KING'S LANDING, 131 AC

It was during the first night Prince Aegon and Princess Viserra had been wed when Ser Otto Hightower already started planning out good schemes for the future. Even though it was of no real political advantage that Aegon had married Viserra, the Hand tried to think of the benefits this marriage could potentially bring, anyway.

Alicent and Otto had agreed on meeting during the hour of the wolf to speak about this important matter in the Tower of the Hand. She, too, had her own intentions and wishes for her son as the Queen Consort. Perhaps she would even become Queen Regent soon, having seen her husband's condition during the wedding. This would leave her in an even more responsible position.

When the door was opened by Otto himself, his daughter was already waiting for him, sitting at the table he occupied daily and read letters at, often writing the replies instantly afterwards. He nodded towards his daughter in acknowledgement and walked over to take a seat on his own chair, opposite of Alicent.

"They have done the act. I heard it myself," he stated plainly, his eyes wandering to Alicent to see her reaction, which, unsurprisingly, was neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. She only sighed, amused, although it could have been sarcastic at the same time.

The act was such a complex concept. Some took pleasure in it and commited to it daily whereas others fled it and only did it when it was necessary to squeeze out heirs for whomever needed. Alicent knew herself to be of the second kind, but Aegon belonged, no doubt, to the first.

"We do not know if Viserra will bear Aegon's child yet. Maybe she is barren," Alicent tried to reassure herself that Aegon would not have to bother himself with any children that came from Viserra's womb. It was disgusting enough that her daughter by law was a bastard and she would have to see the brunette hair each and every day, a reminder of Princess Rhaenyra's sins.

"Maybe not everything is as bad as it seems, Alicent. Viserra may be illegitimate, but we must not forget that this marriage might be in our favour," Otto started explaining, wanting to see the good side of the marriage so it wouldn't look like a hopeless situation, but his daughter was quick to interrupt him.

"In our favour? In our favour! She is a bastard! What is there that could make this marriage in our favour?!" she was almost enraged as she heard Otto's words. How could any marriage to a bastard be in someone's favour? Let alone the marriage of the King's firstborn son..

The Hand gave the slightest hint of a smile as he bent slightly forward to stroke his daughter's arm gently.

"My daughter, I know that very well. But there are things that could make her valuable for us. I assume you have seen how she behaved at her own wedding. The girl is naive, if not even stupid. If we gain her trust, she might even tell us more about Princess Rhaenyra. Secrets only her closest family would know," he elucidated solemnly and slowly to make it understandable for Alicent, but she only shook her head.

"No one can be as stupid as that," Alicent muttered, burying her head in her hands and ignoring her father's touch that did anything but comfort her.

"I said we have to gain her trust first. If she trusts us, she will tell us everything, I am sure of that," Otto stood by his point, retrieving his hand from Alicent and leaning back in his chair again.

There was a long silence. The Queen didn't know how to contradict her father and convince him that he was wrong, and the Hand didn't know in what other ways the Serene Princess could be useful for the Greens. Maybe, in both cases, there was nothing to be said, so the silence wasn't so wrong at place.

The only reason Alicent and Otto could see one another was because of the fire that was burning in the fireplace. It was night and the only thing that the windows did was making the room appear darker, scarier.

Had it not been the tower of the Hand, one might have even said the room appeared cozy, for it wasn't entirely tidy, with some parchments lying here and there, but it wasn't too messy either. The bed was done and it seemed the servants were working well by keeping up the cleanliness of the chambers.

As the Hand looked at the fire, it reminded him of something else. Fire and Blood - the motto of House Targaryen, had not been picked randomly. The Targaryens were associated with fire because of the beasts they sought to tame.

"Viserra has a dragon," Otto suddenly spoke, leaning forward in his seat again. "Silverwing is not as big as Vhagar, maybe, but it surely matches the size of Dreamfyre", he elaborated further.

Alicent looked up to her father, confused once again and feeling interrupted in the silence she had enjoyed just moments ago. That very silence had made her think about the situation for herself. The result had been clear - Viserra was a bother that needed to be eliminated, just as she had thought during the wedding ceremony.

"And? She has a dragon, and? What does it matter?" the Queen snapped at her own father.

"It mattered a lot to you when Aemond claimed Vhagar..," Otto started, but Alicent repeatedly interrupted him, this time truly enraged.

"It mattered to you! To you! Not me! He lost an eye..for a dragon?! For a dragon! And nothing more..," she jumped up and shouted around the whole tower, clearly taking in her father by surprise, who was subsequently too stunned to speak.

