Aerion Targaryen
The heat was sweltering, it always was in Tyrosh, much more so than in King's Landing or in Summerhall, and surprisingly Aerion found that he preferred this heat than what had passed for heat in his old home. It was more fitting he thought, for a dragon, a true dragon not like his younger brothers Aemon and Aegon who were both too cowardly to be true dragons. Tyrosh was where his home was now, and it was where he trained with the men of the Company and where his wife and children were. He found he liked Tyrosh a lot, and he was beginning to think that perhaps it had not been such a bad idea that he had been exiled all those years ago, it had certainly given him a much greater freedom than he had once had as a prince of the throne.
There was no need for decency amongst the men of the company, all who were able to fight were welcomed and were celebrated. That had been shown in their fighting in the Disputed Lands where Aerion himself had been the one to slay the Magister of Myr to win the lands for Tyrosh, and that had won him praise from the company and from Bittersteel, for his bravery and quick thinking. Such praise he had not had in a long time, and certainly not from his own father. The company had moved on from the Disputed Lands for a time to Volantis to see Bittersteel wed, from there they had then marched on to the Slaver cities where they had fought on the side of Yunkai against Meeren, coming out on top once more, sacking the city and taking enough gold and plunder to last them a thousand life times.
Aerion had found that there was nothing half as pleasing as a good fight, something about it helped calm the madness that was inside of him, it gave him an outlet with which to deal with those thoughts that constantly plagued him, had always plagued him since childhood. And it seemed that his new family understood this better than his old family had, his father, oh gods how he had craved his father's love and affection when he had been a child. But Prince Maekar was a hard man, a hard man to impress and a hard man to love, Aerion's father was a war hero, but he held to a code of honour and duty that made it hard for Aerion to live up to expectations, and because Aerion had never been on the right side of the coin, his father had never given him the time of day. Not like he had for Daeron and Aegon. Aegon, his little brother who had humiliated him so, one day he would get him back for the humiliation that lunk of a knight had dealt him.
The Golden Company itself had been welcoming to Aerion, and he had found that a whole new thing in itself, no longer was he viewed with suspicion by the company members, just as he no longer really viewed them with suspicion. His whole life before exile he had been taught that the Blackfyre rebellion had been started because Daemon Blackfyre was a greedy man who had wanted more than was his due, and that those who had sided with him were nothing more than grasping fools who ought to have been put to the sword long ago, that was what Prince Maekar had told him and his brothers long ago. Living and fighting with the men who served in the company and had fought alongside the Black Dragon had given Aerion a new perspective on them, some were grasping men who had no right for breath, but by and large the men of the company who had come from Westeros, were proud men, men with honour, an honour that was not a scholar's honour but a soldier's honour, an honour where no man got left behind, and that was something Aerion could respect and admire.
Of course the company would be nothing without its founder, Ser Aegor Rivers, otherwise known as Bittersteel. The man was like a juggernaut, whose mere presence bred confidence; a man whom others were willing to fight and die for, this was the man who had founded the company and was determined to seat his great nephew Aegon Blackfyre on the Iron Throne. This was the man who had welcomed Aerion into his family with open arms, when no one else would. This was the man, who had become more of a father to Aerion in the past five years than Prince Maekar had ever been for the majority of Aerion's life. Aerion had found that Ser Aegor, was more accepting of whom Aerion was and what he stood for, and that as such the man encouraged him to pursue activities that would lessen the plague in his mind, and allow him to fulfil his true potential. The man was also always there if Aerion ever felt the need to speak to someone about what was ailing him with regards to his family, and he found that despite all he had been told about the man Aerion was coming to view him as a father figure, and he dreaded the day when Bittersteel no longer led the charge.
