9 Viserys I
Author's Note: While reading ASOIAF or HotD fanfiction I'm always one of those annoying fans that shrieks in the comments about how keeping anything canon is blasphemous. But I really like Aemond's aesthetics and loved watching this scene in HotD so I couldn't help it.
As for someone who spoke about how Laena marrying Daemon shouldn't happen, Laena is 12 years older than Baelon, when she met Daemon at Rhaenyra's wedding with Laenor(Which happened because Viserys didn't want to marry Laena when SHE was 12), she was already a grown woman with a crush on Daemon and Baelon was a toddler.
And while Corlys is an ambitious man, he isn't without any feelings towards his family, and when he would have seen or heard about Laena's infatuation, he would have happily accepted their marriage because it not only furthered his ambitions(even though he would have preferred her to marry Baelon in that regard) but it also made his daughter happy.
Also, please stop accusing me of being a Stark stan, it's not like he gave them a royal marriage or something, he just did a few simple f*cking things that don't lose him anything in order to buy a whole region's loyalty, he's not going to s*ck their c*cks and give them a whole goddamn army, or a f*cking dragon.
This is a big chapter and the beginning of the second volume, so enjoy.
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How did it devolve into this?!
Viserys pinched his forehead, getting a momentary respite from this disastrous situation as he felt his headache grow.
He turned his eyes towards his son, his third son who managed to ignore the pain of a missing eye while the Maester was tending to it.
"How could you allow such a thing to happen? I will have answers." He asked.
"The princes were supposed to be abed, My king."Answered Steffon Darklyn.
"Who had the watch?"
"The Young Prince was attacked by his own cousins, your Grace." Answered Criston in an obvious attempt to divert the blame.
"You swore oaths to protect and defend my blood!"
"I'm very sorry, your Grace." Said Steffon.
"The Kingsguard has never had to defend princes from their own kin, your Grac-"
How dare that swine attempt to shirk his responsibility!
"That is no answer!" He shouted at his face.
"It will heal, will it not, maester?" Asked the queen, hunched next to the maester tending to Aemond's eye.
"The flesh will heal. But the eye is lost, your Grace." Answered Maester Kelvyn.
Alicent let out ragged breaths while she turned towards her other son.
"Where were you?" She asked.
"Me?"
*Slap*
"Ow! What was that for?"
"That was nothing, compared to the abuse your brother suffered while you were drowning in your cups, you fool."
Before Aegon could answer, the doors opened, letting Lord Corlys and Rhaenys enter.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Exclaimed the Lord of the Tides while his wife tended to her granddaughters.
"Rhaena! What happened?" She asked.
Her granddaughters just cried.
The princess Rhaenyra chose that moment to burst in.
"Jace?! Luke!" She asked.
She ran to her sons, lowering her younger progeny's hands off his face to observe the wounds.
"Show me, show me."
Lucerys let out a gasp at the sight of his mother.
"Who did this?" She asked.
"They attacked me!" Shouted Aemond.
"He attacked Baela! He broke Luke's nose!" Responded Jacaerys.
The children devolved into a canopy of cries and complaints, each pointed at the other side.
Viserys took a couple of steps forwards.
"He stole my mother's dragon!" Shouted Rhaena.
"Enough." He said.
"He was going to kill Jace!" Added Lucerys.
Daemon just looked at the scene with a light smile, enjoying the show.
"Enough." He said, again.
"It should be my son telling the tale!" Said Alicent.
"He called us..." Started Lucerys.
"Silence!" He yelled.
After a pause, Lucerys whispers to his mother.
"He called us bastards."
Rhaenyra stood up, shaken by the news.
"Aemond, I will have the truth of what happened. Now." He asked while approaching his injured son.
"What else is there to hear? Your son has been maimed, her son is responsible." Said Alicent.
"It was a regrettable accident." Responded Rhaenyra.
"Accident? The young Lucerys brought a blade to the ambush, he meant to kill my son!"
