Chapter 27
Aegon
Aegon watched Wildfyre burn the entire boar to a crisp that she had found. She was larger than the boar now, still far too small to ride, but growing everyday. Her green scales shone brightly in the evening sun, her golden eyes and golden horns bounced the light like riches drawn from the earth. The clearing was warm and crisp, around him the hunting party prepared the stag they found. The ladies of the party held hawks and gossiped around cakes, Marg at the center of it all. She looked like a queen, she was a queen, to him. Marg, Aerea, Aemon and the other one on the way; they were his everything and he would do anything for his family. He looked to the east, to Essos, thousands of leagues away, and the last part of his family across the sea.
Aegon was not a poet like Rhaegar or Dareon, he did not bend words into song, he used his blade and his fists to carve his way through the world and soon he would do it on dragon back. He would be able to defend his family from the skies like the Targayerns of old. He would keep his family safe, no matter what the gods, men or kings threw at him. He looked around the party. In years to come, once Rhaenys sat the throne and he was back in Dragon Garden, he would learn to put his sword away and raise his children to do everything they could to never have to pick one up.
"M'lord, you 'ave a message from Arch Maester Pycelle", a page boy passed Aegon a paper scroll, sealed with a grey wax. Aegon accepted it with a smile and cracked paper, passing the page a copper from his pocket. His eyes quickly skimmed the words, written in a shaky old hand. Before he could react, Wildfyre roared. Aegon looked at the page boy, smiled the largest grin he had in moons and moons, dropped the scroll and grabbed his horse. Not finishing the letter. He raced off without a word, whooping and hollering, leaving the rest of the Dragon Garden party confused. Wildfyre vaulted into the air to follow her master, leaving her half eaten boar smouldering on the blackened grass. Marg smiled prettily, feeling the unease of the hunting party, and walked over to the dropped letter, reassuring everyone that all was well and read the letter herself.
"What is it, my lady, is all well from the castle?", one of the women asked, approaching Margaery. She put a hand over her mouth and tried to stop the tears from her eyes. Marg looked up at her cousin and shook her head softly.
"Aerea is awake, but all is not well", Margery called for the party to be packed up, and in the evening sun, they travelled back to Whitekeep, not quite the Stranger following them, but what felt like They may be coming soon.
Aegon raced to his rooms in the Maiden's Tower, past the servants and nobles, past the guards and the peering eyes. Aegon did not care he smelt of woods and smoke and blood, that he looked like shit, his girl was awake. He rounded a marble corner, covered in tapestries of the Maiden doing her miracles and Aegon offered a silent prayer to the gods above. The Smith and the Warrior were his patrons, but the Maiden and the Mother brought his girl back.
He slammed into a serving girl, spilling her basket from her stocky arms. The black and gold clad girl gathered herself, apologising profusely with a Northern accent.
"Do not worry, girl. Here let me help, have some coppers. This is my fault, I must be off. My girl, she is okay! She will live, gods above she will live", he grabbed the muscular serving girl by her shoulders and peered into her brown eyes, "I know your face. You…you are Princess Rhaenys' ladies maid, Robalin", he said.
"Rosella, if it pleases you my lord. Like the bird from the Reach", the girl said. She bowed deeply to the lord and he smiled.
"Never mind that. Collect your mistress, tell her I want her in my room within the hour. Aerea is awake, and i want Princess Rhaenys there, i must speak with her", Aegon smiled, frenzy in his eyes and ran the rest of the way to his rooms, up the tower of the Maiden.
He threw open the heavy wooden door to the Maiden Tower nursery; Maester Pycelle, King Rhaegar and of all people, Shaena and her girl, stood around the sickbed. Aerea sipped a cup of broth weakly, held by Shaena's girl, Aemma who patted her silver hair, while Rhaegar and Pycelle spoke loudly. The three adults looked at Aegon with empty eyes and worried smiles. Aegon's gut dropped straight to his feet.
"Brother…", Shaena started, she smiled weakly, "Aerea-"
"My girl, my girl. Aerea. My sweet girl. My little scholar", he started in Common then changed to High Valyrian. The girl only just looked up, following the gaze of Aemma, her eyes widened then filled with tears upon seeing her father. She tried to sit up but Pycelle shook his head, his lizard-like chin wobbling with the movement.
