-Chapter 150-
-7th day of the 10th moon of the year 299 AC-
-POV Bellegere Otherys-
To say that the king's request surprised me would be an understatement. From what I had learned about him through various intelligence channels, he wasn't a bad man, but he was someone authoritative and slightly tyrannical.
When he made his request, as sudden as it was unexpected, I feared he would force me to marry him. But he did nothing of the sort and simply asked me to think it over carefully before answering.
No matter how much I turned this story around, I couldn't understand his goal. I wasn't from a noble family, I owned nothing except my fortune and my slight influence, which, although considerable, was nothing compared to the real power holders, namely the families holding the keys to the Iron Bank.
I suspected that his reaction had to do with the sensation I felt when touching his dragon, but I didn't understand what it meant.
Was he testing my connection with his dragon?
And if so, why would he be happy that I had a good connection with his dragon?
Wasn't he afraid I would steal it from him?
'I haven't slept properly with this whole story,' I thought as I looked at the sun's rays at their zenith, signifying it was time for me to give my answer to the king.
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-Great Hall of the Dreadfort-
-POV MC-
"Please take a seat, Madam," I said, inviting her to sit to my right.
A servant helped her sit at the table while others finished bringing dishes so we could start eating.
"Did you have a good night?" I asked without rushing her, even though in my mind I only wanted to ask her one question.
'Do you accept to become my wife?'
"Your Majesty..."
"You may speak informally," I said, cutting her off.
She was surprised and then said, "Your Majesty, I think before we continue eating, we should talk more in detail about the sudden and unexpected proposal you made to me yesterday."
"I think I was clear enough, but if you have doubts, please let me know," I said.
"I don't understand why you were so enthusiastic in your request. We don't know each other, do we?" she asked.
I nodded, understanding that my sudden joy and enthusiasm might have frightened her.
"I'm sorry if I scared you, but this information is very delicate."
"I understand, but I will not marry if I don't know why you suddenly wanted to make me your wife."
"Maybe I just fell in love with you at first sight," I said, looking at her with a teasing smile.
To my great surprise, Bellegere Otherys burst out laughing and then said, "I'm sorry, but your joke was so funny that I couldn't help but laugh."
Slightly unsettled by her frankness, I said, "It's nothing."
"We both know something happened between us yesterday. I don't yet know the exact connection between your dragon and me, but I'm not stupid. I know you don't want to talk about it, but I won't venture into the unknown just because you want it, with all due respect, of course," she said in a flat, calm tone.
I smiled because of her audacity, but I could practically hear her heart beating with nervousness:
"Very well, you have unmasked me. I did not fall in love with you at first sight, despite your striking beauty, if I may say so."
The Black Pearl of Braavos smiled at my compliment without saying anything, so I continued talking:
"I was an apprentice at the Citadel, and I learned a lot there, whether it was about economics, medicine, military tactics, and other things, but what served me the most was the study of higher mysteries."
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-POV Bellegere Otherys-
Seeing his expression shift from a teasing smile to that of a king, I began to listen carefully to what he was saying, looking for information that could help me understand him.
"The higher mysteries are what the Citadel calls magic. Among all its books, I managed to somewhat understand the energy that surrounds us and from where mages draw their strength, an energy that nearly disappeared from this world with the progressive extinction of magical animals like dragons," he said, plunging his magnificent violet eyes into my brown ones.
"I've always known who I was and what sovereign I was destined to be. I harbored an incomparable hatred for too long because of the abuse I suffered during my childhood, but it also helped me understand an essential truth: anyone can bring down the king."
I frowned without quite understanding, and then he said, "I could have killed Robert Baratheon and conquered the kingdom, even if I wasn't the heir to the throne, in the same way, simply because I am a mage.
So I pushed my study of magic even further, even after tearing this bloody crown from Robert Baratheon's cold hands to become a god walking among mortals... and I succeeded.
Today, no normal person can kill me in a duel, even alone against an army of several thousand people, I wouldn't bet on my opponents. And if you add to that Rhaegal, my dragon, who is now big enough for me to ride and is only in his first growth stage, you can well say that I am invincible... at least for now."
