Chapter 4: Aenys I

Chapter 4: Aenys INotes:Here is a new POV! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter TextAenys I 

22AC

' How could I be so foolish, ' was Aenys's first thought after departing from his aunt's solar in the Sea Dragon Tower. He held his head in his hands as he mentally berated himself. He was so focused on his little brother that he totally forgot to ask his father the reason for their trip to Dragonstone. 

"Congratulations Brother," Maegor suddenly chipped in and it broke Aenys from his thoughts. 

"Oh, thank you Maegor, sorry for getting flustered," Aenys answered with a blush. His High Valyrian had been rusty before he got here but now that he had been using it for a few days he was getting used to it. He knew how to speak the language fluently but he was surrounded by Andals so he only ever really spoke it with his father. ' Until I came here, ' Aenys thought with a little smile to himself.  He was trying so very hard to get his little brother to like him and now that they were friends, it was a little embarrassing to be caught so flat-footed.

" Sorry for what? You just learned you are getting married, I would be shocked if you weren't surprised, " Maegor returned with a smirk and Aenys tried to return one of his own. His father said that he should be more confident and it was exhaustive work. He had thoroughly left his box since he got here but now he wanted to return to it. 

"I suppose…" Aenys responded quietly. Maegor was his brother but he had only recently actually gotten to know him. His father sometimes spoke of Maegor but he also had not really spent much time with him so he could not give Aenys much to go on. Though the gossip from court was both strange and fascinating. 

There were numerous different whispers but the one that made him want to know the truth the most was the one about the fact that he claimed his dragon at just four, which in and of itself was not too surprising, many Targaryens before the Doom had claimed dragons when young but Maegor claimed the fierce hatchling. The eldest young dragon apart from his darling Quicksilver. That alone was interesting, his dragon was bonded to him as an infant but he did not choose her, of course, he could not even imagine having a different dragon, Quicksilver was his mount, his dragon, and his pride. Not all gossip was positive though. There were ridiculous rumors that Maegor killed a cat when he was merely three as if his brother could ever do such a thing.

To be fair to the whispers, he did start his training in swordplay at just three directly under the tutelage of his mother, Visenya Targaryen. Aenys would be a liar if he said he was not a little jealous of Maegor. His little brother had a mother in his life, unlike Aenys. His mother was ripped away from him by those damn Dornish. He could not even remember her face, only having paintings and tapestries to get an idea of what she looked like. Though Aenys was a little jealous of Maegor having a living mother he was also a little grateful that his mother was not Visenya. All of his interactions with Visenya Targaryen had been cold and distant. She clearly did not like him very much and he was altogether not certain why. He had hardly ever seen his aunt, only interacting with her for a few days at a time when they were in King's Landing together. He felt that calling a woman who seemed disappointed in his very being mother would be tough and living up to her expectations must have been even more difficult for his poor brother.

Maegor also likely had more expectations on his shoulders than Aenys thought a boy of ten name days should have, as Maegor was a very large child. Aenys was shorter than his father at five and ten but not overly so, Maegor meanwhile was only ten and was almost as tall as himself! His brother was also the better fighter between the two even with the five years he had on Maegor. His sword seemed to find the perfect holes in his guard and he dismantled his defenses slowly and methodically. Their duel lasted a few minutes and he got his licks in but it was Aenys who found himself on the ground, though he was not particularly torn up about it, though he did get a little revenge when he defeated him in a race.

Aenys never considered himself a warrior nor did he ever have much interest in swordplay but now that he was on Dragonstone. He heard some of the guards speak about Maegor's time in the yard and he was interested in his brother's training. Apparently, Visenya had gifted him a real sword on his third name day and he had spent the previous years battering all the poor boys sent to face him. Even the older ones were no match for Maegor, though he guessed it was not all that surprising, he was very tall and quite big for a boy of ten-name days. He looked closer to his own age of five and ten rather than the other children on the island. He imagined that Maegor looked like how his father did when he was young. So hearing of his little brother's victories in the yard only made him want to know him more. 

