Rhaenicent

Rhaenicent is the femslash ship between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower from the Game of Thrones fandom.

House of the Dragon
In the TV show canon, Lady Alicent Hightower became a childhood companion to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the only child of King Viserys I Targaryen, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros on the Iron Throne, after her father Ser Otto Hightower became Viserys' Hand of the King. The two grew up together, developing differing personalities, Rhaenyra becoming strong-willed and adventurous, while Alicent fitting into more traditional standards of the women of her time, yet still being inseparable best friends with unacknowledged mutual feelings.

The main story picks up in the year 112 AC, during one of the many pregnancies of Queen Aemma Arryn, Viserys' wife, unable to produce any male heirs. Rhaenyra and Alicent are 14 year olds and close friends, gossiping about the nobility and accompanying each other around except when Rhaenyra rides on her dragon Syrax, with Rhaenyra expressing the wish to fly away from the politics of King's Landing to beyond the Narrow Sea, where she and Alicent can have a more freeing life. However, both of the young girls' lives quickly turn around when Queen Aemma dies giving birth to a son, who dies a day later. Comments from Viserys' younger brother and theoretical heir, Prince Daemon Targaryen, get him removed from the line of succession, leading to Viserys proclaiming Rhaenyra as Princess of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, Ser Otto, who suggested the idea of Rhaenyra as heir, manipulates young Alicent to sneak into Viserys' chambers to seduce him, though unintentionally on her part. After her mother and little brother's death, Rhaenyra is filled with grief, so she visits a sept where she and Alicent pray together, bonding over their lost mothers. Eventually, after confiding in her about his grief, dreams, and after turning down another marriage proposal, Viserys makes his intention to marry Alicent public, driving a hedge into the girls' relationship and making Rhaenyra feel betrayed by her closest friend.

Three years into Alicent and Viserys' marriage, the young Queen has given birth to two children, including a son named Aegon, an event that has further divided her from Rhaenyra as many lords believe him to be the rightful heir due to traditional Westerosi male primogeniture. Despite Alicent's attempts to reconnect with her old friend, Rhaenyra remains distant, still feeling resentment towards Alicent for marrying her father and Aegon for posing a threat to her role as heir. After Prince Daemon's return to court from warring in the Stepstones, Alicent tries to assert herself as queen, but is looked down upon and mocked by the men in power. It's only Rhaenyra, for the first time in a long while, making an effort to reconnect with Alicent that cheers her up and the two share a moment of tenderness by holding hands. However, this peace does not last long as after a night where Rhaenyra almost sleeps with her uncle Daemon and then actually sleeps with the Kingsguard Ser Criston Cole, Alicent confronts Rhaenyra over the rumors' of her affair, where she lies on her mother's name, something that shakes Alicent and makes her believe her, in spite of her father's word. Daemon's insistence to marry Rhaenyra has him exiled from King's Landing, while Rhaenyra persuades Viserys to have Otto Hightower removed as Hand, but in exchange agreeing to marry Laenor Velaryon. On Driftmark, Rhaenyra is made aware that Laenor is gay, but the two agree to compromise. Meanwhile in King's Landing, Otto leaves as a tearful Alicent says her goodbyes, but not before he fearmongers to her the threat Rhaenyra poses to her children. Alicent makes new allies through Larys Strong, and later, Ser Criston, disillusioned after sleeping with Rhaenyra and scared of the consequences of breaking his vows, but not before admitting the truth to the queen, making her realize that Rhaenyra had in fact lied. Between her forced marriage, forced motherhood, and the truth of her best friend breaking her trust, Alicent reaches a breaking point. At the night of Rhaenyra and Laenor's wedding, Alicent arrives late dressed in a green dress, a traditional color of House Hightower, and one specifically used to indicate war, before for the first time ever coldly addressing Rhaenyra as her stepdaughter, simultaneously making a political statement about her allegiances and changing the dynamic of their relationship forever.

Fanon
Rhaenicent is one of the most popular ships in the House of the Dragon fandom. Due to the large age gap and largely antagonistic relationship in the books, the ship had virtually no works before the show, where it started getting fans from the first episode. While Alicent is a divisive character to a lot of the fandom due to being Team Green's figurehead, Rhaenicent is still extremely popular. Most fans focus on their younger versions, joking that after Episode 5 they were "children of divorce", while other parts of the fandom focus on their adult dynamic in the future, as well as the inherent tragedy of their story.

Going by AO3 statistics, Rhaenicent is the 3rd most popular ship in the House of the Dragon tag, beat out by only Lucemond and the ship's biggest rival, Daemyra. Other rivals include Rhaewin, Alicent/Viserys, Alicole and to a lesser extent Laenyra.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

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