"It was my sons who were attacked and forced to defend themselves. Vile insults were levied against them."
Does she mean?
"What insults?" He asked.
Otto in the shadows sinisterly steps up, eager to hear her answer.
"The legitimacy of my son's birth was put loudly to question."
Corlys visibly flinches.
"What?" He exclaims.
"He called us bastards." Finishes Lucerys.
"My sons are in line to inherit the-... The driftwood throne your grace, they also share your blood, this is the highest of treasons!"
Daemon's eyes search the room, looking for something only he knew.
"Prince Aemond must be sharply questioned so we might learn where he heard such slanders." Rhaenyra continues.
Alicent looked shocked.
"Over an insult? My son has lost an eye!" She exclaims.
Viserys just ignores her answer, if someone is questioning his grandson's birth, then he needs to know who it is in order to punish them appropriately.
Whoever it is, he will have their tongue!
He bends in front of his son.
"You tell me boy,.. Where did you hear this lie?"
"The insult was training yard bluster. The lot of boys, it was nothing." Alicent tries to change the subject, but he will have none of that.
He turns back to Aemond.
"Aemond. I asked you a question." He asks.
"..."
"Where is Ser Laenor, I wonder? The boys' father? Perhaps he might have something to say in the matter."
He knows she's just diverting again, but this time she is actually posing a good question.
"Yes. Where is Ser Laenor." He asks.
"I do not know your Grace. I... could not find sleep, I had gone out to walk." Answers Rhaenyra.
"Entertaining his young squires, I would venture." Comments the Queen.
Corlys glares back at her.
Ser Criston, the young Lord Commander of the Kingsguard lets out a soft huff of amusement, but his face turns severe as he notices the meaningful glance of one Steffon Darklyn.
Noticing where this is going, Viserys proceeds to go back to the heart of this matter.
"Aemond...Look at me. Your king demands an answer. Who spoke these lies to you?"
Aemond turns his lone eye to his mother, looking for some sort of respite from his predicament.
Viserys notices, could it be her? Could she be spreading those rumors about his grandsons?
Aemond notices his father looking back in contemplation at his mother, so in order to shift the blame, he responds.
"It was Aegon." He says.
Everyone's eyes look to the second Prince.
"Me?" He says.
Viserys sports an expression of anger, the sound of his cane echoing as he approaches his older son.
"And you, boy? Where did you hear such calumnies?"
At Aegon's silence, he explodes.
"Aegon! Tell me the truth of it!" He yells at his face.
After a slight pause, Aegon responds.
"We know, father."
His face wilts at the response, at hidden truths spoken to him by his teenage son.
"Everyone knows. Just look at them."
Aegon looks at the two boys.
Rhaenyra puts a reassuring hand on her son's shoulder, small tears in her eyes, while Lord Corlys looks down.
After a while, he exclaims, looking everyone in the eyes.
"This interminable infighting must cease! All of you! We are family!"
"Now make your apologies and show goodwill to one another."
"Your father! Your grandsire! Your king demands it!"
As he walks back to his quarters, Alicent looks at him in disbelief.
"That is insufficient." She says.
He turns back at her.
"Aemond has been damaged, permanently, my King. Goodwill cannot make him whole." She finishes.
"I know, Alicent, but I cannot restore his eye."
"No, because it's been taken."
"What would you have me do?"
"There is a debt to be paid." She answers.
He leans back in shock, realizing her meaning.
"I shall have one of her son's eyes in return." She continues.
A great deal of murmuring starts in response to the queen's words.
"My dear wife-"
"He is your son, Viserys. Your blood." She almost whimpers.
"Do not... allow your temper to guide your judgment." He speaks.
After a menacing pause, Alicent talks.
"If the King will not see justice, the Queen will. Ser Criston..."
Ser Criston looks back at her in confusion.
"Bring me the eye of Lucerys Velaryon." She finishes.
Murmurs and gasps echo in the room.
"Mother!" Exclaims Lucerys.
