CHAPTER 4; THE KIND PRINCE

In the days that followed, several lords came to King's Landing, to pledge allegiance to Vaegon. However, it was evident that they only did it out of respect for the old king, and it did not escape the fact that he had never been liked, apart from being a great unknown to the common people. Vaegon had never had friends, he had a weak constitution, and in the red fortress it was still remembered what a terrible fighter he was with the sword, because despite being trained for a year by his brother Baelon, Alyssa disguised as a squire defeated him with a single blow. bang. In addition, he was bookish in nature, weak in build, and unattractive like his older brothers, and there was still the fact that he had never had any friends.

Then doubt began to well up in him. He had his father, who had named him prince of Dragonstone, and that from the start generated many supporters, if only because of the respect that Jaehaerys Targaryen commanded. Vaegon was aware that very few saw him as a viable option, even calling him the "Dragonless" which is why his first move had been to claim Vhagar. And although it is true, that this reinforced his position, and changed several opinions that were held about him, between surprise and some relief, deep down you could hear gossip accusing him of petty for claiming the dragon of his brother, when he was barely a moon, deceased. Others went further and accused him of stealing his inheritance from Viserys.

"There is no talk of Rhaenys's rights to the throne, though," he said as he sat in the old king's offices. At least he had gotten the support of House Velaryon, and House Baratheon by extension. But there were still more than two years left to become king, since Jaehaerys I died at the end of the year 103 after the conquest, more than enough time for Daemon to try something. Of course, Daemon wouldn't dare to do anything openly while his grandfather was alive, no one would follow him, but it was a fact that he was trying to raise an army to defend Viserys's rights, and he would more than likely spread the vile rumor of that Vaegon had poisoned Baelon, something that was completely false, Baelon had died of a simple appendicitis, which with the medicine of the time could not be treated. So he had to secure the court and the capital as soon as possible.

Vaegon called his first meeting of the king's council, in which, due to his poor health, Jaehaerys had delegated his functions to him, as the old king was aware that the lack of experience of his third son had to be supplied on the fly. .

Sitting in his father's place, something neither Baelon nor Aemon dared to do in his day, Vaegon watched the council. In it was the hand of the king, Otto Hightower, whose mentor Vaegon had once been, during his time in the citadel in Oldtown, so he could count on his goodwill for his plans, and his ambition could be easily sated. The Lord Commanders of the Kingsguard, Ryam Redwyne, both knew each other, as Redwyne entered the Kingsguard four years before Vaegon met, but though they had never been close, Redwyne would respect the King's decision, and Vaegon could count on him. he. Lord Beesbury, Lord of the Coin, though without the infirmities of age, showed his disapproval of Vaegon being made prince of Dragonstone on his face. However, he had managed to convince the sea serpent to return to the position of ship advisor, something that was seen as an endorsement for Vaegon himself, and had reportedly given orders to build new ships in Driftmark, as it was Knowing that the rogue prince would not give up without a fight. As for Grand Master Runciter, although they weren't close, he could count on his complete loyalty. As for Vaegon, he reserved for himself the position of counselor of the edicts, since he had held his brother Aemon until his death in Tarth.

"My dear gentlemen" Vaegon said with his best voice "I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support in these critical moments... my brother's death has been a great blow to my house and the seven kingdoms" he said with a look sad "but the seven kingdoms need us and failing them is not an option...I am not my brother, but I will serve our country until my last breath, as Baelon did...as Aemon did"

There was a minute's silence in honor of the Vaegon brothers, before they finally turned to important business.

"But the kingdom faces serious problems" Vaegon spoke again "Myr, Tyrosh and Lys have united and formed the triarchy, I am fully aware that my brother and Septon Barth welcomed this union, for the Three Daughters have cleared the Steps of piracy, yet they now charge our ships tariffs, tariffs which have recently been increased. Which is a bad sign, if we allow the triarchy to continue to control the Stepstones, they will jeopardize trade in all of Westeros, so we must act now."

"I agree with you" spoke the sea serpent. It was not for less, the wealth of the Velaryon house came from trade, and therefore Lord Corlys would be the main victim "they could lead the kingdom to a disastrous financial crisis"

"My prince," Lord Commander Redwyne spoke, "it would be too hasty, there is no need to go to war over a problem that does not exist... I mean it is always better to pay a toll than deal with piracy."

