Pre-Chapter A/N: Here we go with another chapter. Here on time! Next five chapters on my patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)— same username as here and link in bio.
TWO MOONS LATER- LAENOR VELARYON
Sunfyre was growing well, I thought to myself as I watched from a balcony as Laena directed Aegon to give various orders to the dragon. It was still not large enough for even Aegon to rise, but it was well on its way to standing level with the boy's shoulder. When they had stepped off that ship all those moons ago, he had been at the Prince's waist.
"Have him burn the meat on the table but not the table itself," Laena instructed, and Aegon took a second, most likely to translate the orders in his head before relaying them to the dragon in High Valyrian. The Lyseni language mistress was working a minor miracle. Hers seemed to be the only lessons where Aegon was managing to perform better than expected.
Bernard was close to pulling his hair out, I had found. Teaching me had clearly spoilt the man. Laena herself had been a bright child. Now forced to actually work with a child that acted his age, the man was struggling. And what made it even funnier was that he was only with Aegon once a sennight. Those who saw him on a daily basis were probably at their wit's end. Of course, in my own lessons, he was doing amazingly well.
He learned quickly, was hard to discourage, and could copy moves after only seeing them a few times. I wondered how all this natural talent had been squandered in canon, but part of me was just beginning to suspect that every Targaryen had this gift sleeping within them. It seemed like every Targaryen who put even above-average effort in the yard turned into a warrior straight out of legend with time. It happened far too often with us for it to be a coincidence.
Sunfyre breathed out a narrow stream of fire that hit the slab of meat on the wooden table, angling his head and moving so close that the fire only spread over the meat. The top part of the meat was charred, and the bottom was mostly untouched. The table itself remained intact, so that was something at least.
"Well done," Laena said, hand on her stomach. A stomach that had quickly swollen to a size I found difficult to conceptualise. She looked nine moons deep already—it had only been four. Everything else seemed to be just fine, so I tried not to worry too much about it. Laena did not even complain about the burden. She was just happy to have a healthy child growing within her, and that was a sentiment I could not contest.
"Next, have him fly and catch this stick in his jaws without breaking it," she said, gesturing to the serving girl to come forward with a platter of large sticks. Ser Wendwater, her guard for today, wound back his arm and tossed it in the air with all his strength. Aegon had relayed the instructions as quickly as they were given, and Sunfyre was off to the races.
The dragon chased the stick as it rose, and then, as it reached the apex of its flight path, he caught it in his jaws. I heard the crack even from here as two parts of the stick fell to the ground. The dragon came back down, proudly offering Aegon a tiny bit of the original stick. The boy was flushed a bright red while Laena was visibly restraining herself from laughing.
"Let's go again," she said. I watched the stick this time and the dragon that followed it after Aegon had clarified his orders some bit.
"Lord Velaryon," a voice called from behind me.
"Yes, Parvella."
"That sounded nothing like me," she said, walking to my side.
"And yet I knew it was you all the same."
"And you will tell me how one of these days," she said.
"Sure. What's going on?" I asked.
"Nothing. I just wanted to inform you that the final checks have taken place. All the ships are functioning at maximum capacity. They are fully loaded with cargo now. Your uncle will be leaving by dawn tomorrow," she said.
"I would think that he would inform me himself," I said.
"I am sure he will let you know later on. But I was in the area and felt, why not," she said.
"Of course you were. Now tell me what it is you really want," I said.
"I had an idea while I was watching the ships be loaded," she began.
"Tell me more," I said, turning and giving her my full attention now.
----
Aegon was visibly shivering in his thin tunic and trousers. I looked down at him before shaking my head. The courtyards of Bloodstone were covered on all sides by the castle, and so the early morning winds were barely a factor. Here at the docks, though? Well, it was a whole different ball game. I was dressed much the same way he was, but my body was a natural furnace. Neither cold nor heat bothered me much these days.
We stood watching the final preparations for Vaegon's voyage. He would set sail as the sun began to rise, and we had been here for close to an hour as the sailors trooped into the ships. Those with families willing to come out this early were saying their goodbyes as well. Vaegon's sons would be going on this voyage with him, each one captaining a ship in the fleet on their own. They would all come back from this wealthy men. I just hoped they were the kind of men who had wealth quiet their ambition rather than inflame it.
Overambitious cousins were the last thing I'd want to deal with.
"My Lord," Vaegon said, stepping towards me.
"Uncle," I greeted.
"I trust everything is as it should be," I said.
"Yes, nephew. We will be setting off now, with your leave."