"Alicent-"
"He can choose which eye to keep, a privilege he did not grant my son;"
Lucerys tries to escape, but his mother holds his arm.
"You will do no such thing." She says.
"Stay your hand." He orders.
"No, you are sworn to me!" Interrupts Alicent.
Steffon turns his head towards Criston, looking at him with shock.
"As your protector my Queen." Criston attempts to get out of his predicament, but everyone understood the meaning of the Queen.
"Alicent, this matter... is finished. Do you understand?" His face stands so close to hers that if she flinches their noses will touch.
She looks at him in the eyes, her expression inscrutable.
He walks back to his dais'.
"And let it be known. Anyone whose tongue dares to question the birth of princess Rhaenyra's sons... should have it removed."
"Thank you, father."
As Rhaenyra turns back to leave with her family, Alicent suddenly walks towards Viserys and takes out his dagger, then proceeds to head towards the princess' sons.
"Your grace!"
"Alicent!"
"Stay with the King!" Exclaims Steffon.
"Hold your approach!" Screams Criston.
"Alicent!"
Lucerys lets out a piercing scream as Alicent holds Rhaenyra by the scruff of her neck and turns her around.
Rhaenyra in response stops Alicent's dagger holding her hand with her own.
Ser Cole attempts to approach the two but gets stopped by Daemon.
"You've gone too far!" Says Rhaenyra.
"I? What have I done but what was expected of me?"
Rhaenyra looks at the Valyrian dagger, finally realizing her situation.
"Forever upholding the kingdom, the family, the law. While you flout to do as you please." Finishes Alicent.
"Alicent, let her go!" Shouts the King.
"Where is duty? Where is sacrifice? It's trampled under your pretty foot again."
"Release the blade Alicent." Finally speaks Otto.
"And now you take my son's eye, and to even that you feel entitled."
"Exhausting wasn't it? Hiding beneath the cloak of your own righteousness." Answers Rhaenyra.
"But now, they see you as you are." She then whispers to the Queen.
Alicent was about to physically respond before the doors suddenly opened.
Everyone turns towards the noise, which Ser Steffon takes advantage of to grab the dagger by its handle and throw it to the ground.
The dagger falls to the floor, sliding towards the door in a screech of metal before a leather boot steps on it.
There goes Prince Baelon, his son, in dragon riding leathers followed by his faithful sworn shield.
The room goes quiet, Baelon always had a way with him, a sort of aura that demanded attention, something that he always felt jealous of, even as his father.
"Brother!"
"Uncle!"
"Cousin!"
Exclaims the children, each one of them happy at Baelons arrival. His son was kind and loving to his family, and they loved him in return.
Baelon looks down at the dagger on his feet, before looking back at the two women. But his eyes harden at the sight of Aemond and his injured eye, flashing with surprise... and guilt?
But Viserys' eyes turn towards his new scar, something that he gained during whatever he was doing at Dorne, news were scarce from that desert lately, he was almost worried that something had befallen him.
"Son, you came?" He asked.
"Yes father, I came as soon as I heard." He answers.
Baelon looks at Lord Corlys and his Wife, before turning towards Daemon.
"Lord Corlys, Princess Rhaenys, and Prince Daemon. I am truly, truly sorry for your loss, I cannot imagine living longer than your own progeny. I hope your daughter is in a better place."
"Thank you, your Grace." Promptly answers Lord Corlys.
"Now, what has happened here? And why is my brother bereft of an eye?" He looks back at the crowd, his unusually stern gaze making some of them flinch in their seats.
It is surprisingly Steffon that answers first.
"Your Grace, there was an altercation as Prince Aemond was confronted by both the daughters of Prince Daemon and the sons of Princess Rhaenyra after he claimed Vhagar, where lord Lucerys took out Prince Aemond's eye."
Baelon lets out a deep hum as he processes the "new" information.
"So, you are telling me that what is happening here is due to that incident?"
"Yes, your Grace."
Baelon looks back to the two women hatefully looking at each other with utter contempt.
