#just to confirm that I was a legitimate option as heir

[ecce-felix]

I always ask the very good question of ‘if rhaenyra wanted to rule successfully and shut the greens down before they could gain traction why didn’t she foster more alliances besides with the velaryons and arryns’ like alliances aren’t just marital you can foster good relations and give lords attention and listen to them personally (since you have a dragon that gives you increased travel mobility) and make them feel important. She’s a woman in a misogynistic society and has three brothers (along with two nephews) that many would consider heirs above her, I genuinely don’t understand why she didn’t realize how weak her position was and work to combat it. She just squatted on dragonstone for years to the point that a betrayal from house Baratheon (who are literally just across the channel) came out of nowhere to her. She just expected they’d be her allies bc she didn’t consider the rumors about her sons might anger the baratheons. She knows she has two unmarried brothers that the greens could use to form marital alliances, why didn’t she try to figure out which great house with eligible daughters was their target? It’s just bizzare. I would’ve been visiting all the time to check the vibes at storms end and trying to charm them into forgetting they aren’t Actually related to my heir. Granted she’d have a harder time of it bc misogyny & her habit of lying but if she gave an effort the greens would’ve had a much weaker leg to stand on. It’s like she grew up so entitled/watching her stupid father flounder in KL that she forgot being a monarch is an actual job that requires networking with everyone and not one or two houses. She finally started networking during the war by sending her heir to treat with the north but by then it was too damn late to stop the war from happening. I blame viserys for being a fuckup bad example to her and I also blame Targaryen exceptionalism for making her ego & sense of delusional entitlement worse.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

People are so insensitive when it comes to Rhaenyra’s situation. I have never seen so much cruelty directed towards a girl who was put between a rock and a hard place.

You all are acting as though Rhaenyra’s goal in life was to cheat on Laenor and undermine the Velaryons, her allies and her kin. She didn’t sleep around with the purpose of getting back at her husband and having children with other men out of spite (she’s not Cersei).

Rhaenyra was forced into marriage with a gay man and expected to produce heirs not only for the Iron Throne but also for Driftmark. So, an heir and a spare for House Targaryen. Another heir and another spare for House Velaryon. Four children (preferably sons) were expected from her womb. Good luck with that.

Let’s suppose that the rumors are true and Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey are not Laenor’s. Rhaenyra’s decision to have children with another man should be less criticized, and regarded with more sympathy. She couldn’t spend her entire marriage life to Laenor without having children. Her “suitable” options were these:

1. Remain childless and let herself, the Princess of Dragonstone and Heir to the Throne, be called barren.

2. Demand an annulment by exposing Laenor’s nature (confirming the rumors), and not only humiliating House Velaryon (her allies) but also putting the succession of Driftmark into question (since Laenor was Corlys’ only son and his chosen heir).

At a time when a faction of snakes was constantly nipping at her heels, either one of these options would have left Rhaenyra vulnerable at Court.

She took matters into her own hands and had children with another man. And not just another man. This was a man she could trust, her sworn shield, a man who cared for her and who would never betray her (it’s hard to find someone like that).

To claim that she should have chosen a Valyrian (as though the options are unlimited) is extremely superficial. For this to work, she needed someone trustworthy, someone who would not attempt to claim the children later on. We all know that Daemon would have been the best option for her. She loved him, he was Valyrian and her ally. But alas, with his own marriage and life away from Court, it wasn’t really possible. And I am not really sure if Daemon would have been okay with another man laying claim to his children (that is up for debate).

Rhaenyra preferred a man who was trustworthy over a man with the “correct” features. The chances were 50/50 that the children would look like her, and unfortunately, they didn’t. That’s that.

Laenor and Corlys accepted the situation, because they understood what it would cost them all if they didn’t. This whole thing was on their heads. They provided the heir to the throne with a husband incapable of reproducing. It was not Rhaenyra’s fault.

As such, the children were recognized as Velaryons by the father (Laenor), the Lord of Driftmark (Corlys) and the King (Viserys). And these are the only opinions which matter. No one can prove that the boys didn’t inherit Baratheon and/or Arryn genes. Legally, Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey are the sons of Rhaenyra and Laenor.

When it comes to the Iron Throne, it doesn’t matter who fathered Rhaenyra’s children, as long as they are hers. She is the ruling Queen. And we have no way of knowing how things would have gone down after Rhaenyra became Queen. Daemon had two sons of his own. He could have managed to convince Rhaenyra to acknowledge Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey as bastards and then legitimize them, since she has the power to do so. If the boys wouldn’t have been accepted by the Realm (unlikely), there is also the possibility that Rhaenyra could have decided to pass the succession to her and Daemon’s children. Rhaenyra had legitimate heirs who could have taken the throne after her death.

As for Driftmark, despite greedy Vaemond’s ramblings, the succession was just fine. The Velaryon line would have continued through the marriage between Lucerys and Rhaena.

Lucerys had the Velaryon name and Rhaena had the Velaryon blood. Their children would have had the Velaryon name and blood. Problem solved.

People need to stop acting as through Vaemond was some sort of crusader, demanding “justice” for his House. He was just as much of an upstart as the Hightowers and he wanted to take Corlys’ power for himself, and so he took advantage of some rumors to discredit Rhaenyra’s children and advance himself.

Things are not black and white, and given Rhaenyra’s nearly impossible situation, exceptions can be made. And these exceptions wouldn’t have affected neither the succession of Driftmark nor that of the Seven Kingdoms.

[lizzie-queenofmeigas]

Currently, FlopD seems to be weaving the narrative that Rhaenyra was selfish and reckless for having bastards and that Jace's claim would be in danger because of the dragonseeds and blah, blah, blah. And people, as expected, are falling for it. Well, to each their own. The show is its own universe afterall and anything can happen over there.

I won't argue anymore about how the rumours about Jace's paternity wouldn't have affected his ascension in the long run in canon because I'm tired of repeating them and no one cares for logic anyway.

But let's come back to Rhaenyra's situation in the book. As the heir to the throne, she needed heirs of her own. She also wanted to be a mother. She was married to Book!Laenor and we don't know whether he was or not. Now if he wasn't and Book!Rhaenyra had three sons with Harwin nevertheless then it would make her both overconfident and stupid. But we don't know that either.

But considering how Laenor never disowned the boys officially, it is plausible that he was, indeed, impotent. Between that and being called a cuckold, he likely preferred being called the latter by some than having the former be confirmed before the entire realm. This is also probably why Corlys and Rhaenys played along because the alternative would be dishonour for their son and house.

What could have Rhaenyra done differently?

1) Given up her claim and been content as Lady Of Driftmark. But, even then, it would have been required of her to produce heirs for Laenor.

2) Requested Viserys to get her marriage to Laenor annulled. It could have been accomplished and Viserys would have gotten her married to someone else. She would have gone on to have perfectly legitimate heirs with him. But it would have proved that the problem wasn't with Rhaenyra but Laenor who couldn't get her with child and she would have incurred the Velaryons' wrath. Making an enemy of the wealthiest house in the Realm with dragons of their own is hardly a wise choice to make.

3) Given up her claim, chosen to not have children at all and live with the stigma of being barren. She would be in misery but, hey, atleast she didn't have bastards.

4) Grabbed some silver haired dude from Lys to father her children. It's easier said than done. First, they would have to be extremely discreet. Even then rumours would have spread. Second of all, Harwin, for as long as he lived, didn't wag his mouth. There is no way they could have trusted a random stranger to do the same. Lastly, Book!Rhaenyra wouldn't just have slept with any rando. She had two serious relationships in her entire life: Harwin and Daemon.Relationships were clearly valuable to her. Being forced to have sex with someone you are not interested in for whatever reason is an ordeal no one should be put through if it can be avoided.

I think Book!Rhaenyra's antis would have sympathized more with her had she opted for the last two options. She would have sacrificed her happiness but done her duty. For some reason, these people like female characters who are self sacrificial martyrs over those who fight for whatever joy they can scrap out of a world filled with adversities. Book!Rhaenyra was placed between a rock and a hard place. But she fought for what was hers and for the happiness that was owed to her. None of this would have happened had Viserys allowed her to marry Daemon from the beginning . But that's a discussion for another day.

And I will stick to this: The existence of the Velaryon boys in the books was no threat to Rhaenyra's claim unless proven otherwise in the bookverse. Otherwise, Borros Baratheon, Lord Manderly and Cregan must be idiots of the highest order for pursuing marriage alliances with those brown haired bastards.

Unfortunately, you have people like Ryan Condal and Sara Hess who looked at Book! Rhaenyra's complicated situation, and instead of sympathizing with her predicament, interpreted it as her being selfish and greedy. According to them, she was wrong to love and marry Daemon, she was wrong for having brown haired children and she was wrong for desiring and pursuing the throne she had been named heir to.

This is why the show seems to be 'punishing' her for those decisions through Show!Rhaenyra. Show!Rhaenyra's existence is supposed to be C&H showing middle finger to Book!Rhaenyra and they've already proved they have no qualms about mauling canon and rendering it unrecognizable as long as they get to validate their headcanons. And show fans will eat it up as usual. Show!Rhaenys was their mouthpiece to berate Rhaenyra for not giving up the throne, Show!Jace is the mouthpiece to highlight how 'wrong' she was for birthing him and every single soul in this showverse is one step away from tattooing 'I hate Daemon Targaryen. He is the worst' on their foreheads.

The dragonseed project in the book was initiated by Jace himself because the Blacks were desperate for an advantage against Vhagar. It was risky and,unluckily, while Nettles and Addam proved loyal, the two traitors turned on them at the worst possible time. In a hypothetical situation where they did win the war quickly, they would have had to deal with the dragonseed problem sooner or later. They wouldn't have given the dragons away under normal circumstances but the circumstances were anything but normal.

But if FlopD writers could think, the show would have been different.

Arguing with people who believe that Jace's ascension would be in danger or that Daemon would kill them, is useless.

I haven't seen any episode of season 2 and I don't plan on it so I'll take your word for it. I mean, the writers have always had a hate boner for Daemon so whatever they do I'm not surprised.

This writers are homophobic, racist, misogynistic and overall ignorant bigots, every single one of the scenes of the show tells you this much. I'm not surprised by anything anymore.

[esther-dot]

Even if we assume that Rhaegar married Lyanna, does their marriage would be considered valid? In the show Gilly and Sam got to know about marriage through the some records. Is it possible in books too? What do you think?

Well, I can’t say that any of D&D’s decisions made sense in hindsight, and I don’t know how any evidence would be presented and sufficient enough to convince Westeros as a whole that Jon was Rhaegar’s “legitimate” child, but all that aside, this is the all-important book quote:

"Likely they were too shy to come out," Ned jested. He could feel the chill coming up the stairs, a cold breath from deep within the earth. "Kings are a rare sight in the north." Robert snorted. "More likely they were hiding under the snow. Snow, Ned!" The king put one hand on the wall to steady himself as they descended. (AGOT, Eddard I)

That’s compelling evidence that Martin intended Jon to be a Targaryen heir (“true born" in some capacity) from the beginning of the story. Sure, Robb and Bran become kings, we'll have several kings springing up in the North, but the "hiding under the snow. Snow, Ned" is (imo) unarguably a reference to Ned hiding Jon's identity by claiming him as his bastard (Snow). And the idea conveyed is that Ned is hiding a king. (@sherlokiness has several posts about additional wordplay around this, specifically the Jon and Joffrey, bastard and prince stuff).

As the series goes on, we get additional king references for Jon, and people have argued that it's KitN foreshadowing, and maybe, maybe that's what happens, but this passage, way back in AGOT, indicates that it is Jon's bastardy (hiding under the snow) that secrets the king. Not that he will eventually be chosen as one, but that he is one by virtue of his birth.

I don’t much care either way. I’ve pointed out that Jon being a bastard and going up against a true born is a fun progression of his bastard issues as is finding out he’s a trueborn and hating it/rejecting it because of what Rhaegar and Aerys did to the Starks. Either way, it’s juicy! There are things to explore. So, I’d just remind people, this spec isn’t about any specific bloggers hopes, or relying on GoT, it exists because of Martin’s words. And even if we find it offensive or think it goes against the later worldbuilding, there are lines in the book that indicate it’s potentially what Martin was planning way back when.

Now, I don't know why on Earth D&D bothered to write tangible proof of Jon's legitimacy in s7 when they totally neglected to do anything politically in s8 that would require that? Maybe keeping their options open if they needed to prolong the series? But I find it difficult to believe there will be a specific document that would be universally recognized as evidence of his legitimacy because Rhaegar was already married and had an heir. So, even if Martin wrote in a marriage for the sake of playing with the secret prince / heir to a dynasty idea for the reader’s sake, that doesn’t mean happy acceptance in-world. I’ve said the same about Robb’s will, it matters more what the Northern Lords say, how they weigh their competing interests and the threats they’re facing, rather than the specific words Robb wrote. Also, we have Aegon and Dany, so even if R/L were married and there was proof, after two other Targs pop up and war over the throne, I can't see people being moved by that? I would think they'd be sick of Targs no matter how sure people were about Jon’s identity.

Although, I could see the Northerners believing Jon is Rhaegar's son because a) they all already know Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna and b) it doesn't really make sense for Ned to have fathered a bastard, so once Bran breaks it to Jon and/or Howland confirms it, I think they'll accept it because it would feel possible? Feel true? And obviously, we would know it’s true. So if this is about the Northen tangle, we don't need much. Actually, I just realized some people might spread it to try to undermine Jon/the Starks. 👀

I often just see these things as having a lot of potential paths and not knowing which direction is more appealing to Martin. He likes "the human heart in conflict with itself" so Jon being offered his dearest wish (being a legitimate son of Ned Stark) only for that to be absolute hell because he's falling in love with the man's daughter, well, that might be fun for him to write. But then comes R+L=J, and if he wants to be with Sansa, Jon needs that information to come out. If he's rejected Winterfell when Stannis offered it, rejected Winterfell even though Robb wanted him to take it, if he then can press his (Targ) legitimacy without displacing a beloved family member and in doing so, it might allow him to be with Sansa? That’s an angle. Or if he is KitN, he’d be highly motivated to keep that a secret for the sake of stability in the North, regardless of his feelings….I really can’t say. And I don’t remember anything in Sam’s chapters that made me think he’d find a diary, although the fact that Jon is forcing him to do something he doesn’t want to do makes the idea that he finds something and runs, potentially screwing Jon over kinda interesting. Actually, it’s always been a favored idea that he plays a hand in Jon rising to another position of power because of his part in getting Jon to be Lord Commander, so there is that! I guess I need to reread AFFC the whole series with a list of my new questions. 😅

[inky-duchess]

This is a little long and quite hypothetical, so I don’t expect any super specific answers. I’m just trying to get a feel for the possibilities.

———

Say there’s two surviving princesses out of all the royal children after a plague. Both are children. Princess A is the oldest and heir apparent despite her worrying health, but due to some very complicated and messed up family drama, Princess B goes missing from their country estate and grows up masquerading as an average citizen in a different country. Classic lost princess story, but make it have political ramifications.

Many years later, when both girls are adults, their birth kingdom is doing industrialist imperialism shit, and is internally going to hell as they do foreign subterfuge. Princess A is thoroughly established as the next queen regnant, still unmarried. Princess B, however, is quietly starting to get involved in political/sabotage activities against her sister and mother from outside the country.

Eventually, she’s found out to be alive and the real princess based on genetic testing, and her family cares about her way more than her treason. She is not publicly connected to any incidents. She agrees to rejoin the royal family as a way to do more treason.

———

Question 1: Would the crown have publicly acknowledged the princess’s disappearance when it happened, or would that be political suicide? Would it be easier to say she died? Pin it on an enemy? What if Princess A had a high probability of death?

Question 2: How long would the family wait to announce her existence, and how would they do it in order to minimize fallout? A ceremony? A celebration? A solemn address? How would they explain her sudden appearance, especially if she was thought dead?

Question 3: How would her appearance affect relations with the people, the nobles, and the country she grew up in? Would she get proposals, or would people refuse to associate? What if her upbringing came up? Basically, would anyone accept her as legitimate even if she’s confirmed by this “new science” as the real deal?

They could but you also have to opportunity to create wiggle room for yourself. What if in a bid to cover up the story, the royal family simply gave our a statement that due to the death of their other children, they were raising the other Princess away from court to preserve the line of succession? And then they just brought back B as if nothing happened. Of course, some people may know but the secret could provide B her safety and the family a better way forward while creating conflict between both parties. They can pin it on some scapegoat and save their daughter.

They would make a statement either through the press or by a celebration of thanksgiving for her return. If you go with my alternative option, they could simply announce quietly that she will be returning to court.

It likely wouldn't matter. She's of royal blood and likely to be the next heir.

[mofffun]

Racules's portrayal in 19 is... it could go either way from here.

The literal way to read it is Racules is indeed a second-rate villain and is being clowned on to ease his future redemption or it's catharsis for audience's anger instead of/before his death.

The convoluted way as popped up by Yano-san's acting is Racules is still the two-steps-ahead mastermind that takes the fall all by himself, and it's equally painful to see someone carrying that be ridiculed upon.

If you go literal it'd destroy Racules's 'chessmaster' image in so many stan's mind. But not, his actions in 19 like throwing away ZERO and pleading Yanma are too awkward to be explained away. A third option is Racules is secretly morally good, but he's bad at improvising when the plan doesn't go his way.

The dilemma that unlike the main six, the audience can't decide which is the 'outer' vs. 'inner' side of Racules - or confirm that he even has one.

