House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

"My lord, we don’t know whether it was truly Prince Daemon; we cannot simply rule out Prince Maekar. Lord Matthos’s death happened on the very same day he arrived." Lord Cameron Tarth, of House Tarth of Evenfall Hall, spoke in a concerned tone.

"You think I don’t know that?" Boremund said in a calm tone. "However, for our interests, it was Daemon who killed Matthos to help his brother sit on the Iron Throne."

Cameron felt a chill run through his body, hearing those cold, indifferent words. He had seen Lord Boremund speak and laugh with Matthos as though they were true friends. Yet if Boremund treated his friends this way, Lord Tarth didn’t want to know what he did to his enemies.

"We cannot waste time; I’ve received word that the king is coming to Harrenhal, riding his dragon, Vermithor. The entire court of King’s Landing is moving toward Harrenhal and will arrive within a few days." Boremund said in a calm tone. He didn’t care what his vassals thought of him. At this moment, speed was essential to destroying Viserys’s reputation.

"Yes, my lord." Cameron said in a respectful but somewhat distant tone. Boremund noticed this but didn’t mind. Anyone would grow cautious after hearing what he had just said.

As soon as Boremund and all his vassals entered the tent, they saw Princess Rhaenys with a cold, irritated expression.

"Uncle." Rhaenys greeted her uncle, forcing a smile.

"Don’t worry, we’ll handle this." Boremund said, not knowing that Robert had already allied himself with Maekar. Had he known such a thing, he probably wouldn’t be so calm at this moment. For with Matthos’s death, he had lost more than he had gained. Of course, the advantages and disadvantages were known only to him.

"I know, but Daemon is mad. How dare he kill a Lord Paramount so easily?" Rhaenys said, still in an irritated tone. She was still young and didn’t yet have the calm, mature temperament of her future self.

(Note: Rhaenys is 26 years old in the year 100 after the conquest.)

"Men like him don’t think, niece." Boremund said in a gentle but incredibly harsh tone. "What matters is that we will have our revenge. Matthos’s death cannot be forgotten. We will tell everyone just how monstrous Daemon is."

Rhaenys nodded and vowed to make Daemon’s life a true hell. She was furious that Daemon had dared to kill Matthos.

"The king will arrive within two days at most; he is riding Vermithor." Boremund said in a calm tone.

Rhaenys’s eyes grew more solemn. Jaehaerys’s arrival at Harrenhal meant only one thing.

"The Great Council will begin, and the process of electing the legitimate claims to the Iron Throne will get underway." Rhaenys said in a calm tone. There was a complicated look on her face, for she knew this was already a losing battle for her. The lords would never accept a woman and would instead choose her son as the possible new King of the Seven Kingdoms.

"Don’t worry, your legitimacy is better than any gift." Noticing the worried look on Aemon’s daughter’s face, Boremund spoke in a soft tone.

Rhaenys simply nodded and seemed distracted.

Just as Boremund had predicted, about a day and a half later, the bronze-scaled dragon roared in the sky that day.

King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the fourth king to sit upon the Iron Throne, had arrived at Harrenhal, riding his dragon, Vermithor, the Bronze Fury.

Outside Harrenhal, an enormous bronze-scaled dragon lay down beside the beautiful, elegant silver dragon. It was Vermithor and Silverwing.

Vermithor’s rider now sat upon the black stone throne above the steps. Every lord was present. Not only them, septons and maesters were present as well.

In the first row of seats, Maekar could be seen alongside Gael; both wore black clothing, as did Alysanne beside him. Beside the queen were Roderick and Darnold, both also dressed in black.

The fact that Alysanne stood beside Maekar instead of the king made some of the lords exchange glances, but no one said a word.

At that moment, the king’s gaze was fixed on none other than a young girl wearing a yellow dress covered in jewels. She had black hair and equally dark eyes, olive skin, and a smile on her full lips. She wore a crown atop her hair, a golden crown set with precious jewels, and a sword at her waist.

Mara showed no fear before the king’s gaze and looked at him with an interested expression. Then, under everyone’s astonished eyes, she stepped forward and bowed gracefully. "Mara of House Martell, Princess of Dorne and Sunspear, greets Your Grace."

"Welcome, Princess Mara." Jaehaerys said in a solemn tone. He knew what was happening. And even with the lords of Dorne still arguing over whether to bend the knee to House Targaryen, Mara would kneel first.

Every lord’s eyes were fixed on Mara’s beautiful figure, but there was no lust in their gazes, only disgust, anger, and fury, especially from the Lords of the Stormlands. They looked as though they wanted to kill Mara right then and there.

Dorne had always attacked the Stormlands; the bloody rivalry between the two was as great as that between the North and the Wildlings. Both hated each other to the extreme. Given the chance, each wanted to destroy the other in the cruelest, bloodiest way possible.

