Fanfic Idea! (Pre-Lucemond, if Rhaenyra drove Alicent Mad)
The moment Alicent has birthed a boy, Rhaenyra knew she had to fight dirty for her throne, and to do that, she must destroy all possible enemies. And as of now, her worst enemy would be her old friend, and dealing with her was proving to be easier than expected. First, she ruined her reputation. It was surprisingly easy. So, so easy. It was so simple, to ask her dear uncle to ruin Alicent's reputation, and he did it so well, with the whispers of her entering Viserys' chambers not even a day after good Queen Aemma passed, with the whispers of her half-brother Aegon being created out of wedlock, which meant that he, is a child born out of sin. A woman's reputation is fickle and needed to be kept clean and pristine, and when it comes to a Hightower, the ones so close to the Faith of the Seven, they were to be judged twice as hard. Those who originally liked her for her steadfast belief of the Faith, and for her reputation of being a pious noble lady immediately turned away from her in disgust. Those who's daughters were turned down for the daughter of the second son of Hightower scoffed, saying it all made sense now, how the Hightower used his status to push his daughter to the throne. The Velaryons and the Arryns in particular didn't hide their extreme dislike for the new queen, especially since the Velaryons were snubbed for an Andal, and the Arryns find it extremely disrespectful for her to seduce the king not even a day after their Queen, their kin, has passed, and for the King to accept her after their Queen's death for a child he wanted, well, it was not a good look at all. Even the smallfolk began to dislike her, favoring the good Queen Aemma more than this hypocritical, holier-than-thou highborn lady.
Then she increased the rumors. Nothing too outlandish, of course, but enough to be believable and newsworthy for the people to spread with energetic tongues. Apparently, Alicent has been sleeping with the King long before the death of the Queen. In fact, while the Queen suffered in her difficult pregnancy, Alicent, using her position as the Princess's friend and handmaiden, began seducing the King, and he took her as a mistress. When Alicent showed signs of pregnancy, her father arranged for Queen Aemma to be murdered, forcing her into labor and ordering the Maesters to do what they can to cut her open even before trying to help birth the babe. More and more rumors like this made the new Queen and Hand, and even the King, look less and less favorable, and Rhaenyra absolutely enjoyed watching her nervously bite her nails as whispers against her continued from most of Westeros, and while Otto can argue all he likes, urging the King to find the root of this rumors, it only made him look even moreso suspicious.
Then Rhaenyra began urging her father to worship the Fourteen Flames with her, for they were both Targaryens of Old Valyria. And let it not be forgotten what the Faith of the Seven did, going against Targaryen rule, killing most of the Targaryen lines until only he, his brother, and Rhaenys was left. They may respect others' wish to worship the Seven, for they are their gods, but the people of Old Valyria had always worshipped the Fourteen Flames. Her father, wishing nothing but to reconnect with her daughter, willingly agreed, much to the disgust of Alicent, who still acted like she was the Maiden reborn. Soon, Rhaenyra started whispering suggestions. Maybe add more decor of their religion, a bit of them here and there. Maybe a symbol of all fourteen of them, so it would not seem like they only favor some. Soon, the entirety of the Red Keep looked like a place of worship for the Fourteen Flames, with every twist and turn, their symbols, their paintings seen. Alicent could barely breathe looking at them, anger in her heart and mind. Though when she tried to take down the symbol of Meleys to place the star of the Seven, she was harshly chastised by the King, to Rhaenyra's delight. Then Rhaenyra suggested the Alicent should begin to learn more of the Fourteen Flames, seeing as her children would be worshipping them as the Targaryens they are to be. As expected, she was angered, saying her children would worship the real gods, and not the ones who were not real enough to stop the ruination of Old Valyria. That, in turn, angered Viserys, who saw the Fourteen Flames as the reason for his daughter forgiving him for his betrayal. He punished the Queen by locking her up in her chambers.
Rhaenyra then began asking her father to allow her to follow in his footsteps, to learn how to rule, since she would be the future Queen of Westeros, she would like to be prepared. She also suggested calling for Rhaenys, who was better trained to rule as she was taught by her father all those years ago. It was not that she finds her father's knowledge lacking, no, of course not. It is just that she wishes to learn from someone who was taught to face the difficulties she no doubt will have to face in the near future. Her father, always the willing man, agreed to it.
