Aenys II
23AC
'There is the gate again, ' Aenys thought as he rounded the walls of the Aegonfort for a fourth time. Alyssa's labors arrived just in time when the Maester predicted, just after the turn of the new year, three and twenty years after his father's conquest of Westeros. But all those predictions didn't mention how dreadfully it would actually happen. Alyssa was there in the middle of her labors and Aenys was horribly stressed, to say the least. It began earlier in the day, just a little while after they awoke in their bed. And once her screams began, gods Aenys didn't want to hear those horrid sounds ever again in his entire life.
He was summarily removed from his chambers once her labors began and was pacing around the hall outside before his father told him to get some fresh air. ' I should go back, I want to know how she is doing, ' he thought before he turned on his heel and walked towards the main chamber of the keep.
He moved towards the main hall of the Aegonfort. The Iron Throne was there and it was where he would likely find news of his wife. If he went back to their chambers in the Aegonfort he would just be turned away again. The Iron Throne was an enormous structure. It was a veritable mountain of melted and deformed steel that only vaguely resembled a chair. He found one of his companions standing at the foot of it.
"Alyn, have you heard anything?" Aenys said as he walked up to his closest lordly friend, Alyn Stokeworth.
"Prince Aenys! I have not heard a word, are you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost," Alyn said with a jape and Aenys flashed a little smile, albeit forcefully.
"Oh, please forgive me for saying this Prince Aenys but you seemed to be too stressed. The Grand Maester and the midwives will handle this." Alyn said confidently but Aenys wasn't as sure as him. It was nearing midday and Alyssa began her labors just after sunrise. Over the last ten moons he had grown to love Alyssa, he genuinely enjoyed their time together and he could hardly imagine the thought of being without her.
"Where are the others?" Aenys asked, trying to divert his attention from the singular topic of his child. Alyn was about to answer him before his father appeared and Stokeworth quickly shut whatever he was about to say. His father had this effect on most people.
"Son," Aegon said before pulling Aenys into a hug. While Stokeworth silently exited after giving a low bow to his father.
"Father" Aenys said as he returned the hug. He was glad his father was here. His brother had taken a short trip to Dragonstone with Aunt Visenya the day before and he had yet to see them return. He would be here soon but his father was his only current familial support.
"You will be alright, your reaction is normal, hells I reacted the same way when your mother gave birth to you."
"Pardon?" Aenys was shocked, his father never spoke of his mother, ever.
"Yes I was a nervous wreck the entire time, Visenya pulled me into the yard and we sparred in the yard for what felt like half a day to burn off the nervous energy," his father was smiling but Aenys was bewildered. He never once talked about his mother, Queen Rhaenys, after the peace with Dorne. Now he was speaking of her like it was an ordinary matter. There was so much he wanted to ask his father about her. How did she spend her time? What were her favorite things? Above all else, the question that he wanted to ask more than anything was why did he make peace with Dorne? The kingdom that killed his mother, her dragon shot dead in their damnable deserts. Why would he ever make peace with them? Aenys does not think he could make peace with someone if they killed Alyssa, though he hoped he would never have to make the choice.
It was only then that Aenys noticed that his father was shaking too. Less obvious than himself, but he was also nervous. Aenys smiled and thought 'At least I am not alone in my nervousness.'
His father continued to calm him for a time before they got the news all the kingdom was waiting to hear. "Your Grace, my prince. Lady Alyssa has finished her labors," one of the Grand Maester's subordinates said and suddenly two Targaryens were in a rush towards Alyssa's chambers.
"Alyssa!" Aenys was the first to the door and called out for his wife.
"Husband," her voice seemed very tired.
"Are you alright?"
"Oh, I am just fine, though you better pay more attention to this little one." Aenys eyes drifted to the arms of his wife and he found a little babe. A silver tuft of hair atop its head and gleaming light purple eyes. A little bundle of joy.
Aenys took the little one into his arms, it was not very heavy, he heard that he was a light babe but he also heard that Maegor was heavy so he did not really know. He then asked the question that had been eating away at him for the last nine moons. "Do I have a son or a daughter?"
"You have a daughter, my prince," the Grand Maester answered and Aenys was a little put off at his intrusion but to be fair he did not specifically ask Alyssa. He also would never tell the man off, Aenys loathed conflict.
"May I hold her?" his father asked and it was only then that Aenys realized that he was crying.
"Of course, Father," Aenys handed off his little girl and wiped his eyes.
