grief, but surrounded by the men who she would use to seize this opportunity—her husband's final words ringing in her ears.

"My husband imparted upon me his final wishes," Alicent told the small council, her hands folded neatly over the table in her chambers. These men looked at her with confidence. For themselves, she knew that to be true, but she could act as the spark to the kindling. She would devour them for her son. For her family. Fire and blood were the words of the Targaryens, and yet, Alicent Hightower thought they could be hers. If even for this moment. "Aegon is to be king, not Rhaenyra."

"Looks like he finally came to his senses," Tyland Lannister chuckled, sipping some wine.

Murmurs of agreement echoed around the table, and Alicent caught her father's approving gaze. She lifted her chin a little higher. Pride swelled in her chest. This was because of her. His pride. It was due to her.

"Then we should push ahead with the plans of his coronation?" Lord Jasper Wylde asked.

"The Dragonpit would be a great show for the people," Grand Maester Orwyle offered. His dark eyes darted between Alicent and her father, and they lingered on the latter. Alicent's lips twitched with her forced smile. The plan was, first and foremost, hers. Not her father's. He was just the Hand of the King. She was queen. "If done there, more than half of King's Landing would be able to witness his coronation. It would lend legitimacy to his rule."

"What legitimacy is to be lent?" Tyland laughed. "He's the king's firstborn son!"

"But not his firstborn child," a quiet and elderly voice spoke up for the first time during the meeting.

Alicent cocked an eyebrow as she leered at Lord Lyman Beesbury. She should've expected the man of eighty years to be the one to voice disapproval. He was fond of the Targaryens due to his own bias. A flaw of being such a servile man for Jaehaerys and then Viserys after him.

"Could you speak up, my lord?" Alicent said, tapping her fingers against the table. Her rings clinked together. "We're all friends here" —she displayed a smile for the men around her— "are we not? Surely there is safety in speaking our minds? Hmm?"

"Safety?" Lyman flattened his hands out, appearing incredulous. "And what safety will the crown princess find if her brother is named king?"

"All of the safety in the world, my lord, if she bends the knee. As will everyone else." She shrugged. "But to do otherwise...well, we know that to be treason. And we've seen how she expects treason to be punished."

Vaemond Velaryon was not far from everyone's minds—an irony if there ever was one.

"And you expect the crown princess to bend the knee to her younger brother? To a...a..."

"A what, Lord Beesbury?" Alicent's father asked from beside her.

Lyman stood abruptly, slamming his hands on the table before pointing accusatorially at everyone else. "A usurper!"