Queen Alicent and Ser Otto would discuss the marriage of Aegon and Viserra for the whole night, but they would not be the only ones to do so.

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Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon also talked about it when they arrived back home on Dragonstone. While Rhaenyra and the children had travelled by ship, Daemon had flown on Caraxes. On the way to King's Landing Daemon had volunteered to fly alongside Viserra and Silverwing as Rhaenyra had been too worried to let her only daughter fly by herself.

Back on Dragonstone, the two of them had their own chambers so they could talk about whatever they wanted without any risk of someone unwanted hearing their secret talks.

Rhaenyra was filled with guilt about leaving her daughter so early. Afterwards, she felt as though she should have stayed for a few more days to help Viserra adapt to the life of a wife. Furthermore, the looks she had received from everyone in the Red Keep had implied that neither she, nor her family, nor Viserra herself, were welcome. And now she had left her daughter by herself with those people who would make her feel miserable. Rhaenyra knew that.

Daemon, on the other hand, did not care for Viserra at all. During the years they had spent on Dragonstone, Viserra had pushed him away despite his questionable efforts of being a father. She had always said that her father had died and that no father was replaceable. He had taken that as an insult, as he took every small phrase as one. Their relationship worsened, leading as far as to him letting out his anger on her. It was much more entertaining to shout and mistreat a little girl than some mere servant or peasant. To watch her innocent smile fade from her lips and be replaced by tears in her eyes was something that brought the Rogue Prince uttermost amusement. Or her being on her knees and begging him not to hit her again but him, obviously, refusing and continuing.

Daemon loved breaking innocents. Especially when they were so scared of him they could not even admit their mistreatment to someone else and display it as a tripping accident. It was always the cherry on top for him, and with Viserra being the kindest soul he had ever met, it pleased him even more to break her. Only what a shame that she was gone now and married to the drunken prince Aegon. He would have to find someone else to torment.

"We should have stayed for a few more days," Rhaenyra broke the silence, looking at Daemon who only shook his head in disagreement.

"A few days more won't make the people hate her less. If they hate her, they hate her," he replied, bored, looking at his hands and inspecting his nails to see if they had got dirty. Viserra did not matter to him so much that his nails being clean was more important to him than her well-being.

"I left her by herself with- with this- they could not even dance," Rhaenyra spoke again, not even taking in Daemon's words for her own worries about the wedding's incidents overshadowed them. But Daemon, of course, had, on the contrary, found it amusing and not concerning. Every small mishap during the wedding had only come to his pleasure.

"I wonder if Aegon was too drunk to stuff his cock inside her," he simply commented, visibly disinterested by the whole conversation. What did Daemon care? Viserra was not his daughter, Aegon was not his son, but to Rhaenyra, of course, it was so important to speak about it.

"Daemon-" the princess of Dragonstone stared at her husband. How could he speak so lowly of Viserra's circumstances? Rhaenyra didn't understand, how could she, when she didn't know of all the things that had happened between her husband and her daughter?

Viserra was a sweet girl, one who would always step aside for others, who would keep one's secrets safe no matter what, who would apologise for the smallest mishaps, even if they were not her fault. What Rhaenyra did not know was that Daemon had pushed her so far that one could hit her and she would apologise for not being hit harshly enough.

"She is still a child," Rhaenyra finished her thought. "She is Five and Ten and yet she is too kind for her own good. I fear Aegon will harm her."

Daemon chuckled, as he always did when it came to such ridiculous things. If Aegon hurt Viserra, then at least someone could let out their anger on that creature. He could only imagine how the child would look up at her husband and, perhaps, expect a kiss, only to be met with a slap in the face. The thought brought a smirk to his face.

"If Aegon hurts her she might run away to Aemond," he jested, remembering how Rhaenyra had told him that Viserra and Aemond had shared a friendship when they had been younger. "Or, perhaps, Silverwing," the Rogue Prince added, still inspecting his fingers to see if there was any dirt left, and if there was dirt, he would remove it by spitting on it and rubbing it away.

Rhaenyra looked at her husband, once, taking in his words, before exhaling deeply and staring at the ground of their chambers. She knew her daughter well. Despite Daemon's jest, she knew his words to be true. If Viserra were to have problems with a person, she would not confront the person, on the contrary, she would run away to another. The only question was - who would she run away to? In King's Landing, no one had much left for Viserra, except for her lady-in-waiting and her sworn protector, but would they be able to provide the Serene Princess with the comfort she needed?

In the end, Daemon was right. If anything, Viserra had her dragon, Silverwing. Rhaenyra remembered very well how happy her daughter had been when she had managed to claim the she-dragon. Silverwing had been so calm she had accepted Viserra almost instantly, as their serene and cautious natures bound them together.