Personally I don't think his starting point is purely good or evil, just that he truly believes absolute power is the only thing strong enough to secure peace. His idealism was real, but maybe God's Fury or as a young puppet changed his mind on power. Or he's starting to believe his own lie. But this line of thought is already shaken by the flashback.

So far the show seems to imply that Racules is showing Gira how to become King: from the principle of creating a Shugodom where the King protects the people, and the people protect those within reach, to the political necessity to unite other Kings, demonstration of the power-up linked to their ancestor, and now legitimizing Gira's claim with the law on duels.

I saw some pessimistic comments that Racules would turn out a comic villain and the mastermind persona is more Yano-san's creation (like Shiokara with his actor). But say Takano-san corrected ep13 at 19 intentionally or not, I say we stay patient and see where Racules will go first?

I'm not saying Racules will die next week (if anything, I'm betting on his popularity changing his fate), since the duel seems to be interrupted by Bugnarok (again) from Toei website's previews, but it is pretty significant they chose a low ground and not somewhere over a cliff or water for the duel huh.

Now I want to know if he marries Suzume for the identity of Toufu's heir consort as a failsafe before the duel, or if Suzume chose to marry him despite him losing, or he actually won and the wedding is a distraction for the people?

[shantismurf]

Funny, my eye was caught by the same irony when I reposted it last night!! If it was acceptable for indirect heirs to inherit, you'd think Fili and Kili would have still been viable options, but the key here is that they are Thorin's SISTER sons, so their claim would have been seen as less legitimate in the patriarchal society Tolkien seems to have envisioned for the dwarves. (Again, I say, 🖕)

What I really don't understand is why he didn't just change them to his brother's son's (or his own...why really did he make both Thorin and Bilbo confirmed bachelors with no children??)...he was changing so many other details! If he really *really* just had to kill off Thorin (which is still think was a sloppy fix for breaking him so badly in the first place), when he made the decision to have the boys die defending him Tolkien could have just as easily made Fili his brother's son and leave him alive to inherit the throne just as Thorin was left to become king in the wake of losing so much of his family. And Dain could have been available as a Regent or advisor, so he'd still get his unsullied dwarf lord. Fili could become the tragic noble hope for the future, with solid guidance and support, and it wouldn't have been such an overt insert of a shiny new character who had not been previously even mentioned.

Really, the themes of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, or this eucatastrophy that so many Tolkien scholars seem to praise, would have been just as realized with Thorin redeeming himself, overcoming the sickness and showing the error of his ways by doing all the right things Dain is being praised for here. If anything, it's a greater triumph for a broken character to be redeemed than for him to die and his mantle passed to one who had not been tested as fiercely.

The author of the History of the Hobbit praises Dain as a paragon of a dwarf, but what challenges did he face after he slew Azog? He was, they all were, dreadfully young and forced to step onto a throne he was not prepared for, but he had a mountain to return to, and a people who were stable and safe.

Thorin was ten times the dwarf Dain was, because of all the tragedy and pressure he endured and thrived under, because he fell to gold sickness, but he was the only dwarf in history to have thrown it off and come back to be of sound mind after. It would have been ten times the triumph for him to have nearly died and then had a chance to redeem himself. It's one of the reasons the fanfiction about him is so very satisfying!!

Just reread The Hobbit 😩 and I stand by my opinion:

📣 Bilbo would have stayed in Erebor if Thorin didn’t die 📣

[cassatine]

pls if you have time I would love to hear you elaborate on the terms being INTERESTING!!! because they were to me as well and I want to devour whatever you say like an animal

I was gonna just copy-paste what I'd written previously but then I remembered I can go on for about forever re: fake politics/legalese so. huh. here comes a wall of text.

The full terms go thus:

(1) Acknowledge Aegon as king and swear obeisance before the Iron Throne. (2) In exchange, His Grace will confirm your possession of Dragonstone. (3) It will pass to your trueborn son, Jacaerys, upon your death. Lucerys will confirmed as the legitimate heir to Driftmark and all the lands and holdings of House Velaryon. (4) Your sons by Prince Daemon will also be given places of high honor at court: Aegon the Younger as the King's squire, Viserys as his cupbearer. (5) Finally the King in his good grace will pardon any knight or lord who conspired against his ascent.

The Standard Stuff

Three of the terms' provisions are pretty standard for Medievish Fun Time Land, so I'm going over them first before moving on to the truly interesting stuff: swearing obeisance (1), pardons for the blacks' followers (5), "high honor positions" hostages (4).

(1) Acknowledge Aegon as king and swear obeisance before the Iron Throne.

Self-explanatory but beyond the public demonstration of obeisance and the message that'd send to would-be supporters of the blacks… rather meaningless as far as guarantees of good behavior go.

The thing is that whether one thinks they were justified or not… the greens broke their own oaths first -- those made when Rhaenyra was named heir. By doing so they opened Oathbreaking Season for everyone else, and now they will hardly be able to trust other Houses' oaths, even less so any made by the blacks. Otto says the oaths made to Rhaenyra were "stale" from the moment Aegon was born, but the thing is that pulling this sort of stuff may give a veneer of pseudo-legality to putting your grandson on the throne*, but it opens the door to the very people you fucked over pulling a "well you broke oaths first, and what are oaths made to known oathbreakers worth?" and other plays on legalese. More generally it also opens the door to everyone wondering what your oaths are even worth. Which is not an insignificant problem, because the feudalism contract is a two-ways street: your vassals swear obeisance, and in return you are meant to protect them**. If you go around breaking oaths, however cleverly you justify it, on the long term people simply won't be able to trust you'll hold to the oaths you have with them, and down the line that is veeery likely to come back and bite you on the ass at some point or another.

*ftr "does male primogeniture outweigh the official naming of an heir that is not the first son?" actually a bullshit debate and no one's position in it is truly informed by their respect for law, custom, or tradition, only by who they want to see on the throne.

**Applies to the nobility: lords, knights, etc, not really to the peasants.

(5) [T]he King in his good grace will pardon any knight or lord who conspired against his ascent.

This is something the greens kind of had to put on the table, because the last Targ to have had a "no pardons" policy was Maegor, and no one wants to be Maegor (if only because shit didn't end well for him)*.

But also they had to because in the framework of the feudal contract Rhaenyra is meant to extend protection to the people who are sworn to her**, so while technically the greens could have gone with the "no pardons for the blacks' supporters" option, it still would have made for pretty shitty PR, and more to the point: it would have meant handing them even more justification than Rhaenyra getting schrödinger-usurped to let things devolve into open war. Because then the blacks could have said "well we simply can't meet your terms because how could we in good conscience let you punish our supporters while we get off scott-free." The blacks would have reaped all the good PR on top of being handed a reason to call the terms "Maegor-levels of bad" -- and while a no pardons policy might have dissuaded some people to declare for the blacks, it also might have convinced others to do just that.

On the other hand, framing support of the blacks as conspiring against the true rightful king Aegon II (which comes rather close to a charge of treason, so not small potatoes) and offer pardons anyway is much more likely to get the greens some good PR and it keeps the blacks from playing the "protecting our supporters" card -- while allowing the greens to play the "well if they cared about their supporters Rhaenyra & co would kneel to our gracious king, he who pardons" card.

*Worth pointing out that pardoning people has historically served the Targs well enough (see: Aegon the First, Jaehaerys). For some reason people generally tend to like you more if you dole out pardons than if you cut heads by the dozens. Go figure!

**Technically covers Everyone (since everyone swore to follow her when Viserys named her heir), but in the current juncture really only applies to those that chose to keep to their stale oaths and support her rather than Aegon II. Which doesn't cover a lot of Houses yet, admittedly.

(4) Your sons by Prince Daemon will also be given places of high honor at court: Aegon the Younger as the King's squire, Viserys as his cupbearer.

That's polite language for "Aegon the Younger and Viserys will be our hostages to ensure good behavior on your part." It's done all the time in Medievish Fun Time Land so it's not especially shocking: of course the greens would want actual guarantees that the blacks won't come back on their word if they accept the terms (it is after all Oathbreaking Season). But also it must be said that having hostages is kind of a two-way street: you have to treat your hostages well, else you're giving their families reason to rebel. When you're taking hostages you're not just saying "fuck up and it's their heads on the chopping block"; you're also saying "see we do mean to treat yall fairly, starting with the hostages."

While the demand for hostages is standard stuff, what's noteworthy here is that the terms expressly demand Daemon's sons, and both are in fact way too fucking young to credibly fill either of the offered positions, which makes the whole thing rather gauche because it strips away the polite "high honors" veneer -- ie what allows everyone to pretend what's going on is more akin to a fostering situation, because appearances matter, even if everyone knows what's going on. Aegon the Younger isn't even six, ie not yet in the age range to become a page, and several years too young for squiring. Viserys… he doesn't even look old enough to walk. Maybe stumble a bit?? The point is: no fucking way could he be a cupbearer. And it's not like Joffrey, who would be around an age at which he could reasonably be made a page or a cupbearer, doesn't exist. And while Jacaerys and Lucerys are to be heirs, asking for them until the younger kids are old enough to replace them as hostages wouldn't be that shocking either.

But the greens specifically want Daemon's sons, which for once is most likely not a potshot at the other kids being illegitimate, but rather just because the greens figure not only is Daemon the bellicose one in comparison to Rhaenyra*, or the dangerous one, or the one that can't be trusted, or the one that really wants the throne, etc etc, but also that he'd be more likely to care more about not getting his own sons ending up on the chopping block than his stepson(s)**.

*Ironically enough they are right about that but mostly wrong about the why, because they don't fucking know about the Aegon Prophecy of Doom Winter.

**The greens will soon be hit by Blood & Cheese so possibly they uuuh kind of miscalculated on that one. Whether he cares more for his sons than his stepsons doesn't actually matter quite as much as whether Rhaenyra cares for all her kids (she does).

The Concessions

And now on to the good stuff, ie the actual concessions being made, and oh man are they Something. While (3) may seem generous it's another thing the greens had to put on the table if they wanted Rhaenyra to consider the terms to start with; in combination with provision (2), however… it’s. uh. It’s all very short-sighted, let’s just say.

(2) His Grace will confirm your possession of Dragonstone.

This is really fucking funny in light of Otto's speech about Aegon II having all the symbols of Targ Legitimacy, because Dragonstone (like Dark Sister, also in the hands of the blacks, and like dragons, which the blacks technically have more of) is a symbol of Targ Legitimacy, what with how it's not only the most Targ Place in all of the 7K (it's Westeros’ Little Valyria, if you will) but also it's the traditional seat of the heir to the throne. On top of the symbolism, it's where the unclaimed dragons* dwell, and it’s not that far from King's Landing for someone on dragonback. So making Dragonstone the seat of Rhaenyra's fam is not a small concession, both because of the historical and symbolic weight of the island, but also because it’s kind of like telling Rhaenyra "okay what you're getting of the divorce is the Ancestral Home Island of Pet Nukes, which is situated in our metaphorical backyard."

It's a well-intentioned concession: ceding her home of six years or so to Rhaenyra, like "see we aren't evicting you on top of stealing your throne <3," but it's also a really fucking bad idea because the ruling family simply cannot afford to have another Targ faction with its own bunch of dragons and a throne-sized grudge just hanging out in King’s Landing metaphorical backyard — a backyard that is nothing less than the Ancestral Home Island of Pet Nukes and whose ownership is one of those oh so important symbols of Targ Legitimacy. That's kinda like looking at the proto-Blackfyres and asking "hey would you guys be satisfied with the summer house?" but worse.

*Including both those that never had a rider and those that currently don’t have one, that’s six of them. There are also at least three dragon eggs iirc.

(3) [Dragonstone] will pass to your trueborn son, Jacaerys, upon your death. Lucerys will confirmed as the legitimate heir to Driftmark and all the lands and holdings of House Velaryon.

This does three things: first it confirms that Dragonstone isn't a temporary loan to be reabsorbed into the Crown's holdings when Rhaenyra dies, which in turns confirms the greens are creating a 'Targaryens of Dragonstone' line. Secondly, it says that in the matter of Driftmark, the greens will uphold Viserys' will.

Thirdly, it is a polite way to say "we will stop arguing so loudly that your three eldest kids are bastards and maintain the established official policy that they totes are your and Laenor's legitimate children." At first glance it may look like another generous concession… but in fact it's another one the greens kind of had to make, because they aren't terminally stupid, and they know that Rhaenyra would never accept terms that officially make her kids bastards. They could have gone about it differently --no Dragonstone on offer, or Dragonstone at the cost of Driftmark-- but they had to put that on the table.

And sure, later in the episode Aemond will be calling Lucerys "my Lord Strong" & "bastard," so clearly not everyone in the green faction is quite yet on the same page, but the important thing is that in the official terms, Jacaerys is described as Rhaenyra's "trueborn son", confirmed as the heir of the 'Targaryens of Dragonstone' line, and similarly Lucerys is called "legitimate", his own inheritance of Driftmark also confirmed.

Of course, it comes after more than a decade of the greens taking the side of "they absofuckinglutely are bastards" in the issue of Jacaerys, Lucerys & Joffrey's legitimacy status, which goes to show that beyond the personal resentment aspect (Alicent & Criston), as a faction the greens only ever pushed the "bastard kids" argument because it was convenient and it fit their religious-lawful aesthetic of choice. You can't say "I want MY grandkids on the throne" but you can make a not-outright* argument over the legitimacy of the chosen heir's kids.

Once again, because I guess this is the hill I will die on: the kids not being Laenor's never had shit to do with the greens not wanting Rhaenyra to park her ass on the throne. If the kids had been legitimate they'd have been accusing Rhaenyra of something else or defaulting to the good ole "well she doesn't have the most important thing for a ruler to have (a dick)". lbr even if Rhaenyra had been born with a dick, it's more likely than not that if the Alicent & Viserys marriage had somehow happened and Alicent had had a boy**, Otto still would have done all he could to get Rhaenyra disinherited (like he did Daemon, which was also never actually about his faults***). Because there never was a problem with anything Rhaenyra did or didn't do, there only ever was the fact that the Hightower patriarchs were thirsty for power.

Hence the greens ultimately being fine letting the legitimacy issue go after more than a decade of waving it around, and turn to calling Rhaenyra a whore and the kids bastards mostly only in private****.

*Not-outright because they couldn't just come out and say it: technically it'd have been both treason and accusing the heir of treason, and Viserys never wanted to hear it. But they could imply it. Loudly and repeatedly.

**This is an extremely hypothetical scenario, go with it I'm just making A Point.

***Which, to be clear, does not mean Daemon doesn't have faults nor that he would have made a decent ruler, because 1) he does and 2) he wouldn't have. But Otto doing his very best to get him yeeted out of the line of succession was more about the fact that had he somehow come to sit the throne, the very first thing Daemon would have done would have been sending Otto back to Oldtown with a "and never fucking come back" -- or he'd just have killed him, and then he'd have thrown a party to celebrate.

****"Mostly only in private" because making it Official Policy that the kids are legitimate doesn't actually mean the greens would never make a public dig about it again nor that they would stop encouraging the rumors, because it wouldn't do to let people forget about any of the arguments against Rhaenyra becoming queen.

It’s all very short-sighted

I said about provision (2) that it was a really fucking bad idea to hand out Dragonstone to the blacks, but that doesn't even cover half of it:

Repeating myself because it's such an insane move, but by handing out Dragonstone, the green are straight up establishing a rival family branch with no less valid a claim to the throne than they themselve have (this shit doesn't just get forgotten) and a grudge to nurse, giving them ownership of the Ancestral Home Island of Pet Nukes (an island that is also a symbol of Targ Legitimacy) and all the pet nukes on it, letting them keep the other family sword (has everyone forgotten about Dark Sister) -- none of which is a good idea if you want the legitimacy of your own line to go unquestioned.

The greens lose dragonriding exclusivity for the ruling Targ House -- and there is a reason beyond Targ exceptionalism and blood purity fuckery why the Targs historically intermarried, and that reason is keeping dragonrider abilities* in-House. Because once you start letting the other Houses have dragons you're not in a dracocracy anymore. You're kissing goodbye to the most important of all the symbols of Targ Legitimacy, which isn't a sword or a sept anointment or any of the stuff Otto lists, but exclusive ownership of the pet nukes**.

The fact that Lucerys would still inherit Driftmark means depriving the green side of the Targ fam of Velaryon support, to the benefit of the blacks. At least Dragonstone is a tiny place that comes with only a few lords to boss around, and its main riches is like, dragonglass, and it can't levy a lot of troops because it's too sparsely populated, so minus the dragons and the symbolism it's not exactly screaming Powerful House Seat. But Driftmark? While it's also tiny, at this point the Velaryons just so happen to be super rich (like, richer than any other House including the Lannisters, who live in a gold mine). The Velaryons also have the biggest fleet in Westeros, and Corlys just got done reconquering the Stepstones, which means they now have control of the Narrow Sea***, and at this juncture they are rather unlikely to cede that control to the greens.

The thing is that had the blacks accepted the terms, maybe it would have kept things from devolving into open war for a while (say, as long as Aegon the Younger and Viserys Junior remained hostages), but the terms also set up a situation in which the Dragonstone-Driftmark alliance is a powerhouse that, as long as it's around, would keep open the question of whether the greens are truly the legitimate throne-sitters, could economically fuck over the greens (them Narrow Sea shipping lanes matter), and could also just fucking point to their several dragons whenever the Crown would try to make them do anything -- or whenever they'd want to make the Crown do anything.

