HOTD: The Healer Prince SI Chapter 35 (Patreon)

Chapter 35

RHAENYRA TARGARYEN

The atmosphere in the capital had been tense since the arrival of Daemon and his son. Baelon Waters, or as Daemon called him, Baelon Targaryen, born out of Daemon and his infamous mistress, was the talk of the capital.

The boy had acted as a major thorn in what was to be a joyful reunion between two brothers, and it was now well known that the King and the Rogue Prince had had a major falling out about this issue.

Truth was that she had not seen much of Daemon as well, who had been living in one of the manors in the city, with the mother of his child. The strife in the court was palpable, and she wasn’t blind to the whispers of the court either, nor was she blind to how the gazes at Court would linger on her scrutinizing her as the Court sensed the impending crises.

And so, it wasn’t surprising that she found herself sitting opposite to her father, once more. He had become paler. Bald patches began to show themselves through what had been once luscious silvery blonde hair, which had become grey, losing their luster, in a matter of months.

He had summoned her for a meal, and so they sat on the opposite sides of a table in his solar. Dishes and cousins from all corners of the Seven Kingdoms were placed before them, as they ate their meal in relative silence.

He sat on the chair, huffing slightly, and she was becoming more and more worried about his deteriorating health. The Maesters had ventured that the stress made whatever ailment had been plaguing him, more active and it showed. The meal had been cordial, though she had found him hesitating as he struggled to talk to her.

In the end, she decided to help him out herself.

“Why have you called me here father?” she questioned, and as she saw his eyes widen, she knew that her guess had been right. There was something. His lips thinned as he lowered his cup, and looked at her and sighed, as he began.

“Before I begin, I want you to understand one thing, Rhaenyra, I loved your mother greatly, and none could ever replace either her or your position in my heart,” he began and she frowned, a bit alarmed at his words. A pit of dread formed in his gut as her imagination began to wander about what he wished to discuss.

“What do you wish to say, Father?” she asked as she placed down her spoon, looking straight across the table at her father, who continued in a small tone.

“The Council has implored me that the realm would benefit if it had a Queen. They wish for me to take a second wife,” and she was taken aback by those words. A part of her had known that such a fate was inevitable, knew that the realm wouldn’t let her father remain unmarried without long.

Yet that didn’t mean that words didn’t rip her heart shreds. It had been months! Mere months and yet the vultures at Court were ready rip into her father. She felt her vision blur, and she closed her eyes, as she tried to hide away her tears.

“You do know why I must do this, Rhaenyra?” he questioned, and she forced herself to smile, and nodded as she held back her tears.

“I do,” she answered, and her voice quivered.

“The King must have a Queen,” she continued, and her father nodded, a look of guilt on his face.

“Have you made a decision on who you will marry?” she asked and saw her father lean back into his chair as he looked up at the ceiling.

“There have been a few proposals, but I have not reached a decision yet,” he answered, and she nodded. Then she saw him gaze towards her as he began.

“I know that this is hard for you Rhaenyra, but I want you to understand that this will not change anything. You are my heir and will remain so,” he began, and she smiled forlornly, not believing his words.

“You cannot promise that,” she replied before she could hold herself back and saw his eyes narrow as he leaned forward.

“No! I can. I swear on the memory of your mother. I promise you that no matter what happens, you shall remain my heir no matter what!” he spoke sharply, and she nodded, choosing to believe him despite the gaping pit of fear in her gut.

“Ok,” she said with a smile and saw him nod. She sniffed, picked up her goblet, and took a small sip of the wine as he spoke up once more.

“And what about your marriage? Have you reached a decision? Her father questioned her, and she shook her head.

“Not yet, though I have narrowed down my options. I am waiting for Alicent’s return before I make a decision,” and for the first time since the meeting, she saw a smile appear on his father’s face as he nodded.

“Ahh, yes, you two were quite close. It would be good for you to have her back in the capital,” he spoke, and she nodded.

“When are they set to arrive?” he questioned, and she thought about the letter she had received from her friend and replied.

“It shouldn’t be too long now. They left a few weeks after she gave birth,” she replied, smiling as she remembered the joyous news of her friend giving birth to a boy. Aenar Targaryen, named after Aenar the Exile, the father of Daenys the Dreamer and Gaemon the Glorius, the man often regarded as the savior of their House.

