Hello everyone! Did you all have a happy New Year? Sorry for the wait. First chapter of 2022! I won't keep you waiting any further, so go ahead and read the new chapter. Enjoy!
Author's Note: Blood and suggestive themes ahead.
The Red Keep
Numb. Prince Aegon the Younger felt numb all over. He could not feel or register anything outside of the grief that now cloaked him like a heavy mantle. Two short hours ago, all was well in Aegon's world. He and Thea had tucked their children into bed and kissed them goodnight, after which Aegon led his wife by the hand outside of the bedchamber into the hallway where they shared an amorous kiss together.
"I hope there is peace soon," Aegon had said to Thea as they touched foreheads and embraced after they had finished kissing. "I miss being with you and Oswyn and Rhaenyra. I have especially missed you warming my bed at night, my love."
Thea had chuckled softly at her husband's words. "And I have missed you in more ways than one, my prince. Oswyn and Rhaenyra often ask me when they will see you again, and it hurts my heart to see them so disappointed when I tell them that I do not know. We should go to Claw Isle as soon as your uncle is captured and dealt with. We have not visited there in so long."
Aegon liked his wife's idea very much.
"We will go there as soon as Aemond is cremated or sent off to the Wall. Your mother and father will no doubt accompany us back to their seat. Oswyn and Rhaenyra will see their aunts, uncles, and cousins. We will walk the beaches, go hawking, fly over Crackclaw Point to see the villages and forest ruins and maybe even stop by Maidenpool. And of course," Aegon drew Thea in for another kiss, "I want to get reacquainted with you in the bedchamber."
Thea grinned at her husband's salaciousness. "If we do visit Maidenpool, I can bathe in Jonquil's Pool. Perhaps the waters there can purify and strengthen my body so that I can bear you another living child."
"You want to have another child?" asked Aegon, who was slightly surprised by what his wife had said. Thea nodded at Aegon's question.
"I have been thinking about it for some time now. I may be nine and twenty, but I want to try again before I reach an age where I am incapable of conceiving again. I would like to give Oswyn a little brother or Rhaenyra a little sister. Maybe if I devote my ablution to the Mother Above, she may bless me with a twin son and daughter so that we can have one of each."
"Aren't you afraid of..." Aegon trailed off uncomfortably, unwilling to finish his sentence with the word 'miscarrying'.
"I am, but I still want to try." Thea said with a soft, unwavering voice. "If I miscarry again, then that will be it. I will take moon tea until I am past my childbearing years."
The fair Lady Celtigar then looked disappointed. Sympathetic to his beloved's plight, Aegon lifted Thea's chin up with his fingers and kissed her again for a third time. Thea's lips were not enough for him this time around, and Aegon trailed kisses down the left side of his wife's neck and planted a lingering kiss in the space between the neckline of her dress and collarbone. Thea inhaled deeply at the feeling of her husband's lips on her bare skin, the whiskers of his neatly trimmed beard tickling her, and the prince observed how Thea's chest puffed out when she exhaled. Aegon was panting as he rose his face up from Thea's chest, clearly wanting to do more than just kiss his wife.
As much as Aegon wanted to take Thea to his room and spend the night and following morning with her, he had to attend that evening's small council meeting as his mother had asked him to do. Aegon and Viserys, including both of Joff's sons, Princes Aeric and Daemion Targaryen, had been attending the meetings ever since the manhunt began, and they did their best to provide Rhaenyra I with opinions and suggestions alongside her councilmen. Disappointed yet resolute, Aegon and Thea kissed and embraced one more time, bade each other goodnight, and went their separate ways. The romantic encounter with Thea lingered in Aegon's mind, and he could only think about her and their plans for the future while everyone else in the Chamber of the Sphinxes was focused on more pressing matters.
Never once did Aegon think that his intimate moment with Thea outside of their children's bedchamber would be the last time he would ever see her alive, unharmed, and unmarked. Never could the prince have imagined that his wife would die so violently and bloodily. And yet, Aegon was now cradling his wife's bloody puncture ridden corpse in his arms the same night he embraced Thea and talked about having another child together, a future that would never come to pass now. Aegon held Thea close to his body and refused to let her go. Blood stained his clothes, hands, and face, but Aegon did not notice, nor did he care.
Chaos abounded in the Red Keep as the prince fell deeper into the black pit of sorrow that had swallowed him whole. Word of the attack on one of the queen's own daughters-in-law spread swiftly by the guards and roused servants, and Aegon's anguished roar filled the castle and let everyone know that a tragedy had occurred. Ser Dorian Celtigar raced down from the White Sword Tower to get to his cousin once he heard what had happened. He stopped once when he heard Prince Aegon's loud lamentation but pressed on even as a terrible sinking feeling began weighing down on Dorian's heart. Prince Viserys Targaryen looked up from observing the transportation of the late Lord Bartimos Celtigar just in time to see the man's nephew arrive in the hallway.
Seeing his uncle's limp body being lifted up from the floor caused Dorian, who was already on edge, to raise an uproar.
"What happened to my uncle? Where is my cousin, Thea? Is she alright? How are Oswyn and Rhaenyra? Somebody please tell me what is going on!"
The calmer Prince Viserys approached the Queensguard knight and laid a gentle hand on the man's shoulder. Putting on his best professional and unflappable demeanor in spite of how shaken he was over the recent double tragedy, Viserys carefully informed Dorian that both his beloved cousin and uncle were gone. Dorian's face fell, his mouth sprung open, his enlarged blue eyes overflowed with heartbroken disbelief. The knight said not one word or shed a single tear. Just like his cousin-in-law, Dorian had become wrapped up in the overwhelming sense of grief he felt over losing both his uncle and cousin, especially the latter, in one night.
