Chapter 32

Chapter 32

ALESANDRO FEROSA

The news about Aenys waking up had come as a relief. And he had felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off of his chest with that news. Aenys had gotten injured trying to save his life, and it wouldn't have sat right with him if he had died because of him. With the betrayal of Alissano, Alesandro was left with few people he could trust, and Aenys was amongst the few he knew he could trust despite the troublesome nature of his identity.

They had delayed the trial for an hour to accommodate Alicent, who was with Aenys, in the hospital. Yet the trial had to begin and so he had sent a messenger to Aenys's wife prompting her to make her required appearance.

He sat in his chair on a raised platform, with his First Sword standing behind him. The other four judges sat beside him. The five of them, with each representing one of the pillars of the city, from the Sealord, the Iron Bank, the Moonsingers, the Magisters, and the Merchant Guild. The Palace of Justice and Truth was located at the corner of the Dragon's palace and was used to carry out such trials. The court room was filled with other influential people as well, all ready and waiting to witness the historic trial.

The doors to the courtroom opened suddenly, and he looked up and found Alicent Hightower being led in by her maid and his wife. Her steps were slow and careful, given her delicate state.

He could see that her eyes were swollen, and her face had clear signs of crying, yet unlike the previous times he had seen her, there was a bright smile on her face, as she walked into the court.

He motioned for the Bravo to the side, and the Bravo moved and brought in the accused.

Alicent settled into a specially made seat, with Blair sitting beside her, and the court broke down into murmurs as the doors opened for a second time, and the Bravo led out the accused.

His chains clacked in the ground, giving out a grinding noise as Alissano was brought out. The man had become a shell of himself; his hair was disheveled, and his face was covered in sweat and dirt as the Bravo slowly led him toward the platform in front of him.

A part of him was hurt by the sight in front of him, for he felt no joy in seeing Alissano in a state like this. Yet the man had tried to kill him and his family, so he quickly stubbed that feeling of sympathy and looked ahead impassively.

The herald stood up, and the whole room became quiet as he loudly spoke up.

"We are gathered here today for the final proceedings of the trial of Alissano Neysaris. The trial has already been concluded, and the accused has confessed to his crimes," the herald announced. At this, Alesandro stood up and looked toward Alissano.

"Do you have anything else to say?" he said, and the whole Hall stilled, with everyone's gaze focused on Alissano.

His treasonous friend looked up, his eyes filled with a resigned rage as he mouthed angrily.

"You are all a disgrace to our ancestors! A DISGRACE!" his voice thundered.

"Colluding with a dragon rider! A dragon lord! Have you no shape? Have you all forgotten your history!" his friend then spit at the ground, his eyes focusing onto him.

"I will not beg for mercy from all sell outs! But mark my words! There will come a day when you will regret ever associating yourself with that heathen! MARK MY WORDS!"

0000

GWAYNE HIGHTOWER

Gwayne Hightower found himself sitting in the Godswood once more with the Princess as she informed him about the most recent news from across the Narrow Sea. He had returned to the capital a few hours earlier and had been immediately called by the Princess.

"So, Prince Aenys has woken up!" he repeated, and a huge weight lifted off his shoulders as soon as he saw the princess nod.

"Yes, a letter came from Braavos some days ago, informing about him waking up. The trial has also concluded, and they have hung the preparator," told him the Princess, and he nodded. Feeling no sympathy for the man who had nearly ruined his sister's life. The man deserved a fate worse than death, if possible.

"That is some good news," he began; the Princess still seemed rather dazed and lost in thought, probably still reeling from the shock of losing her mother. He had already conveyed his condolences and knew that no words from him or anyone else would do her any good. They hadn't done him any good when he had lost his mother. Only the balm of time had the capacity to make one whole after such a loss.

"Will the Prince return to Kingslanding?" he questioned and saw the Princess shrug.

"I don't know. Though father has written to Aenys, inviting him back to the capital, though I don't know what Aenys will do," and there was a hint of sadness in the Princess's voice as she continued.

"I have written to him and Alicent as well, hoping to convince her as well, though I have yet to receive an answer about this," added the Princess sadly, and he knew that the Princess truly needed someone by her side, someone whom she could lean on and trust. And his sister was the best person for that. They had grown up together, knew practically everything about each other, and were like sisters.