"Have it. Good luck, Uncle. May the tides fare you well."
"May the tides fare you well," he returned before heading to the ship.
"Now, Aegon, off to practice with you," I said, turning to my squire.
We made the long walk back to Bloodstone together. Cargyll stood behind his charge, silent but for the sound of his boots against the cobblestone-lined paths.
"When you look at Bloodstone, what do you see?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.
"The castle, my lord? Or the city?"
"The city. The island itself," I said.
"It is beautiful. It puts King's Landing to shame. I never knew lowborn could live like this. It's so clean, so organised, everything," he said.
"You know what I see?" I asked. He looked over at me before shaking his head.
"That roof there has begun to fray. This pathway is stable for now, but a few of the stones feel looser than they should underneath my feet. The gutters are handling the waste well, but if you look in you would see that the present flow is above the second highest marker. If a large enough storm hits Bloodstone, the gutters would be unable to handle the excess and parts of the city would flood. When I look at Bloodstone city, I see all the things that could be but are not yet, as well as the things that are, but are not yet as they ought," I said. He nodded, but I knew he had not gotten the lesson. As a student, he needed things broken down for him in plain terms.
"What I am saying here, Aegon, is that as nobility, we have a greater burden. As dragonlords, an even greater one. We cannot satisfy ourselves with adequacy. The time will come when you will be given the chance to choose between good enough and perfection. I hope that when that time comes, you realise that good enough is just failure with another name and perfection is impossible," I said.
"My Lord?" he asked, coming up short.
"Yes. When forced to choose between both, you choose neither. Because the right choice is to realise that perfection is not a state. It is a pursuit. You must chase her like an elusive mistress and you will never catch her, but the chase itself is its own reward. Keep chasing, Aegon, and you will never be disappointed," I said.
"Yes, my lord," he nodded.
I nodded. He seemed to have gotten it as well as he could for now.
"Today, we will practice your archery, and when the stable boys are awake, a pony will be brought for you," I said.
"My lord?" he asked, a cautious excitement resting in his voice.
"A knight must know how to joust, no? Today will be your first lesson," I said, and his face was all smiles. One wide smile that showed his teeth fully and made no secret of his joy. Aegon did not have a single manipulative bone in his body. The boy wore all his emotions on his sleeve, and while that should have been a weakness I sought to iron out of him, I couldn't bring myself to even try.
XXXXXX- TYLAND LANNISTER
His brother and his wife were not what Tyland would consider good company most of the time. No, that was harsh. He loved his brother more than he loved his own life. And alone, his brother was fantastic company. The problem was the Crown Princess of the Seven Kingdoms. She was....Tyland could not think of a word that would be even vaguely respectful, and so he left it at that.
Especially not now. Not when she was pregnant and moody as a result.
"The Braavosi remain obstinate," he said, wishing that she was not here and he could speak to his brother alone.
"How dare they? I am the rightful heir. How could they mean to back Aegon?" she asked, already near flying off the handle.
"Like I said earlier, the conflict they have with House Velaryon makes them unlikely to back Aegon. They just refuse to guarantee their backing for your cause," he said.
"And why is that?" she huffed.
He looked over at his brother. Jason nodded and he sighed before speaking. Hopefully she wouldn't tear off his head for speaking the blunt truth.
"They do not believe in the strength of your claim. They hate Velaryon and feel that with Aegon serving as his squire, it would be unlikely for Velaryon not to back him. The Velaryon alliance comes with House Baratheon as well. The bond between those Houses remains so strong that even with Lord Borros' choice of wife, the best we can hope for is their neutrality. With them out of play, the only other kingdoms are the Westerlands, Riverlands, Reach, Vale, and North. The Westerlands and Reach are spoken for. The Riverlands will do what the Riverlands always do and collapse into infighting the second there is an opportunity to do so. The North is at least nominally aligned to House Velaryon. The Vale is a wildcard for now, but that can only be the case for so long. When the time comes, a great council will be too close to call if it comes to it, and they do not want to back a loser. Losing to Velaryon here is a greater risk to them than not participating at all," he said.
"It will not come to a great council. The King has made his decision clear. I am the heir," she said, stubborn expression fixed on her face.
"And then it will be war. In that case, the numbers remain much the same, except now the Hightowers have the chance to bring to bear four of the largest dragons in the world in support of their cause. Unless there are triplets in your belly and we send them to wild dragons, we can't match their force. Even if we did that, Vhagar would still be a great threat," he said.
