Daris V: Meddling for Tender Romance's Sake
2 AC, King's Landing
"An underground infrastructure meant to handle the city's filth?" A female voice inquired, then scoffed. "I thought the castle had something like that."
"The castle, but not the city, Lady Visenya," I replied politely, trying my best to not show my unease at having such an unexpected visit this early in the morning. "And a cleaner city prevents the diffusion of plagues within the region."
Had it been Rhaenys, I would have been more at ease but... Visenya wasn't a common sight or issue to be dealing with. And I could tell she had drawn part of my concern out by merely observing my reactions and responses to questions and glances. She didn't say much about it, merely calling this visit an 'inspection' of sort. I was no fool, she was looking for something else. Something she knew she could find here. At first I thought something driven by erotic curiosity as the glance she gave me remaining in my mind as a potential suspect.
But the more I interacted with her, the more I could tell the reason was more tame- it was lesser than anything that had to do with what happened the night before. I didn't press on it- or better, I couldn't press on it without getting shoved back if I played too rough with her. In the world of diplomacy, Visenya was the kind of girl that stabbed the issue first, burned it with dragonfire next, and then contemplated other solutions to it. It was a valid war-related solution in most instances, but a poor one in handling this sort of stuff. Thus, rather than seeing her take a swing with Black Sister to ask a question, I was dealing with a very intense and very awkward conversation with the oldest of the two Queens.
The one that would have been Maegor the Cruel's mother, the one that had to go through the hardships of being the one that was forced to Aegon in a marriage and barely held onto him as he conquered Westeros. Looking back at what happened after her husband's death... I couldn't help but see that she wasn't an unloving individual. She just had a very odd way to show that form of affection if there is none of that aimed at her first and foremost.
She burned half the continent for her son, and she gave close to no shit to Aenys when he ascended to the throne. Then again, her siblings didn't do much to solve that sort of hassle before it imploded that badly, but the end resulted crippled Westeros in the long run. While Maegor may not be coming to this world due to the current circumstances that existed, that didn't mean the future marital clashes were going to make any child born from them better people.
She loved Aegon, that much I could perceive from the way they interacted. But there was always that subtle note of... upset whenever her sister was around. Jealousy? They definitely loved interacting with one another on a friendly basis. No, it was something else which I was quite unsure on how to pinpoint.
"I didn't fancy you a physician too, coin-counter," Visenya remarked, clearly displeased with my quick response. "Tell me that this isn't the only thing you entertain in your work hours."
"I am an economic planner. I'm quite sorry that you find my tasks quite dull to endure."
She scoffed. "That's not the point. How would a man such as yourself find this kind of place so interesting? The work itself- I would see you pick books and focus on them rather than... being like this."
Is she calling me a nerd? Am I being bullied? I feel bullied. I don't like this conversation anymore. And I am a bit of a wild bitch when someone try to pull the bully card on me.
"I'm afraid there are duties which people have to do if they want to survive. Some people enjoy things, other have to go through some extra labor to make a good life out of the costs and expenses one has to sustain to survive."
"How did Rhaenys stumble on a place like this to begin with?" Visenya pressed, sounding confused. "It's not the sort of place she would linger for too long if not forced to."
"I would say it was curiosity, Lady Visenya. As an individual with a tendency to explore her surroundings, Lady Rhaenys just so happened to find this place, albeit boring, unique and worthy of exploration. Then she found me, grow amused by my cautious mannerism and found it reason to draw reactions out of me. In a way, similar to how you are doing right now."
She looked a bit upset at being called out so suddenly, but didn't discredit that comment. Rather, she favored a more annoyed look.
"Of course she would prefer the people to the place. She is quite the chatty individual."
That's rude.
"She is quite socially active. I would say that is the sign of a good diplomat."
"Blabbering is a sign of diplomacy?" Visenya argued, not trying to sound antagonistic.
"Is stabbing a dummy to train proof of martial dedication?"
Her mouth opened but formed a confused scowl. "What manner of relation is that?"
"Diplomacy is war without weapons, and while Rhaenys is lesser than you in combat, she is the best choice in negotiating for something."
"War makes for the most enduring peaces."
"Said a tyrant or two, but I wonder why you seek to listen to that weak philosophy yourself," I shot back, causing her to grow a bit more... frustrated.
She snarled. "You know little of me, and yet you seek to try and understand me. In fact, I wonder how this arrogance came from, mayhaps your relationship with Rhaenys started prior to our conversation back at that dinner."
...
"Are you accusing me of something, Lady Visenya?" My voice betrayed none of the boiling irritation coming at such attack. I expected something, I didn't expect a war declaration.
