Chương 21: Chapter 21: Year Of the Red Spring II. 120 AC
A/N: Yesterday was a bit of a cliffhanger. this chapter was originally one chapter anyway, but it was too long, this is like 3k words here.
anyway, tell me your thoughts on the story so far. do you have anymore 'why is the dragon not cannibal!?!?!?!? this story is trash!!!!' or 'Why doesn't the MC wants to be immortal!?!?!?!' complaints? it's been like, 7 so far.
---
Another day, another funeral.
Laena's funeral had just ended, this time, the winds are strong, and the clouds are dark, but thankfully, before the storm starts, we were able to bury Laena in the sea to accompany her brother.
But after that, the storm kicks in. We took shelter in the castle, thunder rolled loudly as raindrops and winds crackled the windows of High Tide violently. Meanwhile, everyone gathered in a hall, drinking wine as they offered their condolences to Lord Corlys, Princess Rhaenys, and the Sealord Antaryon.
I stood in front of a crackling fire, warming up my body while I drank some cold water to cool my throat. Helaena was sitting right beside me, with her runic bronze color that she admitted to me that she's starting to get comfortable in.
She got an oyster shell in her hand, seemingly playing it, opening it, and closing it, as if she was talking to the shell.
"The storms are strong… the sea has schemed… yet all is broken, when the dragon bowed to the eye..."
I turned towards her and touched her right shoulder, making her look at me. "Is that one of your dreams?"
"I'm used to it." she murmured. "But my threads have changed. And that is all I want."
"You saw what your mother will cause, so you come to me?" I asked her.
"I never liked her touch, rough on the skin." she said to me, then, she held my hand that was on her shoulder. "Unlike yours."
I smiled at her awkwardly, this is weird, but what the hell, we're only two years apart, she's nice anyway.
I patted her shoulder as I gave her a cup. "Here, have a drink."
She grabbed the cup as she nodded. "Thank you."
She drank from the cup, and put it aside to the table, before coming back to the shells again. I sighed at the fire in front of me, it's been a long week, screams, wails, sobs, and death.
I walked away from the fire, leaving Helaena alone for now. When I turned around, I saw the queen, with a wine cup in hand, staring at me coldly. I bowed at her, but she didn't respond.
I walked towards the nourishment table, taking a couple of grapes and taking another cup. But out of the corner of my ear, from afar, I hear something.
It was the king, speaking to the sealord in the corner of the room.
"My condolences to you, sealord Antaryon." said the king to the sealord with a sad tone. "Is there anything the crown can do for you?"
"Thank you, your grace." said the sealord. "I have a question surrounding the… situation of my daughter."
"Which is?"
"As I understand that she is of Valyrian blood." said the sealord. "I am not so knowledgeable on your kingdom's culture. But is it possible that my daughter Rhaela and my son will be allowed to claim one of the dragons? I fear that she wanted to have her mother's dragon to remind her of what her mother used to be."
The king went silent, I didn't hear a response for about thirty seconds, but then, he spoke. "Forgive me, but I cannot allow your daughter nor your son to claim a dragon. That custom if they are of a Valyrian house. That is why her mother was able to get one, because Lord Corlys is of house Velaryon, which is a Valyrian house, and her mother Princess Rhaenys is from house Targaryen, which is from my house, the ones who owned the dragons."
The sealord didn't speak, probably thinking of an answer. But then, he spoke again. "I understand your grace, but if I remember correctly, the lord of Runestone is not from a Valyrian house, he is from House Royce, how come he is able to get not one, but two dragons?"
"Maegor is my nephew," said the king. "And he had not changed his house name to House Royce, he kept the name of House Targaryen."
"And what of his sons and daughters?" the sealord asked again. "Will they gain the privilege of owning a dragon?"
I finally turned towards the direction of the king and the sealord. They were looking at me, especially the sealord. The king smiled towards me, and I heard him saying. "My nephew is a lord sworn to me. The privilege that I will give him is none of your concern. Forgive me, sealord Antaryon, but you are from Braavos, not from the seven kingdoms."
