Chapter 11: Home

Chapter Text

Runestone | 114 AC

Aerion Targaryen

Aerion and Jory arrived at Runestone under the cover of dark,a moon had passed since they left Kings' Landing and their travels had not brought any trouble, he had at least expected the clans to attack when traveling through the mountain pass.

He was soaked wet from the pouring rain that had cursed them for the last few miles of their journey, and the wind was heavy enough to almost push Aerion from his horse more than once.

"Who goes there?!" A guard called out to them from the battlements as they reached the gate, and Aerion removed his hood and looked up at him.

"Prince Aerion." he shouted back at the man, before turning to Jory "Welcome to Runestone." he said jokingly.

"OPEN THE GATES!" the same guard yelled to the men below, and the strong iron gate was lifted up by a few of the guards using a mechanism next to it.

They made their way through the gates into the courtyard, it held the stables for the household guard along with having many different access doors leading into the armory, kitchens, and the guards' barracks, and directly in front of the gate was a tremendously large door leading into the great hall and the family apartments.

He removed himself from his horse, and held up the hood of his large furred cloak to prevent his hair from getting wet any longer, leading frost into the stables, and stroking his mane as soon as they were out of the rain.

"There you go, boy…somewhere nice and warm." he said, feeling a sense of relief and security.

He rubbed his hands together, shaking from the cold "Next time I ignore your advice, feel free to end me." he chuckled, Jory had recommended stopping by an inn before the rain set in but he had refused, wanting to get to Runestone before morning.

"Believe me, you won't need to tell me; I'll just do it." Jory joined in with the chuckle, they had been on the road and bonded greatly, whether it was due to him being the only one with him, he did not know, though he liked his company.

"It looks like you have company, Aerion." Jory added, waving his hand over towards the horses with banners of noble houses with familiar coat-of-arms.

"It would appear that way." he counted twelve horses that were not their own, belonging to their sworn houses, Coldwater, Shett, and Tollett, they had been sworn to House Royce for over a thousand years "What are they doing here?" he asked himself.

They did not frequently come to Runestone, unless it was to petition with his mother, but with her death, it would be him they would answer to now.

He made his way from the stables into the keep, with Jory closely behind him, they took off their drenched cloaks as they entered, and passed it to one of the servants near to the entrance.

The inside of the keep provided them with great warmth with all the braziers and candles lit up, myrish rugs laid the floors, and tapestries depicting the many wars of the last thousand years sat on the walls.

Aerion walked down the corridors in the direction of the Great hall, taking a look at the tapestries, running his hand along the wall.

They depicted wars all the way back from before the andal invasions when they ruled as kings, to Aegon's conquest, of which he liked the most, one depicted Aegon and his sisters riding on their dragons and burning the Lannister and Gardener army.

Rodrik was positioned outside the hall, and he was more than shocked to see Aerion walking his way, they shared a glance with each other before Aerion wrapped his arms around him, which was the biggest surprise to them all, not realising how much he missed his sworn shield.

"You are looking well, Rodrik." Aerion said with a smile upon his lips "What has happened since you arrived?"

"It is good to see you home again, my prince." Rodrik bowed his head "We received word that you were close by, but hadn't expected you until tomorrow."

"We decided to travel straight here instead of stopping by at the Inn." Aerion said "though I sorely regret it." he said, smirking at Jory.

"I will see that your chambers are prepared." Rodrik nodded "You will see that someone has decided to return home from the Riverlands."

"Willam is here?" Aerion propped up "We missed him at Castle Darry, I want to speak with him, where is he?"

"That is Ser Willam now, brother." a voice could be heard from behind, and Aerion turned around and was filled with joy when he saw Willam.

He was the same age as Aerion, although stood just slightly taller, the man had short brown hair and hazel eyes, and bore a sword at his hip, which had a bronze handle with runes etched within, it was the sword of their ancestors, and was once wielded by the Bronze Kings of Old, called 'Lamentation.'

Willam pulled Lamentations sheath from his belt, and held it in both hands as he attempted to pass it over to Aerion "This is yours now, as Lord of Runestone." he smiled.

"I cannot accept it, Willam." he placed a hand on his shoulder "Our grandfather gave it to your father, and thus it is not mine to wield, only a knight shall carry it into battle."

"You are the future of House Royce, brother, it is yours now." he attempted once again to make sure Aerion took it.

"I said no." Aerion stated "You are my heir, and thus it is yours to carry." Aerion patted his shoulder once more "We shall have a feast in your honour, may you bring glory to House Royce in the battles to come."

They had been raised together at Runestone for as long as Aerion could remember, Willam's parents died at sea when he was little and taken in by his mother ever since, Rodrik trained them both into the great warriors they are, and Aerion always knew it would be Willam he wanted at his back.