"I am so sorry for your losses, Ser Dorian." uttered a sympathetic Viserys, but his condolences meant nothing to the Queensguard knight. Dorian watched over the prince's shoulder as his Uncle Bartimos's body was being carried away by guards to Grand Maester Thaleus's chamber. Once the sad entourage had left, Dorian turned his gaze towards the open bedchamber. He could see Prince Aegon the Younger on his knees in a pool of blood with Thea in his arms.
Dorian stared silently at the golden-silver top of his cousin's head, his face unreadable to Viserys and the nearby guards who remained in the hall. Retaining his silence, Dorian slowly walked into the bedchamber, the clanking of his white armor being the only noise that came from him. Viserys followed after the knight with Ser Connor Darklyn. Dorian walked around the kneeling Aegon and stared blankly at Thea's body as she was being cradled by her grieving widower. Viserys tentatively approached his older brother from behind, nervous over seeing a dead body up close and being near so much spilled blood.
Just like he did with Dorian, Viserys, swallowing his tears, laid a hand on Aegon's shoulder and tried to talk to him.
"Aegon?" Viserys asked softly. His brother did not respond, and he kept on rocking back and forth. Viserys repeated himself again, and still Aegon did not respond. As the prince tried to converse with his grief-stricken brother, Ser Celtigar undid his cloak clasps and held up his white cloak, the trademark garment of the Queensguard.
Spreading out his immaculate cloak on the floor, Dorian walked over to Aegon, knelt down, and tried to take Thea from him. A vicious outburst erupted from the catatonic Prince Aegon when he felt his wife's cousin try to extricate her from his embrace.
"No!" Aegon snapped furiously, and he held Thea even closer to him.
"Aegon!" Viserys gasped. Strangely enough, even though Viserys had said his brother's name out of surprise, Aegon finally registered that his younger brother was behind him, and he looked over his shoulder at Viserys, the dark purple irises of his eyes now reminiscent of the inside of one of the black cells below the Red Keep – pitch black, cold, and lifeless. Realizing that Aegon was aware of his presence now, Viserys addressed his brother again.
"Aegon, it is alright. Ser Dorian only wants to take Thea to Thaelus's chambers. You need to let her go now, brother..."
"No." Aegon repeated while shaking his head, his tone now soft and sorrowful. Inhaling deeply and gently squeezing his brother's shoulder, Viserys tried another tactic to try and get Aegon to release Thea's body to Dorian.
"Brother, we are all grieving for Thea right now. I know that there are no words to describe how awful your grief is, and how everyone else's pain pales in comparison to yours. There is nothing that can be done for Thea, Aegon. That is plain for all to see. But your children are still here, and they need you now more than ever.
Think of Oswyn and Rhaenyra, Aegon. Please think of them. Please..."
Aegon's black eyes and face showed no spark of epiphany or agreement. The prince said nothing, but his grip on Thea's body relaxed, and Dorian gingerly lifted his cousin from her widower's embrace and took her away. Aegon watched as Dorian laid Thea down on his cloak and wrapped her up in it as Viserys helped him up onto his feet and rotated slowly like a sundial's shadow to watch as the Queensguard knight carried the shrouded Thea out of the room.
"Come on, Aegon." Viserys said softly. "Let me take you back to your room."
Aegon nodded in mute agreement, his arms still extended out from his body as if he were still holding Thea in them. Viserys led his brother out of the room, and Ser Darklyn followed the princes. Aegon saw his cousin-in-law walking down the hall and continued watching him until Dorian disappeared around the corner. Tugging on Aegon's arm, Viserys gently shepherded his shell-shocked brother away to his room, stopping only to command some of the gathered servants to draw a bath for Aegon to wash off the blood from his body. As the brothers and Ser Connor Darklyn made their way through the halls, more tears were shed, and more hearts were broken as the weight of the double tragedy began to sink in for the inhabitants of the Red Keep.
Queen Rhaenyra, who had wept when she heard Aegon's sorrowful roar after he discovered his wife's body, now found herself lamenting the passing of her longtime Master of Ships. Consoling the bereaved queen were her grandsons Baelor and Aeric, and Lord Creighton Bar Emmon, the Master of Coin. Ser Lucius Tarbeck was inside the chamber to protect Rhaenyra as Lord Commander Clothair Blackwood headed off to the White Sword Tower to rally Sers Glendon Goode, Harrold Darke, and Robert Darklyn and locate Dorian and Connor to protect the royal family. Ghost had fled the room. Finding a quiet corner in the hallway amidst the chaos, Myrine sank down to the floor, took off her Ghost mask, and wept bitterly for her murdered friend.
Prince Daemion had taken off from the chamber to go check on his sleeping mother. Nell had woken up and was found by her son to be standing outside of her bedroom door confused as to what was going on. Daemion was relieved to find his mother unharmed, and he told her about the deaths of Lady Thea Celtigar and her father. Nell paled and covered her mouth in shock when she heard what had happened. Grabbing hold of her son's arm, Nell, dressed only in her nightclothes, asked Daemion to take her to the Dragon Queen to see if there was anything she could do for Prince Aegon and his now motherless children.
Meanwhile, encountering Lord Commander Blackwood and Sers Goode, Darke, and Darklyn on his way up to take Aegon back to his room, Viserys asked for one of the knights to go check on his wife and children to see if they were alright. Ser Robert Darklyn left to go do as the prince had asked. He found Valaena awake in her room with her two little brothers, Aerys and Little Daemon, by both of her sides. The boys were huddled under the blankets while their big sister sat up with her arms around them. Robert's cousin, the children's mother, Myrine, was nowhere in sight.
"What was that noise?" Valaena asked. "It woke us all up."
"Something bad has happened, princess." was Robert's explanation to his cousin's question. "But don't worry. The person who caused it has been captured. Where is your mother?"
"We don't know." murmured Aerys.
