{130AC, High Tide, Driftmark}
"It has been nearly six years since I last saw my lord husband, Maester" Rhaenys the Elder occupied the Driftwood Throne in the absence of her husband. She sat confidently and held council as though she were born for it, which she was some could argue. To her right stood Rhaenys the Younger, matured in both body and mind. Her grandmother's shadow in more than one sense, as not only did she observe council meetings but she also advised her grandmother when appropriate. To the left of the throne stood Baela, the Elder's ward. She too had matured, and had become the spitting image of her mother Lady Laena. Corlys, their grandsire, had been called away to the stepstones once more, the threat from the Triarchy alive again. In his leave, he had his wife take his seat. He had also encouraged his granddaughter to join her namesake, as preparation to one day rule the Seven Kingdoms.
"The ships Maester said he burns from within" a fever had overcome him. Rhaenys the Younger sighed and spoke up as all eyes watched her. "The ravens came in from where, Maester?" She asked, receiving a nod of approval from her grandmother. "From Evenfall, Princess". "So they arrive in three days. Let all be made ready to receive him, Maester Kelvyn" murmers and nods spread throughout the hall as the Velaryon princess spoke. She held the confidence and regalia of the future Queen indeed. "Dismissed" The Elder's voice rang out and she sighed deeply as the room cleared.
Soon all who remained were Rhaenys the Elder, the Younger, Baela and Vaemond- The younger brother of the Sea Snake who had dreams above his station. "The sea snake is strong" Baela comforted her grandmother, and received a hum in response. "No doubt, and yet I have seen blood fever overcome men half his age" Rhaenys moved closer to her grandmother and held her hand, more for her own comfort. "I will not suffer the talk of crows in my house Vaemond" the older woman raised her free hand and Dismissed her ward. Baela bowed slightly to her grandmother and sister before leaving the room leaving the three alone.
"This is hardly the talk for a child, Rhaenys, why send one away but not the other?" Vaemond sneered at Rhae and the younger woman glared in response. "Rhaenys will be Queen of the Seven kingdoms one day, she will be your Queen one day. She will stay" the blonde girl smiled inwardly at her grandmother defending her so quickly. She owed the past years of her life to her grandmother, and was grateful for everything the older woman did. Vaemond ignored the words and continued on. "I love my brother but we must be honest with ourselves, ladies. We may greet his ship and find him gone. And who will take the Driftwood Throne?"
Rhae snorted and shook her head at what her good uncle was insinuating. "My grandmother seems quite content here, uncle" She said proudly. "She presides only in the absence of her husband. On his death the seat will pass" Vaemond snapped and stepped forward with intimidation. "Yes, if the Sea Snake should unfortunately pass the seat will pass. To my brother Jacaerys, as my grandsire intended" Rhaenys the Younger practically growled at the man. Rhaenys the Elder placed a hand on the Younger's and Rhae took a breath. "Go and attend to your sister, sweet pearl, I will deal with this matter" she spoke softly but with a sense of finality. The younger woman bowed to her and glared at Vaemond once more before exiting the hall.
~~~
Rhaenys found Baela waiting outside the hall, listening in through the door. "What do we do sister?" Baela asked hushed, taking a hold of Rhae's hands. The two began to walk to the castle doors leading to the shore, and Rhaenys comforted the younger woman. "We cannot do much, but I think someone else can" Rhaenys stated as she bit her lip. The women made their way to the shore where they saw Baela's dragon flying in circles above the water. Moondancer spotted their rider and immediately flew down to greet her, whilst Rhaenys continued to walk to the water and stopping once her feet were submerged. She remained a distance away from the bubbles in the water, but smiled as she spotted the movement of a tail come closer.
"Are you awake, Seasmoke?" She called out. She looked back to see Baela and Moondancer cuddled together on the sand, a wing covering the majority of her sister. The pearl coloured tail swept Rhaenys's feet from beneath her and she laughed loudly as she landed on her behind in the water. Seasmoke raised their head from out of the water and sneezed, shaking their head and spraying water over the woman. The dragon approached Rhaenys slowly and used their head to nudge her towards the shore where Baela and Moondancer were. Rhaenys and Seasmoke joined the other dragon and rider on the sand, Rhaenys resting her head on the pearl beast's torso.
"I don't understand why you haven't ridden Seasmoke yet, they still have their saddle on" Baela inquired to her sister, gesturing to the saddle on the back of the beast. Rhaenys looked to her dragon, then to the saddle, before returning back to Baela. "It just doesn't feel right, you know? I don't want either of us to feel as though I'm replacing father" the mention of Ser Laenor put a slight damper on the Princess's mood. She still wasn't over the grief she had felt from his passing, but there was also a gut feeling she kept to herself. It was as though the gods were telling her to wait a while before riding a dragon.
