Maegor XXVII
5th Moon, 37AC
The dimly lit interior of the Dragonpit was bathed in light as the colossal bronze doors were opened by the Dragonkeepers. It was a herculean effort to open the truly enormous bronze doors. They had to be large enough to accommodate the entrance of dragons of Balerion's size after all.
Even still, the Dragonkeepers dutifully opened the doors wide to accommodate me and my family. We could have simply slipped into the smaller doors carved into the sides of the structure, which were typically used by the Dragonkeepers. But I decided to make a spectacle out of our current jaunt to the pit. We were here for an important reason after all.
"Father, Father! May I pick out the egg?" Daeron excitedly asked from my side and I could only sigh as I read my overly excited son like the open book he was.
"Do you want to pick out the egg because you want to give your sister a good one? Or are you hoping it will hatch in your hands when you pick it out?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow, earning a light chuckle from my mother.
"I… uhm…" Daeron stammered, caught flat-footed as I guessed his plot before he could even hope to execute it.
"Do you dislike Vhagar that much?" my mother teased as we passed the den of the very dragon she was mentioning. The bronze she-dragon moved right up to the steel gate at the front of her den to glance at her rider. The tunnels leading to the hatcheries and where the eggs were stored were in the back of the pit after all. So we had a pretty long walk all things considered.
"N-no! I like Vhagar… it's just… I want a dragon," my son whispered while staring at his feet. I could hardly blame Daeron for being impatient of course. He had been growing quite close with his cousin Viserys recently and my eight-year-old nephew could hardly be made to stop talking about his beloved Silverwing.
"And you will get one, one day," my mother promised easily. It was her promise to make, after all, Vhagar was her dragon.
"But it's not fair… Visenya already has one. Baelon has his red egg and now Daenys is getting an egg too," my son was now pouting with full force, earning the ire of my wife.
"This world is hardly fair, Daeron. You are waiting to get Vhagar as your dragon. Not many get a chance to claim a dragon like her," Shiera took the words right out of my mouth. Which I supposed made sense, I knew for a fact she was dealing with his desire for a dragon for the last few moons while I was on campaign.
I could tell that my mother wanted to interject and claim that no dragon was quite like Vhagar. But she never got the chance as the grandmaster of the Dragonkeepers arrived.
"My prince," he bowed as he addressed me specifically.
"Grandmaster," I acknowledged him in turn. He was one of the most valuable people on the planet after all, ensuring that he was respected was a necessity.
"If you would follow me, I will bring you to the hatcheries," he said with a deep bow.
"To answer your question, Daeron. No, you may not pick out the egg," I finally interjected into the conversation again. I did not really think it would be a problem if Daeron picked it out, but I decided I would instead. My father handed out the previous batch of eggs. I wanted to give at least one of my children their bonded mount.
My family needed to secure its future. That was something that I had discussed with my wife and mother more times than I could count. Once my children were old enough to properly understand, I would discuss it with them too. It was of vital importance after all.
I had already done much to secure that future. Conquering an empire for my family, securing advantageous marriages, and building a fortune only a handful on the planet could match. This of course let us focus on other matters, the most important of which were dragons.
My family was doing alright regarding dragons so far. Vhagar and Terrax were effectively locked down. But I needed to start thinking more long-term as well. Which meant we needed more she-dragons if at all possible.
Vhagar was of course an enormous boon in that regard. What with her being a large, capable, adult she-dragon. But we needed more if we were to remain relevant into the far future. Male dragons were of course valuable, but the ability to produce eggs made female dragons so far and above more valuable that it was hard to fathom.
When you compared my family with that of my brother, he handily beat me in that regard. Quicksilver, Dreamfyre, and Silverwing were all in my brother's family, which was quite a powerful trio when it came to producing eggs. Meanwhile, as of now I only had Vhagar. Which meant that we had to try and get more.
Vermithor was of course a welcome addition to our family and I would have loved to keep him. Ultimately, he was not a solution to my problem and would end up in my nephew's family once Visenya married Viserys. Even if I could certainly count on my daughter for support for my entire life, I needed to start thinking about the much longer term. The more prepared my family was, the better.