"You need to stop thinking so much brother! I may have lost the first race but I want a rematch!" Maegor slapped him on the shoulder and took off towards the upper entrance to the Fortress. 

"In your dreams Maegor! You may have beaten me in the yard but you will never beat me in a race!" He took off after Maegor and he could not help but smile. He often felt isolated in King's Landing, he could not truly share his interest in dragons with anyone there. Now he could, and didn't want to miss a moment of it.

…

Driftmark was quite close to Dragonstone, both being nearby islands in Blackwater Bay, yet they were as dissimilar as two places can be. Flying atop his beautiful she-dragon Quicksilver, the crown prince could see the lush and fertile fields of Driftmark which was much more green when compared to Dragonstone was mostly gray with patches of green and great plumes of smoke and steam rising from the different volcanic vents. 

Driftmark also had a fairly large town with Hull being a major entrepot for King's Landing while the town underneath the Fortress Dragonstone was much smaller though better constructed. Hull was a town of wood and brick houses while the town on Dragonstone put everywhere else he had seen, perhaps except Oldtown, to shame. Smooth streets with gutters which flushed the filth out of the city when it rained. There was a proper plumbing system in many of the wealthier houses and there was a sizable bath complex built over a hot spring. The houses were carved of black stone and the entire town seemed to melt into the landscape of the island. Coupled with a healthy port and skilled artisans, Dragonstone was very unique compared to the rest of Westeros.

Hull on the other hand was closer to a Westerosi town or city. It was not bad per se, but it paled in comparison to Dragonstone. The houses all had the color of brown and there were few amenities. There was a proper sewer system, unlike King's Landing, but all in all the place was just less well-run. The only thing on the island that compared at all to Dragonstone was the Arsenal of Hull. 

It was perhaps the only establishment that could rival the Braavosi in ship production. Hailing from the freed slaves that had once called Dragonstone home. The master shipbuilders decided to move to the Velaryons, to whom their services would be more useful and earn them more money. It was allowed because the Velaryons were already Targaryen Vassals at that point so the Targaryens would still have use of their services if they were required. The Arsenal of Hull was slightly slower at building ships but it produced galleys of a higher quality. Especially after the Velaryons had secured a trade deal with House Stark for Ironwood.

As soon as Aenys was told of his impending marriage, he was also made aware of the Driftmark visit by his Father. The visit was both to meet with their Velaryon kin and to finalize the marriage plans. To be honest, Aenys was still in shock over the news of his marriage, he knew he was getting to the age where he would have to marry but having it sprung on him so soon was jarring. He had not even been clued in by his father, he just said " I need to speak with my sister, " and then they departed for Dragonstone. Perhaps it was him being the heir that made his marriage necessary and early as well.

Quicksilver was quick to cover much of the island and soon they were hovering over the ancient Castle Driftmark itself. Fortress Dragonstone was one place where the dichotomy between Driftmark and Dragonstone was made very clear, Castle Driftmark was similarly dark in color but it was not the fused stone of the fortress on their ancestral island. Its walls were salt-stained and it was rather unimpressive when compared to some of the castles he had seen on his Father's progresses. Fortress Dragonstone on the other hand was almost supernaturally well made, with amenities that could not be found anywhere else in Westeros. 

Aenys was so busy analyzing Driftmark that he was the last to land. This wasn't the first time he had done something like this though, Aenys tended to daydream, he would get distracted very easily and would then be sent chasing all of the different thoughts in his head. So after he realized his folly, he quickly brought down Quicksilver into the castle yard with Terrax and dismounted. Balerion had landed outside the castle given his absolutely monstrous size. Aenys hadn't said it to anyone but Balerion's size gave him a fright many times as a child.

"Father," Aenys said with a little hesitation as his father rode into the courtyard on his majestic black destrier, the same color as Balerion. Maegor meanwhile was speaking with his mother about where Vhagar and Terrax had landed. "Are you that afraid of your betrothed?" He asked with a raised brow and Aenys could only groan. His father let out a small laugh at that and Aenys thanked the gods that his companions from court weren't here otherwise he would get teased about this for days.

