Chapter 72 - The Coronation (VII)

"Thinking that my father will die because of my king, I feel a little mercy for him, but when I remember what he did for me, that mercy disappears as if it had never existed." Tyrion Lannister, the Hand of the King, watching the nearly 1,000 warships.

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Kinvara looked at the people revering their Messiah and felt that all the work of years had paid off, all the sweat, blood and determination spent.

At that moment, Volantis became a true Theocratic City.

Aenar gestured for everyone to be silent, and they were.

"Kinvara, begin the coronation," he said in a calm tone.

Kinvara nodded and removed her long veil, revealing her face for all to see, which provoked a few shouts of reverence in the background. Ignoring the voices, she focused entirely on Aenar and nothing else.

"God has given you the divine right to rule, and, as He has commanded, my prince will be the king he promised. He will free the heretics from their barbarian gods and lead the unbelievers to true salvation." Kinvara paused and looked at the crowd, asking aloud:

"Is anyone against the words of God?"

The silence that followed in the crowd made Kinvara nod with satisfaction. Under everyone's shocked gazes, she waved her hand, and fire began to gather on her. In the end, a crown of flames appeared in her hands.

As Kinvara was short, Aenar had to lean forward a little, allowing the Reverend Mother to place the Crown of Fire on her head.

Surprisingly, the Crown of Fire, whose flames seemed alive and burned fiercely, didn't hurt Aenar, which provoked exclamations of surprise from the crowd.

"Aenar Targaryen, First of His Name, Knight of Caraxes, King of the Andals, the Roinars and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, Father of Dragons, Son of the Light of Volantis, the Promised King, Destroyer of the Greatest Khalasar of His Time."

At Kinvara's words, the crowd bowed until their foreheads touched the ground, responding in whispers:

"He who was prophesied."

"The Messiah."

"The Prophet of Essos."

The whispers built up as the crowd remained kneeling, repeating words full of hope for the future.

Tyrion watched the man wearing a crown of pure fire on the stage and couldn't help feeling that he was seeing a character straight out of an Age of Heroes Westeros book. He was really worried about his sweet nephew and niece at that moment.

Knowing the Red Faith's tradition of burning people alive, he assumed that this could be their fate and would probably be his too.

Still, he had to admit: the young Targaryen king had an overwhelming charisma, worthy of a king destined to found a dynasty. Tyrion wanted to serve such a king, someone whose name would be etched in history as a true conqueror. However, when he remembered the noble house into which he had been born, he knew that his dream was impossible.

Suddenly, the next move sent a shiver through his small body. The young king's purple eyes fell on him, and an amused smile played across his lips. Tyrion swallowed and, even though he thought it was impossible and that it was just a coincidence, he felt that the Targaryen king recognized him.

Aenar, looking at Tywin Lannister's legendary knight and dwarf, was incredibly amused to see the frightened expression of the king's future advisor. He would give Tyrion Lannister a good reason to bend the knee and serve him body and soul.

Looking at the sea of people kneeling before him, Aenar smiled. It was the first step of true reconquest. He would leave Essos in a year and a half, docking at Porto Branco in the north with his fleet of ships, which was still being built to transport his tens of thousands of troops.

"Kinvara, order food to be delivered to these people. They must all be starving having spent hours waiting for me."

Aenar, still with the crown of flames on his hair, looked at the Reverend Mother, who was staring at him with a fanatical gleam in her eyes, and spoke in a regal tone.

"Your decree will be fulfilled, Your Grace," Kinvara replied as she bowed to Aenar, who then approached Visenya and Daenerys.

"When I am crowned in Westeros, you will be crowned with me as my queens. I will be magnanimous and let the people see their beautiful queens." Holding both women's hands, Aenar commented in a gentle tone.

"Don't worry, my king." Holding Aenar's hand firmly, Visenya responded with flushed cheeks. The vision of Aenar's coronation was still vivid in her mind, a moment she would never forget. "We're not sad, just emotional. This is the first step towards House Targaryen rising from the ashes and ruins."

Daenerys nodded. She saw no need for a coronation at the moment. She would rather wait until she reached King's Landing and became queen like all the sovereigns who had come before her.

"Let's go to the banquet, I want to see what presents I get." Aenar commented as he flashed a smile, he really was looking forward to some presents.

Hearing Aenar's words, Visenya and Daenerys looked at each other and saw the curiosity in each other's eyes. They knew that every time her future husband showed that expression, something interesting would happen next.

...