I doubted Baelon's egg would provide a solution either, given I was almost certain what stubborn little dragon existed within that blood-red egg. The damnable bloodwyrm had still refused to hatch. I knew the egg was viable if I was actually correct about the dragon it held, so it was just a waiting game.
This left this selection as being vital. Suppose we could not secure another she-dragon. We would have to rely solely on Vhagar until I had grandchildren to claim dragons. Which would leave us with few dragon eggs or it would force us to lean on my brother's family for eggs, which was a dangerous proposition that I was not keen to rely on.
Dragon eggs were certainly going to become a problem in the future. The moment Dreamfyre and Silverwing started properly producing, the supply that we had would become contentious. Were eggs the collective property of all of House Targaryen? Or did the eggs belong to the rider's family? It was a discussion that needed to be held with the whole family, ideally once the children were a little older and could participate.
This ultimately led me to the decision to get Daenys an egg sooner rather than later. I was almost certain that eggs would end up divided among the branch families eventually, so securing one quickly was ideal.
My mother and wife were of course not opposed to the idea. They had essentially just been waiting for me to finish up the campaign before we all visited the Dragonpit as a family to choose. I was grateful that they had waited for me, I wanted to be a part of this event.
The interior of the Dragonpit got warmer and warmer as we moved into the cavernous structure. We got closer to the proper center of the volcano so it made sense that the heat would increase. But it had been a while since I visited the tunnels and chambers that the Dragonkeepers made or renovated into living spaces.
"My Prince," the Grandmaster said as he bowed deeply once more while gesturing to a door in the dimly lit caverns.
He did not need to say the rest of the words as the door was opened wide. Shiera recoiled at my side from the heat, so I moved to stand in front of her. The hatcheries were the hottest place on the island, after all, it was understandable she would feel the heat more here.
"The eggs are inside, my prince. Please take whichever you wish," the grandmaster spoke softly, shielding his face with his fine silken garbs.
I remembered then that the Dragonkeepers did not have the same protection from extreme heat. I had always wondered how they managed to maintain themselves in the extreme heat of the pit. Perhaps they had developed some sort of protection or tolerance over the years?
'Questions for later,' I thought as I slightly pinched Daenys's cheeks before entering the chamber. My mother and the rest of my family elected to remain outside, with their presence not really needed in the already stuffy and balmy room.
The interior of the hatchery was dark. The only source of light that could be seen was the torch handed to me and the lightly burning coals in all the dugouts in the walls. The first thing I noticed was the very few eggs actually in the slots carved into the walls. I counted just four in the dim light.
"How many eggs do we have?" I asked the grandmaster, who stood by the door just outside, waiting to help me if need be.
"Many, my prince. Dozens lie in vaults deeper into the Dragonpit. But many have gone cold or have not hatched after years within the hatcheries. When no sign is given, we move them to longer-term storage," he spoke from his position outside of the room and that gave me a lot more to think about.
'Dozens…' I thought with narrowed eyes. I could already tell that all of the children would end up clamoring for them. Given the distinct possibility of House Targaryen ballooning in size, dragons will become even more coveted.
The first egg that I passed was ruled out instantly, on account of it being Baelon's. Because the egg had failed to hatch back in Essos, I elected to have it placed back in the hatcheries, in the hopes the stubborn Bloodwyrm would finally hatch.
The second egg was the first that could actually be given to my daughter. The egg was a beautiful mix of blue and purple swirls that blended in annoyingly well with the dimly lit chamber. I touched the scalding hot egg with my right hand before I moved on to the next one. Comparing it with Baelon's egg in my mind.
The next egg that I saw ended any and all doubts I had. I picked up the egg immediately, admiring the scarlet, pink, and copper swirls that danced around the egg like a firestorm. 'What are the odds?' I wondered as I smiled from ear to ear. I remembered this coloration from my previous life. If my memories proved true, this egg would be a solution to my problems.
"Good evening, Meleys," I whispered with a grin. I had to hope that my eyes did not deceive me. If this egg actually did hatch into the Red Queen, my family would receive an unbelievable boon.
I turned on my heel in an instant, the fourth egg was not even really worth looking at. I knew which egg my daughter would have there and then.
As I made my way back toward the entrance of the chamber, I tried to stir up old memories of the dragons I knew would one day be born. The dates of their hatchings were long since lost on me but I remembered names and some colors. 'Perhaps I ought to try and pull on my previous knowledge more,' I thought as I finally made it out of the blisteringly hot room.