"It would be fitting. A mere coin-counter trying to elevate himself by seducing one of the Queens and-"
"Why are you putting such an effort to compare yourself to Rhaenys?"
My question seemed to hit home from the way she went rigid, her tension going from 0 to 100 quite fast and her eyes narrowed with badly-veiled anger. But, truth be told, I was getting way more angry about it, and I didn't give much of a shit about it.
"I am not comparing myself to anyone, coin-counter. And I will cut your tongue-"
"Stop it."
She paused, her fury lingering. "What?"
"I said 'stop it'. I said stop doing whatever you are doing to... what precisely? Keep your own issues to yourself?"
"I have no issues-"
"And yet you decided to come here and inquire about Rhaenys' motivations to come here. Then you decide to belittle her in my presence and, finally, you go as far as claim that I have laid with her prior to the agreement you, her, and the king have with me."
"Do you deny this much?"
"I have not dared to sleep or even share sexual interactions with Rhaenys. In fact, I believe that honor is yours."
A blush erupted at that last bit. "I- We never- It was just an unplanned reveal."
"And yet you lingered- no, you waited for something else to happen. You thought that I would have reacted had I remained in there too."
...
"Why?"
I blinked. "'Why' what?"
"Why didn't you stay back then? Why didn't you... exploit that chance?"
"Mostly self-preservation. As beautiful as you are, I know better than trying to charm a king's wife."
"Rhaenys-"
"Was the one pestering me, and I had done nothing to return that sort of behavior away from the limitations of our deal," I interjected flatly. "And I get it, you want to understand why Rhaenys is getting more attention than you do- specifically from Aegon."
"...And?" The young woman asked, clearly surprised but still interested in what I had to say on the matter.
I hit the matter square in its core: Visenya was jealous right now. She expected Aegon to shower her with the same love that he gave to Rhaenys, but she was pretending quite arrogantly that it was without a price. Obviously Rhaenys got this much love because she was the one that invested hers to him as a priority. It wasn't expected, it was an exchange between lovers. Something she wasn't quick to provide with the same quantities as her younger sibling.
"And your flaw is inaction and pretending to be handed intense love without doing much in a relationship."
She paused, her head bowing down as she stared at the desk. "Elaborate."
"You were married to him by duty, Rhaenys was married to him by love alone. You took it as granted, she fostered it into what it is now," I started to list out. "If you want a seed to become a pretty flower to be proud and happy for, you don't let the world do a favor and give you what you want. I suppose you know this already by going at war. How do you win a conflict? Inaction?"
"No, but... I have to fight Rhaenys?"
I almost facepalmed at that.
"You have to fight your inaction. You currently have what is the social version of logistics issues: you lack a proper footing to claim anything right now beyond what a duty-willed husband can provide. Thus, to fix this issue, you should seek to first work on your own hesitation, control it and then go on the offensive."
"...Which is?" She asked, sounding more and more reliant on my words. I sighed, loudly at that.
"You set up a foothold, in this case a sentimental situation which you both are comfortable to. Like a way of courting, except it's more of an expected duty of yours as the other half of the marriage you have with Aegon," I continued to explain, noticing how using warfare's terms seemed to be drilling the concepts faster into her mind. "Which is why I am willing to give you a few days to make something work. Rhaenys promised me she would give me a dragon ride to Riverrun and Casterly Rock to discuss with the Tullys and the Lannisters about establishing canals to facilitate trade in their fiefs. We still hadn't decided on a proper date, but she will definitely be fine to leave by tomorrow if I tell her about it before lunch."
Visenya frowned. "Why would she be fine with so little warning?"
"She wanted an excuse to be out of the castle and let Meraxes 'stretch her wings'."
That was enough to soothe any doubts and while I was half-expecting her to mention Rhaenys trying something with me, I doubt that was even possible with how many hours we were going to be busy primarily butting heads with some of the more reluctant lords. I expected little opposition from the Lannisters since it was more money coming their ways, but I could see the Tullys getting a bit uppity about having their 'sovereignty violated'. They were going to roll with it, but I expected quite a lot of chit-chatting before they were mellow enough for that.
"I... I suppose that could work. But how- how should I get this 'courting' to happen?"
"The king has hours where he is free. You should know when, then use this chance to 'distract him from court'. With no Rhaenys around, you will have the chance to draw his attention more, and he will be open to get away from the throne and be around family."
She nodded, yet looked hesitant. "Nothing... more?"