The sealord slightly towards the king. "I understand, your grace. Forgive my insolence on this… sad occasion."
The king just smiled at the sealord, before walking away from him entirely.
So he used my name as a reason to claim a dragon… that's low, even for a sealord.
I turned towards the other corner of the room, I saw my cousin Aemond, and his brother Aegon, watching the five year old Rhaela sitting with her grandmother, hugging her intently.
Aegon was drinking wine, while Aemond didn't drink any.
"Do I really have to marry her?" Aegon asked his brother. "I mean she's… a kid."
"I would do my duty if I were you."
"We're not going to have children if she's as little as that." said Aegon. "What am I going to say to her? Play toys? Dolls? The servants in the keep are more enjoyable."
"She's to be your queen, not your daughter."
"Look, I may be interested in women, but I'm not interested in children." Aegon countered. "I'd rather hear moans of pleasure rather than hear screams of pain."
"Braavos is a powerful ally," said Aemond. "And so do the Velaryons. When the time comes, she'll be useful."
"I doubt the Velaryons will support us."
"Rather us than bastards."
…
Kids these days…
—
[3rd POV]
In the darkness of the night, a man held a little girl's hand as they passed through the storm that raged outside Driftmark. It was the sealord and his daughter, trying to reach Vhagar's nest, while everyone was asleep.
No one would've suspected them to try this, especially when the storm is raging outside.
"Come daughter." said the sealord. "You need to claim your mother's dragon before anyone else."
"Father, I can't." the girl said. "It's cold…"
"You can do it." said the sealord.
Suddenly, when they reached Vhagar's nest, the dragon itself let out a loud roar that scared the sealord shitless. He stopped for a bit, but then he gathered his courage, and walked towards the dragon.
When he arrived, he heard sounds, shouts more like.
[Dohaeras! Dohaeras Vhagar!] someone shouted using High Valyrian. [Lykiri! Lykiri!]
Sealord realized what that someone was doing. He quickly walked towards the dragon with her daughter, but it was too late. Under the storm, Vhagar flew away from her nest, sending a huge wind current to him, knocking the sealord and his daughter down.
"Ow!" the daughter wailed.
"Stand up." said the sealord. He watched as Vhagar brought the unknown rider around Driftmark, circling the place a couple of times.
It seems he was too late.
—
When the sealord entered the castle once again, he saw a couple of boys blocking the entrance of the gate. Vhagar just landed in front of the castle, and from her back, a boy climbed down the ropes of her saddle. When Vhagar flew away, the boys that blocked the entrance shouted something to the unknown rider, and they rushed towards the rider, seemingly wanting to beat him up.
"What's happening father?" asked the little girl that was grabbing his arm.
The sealord shushes her, trying to not be noticed. After that, he sneaked inside the castle, as if they had never been outside.
—
Maegor stood in the middle of a crowd of Targaryens and Velaryons. The storm was raging outside, the fire crackled from the fireplace, and a tense atmosphere filled the room.
Maegor's cousin Aemond was sitting on a chair, with a maester in front of him, stitching his damaged left eye carefully.
"It will heal, right Maester?" asked the queen besides him, seemingly trying to hold her tears.
"The flesh will heal," said the Maester. "But the eye is lost, your grace."
The queen stepped out of the maester's hearing range as she tried to control her sobs. She covered her mouth, trying to process what had happened to her son.
The door of the hall suddenly opened, and Lord Corlys, Daemon, and Princess Rhaenyra entered the place, rushing through the crowd.
"Jace? Luke? Joffrey?" she called. She saw her sons in the corner of the room, all bloodied. Her eyes widened, and she rushed towards them, checking her condition. "What happened?" she asked.
Lucerys answered her. "Aemond attacked me."
"Lies!" screamed Aemond. "They attacked me!"
"No, you stole my aunt's dragon!"
"It was mine to claim! You surrounded me!"
"You tried to kill Joffrey!"
"You slashed my eye!"
"SILENCE!" the king screamed. "Aemond, tell me the truth, boy!"
