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Chapter 5: The Beginning
82 AC
The King's Solar
Baelon Targaryen
Baelon, along with his elder brother, was summoned by their father, the king.
"Your Grace," both of them bowed as they entered the solar, and the king waved away their courtesy. Baelon noticed a raven scroll lying on the table and the king looked devastated. He knew the king kept his emotions close to his heart, but even so, he could deduce that the news must have been saddening.
"My sons, this is the latest letter from the Vale. Daella is gone," the king whispered, and Baelon was struck by the sadness in their father's voice. Maybe old age was finally softening the cold heart of the king.
"No," Aemon whispered in anguish, as they had all loved their sweet sister. Baelon, who had been happy with Daemon's birth recently, immediately lost his joy.
"Father, who should go, and what about Gaemon?" Aemon asked hesitantly.
"I don't know, Aemon. How Gaemon will react... He warned me of this, and I ignored it. He even threatened Arryn's life right here in this solar, but somehow nothing happened," the king said, looking at them with a heavy gaze.
"Baelon," the king continued after a moment of thought, "you are close with Gaemon, and you should inform him. He should be in the training yard now."
"I will do so, Father, but I am not closer to Gaemon than you or Aemon. It's just that he is close to Alyssa, and thus he appears closer to me. That's it, nothing more. Should I bring milk of the poppy or a sleeping potion to placate his anger?" Baelon asked.
"No need for that, Baelon," the king replied.
Baelon nodded, standing up.
"Your Grace," he bowed and left the solar.
Baelon observed the training yard as Gaemon sparred with a Kingsguard. Even though Gaemon was only ten, he already looked like a thirteen-year-old with his height and the beginning of muscles that promised greatness. No one else dared to spar with Gaemon except for Baelon, Aemon, and the Kingsguard soldiers.
He wanted to wait until the end of the spar, but he knew Gaemon would not tire, so he stepped into the yard and called out when there was a lull in the combat.
"Gaemon."
Gaemon immediately stepped two paces backward to disengage, and both the Kingsguard and Gaemon nodded to each other, signaling the end of the spar.
"Baelon," Gaemon said calmly. Baelon was impressed by how there was no visible strain in Gaemon's voice despite the hard spar.
Baelon. Gaemon said calmly. Baelon was impressed that there was no visible strain of having a hard spar in Gaemon's voice.
"Brother, come with me. I have to tell you something," Baelon said, turning to walk and leading his brother toward the Godswood.
Both the servants and some important lords whispered as they passed through the corridors, but Baelon noticed that his brother seemed entirely nonchalant about the whispers. Many thought he was escorting his wild younger brother to punish him or something.
They reached the Godswood, and Baelon turned to look at Gaemon, hesitating.
After several minutes, Baelon was interrupted by Gaemon's angry growl.
"Brother, what is it? Just spit it out already."
"Gaemon, there was a raven from the Vale, and I am heartbroken to inform you that Daella has succumbed to childbirth fever. They named the girl Aemma Arryn, who is little, but the healers and maesters assure that she will at least survive," Baelon said, carefully observing his younger brother.
Gaemon's muscles tensed, and his face went eerily blank.
"Fuck you, Arryn, and fuck the king!" Gaemon yelled, moving toward the nearest tree, the weirwood, and began punching it in anger.
Baelon panicked as he saw the power behind the punches that made the tree shake. On the third punch, any form was gone, replaced by savage battering with both hands. On the seventh punch, Baelon could see blood appearing on the weirwood, as Gaemon's hands were cut open by the broken wood.
On the eleventh punch, Baelon moved behind Gaemon, catching both hands to stop him. Baelon was surprised that he had to use almost all his strength to keep Gaemon from continuing.
"Enough, Gaemon. This is more than just a tree, and if you destroy it, our relationship with the First Men houses will be affected. Look at the tree—it's drinking in your blood and healing itself," Baelon said.
Gaemon shook Baelon off and sat down in exhaustion. He looked up, and Baelon saw that there were no tears in his eyes. They were bloodshot from anger, and the violet eyes had turned nearly black in rage.
"Leave, Baelon. I want to be alone," Gaemon said.
"Brother, she was my sister too. Father has requested that we go and keep company with Mother, who stays in the Vale. Whatever she says, and however you devalue it, our mother has a favorite son, and it has been you, just as she favors Gael among her daughters. Prepare yourself. We will go by Vhagar," Baelon said, turning to walk away. He knew his brother didn't need to be handheld for preparing for the journey.