Vaegon rolled his eyes, immediately understanding why this man had been considered one of the most disastrous king's hands in history. Then he looked at the grand master, but he was undecided, perhaps because he had been in office for less than three moons. Lord Beesbury had long been understanding all those tedious account books, in Roman numerals, and that was already taking up a good deal of his mental abilities. On his part the king's hand had his mind on other matters.

"At the moment we have more pressing problems," said Otto Hightower, "the disappearance of Prince Daemon, and the rumors about him..."

Vaegon grimaced, putting aside the mutual hatred between the rogue prince and the hand of the king, it was a suspicion that Daemon was somewhere trying to assemble an army of mercenaries, probably from the free cities. "That leads me to treat Viserys" Vaegon thought, he would force that idiot to swear allegiance to him in front of the entire court "and if he refuses, surely a sword on the neck of his sweet Aenma will make him see reason" Vaegon thought.

"My nephew is a temperamental young man who has just lost his father" Vaegon replied "most likely he has gone to the Valley to seek comfort in his beloved wife, I am sure he cannot live without his Rhea" at that moment he stopped. He raised a hand to his mouth to look thoughtful, even though he was actually stifling a giggle, but he finally managed to compose himself "but Sir Otto, even if the three cities alone are not really dangerous, combined they pose quite a threat, should I remind you that it does only five years beat Volantis? it will be better to be safe than sorry… Lord Corlys, gather as many ships and men as you can, we will deal with any threat as soon as possible"

"How do you order my prince" answered the sea serpent, clearly satisfied, because he knew that the problem could only get worse.

"Sir Otto" Vaegon said "write to your brother, to prepare his hosts against any possible threat, it is very likely that they have the support of Dorne" he said, turning to see Grand Maester Rucinter "Grand Master, send a raven to Lord Boremund , that the Stormlands be prepared for any scenario, and preemptively mobilize their bannermen… I have not forgotten how they killed my poor brother" Vaegon said without admitting discussion.

"Yes, the grace of him" replied Otto, intrigued by the movements of his mentor.

"I will send the message immediately," replied the grand master.

"Well" Vaegon replied "I will take care of the management of the capital, it is necessary to carry out an important modernization of the city, for which I will need to coordinate with all of you, because these will be of great depth"

The council members were intrigued, but Vaegon called for a discussion of possible improvements to the capital, and they soon skirted issues such as population growth, deficient guard duty, as well as the need for increased sewer maintenance. The conversation lasted for two hours, during which time Vaegon literally wrote down the most important thing, ink and parchment in hand.

At the end of the meeting, Vaegon gave the council members permission to leave, leaving only Vaegon at the table with the sea serpent.

"You have been right" Lord Corlys congratulated him "very soon we will have to face the three bullies"

Vaegon nodded with a half smile.

"We must give the message to our enemies that we are prepared for any threat...in fact, I do not rule out mobilizing the Lannisters and the Manderlys, the stronger the message, the better"

Of course, that was not only directed at the trarchy, but also at Daemon, for Vaegon was confident that the more feudal lords were willing to go to war under his banner, the more difficult the rogue prince would have to find people willing to fight for him. him, and the fact that he hired foreign mercenaries would only make things easier for Vaegon.

"On the other hand, it is imperative to bring my nephew Laenor to King's Landing" "he must bond with a dragon as soon as possible" Vaegon continued before the curious look of Lord Corlys who nodded. He would see to it that Seasmoke was in Dragonpit so it wouldn't reach full growth.

"You are right" the sea serpent conceded "I will make the preparations to bring it to the capital"

Then they both got up from the table, and said goodbye until dinner time, since the Velaryon couple had settled in Maegor's keep, given the reassumption of the sea serpent from his position, and shortly they would bring their children to live with them.