"I'm afraid that I can't give you more than that. I am of the belief, in any case, that loving someone should be generally planned but done subjectively. It's up to you to find a plan of attack that works to get to his heart without him getting suspicious or upset about your affection. Find the right place, the right time and the right amount of 'love' you need to get him."
...
"That's... that's doable, yes," She admitted, smiling a bit. "And what about rewards?"
I was tempted to say 'nothing', but I could tell that would just piss her off. If I had no reward to ask, it could be interpreted as me not having reason to stick by her success. In layman's terms: it would seem like I am not being honest to her about my commitment to help her. So, I went for the safe option.
"We will discuss about it the next time we are all... going through our deal. I have nothing scandalous in mind and it will be between you and Aegon."
She looked confused about my wording, but slowly nodded at it and, after actually hoping for a good day for me, she left me to my own duties, smiling a bit as I could tell I may have placed down the first piece to win the 'let's not get Maegor the Cruel a chance to even exist to begin with' plan of mine. The last thing I needed was poor Visenya, which was quite sane and relatable right now, to pull a Cersei but with Dragons and lots of personal warring. Still... I couldn't help but worry that my plans with Rhaenys weren't going to be as easy as I wanted those to be. When I personally told her about the trip, she had one of those smiles that were all about 'You are screwed and you have yet to see why'.
And I was quite sure it was all about the good screwing all for the wrong reasons.
Daris VI: Prevent Thy Siblings' Grief
2 AC, Casterly Rock, Westerlands
This whole trip idea on personally aiding the Lannisters and the Tullys with their canals' project was slowly but certainly becoming a confusing situation for me.
Did I regret it? Nope. I couldn't exactly lament not being around with Visenya going solo in seducing her brother-husband and taking him around for a date or two. The real 'gripe' if I could even call it that, was that I was going to fly a dragon with Rhaenys. Her dragon to be precise. Meraxes was a big girl, one that, much to my surprise, was keen to show hints of tame curiosity and playfulness when her master was around. When I think of Dragons, I always use the 'prideful, greedy, hoardy and quite scary' scale entity one should never approach without precautions. What I found with Meraxes was nothing short of... amusing.
Dragons are winged cats with scales. The sentence may not make sense to many, but it was one of the best ways I could describe the curious interaction I had with the large creature as she rested on the side by the ground, munching slowly to the bucketful of raw meat that Rhaenys had retrieved for her dragon to devour while the girl and I were soon treating the creature's lean and smooth chest with some rubbing via reinforced brushes.
They were tougher than normal brushes and were meant to be strong enough to 'reach through the first shell'. In layman's terms, the dragon couldn't feel anything if we had used any tool weaker than those on her. And the noise Meraxes made as she enjoyed her meal before the flight was akin to... purring. Except with a different tonality compared to the simple cat's purring.
"Grrrrruuuuhrruuuhrrrrr~."
Satisfied by a full belly and getting treated to full affection by her rider and me, the drake was soon prepared for flight. That's where my first issue with dragonflight came to be: the saddle I was set in was... rough. I wouldn't say it was scraping against my light armor, but it sure felt uncomfortable to sit on it as we went off. First came the Lannisters, with the official reasoning being that they were the closest, but in truth was that they were the ones the Targaryen trusted the least. Loren I Lannister was a man that respected Aegon and his queens, but the former King of the Rocks didn't like them. No one could blame him as he had seen the Field of Fire and had been forced to bend the knee.
The only reason why he allowed Rhaenys to be around was because I was bringing him a chance to get more gold out of this endeavor. I had made clear promises that it wasn't going to be a humiliating visit, no one was going to start any conflict from my side but we were ready to end some if some of their own courtiers started to cause issues to us. Peaceful, but not passive.
I held my arms around Rhaenys' waist for greater hold and she found the interaction fairly amusing to the point of teasing me to death through the whole journey to Casterly Rock. It wasn't effective, but it provided for a good excuse to engage in some bantering. She was chirpier than usual, and I could tell that she was happy to be out of King's Landing for a while. We landed around lunch, used some chains to secure Meraxes from going through a rampage, and soon we had Lannister's guards keeping around us as we were escorted to see Lord Loren himself.
There isn't much to say about Loren beyond his Tywin-esque affection towards his family's success and survival. One would say he wasn't as intense as his future descendant, but that didn't mean he was harmless. Far from it. Sporting a small but clever smile that offered cordiality and yet spite, the man welcomed us to his fief. The irritation was way more tame than I thought it would have been, and I realized this was related to the Targaryen tagging along.
