The next day.
Early in the morning, the servants of the Red Keep began their work.
Aemon had just finished breakfast when Alicent invited him to her chambers.
"Glad to have you back, Aemon," Alicent beamed, offering a warm hug. "If you don't come back, you'll be forgotten."
"That won't be easy," Aemon pouted, secretly wishing he could be forgotten. As he spoke, he bent down to make sure the embrace was comfortable for her.
Given his height, only the towering Laena was a good match for him. Petite women like Rhaenyra and Alicent could only wrap their arms around his waist, which would have been too… ambiguous.
"Come in." Alicent felt the solidity of his chest, and her smile softened.
Aemon entered the room confidently. He had already sent a few of his dragon cubs to scout the way for him.
"Shhh!"
Baena and Rhaena sat on a soft red Lyseni carpet. They were each cradling a small dragon, guarding their precious companions.
The first dragon, a brilliant green with almost whitish scales, was over a meter long. Its wing membranes were pale white, a pair of small, pearly horns crowned its head, and its pupils were a brilliant golden yellow. Its neck and tail bore hard scales instead of dorsal spines. Its form was well-proportioned, its movements slow and deliberate—a dragon radiating elegance and dignity.
"Quiet, Moondance!"
Seeing her father arrive, Baena threw her arms around the young dragon's neck.
"Ga~~"
Moondance's cries abruptly ceased, and she was forced to lie submissively on her master's lap.
"Be gentle, Baena," Aemon observed, waving a hand in mild annoyance. This little girl was a bit too aggressive.
"Oh~"
Baena, reprimanded, reluctantly released her grip. Rhaena covered her mouth with her hand, giggling.
In her arms lay a small, pale red dragonet. The dragonet was no bigger than a cat, its scales a mix of pink and red, and a pair of small, black horns crowned its head. Perhaps due to a congenital deficiency, the young dragon appeared relatively frail.
"How's your Dawn? Is she having trouble adjusting to her new surroundings?" Aemon asked with concern.
Rhaena shook her little head and said sweetly, "Dawn's been good. She ate a big bite of roast lamb this morning."
"That's good. More meat will help her grow faster." Aemon crouched down, teasing the lazy, pale pink dragonet with his fingers.
"Gah!"
The young dragon, Dawn, widened its pupils and opened its mouth to bite the provocative finger. Seeing this, Aemon was completely relieved. Given the dragon's ferocity, there were no problems with its development.
Moondancer and Dawn were two companion dragonets, hatched from eggs in the twin cradle within a year. These eggs were not laid by Syrax or Dreamfyre, but were direct descendants of Vhagar. Laena had trusted Vhagar and personally selected them from her eggs.
The relationship between the two dragonlets was like that of their masters. The young dragon Moondancer was born strong and grew rapidly with the food she ate, perfectly embodying Vhagar's excellent bloodline. The young dragon Dawn, however, was no exception. From the moment it hatched, it looked sickly and on the verge of death. Fortunately, perhaps due to the fire magic Aemon had been using to nourish it morning and night, it ultimately survived. Though its development was slower than Moondancer's, it was growing up safely.
Aemon rejoiced for a full month about this. In the original world, this young dragon had been hatched in Pentos and died after just a few days. Now, hatched in Riverdale, it had surprisingly survived. Aemon believed this was directly related to the Lonely Mountain's transformation into a volcano. The Lonely Mountain had increased the concentration of fire magic in the surrounding environment, giving the dragon, which otherwise would have died, a glimmer of hope.
"They're both very well behaved. You can tell they've had a good upbringing," Alicent approached, praising the twins with a look of satisfaction.
"Really?" Aemon looked at the giggling twins with an odd look in his eyes. How could one tell whether a three-year-old was a lady? Was his parenting gone astray?
"Father," Jaehaerys said from the corner, a look of resentment on his face. Whenever his sisters were around, they ignored him.
"Hmm," Aemon nodded gently, signaling he was looking at him.
Jaehaerys was playing with Daeron and young Aegon. The three little ones were close in age, forming an uncle-nephew-niece group, often hanging out together. Unlike Jaehaerys's cleverness and Daeron's handsomeness, young Aegon was adorable, his calm purple eyes tinged with melancholy.
Like the twins, he held a young dragon in his arms. The dragon was purple, with light gray wings and a pair of sharp horns on its head.