Shortly thereafter Vaegon marched to the parade ground, where he trained with Ryman Redwyn until sunset. He had been a fan of Jedi Knights, but at the time fighting one of the greatest knights in the seven kingdoms, he was a real torment. But it was worth it, and to the Lord Commander's astonishment, Vaegon made several advances with his sword, some really relevant, considering the prince's weak constitution, and that now he could have given Alyssa some war, but they both knew that in the best case scenario he would be no more than an average swordsman. Although if he stood out in any martial art it was in archery, revealing himself after hitting the center of the targets several times at a greater distance each time, as a talented archer, which earned him the congratulations of the lord commander, although he was not I'm sure it would make up for it considering he could barely move his arms. But the rumors spread, and soon that image of a miserable fighter began to disappear, although not completely, seeing Vaegon fight fairly well filled the old king's heart with joy.

Barely a fortnight later he appointed Sir Harold Westerling as commander of the city, claiming that there was no one more trusted than a royal guard, although in practice they were under his direct command. The first thing Vaegon did to win the loyalty of the three thousand guards was to equip them with the golden cloaks, new and improved weaponry, and of course double their salaries. The measures immediately paid off, and Vaegon gained the loyalty of the guard, while he ordered Sir Harold to punish with extreme harshness any guard or officer who accepted bribes or committed any crime. In this way nearly two hundred men were executed or sent to the wall, including Sir Luthor Largent. To tackle the problem, Vaegon doubled the number of troops, from wandering knights to stout men who wanted a better life. In any case, after two moons a deep order reigned in the capital, and even established a proto judicial system, for the resolution of the complaints of the common people.

"Good," Vaegon said. "Now that I have control of the city, it is time to win the love of its people," he said as he made his way to a section of Maegor's keep, where he had forged his own laboratory. Given the time, he had had to design the microscopes and other utensils himself, spending thousands of gold dragons to get ingredients, or refine them himself, but it finally paid off after several sleepless nights. His doctorate in microbiology hadn't served her well in his previous life. But in this one he would help her save millions of people. He had had Gerargys brought from the citadel, and together with young Orwyle, who was a truly early learner, they synthesized the first pills for syphilis, gonorrhea, and flu treatment.

After a week the three of them locked up, only stopping for lunch and sleeping just enough and necessary, Vaegon went with several dozen golden cloaks, to the bed of fleas, there together with Orwile and Gerardys, they entered all the brothels and treated the all the prostitutes and their clients, supplying them with medication. Vaegon every time he finished his work in each brothel, he stayed chatting with the prostitutes and asking them about his life, about how they got there, and what he could do to help them. But the truth is that each story was more heartbreaking than the last. They ranged from girls who had been raped by their own parents at the age of twelve, to women disowned for truly outrageous reasons, or simply to survive. But worst of all, they all agreed that they didn't know how to improve their lives, and only a pale woman who had recently been forced to sell her daughter in order to eat, begged him to kill her. After that Vaegon left with a broken heart, and headed towards the streets of the piss, where at dusk he ordered the gold cloaks to take all the abandoned children that were in the streets, and in just the first night Vaegon returned with five hundred orphans to the red fortress, who stayed there for two days, until in collusion with the Faith of the Seven, five orphanages were opened in the city.

And Vaegon himself took an effective part in managing the care of the children, to the point of guaranteeing their financial support. But the thing did not end there, and he even held popular audiences once a week to solve people's problems, and although it was really tedious, people began to see Vaegon with good eyes, reminding them a bit of his mother, the kind queen.

Then in honor of his mother's name-day he held a banquet for the fifty thousand poorest people in the city, which he himself presided over in the square before the GREAT Sept of the city, and when Lord Beesbury warned him of the expense, He replied, "When there is a banquet for five hundred nobles, there is no problem in spending that money, but when there are fifty thousand poor people, they are only rubbish. Go away, Lord Beesbury, and never do that again,' he warned the coin counselor, who hastily withdrew. "Honestly, it seems incredible to me that with the cost of a royal banquet, a sixth of the city can be fed," said Vaegon, because the social differences were truly abysmal in that world, which was another thing in itself. challenge. The rest of the councilors said nothing, so as not to antagonize the prince, though Lord Commander Redwyne liked the prince's resemblance to his mother. For its part, the sea serpent captured Vaegon's strategy and took an active role, even offering to pay for half of the popular banquet, where salted pork, fresh fish, stewed soups, chicken broths, and quintals of hot bread were served. , enlivened with mead and apples for dessert.

Vaegon was at his limit, but things were going "well... next year I will build the first medicine factories, and then the canneries... they will be vital for the winters" Vaegon thought while he was distracted thinking about the plans he had been making the night before, while the sea serpent chatted politely with Otto Hightower.