"I apologize, Father, I was just a bit distracted , " Aenys said remorsefully, he hated disappointing people and he loathed confrontation. He wanted people to like him, friends were always better than enemies after all.

"No need to apologize, son, now what were you thinking about?" His father chuckled but did not hold Aenys's mistake over him. He liked to tease Aenys, saying that it would "toughen him up some" but it never seemed to stick so he had been doing it less and less as Aenys got older.

"Just comparing Driftmark to Dragonstone," Aenys responded happily, he was glad to change subjects from his blunder. 

"Ah, that is a comparison I have made too many times, my mother would have slapped me for saying this but the island is rather boring. No interesting caves to explore or striking land formations to fly around," his father said with a nostalgic tone. He sometimes forgot his parents were half Velaryon, though he could not really blame himself too much, he never met either of his grandparents.

"You are not marrying Lady Alyssa for this island however, it is for her blood and ties of kinship. She has the blood of the dragon flowing through her veins more so than anyone else outside our family. That is why you are wedding her Aenys, to keep our dragon blood alive. She is the best choice for marriage to the heir of Westeros."

"I understand Father," and Aenys truly did, if he had a younger sister he did not doubt that he would have been wed to her, just like his father wed his sisters to keep their blood pure and dragons in the family. Aenys pondered his marriage idly as Visenya and his little brother stopped talking and moved to meet them so they could all greet the Velaryons together. Maegor seemed quite excited as he was visiting Driftmark for the first time and was asking several questions about the island and castle but while his parents were answering them his mind drifted to his betrothed. 

Alyssa Velaryon was by no means a bad match either politically or socially. Independent of her blood, her family was old and prestigious, commanding one of the biggest naval fleets in the Seven Kingdoms and they hailed from Old Valyria just like House Targaryen. Granted, House Velaryon was a merchant family and not one of the forty but still, they were as rich and powerful as any great house of Westeros could boast. They were also the oldest and most loyal of all Targaryen vassals. Aenar the Exile himself negotiated their terms of vassalage and those terms stand until this day. Their loyalty had been awarded in the past with various marriages and now it seemed the tradition would continue with another addition to the list.

As they reached the entrance to Castle Driftmark, all of House Velaryon was present to greet them. Lord Aethan himself was first and foremost as was expected of him as head of the house and lord of Driftmark. His wife Lady Alarra Massey and his daughter Alyssa, his own wife-to-be, stood on either side of him. 

Aenys wouldn't be wrong in saying that Lady Alyssa was much more beautiful than any other woman he ever saw in court. With a bright radiant face, light purple eyes, flowing luscious silver hair, and supple body, she outmatched any woman in terms of beauty including his aunt Visenya as well. The blood of the dragon was strong in her. Begrudgingly taking his eyes off of his betrothed, Aenys also looked upon the remaining Velaryons who were waiting to greet them. 

Right next to Alyssa was her elder brother Daemon Velaryon and his newly wedded Pentoshi wife, Lady Naerys Narratys. On the other side of Lord Aethan were his two other sons, Aeron and Valarr, both of them seemed eager to meet their Targaryen kin. Then there was the younger brother of Lord Aethan, Valentine Velaryon and his son, and many other distant cousins and uncles. Unlike House Targaryen, the Velaryons was a large house and had several lesser house branches, though many died out over the last century.

They all knelt to his father, King Aegon Targaryen, and at his father's signal, Lord Aethan stood and spoke the words, "Driftmark is yours, Your Grace," before presenting bread and salt for guest right. Guest right was a tradition Aenys had partaken in all too many times. Every time a castle was to be entered by guests bread and salt was offered to make them guests and thus give them protection. This was followed by Lord Aethan giving a rather lengthy introduction to all members of his house and especially of his eldest son whom he seemed to be very proud of. Lord Aethan also wanted to give a tour of castle Driftmark to him and Maegor but Aenys refused citing the tiredness from the journey. If Lord Aethan was upset by his refusal he didn't show it and Aenys also tried to apologize for it. A feast was planned for tonight and Aenys would rather have a good rest than a tour of this damp castle so as to look his best for it. 