"To think that a Prince of the Realm has lost an eye, and you still make it about you two?! How arrogant can you be? How childish!"
While princess Rhaenyra just looks away, Alicent gets outraged.
"Her child took my son's eye!" She exclaims.
"Yes! And yet my BROTHER is complaining less than you!" He yells.
"I heard what was last said before coming! I knew where your rage, your anger, truly comes from! Whose fault do you think this is?! You think this would have happened had both of you not filled your sons and daughter's heads with hateful ideas and petty grudges?!"
"This was never about the children! This was about you! Aemond just claimed a dragon! A joyous occasion! But then because of your stupid, idiotic feud, it turned into this clusterf*ck!"
"He took my mother's dragon!" Exclaims Rhaena.
But she soon regrets it, as Baelon looks back at her.
"What did you say?"
"My mother claimed that dragon before she died! Vhagar was mine!"
"Oh yes, your mother did ride Vhagar before her unfortunate demise, but tell me, child. Do you know who was the claimant to HER before your mother?"
"What?"
"I said, do you know who rode Vhagar before your mother?"
"I do not know." She stutters.
"It was my Grandsire and namesake, Baelon Targaryen who rode the dragon. In your logic, it was my father's right to claim the dragon, not your mother. Should he have taken her eye too? Tell me."
"N-no..."
"Let me give you a lesson, young Rhaena. You do NOT claim a dragon, the dragon claims you. Brother Aemond has tried on numerous occasions to ride several dragons on the Dragonpit, which none of them accepted. It was a great source of ridicule for him, which explains his frankly reckless act today."
Baelon turns a stern gaze to his brother, who finally looks quite ashamed.
"In fact, even if he did not claim Vhagar today, you may not even have been able to ride her, and Vhagar is a famously grumpy old beast who does not take well to people she dislikes, so she could have even retaliated. In fact, Aemond may have very well saved your life, as your attempts at claiming Vhagar could have turned truly disastrous."
Rhaena and her entourage looked half mollified and half mortified, if what he said was true then...
"That just further incriminates her sons! I deserve- My son deserves justice for the loss of his eye!"
"Isn't the lack of punishment for his treasonous accusations enough?! He questioned my sons' heritage! He should be lucky that an eye was the only thing he lost!"
"How dare you, you-"
"Silence!" He exclaims.
"My son is right! It was your little feud that led to this predicament. This matter is settled!"
"But-"
"Do not mourn me, mother. Brother Baelon has the right of it, me claiming a dragon is a joyous occasion, one that the loss of my eye doesn't diminish."
The family looks at the boy with a mix of shock and pride.
Alicent, realizing the futility of her demands, finally relents.
And so everyone turns around, relieved at the peaceful end of this incident.
"Wait, before you go, I have an announcement to make." Interrupts Prince Baelon.
Everyone stops in their tracks, when is this day going to end? They think.
"When I heard of Lady Laena's passing I came here as fast as I could. I came to mourn as we all did, but to also lift everyone's spirits. Rodrick."
The silent knight hands a small wooden box to the Prince.
The prince holds the box and takes measured steps toward his father. As he stands before him he asks.
"Father, may you incline your head?"
"What?"
"Just do it, father."
*sigh*"Alright."
Viserys looks to the ground as he slightly bows his head, he hears the opening of the box and the gasps of the crowd but gives them no heed. He only raises his head after feeling a metallic object resting on his head, a crown, he realized.
"It looks good on you, father." Says Baelon as he ignores the incredulous looks of the people around him.
"What is it, Baelon."
"Since you asked. I am proud to announce for the first time that due to the efforts of our loyal subjects and the honor and initiative shown by our friends in House Dayne. That Viserys of House Targaryen, King of the Andals, the First Men... is now for once also the King of the Rhoynar!"
"Let the ancestral crown of House Martell be proof of the true unification of the seven kingdoms under one king, one throne, one man! All Hail King Viserys!"
"All Hail King Viserys!"
"Gods bless the King!" Baelon added.