"Mama wasn't in her room..." whimpered Little Daemon.
Concerned, Robert told the children to stay put, and he left to go find a guard to stand watch at Princess Valaena's door. After finding a guardsman, Robert set off to find Myrine. He checked the library first since that was Myrine's favorite haunt. Panicking slightly when he could not find his cousin in the library, Robert headed off to the small council chamber thinking that Myrine may have gone there to find her husband. The Queensguard knight was surprised to find Myrine weeping in the hallway by the small council chamber and was even more surprised to see her wearing Ghost's raiment.
"Myrine?"
Lady Darklyn lifted her face from her hands at the sound of her cousin's voice. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were smeared with a glistening layer of still flowing tears. Sniffling, Myrine wiped her face with the sleeves of her robe.
"I am so sorry for your loss..." Robert offered a hand to Myrine, who gratefully accepted it, allowing her cousin to help her up back onto her feet. Pleased to see that Myrine was not physically hurt, Robert continued speaking. "Prince Viserys asked me to check on you and your children. Your daughter and sons are together in Valaena's room. They are wondering where you are, Myrine."
"Oh," sighed Myrine, "my babies. They must be so scared..."
"Valaena is taking good care of her little brothers, cousin. She did not hide under the covers when I entered her room. Her brothers did, but I don't blame them for doing so tonight."
"She is such a good girl." Myrine said softly. "So brave. So mature. She is just like her father. Where is my husband anyway?"
Ser Darklyn's eyes dimmed.
"Escorting Prince Aegon back to his chambers. That poor man..."
Myrine felt her throat harden and her eyes welled up with more tears. Swallowing her tears and dabbing her eyes, Myrine composed herself as best she could. Sighing to herself, Myrine then turned and began walking away from Robert.
"Going to see your children?" Robert asked as Myrine headed off, and she responded simply with yes, her voice sounding distant. Ser Darklyn caught up to her.
"Here, allow me to escort you there."
Myrine said nothing, but she did snake her arm around Robert's left arm, and she allowed him to accompany her to her daughter's bedchamber. Robert made no mention of his cousin being the enigmatic Master of Whisperers. It was neither the time nor the place to do so. Later, when the two cousins entered the bedchamber, Princes Aerys and Daemon Targaryen bounded out of bed and ran to their mother with their older sister following after them. Myrine embraced her children and held them close, fresh tears streaming down her face.
No tears fell from the eyes of Myrine's widowed brother-in-law as he was led back to his room by Viserys and Ser Connor Darklyn. Greeting the men at Aegon's bedchamber door were three women – his half-niece, Princess Alysanne Velaryon, and surprisingly of all, his younger sister, Princess Visenya Targaryen, and her maidservant. Prince Viserys and Ser Darklyn were both flummoxed by the pregnant princess's presence. Aegon said nothing nor did his face expression change.
Visenya and Alysanne both turned pale when she saw the bloodstains on her oldest brother's clothes. Visenya placed her right hand over her heart and cradled her belly with her left. Alysanne covered her mouth, her purple eyes rapt on the blood that covered her half-uncle's hands, face, and shirt. Prince Viserys glanced between his two kinswomen before addressing his sister.
"Visenya, you should be in bed."
The princess shot her brother a venomous look. Viserys noticed that the whites of Visenya's eyes were red and gleaming with tears.
"How can I stay in bed after hearing what I just heard, Viserys? Guards shouting. Aegon screaming. Learning that..." Visenya stopped herself before she uttered the cause of everyone's grief that night. She closed her eyes tightly and covered her mouth. Alysanne and the maidservant each reached out to comfort the princess as she mourned her cherished sister-in-law, but Visenya shooed them away. Viserys sympathized with his sister, but he could not comfort her now since he had Aegon with him. He directed his attention to Visenya's maidservant.
"Please take my sister back to her bedchamber. She should not be seeing this given her condition."
"I want to be here for Aegon, Viserys!" Visenya snapped. "He's my brother, too. My child is fine. I am fine. Please, I want to be here. Alysanne and I can help wash Aegon and dress him in clean nightclothes. I will even take in Oswyn and Rhaenyra for long as needed. I want to help, Viserys. Do not send me away!"
Initially surprised by his sister's outburst, Viserys was soon (begrudgingly) won over by Visenya's words. The two princesses took custody of Aegon, who still had not said a single word, his eyes remaining downcast, and they took him inside his room as Ser Darklyn held the door open for them. Bathwater was being heated over a fire in the hearth when the princesses entered with Aegon. Viserys lingered outside the door long enough to see his brother getting disrobed by Visenya and Alysanne before returning to the small council chamber. Aegon's bloody clothes were taken away to be washed after he was fully disrobed, and his sister and half-niece helped him into the bathtub and started washing him with pieces of cloth, with Visenya seated on a stool and Alysanne standing. Viserys heard a woman sobbing and screaming in the small council as he got closer to it. Rushing inside, the prince found his mother and Lady Nell Beesbury comforting a hysterical Lady Adela Bolling, who had collapsed before the queen, her face buried in her lap as Rhaenyra gently rubbed her head as if she were a child. Lord Bar Emmon filled-in Viserys on what had happened during his absence. Adela, like everyone else who had been sleeping that night, had been awoken by Aegon's chilling roar. She heard the commotion of the servants and guards rushing about outside her room, and she heard the name of her daughter and husband being brought up.
Unable to get a straight answer from anyone, Adela ran for the small council chamber. She had barged into the room frantic and terrified and begging for answers about what had happened to Bartimos and Thea. Queen Rhaenyra was the one who took it upon herself to tell her companion that she had lost both her husband and only living child to a stroke and murder respectively. Poor Lady Bolling fell to her knees screaming and crying when she learned of her horrific double tragedy. Adela was escorted back to her chambers by both Prince Viserys and Lady Beesbury with Ser Harrold Darke following after them.
