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123 AC, King's Landing
She froze in complete shock as she realised that they were not Alicent's eyes, but those of Otto Hightower. For the former Hand stood between her and his daughter, his body slack, his expression one of stunned disbelief as blood darkened his robes and spilt over Rhaenyra's hand.
Otto Hightower couldn't help but wonder if there was anything so undoing as a daughter. As he felt the burning pain in his stomach and looked at Alicent's face, he realised that if it was, then it would be worth it. The decision to place himself between that wretched Targaryen girl and his daughter was one of pure instinct, of a refusal to see his daughter die, not for his sins.
It was strange, in this moment, the one where he was breathing his last breaths, he had never felt more alive. Alive wasn't quite accurate. He had never felt so clear-headed. Perhaps it was because lying to oneself would serve little purpose before he faded away to the Stranger's embrace.
It was always going to end like this, with him dying before his blood sat on the Iron Throne. All he had done by consorting with witches and foreigners was accelerate his demise even more.
He had known that his alliance with Melisandre was a fickle one, enough that he never trusted her. Then again, Otto rarely ever trusted anyone, but he knew people, and Melisandre definitely disliked the Potters. However, his main mistake was treating her like a noble with magic, meaning that he assumed that she thought the same way as one.
This ability, this skill in understanding people's motives, was what truly allowed Otto to become one of the greatest Hands since Aegon's Conquest, enough that he was all but ruling the Seven Kingdoms in the previous few years. People acted like he expected, because he knew their goals, their ambitions, and their principles.
The Sea Snake had his pride and endless ambition, the Rogue Prince had his impulsiveness and desire to be acknowledged by his brother, even the King had a desire for peace, even when it simply was not possible. Otto had used these things to his advantage countless times, and they had made him one of the most powerful men in the Seven Kingdoms.
He had tried to do the same with Melisandre, and the plan that they had come up with should have given her quite the incentive to follow through with it. The Red Priestess would empower his grandson, Aegon, granting him great power, which would be taken by the Shadowbinders who would attack the Capital.
Otto did not know how the Red Priestess of R'hllor knew about the attack, but he assumed that it was some kind of magic. Nevertheless, Aegon would kill the Shadowbinders, become a hero to the lords of Westeros, the prince who saved them all. Then, he would have the power to face Harry and Daphne Potter on equal footing, and blame them for inciting the attack, creating a crusade of a sort, against them.
Given that Daemon would likely be there during the attack, he would join them in the enmity of the sorcerer, and finally, they would kill him, uniting the realm beneath his grandson's command, which would make him the logical heir to the throne after Viserys's death. Perhaps even Otto could convince people that it was a clear sign of the Gods' favour to his claim. In the end, history would remember Otto's lineage as a heroic one, where Aegon's greatness had convinced his father to change his mind regarding the succession.
All in all, the Potters would be dead, and the Red Faith would gain a foothold in Westeros, under an undisputed ruler's support, which was what he imagined Melisandre wanted in the first place. Her great enemy would be dead, and her faith would gain an influence in a territory that they likely would have never matched, a faith that had been spreading aggressively in recent years.
The Red Faith would likely wish to maintain that influence, one granted to them by Otto and Aegon, which meant that they would use their magicks to protect his reign should Rhaenyra and Daemon make a nuisance of themselves.
Of course, there would have also been the issue of the Red Faith involving itself in the affairs of Westeros, but he could use this influence to finally reignite the flames of the Faith to what it once was. After all, what better way to resolve tensions than to unite against a common enemy, and it would also occupy the Red Faith, splitting its concentration on the political affairs of the Seven Kingdoms. It would be tricky, of course, but doable if he had enough time and power, all of which his scheme should have secured.
And yet, that all that scheming amounted to nothing, because he misunderstood Melisandre's nature.
He had thought her an enemy of Harry Potter, and one who chose Aegon as her god's champion because he had the more secure claim on the Iron Throne. He never expected that she would find him unsuitable for some strange reason, and even worse, that she would find Rhaenyra to be a good champion to have.
Rhaenyra was always an easy creature to predict. She was a woman of passion who enjoyed indulging in luxuries, without a care as to how they came to be. She was vain, often cruel, and she was also not a warrior. Every decision she would make as a ruler would be disputed and criticised because of her gender, and all of this hardly made her a good candidate to sit on the Iron Throne, let alone become a champion to a god.
Unfortunately, these were logical decisions, and Otto should have known better than to expect a witch that worshipped fire to be a logical creature.
And now, as he looked at the girl's now crimson eyes, completely filled with rage and madness, Otto realised that he pitied her, pitied the woman who had murdered him, though he still had a few seconds left, and he also found himself glad that his grandson had not been turned into the monstrous creature she became.
Magic always had a price, and the one that Rhaenyra paid was a great one indeed. With everything that had happened in the previous few moons, with his desperation at stopping Harry Potter, Otto had forgotten that.
Yet even after he realised that Rhaenyra had been the one granted the Shadowbinders' power, Otto had not given up on his cause. Should Rhaenyra kill the Potters quickly without anyone noticing, it was possible to incite the realm against her, label her a heretical witch corrupted by a foreign demon.
Also, unlike the Potters, she held weaknesses in the form of her children. These were only just ideas that he had after he realised Melisandre's deception, for he was a flexible man. These thoughts of compromise and political scheming were completely gone the moment he realised that these foreign witches were more than happy using their foul magic on his grandchildren, and he would forever be grateful to Daeron for correcting his mistakes and killing the traitorous witch, Melisandre.
