Chapter 4; The Black Wedding
Driftmark. Tenth moon of the 113th
In the five months he had been in Driftmark, Aegon had been relatively calm and happy, though he still missed Helanea and Aemond. He only hoped that his "Mother" wasn't on her nerves. In a sense he felt sorry for Alicent Hightower, but it would always be better to have a bad time, than to outlive all your children. There at the Velaryon home, Aegon enjoyed the tranquility and the pleasure of the sea breeze. He could fly with Gheponys without any problem, though always under the supervision of Princess Rhaenys. But far from frightening the inhabitants of the island, the presence of the two largest dragons in the world flying over their skies filled them with pride, as a symbol of the new status obtained under the rule of the Sea Serpent.
In Villaespecia he was entertained with all kinds of delicacies and books. For as a Targaryen prince, and rider of the "golden colossus" as Gheponys was called on the island, he was almost always the center of attention. That was incredible, in his other life Aegon was nobody, until at least earning a billion dollars. Now that he thought about it, how ungrateful his past life had been. Perhaps those months were a kind of compensation.
For his part, the lord of the fortress had nothing to teach him. On the contrary, it was Aegon who made a fool of him on more than one occasion. He even showed the Sea Serpent the numerical system he had created. And the fact is that until almost the end of the medieval era the Roman numbering system was used, which entailed a severe complexity to all operations. It is not surprising that the Medici bank soon put an end to the competition, since they were the first to implement the system invented by the Arabs. Anyway, Lord Corlys liked Aegon's idea and studied it thoroughly, knowing that it would be very useful for the management of the finances of his house. Another thing he enjoyed was the admiration he received from everyone around him.
He took great pains to make good friends with Laenor, who was almost always with his "friend" Sir Joffrey. To the Sea Serpent, he fawned over him with the admiration of a child and the enormous benefits it brought him, which he knew would make him more prone. Laena saw him as a little brother, and they often flew together in Gheponys, and played childish games or riddles, which Aegon played very willingly, even if inwardly they seemed to him to be sovereign stupidity. As for Princess Rhaenys, he was gradually getting the woman to take some affection for him. Aegon was very cautious with her, that woman could be a hard nut to crack. But he devised a stratagem to kill two birds with one stone.
"Aunt," said Aegon entering her office, "could you lend me some paper and ink?"
Princess Rhaenys looked away with the papers on the fortress accounts. And watched as Aegons approached her cowering, with somewhat fearful eyes.
"Aegon would you like to send a message?" the princess asked.
Aegon nodded.
"Yes aunt...I wanted to apologize to my father...and my sister" he said somewhat embarrassed.
That caught the attention of the queen that never was, who stood up and glared at him.
"Have you done something wrong?" she asked.
Aegon feigned discomfort and took a moment to speak.
"When I got Gheponys...and returned to the red fortress, my uncle Gawayne...told me to ask my father to be prince of Dragonstone, he said it was mine by right, and that Gheponys was proof of it...when my father and the council summoned me for explanations I gave them...but I also asked him to name me prince of Dragonstone, and my father yelled at me, and I ran off on Gheponys' back!"
"I understand," said Princess Rhaenys. She had no regard for the Hightower, especially after the rebuff Viserys had given her, when he had decided to marry Sir Otto's daughter. But in retrospect it had been for the best. For she would not have stood by while Laena's children were cast aside by the Delight of the realm. She was also aware that many would try to influence Aegon, especially with such a trump card in his favor.
"I reflected a lot..." continued Aegon "and I don't want to steal the crown from my sister, nor from Laenor..." he said with an innocent little voice "I was told how my grandfather stole the crown from you and then my father...I don't want to do that to my sister" he concluded with a touch of humility.
Princess Rhaenys smiled and stroked his head lightly.
"You are a good boy" she told him." I wish Baelon had had that kindness" thought the princess in remembrance of her treacherous uncle.
Then he left her quill, ink and paper, and under her watchful eye, Aegon wrote the letter, which was promptly dispatched on a raven.
The next month had been busier, for the wedding between Laenor and Rhaenyra drew near. As could not be otherwise, the Sea Serpent, made an authentic demonstration of his wealth. Although the one who could not be seen was Sir Laenor, who remained away in the company of his mistress. Aegon had taken care to spy on them whenever he could. Then he began to plot his plan.
He had toured Villaespecia with great care. The port city was bustling, crowded with hundreds of merchants with all their valuable cargoes. It took him almost a fortnight, but he found a merchant from Tormentor, who had come to sell medicinal plants. One of these plants was none other than Conium Maculatum, better known as hemlock, which was used as a fresh plant poultice. He went by stealth, he could not buy it himself, and stealing it was a risk, so Aegon waited a couple of days, to offer to accompany the maester to buy medicinal herbs. He had to humiliate himself and ask for forgiveness, but finally he agreed. He spent the whole afternoon going back and forth, listening to all his explanations, making him feel important. He had to wait a moment, to exchange the hemlock for another plant, but finally he had what he wanted.
He did not begin to elaborate the poison until the date when the king and the princess would come was known. It had been far from easy to work out the whole process, considering he was being watched by Rhaenys and Laena. But he finally succeeded.