Some might say hatred fades with time, but that was the greatest lie anyone could tell. Hatred is never forgotten, it only lies hidden, ready to bloom again in the next conflict and be fed by another cycle of hate.

"Filthy whore."

"I want to wipe that smile off her lips."

"Die, filthy harlot."

Whispers rang out from all sides; they didn’t even lower their voices, and Mara heard every insult with a calm expression. Her smile even widened.

"Silence!!!" The king spoke in a calm tone, and everyone fell quiet, though they still looked at Mara with hostility and anger.

"What do you wish for, Princess?" Jaehaerys looked at Mara and showed a look of appreciation. The simple act of remaining calm before such a scene made the Old King look at Mara with a gentler gaze. Even men would have grown furious in that moment, let alone a mere young woman like Mara.

Mara drew a letter wrapped in a yellow cloth from her chest and held out her hand. A soldier of House Blackwood took the letter from Mara’s hand and climbed the steps, where he respectfully placed it in Jaehaerys’s hands.

Jaehaerys opened the letter and read its contents in silence. They were House Martell’s terms for bending the knee to House Targaryen.

There were five terms.

House Martell retains control of Dorne and its territories.

Continued use of the titles Prince/Princess of Dorne, as established by tradition under Nymeria.

Dorne will pay no taxes to the Crown for a period of 10 years.

People, caravans, and ships may travel between Dorne and the Seven Kingdoms without any taxation (for 10 years).

The Crown will guarantee Dorne’s defense against pirates and raiders from Essos.

Signed by: Prince Maekar of House Targaryen of King’s Landing / Princess Mara of House Martell of Sunspear.

Setting aside the third condition, Jaehaerys found the terms far milder than expected. But this showed just how unsettled Dorne had become at the Seven Kingdoms’ prosperity. That was a good sign, for the realm was more unified than ever.

Still, Jaehaerys frowned at the ten-year tax exemption period. That was a very long time. Yet he hesitated to refuse.

Was it worth turning down Dorne over ten years of revenue?

The answer came to Jaehaerys’s mind the next moment. It wasn’t worth it. This was a golden opportunity that might not come again for hundreds of years. Jaehaerys knew all too well how stubborn the Dornish lords were.

If he refused Mara now, Dorne would only become even more difficult in the future.

"The Crown accepts your terms, Princess Mara." Jaehaerys said in a solemn tone.

Mara smiled; just as Maekar had predicted, Jaehaerys would not refuse to bring Dorne into the fold for such a high price.

The Princess of Dorne climbed the steps and no one stopped her; everyone held their breath and watched in silence as history unfolded before them.

Arriving before the king, Mara got a closer look at the Targaryen king’s calm, indifferent expression. Curiously, she found Jaehaerys’s and Maekar’s eyes alike.

Showing the king a smile, Mara removed the crown from her head and placed it beneath Jaehaerys’s hair. After that, she stepped back and drew the sword from her waist.

"My crown and sword are yours, Your Grace, as is Dorne." Kneeling, Mara held the sword and presented it above her.

Taking the sword, Jaehaerys looked at the kneeling girl and thought that the two of them shared a similar life story. Like Mara, he too had been held hostage by his own uncle, Maegor.

His escape had resulted in the death of his brother, Viserys, who was tortured and killed by Maegor’s orders.

"Rise, Mara, Princess of Dorne and Lady of Sunspear." Jaehaerys said in a calm tone and looked out at all the lords present.

"Today, the Seven Kingdoms truly unite as one, with no more divisions or borders, and the old era finally becomes a past that our descendants will know only through the pages of books, never feeling the weight of an age filled with war and blood."

"Rejoice, for this age of barbarity has finally come to an end, and the prosperity of a golden age will grace us with fervor and glory."

"Let us rejoice, for we are the most blessed people in the world."

Jaehaerys spoke every word with such emotion that it made everyone feel they were truly taking part in something of great importance.

A feeling of pride and unity was born in every heart. Even those who hated Dorne set that animosity aside, at least for the moment, and rose to their feet.

"Long live the Seven Kingdoms!!!"

"Long live the Seven Kingdoms!!!"

"Long live Jaehaerys the Great!!!"

"Long live Jaehaerys the Great!!!"

Cries of emotion filled the Hall of a Hundred Hearths; the lords raised their swords and shouted louder and louder, to the point where the very walls of the hall seemed to tremble.

Seeing all his hard work being claimed by Jaehaerys, Maekar couldn’t help but roll his eyes, but he clapped and shouted along symbolically, though without nearly as much emotion as the shouts of the lords around him.

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Note: I was walking around the mall drinking my milkshake when I saw an old man wearing a retro suit. He seemed pretty friendly. However, when he took the monocle duster out of his suit pocket, I just thought he was going to give me a creepy smile. Damn, I have to stop thinking so fondly of Amon from ,Lord of Mysteries.

Read the advanced Chapters on my Patreon!

/GOTSW

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard