'Aerys,' My mother called from outside my bedchamber, ever respectful of my privacy, 'Can I come in?'
I moved from the window seat and went over to the door, swinging it open to allow her inside.
She smiled half heartedly, pain in her eyes.
'I need to talk to you,' she said, closing the door behind her. She ushered me over to the chairs by the the far window that overlooked the beach.
I didn't speak, I only waited for her to say what I knew was coming.
'You are to marry Aegon,' she said, her stare boring holes in mine. I felt fixed under her look, under the pressure of everything.
When I was younger she had let me train, let me live the life she had wanted. And now she was going to force me into the life that was destined for her.
'No,' I whispered, the sound barely audible.
She reached across the low table between us and held my hand, 'Aerys, you must do this, if not for me, for Lucer-' her voice broke as she tried to say his name. The pain was still fresh.
She began again, 'You have to do this, for us, for the blacks. We have to play the long game here Aerys if you are to rule.'
'If I am to rule?' I asked her, the pieces already falling into place before she told me of the plan.
'Daemon believes that you can poison Aegon slowly, and by time he dies, you will already be with child and can stay on the throne,' she looked away from me at the end of her sentence.
'I don't want the iron throne, it's yours,' I told her, squeezing her hand in return as a I watched a tear fall down her cheek.
'I don't want to lose anymore children. This way, no one I care about will die,' she said, 'And the people love you, you show them what a powerful Targaryen is, your equipped with skills and knowledge that I never was nor am.'
'And after? I will be free to marry whom I wish?'
She sighed before saying, 'Yes.'
'So I am to willingly marry Aegon and be crowned Queen to kill him?'
'In the same way I believe they slowly poisoned my father, yes,' her eyes hardened at this.
I looked at my mother then, her tired face and body, wrecked from a few weeks of horror. But she was still beautiful, and I didn't want to take her legacy away from her.
'When he dies, will I be able to abdicate the throne, for you to rule?'
These words touched her, and she smiled at me and squeezed my hand even harder. 'We will cross that bridge when it comes my love.'
I nodded and swallowed the bile that was rising in my throat.
'How do we know it's not a trap?' I asked her.
'You are far faster than I ever was at your age,' she observed, 'Aegon will be back to collect you, and wed you in secret first here, before a grand wedding a few months down the line.'
I pulled my hand away from her when she said it.
'That's not what Aegon said!'
'It's what Daemon agreed…and that he exchanges you for Maelor, his heir to the throne, as a sign of goodwill going forth.'
I laughed, an awful, false, and hollow laugh that showed her how I felt.
'So I am now a prize poney and an assassin?' I said, laughing again, 'You and father know I was never trained in anything but swordsmanship?'
'And tactically, don't forget that we've trained you better than any of my siblings are.'
I nodded, having no words to reply.
She stood up and so did I, bowing out of respect from my Queen.
She rested a hand on my shoulder, causing me to stop bowing immediately. I looked up at her and she smiled sadly at me.
'I'm so sorry this is happening to you,' she said before taking me in her arms.
I hugged her back as a tear escaped my eye.
I had only ever known what life was like around my mother, I had never been alone more than a few days at a time. Never mind moving away from her. I always suspected that as a family, we would forever live in each other's company in the Red Keep, once she ascended the throne.
This way, I would be able to get the revenge I sought.
/
Everything moved pretty quickly after that, Aegon flew back the next day with his remaining son and Daemon made the maesters take him immediately to his new chambers.
Aegon made him swore that no harm would come to him, and Daemon only responded that he would treat Maelor with the same kindness I was shown, and that he would get to know.
Weekly correspondence was expected, using the ravens to write as much as I could.
I wasn't sure who knew of the plan, but judging Jace's anger, I knew he didn't.
Mother had come to my chambers that morning and strapped the poison I was to use to my thigh, hidden beneath the dress she had worn to her wedding to Laenor Velaryon.
She had dressed me herself that morning, neither of us saying much to the other. The dress wasn't traditional wedding clothing, and I think it was my mothers way of saying that the wedding wouldn't be true.
Aegon was shorter than Aemond, and greyer, as though he drank a lot. There was little to no warmth behind his eyes.
We were married on the beach, and only once it was over when I caught fathers eye and he winked at it, did it dawn on me that we were married in faith and not in the Valyrian custom like mother and father had been.
It was another sign that this wasn't true, that our wedding was founded in falsehood and deceit.
Immediately after, I was crowned Queen of the realm, and I felt sick as I watched my loved ones bow.
'Okay, that's it,' Aegon said as everyone remained on their knees, 'We will leave now, and see you for the ceremony,' he looked uneasy, as though he might throw up too.
We already made each other sick.
'Say your goodbyes and then we are leaving,' Aegon hissed at me.
I'd never been close to him. As children, he was always interested in girls and debauchery, and wouldn't train as long or hard as Aemond and I. He had tried to touch me once, and cornered me in the hall in the red keep. I had used the dagger I always kept at my hip to carve a hole in his stomach. He left me alone after that.
Now, would he still leave me alone?
Jace and my other brothers were wordless as they said goodbye. The younger ones were teary-eyed, not fully aware of what was happening.
Father hugged me, tightly, and whispered in my ear 'Show them hell and make me proud.'
I nodded at him and he kissed my forehead, moving out of the way for my mother.
'I will see you sooner than you think. Go be strong,' She said, passing over a small parcel as she did so.
I unwrapped the small parcel, pulling away the strings so that I could see the necklace that lay beneath. It was a stone, bright like fire, and an amalgamation of reds and purples and greens.
'It belonged to my mother, and now it belongs to you,' she said before kissing my cheek.
I bowed my head to her, and thankfully Aegon wasn't looking.
And so I left, with Silverwing and a few dresses that I was sure would go missing. I knew few people in Kings Landing who could help me, but I was hoping everything would go smoothly all the same.
Ser Erykk and a few workers from my mothers household were to sail to Kings Landing in the coming days so that I would not be alone. But until then, I was, not matter how they tried to coat it.