With the Red Priestess gone, his and Alicent's plans were to make their way to Aegon's room. During the attack, when he realised that Melisandre had no plans on keeping her word, he had discreetly sent most of his guards to protect Aegon and his children, in case the monsters made their way there. He hoped to, at least, gain back a measure of control, after which he could have started to plan.
Alas, the gods seemed determined for that not to happen. Certain walls had collapsed, likely due to Rhaenyra's recklessness, and he swore that he saw that same strange white owl being present whenever some disaster struck that changed their route, though that must have been a coincidence.
It mattered not, for they quickly found themselves before Rhaenyra, and her battle with a Northman and two of his grandchildren. In the end, he had only himself to blame for his own death; he would not have allowed Alicent to die for his failings.
Looking back, he didn't think that even the Potters would have done this much damage to him and his cause. He would have chuckled at the irony if every breath didn't pain him so much.
Finally, Rhaenyra took out her knife from his gut, and Otto felt the world spin as he fell. Alicent grasped his figure in pure desperation, as if she were trying to heal him with her prayers. He heard her pleading, "Please, father…"
Despite the pain, he smiled at her.
Love truly was a strange thing.
Otto would admit that his heart had grown cold after his wife's death. He had loved greatly and lost more than he had thought possible. He pushed his every effort into his ambition, on his legacy, that he estranged much of his family.
He realised that it all felt so small, looking at his daughter's eyes, the love she gave him, despite the fact that he had failed her so much, caused her so much pain.
He should not have pushed for the marriage with Viserys, yet what father did not wish to see his daughter as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms? What girl did not dream of marrying a king, to grow as the most powerful woman in Westeros?
Things should not have ended this way.
In his confidence in understanding Viserys's ambitions, he did not expect the man's blindness when it came to his daughter's actions, that he would dismiss his sons so, despite spending years yearning for an heir. Seven hells, some of Rhaenyra's actions would have disinherited most male heirs, including the wish to sit a bastard on the Iron Throne.
Viserys had destroyed the stability of the realm and turned the position of Queen into a poison, setting a precedent that could make it into a meaningless role in the future, for it did not even guarantee that their children would have a succession.
He turned to his daughter and spoke up softly, "Alicent… I… I am sorry."
Otto was not even sure what exactly he was apologising for.
He had failed Alicent and her children in many ways. He looked back at his life and found himself regretting much. He had pushed his daughter likely more than he should have. It. Had been for her own benefit, for her children's claim to the throne, but that felt like a weak excuse.
He did regret sending Aemond to Harrenhal, in the hopes of allying himself with the witch there. He should not have risked him so, in his desperation to have a counter to the sorcerer of Dragonstone. He regretted pushing her because of his frustrations at not finding anything that could deal with Harry Potter. He regretted allying himself with a fickle ally that was now a true danger to her and her children.
Alicent… Poor Alicent… just held him tighter and started to weep, telling him that there was nothing to forgive. She always did have her mother's kindness, which he had attempted to temper over the years.
Otto touched her face, focusing on her eyes, her mother's eyes.
He hadn't thought about his wife, Misla, in some time, mostly by choice. It pained him whenever the name of his deceased wife crossed his mind, but it strangely gave him comfort now, or perhaps it was hope, that he would see her again soon. Taking that blade in Alicent's stead was the least he could do for Alicent, the least he could do for Misla's last gift to him.
"You are strong, Alicent," he rasped, "And you will need to be stronger still."
A tear slid down Alicent's cheek and landed on his hand, warm against skin already growing cold.
"I cannot," she whispered. "Father, I cannot…"
"Yes, you can," Otto insisted, though his voice was barely more than a breath. "You must… You always were the best of my children."
His gaze drifted past her, toward the blurred shape of Rhaenyra standing over them, fire still simmering in her hands, though she kept staring at him and at the bloodied knife in her hands. Otto would have scoffed if he still could. This was likely the first time she had killed a man with her own hands, as opposed to using her dragon.
Despite his imminent death, Otto couldn't help but feel a thrill of vindication; for on this day, she would lose everything. Because, despite her power, despite her magic, despite her dragons, Rhaenyra Targaryen forgot about Otto's youngest grandson, Daeron Targaryen. By this time, he should have had ample time to make his way to the Throne Room and warn Viserys.
It was a small victory, perhaps, and one that did not guarantee that his family would be safe, but it was a victory nonetheless, his last victory, truly. He had bought Alicent a few more moments. He had given Daeron the chance to reach Viserys. And if the gods had any sense of justice left, Rhaenyra's madness would be laid bare before the court.
His vision began to dim, the world softening until only Alicent remained in focus. He stared at her eyes, Misla's eyes, and he knew that it was time to let go. He squeezed Alicent's hand one last time before the world turned black, and he felt the final threads of his strength slip away.
And so, Otto Hightower, Hand of two kings, a father who had loved poorly but loved nonetheless, was no more.
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AN: I know that this chapter was a bit shorter than usual. It was supposed to show a bit of Otto's plans and schemes even as he's dying, while also showing a bit of his human side, mostly as a failed parent and a man with a lot of regrets. I know it's not exactly eventful, but I thought that it deserved its own chapter. Don't worry, in the next one, we'll finally find out exactly what Harry and Daphne have been up to. Also, I know that it looks like there's a little inconsistency regarding Daeron (since he passed out in the last chapter). It will also be explained in the next chapter. As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
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If you want to support me, check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions on them, so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.