The King's March

Aerion stood still as the gate was slowly raised, inch by inch. Most of Aerion's men aboard the three docked ships had faith in their Emperor, believing that he was capable of taking the City on his own. Or, at the very least, returning unscathed from the walls of King's Landing. However, a peaceful resolution was disappointing to some, especially the veterans who were used to bloodbaths and battles of great scale.

Once the gate opened, he stepped forward and entered King's Landing for the first time in over a year. It had felt longer than that... with all that he had experienced in between. The duel with Khal Drogo, the Great Conquest of the Free Cities, his dealings with the Tyrells and the Trials of Valyria. It made him wonder, where would he be ten years from now?

It seemed as if the entire city watch of King's Landing was waiting for him beyond the gate, all armed to the teeth with various weapons and full armour. But he knew that they were no true soldiers, mainly from personal experience. The newer batch before him had even less experience than the last and were no more than Robert's leftovers from the Rebellion he was deeply occupied with, meaning an overall lesser quality.

Immediately after both he and Jocelyn entered, the gold cloaks got to work on closing the gate. Lyanna Baratheon had descended from the walls of King's Landing along with the Lord Commander of the City Watch. Aerion gave her a short glance before turning his violet gaze to the Lord Commander. He was of above-average height and yet Aerion still towered over him easily, leading to him naturally looking down on the man who threatened to fire upon him.

"Come here, Jocelyn." Lyanna made a gesture welcoming Jocelyn, who swiftly walked to her side.

"Mother..."

"It has been far too long, my dear." Lyanna embraced her daughter tightly and played with her hair as she had done before. "Did he treat you as well as the rumours say?"

"Better than all of the rumours. At first, the days were long and full of boredom but that swiftly changed. I experienced, learned and saw more than I could ever dream of..."

"Is that so?" Lyanna glanced at Aerion, whose image most reminded her of Rhaegar Targaryen. After hearing Jocelyn's point of view, her opinion of him had grown a noticeable amount.

Once Jocelyn had reached her mother, the gold cloaks moved into a tighter formation surrounding Aerion.

"Your sword." The Lord Commander demanded, pointing towards Ambition which was safely sheathed at Aerion's side.

Aerion frowned. "You have some nerve to command me, gold cloak."

"Have you forgotten my face already? I am the lord command-"

"What is a lord commander of the city watch to the King?" Aerion inquired as he felt the emerald pummel of Ambition. "I will answer that for you, gold cloak. He is just another man that can be disposed of and replaced by hundreds of other... greater men."

After putting emphasis on the word greater, Aerion pushed a few more daggers into the mind of the gold cloak.

"For someone so insignificant, you severely lack humility. Now that I think about it... I do remember you. You were that officer that I so happened to spare after storming King's Landing for the first time. Ah... and you did bend the knee back then out of your own fear. It seems that your knees are quite fickle, bending on every occasion where a man who threatens your life comes along."

The lord commander grasped his sword and was prepared to draw out of sheer anger. But, as he looked at the steel-like gaze from Lyanna, the lord commander stopped himself. Aerion's temporary smirk vanished.

There were a few laughs among the gold cloaks who were quite amused seeing their arrogant and proud lord commander humbled to such a degree.

"What's wrong? Go on, display your great talents for all to see. I'll even grant you the honour of holding my sword if you manage to draw first blood."

"Your taunting is not making the situation any better, Aerion of House Targaryen." Lyanna Baratheon stated. "Forget what he said and move on."

"... Soft." Aerion turned away from the silent lord commander.

"Before we continue, however, I would like you to make your intentions clear... to prevent any misunderstanding."

"You believe that you have the upper hand in this situation, don't you?" Aerion glanced at the gold cloaks who surrounded him.

"I have no intentions of striking first. Now, will you answer my question?"

"Isn't it as clear as day? I've come to take what is rightfully mine."

"Preposterous! Your Grace, give the order and we will slay him within moments. That is what the King would have done if he were here!" The lord commander shouted.

"And he would have died not a day after."

"Ahh, you can't defeat me on your own so you turn to your men?" Aerion laughed as he turned back to the lord commander. "Once I sit down on the Iron Throne, the first thing I'll do is strip you of your rank. But I won't stop there... no, not at all. I'll have you sleeping in the slums of King's Landing like any common beggar until the end of your days."

As the lord commander began contemplating what to next, it became all too clear for him. If he did nothing, then surely Aerion would win and do as he wished... but if he put him down here, then none of that would happen. With his fury guiding him, the lord commander lost his sense of judgement and drew his sword.

"Enough!! Men, for the true King, Robert of House Baratheon, strike down the pretender where he stands!"

'Brilliant.'

Aerion smirked as several gold cloaks hesitated closer. He drew Ambition in return and pointed it towards the lord commander. With the situation sparking out of control and the lack of authority on Lyanna's side, a battle was bound to break out.

"I, Aerion of House Targaryen, the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, command you to dispatch your old lord commander!"

"As a reward for your loyalty, I will grant the slayer of this fool a good five hundred gold dragons!"