“Aenar, it is an interesting choice,” her father commented, and she was sure that the implication wasn’t lost on him.

“Yes, it is.”

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AENYS TARGARYEN

Aenys Targaryen, stood on the deck of The Blessing, the latest ship he had commissioned from the famous shipyards of Braavos. The massive vessel had four massive masts and was designed for comfort rather than warfare or trade.

The ship had cost quite a sum of gold, though given that he was traveling with a newborn and his wife who had just given birth, the cost mattered little to him. As for security, he rode with about a dozen other galleys from his regular fleet filled with men armed to the fullest, ready to face any pirate crew or army. His dragon rode with them, flying in the skies above, ready to respond to his call at all times.

However, their journey had been peaceful, unlike his mind which was filled with tumultuous thoughts. So, he found himself standing on the deck staring into the dark sea expanding in front of him. The Sun had set hours ago, and the darkness of night covered everything with a simple lamp illuminating the deck, as the dark clouds covered the moon.

“Aenys,” he heard his name getting called out from behind and turned around sharply and found Alicent standing behind him. In his thoughts, she hadn’t even realized that she had come right behind him.

“Alicent, what are you doing here?” he questioned gently, as he reached for the woolen shawl she had wrapped around herself, and adjusted it. She frowned as she answered.

“I came to search for you. When I woke up you were gone from the bed, so I came to look for you,” she answered lightly, and his lips thinned as he answered with a small smile.

“I just couldn’t sleep. So, I came out, you should go and rest. I will be back soon,” he assured her, he was already anxious about her traveling so soon after giving birth, especially after the abruption that had occurred during the labor.

Thankfully, he had prepared for everything, and the situation wasn’t dire and she had recovered nicely from the process.

He saw her hesitate for a bit before she gripped her hands looked up at him and replied with a smile.

“You seem troubled for the last month or so, I know that you were hesitant about returning to Kingslanding and are doing it for me….” But he cut her off and stopped her.

“No, no. It’s nothing like that,” he answered and saw her frown, as she spoke softly.

“Then what is it? Why have you been so troubled for the last month?” she questioned him softly as she held his hands, and he chewed his lips as he thought about whether he should share it with her. In the end, he decided to tell her about the offer as well.

“You know that I was called by Alessandro a number of times before we departed right?” he reminded her and she nodded, as she moved to his side.

“Yes, I remember,” she replied. He sighed and looked towards her.

“It was all to discuss a rather unique opportunity,” he began and saw her frown at her words, though she didn’t interrupt him as he continued.

“With the betrayal of Aissano Neysaaris, his family was removed from their position as keyholders. The Iron Bank has offered me a choice to become one of the keyholders,” he told her about the offer and saw her eyes widen as well.

“That is….” And she was speechless, much like he had been, as she stopped herself and considered her words. She then looked towards him and finally spoke up.

“Since we are discussing this, that means you haven’t accepted the offer yet,” she guessed correctly, and he nodded, and she saw her mind race.

“Then that means that you suspect that something is wrong with the offer, that there may be some ulterior motives behind this,” she guessed, and he smiled, for she had guessed right. Though he hadn’t expected anything less, for Alicent Hightower was blessed with a sharp mind. When he had fallen into a coma, she had practically run his whole empire, and though she did have help, she had run it all on her own, and given the sheer vastness of his wealth, everything had run smoothly during all that time.

It was a testament to her sharp mind and intellect and saw her blush under his gaze.

“Yes, I just feel something is off with the offer, but I cannot work out what,” he told her, and she nodded.

“Then don’t accept it,” she replied, and when he looked towards her with a raised brow, she got the hint and replied after a short while.

“Or is that not an option?” she guessed again, and she was right again.

“Not purely, of course, but from the wording of Alessandro, I could work out that there might be some backlash if I refuse the offer,” he replied and saw her pale at those words. She became quiet afterward, and he saw her mind race.

“But why do you suspect that the offer has some ulterior motives?” she questioned him, and he narrowed his eyes and sighed as he began to explain.