"No," Gaemon said.
Baelon immediately stopped, surprised beyond words. He turned and saw Gaemon lying against the weirwood with closed eyes.
"Valonquar, I heard a 'no'? Was I imagining it? Don't you want to see Daella for the last time?" Baelon asked, intrigued by his younger brother's thought process.
"You didn't imagine it. I said no. I'm not coming. If I went there, I would gut the old Arryn where he stands, and I would follow through, killing everyone who defends him. I don't care whether we are under guest rights or some inane rule about him being our vassal. I should have followed through on my threat to kill Arryn on our wedding day. Only Daella's pure happiness stopped me then, and I regret it now."
Baelon gaped at his younger brother, hearing only the truth from him.
"I will inform Father that you declined coming to the Vale," Baelon said and walked away.
"Oh, you're going to Father? Pass him my congratulations on successfully killing his supposed lesser child among us, all the while extracting the most benefit out of us," Gaemon snarled.
Baelon paused, unsure whether to reply, but in the end, he decided against arguing with Gaemon and walked away. Baelon reached the inner corridor and was out of the sun. he looked back to see what Gaemon is doing and was surprised to see an empty spot.
Baelon hoped that his father wouldn't order him to find Gaemon as he didn't want to go all the way to the Balerion's lair in the Dragonpit
83 AC
Rhaenys Targaryen
Rhaenys Targaryen frowned as she remembered the offer her uncle Gaemon had given her. Even though she knew Gaemon was only one year older than her, he seemed perfect in everything he set his mind to. Rhaenys knew that people whispered that Gaemon was perfect in every way, especially compared to her and Viserys. Both of them had tried to match at least when it came to talent and skill with Gaemon, but it was impossible. Even the servants of the Red Keep adored Gaemon because of his kind nature toward them, even working in the kitchens to make the weirdly tasty food he had invented.
Rhaenys knew that, even when she tried to follow Gaemon, as he was a child the same age as her, he always seemed to dodge her. Maybe it was because of her open jealousy—jealousy of his freedom, the way he could do whatever he wanted. But deep down, she knew the real reason for her jealousy was Gaemon's effortless access to dragons. Or rather, how much the dragons loved him. Rhaenys had flown on Silverwing, Vhagar, and Caraxes, but they never indulged her the way they did with Gaemon. She still heard that many dragonkeepers had begun calling him the "Dragonwhisperer."
She didn't know whether Gaemon loved her and Viserys the way he loved his specific siblings, but she knew Gaemon cared for them. It was because of this that she believed the words Gaemon had spoken to her last day.
The previous day.
"Rhaenys, niece. I am glad you came as I asked in the note," Gaemon said as she entered the godswood.
Rhaenys frowned as Gaemon didn't even use her honorific of princess and didn't even open his eyes as he sat back on the thick white bark of the weirwood. She wondered how he knew it was her who had entered. She looked at the red leaves of the weirwood and felt out of place, just like she felt in a sept. She had tried to escape the septas, just like Gaemon, but she was not at all successful. She observed Gaemon and saw that he was relaxed more than ever except for when he was in the company of the dragons.
"Prince Gaemon, what do you want?" Rhaenys asked, not wanting to waste time. Ever since she heard that her father was going to war when the Dornish attacked with ships, she had been spending all her time with the crown prince, learning everything from him. It was a nightmare of hers that her father leave in Caraxes and only Caraxes return, mourning. She had tried to stop her father from leaving, but she was dismissed.
"I heard that you were worried about Aemon going with the king and my other brother Baelon two weeks from now to burn the Dornish armada and end the war before it begins. By the way, very foolish of them to attack in wooden ships when we have fire-breathing dragons."
Rhaenys frowned again at the disrespect toward her father, the crown prince. She could ignore Gaemon not using her honorific, as Gaemon was her uncle and older by one year and position, but still, Aemon was his senior in every way. Rhaenys knew that no girl just nine name-days like her worried about things like this, but she knew it was Gaemon's maturity and wild nature that made her grow up faster than her father and mother anticipated. She started lessons at age five, and even if she paled before Gaemon's speed, everyone was impressed by her progress at the hardwork she put to catch up with Gaemon.
