Before Viserys pulled Rhaenys into the carriage, he glanced back. From a window in Maegor's Holdfast, he saw a woman holding a child.
She had brown hair and black eyes, and her slender frame swayed slightly in the wind. She held a baby in her arms.
Viserys knew it was his older brother's wife, his sister-in-law, Elia Martell, the Dornish princess. In her arms was his nephew, Aegon Targaryen.
However, his mind was muddled. He struggled to stay focused, facing the prospect of fleeing just after arriving in this world. He held the little girl close, trying to keep her calm.
He didn't have time to wonder why his father had kept Elia and her children in King's Landing.
They had had a chance to escape with him.
But the rebels were closing in. Staying in King's Landing meant danger. On the verge of departure, Viserys had made a last-minute decision to take Rhaenys with him.
He didn't even know if his father would send troops to bring them back.
Or what might happen in the future, as his small change in history fluttered the butterfly's wings.
But for now, he had done what little he could, at least to ease his conscience.
If the gold cloaks came after them later to forcibly take Rhaenys back, perhaps he wouldn't have the courage to stop them.
"Let's go!"
Meanwhile, from Maegor's Holdfast, Elia saw her daughter, by a stroke of luck, get into Viserys's carriage and leave the Red Keep. Her already frail body swayed slightly, and her eyes reddened, with tears glistening on her cheeks.
She had a premonition that this would be the last time she saw her daughter.
Because the sea wasn't safe these days, storms had begun to brew.
The escort accompanying the Queen and the Prince could have sailed directly from King's Landing to Dragonstone. However, after careful consideration by Ser William, they chose to travel by land, minimizing their time at sea.
The King's burning of the soldier who brought the bad news did not prevent the information from leaking. The Red Keep was already riddled with holes, and the news of the royal army's defeat and Rhaegar Targaryen's death had spread throughout King's Landing.
The rebels were aggressively approaching King's Landing.
Suddenly, the city, with a population exceeding half a million, plunged into panic. People were uneasy, and the shadow of war loomed over King's Landing.
The escort departed from the Red Keep, passing through Aegon's High Hill, with fully armed soldiers clearing the chaotic crowds along the way.
The carriages bore no Targaryen family markings. The curtains were drawn, concealing the identity of the noble within.
"Get out of the way!"
Soldiers urged their horses forward, scattering the people in the streets, their whips falling without mercy.
Slap!
The noisy, chaotic crowd instantly became orderly under the whip, wailing and crying as they were herded to the sides of the road, clearing a path for the carriages.
Queen Rhaella's carriage led the way, followed by Viserys's and Rhaenys's carriages.
The boy slightly opened a crack with his fingers and saw the scenery outside. The carriages were moving through the narrow streets, escorted by soldiers. Looking up from here, he could see a hill in the distance that overlooked King's Landing. The Targaryen family's dragon pit was on top of it.
"That's Rhaenys's Hill."
Viserys, sitting in the carriage, had to find a topic to distract Rhaenys, who was excited, thinking they were going on an outing. And this landmark, which shared her name, was undoubtedly the best topic for the two little ones.
Sure enough, the brown-haired girl, holding her little black cat Balerion, looked over with anticipation.
However, to her disappointment, this hill was not built for her by her beloved father.
Viserys racked his brains, recalling the knowledge he had gleaned from history books over the years. Fortunately, he possessed the ability to remember everything he read.
He then told the little girl the story of Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wife Rhaenys, which had taken place over two hundred years ago.
This very Rhaenys Hill was named by the queen's husband, Aegon Targaryen, in memory of his sister, who had died in battle. He had also built a memorial chapel, but it was destroyed during later riots, and the Dragonpit took its place.
The brown-haired little girl, clutching her kitten, listened with rapt attention. When she heard that the queen, who shared her name, had died in battle, she couldn't help but shed a few tears.
"I want to find a husband like that someday, who loves me."
"Viserys."
Rhaenys's eyes were red, and she sniffled softly, seemingly having immersed herself in the story, linking her own fate with that of the little Queen Rhaenys. After all, they shared the same name, which made it easy to feel sympathy and make connections.
Moreover, at such a young and innocent age, girls loved listening to stories and were prone to fantasy, while also harboring expectations for the future.
However, she was still unaware of the news of her father's death. The name Rhaenys seemed to carry a certain curse; her current fate was not much better than that of the young queen from over two hundred years ago, and it was impossible to feel pity or sympathy.
Because the little girl was only three or four years old, and hadn't received a rigorous education in court etiquette, she'd forgotten that she should call Viserys 'Uncle', instead of calling him brother or by his name just because they were close in age.
"He could even bravely kill a dragon for me."
Stories of the Dragon Slayer were always in biographies, it was normal to fantasize.
Rhaenys stubbornly lifted her small face and delicate chin, even shedding a few tears, and spoke of such unrealistic fantasies with a straight face, which still made people want to laugh.
Viserys's face showed an awkward but polite smile.
Grumble—
The sound of the carriage wheels kept rolling, they weren't far from leaving King's Landing.
And the pursuers sent by his father hadn't arrived yet. It seemed his father had tacitly approved of him taking Rhaenys away.
After all, regardless of his father's purpose in keeping Princess Elia Martell and her son, having someone more important made the little girl's absence insignificant. Besides, she was his granddaughter.
Viserys felt much more relaxed inside. He reached out and ruffled the little girl's brown hair, which she'd inherited from her mother, until it was a mess before speaking.
"There are no more dragons in the world."
"Rhaenys."
"The last dragon died over a century ago."
As he spoke, Viserys looked at the Rhaenys Hill in the distance, silently thinking to himself.
If House Targaryen still had dragons, perhaps they wouldn't be in this situation.
....
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