Viserys Targaren was livid.
"I am the King of the Andals, Rhoynar and the First Men! I will not be reduced to a mummer!" He exclaimed, looking at me, who was nonchalantly sitting and eating an apple.
"Well, that's where you're wrong boy," I told him "What is a King if not the greatest mummer of all?" He was clearly furious, and so I kept pressing. "A Mummer in Braavos acts out one of a set of scripts, sometimes once, twice or thrice a day, he acts from several scripts on different days, and such earns him coin and fame and puts food on his table. A King? A King acts every waking moment unless he is alone with those very few he trusts entirely. A King must act like a stern harsh man with his enemies, and yet once they are vanquished and brought to their knees, a King must act magnanimously, depending on the injury done upon him, for else none shall even consider bending to him, instead resisting him at every turn. To the smallfolk that come to supplicate for the Royal Justice as is their right, the King must act with Majesty, letting his subjects know that he will come to their defense in their hour of need, but that he will come bearing sword and flame against them should they oppose his justice. He must come bearing terrible judgment upon those that threaten the peace, and yet he must also come bearing honors and gifts to those that serve him above the calls of their duty... Boy, if you want to be King in more than just name, you will learn to act. The whole world is but a stage, the greatest of them, but a stage, and we all are mummers, playing our parts to the delight of the gods who watch."
He opened his mouth to reply, and could not come up with something.
"Think, Your Grace," I told him before he could respond, "Why is King Daeron the Second known as the Good, when he had to contend with an opponent that seemed more well-suited for the way Westeros is run? Why is Daeron the First so fondly remembered when all he achieved during his reign was to conquer sand, and lose it, and then die under a flagrant violation of all laws of war instituted by gods and men? Both Daerons were perhaps the greatest actors that your house has produced, and to this day the bards sing their praises and not even Robert Baratheon can do a thing to tarnish his memory as he would like... Or look at your own Father and Brother, who thought that the crown itself would save them from the need to act, and look where that ended for them both."
Viserys remained utterly livid, and I didn't care. He had learned enough self-control over the last month not to do anything extremely stupid, and he had learned to be self-aware, or at least enough to figure out that attacking me over this was indeed extremely stupid.
"A King rules and his word is law," He said after a moment, still fuming. "A King's command is to be obeyed at every moment, and those who disobey are to be killed, it is my right to command Westeros, why should I learn a mummer's trade?" he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to argue what I had said.
"Are you even listening boy? Your Father believed that same stupid notion, surely that is why it was drilled into your head from the moment you could understand the spoken word, Your Brother also believed such, and he thought that his right was to take a betrothed woman to bed and then to keep her captive for whatever reason." He was about to protest, but I had no plans to let him, "Don't get started, your brother was obsessed with some obscure prophecy and failed to see reality because the prophecy must be true, either that or he was so absurdly simple-minded that he belonged not in a palace but in a madhouse! Else this whole rebellion would never have happened because he would have known better than to goad three houses that were aligned into revolt."
Viserys was rather offended, shaken, and confused.
"You won't be made into a mummer in the sense of playing on stage, but you must learn to speak in public, you must learn to be aware of the tone of your voice and what it conveys, for knowing this you can use it to your advantage, and you can also know when others lie, you must learn to convince others of your words and claims, and to show no fear when speaking to the assembled lords of the realm you would rule..."
He nodded, sitting down. I sat in front of him.
"You are wrong." He said simply, "I-I am the blood of the Dragon," He was trying to keep it together, but we could have none of that. There were too many bad habits to break down in the boy. Even if I didn't care about his throne, if he wanted to survive he needed to change.
"The Blood of the Dragon did not save Old Valyria, nor did it save Prince Rhaegar. Learn from their mistakes boy, everyone expects you to make their same mistakes and meet an ignominious demise, I doubt you'd like that."
With that I left him in the dining room. I had to supervise Daenerys' first day with a... dancing instructor after all... God, I really am turning into an adoptive father am I not?