Chapter 04

Red Keep

Pov Baelon

When we enter the room I can feel the tense atmosphere, I see who is present.

The head of the table is occupied by my father, to his right sits Otto Hightower as Hand of the King, Lyonel Strong occupies the left seat next to my father as Advisor to the Edicts, followed by Grand Maester Mellos, Lord Lyman Beesbury as advisor of currency, and lastly by Lord Corlys Velaryon as captain of ships.

As I walk towards the table I observe the appearance of my father, what I see does not surprise me. The father is a chubby man, he looked sickly with his pale skin and darkened violet eyes, his bushy mustache had fallen off, and the only thing that didn't look bad was his hair since he always wears it short. I stop looking at him and look at the rest of the council, they all look normal, but the one that stood out was Lord Corlys Velaryon, or "The Sea Serpent" with his aura of majesty, in his veins runs the blood of Old Valyria after all.

House Velaryon was one of the forty families that inhabited Old Valyria, although they were not dragonlords like my family, they were important for trade, they settled before the curse of Valyria occurred on the island of Driftmark, so that the Valyrians could have a greater influence in the affairs of Westeros, when the curse occurred they were already installed on the island so they managed to survive.

The doors open and a servant enters with two chairs, he places them next to Otto, I sit next to him, my sister takes the other seat next to me. I don't want Rhae to be at Otto's viper's side, always spitting poison in my father's ears for his own benefit. When we are all seated Otto is the one who begins to speak.

- Your majesty, my lords, I convened this meeting because I am extremely concerned about the position of the crown, since our king only has a son and our queen has just died giving birth to a baby who has died within hours, the best it would be for our king to marry again." Otto finishes speaking.

When his words reach my ears, the calm I had is going to hell, I get up from the chair and face him.

- Damn bastard, my mother died hours ago and you have the nerve to ask for this meeting and suggest my father marry again, if I were the king I would cut out your tongue so that you learn your mestizo place. I spit at him as I glare at him with rage and hatred, my hands balled into fists.

- My prince I only suggest what is best for our king, I always have the best interests for the Targaryen house." He answers me, his face is expressionless, but I can see behind his mask of his.

- The best for you you will say, who are you going to suggest? Some Hightower bitch? Your dirty blood doesn't have to mix with Targaryen blood, you bastard." I tell him, his eyes fill with anger when he hears my words.

- Enough Baelon, you don't have to say such rude words. "My father orders me

I look at him in disbelief, he can't be that stupid, he doesn't realize that he is manipulating him.

- As my king commands." I reply with sarcasm.

I sit back in my seat, but the rage still beats inside me, my nails digging into the palms of my hands. I feel a hand rest on my thigh, I watch out of the corner of my eye as Rhae with her look tells me to calm down, I let out a sigh and try to relax.

Rhaenyra moves her hand away from my thigh and rises from her seat.

- I agree with my brother, we still haven't buried my mother and my lord is already talking about marriage, my father has a healthy son, do you think my brother is going to die soon? Also, there are no Targaryen women my father can marry, we can't mix our pure blood with other houses. Rhaenyra exclaims as he watches Otto.

- This meeting is not going to get anywhere my lords, you can withdraw" My father says suddenly.

With Rhaenyra we stay in our place, I look at my father and it makes me so angry, I never thought I could hate him, but it seems that everything is possible, my patience is running out, I get up from the chair, and walk with great strides to where he is. he is sitting, my face is inches from his face.

- At last, you deigned to show your cowardly face " I yelled at him

- Baelon "My twin tells me quietly to calm me down, but I keep talking.

- It's been a whole day since mother passed away and you haven't been able to come to see how we were and especially Rhaenyra" I exclaim as I feel how Rhae stands behind me and wraps her arms around my abdomen, her presence It calms me a little but my anger is still beating under my skin, I speak again "I suppose she doesn't know about the decision you made when mother was in the delivery bed? Are you going to tell me why you preferred the baby to our mother?" I ask him.

- Baelon since I was crowned king I have had constant dreams of a son of mine sitting on the iron throne with the crown of Aegon" He answers me in a dreamy tone, I interrupt him.

- I don't give a shit about your dreams, am I not your son or Rhaenyra? Why keep making mother suffer with so many pregnancies?" It makes me so angry that he's so stupid. As we talk I forget about my sister when I hear her ask me.

- What have I not found out Baelon? She looks at me confused.

I don't want to tell her that our father preferred to save the baby than our mother, but I know it's not right to hide it from her, she deserves to know the truth, even if it hurts her to know it.

Yesterday when I left the tournament it was because I saw father rush out of the paco and return to the fortress. When I got to mother's room I heard the screams, when I entered the bedroom I saw that the master "My voice cracks, I take a deep breath and continue" I was opening mother's belly to be able to take out the baby, while she begged that the leave and meanwhile our father did nothing, he looked the other way" When he finished speaking, he let out the tears he was holding back.

Rhaenyra moved away from my back and looks at our father in shock, not a word came out of her, she was petrified in place. Father looks at us with sadness and regret, but that no longer matters, our mother is no longer with us, I don't care about her regret.

As I look at Rhae I see how tears begin to fall and she bursts into tears, I draw her to my chest while she turns her back on our father, I press her against my body while I look at my father.

- I know that I deserve all your hatred, but I needed to have another child, it is necessary to make sure that our blood continues on the throne and that my dream can be fulfilled.

I look at him incredulously, he really has become obsessed with his dreams, while I think this he speaks again.