"I claimed Vhagar," said Aemond. "But these boys blocked my path towards the castle! They ganged up on me!"
"They are just kids, your grace!" the princess argued. "It's a children's quarrel."
"My son lost an eye!" the queen countered. "And you call it a children's quarrel!?"
"Stop!" the king commanded. "Jace, why did you attack your uncle?"
"Joffrey called us," he answered. "He said that Aemond had punched him on his way to Vhagar."
"He blocked my path!"
"ENOUGH!" shouted the king once again. "Must you use violence your own kin?"
"Your grace." Maegor suddenly spoke up, turning all the attention to him. "Forgive me for the interruption, but I believe that I saw someone else entering the castle right before the event happened."
"You saw what happened?" asked the king impatiently.
He shook his head, well, technically he knew what had happened, but he saw the sealord going out, and the sealord used his name to try to get dragons, so he was thinking of ratting him out. "No, your grace, but I believe the sealord saw it."
The eyes turned to Irreo Antaryon, who was standing in the corner with his daughter.
The king frowned at the information. "Is it true?"
"We did, your grace." he said, seemingly calm. "We saw it."
"What were you doing outside?" asked Lord Corlys suddenly.
"We—"
"We wanted to see the dragon," said his daughter suddenly. "Father insisted."
The king frowned even more, but he ignored it for now. "What do you see? Who strikes first?"
The sealord was calm. "I saw the three boys attacking the prince, your grace. When the dragon flew away, they started to rush towards the prince, but I saw no knives in their hands. I thought it was just a mere children's quarrel, but If I knew better, I would've intervened."
The king nodded. "Thank you, for being honest with us. I would not question why you are outside at this late night."
"Thank you, your grace."
The king then turned towards the princess again. "Jace, you dare lie to me, your grandsire, your king?"
"It's true! Joffrey was attacked by Aemond before he claimed Vhagar." Lucerys defended.
Jace then suddenly whispered to the princess, and the princess widened her eyes. She stood up straight, and stared at her father. "Your grace, it seems Prince Aemond had thrown vile insults against my son Joffrey. Of course, my sons had to defend themselves from the insults that came from the prince's mouth."
"Using a knife?!" the queen argued.
"Alicent." the king warned. He turns towards the princess. "What did he say?"
"He called us bastards," said Jace.
"Your grace, my son, is to inherit the Iron Throne, someday." the princess continued. "This is the highest of treasons."
The king went silent for a minute. "Where did you hear that insult, boy?"
"It was the typical yard insult, your grace, it's nothing." the Queen interrupted.
"Aemond." the king ignored her, continuing to stare at the one eyed Aemond. "Where did you hear it?"
Aemond didn't answer for a second, before speaking. "Everyone knows, father. Just look at them."
The king could only turn to the three sons, but didn't say anything. "You must seize all of this quarrel at once!" he shouted. "We are family! Say your good will to one another and be done with it! Your father, your grandsire, your king commands you!"
The king then turned around, walking towards the exit of the room, but suddenly, the queen continued.
"It's insufficient!" the queen argued. "Aemond has been damaged permanently, my king, you give no punishments towards the ones who have done it?!"
The king turned around again, seemingly tired of all this crap. "What would you have me do, Alicent?"
"There is a debt to be paid," said Alicent. "I shall have one of Rheanyra's sons eye in return."
Loud whispers started to break in the crowd, with the king seemingly gobsmacked by his wife's words.
"My dear wife–"
"He's your son, Viserys." Alicent pleaded.
"Do not allow temper to cloud your judgment," said the king. "This matter is done, Alicent. Do you understand?"
Alicent stared at the king for a second, before nodding. The king turned around again, trying to reach the exit.
But suddenly, out of impulse, the queen rushed towards the king, she pulled the dagger that resides on the king's wife, knocking him down, and rushed towards Lucerys Velaryon.
The kingsguard is on high alert, the ladies moved away from the queen, and shouts continued to echo inside the chamber.