"Oooh! It's red! Like mine!" Baelon was the first to speak up from the small crowd my family made. I passed the egg off to the Grandmaster so he could prepare a brazier and assign keepers to its protection down in the castle. Keeping the egg warm and safe was of vital importance. The cradle of my daughter was considerably less safe than the deepest halls and chambers of the sweltering Dragonpit.
"Indeed it is, Baelon," I said as I knelt down and patted my second son on the head.
"Two red dragons for two siblings," Shiera said with happiness obviously radiating from her tone. I figured she would like the gesture. Two red dragons for a brother and sister that would one day wed.
Baelon was of course far too young to actually grasp the idea that he would marry his little sister one day. But it did not matter as of yet. Especially because his dragon had to actually hatch before the nice image could be made real. Meleys also had to hatch from her egg as well.
I chanced a glance over to my mother and my eldest son, who happened to be standing side by side. I could see the jealous look on Daeron's face as he looked at the egg being prepared by the Dragonkeepers.
'What can I say to him?' I thought as my mother whispered a few words in his ear. As it seemed she had also noticed his increasing jealousy. It was hard to blame my son for feeling jealous, but we needed him to lock down Vhagar, so getting an egg was not possible for him.
"You have my thanks, Grandmaster," I spoke to the old man as the small group of Dragonkeepers finished placing the egg in a brazier so it could be taken to the castle. He bowed in difference afterward.
"Think nothing of it, my prince. Everything here belongs to House Targaryen and House Targaryen alone, including our services," the grandmaster spoke with reverence in his tone as if he were a slave speaking to their master.
The culture of the Dragonkeepers always intrigued me. Their religious beliefs were largely unknown and none of my ancestors really cared all that much, but I felt the need to secure them and their loyalty. They already had a high mortality rate because of their work with the dragons and now our family was getting far more complicated.
"We will have to review what belongs to whom at some point. Along with your duties. I am loath to disregard tradition in this way. But times are changing," I lied through my teeth at the old man. I could imagine he would not enjoy the reforms I had planned for his order, but they would have to be made all the same.
The first and most troubling problem that occurred recently was when my nephew threatened the Dragonkeepers into compliance. That would not do and could not happen again. The Dragonkeepers had to be above any and all potential squabbles and politicking within House Targaryen, especially now that our House was beginning to form proper branches.
'Sequestering a few away in Essos is probably a necessity,' I thought as my mind drifted back to Pentos. I had not been there in several moons and it was growing to be a problem. I could largely count on my advisors and the conclave to run things in my absence but some matters required my attention. Namely, a recent delegation from Myr and the construction of the Dragonpit there.
Dragonkeepers would undoubtedly become a hot commodity, not unlike the dragons they cared for in the coming years. With the number of Targaryens ever increasing and with new branches forming, everyone was going to want Dragonkeepers for themselves.
Dragonstone was also supposed to be a neutral ground in the future, even if it was owned by me and my family. This meant that the chapter of Dragonkeepers here also had to be neutral and above the commands of any single Targaryen.
'I suppose I ought to go to King's Landing,' I thought as I shared a look with my family. It was all I had to do to tell them that we were done here. So we all made our way back toward the actual chamber the dragons were kept in when we heard a distinct sound.
A great horn sounded suddenly, filling the entire Dragonpit with a cacophony of noise. I knew the sound well, it meant that a dragon was here.
"Who is here?" Daeron asked inquisitively as my family picked up the pace. I quickly scooped up Visenya before running down the halls. Perhaps my brother would visit me instead, saving me the trouble of going to King's Landing. He had not told me that he was going to come here anytime soon, but I supposed this wouldn't be the first time he dropped in unannounced.
Once we made it to the cavernous main chamber, the truth was revealed to us. It was not my brother who had arrived suddenly and unannounced, it was my nephew Aegon.
…
The private training yard of Dragonstone was a favorite place of mine. The solitude it brought allowed me to train in relative peace and quiet. Which was usually not something I was afforded as a child on account of my prodigal status and overbearing mother.
It seemed I was not the only person who had recognized the superiority of this much smaller training yard as I spotted my nephew swinging his practice blade at a target over and over. Practicing like I had done for years and years and years.
