Chapter 12

- Pentos - Magister's Home - Several Months Later -

Time had gone by quickly despite what Aegon had told Lord Connington about how they had plenty of it. Since the two royal family members arrived at the Magister's home, they had begun preparing Daenerys in secret so she would be prepared to lead in her own way. To have more thoughts in her head aside from "I will marry a man one day" and "I will be the ever dutiful wife in giving my husband as many children as my womb will allow."

Or some other nonsense some of the girls in Westeros thought up in their heads when they wished to find their ideal husbands and make them happy. Not his Aunt. Never!

As for Daenerys herself, the young girl was taking things well with the private tutoring despite how she was against it at first. She didn't like the idea of hiding things from her brother, but Aegon and Jon had told been adamant about it. They knew Viserys would never tolerate his sister learning anything outside of what he wanted her to learn. For her brother, the so called Prince felt the only thing his sister was good for was being a future bargaining chip or a brood mare to some powerful Lord who could give him a meant to take the Iron Throne back from the Stag.

That was another thing they taught Daenerys about. The truth behind the Usurper and his actions against the dragon. About Rheagar. About the rebellion itself. They even told her the painful truth about the girl's Father and the madness that consumed him. It had been difficult to deal with in hearing your Father was a monster of sorts, who laughed when people were burned. Who raped her Mother multiple times after seeing people burn alive. Viserys had always told her those stories were lies. Lies told by the agents of the Usurper to further stain the honor of House Targaryen. While Daenerys was glad hear how her brother Rheagar was innocent if kidnapping and rape, she was said to know her Father was every bit the fiend people had claimed him to be in life when the madness formed.

She vowed not to be like her Father. She vowed to become a Targaryen worthy of respect her House once possessed at the height of their greatness.

Daenerys vowed to leave this world in a better place compared to when she was brought into it.

So the private tutoring sessions by Jon and Aegon continued. She was eager to learn and prove she was just as much a dragon as anyone else of House Targaryen.

"When can the Magister expect a message from Khal Drogo about marrying me?" asked Daenerys curiously.

"Not for a little while longer. If the Magister's message hasn't reached the Khal already, it soon will. The response will take just as long if not longer depending on how far away the Horde is when Khal Drogo is give a message," answered Aegon while acting like a bodyguard and standing by her side while she sat in a chair with the sun on her face.

"And the plan to avoid such a marriage?" asked Daenerys quietly so no one else could hear her.

"In place. For now, we will bide our time. There are things that need to be done. Namely, taking certain things from the fat man's private vault before we leave," replied Aegon, who had noticed a large chest being taken to the private vault the Magister had with the fat man having the only set of keys, which he kept on him at all times.

All they had to do is wait. Wait a little while longer and when the time came, they would strike out on their own and bring back the respect and fear people had for the Targaryens. The world would remember their House's words "Fire and Blood!" soon enough and it would make the Usurper fear him. Fear the return of the dragons. Dragons born from the son of the man he killed at the Trident.

But first, he had to secure coin long after they left the Magister's home.

Which is why Aegon had used the Force to secretly influence Illyrio Mopatisto to make various business deals that would give Aegon lots of coin in the near future. Each deal made was signed by the Magister to make it seem like made them, but the Prince made sure he was the main holder of those earnings so the vast wealth obtained of each one would accumulate over time. By the time Aegon was ready to make his move back to Westeros, he would have the coin needed to move things forward on his end.

"We have a problem," whispered Jon to Aegon after coming over to them.

"What is the problem?" asked Aegon curiously.

"Assassins. I saw them in the tavern. I kept my appearance hidden so no one saw me, but I saw them. I overheard them talking about how they are going to strike tonight and 'kill the filthy dragon and his whore of a sister' before they left," whispered Jon with Aegon nodding.

"Clearly sent by the Spider on the command of the Usurper," remarked Aegon with Jon growling.

"It appears the Spider cannot be trusted your Grace," said Jon with Aegon shaking his head.

"He can still be trusted Jon. The problem is the Usurper and his Hand. As the Master of Whispers, Varys has to tell them everything his little birds tell him. If he does not, his loyalty to the Crown is put into question. We can't have that happen and Varys knows it too. Besides, its clear these assassins are not true professionals," replied Aegon with Jon being confused.

"How do you know?" asked Jon curiously.

"Professional assassins don't talk about their plans openly in a bar loud enough for the other customers to hear. These guys are eager for blood and coin. They will rush it," said Aegon with Jon nodding since it made sense.

"I guess its time to stain your sword in blood," commented Jon while eyeing the weapon at Aegon's hip.

Valyrian steel in all it glory, but you wouldn't know it due it's sheathe being a shadowy black said to be a rare wood found in the shadow lands. The blacksmith who made the sword and the sheathe claimed to have traveled there once after a dream set by the Gods themselves to find get the material to make the weapon Aegon now used. In the dream, the blacksmith was told he would give it to the man who would have a great destiny in front of them.