Laying Adela on her bed, Viserys sent for a maester, and the bereaved widow was given sweetwine to help her sleep that night. Adela's freshly widowed son-in-law was also given sweetwine after he was laid down in his bed by Visenya and Alysanne following his bath and getting dressed in clean nightclothes. With both Adela and Aegon medicated and in no state to take care of the traumatized Oswyn and Little Rhaenyra, Nell volunteered to take the children in.
"They can share a bed with me for as long as needed." Nell told her half-brother-in-law. "I can play my harp for them. Music will not heal their heartbreak, but it can soothe them."
Viserys had wanted to take in his nephew and niece, but then he thought on how both he and his wife were going to spend the night with their own children. There would be no room on that bed for Oswyn and Little Rhaenyra, and despite Visenya's offer to take them in, Viserys felt that his sister had enough on her plate caring for her nearly two year old daughter Rhaenys as well keeping her unborn child safe in her womb. Nell had plenty of room in her bed, and she had been feeling lonely ever since her husband, Prince Joffrey Velaryon, left to take part in the manhunt for his half-uncle. She was also popular among her husband's many nephews and nieces thanks to her skill with the harp. Oswyn and Little Rhaenyra were fetched by their Uncle Viserys from Grand Maester Thaleus's chambers.
Both children were quiet, solemn, and listless, and Little Rhaenyra's eyes were red and puffy from crying. Viserys's heart broke for his older brother's children. Gathering up his niece into his arms, and leading Oswyn by the hand as if he were younger, Viserys took the two children to their Aunt Nell's room. The bed was ready for the children, and Nell tucked them in and played her harp for Oswyn and Little Rhaenyra just like she had said. Viserys stayed in the room until his nephew and niece were both asleep.
Exhausted emotionally, Viserys made his way to his children's rooms without checking in on his mother to see if she needed him for anything else. He sighed with relief when he saw Myrine in bed with their daughter and sons. Myrine was still awake, and she rose from the bed and all but ran to her husband. Tired as he was, Viserys comforted his wife as she cried bitterly into his chest. Alone in the sanctuary of Valaena's room, Viserys felt free to weep himself, and both he and Myrine wept together that night over their loss.
The prince's half-aunt, Princess Helaena Targaryen, was also weeping that night in her bedchamber. She knew that the kidnapping plot had gone terribly wrong the moment she heard Prince Aegon the Younger's sorrowful cries. Frightened for her daughter, grandchildren, and Ser Naeryon, Helaena ran to her veranda to see if Morghul and Sunfyre would fly out of the Dragonpit. Relief as powerful as a cataract washed over the princess when she saw the silhouettes of the two dragons emerge in the firelight of braziers and fly south for the Reach. Happy tears welled up in Helaena's eyes then, but she eventually found herself sobbing after learning that Thea had been murdered soon thereafter.
Remorse flooded Helaena's heart. Out of Jaehaera's three companions, Helaena had been the fondest of Thea. Kind and compassionate. Lovely and graceful. A good friend to Jaehaera, and a wonderful mother.
And now, Lady Thea Celtigar was no more... Retribution will doubtless follow in the aftermath of Thea's death. Her murderer was one of the two men who Falena had solicited, and Helaena had no doubt that they would not keep their connection to the Greens a secret under torture. She thought of fleeing, but soon realized that that would be impossible. Security had obviously increased throughout the castle, and King's Landing was probably going to go into lockdown to trap anyone else who had malice in their hearts for the Blacks, and with the flight of Morghul and Sunfyre, the Dragonpit would be swarming with Dragonkeepers.
Helaena was trapped like a hunted rabbit in a warren blocked in by a ferret at the warren's entrance and a hunter at the warren's exit. The princess now had a choice to make. She could either sit and wait for the metaphorical ferret to find her, in other words, wait for the Blacks to hear of the Green Conspiracy and for suspicion to fall on her, or, to run into the metaphorical hunter's clutches, which meant that she would spill the beans to her half-sister Rhaenyra I. Confessing to Rhaenyra would hopefully allow for Helaena to tell her side of the story, and to maybe plead for mercy to be shown to Falena and her children. But no matter which path Helaena chose, a death sentence was waiting for her.
Helaena had committed high treason: she had plotted against her half-sister, the current reigning monarch of Westeros, to help support her oldest son's claim to the Iron Throne. Beheading was the fate such traitors were sentenced to regardless of if they were highborn or lowborn. Perspiration moistened Helaena's palms and brow, and she wiped it away on her dress and arm. Uttering a silent prayer to herself, Helaena rose from the side of her bed, and she quietly embarked on her long journey to find Rhaenyra I. Afraid as she was, Helaena pressed on, resolved to do what she thought was right.
She silently intoned another prayer in her head. She prayed that her children and their supporters would act swiftly as soon as Jaehaera and her entourage arrived at Oldtown. Time was of the essence, and it was slowly petering out like the last few grains of sand in an hourglass to mark the passage of another hour. Would the Greens mobilize? Would they flee to parts unknown never to be seen or heard from again?
Helaena and Westeros would have to wait and see.
First Day of the Eleventh Moon
The Hour of the Bat
How many hours had passed since their flight from King's Landing, Jaehaera could not say. Flying at night with so little moonlight to light the way would have been even more daunting for the fugitives if Morghul and Sunfyre had not flown this route so often in the past. The two dragons glided on the air currents and flapped their wings here and there as continued on their path for Oldtown. Stars twinkled above like diamonds while the light of torches and braziers flickered below like topazes in the streets and one the walls of Tumbleton, Bitterbridge, Longtable, and the villages that the dragons flew over. Aeva had fallen asleep, and Jaehaera held her daughter close to her chest.