I sighed as I prepared myself for what was to come. I had made a decision earlier to try to not step into my brother's family troubles as much as I could get away with. I didn't really want to mess with his family if I could help it. I would offer advice where I could but I had a feeling that trying to teach my brother how to be a parent on top of how to be a king would only sour his mood further.
I would of course step in should Alyssa try anything with the current betrothals. I would not let her undo all the work I had done to try and unite our families again. But I had also decided that if I were to intervene in my brother's family, it would only be with Viserys and/or Alysanne. Given they were to wed my children one day. That being said, I had less than zero desire to wade into the mess between my eldest niece and nephew.
My brother had been spending the last moon and a half desperately trying to mend the fractured relationship between his two eldest children. It was part of the reason he moved his family off of Dragonstone and into his King's Landing manse. He had hoped that a different environment might change something. He had been incorrect in that assumption.
Aegon had only grown more rebellious and unruly in the moons we spent on campaign. Shiera and her growing posse of ladies-in-waiting were my main source of information on the topic, given that Aenys was not keen on sharing many details. But from the sounds of it, Aegon was pissed.
Dancing with other women at balls and banquets, refusing to sit with his sister at meals, openly flirting with the noble ladies of the court, and even Balerion had grown hostile with Dreamfyre and Rhaena. Aegon had redoubled his efforts from the sounds of it, spending hours every day either in the yard with the Kingsguard or with the Grand Maester. It would be commendable if it were not also paired with the complete rejection of his sister.
I could not totally fault Aegon either of course. The entire family, besides the children, had been briefed on just what occurred. The sheer stupidity of my niece made me want to facepalm. Could she not at least wait to do this to Aegon when he wasn't grieving the death of my father?
Then of course the excellent parenting of my brother and his bitch wife only made the situation worse. An apparent slap on the wrist for Rhaena is what seems to have set off Aegon's current rebellious streak. Including a growing disregard for his mother and whatever commands she may give him.
I would have found the whole situation amusing, as my mother had, if Aegon was not the heir to the throne and Rhaena did not ride the single most valuable dragon alive. Not to mention the implicit threat that the High Septon had given to my brother just a moon before. I had been considering wading into the mess, even if I really did not want to for that very reason.
Should this betrothal actually fall through, we would have a colossal mess on our hands. Which seems to have actually been noticed by Shiera, as she was the one to finally convince me to speak with my nephew. I tasked her meanwhile with getting whatever she could out of Rhaena. From the sounds of it, she had grown much quieter ever since she was found out.
Which was why I was here now. Aegon had arrived on Dragonstone just a day prior, he did not bother to tell us the reason, but he had also not spoken with us since he arrived. He even skipped both breakfast and lunch with us. Which was what finally prompted Shiera to ask me to speak with him.
He was of course welcome here, all Targaryens were after all. But this also provided me with the perfect chance to speak with him one on one. I quickly motioned for the rest of the guards to be dismissed. There were no Kingsguard on the island so it was mostly just the castle staff and local garrison. All of whom vacated immediately at my command.
That seemed to have gotten Aegon's attention as he turned around and looked at me. I studied his face with a blank expression on my own. His barely repressed scowl was easy to see. He was clearly pissed about something, that something probably being heavily related to what my idiot brother or dumbass goodsister had said to him back in King's Landing.
"Good day, Aegon," I greeted him as I made my way over to the rack holding a number of very blunt steel training swords. I gingerly placed Dark Sister on the rack before I looked at the training swords already there. I generally disliked not having Dark Sister on my person, especially after the attempt on my life from the Faceless Men. But carrying it during a sparring match was unnecessary.
"...Good day, Uncle," Aegon said suspiciously. I could feel his stare on my back as I picked out a sword at random. They were all near-identical after all.
"Mind if we have a spar?" I asked as I turned around and changed my grip up a bit. It had been a little while since I last trained with any sword but Dark Sister, given my busy schedule. So I would be at a little bit of a disadvantage.
"...Sure," Aegon said as he readied himself to face me properly. His stance was quite loose, as if he weren't taking this seriously at all.
I closed the distance between us rapidly, swinging my sword in a wide arc, clearly telegraphing my moves so he could block.