"Gods bless the King!"
"Gods bless the King!"
Amidst the adulation, Viserys turns to his firstborn son with sudden tears in his eyes.
"Ask a boon out of me, and you shall have it." He says, a dazed look on his face.
"Let my requests come later. Just enjoy the moment, father." Answers Baelon.
Gods he was proud of his son.
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He sat in front of Baelon in his quarters, fiddling with the new golden crown on his hands.
"You achieved an unprecedented feat, my son, you should be quite proud."
"Trust me father, I am."
"Good... Good."
"Father, I know you want to rest, but we have to speak about what to do next."
*Sigh*
"What is there to do right now? I am too tired of frivolous activities, you can plan with Otto about what comes next."
"Father... You know that won't work. The Hand will do anything in his power to undermine my decisions or find holes in my reasoning. I have to talk to you."
"Otto is my friend, I will talk to him, he will understand."
"Yes, he is your friend... But are you his?"
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"As your friend, you trust him with your secrets, you confide in him when you find yourself in a difficult position, and you spend much time with him in your free time." Said Baelon.
"But does HE trust you? When was the last time he spoke to you about a true, personal thing of his? He may add comments here and there to gain sympathy, like the death of his own wife, or the difficulty of raising a daughter, but to me it is clear."
"Otto Hightower might think of you as a friend, but that is all there is to it. The most he would do for you is prepare and wait for your demise to start acting on his ambitions, but that is as long as you don't act against his family."
Baelon looked him in the eyes with unflinching convictions.
"Otto would let the world burn if that gained his house more power, and I would rather burn it down myself than let that happen."
He looked at his son with apprehension, a lot of his family came to him with complaints about his relationships with the Hand, but he never heard it worded quite like that.
*sigh*
"I do not agree... But I see that you will not relent. Alright, what is it that you want to talk about?"
"Well, after settling their matters at Dorne, the southern Lords will come to Kingslanding to personally swear fealty to you, and I believe that would be a great opportunity to bring Dorne to the fold."
"That is good, but didn't you already do that when you conquered their lands?"
"Father, I won the war, but we still didn't win the peace. A third of the Dornish Lords are with us, mainly due to Lord Dayne, a third has no leader to look up to due to the absence of the Martells, but the remaining third, while weakened, are still quite influential, and that is without considering the fact that they may gather even more support from the most southern houses."
"So how are we to win their loyalty?"
"Well, Alleras and I already arranged to tie the Yronwoods through marriage, that will buy us enough time to deepen our relationships with our newest addition, but to finalize that we have to do it through their purse."
Ah yes, Alleras Dayne, he heard he was quite a good friend of his son, not unlike the one he himself has... or had, with Otto.
"That is logical, so lower taxes and restrictions? That ought to do most of it."
"No, in fact, we have to raise our usual taxes on spices, herbs, and dyes, because even with that, these taxes will be much lower than what the Dornish used to pay the Free Cities in tariffs, Alleras agreed to significantly lower taxes on foodstuffs from ships that cross the Torrentine, so that ought to nicely split the Reacher's gold into two streams."
"So this is why you really refused to talk about Otto about this? Do you think he would have refused this method to stop you from hurting Hightower's interests?"
"That, and I wanted to speak to you about something else, father."
"Well? Get on with it!"
"Not until we finish speaking about the Dornish."
"What is there left to speak of?"
"Starfall will need a City Charter."
"What?! That... That is... actually a good idea."
"I knew you would see it father, you may not have a mind for war, but you are smarter than you look." Replied Baelon, a smirk on his face.
That mischievous brat!
"Is that how to speak to your King?!" He answered in fake outrage.
"Mayhaps I'll be more respectful if my King lost a couple of stones."
Viserys couldn't stop himself from laughing at that to make any sort of witty comeback.
"Alright, the Daynes will have their charter. Now, what else do you want to speak of?"
"A couple of things, mainly the boon that you said you'll grant me, and the incident that happened yesterday."