And that would end up biting, if not Aegon II, then his descendants on the ass -- especially since (unbeknownst to the greens, it's not like they could have accounted for that) it's the blacks side of the family that knows about the Aegon Prophecy of Doom Winter and, if shit doesn't blow before, two or three generations down the line it'd be very easy for them to turn it into "it's our branch of the family that must sit the throne and keep the realm united to avoid the end of the world," ie the ultimate self-justification to start a civil war.

*I know there is debate on that issue but technically it doesn't matter if dragonrider abilities are tied to Valyrian ancestry or not as long as people believe they are.

**Yes, the Velaryons exist and their having dragonriders via Rhaenys is an exception to the rule, but that can always be absorbed back a generation or two down the line, and historically they're The Allies and so enmeshed with the Targs it was kinda bound to happen. But there is only room for one (1) exception, and there is only room for it because there is trust.

***In fairness, the greens may not have had access to the latest intel on that when they threw their terms together.

The Terms That Are Missing

Yeah I'm gonna talk about what isn't in the terms because that too says a lot and there are two things that are glaringly Not Included in the terms that I can think of: first, a Small Council seat offer, and second, a betrothal proposition.

Small Council Seat

The fact that no Small Council seat is offered to Rhaenyra isn't especially surprising -- the greens want to sideline her completely when it comes to ruling the 7K, they don't want to have to listen to whatever it is she thinks about what they're doing with her father's legacy or the Red Keep's decor or literally anything at all. Nor do they want to give her the occasion to look competent in comparison to Aegon II, or that of hanging out at court where she could play the game and build support for her side of the family (and considering how much power the Dragonstone+Driftmark alliance would have under the terms, and how much of a wanker Aegon II is, even Rhaenyra would have built up support for the blacks). And lbr at the risk of oversimplifying, the greens are the side of the patriarchy: they just don't want to have to listen to a woman -- they already have their exception in the person of Alicent (and even then, it's debatable how much they do listen to her when the circumstances don't force them to do so), so they're not about to add another one to the Small Council.

And yet!! If the greens wanted to make a public show of how it's all fine, the two sides of the family are totes over their little "who should sit the throne" spat and everyone on all sides is satisfied with the end result and working together, etc etc… well, having the other claimant to the throne sitting on Aegon II's Small Council would do a lot as far as public perception goes.

Betrothal(s)

When it comes the lack of betrothal proposition… marriage is how you shake hands on these kinds of agreement in Medievish Fun Time Land, it's how you make peace and renew ties and all that jazz. Rhaenyra's old proposition of betrothing Jacaerys & Helaena was a desperate move, yes, but it was a reasonable peacemaking offer as well, one that would have seen both side of the family getting their descendants on the throne -- but for the greens, accepting it would have meant they couldn't have kept using the "her kids are bastards" card and, more importantly, that power would have stayed on the blacks side of the family.

But now there is still a match that can be made, and one that is politically more advantageous to the greens than the blacks: Aegon the Younger and Jaehaera (Aegon the Elder & Helaena's daughter). They're not that far off in age, but more importantly for those sort of considerations: no one's ever called Aegon the Younger a bastard, Jaehaera isn't the heir so it wouldn't even put one of Rhaenyra's children on the throne, and the greens already asked for Aegon the Younger as a hostage so they can even bring him up to follow the Seven and everything.

The current plan is probably to wed Jaehaera to her twin Jaehaerys, do it à la Targaryen*, but again: if the greens wanted to make a public show of reconciliation with the blacks, a betrothal between Aegon the Younger and Jaehaera would go an even longer way than a Small Council seat. It would leave Jaehaerys without a Targ bride, but also if the greens could have stopped being little bitches about bastardy for five fucking seconds they'd just have waited for Jacaerys and Baela or Lucerys and Rhaena to have a daughter and Jaehaerys could still have had a bride that'd be more Targ than not. There: all branches of the family, including the Velaryons, reunited in one big circle of a family tree, and the greens' side still is is the one in power.

*Optics-wise the greens would want to look as Targ as possible to cut down on any kind of "Hightower usurpers" sort of talk -- they're already cutting down on dragons-themed decor to go with seven-pointed stars, but that at least gets them support from the Faith.

Does it matter that it wasn't in the terms?

I'm not saying a Small Council seat for Rhaenyra and/or at least one betrothal would have solved everything and everyone could have made nice*; the point here is that the terms Otto brought are about avoiding open war with Rhaenyra in the short term, but were made without giving much thought to the middle and long term, and they are lacking anything that would lead to at least a public show of even a small amount of ccoperation between greens and blacks. If anything the terms as they are given are divorce papers: here's what your side gets, here's what our side gets, now let's just all do our own thing, and for the sake of the love that once existed between us don't look too hard at the fact that you get the summer home while i keep the family business <3**

Which may work for a divorce but isn't really how you banish the specter of open war in Medievish Fun Time Land. Overall it kinda looks like the terms as they are given are a product of wishful thinking, like they've been written with the hope is that it's possible for things to remain more or less as they have been for the last six years: the greens ruling in King's Landing, and the blacks doing their own thing on the side, letting themselves be forgotten on their lil' island(s). But realistically, if the blacks had taken the terms for the sake of avoiding open war***, they still would have been rather pissy about getting fucked over, and it's rather unlikely they'd have opted to live their best lives on their islands instead of endeavoring to be a thorn in the greens' side while waiting for a chance at getting the throne back.

*Which at this point isn't even remotely in the realm of possibility.

**I talked a lot about how the terms leave a non-insignificant amount of power to the blacks, but obviously it still does not compare to what they'd have if Rhaenyra was on the throne.

***Let's pretend for five seconds Aemond's isn't gonna do an oopsie-whoopsie about 24 hours later anyway, and that Daemon could have been convinced war was avoidable.

In lieu of conclusion: Alicent vs. Otto

So far I've mostly talked about "the greens" versus "the blacks" but of course both factions are made up of people, and on both sides not everyone agrees on everything. By the end of the season, however, the blacks are more or less on the same page (a page that can be summed up as "fuck the Aegon Prophecy of Doom Winter time to burn shit down war crimes era is go"), while the last we saw of the greens… I think it's fair to say they're doing a good job of presenting a united front to outsiders, but when it comes to intra-faction politics? Well, Aemond couldn’t put down his desire to give mommy en eye to the side for five seconds*, so there’s that, but more relevant to the question of the terms: there is, ahem, an itsy-bitsy rift between Alicent and Otto.

And by itsy-bitsy rift, I mean, of course, a fucking major difference of opinions re: what to do with The Rhaenyra Problem and how to avoid open war -- which is kind of a big concern. No one on the greens side wants shit to devolve into open war, they want to enjoy their rule and keep spending outrageous amounts of money on erecting statues of the Mother (very blink and miss it but that was in ep8, Beesbury was not happy about it) and pretend there aren't literal children being made to do battle royales in their city for entertainment and all that good stuff**.

The problem is that if the greens are in agreement re: let's not let this turn into open war, they are not in agreement at all over how to avoid it, which is really a disagreement over how to solve The Rhaenyra Problem, and the two schools of thought on that are incompatible -- one of them boils down to murder and the other is anti-murder.

Otto's solution is what it has always been, what he has always planned to do, ie solve The Rhaenyra Problem simply by killing Rhaenyra & her fam right out of the bat -- and minus Alicent, the greens are fine with it. He spent most of the season gaslighting Alicent with “Rhaenyra will kill your kids (The Challenge) to shore up her claim***”, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that his own way to shore up Aegon II’s claim is to do exactly what he repeatedly said Rhaenyra would (getting rid of The Challenge).

Alicent, on the other hand, wants to believe there is a peaceful resolution that does not involve murder, and is okay with doing some concessions to make it happen. She currently has the upper hand within the green faction, but since everyone else is fine with solving The Rhaenyra Problem via murder, her focus is very much in the short term: avoid murder and immediate open war with the blacks by offering them fair terms. Which is why imo the terms offered are mostly hers, and why they were made without giving much thought to the middle and long term. It is also why they kinda read like divorce papers from Lesbian Denial Land. Alicent really, really wants to believe Rhaenyra will accept the terms and stay on her island and not make herself a problem because otherwise it’s back to square one: murder on one side and open war on the other.

And while Alicent has the upper hand for now, it’s Otto that is the greens' consummate long-term player, and imo he is unlikely to truly be on board with her "make peace" plan, or a fan of the terms themselves. Like, he’s going to deliver these terms and do his best to keep things from devolving into open war, but unlike Alicent, he does not live in Lesbian Denial Land and his solution of choice to The Rhaenyra Problem hasn’t changed just because his daughter is having a sentimentalism relapse.

And the thing is, he is not wrong when it comes to the fact that as long as Rhaenyra & her fam live, there will never not be doubt about whether Aegon II is the legitimate king. There will be people to say "well she was Viserys' chosen heir, *she* should be sitting on the chair" even if Rhaenyra herself doesn't encourage these people (and he knows Daemon would****). There will be some who do believe oaths actually are worth something, and there will be some who just don't like the Hightowers, and there will be all the malcontents. As long as Rhaenyra & fam live, they will be a rallying point to those that'd oppose Aegon II's rule. She would be The Queen Who Never Was 2.0. -- but Otto is not Viserys, who was fine having people calling Rhaenys by that nickname under his nose*****. Otto is the dude who means to clean the board, however long it takes.

*Technically I guess it is better to maim an envoy rather than kill them, but it’d still have been a bit of a crime and mommy would most likely not have been pleased.

**The point here is they possibly are not that great at the ruling thing.

***ftr she would not have had her step-siblings killed just to take them out of the board as soon as she ascended the throne. She'd have done it if she was given a really good reason to.

****Daemon and Otto very much have each other’s number. Like, they hate each other's gut like crazy, but back in ep1 when Otto said “unpredictable and violent” he was right, and when Daemon said “ambitious second son that stands to inherit nothing but what he seizes for himself,” he was also right.

*****It's not meaningless that when Lord Baratheon Senior did so at the ep1 tourney it's Otto that told Viserys "you could have his tongue for this."

[une-nuit-pour-se-souvenir]

random stuff on songs in Sansa I ~ AFFC

All her nights were full of song, and by day she prayed for silence.

Sansa loves songs, but in truth they are just a sanitised version of history. Sansa's role in history will be big, from her stay at King's Landing to her return to Winterfell, on and on. She's already part of a song, she's just not aware of it.

And the songs he chose . . . He sang of the Dance of the Dragons, of fair Jonquil and her fool, of Jenny of Oldstones and the Prince of Dragonflies. He sang of betrayals, and murders most foul, of hanged men and bloody vengeance. He sang of grief and sadness.

No matter where she went in the castle, Sansa could not escape the music.

This is the history she has not lived yet. We know this is true because the very first, the Dance of the Dragons, has a second equivalent that has just only started and hasn't affected her as of yet (not even in her first chapter of TWOW).

Anyway, three songs: Dance of the Dragons, Florian and Jonquil, and Duncan and Jenny.

It floated up the winding tower steps, found her naked in her bath, supped with her at dusk, and stole into her bedchamber even when she latched the shutters tight. It came in on the cold thin air, and like the air, it chilled her.

There are four moments these songs catch her in. It's the second that gives it away as to how it should be interpreted because they match 1:1. But starting from the start...

"He sang of the Dance of the Dragons" VERSUS "It floated up the winding tower steps."

The Dance of the Dragons redux has started when Young Griff outed himself as Aegon VI and invaded Westeros. He opened the "hostilities" when he refused to grovel for Daniella's favour and went to get his birthright himself. Daniella will also participate because she sees the throne as her birthright and has no problems usurping the rightful heirs (Viserys). It's likely Jon will be dragged into this, as he's Targaryen as well.

"It floated up the winding tower steps" projects the idea of an upwards movement. The dragon song is coming up North. There are two options here, Sansa will flee North because the dragon war reaches the Vale (in whatever form, even if by rumour) straight to the arms of another dragon (Girl in Grey) and / or the dragon war will eventually come North. It's my conviction that the Targaryen brothers will fight each other for a time (Aegon's Conquest meets Northern Independence) before reaching a truce, which would qualify as part of the Dance of Dragons.

"Jonquil and her fool" VERSUS "found her naked in her bath"

This is the most obvious sign that they should be paired as said, since Florian and Jonquill's story is literally that, Florian finding Jonquill naked in a pool and falling in love with her. There is more to this story (it also involves dragons), but in specific the bath part is mentioned here. BTW this is a stupid story. Nobody falls in love with another because they see them naked, at most they fall in lust. Regardless, if Sansa is up North (either way from the previous song she's already there and as of TWOW she's heading there soon), then there's one candidate, the Winterfell Hot Springs.

We can guess a male finds Sansa naked at the Hot Springs, and something that can be passed of as romance happens. Much like before, there are several ways this can come to be but there are only two characters that are associated with frisky times in the Godswood of Winterfell, Theon Greyjoy and Jon Snow. The former is too traumatised by sexual torture while the latter has fantasies of bathing naked with his woman and then have exibitionist sex in front of the Heart Tree, so the latter is the likelier candidate.

I know it's not a popular theory because it's somewhat disgusting, but it all adds up. The Stark kids bathed naked at the Hot Springs (Bran confirms this in ACOK, but this also happens at the Water Gardens until they're 12-14,). A 12-14 male teen is at that age when they start getting "interested" in the opposite sex (only worse if thy parade around naked), so imagine a teen getting "interested" in someone they shouldn't at the weekly Stark kids bathing routine and this horrifies them so much because tHeY'Re NoT tArGaRyEnS to the point of wanting to join a celibate order, sacrificing their biggest wish (family). And that's remembered by this teen, now a man, in a "take two" of this event. Truly a fool though, as he knows nothing about "tArGaRyEnS" or that they're actually not siblings.

"Jenny of Oldstones and the Prince of Dragonflies" VERSUS "supped with her at dusk, and stole into her bedchamber even when she latched the shutters tight"

"supped with her at dusk" projects the idea of just before the night starts, which in ASOIAF also projects the idea of the Long Night and before winter. Such this all gives us the time frame, just before the dead come. You know, around the time the northern campaign happens. It's my conviction, from a number of feasts Sansa attends where she supped "trouts", that this suggests the norther campaign will likely extend to the Riverlands and may meet with Aegon's Conquest campaign (Dance of Dragons V2, congruent with song 1).

"stole into her bedchamber even when she latched the shutters" projects the idea of a thief getting inside an intimate place (where she sleeps, where her bed is) despite her best efforts not to. The simpler conclusion is rape. The most likely conclusion though, is something much more benign.

"stole into her bedchamber" in ASOIAF is associated with wildling custom of marriage. Most (if not all) accounts of this ritual involve the man getting the woman while she's asleep. I can recall three stories where it happened as such. Bael stole a Stark maiden from her bed. Yggrite accuses Jon of stealing her the night the Night's Watch raided their camp, she's the one that was asleep. Longspear stole Munda from her bed while she was asleep. Interestingly, the first is a Stark, the others are redheads. These fit Sansa perfectly.

So Sansa stolen by a wilding or someone that qualifies as one. Any will do, but in specific there's a character that has already been mentioned twice in regards with these songs and also fits into this one. Jon Snow has been accused of having become a wildling / half-wildling due to spending time with them and making peace with them. He was accused of stealing Ygritte but refused that he did it, considered stealing another to make a family but also refused to usurp Sansa's claim (we'll get to that below), so there's a third coming up for him.

"even when she latched the shutters" suggests resistance and that's also according to wildling custom, as the woman is supposed to fight against stealing. While a wildling woman fights physically, Sansa fights psychologically. As for sex, Sansa fought against Sandor with kindness and fought against Tyrion with courtesy, so neither succeeded in stealing her. However, Sansa "latching the shutters" suggests a different kind of resistance than those used before (both Sandor and Tyrion entered her bedchamber without stealing into it), as if she put barriers in place.

Sansa putting up barriers happens in ASOS / AFFC. She doesn't believe anyone will marry her for love ("It is not me she wants her son to marry, it is my claim. No one will ever marry me for love.") and she doesn't really want to marry again. ("A marriage . . ." Her throat tightened. She did not want to wed again, not now, perhaps not ever."). Such, "stole into her bedchamber even when she latched the shutters" suggests that Jon convinces her otherwise. The question is... how.

"Jenny of Oldstones and the Prince of Dragonflies" Now, for the song that goes with it, is also kind of telling. The story of Jenny and Duncan is about Duncan falling in love with Jenny and abdicating so he can marry her. So someone throws away their claim, breaking through Sansa's belief that nobody will marry for love but for her claim, and will ease her into wanting to marry again.

Jon actually has two claims. The first is Robb's will, which names Jon as his heir over Sansa. Jon wanting to void the will not only follows the Jenny and Duncan song (the man throws away his claim for the woman) it also destroys half of Sansa's barrier (he protects her claim, we already know he did this once per Stannis' insistence, incidently stealing a woman was mentioned, as said before it appears it's all thematically linked).

The second is by birth, as he's Rhaegar Targarye's son. If somehow Jon is legitimate, then he's King Aegon VI's heir until he has children, and he's also a prince. If I recall, most of Sansa's allusions around a Targ union are with a Targaryen prince, not a Targaryen king). If Jon is a bastard, then he'll be considered a threat to a Aegon VI, just like every bastard is (the Targaryens are well known for bloody wars between legitimates and bastards). I would assume this will be a doozy for brothers to deal with.