"Hah!" The young dragon, Stormcloud, also the size of a cat, surveyed its surroundings blankly from its owner's arms.
Aemon took a special look, taking notice of his half-brother's young dragon. A storm-like purple dragon was a first for the family.
"Where are Aegon and Aemond?" Aemon asked casually, leaning back comfortably on the cushions of his chair.
"I wonder where they went to be crazy," Alicent shrugged, a touch of relief in her words. Raising children is no easy task, especially raising four.
"Aegon said he'd take Aemond somewhere fun to make amends for what happened yesterday," a silver-haired, violet-eyed girl knelt before the twins, petting a large red rabbit beside her lap as she casually replied. This was twelve-year-old Helena Targaryen.
Her silver-golden curls flowed naturally, and she wore a pale pink silk dress. Her oval face was dotted with freckles, and her lavender eyes were clear as water. The little girl had grown into a beautiful young woman. Not only was her beauty comparable to Rhaenyra, known as the "Light of the Realm," but she also surpassed both Aegon and Aemond.
"Is Aegon so kind?" Aemon chuckled.
Helena lowered her head, not commenting.
"What happened yesterday?" Alicent looked surprised, still in the dark.
Aemon had directly complained, accusing Aegon of leading the charge in humiliating Aemond.
"I knew it," Helena whispered quietly. Aegon was bound to be beaten.
"I'll take care of it!" Alicent's face paled and her expression hardened as she heard this, furious at her eldest son's actions.
Aemon tried to suppress the curl in his lips.
"Stop laughing!" Alicent suddenly asked after a moment.
Aemon was startled. "What's going on in King's Landing?" No one had mentioned anything else to him before he returned.
"It's in Tyrosh. The pirates of the Three Daughter's are making a comeback," Alicent said worriedly.
Indeed, something serious had occurred. Wymond Velaryon, the Sea Serpent's brother, was ambushed on his way back from a trade mission and nearly killed on his own ship. Among the attackers were the pirates of the Three Kingdoms who had scattered.
Aemon, quick-witted, asked, "Are there any others involved?"
Alicent nodded gently. The surviving sailors on Wymond's ship testified that half of the ambushers were Ironborn from the Iron Islands, and some were wearing turbans.
"They're not friendly," Aemon's eyes gleamed.
The other Free Cities and the Dornish are most likely behind this. The Three Women's Kingdom pirates and the Ironborn are just thugs.
"At the Imperial Council, Lord Tyran said the Dornish were accomplices. What do you think?" Alison was particularly concerned about this.
Aemon agreed wholeheartedly: "Tyran is a man of talent, he won't talk nonsense."
Upon hearing this, Alison's face darkened.
"Don't worry, the Dornish are not a threat," Aemon said with a reassuring smile.
Alison didn't seem to improve after hearing this. Instead, she said frankly: "The Targaryens are marrying the Martells, and Viserys has been hesitant about the choice of the bride. I don't want my son to marry a Dornish woman."
"Uh..." Aemon was speechless. One of his good deeds had backfired.
"Actually, these are all minor matters. What really concerns me is Viserys's attitude towards another matter," Alison said reluctantly.
Aemon listened attentively.
"The children are old enough, and it's time to talk about marriage." Alison put a hand on her forehead, a look of worry on her face. "You know, your family has some strange traditions. Viserys plans to choose one boy for the marriage, and the other to follow the tradition."
As she spoke, she glanced at Helena, who sat quietly.
Aemon was a bit speechless and jokingly said, "Uncle probably wants to have grandchildren soon."
"But I don't," Alicent retorted.
Aemon's words were immediately cut short.
"The boys aren't mature enough for marriage yet. It would only delay their sisters," Alicent said with disdain. She was not optimistic about either of the upcoming marriages. She didn't want her son to marry a Dornish woman, nor did she want her beloved daughter to follow family tradition.
A mother knows a son best. Neither Aegon nor Aemond would make good husbands.
Aemon couldn't hold back. What could he say? Even if he married Rhaenyra, given the conflict he had with his uncle years before, there was a certain element of outsider involvement. Anything he said about this matter, discussed behind closed doors, would be wrong.
"I have a small favor for you," Alicent said. "Helena has never been far away in her life. Take her to the Vale for a while to relax and unwind."
"No problem," Aemon agreed immediately.
