Chapter 11

Chapter 11

AENYS TARGARYEN

In his long career, Aenys Targaryen had reached a simple conclusion, 'even the smart people can make the stupidest decisions.'

And he was being proved right once more as he sat beside his aunt's bed, watching her cough once more as he tried to control his temper. She had tried to hide her illness from him and had somewhat succeeded, partly because of the sheer amount of work he had been strapped wit, with everything going on around him.

But still, she should not have tried this. Not her, with her knowledge and history of greyscale. Aenys took a deep breath, and perhaps sensing his anger, he saw her look away guiltily. In the end, after calming himself down, he looked at her and, with a sigh, finally began talking.

"Why? Just what made you think hiding this was a good idea?" he questioned, his voice more hurt than angry. And he saw her fold onto herself as she seemed a bit remorseful at her actions before she finally replied.

"I did not want to burden you anymore. You have done much for me, Aenys. It is time for you to move on. You were to go to Kings Landing. I did not want to take that from you," she replied, and he just stared at her while shaking her head.

"You, a burden. When has a mother ever been a burden on her child? And Kings Landing, you must have heard exactly what happened over there. And you want me to give this all up. Give you up for that!" he said, exasperated, and she chewed her lip, for she knew what Viserys had done was wrong.

"I know, and you have shown extreme maturity over all this, Aenys, and I am proud of you for it," she said, looking him straight in the eye. He just sighed as he stood up and began pacing through the room, letting silence reign over the room as his mind raced for possible solutions to her disease.

"What is wrong with me, Aenys?" she suddenly questioned him, making him stop in his step.

The disease she had wasn't exactly deadly. The truth was that it did not even require surgery. But it did require a lengthy course of treatment with some extremely advanced medication. Nine months of popping about four pills three times a day, you would be safe and healthy.

But this was different. He did not know how to obtain those formulations here, nor was his hunt healthy. The greyscale had left her with a weakened immune system, increasing the mortality rate for her. Not seeing his reply, she looked at him and asked once more in a small whisper.

"Will it kill me?"

And her words left her rooted on the spot momentarily.

"NO!" he replied resolutely as he walked towards her holding her hand.

"I won't let that happen!" he reassured her, though it was more for him. She smiled at this.

"Then why are you so upset?" she questioned him, and he exhaled before he tried explaining.

"What you have is called Tuberculosis or TB. It's more commonly called 'consumption.'"

And he saw her turn pale at that. Of course, she knew what consumption was. At this time, it was a death sentence. She suddenly started coughing again. He handed her the cloth from the side and saw it redden as she coughed out blood again.

"KHUK…. Khuk…. How much time?" she asked, and he just shook his head.

"NO! No. No. There is a way. It's just that I don't know how to make it." He reassured her and saw her head snap towards her as she looked at him with a complicated expression before she asked again.

"How long will that take?" and he just shook his head; pharmaceuticals weren't his domain. He couldn't just synthesize such formulations on a whim. He did not even have an idea where to begin.

"I don't know. But I will try. I will mak…." And he stopped as he suddenly felt her arms wrap around him as she patted his back.

"I am proud of you, Aenys. Extremely proud. I think we both know that there is not enough time for me left.

He tried to protest, but she just continued.

"No matter what happens, I will always be with you," Aenys sniffed as he tried to keep the tears from falling down as he wrapped his arms around her. They just stayed there together, being there for each other, as they had been for years.

He just thanked the gods for giving him the courage to take that risk in trying to save her all those years ago.

Minutes later, as he was walking out of the room, he stopped when he heard his name being called out.

"Aenys!" she called him, and he turned to face her again.

"I have the wish to see you with a family of your own, Aenys. I wouldn't be able to show Alyssa my face otherwise when I see her again," And his fists clenched at her words and with a shake of his head he walked out of the room. Giving the maidservant standing outside a glance, he frowned as he tried to recall her name.

"Anya, right? You are the one who wrote to me, right?" he questioned her, and she paled at his question before she slowly nodded her head.

"Yes, my lord," and he nodded at that. He looked her over and spoke up once more.

"You did a great service in informing me about her condition. Tell me, is there anything you want," he asked, and she shook her head.

"NO! NO! My lord, serving you and my lady is a privilege. I did…." And he just raised his hand.

"Good service should be rewarded. So, just tell me what you want, and I will take care of it," he saw her nod slowly at this and speak out after a moment.

"My Lord, I have a son. He turned two this year. I have heard that your College would be open to all, if… if it were possible, maybe he could," and he nodded as he raised his hand.

"It will be done. When he turns ten, I will have him enrolled in it," and she immediately bowed down, thanking him profusely.

"Thank you, my lord. Thank you!"

0000

HEALER GREG HOUSE

Greg had been quite old when Aenys Targaryen had first walked into the building of the healer's guild. And, of course, he had heard of the exiled dragon-riding Prince who had settled down in Bravos, and he had imagined the Prince to look a certain way, behave a certain way as all the nobility did.

Yet the boy had been different, and only after their small exchange of words House had known that he wasn't like any regular noble, and when their conversation had moved onto the matters of knowledge of healing, he had realized once more.

