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After so many years of suffering, King Viserys had passed away in his bed. Before he died, he had the chance to tell Rhaenyra that she was his only choice as heir of the Iron Throne.
And now he would finally be reunited with his Aemma, his great love.
As he approached the realm of the Fourteen Flames, he could see her waiting for him, her silhouette recognisable among a thousand. He was about to receive his reward for keeping the peace during his reign.
When he reached her, a huge smile broke out on his face.
"Aemma my love, if you only knew how much I've missed you."
But instead of returning the sentiment, she slapped him with all her might. Of all reactions, the old king had not expected this one.
"Your love? You've had a very strange way of showing it. "
"You don't know how much I've missed you."
"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you gave the order to cut me open for a son who didn’t even live for a day. Tell me, my dearest Viserys, was I your love when you held me still whilste that rat butchered me like an animal? Was I your love when, six moons after my death and that of our son, you installed your whore in my chambers and gave her my title? When you fucked her night after night, making bastards with her. Endangering my daughter's claim?"
Viserys struggled to answer. Aemma’s rage was the last thing, he expected to encounter in the afterlife. "It was my duty as King to remarry. I did it for the stability of the Realm. But I never stopped loving you." He stammered out pathetically.
"I stopped loving you when you killed me because of a dream. I started to hate you when you preferred to spread that little Hightower slut's thighs instead of consoling our daughter who had just lost her mother and her little brother. When you preferred to believe the lies of that viper Otto instead of having faith in your brother. Depriving our daughter once again of the person who had always made her his priority."
Viserys couldn't believe his ears. Aemma loved him, had always loved him. Where is this rage and anger coming from ?
"In all the years we've been married and even before that, how has Daemon behaved towards me? At a time when your sycophant court was making fun of my fragile health and my inability to give you healthy children?"
Viserys didn't know what to say.
"Answer me!" shouted the former Arryn Queen.
"It's because you were no threat to him and..."
"Is it impossible for you to think for yourself even dead? Has Otto brainwashed you so much that without him whispering poison in your ear you're not capable of anything?" she cut him off.
"Otto has been a support and a source of precious advices all these years. More than Daemon has."
Before he could dodge, Aemma slapped him across the face again.
"I forbid you to compare my good-brother to that vermin. He’s the one who played a part in the murder of your father. He colluded with the maesters to ensure that I would never be able to give birth to a healthy child. Do you want to know why Rhaenyra was born healthy? Do you remember who was present throughout my pregnancy with her? Who was it that devoted himself to keeping me company while you were too busy with your precious Otto, preventing the Maesters from poisoning me? It was none other than Daemon. The one man they were truly afraid of. The reason they manipulated you into banishing him, again and again and again and stupid as you are, you never realised you were their puppet."
"No, that's not true, you're lying, Otto could never have committed such monstrosities."
"You mean the man who didn't hesitate to prostitute his daughter?"
"Otto is my friend. "
"Do you know where your body is right now, Viserys? It's currently rotting in your chambers because your precious Otto and his daughter are busy usurping my daughter's crown before they can announce your death to the Seven Kingdoms. Your corpse is decomposing, eaten by worms. That's how much respect you command from your friend and your precious little whore."
"No, they know perfectly well that Rhaenyra is my heir. Before I died I even confirmed it again to our daughter."
"It was your whore you told, and stupid as she is, she only understood what she always wanted to hear. That you wanted her bastard to be King."
"For Alicent family is the most important thing."
Once again Viserys did not see the slap coming. It was just as hard as the previous ones. His cheek was now crimson red.
"I forbid you to speak her name in front of me! You soiled our love and our bed with that whore. That monster tortured my daughter and grandchildren for years and you did nothing to protect them. This viper whose qualities you extolled made a cuckold of you for years with Criston Cole. While you writhed in pain alone, she invited that turncloak into her bed, desecrating her marriage vows."
"She would never do that. Alic."
But a look from Aemma made him swallow the rest of his sentence.
"You really are pathetic Viserys. You'd rather cling to the lies of those vipers than admit you were wrong. If only you'd let Daemon protect you, you wouldn't be where you are today. Our family wouldn't be in this mess. Our dynasty wouldn’t be on the verge of destruction."
The sweet Queen sighed before continuing in a weary voice
"You saw for yourself during your last few days how happy Rhaenyra was with him. They are madly in love with each other and have been since the tourney for my son Baelon. With him by her side, she and their children will always be safe. Just look at what he did to that idiot Vaemond for daring to speak ill of her and her sons."
"But until when? Our daughter is just a replacement because he lost his beloved wife and their son. He's taking advantage of her naivety."
Hearing his nonsense the Queen couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Don't tell me you were fooled by all those mummers’ tales about Daemon marrying Laena for love? Do you really think your brother could have fallen in love with a woman like her? More Sea than Fire? She was just a stopgap, a way of trying to forget the only love of his life while enjoying Corlys' gold. Ever since they got back together Daemon hasn't missed a chance to tell Rhaenyra how much he loves her. And do you know how many times he's told Laena? None. Because he's never loved her. Ever."
With each new revelation Viserys seemed more and more devastated.
