Scions of the Cruel King

Laecareys

Sometimes at night he woke up sweating and panting, the sounds of battles fought and yet to be fought echoing in his ears, causing him much distress. The Riverlands were all but theirs, they held all the major towns and castles in the Riverlands, including the seat of House Tully's power Riverrun. Edmund Tully had led a foolish charge at them once he had learnt of Alysanne's death and had been slain, the man's uncle had dipped his banners after that and along with his nephew's wife and young son had bent the knee to Aegon. Still Laecareys could not find any joy in their success. Riverrun had been taken, but Alysanne had died along with Silverwing, Laecareys sometimes felt as if he was the only one in their retinue who truly mourned their cousin's death and the deaths of all those loyal men during the battle of the Red Fork. Aegon had changed, he was no longer the calm and collected individual that Laecareys had known before all this carnage had started, he was now cold and calculating, their victories had made him confident and cocky.

As he walked toward the solar in Riverrun, he briefly wondered how his mother, Myrielle and Melissa are doing. Melissa especially, the last time he had seen her, she had looked worn and tired, childbirth had been hard on her, though she still looked beautiful to him, they had kissed under the moonlight, but had gone no further, Laecareys wore a white cloak now and could not afford to break his vows, or his brother's trust. He loved her though, and the little boy that all except Aegon and Daemon thought was Daemon's, he wanted desperately to see them again one last time before this war ended. He nodded to Ser Addam Crakehall and Ser Boros Reyne his sworn brothers before entering the solar. Upon entering he found Aegon sat in the lord's seat his head in his hands, their grandfather Lord Gerold looked grief stricken and Daemon, Daemon seemed to be staring off into space.

He coughed slightly to let them know of his arrival, Aegon looked up at him and said weakly "Ah Laecareys good, sit down. There are important tidings that must be discussed."

Laecareys sat down and heard the door close behind him. He looked at his brother wondering what it was that Aegon wished to speak to him about, but for once it was their grandfather Lord Gerold who spoke. "There has been news from Harrenhal," a pause as if their grandfather was considering how best to phrase what he wished to say next. "Gawen is dead; the castle belongs to Vaegyl now."

Laecareys is silent for a moment before he splutters "How? I thought there were solid defences in place for the castle?"

Daemon snorts and Laecareys turn to look at his brother with questioning eyes. Daemon sighs and says "Vaegyl arrived with some 5,000 men from the crownlands," a pause in which Laecareys wonders how Harrenhal could fall, their uncle had some 20,000 men with him. Daemon continues as if he knows what Laecareys is thinking. "He rode the black dread, our uncle foolishly thought to provoke him and so was burnt alive. The men with our uncle either died there and then or bent the knee."

Laecareys groans then, their uncle always had more pride than sense. "What did he say to make Vaegyl burn him? Surely he would have known how valuable uncle Gawen was as a hostage?"

Daemon speaks once more, his voice laced with disgust. "He constantly mocked Vaegyl and Alysanne and our brother's wives. You know how touchy Vaegyl is about his whores, Gawen probably didn't know when to keep his trap shut, and so said something that pushed Vaegyl to far, and so Balerion burnt the man."

"Then he will march for Riverrun then? He must do, if he wants the realm to continue to support him." Laecareys says then.

"Not necessarily," Daemon replies. "Our sources within Vaegyl's camp report that Desmond Arryn is leading some 20,000 men down from the Gates of the Moon to join him at Harrenhal. It is likely that Vaegyl will be waiting for the Arryn host to come before he marches. By which point we could have the support of the Iron Islands and another host would have been raised and trained by Ser Tytos Lefford at the Golden Tooth. Plus we have sellsword companies sailing towards us from Lys, Pentos and Myr as we speak."

Laecareys cannot believe how confident his brother sounds. "That is all well and good brother, but this is Vaegyl we are speaking of. The man who flew to Dorne when he heard that Visenya had been kidnapped, the man who fought for us when the faith was calling us all abominations. Vaegyl will not wait for Desmond Arryn or any other host, he knows that Lord Stark and Jaehaerys are leading the northmen south to fight us, he will strike out from Harrenhal and with Balerion then we will be finished if we stay."

