The Bloody Prince: HOTD SI

Chapter 13

AEMMA ARRYN

Aemma Arryn sat in her room, aware that the Council meeting would soon begin, and today, a rather young and new face would be joining them as well. She had advised Viserys to call Aegon to the meetings to try and get a measure of the boy, and soon enough, that would begin.

And yet today, the councilmen may have to pour their own vines for their cupbearer, who had a punishment to suffer.

"This is preposterous," her dear daughter roared, her face flushed in rage. Her servants and ladies smiled at the display of childishness, while Aemma herself only raised a brow.

"And how is this preposterous?" she asked, and Rhaenyra puffed up her cheeks as she sat down animatedly.

"I did nothing wrong, then why am I being punished?" she asked, and Aemma smiled.

"You did nothing wrong?" and at her accusation, Rhaenyra turned away from her.

"You, my dear..." and at that, she pinched her cheeks.

"...caused a whole ruckus yesterday. You have been skipping your lectures with your septa for two days now, and on top of that, you lied," she said.

"I did no such thing," she replied defiantly, acutely unaware of the political headache she had caused for herself and her father.

"Really?" she asked.

"I asked both you and Father. Both of you gave me permission to go dragonriding...."

"Only after you were done with your lessons," she pointed out, and her smile vanished at that as Rhaenyra began to bicker with her again.

"Please, just spare me. Just this once. After all, isn't there to be a celebration today for cousin Aegon today?" Indeed, there was to be one, and her daughter's innocence both worried and enamored her.

"And you will partake in it after you have made up for your lost lessons," she added sharply as the Septa entered the room. Rhaenyra's face paled as soon as she saw her.

"Please, mother. I beg you," and at that, she jumped towards her feet and began to beg her, yet she hardened her heart and shook her head.

"No, you need to learn your lesson."

"I have. I will not skip a single lesson again," she tried to bribe, but she knew that was a lie.

"Plus, isn't there to be a council meeting today? As father's cupbearer, I have to be there..." and at that, her eyes glinted, and she was about to run off when the Septa cut her off.

"Het back here, Rhaenyra," she called out, and she turned towards her with a helpless and pleading look, and she shook her head.

"Both your father and I agreed that he could manage without his cupbearer for the day," and at that, she motioned for her to go.

"Go and revise your last lesson; the septa will be joining you shortly," and with a defeated sigh, she nodded and walked out of her room as the ladies all chuckled at her behaviour.

She herself turned towards the septa.

"Marlow, do let her go a bit early. She will need time to prepare for the dinner in the night. Once it is time, I will send Alicent to pick her up," she ordered, and the Septa nodded.

"As you say, your grace."

After all, she may be a mischievous little brat, but she was her brat nonetheless, and neither she nor Viserys had the heart to be hard on her.

0000

AEGON TARGARYEN

Aegon did not know what to expect of the day. He could feel the tension permeating throughout the castle ever since his bonding with Silverwing, and yet, contrary to his expectation, a servant had come to his room early in the morning carrying the King's missive, ordering him to attend the Council meeting of the day and so he found himself walking towards the Council chambers, trying to reason out the cause of this summons.

"Prince Aegon," he heard his name getting called out and looked back and found himself face to face with a man he had rather wished to meet for quite sometime.

"Lord Corlys," he greeted the older man, who nodded and greeted him with a smile.

Corlys Velaryon was a legend. The Sea Snake had taken his house and transformed it in its entirety in one generation. From being scorned by the realm for their support for Maegor the Cruel, House Velaryon had lost much of its prestige yet gained it back through his actions.

His deftness at understanding trade, commerce, seafaring, and daring put him far ahead of any other man in the realm. He was a proud man, though Aegon believed that he had reason to be.

Even now, he was clad in what appeared to be Pentoshi silks, decorated with a few jewels, a small beard on his face, and his braids were well maintained.

"I have wanted to meet with you for quite some time," he said, and Aegon nodded as both of them walked together into the Council Room, which was occupied already by three people, the Master of Laws Lyonel Strong, Grandmaester Mellos and Lord Beesbury, the King's Master of Coin.

"I can say the same as well," he said as they sat down after greeting the rest of the lords.

"So, how is the port at Runestone?" he asked, and that was what Aegon had written to him about all those years ago.

"It is still under construction. I took your advice and, rather than reconstructing the old one, began constructing a whole new one. Trade is beginning to pick up on our shores especially as many traders prefer the lower docking fees and faster and safer routes of Runestone," and that was his intention, to lower the trade barrier into his own lands, for while Gulltown was a city, Runestone had the blessing of their lord Paramount and that allowed for lesser tariffs.

"That is smart of you," he said as he leaned back.

"Lord Corlys, do you have any idea why the King has summoned me today for the Council?" he asked, trying to understand his reason for being in this place.

"I have not been told officially, but I suspect that it may be about the troubles faced by the Crown in the Stepstones," he added, and his mind raced, and he also began to understand why the proud Corlys Velaryon was being so friendly with him.

For

"Stepstones," he whispered and nodded.

"The Crabfeeder, you mean, that Myrish pirate Prince," he confirmed, and the man raised a brow.

"You seem familiar with the issue," and he was, indeed, for many reasons. A fleet was being built by House Royce at the moment, and that man and his pirates were helping him out, constantly harassing Gulltown and their ships diverting traffic to his own port.

