Chapter 27: Aegon

The journey back to Storm's End seemed to go smoother than the reverse voyage had. Aegon was told they had made better time though it didn't feel like it to him. When he finally arrived back at the castle he made haste to wash the dye from his hair. He wanted to be alone but he kept his guards as Arya had instructed. Lemore found him trying to towel his hair and looking in a looking glass to see if the blue was gone. He made himself smile at her.

"Lord Connington told me Aegon" she said softly.

"She had no choice" he said defensively. "Her family needed her".

Lemore put her hand on his shoulder and listened as he explained. She left when he was done but it wasn't long before food was sent to his solar. He sat and ate it, grateful for the relative peace. It was short lived but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do. Lord Connington called him to a meeting the next morning. Aegon knew he was going to be wroth, he just underestimated the extent of it.

"You left Duck in Winterfell"

"I did" Aegon replied.

"Did you want to advertise to the whole of Westeros that she is your mistress?"

Aegon bristled. "Don't call her my mistress! If we didn't need dragons and she wasn't so stubborn she would be my wife"

Connington's response was cold. "So because she didn't want to marry you bedded her and dishonoured her. I thought you would move on once she stayed".

Aegon looked down at his hands. The accusation stung. Is that what I did? He had gone over it in his head so many times. It felt right being with Arya. It didn't feel dishonourable. She didn't make him feel dishonourable. He buried the twinge of guilt.

"She didn't stay because she wanted to. You didn't see what happened. She needed Duck".

Connington sighed. "You must see what it looks like. Kingsguard guard the King and his family. Leaving Duck with her sends a message-"

Aegon set his jaw. "I wasn't leaving her alone there. I couldn't stay so Duck did".

Haldon interjected. "Moving on, we haven't made any progress with the North yet. Her letter said some might agree to an alliance but while they are split nothing will be settled".

Aegon looked up. "She wrote?"

Connington sighed again. "She did. She warned me to stop you doing anything reckless".

Aegon grinned. She knows me too well. He launched into a repeat of the explanation he had given Lemore, telling them of what had been discovered at White Harbour, of Arya's confrontation with Stannis Baratheon and her claiming of Winterfell and the allegiance of the North. He finished it with the tale of what had occurred down in the crypts.

"I would have preferred if Stannis had met a permanent end" Lord Connington grumbled.

"I was tempted" Aegon admitted "but Arya warned me it would be my end too".

"She's not stupid" Connington said grudgingly. He looked at Aegon intently. "Do we need to worry about the North claiming independence? I mislike this talk of Torrhen Stark".

"It's awfully cold there, it's almost enough to tempt me to give it to them" Aegon japed.

Connington was not amused. He gave Aegon a look of disapproval then changed the subject.

Aegon listened as Haldon and Lord Connington updated him on the state of the war. They had taken more castles, they had just a few more allies but progress was slow. Dorne still waited. The Iron Islands were still reaving. The Tyrell-Lannister alliance still limped along though there were rumblings of discontent in the Riverlands.

"If Kings Landing didn't have hostages then I expect we'd have some support there" Haldon said.

"We have heard nothing of Daenerys" Connington frowned. "I'm starting to wonder if she has sailed at all".

Aegon didn't comment but inside he felt relief.

That night he dreamed of Arya. When he woke he could almost feel her touch. She had small scars on her fingers. He knew the location of each by memory. He could still remember the time he asked her about them.

"How did you get those?" he had asked.

She had looked down at her hands. "I was careless".

"How so?" he pressed.

"I was learning to make poisons" she mumbled. "Some of the ingredients burn".

He had known he should be horrified but he couldn't contain his laughter. She had scowled at him.

"What's so funny?"

He took a moment to compose himself enough to get the words out. "You never have a normal explanation for anything".

He had seen her try to control her expression and she failed. She had dissolved into her own laughter.

He knew he was supposed to distance himself from her but the dream weakened him and he wrote to her. He made Haldon promise not to tell Lord Connington. He knew the promise wouldn't be kept long but as long as the letter was sent off first he could live with that.

Things seemed to revert to a routine at Storm's End far too quickly. He held court and met with the lords and ladies present as was his duty. They were all flattery and courtesy. He found himself feeling disappointed even though he knew they weren't at fault. He thought back to when his cousin Arianne and her party had visited. That had been an interesting time.

His cousin Elia Sand had been rather amusing, Lady Lance he remembered, smiling. She had that same boldness Arya had. Arianne herself had been charming and quick witted but she was most interested in Lord Connington. He had found out afterwards that she had tried (and failed) to seduce Connington and he had laughed harder than he could remember just thinking about it. There were no such interesting characters amongst the current crop at court.

He was almost tempted to write Dorne and request another visit but all that would do is waste time. It was time to make a bolder move. At his next meeting with Connington he made the announcement.

"The Lannisters have held Dragonstone too long already. It was a Targaryen stronghold. We need to take it".

Lord Connington looked thoughtful but he nodded. "I agree".

They gathered the commanders of the Golden Company and began to put the plan in place. Ravens were sent out calling on allies to help them take the castle. The planning took time and Aegon was impatient. He wanted a distraction. He received a reply from Arya. It didn't help.

Your Grace,

You must be more careful with what you write in your letters. If your enemies intercept them it will go ill for you. I do not wish to have to burn what you write. I executed the traitors held in Winterfell's dungeons. The repairs to the castle are slow but there is progress. My brother is with me now and he has brought Skagosi with him. They speak the old tongue and I am learning. Nymeria is pining. Please keep safe.

Arya Stark

It was short and abrupt. He reread it a few times. At first it hurt that it was so impersonal but he thought back to when they parted. She had clung to him. When he let go of her he could see her eyes were shining with unshed tears. She would not let them fall, he knew that of her. She never said what she felt but he knew. He stopped at the bottom of the letter. Nymeria is pining. He smiled. He sincerely doubted that. Arya was always better than him at guarding them from exposure. It meant something, he was sure.

Aegon was glad for the distraction when they set sail. He and Lord Connington had the same argument they always did but Aegon was not going to sit in Storm's End while the men fought to take back the seat of House Targaryen. It began with a siege, a tedious affair lasting a moon while they established how well provisioned the garrison left in the castle were. As it turned out, they were not well provisioned. The Tyrells were weakened from previous battles. The Redwyne fleet was otherwise occupied and supplies to Dragonstone could not be replenished. Alongside that, Aegon was now aligned with much of the Reach and his men had access to their food supplies.

It appeared that it would end bloodlessly. The garrison inside the castle raised the portcullis, access was granted but they entered the castle prematurely. Dragonstone was taken but not without some cost. Connington would tell him later that he was foolish rushing in. If Arya had been there she would have said he was stupid. Aegon just counted himself lucky. An injury he could come back from, he very nearly got himself killed.

AN: There will be fewer updates this week. I have other stuff on. You will still get chapters there just won't be one every day.

Regarding Dany, she will arrive eventually. She is just taking her time. The battle for Meereen is done but she is off on the Dothraki sea. I expect she went to see the dosh khaleen (as in her vision) and that will chew up time. I don't know how long she would then stuff around before returning to Meereen then again how long it will take her to leave for Westeros and whether she would even head directly there. I have chosen not to write chapters from their POV while they are still in the East. This story is set in Westeros