Aemon
Aemon let a scream of exhilaration past his lips as he raced with his brother on the kingsroad. Their party had set out from King's Landing just a few days prior and were nearing the lands of House Byrch. The men-at-arms were left way behind as Aegon had decided to have an impromptu race towards the final fork in the kingsroad where the party would be taking a turn to skirt the edge of the kingswood and stay at the Byrch estate for the night.
Aemon turned around to catch a glimpse of his brother only to see that Aegon was nearly upon him. He urged his horse on to move faster and it responded marvellously to his commands. Just as Aegon was about to overtake him, Aemon's horse sped up and left Aegon to bite the dust in Aemon's wake.
Aemon knew his brother was not one to be outdone by anyone and tried to urge his horse to keep up its pace for the last few yards. Soon, Aemon would cross the boulder that they had agreed on beforehand as the finish line and Aemon would be able to show his brother who was the superior rider.
As soon as that thought had come into Aemon's mind, Aegon rushed past him and before he realized what had happened, he was beaten.
Just as Aemon reached the finish line, Aegon dismounted his horse and allowed it to rest, loosening the straps of its saddle. The horse was panting and soon it regained it's breath and started grazing on the grass around it. Aegon chuckled as Aemon closed the distance between them, patting his horse on the head.
"Aemon! That is how one rides brother. And that is how one wins. You let your enemy think he's won and then snatch the victory from right under him! Ah, you should've seen your face, eyes wide as dinner plates as you tried to look to where I was." Aegon was now laughing at Aemon and Aemon scowled.
Aemon pushed Aegon in his annoyance and Aegon stumbled backwards before falling over and then it was Aemon's turn to laugh at his brother. Aegon picked himself up and smirked at his brother and Aemon found his laughter slowly dying off as Aegon spoke.
"Oh, Aemon! There is no need for that. Or did you push me because you were unable to take your loss? We know you are a sore loser but surely it's not that bad loosing to your brother. I am better than you after all," Aegon said much to Aemon's irritation.
Aemon replied, "Riding horses isn't everything Aegon. Both of us know that you are no good against me in the yard. I am obviously your better in swordplay and therefore I am your superior. In fact, you're too afraid to even try to cross swords against me."
Aegon was unruffled by these comments and instead walked over to his horse and patted the mace that hung on it's saddle. "Swordplay is for children, Aemon. I am no longer a child. I am a grown man and men use weapons of war," Aegon said proudly and continued speaking before Aemon could interject.
"Yes, yes. I know what you'll say, 'I am only a year younger than you. I am as much of a man as you are.' And so on and so forth," Aegon said in a high voice, miming Aemon whose voice had an unfortunate tendency to break at the most misfortunate of times. Aemon went red in embarrassment and fumbled for something to say while Aegon laughed at him. Eventually, he found his voice but not before it had broken a few more times much to his consternation.
"The mace is hardly an elegant weapon. Any brute can swing it around in a fight. You don't need to learn any technique or have much finesse to be able to use it. The art of the sword is one which needs passion and dedication and true devotion to be able to become a master one day," Aemon said only to notice that Aegon wasn't even paying attention to him and Aemon shoved him in vindictiveness.
"You know Aemon, only children measure the worth of their weapons the way you do. Grown men show results instead of this petty squabbling of yours," Aegon replied looking smug as if he'd given a particularly witty retort. Aemon realized that Aegon was just repeating his earlier words and trying to pass them off as sage advice and snorted.
"What is this Aegon? You're speaking an awful lot about being grown up today. Didn't you proclaim only a few weeks ago that you'd be 'young forever' and not grow old and boring like father had become? Where did this sudden change come from?" Aemon retorted, knowing that calling out his brother on his contradictions was sure to earn his ire.
Aegon, however, smiled slyly and beckoned Aemon closer to him as if to impart upon him some great secret. Intrigued, Aemon went closer to his brother and Aegon started speaking in hushed tones, which further increased Aemon's curiosity and excitement.
"The truth is, Aemon, well, I don't know how to put this so I shall say this plainly. I am going to get married soon. No, wait, let me finish speaking before you say anything stupid," he said quickly before Aemon could get a word in edgewise. Aegon continued speaking. "It's Falena Stokeworth, you know, the one whose around the Queen a lot, she's one of her handmaidens. Though, she isn't much of maiden any more," Aegon said while letting out a sharp laugh near the end.
"But Aegon, she's at least ten years older than you! And her family is not really the most prestigious, even in the Crownlands. You know father will oppose this. Does he know?" Aemon asked, before the last part of his brother's words dawned on him and he looked to Aegon with an expression mixed with fascination and horror. "Aegon, please tell me you didn't sleep with her. You were joking about the last part, right?" Aegon's smug smile told Aemon everything he needed to know on the matter.
