'Oh, wow, good morning,' Gwayne said, running into Diane at the gates of the Red Keep. 'Have been busy, are you?' he commented, noticing two heavy bags in Diane's hands and some sort of pot under her arm.

'Something like that,' she smiled. 'A few things from Dragonstone that I requested.'

'We have a very different understanding of "a few things",' Gwayne chuckled. 'Here, let me help you,' he offered, extending a hand.

Diane looked at him for a second, then shrugged and gave him one of the bags and a pot. Gwayne gave the latter a critical once-over. 'Why would you request a pot with a stick in it?'

'I didn't. I bought it on the market.'

'The question still very much stands.'

'As if I will tell you all my secrets,' Diane smiled mischievously and continued walking, forcing Gwayne to rush after her.

'Just tell me if it's poisonous or not,' he said, holding the pot sheepishly. 'Because it would be a rather silly way to die.'

'Just don't eat it and you shall be fine.'

'That... doesn't give me much confidence if I'm honest,' Gwayne frowned but held the pot a little bit more firmly.

'What are you doing here at such an hour anyway?' Diane inquired. 'You have a day off today if I'm not mistaken.'

'The fact that you remember all the golden cloak's schedules still amazes me. But yes, I'm off today. I've visited my father. Family matters and all that.'

'And how unhappy is he with you today on a scale from one to Daemon Targaryen?' Diane asked, making Gwayne laugh.

'I'm not sure. Five and a half? I'm kind of used to it actually. It has always been rather obvious I'm not the type of son he wished to have.'

'Your father doesn't strike me as a man who wanted to have any children if I'm honest,' Diane said thoughtfully.

'You are probably right. You know, with an amount of affection - or rather a lack of it - in my parents' marriage, it's rather a miracle that I or Alicent came about,' Gwayne chuckled.

Diane wouldn't have called the birth of Alicent a miracle but she understood Gwayne's sentiment. It was not surprising to hear that Otto and his late wife weren't close. After all, the happy marriage among nobles was more of an exception than the rule. No wonder everyone was rather shocked when Daemon brought Rhaenyra flowers the other day just because he walked through the market and thought of her.

'It has been proved that affection is not required to create a child. Have you seen Borros and his wife? I have never seen married people who despise each other so much, and yet they have four daughters,' Diane pointed out.

'And I don't envy them. I figured Borros hates his wife because she wasn't able to give him sons so he can't treat his daughters much better than that.'

'You know, nuns at Dragontemple say that it's a male seed that determines whether a child will turn out a boy or a girl and not a woman's womb,' Diane said. 'I don't know if that's true but if it is, then Borros has no one to blame for the lack of male heirs but himself.'

Gwayne chuckled, 'Just don't tell him that. He wouldn't be pleased.'

'If he pisses me off enough, I just might.'

'Oh, you are petty.'

'And rather proud of it.'

Gwayne helped Diane carry her bags right to her rooms, then (still rather sheepishly) gave her back the pot and bid her goodbye. Diane made sure he disappeared from her sight just in case before opening the door to her rooms and shuffling the bags inside.

'Oh, hello,' Diane made a surprised sound when she spotted Rhaenyra lying on her bed with a book.

'Hi,' the princess smiled and sat up. 'Hope you don't mind. I just needed some peace and quiet and I figured no one would be looking for me here.'

'I do not mind at all. Should I leave?' Diane asked.

'Of course not! That's your room, isn't it?' Rhaenyra let out a laugh and shuffled to the edge of the bed. 'What's all this?'

'A few things from Dragonstone. Mostly books. Father said I should read more in High Valyrian to get used to the language but I'm a rather picky reader so I asked Gerardys to send me books I can actually enjoy,' she gestured at the bags. 'He doesn't do things halfway and I love him for it.'

'And this?' Rhaenyra pointed at the pot in Diane's hands.

'Oh, I bought it on the market.'

'But what is this?'

'This is supposed to be a black rose. I mean I suppose if you look after it right, it will bloom,' Diane looked it over critically. Rhaenyra looked rather skeptical at that idea as well.

'How much did you pay?'

'A golden dragon.'

Rhaenyra's eyebrows threatened to disappear in her hairline, 'For a stick in a pot?'

'To be fair, the woman selling it looked like she needed help but refused to accept charity so I asked her to sell me her most expensive item. It just happens to be a stick in a pot,' Diane shrugged, moving to put it in a corner of her room. 'And besides, black roses are actually very rare. If she did not lie, the price for this stick is justified.'

'What are you going to do with it?'

'I'll ask Athelstan to look after it for a while. If nothing comes of it, I'll just throw away the bloody thing,' Diane said, and then she was suddenly holding a fully bloomed black rose in a pot. 'Or not,' she added, slowly putting the pot with the rose where she had intended to put it before it miraculously bloomed. Huh, maybe Gwayne had a point of being wary. 'Anyway, what are you hiding from?' Diane turned back to Rhaenyra and changed the subject, making use of the fact that the princess didn't notice the stick turning into a fully blossomed black rose in the blink of an eye.

Rhaenyra shifted, 'Nothing really.'

Diane raised an eyebrow.

'Ugh, okay, I'm hiding from all this talk about Alicent being ill the last few weeks. It seems to be the only thing anyone talks about right now, and I'm just so sick of it!' the princess exclaimed, falling back on the pillows. 'I understand that she is the Queen and people are worried but... ugh.'

'Gets on the nerves, doesn't it?' Diane chuckled, climbing on the bed and laying beside Rhaenyra.

'Yes!' the princess exclaimed, then kept quiet for a few seconds and asked, 'Do you know what's wrong with her?'

'So now you want to talk about it?'

'I don't know,' Rhaenyra frowned. 'I don't want to worry about her and I don't want to give in to all this gossip because it's rarely truthful... but she looks bad, doesn't she? I saw her yesterday.'

'I did too. And she is unwell, that much is obvious. I know she has been visited by maesters a few times but that's all I know,' Diane shrugged. 'On the bright side, if it's something bad, they would have to publicly announce it.'

Rhaenyra snorted, 'That's your definition of "bright side"?'

'Well, it's much less work when the information comes to you and you don't have to dig for it,' Diane turned to lay on her side. 'Are you sure there is nothing else that brought you in here?' she inquired because, even though an urge to hide from gossip was understandable, it didn't really seem like the reason for Rhaenyra to hide out in her rooms in the middle of the day.

Rhaenyra looked like she wanted to deny everything but then sighed as if resigning to the conversation they were about to have. 'My last blood was late,' she said, and Diane immediately raised up on her elbow. 'It came so I'm not- not with a child yet,' the princess rushed to add. 'But for a few days, I thought I might be.'

'And how did it feel?'

'Fucking terrifying,' Rhaenyra confessed, her eyes getting just a little bit watery. 'I just- I know I want children with Daemon because, Gods know, he wants them and he will be an amazing father. And I know that if I am to sit on the Iron Throne, I need to make sure my bloodline goes on, but it's still... it killed my mother and I'm so scared it's going to kill me too.'

Diane kept quiet for a few seconds and then said, 'I wish I could reassure you and say that everything would go smoothly but I can't promise you that. I wish I could say your position as the Queen didn't rely on you producing heirs but it very much does and it is unfair, yes. Children should be brought into the world because they are wanted and not because someone is obliged to do so but there are some rules even we can't break-'

'You are not the best at cheering people up, are you?' Rhaenyra interrupted her but despite her own words, her lips curved slightly upward.

'It will get better if you let me finish,' Diane gave her friend a pointed look.

The princess chuckled, 'Okay, yes, go on.'

'What I was saying is that even if we can't change all those things, I can promise you that you won't have to go through this alone, Nyra,' Diane smiled reassuringly. 'My father surely won't let you. Mark my words, he will get obsessed with something unpredictable like baby clothes or Valyrian lullabies, or go as far as make his own cot for the baby which will be weird but cute,' she added, making Rhaenyra laugh.

'I didn't know he was good at woodwork.'

'He is not but did the lack of knowledge on how to do something ever really stop him? He'll figure it out.'

'Yeah, he probably will.'

'Also, I will be there,' Diane reached out and squeezed Rhaenyra's hand. 'I'm not very knowledgeable on pregnancy or childbirth but I'm good at following orders and not letting maesters anywhere near you during the whole process. You will have all the support we can possibly give you.'

Rhaenyra looked her in the eyes, 'Promise?'

'I promise.'

***

It was announced that the King and the Queen were expecting their third child. Diane found out about it a few days before the news officially broke down from Athelstan who was privy to the servants' gossip. After finding that out, Diane pulled a few more strings to get more details on the situation.

Alicent was already around four months pregnant but it was only now announced because before that it was rather touch and go. Diane found out that the Queen was experiencing horrendous morning sickness, headaches, and even some bleeding but as far as the maesters concluded the child inside of her was still growing.

'I feel bad for her... a little bit,' Rhaenyra said. No matter how much resentment she held towards Alicent, the princess still remembered how much her mother suffered through all of her unsuccessful pregnancies and she wouldn't wish such things even on her worst enemy.

