King's Landing, The Red Keep - 118 AC
"How is it coming along?" Rhaenys asked, as she came to sit on the other side of my desk in my office as the official Master of Ships.
Many things had changed since the War for the Stepstones and the wedding of my son to the Crown Princess. As much as I hated to admit it, I had been wrong. I had allowed my slight and pride to get in the way, I should have listened to my wife. Instead of gathering many lords of the Narrow Seas that had been suffering because of the Triarchy, I had requested the support of the crown on my own. I then like a child left King's Landing, my position as Master of Ships, and went to rage war against three of the free cities on my own with only Daemon Targaryen of all people to back me up.
I lost almost half of my fleet and dragged my son into a warzone, which Rhaenys had yet to forgive me for. Luckily, the pirates had many treasures hidden in the Stepstones. Not only was I able to repay every single soldier that fought for us or pay the families of the fallen knights and sailors, but I was also able to regain every coin spent in this useless war and even pay for the reconstruction of my fleet. That is even with the small fortune Daemon had requested for himself, though I do not begrudge him, as he had been the one to fell the Crabfeeder and his Caraxes had been our greatest ally.
After returning to King's Landing as a hero, with the King requesting my return to the Small Counsil and gave my son the hand of his daughter and heir, well, it all went to my head. The moment Jacaerys was born, I knew that Rhaenys had been right. I should have listened to my wife and realized that my son was not going through a phase, that with his... preferences, he would not be able to fulfill his duties.
I still believed the words I told Rhaenys, that history remembered names not blood. And I loved my grandson with all my heart, it was the boy that Leanor had claimed as his own and that was good enough for me. Though, it was only when Lucerys was born that I felt a sense of peace wash over me. I felt the ice in my wife's heart thaw at being gifted with a granddaughter that has his mother's face. She never got to meet her mother and seeing sweet Lucerys grow up, hearing the stories that Boremund had to tell, had softened her. Not only was she finally acting like a proper grandmother to Jacaerys, but she had also rekindled her bonds with House Baratheon.
As for my son, it was as if life had returned to him. After his... lover had been murdered, at his own wedding at that, a piece of Leanor died with Joffrey. He tried his best, but his whoring and drinking was getting out of control, and there was only so much Rhaenyra could handle or do about it. It amused me how people believed I should have been angry at Rhaenyra for Jacaerys, but none of them realized how much Rhaenyra has been covering for Leanor and for that I will forever be grateful. I cared not about the court wagging tongues, but it was the Faith and their condemnation that worried me.
Leanor loves Jacaerys and Lucerys equally, blood be dammed. However, with Jacaerys there was a part of him that believed that as he was able to take him in and love him as his own, then other men would be capable of doing the same. My foolish son could not comprehend that very few men had his kind heart. So, I knew that there was still a part of him that wished to leave it all and flee to Essos. Maybe going as far as to fake his death, believing that he could only find true freedom that way.
However, the moment his daughter was placed in his arms, a child that carried his blood, I knew then and there that Leanor could no longer run away. Leanor had changed after that; he had started taking his duties as Crown Prince more seriously. He no longer got drunk or slept with half of King's Landing, and while he did take lovers, he was much more careful, and they vetted before getting close. Leanor had to be cautious now, as his children were involved now. Leanor went as far as to taking a semi-permanent position in Dragonstone, to oversee the island while Rhaenyra secured her position in the Green filled court of the Red Keep. I could not be prouder of my son.
So, when my daughter came to me and told me she did not want to marry the Sealord of Braavos I was thinking of betrothed her to, this time I listened. Maybe I finally learned my lesson... or maybe I just felt guilty about throwing my two and ten namedays old daughter to a man who had just butchered the woman he swore to love after two decades of marriage for a son that did not even live. Not one of my finest moments.
I was not as oblivious as my wife believed me to be, I had eyes, even when I was hardheaded and believed that my way was the best and tried to force it on my children. I could see the flirting and ardent looks Laena kept throwing at Daemon. I knew that there were worse matches for my daughter than a prince of the realm. Daemon was an accomplished knight and dragonrider, he had aided my house at the Stepstones and has a good fortune at the Iron Bank, one that will see my daughter and grandchildren well taken care of. He had even mellowed down a bit after the war and without the resentment of being chained to a non-Valyrian wife.
However, I would not be the Sea Snake if I just accepted things as they are. I would aim high or go home, that is my style. So, with determination I went to have a chat with our King, who was still struggling to find a position for his brother in court. Especially, after the scandal between him and Rhaenyra. I suggested to the King to keep Daemon away from King's Landing and his daughter, but also allowed that bloodlust of his to good use. They had captured the Stepstones, but their hold on them was still weak. There was a reason as to why the claim over them has been disputed for so long. At one point they were Dorne's, at another point they were the Triarchy's, now they were theirs and I was planning on keeping it that way.