I raised my eyebrows, surprised to see a green flame appear above his palm, then he made it disappear and said, "But once I'm dead, what will happen?"
"You're already thinking about your death at your age?"
"I'm not arrogant enough to think that I'm immortal. I know full well that I will die one day, and at that moment, my heir will not be assured of becoming Rhaegal's next rider. I don't want a second dance of dragons. I want my heir to be able to rule his empire with an iron hand, just like me," he said.
'His Empire?' I thought, surprised by the wording of his sentence. He was not an emperor but a king.
"I spent a lot of time reading the biography of every king who preceded me on this Iron Throne, and I know they made many mistakes until the day of our downfall," he said, clearly displeased with his predecessors.
"But the greatest of all was thinking that dragons should represent the symbol of our power. Relying on anything other than oneself to keep such power could only end one way."
"So you're planning to abandon dragons for magic?" I said, not understanding why he would want to do something so stupid.
"Of course not, I simply intend to take advantage of all the benefits I have," he said, looking at me as if I were crazy.
"Okay, but I still don't understand why you wanted to marry me so suddenly."
"I'm getting to that. During my studies, I tried to understand how the gender of a dragon was determined, and I never understood it because even the most erudite Archmaesters in history never understood it. But a saying from Septon Barth helped me understand what I was missing: the gender of dragons is as changeable as a flame."
"This analogy took me a lot of time, but I finally had a theory that I could only verify with your help at the birth of Viserion and Rhaegal, who were both born males, which was usually not possible because the gender is generally difficult to determine during the first years of a dragon."
"And what is this theory, if I may ask?" even though I was seriously starting to have an idea of what he was trying to say.
"Dragons born from a ritual of fire and blood, like Rhaegal and Viserion, are spiritually linked with their future riders and can take the same gender as them. I don't yet know if my theory is correct, but to increase the chances of success, I needed a woman of Valyrian lineage who could resonate with dragon magic. That's why I allowed my magic to flow through you to see if you had a connection with Rhaegal."
"You want a dragon capable of laying eggs," I said, finally understanding why he was so excited.
'I don't know how many eggs a dragon can lay, but what I do know is that even with a single dragon egg, the strength of the Seven Kingdoms will be greatly reinforced. In a few decades, he could even succeed in subjugating the entire world,' I thought.
"Are you trembling with fear or excitement?" he asked.
"I don't know, to be completely honest with you, because now that you've told me all this, I doubt I can return to Braavos alive. But who would refuse such power?"
He smiled and then said, "It was you who were curious to know why I wanted to marry you."
"And I don't regret it. All my life, I've been at the mercy of men, having to please them even when I didn't want to. But now you offer me the power to rise above all, practically without any requirement. How could I say no?"
I noticed that a deep, relieved smile formed on his face before he said, "I'm glad to hear you say that."
"I still have a few questions I would like to ask," I said before he moved on to something else.
"I'm listening," he said, starting to eat.
'He really seems relieved,' I thought, seeing that my positive answer had whetted his appetite.
"I would like to know what you will do with the queen now that you are going to marry me. If I understand correctly, she carries your heir," I asked, not wanting to be dragged into a war with the current queen without the support of my... future husband.
"That is not a problem for me. Primogeniture means nothing to me, and I don't see why an emperor couldn't have two wives," he said, shrugging.
"I would also like to know what you think of my former profession," I asked, knowing that the profession of courtesan was often ridiculed on this side of the Narrow Sea.
'Here, courtesans are often considered and belittled to the same rank as common prostitutes,' I thought.
"I didn't marry Arianne Martell because I care about my wife's purity. If I am completely honest with you, I mainly care about what the union with said woman can bring me. And in your case, besides your beauty, intelligence, grace, and what you just learned, I see in you the opportunity to import the concept of courtesanship to Westeros, your connections in Braavos, and your intelligence network."
I was surprised by what he said and lowered my eyes, slightly embarrassed by his successive compliments: "I didn't know this flattering side of you, your Grace."
"I only speak the truth," he said, plunging his beautiful violet eyes into mine.
An awkward silence formed between us for a few seconds, and then he raised his glass and said, wanting to toast: "To our union."
"To our union," I said, smiling, already imagining myself as the queen of Westeros.