"My lord…as you would have seen in my letter. The lady Aerea is awake and well, able to stomach soft foods and broths. Weak but retaining all feeling in limbs. She is fully aware-"
"Cut the bullshit, Pycelle. What is wrong with my girl?", Aegon interjected. Not for the first time we regretted his impulsive words and behaviour. He shot an apologetic look to the ladies of the room. Pycelle looked to Rhaegar, like a lamb looking at a wolf before it pounced.
"She cannot hear us, Uncle. Mother, what did Arch Maester Pycelle say earlier, burst ears?", Aemma said softly, taking the empty broth cup from Aerea and placing it on the bedside. She began to hum a hymn to the Maiden, one that all the little girls loved.
"A fully shattered eardrum, my lord. She was at the center of the blast. The combination of loud noise, impact and the later infection that set in…has led to permanent hearing loss within the child", the grey old man wobbled. He thought back to the night of the accident. Rhaenys said this would happen. She said Aerea would lose something so gain so much more but hy were the gods so cruel? Why did they choose his girl as their protege? She was special, yes, but why her?
Aegon froze in his tracks, his heart stopped, "Is there anything to be done?", he said softly, holding back tears. He would not cry in front of his girl. Pycelle shook his head, his beard moving far too much.
Oh, Heleana, our girl. Our sweet, sweet girl. What have I done to her? I have failed you. Please, please forgive me.
Aegon approached slowly and dropped to his knees by the bedside of his daughter, his sweet girl of only twelve years. She was smaller than he was used to, all skin and bones, her face was gaunt, purple eyes large behind silver eyelashes…but still full of hope and light, just like her mother. He grabbed her small hands in his own, soft on calloused.
"May I please have a moment…with Aerea, by ourselves. We can talk about this later, I just want to be alone with my girl", Aegon pleaded up to his brother. Rhaegar loomed over him, long silver braid swaying by his hips, over doublets on pure black and the large sword looming on his side. The glyph on his necklace twinkled softly, and his lips…bour a slight tinge of red upon his perfect face, ageless without wrinkles. He nodded without a word, a look of pity or disgust on his face. He gestured to Shaena and Pycelle to leave, Aemma followed suit without a look, like a duckling behind her mother. Once the door shut, and Aerea sat herself up on her elbows, a tear fell from her face.
Aegon wiped the tear away, and smiled at his girl. He did not know what to say, as if words would even help. She could not hear him, she would never hear him again. She would never hear a bird song, or a flute. Never hear the voice of the man she would marry or the laugh of her first babe. She would never hear the roar of a dragon or beat of its wings. Her world was silent as the Stranger.
"My little Scholar. You would not believe how big Wildfyre has grown now. She brought down a boar today, a whole boar to herself. As soon as she is large enough, you and I will soar above the clouds and I will finally introduce you to your mother. I will fly you to her brothel and I will explain everything. Who she is, who you are, and why we had to hide your mother away for so long", he said in High Valyrian. Aerea's eyes looked puzzled, he was unsure if any of his words were understood. Aerea furrowed her brows for a moment, her thinking face and she said, "Pa, please pass me a quill and paper. Write down what you just said. Write down what you said and I want to try and match your words to what you write", Aerea said sternly. Aegon wanted to smile but it fell short.
So bossy, my girl, just like your mother, he thought, going to the desk and grabbing what his daughter required. He wrote down what he said, as best as he could remember, and passed the note to her. He winced at how poorly his hand was compared to his family, not that he could not read or write Valyrian, but he had a swordsman hand, not an artist; the flowing Valyrian script was blocky like a childs.
Her eyes flowed over the words, correcting his words with a small flick of her quill, something she always did. She gestured for him to speak again, and read the words as he did. He could see her trying to match his spoken words with the written ones.
He repeated the phrase nearly three dozen times, with Aerea staring at him like a hawk until she was satisfied.