She looked over at Sunfyre to check on her son Aegon and Ser Edmund Naeryon, but the darkness of night prevented Jaehaera from seeing if one or the both of them were sleeping on the golden dragon's back. The princess hoped that Edmund was still awake since he was carrying Blackfyre. Gods, what a disaster it would be if Edmund were to doze off and drop the sword. If memory served right, there was a large and thick stretch of woodlands down below, and it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack if Blackfyre were to fall down there. Failing to secure a hostage through Prince Aemon Targaryen was bad enough but losing the very blade that could help cement Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen's claim to the Iron Throne would cause the Green Conspiracy to unravel completely.
Jaehaera tried to repress her anxiety by breathing in the fresh, clean air.
"Just keep going," she whispered to herself. "Just keep going."
Seeing the red-orange blooms of fire from the great walls of Highgarden caused excitement to rise in Jaehaera since that meant that she and her entourage were getting closer to Oldtown. Making things even better for her, light could be seen on the horizon. Dawn had arrived. The light of the rising sun was eventually joined by the ever-glowing light of the Hightower Pharos. Jaehaera sighed with relief and whispered, "Yes, we made it," when she spotted the Pharos.
Fear and relief had cast aside Jaehaera's dread over returning to the place where the realm's current troubles stemmed from, and she continued to suppress her ill feelings as she drew closer to the city. Sensing the arrival of the two dragons, Meteor, Tessarion, Shrykos, and Seasmoke growled and hissed loudly in greeting to Morghul and Sunfyre. Word spread quickly via word of mouth to Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, and he and followers were roused from their beds, and they all ran down to the high hall to greet Jaehaera, Aegon, Aeva, and Edmund as they dismounted their dragons after landing the courtyard. The children were both groggy after waking up while their mother and guardian were still alert even though they hadn't gotten any sleep last night.
Adding more to Jaehaera's great relief, Blackfyre was still in Ser Naeryon's clutches. The captain of the guards at the Hightower met the four in the courtyard with six guardsmen, and he led the princess and her family into the castle. Aegon and Aeva stayed by their mother's side until they saw their father in the high hall. The minute they saw Jaehaerys, the prince and princess broke away from their mother and ran towards their kneeling father's open arms.
"I missed you two so much!" Jaehaerys said as he held his children close to him. He tousled and then smoothed Aegon and Aeva's hair, purely delighted to have them here in Oldtown with him. His reunion with his twin sister-wife was more formal in comparison. Jaehaerys rose to his feet to meet Jaehaera, and he greeted her by taking her hand and kissing it. He tried sweetening the greeting by calling Jaehaera "my queen".
Jaehaera flinched at being called a queen. The immense weight of her family's treason frightened Jaehaera, and she looked around the high hall nervously as if anticipating an ambush or to find anything that would indicate that a spy was lurking about. Seeing how nervous his twin-wife was, Jaehaerys comforted her, although his tone sounded more like a father who was annoyed by his child's worries than a caring husband trying to soothe an anxious wife.
"You have nothing to fear here, Jaehaera. No one else but our most trusted allies are here."
"That doesn't mean that the walls don't have ears, Jaehaerys." Jaehaera said in a tetchy whisper. "You have to be careful what you say."
"You are Ghost, Jaehaera. The Master of Whisperers. The realm's spymaster. Whatever spies you have in your network answer to you. Keep them in line and winnow out the ones whose loyalties are questionable when you get around to it."
Jaehaera did not reply, but she looked angry and embarrassed. Having nothing else to say to his wife, Jaehaerys observed that Ser Edmund Naeryon had Blackfyre, but there was no sign of his half-first cousin twice removed, Prince Aemon Targaryen.
"Where is Aemon?" Jaehaerys asked, expecting an answer from both Jaehaera and Edmund. The boy's absence concerned the prince.
"Something went wrong with the kidnapping plot last night, your grace." answered Edmund. "We heard a commotion coming from the Red Keep, and the kidnapper that Lady Stokeworth hired had not arrived with Prince Aemon at the appointed time. Your wife was wise to have us leave when we did."
Jaehaera appreciated Edmund defending her decision to leave the capital city without Aemon and telling her twin brother-husband that she was wise for doing so. Jaehaerys, who was initially annoyed that the Greens' bargaining chip to force Queen Rhaenyra's abdication had not been delivered to him, became concerned, and he inquired about the commotion that was heard coming from the Red Keep last night before his wife, children, and Ser Naeryon fled on dragonback.
"What kind of commotion did you hear?"
"Like someone shouting." answered Jaehaera.
"That's not good."
The voice came from the twins' oldest uncle, Prince Aemond Targaryen. It was so strange for Jaehaera to see her Uncle Aemond in the flesh again. Aegon and Aeva and Edmund shared the princess's sentiment over seeing Aemond the Kinslayer, the man whose beheading of Prince Jacaerys Velaryon had brought on so much heartbreak, anger, and stress to the Reach.
"We need to act now, Jaehaerys. Blackfyre's absence will be noticed, and I doubt that the kidnapper your paramour hired will hold his tongue once he's been delivered to the torturer. Rhaenyra will unleash the wrath of the Iron Throne upon us then. She will try to exterminate the bloodline of our father and my mother to keep the claims of her descendants safe. We are all in grave danger here."
An anxious silence fell upon the Greens. Jaehaerys thought for a moment before breaking the silence with a demand.
"Crown me today." All eyes fell on Jaehaerys. "Crown both me and Jaehaera as king and queen. I want our coronation to be held today under the morning sun at the Starry Sept. Like Uncle Aemond has just said, we need to act now. Crown me king and we shall give my aunt fire and blood before she does the same to us."
"What can you and Jaehaera be crowned with?" asked a confused Lord Lyonel Tyrell. His Hightower counterpart had an immediate answer.