Somehow, either or both claims should have a hand in convincing Sansa that Jon would want to marry her for love instead of her claim as well as convincing Sansa to marry again. Robb's will clearly covers the former but not the latter (she can't marry her brother, tHeY'Re NoT LaNnIsTeR oR TaRgArYeNs, even though they are). However, Jon's second claim is what allows that marriage. For example, if Aegon accepts peace between the South belonging to him and the North belonging to Sansa as long as Jon throws away hs claim, yeah that's it. But any that fits the Duncan and Jenny story as well as Sansa being stolen despite her misgivings, will do.

It's worth noting Robb's will and it's implications (Sansa being usurped and Jon's kids being a threat to the legitimate line) are discussed at lenght between Cat and Robb at Oldstones, precisely where legend says Jenny and Duncan met (or where she came from, I cannot remember now the specifics), next to a sepulcher that represents Jon's true birthright as a Targaryen (the sepulcher is of a king with a warhammer upon his chest, which is how his father Rhaegar died, and covered with wild roses, which are a symbol of his mother Lyanna), and solves Robb's will implications (they can marry each other, so his children are hers, so they're no threat to the Stark legitimate line). As said, all tightly thematically linked and I cannot blieve this us a coincidence.

It came in on the cold thin air, and like the air, it chilled her. Though it had not snowed upon the Eyrie since the day that Lady Lysa fell, the nights had all been bitter cold.

So Dance of Dragons starts (Aegon's Conquest), some shenanigans at Winterfell's Hot Springs, then some claim throwing to the trash and a marriage. And after that comes winter. So it kind of suggests this all happens BEFORE the War of the Dawn, not after.

After the songs bit, we have the "meat" of the chapter, which is what the whole thing revolves around. Petyr and Sansa must lie about Lysa's fate to both Robyn and the Vale Lords. I would just like to point the following.

“Some lies are love, ” Petyr had assured her. She reminded him of that.

“When we lied to Lord Robert, that was just to spare him, ” she said.

“And this lie may spare us. Else you and I must leave the Eyrie by the same door Lysa used.” Petyr picked up his quill again. “We shall serve him lies and Arbor gold, and he’ll drink them down and ask for more, I promise you.”

He is serving me lies as well, Sansa realized. They were comforting lies, though, and she thought them kindly meant. A lie is not so bad if it is kindly meant.

Petyr, who's pretending to be Sansa's father, lied to her cousin Robyn about his mother, to spare him from the pain of the truth. Likewise Ned, who's Sansa's father, most likely lied to her cousin Jon about his mother, to spare him from the pain of the truth. Some lies are love, they are kindly meant.

Petyr, who's sort of Warden of the East for the time being, must lie to the Vale's lords & company about Lysa's fate, as he believes if he told the truth, he and his fake child (Sansa) would die. Likewise Ned, who's Warden of the North, must also lie to the rest of the realm about Lyanna's fate (death by childbirth), as he believes if he told the truth, he and his fake child (Jon) would die. Some lies spare innocents (Sansa / Jon), they are also kindly meant.

There's more stuff, but I don't feel like writing it now.

I always lol at Sansa's cousin being upset about his mother's death so he soughts her bed to nuzzle at her breasts and wet the bed (*shifts eyes*). This is important because Sansa bars the door to keep him out ("she latched the shutters"), yet at the end of the chapter, her cousin gets inside anyway ("stole into her chambers") because she forgot to bar the door. No idea what's that supposed to suggest, right?

[qwertyu858]

I have always found funny how The greens killed more of the main greens than The blacks ever did.

Like daemon kills aemond. And thats all.

And then you have aegon getting poisoned by larys and heleana and jaehera being throw of the tower by unknow green allies.

"but heleana and jaehera are just rumors!!" Yeah but like jaehera is pretty much confirmed to be like that, to the point it was an open secret and it passed to the history as a murder.

And heleana's death makes no sense by suicide (she still had jaehera and everything about her tell us she would do her dammest to stay with her) or by rhaenyra murdering het (like she didnt even want to kill alicent and she hated her, why would she kill heleana? Specially bc heleana alive was a valuable hostage and prevented aegon from having a new matrimonial alliance or for creating legitime heirs).

So a third option makes more sense. Specially bc martin loves paralelisms, and heleana and jaehera have the same death

So, I tagged this with "house of the dragons spoilers" but it will be about the book.

In case a followers wants to block the tag. Next reblog will be a pretty big spoiler.

[blackboar]

Journey to Bosworth, conclusion. Why did Richard III lose?

Before starting, I have to say that this is my personal opinion. For me, this is why the last Plantagenet king falled. As you will see, I do not consider that it was the most probable outcome, far from it.

At Bosworth, Richard III lost while he had more men, more support and was an experienced commander with experienced lieutenants

Many argued that he lost because he was sold out by the magnates. After all, Northumberland and Lord Stanley didn't move to help him, and Sir William Stanley 'betrayed' him.

This explanation is helpful but reductive and simplistic. Betrayal was very common in the War of the Roses. Richard III had witnessed it all his life. In 1459, while Richard was seven years old, his father fled to Ireland because one of his lieutenants had defected to Henry VI. He saw his father's castle in Ludlow be stormed out by Lancastrians. Richard III also saw his closest ally, the duke of Buckingham, turn on him for little reason in 1483. He was used to it. Stanley and Northumberland's defection was utterly predictable Richard III knew that Northumberland intentionally brought as little troops as he could and Richard put so little faith toward lord Stanley that he took hostage his heir (a maneuver which did work at buying his neutrality).

As for Sir William Stanley's decisive defection, it wasn't even a surprise. Richard III branded him a traitor a few weeks before. He acted accordingly. Nor did Richard III lacked information about his enemies. Henry Tudor was openly his rival since the beginning of his reign. His chief commander, John de Vere, was known from Richard. He fought against him at Barnet, stole his lands, and tried to have him executed in 1484. He also knew that the french disliked him as well as he disliked them. Their investment in the Tudor cause is hardly surprising.

To sum it up: there was little asymmetry of information between Richard III and his rivals. Richard knew his friends, knew who wasn't reliable, and knew his enemies. True, he didn't know some key information such as where would Henry Tudor would land, just as some minor defections came out as a bitter surprise. Seeing Rhys ap Thomas defect to the Tudors after he pensioned him 10 marks a year was an unwelcome surprise, but hardly a fatal one.

Few contemporaries thought that Henry Tudor would actually win (partly because they didn't know the intentions of some key magnates). There are many examples of that. In 1484, Queen Elizabeth Woodville accepted to quit her sanctuary and made peace with her (alleged) brother-in-law in exchange for a correct treatment of her daughters. She did hand some of her daughters to him. Her brother Richard Woodville did make his peace with Richard III, and her son the Marquess of Dorset also attempted to run from France to make his personal peace before being stopped by the Tudors. Pierre Landais tried to sold-out Henry Tudor to Richard III in 1484, showing how little faith he had in a Tudor victory. After Henry landed and marched from Wales toward England, the city of Swhresbury obstinately refused to let him pass, fearing Richard's wrath (and possible lawlessness). Only Sir William Stanley's intervention would convince them.

In no way Henry Tudor had massive support. From his landing to the battle of Bosworth, defections to his side were few. Rhys ap Thomas, Sir John Savage, Sir Gilbert Talbot, and lesser noteworthy welsh were all local figures. Compared to the 1483 rebellion (ill-named Buckingham's rebellion) in which three different areas revolted with some major rebellious figures such as the duke of Buckingham, Sir Thomas Saint-Leger, and the Wydevilles, the defections during the invasion look marginal. Especially when one considers that Henry Tudor landed in Wales because he thought he had support there, and conversely Richard III had little.

Henry Tudor had little chance of winning. He tried because no compromise was possible with Richard III, who showed often his ruthlessness. Most of the surviving rebels in 1483 had joined Henry in exile and pressed him to act. Their lands were already forfeited and distributed to Richard's supporters, and only Richard's death could vindicate and restore their wealth completely. As Henry Tudor knew in the Britton court, foreign support to English pretenders was erratic and highly conjunctural at best. The Brittons supported him in 1483, and a court faction attempted to sell him out the very next year. So, when France proposed limited financial and military support during the summer of 1485, he couldn't hesitate. It was his best shot.

Richard III on the reverse had real reasons to quiet himself and be confident in his victory. Why he most certainly wasn't might be due to private reasons. His wife and son died during his brief reign. This might have awakened a sense of insecurity. At its core, Richard might have felt insecure about his legitimacy. He had parliamentary approval of his regal title with Titus Regulus, he had been sacred and anointed but was he legitimate? The allegation of bastardy toward his nephews was based on oral claims, which was weak evidence at best.

The best proof of his legitimacy, and that God approved his reign was a battle. A winning battle would re-assert his reputation as a martial ruler, and more importantly, showed that God favored his claim in an ordeal by combat. In a martial, zealously religious society, a battle would be the final seal of his legitimacy, just as his brother, who reasserted his claim during numerous victorious battles. This was a fitting narrative for him. He was one of the best English military commanders alive, with an undeniably good military record. He could surely win against a nobody with no military experience. His spiteful royal denunciation of Henry Tudor in 1484 might be evidence that Richard III viewed the Tudor challenge as highly personal. Henry itself was the threat, more than those that supported him or were propping him up. During Buckingham's rebellion, Richard III didn't fight despite rushing to the south where the rebels were. The Howards and Sir Humphrey Stafford put down the rebellion without him. And Henry Tudor could flee. So Richard III had a practical and a theological/theoretical reason to force combat between his and the Tudor. Reasserting and confirming his legitimacy was one, and making sure that Henry Tudor would cause no more trouble was the other.

A decay in mental health is also possible from Richard III. He was a man who was highly confident in his skills and his worth. However, the atmosphere of betrayal and the loss of his family in the last few years did pull a tool on him. His legendary 'bad dream' on the eve of Bosworth was the most remarkable example of that. So when the rebel army did come in England, Richard III rushed toward them. He had reinforcement still coming on the day of the battle. York men were on their way and more forces certainly were coming from elsewhere. Time was on his side. He rushed toward the enemy perhaps because, in a spike of paranoia, he didn't want more defections and more betrayal, or because he wanted to put an end to it. What if the rebels fled at the sight of his numerically larger army, like his father at Ludlow? He didn't want that, he didn't want to endure a decade-long pretender like Edward IV would endure with Henry VI or Henry Tudor with 'Richard' (Perkin Warbeck)

When Northumberland refused to support Howard against Oxford, it didn't matter for Richard III. He knew Northumberland's opportunism. Catesby proposed to retreat like his father at Ludlow, like his brother when key magnates turned on him in 1470. He refused. Richard III simply couldn't admit his defeat on the battlefield, even as a temporary setback. His desire for legitimacy, his pride forbid it. He told so to Diego de Valera, the Spanish Ambassador, who reported it to his masters about the battle: "Now when Salazar, your little vassal, who was there in King Richard's service, saw the treason of the king's people, he went up to him and said: 'Sire, take steps to put your person in safety without expecting to have the victory in today's battle, owing to the manifest treason in your following.' But the King replied: 'Salazar, God forbid I yield one step. This day I will die as King or win'. "

At the battle, he wanted personal physical contact. He wanted to perform the deed of a knight, personally slain the Tudor dragon. He was a proud man of action, and couldn't let Howard once again defeat the core of the rebels while he was on the fence. Hence his fateful charge. This decision, more than any other, was fatal.

Richard III wanted Bosworth, Richard III made Bosworth. He accepted every odds. He accepted the disloyalty of Northumberland instead of assuming its consequences and retreat to reorganize. He ignored Sir William Stanley on his rear when he charged because he wanted to stick to his narrative. He was supremely confident in his skills and his capacity to slain Henry Tudor before Stanley could destroy him. And he was too insecure and proud to run. Run would be admitting his illegitimacy.

In other words, Richard III never admitted retreat as an option. Richard III also desperately wanted personal challenges. It is no coincidence that the last Plantagenet was both the last English king to die in battle and the only one to do so since the dawn of the Norman era.

When Richard III, in his last instants, shout 'treason' it was partly because Sir William Stanley's betrayal was relatively fresh in his mind, and to him, it was an English subject killing their king. It might have also been a way to cope. He was losing, he couldn't perform his martial ability in a winning way. Putting his failure on betrayal and a rigged battle was simply a way to cope

In conclusion, Richard III consciously and unconsciously shut down options that didn't fit his preferred narrative. This dysfunctional decision-making was partly created from his personal identity and value, and partly due to his society's views. This makes us understand why he chooses options that didn't favor his self-preservation and why he didn't retreat or acted differently. And it destroyed him.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Three Gates - on ao3 (for content warnings check Ao3) - on tumblr: pt 1, pt 2

- Chapter 3 -

It seemed, to Meng Yao’s surprise, that there were in fact people like that; it was only that they were all apparently surnamed Nie and lived hidden away in a fortress deep in Qinghe, probably for the good of society.

Sect Leader Nie – known fondly to one and all as Lao Nie, an informality he encouraged – was at least more thoughtful than his son, insisting on a number of tests before he’d accept the child was his, which as a bit more in line with Meng Yao’s expectations. But even before the doctors had been called to check Meng Shi’s pulse he had already been listening without recrimination to Nie Mingjue’s excited plans about where they would stay and where the child’s room would be, and had only the mildest of criticism regarding his son’s decision to sell all his things to buy a Yunping whore to bring back to Qinghe.

The Nie clan, Meng Yao decided, were weird.

But not in a bad way – when the doctors confirmed that the date of conception was around the right time and that the child would more-likely-than-not have a gift for cultivation that his mother lacked, Lao Nie nodded and permitted Meng Shi to cross his threshold as an official concubine.

Not even a mistress! Official!

Sure, Lao Nie could divorce her if he wanted, but the mere act of marriage gave Meng Shi – and by extension, Meng Yao – security that they’d never had before, the right to many things they’d never had before: a solid foundation in the world for him, a married woman’s hairstyle and a place to be buried for her.

Meng Yao had worried at first that he would be reviled by Nie Mingjue’s mother as a bastard at best - a concubine’s baggage from before the marriage, infringing where he should not be; there were a thousand stories describing exactly what legitimate wives thought about people like that - but it didn’t take long for him to see that there was no other woman in Lao Nie’s life, excluding only his second-in-command who already had a wife of her own.

“Your mother died?” Meng Yao asked Nie Mingjue, his mind already spinning with the possibilities – having Meng Shi get officially named first wife was probably out of the question, since that would start gossip regarding the possibility of disinheriting Nie Mingjue, but if his mother could fill the position even a little, then maybe in the future…

“She’s gone,” Nie Mingjue corrected, and it took a while before Meng Yao understood that Nie Mingjue meant gone as in vanished or missing, not as in dead. According to the gossip, his mother was either a goddess or a rogue cultivator, but either way she hadn’t stayed much longer than a year or two past the time of her marriage to Lao Nie, with Nie Mingjue having been left to more or less raise himself ever since.

No wonder Nie Mingjue was such an open-minded idiot, believing in airy principles rather than rock-solid reality, Meng Yao thought, heart flush with fondness. He’d never had a mother to teach him any tricks.

Not that Meng Yao minded. On the contrary, he appreciated the benefits of that open-mindedness: for the first time in his life he had robes made of sturdy and comfortable material, finer than anything he’d owned before, with proper shoes made to fit him; he had teachers in all the subjects a gentleman should know, as much meat as he could ever want to eat, and even a room of his own, with a proper bed and a lock on the inside. All the things he’d ever envied in others were now suddenly within his grasp.

It was heady stuff.

Meng Yao was happy.

And then he went to his mother’s rooms after the first week to tell her of his adventures and saw her contemplating the crib in the side of the nursing room with a neutral expression that might as well be a frown.

He shivered a little and went to her side. “It won’t be necessary now, will it?” he asked hesitantly.

Meng Yao had never doubted his mother’s cunning before, but...well. It was only that Nie Mingjue was so looking forward to having a brother – Meng Yao was in some ways a brother, too, of course, or at least a shidi, but he was of an age that made him more of a friend so it apparently didn’t count – and had spoken so many times about the fun they’d have with a baby that they’d be able to teach everything they knew that Meng Yao had temporarily forgotten that the baby wasn’t going to get to live.

“I will decide what’s necessary,” she said, and that meant it probably was. Poor baby. “Your job right now is to get yourself a comfortable spot here that you can maintain even if I’m thrown out, you understand me? What you’re doing with Nie-gongzi is good. His father indulges him beyond reason; if you make him love you, he will fight for you to stay no matter what happens.”

Meng Yao secretly thought that, in all honesty, getting Nie Mingjue to love him seemed a bit too easy a job.

He’d already tried to play his mother’s tricks, to make himself seem nice and accommodating, the sort of brother any many would love, but Nie Mingjue had seen him at his most bossy and capricious when he hadn’t known that it would made, and it was a bit late to recover the original impression now. And yet to his surprise it didn’t seem to matter, when Nie Mingjue was puzzled and even concerned by Meng Yao’s gentle and submissive behavior rather than enchanted by it, and when he eventually reverted back to something more natural just to make him stop prying. 

No, it didn’t seem to matter at all. Meng Yao was pretty sure that Nie Mingjue was already ready to die for him if need be.

Maybe not die. He shouldn’t think such things, especially not around his mother – especially not with Madame Nie gone, with Lao Nie’s next heir in Meng Shi’s belly and her eyes speculatively set on his bed.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Meng Yao promised, thinking that his mother’s fear of the abandonment of men was for once a good thing if it meant she hadn’t yet started thinking of how only a single child’s life stood between her sons – including her new son – and all the power and riches of the Nie sect.