He wasn't like any other healer as well.

And he had been proven right. He sighed as he stared at the huge building entering its final stages of construction, though that did not mean the work was done by any means. But still, it was a huge step in the right direction nonetheless.

"Is there any way I can convince you not to waste all that money on those glass windows and settle for something less expensive?" he asked for the tenth time that day and the Prince shook his head, showing him his privileged noble side, as he refused to budge over his demands.

"No!" came the simple reply as both of them sat in a small tent placed opposite the construction site. He simply shook his head, muttering profanities about the Prince sitting opposite him and his expensive idiotic demands.

"You do know if you do that in front of any other noble, they could have you killed!" commented the young Prince, and he just shrugged and pointed at his cane.

"Then it's a good thing that such a day would never come, I am quite happy dealing with the regular people, thank you," and the Prince just smirked.

"Don't be too sure about that. My cousin has asked for me to send one Healer to Driftmark. Maybe you could go there," and he just narrowed his eyes at the Young Prince.

"If you do that, I can assure you I shall rise in rebellion against you!" he quipped, making the boy raise a brow.

"And where will the army for this rebellion come from?"

"The common folk of Bravos, of course, they would rise to save me from your tyranny," and the Prince just looked at him, for everyone knew of his bad manners with his patients.

But what could he say? House hated interacting with patients who seemed to be hell-bent on lying over idiotic things. Idiotic things that could cost them their fucking lives.

Gods, he was a healer, not a tax collector. Lie to them as much as you want. Even he did so.

"Well, when do you plan to visit the Sea Lord? You need to hash out the terms soon enough. With the building getting functional in a month, it would be better to have proper standing regarding the laws and limitations," and the Prince nodded.

"Tomorrow. We just need to negotiate over some small stuff, so I believe I could get it all done by the end of the week. Though, I need you to take care of something for me," and he saw the Prince reach into his pocket as he passed him a piece of paper.

House opened the paper and found a list of items and organisms, some of which he recognized some he had no idea about.

"I want you to gather everything on the list as quickly as you can, Mark the things which are difficult to obtain so I can ask the Sea Lord for his assistance."

House's head snapped to the Prince at this—such urgency.

"Can I ask why?" he probed and he saw his face contort, and then after thinking for a while, the Prince sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"You know my Aunt Maegella," and of course he did. He had met her several times and found her to be an extremely lovely lady. So, he nodded, already having a suspicion of what the Prince was about to say.

"She has consumption," and he cursed himself for being right. Aenys seemed heartbroken by the news, as he should be, for he regarded her like a mother. From what he remembered, Aenys had denounced all their previous remedies for the disease.

And then it all clicked, and his head snapped towards the list once more. Before he looked towards Aenys again.

"Then is that…" but he just shook his head at that. and the Prince shook his head.

"NO! I don't know the cure. But I believe it can be sourced from them. So, gather them up and gather volunteers who would want to work on this."

House nodded. He knew that a number of his colleagues would jump at the chance to become a part of something like this.

"I will have it done by the night. And as for your Aunt, I hope that she makes a full recovery," and the Prince nodded.

The mood turned somber as both of them just sat there in silence before he suddenly remembered something rather important.

"Ahh! I almost forgot, but you got a letter while you were away!" He began to ruffle through the drawer before finding the ornately decorated envelope with ostentatious writing. The Prince groaned slightly as he recognized the sender.

House, on the other hand, simply smirked and decided to tease him a bit.

"People would die for a chance to get a letter from The Poetess. Yet here you are groaning like an idiot," and he saw the Prince's eyes narrow at him as he pocketed the letter.

"You would groan as well if you would use your head instead of your, you know what," the Prince replied, and he just shrugged.

The Poetess was one of the most sought-after courtesans in all of Essos, her influence only second to the Black Pearl or the Nightingale. These courtesans were in a class of their own, their influence more far-reaching than many people realized.

They did not live in simple houses yet had pleasure palaces of their with many maidens serving at their heel, hoping to catch the eye of one of their patrons' admirers. Many magisters and Bravo strutted around to catch their eye for even a single visit, yet here was one who was groaning at getting a handwritten letter.

"I don't get it. Why are you always so perturbed by this? People would kill themselves just to receive a hint of attention from her and here you are groaning over getting a handwritten letter.You should be dancing with happiness over getting a chance to see her," and the Prince simply shook his head.

"You would never understand. Dealing with the Poetess is like a double-edged sword. It may give me fame and renown, yet at the same time, she or any of the other courtesans with power could ruin me at any moment. You do know how sensitive people get over such things, right."

And he did get it. It was speculated that The Balck Pearl could start a war with her words alone, yet her beauty was also said to rival that of a Goddess. Though, the Prince sitting in front of him wasn't anything to scoff at either, with his Valyrian features.

"Still, if it were for seeing someone like them, I would happily lose my head," he teased, and the Prince simply shook his head.

"May the gods save you from your lechery!"

0000

Bravos's culture is pretty interesting. I would say it's a mix of Japan and America in a sense to me.

This chapter highlights changes in Aenys's life and his troubles in dealing with foreign power holders.

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