Though Willam was sent to be fostered by House Darry when he was thirteen namedays old to increase relations between the two houses, and he hadn't seen him since then.

"Thank you." he said humbly.

"Let me introduce you to a good friend of mine, Jory Manderly." Aerion said, looking to both Rodrik and Willam, gesturing towards the northerner "He kept me from harms way on my trip from Kings' Landing."

"This is Rodrik, my sworn shield, you may have seen him in Kings' Landing." Aerion continued, looking to Jory "and this is my brother, Willam Royce." he coughed "Sorry…Ser Willam Royce."

"Well met, Jory."

"Well met to you too, Willam." Jory replied "I have heard quite a lot about you on our journey, though I look forward to getting to know you personally."

"Now that we have introductions out of the way.." Aerion stated "Is anyone going to tell me what has happened?" he noted the worried look they shared "And why are my sworn bannermen here? Have they come to swear fealty?"

"Your cousin, Gerold, had called them." Rodrik revealed "They are currently in the Great Hall, and he has refused my entry, I did not want to start an altercation in front of the bannermen."

"And why exactly would he need to call them, hm?" 

"I believe that he intends to petition Lady Jeyne for the Lordship of Runestone, and he is getting your bannermen on his side." Rodrik answered, and Aerion clenched his fists.

"That cunt." he cursed "Could he not control himself from his own ambitions for but a moment? Surely he knows Lady Jeyne would never go for this, I have known her since childhood."

"He dishonours himself for this, brother." Willam spoke "Get rid of him before he becomes more than a nuisance, by any means necessary." he smiled as he spoke.

"Perhaps I shall." he gripped tightly onto the hilt of his blade, straightening his posture "Well then, I am intrigued to hear what he may be saying to them, so let us introduce ourselves, shall we?"

They each entered the hall through the main doors, which called the attention of those within to look in his direction, Gerold was making himself comfortable on the throne that was once the seat of their ancestors, spoiling it with his very presence.

He removed himself quickly from the throne that Aerion could not help but snigger, as he strolled his way down, not a single word had been uttered, and his eyes wandered the hall before holding his glare at the lords; Shett and Tollet, who both bowed their heads in his presence.

Aerion let out a deep sigh, clasping his hands together behind his back.

"Do not get up on my account, dear cousin, surely whatever you were discussing was of high importance, have we suffered another mountain attack? Rodrik did not inform me."

Gerold could not speak, it was almost as if he had no tongue at all.

"Do not worry, Gerold, there is no need to explain yourself, I know exactly what you were attempting to do." he gazed towards his sworn bannerman once more "If this is how it must be, let us not hide behind false emotions."

"Sire, I can assure you, we had no -" Tollet was about to make a case for himself, though Aerion interrupted him.

"You both, I know you to be honourable men, our families fought together many times on the battlefield for centuries, I trust you do not intend to scheme in the shadows?" he questioned.

"I did not know why I was summoned, lord." Lord Tollett was the first to speak "Had I of known, I would not have made this journey."

"On that, I and Lord Tollet can agree." Lord Shett responded "You have our loyalty, my prince."

"And Lord Coldwater?" he said, turning his gaze to the older man "What do you have to say for yourself?" the prince turned his gaze towards Gerold, who had his head held to the ground in shame.

"My loyalty is to the true lord of House Runestone." the man said, and Aerion had to give him some credit, the man held his head high than Gerold ever did.

"Oh really?" Aerion replied "And who exactly is that in your eyes?"

"Lord Gerold." the man replied, almost spitting out the words "I will not stand idly by as the dragon's claim Runestone."

"That is fair, Lord Coldwater, I applaud you for your bravery." he stepped towards the man, sharing a menacing glare before revealing a smirk upon his lips, shoving a dagger into the older man's abdomen.

There were loud gasps shared by all those in the hall, and Gerold went to strike against Aerion but was quickly stopped by Willam, who rested his blade upon Gerold's chest.

"Though it is also a shame, lord, truly I did not want any blood spilled." he smirked, hearing the man's squirms brought him great satisfaction "But, I will not allow rebellion stirring among the sworn houses."

"You are no - argh!" Aerion twisted the dagger, preventing Lord Coldwater from finishing his sentence.

"Your son will be summoned to swear fealty as the new lord of Coldwater Burn." Aerion continued, placing his other hand on the man's neck.

"Should I smell even a whiff of betrayal from him, then he will suffer the same fate as his father, as will his children, and anyone else from your pathetic line."

He pulled the dagger from the man, and swiftly slit his throat, the blood splattering onto Aerion's face, and the man dropped to the ground, with his hands at his throat as he slowly bled to death on the ground, and Aerion stood over him, watching as he became lifeless body and his squirms were heard no more.

