Chapter 5: A Year Later

283 AD

"Come on! Come on!" Aegon's face had turned from its usual tan into a dark red as he looked deeply into his hand.

"You can do it Aegon!" Viressa, his number one fan, cheered from her bed as Bee rolled her eyes.

"He won't be able to do it anyways." Bee scoffed since instead of playing outside, Aegon was always cooped up reading books and failing at performing magic.

*Whish*

"I DID IT!" Aegon shouted as the wind started to pick up in his palm only to immediately disperse.

"MY BABY DID IT!" Viressa, unlike the gawking Bee surprised that he actually did, shouted out in praise as Aegon ran to hug her.

Viressa gave him a big smooch as a reward though Aegon frowned at having his cheek now slobbered.

"I'm so proud of my little magician." Viressa caressed his cheek deeply, showing only signs of love in every stroke.

"Now go play with Bee, you don't want to overdo it." Caught up in Viressa's constant praise, he almost immediately froze upon hearing these follow up words.

"Really?" A frown manifested onto the young child's face as a opposite reaction happened with the bystander known as Bee as she smiled gracefully, and maybe a little evilly as well.

"Really!" Bee shouted in glee even going so far as to jump up and down.

Two exact words in clear opposite tones sounded out from the both of them as Viressa remained firm about her decision.

"Go and play, kids your age shouldn't be reading all the time and should bask in the sun every once in a while." Viressa pushed the unwilling Aegon away before Bee grabbed his collar.

"Let's play death battle!" Bee excitedly said, causing Viressa's face to freeze.

"What-"

*Sigh*

"Bye mom." Aegon didn't linger about and walked out of the room leaving Viressa to continue remaining as still as a statue.

"Aegon what's death battle! Aegon!" Viressa called out behind the two yet they ignored them.

"NOW WE FIGHT TO THE DEATH!"

Once outside, the two grabbed a wooden sword that was shaped for their ideal fighting style as Bee let out a battle cry signaling the start.

Aegon simply frowned at all the pent up energy exuding from Bee's rushing figure and bent down in order to grab a substance that would inevitably quell her.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Bee rushed forth while screaming out all her intentions in the form of a battle cry as Aegon readied himself.

*Clank*

The two wooden swords clashed furiously as the waves of strength desperately collided to see which power would consume the other.

Bee, unlike Aegon's plain unmoving face, had a sadistic smile plastered amongst her cheekbones knowing full well it was already her victory.

"Here catch." Aegon chuckled, throwing something out of his hand towards Bee.

"Huh-AH!" Bee instinctively moved her head to the right but it was no use since the object wasn't solid and instead in a powder form as Aegon unleashed a handful of dirt into her eyes.

"My eyes!" Bee recoiled her hands into the contaminated sockets locked on her face that let out the water works in response to the sudden build up in her eyes.

*THUD*

Using this chance, Aegon swiftly swept his legs against her resulting in the balance of Bee's being to tilt in the wrong direction causing her body to fall against the hard ground.

"I win." Aegon smirked at his victory and although it might have been dirty, it's even dirtier to lose.

*Huff*

*Huff*

"No fair you cheated!" Bee, still a little winded, accused Aegon of the blatant cheating as the latter shrugged.

"As long as you win then cheating doesn't matter." Aegon's next words made Bee even more teary eyed from before at the instance of feeling wronged.

*Sniff*

"I can't believe I died." Bee's childlike mind quickly accepted Aegon's reasoning and started pouting over her supposed death.

"You're fine." Aegon let out a small sign and helped Bee upwards onto her feet.

"Do you think our fathers are fine?" Bee asked Aegon who didn't even have to think about it for a second.

"Yep."

"Do you think our fathers are cheating in battle?" Bee inquired a little hopeful as Aegon nodded.

"I hope so."

"WATCH OUT!" Eli pulled Ned out of the way of an oncoming arrow with its destination formerly being the Stark's head.

*CLING*

"SAME GOES FOR YOU!" Ned yelled, blocking an oncoming sword about to sever Eli's head from his neck.

Right now, the first major battle Eli was partaking in would forever be known as the battle of bells located on the stoney steps.

Swords clanged as well as sunk into the flesh of their enemies as blood stained the dirt with one after another, bodies of young men and knights would fall under the countless bloody exchanges.

"ELI, WE MUST PUSH THROUGH AND RESCUE ROBERT!" Ned yelled, defending another attack while simultaneously using the momentum to cut down his enemy.

"NO SH*T!" Eli affirmed Ned's remark before impaling a nearby soldier with his sword.

The reason for the constant urgency located in Ned's words as well as his movements were the fact that somewhere in this town, located in the stoney steps, hid Robert Bartheon.

During Robert's march to recoup after his loss at the battle of Ashford, he was suddenly wounded and given chase by Lord John Connighton where he would eventually take refuge in Stoney Stept.

