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

Maekar looked at Jocelyn and smiled. He did not want to use his wedding as a political stage, but what Jocelyn was asking for was truly very tempting. Especially what he could gain to guarantee Laenor’s safety.

"Since Lady Jocelyn is being direct, I will be too." Maekar said with a calm look. "I want all the support behind Laenor."

Jocelyn could not help but narrow her eyes. That request was... too greedy. Not to mention she might not be able to convince his brother, Boremund; only Corlys was the biggest problem with this matter. Corlys had done so much, building a web of interests among everyone; how could he accept such a thing?

"You know that’s impossible," Jocelyn said with a smile full of helplessness.

"Then face the consequences of your actions," Maekar replied with a smile, although his smile was tinged with a touch of sarcasm. "You crossed a line you should never have crossed, and now you have to bear the consequences of angering the most powerful king on the planet. Besides, this was Corlys’s doing; the fault is entirely his for being too greedy."

Aemon’s wife remained silent for a moment. Maekar was right; Corlys was to blame for everything. He had ruined everything he had built by letting his son have a dragon. However, unlike Maekar, she could not watch her grandson be killed by his own great-grandfather.

"I will try; I just hope you’ll try to ease the king’s anger," Jocelyn said in a helpless tone. To protect her grandson, she would try, but she had little confidence in it.

"Me?" Maekar pointed to himself with a confused expression; he shook his head and said in a calm tone. "I think you have the wrong idea about my relationship with the king. If you want someone to help calm Jaehaerys, Alysanne is the best candidate."

He was confident he could protect Laenor, but, as for calming Jaehaerys’s anger, sorry, he and the king were enemies.

Jocelyn smiled for the first time and looked at Maekar with a slightly gentler look. However, she did not say what she wanted to say and left to try to save her grandson. Maekar was genuinely confused by Jocelyn’s smile; he did not understand how anyone could think he would calm Jaehaerys’s wrath.

However, he set those thoughts aside and enjoyed his wedding. He set the matter of Laenor aside in his mind. It was a gamble; if he won, he would gain all of Laenor’s support. If he lost, he would lose nothing.

-

On the other side, Jocelyn left the wedding ceremony with Rhaenys in complete silence.

Rhaenys had heard Maekar’s conditions and remained silent. In her eyes, it was a good deal, since she knew from the start that Laenor would never sit on the Iron Throne. If it had been her, it might still have happened, but Laenor had no chance at all.

It was even ironic to think that the Lords of the Stormlands had betrayed her for her son, but, in doing so, they had completely lost the chance to have a queen who would be a pro-Stormlands faction.

So, Rhaenys thought it was a good price to pay for Laenor’s protection, but she knew her husband and Boremund might not think the same way.

"Mother, I feel more and more that something very bad is about to happen." Rhaenys spoke in a worried tone. She had been having many strange dreams. She dreamed of a sea serpent dying on the beach beside a wooden table.

The two things had absolutely nothing in common, but they were becoming more and more recurring in her dreams. This terrified her.

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing, dear." Jocelyn comforted her daughter in a soft tone while holding her hand. "You’re just stressed and need to relax a bit to get a good night’s sleep."

Rhaenys felt even more discouraged hearing those words; no one believed her, and this made her even sadder. It felt as if she were a madwoman, while everyone around her looked at her with understanding and pity.

However, Rhaenys did not insist on the matter and just prayed it was only what her mother said, accumulated stress, and not her bad premonition.

Both women entered Harrenhal and walked through the long, poorly lit corridors of the castle. After fifteen minutes, they arrived at a room and saw Boremund and Corlys sitting facing each other. Both men, security, and a cup of wine were in complete silence.

"Has the ceremony ended?" Seeing his wife, Corlys asked with a smile. He naturally knew about the wedding, but, since he had not received any invitation, he did not attend. Although inside, the Sea Snake was feeling humiliated and furious.

The idea of Maekar inviting his wife and not him was a provocation of the highest caliber for someone as important as he was. Fortunately, to his delight for revenge, Boremund was also in the same position.