'I do not,' Daemon commented, taking a bite of his blueberry scone. He never really liked Alicent Hightower, way less since she became the Queen and even less since he found out what she had done in another timeline. He wasn't a man who was generous with mercy or forgiveness, and Alicent didn't seem worthy of any of it. Things might change, of course, but Daemon highly doubted that.

'I guess I feel bad for her as a fellow woman but I despise her all the same,' Diane shrugged. 'Both things can be true at once.'

'Who did she have in another timeline?' Daemon asked. 'I'm pretty sure you've said it before but it felt irrelevant at that time.'

'A boy. Aemond. But I don't think this child is him. At least not the version that I am... familiar with,' Diane said thoughtfully. 'I think I already fucked it up.'

Rhaenyra blinked, 'Fucked what up?'

'The timeline. Even though knowing the birth dates of our enemies wasn't precisely my biggest priority, I... Did you know that Otto right now is only three and forty? When father cut his head off in another timeline, he looked way older.'

'It's a strange time to think about someone's age when his head is being cut off,' Rhaenyra pointed out with a chuckle.

'Well, do forgive me. I saw the man for the first time semi-close when he died. And he does look way better when his head is connected to his body so...'

'Do not finish that sentence!' Daemon suddenly exclaimed, making Diane smile apologetically.

'Sorry, father. But my point is that I think Aemond should have already been born. I didn't hold a candle or anything so I might be wrong but there is a fair chance that this child is not the person that was responsible for your death.'

'Well, I think I win then. I'm alive and he does not exist,' Daemon grinned, taking another bite of his blueberry scone.

Rhaenyra rolled her eyes with a smile on her lips. 'And what if this child is Aemond?' she asked.

'Then we will just have to make sure he is raised right, just like with Aegon and Helaena. I just hope Alicent won't keep popping out babies like she has nothing better to do...' Diane said thoughtfully. 'Otherwise, it would be a headache to keep track of all of them.'

'Aren't there remedies to make a woman barren?' Rhaenyra suddenly asked. Daemon raised an eyebrow with a smirk. 'I'm not saying we should use them, I'm just asking,' she added, blushing a little.

'I believe there are some that we can get a hold of if we really put our minds to it,' Diane said, obviously considering it. 'I do not precisely wish to resort to that but...'

'She has quite a few childbearing years ahead of her,' Daemon pointed out.

'And with Viserys' treatment working, I don't think his illness will make him incapable of reproducing for the next decade. Maybe even longer,' Diane thought aloud.

Rhaenyra squinted her nose, 'That sounds like a lot of children.'

Daemon looked at Diane, 'We need to think about the bigger picture here.'

Diane sighed, 'You have a point. But I refuse to sabotage a pregnancy. She seems to be having a hard time with it as it is.'

'I agree. We should let her have this child and... well, take precautions after,' Rhaenyra said.

Daemon and Diane looked at each other briefly then nodded in agreement. It would be best for everyone, including Alicent, if Viserys and she stopped reproducing.

***

The rumor started spreading in court that Rhaenyra was barren. It was widely known that her mother, the late Queen Aemma, had problems with most of her pregnancies, and it wasn't a stretch to say that Rhaenyra might have inherited that curse. After all, it was also known that Daemon and Rhaenyra were rather passionate about each other and surely there would have been a pregnancy announcement by now if nothing was amiss.

Otto Hightower was rather proud of himself for starting that rumor. He didn't do it himself, of course, he had people for such kinds of things, but nonetheless, it served a purpose. It put doubts in people's minds. How could Rhaenyra be a good Queen if she couldn't continue her line, couldn't provide heirs to the Crown?

Otto realized that the rumor might be short-lived if Rhaenyra went and announced her pregnancy but, according to his sources, the princess wasn't with a child yet and it meant the rumor had time to do some damage to her reputation. And there was not a single thing Diane could do to stop people from talking. After all, the rumor was a speculation and not a lie, and nothing short of a successful pregnancy could disprove it.

Or so Otto thought.

One day one of his spies told him that a new rumor was spreading like a dragonfire across the Red Keep and King's Landing. Someone insinuated that the child that the Queen was carrying wasn't the King's. An absurd notion, Otto thought, who would believe that?

The thing was that not only the rumor started among the help which for some reason gave it more credibility, but it also wasn't an insinuation but a blatant fact. The Queen cheated on the King with Larys Strong.

Otto knew very well that it wasn't true but he couldn't stop it from spreading. Because again, how do you disprove that without admitting guilt in one way or another? And to add insult to injury, Alicent was actually seen (on multiple occasions, for fuck's sake, what was she thinking?!) in private with Larys Strong by different servants and guards. It was nothing inappropriate as far as Otto understood but it still kept the flame of the rumor burning.