When the royal retinue arrived on the island. Aegon was standing next to Princess Rhaenys. At the sight of Viserys, Aegon suppressed a sneer and lowered his face.
"Father...I'm sorry for what I did," Aegon said sounding as remorseful as possible.
"Well...I'm glad you understood," the king said heavily. He was relieved, but you could tell he did not love any of his children save Rhaenyra herself, who smiled proudly. But they both knew that as soon as he could he would get rid of Aegon and his brothers. They did not speak to each other, and Aegon went to his mother. The queen screamed at him, slapped and finally hugged him, for all the anguish he had put her through.
Aegon endured all that in silence, except to say "I'm sorry" though he regretted not being able to see his siblings. Helanea was still three years old and Aemond was only a year old. In any case, he would wait until Alicente was pregnant with Daeron to get rid of Viserys.
In any case, the feast began. Laenor's face had been a poem, while Rhaenyra's look of annoyance was even funnier. Of course, the sight of the queen dressed in green, declaring war on Rhaenyra had caused a stir, especially when she interrupted the king's speech. As could not be otherwise, Daemon Targaryen showed up uninvited. He had only recently killed his wife in the Vale, and he was there so cheerfully, in front of the Royces present at the ceremony. Nevertheless, he was well received, both by the princess and the king. Aegon kept himself as hidden as possible at Laena's side. He detested that man, if it were not for Gephonys he would fear him.
But to his misfortune, the rogue prince went to him.
"Hello nephew" he said in his cheerful, but not at all affectionate tone "I see you have a great dragon."
Aegon was wary, someone like Daemon could not approach him with good intentions.
"Yes...I am very fortunate" he replied sipping some of his lemonade.
"And tell me...has your dragon had a brood yet?" he asked with his eyes shining with pure ambition.
"No" Aegon acknowledged "But you don't have a dragon?" she asked him with false innocence.
"Yes, but my sons do not" Daemon replied.
Aegon feigned surprise.
"I have cousins?" asked Aegon feigning surprise "Are they here? How many are there?"
Daemon smirked with something of a sneer, he believed Hightower blood alleluiated.
"They have to be born first" said the rogue prince giving a cheeky look to Laena, who was smiling delightedly.
Aegon frowned.
"Let me know when they are born," Aegon said. 'I'll never let that happen.
The feast continued, and Daemon brought Laena out to dance with the rest. The music played, and Aegon was content to eat a peach, while Sir Joffrey approached Sir Criston. They were talking something, but then the music ceased as they watched the royal knight kill Laenor Velaryon's lover. Aegon then watched as chaos erupted, until finally, even with the lover's blood on the ground. Laenor and Rhaenyra were betrothed. While the queen went to Sir Criston to prevent him from committing suicide. Aegon slipped away and approached the couple's chambers. It was not difficult for him, because of the timing, and he mixed the poison with the wine jugs. At the same time under the jug, he left a folded papyrus note.
He opened the door carefully, and hesitated for a moment, but finally came out when no one was there, and went to Laena's room to crawl between her sheets. He only had to wait a little while for Laena to return and be surprised to see him there.
"Laena, I'm afraid," said Aegon snuggling between the sheets, "can I sleep with you?"
Vhagar's rider thought about it for a moment.
"Of course you may...no wonder you're upset" she said.
Then she carefully undressed and put on her nightgown. At that moment, Aegon regretted being in the body of a six year old boy. If he could have taught that woman, what a real man was. But he would grow up.
Aegon clung to her as much as he could, it had been more than six years since he had been this close to a woman, so as he felt his cousin's warm skin, he felt some reassurance. And most important of all, comfort.
The next morning, Laena was the first to wake up, and it took her a little while to wake Aegon, who was too well asleep. But after dressing, they both went down to the dining room for breakfast. With the events of the night still fresh in their minds, breakfast was quiet. With only the Velaryon, the queen and the hand. Daemon had already left on the back of Caraxes, and the king had once again felt another complication.
But the presence of the newlyweds was soon missed. The Sea Serpent ordered them to go and tell her son to come for breakfast. But shortly the same servant came, hurried and terrified, shouting.
"They are dead!" cried the wretch.
The Sea Serpent and Princess Rhaenys ran as did Laena. They ran up the stairs, while the queen embraced Aegon. Lord Strong and the rest walked to the chambers. There they found Laenor and Rhaenyra in bed. They had died in the night, amid muffled screams. Although someone heard something, everyone thought they were pleasuring themselves. Both had their faces contorted in pain, and Sir Laenor had his hand open, trying to find where the wine cup had fallen, which was scattered on the floor.
Lord Strong soon understood that they had been poisoned, and went to the decanter. As he took it in his hands, he saw on the table a folded piece of papyrus, which he read aloud.
"Laenor my love will accompany you to death. Always yours Joffrey."
In the midst of the commotion, Aegon smiled to himself as King Viserys mourned with all his might for his beloved daughter. Of course he felt sorry for Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys, but now as he comforted Laena, he allowed himself the luxury of smiling. Now he was indeed the prince of Dragonstone.