When then some noises were heard, and the musicians and the dance halted at a sign from Vaegon, when presently they saw the gold cloaks bring in a poor fair-haired pretty woman, not more than twenty years of age, holding in her thin hands to a pretty little girl who was no more than five, with her blue eyes and long hair the color of the sun, she was dressed in rags or clothes that had been torn, she was probably a whore from some brothel. But behind her and shouting insults appeared a lady, also beautiful and with almost silver blonde hair, perhaps from Tyrosh's appearance, she was dressed in fine Myr clothes, and gold jewelry, with ten rings on her fingers. She looked like a genuine foreign noblewoman, accompanied by four escorts, but it was plain to see that she was a pimp, probably for high-income nobles and merchants.

"What happen?" Vaegon asked, already up, as the girl fell at her feet with the child still in her arms.

"Save her, I beg you!" the girl sobbed, and Vaegon stared at her.

"Seize that thief!" the older woman yelled "she has kidnapped my daughter!" she moved with elegance, and a blush among a courtier was enough for the prince to recognize his select clients. But he instead he questioned the girl.

"That's right?" Vaegon asked.

The girl sobbed harder and grabbed her daughter, while she shook her head.

"She is my daughter sir, I had her in my belly for nine moons!" the girl cried, and Vaegon signaled that no guards should lay their hands on her.

"How did you get those bruises?" he asked that girl.

"She got them while she was stealing my daughter!" yelled the bawd "let her head roll on the floor!"

"She stole it from me!" the girl yelled.

But the woman slapped her resoundingly to the ground, to the point where Vaegon held her, while the little girl shrieked.

"Don't do that again!" Vaegon warned him.

"I worked in her brothel, when one day she took my little girl from me and threw me out on the street," he said with a broken look.

"That's a lie!" the woman yelled, which was pure fire, some men might like that kind of women, but that wouldn't help her in that circumstance "She's a thief who broke into my house to do who knows what to my little girl!" she yelled she "Anyone will confirm what I say!"

"I suppose they're all on your payroll," Vaegon said, to which the pimp protested, but shot him a murderous look, "I've had enough, and since I can't rule which of us is the girl's mother, I myself will be whoever keeps it"

The crowd widened their eyes in surprise, it was a fact disseminated by the propaganda of the Faith of the Seven, that Prince Vaegon was an Archmaester in all but name, and that now he wanted to buy a sweet little girl, they were disappointed. , and especially to Lord Commander Redwyne and Sir Harol, who were sickened by the idea that formed in their heads.

"My daughter is not for sale!" the young harlot screeched.

To which Vaegon snapped his fingers and Vhagar's roar sent fifty thousand shudders as the dragon began to circle in circles with a menacing look.

"You have no choice" he warned her with a grim face "so tell me how much do you want for the girl? Keep in mind that each one will receive a half"

The bawd showed the greed in his eyes and he stepped forward, her look anguished.

"She's my little girl, for me she's worth all the gold in the world... I don't know if I could get rid of her" he said with feigned sweetness.

"I offer ten gold dragons," Vaegon said, "not one more."

The pimp thought about it for a moment, it wasn't what she expected, but you would cover costs and she finally agreed.

Vaegon smiled and made them bring a bag with ten gold dragons, while the harlot sobbed like her little daughter, whom he hugged with his meager strength. But when he reached out for the ball, Vaegon shoved it into his mouth with such force that he knocked out three of his teeth, then took every single one of her ten rings, worth at least a hundred dragons worth altogether. gold.

The guards held her tight, and Vaegon gave the rings to the poor harlot, whose name was apparently Azarya, as the bawd was dragged away from the square, amid shocked reactions.

"May they give her ten lashes, and may she never set foot in the seven kingdoms again, neither she nor those of her like her!" Vaegon shouted with authority. "This is the child's real mother!" he said pointing to poor Azarya.

And the people cheered him, remembering in Vaegon the figure of Queen Alyssane, even the sea serpent was surprised at the result of the verdict, and he was even more surprised when he learned that all this had not been prepared. In any case, the party resumed, and Vaegon removed his cloak to keep Azarya and her child warm, earning the third son the title of "the kind prince."