Chapter 3: A NEW LIFE IN BRAAVOS

The great statue, the Titan guards the bay into the chain island city of Braavos."Look Dany… Our new home…" Aegon says holding her up and pointing to the statue. He looks at Sir Cade, "You ever been to Braavos Sir Cade?"

"No never…"

"Home sweet home…" Edron Vao says.

"Sir Cade… You will go ashore with two men and secure lodging for Your King and his family… When we are settled I will go to the Iron Bank…"

"Very well your grace…" Viserys walks up to Aegon, "We are one step closer brother to regaining the Iron Throne…"

"Of course… I have a favor to ask brother…"

"What?"

"I know I am young, but you need a Hand…"

Viserys smiles, "I was going to wait… but you are right brother I need someone to serve as my Hand… You are wise beyond your years and who better than my own brother…"

"I am honored…"

Half the day passes before Sir Cade returns. He leads them to a small house with a red door. "This!" Viserys yells, "This is how you would have your King live…"

"I am sorry my lord, but our gold is limited…"

"Its temporary until we can afford better… My King… Tomorrow Sir Cade can take the spices, lace, and wool to market and sell them…"

"Fine… while he is doing that I will go and meet with the Lords of the Iron Bank…"

Later after everyone has eaten Aegon bathes Dany. Then he puts her to sleep and waits. When he believes everyone is asleep Aegon hides the gold so that Viserys wouldn't spend it up trying to live like the King he is not at the moment.

"You should come with me brother…" Viserys says the next morning after a breakfast of boiled eggs fish and bread.

"I am sure you will do fine My King… I have another project to work on that will bring in more gold…"

"Fine then I will see you later…"

Aegon watches, as Viserys leaves with two guards for the bank. He shakes his head knowing full well he will fail. So he kisses Dany goodbye leaving her under the care of Nanna. He walks through the city staying on the main island looking for taverns with low patron rates. He finds one and samples the food, it isn't great food, but it is cheap. "May I speak with the Proprietor…"

"Ya talking to him…"

"I would like to make a deal with you sir…" While sailing to Braavos Aegon practices the sword and hones his cooking skills. He makes what he calls a crunchy sandwich. He makes the bread out of ground up corn. He makes it very thin and folds it into a u, then he places fried meat, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and soured cream.

"Son of bitch! That is good…"

"So do we have a deal?" Aegon asks. The man agrees to allow Aegon to keep sixty percent of profit for every crunchy sandwich he makes. He also gets twenty percent off the new menu and food he cooks. He spends the rest of the day training the other two cooks that work at the tavern.

Aegon leaves and decides to explore more of the city. He travels from island to island by boat and sometimes a bridge that connects the closer islands. By early evening he heads home and finds Viserys in one of his moods. Dany is whaling at the top of her lungs, "Shut that little bitch up!"

"Hey!" Aegon yells entering the main living area of the house. "Why are you yelling?"

"Those fools at the Iron Bank dare to deny me a loan…"

When Aegon takes Dany from Nanna she stops crying and smiles. "It is not the end of the world my brother… We still have valuables to sell and Sir Cade has not returned yet…"

"What of you… You said you were working on something…"

"Yes I will work at a Tavern as a cook…"

Viserys starts laughing, "Oh my little brother… You are not as smart as I thought you were…"

That is when Sir Cade returns, "Ah Sir Cade… How much did you get…"

"A good sum My King… All in all two thousand gold harpies…"

"That plus what we already have comes to twenty-five hundred in gold and silver…"

"Not enough to buy an army… and feed them…" Cade says.

"Plus the ships we will need if we are to cross the Narrow Sea…" Aegon adds. Then he walks up to Cade and takes the gold.

"What are you doing?" Viserys asks.

"Taking charge of our treasury…"

"That is a job for the Master of coin… I have not appointed one… As King I should hold on to the gold…"

"Well as Hand of the King I will take charge of it… your Grace…"

"Leave us!"

Nanna takes Dany from Aegon, then follows Sir Cade and the others out of the room. Viserys walks up to Aegon and slaps him hard enough to draw blood, "Don't ever contradict me in front of others… I am your king first and your brother second…"

Aegon spits blood from his mouth and stands up, "Forgive me my King… May I show you something?"

"What?"