She studied, she followed her father, she gave helpful advice, to the point not even the staunchest of Hightower supporters could ignore her words. Soon, Otto was removed as Hand, replaced by Rhaenyra, as part of her training. Alicent was definitely not pleased, but could do nothing, as the Rhaenyra began to gather supporters of her own. Rhaenys has proven to be the better tutor when it comes to that of ruling the kingdom. Rhaenyra began to battle with the Queen using words in almost every small council meeting, and often win, showcasing their difference, making Alicent seem like a child who knows nothing compared to her. Slowly, the words of the Queen looked less and less important in comparison to the words of the Heir.
Then came the need for her to be married. By then, she had made quite the name for herself, the true Heir of the Targaryen Dynasty. Most of the people tend to ignore Aegon II, as the rumors of him possibly being a child of such a scandal made it hard to want him as King. The King ignoring his only son seemed to strengthen such rumors, and Otto, despite his best abilities, could not cut every wagging tongue. Helaena was even less of a choice. It was Aemond, the last son, that Alicent and her family placed all her hope to.
Here, Rhaenyra claim to want to re-establish polygamy back into the Targaryen household, to the shock of the entirety of Westeros. The Faith immediately wish to condemn her, but she responded that she is a dragon who worships the Fourteen Flames, that her ancestors have done it before, why shouldn't she. To no one's surprise, the king agreed. Fret not, she told them, for she will only marry those who are willing to accept the situation.
In the end, despite protests from the Faith, and from the Queen, she married three men, Ser Harwin Strong, Lord Laenor Velaryon (at the behest of Rhaenys) and her uncle Daemon (Viserys argued against this, but Rhaenyra stood her ground, causing him to reluctantly allow it). She could care less when the Queen wore green in her wedding, they were at war long before that.
And now that she has their backing, she slowly began to pull her strings. When she told her father it was time to teach her other siblings the ways of Old Valyria, including the worship of the Fourteen Flames, Alicent acted extremely unlike her old self. Gone was the picture of the perfect highborn lady, in her place was someone who acted like a smallfolk woman. Cursing at Rhaenyra, claiming her children would never worship such false gods, that her children will be true warriors of the Seven, that the Targaryen queer customs shall not touch her children. She was raving loudly, for all to see and hear. She has reached her breaking point for all to see. And what a sight it was.
Her father declared her unfit to choose who would tutor their children, as she has shown great dislike towards their family's ancestry and religion. He gave Rhaenyra full control over her siblings' education, and she took great advantage of this, allowing them to see in the eyes of Targaryens rather than that of Hightowers. Slowly, she proved herself to be unlike how Alicent painted her as. Seeds of doubt were sown.
By now, the Queen's reputation has been muddied so much no one could see her as the pious highborn lady she used to be. No, they see her as a seducer of married husbands, a mistress turned queen, and now, rumors began calling her the mad queen, a title befitting her, if Rhaenyra do say so herself.
Even her children were afraid of her ravings, Aemond crying when she grabbed him, saying Rhaenyra would murder him, that he needs to be king so they would not be murdered by her. After hearing what happened, the King ordered for the Queen to be permanently locked up in her chambers, no visitors allowed, a beautiful prison cell made just for her, stripping her of all her powers for the act of treason. She was now only a Queen in name alone.
Rhaenyra gave birth to a total of six children, and raised them alongside her half siblings. When her father passed, she had already ensured her siblings' loyalty to her, pairing her own Heir, Jacaerys, with Helaena. She had noticed how close Aemond was to Lucerys, a closeness her husband Laenor recognizes, and she allows it, she has many children after all. It will not really matter if one of them decides to follow one of their father's footsteps.
And Alicent, well, in one of her insane bouts, she happened to fall from her window, and got impaled by the rocks below. Otto? Daemon found evidence against him, concluding that he was the one who ensured the death of good Queen Aemma. This resulted in him and his entire family's execution. Whether the evidence was true or not did not really matter in the eyes of Rhaenyra.
She has won the game, the Iron Throne was hers, with no one else going against her claim. She regrets nothing.
