章 18: Kings Landing
It was finally happening, his mother had reluctantly given permission but he was finally allowed to leave and go out into the city. His first couple of trips would merely be exploratory so he could find the places he needed; one of the lessons Lord Beesbury tried to instil in him was competition, when conducting business always make sure to look at all businesses in that area before making a final decision, it'll allow you to get a better deal or switch to if they try to cheat you.
So listening to him he had found most of the wine producers in the city, which honestly wasn't as much as he imagined. However when he asked his mother about it then it started to make sense to him; Kings Landing produced some sweet reds and Honey wines but they were of an average quality. Most of the nobility had more of a taste for the Dornish reds and Arbour Gold, the finest wines you could purchase. The reach was also huge producers when it came to fine quality wines and places like Kings Landing simply couldn't complete.
The ones that did stay in business in Kings Landing were only the ones who had deals with Taverns and Merchants, otherwise they wouldn't sell enough to stay open. 'If the recipe is right then it shouldn't matter how skilled the brewer is,' Jace thought to himself as he looked at the recipe once more before ripping off the end of it and throwing it in the fireplace. He didn't care if people found the first part, it was useless without the last part and would just produce a mediocre wine.
*Knock*
*Knock*
"Come in," Jace said as he snapped the book shut and hid it back beneath his pillow.
"Lady Helaena and Daella are here to see you, my Prince," Ser Erryk informed him.
"Let them in," Jace replied, the Kingsguard nodded before opening the door for them. Jace was then greeted by the sight of both young girls who rushed in excitedly; Jace had promised both of them to allow them to accompany him to the city today, while the Queen was at first reluctant, luckily Grandfather stepped in and allowed it.
"Are you excited to see the city Daella?" Jace asked as he looked at the smiling girl.
"Very much, I grew up listening to stories of Kings Landing from my mother, though she often talked about the different pleasure houses she had visited..." she said ending her sentence with a nervous chuckle.
"Oooo do you think we could visit one Jace?" Helaena said with a curious expression.
"Ummm I think we should perhaps leave that for another time," Jace said with raised eyebrows as he grabbed his sword and tied it to his belt. While he knew he didn't need the sword and that its length would look slightly ridiculous on his small body he didn't feel comfortable going outside without it.
*Knock*
*Knock*
Ser Erryk appeared in the doorway again "My Prince, you have a letter," he said holding a scroll between his hands. Jace approached the Knight before taking it out of his hands and dismissing him.
*
Dear Grandson
As per your request, I have given the families of the men who died the option of staying or going to Kings Landing where they'd be provided work and housing, a lot of them have taken the latter opinion and so two months from when this letter arrives I will bring them across, have housing ready for them by the time I arrive. I know you won't disappoint me.
Corlys Velaryon
*
Jace frowned as he read the letter again. 'Two Months...' it wasn't a lot of time, in truth it was barely any time to get housing ready for them. His Grandfather must've known that 'He wants to test me?' Jace questioned. If that was the case then he would make sure to pass whatever test this was; he wouldn't disappoint his grandfather and he would prove he could be true to his word.
"Jace? Is everything okay?" Helaena asked.
"You're frowning again," Daella added.
Jace looked up from the scroll and smiled "I'm fine, just a letter from my Grandfather," he said before storing the letter on his shelf. Both girls looked at each other not sure whether to believe him, but Jace didn't give them a chance to voice their opinions as he grabbed them both by the arms and dragged them out of his room.
"Let's not waste any more time!" He said as they rushed down the corridor.
"Please slow down my Prince," Ser Erryk said as he struggled to keep up in his heavy armour.
"Fucks sake..." Edryck whispered as he pinched the bridge of his nose before rushing after the energetic children. 'This used to be so easy,' he thought to himself.
...
They had tried to coral the three children into a wheelhouse to take them through the city, but Jace declined straight away as did Helaena and Daella; this was their first trip into the city in a long time, and it was the first for Daella so they didn't want to ruin it by staying in a carriage for most of the time.
