Chapter Text
After Rheanyra was crowned queen several uncertain years passed with the threat of war looming. But there was to be no civil war within the house of the dragon. Aegon had one moment of wisdom and had fled the city before a crown could be placed on his head. He flew to his sister’s side and publicly abdicated. The hand had made a failed attempt to usurp the throne in his name regardless. Claiming ‘the king’ had been forced to bend his knee by his sister and was an unwilling prisoner.
The houses were unwilling to risk their necks for a king whom could not even keep his crown for a day. And Rheanyra’s agreement with her brother ensured the safety of all but Otto Hightower. He alone was executed publically for his traitorous acts. Many more were executed behind closed doors of course, but too the populous at large The late Hand was appointed as the sole conspirator whom had attempted to usurp the throne and true succession.
In the early years of Her Royal Highness the Queen Rheanyra Targaryen first of her name the kingdom saw little change. For while Rheanyra had resented the rules society enforced on her as a woman she had often exercised little thought in the plight of her fellow women. In truth the change from King to Queen caused so little change many a peasant was unaware how close the realm had come to war.
The marriages established not a year before her ascension to Queen remained standing. Jacaery’s Targaryen married his step-sister Baela Velaryon in a joyous celebration. The first large feast and tournament in the Queen’s long reign. Two years later, not long after the birth of prince Jaceary’s first child, prince Leanor Targaryen heir to the iron throne, the wedding of Queen Rheanyra’s second child took place.
But while the union of her first son was fruitful and resulted in many a prince and princess, the second prince’s marriage proved barren.
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Their match had once been assumed to be an excellent one, both Rhaena and Lucerys happy at the news. Rhaena and him understood each other more than most. And had had ample time to know one another having lived in the same castle for so many years. Opposite sides of the same coin; Rhaena had no interest in men, Luke none in women. And while he feared and fought against the responsibilities looming over him to become lord of the tides, Rhaena longed to be able to take on the role and aid her family. Loving every element of a lord’s duties. Her lack of a dragon for most her life had resulted in her being better read than her siblings. While they soared the skies she had lived a hundred lives going though the books of old Valyria. She wished to prove her father wrong, that she could be of use to her family regardless of whether she was a dragonrider.
While in truth they were near complete opposites of one another. They both felt it was a well-made match. Rhaena could do what Luke could not. And while her position as a woman would normally mean she had no true chance at ever using her skills. They both believed their unlikely match would ensure she would rule Driftmark with Luke at her side. No issue of succession needed to be brought up, Luke would willingly hand Rhaena the reigns to the castle, himself to insecure to ever conceive of commanding a keep and the fleet.
But as they both grew older their dynamic change. Lord Corlys Velaryon took his grandson and heir along with him during his voyages, while the lady Rhaena stayed behind in King’s Landing to aid the Queen, her step-mother. Away from his brother’s shadow and his mother’s coddling Lucerys grew more confident over time, as his grandfather took to preparing him for his inheritance. By the time her returned to the red keep, the shy little boy had grown into a man. He had settled into his inheritance in more ways than one, for he had inherited more than his father’s curls. Harwin Strong had acquired the name of break bones for good reason. Luke had grown in his time away; the constant work on the ships had helped fill out his frame. He’d grown into a tall man, a head taller than his grandfather the sea snake and among the sailors he had found his own confidence.
The lady Rhaena had spent her time assisting the Queen and her sister as best she could. But had found quickly that The Red Keep was a different beast to the Pentos she grew up in or Dragonstone where she had spend her teenage years. The court had endless exhaustive rules, anything was subject to gossip and speculation. And the court had a long memory, the smallest of slights could come back to haunt you. It frightened her in a way, her mother had died when she was still so young and had never prepared her for the social snake pit that was king’s landing. She struggled under the scrutiny, floundering under all the new rules and expectations. But Rhaena was never one to give up and her sister would one day rule alongside her step brother. Understanding the court and assisting her pushed Rhaena forward. By the time her betrothed returned to the red keep she felt well positioned within the court, finally able to use the system to her sister’s and step-mothers advantage.
It was then no surprise that when they met once more they were more stranger to one another than kin. The understanding they both once had was no longer valid. Rhaena had no desire to go to Driftmark and to leave, when she had finally found a position in which she excelled and was able to aid her family, she wished to stay. Luke no longer desired to be lord in name only; he had many thoughts on how to run his future keep and the Velaryon fleet, many an adventure he wished to go on.
It was no wonder then that their marriage failed before it ever begun.