Relena’s eyebrows narrowed slightly and there was a hint of a frown upon her forehead when she saw Viserys’ grin, for she herself saw no reason for a reaction like this. It wasn’t as if he needed permission to spend time with his pet or as if she was stupid enough to insult that thing while begin this close to her. Gods would she be happy once that giant lizard was out of King’s Landing again.
“And your apology is accepted, though I would appreciate it if next time there is an issue we could just talk like adult right away.” For she had certainly better things to do than walking through the castle grounds, trying to find someone who, in her opinion, acted like a little child. The young queen’s had already reached for the fabric of her skirt, her gaze lowered slight as she did this, when Viserys’ words reached her ears.
Eyes wandering off to the side, she barely knew any valyrian, after all her father was not very fond of anything that had to do with the Targaryens, therefore her education on that matter lacked quite a bit, and she couldn’t seem to recall any combination of words like these in any of the books she had read. Therefore, after a moment Relena gave up, trying to find out what he had meant, at least for now and turned around to leave the Dragon’s Pit in order to return to the Red Keep.
Some time had passed and Viserys had settled into court life and Daenerys frequented court less and less as she spent time with Eddard Stark’s bastard more and more. He hadn’t really noticed the cold snow slowly come down upon the country but after a few weeks of steadily wearing more layers he realized the snow wasn’t going anywhere. Snow piled up day after day and Viserys glared out at the snow from the window in his chambers and sighed.
It was his name day and it was supposed to be a good day. not dreary and snowflakes falling down. How long had he been here for? He knew it was more than two months but had it been nearly six already? It had to be if it was his nameday. He walked out of his chamber not expcecting to see Daenerys with a massive fur in her hands and Viserys stared until she handed it to him. “Happy nameday brother” Viserys smiled, thanking Daenerys for the gift. A heavy furred cloak from the North.
It would be put to good use if this cold weather didn’t lighten up soon so the warm cloak was much needed right now. Viserys eventually found himself visiting his dragon, if only briefly to see that the snow hadn’t been bugging him, much of it was water due to the dragon melting what was bothering him. He pulled the cloak closer to him as he said goodbye to the winged beast and made his way back into the keep, not seeing Relena in her usual places and he wondered if she was doing court business or was out with Eddard or her mother and he decided he’d go back to his chambers to put away his new fur before he overheard Tommen wanting to go build a snowman and Joffrey scoffed at the childish idea and Viserys decided he himself had never built a snowman before and he might as well use his new fur no to mention the look on the younger royal son’s face pained Viserys and so he took the blonde boy outside in the courtyard and began to build a snowman, figuring he was spending his time well enough because he didn’t have any duties to attend to.
Suddenly he felt a snowball hit his face and Viserys looked up to see Joffrey hurling the ‘weapons’ at not only him but Tomemen and Viserys glared up at the prince. Trying his best not to snarl and snap if only for Relana’s sake if she should hear about this. So, Viserys hurled his own snowballs at the prince and Tommen joined in to and suddenly it was an all out war as the half built snowman was left to exist without a head.
Viserys’s eyebrows raised quickly as he made a face as he’d forgotten about Ned Stark’s bastard child but noticed how Relena had dropped her arms, or as he thought of it as, her dropping her guard and he watched as her finger pointed towards his dragon wondering what vile thing she was going to speak about Rhaellion.
If he were a dog his ears would have visually perked at the mention of friend. Not beast. Not even dragon. He tried not to let his grin be shown at both her words and the idea of spending much needed time with his dragon but he failed and the grin spread across his face.
“In that case, I will see you later than. I, again, apologise for my behavior and-” His attention drifted as the dragon poked his head out, wondering why Viserys had become so excited and he quickly turned back to Relena to speak
“- Kirimvose ,
Avy jorrāelant, Relena.“He lingered a second longer before he tried his best to not run over to his dragon who upon seeing Viserys come towards him, easily met him halfway in a few steps and as Viserys reached up to stroke the dragons snout he turned back as he realized what he’d said and violet eyes scanned back for Relena, wondering if she had caught his words. They had come so easily, so freely he didn’t even think about it…Why was it so easy for him to say that to her, he knew he held affection for her but the way it’d rolled off his tongue had caught him off guard.
