Chapter 5; The burning king

The arrival at King's Landing was somewhat less eventful than I expected. For that occasion, Lord Walder had decided to go inside a carriage. He was accompanied by a thousand infantry soldiers and two hundred cavalry. His forces went almost unnoticed among the human tide that is the royal army.

Prince Rhaegar was at the forefront, along with Sir Barristan and the rest of his worshipers. They had already entered the Crown Lands, and would soon reach the capital. In the midst of all this agitation of the last few weeks, Lord Walder felt slightly comfortable, because he was on several cushions, and had three meals a day, consisting of roast rabbit and venison. Quite a luxury at that time, plus at night he had dinner with the prince of Dragonstone, who was already beginning to talk about a possible council. But he had increased his concerns, always being surrounded by his army, because he distrusted Tywin Lannister and his ten thousand soldiers had offered to accompany them, as part of the winning army. Lord Walder doubted that he would dare to do some kind of looting, like the one he did in the canon. What he did not doubt was that he probably wanted to be part of the government, with Rhaegar already talking about a council without any shame, anyone could realize the prince's plans.

"My prince, you should be more discreet," he warned her in the middle of a private dinner. Tomorrow they would arrive in the capital. But they should be careful, the spider was vigilant. As a result of the victory, the anxiety to occupy the throne was dangerously clouding his head. But he understood his rush to dethrone Aerys was a danger to the kingdom. But the prince was too confident for his own good and everyone's.

The arrival at King's Landing was quite noisy. The stench of a city in which the sewers had stopped working more than a century ago was barely bearable, so Lord Walder raised a handkerchief to his nose. The roar of the acclamations for the prince was deafening. He barely saw anything of the streets, they really were incredibly dirty. But he had to admit that the image of a victorious Rhaegar in his Valyrian armor and features was truly evocative. What he didn't like so much was that Lord Tywin was at the prince's side, as was Sir Barristan.

"What hypocrisy," thought Lord Walder, before whom he would be capable of ordering the murder of the children of that megalomaniac.

However, when they arrived at the red fortress, he got out of the carriage with several sores. His sons Waldron and Aenys accompanied him, as did a dozen well-equipped guards. He had left Stevron in charge of the Crossing, but now he was feeling nervous. He had dealt with many psychopaths throughout his life, but this one was by far the most dangerous.

Lord Walder entered the court behind Rhaegar, almost at the same height as the lord of Casterly Rock. The site was truly breathtaking, and the sight of the iron throne was terrifying, beyond comparison with the representations on television. That place was full of courtiers of all kinds, no wonder, while they hailed the prince.

But surrounded by guards, he sat on the throne, bleeding from having been cut again. He was emaciated, his nails were abnormally long, long hair and beard were matted. On his face you could see the insane rage that victory provided, obviously satisfied to have the head of Robert Baratheon. But paranoia attacked him again, as he always did. Above all, exalted by the whispers of the eunuch he had a few steps down.

"Father," said Rhaegar, "the rebellion has been put down."

But Aerys frowned.

"Arryn is still alive," he frowned. "And that stupid little flower has not yet managed to conquer Storm's End… and you have not treated the traitors as they deserve… and of course my dear Tywin who has deigned to come… after a long time. year without answering" he said, narrowing his eyes.

Lord Tywin remained unchanged, but for a moment he seemed a little nervous. He knew he was taking a risk by showing up, but being at Rhaegar's side gave him security. But Lord Walder stepped forward, his cane echoing across the room among the nervous courtiers.

"Your grace," he said, bowing to her, "I beg you to forgive my boldness, but I found a more practical use for Valyrian fire."

The king stared at the weasel-like old man, and then smiled derangedly.

"Lord Frey…I was looking forward to speaking with you," he said with macabre joy, "I have heard of the wonder of your invention…watching Riverrun burn must have been a marvelous sight…seeing that trout and his entire family burn along with his castle as if in the same place." hell…how I would have liked to see his flesh turn into ashes"

"The Riverlands are yours again," said Lord Walder respectfully, "as they always should have been."

"Very true Lord Frey… it seems that my son has appointed a good guardian… without my permission" he asserted, making Rhaegar frown.

"Everything I have done has been for the good of the kingdom," he said with self-denial. "If his grace is not in accordance with my appointment, I will renounce him and return to my home."

But the king shook his head.

"No... it's fine... given the choice, you are suitable for the position... it's not like there is much to choose from," he said with contempt, "but I would like to see that gadget of yours, it would certainly be very useful to us."

"Of course his highness," he said with his head bowed, "could build a fleet so that the dynasty could once again dominate the skies."

The king laughed uncontrollably, imagining the idea of flying and setting the fortress on fire. A dream come true in his twisted mind, sending shivers down his spine as well as the majority of the court, who were visibly dismayed at what he could do. Rhaegar didn't say anything, he had already planned to build that fleet, so he didn't see any drawbacks.

"Your Majesty, I lack the means to carry out this task, I would need your private advice, and I would have to coordinate with your hand," he said with total humility.