But there was the danger that soon enough, his eyes would turn towards them as well, and Runestone was already threatened by the scum of Three Sisters.

"And as for his title. I am afraid he is no Prin..." but before he could finish, the doors to the Council Room opened once again, and along with two KIngsgaurd, the King and his Hand entered the Council room.

Immediately he saw the contrasting expressions of the two men, the King's face shifted for a second before he smiled at him and welcomed him as they all rose to his seat.

"Aegon, you are quite punctual, unlike some people," and at that, the King looked at his brother's empty seat, the seat of the Commander of the City Guard, and he did not miss how the King was being much more jubilant than his usual self.

"Come sit there," he said, pointing towards the seat to his left. He saw Otto Hightower's face shift, his eyes widening, and his lips thinned as the Hands thought about his presence and seating, which was all but visible to all.

Aegon joined the King and sat down.

"Your grace, may I ask in what capacity is the Prince here?" the Hand asked, and he saw the King perk up at that question, though he either failed to see the intention or chose to ignore it as he answered.

"In any capacity, he may be of use to the Kingdom. Plus, it's not as if we are lacking for space, are we," he said, turning towards the other members, who nodded.

"Of course, your grace," said Lord Strong as he helped him sit down next to him, and so the marbles were set down, and the council began in earnest. Many matters were brought before the crown, and many were settled.

The King would ask for his opinion a few times, yet he had not missed the constant glare from the Lord Hand and could hardly understand the reason for such animosity, not that he was perturbed by it.

And then the discussion came to the Stepstones once more, and soon enough, after contrasting arguments from both Lord Corlys and the Lord Hand on the issue, the King turned towards him once more.

"And what do you think about all this, young Aegon?"

0000

VISERYS TARGARYEN

Calling Aegon to the Council was Aemma's suggestion, and he followed along by trying to get a measure of Daemon's son. Despite his heritage, he still bore the title of a prince and was essentially the third in line to the throne according to tradition. He was also the rider of one of the biggest dragons in the realm.

The boy had a reputation around him, and his circumstances reminded Viserys much of his own, so he had been distant and mistrustful of the boy, but Aemma's suggestion had been to see and observe the boy for who he was rather than trusting the rumors, for while him bonding with Silverwing could prove itself to be a blessing rather than a curse.

The boy had come into the meeting with Corlys, and he was not elated about that. The Sea Snake wished to dig his teeth into the boy, trying to ally him alongside himself on the Council.

And he could see his and everyone else's gaze focused on the boy, who had shown that despite having Daemon's blood, he had not inherited his father's penchant for violence and impatience.

His suggestion until this point had been of the more cautious and elaborate nature, often going in an unorthodox direction. But still, this was much better than he had hoped.

"Well, open warfare with the Triarhchy as it is will not be easy. Crab Feeder's realm name is Craghas Drahar, and he is indeed a Myrish Prince, and his backers are the magistrates and nobles from Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys," and Viserys frowned as he turned towards his hand.

"Is this accurate?" he asked, and Otto nodded.

"Yes, your grace. It is why I have championed against an outright attack, for if we do, we will have the Triarchy against us," Otto added, and that seemed reasonable.

"But your grace, we cannot do nothing," and Aegon's words caught everyone by surprise, including him.

"But you just spoke against attacking Drahar," he asked with a frown, and the young boy shook his head.

"I spoke against attacking him openly. For all their displays of unity, the Triarchy are still rife with mistrust and opportunistic lords and magisters wishing to further themselves. I believe there are people there that we can make cause with, to wrestle away Drahar's support to make a direct offensive reasonable and possible," and that was an interesting suggestion.

Otto's own suggestion had been to make allies with Pentosh and Braavos, free cities apart from the Triarchy, but if they could be turned against one another, a campaign in the Stepstones would indeed be a great boon for the Seven Kingdoms.

And the way Corlys was looking at the boy, the answer was not what he had been expecting either.

"I believe you are taking inspiration from how you handled the Mountain Clansmen of Vale," Lord Strong, his Master of Laws, a well-read and able man, added, making him frown as the boy smiled bashfully.

"I will not deny that accusation, though I am surprised that you were able to spot the similarities," the boy praised, and he turned towards the older man.

"Kindly explain, Lord Strong?" and the man nodded.

"I both read and made inquiries about Prince Aegon's campaign against the Mountain Clansmen for academic purposes. After all, he was able to accomplish what none have managed to do so in a hundred years," the man praised, and the young Aegon nodded.

"During the campaign, the Prince attacked the unity of the clans by bribes, legitimizing, and other such gifts and proposals, as he caused strife within them and used these favors to get valuable information about his enemies and their methods. The Prince is proposing to do something similar in the Stepstones," and that was surprising.

"Do you think such an effort will be fruitful?" he asked, and the Master of Laws shrugged.

"I cannot say. There is nothing to suggest that it will, or it will not," and that was as politically correct as any answer the man had ever given.

"Who in the Triarchy will even think of taking such a stand? Who will we even approach?" Corlys questioned heatedly, and everyone turned towards the boy.

"Who but those who have the greatest greed," the boy answered.

"The House which is becoming a threat to the Iron Bank of Braavos itself. A house which shares our own lineage and maybe our own ambitions as well, though for them I hope they are limited to the disputed lands," and he frowned at not being well versed in the politics of the triarchy.

"House Rogare."

0000

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