Though as they walked through the courtyard of the Red Keep to leave through the main gates they were stopped by a voice calling out to them.
"Mighty Dragon Slayer!"
Jace felt his fists clench and his blood turned cold at the mocking voice of Aegon who was at the moment practising swordplay with Aemond and Ser Criston Cole. The other nobles and their sons with them laughed at the jape, while Daella and Helaena scowled at the Prince. Edryck just looked confused at the whole matter and pulled an apple out of his pocket to start munching on.
"Can I help you Aegon?" Jace said with a neutral expression.
Aegon who was laughing with his younger brother moved forward "We all know wish to see a demonstration of the skills you no doubt used to kill the dragon many times bigger than Vhagar," he said mockingly.
"Or perhaps that sword is just for show?" Aemond added.
Jace grabbed Daella's arm as she looked like she was about to go feral. He didn't know how the normally shy and quiet girl summoned up the courage to fight when it came to him, but he did appreciate her for it. "Come on Jace you have nothing to prove," Helaena said as she tried to lead him away.
"A future King running away, what a coward!" Aegon shouted with glee making those around him laugh.
Jace stopped dead at those words "Jace please don't start a fight," Helaena said pleadingly, Jace had been hurt enough recently she didn't want to see him get hurt again.
"He already started it," Daella said as she glared at Aegon.
"I don't care if they don't believe my words, but I won't let them call me a coward," Jace said as he removed his arm from her grip and walked into the fighting ring, while Daella and Helaena stood right outside. Erryk felt uneasy about this but kept quiet and continued to stand guard behind Helaena while Jace grabbed a blunted sword from the wrack. He also untied his sword from his belt and gave it to Daella to hold, the girl was surprised at how light it felt compared to its size, but soon she had to lean it on the ground.
"To first hit?" Jace said as he stretched his arms and took his stance.
"No, to yield," Aegon replied with a smirk as he stood in his own stance. Edryck watched with a bored expression judging their forms, both were sloppy and their footwork could easily be exploited, though Jaces seemed to be the worse of the two.
"To yield is too dangerous my Prince, the King would never allow it," Ser Erryk chimed in. Seeing both Princes beat each other bloody wasn't something either the Queen or the Princess would like despite their differences.
"Stand down Ser Erryk, the Prince has stated the terms of the spar," Ser Criston said with a blank expression on his face.
"But Lord Commander it-"
"Enough, would you defy the will of the king's oldest son," Ser Criston interrupted. It was plain for everyone to see that he had chosen his words carefully; describing Aegon as the king's oldest was tantamount to calling him heir despite Rhaenyras status being as such, with Jace after her.
"It's fine Ser Erryk, if Aegon wishes to duel to yield then I shall oblige," Jace said before the Kingsguard could protest again.
"Very well my Prince," Ser Erryk said with a bow of his head.
"To the yield!" Ser Criston said standing in the middle of Jace and Aegon.
"Begin!" He said before stepping back.
Aegon smirked arrogantly at him as he gripped his small tourney blade "You should've listened to my sister and ran away," Aegon said with a chuckle.
"From you? I'd sooner run away from her she frightens me much more than you do," Jace replied letting a small mocking smile grace his features.
Aegon's face went sour before he charged forward at him bringing his sword up and slashing down in a sloppy strike. Jace moved backwards barely avoiding the strike that struck against the ground, he swung his sword sideways hitting Aegon in the shoulders and making him yell out in pain. Aegon swung back but Jace was able to avoid it again, but Aegon kept moving forward aggressively trying to hit him.
*Clang*
Jace brought his sword up as Aegon brought his sword down on him, his footing was bad and Aegon was able to push him back. Jace grabbed the tip of his sword with his free hand and parried off Aegon's sword to the side, Aegon fell forward straight into Jace who punched him in the face.
"AAAH!" Aegon cried out as he gripped his bleeding nose.
