Chapter 22
JAEHAERYS TARGARYEN
The fever ran hot, as Jaehaerys found himself both old and tired as plague once more came to devastate his family and his people just as it had years ago.
Years ago, at the beginning of his rule, he had learned perhaps one of the harshest lessons that disease cared not for Kings and Queens. It cared not if you are pious, or cruel, or King or of common birth, for if the Stranger has marked you for death, then nothing could spare your life.
And as he lay there, he felt the Stranger's breath in the room as his lady wife sat beside him, watching him with love and pity in her eyes.
"You did well in leaving it all on Baelon," she whispered, and unlike years ago, he no longer had the strength of his youth to give him strength, yet now he had people he could rely on.
His sons had become fine men, and while his greatest aide and comrade had become old and frail with him, Baelon was more than capable enough of sharing his burdens both now and in the future as well.
"He has locked down the city," and that was good of him, for even if there was a slight chance that this was indeed the plague come again, acting quickly and decisively could help save thousands upon thousands of lives.
"The Maesters were not happy with his decision," and he turned away from his lady wife, thinking about the precarious situation for the Crown.
"If this really is a plague, then we will need their help," he whispered, his voice cracking and raspy as he reached for the water beside him, and Alysanne moved to help him, her movements no longer as fast and graceful as they were, as he stopped her quickly.
"Wait," he said, remembering Galen's words from earlier, and how he had warned about the spread of the plague.
"Galen must have told you," he whispered after taking a few sips of the water.
"The disease, he is not sure about how it spreads," yet he was certain that it was plague come again, and that they needed to react quickly.
"He did," Alysanne nodded, and Barth's son was many things, but he was not a liar.
"Then you must do your best to keep away from me, until we know how this plague spreads," and she scoffed at his words, as her old lips turned up in a smile as she joked lightly.
"You and I have spent a lifetime together. You would push me away at such an age," and age had not hindered her wits, as he smiled at those words.
"If it saves your life, then I would," he suggested seriously as she frowned at his words, but his mind was made up.
"You should leave for Dragonstone," he whispered finally, and Alysanne shook her head at his words.
"And leave you alone at such times," she was aghast at the suggestion, yet he was completely serious.
"Yes," he answered, and she seemed to realise his seriousness as the smile shifted on her face, and the wrinkles and the symptoms of age had never been clearer to him than in that moment, yet still to him she was the most beautiful woman in the realm.
"Galen believes that age and other weaknesses make one more susceptible to the plague," and neither of them had reason to doubt his words.
"Even now you're sitting here, it puts your life at risk," he asked.
"I am not leaving you, Jaehaerys," and people called him stubborn, yet the Good Queen was his equal in most things and was nearly as headstrong as he, if not even more.
"Alysanne," his voice softened as he whispered in between coughs and fevers.
"I am not leaving you, Jaehaerys," she responded more strongly, and he had feared this very thing.
"We have spent a lifetime together, and you ask me to abandon now while you fight for your life," and he did not ask her that.
"I ask you to save your life, my love," he eeked out.
"May the Seven..."
"Not just your own life," he cut in, for he knew that Alyssanne could only be made to change her mind in one.
"I want you to save Gael's life as well," and that left her with no retort, for he knew that there was but one thing that Alysanne loved more than him in this world, and it was their children—especially Gael, their daughter.
"We both know of her health, and now with plague threatening to tear apart the city, you should take her to Dragonstone with you." The remote island was far less crowded and far safer than the city and the Red Keep.
"She will be fine. She has become healthier," Alysanne countered weakly, and while that may be true, he knew just the words to say.
"And so was Danerys," and it pained him to use their first child's name like this, but he would not be able to forgive himself if something were to happen to Alyssanne or their daughter.
"That is cruel of you," she whispered somewhat angrily, as her lips quivered.
"Using her name like this," and of course, she saw through his plot, but that did not make it any less effective.
"But I am right," and she knew that.
"She would wish to work with Galen, putting her own life at risk. At Dragonstone, you will be able to keep her safe, even if..." and he did not have the strength to utter the rest, for she had lived long enough to understand the implication of the unsaid words.
"You are the only person who could convince her to leave for Dragonstone," and the pain and conflict of her mind were visible in her eyes, for she struggled to choose between her daughter and him.
"We have lost so many of our children over the years," and it may not show, but he loved each and every one of them in his own way and was pained by each loss just as much as she.
"I for one do not have the heart to lose another," and neither did she.
"You are a cruel man, Jaehaerys," she whispered back, and the words set his mind at ease.
"Join us," she suggested, and he shook his head.
"I am ill, and I do not have the strength to journey by the sea," and there was a chance that he might never regain such strength.