…

The feast in honor of the Targaryens was organized in the great hall of castle Driftmark though before that, Aenys found himself seated in Lord Aethan's solar with his father, aunt, and younger brother. The Solar was filled to the brim with all sorts of treasures, Myrish glassworks, wonderful purple tapestries from Tyrosh, and there was even a beautiful black metal helmet from Qohor. As Aenys was looking around distractedly, the proper preparations for the wedding began in earnest. 

Earlier, Aenys had asked his father what he was doing on Dragonstone the previous few days and apparently, he and Visenya had spent two days debating options for his marriage and on the second day they called Lord Aethan to Dragonstone. They spent the morning with him discussing the possibilities and discussed the dowry and other matters related to the marriage. Now it was time to finalize the remaining details as well. 

Lord Aethan spoke first, "So where should we hold the wedding, Your Grace? Would you like it to be on Dragonstone like the Targaryen traditions dictate?" he asked his father, who was the final authority on this as king and father of Aenys.

"Hmm, I think we should find a more prominent place to wed the crown prince. Dragonstone is a small island not fit to house all the knights and nobles of the Seven Kingdoms who surely would like to partake in the wedding ceremony," He scratched his chin and short beard as he spoke aloud.

"So how about the Sept of Remembrance?" was Maegor's suggestion, people often whispered how weirdly Maegor spoke as a child but Aenys found nothing abnormal in it. Court often portrayed people in contrasting lights with some suggesting Maegor as a very mature ten-year-old and others whispering how childlike he was in serious circumstances.

"It would send a strong message of the heralding of a new era," Visenya added to her son's comment. Her words silenced the questioning look that the Lord of the Tides gave to Maegor. Aenys guessed he was not expecting Maegor to speak. He was only in the room at the behest of Visenya after all.

"It would, but housing all the lords who would no doubt attend a royal wedding would be troublesome. It is also not complete yet and it will not be for some time. I think I shall write to the High Septon and have this wedding in the Starry Sept," his father decided, and the rest of the group silently swallowed down any other thoughts they might have had. None dared to question The Conqueror himself. His father soon moved on to other topics like the dowry and invite list, which started to bore Aenys to death.

As all of the discussion was flowing over Aenys's head, he once more thought of his betrothed. Ideally, he was supposed to be paying attention to how the wedding was planned so he would know these things for the future but he couldn't help but think about his soon-to-be wife.

… 

Later in the evening, when the first day of discussions was complete, the family sat down for the feast organized to celebrate ties between Houses Velaryon and Targaryen. It was in the great hall of Driftmark that could comfortably house everyone in the castle worthy of attending the feast with the king. His father, Aegon sat at the head of the table as was his right as king of the Seven Kingdoms. His aunt, Visenya was on his father's left, and Aenys himself was on the king's right. His bride-to-be and future queen, lady Alyssa Velaryon sat next to him. Maegor sat next to Visenya and the rest of the table was filled out with the main branch of the Velaryon household. There were numerous other tables as well that held the lesser branches along with the knights and lesser lords in service to House Velaryon.

Alyssa was somehow even more beautiful than when he saw her previously. She had likely been deliberately dolled up for this feast though her natural beauty was still to die for. Her eyes were darker out of the sunlight but her remaining features were accentuated with makeup and a beautiful dress the same hue as their seahorse banner which flew over their heads next to the three-headed dragon banner of his house. 

Valyrians were famed for being the most beautiful people in the world and Aenys always held pride in the fact. His own mother, the late Queen Rhaenys was said to be the most beautiful woman of her time. There were countless noble ladies who wished to earn the crown prince's favor at court yet Aenys never did more than make friends with them. He never truly considered marriage all that much, it was just a few years ago that he was still playing children's games with the other lordlings. Now that he was forced to think about it, he was glad it was Lady Alyssa, no other woman was more fit for a Targaryen prince.

