-Chapter 197-

-Chapter 197-

-15th day of the 1st moon of the year 301 AC-

-POV MC-

Watching Daenerys try on her dresses was a magnificent and soothing sight, a sight that kept me from thinking about the fact that I was at war with the rest of the world.

"I prefer the red one," I said to help her choose between the red and the black.

Daenerys turned to me with a little mischievous smile and said:

"Yes, it is very beautiful, but I don’t recall asking for your opinion, so I’ll take the black."

I smiled, appreciating the audacity of my…

'Wife,' I thought, still finding that term strange when referring to Daenerys.

"It’s time to get back to our responsibilities," Daenerys said.

"Our responsibilities," I said in a teasing tone.

"Yes, our responsibilities. I am your wife and the new Empress of Westeros, I must fulfill my duties properly," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

I pulled her into my arms and softly said:

"So far, you’ve done quite well in fulfilling your duties."

She gently pushed me away and stood up, saying: "We’ve taken short vacations under the pretext of it being our honeymoon, while moving our entire court here to Harrenhal, but now that they’ve arrived, it’s time to return to reality."

"I know," I said, gradually regaining my seriousness.

"Stop procrastinating, the White Walkers won’t wait for us," she said.

"I’ve already given my orders, all the nobles of the kingdom must send troops to guard the Wall, and Pentos is already ours."

"Sending Lord Randyll Tarly’s son to subdue Pentos was a brilliant move, but it intensifies the fear of the Essosi towards us, as well as our position as aggressors, which strengthens the power of Braavos, Qarth, and Volantis," Daenerys said.

I shrugged and said, "They had it coming. I don’t care if the central cities of these different alliances gain more power because in the end, we will be the ultimate winners. I received a message from Viserys."

"You received a raven from Viserys?" Daenerys asked, surprised.

"Not exactly, I have different ways of communicating quickly over long distances, but the most important thing is that Viserys assured me he would quickly gain control of the Summer Isles and be back before mid-year," I said.

"How is that even possible?" she asked, surprised.

"I don’t know yet, but according to his message, it seems the Princes of the Summer Isles want me to come in person to make an offer of allegiance," I said.

"An offer or a trap?" Daenerys asked, narrowing her eyes.

I shrugged, unconcerned, and said, "Whether it’s a show of force or some sort of trap, they are no match for me. I can kill them without even breathing."

"I wasn’t talking about the Princes of the Summer Isles," she said.

"Viserys is loyal to me," I said, trying to

"And if he isn’t?" Daenerys insisted.

"He is loyal, and he will remain so," I said in a tone that clearly dictated I wanted to hear no more on the subject, closing the debate.

A heavy silence fell in our room as we both dressed in our own corners.

'This is why I dread returning to reality. Outside of state affairs, we get along perfectly, but as soon as we put our crowns back on, every conversation could pit us against each other because we are practically opposed on every point.'

I felt a hand on mine and turned to see Dany helping me with my armor.

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome," she said, helping me silently.

'We’re married, I can’t treat her like Arianne, she’s supposed to be my… equal.'

"I don’t understand your stubbornness in wanting to keep Viserys out of our lives, he’s your brother," I said.

"He sold me to a Khal," she said, tightening my straps with more force.

I held back a small smile at her playful attempt to hurt me into silence and continued speaking, asking:

"A Khal you loved, if I recall correctly, just as you loved his culture… didn’t you?"

She momentarily stopped talking, then said:

"If you’re asking whether I loved Drogo, then you’ll be disappointed to know that yes, but it doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t want that union, and Viserys forced me into it for his unrealistic dreams. He’ll do the same with his daughter."

"His daughter?" I asked.

"You’re not the only one with your own group of spies," she said, clearly proud to know something before me.

'As if I cared when Viserys’ child would be born, anyway a raven will arrive soon to tell me,' I thought.

"Is that why you insisted on keeping Ellaria and her daughters alive?" I asked, finally understanding Ellaria’s purpose and the Sand Snakes.

I had a hard time getting over what Tyene did, but to stay on good terms with Daenerys and for her to owe me, I agreed to ‘make peace’ with Ellaria and her daughters.

'Besides, I have other problems to deal with, and if they can truly become loyal to Daenerys, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Through her contact, they might transfer that loyalty to our heir,' I thought, glancing at Daenerys’ belly.

A finger lifted my chin, and Daenerys said, "Our son will not marry his daughter."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because that’s exactly what he’s waiting for. Trust me, I know him better than you, he’s my brother. He had an ulterior motive in making me part of the Empire," Daenerys said.

'But the problem is that I would support such a union,' I thought, saying nothing to avoid upsetting Daenerys with an issue that wouldn’t be up for discussion for many years.

"We’ll think about it when the time comes, we don’t even have heirs yet," I said evasively, which didn’t please Dany, but she didn’t push further, and we left our room to break our fast with the family.