"Do you want to know who really took advantage of our daughter ? It was those deviants Criston Cole and Harwin Strong. You didn't even notice the lustful looks they were giving Rhaenyra when she was just a girl. Of course, as usual, you saw nothing. Instead of being wary of Daemon, you should have been protecting my daughter from these two, who took advantage of her isolation. But your blindness knows no bounds when it comes to your family. Your brother's feelings only changed once she had blossomed, and here again he showed restraint because of her age. By refusing to marry them you almost destroyed our dynasty and prevented the birth of the Prince That Was Promised. Fortunately their love has stood the test of time and all their suffering, which you, your whore and her pimp of father caused."
"What do you mean by preventing the birth of the Prince who was promised?"
"It was never you. The Prince who was promised will come from the line of Daemon and Rhaenyra, the two people you made suffer the most. The prophecy speaks of them, they are the ones who will ensure the survival of our bloodline and all of Westeros."
"No that's impossible, my dream was clear."
"Your actions have caused our family enough suffering, especially to our Gods' favourite children. Because of these vipers to whom you have given all the power of the crown, my daughter will soon go into premature labour, which will result in the death of the daughter she and Daemon have wanted for so long."
"No, that's impossible, I don't believe you."
"See for yourself then."
At Aemma’s words, the floor beneath their feet became like a mirror where he could witness several scenes at the same time.
To his horror, he saw his own body rotting in his room. The announcement of his death by Rhaenys to Daemon and Rhaenyra. His daughter's cries of pain during her labour, which was not due to start for several moons. Daemon, still at her side, powerless in the face of his wife's suffering. His brother breaking down on the beach after the death of the daughter he wanted so much, alone in his grief because he did not want to burden his wife with his pain. His granddaughter's funeral. Aemond's murder of Luke. Daemon once again swallowing his grief to be the pillar on which Rhaenyra can lean. Aegon's feast to celebrate the death of his grandson. The death of Rhaenys, who fought until her last breath for the rightful heir, once again because of the sons he had with Alicent. Helaena, who would rather take her own life than continue to be part of the Hightower family. These visions of horror continued to flash before his eyes, but he could take no more. Viserys, tears streaming down his face, begged Aemma to make them stop.
When he finally opened his eyes, the ground had returned to normal. What had he done? Oh Lord, these bad decisions were going to cause the destruction of his only daughter.
" You've seen what your cowardice will do to our family, what your whore and her bastards will do to my daughter and her family, to the future of the true heirs of the House of the Dragon. But the Gods refuse to let Rhaenyra and Daemon experience this new suffering. They have found a way to remedy the situation. A soul in exchange for Visenya's."
"What do you mean?"
"You abandoned our Gods in favour of your whore's false gods, now you must pay the price. Because you turned your back on them and your true family, the Fourteen Flames are finished with you, as have I."
In a strong voice Queen Aemma continued
"My granddaughter will live and become a symbol of hope for her parents and their entire family. In exchange, your soul will be sacrificed and will never be able to rest in the realm of the Fourteen Flames, it will never rest and will be condemned to wander the abyss until the end of time."
"Aemma, please, I've waited so long to finally be at your side. Don't separate me from you. I love you."
"It's too late Viserys, you should have thought of that before you invited that whore into our bed and put all those Hightowers vipers before your legitimate daughter, your brother and your grandchildren. But don't worry, soon all your vipers will be joining you in hell."
In front of the old King's incredulous gaze, sweet Aemma continued.
"You didn't really think that when he saw his wife, whom he loves more than anything else in the world, having her birthright stolen by those vipers you love so much, that your brother was going to stand idly by. Daemon is a better husband and father than you ever were to Rhaenyra and me. And you dare to think yourself superior to him because of your crown. Remember, it was thanks to the Rogue Prince that you were able to sit on the Iron Throne at all. He could have put forward his own claim to the throne, he had as much right to it as you and Rhaenys did after all. And once he's satisfied that his wife and newborn child are well, he'll burn all the Hightowers to restore my daughter to her rightful throne. None of them will survive the Rogue Prince's wrath and know that the Fourteen Flames support Rhaenyra, Daemon and all their allies in their fight."
"You are my family, let me make it up to you, to them, there must be a way."
"I can never forgive you Viserys. By your actions you've managed to destroy all the love I had for you. Farewell."
And before he could plead his case again, everything around him evaporated.
King Viserys the Conciliator was plunged into total darkness, condemned to never be reunited with his ancestors and his dragon. He had just time to see a new version of the future that awaited his daughter and his brother. A future where they welcomed a perfectly healthy daughter, Daemon and Rhaenyra shedding tears of joy as they held her in their arms for the very first time. Where Luke wasn't needlessly sent as a messenger to those Baratheon traitors. Where Rhaenys and Daemon put an end to Aemond and Vhagar's reign of terror. Where all the other Hightowers were executed by fire for their treason against the rightful heir, with the exception of Heleana and her children who were spared by Queen Rhaenyra. A little girl following Daemon everywhere around the Red Keep. Rhaenyra and Daemon, happy, surrounded by their children and grandchildren and their dragons.
It was the very last thing Viserys saw before sinking into nothingness until the end of time. And he knew he had no one to blame but himself for the nothingness that awaited him.
THE END