153 AC
Aemon
Aemon stood in the throne room of the Red Keep, Naerys by his side. The hall was packed and excited murmurs were heard all around. The King had called for an announcement and he was here personally to deliver the news. Aemon fidgeted with the hilt of Dark Sister as he looked around the hall. The sword had been granted to him by the King personally when he had knighted Aemon only a few moons past. A knight at seventeen! Aemon still felt excited when he thought of it.
Looking around, Aemon's eyes finally fell upon the figure of his uncle, who was slouched upon the Iron Throne and seemed disinterested in the proceedings. Aemon's own father sat at the base of the Throne in a chair put up specially for him. Aemon caught his father's eye and Viserys nodded at him and then motioned to a goldcloak standing by the Throne.
The guard nodded and beat his iron-shod spear upon the ground, creating a huge din in the cavernous chamber which silenced the crowd. King Aegon looked up from his thoughts and spoke.
"You may be seated," he said, and the nobility who had gathered there, most form the Crownlands, but some from even further beyond, sat down on temporary wooden galleries erected on either side of the great hall. Once everyone had been seated, the King addressed the hall.
"It does me great pleasure to bring this news to you and to the realm as a whole. Even as we speak, the Grandmaester has been busy sending ravens to all corners of our realm and further beyond to spread this good news. I am proud to announce that the Queen is with child and the realm shall bear witness to its new prince early next year," the King said and the hall exploded into cheers and applause.
Many in the hall tried to make their way to the King to congratulate him personally. The Queen herself was not present but many of the ladies who had come to the Capital and the Red Keep to hear the news had latched onto Naerys instead, hoping to gain some more information. As Naerys found herself in the middle of a sea of ladies, she sent a pleading look to Aemon who only smirked wickedly in return.
Truth be told, Aemon was as surprised as the rest of the hall at the announcement of the Queen's pregnancy. The notification of some grand announcement had only been sent out to the Crownlords a week back but Aemon had just been knighted then. He had spent his days in the yard, showing off Dark Sister to the knights and squires and his nights with Naerys, in their bedchamber. That thought brought a silly smile to his face.
Aemon walked over to his father, who stood by the King greeting the lords and ladies who had come over to the base of the Throne to address their liege in person. He saw Lord Lothston, who had come all the way from Harrenhal. Aemon had heard tell that his wife was with child and wondered how Aegon would feel about that. As he reached his father, he heard the last bits of whatever Lord Lothston had to say.
"... and may your child be a masculine child, your Grace," Lucas Lothston said and bowed to the King, taking his leave. Aemon moved forward to speak with his uncle when he caught Daeron's eye. Daeron was standing near the doors of the hall and was speaking with Lord Alyn Velaryon. Daeron motioned for Aemon to join them and left the hall. Aemon followed.
Daeron and Lord Velaryon took a long and circuitous route before going into the library, where they sent one of the Grandmaester's assisstants outside and ordered the guard on duty not to let anyone inside under any circumstances. Daeron and Lord Velaryon went over to a corner of the library and sat at a table hidden half behind bookshelves but with a clear look of the door to see if anyone came inside.
Aemon sat with them and spoke, their business seeming very secretive and thus arousing his curiosity. "So, what's all of this about? And why the need for this secrecy?" Aemon inquired.
Lord Velaryon answered. "What you are about to hear must not be repeated again elsewhere and certainly not outside this group. Before we tell you anything, you need to swear your silence," he said.
Aemon lost his good cheer. What was happening? And why was Daeron plotting things together with the Oakenfist, sulking about like spies? Daeron seemed to have noticed Aemon's hesitance and tried to reassure him.
"It isn't something very illegal or anything like that. It's just, we don't want father to hear of this. He's made his opinion clear on the matter and our endeavor is contrary to his proclamation, so we can't let this get out. You see the need for secrecy, don't you?" Daeron said.
Aemon nodded. He didn't think Daeron would do anything to go against his father's word. Aemon acquiesced and swore on the Father and the Mother and the Crone to keep their secret until he went to his grave and to not reveal them except when allowed to.
Lord Velaryon nodded, satisfied and spoke. "The realm today is very disunited. The wounds of the Dance have only scabbed over but they are yet to be healed. Normally, time would set right the wrongs of the Dance but for one small issue - the King," Lord Velaryon said.
