(Third Person POV)
Rhaenyra sat in a chair in her chambers in The Red Keep, her hair being combed by her handmaidens as Viserys walked inside. She was wearing a bright blue dress on this day, with sigils of House Targaryen embroidered on them.
"Ah, look at you." The King said as he smiled, "So beautiful..."
Rhaenyra looked ahead, "Hello, Father..." She said with a serious, almost cold tone, "How may I help you?"
"Have you heard of the news?" Viserys asked her, "Aerion has returned. I have not seen him yet, I wish for you to be with me when I do."
"If that is what you want." She said, "I never do things of my own volition recently."
The handmaidens stopped combing her hair and stepped back, looking down awkwardly.
Viserys cleared his throat, "Would you give us a moment?" He told them
They bowed and hurried out of the room as Rhaenyra sat on the chair, looking at the wall with a very serious look in her face.
"Is there an issue, daughter?" Viserys asked
"I do not know, Your Grace." Rhaenyra said
The King sighed, "Not this...." He said softly, "Rhaenyra, I will not have this. Not even your sister does this to me."
"My sister does not have unseen shackles on her feet." Rhaenyra said, "She is not treated like a prisoner."
"You are not a prisoner." Viserys said
"That is what I feel like." Rhaenyra said, "I have made a vow, a promise...and none of you take it seriously. I have been under constant watching, given little to no privacy. I could not enjoy my day without the constant gazing of yours and Daemon's guards!"
Viserys sighed, "You need to understand." He said, "That I had no choice. Your antics when you were but a girl had given rise to suspicions and concerns. You have sworn to the gods and in the name of your late mother that you are still a maiden, but there are those who do not believe that. Do you understand what I have to deal with? To constantly defend you from the words of others who wish to lock you inside a tower and keep you there until you marry Aerion? Dragonstone was the best I could do! I did that for you, to give you some sense of freedom, some security. I do what I have to do, Rhaenyra. You know that."
"To mend the rift between Daemon and you?" she asked, "After Mother's death? All because you did not wish to be against your brother?"
"I needed to satisfy Daemon, to keep him happy. He is my brother, Rhaenyra. I know him, I know how badly he would act." Viserys said, "I could not keep him as Heir and when I disinherited him, I knew I had to do something to keep him from lashing out on the Crown or worse, the Realm. And that is why I offered my daughter to him. And he took that offer seriously. Daemon is Daemon, he will not change."
"I did not want this, father...." Rhaenyra said, "I am....I am old....I..."
"You are still young." Viserys said, "You can still have a life."
"It does not feel that way...." Rhaenyra said softly, "I was just used as a bargaining chip....to keep a Targaryen Prince content."
"To keep our House together." Viserys said as he walked over to her and crouched down, grabbing her hands, "Do you truly think I would trust any other man with my eldest daughter? I admit, it is a bit unusual....but things like these do happen."
"To keep our House together?" Rhaenyra asked, "Our House is divided and you do not see it."
"Then at the very least, you will have someone who does not see you as a source of power." Viserys said, "Aerion is a good person."
"I do not know how he sees me at all." Rhaenyra said, "He is a boy, Father. I do not know that he would be interested in me."
"Whatever he is interested in, he will do his duty." Viserys said, "It is time....my dear..."
Rhaenyra looked at him, "What?"
"Aerion proved himself." Viserys said, "His actions in the Stepstones have given him enough of a reputation for everyone to see him as one...a proper Knight."
"You are Knighting him?" Rhaenyra asked
Viserys nodded, "Yes." He said, "Today. The ceremony will not take long. And right after we will begin the process. I have had a separate coffer set aside for this, for the Royal Wedding of my precious daughter."
"I..." Rhaenyra said softly, "I am to be married already?"
Viserys straightened up and kissed her on the cheek, "Yes, my dear." He said, "I am sorry to have delayed this longer than I should have....but it will finally happen...."
****************
Not long after the End of The Stepstones War, Aerion Targaryen had returned to King's Landing where he was greeted by King Viserys with open arms and a celebration.
The King was surprised and pleased by Aerion's sudden growth, the young Lord had gotten much taller. Everyone at court was unsettled by not just Aerion's height, but the look in the young Lord's eye. There was a deep and disturbing glint in Aerion's eye, one that had seen horrors like no other.
Queen Alicent Hightower found it hard to look into his eyes, even when personally congratulating him on his several hard-earned victories. The Queen's children were wary of Aerion's presence, staying to the side, clearly intimidated by him.
Daemon Targaryen was proudly announcing to the Court that his son was a War-Hero, led several battles to victory, and had crushed several advances from the Triarchy in his time in the Stepstones. All of this while Aerion had not taken a single wound at all. Those who were fighting alongside him could vouch for him, Daemon had said. Including Ser Gerold Royce, who was the only of his mother's kin to have taken part in the War.
After the celebration, Viserys gathered everyone in the throne room where he had held the Knighting Ceremony for Aerion, which was something that changed the look in Aerion's eyes. They went from dead serious and disturbed to more calm yet firm, signaling that this was a pleasant surprise to him.
All of his kin, including his Mother, were proudly watching this unfold.
The young lord knelt down before King Viserys as he held the ancestral family sword, Blackfyre over him.
"In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother I charge you to defend the young and innocent. In the name of the Maid, I charge you to protect all women...." King Viserys announced as he had placed the blade of Blackfyre on Aerion's shoulders, "From here on forward, Aerion Targaryen will be recognized as one of the Knights of the Seven Kingdoms. The Rider of Vermithor, The Bronze Dragonlord."
As he pulled the blade away, there was loud clapping erupting from the crowd. The Young Lord then slowly stood up and gave the King a nod.
"I will not fail you, Your Grace." Aerion said, "I will not bring shame upon our House. I, Aerion Targaryen, will serve the Realm faithfully."
Viserys smiled, "I expect you to do so, my boy." He said, "You are a Dragon, you are a Knight...and mostly importantly....you are a Man now...."
"One that will marry my daughter..."