Aegon calmly walks over to the table, rolls up the sleeve of his shirt, and takes a small bottle of oil. Then he pours some oil on his left hand. "Watch your grace…" Viserys gasps as Aegon puts his oiled hand into the fire from the torch. The oil burns, but Aegon's hand remains unharmed. "I am the blood of the Dragon Viserys… You claim to be also… Come… put your hand in the fire and wake the Dragon…" Aegon removes his hand and shows it to Viserys, after taking a few steps back.

"I… I… I don't need to wake the Dragon… I don't have to prove anything to you…"

"I know… but do it anyway…"

He slowly walks up to the torch and cautiously sticks his hand out. He yelps and withdraws his hand. Aegon walks up to Viserys and grabs him by his cock, "Listen to me and listen well… You are my brother… You are older than I so by birth you are entitled to the Iron Throne… That being said… If you ever place your hand on me again… I will cut that hand off… cook it and feed it to you… Nod if you understand me…" Viserys nods, "Good… now I will be handling all the gold that comes in… Understand…" He nods again. Aegon releases him and goes to his room.

Aegon practices his swordsmanship with Edron before retiring. He sleeps with Dany at his side the last child his mother gave birth to before dying. Aegon's eyes pop open when he hears the door creak. He pulls a miniature crossbow from beneath his pillar and fires at the door frame just as Viserys enters with a dagger.

"Oh it's you Viserys… I thought you were a thief…"

"I… I… I am sorry I woke you brother… I was just checking on you…"

"I am fine go back to bed…" When the door closes Aegon closes his eyes and listens as Viserys runs up the hall. The next morning Aegon practices the sword with Edron, then he breaks his fast, gives Viserys some gold, and leaves for work at the inn. To get new business, Aegon prepares samples of the new food and sends out one of the cooks with a server. By midday people are pouring into the tavern to buy the new food. Some of the food is prepared to order, and some is piled high for self service at a window for those who do not wish to wait for a table.

It gets so busy that the owner has to buy more tables and set them outside. In one day they had sold over five thousand crunch sandwiches for one silver talent a piece. In addition they sell out on the other new menu items. By late evening Aegon is walking home with a satchel of money. He climbs up to the roof and hides the gold with the rest. Then he climbs back down and knocks on the door. When he enters there is more drama waiting as Viserys had sold their ship. "We could have lent that ship out… Your majesty to earn more gold…" Aegon says in anger.

"I thought… I thought we needed the gold now… After all I am a King… You a Prince… Dany a Princess… Royalty should not have to live like this…"

"Titles that don't mean shit when you are in exile… I had thought you learned that lesson when the Iron Bank turned you down… Our father thought he could do as he wished… They called him the Mad King…"

"Our father was a great King and our family was betrayed…"

Aegon shakes his head and takes a seat, "I'll let you in on a secret dear brother… As you know Rhaegar and I were close… We told each other everything… So he told me that he had become disillusioned with our father's irrational behavior… It was always his intention to overthrow our father and take the throne… He participated in the tourney at Harrenhal to gain allies for his cause… He had convinced the Tyrells and Tywin Lannister who on many occasions had been made a fool of by the Mad King…

During the tourney he got distracted by a Northern beauty… and fell in love… Lyanna Stark ran off with him… Then the old man had Rickon and Brandon Stark executed… Now that I think about it… That old goat killed them to start the war… Someone told him of our brother's plans…" Aegon notices the subtle movements on Viserys' face. Now he knew who told Aerys Targaryen his brother's plans. "Varys must have learned of my brother's plans and told him…"

"Yes of course… they don't call him the Spider for nothing… It was that weasel Varys… I will gut him when I retake the throne…"

Viserys had just confirmed Aegon's suspicions. His idiot brother heard Rhaegar and Aegon talking and ran told their father who killed Rickon and Brandon Stark. The war prevented Rhaegar from convincing the Starks, Tullys, and Jon Arryn to back him. If Eddard Stark knew the truth maybe he would not have supported Robert Baratheon in his war. Jon Arryn sided with the Usurper out of a sense of justice for his young wards.

"Anyway learn from the mistakes of the past…"

Aegon forces Viserys to give him the gold after which there were no more incidents from Viserys for a while, which allows Aegon to focus on other things. The gold is slow to come in, but he makes the best of it. A year passes and in the fifth month of the second year since arriving in Braavos Aegon comes upon a familiar face.

