"Things have gone slower than I would have liked," your father's tone was dismissive. "But the Grand Maester assures me that was due to stress. Because of the pregnancy," he added quickly. "Now that Johanna has made it through fine, the Grand Maester insists the leeches should finally clear up the worst of it."
Orywyle glanced at you for a moment, his face full of nervous apprehension. There was something he desperately wanted to say, but lacked the courage to speak it.
Fucking leeches, I fucking knew it.
OK, if we are lucky we can get through to Orwyle and deal with this. Like, Rhaenyra's no scholar, but if the actual experts (Orwyle himself is a future Grand Maester if that plays out as in canon) disagree on the treatment, there is reason for her to care about that and to maybe weigh in. I'm not expecting miracles, but leeches are not a winning solution to a problem that is slowly killing off Viserys' extremities. Orwyle's probably no slouch at office politics since it was Viserys himself who made the guy Grand Maester in the canon timeline.
We can't cure Dad, sure, but we can at least try to keep his doctors from actively shortening his life with quack medicine.
"When you were young, during that brief time where I was heir, I had dream one night. As real as you or I," your father began, tears welling in his eyes. "I saw a son, my son, sitting upon the Iron Throne, crowned with the Conqueror's crown, the lords of Westeros hailing him as all the dragons roared at once."
Your chest tightened at his words, a brief twitch of fear in your hands.
"Night after night I tried to recapture that dream, to experience it again. I so desperately wanted to be a dreamer, like Aegon was," your father confessed bitterly. "It never came back, and my obsession with it killed you mother."
...I'm sincerely unsure whether he should be blaming himself here, without knowing if it was somehow obvious that Queen Aemma shouldn't bear more children. After all, death in childbirth happened at random quite a bit, especially when the obstetric care was being provided by, well, the kind of people who are now applying leeches to Viserys.
But with that said, this is at least a good warning to Rhaenyra to
NOT take dragon dreams too seriously, lest they lead to chaos, misery, or self-fulfilling prophecies that would be bad to see fulfilled.
"And I don't doubt that," your father replied wearily, "but I would not take everything in it to heart. Perhaps my dream was as real as yours, and it was your son I saw on that throne, or maybe even you. I can't say anymore. All I know is I have no son, and even if Johanna gives me one, they will not sit the Iron Throne."
I really admire Viserys for saying that last part. Respect.
You nodded and left your father's room. His words had left you with even more questions than you came in with, but the weight on your shoulders had lessened just a bit. You weren't going to forget about the dream, if you lived until you were eighty you probably would still remember it, but you weren't going to let it become an obsession. Your father had impressed the dangers of that quite clearly.
That night, your sleep was not entirely peaceful, but you no longer found yourself worrying over Harrenhal.
I hope we still have the option to
go to Harrenhal. Maybe with Viserys' perspective, knowing the place is cursed and may be turning an otherwise truthful or good dream into a bad acid trip, we can go there and talk to Alys and get some more perspective.
Rhaenyra in-character apparently doesn't think Alys is connected to her vision, but still.
Your Relationship with Viserys Has Improved.
Your Conversation with Viserys has Given You Some Peace of Mind.
And Cost Viserys Some of His.
Well, hopefully Rhaenyra marrying will help with Viserys' peace of mind. Johanna's children almost certainly won't give him grandkids in his lifetime, but hopefully Rhaenyra can.
"We got along fairly well on the progress and he's generally been quite honest with me," you said truthfully but tactfully. "And he provided me with some quite good advice while we were on the Eyrie. Advice that gave me a lot of comfort. Not to mention he's already someone I can trust considering he owes his role in the city watch to me. And as a son of a second son, I know any children we have would bear my name without question."
"To say nothing of your friendship with Alicent," your father added. "Marrying into a family you are already friendly with does have it's advantages."
Oh, papa, if you
only knew.
"Well, that does explain your interest in Gwayne," your father nodded. "That would be quite a strong marriage for you. Though I must admit I am also quite pleased to see you haven't dismissed the Dornish Prince out of hand. I know it's a drastic option, but I think it could be a wonderful adventure for both our family and the realm."
"A wonderful adventure." Hm. Would be interesting to hear his thought process on that.
"Breakbones would be a fine match," your father nodded. "His house would strengthen you considerably and I must say the man seemed quite fond of you. His father seems a bit skeptical of such a marriage though. You would have to speak with him to figure out why."
A good reason to fly to Harrenhal next turn!
And even if you didn't end up marrying the man, inviting Qoren to King's Landing would give you a chance to see what this man was like for yourself. Though it would probably make things quite tense in the Red Keep. No doubt Ser Tarly would be clawing at the walls.
What Do You Do? (Will Take Place Next Turn)
[] Invite Prince Qoren Martell to King's Landing
If we can invite Qoren without specifically starting the pre-nuptial negotiations on the frickin' spot, then I'm all for it.
But I'd ALSO like to fly to Harrenhal, both to feel out what's going on with the Strongs and to see if we can talk to Alys Rivers before winter sets in.
QM's Note: To clarify, this is not committing to any route yet. Let me be very clear on that since I suspect this vote might get testy. One of the advantages of starting so early is you do have a chance to feel out the options better.
I know, right? 