He saw the look on Aemon's face and continued hurriedly. " It is not that he is in the wrong. The King's reign has seen the realm prosper and the smallfolk happy. But there remains a major problem. Through the consequences of events out of his control, our King has lived in a state of melancholy nearly his whole life. This has led him to do away with the pomp and splendour of the earlier court of King Viserys."
"This state of affairs is not without it's problems. The King is not charismatic and his dealings with the nobility do not endear him to them. He is seen as a dour and grim man. The death of the last dragon a few moon's past has also done nothing to improve his reputation. He has gained the moniker of Dragonbane, which the smallfolk whisper over their ale, seeing the reigns of Jaehaerys and Viserys through a rose-tinted window as the ideal and our liege as ineffectual."
"If the discontent was limited only to the smallfolk, we would have not had any problems. As they are now, the smallfolk pose no threat. But our King fails to court the nobility of the realm too and this is the bigger issue. The lack of a royal progress has, after this long time, become the norm. Other than the very old no one even remembers a royal progress. No, the main issue is that our King does not care for the nobility."
"Perhaps his reticence is due to him believing the lords of the realm and their scheming being the cause of the Dance. Or perhaps, he thinks that giving the realm peace would be enough to satisfy them. As things stand, however, we have a realm full of unsatisfied lords with very little oversight from the Crown."
"The North won us the Dance but the Pact of Fire and Ice remains unfulfilled. The Vale gained nothing but death for their support. The Reach grows ever powerful and is left unchecked, with the Hightowers' new bank making them only prosperous. Meanwhile, the Lord Baratheon's ear has been poisoned against us by his mother, the lady Elenda, who seeks vengeance for her second husband's death at the hands of the Dornish. The fact that her family lands are in direct path of the Dornish raiders only exacerbates the matter. And who knows what the Lannisters are up to?"
"What if these same lords were to decide today that instead of being ruled by a distant King who cares not for them, they would rather be ruled by their own overlords. What if Loren Lannister decides tomorrow that he'd rather be King of the Rock than now to a weak, dragon-less monarch. How long until Cregan Stark's son decides to become the King in the North rather than bow to Southron rule. I've heard tell that the North remembers. If so, I pray they do not remember that they bent the knee on pain of dragon fire," the Oakenfist concluded.
"So, we wish to strengthen the Crown's position then?" Aemon asked. "How do we aim to do that? I suppose you have a plan and that you need my help in this task?"
Daeron spoke then. " The solution is simple. We do what even Aegon the Conqueror was unable to. We conquer Dorne at sword point through Fire and Blood. We unite the Kingdoms for our sake and against a common enemy. We show them that we are the only ones suited for the Throne, Iron or otherwise, with or without dragons."
Aemon gaped at them. The task was audacious and Aemon knew his uncle was opposed to any conflict with Dorne, not wanting to see any war in his lifetime again. His inaction, however, did paint him in a bad light and Aemon had to concede that no King was a true King if he failed to protect his subjects.
The Oakenfist took over. "This, of course, will have to be done when Daeron's the King. By conquering Dorne and accomplishing Aegon's objective, we paint Daeron as Aegon the Dragon come again, the quintessential Targaryen monarch and the true Lord of the Seven Kingdoms in name and in practice," Lord Velaryon said.
Aemon looked to Daeron who had turned red at being compared to the Conqueror and hoped Daeron would not let this get to his head. He asked another doubt which had been bothering him for a while. "Can we count on the other Kingdoms for help? Are they willing to come when called after so long without any oversight?"
Daeron spoke. " In this matter, as of now, with no prior consultation, all of the Marcher lords in both the Stormlands and the Reach would support us. If pushed, Lord Olyvar Baratheon would rouse the whole of the Stormlands for his mother's family suffers at the hands of the Dornish raiders. They would come if only for a chance to wipe out the Wyls. The Reach would come running for the sake of martial honour, even though I still have my doubts about the Hightowers. As for the rest, we still need to engage in talks for that matter. I, we, cannot hope that they would come when called. We need to be sure of their obedience," he said.
Aemon nodded and spoke, "And what of the Free Cities? Can we count on them to not interfere?"