"Lady Margaery's grandmother, Lady Olenna, she struggles to hear things but Lady Margaery says she listens with her eyes and what's left of her ears, i have no ears left, but i can learn to hear mouths, Pa", the young dragoness said softly without a hint of sadness. Aerea found her new situation a challenge, "Tough as Valyrian Steel, my girl", he patted her soft hair and smiled. If she would not be sad, he would not be. But something felt off. He did not press it.
Behind him, the door opened once more, and Princess Rhaenys, followed by Rosella, the tall Northern ladies maid wearing a simple gown of Martell gold and Targayern black. His niece, dressed in a light mail and plain boiled leather strode in the door, her heavy leather boots clacked on the marble floor. The look on her face, the spitting image of Elia but with deep violet eyes of a dragon, looked uneasy.
"Good evening, my lord uncle, my dear sweet cousin, how do you fair this evening? May I ask why I was requested. I only saw you a few evenings ago? Is something amiss?" She said with an over formality , quickly following Aegon's gaze and looking at her worn mails, "I was testing the candidates for Fathers new Lord Commander and new Kinguard. Arthur Dayne and Ser Loras are my choices, if it pleases you, my lord".
"Rhaenys, cut the horseshit and peak simply. Aerea is awake but she cannot hear us, just as…just as you said would happen. How did you know?", he said in Valyrian to avoid the ears of the ladies maid, and so Aerea had a chance to understand, she still struggled with Common. Rhaenys blanched, and paused. She chewed on her lower lip and took a deep breath. Ages passed before she spoke.
"Uncle, I do not know. My dreams…have been different since the birth of the dragons. I have changed…I see more than what I did before. I have had help…to See better. Father only knows a few of my new dreams. They scare me more often than not. The night of Fathers wedding, I dreamt I saw through the eyes of the Weirwood in the Gods Wood, I saw Aerea lose a chunk of herself, but then she changed, she became a great brown dragon with horns like a rams and fire the colour of the sea. The world was silent…i could not hear words, but i could feel sounds. Like how the viol shakes when it's played", Rhaenys approached and gestured at Rosella, the lady's maid pulled some candied oranges from her basket, wrapped in a purple cloth. She passed them to Aerea and the small girl smiled, while offering a slice to everyone in the room.
Aegon paused for a moment. He was aware many of the women in his family were now Dragon Dreaming, a mystical family trait that few ever gained, but now seemed to be more common than pox in a whorehouse. He wanted to scoff at the idea of dreams and visions, he wanted an enemy he could fight, not some arcane prophecy. He felt far out of his depth in the world of magics.
"You had help? Who helped you learn to See, as you said", Aegon asked, looking at his girl nipping at candy, she was not even trying to watch their words, enjoying the childhood wonders of sugar and sweet tastes.
Rhaeyns looks at the closed doors, out the window, her weight shifted from foot to foot, left to right. Her left hand rested on the hilt of her blade, left handed like him, preparing for a fight.
"We are safe here, Rhaenys. The walls do not have ears", Aegon said plainly.
"Yes, but the trees and the wind do. The Northern gods, the old gods, have a way of hearing that the Seven and Father and men do not", she fiddled with the hilt of her sword, she looked at the windows and without a word, Rosella closed them and pulled the curtains too. The room fell dark and cold, the fire in the fireplace was the only light, casting long shadows. Aerea looked up and asked for more candle light, so she could try to read lips, Rosella smiled and lit many. The room fell silent save for crackling and the chewing of Aerea on candied plums she found.
"Meera and Jojen Reed. Not long after you and Uncle Oberyn and the Vipers approached me to…to entertain the idea of the Throne for Mother's sake. They two said my fate lay elsewhere, beyond the Wall to the North. I am to find Dark Sister and return her home, to fight the Great Fight-"
"Rhaegar and Fathers fever dreams", Aegon said.
"Dragon Dreams, uncle. They saw what was to come. I have seen it, too. I believe Daeneyrs saw it, Aunt Maegella has, Uncle Viserys has. Only you, Aunt Shaena, and Uncle Dareon have not seen it", she added, shivering like the cold from the North found its way to King's Landing.