I requested as the Master of Ships to adjourn the archipelago as part of Westeros, putting a warden there, just like they kept a Lord Reaper in the Iron Islands. And who better act a deterrent to the Triarchy than The Rogue Prince himself. Viserys had been wary at first, but without Otto whispering poison in his ear, I had been able to convince him. I had also managed to get second and third sons of Lord around the Eastern coast of Westeros to gain their own seats and becoming lord of their own branch houses. It allowed me to maintain my position as a leader figure in the Narrow Seas, which had not been as secure as it had once been after the War for the Stepstones and Jacaerys' birth.
The first thing I did was ship Vaemond and his sons to Grey Gallows, an isle that was now home for the House Velaryon branch of the Grey Gallows. Finally, Vaemond had his seat, something for his sons to inherit and could finally stop bothering me about marrying one of his spoiler brats to my precious granddaughter. As if I would ever allow them to get their greedy hands on Driftmark Throne and my Lucerys.
I even gave Torturer's Deep to Arthor Celtigar, Lord Bartimos Celtigar's nephew, so he could rise the seat for House Celtigar branch of Torturer's Deep. Why Torturer's Deep? Because giving anything to a relative to Bartimos, of all people, was a torture worse than death! But at least now that fool owes me one. And I will make sure they pay it back.
After selecting the second sons, third sons, and nephews to the most prominent Lords of the Easter cost of Westeros, and getting the ok from Viserys, I got to work. The Stepstones were only a little better than the Iron Islands, they could plant some fruit and grain but not enough to sustain them yearly. Luckily, they had plentiful bounty from the sea, fish and seafood of all kinds were easily found in their waters. There was a reason they did not starve during the war. But the main income will come from taxes, the Stepstones were after all the gate to Essos.
There was a reason why I wanted to deal with the Triarchy so swiftly and fully. Letting them control those waters would only bring more harm than good. Without Otto around, Viserys finally started to listen to me about it and was more than ready to maintain their control over the newest archipelago of Westeros. Thanks to my work during the war and setting up all of this, House Velaryon will get free nautical passages for trade in perpetuity. It took all of myself not to start cackling like a madman when Viserys signed that decree and gave it the royal seal. No wonder Otto kept such a tight leash on the crown, Viserys was a fool.
By the time I came to Daemon with my offer, a seat of his own and a Valyrian wife, he was so stunned that I did laugh at his face. With the fortunes Daemon had accumulated throughout his travels to Essos and during the War for the Stepstones, the Blood Hall castle was built quite rapidly, and Daemon looked at home sitting on the Blood Throne as he used to on the Dragonstone Throne. Daemon only returned to the Crownlands for his Valyrian wedding in Dragonstone to my daughter and for the announcement of his new position to the court. Otherwise, he, my daughter, and new granddaughters, Baela and Rhaena, preferred to stay in Bloodstone and Pentos.
We both cackled in the privacy of my office, after the swearing ceremony for the new lords, at the astounded face Queen Alicent wore when she received the news alongside the rest of the Red Keep. She had looked as if she had bitten a lemon.
"All houses and new port towns are finally finalized. All paperwork as well. This took much more time than it should have, and I totally blame your family," I sighed with a deadpan. "I swear, you Targaryens will be the death of me."
"Prince Daemon Targaryen of the Stepstones, Warden of the Narrow Seas, and Lord of Bloodstone," Rhaenys would have snorted if the action had not been beneath her. "Who would have imagined that the day would come when Daemon would become a respectable lord of the realm."
"Respectable? I do not believe that is the right word for it," I snorted, I did not mind the action. "It was all my hard work, and it is Laena that keeps the new branch of House Targaryen organized. Meanwhile, Daemon is burning pirate fleets on Caraxes and enjoying his vices in Pentos."
"You say that as if Laena does not join him on Vhagar and in Pentos," Rhaenys chuckled.
"No! My daughter, is still innocent and sweet!" I was not hearing such blasphemy.
"Laena innocent and sweet? Now that's the wildest lie I've ever heard!" Rhaenys threw her head back and laughed loudly, I turned to her and smiled fondly. It's been a while since I've seen her laugh that freely, at least since the Great Counsil. "Did my cousin sing the royal decree?"
"He did, Princess Baela Targaryen, dragonrider of Moondancer, will be Daemon's heir and the future Princess of the Stepstones, Warden of the Narrow Seas, Lady of Bloodstone, and wielder of Dark Sister."
Rhaenys furrowed her brows and pursed her lips. "Not even if a son is born from the union?"
"Not even if a son is born from the union," I assured her, knowing how important this was to her. "He even decreed it that Dark Sister will become the ancestral sword of House Targaryen of the Stepstones."
"Good, it's nice to see that my cousin was not that much of a hypocrite," Rhaenys scoffed.
I knew better than to get involved when her temperament rises like this, even if her words were borderline treason. It's not Viserys would do anything about it. He basically is allowing his wife to form a faction to consolidate power to usurp his daughter and heir. King Jaehaerys might have been an excellent king, but he was rubbish when it came to raising his children and heirs. Not even Queen Alysanne was that much better, it still surprised me that she is still known for being a great matchmaker, when all the marriages she had arranged for her family had ended in disaster. And those that did not, well, it ended in tragedy. My mood soured at the memory of Jocelyn, Alyssa, Daella, and recently Aemma.