The Oakenfist replied, "This is where your brother comes in. After leaving for his exile, he has spent very little time in any Free Company. He served in the Second Son's very early into his exile but left it not too soon after. I met him under the guise of a voyage to Volantis and explained the situation and our plan. He has agreed to it, of course and we met in Tyrosh. Aegon told me that he had made friends with the First Sword of Braavos and assures me that he'd be able to prevent their entrance into any war we'd have with the Dornish, though methinks they'd not do so anyway. They are too far away to care."
"Volantis is too far away and thus would not interfere but that still leaves Pentos, Tyrosh and Lys. Aegon came up with an idea to take care of Lys which I have to admit can be done if played right. That still leaves Tyrosh and Pentos which is something we have to tackle in the future."
Aemon grew curious. What was this plan his brother had hatched? He asked as such and the Oakenfist replied.
"Aegon believes that a marriage to the daughter of one of Lys's magisters should do the trick. Unlike Pentos, this magister in Lys is from an ancient Valyrian family. Though they were never Dragon Lords, unlike the Targaryens, they are nonetheless very distinguished. Aegon proposed that he would marry the daughter in order to serve the family's needs, though he also seemed quite taken with her. I believe that Viserys would not object to such a match should he know the reason for it."
Aemon wondered about this plan of his brother's and how much this was influenced by his brother's feelings for whomever that woman was. He addressed the Oakenfist.
"Lord Velaryon, has my brother told you of his plans? Of what he means to do over the course of his exile?" Aemon asked.
"Yes, and I advised him to do what would benefit our plans the most. Aegon will be joining the Stormbreakers. The company is still mostly Westerosi and Ser Oscar Tully still leads it. Aegon hopes to have become the second in command of the company by the time of Dorne's Conquest, if See Oscar does not die yet by that time. If he dies, Aegon hopes to lead the Company. That would require him to serve continuously for years and puts him at significant risk but Aegon was adamant in this," Lord Velaryon replied.
Then, Daeron continued, "Either way, he'd bring us around a thousand to two thousand men and that would not be insignificant. If Ser Oscar does come back to Westeros, his brother would be grateful to Aegon and us by extension. We need not rely on oaths to do the job for us and retain his loyalty. "
"Ser Oscar might be a proud man, but he would back away from a fight, even if it would bring him back to his brother. They have bad blood between them but Lord Tully is anxious for a reconciliation which is what we give him," Lord Velaryon said.
Aemon nodded and spoke, "So what do you need me for?"
"You, young Aemon will be our agent in the Red Keep. Daeron is too young to sway the lords to our cause. He is yet to master diplomacy and he would not be taken at his word before he is of age. But you, you are the youngest knight in a century and you wield Dark Sister. You have a not insignificant reputation and all you have to do is use it," Lord Velaryon said.
Just then, the guard from outside stepped in and informed of the gathering in the Throne room ending and they realized that this place might not be secure anymore.
Daeron spoke, "I think that we should adjourn for now. Let us meet again later, when the Red Keep is busy once more. Perhaps on Father's Day, the next week?"
Lord Velaryon nodded and father's his cloak around him and stood up, preparing to leave. He rummaged around in his doublet and produced an envelope, before giving it to Aemon.
"Your brother gave this to me when we met in Tyrosh. It is a letter for you and your wife. Now, I need to go and present myself to the King before I leave. Do give my regards to Naerys," Lord Velaryon said and walked away.
"Very well Daeron. I will do as you say. I believe you will send me further information on when and where to meet?" Aemon asked and Daeron agreed before both of them left the library.
As Aemon walked to his chambers, he felt as if he had mentally ran all the way to the Wall. Aemon walked into his rooms and saw Naerys standing by the window looking outside. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, causing her to turn around. He was about to tell her of Aegon's letter when she spoke.
"Aemon, I have something I wish to tell you," she said as she chewed over her lip and Aemon kissed her, unable to resist. She pushed him away and continued to speak.
"I visited the Grandmaester yesterday," she said and Aemon grew worried. Naerys was always sickly ever since she was very young and Aemon could not help but worry over her. Ever since they were going and played Lords and Ladies, Aemon had always felt that Naerys was his responsibility and tried to make her happy.
"Are you unwell? Is it serious?" Aemon asked.
"No. It's nothing like that. It appears that I am with child," Naerys said, a slight smile on her face.
A/N: A few important changes in this chapter. We leave canon behind and go into uncharted territory. Any comments, complaints and feedback? Please let me know. Yes, I stole a line from the Godfather.