"The crowns worn by the Kings and Queens of the High Tower from before the Conquest. They had not been worn since the day Garland the Bridegroom brought Oldtown under his rule."
"Excellent." Jaehaerys said. He was feeling excited now. "Please have those crowns fetched for, Lord Lyonel."
The pretender then addressed the other lords in the room. He told them to send ravens to their family seats and bannermen to tell them to muster their forces to fight in the name of King Jaehaerys II Targaryen. He then asked for the following men to accompany him to the Starry Sept to have an unscheduled audience with the High Septon: his respective uncle and cousin, Princes Daeron and Lydus Targaryen; third cousin, Lord Willem Hightower; and Ser Edmund Naeryon. Before they departed for the Starry Sept, Edmund handed Blackfyre over to Jaehaerys, who gratefully took the blade from him. His High Holiness was found to be presiding over the clergy's morning prayers in the Starry Sept's sanctum by Jaehaerys and his entourage.
Surprised to receive such distinguished visitors so early in the morning, the High Septon took the men to his solar where they could talk in a more private setting once Jaehaerys made it clear that he had something very pressing to talk about. This impromptu meeting quickly turned sour when Jaehaerys revealed his treasonous intentions.
"No! Absolutely not!" bellowed the High Septon as he rose up from his chair. "Outrageous! Treason. What you are asking me to do is high treason, your grace!"
"It is not treason, father." Jaehaerys said, trying to sound reasonable. "This is justice. You will be crowning the true king and queen of Westeros. My aunt is the pretender, not me."
"She was your grandfather's eldest child by his first wife. Your Aunt Rhaenyra's claim to the throne is stronger than yours because of that, your grace."
Jaehaerys's mood soured this time. His uncle, cousins, and sworn shield shared his mood, too.
"My grandfather's cousin Rhaenys was the only child of the eldest living son of the Old King, and yet, she was passed over twice – first in favor of my great-grandfather Baelon the Brave in 92 AC, and secondly, my grandfather the Young King during the Great Council of 101 AC. This pattern of naming eldest sons as their father's heirs was interrupted when my Aunt Rhaenyra became the Princess of Dragonstone during her youth when my late father should have been named as the heir to the Iron Throne instead. By crowning me, your Holiness, you will be putting Westeros on the right path again by restoring the natural balance of our society. The Faith will be rewarded handsomely once I take the Iron Throne. New septs and motherhouses will be built, and great tithings will be given to the Faith from the crown's own coffers."
The High Septon listened with reluctant patience to what Jaehaerys was saying, but he still vehemently declined to perform the treasonous coronation. But before he could tell his guests to leave, Jaehaerys unsheathed Blackfyre and showed it off to the High Septon.
"This is the sword of Aegon the First of His Name. The Conqueror. The Dragon. The Dragonlord. This is the symbol of my kinghood.
King Daemon wields Dark Sister, but he is so frail now that he cannot even pick up a wine cup on his own. Queen Rhaenyra's regime is weak. Mine will be strong."
The High Septon stared at the famed sword with bugged out eyes incapable of saying anything. That sword had drunk deeply of the blood of countless Poor Fellows and Warriors Sons during the Faith Militant Uprising over a hundred years ago when King Maegor the Cruel wielded Blackfyre. The Shepherd of the Masses got the impression that that sword might taste holy blood again, his blood, very soon if he did not comply with the Jaehaerys's demand. Seeing how still and quiet the High Septon was, Willem stepped forward to try and diffuse the situation. He also had something up his sleeve.
"Your High Holiness," Willem's voice was honeyed and respectful, "my cousin means you no harm. All he wants is to be crowned king just like his father should have been after Viserys I's death in 129 AC. My family and the Faith have been closely intertwined for centuries ever since the appointment of Septon Robeson as the first High Septon during the Andal Invasion, and Jaehaerys and his wife have Hightower blood in their veins courtesy of their dear departed grandmother, Queen Alicent. You owe them the same loyalty as you do for the full-blooded members of House Hightower, father."
The High Septon was turning beet red. He opened his mouth to say or shout something at Willem before he was cut off by the young man. Five and ten Willem was, and yet, he had the maturity and astuteness of someone ten to twenty years older.
"This close relationship between the Hightower's and the Faith have benefitted both factions greatly. Preferential treatment in religious and legal matters. Protection. Protection most of all. The Hightower's have long protected the dirty secrets of countless High Septons just as they have protected the souls of the Hightower's by granting them absolution of all sins whenever it was necessary." Willem smirked. "You have one such dirty secret, father."
The High Septon's redness had faded to paleness like a freshly painted marble statue being washed clean by rain.
"What secret may that be?" asked an intrigued Ser Naeryon. Willem's kinsmen looked from him to the High Septon and back to him again in anticipation of learning a dirty secret kept by the leader of the Faith himself.
"You like boys, father. Boys in their early tens. Boys who are halfway between childhood and manhood. Boys with sweet voices and soft, hairless faces. Your current favorite is an acolyte no older than two and ten."
"Pederast!" gasped Daeron.
"Pervert!" growled Lydus.
"Grotesque!" spat Edmund, not caring that his saliva landed on an expensive Myrish carpet. The High Septon's face twisted briefly with disgust over what Edmund had done before adopting a mortified countenance. Willem looked smug while Jaehaerys, who had said nothing, glared at the holy man with eyes full of outraged disgust. The heir to the Hightower waved a hand about to calm the men down so that he could continue address/blackmailing the High Septon.
"Reputation means everything to powerful men like kings and High Septons alike. Officiate Jaehaerys's coronation, father, and none of us will breathe a word of what you get up to in the privacy of your bedchamber with your favorite acolytes."
The High Septon opened and closed his mouth many times until he found the words he wanted say. His voice sounded soft and defeated when he finally spoke.
"I will do as you ask, my lords. But before I prepare for the coronation, do I have your word that you will keep my secret safe?"