- I was going to say this only to you Baelon, since you are my heir, but both of you deserve to know the truth. Aegon did not conquer Westeros out of ambition but because he had a vision that foretold a "terrible winter" that would plunge Westeros into darkness: "Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men, a terrible winter moving from the far north. Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds. And whatever was inside will destroy the world of the living." Aegon called this dream A Song of Ice and Fire and foretold that only if a Targaryen sat on the iron throne would it be possible to defeat the long winter. This knowledge was passed from king to heir, but he entrusted it to you because if something were to happen to me, you will be able to continue passing this information on to your children." When he finished speaking, he got up from his seat and left the room.

We remain silent, I don't know what to think about prophecy, I am one of those who believe that everyone has the power of their destiny. But this seems bigger than I thought possible.

I pull my sister away from my hugs and ask him.

- What do you think of what he said? "

- I do not know Baelon is all so complicated, if this is true we do not know when it will happen, it may be in a few years or in the future, in the same way, we can not let this prophecy consume us as a father, the best we can do is live our lives as we want and if it comes to do truth we will surely have signs. Now let's forget about this and go to the kitchens where I'm starving," he tells me as he grabs my hands and we head off towards the kitchens.

We walk through the corridors of the fortress until we see the kitchens when we arrived the cooks were all busy, they see us and bow "My prince, My Princess" and they tell us all in chorus.

- If they are not very busy we would like them to prepare a small lunch for me and my sister and take it to the forest of the gods, also something to be able to sit on the lawn "When I finish talking we leave the place, we head towards the tower of Maegor where our rooms are to be able to change.

Arriving at Rhae's room I let go of her hand so I can leave when I feel her calling me.

- Baelon"

- Rhaenyra" I reply.

- Thank you for doing all this for me, I have felt better since you came with me last night. Also for telling me about the decision I make father about our mother. Avy jorrāelan lēkia" When he finishes speaking he approaches me and stands on tiptoe and kisses me on my cheek, He walks away quickly, I can see how it burns on his cheeks as he gets into his room.

When I close the door, I run to my room, inside I feel like my face turns red and my heart seems to want to leave my chest. I'm really in love with Rhaenyra.

Shit what am I going to do, I can't confess my feelings to her now, nothing has happened since mother's death I don't want to overwhelm her more than she already is, or worse yet lose the brotherly relationship we have.

I'm going to let time pass and when she feels ready, I'm going to confess. Damn, why does everything have to be so complicated? I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't feel like they were knocking on my door.

When I open it I see that the maids come to put water in my bathtub. I let them do their job while I go to my bedroom which is separated from the rest of the room, I have all my clothes plus valuable things like rings, necklaces, and some crowns.

I feel that the cridas are leaving, I undress and go to the bathtub, the water was boiling, immersing me I feel how all the bones of my body relax, I remain silent for a long time when I realize that the water has cooled, I go out and go to my wardrobe and choose, black pants with red lines on the sides and a basic white silk shirt and high boots. I let my hair down as it falls over my shoulders.

Once ready I return to Rhaenyra's room, I knock on the door twice, and when she opens the door I see that she has put on a simple dress in a gold tone, it covers her entire body except for her shoulders and collarbones which are bare, shit I have a weakness for his clavicles, I stop looking so as not to do something rash

- Ao jurnegon gevie" (You look beautiful).

- Iksā also handsome" (You are also handsome).

I look at her once more and offer her my arm, we walk through the corridors to the forest of the gods, it is a place that is not very frequented, since in the south there are not many followers of the ancient gods as in the north, where people follow the faith the seven.

When the forest comes into view it always takes my breath away it's really beautiful, in the middle of the place there is a huge tree with red leaves and a carved face, the ground is covered with grass, and there is an aura of tranquility when you enter.

Since we discovered this place with Rhae we have always come when we wanted to be alone and get away from everyone. As we approach the tree I realize that the maids have left everything prepared. I sit with my back glued to the tree while Rhae sits next to me, our shoulders touching.

We eat until we are satisfied, we lie down while we enjoyed the quiet lad off the place, without realizing the sun has already been hidden and only the shadows that the torches give are visible, I turn my head towards her and tell her.

- Mañana we have to organize the funeral of mother and he drinks, how do you feel about the death of the baby? " My heart breaks for the death of mother and baby

- I don't know how to feel about it, I feel sad because I would have liked to have another brother and the last part of the mother, but also a little resentment because mom died to give birth to her and dies within hours," she tells me.

- I understand, I'm feeling the same but the best thing is to leave these feelings behind and remember in the best way mother I answer while I detail her face, her hair falls like a waterfall down her back bathed in gold and silver, her immaculate white skin, up his left eye has a small mole, his lilac eyes stand out in the dark, his upturned nose and finally his plump lips. She has earned the nickname "The delight of the kingdom". As I watch her cheeks turn red and she looks at me shyly.

- Baelon stop looking at me like that" He whispers to me.

- How?" I ask him with a smile.

- As if she were the most beautiful woman in the kingdom "She replies.

- syt nyke iksā se ābra hen vys" (To me you are the most beautiful woman in the world) I say.

I lean towards her and hide my head on her shoulder, my mouth is centimeters from her pale neck, if I move a little my mouth touches her neck, I am tempted to do so, but I do not know if she wants that, I feel how my mouth is taken out, I lean and just before touching her I turn back and lie down looking at the sky, I can't do this now, I would be taking advantage of her, She is still vulnerable due to her mother's death. I glance at her sideways and notice that her cheeks are still red and she has a small smile on her face as she looks up at the sky.

We enjoy our time in the forest of the gods, when the dream begins to come to us we decide to return to our rooms, we advance through the empty corridors, there is a pleasant silence between us, but it is broken when I see Daemon leaning on the door of Rhaenyra's room.