"Let him be a reminder to anyone who may dare think of betraying me!" the prince yelled, looking towards Rodrik "Be sure his body is hung out on display outside the castle."

The other lords dropped to their knees and held their heads to the floor, and Aerion looked to his cousin, Gerold, with a pure hatred following his veins as he kept eye contact.

"The only reason I have not killed you, is because we are kin.." he turned to face the throne, and walked up the steps and sat down.

The throne was made of stone with runic carvings carved into its foundation, a part of him proud as he took his rightful place, despite its discomfort, for as long as he could remember, it had been his mother seated upon it.

He twiddled his thumbs as everyone's attention was focused on him "Ser Rodrik, escort this traitor to the dungeons, he is not to be fed, only given water to drink." Rodrik tugged Gerold towards him and led him out of the hall.

"You may rise now, my lords." he said, looking to Shett and Tollett, who were stilling kneeling down, Jory and Willam had taken their places beside him on each side of the throne, the northerner to the left, and his brother to his right.

"Thank you, my lord." Tollett replied, rising from the ground, albeit with a little trouble "I am not as young as I once was, my bones appear to be failing me." the man chuckled.

"I apologise you had to witness the violence that took place here today." he looked to Jory "Help Rodrik in hanging Lord Coldwater's body up for all to see, hm?" 

"Could always just throw it in a pile of mud somewhere." he smirked, walking over to the body of the traitorous lord, and lifting it over his shoulder.

"No apologies are needed, my lord." Shett replied, and Aerion noticed the fear in their eyes, and how they both almost refused to keep eye contact.

"I will have chambers prepared for the both of you, then on the morrow, you shall return to your lands." he nodded to the both of them, and they were dismissed from the hall.

"Are you still with me, Willam?" Aerion said, looking up at him.

"Why would I not be?" Willam asked, stepping closer to the throne, leaning against the arm "We have both been preparing for this day."

"I do not believe we have been preparing to kill our bannermen." he chuckled 

"Not that, we have been training for the eventuality that you are Lord of Runestone, and I am your sworn shield." Willam responded.

"And that is something you are okay with?" Aerion questioned "Life as my sworn shield is a difficult one, just ask Rodrik." he smirked.

"I am more than just okay with it, Aerion, it is our duty to protect eachother, is it not?" Willam said, opening the palm of his hand, revealing a faded cut that ran across diagonally "is that not why we made the pact?"

"So being away from home did not make you forget?" Aerion asked.

"Never, you are stuck with me for life."

They had left the great hall, and over the next few days, Aerion had got into quite the routine, he thought he would die of boredom, however he found the company of both Jory and Willam had made his time enjoyable.

Every morning began with sparring session with Willam, they went for hours before one could beat the other, and Willam had managed to get the best of him twice, if it was entirely up to him, he would not stop training at all, but Maester Daveth insisted on him listening to the ramblings of his subjects.

Aerion, Jory, and Willam had left the castle and made their way to the nearest village and set themselves up at the local tavern, the greatest privilege of being the lord was that no one would question him disappearing for a few hours.

"To think I thought there were no beautiful women in the Vale." Jory said, bring three mugs of ale over to their table, almost spilling them as he couldn't keep his eyes off the wench "she is more beautiful than any northern girl, I thought you told me they were all ugly?"

"He is just upset that he got his poor heart broken when we were young." Willam chuckled "What was her name, Daella?"

"She did not break my heart, she just decided that you looked far more attractive than I…a lie of course." Aerion smirked, knocking Willam on his shoulder "Besides, I have no need for any women here, I have a fine beauty awaiting me in Kings' Landing."

"Oh do you now? Did you get some kitchen wench to suck your little prick and now you've fallen in love?" Willam shook her head with a small chuckle "I expected more from you."

"You didn't tell him?" Jory asked "This is goin' to be fun." Aerion shook his head at him which Jory only responded with a broad smile, lowering his tone "He has the princess wrapped around his cock, not some kitchen wench."

"Tell everyone why won't you?" he said, punching his arm and  looking around the tavern "If anyone heard that, it would be the talk of the realm before the moon turns." 

He had told Jory on the road to Runestone, to which he used to his full advantage, laughing whenever he decided to bring the subject up.

"The princess?" Willam smirked "Is it the silver hair? Purple eyes? Your targaryen customs will forever confuse me."

"Willam, this isn't just any Valyrian beauty, it is the realm's delight, had you seen her, you would fall in love as well." he chuckled "Besides, I am not only fucking her, we intend to marry upon my return."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that, Aerion?" Willam questioned "The last I heard it was the Velaryons who got themselves a marriage with the princess…and uhh.." he clicked his fingers trying to remember the name "the sword swallower…you know who I am talking about."

"Laenor Velaryon.." Aerion helped him "I'll tell you more later but not here, you don't know who is listening."