The men nodded, and they vocally expressed their promise to keep quiet about the High Septon's pederasty. Pleased to have finally gotten his way, Jaehaerys and his entourage left to prepare for his coronation. The ceremony took place at the Starry Sept's entrance once the morning sky was blue and bright with sunlight. Dragons flew around the Starry Sept, drawing a great crowd before the bell was tolled once to announce the coronation's beginning. Green conspiracists congregated at the sept's threshold around the High Septon and their king and queen to be.
Oldtowners whispered amongst themselves, asking one another what was going on, why were there so many important noblemen, princes and princesses, and dragons gathered at the Starry Sept, and so on. The coronation went ahead undeterred by the hum of questions and speculations that were coming from the crowd below. Swinging his incense burner seven times in honor of the seven gods of the Faith, the High Septon anointed the kneeling Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, the former with Blackfyre in his hands, with the seven sacred oils just as their aunt and her second husband were twenty-one years ago in King's Landing. The same incantation was said as the High Septon applied his oily fingertips to the twins' foreheads.
"The Father."
"The Mother."
"The Warrior."
"The Maiden."
"The Smith."
"The Crone."
"The Stranger."
Lord Lyonel Hightower and his younger sister Bethany stepped forward holding out purple cushions lined with gold fringe. Sitting atop these cushions were House Hightower's ancestral crowns. The honor of bestowing these crowns upon the heads of Jaehaerys and Jaehaera was not given to the High Septon, however. Instead, that honor belonged to the twins' uncles. Aemond, who concealed himself with a hooded black and gold cloak, took the crown of Uthor of the High Tower, the first King of the High Tower, from Lyonel's cushion while Daeron lifted the crown of Maris the Maid, the first Queen of the High Tower, up from his wife's cushion.
The crowns were both made of silver and embossed with a brickwork pattern to resemble the Hightower Pharos. Orange topazes and wine-red rubies studded the apexes of the crowns' peaks to symbolize the Pharos's flame. Uthor's crown was of course bigger than Maris's, but the discrepancy in size took nothing away from the beauty and splendor of these two pieces of artwork. Seeing these crowns caused a stir in the crowd below. Above the excited voices, Aemond crowned his nephew, and Daeron crowned his niece.
Jaehaerys had wanted his uncles to crown him and his twin sister-queen after learning that the seemingly kind and wholesome High Septon had a taste for young boys. He tolerated the High Septon anointing him and Jaehaera with the holy oils because that was one of his main clerical functions for the coronation, but after that, Jaehaerys did not want the pederast to lay another finger on him and his wife. Once the crowns were on the twin-couple's heads, the High Septon announced their new titles for all to hear.
"Anointed by the Seven Above, Jaehaerys Targaryen has been crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms. Anointed by the Seven Above, Jaehaera Targaryen has been crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms."
The crowd's murmuring hushed as they took in what they had just heard. There was already a sovereign sitting on the Iron Throne, but her half-nephew and half-niece were just crowned as king and queen by the High Septon right there in Oldtown. A momentous historical event had just taken place.
"You may both rise."
Using Blackfyre to pull himself up, Jaehaerys extended his hand to help pull his wife, Queen Jaehaera Targaryen, up from the ground. Aegon and Aeva, who stood between Alys Rivers and Lady Daenaera Velaryon with their cousins Lydus and Baelon, observed their parents' coronation in silence with a look of childlike wonder on their faces. Jaehaerys turned to face the crowd, and Queen Jaehaera called out her husband's new title as loudly as she could.
"Jaehaerys of House Targaryen, the Second of His Name. King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. Long may he reign."
"All hail the king!" called out Aemond.
"ALL HAIL THE KING!" shouted the Greens.
This proclamation was repeated by many people in the crowd amidst a stormy sea of cheers and praise, and boos and condemnations.
"King Jaehaerys II Targaryen, the rightful king!"
"The line of succession has been redeemed!"
"Your father is smiling down upon you, your grace!"
"Traitor!"
"Pretender! False king!"
"The gods will punish the Greens for their hubris and treachery! Mark my words. The Father Above is judging you now, pretender, and you shall one day face his wrath!"
King Jaehaerys scanned the crowd, nodding his head to both the positive and negative reception of his coronation. Desiring order, Jaehaerys looked up at Shrykos, who was watching him from the Starry Sept's roof. Commanding his dragon to roar, the resulting sound that thundered out of the dragon's maw quieted the crowd down. The pretender king addressed his new subjects once the last peep had been silenced.
"People of Oldtown. Reachmen everywhere! It has nearly been a moon's turn since my beloved grandmother, Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, was murdered in her own bed by a faceless fiend. Her death has spawned more death and tragedy, and my aunt, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen the First of Her Name, is indifferent to our suffering. Her forces have taken over the Reach, disrupted your daily lives by searching your homes, acquisitioning more resources than you can spare, and threatening violence upon those who do not comply with the Iron Throne's demands."
The highborn observed the reaction of the crowd below. The smallfolk were seen to be nodding, whispering amongst themselves, or giving Jaehaerys their full attention to lisent to what he had to say next. King Jaehaerys continued on with his speech.
"Yes, we all grieved for the death of my cousin, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, when he was slain. But what Queen Rhaenyra has done to you is wrong. The Reachmen should not be punished for my cousin's death; you had nothing to do with it. My aunt's unreasonable behavior stems not only from grief, but also from the oversensitivity that plagues women. Men have more control over their emotions than women do and are far more reasonable because of that, and if I were king when Jacaerys was killed, I would not have swarmed the Reach and persecuted you fine, resilient people.
In fact, Jacaerys would still be alive if our grandfather, King Viserys the First of His Name, had honored the edicts of the Great Council of 101 AC and named my late father, Prince Aegon the Elder, as his heir on the day he was born. My grandmother would still also be alive as well. There would be peace right now instead of fear, tension, and hatred."
