Authors Note: Hi it's been a long time since I have written, a little over 3 years I believe. I am truly sorry for that, and for the fact that a lot of stories haven't been and most likely will not be finished. I have always enjoyed writing but in the end, it's a hobby. Life changes or things happen or sadly sometimes I lose the spark to write. Still, every so often I get the itch. I have been re-watching Game of Thrones with my girlfriend and I can say it still is an amazing, inspiring show and even though season 8 was…disappointing I still consider it one of my favorite pieces of media. So that brings us here, a new story that hopefully reflects the growth I feel I have made. As always, please leave a review, and I hope you enjoy!
Second note: As always, I own nothing, all rights belong to G.R.R.M and HBO.
Preserve
King's Landing, 258 AC- It was only an hour or so past dawn, but Westeros's largest city was buzzing, more so than usual. Many people crowded the streets or went down to the docks. They waited, for today was the day that the victorious armies of the Seven Kingdoms returned, victors of the War of the Ninepenny Kings. Rumors and gossip had spread like wildfire, of how the last Blackfyre, Maelys the Monstrous had been slain by the gallant Ser Barristan Selmy. How the armies of the east had been smashed by Westerosi knights and soldiers, and how decades of rebellion finally were at an end.
It wasn't until midday the ships were spotted, sailing into Blackwater Bay. Once they docked and the army disembarked, a procession of soldiers formed, marching triumphantly towards the Red Keep. Thousands lined the streets, shouting and cheering as war heroes waved and basked in the adulation. However, Ser Barristan, the man whose name was on everyone's lips, was not so joyous. As he road towards the keep, he kept his head down, and his cloak covering something.
"Almost there," he whispered as he leant down. "The keep isn't too far now."
"What's going to happen when we get their?" A tiny, quiet voice replied. Barristan looked for something to say, but any words became stuck in his throat. He was no fool, he knew what the most likely conclusion to this situation was. He sighed and lifted his head to gaze upon the Red Keep as he prepared for the inevitable.
Inside the keep, dozens of lords and ladies were in attendance, standing in the Great Hall. Sitting upon the Iron Throne was Aegon V, flanked by the royal family as well as his Kingsguard. Aegon sat with a small smile on his face, feeling relieved that the threat that had existed his whole life was finally vanquished. As the doors of the room opened, he looked curiously on a knight he recognized. Ser Barristan entered the room first, having dismounted his horse, and very obviously holding his cloak to over something.
"Ser Barristan, approach." The knight obliged, still using his arm to cover what was clearly a person at this point. "News of your deeds has spread far and quickly, and I would like to thank you for extinguishing the Blackfyre line by slaying the pretender Maelys in combat. The realm owes you a great debt for your service." The entire room began to applaud, cheering and clapping at a deafening level. However, Aegon noted the pensive look the knight had, and as such raised his hand to silence the noise in the room. He looked to Barristan, who took a noticeable breath before stepping forth.
"You honor me your grace. Truly. However, I cannot in good faith accept such praise." Murmurs began to spread through crowd, confusion at the situation. "Your Grace, while I did slay Maelys, I did not extinguish the Blackfyre line. Maelys had…has a younger brother, Aenys Blackfyre," Barristan declared as he pulled back his cloak, revealing a young boy with distinct silver-white hair and pale skin. A loud, collective gasp was heard from the room, as everyone was in shock. The last Blackfyre was here, a boy who could at most be 12. King Aegon sat silently, contemplating this situation as noise filled the room, audible whispers of phrases like "traitor's blood" escaping the mouths of some nobles. "Before you pass judgment on the boy you should know he bore no arms at us and was the one to order a surrender of the remaining rebel forces after I defeated his brother, your Grace." As Aegon soaked in the situation, Ser Duncan, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and his closest friend leaned in to speak to him.
"Your Grace…Egg, he has done nothing wrong. Just a boy born into the wrong family," The towering knight counseled, before his face became stern. "But there's still a chance people may rally to him if he ever wants to claim the throne." Aegon looked at his friend and confidant, before putting his head down. He stayed this way for a minute, shoeing off other councilors who attempted to speak to him, only occasionally glancing at the boy. Suddenly he stood up, the room falling so silent Aegon could hear his own heartbeat. He took a few steps forward, looking at the petrified child.