He did so easily, just as I had hoped. I had gotten a few chances to show him some moves in the days after my father's funeral. But we had never really sparred before. Which was kind of understandable considering I was like two whole heads taller than him.
Aegon responded with a swing of his own. But I simply moved out of the way instead of blocking. His footwork was sloppy and his strikes were entirely too forceful. He wasn't really training here, he was venting his anger.
'I suppose this was to be expected,' I thought with a frown as I continued to dodge his frenzied attempts at hitting my armored form. I tried to glean as much information from his movements as I could, but it seemed he was just pissed.
In a flash, I pushed the flat of my sword's handle into his chest. With a heave, I shoved him a few feet backward as he landed flat on his ass. Had he been in the proper stance and right headspace, he would have simply staggered backwards. But instead, he landed on the ground.
I stared at him as he slowly got to his feet before he stared me down, a suspicious look in his eye. "Uncle…" Aegon began, lowering his sword so it nearly touched the ground between his feet. "Why are you here?" he asked suspiciously, looking at me as if I had personally insulted him.
All I could do was sigh as I sheathed my sword and folded my arms. I was hoping to get Aegon to ease up a bit with some training but it clearly didn't work. 'Time to face the problem head-on I suppose,' I thought with a frown before it was time to see what I could do.
"Is there any particular reason why you are here, Aegon?" I asked him with a look that demanded answers. It was one I had to use on my children quite often.
"I am pretty sure you already know," Aegon said with an audible snap in his tone.
"Why would I ask if I already knew?" I said with a sigh as I moved toward the rack of swords to retrieve my Dark Sister.
"Father didn't send a raven?" Aegon asked, confused.
"Why would he do that?" I turned the question back around on him as I traded my blades out. I wanted him to actually think about why he was here and what he was doing. If he grasped it, explaining why what he was doing was stupid would be easier.
"Because… I flew here after an argument I had with him," Aegon admitted through grit teeth. He was likely stirring up the bad memories of the previous day by doing this but this conversation would not be a fun one regardless. I could only hope that it would be productive.
"What was the argument about?" I asked calmly. I imagined that most of his discussions with his parents were largely screaming. So I would refrain from doing so here.
"You definitely know that. Everyone here on the island is talking about it," Aegon said through grit teeth once again.
'Damn he's pissed,' I thought with a sigh before I decided to force this conversation along.
"Your sister I assume? Or perhaps your actions at the latest banquet? Or maybe it was about your dragon? Or your increased time in the yard? Or your extra lessons with the maester? Or maybe it was about your father's upcoming progress through the Riverlands?" I said with an unimpressed glare sent toward Aegon. If he wanted to be a smartass with me I could respond in kind. I had oodles of ways of making him say what I wanted him to and my schedule was as clear as it had ever been.
Aegon stared at me in disbelief after that. Meanwhile, I simply returned the stare, awaiting his response.
"I… it was about my actions at the latest banquet…" Aegon admitted after a sufficiently awkward bout of silence.
"What were those actions?"
"I… I danced with Lady Ferris Mallery. Instead of my sister," Aegon said while affixing me with another suspicious glare.
"And I take it your father did not respond well to your foolish action?" I said almost on instinct before I regretted it immediately afterward.
"Foolish!? What was foolish was for my whore sister to go behind my back and fool around with other people while we were already betrothed!" Aegon roared and it sounded like he would have continued before I put a hand up, halting him in his tracks.
"Let me clarify, boy," I said, the tone in my voice shrinking Aegon a bit. "You are publicly and widely known to be betrothed to your sister Rhaena. Yet you danced with a different woman during a public banquet while ignoring said betrothed, in front of many onlookers," I said, waiting for him to nod his head.
"Y-yes," Aegon said, rising up from his shrunk position to puff himself up. I had to resist rolling my eyes as I made my way over to him.
"You seem to misunderstand something, Aegon," I began, placing one of my hands on his shoulder. He looked up at me with a confused look before I continued.
"Your actions were foolish, but I understand why you did them," I said clearly and concisely, earning an even more confused look from my nephew.
"Y-you do?" Aegon asked, seemingly shocked stiff.
"I do, and I would like to talk with you about it. If you would like to, that is," I wanted to give the decision to him. If he rejected my desire for a chat, then we would probably be doomed, but forcing a conversation when he didn't want one had a good chance of just making him more rebellious and pissed.