As the feast started, people slowly began to fall into conversation. His father and aunt Visenya were discussing their time Hawking at The Arbor, Aenys thought it was weird seeing them speak, they acted more like siblings than husband and wife, though he supposed they were both. Lord Aethan chipped in some times between his father and aunt and Lady Alarra Massey, Alyssa's mother was excited about the betrothal and spoke on end about picking out the perfect wedding dress for her daughter. 

On the other hand, Maegor looked like a fish out of water for the first time Aenys had ever seen. He supposed Maegor was being truthful when he said he was raised without any other lordlings to keep him company. He was looking left and right at faces and eventually, his betrothed's younger brother Aeron Velaryon started a conversation with Maegor. Their conversation started awkward but soon they were into very engaging discussions about swordplay techniques and riding a dragon. Meanwhile, Aenys found himself struggling to break into conversation with Lady Alyssa. They had tried a few times like Maegor and Aeron had, trying to get to know the likes and dislikes of each other. But they had both exhausted all their questions and were now just staring blankly at the table, silently listening to the other conversations around them. Aenys felt the blush rise to his cheeks as he thought, ' Since when was this so difficult? ' Another side glance was sent her way.

Once the food arrived his betrothed tried once more, "Do you like the pheasant, my prince?" were the words that she spoke to Aenys and they were barely above a whisper, it seemed that she was just as nervous about this marriage as himself. The embarrassment was stifling, Aenys hadn't considered ever before how hard the prospect of wedding and bedding a lady would be.

"I do, My Lady. What do you think of this feast?" Aenys awkwardly returned. The pheasant was quite good, paired with a number of fresh fruits grown locally. He tasted half a dozen spices on his piece, and he imagined Lord Aethan probably bought out the entire stock of the merchants in Hull for the feast. Shifting his thoughts back toward his failed conversations, he could only wonder, ' Conversations are normally so easy, why is this not? ' he had no trouble speaking with the different lords and ladies during his father's progresses, so why was this so awkward and difficult? He knew Lady Alyssa before; they were friends by all accounts and had held a few conversations back in King's Landing. So why could they not just speak normally?

"It is good, the plums are lovely and ripe," she responded meekly and Aenys wished he was anywhere else but here. They had failed in actually getting a conversation going again. Both tried to start talking numerous times and both ended up chickening out and ending the talk before it could get off the ground.

"So Aenys, what were you thinking about before you landed in the courtyard? You were in the air for quite a while," Maegor asked and Aenys nearly sighed in relief—anything to escape this embarrassing situation. 

"I was actually thinking about Driftmark," he said with a smile. He knew his thoughts earlier were less than flattering but Maegor had offered a hand to pull himself from the embarrassing small talk and to hopefully sprout into a conversation. 

"Oh really? What do you think of our humble island?" Aeron Velaryon butted in. Aenys never knew much about Aeron Velaryon, he never appeared in King's Landing to his knowledge. He had a similar upbringing to Maegor in a way, sheltered on Driftmark instead of making friends and connections at court.  He and Maegor had seemingly hit it off and were discussing all manner of things. He wished he could have been part of that conversation even though he found much of what they were speaking of boring at best. He held no great love for sailing or swordplay, dragons interested him though. ' Boring would be better than non-existent, ' Aenys thought with another glace in his betrothed's direction.

"Ah it is beautiful, the greenery present on the island is a nice change of pace from Dragonstone," Aenys silenced the dour thoughts and answered truthfully with a smile. Personally, he preferred Dragonstone but Driftmark was still beautiful. The sloping hills gave it a softer form of beauty compared to the harsh beauty of Dragonstone but they were both stunning.