Furious at escaping his clutches, Lord John Connighton forcefully searched each and every house but it was to no avail.

Bribes, threats, and acts of force didn't seem to deter the residents as they all cooperated with Robert under the guise of wanting to be free from the cruelty of the mad king, only to have his hand reign down hellfire in his stead.

Ned, Eli, House Tully and their bannerman all arrived to the horrible sight of the residents being hung from bird cages as they helplessly called out for help.

Horrified at the sight appearing before him, Ned sprinted out in an unbridled rage with Eli chasing after him.

Now suffering from Ned's act of ignorance, they had been caught up in a nearby alley where forces surrounded them on all sides as their allies struggled to break through teh barricade of the king's men.

Metal continued to clink in the tight alleyway as both men fought tooth and nail just to breathe another second.

"KILL THEM! OUR KING WANTS THESE TRAITORS HEADS!" Lord John Connington commanded from the rear to his kings banner men.

"Arck!" Ned let out a pained cry as a sword slashed down on his left arm forming a small gash, the blood immediately followed causing more enemies to flood towards him now that his guard had been let down as a result.

'Dammit!' Eli fended off another attack to see Ned slowly start to get farther and farther away.

"GOLDEN COMPANY! PUSH FORWARD NOW!" Eli's roaring command led to a reaffirming war cry as the golden company suddenly charged into the fray of battle.

Trusting their commander wholeheartedly they rushed even deeper in the midst of this close quarter battle as Eli used this act to rush in defense of Ned.

Slashing left and right, he forcefully carved out a path under teh surprise of the enemies seeing the golden tide before making his way to Ned.

Yanking him backward, Eli dragged the profusely bleeding man to recoup with their forces.

"DON'T LET THEM RECONVENE WITH THEIR FORCES-"

*CLANG*

Jon couldn't finish the order as his sword instinctively swung to the side only to collide with barely enough time to save his sorrowful life.

"Robert!" Ned yelled in joy as Eli pulled him backwards under the sight of his friend making an appearance in the battle.

"YOU CALLED ME A COWARD FOR RUNNING! WELL HERE I AM KINGS DOG! COME AND SLAY ME FAIR AND SQUARE!" Robert's sudden appearance mixed with his war cry immediately tripled the morale of the troops that rushed here without notice if he was even still alive.

A storm of battle cries suddenly rang into the ears of the king's forces as a huge push came afterwards as the bannerman of stormland no longer feared for their leader's life once his figure was clear.

"ELI!" Santino yelled while slashing down an enemy after seeing Eli's figure amongst the sea of bannerman.

"Take Ned! I'm going to push forward to assist Robert!" Eli ordered, handing Ned into his custody.

Not even waiting for his response, Eli changed forth back into the fray of battle in which he left only seconds ago.

Ned, in pain, gazed up at Eli's unwavering figure as the man dashed through the enemies line while only leaving their blood in his wake.

Though barbaric in his actions, his movements were as smooth as a noble, his figure effortlessly waved its way through the crowd beneath the eyes of the warden of the north.

"Crazy." Ned whispered as Santino laughed while lugging him into the rear.

"You should see him when he's angry." Ned shivered at Santio's implication before reconvening with his fellow northman.

*SPLAT*

Blood splashed onto Eli's unwavering face as he quickly moved towards Robert's fight, Jon was doing his best to hold up his front though as time progressed his chances of surviving diminished with it.

"KILL HIM! KILL ROBERT BARTHERON!" Lord Jon Connington ordered under the disgust of Robert knowing that his lost was near.

"COWARD!" Robert roared, striking his sword down onto Jon causing a fatal wound to appear in wake of his slash.

"ARCK!" Jon's pain filled scream caused the knights in the surroundings to turn towards them only to see the urgency of the situation.

"ASSIST LORD CONNINGTON!" A nearby knight said, slashing his sword down onto Robert.

*CLANG*

"FINISH HIM OFF! I'LL COVER YOU!" Eli blocked the cowardly sword threatening to slash Robert's unprotected back.

Baffled for a second, Robert recognized Eli as a member of the golden company before he grinned madly.

"AYE!" Robert thanked while charging forward, bearing his sword towards Jon.

"STOP HIM! PROTECT ME!" Jon, fearing for his life, scrambled backwards while clutching his side dearly.

The fear of death had clouded his noble knighthood as the maddened charge of Robert only served to scare him even more.

Robert, not even flinching at the two knights sent at him, slashed them down with only three swings before lunging at Jon.

"FOR LYANNA!" Robert screamed, swinging down his sword only to have a splash of blood paint his face in return.

Eli gritted his teeth as his only task was defending against the constant swarm of four swords trying desperately to pass until he heard a deafening cry from Robert.