Aegon couldn't agree more on that last part.

The sword in question, which he named Dragon's Tooth, had yet to be used due to there being no enemies to test it on. Oh Aegon practiced with it and with Jon to a certain extent to keep the Rooster's skills up. But nothing like an actual all out fight with an enemy who wanted you dead.

Time to change that.

- That Night -

The assassins moved quietly toward the Magister's home. Intent on spilling blood and gaining a massive amount of coin. The contract was easy enough. Sneak into the home, and kill the Targaryen Prince along with his whore of a sister. Make it brutal, but ensure no one heard them and if necessary, kill the Magister while making it look like a falling out between host and guest.

There was even talk of being paid extra if they violated the Targaryen girl before her end, which the group of six men had no real problem with. Coin was coin after all to them and they could all jape about how they had there way with the dragon long after the deed was done.

None of them realized they could possibly not walk away from this situation alive.

They had just made it to the Magister's home when the first among them died after being sliced clean in half. A dirty and crude man simply called Gord. A bastard born from some whore who had a drunken fling with a Sell Sword.

The two parts of his body falling to the ground with barely a sound.

The second man, named Bargado, didn't even have a time to register his fellow assassin dying as Aegon quickly spun around a second later and stabbed him in the back through the chest. Another bastard, but born from a high born woman, who had a fling with a low born commoner. It was even worse when she was arranged to be married to another of high society. To hide the proof of the shame related to the scandal, the Mother dropped the boy off at an orphanage and never looked back. The boy eventually grew up, left for the streets, and became a hired killer to make a lot of coin. One such job was killing his (unknown to him) Mother at the behest of her husband, who wanted the woman removed so a much younger woman could fill the spot. Instead of just killing the woman, he had killed the husband too while stealing their valuable without looking back

The man was dead before the sword even left his body.

The third man, named Klavos, barely got a word out to the others and was silenced when Aegon's blade sliced into his neck with pinpoint precision. Unlike his associates, this one was high born from parents who married, but did not count for their son's thirst for things they deemed below his own station. He spent his family's money without care and when old enough, went to brothels to spend the wealth there without concern for the spending in the slightest. Eventually, it got so bad, the boy's parents disinherited him, and he was forced to live among the poor people. The only way to make a living for him was to end the lives of others for coin and after the first few jobs, it soon became easy enough to not feel any guilt on the matter.

In his last moments of thought, the man would wish he had made peace with his parents after all the arguing they did before leaving.

The fourth man, named Peavey, was a Sell Sword by trade, but got into the feel of killing people in the shadows for profit over fighting in the open field. To him, there were too many people around you in the heat of battle, and the feeling of possibly being stabbed from any and all fronts was a sensation that did not sit well with him.

His focus on Aegon killing the first three was his undoing as Jon Connington swung his sword and took the man's head clean off.

The fifth man, named Vegtigo, was an assassin by trade. He loved it. He loved the thrill of it. The hiding in the darkness. Ready to kill the unsuspecting target. Watching how the target's eyes widen in shock, horror, and the end result being lifelessness telling his job was complete.

Jon's trusty shield smacked him in the head so hard his neck snapped. Even if it didn't, the blow had damaged his brain and caused internal bleeding. If the snapping neck didn't kill him, the internal bleeding would have in its place.

The sixth and final man, who was the leader of the group, named Agendum, had been hired by their contact through the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Said contact told him the Spider had arranged the contract on orders of the Hand of the King. From what the man understood of the situation, the Hand of the King, Jon Arryn, had instructed Varys to give the instructions to his contact. The contact would pass it onto the hired assassins on how the King on the Iron Throne wanted the two dragons dead and to make it as vicious as possible. The crueler they were to the two Targaryens and their supporters, the more coin they got in the end. He was the only one who had been able to draw his weapon fully and tried to attack Jon Connington.

But the man was an assassin at heart. Not a warrior. Too many years lurking and hiding in the shadows to kill defensive targets. His offensive was strong against normal people without armor or weapons, but against a well trained fighter like Jon, he was a child. The assassin's defense was also lacking as a result and the Rooster was able to block the knife strikes before punching the man with his sword hand multiple times. The third hit sent the assassin stumbling back until he tripped and fell onto his back. Before Agendum could even gather his thoughts, Jon's blade pierced his skull into his brain.

The man didn't have to worry about thinking after such a lethal strike.

"When the Spider reports his hired assassins failed, the King will want to send more of them after us," commented Jon while Aegon didn't seemed worried.

Though it was hard to tell with the mask on.

"By the time they realize the attempt failed and schedule another one, we will be in wind. Messages between here and Westeros will take time. I intend for us to be gone from here and deeper into Essos where not even the King's assassins can strike," said Aegon with Jon nodding since messages between continents would take time to reach the King or his Hand.

And as Aegon told him moments ago, time was on their side.