He’d never thought to scheme against his mother before.

He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to do it now, but…that poor baby.

Poor Nie Mingjue, too.

So Meng Yao went back to Nie Mingjue, but instead of doing what his mother wanted and earning his love – he had Nie Mingjue’s trust, and that was all he needed – he instead whispered in his ear about how happy old Lao Nie seemed to be with a woman by his side, pointed out his smiles when Meng Shi served him at dinner or asked to rearrange a room with some new decorations she’d found in the market.

“I mean, it makes sense,” Nie Mingjue said, his voice a little doubtful but not too much. “Even if she wasn’t his choice, she’s his responsibility, especially now, and it’s better if they like each other. What’s your point?”

“I’m just saying –”

“Oh, come off it, you never just say anything. You’re my brother! If you’ve got some thoughts, just tell me, and we’ll work on them together.” He laughed at Meng Yao’s shocked expression. “I’m not much of a scholar, but even I know that brothers are better off when they scheme together, rather than in parallel or against each other. What is it you want to do?”

Meng Yao weighed his options and spoke: “After the baby’s born, you and I should take care of it so that my mother and your father can spend more time together.”

“Is it that you’re worried about being cast out if they don’t get along? It won’t happen –”

“No, no,” Meng Yao said quickly, though he was, a little, and anyway it certainly was a good excuse to use. “But wouldn’t it be nice to have more brothers?”

Nie Mingjue was easily convinced, as always. “Maybe even a little sister!”

“But you can’t have new babies if you’re taking care of the old one,” Meng Yao continued, twisting truth a little and counting on the fact that Nie Mingjue didn’t seem to know too much about children or child-bearing. “That’s why we should take care of the baby ourselves.”

“Won’t we be too busy?” Nie Mingjue asked. “We’ll have lessons and classes and training –”

There was, Meng Yao conceded, an awful lot of training to do at the Nie sect.

“– while your mother will be resting and able to spend more time with the baby. And feed it, too, though maybe we should talk to someone about getting a wet-nurse to help her out…maybe a nanny goat as well…”

“A wet-nurse is a great idea,” Meng Yao said encouragingly. The less dependency they had on his mother for things for the baby, the better, and most especially when it came to the baby having enough to eat. One of the other women at the brothel had had a baby die from hunger once, when she stopped producing milk but lacked the money to buy a replacement. “But really, think about it – you said yourself that it’d be nice if we could teach the baby things.”

He pushed it as far as he could, and the heavens obligingly did the rest by giving his mother a difficult last few months – not so difficult that he felt afraid that he’d lose her to the birth, not with all the Nie sect’s expensive doctors fluttering around, but enough to exhaust her, and Nie Mingjue was convinced by the need to lift her burdens where he hadn’t been by more practical arguments.

And so little Nie Huaisang, when he was born, spent his first month of seclusion carefully guarded by his attentive brothers, and was then spirited away to their rooms the second they were able – it wouldn’t save him from the winter, Meng Yao thought with satisfaction, but it might save him from his mother.

His mother – their mother, now, but really still his mother – knew what he was doing and allowed it with an indulgent look, which he’d expected; after all he was her precious A-Yao, child of her youth and dreams, and as long as the mistake wasn’t fatal he was allowed to make one here and there.

And Nie Huaisang was a mistake worth making.

Meng Yao had taken a while to think so – he’d started out less than impressed with the baby, which was little more than a fleshy blob, capable of nothing but crying and emitting noxious bodily fluids, but Nie Mingjue had loved Nie Huaisang on sight, treating caring for him as a different type of training, and he’d been so enthusiastic that Meng Yao had gotten a little carried away by it. And after a while he discovered that Nie Huaisang would only settle down if he was there, if he helped, and that went to his head, leading him to preen like a peacock with pride (though it was good that Nie Huaisang eventually calmed enough to permit Nie Mingjue to assist before Meng Yao collapsed of exhaustion)…

All of a sudden it was real.

Nie Huaisang was his brother.

His real brother, a brother by blood – another child of their mother, small and clever and cunning like him, another who would stand by his side and make her proud, to show the world that they were more than just what she had been.

(He’d say that Nie Huaisang could help him beat anyone who said a bad word about her, but Nie Mingjue was doing a good job of that on his own, pretending all the while that he wasn’t doing it at all. As if he could keep a secret.)

Meng Yao was happy.

But then - 

Then it was winter.

The first little cough came during one of the classes on politics Meng Yao shared with Nie Mingjue, both of them writing their answers with delicate calligraphy – well, delicate and refined for Meng Yao, while Nie Mingjue’s brushstrokes were forceful yet elegant. Nie Mingjue didn’t notice the cough, absently hoisting Nie Huaisang a little higher in his non-writing arm, but Meng Yao was immediately frozen, thinking of what his mother had said.

He probably won’t survive his first winter.

Nie Huaisang was born in the late spring, which meant he was only half a year old when the winter came – some protection, but not much, and he was as weak as Meng Shi had predicted. The Nie sect had doctors aplenty, and Lao Nie spared no expense in getting medicine for his second son, but Meng Yao constantly worried that it wouldn’t be enough.

When Nie Huaisang continued to sicken, those soft little rasping breaths ringing in Meng Yao’s ear, he even started to wonder whether his mother really had done something after all, even though she knew he wanted Nie Huaisang to live, and he hated that he even thought it. And yet, he wondered...

His mother visited her sick son a few times, fewer than Nie Mingjue would like and more than Meng Yao wanted, and she had a good face for concern, full of gentle worry, good enough to fool anyone but her firstborn. Meng Yao overheard her crying once and was puzzled, only to understand when he heard Lao Nie comfort her that she wasn’t to blame, and that she wouldn’t be thrown out even if the child did die.

There were fewer visits after that, the purpose achieved.

(Meng Yao loved his mother, and knew she loved him – child of her heart that he was – but sometimes he thought he could almost hate her, too. It was a thought he’d had before, hidden deep in his heart, but only now that he knew there was more to life than her did he actually allow himself to think it.)

Nie Mingjue didn’t quite understand why she was acting the way she was, and Meng Yao determined in his heart that he never would. He might be younger in years than the boy he’d started (after a great deal of pressure and sad eyes like a lost puppy) to call his da-ge, but he was older in spirit. Perhaps if he were older, if he’d suffered more, he would resent Nie Mingjue’s carefree nature and the heart he wore on his sleeve, so easy to hurt and speaking of a lifetime of having not been hurt, but he was still young and all his dreams had come true – it was easy enough to shrug off the innocence and earnestness that, if he’d ever had it, he had lost it long ago.

It didn’t matter.

What mattered was the sleepless nights Nie Mingjue spent tending to Nie Huaisang, shoulder-to-shoulder with Meng Yao, persisting even when Meng Yao fell asleep; the way Meng Yao would always find a blanket covering him if he had, the way Nie Mingjue scolded him to eat while forgetting his own meals, the way he hide his tears for the times he thought Meng Yao couldn’t see or hear because he didn’t want to burden him –

“He’ll always be weak,” the doctors said, examining Nie Huaisang’s too-thin too-small frame, shuddering with coughs. “His muscle tone is low, his cultivation base unsteady…”

You might as well give up and try for another, they meant, and Nie Mingjue heard it as clearly as Meng Yao did.

And just as Meng Yao did, he refused to listen.

Where Meng Yao smiled at the doctors and thought of revenge, Nie Mingjue bristled and shouted, cursing them with as wide a vocabulary as he knew – wider, now that he had made Meng Yao’s acquaintance, than it had been before – and chased them away as frauds and liars.

And just as Meng Yao started to lose hope, Nie Huaisang turned a corner and got better.

“I don’t know if I can do that again,” Meng Yao said, staring with tears in his eyes at his little brother’s rising and falling chest, unhindered by any obstruction. “Next winter…”

“Next winter he’ll be older,” Nie Mingjue said, and wrapped an arm around him. “And so will we.”

Perhaps it was that that drove Nie Mingjue to pick up his saber a full two years before he rightfully should have received it, claiming a truly fearsome blade as his own if only he could master her, and after nearly a year of hard work he did. He named her Baxia, and Meng Yao thought of a creature strong enough to carry a mountain on its back – but it was of Nie Mingjue he thought.

(His own saber, he decided, would be named Chiwen, and like him it would draw evil away from others, taking it all on himself and swallowing it into his belly where it could rot him through and through if it meant that those he loved most would remain untainted by it.)

[heauxplesslydevoted]

Chess Not Checkers

Summary: King Liam and Queen Kendall finally have a meeting with Bradshaw and Isabella to discuss the betrothal treaty.

A/N: The final part of this Fracture trilogy, and probably my favorite one to write. Who knows what the writers have planned for Auvernal’s hostile takeover of Cordonia, but I’m not letting that shit fly not another damn second. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy!

Catch Up Here

Tags: @senseofduties @lapisreviewsstuff @akacalliope @badchoicesposts @drakewalker04 @canknot @sirbeepsalot @hopefulmoonobject @texaskitten30 @eadanga @the-unconquered-queen @flyawayboo @aestheticartwriting @ao719 @zaffrenotes @kingliam2019 @aworldoffandoms 

~v~

“Do not wear a blue tie!” Liam hears his wife yell from their walk-in closet.

Liam drops the tie in his hand and steps away from it, suddenly suspicious. “Why not? Is something wrong with them?

Moments pass and Kendall walks back into their bedroom, slipping on a pair of heels. “Nothing is wrong with your ties. But the color blue brings out your eyes, and we aren’t going for a warm and friendly aura. Wear red. You’ll look bold and commanding.”

Today is the day for their meeting with Bradshaw and Isabella. For the past week, he, Kendall and their group of close friends have been talking and going over plans to get Eleanor out of her betrothal to Bradshaw and Isabella’s son. While Olivia wanted to ambush them and have them killed as soon as they stepped foot in Cordonia, Kendall wanted to be as quick and civil as possible. While she isn’t above starting an international war, she doesn’t want that to be her first option.

Liam decided to step back on this and let Kendall take the lead when it came to dealing with Auvernal. He’s willing to intervene if the need arose, but for now, he is perfectly content with just silently supporting his queen. She has a solid plan of attack, and he’s excited to see everything play out.

“Red it is.”

Kendall finishes putting on her lipstick and drops the tube onto her nightstand, as Liam puts on a deep red tie. He slips on his jacket to complete the look, checking the pockets a few times, and the couple walks out of their private quarters, headed to Liam’s study, a guard a few steps behind, watching from a safe distance. Kendall demanded that they get better security, so they are currently in the process of testing out a few ex-military men and women.

Bastien greets them at the door to the study with a quick bow. “Your Majesties.”

“Hello Bastien. I take it our guests have settled in?” Liam asks.

“Yes, they’ve been in here for about 10 minutes.”

“And they haven’t caused any trouble right?”

Bastien shrugs. “They’re about as well behaved as we can expect them to be. No red flags, sir.”

“Very well.” Liam squeezes his wife’s hand, and she squeezes back. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Bastien steps aside and lets them in. Bradshaw and Isabella are there, Isabella checking her nails, a bored expression on her face, Bradshaw standing at the bar cart, sipping on a glass of scotch. Liam bites down on his tongue in order to prevent himself from berating Bradshaw and calling him a tacky piece of shit for taking it upon himself to get a drink.

Kendall squeezes his hand once more before dropping it. “Bradshaw, Isabella! How was your flight here?”

“Nice. Thanks for sending your jet to get us.”

“No problem.”

“I will say your security detail is extremely...thorough,” Bradshaw continues. “They took all of my wife’s jewelry, all of our electronics. I couldn’t even keep my lucky handkerchief.”

“It’s a new security protocol,” Liam says. “This palace has been through...trying times recently, so we decided to take the necessary precautions. Surely you two understand.”

“Of course!” Isabella says brightly, trying to keep things as light as possible. She looks Kendall up and down, silently appraising the new mother. Kendall looks good, with her dewy skin, long brown hair drawn into a low ponytail and simple black dress. “Kendall, you look amazing! I could barely get out of bed for the first month after having my twins and I looked like a whale, but you’re glowing.”

“Thank you, Queen Isabella.”

“Yeah, you’d think after such a...traumatic birthing experience, you’d be lying low,” Bradshaw adds. “You must be made of steel.”

If the mention of her labor brought up any sort of emotion, Kendall refuses to show it. Liam studies her, and she remains absolutely calm, as if she didn’t hear Bradshaw at all.

“I’m from New York,” Kendall says with a shrug. “We’re tough people. Resilient.”

“I can see.”

“Why don’t we all have a seat?” Liam suggests. “There’s a lot that we have to talk about.”

“First and foremost, congrats on the little bundle of joy!” Isabella says excitedly. “Boy or girl?”

“Girl,” Liam confirms. “Named Eleanor after my late mother.” Isabella coos.

“A little princess! A future queen.” Bradshaw nods approvingly. “Congratulations.”

“Where is the princess?” Isabella asks. “We’d love to officially meet her.”

“She’s with her grandmother right now,” Kendall says. “And she’s only two weeks old, so she’s not accepting visitors at the moment.”

Isabella falters a bit but she quickly recovers. Kendall can tell she wasn’t expecting that as a response. “Very well. I guess we’ll have to meet her at another time.”

“When the rest of the world meets her at her anointing ceremony,” Kendall says, her tone short. “And not a moment sooner.”

“Now, now, Queen Kendall, simmer down,” Bradshaw starts. “You’re mighty tense for someone who’s practically family at this point.”

Kendall reels back, mostly in shock that Bradshaw had the audacity to get so familiar with her. Who the fuck does he think he is?

“The condescending orders may work for you and your marriage, King Bradshaw, but please never again make the foolish mistake of telling my wife what to do, especially in our home,” Liam warns, his jaw getting tense. “And thank you for bringing up this marriage alliance, because it’s the perfect segue.”

“When should we make the announcement?” Isabella asks. “I was thinking we could host a small gathering first, just so the kids get acquainted with each other first. I’m sure Isaac and Lyra will absolutely adore Eleanor.”

“That won’t be happening,” Kendall says with a shake of her head. “But speaking of Isaac and Lyra, I found out some wonderful information not too long ago.” Kendall sits back in her seat, beaming. “You two are married in name only.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me loud and clear, and it’s a pretty straightforward concept to grasp. Bradshaw needed a wife, Isabella was a gold digger and just cunning enough to get what she wanted. Match made in Hell if you ask me. You guys both have people on the side, and you live separate lives.”

Bradshaw is visibly flustered, but after a few tense seconds, he chuckles. “With all due respect, our marriage is none of your concern. And that had nothing to do with our children.”

“Oh, but it is and it does,” Kendall says. “Bradshaw, you don’t appreciate the art of storytelling. I’m building to my point. You guys are married on paper only. Which is fine, live how you want to live. But on my maternity leave, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. And I’ve been particularly fond of Auvernese history and inheritance laws.”

“What about it?”

“Six hundred years ago, your ancestor, King Marshall, married a woman named Catherine. He was still the Crown Prince at the time, they were young and in love. Sounds simple enough, but Catherine had been previously married, and that marriage produced a son, Harold. This was quite a scandal, for multiple reasons. But Marshall and Catherine wanted to be married. Marshall’s parents were against it, no way the heir could marry a divorcee, with a child. But Marshall persisted. After a long standoff, the then king Erik relented, but on one condition. He put it in writing that under no circumstances could a non-blood relative receive land or titles through royalty, and heirs were only legitimate if they were conceived within the marriage. The monarchy was to flow solely through the bloodline, come Hell or high water. Marshall accepted, and the amendment was added to your country’s Constitution, a document that can only be added to, never taken away from. It’s a harsh, strict law, and many people have fought it, but your country’s Supreme Court has never overturned it, nor has the European Court of Human Rights. Anyway, Marshall married Catherine, and they lived happily ever after, having 3 children of their own.”

“Now that I’m done with my history lesson, I’m sure you’re wondering what my point is,” Kendall continues. Her eyes flicker over to Isabella, who’s glaring daggers at her. “You want to tell him, or should I?”

Bradshaw looks between the two women, “Tell me what?”

“That your treaty mandates that the Crown Prince or Princess of Cordonia, child to King Liam and Queen Kendall, is to marry Prince Isaac, or Princess Lyra of Aurvernal, child of King Bradshaw and Queen Isabella, thereby uniting the two countries. Those are the exact words, your words. But Bradshaw, the problem with that is, you don’t have any children.”

“Excuse me?”

“Bradshaw, don’t listen to a word this woman says,” Isabella orders.

Kendall rolls her eyes at the demand. “Bella over here, was very reckless and wasn’t cautious of her ovulation cycle or taking precautions, because she didn’t get pregnant with your children. The twins belong to someone else. I did a little digging, and voila!” Kendall moves her arms dramatically, the boisterous New Yorker coming out. “I found the truth.”

The silence in the office is so thick, it threatens to stifle everyone.

“I don’t believe you,” Bradshaw says.

“I don’t care. Notice how your wife hasn’t jumped in to defend herself or deny my allegations.”

Bradshaw turns to Isabella, his glare so cold, it could’ve frozen her on the spot. “She’s lying, right?” She doesn’t say anything in response and he bangs his fist on the table in front of him, making her jump. “RIGHT?!”

“Bradshaw, I’m sorry. They’re still yours in–”

“I don’t want to hear another word from you!” It’s one thing to cheat. Bradshaw doesn’t care about that. But his wife’s recklessness could crumble the monarchy.

