Chapter 38

Chapter 38

VISERYS TARGARYEN

Viserys saw his brother still as he uttered those ominous words, Aenys closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair as silence enveloped the room. His heart thumped in his chest as he waited for his answer, despite knowing it already.

"Yes," came the reply, and Viserys's eyes widened as his mind raced. He had been right. And everything became clear now. Everything. From his peculiar behavior as a child, his maturity, his abilities, and most of all his stubbornness in certain issues.

And then suddenly, he recalled something else.

"Aune Maegella, she knew about this!" he ventured, and now it became clear why she would leave the capital for him.

And Aenys nodded.

"Yes, she did. After grandfather exiled me for my impudence, she begged him to see reason. And she had nearly convinced him to end my exile when news of me claiming the Grey Ghost came. Grandfather became wroth with me, and in the end refused her plea. In the end, he gave her permission to follow me to Braavos, as he made the High Septon absolve her of her vows," and he recalled the scandal.

Their Aunt Maegella was promised to the sept by their grandmother, and yet when Aenys had been exiled the High Septon would absolve her of her vows and send her on a journey to Braavos so she could spread the light of the Seven in the free city of Braavos.

Everyone knew that it was a ruse, and that she went to Braavos to care for Aenys, yet the reason for it became much clearer.

"Who else knew about this?" he questioned as he tried to reason out just how many people knew his secret. He didn't miss how Aenys hesitated for a bit before he slowly answered.

"Of those alive, you are only the second person who knows about this," Aenys answered in the end, and he frowned as he tried to reason out the other person besides him who knew of this secret, and then suddenly he realized just who it was.

"Alicent," he reasoned, and Aenys nodded as Viserys reached for the wine glass and took a small gulp. It was all just too much. How often had he thought about his dreams, had thought them to be a blessing like that of Daenys himself? Yet, in the end, he had been disappointed again and again.

And now, he learned that his own brother had been gifted with the blessing that had once saved their family.

"You could have told me. You should have told me. The gift of Dreams," he uttered in awe as he placed back the glass, though Aenys chuckled at his words.

"Gift. It seems you have forgotten your history brother," Aenys began making him frown.

"The very gift that saved our family, drove Daenys to madness, her very dreams broke her mind," Aenys cut in and he paled as he heard those words.

"I didn't…" but Aenys was having none of it, as he continued.

"And told you. You. The brother who hated me for my birth, the brother who doubted me, who feared me. The brother who abandoned me!" and he nearly shouted the last words, making him reel back in embarrassment as he realized how true those words were.

"I never hated you," he finally managed to say out loud but Viserys.

"Yes, you did. But I am not here to discuss the past, I have put it all behind me," Aenys said with a sigh as Viserys looked up at him and found him shaking his head.

"What I saw in my dreams shall never come to pass, for in those dreams, Alyssa Targaryen never gave birth to a son. She died in childbirth, her third son stillborn, never took a breath, and yet here I sit," he said as she opened his arms.

"Aenys Targaryen, the third son of Alyssa Targaryen," he answered, and Viserys frowned as he failed to understand the implication behind those words.

"What do you mean? What exactly was in your dreams?" he questioned. And Aenys sighed as he answered his question.

"War!" and the very words made him still as his heart thumped in his chest,yet Aenys didn't stop there.

"A war unlike any other, one that ripped the very realm in half, causing enough bloodshed that it would half the number of people living on this continent, ending in the near ruin of our family and loss of the very symbol of the power of House Targaryen," and with each word Viseyrs could feel himself becoming sicker with each word. His heart thumped in his chest as his mind raced over Aenys's each and every word.

A war that tore the continent in half. He couldn't even imagine the scale of such conflict. The destruction of House Targaryen, and that last line. The symbol of House Targayren's power and the first thing that came to his kind was.

"Dragons!" he gasped as he realized what he meant by those words.

"How?" he questioned in a shaky tone, and Aenys chewed his lips and shook his head.