Relena didn’t even believe his suggestion to be worth an answer, she simply raised an eyebrow. After all she was wearing a long gown, riding was already hard enough, but sitting upon a giant lizard seemed like an even worse idea. Therefore, the young queen just kept staring at Viserys, waiting for him to finally come down from that thing. She could not help but sigh and roll with her eyes upon hearing his rant. This was far beyond ridiculous, she had asked him to stay within the boundaries of his role at court and not pretend to be a woman.
“You don’t understand it, do you?”, Relena questioned, a fury within her eyes, the words leaving her lips with any hint of calmness as she shouted them. “I am surrounded by a world of men, created by men, for men, who seek to tear my down because I am a woman and there is nothing worse for them than bowing to a woman they cannot control.” Did Viserys truly believe that he was the only man she had to fear? Ever since Lord Stark had read out her father’s will she had to be afraid at ever turn she took, while never being allowed to show the slightest hint of nervousness or anxiety. “You have no idea how it feels, being expected to save a country daintily.”
Her father’s body hadn’t even been cold when the first people spoke up against a woman ruling Seven Kingdoms, even worse members of her family were quick to follow, with every step she took she had to prove herself to those that would use the smallest of matters to prove that a woman was unworthy of the tiltle of a ruler, every breath she took was battle.
Relena’s eyes widened, and she took a step forward, when she saw Viserys fall down his dragon. This was the exact reason why she would never climb up one of these things. She left out a soft sigh of relief when his was back on his feet, for she was certain that he had not planned this, no matter how serene he tried to seem. “And can’t you see how dangerous this if for me?”, the raven haired woman asked. “This game is much worse for women than for men. At every turn I take I could be looking at my demise. The moment my father’s will become public I have been pushed by all sides to marry, to find a man to rule for me, to return to being a piece in someone else’s game. If they see that there is a man that can take care of the real in my stead, they will do what they can to reduce my role until it is gone completely. If my firstborn child is a boy, I will have to fear for my life even more because there are people out there who would rather bow to an infant boy than an adult woman, if my second or third born child is a boy and my first a girl, I will have to fear for their lives as well, because they would be in line before a male heir, shall I go on?”, the queen asked, her voice slightly raised as she spoke.
“Tell me.”, Relena said, taking a small step towards Viserys. “When you were king in Yunkai, did you have to worry about this kind of things? Because I have been, ever since the moment I found out what my father had planned for me, without ever telling me! So besides taking care of all the duties a king has to care about, besides all the things a king has to worry about, I have those things too and even more!”, while she spoke, her words turned more and more into a hiss. “I was thrust upon a throne I never wanted and now I have to somehow try and keep it, while every breath I take is a reason for almost every single man in this country to attack me one way or another, because neither my father nor my mother ever considered that they should raise the actual heir to the throne properly.
Because I am paying for their sins there is not a single person in this world I can fully trust, there hasn’t been in years and now there is no turning back from that now. I can try to give you mind kindness and my hospitality, my friendship, perhaps even my love but there will never be a single man that I can trust.
I am sorry, this is probably not the kind of marriage or life you wanted but believe me, I feel the same.“
“You’re right. I don’t understand how you feel and your position as Queen, as a woman in power. But I understand looking behind you fearing the worst from people. It’s not the same, obviously.” He stated as he tried to keep his voice level and easy. “I do see that Relena. Don’t think i’ve forgotten the attempted coupe.” He replied back as he stood in place as she stepped closer to him and the realization of his situation in Yunkai compared to hers seeped in. “No…I mean, I had slavers to worry about and almost civil war in Yunkai.” His voice slowly faded as she kept speaking and he was enraptured with her words, hearing about how she felt towards her parents and situation.