"THE HAND OF THE KING JON CONNINGTON HAS BEEN VANQUISHED BY ME! PUSH FORWARD MEN FOR ONLY VICTORY AWAITS US TOMORROW!"

Robert's words served to invigorate the morale of his bannermen to its peak while causing his enemies to crash into the depth of hell as the battle almost immediately became one-sided.

Morale had fallen and with it, the tide of battle completely rested in Robert's hands as he aggressively started pulling on those reigns wanting desperately for nothing more than the dirt to become soaked in the blood of his enemies.

"RETREAT! RETREAT!" Someone finally said the words that all of the king's bannermen wished to hear as they immediately turned tail and ran for their lives.

"DON'T LET THEM LEAVE! IMMORTALIZED THEIR LIFE INTO THE GROUND BEFORE US!" Robert commanded as he took charge and chased after the cowards that dared turn their backs to him.

With his command, did the actions follow as the bodies of the mad king's banner men littered the town as the roads became dyed a scarlet red.

The tears that flowed from these oppressed citizens were no more as instead, the blood of their oppressors seemed to flow downwards leaving only smiles to form on their faces instead of sorrow.

"I presume you are Eli? The one Ned talked about?" Robert, still stained in blood, walked up to Eli who was checking the head count of his men.

"Yes, I am Eli, a commander of the notorious golden company." Eli politely greeted Robert as the burly man bursted out into a contagious laughter.

"No need to act so polite, this is a battlefield. A place only filled with brute force and blood. It is no place for courteously." Robert waved off Eli's polite greeting causing Ned who was standing on the side to sigh.

"Anyways, I wanted to thank you for having my back." Roert dropped the hearty facade and became serious while holding out his arm.

"I'm only in it for the money." Eli showed his signature cheeky smile, grabbing Robert's hand and squeezing down madly causing the lost grin to reappear on his face.

"HA! Well, I'm in it for love!" Robert's boisterous laugh lighted the mood as he slung his arm around Eli's shoulder.

"Now let's see if you can hold your alcohol like you can hold a sword!" Robert signaled the start of the celebration as the nearby bannerman all cheered except the golden company who squinted at Robert.

Later in the night

"AND WHEN WE FINALLY ENTER KINGS LANDING! WE'LL STORM THAT GOD FORSAKEN RED KEEP AND KILL THE KING!" Robert in a drunken rant, hoisted a cup of logger into the air as the bannermen below all chuckled

"AYE!" They responded in glee, Eli and Ned also joined in from the side with joyful smiles.

"THEN ONCE I'VE SLAIN THE KING! I'LL GO FOR HIS BASTARD OF A SON RHAEGAR!"

"AYE!"

"AND AS I CASTRATE THAT WIMPY MAN! I'LL MOVE TO THE WIFE THAT DARED WED HIM, ELIA TARGERYAN. THEN FINALLY WIPE OUT THE LAST OF THAT GODFORSAKEN NAME!" Robert announced his cruel actions as surprisingly cheering responded.

"AYE!" Everyone agreed except one particular person, Eli.

Instead of the usual continuous joy, a look of horror painted his smile as dread showed in how his jaw hung open.

"Eli?" Ned, seeing his new friend's expression, worriedly shook him only to have Eli run away.

"Eli!" Ned stood up sensing something amidst though no one even noticed as they were seemingly entranced by Robert's drunken decrees.

"Eli!"

"Eli!"

Ned called out to Eli who kept walking as he anxiously slicked his right hand through his hair only to finally be stopped by Ned.

"Eli, Robert was only joking-"

"Is Elia Tarygeran's real name Elia Martell?" Eli interrupted Ned as heart wrenching premonition threatened to rip out his heart.

"Yes she was originally a princess of Dorne before she became a princess of-ELI!" Ned saw Eli's expression but misread the situation as once he started, Eli fell to the ground.

Grabbing his heart, his breath started to hyperventilate as Ned worriedly called out his name yet Eli didn't listen as his vision became blurry.

"ELI!" Ned tapped Eli's cheek as the latter's breathing only worsened.

Pushing himself off of Ned, he started desperately trying to get away; however in his current state, Ned easily caught up with him.

"What is the matter with you-"

"SHE IS MY TWIN SISTER!" Eli confessed once they reached an alley as Ned halted all forms of movements as Eli continued his panic attack.

"What?" Ned, in complete shock, asked Eli, the brother he fought with on the front lines only to come to realize he didn't know him at all.

Eli usually always keeps a coolhead even when Dorne or Martell's are involved but Elia was different.

"I am Elias Martell, former second prince of Dorne." Eli confessed the truth that even his son didn't know.

Viressa knew however they thought it would be best to keep it a secret since Aegor's claim to the Iron throne had more merit than the claim to House Martell.

"You're Elias? The golden sword of Dorne?" Ned widened his eyes as the pieces all started clicking together.

