Chapter 8; Dragons, snakes and counselors
Daemon's threats did not go unnoticed by anyone. Aegon, although he was the king, unfortunately, was in the body of a child who was not yet eight years old, with all power being, in practice, in the hands of his regents, who were discussing the emergence of the rogue prince, two days back.
Aegon had been sent to his chambers, where he was guarded by one of the Cargill brothers. Even so, he knew certain passages through which, with a torch in hand, he reached one of the walls of the privy council. There Aegon could barely see from a small hole. But he did have good hearing. He could make out the council members, from Lord Strong, to Grand Maester Mellos, to Larys Strong, Lord Beesbury, the Sea Serpent, Princess Rhaenys, Sir Harold, Lord Jasper, as well as Otto Hightower, who did not arouse much sympathy. , and there was even some murmuring. Furthermore, there was the queen mother, who was visibly worried because of the rogue prince.
"What do we owe to Prince Daemon?" asked the queen mother.
"According to my sources, Prince Daemon has flown to Dragonstone, there have been several deaths in the fortress," said Larys Strong. "Prince Daemon is said to be gathering mercenaries in the fortress from the War of the Stepstones."
That was viewed with concern by several members of the council.
"We should arrest Prince Daemon," Otto Hightower declared, given the opportunity to get rid of his worst enemy, but he also recognized the danger "he has committed treason by returning to the country, and is preparing a rebellion."
"My fleet is at the full disposal of the crown," the sea serpent interrupted, eager for prominence. "I will send messengers to Driftmark, in a matter of a fortnight my ships could leave for Dragonstone. We also have four dragon riders"
"Two of them are children," Sir Harold intervened seriously, "although Ghephonys is the most powerful dragon in the known world, his grace is still an eight-day-old child of the name. Princess Helaena is barely five days old. Even so, we have Princess Rhaenys and Lady Laena, whose combination could be enough to defeat Prince Daemon."
Princess Rhaenys nodded. She hated the fact that she could be labeled a kingslayer, but she knew that if Daemon triumphed there would be a bloodbath.
"Perhaps we should send an emissary to Prince Daemon to exhort him to cease his attempts on him," spoke Old Lord Beesbury. But he was not taken seriously by the rest of the council.
"Daemon would cut off his head," Otto Hightower almost mocked.
"But we must mobilize our troops," added Sir Harold, "as protector of the kingdom, I could mobilize five thousand soldiers from the crown lands, along with the Velaryon, Meleys and Vhaghar fleet, we could neutralize the threat, before it goes to further.
"We must warn all the lords of the seven kingdoms," the Grand Master advised. "It is possible that Prince Daemon will try to use evil tricks to instigate a general uprising."
That was unlikely. No one had protested when Viserys had named Rhaenyra princess of Dragonstone. And it was assumed that the support that Daemon would have would be practically zero. In the Vale, if Daemon set foot, not only would he not find support, but he would have to deal with the Rhoyce. In the Stormlands, perhaps he could convince Lord Borros, he was of little intellect and great ambition, with the intention of wanting a daughter as queen. The North was too far away, and none of the other kingdoms would ever entertain such an idea. Especially with a dragon of Ghephonys' stature in the hands of Aegon, in addition to being considered by everyone as the rightful king. But there was a worrying element, on the island there were dragons like Vermithor, Silverwing or the Sheep Thief, if by chance Daemon obtained dragon seeds, it would be a problem to take into account.
"You are right," Lord Strong conceded, "and you, Sir Harold, if you please, begin preparations for the mobilization of the army. You Lord Corlys, the Iron Throne urges you to mobilize your navy as soon as possible, likewise the council requests both Princess Rhaenys and Lady Laena Velaryon for their full readiness for battle."
No one raised any objection, and Aegon retired to his chambers. In the following days it was agreed to increase security in the red fortress, leaving both Aegon and his mother and his brothers confined in Maegor's Keep. For its part, the council ordered the mobilization of the crown troops. For her part, Princess Rhaenys took her husband on Meleys' back to Drinfmark so that she could prepare the fleet. The capital was left in the custody of Laena and Vhagar, although Ghephonys flew almost daily over the city as a reminder of the power that was at Aegon's disposal. But on the ground, Larys Strong carried out a purge of all gold cape captains suspected of supporting Daemon, who ended up in the black cells, or were directly executed as was the case of Luthor Largent. Likewise, Sir Harwin carried out several raids on the Fleabed, focusing on Daemon's favorite haunts.
