Aemond heard the news of King's Landing. That it had fallen the moment they left to deal with Harrenhal.
In public, in front of his council, he showed them anger and rage. Aemond left them to bicker about what to do next, to find out what allies they had and where. Daeron, maybe. Join with Lord Ormund's army and attack the capital.
In private, though, all Aemond could do was laugh. They truly had managed to force their hand. Draw them out of the city to take it.
He pulled the glittering dagger from its scabbard and flipped it between his fingers. "Well fought, princess."
And then Aemond heard the news of Naerys. Her becoming Rhaenyra's named heir in front of a crowd of Lords who vowed themselves to her. The thoughts crept back to him. Ones he pushed away each time they made an appearance.
If she had truly been using him to get to the throne. Something his mother brought up to him. After she was taken and unofficially declared heir.
Did she need him when she was named heir? Had it all truly been a clever ploy to get herself into the throne one way or another?
But he pushed them back again. Aemond reminded himself of their first night together. Before the way and succession. And his offer at Storm's End. She could have easily married him if it was her only goal.
Alicent was convinced Naerys would do what she did. Marry to get onto the throne.
But she had no need. Not when she was an heir in her own right.
They both had parts to play in their family's war.
Both were determined to keep the other safe. But neither knew it.
***
Things were quiet for a few weeks, a month. Two. Until there were finally developments.
Naerys was learning how to lead from Rhaenyra. The duties of a Queen, the things she had a say in. What concerned her and what could be left to lower members of her council.
She even began to train seriously again in the Training Yard. Naerys definitely needed the refresher. Besides, it took her mind off of things.
But the developments came swiftly.
First, that Prince Maelor had been killed by a mob. Prince Daeron burned Bitterbridge for it. They were marching for King's Landing and had to be dealt with.
Rhaenyra sent two of her dragonseeds to deal with it. The riders of Silverwing and the Cannibal. Fitting dragons to deal with Tessarion. She wouldn't risk Vermithor and Naerys if it was another surprise fight.
The next development, though, came later. That Ser Criston was taking his army south. The council theorized he was trying to join with Lord Ormund. If he was successful, that would pose a massive problem for King's Landing.
As well, word came that Aemond Targaryen was doing exactly what Naerys had done months earlier. Burned Lords who declared for the Blacks.
He was trying to provoke them, to have them send Naerys for him.
Instead, though, Daemon volunteered himself for the task. He and Nettles, the rider of Sheepstealer, would go to Maidenpool. There, they would begin to search for Vermithor.
"You are aware of the Queen's order? Aemond Targaryen is to be spared and brought back to King's Landing."
Daemon looked Naerys in the eye. And he vowed it.
"I vow to bring the cyclops back alive."
Naerys trusted him. Because he'd raised her in Dragonstone, taught her all he knew. He knew of her feelings for him. Daemon wouldn't do that to her.
So she saw him and Nettles off. From the Dragonpit, she watched them fly for the Riverlands, to try and stop Aemond and bring him back.
She suspected nothing. Maybe Naerys was a fool. Maybe she was blind.
But she hadn't seen their relationship develop. Naerys hadn't heard him call her "Netty" fondly. She knew nothing of it. Because she trusted him.
And so, Naerys did her duty as heir and served her mother. She flew Vermithor around King's Landing to keep watch.
One very important thing she did, though, was gain rapport with the smallfolk.
Naerys had long inherited Rhaenyra's title of the Realm's Delight. Because she was the firstborn and looked so much like her, the smallfolk lumped them together.
Many weren't happy with the constant war. The taxes, lack of supplies and imports. Naerys spent time trying to build a good foundation with the smallfolk. They were more important than many tended to recognize.
If all of King's Landing turned into a mob, even dragons wouldn't be able to save them before they were killed. Naerys needed the people to trust she would be a good Queen for them.
Her effort did not go unnoticed.
The Green supporters called her the "good" apple in a bad bunch. She wasn't really a bastard, she had the hair! She could marry Aemond and become a good Queen.
The Black supporters tended to support her because of Rhaenyra anyway. But they liked her bite, the way she could use a sword. A leader should be on the battlefield.
It was halfway through the time Rhaenyra would sit the Throne that they reached a high point.
