I'm just going to say it, expect a whole mashup of relationships, non-relationships, and lovers cause frankly, my brain cells are giving up on not shipping Rhaenar with whoever.
The tea Rhaenar had been sipping just moments ago, threatening to rise from her stomach as her hand clasped out, gripping onto the cool stone beside her. She knew who it was without a shadow of a doubt, despite never having seen the man she knew him. He was older than she thought, his hair having begun to thin at the front but with two unnerving pale green eyes. Even from his position in a cramped cell, he dared to look down on her.
Rhaenar wanted to launch herself at him, anger having bubbled like a steaming pit inside of her as her hands clenched into fists at her side. Somehow Oberyn had managed to drag Tywin Lannister to her corner of the Earth, and stripped him of every luxury he had ever known. Tywin was looking at the two people who hated him more than any other in this small world; a viper and a dragon. Fuck, he thought, not letting it show. "I hope you don't mind my gift to you, My Queen."
The indigo shot to a vivid blue, the fury threatening to burn the old Lion before her. He was the one who betrayed his King, he was the one who ordered the death of Elia and her children, and he was sat in the cells of her pyramid. She smirked devilishly, all hints of the girl cleared from her as her back straightened. "How in the Gods name did you manage this, Oberyn?" No one had ever managed to capture Tywin Lannister.
Oberyn's arm slinked around her waist as he guided her in, the two moving like foxes circling the weak. "As I was telling you before, poison comes in handy not just to kill but to knock unconscious. You wouldn't believe the shit I had him pulled from." Tyrion about to murder his father if Oberyn hadn't sent Varys in on time. "Forgive me for not giving it to you sooner."
Rhaenar shook her head. All her life she had bigged Tywin Lannister up in her mind to be this unnerving character, a presence in a room, a silent killer, but as he sat before her like this, it vanished in an instant. He was nothing but an old man with a cold gaze; no doubt he was as she thought; but sitting in a cell had stripped him entirely of that. "Traitor." Tywin hissed at Oberyn, only eliciting a darker smirk from the man as he stared down at the bound figure.
"A traitor to a family I never pledged myself to." Oberyn hissed, the two of them stopping in front of Tywin. "You see, Lord Tywin, shortly into Robert's reign, Dorne still found themselves filled with vengeance for the murder of our Elia. We sought a marriage alliance with House Targaryen that had unfortunately failed through." He explained, motioning the girl in his arms. "But she wrote to me shortly before the fight, and all of this set in motion not just by one traitor but by many. The Lannisters have yet to pay their debts."
"So you thought you would find yourself a Targaryen Queen?" He drawled, shaking his head as though he couldn't believe the situation. Rhaenar couldn't either, the thought of the murdering bastard Tywin in her home, in her reach; she was sure many men would pay a pretty price to kill him. But she didn't want to do that.
"Not just any Targaryen Queen." Rhaenar uttered to him, her voice clear from fear and doubt. "A bastard Targaryen Queen." There was nothing more a Westerosi hated than a bastard.
"Another bastard lover of yours, Prince Oberyn?" Tywin spat, neither of the two opposite him finding offence.
Oberyn smirked. "Not yet, Lord Tywin; but with the beauty of this one I might not be able to help myself." Oberyn reached up to clasp a strand of that silvery gold hair, locking it behind Rhaenar's ear, his hand brushing her cheek. Her body pulled her tighter to him, the affection not unwelcomed as a form of display for Tywin. He couldn't have seen a more disgusting sight. "Or should I call you Tywin now? As I'm sure it's Lady Cersei as the acting paramount and warden of Casterly Rock."
It was a low jab, but a well delivered blow to Tywin. His legacy smashed to smithereens in a matter of seconds at the sheer mention of his daughter's name being his heir. "I think you recall our day in the brothel, when you came to me asking me to be a judge at your son's trial. I was as shocked as anyone to know you placed Dorne in such high regard for their ability to resist the Targaryens."
"Clearly my judgement had been misplaced." He uttered, his tone clipped.
Oberyn smirked. "Despite Rhaegar having left Elia behind, the Targaryens and Martells have serviced each other for a long amount of history. They allowed us to remain as Princes, they joined our houses in marriage, and had us a seat on the council that didn't take 19 years to ask about."
"Your point?" Tywin asked.
Rhaenar could feel the tense grip of Oberyn on her waist, the harshness in the way he spoke as he looked at the man who had sentenced his sister to death. "It was foolish of you to believe the Martells would be loyal to you. It was foolish to ever expect us not to be angry about our sister's death and to not support the Targaryens."
"All notable Targaryens were left for dead; these are nothing more than children." They were everything more than children, they hadn't been children since they were kicked from the house with the red door.