Aenar was sitting on the throne in the center above the steps, with Daenerys and Visenya sitting respectively to his right and left.

Rhaenys couldn't help feeling jealous seeing how partial he was to his wives, leaving her aside. Looking at the Dark Sister placed next to her seat, the possession of the legendary sword didn't bring as much happiness as she had previously imagined. Seeing the interaction between Aenar, Daenerys and Visenya left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Suddenly, Rhaenys heard her cousin's voice next to her.

"If you carry on like this, you'll be left out."

Looking at Arianne who was gazing at her with an enigmatic smile, Rhaenys turned up her caution to maximum. If there was one thing she had learned in Dorne, it was that Arianne could be many things, but kind and charitable was certainly not one of them. The Heiress of Sunspear had always given her the impression that she could do anything to get what she wanted.

"What do you mean, cousin?" Despite the wariness she felt, Rhaenys didn't let it show on her face; learning to hide her emotions was a gift she had learned.

"Do you think you're being subtle? A blind man could see that you're looking at him lustfully." Arianne popped a grape into her mouth and replied with a sensual tone. Her cat-like gaze made Rhaenys look at her cousin with a deep look.

"If you carry on like this, he'll have children and you'll be left behind in this battle, dear cousin." Arianne swallowed the grape and licked the remnants of the fruit's juice off her fingers with a sensual look.

Rhaenys couldn't help but snort at her words, but deep down, she agreed with Arianne's words, but she still felt insecure.

"Do you think he'll only have two wives?" Arianne asked with an amused tone. "When he takes more wives, Princess Visenya and Daenerys have teamed up to secure their rights. What do you think will happen to the latecomers?"

Arianne looked like a demon seducing its prey, tempting it to commit sins.

Rhaenys didn't have to think too hard about what would happen when the scenario Arianne spoke of eventually came to pass.

It will be a battle between Aenar's wives for power at court, the king's attention and time in his bed. Whoever has a child the fastest will be the one with the greatest importance, as the heir or heiress will have come from her womb.

At that moment, Rhaenys could see that other nobles chose who to support in order to gain more benefits, honestly, nothing unusual for a Court.

"What do you want, Arianne." Rhaenys didn't call Arianne cousin, she spoke her name directly, showing that both women were negotiating and not having a conversation between relatives.

"I want in." Arianne was direct and didn't hide her years-long purpose.

Rhaenys was not at all surprised, then she remembered that unlike the sand snakes, Arianne had never been seen sharing a bed with a man.

"Is that why you stayed a virgin?" Rhaenys couldn't help but speak with a touch of sarcasm, but she didn't understand why Arianne would prepare for so long, she was the Heir of Sunspear.

"I found out that my father doesn't plan to keep me as heir, he prefers a man on the Throne of Dorne." Arianne spoke in a casual tone, but Rhaenys noticed a touch of coldness when she mentioned her own father. "If he doesn't want to give me what's rightfully mine, I'll take it by force."

Rhaenys understood everything by listening to those words, but in the end, she didn't refuse Arianne's offer; if they had it together, they would be able to take on the two queens of Aenar.

"If you marry Aenar and not the other way around, you will lose your right to the Throne of Dorne." Rhaenys warned with a touch of curiosity. If Aenar married Arianne, he would be Arianne's Consort and something like that was impossible for a King.

"I don't plan on marrying him, just being his mistress, as long as I have a silver-haired, purple-eyed boy or girl, everything will be fine." Arianne spoke with a sensual tone, watching Aenar on the throne, she had a mortal weakness for handsome men and the king's beauty was really taking her breath away.

"Careful Arianne, you're playing with fire, if you betray Aenar, it won't be him who kills you, but Daenerys and Visenya. I realize that they protect Aenar and will kill you if you betray him with another man." Rhaenys warned Arianne with a serious look.

"Do you think I'm a fool? I wouldn't trade Aenar for a thousand handsome men. He will be my greatest support in my government." Arianne rolled her eyes at Rhaenys' useless warning, Aenar would be the pillar for her to control Dorne, even though her father had decreed Quentyn to be his heir.

How could she lose all her power because of one man?

Seeing this, Rhaenys relaxed; with Arianne's words, she didn't have to worry about being implicated if something like that happened.

"I accept, let's go together." Rhaenys whispered to Arianne, who raised her glass for a toast.

Rhaenys picked up her own wine glass and both glasses clashed in the air.

"We'll be allies." Arianne smiled and spoke with a happy tone.

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