"Yes, it was a beautiful ceremony." Rhaenys replied in a calm tone, remembering the ceremony she had just witnessed. Honestly, she found it more fitting than the wedding ceremony she had had with Corlys under the Faith of the Seven.

Maekar and Gael seemed to be intertwining their existences into one; husband and wife were one, whether in blood, body, or mind. It seemed magical, honorable, and strangely sacred.

Corlys showed an expression of disappointment; he had truly wanted everything to go wrong or for Daemon to have arrived at the last moment and ruined the whole ceremony.

However, even if Daemon had arrived, the Rogue Prince would not have dared do anything, since he would certainly know Maekar would kill him on the spot. Daemon could be impulsive, arrogant, and grand, but he was not a stupid man.

While Corlys lamented that the wedding had gone well, Boremund showed a satisfied look on his face. Borros being friends with Maekar was one of the best things that had happened to House Baratheon. Even though Maekar certainly did not really have the necessary number of votes to become king, he saw that the young prince had countless allies.

He could see that House Targaryen of Harrenhal would become one of the most powerful noble houses in Westeros, even without becoming a royal house. Borros, being friends with Maekar, could make an alliance in the future that would safeguard the interests of both noble houses.

This was something very good in Boremund’s eyes. After all, he had already noticed that toppling Viserys had become an almost impossible task with the king’s support and, consequently, with House Greyjoy, Lannister, Arryn, and the Targaryen Crown itself in the Crownlands.

Fortunately, Boremund had not yet lost hope, since House Stark had become an ally of Laenor’s. So, now, besides House Velaryon and Baratheon, Laenor was supported by House Stark and its vassals.

"I spoke with Maekar." Jocelyn did not care about her brother’s thoughts, she sat beside him and spoke in a calm, slightly helpless tone, "For Laenor to become his squire, we must support him for the Iron Throne."

A silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Corlys himself broke the silence with a furious voice.

"That will never happen!"

Corlys’s voice was trembling with the anger he was feeling. "That damned bastard dares to ask for this; who does he think he is, Aegon the Conqueror!?"

Corlys had forgotten that House Velaryon was the one asking Maekar to accept Laenor as a squire, not the other way around. So his words sounded somewhat arrogant, as if accepting Laenor were an extremely great honor for Maekar.

Boremund grew much calmer and looked at Corlys with a displeased look. He realized the Sea Snake was more arrogant than he had expected. He had apparently forgotten that the fist was still the greatest dialogue in the world.

And the one with the greatest fist was House Targaryen.

For the first time, Boremund understood the words his father had once said to him.

"Boremund, do not fear a strong enemy; fear having stupid and arrogant companions. These are the ones who lead their own house to ruin. So it was with the Gardeners and the Hoares."

At this moment, he deeply agreed with his father’s words. Corlys, being the richest man in Westeros, thought he could compare himself to the Targaryens for having some ships and gold.

This made him realize he should not stay too close to Corlys; otherwise, he might get burned if a dragon ever came down from the sky at some point in the future.

"Stop screaming like a hysterical woman." Boremund spoke in a harsh tone and showed no respect to Corlys. "We have problems, and you screaming won’t help us solve this."

Corlys’s face went pale hearing Boremund’s tone, as if he were talking to a spoiled child.

"Boremund, watch your tone; I am not your vassal." Corlys did not fear House Targaryen, so how could he fear House Baratheon?

"You arrogant fool." Boremund just showed a sarcastic look and refused to say anything more. He feared Corlys’s mental illness might be contagious.

"Corlys, this is not the time for arguments." Rhaenys could not take it anymore and spoke in a harsh tone. "Laenor is in danger."

Suppressing the irritation at his coronation, Corlys looked at Boremund with a cold look and said to his wife. "Don’t worry, Driftmark is surrounded by our fleet, not to mention Laenor is safe with the guards."

Corlys did not know it, but, in the fortress he thought was impenetrable, rats were moving in the shadows.

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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