"I will send her ravens every moon, I will tell Jace, Luke, Baela and Rhaena to write letters as well," the Princess announced, looking back at Daemon, who only smiled a little at those words, not saying anything in return. The idea was nice for a woman that cared about her daughter, although it was something the Rogue Prince couldn't relate to at all.

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Not everyone was opposed to the marriage between Aegon and Viserra. On their way back to Riverrun, Kermit and Helaena were holding hands when they spoke about the wedding they had attended.

"Viserra is very sweet," the princess admitted with a kind smile towards her husband of two years. Kermit's lips formed a smile in return as he nodded in agreement.

"I hope Prince Aegon will realise what a good woman he has married. I heard she is fond of sewing flowers, Maerie told me," Kermit added, raving about his good sister. He was not jealous of Aegon for marrying Viserra, it was just pure and genuine happiness the son of Elmo Tully felt. A rare thing for people to have no evil thoughts and wishes on others.

Helaena's smile brightened slightly before she looked down at her swollen belly and rubbed it gently with her other hand. "Viserra will be with child soon, too," she started speaking, but was, unintentionally, quickly interrupted by Kermit.

"And she shall be as happy as we are. It is a gift to be graced with a child."

Although with no evil intention, Kermit's interruption had made Helaena shift slightly away from him. Releasing his hand from her loose grip, she turned away from him. This surprised Kermit, despite the fact that he knew his wife could be like this - suddenly turning away for no reason - it always was a surprised to him when it came.

"Did I say something wrong?" the young man asked, only to receive an answer in riddles.

"Gold and silver will be torn apart for an eternity, despite their similar gleam," Helaena muttered before staring outside the carriage.

The two of them would not speak again during their way home.

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It was amusing how everyone had spoken about Viserra and Aegon potentially getting along when already during the first night, things looked anything but well between the two. After the act, Aegon had rolled off to the side without saying a word, almost instantly falling asleep and not hearing the sniffles and sobs of his wife. Viserra, too, had turned away from him, not out of hate or drunkenness, but out of shame. Shame that all this had made her cry.

One couldn't say Viserra was head over heels with Aegon, but she had certainly hoped for him to be nicer. She had hoped for him to reassure her and prove to her he was nothing like Daemon, that he was a kind man and her worries and fears were unnecessary, yet none of it had happened. Instead of kind words she had been met with rough phrases and moves, which had made the princess even more frightened than she had already been during the feast.

It didn't make sense to her how Aegon could have suddenly grown so cold to her when he had been so nice a few years ago. Viserra remembered very well how he had always showered her with compliments, told her how beautiful her eyes, her lips, her dress were. How he had always smiled at her and rubbed her back when she was feeling nervous to make her feel better.

What she didn't know was that all of it had been done because the Prince Aegon had nothing better to do and had been simply tortured by boredom.

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It was the day of Joffrey's birth when Aegon had invited Viserra to join them in the dragonpit. Usually, Viserra went to the dragonpit with Helaena to watch her aunt and Dreamfyre, instead of Jacaerys and Aegon mocking Aemond for having no dragon and calling him dragonless. Sometimes she thought it was only a question of time until they would refer to her as "dragonless" as well, or maybe they had already done it, behind her back.

But Aegon wouldn't ever speak badly of her, would he? He was so nice to her..

"This is my favourite dress of yours," Aegon started proudly as he brushed some strands of Viserra's brunette hair behind her ear. The Serene Princess started blushing as her eyes escaped Aegon. "Teal suits you very well..it makes you look..mature," the Prince elaborated, stroking his niece's arm softly as she became redder and redder with each passing moment. It were her reactions Aegon liked most when he spoke that nonsense to her, for he knew she believed and trusted him.

"Th-thank you, uncle," Viserra stuttered, stepping away in nervosity. A shy chuckle came from her lips when she looked at the ground, not knowing what else to do.

"You should join us at the dragonpit today. I am sure you would enjoy our company," he spoke again, raising her attention once more. Viserra's eyes quickly moved back to his as she frowned in confusion.

"Why?" the Serene Princess asked cautiously, squinting her eyes a little. Aegon only giggled at her question amused. She was always trying to make sure everything was fine and not some sort of trap. Technically, this was a trap because Aemond would be getting his glorious dragon that day and Aegon, alongside Viserra's brothers, wanted to have some fun and share it with Viserra.

"Well," Aegon started, folding his hands behind his back, "I rarely see you, so do your brothers. You are always with Aemond or Helaena, maybe our company would please you as well, once in a while. Besides, Aemond will be with us in the dragonpit."