“I just have this gut feeling, and I have learned to trust my gut. There is something there that I am not seeing, and I will not make the same mistake I made last time,” he said with gritted teeth as his grip on the ship border tightened. His mistakes had nearly cost him his and Alicent’s life, and with the new addition to their family, he couldn’t afford to make another mistake.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for that,” said Alicent from the side as she wrapped her arms around him. He sighed, as he pulled her closer.

“I don’t worry too much about this, though. I was able to gain some time by telling them that I would decide only after returning from Kingslanding. I will try to find out what they are after in this time,” he assured her, and she nodded as she nestled into his arms.

“As you say,” she said with a smile, and he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

“Let’s go inside. It’s getting too cold,” he said before he suddenly leaned down and picked her up with both her arms.

“AGHH!” she screamed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a glare, and he just simply laughed.

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DAEMON TARGARYEN

Daemon Targaryen was furious as he paced in his room, his anger rising with every passing second as he processed the news he had received from Mysaria.

“AGHHH!” he screamed as he swiped at the table, making all the goblets hit the ground, and the wine spilled onto the floor.

“Are you sure about this?” he questioned Mysaria through gritted teeth, and the woman wasn’t affected by his rage and simply nodded.

“Yes, I am. My informants are certain that Corlys and Rhaenys met with the King today and discussed a possible match between him and Laena Velaryon. As for Princess Rhaenyra, she met Gwayne Hightower in the Godswood for the second time this week,” and his blood rushed to his face at the disrespect.

“So, the Velaryons have rejected my offer, those cunts!” he cursed Corlys. Daemon had offered him an alliance, a chance for him to seat his own blood on the Iron throne, yet the man had shown his true colors and had refused his offer.

“And it seems like that Hightower bastard has sunk his teeth quite deeply into my dear naïve niece!” he remarked, finally realizing Rhaenyra had refused to even entertain his advances. He had suspected that she would choose Laenor Velaryon as her consort, and given that boy’s preferences, it would have been quite interesting.

“It seems so, though they did spend quite a number of months together in Braavos. And things could move quickly once your brother returns with Alicent Hightower,” Mysaria remarked, and he ground his teeth as he was reminded of the return of his other brother.

“He could prove to be quite a foe for you. Even now, the realm rejoices at his return, and unlike you, his son bears the name Targaryen,” she pointed out, and his head snapped towards her.

“Baelon is a Targaryen; I don’t care what those cunts at court or my brother say,” he remarked, and she shrugged as she replied.

“You may not care, but I can assure you that the lords will care. And as long as Aenys stand behind Rhaenyra, with his substantial resources, you will find it difficult to gather support among the lords,” she answered, and he was aware of it.

Rhaenyra may lack any accolades to compete with him, but the same could not be said of Aenys, who was hailed as the famous Dragon Slayer. His younger brother's list of accolades came close to his own, and despite his absence, the bastards were adored by the masses and the lords.

Viserys remained stubborn in his stance towards the position of heir, and he was sure that he had called back Aenys just to spite him and to push back against him. And Daemon hated the fact that it was working. He had hoped that he could make common cause with Corlys and use his wealth to drum up support for himself.

Yet the man had betrayed him, and now he found himself without many allies.

“I believe I might have a solution to one of your problems,” Mysaria added from the side, and he frowned as he looked towards her.

“Which one,” he questioned and saw her smirk.

“Gold! I believe I have a way to get you enough gold to build a fleet,” she answered, and Daemon frowned, surprised by the answer. Daemon was the ruler of Stepstones and needed a fleet to make full use of the island's unique geography. He had ships, but their numbers weren’t nearly enough, especially after Viserys and Corlys had pulled back their fleets. He was already receiving reports of pirates becoming bolder as they saw the opportunity to strike.

“I was approached a week ago by a very special individual on behalf of a certain institution. I believe they could loan you the money for your fleet for some certain concessions,” she remarked, and he narrowed his eyes as he walked towards the empty seat opposite to her and sat down.

“And what institution may that be?” he questioned, for there was only ever one institution that could afford to make such an offer.

“I believe we both know that there is only one institution that could make such an offer,” she remarked, and he nodded and replied with gritted teeth.

“The Iron Bank!”

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