"And Aegon, your husband?", he asked. Rhaenys shrugged, "Aegon has never had a calm mind, ever since we were children. He finds comfort in the bottle and other women to make the dreams go away. He has never told me what he dreams, i don't even think he remembers what he dreams", she placed a hand on her stomach then quickly moved it away. Aegon raised a brow but left the thought behind.
"You said go North. Rhaegar would never approve this. You are the crowned princess, future queen of that stupid iron chair. Dorne's chosen queen, my chosen queen, we cannot let you go", Aegon paced the room, he felt the tension of Rhaenys and did not like it. Rhaenys fell silent, a weight sat on her shoulders.
"My Lord, if I may. Princess Rhaenys must do this. If she stays, she will not be safe…she will never be free. She has to go my lord, she has to. We will help her, Lord Jojen and Lady Meera and myself-", Rosella broke the silence.
"You love her, don't you?" Aegon asked bluntly, "and you already want to protect her, and what i guess to be the babe in her belly", he added. Both women paled in the face, Rhaenys wiped a silent tear from her violet eyes, eyes of Rhaegar and his father who fell mad to fire.
"I may not be wise, or learned but I have seen the world, girls. I have loved men and women and all those in between, and I have seen how a pregnant woman holds herself, especially one who doesnt now know what to do with the baby in her belly", he paused for a moment, thinking of his pregnant wife, his other wife and how she responded to Aerea, "Your secret is safe with me, I assume it's a secret, otherwise Rhaegar would have you under lock and key in a tower to protect his heir".
His niece nodded and placed a firmer hand on her stomach under her mails. Aegon felt a fire under him, he did not understand why but the words rolled off his tongue.
"Rhaenys, Princess Rhaenys, my queen. I can not tell you how to spin your own fate. I cannot See like you do, like how my girl does but I swore an oath to your uncle, your mother and all the gods above, I would see you ruling on the throne, safe and happy and well. I intended to keep this promise-", he waved off Rhaenys who opened her mouth, "with your leave, i will do what i can. And gods above i can't stand to see Rhaegar on that chair, he is cruel and Aegon, that little cunt, will do no better. So go North, claim the sword that calls to you and you'd better well use it well. Oberyn and I will do what we can, Dorne stands for you…and many of the old houses will too, once I do what I swore never to do. Do not ask, not yet, niece", Aegon smiled and looked at his daughter, "it is time we went home, to Dragon Garden, then across the sea, to see a woman i thought i would never see again".
Rhaenys paused for a moment, then closed the gap and hugged her uncle deeply, "thank you", she whispered in Valyrian, giving him a small wet kiss from tears, on his cheek.
"I will tell Oberyn and the Viperesses, they will help us prepare to send you on your way without your father knowing".
Left in the darkness of her room, after her father and cousin had left, Aerea let herself cry. She would not do it in front of her father, not truly. She would not cry in front of her cousin, whom she idolised, these tears were for herself and the Mother above, since she did not have one. Her mother was the library, the books and the histories. She almost wanted to thank the gods for leaving her her eyes, and taking her ears.
She could still read, soon she would teach herself to read lips and she had read books of people across the sea who spoke with their hands, maybe she would teach herself something like that. She smiled at that thought and she bit down on a candied plum Princess Rhaenys left her. She felt the hard crunch against her teeth, but heard nothing. The dark seemed so much darker when the world was silent, so she struck a match to light the candle by her bedside, but heard nothing.
She looked over at the cradle at the otherside on the room, where her baby half-brother slept. In her candle light his silver hair shone softly, and his little baby mouth parted ever so slightly. She knew what noise should be coming from his lips, but nothing. The tears welled behind her eyes…and she let them fall. Only Baby Aemon would see them, if he even cared. Her world would be silent now. So she started to read…
"No, you may not return to Dragon Garden. You are still needed here at court", King Rhaegar proclaimed from upon the Iron Throne of his namesake. He loomed so large over the Throne Room, dressed in all black, silver and rubies. The fourteen large braziers of wildfyre cast long shadows in the early morning sun of the great long hall.