As Aegon had expected, his words had a positive effect on Viserra. She was so easily influenced a simple lie would change her mind and she would not even question if it was a lie or not, she would simply accept it. Nodding, Viserra's face brightened up with a smile again and she followed Aegon, as well as Jace and Luke, to the dragonpit.

In the dragonpit, Viserra would stand next to Aemond. Despite Aegon's convincing words, she was still filled with doubt and wondered if it had been right to have joined her relatives. While Jacaerys, Lucerys and Aegon seemed to be rather invested in bonding with their dragons, above all Jacaerys, who was feeding Vermax with a sheep, Aemond and Viserra silently observed the things that were happening.

Every once in a while the two of them would exchange looks. Whereas Aemond looked rather annoyed and jealous, Viserra looked apologetic. The Serene Princess was not filled with jealousy for having no dragon, she simply felt ashamed, as though it was her own fault her egg hadn't hatched. Maybe she hadn't cared enough for it, any possible reason made her think it was her fault.

Out of the blue, Vermax had devoured the sheep and Aegon started talking to his younger brother Aemond, keeping an eye on Viserra who followed beside them as he wanted to catch her reaction as much as Aemond's. They were the outsiders for having no dragon, so Aegon wanted to see how both of them would react to the jest he and his nephews had planned, even if it was mainly directed at Aemond.

It had been Aegon's idea to find a pig and dress it up, later presenting it to his younger brother like his dragon. Jace and Luke had loved it, the three of them even came up with a name for it - The Pink Dread. Aegon had found the pig while his nephews had dressed it up.

"Aemond, we have a surprise for you," the eldest prince started speaking, his eyes meeting Viserra's once, which, to no surprise, brightened up. Poor Viserra always thought of the positive, in this case, how kind it was of Aegon to have a surprise for his brother Aemond, despite their differences. Little did she know it was not a pleasant surprise.

To convince Viserra even more of the idea it was a positive surprise, Aegon winked at her, before giving his attention back to Aemond, who, obviously, had asked what the surprise was. Lucerys was quicker to answer than Aegon himself, announcing, "something very special", before running off into the depths of the dragonpit.

Aegon continued to sweet-talk, loosely wrapping an arm around Aemond: "You're the only one of us without a dragon," which didn't go without another look at his niece to Viserra, almost a threatening glare which meant to say "actually, you don't have a dragon either". It sent a shiver down Viserra's spine when her eyes widened and she almost stopped walking, but quickly caught herself and set one foot in front of the other.

Jacaerys had joined the three of them, walking next to Aegon and grinning as he listened to his uncle's elaborations about Aemond's surprise. But Viserra would not listen to the exchanged words any further, her uncle's look stuck in her head. Why had he looked at her like that? Had he not complimented her some time ago? Why had no one else noticed or cared?

How could it be one was nice to you at one moment and then judged you for something so simple as not having a dragon? Especially since they were family.

Yet in this case, the family aspect seemed not to matter. A few moments later, as Viserra had expected a dragon's roar, all she heard was the grunt of a pig. Her eyes went back to what turned out to be a pig, indeed. But where was the dragon?

"Behold, the Pink Dread!" Aegon giggled alongside Lucerys and Jacaerys while Aemond stared down at the pink oaf in disbelief, if not even disgust.

"But..where is the dragon?" Viserra asked, looking first at Jace, then Aegon, who, not being able to hold his laugh, made fun of not just Aemond but Viserra too. What a stupid question coming out of the mouth of an even stupidier girl.

"That is supposed to be the dragon," Aemond muttered to his niece shamefully, not being able to keep his eyes of the Pink Dread. What a foolish jest, how could he have fallen for this? Maybe he had been kind enough to believe his brother's words, to trust him. Should he not have trusted him? He was his brother, after all, but this only showed how careless Aegon was, what a pig he was himself, grunting for the whole dragonpit to deepen Aemond's shame.

"If Aemond is kind enough, he might let you ride the dragon as well," Aegon stated cheerfully to Viserra, before grabbing both Jace and Luke by the arms and laughing alongside them as they walked off, leaving the two Dragonless on their own with Aemond's new dragon.

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How well Viserra remembered that moment, even if it had been 5 years since. Maybe it had been Aegon's snores that had reminded her of his grunts, or the fact that she had expected kindness from him, yet had received the opposite. The bride did not know. All she knew was that it felt as though everything would always be opposite of her expectations. Whenever she expected kindness she was met with disdain.

With that thought the Serene Princess fell asleep as her sobs died down and her tears eventually dried.