"I… we can talk," Aegon decided after staring at his feet for a moment. It seemed he had not been expecting me to be so open to conversation, nor as clearly angry and judging as his parents.
"How about we take a seat?" I said while pointing to a nearby bench.
"Alright," Aegon said as he moved to place his training sword on the rack and then followed me to a bench near the edge of the yard.
After we both took a seat, I affixed my nephew with a stare before starting the process properly this time. "You are acting out because your sister went behind your back and had dalliances with Lady Samantha Stokeworth during your betrothal, yes?" I asked the first question, but I would let Aegon largely clarify before I tried explaining the ramifications of Aegon's actions, which it seemed he could not grasp.
"Her and our cousin Larissa Velaryon, that and my mother and father cannot fathom that she is a traitor and that she betrayed me. Now I am the bad one because I won't lie down and accept the humiliation." The venom in Aegon's tone returned in full force and I hummed to myself as I took in the information.
It was about as I had expected, now I just needed to find a way to explain what he was doing to him. As he could only see part of the picture from his understandably extremely biased position.
"What Rhaena did was wrong, and she should be punished for it," I began, earning a pleased look from Aegon before I continued. "But it does not excuse your actions," I said as Aegon stared at me full force once again.
"What else am I supposed to do?! Father won't punish Rhaena and Mother will not do so in any real way. Sending her ladies away? Grounding her for a few moons? It is nowhere near sufficient!" Aegon continued getting more and more angry with every word, so I stepped in to calm him down.
"I agree. What Rhaena did to you was wrong. But, you are not supposed to destroy your own reputation with that of your sister," I said calmly and quietly, bringing our conversation back down to a normal volume.
"I…" Aegon began but he never finished his sentence. Retreating back into silence as he stared at his feet.
"Aegon… you are playing a game where nobody wins. I understand your anger, and your rage at being told to marry someone that you are uncertain about. Believe me, I know," I said, alluding to my own troubles with a certain annoying Hightower.
"But what you are doing is not productive. Rhaena betrayed you, yes, but does she deserve this utter and complete humiliation?" I asked and Aegon seemed to reignite at the words.
"Does she deserve it? Yes, she deser-" Aegon began before I cut him off. I was loath to do so but I needed to finish my point.
"Aegon," I spoke harshly, earning his silence once more. "It is clear that you are not thinking straight. I cannot completely fault you for it. But you want to emulate my father, yes? Be a good king?" I asked forcefully. I needed to reach Aegon somehow. It was clear that he desperately needed some proper advice and a better look at his situation. Which was something I could provide.
"...I do…" Aegon admitted after I forced him back into silence, even if I could tell that he was still pissed.
"If I had to guess. My brother and your mother have told you dozens of times now that you must marry your sister because of tradition, correct?" I asked and received a simple nod from Aegon, who continued to stew in his anger.
"Do you know why it is tradition? To wed brother to sister in our house?" I asked him the loaded question, hoping to correct his poor interpretation and steer our conversation where I wanted it to go.
"To maintain hold over the dragons and to ensure the purity of our blood," Aegon said and I knew I had him right where I wanted him.
"You are correct. That is the reason for the tradition, but in your anger, you are blinded to your current situation," I began and earned another fiery look from Aegon.
"My current situation?" he asked with spite in his tone.
"You are set to marry your elder sister Rhaena. Yet you do not seem to realize the weight of that situation. Your foolish parents likely do not grasp the severity of it either. But I am here to tell you of it," I said and earned a look of curiosity from Aegon that time.
"What do you suppose would happen should you break your betrothal with your sister?" I asked and Aegon seemed to almost recoil at the idea. Aegon's emotions were a mystery to me but I had to try and advise him, as it seemed nobody else could or would.
"I… I would find another bride. One who would not betray me," Aegon said halfheartedly.
"What would happen to Rhaena then?" I continued, leading Aegon right where I wanted him.
"She would marry someone else. Likely my brothers Viserys or Jaehaerys," Aegon said and I simply shook my head.
"Will your brothers not have the same complaints as you? Would they be any more willing than you are now?" I asked and Aegon looked deep in thought. I would have let him keep thinking, but we were in a good spot as of now and I needed to keep using it.