Moondancer placed their head on Baela's lap, and the younger woman began to caress their head. "I understand" she spoke softly as Rhaenys stared out into the ocean. The women and dragons stayed that way a while longer, until the midday sun shone down on them. "What did you mean, you know someone who can help?" Baela inquired, moving the now sleeping dragon's head from her lap. She stood and moved to help her sister stand, the two stiff from sitting so long. "Daemon" the name was spat from Rhaenys's mouth as though it were poison, which it was to her. She still felt that somehow the Rogue Prince was responsible for her father's death, and so he was the enemy in her mind.
~~~
{A few hours later, on Dragonstone}
Princess Rhaenyra walked into the cold meeting room of Dragonstone where she saw her eldest boy, Jacaerys, with their Maester.
"The Conquerer and his sisters sailed with a great army and landed at Blackwater Rush" her son spoke with uncertainty as he read from a Valyrian text. His High Valyrian had taken a back seat in priorities after Rhaenys had left for High Tide, something that had affected the entire family. Rhaenyra wondered closer to the table and listened to the Maester as he explained the text. "At the end?" Jace asked, looking to his mother with a smile. "The mouth" she corrected gently. Jacaerys tugged at his hair in frustration, groaning at his mistranslation. "Come on Jace, you knew that" he muttered to himself as he re-read the text. "Aegon ordered that the trees should be... killed"
"Felled, it is a related word" Rhaenyra placed one hand on her swollen belly and one on Jace's arm gently. "I don't expect you to learn High Valyrian in a day, Jace" She reassured him, nodding to the maester in dismissal. Jace groaned and rubbed his eyes. "The Lord of the Tides should honour the traditions of his forebears" he told her, speaking more so to himself. He gave his mother a tired smile, one she gladly returned. "Well, unless you plan to depose your grandsire you have plenty of time to study" Rhaenyra moved her hand to place it gently on his face, smiling as he leant into the hold.
The doors slammed open and then shut as Daemon strode in, anger exuding from him. "Leave us" he ordered sharply as he stared at his wife's son. "Joffery, come" Jacaerys grabbed his younger brothers hand and led him out of the room, leaving the two silver haired adults alone. "A raven from Driftmark" Daemon stated, handing the parchment to Rhaenyra. "Is it Rhaenys? Is she okay?" Rhaenyra opened the letter quickly hoping it was from her daughter.
The last Rhaenyra had heard of her heir was through Rhaenys the Elder. Her daughter had arrived on Driftmark alongside Baela, and had refused to return. The Elder had taken the Younger to ward also, and had said to rhaenyra that the girl wished to be closer to her father. Rhaenys had promised her daughter in law that Rhae was not angry at her, just at her new husband. Rhaenyra had not visited her eldest child per her request, but kept updated in her own ways. She was even delighted when Rhaenys had earned herself a new title from the small folk; the Pearl of Driftmark.
"It's Vaemond Velaryon. He means to call into question Jace's legitimacy" Daemon scowled, showing the letter to his wife. Rhaenyra scanned through quickly, noting the handwriting to be Baela's and not Rhaenys's. "And by extension, Rhaenys, and by extention my own claim to the throne" the princess responded. She began to fiddle with the rings on her fingers, each a different colour. "Vaemond only cares about Driftmark and the Velaryon line, not about our politics".
"Rhaenys, Jacaerys, Luce and Joffery are Velaryon, Uncle. Has he made common cause with Otto Hightower yet?" Rhaenyra asked, handing the letter back to her husband. The two stood at the stone table, and glanced down at the Driftmark platelet. "Hm, that is what I fear. Rhaenys, Rhae and Baela have flown to court" he continued on, looking from Driftmark to King's Landing. Rhaenyra looked up at Daemon and raised a brow. "Surely she cannot be planning to back him? Rhae would risk losing the throne herself if she backed him".
Daemon snorted at his wife's words and shook his head. "No. Whatever disagreements we may have had, she isn't cruel... or stupid enough to do that" he mused, taking Rhaenyras hands in his. "Disagreements? Both Rhaenys the Elder and the Younger believe you had Laenor killed so that we could marry. I haven't seen my sweet girl in years because she thinks you murdered her father". Rhaenyra took her hands back and began to twist the white pearl ring on her finger, the one matching Rhaenys's. "And yet, your good mother has taken the girls to ward".
"Yes, but it is Laena and Laenor's memory she honours. She may have love for the girls, but she has none for us" Daemon sighed once again. Rhaenyra spoke truth, as she always did with him. He reached forward to stroke the swollen belly of his wife and smiled as he felt a small kick. "What choice to we have? Other than to attest his claim?"
"To King's Landing then?"
"To King's Landing"