"Though I cannot say for certain, I believe they will come," he added. Knowing Alicent, he was quite sure that she would want to come. As for Prince Aenys, for the short time, Gwayne had gotten to know him, the Prince was a reasonable person who valued relations and wouldn't leave the princess alone like this.

"I hope you are right," said the Princess as she sipped her tea. He didn't miss how the Princess's gaze lingered on him, her eyes narrowing as he saw her contemplating something.

In the end, after quite a bit of hesitance the princess finally spoke up in a low voice.

"May I ask you something, Ser Gwayne?" and he perked up at this and nodded hurriedly.

"Of course, Princess," he said and saw the Princess hesitate a bit before she finally continued.

"Have you ever thought about marriage?"

And he nearly choked on his tea, taken aback by the question.

0000

AENYS TARGARYEN

Aenys Targaryen felt conflicted as he skimmed through the letter from Viserys. A part of him was wroth and angry at his brother for ignoring his words. For putting his wife's life in jeopardy despite his words, that part wanted nothing but to burn away the piece of parchment, ignoring the bastard completely.

However, the other part of him saw the pain of the man who had just lost his wife, and from the wording, it seemed as if a part of Viserys felt guilty for his actions. It was an apology, the first one he had received for what had transpired nearly two years ago on Dragonstone, along with an invitation from the man to return to Kingslanding.

"So, what has you in such a pensive mood?" questioned House as he sat by his side in his room. House had come to do an examination, to assess his recovery. The months of unconsciousness had left him somewhat weak.

Aenys passed him the letter, though it had only been about ten days since he had woken up, he was feeling quite better and had begun walking again. Of course, going back to his previous physique would take some time, but there was no lasting damage from the assassination attempt, which was quite a relief.

"So, your brother is inviting you to come back?" concluded Gregory, as he skimmed through the letter, and passed it back. He nodded.

"Yeah, Rhaenyra has written to Alicent as well, inviting her back as well," he informed him and saw House nod at his words as he replied after a bit of contemplation.

"I would say that you should go," and Aenys looked towards the aged man with a raised brow, motioning for him to continue.

"You do know what happened at Dragonstone, right?" Aenys said and saw the man.

"I do, and normally, I wouldn't have asked you to return as well. But you do understand that you ow the Princess quite a bit for what she did for your wife while you were unconscious," said House as he gave her a look, and Aenys nodded slowly. Him and Alicent had spent days chatting, with her telling him about everything that had happened while he was unconscious, and from her words, it was evident that she was very thankful for the presence of Rhaenyra's presence.

Alicent hadn't mentioned it yet, but he knew that she wanted to go to Kingslanding. And then, before they could talk any further, there was a knock on the door, and he looked up and saw the doors to his room open as a Bravo stepped in, wearing the ceremonial garbs of the First Sword.

"I hope I am not intruding," said the most powerful man of Braavos, as the Sea lord entered his room. And Aenys didn't miss the changes that had taken place in Alesandro. The man had grown firmer in his stance, and there was a wariness to him that he hadn't had before.

Healer House stood up and greeted the man, giving the man the respect he was due before he looked towards him.

"I will come later," and with that, the man picked up his cane and left the room, leaving Aenys alone with Alessandro. This was the first time he was seeing the man since he had woken up. As their eyes met, he saw Alesandro's gaze soften as the man walked to his side and shook his hand.

"It is good to see you awake again, friend," said Alessandro, as both of them shook each other's hand enthusiastically.

"I am sorry I couldn't come earlier, but I was bust with an entourage from some of the other free cities," and Aenys waved away the apology.

"It's fine. Blair told me about it. Tell me, how are you?" Aenys questioned as Alessandro sat down on the chair by his side.

"I am fine," he began and then pointed towards him, "much thanks to you," and then he saw the man's lips thin a bit as he continued in a much sterner voice.

"Truth is, I never saw it coming. I had always considered Alissano a friend and had never thought that he would betray me like this," and there was genuine sadness in his tone. And Aenys could sympathize with the man, already knowing how such a betrayal felt.

"I wouldn't have suspected this as well. I knew that he was plotting against me, but I had never guessed that he would target you like this," added Aenys, and saw Alessandro look towards him.

"About that. How did you know that he was plotting against you?" the man questioned.

"It was the Arachon of Myr and Tyrosh. He had assured them that he would take care of me when I moved against them for their role in killing my aunt," he explained and saw the man nod, though there was still a frown on his face as the man questioned further.

"Were they involved in this as well?" and Aenys just shrugged.