Ser Criston was ambushed on the road, while he was marching south to meet with Lord Ormund. Rhaenyra's supporters disguised themselves as rotting corpses and attacked the marching army.
The knight was killed in the fighting. And after he was dead, hundreds and thousands of his men died in the rout.
Because of how bloody it was, the battle became known as the Butcher's Ball. It was one of the most decisive. And it would mark the height of Rhaenyra's fortunes.
After, things would begin to deteriorate.
Aemond continued to strike in the Riverlands, taking out Lords in the style of Naerys. Day after day, Sheepstealer and Caraxes would search for Vhagar. And day after day, they would remain unsuccessful.
Naerys wanted Rhaenyra to send her. They'd already established Vhagar wouldn't attack her, Aemond wouldn't. But Rhaenyra didn't trust it fully; feelings could change.
The heir wanted to bargain with her lover as he had her. Convince him to return and finally marry. But she was barred from doing so.
And for the first time, Naerys listened to her mother's order. She trusted Daemon because he cared about her.
It was exactly why she shouldn't have trusted him.
Daemon was willing to do anything for the people he loved. Do things he thought were for their own good even if they didn't agree. Naerys knew it but didn't think him cruel enough.
***
After the high for Rhaenyra in the war, things started to get very low very quickly. Deception and whispers were what brought the Blacks to their knees.
A little birdie was whispering in Rhaenyra's ear. And regardless of the truth of the song the birdie sang, it began to eat away at her. Paranoia.
The first blow to her trust came when they learned the two dragonseeds sent to take on Daeron had turned against them.
Tumbleton was savagely sacked. At first, Rhaenyra thought her dragonseeds to be dead. After all, Lord Ormund Hightower was dead so they must have accomplished something.
But she learned from witnesses that her two riders turned their backs and submitted to the Greens. The Blacks were outnumbered so the dragon riders decided to join the side they could beat. Rhaenyra's first betrayal.
As soon as she learned of it, Rhaenyra ordered the gates of King's Landing closed and barred. No one in or out.
It was then that Naerys began to see the hold fear had on Rhaenyra. Fear of being betrayed like her father was. The whispers were getting to her, the two betrayers only gave her evidence.
She was a good Queen. Under normal circumstances.
The war had run its toll on her. The loss of three of her children and the capture of the other, constant dismissal. It had taken them so long to capture King's Landing, she couldn't fathom losing it in mere months.
A council was called immediately to discuss what was to be done about the traitors.
Naerys sat in her seat next to Rhaenyra. She rolled the black stone between her fingers as she listened to the council members speak.
"It was a risk trusting them in the first place. They aren't Targaryens; their values lie far outside the crown. It's why dragons have only been entrusted to the royal House," one Lord said, looking at Queen Rhaenyra.
"What of the others? Should we not consider the possibility that Nettles and Ser Addam have also planned to betray us? None of them are Targaryens. They cannot be trusted."
"Watch your tongue," Corlys snapped. Addam was his heir to Driftmark, once the taint of bastardy had been removed from him. "Ser Addam is my heir. He stands guard at the Dragonpit at this very moment. He is a loyal servant to the Queen, as is Nettles."
Naerys knew him and his brother's parentage was still of debate. Officially, his father was her own, Ser Laenor. Which would make them half-siblings, if Laenor had actually been her father. Some speculated Addam was Corlys' bastard but no one ever brought it up.
"Please. Nettles is a common thing. And no matter Ser Addam's lineage and inheritance, he can always be offered more."
Hearing the beginnings of a fight, Naerys looked up. Corlys and the lord who'd spoken glared at one another. Rhaenyra didn't seem to be listening to them, she was lost in her own thoughts.
Corlys looked toward Rhaenyra, he was still her hand. "Your Grace, Ser Addam and Nettles are faithful servants. We need the dragons, anyhow. With Ulf and Hugh, the Greens now have 4 dragons. They rival ours."
"It does no one any favour to misplace faith, Lord Hand." Rhaenyra looked up suddenly. "This matter is delicate. I must deliberate on my own. I will call a council when I have come to a decision."
With that, Rhaenyra dismissed her councillors. Naerys had a very terrible feeling about the decision she would make.
Naerys knew Rhaenyra was hearing information from someone not in the council. An outside source. And she suspected Daemon of taking Nettles as his bedmate.