Viserys wasn’t quite sure what to say to her now as his eyes wondered from her face to his own feet and back. Silence came between them and he gave a heavy sigh. “I don’t want you to force any feelings of love towards me, Relena. I’ve never expected a well rounded marriage like Eddard and his wife seem to have. My own parents did a shit job at that and I being of a noble and royal…ex-royal house I expected arrangements and it to be loveless.” Viserys’s shoulders rolled as he looked back to see where his Dragon had gone and gave a small frown that the beast had decided to leave. “Joffrey is not the actual heir. You are. Robert wanted you, for good reason and damned the people’s thoughts. If he were still alive but unable to be King, do you think he would let people speak and think of you the way others are?” He asked.
Viserys stepped closer to her, one small step not quite sure what to do or say now. He wanted to comfort her, tell her he understood completely but he knew he could never ever understand her plight as a woman and now as Queen. But he understood her fear of trust. He understood her concerns. His hands started to reach out to hug her, to offer something to her but they dropped to his sides as he reminded himself how she felt about such things and he came to her side. “I know you can’t trust me, we’ve both got trust issues. But we do have time to work on it. All of it. A long winter.” He gave a soft half hearted chuckle hoping to make her smile, even a bit. “I’m sorry, Relena. Uh, would you like me to accompany you anywhere? It is starting to get a bit cold out” He asked, ready for her rejection.
He kept trying to speak but everytime he did, his mouth closed as Relena spoke, his eyes stared at his goblet, if he could it’d have burn a hole through it. “You’re right” Was all he said on the matter, realizing he had indeed overstepped his boundaries. He’d forgotten for a moment what this arrangement meant for him and for them in the long run and he grimaced as it came back to his mind and it stung. The realization he would never be able to really make any impact on his home, what should and could have been his kingdom and it made him bitter.
“Of course. Your mother will love having me as company and you won’t have to worry about me after she strangles me to death.” Hand on the goblet as he took a drink from it. “Contrary to popular belief the wife’s happiness is also a matter that people care about.” He added trying to not sound bitter about anything that his brain was reminding him of and trying his best to not let his emotions rule him before he stood up from the table. “I’ll leave you to finish your meal in peace and return to your duties, Queen Relena”
Viserys walked away, making sure he didn’t quicken his pace with every step, the need to get away was getting worse the longer he stayed in the hall and he took a large breath and exhaled once he was far away, his violet eyes locked on the way out of the keep and he made his way to the Dragon Pit and called out for Rhaellion seeing his beast in chains pained the Targaryen. “Just like me, huh?” He asked. “Two great dragons reduced to being chained.” Viserys said as he walked close to him, a hand petting the dragon’s snout lightly before he got up on the dragon with ease enjoying the height as his dragon rose up from kneeling and huffed at Viserys.
“I know, but you can’t fly. You have to stay here. People don’t trust you. They will never trust you.” As he spoke he realized how much of his words held meaning for himself as well and he sighed, hugging what of Rhaellion’s neck as he could. “In time perhaps things will change, Rhaellion.” Violet eyes looked at the sky before his dragon shifted to look at who at entered the area and huffed uncertainly, drawing Viserys’s attention towards the person as he laid a hand on him to reassure the dragon was not in danger. “Shouldn’t you be attending to your royal duties?” He asked Relena, almost having to yell from where he was so she could hear, slightly angered that she was here. Shouldn’t she be bothering Eddard or someone, not being here? Why was she here?
Relena was no fool, she was aware that Viserys didn’t like hearing what she had to say, but she had told him from the beginning that he would only be king in name and nothing more, she had made that decision and as her subject he would have to accept this, therefore she didn’t say anything when he spoke, her eyes just stared at him, teeth clenched together.
