𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃
__________

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

"𝐍𝐨, 𝐧𝐨, 𝐧𝐨, 𝐟𝐚𝐭, 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧"

Alicent sighed in defeat and turned her gaze away from her eldest son, who seemed to have gained a sudden amount of enthusiasm for his new position as king and the power that came with it.Aegon had done nothing but complain and mope about the Red Keep the first day or so after his coronation, left all "important" duties to his mother and grandsire, and didn't seem to care that were was an impending war on the horizon.

Suddenly, as if over night, Aegon went back to being...well, Aegon.Drinking, betting and wasting away money, visiting his usual favourite brothels and cockily marching about the Red Keep, with his obnoxious posse, like any young man would if they got to wear the conquers crown and sit the iron throne.And while he still didn't exactly seem ecstatic about his seat at the head of the council table, he at least gave more than a one-word grumbled answer and seemed a lot more determined to "win his throne".It was all an act of course, a mask if you will, because while he could waste away in his chambers all he liked as a prince, a king had to "set an example" as his grandsire told him, be a brave face for the kingdoms to look up to and have hope in.

Drowning himself in wine and whores had always been Aegon's preferred coping mechanism and distraction, but this time was somehow different, this time he actually had something—or someone—he desperately needed to get out of his head before it inevitably drove him insane.Perhaps it was out of the guilt he felt eating away at him, or just pure instinct and habit, but Aegon couldn't be in a room without searching for her.

Her.

Visenya—still fucking with his head when he hadn't even seen or spoken to her in days—Velaryon.

It was like a sixth sense within him, a sickness.It had been like this since Aegon could remember, he couldn't be in the same room as Visenya without knowing where she was, and the only thing that made it slightly bearable was that she hadn't a clue.At least, she used too, before he spilled his entire heart out to her, only to have it handed right back.That was one of the only things he liked about her returning to Dragonstone, she wasn't there: he didn't have to be aware of her.But she still haunted him.

Every now and then, he'd catch a glimpse of ashy-blonde hair that caught the candle light as hers did, or somebody would laugh, and Aegon's breath would catch, as for just a split second, it sounded like hers.He'd look around for her, even when knowing she wasn't there and he wouldn't find her, still, he looked, every-single-time, he looked.

It was hell, and worthy of a night spent drowning in his cups.Or the closet whore he could find, that shared suspiciously similar features or shade of hair to her.Or both...It was usually both.

Perhaps not the best way for a king to gain a "brave" image amongst his people, sulking over an illicit affair and covering it up with drunken adventures, but Aegon was never one to care what people thought of him.Despite what the walls of his chamber might say, if they could talk.

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐤, 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠.

That was all they had left to burn of Lucerys, for his traditional Targaryen funeral, the rest of him and his remains lost to the ocean, forever, like a true Velaryon.

Visenya only shed a few, silent, tears as she stud at her mothers side, while they watched the fire burn, having dried most her tears out when she'd first heard the news, alone, in her chambers.At first, she'd been in complete shock and couldn't believe her own ears, until she returned home and saw the whole that was left, the shell of himself Jaehaerys had turned into, after what he'd witnessed.Then, she was only full of anger, crying and screaming as she practically ripped her chamber apart, nearly taking off Daemons head a few times during some "fun" practice on the beach, which he'd originally thought to be a good distraction but quickly came to regret the idea.Then, came the silence, no tears or anger, nothing.Visenya was simply numb, she felt nothing, nothing but emptiness.

Visenya tried to distract herself, with anything really, but nothing stoped that terrifying, empty feeling of grief and regret that came every-time she lay in bed at night, desperately trying to get even the smallest moment of peace and sleep, when her thoughts just stopped, went silent.But her eyes scarcely closed for more than an hour or two, if she was lucky.

