Aegon's death was followed by Aemond's agony. For three days the boy suffered from his injuries. Sunfyre had not killed him, only burned him badly before walking away when the dragon keepers appeared. Aemond was taken to the Maester immediately who began his treatment of the boy. The commotion had roused the rest of the castle and soon Alicent, Brynden and Helaena were joined by Rhaenyra and her family, and the King. For hours the Maester was with the boy, tending to his wounds and healing as much as possible, while Aemond's screams of agony were heard by everyone from the other side of the door. When the Maester had come out, he only had bad news. He had done everything possible to help, but the burns would not heal and he couldn't be sure if the boy would survive. It was all in the hands of the gods now.

For the three days that Aemond lived after the incident, the boy was reduced to a moaning and groaning mess, mumbling for his mother. He was bandaged from head to toe, living completely on liquids. Half the time he was on the milk of the poppy for the pain and dream wine so he could sleep at night. His sister would come from time to time, her favourite book in her hand. She would read to him till the Maester would have to ask her to leave. His half-sister would come to check on him as well, but unsure about what to say. His father would come to visit but leave after a while of just watching him. Two people though were his constant companions.

His mother would be stuck to his bedside, praying to the Seven for her son's recovery. The Hand of the King would tell him the stories of the Conqueror and his sons, stories of his great grandsire and great-grandmother. He loved listening to the stories of the Kings before his father. It was no secret that he wanted to be King. That was one of the things that Brynden had not tried changing about himself, his ambition and the other being his loyalty to his family. Maybe he should have tried to curb the former, maybe Aemond would not have been in this state if he had. Maybe if he had curbed those ambitious urges, the boy would not be suffering like this. Be it thankfully or regrettably, Aemond Targaryen passed three days after he sustained his injuries.

The funeral much like his brother was performed in the same manner, with Aegor lighting the pyre. The King was not in the outer yard this time, the loss of two sons leaving him to drink his grief away. Princess Rhaenyra was with him, trying to console him and not let him drown himself in wine. Princess Helaena stuck to Brynden, holding onto him as if her life depended on it. The Queen was nowhere to be found.

"The Council meeting will now begin" the King muttered, placing his stone in the designated place. He looked weaker than usual, defeated even as he sat for the Council.

"We have word from Raventree Hall" Brynden muttered, he himself feeling not at all in the best of places, "it is Lord Blackwood's contention, therefore, that the Brackens moved the boundary stones in the dead of night and set their horses to graze in their fields."

"Why was this issue not brought before Lord Grover?" the King asked, his voice laced with annoyance. "Has he grown so feeble he cannot settle a quarrel over rocks?"

"I've heard tale that Lord Grover's son now rules Riverrun in all but name," said Lord Lyonel.

"Well, he is also a Tully," the Hand of the King said, "and this remains a Tully problem. But, knowing how these two houses will look for any excuse to shed blood, this dispute bears looking into. I will have my men peer into this and find a solution."

"Very well" The King grunted. "Anything else that I should know?"

"Uh," Ser Tyland Lannister spoke, the man that had replaced Lord Corlys when the man retired his position to go fight in the Stepstones. "We should address the latest developments in the Step Stones, my lords."

"Will we ever be shut out of that blasted place?" the King muttered darkly under his breath.

"And the Triarchy's new alliance with Dorne" the Master of Ships added.

"I was hoping our negotiations with Sunspear might persuade them to see reason" the King coughed into his handkerchief. "To trust a Martell is to be disappointed."

"We have left the region undefended" Princess Rhaenyra spoke. She had taken the position of the advisor from her husband, Prince Daemon. "There should've been fortifications built, watchtowers, a fleet of ships, a garrison of soldiers sent to hold our ground."

"That was a mistake on our part" the Hand admitted. "We had put too much trust in the Triarchy to develop some wit about them to not try this again."

"The cost of it all was too great," Lord Beesbury said shakily, "our coffers are great, not infinite, sadly."

"The cost of war is greater" the Princess argued.

"Ture words, Princess" the Hand chuckled, a hollow one that nobody missed. "I will see to it that Dorne accepts our peace proposal, my King. And that the Triarchy is forever finished."

"You are but one man against an army, Lord Hand" spoke Lord Lyonel, "how do you expect to do it all."

"Trust me and my men, Lord Strong. I might not have an army or lands to be an actual Lord, but my methods and those that will do my work can be relied upon. And they will get my work done at any cost."

"And what is this cost, Lord Brynden?" asked Ser Tyland.

