13

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186 AC

Kingslanding

Aerion Targaryen

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I resist the urge to break something as I read horrible news from an expedition I sent beyond the wall. I don't know if it is some bull crap with the Night king and he is warging the lands or if the three-eyed raven had another body before he takes over my half brother but someone is out to get me. Every single time I start making progress beyond the wall something goes horribly wrong and I am left to pick up the pieces.

I am trying my best to get them to befriend the 'locals' enough to get some promising resources from them. Ice spider silk was mentioned in a book I was looking through during a trip to Winterfell, it is said to be the softest material around yet hard as steel. I didn't expect the men I sent to immediately round up some spiders the 'size of hounds' but I wanted at least a sample to test.

Instead, they have headbutted with the wildlings at every step, it is the problem with hiring men from the North to do this expedition. They have a long history of problems with the wildlings and see red whenever they bump into each other. I would even accuse them of just cheating me of my gold and not actually doing anything if they didn't manage to steal some Mammoths from some unhappy giants.

When those mammoths arrived in Kingslanding they looked on the verge of death and had to be sheared. It just so happened I had a massive pen built for elephants from Essos and was planning on breeding them for a few projects. Worst comes to worst I can just have them fill the dragon's bellies and call it a day. But the mammoths are super docile and let people manage them easily which confused the Maesters who came to study them.

They related it to the domestication of farm animals and yet still refused the idea of giants being real, they are thinking it was wildlings taming the mammoths.

This new report I have received is troubling as most of the ships got burned down in a raid and they are on a return journey. I feel like I have been defeated by some primitive tribe and it irks me but I will hold back and wait for my 'business partners.

My very own web has been building off different ventures and schemes and some Volantis Triarch is interested in my mammoths. They apparently use the elephants in Volantis to travel and it is a showing of status to have the biggest one. Word got to the Triarch of my massive mammoths and he offered a massive coffer full of gold but I held off even though my fingers were itching.

The Triarch is itching to have his own pens of the massive wholly beasts and agreed to support me in my attempts at securing resources beyond the wall that have never been seen before. I was even hoping the men would be able to get a translator to speak to a giant and hire him, which could make for a good guard.

A massive hulking giant in full plate armor with a wrecking ball of a Warhammer would scare any lord when I come knocking. That is if the dragon didn't already have them screaming for mercy when I land on top of their walls.

I toss away the report as there is little I can do about the situation now and instead focus on the reports from my growing 'Singing minstrels'. A agency built and based in Kingslanding as of now and it trains minstrels and bards to go out and travel and spread merry to all who can listen. Their real objective is to acquire information around Westeros and even though it is still early stages many have uncovered unfaithful wives and thieving subordinates.

I have them or a 'superior' run blackmail where they can, to acquire gold for their silence or just sell the information to who it is useful. So long as it doesn't make what is going on too well known they go around cutting purses where they can. I had a tear in my eye watching a young lad from my establishment seduce a wealthy lady and later come back with a full purse.

It was a good thing I have them learn self-defense since the lady wanted to have him tied up and do as he described as 'undesirable acts' to his body. He managed to fend her off when things went wrong on her side and then threatened her into paying for his silence. I took my percent off the top and the lad now rocks some fancy clothes and goes after even higher value targets in the Riverlands.

The word from Harrenhal is that the ghost has been acting up again and a servant got burned alive in her bedroom. In reality, she was paid off by one of my men and sent somewhere else to live and an already dead body from a natural cause was burned and left in her room. Things like this have been plaguing the Lothstons since I took up the task of acquiring Harrenhal.

The singing Minstrels had a similar increase in profits as last quarter and I expect in roughly ten years it will reach a plateau. The organization is still growing and once it is spread wide enough it will even out until we kick things off into Essos and other foreign places. The spider's birds may have sung to him but my minstrels sing just as well.

I select any important information acquired and will present it to the Master of whispers later for a price. He pays me and I provide him with some information he might have missed and we both come out looking better.

A knock on the door is followed by it being unlocked and I sigh as I hear it pushed open and closed. The sound of it locking again causes me to freeze and double check my dagger is close by but seeing silver hair approaching I let go of the handle.

"Good evening my love, how has your day been." I comment with a surprisingly hoarse voice and I reach for a cup as Danny crosses her arms with her brows scrunching together.

"It's early morning." I blink my eyes and look out the window and spot the rising sun.

"So it is." I shake my head and look back at the table and the upcoming expenses for the 'Iron throne cup' and bite my tongue in pain looking at the bill.