"Excuse me sir…"

"I know you are closing I will leave…"

"Aren't you Jon Connington…"

"You're mistaken…"

"Really because my father was the one who exiled you…"

He looks up, "Aegon… Prince Aegon…" He takes Jon back to the house with the red door.

"I have heard many things… People are saying all the Targaryens are dead… And here you are… Three of you…" They talk while walking.

"My father was a Mad Man… a fool to send you into exile…"

"I failed my King…"

Aegon thinks about Viserys, "If it is your wish you can serve a new King and his Hand…" Reluctantly Jon Connington follows Aegon home.

"Aegon! Who is this man and why have you bought him here?"

"My King… May I present Jon Connington… Jon Connington my brother… The rightful King of Westeros…"

He bows, "Connington… Your name sounds familiar…"

"Father exiled him… for his… well for what happened at the Battle of the Bells…"

"Why bring this Exile here?"

Aegon smiles, "I thought he could be of use to us… In a few years he can travel to Westeros… Earn the trust of the Usurper and become our eyes and ears…"

"And what if he betrays us…"

"My arrogance was my downfall your grace… I wanted to face Robert Baratheon in single combat… I have learned from my mistakes and wish to atone… Give me a chance…"

"You will leave on tomorrow…"

"No!" Aegon forcefully says.

"Why not?"

"It is too soon… Jon is an exiled former Hand of the King… He needs a story… We have a way to get information… For now we wait… Patience my King… If we move too soon we can all come to ruin… If we make the right moves at the right time… Then we will succeed… For now we wait…"

Waiting came easy to Aegon, he is a planner, a thinker, a cunning young man, wise beyond his years. Things were falling into place, but not fast enough for Viserys. Like their father Viserys would make a mistake say the wrong thing and get himself killed. Then Aegon could ascend to the throne. "We do not need another Mad King…"

Over the next three years Aegon worked hard at the Tavern. He and the proprietor earned so much gold that they were able to buy out another competitor which bought in more gold. Every month Aegon would give Viserys an allowance to pacify him. When Dany turned four Aegon started teaching her the bow and sword. Jon Connington remained out of sight and in doors for the day he was to leave for Westeros. When Aegon took a day off he and Connington would practice what to say to win the King's confidence and gain access to his inner circle.

"Your main goals will be to get information, learn weaknesses, and look for potential allies."

"Yes of course… My main obstacle will be Varys the Lord of Whispers…"

"Yes I remember the spider…" When he was younger Aegon feared the spider. Now he was older he saw him as a threat to his plans. He sighs, "The Spider has eyes and ears everywhere… So today I will hire some people to act as your servants… They too will be your eyes and ears… Also you will need a man to guard your back… So I will be looking for a Braavosi sell sword…"

"You should be King… /"

"My brother is touched with madness… He will be his own undoing… All I have to do is wait…"

"What of your sister…"

"I started teaching her the bow and sword… She is shy, but bright and intelligent…"

"So when do I leave for Westeros?"

"Soon…" Every morning Aegon would practice the sword with Edron. They would train then fight mock duels with steel practice swords. Aegon had already lost the first duel. He was determined to win the second. Aegon loses his left sword and keeps fighting with his right. He twists his sword blade backwards away from his arm and swings. Edron ducks, but Aegon twists his sword forward again, stops his swing and when Edron lifts his head he finds a blade at his throat.

They both smile breathing heavy, "That is a death blow and the first time you have ever bested me… The student has become the teacher…" Aegon backs away with a huge smile on his face. "I can teach you no more…"

"Really… Because you beat me in the first duel…" They always had two fights each morning.

"Few men your age reach your level with the sword… Our time together is done…"

"There is always a place for you at my side…"

"It is appreciated, but there are other adventures for me…"

"Allow me to pay you…"

He shakes his head, "Your brother hired me to teach you… He was a good man… Prince Rhaegar… He would be proud of the man you are becoming… Remember my Young Dragon… Valar Morghulis… "

"All men die…" Aegon replies.

They interlock arms, then Edron packs his things and leaves. Aegon spends the next few months training a woman to be Jon's personal servant. He also hires a Braavosi sell-sword to protect Jon while on his mission. He gives Jon 2,000 in gold and sends him on his way.