"We can wait..."
"No," he cut in, as he coughed once more.
"Gugh! Gugh!" The plague is still starting, you should leave as soon as possible, for once the ports are shut down, it will not be easy for you to leave the capital," for each day she stayed here, she put both her and Gael's life in danger.
"But Jaeherys, I cannot abandon you like this," and he smiled.
"You are not abandoning me. You are saving my daughter," and his mind was made, and she knew that as he saw her eyes swell with water, as a tear rolled down her cheeks.
"Go, I beg you," he continued, and she nodded in answer as relief filled his heart, and as she made to stand, he thought of his other companion, and he had hoped to see him again as well, yet a part of him feared that such a chance may not come.
"Alyssanne," he called out as his wife and companion of more than half a century stopped and turned to him.
"Would you sing to him for me?" he asked.
"Vermithor," he whispered weakly as he remembered the dragon who had reigned over the Seven Kingdoms beside him.
"I will..."
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GAEL TARGARYEN
"I am not leaving!" Gael screamed angrily, as a clearly tired and sleep-ridden Galen shook his head in retaliation.
"Yes, you are," and much like his mother, he refused to back down. Ever since news of the Plague had broken out, Gael had been locked inside her room, as Galen and the rest of the Healer recruits all worked day and night to save as many lives as they could.
"You support this," and she had not expected this of Galen, whom she had summoned to her room through great effort, only to be taken aback by his words.
"I do," he answered, and she had hoped to find some support in him, yet he stood against her.
"Dragonstone is remote and far less densely populated, making it a lot safer than the Red Keep. Going there is the right decision," and she had learned enough of medicine to know what he meant, yet he was ignoring another very important thing.
"But I don't want to go. I am a Healer, one you trained yourself, and now, when it is time for me to put all that effort to use, you want me to flee the capital," and his lips thinned, as he looked her in the eye and nodded again.
"Yes, I do," and she shook her head in consternation and began to pace.
"No. I am not leaving," she announced.
"I swore an oath," the oath of a healer to save all lives she could, and now he was asking her to throw it away.
"Yes, you did. But there are other oaths that bind you as well, Princess," his voice grew soft as he sat down on the sofa.
"The oaths of a Princess, of a daughter, of an aunt, to your own self," and his words cut deep, for this was one reason she had asked for him. For she knew that if there was anyone who could sway the minds of her family, it was him, yet here he sat trying to do the opposite of what she had hoped.
"You are a Princess, daughter to a loving King and a doting Queen. They worry for you, and you should not think that a burden. Leave, for you and I both know that the Queen shall not go without you, and with her age and condition, the plague could be very dangerous for her," and she knew that.
"All life is equal," she repeated his own words to him, as he smirked.
"And all Kings are just, all knights pious warriors, and all Septons celibate," he retorted quickly, and how could she ever hope to defeat him in wordplay when all the histories and texts of the Citadel sat in his head, waiting to be recited upon his command.
"I don't want to go. I want to stay," and not just to help people. But she wanted to stay here, with him, share his burdens, which were grander than anyone would hope.
Already the maesters were rather reluctant, and slow in their aid, and he was facing more than a dozen challenges in his efforts to combat this plague, yet here he was trying to convince his greatest strength and aide to abandon him.
"I want to stay here with you, Galen," she voiced out the truth, and the room became silent at her words. Unlike the bard before her, she spoke those words not because of some bodily attraction or beautiful songs but after many moons of contemplation and thinking.
"Please, let me," and if he were on her side, they could convince their mother to let her stay. She knew they could!
"I can't," he answered, and the way his lips quivered at those words told her that he did not just speak of the plague.
"You are a Princess, and your life is far too valuable," and with that, he rose from the chair and gave her a small bow.
"I will have the servants begin preparations for your departure," and she felt her heart twist in pain and agony, as she felt her eyes turn wet.
"You saved my life! You bet your own head just to give me hope!" and her voice croaked as she called him out on his past actions.
"You spent days and nights trying to teach me all that you know! I am naive. I am a fool, but I am not blind, Galen!" and her experience with that wretched bard had taught her enough to sift between deceit and actual love.
"You care for me. I know you do," and not for any material or political reasons as others would believe, for she knew just how many proposals landed came to him on a daily basis, each filled with promises of land, wealth, and beautiful noblewomen.
Yet he tossed them all aside, giving them little to no attention.
"Yet still, you push me away. Why?" she asked, and she could not see his face, yet she did not miss the slight quiver in his voice as he answered.
"Sometimes, the greatest gift that we can offer those we care for is to push them away...."
"...be safe, Gael."
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