She stopped going to seek comfort after a nightmare, not wanting to be a burden, specifically for Jaehaerys, the boy hadn't even been able to say what he saw that day and rarely spoke more than a few words.Visenya simply forced herself to calm down, to wipe the sweat of her forehead and regain her breath, before hiding in her bedsheets like a frightened child and staring at the dark walls until sunlight begun to fade into her chambers.

Even with the numbness and exhaustion grief filled her with, Visenya's temper and anger always would manage to seep its way back in, she was her mothers daughter after all, and there was nothing more enraging than having to read through multiple, pathetic letters from Alicent fucking Hightower, "apologising" for her brothers dead as if she was not partly to blame.As if she did not harass Rhaenyra and her children about their "legitimacy" for years on end and poisoned her children with lies, making them hate Rhaenyra just as she did, clearly a step in her plan to eventually usurp the throne.

Visenya did not care to actually read the letters, she didn't wish to give herself even more of a reason to make Alicent, and Aemond, her dragons next meal, only tearing open the seal and then tossing aside the ripped letter, after barely reading the first sentence.They only interrupted her time in the library, where her nose was buried in some history book or scroll often about Queen Visenya, specifically the rumours of her interest in dark, blood magic.

She was about to throw the next letter away into the pile, which she soon planned to watch burn in the fire, when something caused Visenya to stop in her tracks and thin her eyes in suspicion at the rolled parchment.It was not a green, Hightower seal imprinted on the wax, but the three-headed Targaryen symbol, of course, still in green.Visenya did roll her eyes at that, but curiosity always got the better of her eyes begun to scan the contents of the letter, despite her tired, dark eyes growing heavier and candle light flickering dimmer by the second.

Dear Visenya,

Visenya had to rub her eyes and bring the paper closer to her vision, to make sure she was reading that correctly and wasn't just going delirious with her lack of sleep.Many parts of the letter had been crossed out or smudged over, the rest written in rushed, scruffy hand writing, but Visenya was far too tired to try and decipher what was possibly written originally.

"Another apology from the Hightower cunt?"

The deep voice clearly startled Visenya awake as she whipped her head up and nearly threw the letter behind her, her eyes shining with the similair look of a child who had just been caught red handed, doing something they knew was wrong.Daemon, naturally, raised an eyebrow in response to her reaction, silently asking what it was she was up to that brought such a guilty look upon her face.

Visenya simply ignored Daemons suspicious look and nodded in response to his question. "The same pathetic apology as all the rest"

Daemon simply hummed as he approached the table, picking up and scanning over a few of the discarded letters.It was then, Visenya finally noticed and took in his own suspicious appearance.His clothes looked as though they belonged to a commoner, far from his usual tailored black doublet, topped with a cloak, clearly intending on hiding his identity, whenever he was going.

"Where are you off too?" Visenya thinned her eyes as she inspected his clothing once more.

Daemon clicked his tongue off the top of his mouth as he tossed the letter he had been holding, back onto the pile, before hesitantly replying. "Would you believe me if I told you I was on direct orders from-..."

"Absolutely not" Visenya cut him off bluntly with a subtle shake of her head, staying stubborn despite her growing exhaustion.

Daemon dramatically sighed and rolled his eyes, Visenya rolling her eyes in return to his attitude.

And he dare call me dramatic: she thought.

"Your mother...asked for Aemond Targaryen...I'm simply fulfilling her wishes" Daemon spoke gingerly, as if he deep down knew he was doing something Rhaenyra wouldn't be pleased with but couldn't get past his own pride to admit it.

Visenya raised her eyebrows, almost mockingly as if she didn't believe him.No matter how furious she was about Lucerys death, or how often she imagined watching the life leave Aemonds eye with nothing but satisfaction and zero remorse, she knew it would be reckless to just waltz up to Kings Landing and expect to be able to take down him and Vhagar, even in the dead of the night.

"And how, may I ask, do you plan to heroically take on the biggest, eldest war dragon currently living?" Visenya titled her head and raised her eyebrows, purposefully patronising as she rolled her eyes while emphasising on "heroically".