Of course Aerion's relationship with the other Blackfyres had also helped ease the plague in his mind, for years he had yearned for the company of those who were like him, who understood him, his cousins had always been to up their own arses, so snooty with being in line for the throne, and his siblings were terrified of him. The Blackfyres: Haegon, Monterys and Daena had all gone out of their way to make him feel welcome. Haegon matched the descriptions that Aerion had heard of Daemon Blackfyre, he was strong, tall and broad and good with a sword and a mace, he was being groomed to be the next commander general of the company by Bittersteel, there was a certain anger around Monterys the youngest son of the black dragon, a constant feeling as if he was not appreciated, he was a fierce warrior and had prove himself on countless occasions but was never truly looked upon by anyone apart from Aerion. It helped he supposed that he was so deeply in love with their sister Shiera, Shiera who had been the reason why the plague of his mind was not as deep as it had been before Lys. Shiera who loved him and cared for him and put up with all of his changing moods and attitudes and never once flinched away from him in fear. She and their son Aenar were the reason Aerion continued to hold onto sanity and he was always worried something would go wrong.
Still he was sat inside the command tent waiting for Bittersteel to speak, also inside the tent were Ser Haegon Blackfyre, Ser Harrold Strickland and Ser Aubrey Ambrose, Aerion wondered what the issue could be that had made Bittersteel summon them all from their respective tents, the expression on his face was most serious, and for a moment Aerion worried what the words would be that he spoke. Eventually once the silence had stretched on for what seemed an age Bittersteel spoke, his voice tired sounding. "There has been word from the Three Sisters. The rebellion there was crushed, Lord Strickland writes that the Houses Borrell and Longthorpe were put to the sword, and that their lords were flayed and then executed. Daeron Stark has betrothed his son Prince Jorah to Lord Davos Sunderland's granddaughter Lanna, and has named him Prince of the Three Sisters."
There was some silence and then Ser Harrold Strickland spoke, his voice anxious sounding. "That is good news ser, but what of my father? How has he fared?"
Bittersteel was silent for a moment before he spoke once more. "Your father is well Harrold, he did not take part in the fighting but instead watched from atop his horse guarded by men loyal to Winterfell whilst the rebels were put down and crushed. For now the north is safe and secure. But that is not the only reason why I have called you here. There has been word from our sources in King's Landing; the pretender on the throne has become aware of our two prisoners here and means to get them back."
Ser Haegon spoke then his voice as commanding as his uncle's "We cannot allow whatever men the pretender sends to reach Tyrosh my lords. Not now that we hold two of the most valuable women in Westeros."
Ser Harrold Strickland voiced his agreement. "Aye sers, we must double the guard on them both and make sure that no information of the men coming here reaches the ears of those guarding them, we cannot trust those who guard them to hold their tongues."
Ser Aubrey Ambrose spoke then and his voice was very, very quiet as it often was. "You assume that we have not taken such procedures already Ser Harrold. The men on guard of the two prisoners are men whose loyalty is not in question. Besides it would not be hard to guess whom the pretender will send to get the prisoners out."
At that Haegon spoke up once more. "Why? Who do you think the pretender will send uncle?"
Bittersteel spoke then. "I believe he will send Lord Addam Osgrey, the man was lax during the last war in letting those reacherlords flee and join us, and the throne will not have forgiven him for the delay in answering Garth Tyrell's summons either. Osgrey shall be sent as well as Derryck Reyne in order to prove House Reyne's loyalty to the throne, after all Robb Reyne still resides in the black cells. As Ser Aubrey has said, we already have placed men to guard the prisoners whose loyalty is true and cannot be questioned but regardless of that we may soon have another guest as well. A red priest from Asshai shall soon be joining us."
This was when Aerion spoke, he had met a few of these red priests before and he had never liked them, something about them unnerved him. "Why would a priest be coming here Ser? What good would he do?"
Bittersteel's face is grim when he replies. "If all else fails we shall need to feed the two women to the flames, they have royal blood, king's blood and only king's blood will feed the flames of the gods." There is a long silence and then, Bittersteel dismisses them all from the tent apart from Aerion and Haegon. To Haegon he says. "Keep an eye on Strickland Haegon, the boy is not his father and his will is weak, he might betray us before anyone else does. Keep an eye on him, and kill him if need be." Haegon nods and then Bittersteel turns and speaks to Aerion. "Keep your wife and child close to you at all times my prince. These red priests will be obsessing over king's blood for hours, I will give you guards but keep your sword drawn at all times and make sure not to leave Shiera and Aenar's presence for longer than absolutely necessary."