His father also had tears in his eyes and Aenys was gobsmacked. ' Why is he crying? For the life of him, he never saw or even heard his father crying. '
"She has Rhaenys's eyes." His father said with the most joy Aenys had ever heard amidst flowing tears. His father was often melancholic, he flashed some small smiles often enough and put on a performance for the lords and smallfolk but never truly found joy or even laughed. The court whispered that King Aegon's joy died with his second wife in Dorne. Aenys believed them until now.
"She does?" Aenys was shocked and quickly took a second look at his daughter. He did not remember his mother and he was overjoyed to learn that she had the same eyes. ' A part of her lives on, ' Aenys thought with a smile.
"So these were her eyes," Aenys noted and he was crying again, he imagined he would be crying quite frequently for the next few years.
"How about we take some inspiration," Alyssa quietly spoke into their little moment.
"What do you mean, My dear wife?"
"Her name, dear husband, what if… shall we name her Rhaena?"
"A wonderful idea, my love," Aenys was quick to agree and he saw his father with a big smile. It was a great idea and he would have to properly thank his wife later. A way to carry on his late mother's legacy.
Rhaena was coddled and passed between him and his father a few times but eventually, the babe got tired. Once Rhaena began to cry she was handed back to her maids so she could be fed. Aenys wondered if she would feed Rhaena but he learned that Alyssa decided against a wet nurse.
Looking at his wife and firstborn child Aenys could only smile. He had a family of his own now and it was sure to only grow from here.
…
After a full day of festivities, the celebration in the castle slowed down and he retired to his chambers to rest. His little family would stay in the Aegonfort for a few days before he moved back to his manse. His wife was in their chambers and so was the crib in which his daughter would sleep for the time being. Alyssa had decided to keep Rhaena nearby all the time so she shared their chambers for the time being. He had not the faintest idea why she decided on such a thing but he would not complain, he could coddle and spoil his little girl as much as he wanted to now..
His wife had a relatively easy labor, likely aided by Rhaena being small. She had already recovered enough by the end of the day to be able to eat and drink properly. And Grandmaster said she will resume most normal activities within a month. Though she would join him again in his bed after some time as the maester recommended putting off child-making for at least a few moons.
After watching Rhaena for a time and sharing some soft words with Alyssa. Aenys began preparing himself to retire to his chambers. This day had been a long one and Aenys was exhausted. He imagined only his lady wife was more exhausted than himself. Before he could get in his bed though there was a knock on his door. He opened it to find his little brother.
"Ah, Maegor! What a surprise!" Aenys said and suddenly he felt like he had been in this exact same situation before.
"Good Evening brother! Sorry, I was not here earlier! We had to wait out a small storm before we could fly back. Sorry to bother you this late but would you mind if I could see my niece?" Maegor apologized first before making his request. He only recently learned Maegor went to go check on the hatchlings from the latest clutch on the request of their father. The Dragonkeepers requested a royal and Maegor volunteered to go, he had no idea that Alyssa's labors would begin the day after he left.
"Good Evening, Maegor," Alyssa quietly said. She was very exhausted from the birth and celebrations so she was not quite as energetic as she normally was. She and Maegor were not very close but they had grown a bit more friendly over the last moon. She had dropped the prince title at his request.
"Good Evening Alyssa. I hope you are doing well," Maegor was nothing but smiles towards his wife and it made him happy. To be honest, Maegor was also a pretty new addition to the small Targaryen family, only his daughter and wife being newer. Seeing his family grow and get along so well brought Aenys great joy.
"So where is Rhaena? I heard that I have a wonderful little niece to dote on but I do not see one." Maegor's smile was infectious, it reminded him that Maegor was only ten. Yet he acted more like his own age. He was perplexed by it but the maesters had raised all sorts of explanations. From his upbringing surrounded by adults or his mother's mysterious raising of him. The Septons said he was blessed by the Crone and Warrior. Either way, Maegor was his brother and would always be his brother, no matter how strange he acted.
"Ah, there you are," Maegor said in a lighthearted tone and lifted Rhaena up out of her crib. Rhaena was a small babe but was not insignificantly heavy. His father said that she was heavier than he was but was lighter than Maegor, either way, Maegor had no trouble holding and bouncing Rhaena around a bit. Her smile and giggles were priceless.
Then he noticed Maegor's expression change, his brother wore a fake smile as he bounced Rhaena around. He noticed it first in Oldtown but had seen it more ever since he returned from his first progress. When he would meet with nobles he put on a very forced smile. Similar to the one Visenya would wear when dealing with "the creatures of the court" as she called them.
"What is wrong brother?"
"Ah! Uhh, nothing is wrong Aenys. I am fine."