“She could’ve gotten away with it, because those children are a spitting image of their mother, it’s almost scary. No one would bat an eyelash or ask questions.” Kendall thinks back to the spy mission Olivia completed last week, a trip to the hospital the twins were born at. This information came about after she knocked out a few guards and scoured the family’s medical records records. “But it’s simple biology. A woman with type A blood, and a man with type AB blood cannot produce two children with type O. Now, as for the true, biological father, that is something I don’t know, but Isabella is currently sleeping with her personal bodyguard so it may be him.”

Liam waits on bated breath as he watches the exchange. Bradshaw’s face is beet red, and Liam is on guard, defensive just in case the other king decides to do something stupid. 

“So you see, Eleanor isn’t going to be marrying your son, ever. Or your daughter.”

Bradshaw dismisses Kendall’s words with a hand wave. He’s not letting go so easily. “I signed their birth certificate, I am their father. Your husband signed a treaty, whether you like it or not. And the fact that you just admitted to breaking countless laws with your little espionage scheme is grounds enough to get you into a lot of trouble.”

“Prove it,” Kendall challenges. “Prove that I had someone access those records, and that I’ve been collecting intel. I’m already done so you didn’t catch me red handed, and there’s no proof of my admission. The two of you were thoroughly searched and stripped of any cell phones, recorders, and cameras. Our guards have 24/7 security footage in this office, so on the off chance you were able to get in here with any of the aforementioned items, you would’ve been caught planting them before this meeting began. And besides, you push this issue any further, I will demand a paternity test on the world stage, and then all eyes will be on us. You’d rather die than publicly admit your wife cheated on you and someone else fathered those children.”

“I’ll have children with Bradshaw, easily,” Isabella says quickly. “Problem solved.”

Kendall grimaces sarcastically. “You specifically named Isaac and Lyra in the treaty. Had you not done that, your plan could’ve worked. Nice try though, and kudos for the quick thinking.”

Bradshaw glares at Kendall and then stands. Clenching his fist, he tries to breathe, to calm down. “You insolent, little girl. You think because you’ve read a few history books that you’re so smart and you can play politics? You think you can blackmail or extort me?” He scoffs before turning to Liam. “I know she gets your dick wet every once in a while, but you’re letting your commoner wife dictate you and shape international diplomacy?”

Liam’s nostrils flare but before he can reach across the table to attack Bradshaw, Kendall’s places a comforting hand on his shoulder, signaling for him to remain seated. There’s no need for violence when they clearly have the upper hand.

“I don’t think I’m smart. My bachelors degree from Brown in Policy Analysis and my Master’s from Columbia speak volumes all by themselves. There’s no need for vulgarity and petty insults because you aren’t intelligent or mature enough to comport yourself professionally.”

“I figured you wouldn’t back down after the whole paternity fiasco, and that’s fine.” Kendall shrugs with nonchalance. “We can involve the United Nations and the International Law Commission, and have them review that treaty if that’s what you want. But when I get in front of an audience and turn on the waterworks, crying about how my unborn daughter and I nearly died in the middle of a hostage situation, and instead of helping though you had the means to do so, you strong-armed my husband into signing a sham treaty, I don’t think that’ll go over too well for you.”

“It’s politics,” Bradshaw snarls. “You got bested.”

“No, it was a shitty coercion attempt. And a direct violation of Article 51 of the Vienna Convention Treaty, something your ancestors signed.”

“You don’t want to go down this road with me, with Auvernal,” Bradshaw continues, his eyes getting black as coal. “We want to be adults about this alliance, but please don’t force my hand. We can either be a powerful ally or a dangerous enemy.”

“You’ve been not-so-subtly hinting at war or a hostile occupation of Cordonia for over a year, and we’re not afraid of it. Like I’ve told my husband, I am not afraid of war. In this case, I’d welcome it gladly..”

“Ooh, such big fighting words.”

“Bradshaw, stop it!” Isabella hisses. He was always one for threats and brute force, when it wasn’t necessary.

“Shut up, you traitorous whore.” Bradshaw keeps his eyes on Kendall. He raises an eyebrow in challenge. “Well, the choice is yours. Excuse me, the choice belongs to the monarch. I keep forgetting who is who, considering your husband lets you wear the pants in this relationship.”

Liam sighs. Bradshaw wants to get a rise out of him for some reason, and it’s almost amusing. 

He gets out of his seat and starts walking around the office. His movements are poised and he glides across the room, until he’s standing where Bradshaw is. “Unlike you, Bradshaw, I actually respect my wife. She’s strong and intelligent, and she has my full support in whatever we do. Your attempts to belittle her for being my queen consort are weak and baseless. And because she doesn’t want me to react, I won’t.” 

“Of course not.” Bradshaw smirks. “Oh, King Liam the Gentle Hearted. You’ve always been the weakling, the coward. Too afraid to actually do something, opting to always play it safe. Tell me, how’s that working out for you? For your people? All the bombings and assassination attempts? How’d that work out for your precious daddy, Constan–”

Bradshaw can’t finish the question because in a flash, Liam pulls a dagger out of his suit pocket and trains it at Bradshaw’s throat, the tip of the blade just barely touching his Adam’s apple.

“Ohmygod!” The words fly out of Isabella’s mouth so fast, she stumbles over them. Liam motions for her to stay calm and seated.

“What was that?” Liam asks. “Please continue to speak on my late father, I dare you. Go on, I want to hear what you were about to say about him.” Bradshaw stays silent, his eyes trained on the dagger. “Eyes on me, Bradshaw.” Liam hits Bradshaw under the chin, forcing the other man to look him in the eye.

“I am so sick and tired of people mistaking my kindness for weakness. I try to be a good leader. Thoughtful and compassionate. I just don’t want my people to fear me, to cower in my presence. It’s so easy to rule like you do, through fear and intimidation. That’s the true cowardice. And yes, I am a kind man, but don’t ever in your poor excuse for a life attempt to write me off as weak or cowardice. The Queen was correct, you do not scare us in the slightest. You’re nothing more than a little man with a Napoleon complex and a need to overcompensate for your own shortcomings, with a wife who honestly couldn't care less if you live or die. Your country is broke and falling apart at the seams because all of your resources go to an oversized military and flashy attractions, so you bulldoze your way into other territories to offset the damage, but hear me well when I say Cordonia will not be one of them.”

Kendall’s breath hitches in her throat at the unexpected action. Liam pulling a dagger - no doubt a gift from Olivia - on Bradshaw wasn’t part of their plan. But she wants to see where this goes, what his next move is. She’s known Liam to get upset before, but this is something new, this tense, tight-lidded rage. Where Bradshaw is one to puff out his chest, yell, and make threats in order to cause confusion and chaos, Liam moves like a ninja, swift, direct, and lethal.

“You want a war? We can go, in an instant. This country may be small and peaceful, but we descend from strong leaders and brave warriors. And be advised, that I’ve been through a lot this past year, and I have a lot of rage inside of me. Keep poking the bear, Bradshaw, and I will not stop until I personally kill you with my bare hands. I will not rest until I witness the life leave your eyes, and your country is nothing more than ashes and rubble. Just say the word, and it’ll be a done deal.”

“Don’t forget, darling,” Kendall stands to join her husband, but she keeps a watchful eye on Isabella. But the woman is practically frozen in fear, not an imminent threat in the slightest, “that if we go to war, it won’t be just Cordonia and Auvernal. It’ll be Auvernal and the small countries that they’ve seized against Cordonia and her allies. Greece, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia, and my home country, the United States.”

“Oh right! Silly me, how could I forget? Thanks for the reminder, my love. So Bradshaw, Isabella, how about we forget the whole alliance and treaty fiasco, right here, right now. Or we can go to war.” Liam shrugs and presses the blade deeper, still careful not to break the skin. “Or how about I end this right now, slit your throat, and let you die a slow death, bleeding from your jugular and choking on your own blood. I don’t want to do that, because it’ll stain my very expensive floors, but I will. The choice is yours.”

“We withdraw!” Isabella exclaims, finally standing. “We’ll forget the whole thing, we’ll call it all off! Just put the weapon down, please!”

“Isabella, didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

Liam tsks. “Listen to your wife, Bradshaw.”

“Bradshaw, are you truly prepared to die here?” Isabella asks. “Is all of this worth it? Put your foolish pride aside for once in your damn life! It’s over.”

Bradshaw looks Liam in the eye, knowing that the other king isn’t bluffing. Slowly, he raises his hands in the air. “We concede.”

“Good. That wasn’t so hard was it?” Liam lowers his dagger and Bradshaw releases a sigh of relief. “But just one more thing.”

“What?”

Liam extends his arm, the dagger slashing out and quickly plunging into Bradshaw’s side. Shouting in pain, Bradshaw falls to his knees. “I may not kill you for your disrespect towards my wife, holding her life over my head, and threatening war against me, but I can’t let you leave unscathed. But fear not, it’s a minor wound and I didn’t hit any arteries, because unlike you, I’m a skilled fighter and I know what I’m doing.”

Isabella jumps out of her seat, and rushes to Bradshaw's side, pressing into the wound to stop the bleeding.

Kendall takes in the scene. She didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for the pathetic man-child writhing in pain on the floor, or his wife for that matter. Had Liam killed him where he stood, she probably would have have batted a mascara-covered eyelash. “Bastien!”

At the urgent calling of his name, the King’s guard enters the office. His eyes immediately fall onto Liam and Kendall, before taking in Bradshaw and Isabella. “Is everything alright in here, Your Majesties?”

“Excellent!” Kendall exclaims. “We’re actually done here, so if you could see to it that Bradshaw gets that nasty wound patched up and send the happy couple on their way, that’d be great.”

Bastien nods. “Of course.”

“Thank you. Bradshaw, Isabella, it was a pleasure having this meeting with you, and our attorneys will be in contact soon.” Kendall reaches for Liam’s hand. “Ready to go?”

“Ready.”

~v~

Liam’s feet dig into the soft carpeted floor of his bedroom as he walks into the en-suite. His eyes immediately land on his wife, who’s in their marble tub, covered in bubbles, sipping out of a bottle of Dom Perignon.

“Slow down, Speed Racer,” he teases.

“Eleanor doesn’t need to get fed for a few more hours, and I think I deserve this champagne.”

“I couldn’t agree more. I just don’t want you to get a headache.”

“I’ll drink a few glasses of water before I go to sleep.” Kendall holds the bottle out to Liam, offering him some, but he declines. So she just sits it on the floor. “Is Nori asleep?”

“She is. I swear, she’s the most alert and stubborn newborn on earth. She did not go down easily.”

“You’re already being bested by our daughter?”

“I know you two have been conspiring against me while she was still in the womb.” Liam smiles softly. “But I am still the champion, she eventually settled.”

“Good.”

“Enjoying your bath?”

“Yes. Can I sleep in here tonight?”

Liam chuckles. “Your skin will get incredibly dry and wrinkly.”

“I’m sure that’s nothing a few spa treatments and some heavy duty shea butter can’t fix.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted,” Kendall answers with a dramatic sigh. The day was long and she’s been running on pure adrenaline, it’s easy to forget she did push out a human just two short weeks ago, under very extreme circumstances. “And sore. I never want to wear heels again.”

Liam crouches down, getting on his knees at the edge of the tub. Reaching in he grabs one of Kendall’s feet and pulls it out of the water. Carefully he presses his thumb into the arch.

“Mhmm. I always forget that you moonlight as a masseuse.”

“Only for you.”

“It better be,” Kendall shoots back with a smirk.

“After the day we’ve had, I say you’ve more than earned a foot massage.”

“Ugh.” Kendall slips further into the tub before resurfacing. “I cannot stand those smug, overbearing assholes. Thank God we’re done with them.”

“Do you really think we’ve seen the last of them?”

“You probably pissed Bradshaw off when you stabbed him,” Kendall says pointedly, the mischievous look on her face betraying the seriousness in her tone. “But I do. They’re underhanded and sneaky, the threat of us exposing them publicly and involving superpower countries is enough to stave them off. But like we both said, war is on the table if push comes to shove.”

“Can I just say that you were absolutely amazing today.” Liam can’t get rid of the goofy grin on his face if he tries. He’s in awe of his wife, of her wit and strength.

Liam switches feet and she sighs in content. “Yes, please sing my praises.”

“I cannot believe how courageous you were, how absolutely brilliant. I’ve never seen anyone able to stand up to Bradshaw the way you did.”

“The same could be said for you. You were ready to kill him then and there. By the way, I was not anticipating that at all, but you had them scared shitless.

“The only reason I was able to do that is because I knew I had you in my corner the entire time.”

“I’ll always be in your corner, Liam.”

“I know, and I need to trust that. But all praise aside, I should have never put you in this position to begin with you. You should be spending this time relaxing and being with our baby, not getting involved in dirty politics.”

“Stop it!” Kendall wrangles her foot out of Liam’s grasps, and hits him in the chest with it. Liam looks down at the sudsy print on his chest incredulously. 

“Did you really just hit me with your foot?”

“Yes!” He’s going down that slippery slope of insecurity and self loathing. “I’m the Queen, I know my job will never be done. This past week has been stressful, yes, but it has not taken away from my maternity leave or my time with Eleanor. I can multitask, you know.”

“I know, I just wish you didn’t have to be burdened with the weight of the crown at a time like this.”

“Stop apologizing,” Kendall orders. “I’ve forgiven you and it’s all in the past now. I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

The corner of Liam’s mouth quirks up, a hint of a smirk on his face. He loves his wife’s commanding side. He leans over the tub so he’s hovering above her. “As you command, my queen.”

“The Queen also commands a kiss.”

“That can be arranged.” Liam surges forward, one hand reaching out to cup his wife’s cheek, the other getting tangled in her now damp hair and captures her lips in a kiss.

Kendall hums in satisfaction and sits up to deepen the kiss. Water sloshes out the side of the tub, soaking Liam’s pajama bottoms, but neither of them care. Her hands travel to his back, pulling him closer.

Too soon for either of their liking, Liam breaks the kiss with a groan. “4 more weeks. That is a depressingly long time from now.”

“Do you have the willpower?”

“I don’t know, but let’s not test it and disobey doctor’s orders.” Liam kisses the tip of her nose. “As soon as you’re cleared, I’m taking you to Valtoria, and we’re going to spend a few days in the small cottage you had built on the property. And I’m not letting you come up for air.”

A chill runs down the length of her spine. “Mhmm, don’t threaten me with a good time, Rys.”

“Oh, it’s not a threat, it’s a promise.” Liam reaches back into the tub and pulls the drain. He grabs a large towel and unfolds it. “Now come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Liam helps his wife out of the tub and drapes the towel across her shoulders. She shivers dramatically, her teeth clicking together for added effect. He knows she’s putting on a show, but he curls her into his side, which is what she wanted.

After changing into the closest pair of pajamas she can find—really just a pair of Liam’s sweats and an old Knicks t-shirt—and peaking into the bassinet at their bedside, Kendall finally collapses onto their bed. Liam joins her, loosely slinging his arm around her midsection. The smell of whatever fruity bubble bath she was just using invades his senses, but he welcomes the scent, his eyes closing instinctively. Kendall smells like home to him.

Kendall turns around in order to look at her husband’s face. For the first time in a long time, he looks peaceful. The outcome of the day instantly took 5 years off of his appearance, and she’s glad. She hates that he carries so much stress with him at all times. 

“Hey Liam,” she whispers, poking his arm.

“What is it?” He asks, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“I love you.”

That gets a smile out of him. His grip on her tightens slightly. “I love you more.”

“I love you infinity.”

“I love you infinity plus another infinity, for good measure,” Liam shoots back.

“One of these days, I’m going to win.”

“But not today. Now get some sleep.”

Kendall gets closer to Liam, until she’s practically on top of him. His heartbeat is slow and steady underneath her head, and the rhythmic thump slowly pulls her into unconsciousness.

Today was a victory. Sure the kingdom of Cordonia had other things to face, but Kendall takes comfort in knowing that she’ll face them with Liam, as a team. The two of them together are unstoppable.

Today was officially the start of their happily ever after.

[jovialyouthmusic]

Silver Service

Bastien organises the pursuit of Anton after Adelaide is hospitalised, and Olivia tries to come to terms with what she has discovered

Word Count 2824

A/N It’s been a few months since I left Adelaide unconscious in a hotel room in Nice. I have spent the last couple of days binge reading my own fanfic and I’m ready to move the story on. First chapter is short but there’s a lot of information and preparation to prepare for bringing Anton to justice.

 10 The Net Closes

Bastien paced his office, mulling over all the threads he had in his head. His predecessor and mentor, Jackson Walker had been involved in the assassination of the Duke and Duchess of Nevrakis. Their daughter Olivia was betrothed to the once powerful Severus family, who were convinced that they had a legitimate claim to the Cordonian throne. She had no knowledge of the arrangement, and had offered to bear an heir to the throne with King Liam Rys. The King had refused to marry and elected to appoint his future child with Olivia as his heir, uniting the Rys and Nevrakis families, but had not announced it yet. He needed an heir within the year or forfeit the throne – both Olivia and Anton had claims to the throne if he couldn’t provide one. Olivia’s aunt insisted that the betrothal to Anton was unbreakable and revealed that Olivia should have died with her parents if the former King Constantine’s plans had been successful in his determination to hold on to the Crown.

Damien Nazario had gone to Monaco to follow Lady Adelaide who had an apparent link to the Sons of the Earth, who sympathised with and supported Anton Severus, and at last Bastien had received news from him. Lewis knocked on the door and entered.