Aerion nodded and felt the familiar fear beginning to grow inside of him; his voice shook slightly when he asked. "You think the priest would go for them as well?"
"Aye my prince. These priests have a hunger about them that the fire fuels. Keep them safe and away from the priest's eyes and you shall all be the better for it." Bittersteel replies and with that, Aerion and Haegon are dismissed from the commander's tent.
Aerion walks back to his own tent where Shiera sits waiting for him, the sight of her takes his breath away, she looks beautiful to him, dressed in black and silver, with her silver hair tied back in a braid her lips full. Their son Aenar sleeps in the crib next to their bed, sleeping peacefully, she gets up when she sees him and kisses him on the lips. "How did the meeting with my uncle go?" she asks.
Aerion hums against her and then breaks of their kiss and says. "It went okay, but there are people coming from Westeros to try and free out prisoners. Furthermore Ser Aegor has seen fit to ask a red priest to come and preside over something or the other. We shall not be leaving the tent for a while, the priest might have a look at us in a more than favourable light as well."
Shiera tenses under his hold and then whispers. "I knew it."
Aerion looks down at her and is surprised to see tears in his wife's eyes. "What is wrong my love?"
"I had a dream of flames when I was younger, a priest and you, you were there and our children where there, and the flames engulfed us all before you could save us." Sheira replies her voice breaking.
Aerion holds her tighter then and says. "I won't let anything happen to you my love nor to Aenar, I'll die before I let something like that happen."
Shiera sobs into his chest and says. "I'm not sure you will be able to, for the priest coming is old beyond reason, I saw it in my dreams. She's old and her name is one that the songs speak of."
Aegon 'Egg' Targaryen
King's Landing was swelteringly hot, the sweat was dripping off of Aegon's head visibly, his clothes felt hot and stuffy, and stuck rather uncomfortably to his body. Court was in session and his father was once more sat in the Iron Throne whilst King Aerys was off reading about some book or the other. Aegon did not know how his father could stand to sit in the throne with all its edges and barbs and listen to people drone on and on about their problems, in this heat, Aegon knew that if it were him there was no chance in hell that he'd be able to do it and keep a cool head.
As he watched his father met out advice and justice to those who presented themselves in court, he found himself thinking back to the way he had viewed both his father and his uncle as child. He had lived in awe and some fear of his father, Prince Maekar was a war hero, the man who had won Redgrass Field and saved the Targaryen Dynasty from complete collapse. That reputation had made his father into some god like figure in Aegon's mind, something that did seriously make him tongue tied a lot of the time around him, it also made him slightly scared of his father, for whilst Prince Maekar could be loving and caring, he was also a hard man who expected nothing but the best from his children, and when they did not live up to that, the disappointment in his eyes was more than any reprimand that Aegon or any of his siblings could bear, that had especially been the case when he had helped Dunk allow the Blackfyre boy to escape all those years ago. Aegon did not regret doing what he had done, and would do the same thing now if presented with the choice, but still the shame and hurt that had caused his father had nearly been too much for Aegon to bear.
King Aerys though, had been someone Aegon had looked up for his knowledge and learning, and for the fact that he was a very kind man, and openly caring. He had been Aegon's favourite uncle, always there for a story or some adventure for Aegon and his siblings when they had been younger, and then he had become king and fallen under Bloodraven's influence and something had changed within him. He was no longer the kind and caring man Aegon remembered from his childhood, instead he became withdrawn and solemn, rarely speaking or venturing from his rooms, and allowing the sorcerer Bloodraven to do his work for him. No Aegon no longer held his uncle in the same regard as he had done in the past as a child, instead he felt vaguely sorry for him and the weight of the burden on his shoulders which he had now shifted to Aegon's father.
His father was the hand of the king, and was effectively the power behind the throne, he was the power in the realm now, divided as it was. Aegon had seen the strain the responsibility was having on him, his eyes had bags underneath them and his voice was often hoarse from hours of talking and meetings. His temper was shorter than it had been during the years where he had not been hand, and there was a greater sense of fear surrounding him. The nobles of the court, and the lords of Westeros respected and feared him in equal measure, and Aegon suspected that was part of the reason why there had not yet been another uprising, for they knew that Aegon's father would come crashing down on them with a fist of iron and fire and blood.