"I haven't investigated this, but I wouldn't be surprised. I nearly took away all their wealth and influence and brought them to the streets. It wouldn't be unlike them to hold a grudge against me for this," and then he frowned as he questioned Alessandro.

"Did Alissano name any accomplices?" and the man shook his head.

"No, he said he acted alone," and Aenys frowned at those words. Not believing them to be truthful, and though investigating his associates months after the whole ordeal was not probably going to be useless, but he planned to do it regardless.

"No matter, I must thank you and Blair for what you did for Alicent," Aenys thanked the man, but he shook his hand.

"No. No, it was nothing. It was the least we could do after you saved my life. For that, I will always be in your debt, so if you ever need anything, anything at all, you need to ask," said Alessandro, and Aenys nodded, his mind racing as he thought about whether he should bring up something he had suspected and considered the pros and cons of bringing up such a rather sensitive topic.

When he had learned about Alissano and his plans to move against him, he had looked into the man and his family in quite detail. And in that, he had made quite a troubling discovery. A couple of decades ago, the Neysaris family had secretly made a deal with a sailor from Westeros. A female sailor, and had. Though no name was mentioned, Aenys had a very good suspicion about who exactly this sailor was.

"You said anything right," Aenys suddenly asked, deciding to trust his instincts. Alicent was already nearing labor, and was set to give birth to his child any day. And it was up to him to give his child what he had to claw away.

"Anything," said Alessandro, and then Aenys sighed as he looked towards the man and uttered the stilling words.

"Then I need you to tell me where are the dragon eggs that Alissano's family bought from Alissa Farmann," and he saw the man's eyes widen at his words. Hesitation appeared on his face as Aenys continued to stare straight into the man's eyes. In the end, Alessandro sighed as he swept a hand through his hair and replied with a mocking smile.

"I should have guessed that you would have found about them," and Alessandro shook his head and leaned forward.

0000

VISERYS TARGARYEN

Viserys Targaryen found himself sitting on his throne with the whole Court assembled before him. The throne room was still as everyone waited for the entrance of his brother. Daemon's dragon had been injured greatly during the campaign in the Stepstones. It was one of the reasons Daemon hadn't been able to make it back for Aemma's funeral yet, half an hour ago, the skies of Kingslanding saw Ceraxes take to them, flying above the city marking the return of Daemon Targaryen after his triumph in the Stepstones.

The doors to the throne room, were opened, and the Court stilled, and Viserys held his breath as he watched Daemon step into the Court, dressed in his black armor, Blacksister strapped to his side. His long hair swayed at his back, and the lack of a helmet gave a clear view of the injuries he had received during the campaign.

Yet Viserys frowned as his eyes locked onto the Crown sitting atop his head as Daemon walked towards the Iron Throne, the sound of his steps reverberating across the throne room. He saw his gaze land on Rhaenyra, who stood at the front of the crowd, his gaze lingering a bit as he smiled at her. Rhaenyra returned the smile stiffly as Daemon reached the front of the monstrosity that was the Iron Throne.

His brother finally looked up, and their eyes met, and he saw Daemon smirk as the gaze of the whole Court remained trained on him, waiting for him to make a move. Viserys's eyes were focused on the throne resting atop his head, and then Daemon took off his throne and dropped it at the foot of the Iron Throne.

"The Stepstones are yours, your grace," said Daemon with a smile as he kicked the Crown forward.

"Add this to the rest!" and Viserys smiled at this and was about to stand up and congratulate his brother when suddenly Daemon glanced back, as a maid walked in behind him. A wicker basket in hand, and the court became quiet as the sound of small child's cry rumbled through the Hall

Daemon's gaze softened as he picked up the child, the small tuft of silvery blonde hair showing his Valyrian heritage Daemon then raised the child and spoke up in a loud voice. His words reverberating throughout the Hall.

"I present to you Baelon Targaryen, my son."

0000

Daemon's at it again. And Aenys knows! He knows!

The eggs are canon and are theorized to be the same three eggs that Daenerys hatches in GOT. They were stolen by Alissa Farman and sold to Bravos for an extraordinary commissioned ship.

As always, you can read ahead and support me on Patre 0n. Your support makes it possible for me to write these stories. So, if possible, have a look and consider dropping a dime or two of you can. It would help me out a lot.

www.Patre 0n.com/Drkest

Thanks for reading!

Is Gwayne really the right choice?