Yes, that.
*sigh*
"I find myself sighing an awful lot. Alright, what is your boon?"
"I want Kings Landing."
Viserys didn't even deign to react, he got too used to his shenanigans at this point.
"Explain."
"Well, a King's duties are truly numerous, you have to practically take the role of both a Lord Paramount and take care of the matters of the whole seven Kingdoms as a whole, and let us not speak of the many, many schemes and plots by your vassals, which means that the poor capital gets to be neglected. It has no order to its building, rudimentary sewers at best, and corrupt officials that sap at its profits."
Baelon took a pause to take a sip from his tea.
"So I propose the following, a new small council position responsible for the well-being of the city, which will coordinate with the other members of the small council in order to take care of the city's needs, and grant it to me."
"I hear you son, but I just can't see the usefulness of such a position, every role pertaining to the care of the city is already under the jurisdiction of one of the other members, if I were to grant you this position, then it would have no actual power."
"I agree, which is why those roles should be relegated to this new position, the city watch would be under the new position's jurisdiction, and a separate treasury should be dedicated to the profits from the city, to be only spent at the leisure of the King or to invest it back into the city. and any decisions made regarding the actual city need to be made by the either the King or whoever holds the position.
In fact, this position should be only beholden completely to the King, while other members of the council, even the Hand, needs to hold minimal influence over it."
Baelon took that moment to end his tirade, taking a slow sip of tea.
After a time of silence, he continued.
"Well, what do you think?"
"What you are asking of me is way worse than just a position in the council, so I believe I must refuse."
"Why is that so?"
"Because it holds too much power! You get to basically rule the capital in all but name, granting unparalleled jurisdiction over all its parts. The Lords would scream their throats dry at me if I just give it to you!"
"Oh yes, the lords" Baelon let out a snort.
"What are they going to complain about? How it is unfair that your son, the crown prince, managed to get an influential position in the Kingdom? How the Conqueror of Dorne, the man who turned Dragonstone into a gold mine, the savior of the North, the knight at 12, does not deserve that position?"
He took another sip of his tea.
"Father, it is not uncommon for a King to grant his son a position after he accomplished something, or even if he didn't do anything of note. Didn't your grandsire give both his firstborns, Aemon and Baelon, the position of Hand of the King? Did you not make Daemon Master of ships, then laws, then commander of the city watch, even though he hadn't accomplished even an ounce of what I did at the time?"
At his skeptical look, Baelon spoke even more.
"Father, your Grace. You do not understand, we have to do this, not for myself, but for you. The Capital is the seat of the Targaryens, the position from which you rule, and where the Iron throne lays. And yet you do not know its happenings until someone speaks of it to you.
The officers of the gold cloaks are loyal to the Hand first, not you. The soldiers however would raise their swords for Daemon rather than their actual King, and the Clubfoot is using his authority as confessor to free prisoners after cutting their tongues and do his bidding, while the fringes of the city are left unattended for cutthroats, prostitutes, orphans, and flesh peddlers.
Tell me father, when was the last time something happened in Kings Landing and you were not the absolute last person to know?"
"..."
His words brought memories back to him of when Otto would come to him after rumors of his daughter's dalliance with Daemon, whenever he would hear whispers about his second son's shameful acts when people thought he wasn't listening.
It was true, he held no power in his own city, what a pathetic king he is.
"... Alright, you will have your position. But you WILL speak to me first before doing any major changes, understood?"
"Of course, I am the only one who shares your views after all, and the only other person who can look past their own overinflated ego in this mad family.
But now that this is done, let us speak about the incident. What happened yesterday didn't come out of nowhere, it is clear to me that Queen Alicent and Rhaenyra's grudges are the primary cause for this, with both Otto and Daemon fanning the flame, something must be done before it is too late."
I agree.
"I agree, but I don't think we can do much but voice our complaints."
"Not quite, in fact, you, father, can do much. The best way to stop the mother's taint from their children is to both distance them away from them and to add another figure that could influence them in the other direction."