The young queen just rolled her eyes upon hearing his parting words. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shock her head while watching him leave. As soon as he was out of sight, she mumbled something about acting like a bratty child, her gaze still lingering upon the spot where he had just left her view. They weren’t even married yet, and he was already trying to take her duties away from her. This was the reason Relena had not wanted to marry, a wife was subservient to her husband and most man dared to believe that this was the case for every woman, even a queen and as it seemed, at least in the young stag’s mind, her fiancé was one of these men.
Only interested in her hand, so he could play the game in her stead.
For quite sometime the queen remained sitting around the table, before letting out an annoyed sigh, grabbing the napkin upon her lap and throwing it on the table before getting up. Why was she always the one that had to be the adult? He invaded her privacy, and she had to go after him because he had stormed off like a pouty child, he overstepped his boundaries, and she had to go after him because one again he was acting like a spoiled brat who didn’t get what he wanted. The raven haired woman walked around the grounds of the royal home, until she heard a strange sound coming from the dragon’s pit. Of course, he was with these gods forsaken beasts, if only those eggs had remained pieces of stone, then she wouldn’t have this problem now. Hopefully these things wouldn’t procreate.
Arms crossed in front of her chest and with keeping as much distance to this thing as she could, Relena stood on the ground, staring up at the man sitting on top of the dragon. Her foot was tapping on the ground. She had perfectly understood Viserys’ words, after all he had screamed, but she wouldn’t do the same, he could at least give her the courtesy of coming down from there to speak.
She was silent, not giving him an answer and with her foot tapping it made her look like a mother waiting on her child to stop acting as it was, which made Viserys want to roll his eyes. Can’t they have a discussion go wrong and for him to go spend time alone and not have her chase him down after? He kept trying to think of things to say but ‘go away’ ‘why are you here?’ and ‘go back to running your kingdom’ didn’t seem to be wanting to come out of his mouth as he slowly made the descent from his dragon and upon realizing how far away she was from the dragon, stopped. “Why don’t we have this argument up here?” He asked her now that he was on Rhaellion’s mid back, the dragon knelt down once again and got even lower for Relena.
“Yes, you are the Queen. You rule the kingdom. You will have it all and I nothing. Is that what you want me to say? I am being a child and Gods forbid my helping is seen as power over you, because woman are seen as lesser than men and thus it must be the same for the Queen if her….If I do an inkling of something other than the traditional Queen’s work. Shall I wear fancy dresses and do my hair in fancy braids?” Viserys asked, his emotions slowly getting the better of him. “You have men on your council, a man as your hand and now a soon to be consort…Do you not fear them as you do I to threaten your power? Your own brother? They are all men and you, a woman thrust into this by your father’s will. Your surrounded, Relena. Tell me, honestly, do you fear your power being usurped by any of them or is it just me you fear?”
His dragon’s head turned to look at Relena giving a curious sniff as it stretched it’s head towards her, making sure to stay just far enough away to hopefully not scare her. “He won’t hurt you. Just as I won’t hurt you. I could give you the citadel as your own personal library and whatever else you wanted and it wouldn’t matter. I could leave right now, fly away and you would still fear-” He once again began his way down to her but slipped, his words preoccupying his thinking and he was falling, only to be caught by his dragon as it scooped him up and placed his rider down on the ground close to Relena. “-me” He finished as he smoothed out his hair, acting as if he had meant to do that.
“I just wanted you to know that should anything happen, to you, or Eddard can’t stand in your place that I could be of some use. Would you really let Joffery if worse case scenario happened? I have no doubt he would order terrible things during his ‘reign’. I may have been seen like I was putting myself in power but I was doing all of this for you. For your kingdom. It’s not mine. It’ll…never be mine.”
He paused before he spoke again. “Strike me, yell at me, throw me in the cells, do what you wish but I will still stand by my thoughts no matter how wrong you think it is of me.” He told her, gazing at her crossed arms and angered look and he should have been scared yet he just thought she looked stern and beautiful and as he looked away from her for a moment he knew he’d do anything for her just to keep her by his side.