Suddenly, some of the less hesitant gold cloaks turned into vicious wolves, charging forward to tear the lord commander apart.

"No... no... what are you doi- AHH!!"

Aerion sheathed his sword without having to swing it at another man even once.

"Well done, young man. You were the first to strike." Aerion firmly grabbed the shoulder of the young soldier who had struck first and even dealt the killing blow. "Tell me, are you a loyalist?"

The soldier bent his knee without Aerion even having to ask.

"I've seen what the Usurper has done to this land... we all have!" The young man turned to his fellow gold cloaks. "Under the rule of the rightful and almighty King, the Seven Kingdoms will be finally restored and free from any more rebellions. There will be days of prosperity like none we've ever seen before!"

'He has such faith in me... it is quite flattering.'

"Do I have a reason not to serve you... other than the word of a usurper?" The young man stated. "I am, indeed, a proud loyalist!"

"You are very wise for your age. Indeed, the Usurper and so-called 'Protector of the Realm' has failed in his duties! I have arrived here to begin mending his mistakes and move the Seven Kingdoms forward, to a golden age under my rightful rule!"

Aerion approved of the gold cloak before turning to the rest.

"Now... follow this fine young man by example and I swear that I will not harm a single one of you. Nor, as my own men, will I allow anyone to harm you without consequence."

More and more gold cloaks bent their knees until even the most hesitant of men gave in. Lyanna Baratheon had mixed feelings as she watched the scene unfold before her very eyes. Hundreds of men bending the knee to the rightful King who simply overflowed with charisma... charisma that was capable of turning countless men to his cause with ease.

"About the five-hundred gold dragons... Your Grace, I don't need them. I killed the lord commander to show my devotion to you and spark the fire that was to come."

"Nonsense. You deserve to be rewarded for your loyalty." Aerion cheerfully smiled. "Because of you, no blood had to be spilt here. I'll evaluate your talents at a later date... perhaps you'll replace this trash."

Aerion kicked the dead lord commander's head with his dark-scaled World Sovereign's boot.

"I live to serve, Your Grace." The gold cloak rose to his feet. "Shall we restrain the Queen for you?"

"Should they?" Aerion looked at Lyanna and wondered if she would prove to be troublesome.

"Mother, this fight was lost the moment he stepped foot on the port," Jocelyn advised. "The best thing you can do is give in."

"You win flawlessly once more, Aerion of House Targaryen." Lyanna Baratheon chuckled. "I take it the negotiations are over?"

"More or less." Aerion shrugged. "I was not the one to break them, however. You can blame this fool for that."

"And yet everything played into your favour in the end..."

"It happens in my attempts of diplomacy... more often than not, as a matter of fact." Aerion turned to the Red Keep in the distance.

"Loyalists, draw your blades and march with me!" Aerion walked past the gold cloaks in front with his hands behind his back. "To the Iron Throne!"

The sounds of slightly organised footsteps began to erupt further as Aerion led them forward into the streets of King's Landing.

"Traitors!" A line of gold cloaks blocked Aerion's path. A couple threw spears at Aerion's head, in hopes of slaying him. However... the wind howled and shattered the spears before they could even touch a single hair on his head.

"Who are the real traitors here? You are all members who have sworn an oath to the Iron Throne... the very Iron Throne that I shall rightfully reclaim on this very day!" Aerion stated with great passion. "Now... bend the knee and I will pardon you of your foolish act of treason. Continue in your futile efforts and I shall have you all slain at the hands of wiser men."

The gold cloaks who stood in Aerion's path reluctantly bent the knee, realising that further conflict would only lead to their deaths.

As Aerion continued to march through the city of King's Landing, the gold cloaks behind him steadily grew in number. Behind the gold cloaks were more people... the smallfolk who had faith in their rightful King and his legitimacy, going so far as to march for him. Among the smallfolk, a growing number had turned to the loyalist side after being frustrated with Robert's struggles against the Ironborn (and his lack of duty beforehand) and in awe of Aerion's countless victories in the field, sea or his rule in general as the Dragon Emperor.

Eventually, Aerion reached the steps that led up Aegon's Hill and to the Red Keep without killing a single gold cloak. A few had to be beaten and restrained for imprisonment... but other than that, everything went wonderfully. After stopping for a short glance behind him, he continued onwards and the gold cloaks behind him followed.

...

BOOM.

Aerion kicked open the gate leading to the Iron Throne and looked upon its grand, intimidating and yet inherently ugly appearance.

'You are Aerion Targaryen, the last living son of Rhaegar Targaryen and the rightful King... promise to me that you will remember this and not let any other man or woman tell you otherwise.'

Aerion walked forward as he remembered Jaime's words from all those years ago. There were a few more guards in between him and the Iron Throne, one of which was a member of Robert's Kingsguard. He tossed them all aside with a wave of his hand...

The wind smashed the guards into the walls at a great speed, leading to them being unconscious. Once Aerion reached the foot of the Iron Throne, he had several steps to climb but it was a minor inconvenience at most.

...

He turned and sat down, looking towards all of his subjects.

'After all these years... I've finally completed that promise.'