Capítulo 103: -Chapter 99-
-Chapter 99-
-2nd day of the 1st moon of the year 116 AC-
-POV Alicent Hightower-
"You should have seen Rhaenyra when we broached the topic of the Stepstones. She was this close to…"
'Aegon has changed so much,' I thought as I watched Aegon sitting at a small table, his brow furrowed, fully focused on deciphering the words in High Valyrian on his own.
'He looks so adorable with his little concentrated face,' I thought, watching him do the assignments given to him by his new 'big brother.'
I wasn't naive, and I knew that Prince Aemon would fully use his time alone with Aegon to influence him, to shape him as he wished, but…
'I never would have thought he'd mark my son's mind so quickly and so deeply,' I said to myself, inwardly regretting not having refused to send my son into the lion's den.
'At least he has treated him well,' I thought, relieved that he hadn't mistreated my son because I was his mother.
"You look worried, my daughter," said my father, noticing that I was no longer listening to what he was telling me about a spat he'd had with Rhaenyra at council over some… matter that I had already forgotten, anyway.
"How could I not be?" I asked my father.
"You're taking your son's changes too much to heart, thinking only like a mother," he said with a disapproving tone, as since Aegon's return, I had tried my best to surround him with love.
Unfortunately, I could see that he was becoming increasingly obsessed with the strong, independent image Aemon was trying to build in my little boy's mind.
"And you, not enough like his grandfather," I replied, outraged that he would dare reproach me for wanting to protect my children.
He said nothing but looked at me stoically, his gaze hardening slightly, a sign that I had crossed the line and hurt him.
'I shouldn't have said it out loud,' I thought.
"Forgive me, Father, I shouldn't have…" I said, attempting to apologize for my lack of respect, but he raised his hand, silencing me.
My father said in a gentler tone than I expected,
"I don't want empty apologies from you. What I want, my daughter, is for you to think."
I frowned, wanting to defend myself, but he continued without allowing me a response:
"To think carefully without constantly acting like a mother hen. You are the queen; behave as such, think like a queen, like the mother of the King's only male heirs."
"I do," I said, offended that he thought I behaved more like a mere broodmare than a queen.
'I'm doing my best,' I thought, inwardly annoyed at not being recognized for my efforts.
"Then you're not doing enough," he said sharply.
"Aegon is still a child," I retorted in the same tone.
"Do you know who isn't? Rhaenyra! She won't hesitate to make her move while Aegon is playing with a wooden sword, rallying as many to her cause as she can. Remember, once Rhaenyra takes power, if we don't have an overwhelming advantage over her, we'll all be hanged high and short," my father said.
'That's just your assumption; she's calmed down quite a bit lately.'
"You don't know that; no one can see the future. Only the Seven know what will happen," I said, hiding behind the gods so as not to face the harsh truth.
I saw my father look at me in disappointment before saying,
"Don't forget how your brother died."
'Gwayne,' I thought, closing my eyes to push away the image of my brother's lifeless body.
"Don't forget why my youngest son died, don't forget for whom, but above all, never forget that he was murdered by that… woman," he said, clenching his teeth, clearly holding back from insulting the princess.
'None of my children will ever end up like that,' I thought, quickly wiping away a tear that rolled down my right cheek.
"You're right, Father," I said, looking at him, waiting for him to explain what he had in mind.
"Aegon's future matters to me as much as it does to you, and I know we're giving Prince Aemon too much space, but if you actually paid attention to your son and not just the image of the perfect child you have of him, you'd see that all the changes that have occurred since he left for the Vale have only been beneficial," Father said, particularly pleased with Aegon's stay in the Vale.
'As well as his upcoming departure,' I thought, remembering I would soon have to say goodbye to him.
I frowned, confused, because, aside from a clear improvement in his diligence with his work, I hadn't noticed anything particularly beneficial, as Father claimed, coming from his new passion for copying his new big brother.
"Your son has changed, Alicent, and you don't even see it. Every morning, he wakes up at dawn, washes himself without his servants, and trains against a dummy that Prince Aemon gave him, specially designed for the training his knights undergo during their training period," Father said.
I frowned, unconvinced, because Bryndon and Myles had also gone through phases where they played with wooden swords and washed themselves.
But what caught my attention was the precision of Father's information, details that had even escaped me.