He tried to plant the idea that it was a totally absurd notion for the Queen to cheat with that man. He was neither charming, nor handsome, and clubfoot of all things. Otto knew it was a rather weak defense but he understood that just denying everything would only fuel the rumors. And keeping quiet would let them spread. There was really no winning, was there?

His weak attempt to counter the rumors failed the very next day because a rather few whores from Flea Bottom pointed out that a man with such... unfortunate circumstances as Larys Strong could turn out to be a treasure to have in your bed because such men tend to compensate for their physical shortcomings by being skilled with their hands and mouth. And besides, being a clubfoot didn't mean that his dick wasn't working.

Otto didn't know how true all of that was but it didn't really matter. All he knew was that these rumors would just keep going until the baby was born which was four months from now. He couldn't even start wrapping his head around the amount of damage it would do. Society might close their eyes if a royal man sired a bastard (which it, in fact, did all the time) but Alicent was a woman and the Queen, and it was a much bigger scandal.

He knew who was behind it, of course. Otto couldn't precisely say how she did it but she obviously had her resources because no one was even mentioning the fact that Princess Rhaenyra wasn't with child yet any longer. People just forgot about it, switching to a new and (objectively) more scandalous rumor. And Otto hated to admit that he seemed to lose this battle as well.

He was taking a shortcut through one of the inner yards to the Tower of Hand when he noticed her. Diane was lying on a blanket near a tree, propped on pillows, and reading a book. She had some food, a chug of wine beside her, and two cups but otherwise, she seemed to be alone and engrossed in reading.

Otto couldn't pass on the opportunity to catch her off guard, considering how many times she did that to him. But as soon as he approached, Diane looked up from her book and smiled at him as if she was expecting him. That was just... Otto himself didn't know he would take that shortcut until like ten minutes ago. What the actual fuck?

'Wish to join me, Lord Hand? The weather is rather nice for a picnic,' Diane asked. Otto couldn't quite decide if she was mocking him or not.

'You know it is not true,' he said.

Diane looked at the sky, confused. 'I mean... it is sunny-'

'I'm not talking about the weather.'

'Oh, I see,' Diane looked back at him with a small smile on her lips. 'Well, the funny thing about rumors is that truthfulness is not a requirement. You should know better than anyone.'

He did. But he was still pissed he lost this particular battle.

'It won't stick. As soon as this child is born, it will become obvious all your rumors were lies.'

'Will it though?' Diane said mysteriously. Otto just stared back at her so she let out a laugh, 'I'm just messing with you. Of course, the child is the King's. Your daughter is too much of a prude to lay with anyone other than her husband,' she turned a page of her book. 'At least as of right now.'

'Perhaps I should remind you that it is the Queen you are talking about.'

'I am very aware, thank you. Now either sit down or leave me be, Lord Hand, because you're towering over me in - allow me to point out - an unsuccessful attempt to intimidate me and thus blocking the sunlight.'

Otto huffed in annoyance and took a few steps back. Then walked around and sat on the opposite side of the blanket as if it would make the situation any less weird or scandalous. Diane handed him an empty cup and gestured at the jug of wine. 'Nothing here is poisonous, I promise,' she added with a smile.

Otto rolled his eyes and filled his cup. He couldn't remember when was the last time - if ever - he had a proper picnic. With a blanket on the grass and everything. He had no idea why he decided to take part in it now.

But there was something so thrilling in talking to someone who got his line of work. Who understood what a game he was playing. Who somewhat appreciated what he was doing. The fact that Diane was his rival, his enemy, a person whose political interests were completely opposite to his - well, it didn't matter that much at that precise moment. It probably should have but it didn't.

They sat in silence for a while, Diane reading her book as if his presence by her side was the most natural thing ever, and then Otto broke it. 'Were you always planning to spread this rumor or did you just retaliate?' he asked. He was rather curious.

Diane looked up from her book. 'A little bit of both,' she answered. 'The cheating scandal was waiting to happen, you just forced me to bring the child into it. It worked out even better so thank you for it,' she smiled.

Otto wasn't sure how he felt about being thanked for screwing up. 'I'm surprised she didn't realize how scandalous it was for her to meet Larys Strong in private,' he said instead.

Diane raised an eyebrow. Otto remembered the situation he was currently in. 'Touché,' he chuckled and was pleased to see that the corners of Diane's mouth tugged into something akin to a genuine smile. 'But his intentions in all of this are still a mystery to me,' Otto added thoughtfully.