"Yes…I need a new hand, after that failure at Connigton…fortunately I have a good hand here" he said looking at Lord Tywin, he even approached him a few steps "Tywin…you will coordinate as advisor of the coin with the old Frey, now which from now on is my new hand"

Lord Frey couldn't believe it, at that moment he had just been named the king's new hand. On the other hand, Lord Tywin stoically endured the umpteenth contempt that his old "friend" had given him. Rhaegar didn't object, it seemed to him that the old man was competent.

"It is a great honor…your majesty," said Lord Walder, quite surprised.

"You will build that fleet as soon as possible, and wipe out all the traitorous scum, and bathe that insolent wolf Stark and all his wolf-fucking savages with fire as it should be!" he shouted hoarsely.

"I'll get on with it"

There was a banquet, but not a party as such. During the following fortnight Lord Walder held meetings with the various members of the council. Given the lack of confidence in Pycelle, he had ordered that a maester of his own be brought to him alone, in case he had a sudden illness. Instead, the country had fish brought to him from the Blackwater, and he drank only water. He also ate some fruit, it was necessary to maintain a balanced diet.

He stayed away from the court as much as he could. It was no wonder, Aerys continued his habit of burning prisoners, and the truth is, just imagining such a thing made him faint. In his place he preferred meetings with officials. But he also met poor Queen Rhaella, who was terrified and covered in bruises. At least now, upon finding out that she was pregnant, her husband had had the courtesy to leave her alone. He couldn't imagine something so horrible, he had never thought about wanting to kill anyone, at least seriously. Meanwhile Rhaegar continued his meetings with various lords, totally indifferent to the suffering of his mother. He had to act to get rid of Aerys himself.

The balloons he had built were somewhat rudimentary, but effective. After several days he gathered the courage to propose a party to demonstrate how the balloons worked, something the king gladly approved. But there was a small problem to solve. A problem he had cited in the hand tower.

"My lord hand… how can I serve you?" the eunuch asked with his effeminate voice and strange smile.

But Lord Walder was not happy.

"Unfortunately nothing"

Then four soldiers from House Frey entered the office, skewering the spider as if it were a pig. Lord Varys let out a small, high-pitched scream, but died as the steel pierced his heart. He then left his office, leaning on his cane, but he walked with his heart pounding from the anguish of having ordered a murder.

But after calming down a bit, in the evening a demonstration was held on the outskirts of the city. He had come all the way for the occasion. Lord Walder had enabled five balloons. Which were ready to take flight.

The first rose several dozen feet into the air, and flew in circles around the capital, the wind currently accompanying them. He unleashed a mixture of Valyrian steel onto the particular spot on the beach. And the fire shone on the shores from the sand and the water. Just by seeing the king's face shine with madness, he knew it was time. After the toast in which Lord Tywin and Prince Rhaegar participated, he knew that the time had come.

"Your Majesty…the balloon is ready"

The king entered the contraption. And the balloon rose, for a moment. To give him greater security he went up with him, after all he was paranoid enough not to go up alone. Then with the entire court watching, Aerys laughed. He didn't even wait until he was completely out of the city. The fire came dangerously close to the walls, but the view was amazing. Soon they passed Rhaenys' Hill and Aegon's Hill. They were already more than three hundred feet high.

Aerys began to cast the Valyrian fire kegs into the sea. He had not really seen the sea burn like that, since the secrets of Greek fire had been lost after the fall of Constantinople. But when they flew over the city again, the king stopped laughing like a man possessed, to sleep soundly, and then Lord Frey, summoning all his strength, grabbed Aerys by the legs. The truth is that it was easier than he expected given how emaciated he was, but he finally threw it near the sept of Baelor, causing commotion in the city.

In that way, Aerys II, the mad king, ended up dying, smashed to the ground. The chronicles would say that he suffered a fit of madness, and that he ended up jumping on his account believing that he was a dragon, according to Lord Frey's testimony. No one disputed that, since his madness was well known, and no one, much less mourned the deceased king. It was hearing the queen's relief, to reaffirm that he had done the right thing.

Rhaegar's coronation in the Sept of Baelor occurred a couple of days later. Not even Obama was applauded with the fury with which the new king was hailed. Despite his flaws she had no doubt that he would be a better king than his father, and his arrival meant the end of Aerys' terror.

The one he first saw was Elia Martell, and her children. For some strange reason he was radiant and happy with his children in his arms, next to Rhaegar. He was now wearing a royal diadem. He had apparently convinced her that she was her only one, and that he only wanted to raise little Aegon and Rhaenys.

"That man knows how to be convincing." In any case, it was better to look to the future.

The celebrations to begin Rhaegar's reign lasted for seven days. But Lord Walder remained hidden in his office. The king had re-validated his position, and he was focusing on matters of state.

But finally news reached his office. After learning of the defeat of the rebels on the Trident and the capture of most of the Northern lords, Lord Greyjoy had launched an offensive with his entire navy towards the North. They had laid waste to Bear Island, as well as the entire west coast, and were expected to march on Winterfell. Kaolin Pit may not fall, but the North would burn. For his part, upon learning of Rhaegar's accession to the throne, the vast majority of the lords had surrendered, and Lord Arryn himself was negotiating with Darry the terms of the surrender. And Storm's End was under assault by Dominion forces.

"And there is still the issue of Lyana Stark to discuss."