Eli knew confessing this could lead to problems in the future however right now none of that mattered if his twin sister was being pulled into this.

"Ned, we need to talk." Eli stood up and grabbed Ned's shoulders as the latter was still confused at what he just heard.

"How are you here? Why are you here? You were said to be dead?" Ned knew the story of Elias, hell, every noble in the seven kingdoms did.

"I faked my death to ensure that no blood would spill over my elder brother's claim." Eli, with a heavy heart, spoke out the truth to Ned who's head continued to spin as Eli kept talking.

"But why?" Ned, baffled like most who heard his story, asked out the question that every historian a hundred years now would argue over.

"As the time passed, unlike my brother, I grew tall and powerful while excelling at all the martial skills that men wrongly value in leaders." Eli spoke poetically as Ned couldn't help himself from listening.

"I can swing my sword and cut down a man without even staining the steel." Eli took a step back while gazing at the sword on his hip.

"But these are not qualities of a king but a warrior. My brother Doran had all the qualities of a wise ruler as he was calculative, calm, fearless, and compassionate." Eli showed a sad smile as he looked up at the night sky.

"However, he grew sick and became wheelchair bound. The kingdom of Dorne, a palace built on a foundation of generations of warriors, only looked at his weakness as an excuse to dismiss him before turning to me." Eli then seriously raised his eyes to directly look at Ned.

"I saw three situations once all the eyes turned towards me, one path that lead towards blood, the second path that lead towards cooperation though as I walked down that road it would slowly become painted a thick scarlet red, and lastly a path that didn't have me walking with the Martell's at all but on my own." Eli spoke his truth as Ned remained awestruck.

Ned at this very moment saw himself in Eli, he too didn't originally want the successor position but instead was going to go to the wall after his brother took over their father's position.

But fate is a cruel mistress which caused his beloved brother to be wrongfully slain under the guise of being a traitor.

Ned was no leader, but after hearing of his beloved brother's death, he forced himself to become one.

"I could leave everyone knowing that I had died an unfortunate death, except my twin sister." Eli closed his eyes while tracing his right hand once more through his hair.

Though not entirely his twin as they were birthed from different mothers on the same day, Elia always treated him as nothing less and that allowed for Eli to become the loving man Aegon and Viressa knew him for today.

"Ned if the time comes and we are storming kings landing, you must promise me something not as my employer, but as my friend." Eli took a step forward to Ned as the latter stood shell shocked.

Ned closed his eyes while gritting his teeth, Robert was his best friend however whenever he talked about the Targaryens, Robert always had a cruel light flash in his eyes.

"When Robert gives his inevitable order to kill Elia, I beg you to help me stop him." Eli had come to know of Robert's personality and knew that Elia would die a cruel death under his order which could not happen.

"I......…I promise."

20 minutes later

Eli, still suffering from the swirling words of Robert, walked back to his tent only to be stopped by a couple of his men from the golden company.

"Commander, aren't you getting too mushy with Robert? His father indirectly killed Maelys and-"

"Enough." Eli, hearing the oncoming lecture, stopped it with the wave of his hand.

"My head is already twirling from all that alcohol, I cannot have a sensible conversation until the sun appears in the distance." Eli shook his head but the surrounding men weren't satisfied with this excuse.

"Commander we cannot continue fighting with the man-"

"No you will." Eli stopped and grabbed the collar of the nearby member causing him to gulp.

"That grudge you have, you'll bury it!" Eli ordered the soldier who suddenly cowarded at the immense killing intent directed towards him.

"We are in the middle of a job, we have a king prize in our sights and you will turn your back on it because of a grudge! That isn't even yours to begin with!" Eli commanded as the heads of the golden company sulked.

"Listen." Eli turned his aggressive tone to a slightly displeased one while releasing the shivering sellsword.

"I understand your frustration and resentment but if the leader can swallow their grief then so can you, am I clear?" Eli asked without asking as the golden company all nodded.

"Good, now get some rest and drink up because you earned yourself a day of full relaxation." Eli waved them off as some smiles eclipsed the golden company members.

Walking back to his tent, he saw Santino patiently waiting for him, leading him to nod before Santino followed into the tent.

"How many?"

"45."

"Damn." Eli hearing the amount of members lost in the excursion clenched his fist.

"Did you-"

"Their bodies have been gathered with the help of the northern men." Santino reported as Eli checked around the tent.

"No one's listening, I already checked." Santino reaffirmed Eli who nodded before crossing his finger before his face.

"Did you find any leads?" Eli inquired as Santino took out a note from his shirt.

"Yes, I have found the man who evidently closed off all rumors in circulation." Santino handed the note to Eli who immediately unraveled it only to stop mid-way.

"But this is-"

"I assure you Eli, there is no mistake." Santino nodded at Eli's bafflement.

"A Targaryen is at the wall?"

"Yes and he is the one who knows where the egg is."