Visenya was the one that pissed him the most by telling him of how grateful she had been for him to not have holed himself at Casterly Rock. Then again, it wasn't like she lied, but it was the way and the context she delivered this remark which made it even so more frustrating for the Lord Paramount. Rhaenys was perhaps the one that gained the least anger out of him. She had been withdrawn from that sort of conflict, preferring to keep beside Aegon and let her siblings do the whole job on their own.
Lunch came first, with the man treating us as a proper guest with bread and salt. It was a 'humble' feast in Rhaenys' quiet opinion, but I couldn't blame her for thinking of that still fancy banquet as 'inferior' compared to those back home. The Lannister's lifestyle wasn't as costly as the Targaryen's lifestyle back in King's Landing. And I had to say that was a favorable lifestyle for a kingdom-sized fief with big pockets.
The air was tense for a while, with the man inquiring mostly about the projects I had brought with me. The Lannisters had to work on a single Canal affair that would 'cut' the Banefort with the creation of a safe route 'around' the Iron Islands and away from potential raiders, but it wasn't the only thing I had to offer to them.
The biggest idea, and perhaps the one thing that had Loren's full interest was the expansion of the Tumblestone river into two artificial deltas: a small one passing between Nunn's Deep and Pendric Hills to provide both settlements with a closer source of water, and a fairly large one passing south and passing by Ashemark, using the recently found water sources in the area to further expand it onto the land near Castamere. The water would provide a higher chance to create windmills, grow more fertile lands and lessen the water shortages that Summers tended to cause in the mountainous sections of the Westerlands.
With his smile widening as I finished to provide him with the full extent of the projects which were going to be paid by the crown but provided manpower by the Lannisters' own people, we were then given a royal tour of the Castle and told a few stories of the rich family's past worthy of being remembered forever. If only Loren knew that his grand family was going to end because of a stupid woman's incestuous family fantasy of glory and success.
Soon we were done with that boring stroll around the fortress and then taken to guest rooms and... Rhaenys stuck around my room the most, deciding to pester me some more. The excuse was to check the projects herself, but that was a load of crap. She already saw them and had me explain to her a simpler version of all of that. She knew their purposes, their importance, but cared little for it as it was beyond her interests.
And a bored Rhaenys meant that things were soon going south really fast.
"So... why did you pick such a sudden day to get us going?" Rhaenys inquired, stretching a bit before snuggling onto the warm bed while I checked on some papers.
The question caught me off-guard. I didn't expect her to be interested in this sort of topic.
"I heard the weather was going to be nice for today. Turns out they were right," I replied calmly, trying to play it off quickly and without dying too much on this topic.
Sadly, Rhaenys was still smiling smugly which meant she knew something about it. "Oh? Was it Visenya?"
"Rhaenys-"
"I know she didn't say anything bad about me. I know my sister is rude at times, but I can tell you told her something that made her happy," The young woman interrupted. "And it is about us leaving for a few days. What is she planning to do?"
I contemplated lying again, but I could tell she wanted a serious reasoning for this 'urgent' departure.
"She asked me for advice to reconnect with your brother. She thinks they have been growing too distant and... I agree that's in part because of you."
She looked surprised, then annoyed, then intrigued. "How so?"
"I would say that the fact you have been hogging him so intensely may have left little chance for her to do anything during his free time."
"That's..." Rhaenys started, and I could tell she had been ready to say I was lying. That I was wrong. Yet she was well-aware that wasn't the case.
"I understand you love him dearly. I'm not asking you to love him any less than you do now, but that doesn't mean you have to also exclude your sister. I mean, don't you love her too?"
"Of course!" She replied strongly and I huffed.
"Then do me- no, us. Aegon, yourself, her and me- do us all a favor and help her about it. You are family, help each other."
"It's not that simple," The young woman argued. "She is so... cold at times."
"Have you spoken to her during your free time?"
"I di- Actually, she was always busy with something but... what changes?"
"She is focusing on a job and she is a 'job first, pleasure later' kind of individual, Rhaenys. Do try to... make that work."
"Hmm, I guess that would explain why this happened and... there was nothing else to it?" The girl suddenly asked, making me pause mid-reading. "Like, did you think of doing something with me too~?"
I recognized the horni in her tone and I grimaced. "The King said-"
"No mating when he is not around. But there are other things that can be done without rutting like animals," She argued giddily, armor already off and set by the edge of the bed, her dress was quickly over head and out of the way from showing the beautiful body Rhaenys had. "And I can tell you wouldn't mind."
I sighed. "Did anyone ever tell you that you get brattier the older you get?"