"Aenys Blackfyre, your family has given grief to the realm for more than half a century. War and sedition have been the great legacy they have left. However, you are not your brother, or your forefathers, and have not committed their crimes. More so, Targaryen and Blackfyre were once one and the same, one family. I am willing to welcome House Blackfyre back into the realm as a cadet branch of House Targaryen, and restore the lands given to Dameon Blackfyre. However, you must renounce all claims to the Iron Throne, and swear to protect the realm, to never take up arms against the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Kneel and accept these terms." The good king looked to the boy, who stood still as a corpse. The boy looked to the king, the whole room waiting in anticipation. The boy suddenly fell to one knee, his head bowed.
"Your Grace, I accept your gracious offer. I renounce any claims to the Iron Throne, and swear allegiance to the Crown, to protect and defend it as long as my line lives," the boy responded, speaking with surprising eloquence. Aegon smiles again at the boy and breathes a sigh of relief.
"Then rise, Lord Aenys of House Blackfyre as a loyal vassal of House Targaryen. We will discuss the specifics of your lordship and your holdings later. Ser Duncan, escort Lord Aenys to a guest room for the night." Ser Duncan nodded and reached out his hand, the young Blackfyre gently taking it and allowing the Kingsguard to lead him away. "Now, I must attend to the other heroes of the realm." As Aegon began to call forth knights and lords who had demonstrated great courage and loyalty, he could not help but wonder if he made the right decision. If he had created an ally or simply empowered a future enemy. And King Aegon would go to his grave less than a year later not knowing the answer, unaware just what his decision would mean in the wars to come.
King's Landing, 280 AC- A young knight runs through the streets, flanked by a few men. The sounds of screams, of cries and of slaughter fill the air. The smell of burning buildings, of flesh and hair assaults his senses as he cuts down a soldier in front of him as he continues to run.
"Treachery and deceit! We should have known! Why did we let Tywin cross the river!" He thinks to himself, cutting through alleyways as he and his men desperately sprint towards the keep. The knight continues his charge, reaching the courtyard of the keep, left unguarded as the city watch most likely fled when the sack began.
"My lord, where do we go?" One of the soldiers asks, pausing to catch his breath. The knight thinks for a moment, before looking up at the towers and pointing with his sword.
"The royal quarters are there. Once we get there we split up and search for the royal family, you find anyone you grab them and get down to the bottom floor. There we can see if we can take the tunnels out of here. Let's move men." The knight and his men resume their desperate race, speeding up the towers as fast as possible, shedding shields and heavy weapons that may hinder them. As the men reach the Maegor's Holdfast, the group splits up, the knight taking four men with him up the tower as the other six remaining search the lower floors. As the sounds of the city grow muffled, the knight and his men hear sounds from within the tower, the sound of footfalls and loud thuds. They hurry their pace, following these sounds before they hear a loud thud followed by a blood chilling scream. The knight and his men turn the corner, and see four Lannister soldiers in the hallway, in front of two rooms with broken doors.
"NO!" The knight bellows as he charges forward, sword drawn. He deftly cuts down one man, and darts into the nearest room, not before shouting to his troops "Go to the other room!" As he enters the room, he sees a man, dagger in hand, stabbing downward repeatedly with great speed. The knight charges, and before his target can fully turn around his sword has been swung, severing fingers on the hand holding the dagger. The Lannister shrieks in pain, being quickly silenced by the knight bashing him in the mouth with the hilt of his sword. The knight looks to the bed and sees a terrible sight. A little girl, only a toddler, covered in blood.
"Princess Rhaenys," he speaks lowly, as even the sounds of the fighting in the hallway seem distant in this moment. Suddenly, the child moves, clearly in pain. The knight goes to grab her, only for the princess to kick at him.
"Stay away!" She screams, flailing wildly.
