002.
𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗎𝗌𝗎𝗋𝗉𝖾𝗋 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀

All Aegon could see of Lucaena was her back as he walks inside the chambers she resides in. She is looking out of the window, hair lightly flying.

Gods, her back looks almost ethereal. He could remember her. Her smiling at the feast his father had ordered for his precious Rhaenyra.

Aegon inches toward her. "Hello, niece." he tries to greet her.

Gods, he even went sober for this. It almost feels like a dream to be in her presence again, but still, he will remain passive.

Lucaena remains where she was, not making any inclination that she heard his voice.

He wonders if she fears him. That she would fear she would order her execution and name her a traitor of the realm.

"Look at me, niece," he tries to make himself sound proud, yet the words came out weak and quiet.

He is afraid, he quickly realizes. Afraid of how she will take to him. They had not seen each other since he ordered her mother burned alive in front of her and her brother.

"Is that an order, uncle?"

Aegon almost jumps at the sound of her voice. He remembers her voice as silky and seductive. Now, it was dull and flat.

"I am your king. You will address me by my proper title,"

Lucaena didn't answer, and for a moment, Aegon thought she never would. But she caught him off guard as she turned around.

Fuck him.

She was still fucking beautiful.

Her dark hair fell down her shoulders, body lean with curves— her face held the Targaryen beauty he knows she inherited from her mother. But it is not her beauty that caught him by guard the most, it was her eyes.

Cold, dark, purple eyes staring down at him. She didn't sneer at him like he expected, her lips were straight.

But her eyes held such a loathe that could rival the most crazed man.

"Or what? What is it that you do?" She said.

She wanted to challenge him. She wanted him to punish her.

He could sense it in the way she spoke. Bitter words that had no reason to continue living.

Aegon sighs and walks to her. She didn't step away and soon their bodies were almost close.

"My wife died, along with our son,"

"My apologies," she answers dryly, not giving a damn about his cunt of a wife.

Aegon ignored her words. "My grandsire wishes for me to marry you. You are the only woman left with Targaryen blood, and you are the daughter of Rhaenyra. If we wed, we will finally unite our house for good. We will continue our house with pure blooded Targaryens,"

"You are a kinslayer and a usurper," Aegon looks at her passively and tries not to show how much her words stung him. "You murdered my mother, the true Queen of the seven kingdoms. Your brother murdered my brother Jacaerys. Every one of my family is either dead or lost because of you and your fucking family,"

She is shaking now with anger and Aegon tries to lay his hand on her shoulder to keep her from getting out of control.

Lucaena hisses at him and pushed him away.

"I would rather die like my mother in the flames then to marry a fraud of a Targaryen like you,"

━━━━━━━━

"She does not wish to marry me," Aegon tells his council, surprisingly he had not yet gotten drunk.

Aegon wishes he had.

His grandsire scoffs. "It hardly matters what she wants. She may be the bastard of Rhaenyra but she is still her daughter. By wedding her you will unite House Targaryen once and for all,"

"This will make the Starks rest easier also," Lord Corlys says, adding to his grandsire.

It was still a wonder to see Lord Corlys even stayed in king's landing and now loyal to him. After he and Aemond killed his wife— princess Rhaenys, he had never expected him to turn on Rhaenyra.

"Cregan Stark was very fond of Jacaerys Strong, your grace," Lord Larys smiled. "It was said that they formed a brothership. That will not be so easily broken. Not even after years,"

"And you think Lord Cregan will retaliate after years of peace?" Lord Tyland questions him with a chuckle.

Lord Larys grinned and stared at nothing particular. "Years of silent peace, my lord," his eyes turns to Aegon. "There are still those who recognizes Princess Rhaenyra as the rightful ruler. And now that she is dead and her daughter is found— there has been whispers of people wanting her to be Queen,"

"And that is why by marrying Aegon she will—"

"I mean, whispers of the people wanting Princess Lucaena being the heir to the Iron Throne and the next ruler of the seven kingdoms." Larys finishes with a sly smile.

"That will never happen," the hand says fuming. "King Aegon is the rightful king and he is still young and fertile. It was unfortunate that the late Queen could not give his grace the son he needed,"

His grandsires eyes bored into his. "Lucaena Velaryon will wed his grace King Aegon, and together they will unite House Targaryen."

None of the other council members noticed the shared look between Lord Larys and Lord Corlys.

━━━━━━━━

Days pass, and Aegon tries desperately, but to no avail. He tries to talk with Lucaena. To make her understand.

All he receives is curses and hits instead.

Not that he could blame her.

Fuck. He was miserable. Miserable wearing this fucking crown. Miserable being in the small council and to greet every lord as if they did not honk him as a miserable cunt.

Aegon laughs. They probably regret siding with him.