"He even signed a royal decree announcing that Princess Lucerys Velaryon will be the future Lady of Driftmark and Lady of the Tides," I continued, trying to shake the solemn memories off. "We no longer have to worry about anyone challenging her position as my heiress."
"Now all we need to worry about is the Greens trying to marry their Aemond to our granddaughter," Rhaenys sneered.
I did not like this anymore than her, the idea of mixing my blood with the repugnant Hightower bloodline was nauseating. But I also realized that while Alicent might believe her son to be the Warrior reborn, I have been a young Daemon and Aemond was the carbon copy of his son. Aemond had the same obsessions as his uncle, his Valyrian ancestry, swords, dragons, and his chosen bride. The moment a dragon chooses a partner there was no changing it, Aemon, Baelon, Rhaenys, and now Aemond were proof of that. At one point, I might have placed Daemon in that list, but now I realized that what he most cared about was having a Valyrian bride, more than one bride in specific.
Aemond was different. I could see that there was no stopping it, the moment any of us try to take Lucerys away from him, he will burn all of Westeros to the ground. That if Lucerys died, he will die with her. Just the same way Aegon the Conqueror had. I could also see that my granddaughter felt a connection of a sort with him, she was still too young for me to see if there might be more involved. But who knows, maybe Lucerys would want Aemond too. I will no longer allow pride to get in the way of my family's future and happiness.
"Weddings might be what we need to stop this from going to war," I commented in High Valyrian, making Rhaenys snap her gaze back at me. I looked up from my papers and smiled wryly at her, before going back to them. "I mean, if Helaena married Jacaerys, there will still be a Hightower Queen, but there will also be a Velaryon King. If we also marry Aemond and Lucerys, then the next in line through Rhaenyra's line will also have Hightower blood. As for Aegon's challenge that is easily taken care of, have him marry an Andal. He is already a half-breed without a Valyrian bride, his children will only be one-fourth Valyrian and will not be able to claim dragons. They will be Tragaryens in only name and will not be able to the worst candidates for the Iron Throne."
"We both know that the Queen will never allow Jacaerys and Helaena to marry, she is too pious to allow a sullied bloodline to breed her precious and only daughter. The same goes for Rhaenyra in the case of sweet Lucerys and Aemond," Rhaenyra answered in High Valyrian, after a thoughtful silence. Though I could tell from her frown that she was thinking deeply about my preposition. "But who knows maybe the kids will surprise us and make this miracle happen. It will be easier in the case of Lucerys and Aemond, Rhaenyra will only want her daughter to be happy and Lucerys seems sweet on her favorite uncle. As for the Queen, she would simply say that she knows better, and her daughter knows not what's best for her."
"We could even sweeten the deal with the Queen an involve Daeron," I smirked mischievously. "Second sons are set to inherit nothing, especially when it the heir is the oldest daughter. Third sons in that case have it even worse, and I am sure she would want her Daeron to become a Lord Consort. Marrying Daeron to Baela, will maintain her as a Targaryen Princess and keep the Valyrian blood as pure as they can. I mean knowing that all her children are set to life, a Queen, a Lord Consort of the Tides, and a Prince Consort of the Stepstones, that might mellow her to our preposition. Sullied bloodline or not."
Rhaenys burst out laughing, looking at me incredulously. "And how will you manage that? Daemon will be worst than you about having his precious heir getting pregnant by a Hightower cunt!" I raised my eyebrows at her cursing. "Come on! I am simply repeating his words. We both know that Daemon will never allow that to happen."
"Who knows, maybe the children will surprise us," I repeated her words right back at her, this time my wife did roll her eyes in exasperation. "Baela might be just like our Laena and be ready to elope to get her way."
"Daeron might be just like every Hightower and too devout for any of our plans to work," she challenged right back. "Especially, since he is being fostered there. What allowed Viserys to send his own son so young to Old Town I will never know."
"I do not think he remembers he has a third son if I am being honest," I sighed, we might be part of the Black Faction, but it was a sad reality the one Alicent's children lived. Neglected and forgotten by their own sire. "It was a peace offering after dismissing Otto from his position as Hand of the King. It might get us some good will with the Queen if we find a way to get him back to King's Landing."
"We are already planning on fostering Lucerys in Driftmark when she is older to show her the ropes of being the future Lady of Driftmark. If we manage to convince the Queen to allow us to take Aemond with us as our ward, it might be enough. Who would ask the Queen to part ways with both of her sons?" Rhaenys inquired slyly.
I love my sly and lethal dragon-wife. "That might work, especially since Driftmark is so close and we have dragonriders that can fly Aemond from our island to the Red Keep. Making steady contact between family much easier than between Old Town and King's Landing."
"Those are some good ideas to think about later," Rhaenys stood up and straightened her dress. "Right now, though, we need to get ready for the banquet in honor of our granddaughter and Prince Aemond."
That is right, our granddaughter was the first dragonrider of the elusive Grey Ghost, now known as Ghost. When I started thinking I could not feel more pride, things like this would happen. The future of House Velaryon was bright, and I could not wait to see the heights we will rise to.