"I don't know, and truth is that you don't need to worry about this anymore," Aenys asnwred making him fown.

"You just told me, that we shall face a wat that would nearly end our House, and you don't want me to worry about it!" Viserys spoke angrily, and Aenys leaned back in his chair and answered with a sigh.

"What I saw can never come to pass. Things are too different now, from what I could piece together," and Viserys frowned.

"How? What's so different?"

Aenys shook his head and refused to answer him.

"Just let it go. I said you don't need to worry about it. We should discuss your match with Lady Laena Vealryon…."

But Viserys couldn't let this go.

"No, you have to tell me!" he nearly shouted and saw Aenys narrow his gaze as he looked towards him.

"Ok, I will. But this is the last we will ever speak of this Viserys. Ever! The dreams are gone, and things have changed too much," Aenys said. Visersy narrowed his eyes, and he knew that Aenys meant it. Yet he couldn't let this go and nodded.

"Ok, tell me about this war?" he questioned as he leaned forward,

"It was a war of succession, fought between two claimants, each with their own faction. The Blacks and the Greens, they were called. A war between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Aegon Targaryen," and Viserys eyes widened as he heard him utter those words.

"Aegon Targaryen, the firstborn son of King Viserys Targaryen, and his wife Lady Alicent Hightower!"

0000

ARMANDO FEROSA

The Sealord of Bravos found himself sitting infront of the the seasoned member of the Keyholders, Tycho Haron again. This time he had summoned the man himself to caution him about the recent actions taken by the Iron Bank.

"I am warning you, you are all making a mistake. Making a deal with the man who humiliated our forces just for profit will not look good on us. Let alone the person you are dealing with is none other than Daemon Targaryen," warned Armando, and the old man rebuffed his words.

"And why is that dangerous?" the old man asked in a non-chalant manner, making him frown.

"Dangerous! He is Daemon Targaryen, the treacherous. Let alone what he did in Stepstones, making a deal with him could deprive us of one of our most steadfast allies. An ally that I assure you could become the biggest enemy to our city," Armando nearly shouted at the old man, who narrowed his eyes.

"You overestimate Aenys, he…." But Armando cut in immediately.

"I do not. I assure you I do not. Aenys is not fond of making a show of his power, but I assure he hold a suitable amount of it. Half the people in this very city have been treated by his healers. He essentially controls the healer guild which he merged with his institution. He has astronomical wealth, and is a Prince of a kingdom,"

"He was exiled…."

"He is a Prince, and despite his troubled relationship with the current King, he holds considerable influence over the heir, Princess Rhaenyra. His wife, Lady Alicent Hightower, practically grew up with her and considers the Princess, a sister," Armando warned him.

"That is one more reason for us to support Daemon then," and Armando sighed as he shook his head.

"Daemon Targaryen is a rogue. A mad dog, if you want me to be blunt, he is not a reliable ally. Aenys on the other hand, is perfect ally to have, I just don't get your insistence of making an enemy out of him," Armando spoke with a narrowed gaze as Tycho Harron, evaded his gaze giving him the answer he had been expecting.

Armando had racked his brain about the Council's decisions and had reached the above conclusion after much contemplation.

"Why?" he questioned, having caught onto the council's bias.

"The Council believes that the Prince holds too much power, and given his hesitancy in accepting our request to become a keyholder, they believe that there is a chance that he may become a hindrance to us in the future," and Armando sighed.

"And I can assure you, with the way you are acting, that time could come sooner. There is no need to antagonize him," Armando assured the man.

But before he could say anything else, a knock interrupted their conversation, making him frown.

"Who is there?" he questioned.

"My lord, a missive has arrived from Kingslanding, it's addressed to Lord Tycho Haron," and he was surprised by the answer. Tycho Haron was not a commonly known man, and there was only one man from Kingslanding who would write to the man in question, who had his eyebrows raised.