---

'With the family, yeah right,' I thought as I looked around at the people at the table.

To my right sat Daenerys, while to my left, Cersei was eating grapes and seeking my gaze.

'She wants a second one,' I thought, skillfully avoiding her gaze, already knowing what she wanted from me.

Feeling Daenerys’ grip tighten around my hand and her nails trying to pierce my skin, I realized she was also aware of Cersei’s attempts and didn’t approve.

'If I ever respond to Cersei’s advances, Daenerys might actually cut off my balls.'

Aemon and Visenya’s nurses were to Daenerys’ right, while Maegor was in the arms of Marilyn Drox to Cersei’s left. They were all trying to feed my children mashed fruits and purees, with little success, as they preferred milk.

'But what really bothers me is the rest. How did we go from a family breakfast to this banquet?' I thought, looking at all the people present.

In addition to my family on my mother’s side, which included Arya, Sansa, Bran—who spent most of his time in the godswood—my uncle Benjen, and my adoptive father, Kevan Lannister, his wife, and his three sons had invited themselves to breakfast with Tyrion to accompany Cersei, while the Tyrells had joined because Willas Tyrell had gotten engaged a few days ago to Sansa behind my back.

Of course, I had no reason to refuse this union, but I didn’t like this way of doing things, going behind my back to force the Tyrells into my family.

I found it quite borderline.

'Especially since I was going to propose this union to my uncle anyway because I wanted to tie the Tyrells and Willas to the crown without having to give away or dilute the dragon’s blood.'

"Your Grace," Tyrion said, breaking my thoughts.

"Hmm."

"I’ve been waiting to find the right moment not to bother you, but I’d like to know when you’ll reinstate me into the ranks of nobility."

"Castral..."

"Tyrion, mind your tongue. Don’t bother my husband with complicated inheritance matters," Daenerys said.

To the others at the table, it might have seemed like a wife or a queen preventing one of her courtiers from bothering her husband and emperor, but to me, it was clearly a way to silently reopen a closed case.

"Tyrion, even though I had the courtesy to reinstate you at court as the Hand of the Empress, your potential claim to Casterly Rock died with your actions," I said.

"We could perhaps reconsider. After all, handing the lordship of the prestigious House Lannister to a bastard born of incest is an insult to all the Houses of the Westerlands," Daenerys said.

"Tommen is a bastard legitimized by imperial decree, as are his brothers and sisters. I don’t want to hear any more on this matter."

"Very well," Daenerys said, removing her hand from mine.

I rolled my eyes slightly and was drawn to Cersei, who was playing with Maegor, whom she had taken from her lady-in-waiting while we talked.

'She’s too confident,' I thought.

I looked away from my official mistress

… oh right, I had acknowledged her as my official mistress to silence any potential nominations as Queen or Second Empress, which meant that when the son I have with Daenerys is born, Maegor will immediately lose his title as heir.

'Which doesn’t seem to scare her in the least.'

I set my eyes on my cousin, who was doing everything in her power to win my favor, even though she had lost the chance to put a crown on her head.

"How did you two meet?" I asked her, noticing how easily she pretended to be in love with her fiancé.

"Shortly after my arrival at Dragonstone, I got lost in the castle, and Willas kindly escorted me. After that, we continued to get along and talk in secret, without anything inappropriate happening, until he told me he would have to get engaged to one of his cousins."

"And I suppose you couldn’t bear to leave your dear beloved," I said, pretending to believe her well-prepared story.

'Probably coached by Olenna,' I thought, looking at the old woman who knew that I knew, and clearly didn’t care.

"I’m glad to know you’ll become Willas’ wife. Since we’re all family, I can already announce it to you, but I intend to relieve Benjen of his duties as Hand of the Emperor."

Everyone suddenly stopped, even Benjen, who looked at me more puzzled than frustrated, and I said:

"I have a major problem at the Wall, no one knows how to manage it, and I need a trustworthy man to bring order there."

"Someone who knows the Wall and its surroundings, the organization of the Wall, a nobleman, educated in the art of war, with experience, who can handle the egos of all the southern knights arriving en masse at the Wall, provided you accept, uncle."

'Now that I’m assured of a link with Willas Tyrell, I can free Benjen from his role as Hand. His services will be more useful to the Empire at the Wall,' I thought.

The fact that I had temporarily granted Benjen the position of Hand had never been one of my conditions but one of his because he didn’t like power.

In this respect, he and Ned were very much alike. Neither had taken the position for power, nor for convenience. Neither of the two brothers wanted this role, but they had both accepted it to help me.

Benjen, in one year as Hand, had managed to subdue the court and silence the voices too strongly opposed to the imperial system, and I was infinitely grateful to him.

'He took a great deal of pressure off my shoulders, but it’s clear that not only is this not his place, but Willas could do the same, if not better, if I gave him a chance and he remained loyal,' I thought, observing the young heir of Highgarden, stunned by my proposal.