Oberyn moved, standing behind Rhaenar but keeping his gaze on Tywin, his height easily giving him an advantage. "Does she look like a child to you? The dress may cover a lot but it doesn't cover the curve of the hips or the swell of the breast. Her eyes don't shine like a child." Tywin swallowed. "A child cannot control four dragons, or an army of Unsullied, Golden Company, Dothraki, and Sellswords."
"No, I suppose a child couldn't." He muttered, those pale eyes drifting to her.
"It's desperation for safety that holds power, an understanding of wanting a better life for people. I have my Unsullied because I helped to free them from slavery, I have my cities because I knocked on the gates and told them who I was and what I wanted. The Second Sons promised to pledge to me because they believe in me, as do the Golden Company." She is followed by two large sellsword companies. "Long ago, I was exiled from my home; I've never found one until I came here. You did that to me; you, and Robert Baratheon, and every other house that raised banners against the Targaryens."
Tywin shot her a pointed look. "War creates all kinds of casualties, consider yourself lucky to be alive." His eyes ran over her, something seeming odd. Aerys had been celibate for several years of his life towards the end, refusing to sleep with anyone but Rhaella. How did a bastard come about?
Rhaenar's brow quirked, her anger spiking. "What are you to do with him, Oberyn?"
"I suppose we should kill him." He didn't sound convinced with his own answer.
"You don't sound so sure." She stated.
Oberyn shook his head. "Or we could keep him alive, let that rage and fury fester at the state of his House. It would pain Tywin so if we crossed the Narrow Sea, undid everything he worked hard for..." She could see where he was going with this.
"Think about it; your enemies would pay, those who have wronged you will be made to answer for their crimes." Robert Baratheon was dead, he couldn't answer for his but Oberyn had brought Tywin to her. And she relished that he was weak and defenceless. "Imagine being Queen of the Seven Kingdoms."
Rhaenar knew she couldn't protest in front of Tywin, it would be a sign of weakness. "A fresh start for a Targaryen dynasty, and you would be the Queen." He whispered to her, loud enough for Tywin to hear. "All that has wrong you, that has hurt you, wouldn't you like to see them dead?" He uttered, her mind turning. "Think about it; your brother hurt you, the assassins hurt you, and now they are all dead; Tywin can be too..."
She didn't want to hurt anyone, but Tywin wasn't anyone. He was the one that gave the order. "I want to see him suffer, I want to take everything from him like he took from me. I could have been happy, my family could have been happy if Rhaegar was still alive." Countless innocent lives happy and living if Rhaegar was alive.
"You're a bastard, they'll never accept you the way the Martells do, they would only follow a full bloodied Targaryen." Like Daenerys, a full blooded Targaryen.
"Men will follow me because they see power; they see four dragons, and an army of men at the gates of their city - and they want to live." She spat at him, fire licking from her tongue.
Tywin pursed his lips. "You can't rule the Seven Kingdoms with a kind heart."
"My heart is many things, Tywin Lannister; and kind is just a small fraction." She could be ruthless if she needed to, she could be angry and show the world what happens to a Targaryen that learned to rise from the ashes.
Rhaenar slipped from Oberyn's grasp, lowering herself down before him. She could see him closely now, the flicker of the torch not helping the large bags of black that hung beneath this eyes, and wrinkles that sprawled out from the side. She could see the cold heartness of a Great Leader in his eyes, and the desperation for power. He had the blood of thousands on his hands that would never wash off; the blood of Elia, Aegon, and Rhaenys on his hand. "I will take the Iron Throne from your children and your grandchildren, I will purge the land from any remnants of your house as you did to my family; and I will make you watch as you are helpless to raise an army against me. You will pay for the mistakes you made that night in King's Landing, you will pay for killing my family as though it was nothing. That, I promise of you, Tywin of House Lannister."
Oberyn watched with wide eyes as she promised to take the Iron Throne, his hands itching to pull her within his grasp and prove just how dedicated he was to her. Rhaenar stood from the floor, brushing the knees of her breeches as her back straightened, the weight resting just a little heavier on her shoulders as she stepped away from the Great Lion and to Oberyn. "We better inform the council of my decision; I'm sure Barristan Selmy will be more than enthusiastic on this news."
She pulled the wooden door to the cell open before stepping out, the fog that had sat heavy in her mind clearing. Rhaenar had just sworn to Tywin Lannister that she would take the Iron Throne, that she would wipe clean all the injustices his family had caused. This meant death, and a lot of it would cling to her hands, but it would be worth it knowing that Elia and her children's deaths were not in vain, that Rhaegar didn't die for nothing, and that the Targaryens wouldn't just fade away in a foreign land. They were stronger than ever with the power of the ancient lines; she had dragon blood running through her veins, and she wasn't going to bow down to anyone.
Oberyn followed behind her, hot on her heels as they began to leave the dungeons. "If I want to do this Prince Oberyn, I want to do it my way; with my advisors beside me and the least amount of blood on my hands."