"Bring it in," he ordered, and the servant entered the room and bowed before handing a missive to the man sitting in front. He saw that the old man was surprised by the message as he saw his eyes narrow as he read through the message.

"It seems you were right. He has learned of our secret dealings with Daemon," began the man, and Armando took a sip of the wine from the glass.

"I told you so. Your dealings will not remain secret for long. He would have heard of them soon enough," and with that, the man nodded before his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, and I believe he has invited me to the capital for a meeting. It seems like he has reached an answer for the council's offer of becoming a key holder," and Armando was surprised by this.

The old man handed him the missive, and Armando went through it. And it was as the man had said, Aenys had written that he had reached a decision regarding the Council's offer and had invited him to visit Kingslanding."

"But the question is why did he write that letter to me instead of you," Tycho Haron said with a frown.

And Armando frowned.

"Perhaps he knows that you speak for the council."

"Yes, but how does he know that."

0000

AENYS TARGARYEN

"Gwayne, your brother!" he confirmed as they both got ready for the tourney.

And Alicent nodded, confirming that he had not heard wrong and that she had indeed just spoken of Gwayne.

"Yes, Gwayne, my brother," she said with half a laugh, and Aenys was surprised by Rhaenyra's choice. Gwayne Hightower was a third son, a man with nothing to inherit, and given the time Aenys had spent with the man, was a decent human being.

As he was busy running an analysis on Gwayne's personality, he missed as Alicent turned to face him.

"Do you think it's the right choice?" she questioned him cautiously, and Aenys shrugged his shoulders.

"You know both of them better than me, so shouldn't you be a better judge of that?" he said as finished wearing his doublet before walking towards Alicent, as he helped her pick a set of jewels to wear for the day.

She was wearing a fine silk dress embroidered with red rubies and gold lace. The dress was a dark shade of red, and so he chose a set of gold inlaid with rubies as he saw her mind race over his question.

"I don't know much. I have talked to both of them, and they seem like a good match, but I don't wish to ever be put in between either of them. Rhaenyra is like a sister to me, and Gwayne is my little brother. I just don't want them to make a mistake," she said, and Aenys smiled as he wrapped his rams around her from behind.

"Don't worry about that. They are both fully grown now," and she nodded before she turned to face him.

"And what about the King? You told me that he knows about your dreams," and he nodded. Viserys had secluded himself in his room after their discussion and hadn't come out of it. Aenys was somewhat worried about this, but the simple truth was that he just had too much to do. The dealings of Braavos's council with Daemon and their machinations in regard to him had been taking up the bulk of his time.

"Yes, he does. I told him what I could," and Alicent nodded.

"Yes, Lord Corlys and Lady Rhaenys seemed rather troubled over the King's behavior. Do you have any idea why?" she questioned him, and he nodded.

"Yes, I believe it's because they have proposed a match between Viserys and Laena. Perhaps they are worried about that," he told her and saw her eyes widen.

"Laena Velaryon and King Viserys, that would be an interesting match," and he nodded once more, as she began to contemplate over the match when they were suddenly interrupted by a knock.

"My lady, the Princess is calling for you," came the voice of their servant. And Alicent sighed with a resigned smile as she stood up.

"It seems like I need to go. Could you please go and have a look at Aenar?" she questioned, and he nodded.

"Don't worry, I will bring him with me," and with that, both of them left the room as they separated.

Aenar walked towards the nursery when suddenly he frowned as he saw a familiar face running towards him.

"My Prince! My Prince!" it was Anya, the maid they had brought back from Braavos to care for Aenar.

"What happened?" he questioned quickly, and the only words she said were Aenar.

"It's your son, Aenar!" and it was all he heard as he ran out of the room.

Aenys was running as he rushed towards the nursery. He reached the door, quickly swung it open, and stilled as he saw a rather familiar person standing right there, holding his son in his arms.

His face had been scarred and gave him a dreading look, and that gaze held a certain amount of madness in it as those amethyst orbs narrowed towards him.

"Daemon!"

"Aenys!"

0000

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