#also she either insisted she take syrax for at least part of it or would’ve been gnawing at the bars of her enclosure by the end of it bc

[halfyearsqueen]

RHAENYRA + PROGRESS IN 112.

one of the most interesting and important aspects of fire and blood to me is the fact that when daemon takes harrenhal, the smallfolk are the ones who rise up first. the ‘ knights and men at arms and humble peasants who yet remembered the realm’s delight ‘ hundreds and then thousands headed to harrenhal before their great lords declared. who then also threw in their lots with rhaenyra. this also implies some pretty interesting things about the context of her tour in 112, beyond the men that paid court to her during. that she had at least some level of contact with the smallfolk of the riverlands, enough that she developed a positive enough report with them that they were willing to fight and die for her 17 years later from the impression that she made during. in the book there is no official reason for hers in particular ( in the show it is directly to find a suitor ) for my portrayal in particular i do take it as viserys sending rhaenyra to help her be more visible to the smallfolk and his leal lords on a larger scale and something of which of the royal family she was in fact the only representative – it was also a deescalation of the tension post the tourney of 111AC inside the walls of the red keep, and a way for her to gain more ??? experience outside the walls of the red keep. a way for great lords and landed knights to question her on the fallout of it in person and the subsequent formations of the greens and the blacks, and actually actively see the king’s chosen heir.

she also is ? of the same belief as aegon the conqueror that the best way to stomp out rebellion and discord is for the people to be able to speak to their king / queen, and bring their issues to them in person. she is also ? wholly cognizant of who’s crown she is in fact inheriting and the nuances of that decision and the potential ramifications and questions that will no doubt come with that. she’s aware she’s inheriting the crown of the conciliator, the man who ‘ made the seven kingdoms one ‘ who knew when to be lenient and pardon dissenters and when to stand firm but she’s also inheriting the crown of her father who only got that crown in the first place because rhaenys was passed over for it due to her sex. her want for peace is multifaceted - she’s trying to calm things down and level the waters so her potential ascension isn’t as big of a thing as it is and as big of a fright for the men around her and there isn’t a sense of their own power being at risk, for the transition of power to be as seamless as it would be if she were a man. and during the tour in 112AC, i think she definitely did a lot of work with the great lords and all the houses she visited, to alleviate that fear of change coming that had in fact begun to build upon the official formation of the political factions in the red keep.

during this tour, many sons of those same lords paid court to her. this wasn’t the worst thing—and for the most part it was ? it was easy, it was an easy social exchange and she had always adored the notion of courtly love and that sort of gallant chivalry and for the romantic in her, it was enjoyable at times. and the implication whenever viserys told her of her betrothal to laenor is during this time she also met at least one match that she was serious about marrying which led to their argument shortly thereafter ( more then likely harwin strong, given he either returned to court after he was said to have paid ? court to her or traveled to do so ) of them, the only ones that were really off putting for her as being potential matches were the lannister twins - purely because of the fact they were blood to each other. and both were in fact competing for her attentions and she didn’t ? want to cause discord in their family as well, DIDNT want to have a hand in throwing a wrench in their familial unit by choosing either of them - in causing strife due to their ambitions to be her king consort.

there were feasts, balls and tourneys thrown in her honor, and she was gone for the better part of that year between late January of 112 to mid December. she traveled with her retinue of ladies, retainers and knights, and her septa, lynesse. formerly of house hightower. a daughter of a distant relative of queen alicent. appointed to the position the year prior post the onset of the rumors about her purity being compromised. as well as ser criston cole and ser steffon darklyn. her duties consisted of practicing the art of diplomacy and progress reports among the great houses and gathering them up and taking them back to KL and she ? ventured outward into the more populated areas and villages to hold sort of an impromptu court of which she was at its head - wholly separate from the court paid to her by the nobility which was held within the visiting halls of the castles she stayed in while she traveled. she would spend a good fraction of her time everywhere she went doing so, because she wanted to get a sense of the state of the realm overall and what it was that she was coming into upon her ascension and where she would need to direct her efforts towards first and what she might place before the king. she was a visible presence in their lives, at that time. as she was at court, which led her to gaining a support system in the first place—she smiled and charmed them and won their support at 15 well enough that it lasted 17 years, and I can’t ? honestly imagine that was merely from one instance of seeing her and speaking to her.

it was very enjoyable and very ? insightful for her for a lot of reasons but mostly it allowed her to stretch her political legs in the sense of being able to be seen and to engage with her people without the greens looming over her, and actually being able to be judged fairly for her actions and demeanor without feelings like she was up against such an unyielding force of opposition. it was also very eye opening in the sense that it showed her that outside of the walls of the red keep, things aren’t so hopeless for her and her position. people want her to be queen regardless of what they may or may not have heard come from court. and for a girl who was so isolated for the majority of her adolescence and coming into her adulthood it was the push, the encouragement that she needed to remind herself she was on a path that could be achieved and was supported by people who’s ascent on the matter mattered, and who would not gain any advancement by doing so. the opposition she was facing back at court became less of an impassible road block, an impossible mountain to climb and more of an extraordinarily difficult one. which she was willing to do.