She scoffed, turning to the wall before chugging down a glass of water.
"Did you let them know that I will remember those who fail to support me when I sit my throne?" she asked.
"They were not too concerned about that," he shrugged.
"You should have made them more concerned about it then," she said. He remained silent. When she did not get the fight she was seeking, she rose and left the room with a sniff.
He turned to his brother then.
"She is with child. You know how it is," he said, waving away what had just transpired.
"She fears losing a throne that should never have been promised to her," he said, the words that he had been thinking for a period now. The laws of primogeniture were that way for a reason. A son will always inherit over a daughter. It was what put Viserys on the throne in the first place.
"Perhaps it should not have been. But it has. And House Lannister has married her on that promise. Say what you will about the laws of men, but my son will sit the throne one day and I would not see that denied him," he said.
"I never said you should. This is an opportunity. We have a claim, and it would be foolish not to pursue it. I just think her reactions are overblown," he said.
"She has been told all her life that she will be Queen. Now she sees that the world will not just give it to her. It is understandable. How are things with Velaryon?"
"He trades with us like he always has. There has been no shifting in his approach to our relationship," he said. He could not answer the real question his brother was asking. He had not the information. During his visit, he had not even seen a sniff of the young Prince. Had he not known for sure that the Prince was resident on Bloodstone, he would have said that he did not live there.
His host had said it was a product of a tight schedule, but Tyland suspected that the boy had been hidden from him. For what reason and to what end, he did not know.
"That is the best we can hope for the time being. Have you been able to make the required inroads with the Arryns?"
"Our ships dock at Gulltown now. House Grafton will be imposed upon to make the requisite introductions in the coming moons. The Gulltown Arryns are scorned by the Lady of the Vale, so that approach had to be scuttled," he said.
"Good. Her support for Rhaenyra should be a matter of course, but it is always better to build the ties closer now before they are tested should a war come," he said.
"War, then. You truly believe it will be war."
"My wife will not submit her claim to a Great Council. We both know what would happen if that were to be the case. But we have the tools to see a war won. We just must ensure that Velaryon stays out of it. Beyond all your other occupations, brother, this one is paramount. If Vhagar, Igneel, and Meleys fly against us, we will lose."
"I know, brother. Trust me. I will see it done. By whatever means," he said.
"By whatever means," Jason repeated.
"That is enough of that. It feels like whenever I see you, all we talk about is the realm. How are things with your wife?" he asked. Tyland gave him a look at that. He would much rather speak of the realm a million times than have this conversation. Jason knew this for sure.
"She is well," he said, hoping the conversation would end.
"I asked not how she is doing. I asked how things with her are going."
"As you would expect. She is a child and I am a man grown. We do our duty," he said.
"Indeed. Cousin Gerry says you have not seen her in a year."
"Cousin Gerry should mind his own business and not poke his nose where it does not belong, lest it be cut off," he near snarled.
"The match was a good one. I thought it when I made it, and I think so now. You must do your duty, Tyland. You must."
"I will. With time. Just give me time. Let her not be so young," he said.
"She has flowered. She did so before you married."
"And that makes her no less a child. You should see the way she speaks or holds herself. Her biggest concerns are tourneys and knights and flowers and tales of unrealistic romances," he said.
"Sounds like just about any woman out there," he said.
"Jason, please. I ask nothing of you. Do not make me do this."
"Fine. For now. You can continue to run. House Crakehall needs an heir, and I would rather it be sooner rather than later," he said. Tyland sighed in relief and nodded.
"How is Baelon?" he asked, eager to change the subject. Jason chuckled.
"Baelon is well. Fussy as all children his age are. But he is strong. The lungs on him, the grip his fingers can get when they grab on to you is unreal. He will be a strong King one day. A great knight as well," he said.
"I can see it."
"Speaking of which, I did have an idea."
"An idea? For what?"
"When Baelon's sixth nameday comes, it would not be out of place for him to be sent to be a page under Lord Velaryon. Five years should be more than enough time for Aegon to earn his spurs. If not, we could always wait," he said.
"Force him to neutrality by making sure he has equal stake on either side? I see how it could work."
"Have you spoken to Rhaenyra?"
"Well, that's the hard part. I'll wait till she is no longer with child to broach the topic."
"In the hopes that she will be less volatile?"
"A distant hope, I know," he acknowledged.
A/N: Half with our boys and half with our other boys. Rhaenyra is actually not that insane. Tyland just doesn't like her and so is prone to seeing everything she does in a negative light. Next five chapters up on patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) (same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early.