On a cushioned seat beside the foot of the Throne sat the newly appointed Queen Lyanna Stark-Manderly-Targayern, or whatever she would be called now. She was dressed in a long and modest rich black gown, with blue roses embroidered all over, with golden jewels around her ears, throat and wrists. From where he stood down the walkway, her eyes were dull and she wore golden chains. She was not full of mature fire, of the wolf look; just empty, voidless like Edmure was. No words seemed to reach her ears. Beside her stood Jon Connington, the Hand of the King and Master of War, and the rest of the small council: Master of Coin, Littlefinger, the Master of Whispers, Spider, the Sword of the Morning as the freshly appointed Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and Grand High General of the Royal Army, Lord Vaimond Velyron as Master of Ships and Grand Maester Pycelle, the Lizard man.
Prince Aegon, who had also been appointed the new Head of the Gold Cloaks, and Princess Rhaenys stood on the other side of the Throne, both wearing red and black of Targaryens and jewellery to match, but Aegon wore a sword and Rhaenys did not, the wrong order, he noted. Rhaenys stared at him with haunting purple eyes, while Aegon looked apathetic at best from beside his taller wife. The rest of his extended family stood to the sides of the room, down to even small baby Aemon, suckling on a wooden dragon in the arms of Marg.
Fourteen great pillars of marble, two for each god, one male and one female alternation with the Father closest to the Throne, and the Stranger guarding the door. On the opposite sides of the gods bore statues of monarchs long passed, from Aegon the Dragon to their Father, Aeyrs the Wise. He wondered if Rhaenys' face would grace these halls one day.
"King Rhaegar, the West is secure thanks to the Royal Army and my men from the Reach, the pirates raids have been stopped by your new Lord Admiral Verlyaron and Lord Robert, the New Lions as they call themselves have fu…gone back into hiding", Aegon, swallowing his pride, dropped to one knee before his kingly brother. He looked up once at his niece, then to the rest of his family,
"I…humbly request you let us all return to our seats. We have no more to do here for you, your grace. We would do better in our homes, a dragon in every kingdom to do your bidding as you deem fit. There has been so much grief…and loss here, your grace, let us recover and mourn by the comfort of our own hearths", Aegon held a gag inside for such arse-kissing words, "my girl…Lady Aerea, must start her studies so once she is of age she may rule alongside Brandon Stark as Lady of Riverrun, Aemon must grow to be strong and fair so he may rule Dragon Garden once i pass, Lady Margaery must rest so our next babe is healthy and happy", Aegon looked to the array of his family, the mix of Valyrian and Westerosi traits; Northern and Southern and of Old Valyria.
His family nodded in agreement and looked to their king. The hall was silent save for the crackle of green flames, the flames he named his dragon after. Rhaegar played with the glyph around his neck, he never took it off now, not since the Golden Festival, many, many moons ago.
"I will think on the matter and discuss it with my Hand and Small Council, privately, you are all dismissed. Come, wife, you shall join us", silently as the Others, Lyanna rose and waited for Rhaegar's hand to lead her away.
Once the king and his council had left, the rest of his family slowly disappeared, in two and three's, until only Shaena and he remained.
"Brother", she stared, approaching him. She had always been the calmest of the brood, slow to anger, slow to act, graceful, peaceful, elegant, bland, he thought. She lacked a fire that the rest of them had. Perfectly plain, he thought. She was not a great beauty, a great scholar, or a great sword, but she was a good mother, maybe the best parent of them all.
"How is Aerea?", she asked softly, her face covered in a modest red veil, a new fashion trend that was emerging, "she seemed quiet, forgive my phrasing, when i brought Aemma and Edric to see her for their classes this morning". Aegon looked at his elder sister, she looked the spitting image of their mother, save her eyes were lighter than most, almost blue, like skies after a storm.
"She's a fighter, like me", he had an empty laugh, "but we are tired. We want to go home and rest. Aerea already wants to ward at Riverrun, under Lady Stark and who rules for boy Brandon. She wants to get to know the lands she will one day rule, ever eager to run away…they grow so fast, she's nearly a woman now, her thirteenth name day is only a moon away", as he spoke he watched his sisters light eyes, and felt a pang of guilt that read upon his face.