‘Sir’ he said ‘What have you heard?’ Bastien welcomed his second in command in by waving to a chair, but continued to pace the room as he talked.

‘Mixed news’ he replied ‘Two men went to Lady Adelaide’s hotel room for an assignation. Neither of them matched Anton’s description, and Adelaide is in hospital after being injected with a near fatal dose of heroin. She was apparently left to die and a suicide note was left by the bed. Luckily Nazario found her in time, although it’s touch and go.’ Lewis shook his head in consternation, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow

‘That’s bad, it shows how bold they are and what lengths they’ll go to. Do we know who the men are?’ he asked

‘One has been identified as Claudius Gabris, a Cordonian with known links to the Sons of the Earth.’ Bastien said, tapping the notes on his desk ‘The other is proving more difficult to identify. James and Franco have followed them to a mansion on the outskirts of Monte Carlo and are keeping watch.’

‘So what’s the likely outcome so far?’ Lewis asked. Bastien frowned in concentration

‘Monaco police can arrest the two men for attempted murder, but we need them to hold off in case they lead us to Anton. I’ve requested that they do just that, but we only have a stay of 48 hours. If they try to leave the country after that, they’ll be stopped and we’ll lose the lead, so it’s very dubious.’ He paced again, but his thigh started to throb so he sat down. He felt frustrated not being out in the field. All he could do was wait.

------

Sophia watched Olivia toy with her food. They were having lunch together, and the Duchess looked pale and tired.

‘I just can’t take it all in’ she said ‘Did you know my aunt told me I should have been with my parents when he had them killed? Constantine actually wanted me dead too’ Sophia’s eyed widened in shock as Olivia frowned and put her fork down ‘How do I cope with that? He’s not around to answer for it. It’s not Liam’s fault his father was a monster.’

‘I’m so sorry Olivia’ Sophia replied ‘I can’t imagine how you feel.’

‘And to be supposedly married to someone I never knew existed, let alone know? How could my parents do that?’ She put her fingers to her forehead and squeezed. ‘I keep thinking it’s a nightmare and I’ll wake up’

‘Olivia, you should eat something’ Sophia said softly ‘You can’t cope with anything if you’re not eating properly’

‘I’m not hungry’ she sighed, putting her fork down at last.

‘What’s your go to food when you feel stressed?’ Sophia asked. Olivia sighed and let her head drop back, looking up at the ceiling.

‘Nothing they serve here in Applewood’ she sighed ‘A good hearty mutton stew with Lythikos spices would be nice I suppose’

‘Why don’t we ask the kitchens to see what they come up with?’ Sophia asked. Olivia shrugged

‘I guess we could try’ her expression softened ‘Liam had some spices sent over for Lythikos nog the other day, so perhaps he could ask.’ She sighed deeply ‘To be honest, I wish I didn’t have to stay in Applewood. I feel like I’m in limbo’ Sophia looked thoughtful

‘Is the timetable for the charity tour fixed yet? Perhaps we could go to Lythikos first.’ Olivia slammed her palm on the table and got up abruptly

‘I don’t know where home is any more’ she said savagely ‘If I go back to Lythikos I’ll only be reminded of how my parents sold me off like a prize mare’ She paced the room, her body rigid with supressed rage.

‘Then you need to surround yourself with things that make you feel good, and safe’ Sophia said ‘and friends too’ Olivia scowled.

‘I need to stab something’ she said savagely. Sophia blinked, remembering Olivia’s warrior ancestors and changing tack.

‘Okay, so you need to do something physical’ she conceded ‘How about a workout in the training hall - or a long ride.’ Applewood had a gym and dojo for the use of the Guard, and Sophia guessed that the young Duchess most likely had some combat training. Olivia scowled

‘Actually, a good workout is exactly what I need.’ She stormed to the door ‘Are you coming, Sophia?’

------

Damien sat drinking bitter black coffee at the hospital waiting for Adelaide to regain consciousness. James and Franco were watching the mansion the two men had gone to after leaving her for dead. If he could get a statement from her confirming that she hadn’t intended to commit suicide, they would have a case against them, though their primary concern was to see if they would lead them to Anton. Failing that, their next option was interrogation.

There was still a chance that Anton would be at the mansion and they could observe and follow him. As yet there were no grounds to arrest or question him, but intel on any power base or allies he had outside Cordonia would be useful.

A nurse called out his name and he looked up.

‘She’s awake. I can allow you ten minutes with her – no more’ she said sharply ‘Follow me’ Damien followed her along the corridors to a private room where Adelaide lay, pale and fragile. She smiled weakly when she saw him

‘Hello handsome’ she said ‘What are you doing here – how did you find me?’ He sat by the bed and took her hand.

‘That’s not important right now.’ he said ‘I need you to trust me, Lady Adelaide. I know why you came here. King Liam and Bastien Lykel know too, and they want to help you’ He registered her shock and surprise. She swallowed and nodded before he went on ‘Adelaide, there was a suicide note by the bed when you were found. Was it your intention to end your own life?’ Adelaide looked puzzled.

‘N – no’ She replied ‘It’s – complicated, I don’t know how to tell you’ her eyes grew wide, her hand flew to her mouth and she started to cry. Damien pressed the hand he held in both of his.

‘Adelaide – this is important. We know there were two men who visited you at the hotel. Did they try to harm you?’ She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.

‘Yes’ she whispered ‘I trust – trusted him’ she hiccupped ‘We were – you know, playing games – but – but he injected me with something. I begged him to stop’ Her eyes flew open and she clutched at him ‘Maddy can’t find out about this – please, don’t let her’

‘Adelaide, we need to catch the men who did this’ he said ‘They’re dangerous. You can help us’ She turned her head to the side, shaking it

‘I can’t let Maddy find out’ she said ‘It would destroy her – destroy her chances of being Queen’

‘Adelaide, the men who hurt you are capable of doing worse’ he said ‘We know one of them is a known anti monarchist and if you press charges we have a reason to arrest and question him.’ Adelaide stared at him

‘Who are you?’ She asked ‘That meeting on the plane – it wasn’t accidental, was it? How dare you lie to me? This is all a setup’ anger coloured her voice and she snatched her hand away from him.

‘Adelaide’ he said firmly ‘if I hadn’t found you, you’d most likely be dead, and then there would have been no hiding things from your daughter or the King. Please help us. If they don’t lead us to Anton Severus we need to arrest and question them. There’s a chance that you may not need to press charges at all, but we need that option’ She sagged and all the fight went out of her.

‘Very well. I’ll press charges so you have a reason to arrest them, and hope you don’t have to go through with it.’ She said reluctantly ‘And thankyou’ she clutched his hand ‘Thankyou for saving my life’

------

The next day, Bastien read James’ report for the third time. An SUV had left the manor they were watching in Monaco and had made for the French border. It had crossed after some delay, which was caused by Franco calling ahead. Despite Adelaide pressing charges the authorities had refused permission to have them arrested, so Franco had arranged to have the car searched, and had taken photographs of the three men, one of whom wore dark glasses and bore a resemblance to Anton although the passport he showed had neither that name nor Justin’s. The three men had also been ‘randomly’ searched under protest and had to leave their car unattended long enough for Franco to plant tracking devices both on the vehicle and on the suitcases inside, and he and James continued to follow them when they went on their way. The car was travelling west, probably to Nice airport, and the French authorities had been contacted to cooperate with any requests Franco made.

------

Bastien was nervous. It was a long way from Monaco to Cordonia and the more complicated the journey, the more likely that the trail could be lost. At least if they got on a plane (as was likely from the direction they took after leaving Monaco) it would be traceable, even if they used a private jet. Air traffic control would keep track of them, but he couldn’t guarantee that they would have anyone on the ground wherever they landed. They were taking a huge gamble that they were coming back to Cordonia, and again he felt the pang of not being in the field, although he knew he would have been unlikely to follow his mark from beginning to end of the journey. Being at Applewood kicking his heels made him restless.

He decided to go down to the training hall. It wasn’t as big or as well equipped as the one at the Palace, but he needed to let off some steam. He made his way down there and changed into karate gear, knotting the worn black belt carefully and methodically. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had lost weight after his injuries but thankfully he was regaining muscle mass. He wasn’t as well toned as he had been, but he was visibly in better shape than most men his age. He’d taken pride in his appearance and he still did, but he knew he’d never be as agile or as fast as before.

He smiled as he remembered his trip to the hall the day before. He had entered to find Sophia and Olivia taking out some aggression on the punchbags – or rather, Olivia had been attempting to destroy the biggest bag and Sophia had been cheering her on whilst landing the odd blow herself. Bastien knew better than to spar with Olivia as she gave no mercy, so he quietly got on with his own warm up before taking himself through his paces from first kata to last. By the time he had finished the two women had gone, and he had caught up with Sophia later, learning that they had been for a ride afterward. Sophia was so tired out that she’d fallen asleep shortly after her head hit the pillow and he had got up before she awoke, as he’d received James’s report then.

He repeated his routine, planning to go swimming afterward. The first kata that beginners learned was a basic series of punches, blocks and kicks that Bastien executed easily. As speed caused him discomfort he went for power and precision, continuing through the sequence to the more challenging and complex sets. He focussed totally on his task, taking no heed of who was there, oblivious to scrutiny. He finished the last one with only a few minor mistakes and went to shower and change into his swimming trunks. He texted Sophia to see if she wanted to join him, but she was busy and said she would meet him in their suite afterwards for lunch.

He wasn’t as fond of the Applewood pool, as it was more of a leisure feature than one for a proper workout, but it was good exercise that didn’t overtax the muscles or joints. He powered through a few lengths, changing direction by plunging deep at the deep end and sweeping round at the shallower end until he had had enough. He spent some time in the spa bath to ease his thigh, then showered and got dressed. Before lunch he checked for more news from Damien, James and Franco, but there was nothing.

Sophia was reading when he got back to his suite, and looked up as he came in

‘Bas’ she smiled ‘I missed you this morning – how’s it all going?’

‘I’m waiting to hear from James’ he replied. ‘Damien’s making his way back to the airport at Nice as that’s the most likely place our suspects will go next. If not, he’ll be poised to fly wherever he’s needed’

‘Are they likely to get in contact soon?’ she asked. He sighed heavily

‘If I don’t hear within the next hour or so, goodness knows where they’ll end up. I hate sitting around waiting’ Sophia put down her book.

‘Well that puts paid to having some personal time’ she said regretfully ‘But we can still have lunch together – let’s see what cook’s sent up’ she said, walking over to the dinner trolley.

-------

It was obvious now that the three men were making for Nice airport, and Damien was not far behind James and Franco. James had to keep a low profile in case he was recognized as one of the King’s Guard, so when they arrived at the aiport Franco followed them through the airport terminal. They made their way to the office of a private charter company, and he lingered until they had left the office to make their way to the departure lounge. After texting James and Damien, he made himself known to traffic control and determined the flight plan of the chartered airplane. It wasn’t long before Damien arrived and they conferred together. The three men had declared an intention to fly to a small private airfield in Greece, close to the Cordonian border, so Damien called Bastien to let him know.

Damien was given permission to charter a small jet to the closest airfield they could find to their fugitives’ destination, and Bastien sent out as many SUVs as he could spare – to both of the planned landings. There was a small chance Damien might be able to land at the same location as Anton’s men, so he was literally flying by the seat of his pants. Cordonia was on good terms with Greece, and they had co-operated with Constantine in the past. Although Liam was not cut from the same cloth as his father he called on that arrangement now, so that Bastien could coordinate their efforts to apprehend Anton and his men. Not long after the phone call to the Greek embassy, they received another call that confirmed Anton was wanted by the Greek authorities under another name, so they had full cooperation from the police and armed forces. It looked like Adelaide’s input would not be needed.

Bastien and Lewis went into a frenzy of calls, texts and emails, co ordinating everyone they could – the Greek police, Interpol, the Greek embassy, and the Cordonian army. The net was closing fast. All they had to do was wait…

Next Chapter 11 Making Plans

[lizzybeth1986]

TRH is really handling this pregnancy situation poorly. MC is clearly stressed bc she has to have baby rn and was shocked and pressured the doc when she realized it'll take months. I hope we get the option to tell people off, especially liam and Madeleine, their attitude is toxic and made me very uncomfortable and stressed. They act like MC is just an incubator for them instead of the joy she should feel with her LI about being a mother. Stressing before and during pregnancy is very harmful.

If they force us to raise our kid in the palace in trh i will riot. I already feel weird playing, i'm not on Liam's route. It's ridiculous that they expect our kid to study protocol and save the country as soon as they pop out. Liam and Madeleine are so insensitive regarding MC. Even Prince William himself said he wants to give his son a normal childhood and will protect him, that he will bring him into his role as king when he's ready and definitely isn't rushing it. Trh is just unrealistic.

--

I agree with you on most of this. The storyline is forced and not very well built, we're not exactly getting to see much of the pressure on Liam that is creating these wild expectations from people (and we end up simply assuming that he and other characters we don't like are the only ones acting like the MC is an incubator), and the characters themselves are pretty OOC and seem to have taken twenty steps back in terms of their development last book.

As a woman who has gone through pregnancy? I can confirm that stress can complicate things for you further, and I found it hilarious that the doctor would talk about avoiding stress when the situation itself was so stressful. I thought Madeleine sounded like an entitled asshole (but when is she not), and Liam was definitely not making sense and coming off as overbearing and controlling.

Then again, everyone seems to be overbearing and controlling about this situation, not just Liam. The people of the country, the media, the nobles, the ladies of the court, even the LIs themselves.

Check out that sequence in Chapter 2 (where Liam first makes the offer) and see for yourself who responds first to Liam's request. It's the LI. Who (again OOC) mentions that "it's an honour", without even looking in the MC's direction first, without even engaging in further discussion about how this will work or what that child's future will be like. And she is their spouse!

I'm not...entirely sure about the comparison to Prince William, whose circumstances are very, very different and who can rest in the knowledge that the throne is secure because there are enough successors including himself (and let's be honest, it might take a while before Prince George ends up on the throne that is now his great-grandmother's). If you really need a comparison from the UK, a better one would be that of King George VI, who was the second-born son and second in line, whose brother Edward abdicated from the throne to marry an American divorcee (with ex husbands still living) who started out as a spare but proved himself a competent king. You know the one advantage that this real-life king had that a fictional King Liam doesn't? It's that when he ascended to the throne, he was already married and a father of two girls, one of whom was 11 at the time of his Coronation and who now sits on that very throne as Queen Elizabeth II. That is the advantage a royal in line for the throne has to marrying and having children early - it's that by the time the crown passes to them, the throne is viewed as secure. The family and country knows that if something happens to the monarch, their line will continue. (Monaco, as I mentioned in my second QT, had to deal with a situation similar to Cordonia and chose to deal with it in a similar fashion - because that's what not having a secure heir for the throne can do to a royal family).

TRR highlighted this as far back as Book 1, by having Madeleine tell us on Coronation Night that Liam has no choice but to pick a bride once he becomes king, because a king without a consort (and therefore, a legitimate child) is viewed as vulnerable. She is not bullshitting there. History proves this is accurate in the case of other monarchies as well (particularly in the case of Monaco, which I think was the source of this particular storyline in TRH).

The discomfort lies primarily in the fact that - as I've mentioned earlier - the writers aren't exactly thinking beyond making the MC the front and center of everything in this country, whether she deserves it or not. They have to make her more powerful and more influential than people who are better than her in every way (Hana). They have to make her the solution to all Cordonia's problems. They have to allow her - a rank newcomer who probably wouldn't even pass a History 101 class on Cordonia - to dictate how things will go in this country. They can't be satisfied with this little one merely being a future Duke or Duchess - no this child has to be the only heir apparent in line, even as a romance between Liam and Olivia was barely beginning to blossom in Book 3. The book just assumes that this will be seen as a wonderful thing, and that Liam shouldn't choose options that aren't the MC. That's where the real problem lies.

[farmgirlusa]

A Tale of Two Queens

I think that would have been a more fitting title for this episode than the Last of the Starks because that seemed to be the set up and what we were supposed to see and take away. We start off this episode with two singular goodbyes.  Daenerys’s to Jorah and Sansa’s to Theon.  These goodbyes stand out because they happen separate from the others. They happen before Jon’s speech and before the group takes the torches and lights the pyres.  Just before the pyres are lit we get another moment of one on one shots, Sam and Edd, Arya and Beric, then Jon and Lyanna.  Interesting enough Jon and Lyanna’s look is the longest perhaps he’s remembering everything Lyanna ever said to him because he looks up and sends an indescribable look at Daenerys then the pyres are lit.

The feast scene starts with Jon sitting squarely in the middle of Daenerys and Sansa.  There’s some small talk until it all falls silent when Daenerys recognizes Gendry.  The silence just doesn’t taper out it’s an immediate silence as if everyone just took in a breath and held it.  The silence is tense and as others have said the silence reminded me very much of the silences that fell around Joffrey when you weren’t sure if he was going to rage or celebrate.  Naming Gendry true born and lord of Storms end is actually a smart move and not as I’ve seen some people comment a stupid move a legitimizing a possible threat to her own throne.  Gendry was never a potential claimant to the throne.  I’ve seen some people talking about this before but that just not possible. Just having the right bloodline won’t sit you on the throne, you have to have the right connections and sorry to say it the right upbringing.  Gendry is small folk, he might be Robert’s son and now Robert’s legitimized son but that doesn’t erase the fact that he is little more than a peasant, a blacksmith by trade.  Legitimizing him and installing him as Lord of Storms End doesn’t create any threat to Daenerys because Gendry was never a threat to her.  Nobody know him, nobody fights for him, he doesn’t have an army and as Daenerys points out in her little speech he has no family.  This is not a Jon Snow situation, but I’ll get back to that later.  Thelawyerthatwaspromised mentioned that this is likely her first step towards how she intends to keep Jon under wraps by having him legitimized as a Stark and neutralizing Sansa’s power she just needs him to go along with it.  Gendry was never a threat to her and this way she makes the attempt to create a Lord who will be loyal to her.