"Shhh shhh it's okay, I'm here to help. My name is Aelyx, I'm a friend. I'm going to get you out of here" The knight says, taking off his helmet, letting his long dark hair fall and revealing his face, hoping the child might recognize him from court. Rhaenys looks at him for a second, and when he reaches out to grab her this time, she allows it, though Aelyx is unsure if this is due to her recognizing him or fatigue from her injuries. He picks her up, cradling her with his left arm. As Aelyx exits the room he notes the dead Lannisters on the ground. However, before Aelyx can issue commands, he hears one of his men scream in pain in the next room. The other three back out of the room, one only making it a foot out before a massive sword comes down on him, cleaving down his torso and splitting him open. Out of the room steps Ser Gregor Clegane, covered in blood and looking like a raging bull.
"Go my lord! We'll slow him down!" One of the remaining soldiers says, keeping himself positioned between The Mountain and Aelyx. The young knight stood still for only a second, before turning and running, the princess in his arms, trying his best to not pay attention to the sounds coming from his men as Gregor falls upon them. Aelyx dashes down the tower, praying to every god he had ever heard of for help.
"You're okay, you're okay." He says to Rhaenys, who he could tell would not make it long without help. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he turned a corner and ran in to a small group of soldiers. Aelyx took the first action, running his sword into the face of one of the men, before parrying the spear of another. However, he found himself wide open as another thrusted at him. Aelyx quickly turned around, protecting Rhaenys with his body as the spear lodged itself in his lower back. Aelyx grunted but was quick to smack the spear away with his sword before closing the distance and slashing the soldier's leg. Not taking the time to finish fighting, Aelyx seized the opportunity to run past the soldiers and towards the nears door, though not before one of the soldiers managed do lay a gash into Aelyx's right leg. The young knight bashed through the nearest door, leading to an outdoor walkway.
"Almost there, we're almost there," he thought to himself, limping a bit and in pain. He looked down from the walkway and felt the closest thing to relief he could feel at this moment as he spotted three of his men below. As he went to shout to them, he was stopped by a sudden pain in his arm as a crossbow bolt lodged itself in his bicep, and another in his shoulder while another two missed his head by a few inches. Aelyx dropped to his knees, his lungs burning and his vision clouding, tasting blood in his mouth.
"Get Up! Get up my lord!" He heard, turning his head to see one of his men shouting to him from the ground. Aelyx looked to the man, before placing his free hand to the ground, gritting his teeth and willing himself back up, still clinging to the injured Rhaenys.
"I am a Blackfyre, I will protect and defend the crown as long as my line lives." Aegon began to move again, more bolts flying by as he reached the other end of the walkway. He opened the door, feeling another bolt strike him in the back, but pushing through the pain. Limping down the stairs, he managed to catch himself about to fall on the last step. He continues forward, hoping for some miracle. As if to mock his hope, another two Lannister soldiers, stood between him and the door to the Great Hall. Summoning all his will and strength, he managed to run through the first one that foolishly rushed at him but was not quick enough to stop the other from knocking his sword away. Aelyx just managed to evade a killing blow from the Lannister's blade but still suffered a painful slash to the top of the head. Before the Lannister could finish him, the surviving Blackfyre soldiers found their commander, and swiftly cut down his assailant. They attempted to help Aelyx up, though he waved them off, standing under his own power as they continued down the last few steps to the hall. Aelyx stepped through, feeling his life ebb away every second. Flanked by his guards, he entered the hall, to an unfortunate and surreal sight. The king, laying upon the floor in a pool of blood, a Kingsguard on the throne, and Northern and Westerland soldiers pointing their weapons at them.
"Fuck," Aelyx said, before collapsing.
Great Hall, 30 seconds earlier- Ned Stark was furious. He had ridden as fast and hard as he could, only to find the capital being violently sacked by Tywin Lannister's forces. And more than that, Jaime Lannister had broken all his vows and slain his king. In the middle of his tirade against the dishonorable man, the sounds of combat from a nearby entryway had stopped him. Wordlessly, his men and Tywin's had their spears pointed towards the entryway, awaiting whatever resistance approached. However, to his shock, only four men came stumbling into the room, one clinging to a child.
"Fuck," was the only thing one said before collapsing to the ground. Ned looked at the haggard men, and noticed they wore a dragon as their sigil, but not a red one.
"House Blackfyre!" He realized. However, before he could act, Ser Jaime stood up, worry plastered on his face.
"Princess Rhaenys!" Jaime shouted, rushing past his father's men. Eddard suddenly understood the situation, and also approached the beleaguered men.