"What you have seemingly not been told, Aegon. is why not marrying Rhaena is such a bad thing," I continued.
"I have been told that I must do so for the honor of our house," Aegon bit back, as if old memories had just resurfaced.
"Your parents cannot fully grasp the situation either then, shame," I said before Aegon bit back once more.
"What situation?! She betrayed me! What else is there to consider?!" Aegon yelled and I was suddenly thankful I cleared the yard.
"Rhaena rides a dragon, a she-dragon. Which will one day lay eggs that Rhaena will likely give to her future children, Targaryen or not," I explained the crux of my worries as clearly as I could.
As enticing as the possibility of potentially breaking the betrothal between my niece and nephew was, what with the possibility of avoiding a conflict with the Faith and pushing for Visenya to be queen of Westeros, it ultimately caused glaring problems.
Rhaena was a horrendously dangerous person untethered. Which was the main thing that Aegon did not seem to grasp. She was basically a free ticket for whoever she married to become a dragonriding family. Our house did not know just how prolific Dreamfyre could get, but I did. Any children she would have would almost certainly be Dragonriders. Which meant that she had to marry a Targaryen.
Sure she might be able to marry Viserys, should the marriages be shuffled around. But who was to say if Viserys would not be just as angry as Aegon when he found out? Or that Rhaena might not find herself involved with someone else before Viserys was of age to marry? Or would my brother even be willing? He was always incredibly stubborn about a handful of things.
"I…" Aegon started but stopped suddenly, lost in thought.
With a sigh, I leaned forward and placed my hand on his shoulder again. "Aegon, I cannot demand you marry your sister, nor will I. It is a decision you must make. But I can ask you to be smart and take everything we talked about today into consideration. It is your choice, but make sure you make it rationally, or you might just regret it later," I said to him before I stood up and made for the exit. It was mostly up to Aegon now, and I was not going to try and pressure him any longer.
...
"Father! Can you take me flying?" Baelon asked me adorably from across the room and I smiled as I nodded easily.
"Of course, Baelon. Is there anywhere in particular you would like to fly?" I asked as I bounced Visenya up and down on my knee, earning a stream of giggles from my second youngest child.
"No, I just want to go whoosh!" Baelon said with a motion of sending his hand through the air like a dragon.
Baelon was considerably more happy-go-lucky than Daeron. It was likely on account of him already having a dragon egg, along with his younger age. But he did not pout nearly as much.
That was not to say that Daeron was a problem child, of course. He was ordinarily almost as unconcerned and cheerful as Baelon. It just happened that he befriended his cousins recently over the last five moons, and his lack of a dragon was starting to get to him.
'Once he is older, he will understand,' I thought as I looked at my eldest son, who was currently playing with his youngest sister in the corner with my wife. I had deliberately engineered this rather nothing day. Given my normally immense responsibilities and the shitshow currently going on in King's Landing. I was trying to enjoy as much peace and quiet as I could manage.
"Me too!" Visenya said through her stream of giggles from my lap before I hoisted her up and turned her around to face me.
"You want to go flying too?" I asked while my daughter gave me a toothy grin and nodded. It was so easy to simply cast away my troubles when I was surrounded by all of them. I could almost fully ignore the troublesome problems out east, and the storm brewing in the west.
"How about we all go, after supper of course," my mother interjected from her spot halfway between myself and Shiera. She had picked out a comfortable enough looking chair and claimed it for herself when we all got here. She was not one to play with my children, even if she would watch them with a smile.
"That sounds wonderful," Shiera said next, picking up Daenys from Daeron's grasp and standing from her position seated on the floor. I only noticed then that my wife and eldest son were kneeling over a book.
"That sounds wonderful indeed. We can fly around Dragonstone for a bit and then spend some time with the dragons in the Dragonpit," I continued. I knew that Visenya would like that. She rarely got to spend much time with Vermithor after he was moved to the Pit full-time. So I figured I would offer my daughter a lifeline and allow her some time with her dragon.
Her gleeful look from my lap and the adorable hug she gave me made it clear that I was correct in my assumption. I tried to revel in this bliss for as long as I could, as I knew that I would be called away soon.
The trouble in King's Landing was growing more concerning by the day. My brother had told me about his confrontation with the High Septon and it confirmed my suspicions. War would be coming with the faith, it was simply a matter of when.