“I care about you Relena. I know it may not seem like it as of late given my actions and words, but i’m still stumbling around these things. I haven’t been in court since I was five, my hearts in the right place but I just…I’ve never loved anyone. Yes, familial love. But not…this” He explained his anger fading away and he hadn’t realized he’d been backing up to his dragon as he spoke seeking some sense of strength and security. “I don’t know what to do or how to act properly sometimes. I proposed to you because I have grown to love you, not just out of need for an alliance.” He rambled trying to find the words but none seemed right and his dragon nudged him back to Relena before leaving the two alone, going back to the shade of the pit. “Please, know that I am trying. Know that what I do is for you and because of you no matter how horrible it may seem to you.”
“Or he will soon have a new wife, in any case, a delighted husband, and isn’t that the only thing that truly matters?”, Relena muttered under her breath. “Usually people wait until they are asked for help.”, the young queen pointed out, the words slowly and clearly leaving her lips. “And considering that you aren’t even a part of the royal family yet, it isn’t even your place to offer help.” She didn’t like that Viserys got involved into her affairs. If he started taking care of matters that were hers to do, people would soon start seeing him as her equal, which would make him her superior in the eyes of every man, something she could not allow, something she told him from the beginning that she wouldn’t allow.
“You aren’t my consort yet.”, the raven haired girl reminded him once more. “My mother was never allowed to be involved in political affairs, and she has never started a feud between houses, perhaps you should meet with her instead of Lord Stark.” For Relena would certainly have to have a word with her Hand herself. “I appreciate your concern for the crown, but when this courtship started I told you that you would be king in name only, I have my reasons for this decision and I wish it to be respected.”
He kept trying to speak but everytime he did, his mouth closed as Relena spoke, his eyes stared at his goblet, if he could it’d have burn a hole through it. “You’re right” Was all he said on the matter, realizing he had indeed overstepped his boundaries. He’d forgotten for a moment what this arrangement meant for him and for them in the long run and he grimaced as it came back to his mind and it stung. The realization he would never be able to really make any impact on his home, what should and could have been his kingdom and it made him bitter.
“Of course. Your mother will love having me as company and you won’t have to worry about me after she strangles me to death.” Hand on the goblet as he took a drink from it. “Contrary to popular belief the wife’s happiness is also a matter that people care about.” He added trying to not sound bitter about anything that his brain was reminding him of and trying his best to not let his emotions rule him before he stood up from the table. “I’ll leave you to finish your meal in peace and return to your duties, Queen Relena”
Viserys walked away, making sure he didn’t quicken his pace with every step, the need to get away was getting worse the longer he stayed in the hall and he took a large breath and exhaled once he was far away, his violet eyes locked on the way out of the keep and he made his way to the Dragon Pit and called out for Rhaellion seeing his beast in chains pained the Targaryen. “Just like me, huh?” He asked. “Two great dragons reduced to being chained.” Viserys said as he walked close to him, a hand petting the dragon’s snout lightly before he got up on the dragon with ease enjoying the height as his dragon rose up from kneeling and huffed at Viserys.
“I know, but you can’t fly. You have to stay here. People don’t trust you. They will never trust you.” As he spoke he realized how much of his words held meaning for himself as well and he sighed, hugging what of Rhaellion’s neck as he could. “In time perhaps things will change, Rhaellion.” Violet eyes looked at the sky before his dragon shifted to look at who at entered the area and huffed uncertainly, drawing Viserys’s attention towards the person as he laid a hand on him to reassure the dragon was not in danger. “Shouldn’t you be attending to your royal duties?” He asked Relena, almost having to yell from where he was so she could hear, slightly angered that she was here. Shouldn’t she be bothering Eddard or someone, not being here? Why was she here?
Goldnwulf 