"Stand down men." Ned kneeled and quickly looked over the child. She had lost a lot of blood and was clearly injured. "Send for the Grand Maester," he commanded.
"No, not Pycelle. Use your own maester," Ser Jaime blurted. Ned gave him a quizzical look. "Please, trust me." Ned turned and nodded to his soldier, indicating his agreement with Jaime. As they waited for the master, Ned turned to the collapsed man, who still held the princess.
"Ser, can you hear me?" Aelyx's eyes opened, and he looked at Ned, giving a small nod. Ned smiled before continuing "You've done well Ser. What is your name?"
"Aelyx Blackfyre." The reply came between ragged breaths. Aelyx turned his head to look at Ned. "You're Lord Stark." Ned only nodded. "Is she going to be alright?" Aelyx said, looking at Rhaenys. Ned looked at the child, and to the entrance of the hall, where the maester had just entered.
"Yes, yes she should be. The maester here is going to help. But you have to let us take her first." Ned reached for the child. Aelyx looked down towards the girl, his eyes meeting hers, which he had not realized had been open. He relaxed his grip on Rhaenys, letting Ned grab her and hand her to the maester, who rushed her away. Aelyx reached out and grabbed Ned's arm. Lord Stark turned back to the young knight, tightly gripping his hand.
"Tell my father I did my best. Tell him I lived by our words. Tell him to go easy on my brother and maybe less easy on my sister," Aelyx said with a small chuckle, looking up at the ceiling, barely noticing his men also circled around him.
"I will. You have certainly made Lord Aenys proud," Ned replied, holding the young man's hand. "We can get you milk of the poppy for the pain, if you wish."
"It's odd, it doesn't actually hurt right now. I feel strange." Aelyx's hand suddenly went limp, as did the rest of his body. Ned looked at his eyes, and saw the life and light exit, gently laying the knight's hand down. Ned closed Aelyx's eyes before standing up and looking towards the surviving men.
"You will all have your wounds well treated and will be released into Lord Aenys's care as soon as possible." The men simply nodded, still mourning their commander. Ned turned away, taking a deep breath before beginning to give his men more commands. There was much to do, but more than anything he thought of the Princess and what was to become of her.
"Enough men have died in vain," he thought to himself, before heading to personally watch over the girl.
Tower of Joy, Weeks Later- Ned was rushing up the steps of the tower, having just killed Ser Arthur Dayne with the help of Howland Reed, his only surviving companion. The last few weeks had been hell. His row with Robert over the Targaryens, specifically the princess, had made him doubt if he knew his friend. He had taken Rhaenys with his army to lift the siege of Storm's End to protect her. He only managed to convince Robert to allow him to do this by threatening to break Lyanna's engagement to Robert. Still, only moments away from his sister, it once again felt like it was all worth it. He burst through the door into the top of the tower, surprised to see a young boy barring steel at him. A tense few second passed, the boy almost shaking with nervousness. Suddenly, a voice intruded.
"Ned, is that you?" Lyanna questioned, laying in the bed. The boy looked at her and then dropped his sword and slumped against the wall. Ned laid Ser Arthur's sword down against the bed and went to his sister, quietly speaking to her as her life drew to a close. The young boy watched the conversation and watched as Lord Stark was presented with his nephew. Lord Stark held the babe, giving his sister one last kiss on the head before turning to face the young boy.
"You're a squire, right?" Ned said, tears still in his eyes and his voice hoarse.
"Yes, my lord, to Ser Arthur." Both the squire and Ned looked to Dawn, the sword of House Dayne, with no words on the matter needing to be exchanged. Suddenly, Ned had a realization, looking at the boy and noticing his silver hair.
"You're Ser Aelyx's brother, Baelon." The young boy stood up and approached.
"Yes, my lord." Baelon replied, looking at the newborn in Ned's arms and reaching out to touch the newborn's face. Ned took a deep breath, bracing himself for the next part.
"We…we should talk it seems." Baelon looked to Ned, taking a breath, trying to keep himself from crying. He takes another moment, before looking the Lord of Winterfell right in the eyes.
"I know. I know my brother is dead. I saw it." Baelon responded.
AN- Thank you for reading, sorry if it felt a little long. Please leave a review and I hope you enjoyed!