"How so?"
"Well, you do not have to worry about Aegon, my brother lacks motivation but he is the smartest out of my siblings, he can see his mother's and grandfather's attempts at manipulation from a mile away, Helaena is largely left alone by her parents, the problems are Aemond and my nephews."
Does he think Aegon is intelligent? I may have misjudged my other son, mayhaps there may be redemption for him.
"What do you think we should do?"
"Squire Aemond under me, my brother is hardworking and stubborn, and he just tamed the current biggest Dragon in the world, and make Lucerys my cupbearer, I believe he needs proximity with Aemond, and I will try my hardest to bridge the gap between them."
"And what about Jacaerys?"
"Jace is another matter entirely, I would take him too, but his situation is too precarious to do so. Especially the issue of his birth."
"Do you al-" He began.
"They are bastards, father. I do not care about that fact, but everyone else does. I know that you only act outraged because the moment you don't, it'll look like you agree, but we are alone, and we have to think about what to do in order to secure his hold over Driftmark after he inherits it. Not only for Jace but also for the kingdom."
I sigh again, I guess we should.
"Jacaerys is a dragon rider, I believe that should be enough."
"Not if the Queen tries to do something about it in your absence. We have to do something before an incident blows over this issue, prevention is better than the cure after all."
What a quaint saying.
"Looking at your previous solutions, I believe you were about to propose for Jacaerys to be squired under someone, Lord Corlys perhaps?"
Baelon did this peculiar thing where he clicks his fingers as a sign of agreement, something that he found looked quite nice, maybe he will start doing that.
"Yes, that. But I also think that we can easily convince Rhaenyra and Laenor to arrange a betrothal between Jace and one of Daemon's twins, it would combine their two claims before a particularly ambitious Velaryon tries to disrupt the succession, I heard Vaemond Velaryon made a particularly pointed speech at Lady Laena's burial."
He rubbed his chin, this could work, this really could work.
A smile crept up on his face as he meaningfully looked at his son.
"What?" Asked his son.
"... Nothing, I'm just musing at myself."
He will truly leave the realm in good hands, gods his son looked like his father, Baelon reborn indeed.
The conversation devolved into a light one, as his son regaled him with the experiences of his campaign, while he talked about his childhood experiences, his brave and loving father, his even bolder carefree mother, and his escapades through the city of Kingslanding with his brother.
And as the room fell into a pleasant silence after their laughter died, Baelon spoke once more.
"Father?"
"Yes, son?"
"About the prophecy of ice and fire." As Baelon spoke about that sensitive subject, Viserys leaned forwards in rapt attention.
"Yes?" He rasped.
"I believe we should tell the family, everyone with Targaryen blood must know about the real reason for the conquest, maybe that'll temporarily quell the tension, especially for the children."
"Baelon, this is something that is only told from the King to his firstborn, and for good reason too."
"Yes, if the secret spread to the lords, they will froth at the mouth about it, letting them believe that Aegon made his decision to conquer a continent because of ambition is way better than knowing that he did because he dreamed about grumkins and snarks.
Even you expressed your skepticism about it, and the dagger only proves that Aegon dreamt about the threat beyond the Wall, not that the actual it is real."
"Not you."
"Excuse me?"
"Not you, you seemed to accept it quite quickly, if I remember correctly."
"Well... I never believed that a 600 feet long wall was built to defend against wildlings when Brandon Stark had the children and the giants to help. In fact, the wildlings seem to benefit from it quite as much."
"That is a good point, but if you agree about why we must not tell them, then why did you ask me to?"
"Well, Aegon and his wives kept his dreams secret because he didn't have proof of his claims."
The smile of his son widened.
"I didn't find proof, but I found books in the library of castle black and in the deepest halls of the citadel written in the First Tongue detailing the Age of Heroes and their struggle against the Others, but most importantly, I found something really fascinating in Dragonstone."
His eyes widened in surprise.
"Father, I think it is time for a family outing."