"Daughters are always wanting the next step…Alysanne had made a list of all the suitors she wanted to parley with; Robb Stark, Gaemon, one of the Frey boys she met at a tourney, and a few Reach boys. Her favourite was the young heir of the Redwynes, Lord Paxters grandson, Howard, son of the late Ser Horas…he sent her three dozen red roses for her last name day. No one from the Stormlands, however, I fear she wanted to leave me as soon as she could", under the fine red lace she smiled, her round face suited the full smile so much more than the look of mourning she bore now.
"My daughter is gone, may she rest with the Mother Above, but the gods have left me Aemma and Edric", her voice hardened in a way he had never heard before, "and i would burn a city down on the back of Storm Chaser if they were ever taken from me", she added under her breath. Aegon raised a brow and Shaena took a long pause.
"I do not care what he says, I know he did it. I know it in a way only a mother knows. I know he killed them all; Father, Mother, their baby, Maegella's baby, Elia and Visenya, Edmure and Alysanne and Jae-", her voice caught on the last two names, "-hayres". She looked around and Aegon was ever more aware that the walls of Whitekeep had ears. He grabbed her pale, soft hands, that had never held a blade, never held a rope, worked a field or chipped a nail.
"Shaena, we…cannot speak like this", he pointed at the Throne, "they are always watching and listening. But I hear you, I do, sister, I do", he squeezed her hands, "but what could i do?", he added, trying to save anything that may have dropped.
"I do not know what goes on behind closed doors. I have never sat in a Small Council save as a cupbearer for Father. Stannis and Renly mostly manage the Stormlands for Robert, who prefers cups to politics and governance. I run our household and nothing more. I do not know about war or ships or horses, but I know how my family thinks. Dareon is bold more often than not. I saw him in the gardens speaking with Lord Littlefinger and Lady Cersei while I walked with some of my ladies the other morning. Rhaenys came to me a few days passed asking how long I was able to operate well while with child and about the ordeals of labour, a silly girl.
I am not so oblivious as many think. I see you always speaking to high and low born alike, especially the Dornish brood. There are plots here, I feel it in my bones, but I do not know where.
Aegon, be plain with me, do you plan to do something to our brother, the King? I must be strong now, for my children that are left to me. I want a future where Aemma and Edric can write me a list of suitors to prospect. I cannot do that in a world where I fear the king, and I am afraid of Rhaegar, Aegon. Are you to war with him?", she asked, the veil hiding most of the murderous glint in her eyes.
Aegon had to collect the thoughts in his head. Plans formed and broke and a record pace until he saw a path form before him.
"Shaena, collect your husband and meet me in my solar in one hour. Tell no one of what we do", he embraced his elder sister and whispered a word of luck in her covered ears.
"What I say to you here won't leave this room, ever. Swear it on all the gods, Old and New, Red and Drowned", Aegon sat at the head of the table in his rooms at the top of the Tower of the Maiden. Before him sat Rhaenys and her maid, Meera and Jojen Reed, Oberyn and his three Vipers alongside Arianne Martell who had recently returned from 'business', Shaena and Robert, for once sober, Margaery and her brother Loras, fresh in the crisp white cloak of the Kingsguard, and the new head of his guard, Longsword, a youth from the Reach. Each in turn they all swore it.
"Rhaegar should not be king. We have reason to believe that he is responsible for the events of the Golden Festival and the deaths of so many of our kin. He is obsessed with the idea of prophecy and a second Golden Age of Valyria. He has already threatened our families lives to keep us in order. He governs poorly, the roads have fallen to bandits, the seas unsafe, taxes nearly tripled to support his stupid tourneys and weddings and buildings. He was exiled and only brought back because Dareon was incompetent during the Folly", Aegon remembered to breathe while he looked at his wife.
