-Chapter 28-

-Chapter 28-

-POV Daemon Targaryen-

For a few days, I hesitated to go see my eldest son, but seeing that we hadn't had a real discussion and that the little bastard was about to leave, I felt obligated to go see him.

'Even if it's just to have a fight,' I thought.

I found him in the courtyard of the Red Keep, giving his final instructions to the knights who had come to take care of his protection in the capital.

"So this is where you've been hiding?" I asked, coming up behind him.

He stood up and said, "I'm not hiding anywhere. If you wanted to talk to me, you only had to send a servant, and I would have rushed to answer your call, my prince."

"My prince, hmm… you must be really pissed off that I replaced you," I said.

"I don't feel replaced, and if you think you've managed to do that, you're even more… foolish than I thought," he said.

"You know I won't get angry because you insulted me," I said, laughing.

"That's why I did it," he said, continuing to look at me nonchalantly.

"So, how are you dealing with the matter concerning your mother?" I said.

He shrugged and said:

"There's nothing to say. She's happy not to be chained to you anymore, and I'm happy to be freed from the burden of being the heir of Daemon Targaryen. The rest doesn't interest me."

"So, there's no problem between us?" I asked.

"None," he said without hesitation.

"Very well. I expect you to send me letters as soon as you return to that land of goat lovers."

Aemon nodded before mounting his horse and heading towards Dragonpit.

---

-POV MC-

"I heard you had a clash with your father," said my mother, who was already waiting for me at Dragonpit.

I shrugged and then said, "You know perfectly well that I did nothing. I know how to control myself."

"I know, but inwardly, how did you take that conversation?"

"There's nothing to say, nothing at all. He hopes I'll swallow the humiliation because he was supposedly hurt and betrayed, but it only highlights his ignorance and foolishness," I said before heading towards Urrax.

"Even if I hate him, he is still your father and a dragon rider. Don't go too far," she said as I climbed onto Urrax's saddle and settled in properly.

"Don't worry, I know perfectly well," I said, helping her onto Urrax's saddle behind me.

I didn't want to continue discussing my father because, to him, I was just one of his pawns he could move on his chessboard as he pleased.

'But all this nonsense is over. The more time passes, the more ridiculous this all becomes, and the stronger I become. Soon, I won't have to bow down anymore, and I'll show my claws,' I thought.

---

-3 years later-

-Winterfell-

-POV Rickon Stark-

DRAGON ROAR

At the age of 32, it was the very first time in my life that I had seen a dragon so large, powerful, and agile.

I hadn't had the chance to see Balerion the Black Dread, but I had already seen Vhagar, a dragon said to be as large as the Black Dread at the height of his power.

'Which I doubt, as Vhagar was about 280 feet long the last time I had the chance to see her,' I thought.

Certainly, the dragon I was seeing didn't look as large and imposing, but he possessed an agility and grace that shouldn't have been possible for a beast as big as he was.

'More than 200 feet long,' I thought as I watched the immense beast flying rapidly in circles above Wintertown and Winterfell.

After a few laps, the dragon finally landed just outside the gates of Winterfell, a sign that it was a tamed dragon commanded by a Targaryen, as I had managed to distinguish the shape of a dragon rider on his back.

I had never seen this dragon, but from the rumors, I guessed that the one who had just landed was probably Prince Aemon, also known as the Lord of Runestone.

A very young dragon rider of barely 15 years, who was just crossing the threshold into adulthood.

"Let everyone be ready to welcome Prince Aemon Targaryen," I said, preparing to go directly to meet the young man.

---

-POV MC-

Three years had passed since I had dealt with the court's scheming, and even though I had done my best to distance myself from it permanently, it was time for me to get back to it, and without stepping on the toes of the greatest lords of Westeros who would either complain to Rhaenyra or to Alicent Hightower.

Ignoring all my uncle's requests didn't mean I didn't respond to him or keep myself informed of all his troubles, as my intervention had greatly disrupted the timeline and the political dynamics of the kingdom.

The annulment of the betrothal to the Guardian of the Vale and the advice I had given to Daemon had plunged the kingdom into a conflict that no longer involved just the Blacks and the Greens, but a conflict filled with confusion where the friends and allies of today were not necessarily those of tomorrow.

First of all, concerning Jeyne Arryn, instead of remaining the Lady of the Vale defended by all her suitors and devoted knights, she had practically become Rhaenyra's right hand.

Relying on their common ancestry and their similarities due to the fact that two males were trying to oust them, they quickly grew closer and, together, pulled each other up, preventing Rhaenyra from continuing to make mistakes by offending more nobles than she had already managed to do.

All this had impacted the progress of my political and economic relations with the other houses of the Vale, which I ultimately decided to completely freeze, as it was not difficult to choose between an alliance with a prince lord of a first-order vassal house and an alliance with a great house of the kingdom as well as the heir to the throne.

So, I decided to go about it differently.

Instead of seeking to build good relations with Jeyne Arryn's vassals to smoothly install her cousin on the throne, I gave instructions to my vassals to significantly strengthen their armies with one justification: to fight the incessant incursions of the mountain clans.

Regarding my father, nothing had really changed between us except that he was looking for a Valyrian wife, whom he finally found in Raevyna Vaelaros, daughter of the current triarch Raethorio Vaelaros, thanks to my intervention.

Understanding that I had already changed the future and that I couldn't cling to my superficial knowledge, I decided to write down in a notebook all the descendants of noble birth or not so that my father could remarry quickly and that more dragon riders would be born by the time of the Dance, so that my actions would not be as heavily scrutinized by everyone.

And what a surprise it was to discover that Saera Targaryen was still alive and had had seven children, four boys and three girls.

All were bastards, but that didn't stop me from sending a letter to my great-aunt so that she could make the necessary arrangements for the daughter she had conceived with Triarch Raethorio Vaelaros to be recognized as a legitimate child.

It didn't take more than that for Daemon to agree to marry her, as he wanted dragon riders obedient to his every whim following the repeated births of Alicent Hightower and the announced betrothals between Laena and me as well as the engagement between Rhaenyra and Laenor, which will both be celebrated together by the end of this year.

'I would have preferred it to be done more intimately, but it had been strongly "suggested" by the king and my future father-in-law, the Sea Snake.'

"Prince Aemon Targaryen, Rider of Urrax and Lord of Runestone," said a strong, gruff voice that pulled me from my thoughts.

"Lord Rickon Stark and Warden of the North," I responded promptly to the lord.

"What brings you north of the Neck… Your Highness?" he said rudely, not seeking to show any reverence towards me.

I thought about all the things I was capable of doing to him in a second to make him kneel before me, but I finally restrained myself and said with a small smile:

"I have come to discuss with the Lord of House Stark how we could develop our relations so that the North does not suffer as much during the next winter as it did the last. But if you prefer to repay the grace I am extending to you with impoliteness, feel free."

The lord of Winterfell fixed me with his gray eyes and austere look, then signaled to one of his men, who brought me bread and salt.