Ideally, we would push it back as long as we could. Which would allow for us to prepare and for the children and their dragons to grow. I was loath to bring them to war, but even having the possibility would make it easier. As of now, we only really had five dragons that could fight. But even that did not paint the entire picture.
Aegon was about as green as a rider could be. Dreamfyre was still quite small for her age. My mother was quite old and far less spry than when she fought the Faceless Men. Then of course there was my cowardly brother. Finally, I could be called away at a moment's notice back to Essos the moment that Volantis stirred up trouble.
Our dragon situation was not ideal. But it was not like we had much of a choice in the matter. If Aegon and Rhaena really did wed in about a year's time. Then war would be upon us, whether we wanted it or not.
'At least Aenys recognizes it now,' I thought as my smile began to dissipate. After his confrontation with the High Septon. Aenys recognized that the faith would be a future problem. Which meant that I could convince him to prepare for war, discreetly of course.
The builders at the Red Keep were working double time. Officially, Aenys wanted to move into the castle once his heir married, even if that was an incredibly optimistic wish. But unofficially, we were trying to secure a better grasp of King's Landing. Which had an uncomfortably large faith presence.
Then House Velaryon had commissioned thirty more galleys. Which would shore up our naval power should a lord like Redwyne or Lannister work with the faith.
But there was much more to do. Which was exactly why I wanted to spend as much time with my children as I could get away with. There was so much work to be done, preparing for weddings, coronations, and wars.
All of our attention was quickly shifted toward the door to the room as a visitor appeared.
"Good evening," Aegon said as he leaned against the doorframe. He seemed quite nervous, even if he was hiding it rather well.
Before I could respond in turn. Daeron and Baelon ran over to their cousin. "Aegon!" they both shouted in unison as they ran up to their far older cousin. He seemed to relax a bit when they ran up to him, which gave me time to stand and walk towards him.
"Why are you here? Did Viserys come? How long will you be staying? Can we go flying on Balerion?" my two sons damn near assaulted Aegon with a stream of questions before I decided to step in. They could ask him questions over dinner.
"Good evening, Aegon. Care to join us for supper?" I offered as I spoke above the myriad of questions sprouting from my sons faces.
"I would like that," Aegon responded to me first, which earned a hearty pout from both of my sons, who assumed they were being ignored.
The more relaxed expression on his face brought a little bit of hope to me. It had been a few hours since our conversation and I had not seen him since. So it was likely he was thinking for the last while.
Whatever his decision was to be, I would have to be ready to respond to it. I had already discussed the possibilities with Shiera and my mother earlier. If Aegon wished to remain betrothed to his sister, we would work with him and be his lifeline. If he did not wish to marry her, we would push for him to marry Visenya.
That would of course come down to my brother's discretion. He still held some power over Aegon. Namely, his inheritance, I just hoped that my spineless brother would not be forced to act. The family situation was already deteriorating as is. The last thing we needed was for the rider of Balerion to be disinherited.
So our hope was that Aegon and Rhaena could figure something out. It might leave our family slightly less happy and more unstable in the short term, but it would also not shatter our Westerosi cousins. Which could lead to much worse happenings.
As we made our way toward the dining hall. I made sure to pull Aegon aside for a bit, just to share a few words. I sent my children ahead with my wife and mother. Daeron and Baelon were a little bit upset but a simple promise of some time with Balerion silenced them.
"Aegon."
"Uncle."
"I wanted to let you know that you are always welcome here," I said to him, but it seemed he had not quite understood my meaning.
"I know, you already said so after grandfather's funeral," Aegon said but I clarified after that.
"No, I mean you are always welcome here. If you ever need a break from King's Landing. Dragonstone will always be open to you, and so long as I and my family are on Dragonstone, you will be welcome to spend time with us if you wish. Don't be a stranger, Aegon," I spoke clearly and calmly.
Aegon was clearly dealing with a veritable mess, largely of his own making, back in King's Landing. So offering him a lifeline out here on Dragonstone was both a smart play to keep him from completely losing it and endeared him to my family more. Earning the trust of the rider of Balerion would be important for the future, and lucky me it seemed I had just done so.
"Thank you, Uncle," Aegon said with a hint of a smile on his face.