"But I do not propose I would be any better of a ruler. I am crude, I love wine and my wife too much. My blade is my crown that I will gladly wear. My writing is horseshit and I can't stand a book or history tale, or a dull dinner discussing coppers. I only know about the Dance because Daemon was my idol as a child upon his Blood Wyrm", he offered a laugh to lighten the mood, "but I swore an oath to a brother and a sister who have passed. And I swear it to all we have lost…I will not rest until Rhaegar is dead…and Princess Rhaenys sits the Iron Throne. I know all of us here can agree", he turned, stood from his seat and bowed to the Princess. Robert chuckled and smiled, "now this I can get behind, ha ha ha. I want to plant my hammer into the chest of that silver haired cock, and watch his breastplate give in like a melon", Shaena looked away under her veil at his crude words.
"Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, daughter of Elia Martell. I swear my sword, and Dragon Garden to you", he said.
"Dorne supports you fully, niece. Our spears and steeds go to you", the Viper and his girls fell to their knees.
"Loras and I will speak with Father, but we promise the rest of the Reach will support you and your claim, my lady. We the Reach will fulfil a Dornish oath and mend old blood feuds for our…Queen", Margaery added. Aegon smiled.
"The Stormlands and our fleet stand beside you, too. I itch for a fight, i would have fought Rhaegar for Lyanna many moons ago but i did not, a rebellion that would have happened but never did, lucky for you dragons, but i suppose it is never too late. Storm's End is yours, Princess Rhaenys", Robert struggled from his seat over his beer belly and settled on the floor, "Jon Ayrrn was a father to me, his son is near age with Aemma, we can try and give you the Vale, too".
"Princess Rhaenys, Greywater Watch, the Cragonnmen and the Reeds are yours. My spear and net are yours. Father has spoken with the North but we await a reply. Winter is coming and the Others grow closer, you must sit the Throne when they arrive, with the Crown and the Two blades of Valyria at your side", Meera said and knelt, Jojen fell silently to knee.
"I am only a maid. But my heart is yours, Rhaenys and I will do all I can to help you", Rosella fell by the knees of Rhaenys. The girl of only twenty years, of black hair, violet eyes and deep skin like the desert sands, with soft features and hardened expressions, of cuts and scrapes and years of darkness inside her hardened.
"I must still go North. I must still collect Dark Sister and bring her home, that is where my fate lies…i cannot allow you to war in my name if i am not even here. If i am…am to be queen, i will earn my crown", she said, standing from her chair, in her finery from the Throne Room, looking already like a queen.
"Then let us prepare for when you return home. So when you are South once more we may take the Throne and place you upon it. With Dark Sister in hand and the loyalty of the Reach, the Stormlands and Dorne", Aegon said, "maybe the North and Vale, too", he prayed aloud, looking to the moss eyed siblings, alongside the Laughing Stag.
"Long Live Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, Second of her name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, First Lady of the Realm and Shield and Protector of the Seven Kingdoms. Long Live Queen Rhaenys, Queen of Westeros", proclaimed Oberyn Martell.
Excerpt 12
The first dragon to lay eggs was the emerald she-dragon of Aegon of Dragon Garden, shortly after his departure from New Kings Landing, in the seventh month of the year 300AC. From Wildfyres brood came the three dragons, Scholar, the brown male dragon of Aerea of Riverrun (hatched in early 301AC), the pure white beast Ghost, the he-dragon mount of Aemon Targaryen (hatched mid-301AC) and Balariax, the dragon gifted to Prince Aegon Targaryen but passed due unknown circumstances.
In the following years, the she-dragons Dusk (of Lady Daenerys) and Redwing (of Dareon Goldfyre) would also produce eggs, leading to the dragons, Veraxes (mount of the Prince of Dragonstone), Solfyre (claimed dragon of Gaemon Goldfyre), Dream Dancer (mount of Gael Targaryen), Merax (Vaella of Dragon Garden) and Pearlarion (the freshly hatched egg to Olenna of Dragon Garden).
Of the three eggs laid by Dusk at Winterfell and gifted to the triplets, Eddard, Rhaelle and Baelor Stark, only the egg of Baelor hatched, but soon died. Many presume the cold of the North to have stunted the growth and hatching of the beasts, fire made flesh.
As it stands, as of writing, all dragons in the known world are claimed by Targayern riders, including the mature dragons who lost their riders during the War for the Dawn, but as the new Golden Age ensues, we can only estimate how large and how proliferant the great beasts will become.