That was all he could do. Judging from the original world's timeline, the eldest uncle was very anxious about his children's marriages. Aegon became a father at the age of sixteen. Helena was only fourteen at the time, barely an adult in Westeros. Calculating this, the engagement took place a year in advance, and the pregnancy took ten months after the wedding. The rules were set this year.
Knock, knock, knock—
A knock on the door, and Cole's voice rang out: "Your Majesty, the King has summoned Prince Aemon to attend the council."
"Understood," Alicent was surprised.
Aemon stood up and said, "I'll be leaving."
Bang!
The door closed, leaving only the noisy clamor of the children inside.
Alicent sat in the chair, silent for a long moment. Then, she stood up and put a cushion under her butt. It wasn't comfortable, so she added two more cushions for her back. Finally, she relaxed, sinking effortlessly into the chair.
"Ah~~" Alicent sighed, her heart agitated.
Helena heard her mother sigh and glanced back. But there was nothing she could do. She gently lay down on her side, her head resting on the soft, red rabbit.
"Helena," Alison whispered, watching her daughter curled up in a small ball.
Helena opened her eyes and looked at her mother, who seemed to be hesitating to speak.
"Nothing, just sleep if you want," Alison forced a smile.
Helena closed her eyes again, her breathing becoming increasingly slow. Alison looked at her daughter's peaceful sleep, feeling a surge of discomfort. She scratched her nails, draped over her lap. It had been a long time since she'd done this. But a flood of emotions washed over her, the tension and guilt making her unbearable.
Alison felt two regrets in her life. The first was that she was born too early. She was the one Aemon had been closest to, yet she was forced to marry and have children under their father's arrangement, only to watch him grow up and marry someone else.
The second was that her daughter was born too late. If Helena had been born a few years earlier, she would have forced Viserys to marry her daughter to Aemon, making up for her regret. But things didn't go as she wished. Helena was born too late, and could only watch Aemon marry his half-sister, repeating the same tragedy of having no say in her marriage.
"I want my daughter to be happy," Alicent muttered to herself, leaning back against the cushions to hide her sorrow.
The meeting hall.
At the beckoning of the Kingsguard, Aemon entered, unsure of why.
"Come, Aemon," Viserys said, seated at the head, waving his hand with a somber expression.
Aemon glanced around, seeing the courtiers all in a state of confusion. Rhaenyra sat below Hand Lyonor, her head bowed in worry.
"What happened?" Aemon frowned.
Taelan opened his mouth, about to tell the truth, but Viserys interrupted with a wave of his hand.
"Let me tell you," Viserys sighed. "A raven flew over Lys this morning, and Lady Marana died in childbirth."
Aemon was startled by the words. Marana Rogar, Daemon's second wife and mother of young Aegon. Died just like that?
"Luckily, she gave birth to a second Targaryen heir," Viserys said seriously. "Daemon wrote to take Lady Marana's body back to Dragonstone for burial, and I've already agreed."
"This is from this morning," Grand Maester Meros said, his movements shaky as he handed over a wrinkled note.
Aemon took it and examined it. Lady Marana had suffered a difficult labor and hemorrhage, and a healer from Lys had cut open her abdomen and removed the still-living fetus. Such a major operation, performed without anesthesia or sterilization, would have been fatal. Fortunately, the fetus survived, a boy. Daemon requested that his wife's body be taken back to Dragonstone for burial, as a sign of his regard for her.
"Isn't he unlucky?" Aemon muttered to himself.
In the original world, his mother, Lady Rhea, died in a fall from a horse, and Laena had a difficult labor with her second child. It sounds normal, but in fact, many things don't make sense. His mother, Lady Rhaea, grew up on horseback, and her riding and hunting experience were better than most men in the Vale. And Laena gave birth to extremely dangerous twins in her first pregnancy. That was fine, but she had a difficult delivery when she gave birth to one of her second children. Even the current Lady Marana survived her first pregnancy safely, but died in her second.
It was hard for Aemon not to suspect that Daemon was unlucky with his wife, not with heaven or earth. After all, according to the trajectory of the original world, Rhaenyra also died in the dragon's mouth. No one who became Daemon's wife had a good ending.
"Daemon will be back soon, and then we will all go to Dragonstone to see Lady Marana off for the last time."
Viserys did not mention that he had called her "Daemon's bitch" at this time. A noblewoman with Valyrian blood was his younger brother, and his family left two male heirs at the cost of their lives. She deserved his respect.
"I understand." Aemon nodded silently without showing any emotion.
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