She sported her tongue out for a moment, embracing the childishness rather than beingupset at being considered a kid. No sex was made, but the love in there was as outwordly as usual. She expected it to be quite simple between sensual groping and her sucking my dick. She didn't expect the few other tricks I had in mind. Despite her eagerness to explore her hubby's body, Rhaenys never once considered getting her snatch licked up to the point of getting super-squirty. Or, quite intensely, didn't expect that thightjobs were a thing. Gods save the intercrural fucking when you ain't planning on penetrations.
Doing this much with her felt less intense than the night where I claimed her cunt, but there was something more mature about this interaction which made the cuddling even more pleasant for both of us. We were in bed for a while, deciding to spare ourselves some rest without sleep before lunch. And it was there that some bed-talking started. The first topic coming up was quite a gut-punch of the foreign affairs kind.
"You know, Aegon wanted me to check Dorne quite soon. I think he is already thinking again of invading it," Rhaenys pointed out as I finished stretching before curling up to her. It didn't take me much to know what she was referring to.
Despite my willingness to promote a campaign against Dorne, I made it clear to the King plenty of times, together with fellow members of the Small Council, that going with the classic 'send in the dragons' was not going to work. I knew how it went for them in the canon timeline, and I knew that... it was possible. Dorne was conquerable. But it had to be done by beating them in their own game.
A land of guerrilla troops, the best way to defeat them was by depriving them of the means to fight. Which meant sealing a deal with Lys in stopping trading with Dorne but rather use us as a new trade partner (which would work since Lys always had close affections for Dragonriders) and blockading any chances of them securing sources of food.
If we wanted to win against them, it was through inducing famines and starvation. Then, using the disgruntled lords we would force them to yield. And in case they tried to counter-attack by assaulting the borders with the Baratheons and Tyrells... Well, I had plans for that too.
"You will not."
Rhaenys' eyes widened at that comment, perceiving it as an imperative reply rather than what I had in mind. It wasn't an imposition, it was me telling her that she wasn't going to be ordered to do that because the King himself will pull back from this tactic once and for all when it comes to Dorne.
"That's... not a response I expected from you, Dari. Why? Do you think I'm not ready?"
"I think you are a valiant warrior and dragonrider, Rhaenys. But I would have said the same had it been Visenya, Aegon or even if you three went there all at once."
She huffed. "Then what is up with that?"
"The king will not order you to go for it and..." I paused, thinking if I should tell her or not. Ultimately, I groaned and went forth. "This is a matter that you will act as if you don't know much about by the next council session. Promise me."
The queen hummed, growing more curious about what I was talking about. "I will hold my lips shut."
"Lord Velaryon and I managed to get some ledgers from Merchants in Lys and we learned that Dorne has been spending a large amount of money in Scorpion pieces."
Confusion flashed on Rhaenys' face at that terminology. "Scorpions? I doubt those are the infamous bugs from Dorne."
"They are pieces akin to catapults, except their general function is akin to a device meant to launch large metal arrows at high speed. Some call them Dragon-Killers."
That had her tense up a bit. "W-What?"
Imagine numerous of those big pieces of wood and metal, set by the various towers within a Dornish fortress and then... imagine a storm of metal arrows rushing to the sky. They would have greater range than Meraxes' fire, they would be too fast for her to dodge and that would be terrible."
"...I didn't- I mean-"
"We recently learned about this. It surprised me and Lord Orys too, and I believe Aegon will be shocked by this too."
"H-He will. To think that Dorne would just- they were expecting us."
"Meria Martell may be old and decrepit, but that toad of a hag will do anything in her power to preserve her petty crown. Even if it means condemning her subjects to a very furious Aegon and Visenya if something were to happen to you if you went there."
...
Rhaenys looked uncomfortable at the ramifications of scouting that land and then suddenly having a dead Meraxes dragging her to her death. I bet that wasn't something she expected to learn about after some fun time, but she recovered a tiny bit when I pulled her in a hug. She snuggled back against me, feeling accustomed to my body over her and holding her this tenderly.
There was some silence. Then... I think she whispered something. It was so devoid of voice that I just 'heard' something muffled.
"Avy jorrāelan."
"Did you say something?"
The young woman huffed. "Nothing. I am going to sleep."
I wanted to argue about this but... Oh well, I guess I can survive just watching around the room while getting treated like a teddy bear by a very hot Targaryen chick.
At least Rhaenys wasn't going to die in Dorne...
------------d-d-d-d-----------
AN
The next chapter will be about their return to King's Landing as their trips come to an end but I will mention what happens with the Tullys. Their rivers allow for multiple projects to entertain and a couple of those will have long-term expectations due to their relevance.