Jaehaerys then rose Blackfyre up so that its tip was pointing at the morning sky.
"Fear not, my good people. The Dragon Queen's tyranny will not be tolerated anymore. She will be held accountable for her crimes against you and against the natural order of Westeros. I will pursue my claim to the Iron Throne in the name of my late sire, and for my son and heir, who is also named Aegon, and for his sons, and their sons, and beyond. I bear the sword of the Conqueror, the man who made this realm one out of many, and with it, I, the rightful king of Westeros, will make us whole once more."
The end of Jaehaerys II's speech was met with more cheering than he received right after he was crowned. His words had struck a chord with the Reachmen who were gathered here before the Starry Sept during that early morning hour. They were tired of the Blacks' presence in their homeland. Tired of the endless searches, scrutiny, and sorrow. It was time for a change.
The cheering caused the dragons to roar and hiss in response. Concluding the speech signaled to the Greens that it was time to initiate the next phase of their plan. King Jaehaerys II Targaryen and Princes Daeron and Lydus Targaryen summoned their dragons and mounted them and flew up into the sky with them. The Tyrell's, Redwyne's, Hightower's, Florent's, Costayne's, Bulwer's, and Ashford's parted ways at the Starry Sept to meet up with their forces. Unofficial as it was, Jaehaerys's speech served as a declaration of war.
Oldtown was in close proximity to two Black princes and their dragons: Prince Joffrey Velaryon and Tyraxes up the Honeywine at Honeyholt, and his older brother Prince Lucerys Velaryon and Arrax down at the Arbor with the Velaryon Fleet. These two Velaryon princes had to be dealt with right away since they could easily lay waste to Oldtown as soon as they received their mother's order to do so. Ravens were probably in flight from King's Landing heading for the Arbor, Goldengrove, Honeyholt, and Horn Hill at that very moment. There wasn't a moment to lose. The Greens had to mobilize.
Jaehaerys "the Pretender" was going to lead a fleet of Hightower ships carrying his Uncle Aemond, Sers Willem and Myles Hightower, and Lord Augustus Redwyne and their houses' retainers and soldiers to stage a surprise attack on the Arbor. Augustus had sent a raven to his kinsmen and forces instructing them to subdue Prince Lucerys and his followers as soon as they saw the Hightower ships and Shrykos approaching the Arbor. Prince Daeron Targaryen was leading a sizeable force consisting of Sers Reginald and Cyril Hightower and their forces up to Honeyholt to confront Prince Joffrey and the Beesbury's. Daeron's host would be joined by the forces of Houses Bulwer and Florent once they reached the seat of House Beesbury. Prince Lydus Targaryen flew up to Horn Hill to confront Prince Aelyx Targaryen, his dragon Macetail, and the Tarly's. He would be joined by the Tyrell and Peake hosts and their bannermen at the junction on the Roseroad that led to Horn Hill.
House Costayne would use its forces to defend Oldtown until the Arbor and Honeyholt were subdued, and House Ashford would rally its forces to await orders to assault Goldengrove. The seat of House Rowan was the furthest away from Oldtown, and the Rowan's and Baela would be scrambling to figure out what to do after they heard of the possible defeat of two of her brothers-in-law. Prince Maelor Targaryen still refused to join his brother's cause and bear the stigma of traitorhood even after spending two days and nights in the Hightower's dark and squalid oubliette. Despite Maelor's staunch loyalty to their aunt, Jaehaerys II had his younger brother moved from the oubliette to a more comfortable dungeon with a window since there was no point in isolating him since the cat was out of the bag regarding the Greens' plot to usurp the Blacks. House Hightower's maesters sent out flocks of ravens to every corner of Westeros announcing King Jaehaerys's intent to pursue his claim in defiance to Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen and to implore the nobility to choose the "right side" with the impending commencement of hostilities between the Blacks and Greens.
Ravens were also seen flying out from the Citadel as well. The "Moon of the Stranger", as the tenth moon of 150 AC would soon come to be called, had claimed seven lives during its thirty-one days. But what was to come after it would claim even so, so many more. Dragons were going to dance, and fire and blood will ravage Westeros by land, sea, and air. The following days, months, years, however long this conflict would last, will be ruled by the Stranger while his six companions slept undisturbed.
Trivia
1. The metaphor of Helaena's dilemma was inspired by a medieval illustration I saw that depicts a rabbit hunt. It showed two hunters standing at both ends of a warren - the hunter on the left is preparing to release a ferret to chase out the rabbit, and the hunter on the right is waiting to capture and kill the rabbit. Poor bunny...
2. "The Bridegroom" is the nickname for King Garland II Gardener. He brought House Hightower under his control by marrying the daughter of the last King of the High Tower, Lymond "the Sea Lion". King Lymond in turn married Garland's own daughter, which made both princesses each other's stepmother! Ew...
3. Jaehaerys II saying "one out of many" was inspired from the US's motto, "E Pluribus Unum", which is Latin for "Out of Many, One".
4. The last line was inspired from the saying "Christ and his angels were sleeping", which was used to describe the chaos and bloodshed of the Anarchy, the conflict which inspired the Dance of the Dragons. That was a war of succession waged between two cousins, Empress Matilda/Maude and King Stephen of Blois, their predecessor being their respective father and uncle, King Henry I of England. Although from what I have read, that saying may have been coined by a 19th century historian rather than a chronicler who lived during the Anarchy.
War has arrived. Will Lucerys, Joffrey, and Aelyx survive their impending battles with the Greens? Find out next time in the next chapter! Besides working on "RotDQ", I am also going to try and work on my BloodRayne story remakes. Been itching to get back into that again.
I thank you all for your continued patience and patronage. :)