"You do not need to worry about that, Ser Tyland" the Hand smiled at him.

"Let us be done with this meeting then" the King rose, as did the council.

The King and Hand were out of the room first, the Princess not far behind. "You can manage it, right? Dorne and the Triarchy?"

"Of course, your Grace. After the last war I had some sleeper agents placed in the free cities just in case of something like this" the man smiled. 'And Dorne, I'm sure they'll be happy to side with us once I present my proposals to them."

"Good… good. I'll leave those to you then" the King smiled. "But before you get to them, I would like for you to go and talk to Alicent. Aemond's death has left her… silent. She spends her hours in the Sept these days. I have tried my best but she always holds herself back from me. You on the other hand she will not hold herself back from. She is very fond of you."

"Your Grace-"

"You don't need to defend yourself, Brynden. You have not insulted me in the least. She was married young to an old man. I see her look at you the same way I used to look at Aemma" he chuckled. "Though I am thankful neither of you has done anything to disrespect me and put me to shame."

"I would never, your Grace. I would never betray you like that" the Hand defended.

"I know" the King smiled. "Now go, see how she is doing."

"Father, are you sure about this?" Princess Rhaenyra asked. She had been behind them and had listened to their conversation.

"I am, my girl" the King turned to his eldest with a smile. "Accompany me to my room, please," he asked and his daughter was more than happy to do it.

As the King had said, the Queen was in the Sept, standing at the very front and staring at the likeness of the Seven aspects. Brynden walked up to her and stood beside her in silence.

"Ever since I was a child, I was told of the greatness of the seven," the Queen said softly. "To pray to them, should I need anything in life that my family could not arrange for me. When my mother got sick I prayed to them day and night to heal her. She died. I prayed to them to help me find happiness and a way out of how miserable I felt when I lost her. My father began paying more attention to me then and I thought that was it, listen to everything my father says and I can find my happiness. That was what the seven wanted from me surely."

"They work in strange ways, the gods" Brynden stated and the Queen let out a hollow laugh.

"Listening to my father lost me, my friend. Sure Rhaenyra and I get along quite well, but it's not the same as it had been before I got married. I lost my fourth child before he could even see the wonders of the world. I lost my eldest to an accident of his lust and my youngest to his own pride. It is a terrible thing for a mother, to live on while her children are all dead."

"You still have Helaena, my Queen."

"How long until they decide to take her away too?" the woman stated darkly. "What did I do, Lord Brynden? That the gods are punishing me like this. Have I angered them somehow that they have forsaken me? Even if I did, why punish my children and not me?"

"I do not know, my Queen."

The two remained in silence, staring at the statues before them. Then the Queen pulled a letter from her sleeve.

"Ten years, that's how long it has been since my father has seen me. Ten years since we have talked in any way possible. Today he sent me a letter, not asking how I was or how the death of my sons affected me. Give the King another heir he said in this letter. Not even a month has passed since Aemond's death. He doesn't care for me or my well-being, he cares only for power. And it took me the death of my sons to understand this."

She turned to him, her eyes red and puffy. She had been crying but now she was not. Or maybe her tears had dried up and she had no more to spare. "My father does not want Rhaenyra in power. He always told me that a woman in power would disrupt the balance. There is truth in that, but my father's hunger for glory and power trumps that truth. I have given all I could ever hope to give to my King, I have been the best wife I could have been to him. I can't do it anymore, I can't give him any more of me, Brynden. I just can't."

"Alicent," the man said softly, "you have given enough, you have sacrificed enough. Nobody expects anything more from you. Your father can bark and plead all he wants, but he has no say in what you do anymore. You are your own woman and free to do whatever you wish to do."

"I know" the woman looked down, a small smile on her face.

"I was not aware though, that your father had written to you a letter. Did it arrive this morning?"

"It did. In the early hours," the Queen admitted. "Lord Larys was the one to give it to me. I'm surprised he hasn't told you."

"Must have slipped his mind" the man smiled. But underneath his smile was a grimace. Maybe he had gone lenient over Larys in the past decade, put too much trust in him to not check up on him. He'd need to look into his matters, and maybe Mysaria as well. He'd be damned before he allowed the bee and the spider to sting the crow and feast on its carcass.

"I have matters to discuss with my husband" the Queen's statement brought Brynden out of his musings. "Would you be kind enough to escort me to his chambers?"

"Your wish is my command, my Queen" the Hand of the King lowered his head and the two left the Sept with their respective thoughts nibbling at their minds.