Jace moved back from Aegon as he gripped his hand in pain, he didn't think he broke anything, but punching him had hurt. Eldryck watched the fight with a bit more interest as while Jace had a sloppy form, he had a natural quickness that he used to his advantage and was able to think clearly while he fought, unlike Aegon who quickly let his anger overcome him.
Jace however got knocked to the ground by Aegon who used his slightly stockier build to barge into him. Ser Erryk cringed as he saw Jace barely avoid an overhead strike hitting the ground next to him; while the blades were blunted they could still hurt and break bones, especially to their young bodies.
Jace kicked the back of Aegon's knee forcing him to the ground, he then rolled backwards and grabbed his sword that had flown from his grasp. He stepped forward panting heavily, he knew he was better than Aegon, he had killed before, and he had the skill, he just needed to use it. Jace's breathing slowed down as he remembered the time he decapitated the infected man from Valyria. He stared coldly at Aegon as he held his sword by his side; Aegon got up with a scowl on his face, he imagined that he would've beaten Jace bloody by now and so seeing his nephew standing relatively unharmed irked him.
He charged towards him intent on thrusting the sword into his stomach, he knew if he put enough force behind it then even a blunted blade would sink into someone. His grin widened as he charged towards him Jace didn't even try to avoid the strike. Both girls screamed and Ser Erryk moved to go and stop the fight, but at the last second Jace swung his right foot back in a semi-circle avoiding the sword, as he did he swung his own sword with all his strength though he made sure to use the flat end of the blade; the sword connected with the side of Aegon's head knocking him out cold and making him collapse to the floor.
The whole courtyard looked on in shock as Aegon fell limp to the floor. Ser Erryk checked on Jace before kneeling next to Aegon and rolling him onto his back and checking if he was okay.
Ser Criston scowled and stalked forward intent on grabbing Jace but when he reached his hand out it was stopped by Edryck who grabbed his wrist. "Take your hand off me sellsword," Criston growled out as he glared at him.
"You have quite the menacing expression for someone sworn to serve the Prince," Edryck said keeping his grip on his wrist.
Criston pulled his hand out of Edrycks grasp but the Dornish man stepped in front of Jace blocking Cristons access. "Prince Jacaerys will need to explain his actions to the King," Ser Criston stated.
"If I remember it was Prince Aegon who declared it to be to the yield and not to first strike, and it was you who supported him," Edryck stated with a raised eyebrow.
"So perhaps you should explain to the king why his son lies unconscious, my charge still has business in Kings Landing," Edryck stated.
Jace had already walked out of the ring and back into Daella and Helaena's hands who both eagerly checked his body for wounds. Though apart from a few bruises he was fine; meanwhile Edryck looked at Jace with interest as he stroked his goatee. The last strike was expertly done, everything was perfectly timed and to great effect, he knocked the boy out with one strike, even an adult would most likely be taken out by such a strike. But what interested Edryck the most was Jace's eyes, they were still and focused, the eyes of a true fighter. The boy had potential, a lot of potential.
———————————————————
Jace had visited all the winemakers in Kings Landing and had commissioned them to brew him two bottles of wine made from the ingredients he listed. Luckily they had the ingredients on hand so it was only a few hours before they had them ready for Jace to collect; in the meantime, he travelled around the Marketplace with Daella and Helaena and looked around the marketplace. Daella enjoyed the sights and stalls the most and happily ate all the food Jace got for her while Helaena was more focused on the jewellery.
Despite having limited funds Jace bought Helaena a beautiful emerald necklace. He had offered to buy Daella something as well but she declined as the necklace he had gifted her was more than enough and would always make everything else she wore look dull.
When they returned to the castle Jace was informed that Aegon was fine and only needed to spend the afternoon with the Maester to treat his injuries. While he was glad he didn't seriously injure his uncle, he couldn't help but be glad he had humiliated him like that. Especially after he was called a coward in front of the whole courtyard, he hoped now his uncle would think twice before antagonising him.