"Hmm yeah, Prince Maegor said the same thing," the boy responded and Aenys once more remarked how different Maegor was from other children. Maegor was just a year older than Aeron but he acted much more mature. Maybe that is why he found it so easy to speak with Maegor; he acted well above his age. 

"Well that means it must be true," Maegor said with a smile and Aeron laughed. 

"Personally I think this island is boring, when I am an adult and a knight I am going to sail around the world!" Aeron said with wonder in his eyes. 

Perhaps when you can actually beat a squire in the Yard, Father will let you," came the curt reply from Aenys's right, and he and Maegor almost choked from the shock, both of them having taken a swig from their fine Arbor Gold. His betrothed had hardly spoken above a whisper for the entire night and this was the first time she ever spoke like that in front of him. Even in King's Landing, she was timid and demure when speaking with him.

It seemed that Alyssa realized that she said that aloud as she blushed red as the beetroot on the table and moved a hand to her mouth. Aeron's mouth hung agape and he turned pale as a ghost. The stark difference between the two siblings was interesting to see despite their eerily similar appearances.

Maegor was trying with all his might to hold in the laugh but he was failing and Aenys was failing too once he got over the shock of his betrothed's verbal execution of her younger brother. 

Both Maegor and Aenys broke out into laughter at once and their laughter filled the air, Alyssa got even more red with blush and Aeron's skin turned snow white.

After what must have been a minute straight of laughing, Maegor seemed to regain some of his composure. 

"I must say, Lady Alyssa, that was hilarious."

"Hahaha," Aenys was still laughing but it was dying down. 

Aeron got extremely red-faced and glared at his sister Alyssa. "I can do much better than that Alyssa, you ladies only know how to sew and dance and know nothing of the yard!" Aeron yelled and ran from the table at a quick pace, he was out of the room in mere moments.

It was Aeron's outburst that broke all the different conversations that were going on around the table. Everyone watched in quiet shock as the young, silver-haired seahorse fled the room. 

"Aeron, wait!" was said by the Lord of the Tides in a very stern tone before apologizing profusely to his father for the behavior of his second youngest child. Aenys imagined that there were some future punishments in store for the young Velaryon for behaving so poorly in front of the royal family. His aunt Visenya also had a displeased look on her face, perhaps she took his comment as a slight. After all, Dark Sister on his aunt's hip had probably tasted more blood than many men at the table could boast of.

With Maegor still laughing, Aenys and his little brother got a disapproving look from Aegon and Visenya. They did not lambast them at the table but they would most certainly get a lecture later about decorum but Aenys decided to enjoy the moment right now. Maegor was right, that was hilarious and he thought an embarrassed Alyssa was cute.

Turning to look at his betrothed after shrinking back from Aegon's fiery state Aenys heard "I am sorry, Your Grace," was the quiet reply from the lady Alyssa and Aenys could only chuckle.

Aegon's glare relented and he smiled a small smile. "There is nothing to apologize for My Lady, for what it is worth, I thought it was funny too," Aegon said with a smirk and Alyssa got even more red as she learned that the whole table heard her quip. Aenys was starting to get worried about her, he had never seen someone turn such a vivid red before. 

A little while later, most on the table seemed to forget about the whole incident. The feast went late into the night until the hour of the owl with many men so drunk that they could hardly speak or stand. Aenys though was never one for drinking and had his eyes and ears for Alyssa the whole night. As they were all separating and after Aenys said goodbye to Alyssa and got a very quiet reply, he was accosted by his little brother Maegor.

"I have got to say, I was not expecting that out of her." 

"I cannot agree more, completely different from how she spoke with me, even back in court." 

"Well if that is how she acts around the family then I worry for you, brother," Maegor said, raising his eyebrows and he almost punched him, almost, he would never actually harm his brother.

"Oh, ha ha Maegor." 

Maegor was quick to make jokes out of situations but Aenys was quite happy about how it all played out. He did not want some pretty little trophy wife. His father had strong capable queens and it seemed that he may just have one too. Aenys smiled a genuine smile as he and Maegor moved towards their rooms.