"Of course, My Queen. Whatever you need, I'm sure we will follow you." He urged.
"And will Dorne support me?"
He smiled, nodding. "As soon as we cross the Narrow Sea, Dorne will support you with me by your side. Doran knows how long we've waited for this, he won't hesitate to give you what you need." Good, she thought.
"I want every preparation made before we cross; we'll need more allies and supporters in Westeros before we can even begin, which means a council meeting will have to be held to even talk about the logistics of this." Rhae rattled off, her mind already thinking of every possibility. "You'll need to be there, as will Meria and Barristan, you three have the most knowledge on the land and people of Westeros which will become vital to us."
Oberyn nodded, the two of them trailing up the stairs. "Of course, I start to gather ideas on potential houses that could turn against the Lannisters; thankfully in the past few years, they've made many enemies." Rhaenar nodded, before stopping a moment, a frown marred on her face. "What? What is it?" He questioned, confused.
"Can you hear that?" It was quiet, barely audible but it was there, the soft ringing of a bell. Rhaenar flew through the pyramid, back to the balcony with the table that had now been cleared away. It was louder out here, the chime carried through the air above the city of Meereen. "It's an attack, something's happened." She uttered, turning around, her indigo wild.
Oberyn placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, keeping her still as her eyes darted to the streets below. She knew she couldn't see anything, but it gave her comfort to know if something could happen, then men would easily be able to help. The waited for a moment before the bells stopped, her eyes meeting his. That couldn't be good, unless whatever attack was over.
Rhaenar listened out, heavy boots clunking against the stone as she turned, the Unsullied racing towards her. She recognised Green, his eyes wide as full of horror as he made a beeline to her. "My Queen."
"What is it? Why were the bells ringing? Was it an attack?" She rushed hurriedly, her heart thumping in her ears like a drum.
"There has been an attack in the city centre, a group of Unsullied have been ambushed." A group of Unsullied, which ones there were many.
Rhaenar stepped forward. "What group? Are they all okay?"
Green looked down for a moment, shaking his head. "It was the group with Grey Worm, My Queen; only he survived." It was as though the world was caving in for a moment, Grey Worm was seriously hurt and the others all dead. "Mero is in the Throne room waiting for you, he and Ser Barristan found them."
Rhaenar nodded her head, looking down for a minute to compose herself. "Thank you, Green." She muttered softly, sighing. She didn't need someone to confirm what she already knew, the Sons of the Harpy did this to her boys.
"What is it? What happened?" Oberyn asked, confused.
"There's been an attack on the Unsullied patrol group today, Grey Worm was amongst them, and there were no survivors. Mero is anticipating me in the Throne Room." She said.
Oberyn stopped her for a moment, his hand remaining on her shoulder. "Do you want me to come with you?"
Rhae shook her head. "No, I'll be okay. Please enjoy the rest of your day, Prince Oberyn." He stepped back at the formality, but nodded his head regardless. Rhaenar turned upon her heel before making her way to the Throne Room, Missandei must be cut up inside, Rhae knew the two of them were getting closer; she'd have to pay her a visit. Clicking across the stone floor, she rounded onto the throne room before slipping inside.
It was dark, every form of light shut out, bar several candles that had been set up around the room. She could see Mero's tall, hunched figure, and Ser Barristan standing respectfully beside him but she could see what was laid out in front of him. At the sound of her heels slowing, he turned, his ocean eyes swimming in pools of tears. "Mero?" She asked, stepping forward.
His lip wobbled, his voice failing him as he held out a hand, Rhaenar confused as she took it. Her eyes gazed down. Their two Unsullied boys laid upon the slab, eyes closed, bodies too still. Red and Blue. She cried out, slamming a hand down over her mouth as she shook her head. No, not them. What- Wha- Her mind struggled for a moment to create a thought as everything around her sharpened.
Rhaenar reached forward, grasping both of their faces. They couldn't be dead, no, she refused it. She had only seen them this morning at her door, laughing and jesting like they normally did. They couldn't be dead, they just couldn't! "Why were they there?" She asked, thumbs rubbing on their cheeks.
"They had a free afternoon with me, and we went into the market again. We heard the bells and went running. There were so many Sons there, Rhae, we jumped straight in, but we were overwhelmed." Oh Gods, she thought. Her precious boys. "They died fighting, with honour to their names." Mero mumbled, their deaths no less painful than a sons.
The two unsullied had been close, their trip to Braavos having brought them close like a family and to see them stretched out on that stone... She shook her head. Rhaenar was angry, and she was upset. The men in masks were cowards. "I want all the members of the Great houses brought to me, I want every man that died in that alleyway buried with honour, and I want those men who dared to kill our boys publicly shamed." She stated, jaw locked. She didn't care if those who murdered her Unsullied were dead, she would show them for exactly what they were.
"And I need my dragons."