"Do you take me for a fool?" Daemon scoffed, sauntering over to the fire that was slowly growing dimer by the minute.

"On occasion" She hummed and shrugged, a tired yet still cocky grin playing on her lips.

Daemon huffed, back to Visenya as he loomed over the fire, remaining silent as if in deep thought for a moment or two. "I have connections in the city, many who know...let's say, alternative ways into the Red Keep-..."

"The hidden tunnels?" Visenya perked up, suddenly a lot more curious in where this conversation and plan of his was going.

"How do you know about that?" He spun around, thinning his eyes in suspicion at the younger girl.

Visenya caught herself and played off her knowledge of the pathways innocently, simply shrugging and frowning in response. "They are how Ser Erryk got me out of Kings Landing"

Daemon slowly nodded, whether he believed her little white lie or not, he didn't say anything further. "Anyways..." He sighed before continuing. "I plan to hire men to find Aemond...and kill him"

Visenya just stared at him, completely baffled, for a while, trying to figure out how Daemon possibly thought this was a good or sensible idea. "H-...have you even thought this through?how can you trust those men will not betray you?or even succeed in killing Aemond?if he's half as mad as me he likely sleeps with a million weapons within reach of his bed!"

Visenya didn't quite yell but she certainly raised her voice as she stud from her chair, her exhaustion suddenly having disappeared and frustration now having taken over.Daemon just stared back at her, no reaction to her outburst, nothing at all, only a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he stud with his arms crossed over his chest.He looked almost...amused but Visenya had no clue why.

"This an act of war, Daemon..." Visenya lowered her voice as she stepped closer, looking up at Daemon with an almost concerned look. "Do you wish for Lucerys legacy to be a cowardly assassination not even delivered by your own hand?"

"Then what do you propose I do?" Daemon finally snapped back, finally gave a reaction, voice more of a hiss than a whisper.

It didn't take much to anger Daemon, Visenya knew that, she also knew the fastest way to do so was to underestimate him, to accuse him of being cowardly or dishonouring his family as she had just done.They were a lot more alike than she cared to admit.

"Do you have a better plan?" Daemon raised his voice slightly when she did not answer him.

"No but-..." Visenya opened her mouth to argue but Daemon hardly let her get a word in edge ways before he dramatically huffed and stormed out the room, mumbling and cursing under his breath.

"For fucks sake-..." Visenya grumbled as she slumped back into one of the couches by the fire, dragging her hands down her face.

Her hands dropped back into her lap as she let out a prolonged sigh, eyes flickering around the room as she wandered what on earth she was going to do.

A sudden, draft of wind, presumably carrying from the doors as Daemon exited, brought Visenya's attention back to the pile of letters awaiting to be burned.She reluctantly got up and grabbed a handful of letters from the top of the pile, beginning to throw them in the fire when something caught her eye.The same letter that had caught her off guard earlier.

It clearly wasn't Alicents handwriting, not to mention Alicents letters were always sealed with the Hightower symbol on green wax, not Targaryen.A stirring feeling in her gut told her who it was written by but she didn't dare let her eyes travel any further down the page, feeling sick at just the thought of his name ringing in her head.

Without a second thought, she tossed it into the fire and watched it burn, bringing a slight satisfaction to her bitterness and anger, even if only for a little while, before grief consumed her once more in the night.

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

(A/N)
- - - - -
A very short n sweet chapter but I just rlly wanted to write/update to them again, it's mostly just a short summary I guess of what happened between s1 and 2. (even if the time skip in the show is only a couple of days)

Kinda unrelated but Silver Springs is THEIR song, u all betta be blasting it while reading, I will hear no expectations. 🔫😀

Anywaysss, enjoy the angsty/"enemies"/heavy denial/Aegon being a whiny, depressed bitch 24/7 era (he is anyways but yk what i mean) 😗

p.s, not telling y'all what was in that letter...yet

💌