Though while no one had come to get him yet, he knew for sure that tomorrow he would likely be brought before the King again as the queen would fuss over her son. Jace found the whole prospect annoying, but he set that out of his mind as he placed all six bottles of wine on the table. He didn't have wine that often as his mother never allowed them to have any; on the special occasions where they were allowed some, it had been watered down. He had Edryck fry them all as he was a self-proclaimed wine connoisseur, though he had a fancy for the sour Dornish Reds rather than the Sweet Reds drunk here. He said they were all average, stuff you'd expect to be served to the knights and lesser lords at a feast.
'Hopefully, that'll change soon,' Jace thought to himself with a smirk as he grabbed the bottle of wine and opened it before putting it very close to the fireplace in his room. He then grabbed a jar from under his bed. Inside was a black liquid; Jace had struggled to get this amount of blood from Vermax as he complained and growled the whole time, but allowed him to nonetheless. Putting the jar on the table he grabbed a spoon before scooping up a small amount of the dragon blood, he put the spoon down on the table before nicking his finger with a small blade.
He let the blood pour onto the spoon where it floated atop the black blood, though it did slowly start to engulf it. Jace took it and knelt next to the fireplace unbothered by the heat, the wine was starting to bubble by the time he arrived, he poured the blood on the spoon into the bottle and then placed the cork back in and sealed it.
"Letagon! (Bind!)" he said firmly, from what he had read only those with magic could make the mixture fuse with the wine. Jace wasn't sure if he had magic, but he was a Dragonlord so he must have at least some magic. As the mixture in the bottle bubbled and boiled it started to glow slightly; Jace's eyes widened at the display of magic, but as the glowing died down he grabbed the bottle and pulled it away from the fireplace. He was once again thankful for the fact that he had a high resistance to heat as he felt like he'd have scaled his hand badly after grabbing the bottle.
According to the book Valyrian Bloodwine was best served warm or could even be served hot, which was good as Jace didn't very much feel like going to get ice at this time. After the bottle cooled down significantly he opened the door to his room and summoned Edryck inside; though the man wasn't happy as his shift was close to ending and he was about to go to bed.
"What do you need my Prince?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Drink this," Jace said handing him a cup full of the wine.
Jace had made him do this earlier so he wasn't surprised, he put the cup to his lips expecting the same mediocre swill he had drunk previously, but when the warm liquid touched his tongue his eyes widened. It was like the wine touched every tastebud in his mouth causing them to explode, even when the drink washed down his throat the taste still lingered; he couldn't even begin to describe what the taste was, describing it as sweet or sour wouldn't do it justice. It was like drinking liquid fire, but not the type that burns, but the type that warms you on a cold night. So consumed with the comforting warmth and explosion of flavours that accompanied it, he didn't realise the cup was empty and he'd been licking the rim.
Snapping out of his daze he looked down at Jace "What in the gods was that?" He asked in slight awe.
Jace grinned at him "Something that will make me rich I hope," he replied.
Edryck took a pouch off his belt and threw it to Jace "Twenty dragons for the rest of the bottle," he said.
"Done," Jace replied before handing it to him.
"A pleasure my Prince," Edryck said waving goodbye as he quickly left to go enjoy the wine in the privacy of his room. Ser Erryk raised his eyebrows at the grinning Dornishmen as he arrived outside Jace's room.
"I guess it works," Jace said to himself with a grin as he threw the pouch in the air before catching it.
"Time to get to work," he said to himself as he began to transform the other bottles into his new product.
(AN: Wine is a pretty big product in Westeros, the nobles all love it and I think it would be a good place to start for Jace earning his wealth. The Valyrian's are pretty fucked up so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they drank dragon blood or ate the flesh. Anyway if any of you watched Danmachi you'll see I'm gonna try and parallel his wine with the one from the show. The wine will be relatively cheap to begin with, but as it's popularity grows Jace won't meet the demand as he can only make so much without divulging the secret to how it's made, therefore I imagine the price would go up. Rich lords and merchants across the seas would easily pay premium for it. Anyway I hope you liked the chapter.)
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