"You agreed to eat with the family this morning and I did not see you around before heading to the table, I asked a servant and she said you never came out yesterday." She walks around the table with a curious hint building up in her voice.

Looking over my shoulder I presume as I see her hair fall over it and I also catch her breath hitting my neck sending a chill down it.

"I have been busy, the Crown prince name day tourney is coming up and King Daeron plans to name him Hand of the king. This is going to be a surprise obviously but I already know and so this will be a gigantic celebration. I have been busting my ass to be ready with all the various goods and businesses, also the Iron throne cup starts up soon. I had the Crownlands teams all planned to arrive to play their matches in the tourney grounds with the Lords and Ladies watching." Soccer is officially kicking off in a big way.

I have flown all over the Crownlands on Moonfyre getting the Lords hyped up for the games and training their own teams. The cup comes with huge bragging rights but also a fat chest of gold, I plan to have more than fifty times the return on that gold just from the first games.

"Aerion you are obsessed." She snorts and shakes her head but I slide my chair back as I pull her around to stand beside me.

I take both her hands into mine and look earnestly into her eyes as she deadpans.

"I am doing this for you, my love, for the beautiful children we will have." The words hang heavy as I catch her lip twitch as she grits her teeth.

"You are doing this because you refuse to stop halfway." I purse my lips and slowly nod.

"Why can't we both be right?" She shakes her head with a sigh.

"Maybe I will believe you if you 'tie the knot' and 'put a ring on my finger' instead of traveling around like a madman." Her grip on my hands would pain a lesser man at this point but good thing I am a greater man.

"You know we talked about this and we decided when we are both comfortable is when we will go ahead with the ceremony." She tilts her head back and forth and then smiles softly.

"Then we can go ahead, we are both comfortable and ready." She slips into my lap sideways and leans her head on my chest as I wrap my arms around her waist.

I originally planned to wait for anything intimate until a proper adulthood but that thought got crushed the more I adapted to this world. That and Danny is beyond just 'attractive' so I give up any token resistance and have instead accepted this world's common age acceptance. I mean I have been drinking wine since I was like eight years old and I never had a problem with it. It also helps we are physically mature and already fully functioning adults in 'society' at this point.

"I mean I am not against it and you know that, but when are you actually thinking I need to set aside time? Plus when we actually wed I don't plan on spending time reading endless reports and accounts and will hand the reins over to someone else for a few months." She hums in thought as she nuzzles her nose into my neck.

"Let's see if we can have it done while all the Lords and Ladies are here for Baelor's name day celebrations and tourney. You could win the joust and crown me your queen of love and beauty and announce it there. Daeron has been subtly pushing for it to be soon so he can stop hearing people ask for our hands. It is becoming a problem with Dorne as the Martells are citing a pact made and they are owed a princess, so I need to get married so they cant request my hand anymore." I pull her tighter as annoyance rushes through my veins, the Martells can screw off, and if they don't Sunspear can get burnt.

This Daenerys is mine and she won't be marrying some Sand rat pretending to be someone bigger than he is.

"Sounds like a plan, they will expect it to be done at the new sept." The great sept of Baelor the blessed.

I am one hundred percent sure it is the same sept Cersei Lannister ended up blowing too high hell.

"That is fine." She kisses me on the cheek with the corners of our lips touching. "Mom would be happy with it being there and I honestly don't mind." I nod and turn my head quickly to peek at her lips before turning back to my papers and she huffs in response.

"Sounds good, I will soundly defeat all the challengers and crown you... as I always do." She snorts as she gets up and my eyes follow her rear as she walks around the table.

"I have faith you will succeed, make sure to send Daemon flying in the final match." I smirk remembering the last two tourneys that had both me and Daemon where we faced in the final match.

If he didn't check out my future wife so much I wouldn't have it out for the guy as much as I do but he needs to be humbled and put into his place. Legitimization or not he is at best the start of a new Valyrian line and can only hope to have a Targaryen bride for someone down the line in his family. He has nothing but Blackfyre and the support of a few houses that just want to stir up some trouble. Those very houses would flee from his side the moment I fly overhead and leave him to burn on his own.

I look at one last item on my desk as Danny walks over to my couch and gets herself comfortable. I plan to join her soon but the seal on this letter caught my eye, breaking the seal and reading the invitation inside my eyes widen.

"What do you know about Pentos?" I ask as I stand up and walk toward the couch and drop onto it beside her.

She grabs the letter and her brows shoot up. "I don't think this is real." She shakes her head and reads it again.

I thought the same when I saw the line asking me to burn a Khalasar to ash in return for a million gold dragons.

Worth looking into though.