The Red Claw Queen | Prologue
Pairing - King Viserys Targaryen x OC!Elyse Celtigar
Warnings - None really lol it mentions death (Queen Aemma) but other than that thereâs not much in this chapter but in future chapters there will be smut/death/manipulation/coercion/targaryen incest and more.
The bells of Claw Isle rang in mourning, the raven had reached her fatherâs solar shortly before dusk, the lord of claw isle ordered that the bells would ring from dawn to dusk for three consecutive days in mourning for the Queen who had given so much to the realm only to be rewarded with blood and loss.
Lady Elyse Celtigar stood upon the castle walls her dark hair hung loosely down her back while she overlooked Blackwater Bay when the news spread through the keep, Queen Aemma Arryn was dead. So too was the son she had given everything to bring into the world.
For several moments, Elyse simply stared across the water, unable to speak. She had never met the queen, yet the tragedy struck her deeply, every noblewoman in the realm knew the burden Queen Aemma had carriedâthe endless pregnancies, the stillbirths, the babes lost before they reached their first moon, the whispered hopes for a living son, the pressure of bearing the future of House Targaryen and the realm. To die after so many sacrifices felt heartbreakingly cruel, Elyse Celtigar felt her heart breaking for the dead Queen, for the children she lost.
That evening, she lit a candle in the castle sept, not for the queen she had never known, but for a mother and for the child who had barely taken his first breath before the stranger claimed him as well.
When the Kings grief and heartache became the talk of every hall of every noble Lord in the kingdom, Elyse only prayed to the Seven that they would grant him peace in his time of misery, that they would also grant his daughter Princess Rhaenyra respite from the heartache that surely encompassed the red key and the royal family.
Elyse Celtigar tried to think no more of it, though she frequently found herself praying that a great grief like that would never find her or her home as she did not think she was strong enough to withstand that level of sorrow.
Her father summoned Elyse to the family solar just after supper, Lady Celine Celtigar sat beside her husband, Lord Aerion Celtigar and her young brother who had settled near a window looking out to the sea when Elyse entered.
Her father the Lord of claw isle held a letter with a broken Targaryen seal, a three headed dragon pressed in deep Crimson wax, his face remained mostly without emotion, though her mother who is seated beside him, had a crease in her brow which betrayed her face with the hidden anxiety she must have felt.
âThe king has announced that he will soon choose a new queen,â her father began. âThe great houses are already presenting their daughters.â His dark eyes held a mix of emotion, though she tried not to read too deeply into it, her father had always been a difficult man to read.
Elyse nodded politely, she had expected as much, the king, though he may wish it could not remain unmarried for long and though King Viserys had named his only child, Princess Rhaenyra as his heir, the Targaryen family would need more children to carry on the bloodline and many lords, including her own father had whispered about the young princess being a placeholder until the king had a son to take her place.
âThe Crown has requested our presence in Kingâs Landing.â Her motherâs voice sounded very tentative, her crystalline blue eyes, looking at her youngest daughter, with a mixed expression of anxiety, hope and something else that Elyse could not quite place.
A heavy silence settled over the room, Elyseâs younger brother looked between their parents, a hopeful expression on his youthful face, Edmund Celtigar I had recently celebrated his 11th name day but his eyes still glittered with a youthful bliss, and his face was still round as many childrenâs are before they begin the journey into adulthood.
Her mother slowly folded her hands, before unfolding them in letting them rest gently into her lap, a top the deep crimson gown that she wore. Elyse looked at the knee that seemed to be swallowing her mother whole, her eyes flickered to her father, and it was them that she began to understand. This wasnât only about a letter being sent directly from Kings Landing to them, this was about her father, hoping to place her within the eyes of the king, though she was certain, but never in a million years with the king choose her to be his bride, not when they were surely dozens of other highborn ladies vying for his attention.
âYou are of Valyrian blood,â he said. âYou are well-born, educated, and of an age to marry. House Celtigar has long stood beside House Targaryen.â His voice sounded proud and full of certainty that the king would surely choose his youngest daughter as his future bride and queen. Elyse let out the smallest laugh, not one of the amusement, but one of disbelief.
âFatherâŠâ Elyse began her voice soft, she looked at him, and for a moment was afraid of his reaction when he was sure to be disappointed.
âI am serious.â His voice rang clear, ambition and pride lacing his words, it took several heartbeats for Elyse to truly realize how serious he was about this.
She looked from him to her mother, hoping that she would say something to help lower his expectations, but her motherâs eyes remained cast to the floor, her fingers flexing in the soft silk of her gown.
âThe king will have daughters from Houses Velaryon, Baratheon, Lannister, Hightower, and perhaps even Tyrell placed before him.â She shook her head with gentle amusement. âWhy would he notice me?â her voice was gentle and tentative, she could feel her face flushing, heat, reaching her neck, cheeks and ears as she looked down to the same place upon the stone floor that her mother had been staring at for what seemed like ages now.
âHe might,â her father, began his voice, having an edge of desperation that she very rarely saw upon the man that seemed so confident in everything,
âHe wonât.â Elyse cut in, there was no bitterness in her voice only certainty, she was the third daughter of a respectable, but comparatively modest Valeryian house, she possessed neither the political influence of the Hightowers nor the wealth of the Lannisters, her family was not placed close to the crown as the Velaryons were, she had never sought attention and had never even been to the Red Keep.
The very notion of the king, choosing her of all people seemed entirely impossible.
Still, when her father continued speaking of suitable gowns and the honor of House Celtigar, she merely smiled. If believing such a thing brought him hope, she could not bear to crush it and so she played along.
Over the days to come she allowed the seamstresses to take new measurements, she endured her motherâs lessons in court etiquette, though she already knew them well, Elyse listened with practiced patience as her father speculated about audiences with the king and possible futures.
Whenever her father spoke about the potential future and her placed upon a throne, she would simply smile in an attempt to placate him.
She listened patiently as her father speculated about audiences with the king and possible futures.
Never once did she confess what she truly believed, that she was merely another noble lady amongst dozens of others with far more influence, that the king would likely choose a bride whose marriage could strengthen powerful alliances, that once his choice was announced, they would congratulate the new queen, return to Claw Isle, and once her fathers pride had recovered they would laugh together about her fatherâs impossible dream.
If pretending could spare him disappointment before reality arrived, then she would pretend gladly.
As their ship departed Claw Isle for Kingâs Landing, Elyse stood at the stern imwatching her home disappear beneath the morning mist, and standing there in a pale violet gown with embroidered silver dragons stretching across the tight bodice, she whispered a quiet prayerânot that the king would choose her, but that he would find someone capable of easing the sorrow left behind by Queen Aemmaâs passing.
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