Laecareys looked at Aegon then and expected his brother to support him, but Aegon still had his head in his hands, he then turned to their grandfather and was surprised to see an amused expression on his face. "It seems as if you are still scared of Vaegyl Laecareys. Yes he holds Harrenhal, but we hold Riverrun, we have half of the Reach's men with us, plus the might of Casterly Rock and more and more men flocking to our banners every day. Vaegyl's little display with Gawen will simply have made more people question his sanity, he may have men coming in from the Vale, but those men are religious men, Desmond Arryn amongst them, how long they stick with him, a king who is willing to use a dragon to burn an innocent man to death, remains to be seen. We have the greater numbers, than he does. This war is ours."

Laecareys was surprised that his grandfather seemed so blind to the threat that Vaegyl posed to them still, had he not witnessed what had happened when Visenya had gone missing, when the Riverlands had burnt before? His voice shook as he spoke. "Then we must deal with Lord Stark and Jaehaerys and the northmen before Vaegyl arrives if we wish to stand any chance of taking King's Landing."

"Why do you insist we take the attack to the northmen Laecareys? They will be desperate to avenge their fallen princess, and desperate men make mistakes. Let them come, and then we shall smash them to pieces with Urrax and Firefree providing the fire, the men of the west and those led by Ser Jasper Florent the blood. Or are you too much of a girl to try and fight it out like a man?" Daemon said mockingly.

Laecareys was about to respond when Aegon finally spoke. "Enough!" he roared. "I will not have us bickering like little children. There is wisdom in what Laecareys says, Vaegyl will not wait for the Arryn men to come to Harrenhal, for all we know he is marching right at this very moment. With Jorah Stark and the northmen and Jaehaerys marching from the Twins we must act, and we must act now. Laecareys you shall take command of the men currently under Steffon's command, and lead them out to Oldstones, wait for the northmen there. Jaehaerys will want to avenge Alysanne, I will send Gowen and Gothrie Hill with you, we know now how to slay our mounts, they are two of the best archers in Westeros, let them prove that. I want you to defeat the northmen and bring me Jorah and Jaehaerys' heads and bury Quicksilver in the ground."

Laecareys nodded though he had not a clue how they would bring down Jaehaerys and Quicksilver, after Red Fork he was convinced that their cousin would be much warier of actually engaging in open conflict. Nonetheless as Lord Commander of Aegon's Kingsguard it was not his place to question his king, and so three days after their meeting Laecareys was saddled and armoured and ready to march for Oldstones, where it was rumoured the northmen and Jaehaerys were camped. Before he spurred his horse onwards though, Aegon came and stood next to him and whispered to him "If something should go awry, retreat, do not play the hero. I do not need you dying on me, not now, not with how Daemon and Grandfather are acting." Laecareys nodded and as he turned round and watched his brother walk back to stand next to Daemon and their grandfather he raised his sword in salute, before spurring his horse onward leading his men toward Oldstones, and yet another battle.

Through the turbulent weather it took them three weeks to reach the outskirts of the old ruined castle that had once belonged to the kings of the rivers and hills. On the other side of the bush Laecareys could see the northmen and their tents, sprawling across the ruins, some 12,000 men or perhaps more men were there and briefly Laecareys felt a sting of panic in him, he had brought with him some 15,000 men all battle hardened compared to the northmen, though there was something about seeing the northern camp that gave him worries, something primal almost.

Those fears were only worsened when a messenger came from the northern camp carrying the flags of both House Stark and House Targaryen. He stopped in front of their camp, and spoke in a loud and clear voice. "My prince, my lords. In the name of Lord Jorah of House Stark and Prince Jaehaerys of House Targaryen, I welcome you to Oldstones, the seat of Prince Jaehaerys. My liege would like to know what your business is here."

Some of the lords near to Laecareys sniggered and he even heard one of them shout out. "So the abomination has given his cousin a ruin for a seat, how fitting!" Laecareys once again felt the old anger at these westermen brutes for insulting his family, but he quickly let it pass, and instead turned to look at the messenger who was looking at him expectantly. "I thank you for coming here. We have come to treat with Lord Stark and mine cousin Prince Jaehaerys, to get them to bend the knee to the rightful king His Grace Aegon the second of his name of House Targaryen." There were many shouts of approval from the westermen then, and Laecareys felt slightly more at ease.

The messenger though did not seem impressed, he said in a cold voice. "My liege thought you might say something like that, and so has asked me to request of you that you come and speak with him and your cousin Prince Jaehaerys."