She was worried Rhaenyra would make a hasty decision. If she ordered Addams head, they would lose Corlys. And if they lost him, they would lose the Velaryon fleet.
The heir needed to talk her mother out of a decision that could ruin them. Her own fears would bring them to ruin if she wasn't careful.
***
"The maidservants talk. They say he's taught her how to wash, sharing a single tub at times."
Rhaenyra couldn't handle the constant poison being fed to her, if what her husband was becoming in Maidenpool. Betrayal after betrayal. Rhaenyra would be betrayed again.
"She's a common thing, with the stink of sorcery upon her."
***
Rhaenyra was convinced Nettles had used sorcery to seduce her husband. She would not lose anyone else to the war, wouldn't risk it. No matter how outlandish it sounded, she was convinced of it. And Rhaenyra was fully ready to act on the information.
Naerys made an attempt to stop it.
"From who does the information come? How is it verified?" Naerys was trying to keep them together, to be a rock for her mother. A sound mind.
"It matters not where it comes. The girl used sorcery to claim her dragon and she's used it to seduce my husband. It is treason of the highest order. I will not let it stand."
It was almost as if Rhaenyra wasn't listening. Sorcery?
"Mother, calling for her head could start a war itself. Let me go and stop it." Naerys was trying to appeal to her senses, keep her from destroying everything they'd worked for.
"No. I will not have you running off to Maidenpool. You are to remain here, by my side."
Her descent into madness was frightening. Accusations, deceit, betrayal. She was not thinking with her head but with her heart.
Naerys couldn't blame her if she very truly believed them to be having an affair. Naerys thought better of him, at least with Rhaenyra. But maybe she was blind as well.
But they needed the dragons, they needed them on their side. Naerys felt helpless as an heir with no ability to make her opinion matter.
Rhaenyra called her next council. She gathered her Lords and informed them she'd made a decision.
"Ser Addam Velaryon will be arrested and questioned. Nettles will be dealt with by the maesters in Maidenpool. They will receive my raven. She has committed treason of the highest order."
The other Lords seemed to agree, they didn't trust any of the dragonseeds.
But Corlys was outraged. "He is my heir! Your Grace, you cannot have him thrown in the dungeons."
Naerys knew conflict would divide them. The other councillors were so consumed in their own fear they could not see past what the arrest would do to morale.
"Your Grace, call for his removal from the Dragonpit if you must. But Addam has been faithful to us. I will take his post and protect the city. We cannot turn on our own without proof."
Corlys raised his hand and gestured to Naerys, emphasizing what she'd said. "A fair offer, Your Grace."
Rhaenyra shook her head. "We must not let personal feelings in the way of our survival. We cannot afford to take these risks." With a look between Naerys and Corlys, she gave her final command.
"Addam Velaryon is to be arrested. I will deal with Nettles. That is final."
She dismissed her council to tell her soldiers she wanted the Velaryon arrested. After, she would write the letter calling for Nettles' head.
Naerys and Corlys were the only two that remained at the table. Both of them thought the same thing.
Addam didn't deserve to be arrested. He'd shown no ill will toward the crown. Rhaenyra was acting out of paranoia.
"If you warn him, she will have you arrested. She has proven it." Naerys looked at her grandsire, there was nothing she could do to stop him.
"I will not let an innocent man be imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Not my heir."
She smiled at him. "I know. Go. I'll keep her as busy as I can."
They hugged quickly and Corlys kissed the side of her head. "You will be a magnificent Queen. I swore fealty to you. No matter what happens, I intend to make good on my vow. You are my granddaughter. Through and through."
"Thank you, grandsire. I will try and appeal to her senses. And if not..."
Corlys put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. He wouldn't blame her for Rhaenyra's paranoid decisions.
After their rushed goodbye, they split. Corlys made for the Dragonpit to warn Addam and Naerys went after her mother. To keep her busy long enough to delay the order.
Naerys did her best when she caught Rhaenyra. Tried once more to appeal to her, begged her to see reason about Addam at the very least.
She gave Corlys as much time as she could. Until Rhaenyra gave her the old line. "I will hear no more of it," and marched past her daughter to give the order.
All she could do was hope that Corlys would make it in time and plead for his release when they caught him at the scene.