Aegon knows most of the lords that had been loyal to me at the start of the war, had only been so because of him being born with a cock. Meanwhile Rhaenyra had lords siding with her because they trusted her, fought her to be the rightful heir. She had everything, and he hated her for it.

All his life he only wanted to be loved. Be it his mother, Aemond, fuck even Helaena. But they all saw him as one thing. A drunken bastard.

He had seen the way Rhaenyra handled her children. How she used to brush her hand through their hair, how she gave them small kisses and sent them fond smiles.

Aegon wished that he was her son, in truth.

Rhaenyra would have been a good queen.

Aegon wishes that he had been strong enough to to give up his crown to her. At least his life wouldn't be as horrible as it was now.

In the end he won the war, but at what cost?

Lucaena, the only one who had shown him some kindness in their youth, hates him. Understandably.

He only wishes that she would understand that he never wanted any of them dead.

But Lucaena was like her mother, and would probably curse him just as Rhaenyra had done before the flames had indulged her.

━━━━━━━━

Lucaena is reading a book when Aegon joins her in the library. She ignored him as his footsteps as she heard them coming close.

He does not say anything and it makes her go red. Why would he not leave her alone?

She looks up to curse at him, yet notices his bruised face. His cheek was married with red and yellow. She notes his bruised hands and stares at him with a raised brow.

"Who have bruised you up so, uncle?" she asks with a bitter smile. "I do hope it isn't your dead wife."

She sneers as he sits on the chair next to her.
"No need to worry yourself, niece," he looks at the book in her hand. "What are you reading?"

She rolls her eyes and turns her shoulder slightly away so that he won't read the words inscribed.

"A story of a woman who was burned to death, if you must know. The book is terribly horrible yet I find myself enjoying it. She is burned at the stake for being called a witch, yet she rises after her death and murders any man who condemned her to die,"

Aegon stared at her. "That is rather brutal. Should you be reading that?"

Lucaena shuts the book with a hump. She looks at him.

"Why are you here?"

Aegon takes her hand and she lets him. She is tired of his games.

"It is decided. You will marry me in a matter of days. Most of the high lords are already present. Only a couple of lords are left to attend the marriage between the king and his new queen."

Her breath stops. She knew this would happen. She knew it. She was stupid for thinking otherwise.

She wants out. She does not want this.

"No."

Aegon sights and took a swing of wine from his cup.
"Unfortunately yes, my dear niece."

Lucaena stares at him blankly, taking in his drunk form. She walks closer to him. "You are pathetic. To think that this," she looks at him up and down. "- is the one who sits the iron throne and calls himself king instead of my mother,"

Aegon does not answer her and it makes her grow frustrated. Why does he not answer her? After all he has done? After all that will be done.

"You murdered my mother-"

"And I lost my children!" Aegon snaps, throwing his cup on the wall, but Lucaena ignores it and continues staring Aegon down.

"And who's fault is that?" she retorts back. "Who's fault is it that every dragon is near dead, all Targaryens six feet under,"

Lucaena cries now. "I am miserable and I have been for the last couple of years! And if you ever think that me marrying you will ever change that then you are ignorant to see the truth."

Aegon quietes down. "I feel the same,"

"No. You will never know how I feel. You did this. House Targaryen lay in its crumbs because people thought a drunken usurping cunt like you would suit better than the rightful ruler of the seven kingdoms."

He does not reply to her, but Lucaena wants him to.

"I do not care what you think or believe. We will be married in the eyes of the seven and you will bear me legitimate sons. House Targaryen may lay at its crumbs, but it is us who need to pick it up."

━━━━━━━━━━
𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚: 𝖨 𝖽𝖾𝗌𝗉𝗂𝗌𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗇𝗌 𝗌𝗈 𝗆𝗎𝖼𝗁. 𝗋𝗁𝖺𝖾𝗇𝗒𝗋𝖺 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗌𝗎𝖼𝗁 𝖺 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗋𝗎𝗅𝖾𝗋. 𝗃𝖺𝖼𝖺𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗌 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝗈 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍𝖻𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗉𝖾𝗇.

𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺𝗅𝗌𝗈, 𝖨 𝗁𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝖼𝗈𝗋𝗅𝗒𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗒𝖾𝖽 𝗋𝗁𝖺𝖾𝗇𝗒𝗋𝖺 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖠𝖾𝗀𝗈𝗇 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝗄𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝗋𝗁𝖺𝖾𝗇𝗒𝗌. 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖺𝗍 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗈𝗂𝗌𝗈𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗁𝗂𝗆 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖾𝗇𝖽, 𝖺𝗍 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝗀𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗎𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍.

𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖻𝗍𝗐 𝖽𝗈 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝖾𝗒𝖾 𝗈𝗇 𝗅𝖺𝗋𝗒𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗋𝗅𝗒𝗌.