As the court session began to drag on, Aegon found his thoughts drifting off towards Rhae. They had been married for a year now, and in that time he had gotten to know his sister much better. When he had last been in Summerhall before his exile, Rhae had been a ball of energy, rushing around in breeches with a sword constantly at her hip, be it wooden or steel, Aegon often wondered how their father had allowed her to get away with that. Of course she had never actually had to use the steel sword, barely knew how to lift it, and Aegon prayed she never would have to. Still, he had a hard time placing that girl with the woman who was now his wife, she had gone from being that little ball of fire into a woman with a fiery passionate side and with the same courtly manners as their sister Daella had, it was something to behold, and Aegon knew their mother would have been proud of her where she still alive.
Rhae, it turned out was quite a good listener, and she was fast becoming Aegon's everything, it was a strange and slightly worrying thing for him. He had spent so much of his life on the road with Dunk, not truly having to talk much about his feelings or any of that other nonsense, and yet now here he was discussing everything that came to his mind, and not having to worry that she would think less of him for what they spoke of. Rhae to had her fare share of worries, she had to help play mother to their niece, Daeron's daughter Alysanne who's own mother did not seem all that interested in her, Daeron himself spent much of his time drinking and so Rhae had taken it upon herself to raise the girl, and she was doing a very good job. Aegon knew he was beginning to fall for her, and yet some part of him was still hesitant about allowing the full depth of his feelings to be explored in case Rhae did not feel the same way.
Aegon was brought back to reality when he heard the herald announcing the end of the court session. He stood up and helped Rhae stand up as well, and then began moving towards the doors, Rhae spoke then her voice sounding tired. "I thought it would never end. Gods I hope father tells Lord Lefford to keep the Golden Tooth sealed off for a long time."
Aegon laughed softly and said. "Aye, that would teach him."
Rhae nudged him then and said. "You weren't paying attention were you Egg? Gods above what do you do, during these sessions?"
Egg chuckled abashed and said. "Think about how beautiful you are." He shut his mouth then worried he had said to much.
Rhae blushed then and said. "Well, still you need to listen, father wants you to listen in during these sessions otherwise he wouldn't ask that you attend them. He'll ask you, your opinion on these matters."
Aegon sighed then and then said. "Well then Rhae, would you care to fill me in on what was discussed?"
Rhae sighed as well and as they began walking towards the Tower of the Hand, she whispered. "Lord Lefford has complained that bandits from the Riverlands are raiding the gold mines along the border of the two kingdoms that fall under his domain, and he accused Lord Brynden Tully of giving his blessing to the raiding. Lord Tully has vehemently denied the accusations and says that Lefford is merely trying to find a scapegoat. The matter has been going on and on for some time now, and so much so that Lord Lannister brought the issue before father, and now father will have to discuss the matter with the council."
Aegon sighed at that, and said. "Gods the Lannisters and their bannermen will never let this go now, not now their precious gold is on the line."
Rhae nodded and then went on. "There is also the issue of the bandits raiding the coast in the Riverlands close to the crownlands as well. Many of the smallfolk are fleeing south to King's Landing to try and get away from the bandits, father is struggling to find places to keep them all."
Aegon nodded and then said. "This bandits, is it know where they have come from?"
Rhae shook her head and said. "No Egg, no one knows and father knows not what to do. He can't turn the people away without driving them into the arms of the rebels who would threaten us, but he can't keep accepting more people in."
"Perhaps a force should be sent to deal with these bandits then, to show the people that such things will not be tolerated." Aegon said contemplatively.
"Well whatever you think father will be sure to ask you tomorrow when the council meets." Rhae said, and then they entered their chambers and everything else was forgotten for the time being.
Sure enough Aegon's father did eventually get round to ask him his thoughts on the matters that needed to be discussed, it was not at the council meeting that was held the day after court, but a few days after that. His father seemed so very tired as Aegon entered his rooms in the Tower of the Hand, the candle was burning low, and there was an empty cup of water near his father's left hand. "Ah Aegon sit down, there is much we must discuss." Aegon sat down then and his father spoke next his voice sounded very, very tired. "Now tell me, you have heard both sides of the argument, what do you think the throne should do with regards to the issue between Lords Lefford and Tully?"