'Not to mention the training of the knights of the Order of the Bronze Shield. How did he learn all this?' I wondered, looking at the wooden sword on the table next to Aemon's stack of books.
Seeing that I was distracted again, Father placed a hand on mine, already picking at the skin around my nails, and said, "He has an overall better routine now, Alicent. He's stopped being insolent, even with his servants."
'He couldn't have known all that about Aegon unless he had placed spies within the castle to report our every move,' I thought, suspecting my father of having us monitored.
"It's just a game to him; he's simply trying to copy…" I said, attempting to justify these changes.
"…the Prince, I know. But where you're gravely mistaken is that he's not just copying the Prince's actions. He's copying… actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Prince is passing on his mindset to his pupils, particularly to Aegon; he's shaping him," said my father, pleased with this development.
"Why would he do that? He was very clear; the heir is and will remain Rhaenyra," I said, lowering my voice so Aegon, even at the other end of the room, wouldn't overhear by accident.
'Aegon is just a bargaining chip for him,' I thought, recalling the betrayal he dealt me by depriving me of my right hand.
'Ser Criston,' I thought, sparing a thought for the former Commander of the Kingsguard who had also been my sworn shield.
Father sighed and said, shaking his head, "It's appalling how much your foolish feud with the Princess has made you deaf and blind to the rest of the world."
"He killed Ser Criston and loudly proclaims to anyone who will listen that Rhaenyra is the heir; he even reiterated it at the dinner the King held in his honor when he returned to the capital six moons ago," I said, whispering angrily, as I could no longer make sense of the Prince's actions.
"You assume that the succession is already settled, Alicent…" said my father, annoyed that I didn't understand his point of view.
'A view he seems to share with the Prince, given how well he seems to understand him.'
"…but for the true players in the dangerous game we're embroiled in, we all know that the game won't begin until the King…"
Father didn't finish his sentence, but I didn't need him to for me to understand what he was implying.
I checked to see if Aegon could hear us, but he seemed completely absorbed in his books, so I asked my father, "Do you think he…"
Father interrupted me abruptly and said, "I think nothing, Alicent. All I'm saying is that Prince Aemon is ambitious, and it wouldn't surprise me if he waits until the last moment to truly decide his stance once the day finally comes when the question of His Grace the King's succession arises—may that day come as late as possible."
"He could very well side with Rhaenyra; for now, she's still the heir," I said, unsure of what my father was suggesting.
"For now, as you rightly said."
'He wants that to change,' I realized immediately.
"That's why we must make the King see reason because, even if Aegon does nothing, he will always remain a challenge for Rhaenyra—a challenge that the kingdom's lords won't hesitate to use to evade her authority," said Father, warning me implicitly that we no longer controlled the situation and that we must do everything we can to regain it as quickly as possible.
'He's right,' I thought, perceiving the truth in my father's blunt words.
I've proposed peace to Rhaenyra so many times, but she's never accepted my olive branches. She's always responded aggressively. I could have forgiven everything, but she made an indelible error that can never be repaired; she killed Gwayne.
'And I will never forgive her for that,' I promised myself silently.
---
We're now over a year after the branding
ceremony of the mountain clan leaders with a POV of Alicent, noticing the changes in her son.
Aemon had the first half of the year with Aegon and will be coming back to get him in a few days.
Soon, we'll see a brief return of Aemon to the capital.
Some things will change in the upcoming chapters because I took the time to revisit the story, and I must apologize to you because I made a truly grave mistake.
At least, in my view, it's catastrophic.
I took a year off Aemon…
I don't know why, but in my mind, I was convinced he was two years younger than Rhaenyra, so I kept calculating his age by deducting two years from Rhaenyra's.
Even in my notes, I had written he was born in 99 AC, whereas, in fact, he was born on the 14th day of the 1st moon of 98 AC, which made him of age in 114 AC.
Better late than never, but here's the first change: Aemon will soon be 18.
The second change may disappoint some of you, but I prefer to tell you right away to prepare you: I'm going to restrict his powers.
But don't worry; I'll do it properly, or at least I hope you find it well-executed.
He will lose some abilities but gain others.
I won't say more on this, but now you're warned.
In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I wish you all a good night or day (depending on where you are and when you read this chapter).
Thank you all for your constant support.
Ghostrider0002
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