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

"Any news of Laenor?" After all the lords had gone to rest in the castle, Maekar, standing atop a sharp rock formation, asked in a calm tone.

Corlys’s face showed a trace of pain before returning to his earlier calm expression. He looked at the prince and spoke in an equally calm tone. "There is good news."

He looked at the water crashing against the rocks; the salty sea breeze struck his face, and he spoke calmly, "He woke from the coma, but he cannot walk. The maesters say there is little chance he will recover movement in his legs."

Maekar fell silent for a moment; he was not surprised by those words. The brain had always been one of the most important organs in the human body; any damage to it could cause terrible aftereffects. The loss of movement was one of the best outcomes Maekar could have hoped for.

That Laenor could speak and think normally was already something Corlys should have been celebrating. Yet he felt that Corlys would have preferred Laenor had died.

The greatest navigator of his time felt despair at the thought of having a crippled son as heir to his legacy. For a proud man like Corlys, this might be worse than death itself, since none of his ambition could be fulfilled with a crippled heir.

Maekar said nothing to comfort Corlys; the man was no child and certainly did not need words of comfort from a complete stranger like him.

"And Rhaenys?" Looking at the man who stood in silence, gazing out at the sea with a deep, distant look, Maekar asked once more. He had no news of Rhaenys and was curious about what was happening at Driftmark.

"She has not left Driftmark and is caring for Laenor. However, more and more letters are arriving at Driftmark, demanding her presence in King’s Landing." Corlys said in a somewhat helpless tone. He understood his wife’s anger, but he was not happy with the situation either.

Rhaenys could have chosen many other ways to take revenge on Jaehaerys, but she chose the one most damaging to everyone, including herself.

"Our king will not kill her, but be prepared to fill the kingdom’s coffers," Maekar said in a calm tone. Honestly, that Rhaenys was still at Driftmark was surprising. The longer she waited, the more furious Jaehaerys would grow, and the harsher her punishment would be.

Corlys’s face twisted slightly at Maekar’s words. He knew the prince was right, but the amount of gold the king would demand would be enough to turn him, the richest lord in the Seven Kingdoms, into one of the poorest, even if only for a few years.

However, if you know anything about the navy, you know it is a pit that swallows gold at every turn. Ships needed repairs after every voyage. That was expensive, very expensive.

With a shortage of gold, the Velaryon Fleet would be reduced, and, as a result, so would the revenue at year’s end. This would weaken House Velaryon even further.

That was Jaehaerys’s true purpose. Unfortunately, it was a blow Corlys could not dodge, since it was his wife who had caused the war.

"Do not feel that you have come out the loser in this game." Maekar looked at Corlys’s face and said with a smile. "At least you came out of it alive, and, as long as you live, House Velaryon will remain at the height of its power for a few more decades."

Maekar felt that, even with this defeat, Corlys should still remain a powerful man in the politics of the Seven Kingdoms. Not to mention that he had survived, something Lyonel Lannister and Matthos Tyrell had failed to do.

"Your words comfort me, my prince." Corlys said with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. He agreed with Maekar’s words, but a decade of decline was a terrible thing for anyone, especially for him.

"By the way, will you support me?" Maekar asked, looking at Corlys with a smile. He had to begin pressuring the sea snake, or it would hide in the depths of the sea, waiting for the right moment to take a bite out of its prey.

Corlys looked deeply at Maekar and did not answer; he turned around and left without looking back, leaving Maekar alone on the cliff. A wave crashed hard against the rock formation, falling over him like a fine drizzle.

Watching Corlys’s back as he walked away, Maekar smiled even wider. The Sea Snake still nursed his ambition.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been utterly impossible for Corlys to vote for Viserys, who was backed by Jaehaerys, but Corlys was someone Maekar considered pragmatic. If Jaehaerys promised not to be too harsh on House Velaryon, he might truly vote for Viserys.

"Corlys, it seems you still have not understood that you angered the Old King. You crossed a line a vassal should never have crossed." Maekar murmured with a cold smile on his lips. He was in no hurry; Corlys would eventually come to understand it.

Jaehaerys was determined to weaken House Velaryon; the king did not care whether his own mother had been of House Velaryon or anything else. House Velaryon had to be weakened, or it would collapse at the king’s hands. This was not a guess, but a fact.

"Politics is, by its nature, a cruel thing." Maekar looked out at the sea and spoke with a calm gaze. That did not mean a politician could not do some good, but the nature of politics was to face one’s opponents in an eternal ideological war. This included many things, including supplying one’s enemies.

However, Maekar liked this. He felt that, had he not become involved in politics, his life would have been terribly dull.

Touching Blackfyre in its sheath, Maekar smiled and walked back toward the castle, his cloak rippling on his shoulders in the salty sea wind.

-

Driftmark.

Rhaenys looked at her son and gently wiped the remaining food from his mouth with a gentle smile. A beautiful silver gray dragon could be seen perched on the wooden beam of the room’s ceiling.

"Mother, I can eat by myself." Laenor said with a smile; he did not seem at all saddened by what was happening to him. He still seemed like the same gentle, warm-hearted boy.

"Request denied," Rhaenys said with a teasing smile and playfully poked her son’s cheek with her finger.

Laenor let out a sigh, and, as he was about to climb down from the bed, he realized his legs would not respond to his command. Then, he remembered he could no longer walk. He touched his legs and showed a slightly sad look.

That look made Rhaenys clench her fists; she felt as though she had been stabbed through the heart. It was an agonizing pain for any mother to see her beloved son in that state.

"Mother, Father still hasn’t visited me; could it be that he hates me?" Laenor looked at his mother and asked in a soft tone. His fists were clenched, gripping the sheets tightly. Even young as he was, he understood what was happening.

Especially after losing the movement in his legs. He felt that the way everyone looked at him had changed. Though there was no contempt in people’s eyes, something was missing, an inherent respect that they should have held for the Heir of Driftmark and son of the legendary Corlys Velaryon.

"He loves you more than anything, but, because of my actions, he cannot come visit you." Rhaenys forced a smile and said in a gentle tone. She held her son’s hand and did not dare meet Laenor’s eyes.

Laenor seemed visibly more at ease and went back to smiling cheerfully, as he usually did at every moment. He might be somewhat mature for his age, especially after surviving an assassination attempt, but he was still a child and could not truly notice the emotions on his mother’s face.

Seeing this, Rhaenys felt even sadder. Her son was a sweet, cheerful boy, but she knew her husband would truly never look at Laenor the same way again. This tore her apart inside, for she knew there was nothing she could do to change it.

"Sleep now; I will take you flying on Meleys tomorrow." Rhaenys playfully tapped her son’s nose with her fingers and spoke in a soft tone. She tucked him in with the sheet and made him comfortable in bed.

Laenor smiled with excitement and shut his eyes tightly, trying to fall asleep as quickly as possible so that tomorrow would come all the sooner.

Rhaenys smiled and kissed her son’s forehead, then left the room in silence.

After leaving the room, the princess looked at the guards following her and ignored them.

Upon returning to her own chambers, she noticed four more letters on the bed and, without even reading them, threw them all into the fireplace.

The red wax seal, bearing the symbol of the three-headed dragon, gradually melted beneath the flames.

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

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