Aegon was silent for a moment and then said. "Well, both lords believe the other is responsible for the gold disappearing from the mines around the Golden Tooth, yet neither will back down from their stance. And yet none of the supposed bandits have been found, and neither Lefford nor Tully have made a truly proper effort to find these bandits. In that case, I would suggest that both lords send men to actually properly look for the bandits in the places close to where their lands intersect and see whether or not there have been any shady characters round the border as of late and work from there."
His father nodded and then said. "And what would you do if either lords or one of them were to complain that the throne was not doing anything to help them?"
Aegon considered for a moment and then said. "I would tell them that, if they want the throne to help them, they first need to help themselves. They cannot expect the King to pass judgement when the full picture has not been given to him. For that would be poor judgement and could set a dangerous precedent."
Aegon felt himself flush with pride at the nod his father gave him, something that was strengthened when Prince Maekar spoke. "Good that is exactly what I am doing. Now what about this issue with regards to the bandits in the Riverlands? What would you do there?"
Aegon pondered the issue and then spoke. "I believe letters must be sent to Lords Lothston and Darry as well as Goodbrook and Shawney and have them look into matter much further before the throne gets involved with the matter. These bandits could be simply men sent by some of the lords wishing to cause trouble and if so then they must be found and questioned."
Prince Maekar nodded and said. "Very good. Now there is one more matter that needs to be discussed."
Aegon looked at his father then and asked. "Oh?"
Prince Maekar sighed then and said. "Yes, my cousin Elaena shall be meeting with you along with her son to discuss matters regarding the Bolton Rebellion and other such things tomorrow. I cannot meet her as I need to discuss other things with the council."
Aegon nodded though he felt the trepidation begin to creep in, Elaena Targaryen was a proud and smart woman who was as cunning as she was smart, and the Bolton Rebellion had seen her family ripped apart inch by inch. He dreaded what things she would mention to him before she was done.
The next day proved his fears correct, Elaena Targaryen entered the chamber he had been given in the Tower of the Hand, and with her walked her grandson Ser Cregan Longwaters, both had looks of pure tiredness and loathing on their faces and yet when they say down, Aegon expected that Elaena would speak but instead it was Longwaters who spoke. "My Prince, you know why we are here. I know your father is busy with the council, but we have come here to demand justice for the unfair murder of my father all those years ago during the Bolton Rebellion, which was instigated by the traitor Brynden Rivers."
Aegon sighed, at least the lad had gotten straight to the point. "Very well Ser. Your father died doing his duty to his king, he volunteered to do lead the armies that assailed Moat Cailin and he accepted Edwyle Stark's challenge to single combat when he could have refused it. As far as I can see he was not murdered."
Longwaters bristled at that and said. "He did what he had to do, because that bastard kinslayer, kept myself and my aunt and mother and grandmother hostages and threatened to have us killed unless my father did what he was bid to do. He never would have led to the attack voluntarily. The kinslayer's threats left me without a father, and broke my mother's heart, she killed herself because of that action."
Aegon sighed. "What would you have me do Ser? Bloodraven is dead, and has been for three years now. Edwyle Stark was fighting to defend his home, and bringing him here will bring more war down upon us. I do not see what justice I can offer you?"
Elaena Targaryen (Aegon could not remember for the life of him who she was wed to now) spoke then her voice calm. "Well you could start by removing that slander that Bloodraven wrote about my son, labelling him a traitor for not fighting in the first Blackfyre War. I know there is a document in the vaults of the council's archives with those words on it, have it rescinded and that should be a good start. As for what else you could do, protect your wife and soon to be born child my prince, do not let the follies of our family hurt you anymore than they have to."
"Is that a threat my lady?" Aegon asked finding his patience being tested and wondering how she knew Rhae was with child, the news was not official yet.
Elaena Targaryen merely smiled and said. "Certain things are best left unsaid my prince."