Laecareys felt something within him tighten at that, the thought of facing his cousin after Alysanne's death terrified him. The lords assembled all voiced their protests at this saying how it was a ruse and how if he went, then he was as good as their hostage. Laecareys allowed this to go on for a moment before he cleared his throat and said loudly. "Very well then I shall go with you. But my men are impatient and I cannot stay for long."

The messenger merely nodded and turned his horse back into the direction of the northern camp, Laecareys followed him. They rode in silence for a few minutes before they arrived at a great big tent which had the three headed red Targaryen dragon on a field of black flying high from it. Both men dismounted and then the messenger hurried to announce Laecareys, once that had been done, Laecareys entered the tent, and found himself looking at his cousin Jaehaerys and a tall man with dark brown hair and cold grey eyes. "Ah Laecareys," his cousin said sounding tired and weary. "I thought you would not come."

He swallowed nervously before replying. "Of course I would cousin. I know that you are an honourable man, and would not break a promise that you had made."

He heard the brown haired man snort, Jaehaerys merely smiled tiredly before saying "Yes, a promise. Tell me Laecareys who was it that killed my Alysanne? Who was it that made my boys motherless? Was it Daemon, was it Aegon or was it you?"

Laecareys tensed then, and somewhere faraway he heard the sound of a dragon growling- Quicksilver- he swallowed nervously before replying. "It was from scorpion bolts that cousin Alysanne died Jaehaerys. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Sugar coated lies, but then again what more can you expect from a traitor." The brown haired man exclaimed.

"Enough Jorah let my cousin speak." Jaehaerys said, so this was Jorah Stark, the man who had brought down the Twins.

Jaehaerys went on. "If that is so, then why have I not been given my Alysanne's body? Why have her ashes not been sent to King's Landing to be interred there with our father and mother?"

Once more Laecareys swallowed nervously, he could not tell his cousin, this man he respected and admired so deeply what Aegon and Daemon's dragons had done to Alysanne's and Silverwing's bodies once they had died. So he kept silent.

Jaehaerys sighed. "So it is true then. Aegon has allowed the power to go to his head and has forgotten what it was that he was taught. Who was it who ordered the bodies burnt Laecareys?"

Laecareys merely stared at his cousin in disbelief, how could he know what had happened? His cousin chuckled slightly. "Oh come now, you do not think your side is the only one with spies in the other camp do you? Men will do a lot for coin and for more honours than they are deserving of. So tell me Laecareys who was it ordered Alysanne's body burnt?"

He mumbled "Aegon."

Jorah Stark snorted and then said "And how can you continue to serve that boy, when he disrespects his family so? How can you continue to serve and fight for him and send innocent men to their deaths when you know what he is and that he has no right to the throne he claims? Where is your honour?"

Laecareys does not look at Stark, nor does he look at Jaehaerys when he replies "He is my brother, my older brother. I have a duty to my family, I was asked to fight for him, and so as the younger brother I must fight for him."

Stark snorts before saying derisively "King Vaegyl is your oldest brother and your rightful king, yet you fight for a boy who is a usurper and a kinslayer? Your duty has contradicted itself there boy. Duty to your older brother means to King Vaegyl not some Westerling idiot"

"Enough Jorah that is enough."Jaehaerys says calmly. "Laecareys," he begins and Laecareys looks at his cousin and sees sympathy in his cousin's violet eyes. "I did not call you here to insult you. I have asked you here to propose a solution to your dilemma. You know that Vaegyl is the rightful king and that Aegon's claim is not just nor is it true. Bend the knee now and ask for forgiveness from Vaegyl and you may yet live to see the day. Bend the knee and your suffering can end."

He was silent for a long time, it was very tempting, oh so very tempting, he could redeem himself and perhaps even get to marry Melissa, but then he remembers Vaegyl's anger at finding out Visenya had been taken hostage, and the rage that had fuelled him then, and he knows that he will never be forgiven for doing what he has done so far, he will never be welcomed back into the king's peace if he does this. So dejectedly he says "I cannot Jaehaerys. I have gone too far now with Aegon to turn my back on him."

He hears his cousin sigh; before he says "Then it is to be battle that decides this matter? Very well Laecareys I shall allow you to return to your camp and your men. But know this; should we meet on the field, I shall not spare you, not now."

"I know." He replies, and as he goes to leave the tent he turns round and looks at his cousin and says. "I am sorry Jaehaerys, so very sorry." Before he walks out and mounts his horse, to prepare for more bloodshed.