As the feast progresses the seating arrangements change.  Sansa becomes the center of Jon and his cohorts of wildlings they are smiling and laughing.  The wildlings are all standing and Jon is standing as well leaning against the table. Daenerys is by herself on her side of the table.  Suddenly the divisions are very clear. Daenerys is on her own and she’s looking over jealously herself as Jon is laughing and enjoying himself without her. Sansa fits in with this group, she’s a part of it, and as the only one seated in a chair in the center of it she almost looks as if she’s holding court amongst all those men.  Tormund perhaps noticing Daenerys looking over at them lonely and wanting to include her makes a toast to her.  Daenerys stands accepts it then makes a toast to Arya and the response to that is far more deafening than the lukewarm reception Tormund’s toast to her.  Daenerys smiles at Jon gleeful for the cheers and happy to have his attention away from Sansa and his wildling friends.  The camera cuts to Sansa and you can see her smile dim as her eyes go from Jon to Daenerys then drop all together and she gets up and leaves the table causing Jon’s Sansa sense to go off as he immediately turns around to watch her leave. Instead of getting a reaction shot of Jon’s face we get a reaction shot from Daenerys as her smile gets a but smug as she too watches Sansa leave before she sits herself back down.  However we see Daenerys smile leave as the attention paid to her is fleeting and Jon remains with his back to her talking to the wildlings instead of talking to her.

Now we get to the part where Daenerys realizes Jon is a real threat to her.  I don’t think that she allowed herself to believe Jon was a threat to her claim after all he bent the knee and has spoken again and again about how he doesn’t want to rule but now she sits there and listens to all these men talk about why they follow Jon, their admiration for him, how he inspires people and is willing to work with his enemies to win the war.  Jon Snow was crowned King of the North over his true born sister who technically should have been crowned.  At the time Sansa was Rob’s heir as the will was never introduced into the show.  Jon was crowned over Sansa not just because he was male, had he been a male bastard born son of Ned Stark that had never been acknowledged raised in Wintertown instead of Winterfell and fought in the battle of the bastards IE the Gendry Waters he would never have been crowned instead of Sansa the lords wouldn’t have known him, but because he was given a Lord’s education same as Rob’s raised in Winterfell as Ned Stark’s acknowledged son that is why they crowned him over Sansa and that is why Jon is more of a threat to Daenerys than Gendry would ever be legitimized or not which is what she’s realizing now.  Jon Snow was raised on the right side of the sea, he had the right education, he inspires people, and they want to follow him.  Right now he has no claim to the throne as Ned Starks bastard but once it comes out that he’s Rhaegar’s son true born or bastard it makes no difference he’s a threat to her rule because the people of Westeros would prefer a Westeros raised ruler to her and Jon has already been tested and shown just how good of a leader he is.  That is the realization Daenerys has at the table and why her face goes so grim and the music takes such a sinister tone.  Then her eyes go to Tyrion who is having fun with his brother and she’s realizing just how truly alone she is.  An interesting tidbit, we haven’t really seen Daenerys interacting one on one with Missandei or Grey Worm since she burned the Tarly’s.  Since she’s embraced her whole bend or die philosophy we haven’t seen her have any meaningful one on one interaction with the two people who might see that strategy as being a little bit too much like the masters.

The conversation with Sandor really illustrates how little he understands about Sansa or her journey. Sansa isn’t talking about how if she’d gone with him she’d have avoided all her miseries unlike Arya, Sansa is very recognizable, Littlefinger worked very hard to have a plan in place to get Sansa out of the capital, Sandor’s plan would likely have resulted in Sandor’s death and either Sansa’s death or heightened security around her, which is why she says if she’d gone with him she’d have remained a little bird forever. What she means is she would have remained a prisoner forever and likely died a little bird instead of getting free to become who she is today.  It’s in no way her condoning the abuse she received or her thinking she needed to receive the abuse to become who she is today it’s her appreciating Sandor’s thought but acknowledging that it never would have worked as more than a thought. Sandor saving Sansa from the Red Keep is a nice fairy tale but it is a fairy tale.  Sansa has a very definitive look, we know that red hair is rare in Westeros. Sandor just fled from the battle field, deserted his post and made up his mind to give Sansa the option of coming with him but the reality is if he had taken Sansa with him they never would have gotten far.  Tywin wouldn’t waste much effort on a deserting soldier but to find the Key to the North.  So yes I do think Sansa was more acknowledging that it was the thought that counts but in reality he never would have been able to get her out of the capital in a plan concocted on a moment’s notice.  I blame poor writing for not conveying that thought better as well as we all know that D&D are pretty much confirmed misogynists so it could very well be that they do feel that Sansa needed to be abused to become so tough, me personally I’m taking it as her absolving the Hound of any guilt he might be feeling for not trying to forcibly take her from the capital because she knows it never would have worked and just led to his and possibly her deaths.

The Jon/Daenerys scene was just tragic.  She comes in and asks him if he’s drunk.  Jon says no then immediately makes it a lie by almost tripping over his own two feet. He tries to comfort her about Jorah. Daenerys allows it then comes on to him using Jon’s impaired judgement to seduce him.  But even drunk Jon doesn’t let it go beyond kissing.  Then Daenerys gets to the real reason why she’s there. The adoration she saw being given to him by the people in the hall.  Jon again tells her that he doesn’t want it and from the frustration in his voice I can’t help but think this must not be the first conversation they’ve had about this. Daenerys turns it around on him telling him he didn’t want to be King of the North and still he got pressed into becoming that, what happens when the people press for him to take his claim. The desperation in her voice is very telling because she knows that Jon is more of a threat than Cersei.  Cersei isn’t beloved by her people she’s just tolerated but Jon, Jon would be loved by the people, to paraphrase Varys, he’s stronger than Tommen but gentler than Stannis, has the right name and the right connections everything she could never be.  Jon kneels and says he’ll refuse and calls her his queen not knowing what else she wants him to say.  Daenerys cups his face and fiercely tells him what she wants him to say, which is nothing. She wants him to tell no one to spend the rest of his life as Ned Stark’s bastard son, to swear Sam and Bran to secrecy. She tells him if it gets out, it’ll take on a life of its own and he won’t be able to control the outcome.  Which is only partially true.  What Daenerys wants is to have her cake and eat it too. Given that she seems to want to resume their relationship, even goes so far as to say she wants things to go back to the way they were between them before, it would be much easier for her to propose marriage, joining their claims as one but Daenerys doesn’t want to give up power she doesn’t want to be a co-ruler she wants to be the sole ruler. She wants all the power and her boy toy and none of the threats that come with having her unmarried boy toy nephew in the south with her.  Keeping secrets is how the first rebellion got started.  Lyanna and Rhaegar’s secret affair led to the death of Brandon and Rickard Stark at the hands of Aerys and kick started the rebellion that unseated the Targaryen Dynasty now Daenerys wants to keep the results of that secret as well so that her claim remains secure and unchallenged.  When Jon says he needs to tell Sansa and Arya a change comes over Daenerys.  She focuses solely on Sansa which is relatable as the past few episodes have really been pushing the rivalry narrative.  Daenerys says that Sansa will tell because she will want Jon on the throne.  Jon says she won’t.  I’m just like Jon hon she doesn’t like her now just imagine how she’s gonna feel once she knows just how bad Daenerys really is with the burning of the Tarly’s and the food from the Reach she’ll be shouting your heritage from the roof tops Daenerys has a point.  Then of course Daenerys goes into the victim blaming portion of her spiel talking about how Sansa isn’t the same after what they’ve done to her.  Daenerys makes it into an us vs them scenario. However Jon calls her his queen and them his family which is interesting because technically Daenerys is his family too, a nice little nugget about where Jon’s head is at in regards to his Targaryen heritage.  Jon says they can live together.  All emotion drops out of Daenerys face and she goes cold and she basically tells him that it wasn’t a request but an order for him to keep his heritage under wraps.

Then we get to the war council scene and again the juxtopositioning of Daenerys and Sansa as queens jumps out yet again.  Daenerys is focused on the capital concerned that while Cersei holds the capital she can still call herself queen and that it doesn’t matter how many lords jump ship they need to take that capital.  Sansa comes in with a fair point that their troops are tired and wounded and really need time to rest and recuperate.  Daenerys after Sansa can’t give her a solid answer about how long of a delay might be needed for the armies to rest and recuperate turns the conversation around back to herself and how it was a great cost to herself and her armies to come north to help them never mind that the cost was just as great to the north.  Sansa of course isn’t having any of that and it’s almost a repeat of their conversation in the library when Sansa wouldn’t let Daenerys get away with laying all the blame on Tyrion for trusting Cersei as Sansa points out that it’s not just the northern troops that need the time its Daenerys troops that need the time to heal as well.  Daenerys won’t have that stating that the longer she leaves her enemies alone the stronger they become, however the camera work makes it apparent that she’s not just talking about Cersei here but Sansa as well.  Which is why Jon jumps into the breach usurping Sansa’s authority and stating that the northern troops will march south as he promised, fulfilling their oaths, never mind that the only one who swore an oath was him and not the entire north.  However I feel the need to point out a minor fallacy of Daenerys argument.  Varys has received scrolls from Dorne and the Iron Islands that they have been taken back in Daenerys name and are ready to fight for their queen so wouldn’t it make more sense to allow the troops to rest and heal and allow fresh troops from the lords who are now defecting from Cersei to join them making them stronger.  Of course not everything has to happen now now now, if Daenerys gives the people time to rest and heal after the battle they might remember why they don’t like her and the Northern troops might decide to name Sansa Queen in the North and refuse to go south with them and Jon is already being decidedly indecisive when it comes to his family is of no help.  Daenerys cannot have Sansa getting stronger so she weakens her that I think is the meaning of the final looks between the pair.  Before Jon can leave he’s confronted by Arya who tells him they need a word.

The scene changes to an argument already in progress with Jon already on the defensive in the godswood. Again it’s interesting that we are only getting pieces of the Stark conversations not the entire things.  And again we see the difference between how Sansa is responding to Daenerys and Arya is responding to Daenerys.  Arya tells him she can respect his choice and that he made the right one but they are making the right one now by telling him they don’t trust his queen.  Jon doesn’t defend her or give reasons why they should trust her he just says they don’t know her yet.  It’s quite different from how Sansa handled a similar conversation between her and Arya in season 7 when Arya was upset because the Lords were angry about Jon being in the South so long.  Arya was advocating having the lords executed for speaking that way about Jon and Sansa told Arya that “I’m sure cutting off heads is very satisfying but it doesn’t make people work together.”  Arya then tells Jon that they are the last of the Starks and they only have each other to trust.  Jon of course gets that look on his face and says he’s not a Stark.  Of course Arya and Sansa both rush to assure him that he is a Stark just as much as any of them.  Bran tells him it’s his choice.  The girls look at each other then back at Jon.  Jon goes “I have to tell you something, but you have to swear not to tell another soul. You need to swear it before I tell you.”  Arya and Sansa are both of course taken aback both of them have history of secrets not being good things.  Eventually both do swear and then Jon has Bran tell the girls.  So for all the people whining about Sansa not keeping her promise technically she did.  Just like Jon technically kept his to Daenerys.  Jon didn’t tell anybody his heritage Bran did.  Sansa didn’t tell any secret that Jon had told her she told a secret that Bran had told her.  Of course the scene is cut off before we could get the actual scene of the girls being told Jon’s heritage or their reactions.

Daenerys has a brief quiet moment with her dragons then they take off and we go up to Sansa on the ramparts watching the dragons fly away.  Tyrion comes up to bid farewell to Sansa.  It takes him a moment to get her attention and the first thing out of her mouth is why here.  This is Sansa’s first scene after the reveal of Jon’s parentage and she wants to know why her.  This question I think is twofold.  This episode has been making it fairly obvious that Sansa has feelings for Jon and the fact that Jon seems to be picking Daenerys over her is upsetting but she also wants to know why Tyrion is supporting her as queen, why all these people are supporting her as queen.  Take it from Sansa’s point of view this woman marched her armies north without any thought for food for them or her dragons and its only lucky happenstance that the dragons didn’t eat any of the northern children during their stay, wants the North to bend the knee because she feels she’s entitled to the north as its part of the seven kingdoms her father once ruled and she used her armies to help them fight the army of the dead, but the only reason she came to fight the army of the dead is because of Jon and the love she has for him not because of her love of the people or to save the people she claims she’s there to protect.  Daenerys comes off as inept at best and at worst well Sansa has spent her formative years in the presence of Tyrants and mad men she’s well versed in recognizing the signs.  So she wants to know if there’s something else, some other reason these people follow her.  Tyrion tries to point out that a good relationship between the crown and the north is the back bone behind any prosperous reign.  Sansa points out that Jon is Warden of the North so that seems likely.  Tyrion doesn’t think he’ll spend much time in the north and Sansa says that’s up to him. Tyrion tries to tell Sansa that with Jon in the capital she’ll be the true power in the North so he would like to leave knowing that she and Daenerys are allies.  Sansa doesn’t know what’s worrying him so she pushes telling him that his queen got what she wanted the army going south on her command.  Tyrion is quick to point out that she’s Sansa’s queen too and that she shouldn’t antagonize her and that’s when Sansa realizes Tyrion is afraid for her, that he’s afraid of Daenerys.  He tries to brush it off by saying that a good ruler always inspires a bit of fear but I think Sansa’s quick mind is now putting things together, the silence in the hall after Daenerys singled Gendry out, Jon’s dismissal of her in the council meeting, his actions during their family meeting. Sansa tells Tyrion that she doesn’t want Jon to go south because the men in her family don’t do well in the south. Which in Sansa’s defense is the complete truth for men and women, she and Jon were hostages in the south, Arya went through her own trauma in the south, her father was beheaded, grandfather burned alive, uncle strangled, and aunt died in a tower in Dorne. Tyrion points out that as Jon himself would like to say he’s not a Stark, he then goes on to talk about her people and how they love her and show cases his own blindness to Daenerys faults and demonstrates to Sansa that as far as he’s concerned Daenerys is fine is afraid of her sure but it’s not like he has any better options and better yet she seems to be in love with Jon so let’s keep her happy by keeping him in the south with Daenerys even if that won’t keep him happy.  Sansa I think realizes that everyone is happy to use Jon as a sacrifice to keep Daenerys happy and as she has no intention of going south willingly ever again the only way she can protect him is to reveal the truth about his birth and the fact that he would be a better option as king.

Of course Sansa was proven right and will probably be proven even more so next week during the actual battle scenes.  Euron set a trap that Daenerys fell into because she and her men were tired, they didn’t think to send scouts or ensure that Dragonstone didn’t have lurkers.  So Rhaegal died and Missandei was captured. At that point Missandei was dead, it didn’t matter that she was still breathing on screen she like Rickon was in the hands of someone who would never let them go.  If Daenerys stormed the city with Drogon and the Unsullied as they first propose Missandei would be the first casualty.  Once she was in Cersei’s hands that much was a certainty.  I was sad because I really wanted Missandei to come to see Daenerys for what she was, to truly understand why the Northerners didn’t want her to be their queen for that sanctimonious comment she made to Sansa during the long night when Sansa wasn’t even really complaining about Daenerys merely commenting on how it wouldn’t work between them because of Tyrion’s loyalties to Daenerys to come back to bite her in the butt.  Instead she became of victim and will be used by Daenerys to justify the slaughter of thousands next week.  During the planning session Varys tries once more to talk Daenerys down but she wasn’t hearing it.  She said she would give Cersei one chance for surrender so she could look the better person before raining fire down on the Red Keep.

Sansa gets a scroll from Maester Wolken which Jaime sees her get and then goes and talks to Brienne about it.  Jaimie wants to know what happened.  Sansa tells him basically Cersei has made the plan Jon and Tyrion made of laying siege on the capital impossible now.  Daenerys and the Unsullied are going to destroy the city.  Sansa doesn’t say but its implied spelled out by Brienne later when she tries to keep Jaime from going to the Red Keep.  It seems a bit on the nose foreshadowing wise for Sansa to say that she won’t see Cersei die, that just means she probably will.

I find it absolutely hysterical that Qyburn points out the same things that Sansa pointed out about the army being war torn and weary.  He also points out that the last Dragon is vulnerable which is also a fair point.  Missandei’s death was horrible and just pointless.  They could have kept her prisoner and she could have died when Daenerys destroyed the keep just like so many others will.  Killing her off now was just giving Daenerys permission to go full Dracarys on the Red Keep but she was already going to do that soooo why? It was just pointless.

The Bronn scene seemed pointless, like seriously what was the point of that scene unless Bronn has another reason for being in Winterfell.  I guess we’ll have to wait till next week but I’m thinking that kidnap theory might definitely still be alive and well.  They’ve built up a confrontation between Daenerys and Sansa too much and Sansa has unfinished business with Cersei but right now she seems firmly entrenched in Winterfell.  Next week should be interesting.

Final thoughts on this episode Sansa was presented as a foil for Daenerys.  Two Queens only one who seems to truly have the concerns of the people at heart and it isn’t Daenerys.