"Uncle, it is Prince Aemon, and you are casually using my father's name when he is senior to you in every way, even before servants and other lords. You are not even calling him 'brother' like Uncle Baelon or other siblings, just Aemon. It is sending an image to our vassals." Rhaenys tried to enforce this to her uncle.
Gaemon looked at her in surprise, then snorted and waved his hand.
"What is the need for titles between family?" Gaemon ended with a shrug.
"Anyway, I am not here to have that conversation with you, niece. I have a solution for you to end your worries about your father going to war," Gaemon said.
Rhaenys looked hopeful. "What? You can convince him to stay back? Only grandfather and Uncle Baelon will go?"
Gaemon shook his head. "Of course not. Just like you said about the titles, the crown prince not going to defend the land from the Dornish invasion will send a message to the vassals, even the slaver scum on the other side of the Narrow Sea."
Rhaenys sighed in tiredness, as she expected another rant about the cruelty of slavery and her uncle's hatred for that institution, even above every Westerosi's disdain for that system.
"So, what is your solution, Uncle? Have you finally decided to produce a miracle for our house's benefit instead of random orphans or catering to your selfish whims?" Rhaenys snapped back.
Gaemon grinned at that, and Rhaenys could see her uncle liked it very much.
"Of course not, Rhaenys. Why would I do anything for this house when my father doesn't want to do a simple task I asked of him when I was little? A thing he wanted to do himself, but couldn't do because of foolishness and paranoia."
Rhanys nodded. "I see. I tire of this. Inform me now, or I shall leave."
Gaemon studied her intently, scrutinizing her every move. After a moment, Rhanys saw him nodding to himself, as though coming to a decision.
"I have a way to ensure that all three of our family will return to us after we burn the Dornish armada," Gaemon said. "Caraxes and Vermithor haven't seen war, but the damned dragonpit has my Balerion. He wants to end the Dornish as much as anyone else, especially since the death of his companion, Meraxes. He'll burn the Narrow Sea for that, even without a rider. The pit also holds an unclaimed Dreamfyre, an experienced dragon. Aunt Rhaena spent more time on her back than on land, and Dreamfyre is no stranger to battle.
"On the second day they leave, you only have to cause a distraction. Play a prank, as I've planned, and hide in the tunnels I'll show you. My mother and sister Alyssa will be preoccupied looking for you while I free Balerion and Dreamfyre. Dreamfyre will fly to the Red Keep, and you'll only need to be there to claim her."
Rhanys gaped at the plan, and she might have laughed had anyone else suggested that a dragon would follow instructions without a bond. But she knew her uncle had a way with animals—dragons included. Her father had once said that their grandfather had banned any Targaryen women from claiming dragons without his permission, and this was her chance to defy that.
She paused, wondering why Gaemon hadn't claimed Balerion himself. It wasn't as if anything could stop the dragon from flying off.
Gaemon must have sensed her hesitation, for he spoke again.
"Rhaenys, I know you're more mature than most at your age when it comes to the matters of court and rulings. Perhaps I played a part in stealing your childhood with my own achievements. Let this be my recompense. I know Aemon won't have another child, and you should be the future queen. But Westeros, especially the Andal lords, are backwards when it comes to a woman ruling them. Imagine how they'll have to keep silent if the future Crown Princess claims a dragon at ten and goes to defend her people."
Rhaenys smiled at that. Gaemon was right. Finally, she made her decision.
"I agree, Gaemon. What is the plan?"
Gaemon grinned, and for a moment, Rhaenys couldn't help but wonder what Gaemon was truly after. It wasn't about claiming Balerion—she knew nothing could stop that. Even though the King had expressed disapproval to Gaemon personally, and through their grandmother and brothers, the King had never ordered the Dragonkeepers, Kingsguard, or the City Guard to stop Gaemon from entering the dragonpit.
"Well, this is what you have to do…" Gaemon began.
Authors note:
One reason for FD delay earlier : even when I have entirely planned this scene, this was damn hard to write because I keep mixing the characters of ADS baelon, Rhaenys with FD baelon and Rhaenys and how they should behave. It confused me as I wrote something and during editing I could see that it was ADS baelon or Rhaenys behaviour and not from FD one. I am not entirely happy how this chapter turned out…
If it is like that for this two, then I don't know what will happen with king Jaehaerys. Similiarly I don't want to use similar backstory or history as ADS and thus I decided to halt this for some time earlier. since the backstory of jaehaerys is out now in ADS i can publish this here...
Next chapter: Gaemon claiming balerion
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