"To answer your questions, my dear little brother, Yes, Father does know and yes, I did sleep with her. We are lovers now and we were such for quite some years now. Oh, wipe that look off your face, I'd hardly advertise the fact that I was sleeping around to everyone else. I know how to be discrete," Aegon said.
"But what of father? You know how he is about these sort of things. Or are you going to get married in secret without his permission?" Aemon inquired.
"Oh, father knows about us. He even made his displeasure known. But I went to our uncle and he's given me his blessing. Father can't overrule the King," Aegon said. Aemon gaped at him. A lot was going on behind his head and he felt dissappointed in being left out of his brother's life. He was sure this woman would be his goodsister. His father wouldn't go against his uncle and now he wanted to meet the woman who made Aegon fall in love.
Just then, the knights they had left behind came up the kingsroad, with the Lord Commander at their head and the men-at-arms marching behind them. Aemon straightened up involuntarily, he might be a prince of the realm but he was still a squire to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and had to be ready to perform any duties required of him as a squire.
Fortunately, it looked as if there was nothing Ser Ruskin required of him at the moment and Aemon and Aegon rejoined the party with minimal fuss and a greeting to the assembled knights. Of the ten knights in their band, six were from the Crownlands, with Ser Franklyn Waters, the bastard son of Lord Celtigar the de facto leader of the lot. Aemon found it highly ironic for the Lord Celtigar to have a bastard considering the previous Lord Celtigar's opinions on bastardy.
Of the remaining four, one was the Lord Commander and two were Rivermen. One was a certain Ser Jaremy Butterwell, the heir to Lord Harroway's Town, an oily man who looked to gain royal favour by any means necessary and Aemon found him highly distasteful. The other riverman was Ser Donnel Ryger, the third son of a second son, who had come to the capital as a part of Lord Blackwood's retinue in order to, in his words, 'sieze the day and make my mark on history.' Aemon found that he quite liked Ser Ryger's enthusiasm for life and got on very well with him.
Aemon noticed the last knight of their band of ten, speaking with Aegon further up the road. Ser Robyn Foote was a Westerman and his most distinguishing characteristics were his penchant for silence and the deep scars that covered most of his face. Whenever asked for the cause of the scars he would launch into a long-winded story, telling a different tale each time.
As they rode on towards the Byrch estate, Aemon noticed Aegon conversing with most of the knights present. Aemon himself was silent most of the time, preferring to observe these people and judge their worth, but Aegon drew them into conversation effortlessly.
So lost was he in his musings, that he almost missed Aegon's shout of recognition as they came upon the Byrch estate after a couple of hours of riding. The Byrch estate was mainly a huge manse,hd not much in the way of defence, but it was beautiful to look at. The surrounding lands for at least a few miles in each direction were Byrch lands and Aemon felt happier now that their journey was over.
Just outside the manse, a portly man dressed in fineries stood, looking out of place in this rustic forested setting. Behind him stood more people, two in armor, most probably household knights and three more in the same fine clothes, probably his family. A little further back stood a group of people in more hardy clothing who he guessed to be the servants. So the whole household had come out to greet royalty then.
Aemon urged his horse to go a bit faster and caught upto his brother just as the reached the manse. Both of them got down at the same time and Lord Byrch looked confused as to whom to address. "He's the older one," Aemon said, pointing at Aegon who smirked. Lord Byrch reddened at the perceived rebuke and quickly bowed to Aegon.
"My Prince, I hope you forgive my ignorance. I had not had the fortune of gazing upon either of you and this was the cause of my mistake. I am Rennifer Byrch and I welcome you to our estate. Your Grace, the manse is yours," he said. Aemon felt he was trying too hard to be pleasing.
"Worry not, Lord Rennifer. All of us make mistakes. Let us go into the manse and make ourselves more comfortable. The men have been on the road for the better part a day and I'm sure the hospitality of your manse will be welcome," Aegon said smoothly and Aemon could see Rennifer calm down as he realized he would not be in any trouble for his, admittedly minor, mistake.
"Of course, your grace. Let me lead you in," he said and started walking back towards the manse. Aegon and Aemon followed him as two grooms arrived to take their horses away. The Lord Commander fell into step behind them, with the other knights trailing behind. The men-at-arms were setting up a sort of bivouac to settle down for the night, talking to the Byrch servants to arrange for food.
As they were about to enter into the manse, the Lord Commander stopped him. "Tell your brother to meet me after we finish eating, lad. We have much to discuss. There is going to be council where I shall divulge the Master of Whispers's information and we shall decide a plan of attack."
Aemon nodded and both of them made their way into the manse just behind Aegon who was talking with one of Lord Byrch's blushing daughters. Aemon was excited and a little afraid of the battle tomorrow and more importantly, he was hungry. They would eat first and worry about fighting later when their stomachs were full.