"I have heard tell that there is a beautiful dragon in Gulltown, go fuck her to satisfy your desires for Valyrian blood, you do not need a married woman, Aerion." Willem became serious "No good will come of it."

"Think of the bigger picture, brother, the power that is to come for sharing such a bed." Aerion stated "Besides, I don't want another, no one can compare to the cunt that she possesses." 

Aerion then whispered in Willam's ear "Fine pair of tits as well." and grinned at him "the dragon seed in Gulltown is likely my sister, no doubt Daemon put his cock in a few whores there."

"As if that would ever stop you." he smirked "I will be thinking of you nonetheless, your head on an executioner's block, or better yet, your balls freezing at the wall, I promise to visit." Willem said, jokingly.

"If you think the Vale can be cold, then you are doomed at the wall, best pray no one finds out." Jory replied "If the cold doesn't kill you, an arrow through the heart by some wildling piece of shit will."

"I will take my chances." Aerion's eyes narrowed as the tavern owner made his way over to them.

"I trust everything to your satisfaction, my prince."

"If it weren't, then you would certainly know about it." he waved the man off "Go, your very presence is disturbing me." 

"Ofcourse, my lord." the tavern keeper replied, swiftly making an exit from his presence.

"Must you torture the poor fool?" Willam added quickly "He is allowing us to drink in his establishment for free."

"He does not have much choice in the matter." Aerion said, taking a swig of his ale, spilling the remaining contents on the floor "It tastes like shit, I vaguely remember dornish wine in the cellar back at Runestone, let us head back."

"Nothing compares to the sweetness of Dornish wine." Jory replied, finishing his mug of ale, and they all rose from the table, and Willam left a few silver stags as a tip for the wench.

When they made their return to Runestone, Aerion had been informed that the deceased Lord Coldwater had arrived and is currently awaiting an audience with him, and by the sounds of it, he was less than pleased about the recent events, though Aerion could not blame him, he did gut his father.

He strolled through the great hall and the man stood below the throne with Rodrik beside him, awaiting the arrival of Aerion "What is your name?" he asked as he passed him and sat upon the throne.

"Eldric." he said, and Aerion could feel the anger within the man "I had received your raven, lord, and I saw my father…"

Aerion shrugged "And what do you think about that?"

"My father was an honourable man, he stood by your mother when she ascended as Lady of Runestone, he would never betray your house, lord."

"That he was, I have no doubt about that, Ser." Aerion stated "But he did betray me, your father had attempted to stand beside Ser Gerold Royce, as he attempted to remove from power."

Aerion continued before Eldric could respond, rising from his seat.

"The reason you have been called here is to bend the knee, my lord." he remained atop the steps to the throne "swear fealty and I will name you the new lord of Coldwater Burn, if you refuse, your lands will be stripped from your family.."

"House Coldwater has kept faith with your family for generations, even before the coming of the Andals, and this is how you repay our loyalty?" the man spat at him "By killing my father? You could have imprisoned him."

Aerion rolled his eyes, and stopped himself from smirking.

"His death was justified, Eldric, as I have stated.." he answered "Your family have been loyal, this much is true, but it does excuse you from execution should you act against me, your father made his choice, what is yours?"

"You are not giving me a choice, my prince, you will kill my family should I refuse." he shook his head, and planted himself down to one knee.

"That is the point of it." a broad smile formed on his lips as he watched the man bend the knee "Get on with it."

"I, Eldric of House Coldwater, pledge my banners and services to you, Prince Aerion Targaryen, and promise to remain faithful to House Targaryen of Runestone, I swear this by the old gods and the new." he said, with bitterness in his voice, only time will tell if he remains faithful to those words.

"Arise, Lord Eldric, let it be known I am not without mercy."

Willam leaned into his ear, whispering softly

"Lady Jeyne will hear of this soon enough, I fear she may not be pleased by the actions taken in the last few days." Aerion dismissed his concern.

"If it is alright with you, my prince, I will leave back to Coldwater Burn as soon as possible."

"You do not wish to stay? Well that is certainly unfortunate." he bit his lip "Very well, I will order your father's body to be collected from outside the walls and prepared by the silent sisters for travel."

Aerion smirked as he left with head held low, stepping back to the throne and taking a seat "Well that certainly went better than expected, did it not?" he said, looking up at Willam.

"We shall see." Willam said "He may arrive at Coldwater Burn and then continue his fathers' mission of removing you from your seat."

"Shall I kill him? Rid us of a potential problem and install a new family to rule over Coldwater Burn?" 

"I wouldn't act so soon, Aerion, Coldwater Burn only has a few hundred men at their disposal, at best, they could not do anything without more support from other houses, and I doubt Shett and Tollett will act against you." he nodded.