It was obvious Larys Strong was trying to gain Alicent's trust but for what? He briefly considered the possibility of Larys and Diane working together but then it would be unwise for her to throw him into the fire like that. If he was trying to get to Alicent on Diane's (or Rhaenyra's) behalf, then this would be a secret she would have wanted to protect. Which meant Larys wasn't on her side and he definitely wasn't on Otto's side, considering Otto had never dealt with him in any capacity before. Which meant this man had his own agenda that Otto was yet to figure out.

'Hm, they are rather clear to me,' Diane said, not looking away from her book.

Otto waited for a few seconds for her to continue, then realized she had no intentions to do so and sighed, 'Care to share with the audience?'

'Now, why would I? It will be helping my opponent, will it not?' she glanced at him with a smirk.

Otto pursed his lips. She was teasing him again, wasn't she? He was not used to it. He also couldn't wrap his head around how young Diane was and how young she did not seem to be at the same time. There was something about her eyes, about the way she held herself... it was obvious she experienced more life than one might think, considering her age and standing. And that was rather intriguing. Maybe something about her past would get Otto the leverage he needed and right now did not have? He doubted she would tell him, she was careful like that, but maybe he would get lucky?

'We can always trade, Lady Diane,' he offered. 'Your information for mine.'

Otto knew he was taking a risk but Diane seemed serious about knowing what Larys Strong wanted. And Otto very much wanted to know.

'You do not possess any knowledge I desire to know at the moment,' Diane smiled. Fine, wow, insulting. After all, to know things others didn't was a big part of his game. 'But you might one day. I'll tell you what I know about Larys and you'll owe me a favor. How about that?' she asked, simultaneously stretching her arm to him with an empty cup.

Otto picked up a jug and filled Diane's cup without even registering what he was doing, his mind fully focused on considering her offer. 'Do you believe I will hold my end of the bargain?' he asked.

'I do not know. Do you believe I will hold mine?' she retaliated, taking a sip of her wine.

That was a good point. After all, it was just words, wasn't it? He could refuse to help her in the future and she could lie to him about Larys right now. The question was whether or not this whole exchange was worth the risk. And apparently, Diane was leaving it for him to decide.

'Very well then. I will owe you a favor,' Otto agreed, picking up a grape. If he was having an unexpected picnic, he could as well enjoy what it had to offer. 'Within reason, of course.'

Diane smiled, 'Of course.' She then put her book aside and turned towards him, 'Larys is eyeing your place.'

Otto raised an eyebrow, 'He wants to be the Hand of the King?'

'Not necessarily. Hand of the King is just a title, is it not? He wants your place in the game. He wants the connections you have, the influence you gained, the power I can't deny you possess,' Diane shuffled just a tad closer. 'I dare say he is hungry for it. But he can't just replace you, he is well aware of how highly the King regards you, so he went for the weakest link. For someone who perhaps is easier to impress and way easier to manipulate.'

'Alicent,' Otto said. It made sense. He still couldn't be sure Diane was telling him the truth but everything she was saying made perfect sense.

Diane nodded with a small smile as if happy he was catching on. 'He might pretend to be on your side of things but he'll get rid of you the first chance he gets. And I would not like that.'

'And why is that?' Otto asked. 'You do not think he is better at playing the game than me, do you?'

Diane let out a laugh, 'Oh Gods, no. But he is just so...' she took a second to choose the right word. 'Uninteresting.'

Otto raised an eyebrow, 'Uninteresting?'

'He is no fun.'

'And I am?'

'Well, you are having a picnic with me, aren't you?'

Sadly, Otto couldn't deny that. He was, in fact, having a picnic with her despite having no intentions to do so just half an hour ago. So instead of answering, he took a sip of his wine.

Diane chuckled and picked up the book again, making herself comfortable on the pillows. 'If you have nowhere else to be, I may read to you if you like,' she then offered. It was obvious that she was not willing to discuss political matters any longer but for some reason didn't rush to usher him away.

Otto glanced at the book, catching its title. 'I'm afraid I do not know High Valyrian to understand it,' he said.

'I can translate it for you. Well, at least give it a try. Father says I need to practice and I guess that counts,' she smiled. Otto started to feel like she didn't want him to leave. And - what was maybe just a tad more surprising - he didn't want to leave either.

'What is it about?'

'Old Valyrian society. It is rather interesting how it was similar and yet so different from ours. I've just started a new chapter.'

As a rule, Otto didn't give a single fuck about Old Valyria. And yet he said, 'I suppose I can stay for a while.'

During the next hour, Otto found out that the reason marriages between Valyrians and Molfars were forbidden was because such matches tended to produce children who were deemed too powerful, too unhinged, and too much for society to handle. He also found out that he quite enjoyed listening to Diane's voice.