Maegor saw the king coughing up some blood as he fell, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard quickly helped him stand, but Ser Harrold was also shouting at Ser Criston, to not support the queen's action instead of helping her.
No one stood in the queen's way. Well, no one except Maegor.
He was right in the middle of the two women, seemingly sandwiched by the tension that is continuously rising.
"Alicent!" the king shouted as he tried to stand up. "Alicent, stop this at once! Maegor, stop her!"
As Alicent tried to get past me, Maegor blocked her path towards the Princess. The valyrian dagger stabbed his left palm, passing through his very hand, the blood dripped to the ground, seeping through the cold stone floor below.
"Unhand me, lord Maegor!" the queen commanded. "As queen I command you to get out of my way!"
"I understand your peril, your grace, but this is not proper." Maegor said calmly. "Your children are watching, your father is watching, the sealord of Braavos is watching. This is not how the queen of the seven kingdoms should behave."
"They hurt my son!" the queen argued. "What would you do if your betrothed were hurt instead of Aemond? Sit tight and accept the king's decision?"
"Like I said, I understand your peril." Maegor continued. "But taking the young boy's eye will hardly bring back Aemond's eye."
The queen sobbed in front of Maegor as she calmed down, she took a step back, realizing that she had stabbed Maegor's palm deeply. He quickly closed the wound using a cloth that he kept in he pocket, trying to stop the bleeding.
"A debt must be paid sooner or later," said the queen calmly.
"You've gone too far." The Princess suddenly said, venom laced in her words.
Queen Alicent's head snapped towards the Princess. "I? What have I done but what was expected of me? Forever upholding the kingdom, the family, the law… while you flout all to do as you please! Where is duty?! Where is sacrifice?! All trampled by your pretty feet!"
"Your Grace, calm down." Maegor said to the queen.
"And now you take my son's eye!" the queen screamed. "And to even that you feel entitled!"
The princess scoffed. "Exhausting wasn't it? Hiding beneath your cloak of self-righteousness!"
"Princess, I implore you to not speak any longer." Maegor said sternly.
The princess, once again ignored Maegor's words, and she continued. "But now… now they see you as you are…"
The queen rushed towards the princess, her hand raised the dagger towards her. Maegor once blocked her, he held her two arms, and stopped her advances.
"Seize this madness at once!" the king shouted.
"See me as I am?" the queen laughed, again, ignoring the king. "No. Everyone has finally seen your sense of entitlement. I am doing my duty! Yet here you are, destabilizing your own throne as you birthed these three abominations to this world!"
"Enough!" Maegor shouted in front of her, making her flinch. He grabbed her dagger from her hand and threw it away to the ground. "Your grace, this might be improper of me as my stature as a lord, but to even call three young boys abominations? You've stepped out of line."
"So now you're supporting her, Lord Maegor?" the queen scoffed. "I am to be your mother-in-law!"
"Then as your future son-in-law, I am helping you to see reason!" Maegor shouted. "You two, dressing up as different colors, dressing your children with different colors, then you try to pit them against one another, insulting the opposite behind their backs. Are you children!? This is not a game! Lives are at stake, the entire dynasty is at stake!"
Maegor turned towards the princess, who looked surprised at his act. "And you, princess. I don't even care anymore, if the king cuts off my tongue after I'm saying this, then to hell with it! You are the heir to the Iron Throne, I heard that all your life you want to sit in that damned chair, yet you don't even act like you're supposed to be the queen of the seven kingdoms! You constantly bait the queen to get a reaction out of her like you're some sort of a teenager aching for attention!"
Maegor's eyes turned towards the three sons of Rhaenyra, and his stares made them flinch.
"Maegor, enough." the king suddenly commanded. "Enough…"
Maegor turned towards the king, and sighed to calm himself down. He bowed his head towards the king, seemingly respecting him.
Helaena stood on the side of the whole debacle. Her eyes wandered towards the three individuals in the middle of the room.
She saw her mother and her other children on the left side, her future husband on the middle, and the princess and her children on the right.
The greens. The bronze. The blacks.
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