( she has to wonder at it; does he see his father in the sky? his mother? he looks to her now and it feels like there should be an answer looking back.
these are noble paths he speaks of, actions that saved worlds, outsmarted evils and preserved all that was beautiful and good in the world. an influence reflected, she thinks, in all that he is.
but the grandeur of his parentage is at the cost, she notes at the implication, of leaving their sons to an unknowable, cruel fate. a lesser of two evils does not change the truth of it; and while she imagines it was driven by duty, it is that fact in itself that speaks of its chains. that those who carry power are destined to be beholden to it — that the good of the many must outweigh the few, even if it was their own children.
that he has remained kind, and good, even if it left pain in the wake of it, that all he can claim is ambition (one that lacks a poison more frequently seen in the realms of men, she thinks) speaks more and more on his true nature. she sees no anger in him, as he recounts it. could she have ever sworn to do the same? or would she have let that beast fester and grow?
she certainly had allowed it to already, with alicent. love and hate are so closely bound, after all, and she cannot think — or look — at her once friend with anything but pain. hurt that never healed. perhaps that is the burden, that is the result of resentment grown. )
If only more shared your outlook. ( is said, with a subtle fondness. ) And yet, it is a rare thing.
Weak hearts are more common here, I’m afraid. ( ambition, greed, survival. she wonders, what he thinks when he looks to the seven kingdoms. there are noble houses, yes; ones that are known to keep their word once it is given, like the starks. but there are those driven by less virtuous desires. the peace that viserys tries to shepherd doesn’t erase such things. a good nature does not a weak man make, but sometimes she wonders at him — she navigates to less dreary thoughts.
though one thought still sticks with her — elrond has no kin, not in middle-earth. his parents are skyward, present in ways unfathomable to mortality. and his brother — a legacy buried under a great sea. gently: ) I would have liked to have met them.
( she realizes, when the silence settles back until he breaks it with a question to her, how badly she wants to tell him. the truth, the full extent of it, to not bare it alone. to not think about the cost of peace weighed against the conflict her inheritance creates. to wonder if he would have more wisdom in it than she could ever know. she did not think she would ever be in a position to desire shared honesty so strongly.
he was forthright with her, had trusted her to carry this and it is a simple thing, to think of doing the same.
her voice is quiet, but before long, the words tumble out like from an overflowing glass. ) There are days, where I think I want it. My inheritance.
But — ( a shrug, smile dry. ) There are days when I think — if my brother had survived for more than a handful of breaths, that things would be simpler. ( the brother her mother bore. not alicent's children. those she could not bare to call her siblings. )
My father named me to spurn his brother — Daemon. Viserys may deny it, may stand by his claim now, but I know it to be true. I know I was not named, at the heart, out of his belief in my capacity for it. The Realm must stay united and yet — it may divide instead.
( she looks to him now, realizes she spilled more heart to it than perhaps was asked. Her eyes travel to the walls of their quarters. and there was more still. ) If we are to bare the weight of legacies, let us not do it alone. ( it’s a bold statement, filled to the brim with assumption that she must risk, and can only hope elrond agrees. though when she says the next aloud, her intention is two-fold. it was high time for Elrond to know of the secret passages, too. ) I’ve something to show you. And to share.
no subject
these are noble paths he speaks of, actions that saved worlds, outsmarted evils and preserved all that was beautiful and good in the world. an influence reflected, she thinks, in all that he is.
but the grandeur of his parentage is at the cost, she notes at the implication, of leaving their sons to an unknowable, cruel fate. a lesser of two evils does not change the truth of it; and while she imagines it was driven by duty, it is that fact in itself that speaks of its chains. that those who carry power are destined to be beholden to it — that the good of the many must outweigh the few, even if it was their own children.
that he has remained kind, and good, even if it left pain in the wake of it, that all he can claim is ambition (one that lacks a poison more frequently seen in the realms of men, she thinks) speaks more and more on his true nature. she sees no anger in him, as he recounts it. could she have ever sworn to do the same? or would she have let that beast fester and grow?
she certainly had allowed it to already, with alicent. love and hate are so closely bound, after all, and she cannot think — or look — at her once friend with anything but pain. hurt that never healed. perhaps that is the burden, that is the result of resentment grown. )
If only more shared your outlook. ( is said, with a subtle fondness. ) And yet, it is a rare thing.
Weak hearts are more common here, I’m afraid. ( ambition, greed, survival. she wonders, what he thinks when he looks to the seven kingdoms. there are noble houses, yes; ones that are known to keep their word once it is given, like the starks. but there are those driven by less virtuous desires. the peace that viserys tries to shepherd doesn’t erase such things. a good nature does not a weak man make, but sometimes she wonders at him — she navigates to less dreary thoughts.
though one thought still sticks with her — elrond has no kin, not in middle-earth. his parents are skyward, present in ways unfathomable to mortality. and his brother — a legacy buried under a great sea. gently: ) I would have liked to have met them.
( she realizes, when the silence settles back until he breaks it with a question to her, how badly she wants to tell him. the truth, the full extent of it, to not bare it alone. to not think about the cost of peace weighed against the conflict her inheritance creates. to wonder if he would have more wisdom in it than she could ever know. she did not think she would ever be in a position to desire shared honesty so strongly.
he was forthright with her, had trusted her to carry this and it is a simple thing, to think of doing the same.
her voice is quiet, but before long, the words tumble out like from an overflowing glass. ) There are days, where I think I want it. My inheritance.
But — ( a shrug, smile dry. ) There are days when I think — if my brother had survived for more than a handful of breaths, that things would be simpler. ( the brother her mother bore. not alicent's children. those she could not bare to call her siblings. )
My father named me to spurn his brother — Daemon. Viserys may deny it, may stand by his claim now, but I know it to be true. I know I was not named, at the heart, out of his belief in my capacity for it. The Realm must stay united and yet — it may divide instead.
( she looks to him now, realizes she spilled more heart to it than perhaps was asked. Her eyes travel to the walls of their quarters. and there was more still. ) If we are to bare the weight of legacies, let us not do it alone. ( it’s a bold statement, filled to the brim with assumption that she must risk, and can only hope elrond agrees. though when she says the next aloud, her intention is two-fold. it was high time for Elrond to know of the secret passages, too. ) I’ve something to show you. And to share.