At that time there was a tense calm in the red fortress, as in the rest of the seven kingdoms, where it was said that the Rhoyce were beginning to mobilize their hosts, while the Hightower were preparing an army as a possible safeguard. at the insistence of the king's grandfather. However, Aegon took advantage of the time to get into the kitchens, and with some industriousness he cooked the first pizza in Westeros, which he shared with Laena, who seemed to really like the mixture of roast meat, melted cheese, tomato and bread. In fact, he spent almost every day with Laena, and most of the nights, as Aegon took the opportunity, under the excuse of being a scared child, to sleep with Laena in her bed, something that was seen as something innocent. Although his grandfather was not happy with that image of her grandson, he tolerated it because he thought she could be easier to manipulate, and he also understood perfectly why he was scared.
It was almost a moon, and the army was formed, just waiting for the Velaryon fleet to arrive in two days, so they could leave for Dragonstone. When the flight of the bloody wyvern set off all the alarms. It was no wonder, especially since Daemon had landed in the gardens of the red fortress, and requested a royal audience, while Ghephonys appeared on the horizon, making Daemon's dragon look like a scrawny dwarf, since the golden mountain, which was the nickname of Draconys, it was about fourteen times more massive than Caraxes, over which it was hovering like an eagle on a mouse.
The court was immediately convened, and Aegon was taken from his training with Sir Harwin, to go to the throne room. There Aegon donned the conqueror's crown, and was given Darkfyre, the ancestral sword of House Targaryen, and took his seat upon the throne. Although he felt somewhat absurd, while at the foot of the throne the three regents were positioned, plus Otto Hightower, perhaps trying to gain power by association. In any case, there were a couple of columns of soldiers, plus the rest of the royal guard, positioned for any attempt.
As expected, Daemon entered causing a sensation, and he was carrying a sword. And Aegon narrowed his eyes. "A wolf in sheep's clothing," he thought, keeping a cynical smile to himself. Faced with Sir Harold's refusal, Daemon did not throw his sword a second time at the foot of the iron throne, but unlike a year ago, he was not allowed to cross the line formed by the regents. That didn't discourage him though, as he put on the most charming smile of his.
"Dear uncle, what brings you here?" Aegon asked with false innocence.
"I came to do something that I should have done a long time ago," he said, drawing his sword, which caused the guard to be ready to reduce him at any moment, but the surprise of the court was even greater, when the rogue prince knelt before the men. feet of the throne "Your Majesty, you are my brother's son, and as such I have come to swear allegiance to you as my only king and lord," Daemon said with a strange voice that seemed to sound somewhat humble. Daemon had never been humble.
Aegon had a lot of trouble not bursting out laughing, he had known less slithering snakes in the afterlife, although he understood their reasoning, since any scenario on the battlefield led to failure and now he was trying to play the game of war again. thrones.
But he decided to remain understanding.
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, my dear uncle," he said, fighting not to die of laughter, "but your return does not depend on me, but on my regents," he said, getting rid of the problem.
"King Viserys was clear when he ordered your banishment," Lord Strong ruled.
Daemon maintained his strange composure, but Aegon could see his mask.
"Then I demand a trial by combat, so that the gods may decide whether I am innocent or guilty of the charges for which I was convicted."
Aegon let out a sigh, but Daemon was right, he could invoke a trial by combat. "That's not going to happen," declared the lord of Harrenhall, "you were already found guilty, you were only spared the scaffold because his grace did not want to be a kingslayer."
"But I come to defend the seven kingdoms," said Daemon, "the triarchy is preparing a great fleet to reconquer the Stepstones, and I have raised an army to confront them. Still it is not enough, and I need the standard bearers of the seven kingdoms to join the fight."
Aegon snorted, probably thinking that he could have a kind of new, much larger army, in a new version of the gold cloaks, and already in the process of reinforcing his prestige as a military commander in contrast to that of Aegon, who was seen alone like a child king.
"We already have an army prepared," declared Lord Strong. "But we still appreciate your presence."
And with a snap of his fingers, Daemon found himself surrounded by three dozen guards, their swords pointed at him. For a moment he was tempted to fight everyone for life or death, but instead he remained calm, trying to give off the image of a wayward soldier turned martyr.
"Prince Daemon Targaryen," declared the king's aide, "you are under arrest on charges of threats and rebellion against the Iron Throne."
And Daemon was arrested, and taken to the black cells, at the request of Otto Hightower. However, there was something that didn't quite add up. Someone like Daemon wouldn't think of something like that if he didn't have something to gain. And it may have been so, because the next day Otto Hightower was found dead in his bed, with some blood in his mouth and his fingers blue from the poisoning. Daemon was far from alone. But Aegon smiled, he had always wanted to participate in a hunt. Anyway he had the cat in the cage, now he needed to hunt the rat, or rather the white worm causing the commotion. However now he would deliver the next blow, and it was fortunate to have Ghephonys for such a task.