"Must you lie brother?" Aenys said with a displeased face. He and Maegor had grown very close over the last year. They spoke at least once a day and often flew together at least twice every sennight. He had even gotten Maegor to open up a bit but his little brother was still guarded all too often. He was surrounded by family and friends, he could drop the facade.
"I do not want to trouble you with my worries."
"Haha! Please, this is me just paying you back, I made you suffer through plenty of my worries back in Oldtown. Let us speak, nobody will hear us here"
"Alright, if you insist. It is just, so much has changed in so little time. It is difficult to fathom. I spent nine years of my life on one little island with my mother and now I have a family, a proper one, and one that is growing and will only get bigger. It changed so much in such a small amount of time."
"Ah, I feel the same as you, Maegor. Just a year ago I was a boy following my father everywhere. Now I am a father myself. The changes this past year has brought on have been staggering."
"How do you deal with it then?"
"I look ahead, not just at what is happening now. If I look only at the now then I will get caught up in how much is happening. Sometimes you have to look towards the future Maegor. If you only stare at your feet you will never see where the road you are on will lead you." Aenys was proud of that little bit of knowledge. He loved poetry, though he never considered himself all that good at it. He would be proud of that little bit of wordplay for the next while.
"... Thank you Aenys," Maegor let out a soft smile. ' Good, that one is real, ' Aenys thought and then Rhaena began to stir in Maegor's arms. She was a good girl for their talk and stayed nice and quiet but now it seemed she wanted to be moved again.
"Haha, this one sure is lively," Maegor smiled a full smile and returned to lightly bouncing Rhaena.
"Don't I know it," Alyssa butted in and he and Maegor jumped before laughing. They were so engrossed in their conversation that he had kind of forgotten about Alyssa's presence. It was not entirely his fault though, his wife was quiet as a mouse during his conversation with his brother.
This is what Aenys wanted. His childhood was lonely, he was a single child with only peers to turn to. His father was doting but what he desired more than anything was true companionship, a family to call his own. He had found it, he had a wonderful wife, a beautiful babe with hopefully more on the way, and a brother who he was happy to call his best friend.
…
Aenys never imagined he would set foot in Dorne. Especially now that he had so much to lose. Yet his father had asked him to accompany him and he could not refuse. It was a feast celebrating the ten years of peace between their two kingdoms, even though his father claimed this land as his own.
They had arrived at Sunspear and were led to the Water Gardens just a few leagues from the castle. It was the private palace of the Martells and it would be where the feast was held The Dornish promised this as a sign of good faith and thus they were only accompanied by five members of the Kingsguard. The other two remained in King's Landing to protect Rhaena and Alyssa and to ostensibly protect Visenya and Maegor, though Aenys doubted either of them needed the protection.
So they were in a foreign land that was responsible for the death of his mother, the mother he could not even remember. His mother was stolen from him by these people and his father agreed to come here to celebrate the peace he did not even understand. 'Why?' he kept asking himself internally, his father had never once talked about the Dornish wars and the first, and only, time he asked his aunt she gave him a death glare so he decided against asking Visenya any further questions. Dorne was supposed to be a touchy subject. 'Why would father agree to this,' Aenys kept thinking.
The Water Gardens were gorgeous, it was a palace covered in greenery and pools. It was richly decorated and he remembered his lesson about this place. Constructed fifty years before the conquest. Visenya burned it to the ground during the Dragon's Wroth. The Martells must have liked it a lot because it was quickly thrown back up. Though the scorch marks and the melted stone from Vhagar's flame could still be seen.
They were led to a table and met with the Prince of Dorne, Nymor Martell. He was old, with gray hair and a very wrinkly face. Though he supposed it made sense he was so old, he was two decades older than his own father. Neither bowed to the other but after a curt nod and some bread and salt, they moved towards the main table.
He was sitting on the right of his father and as they all took his seat he could not help but fidget nervously and even started sweating. There are no smiles shared around the table, only very tense stares and after taking a look at his father he saw a face he had never seen on him before. His face was one that demanded absolute respect, he had seen it on Visenya a few times but this was the first time he saw that stony face on his father. Even on his progresses he was normally jovial with the lords and downright friendly with some. Yet here he was a king, and nothing more.
Aenys looked around the table to find the same face on Nymor Martell. He considered himself Aegon Targaryen's equal, not his vassal, and his look relayed the message clearly. The entire table felt the tension as nobody was speaking, the table sat in silence until the food arrived.
The food was a rich dish of rice and all manner of different meats and spices. He thinks the Dornish called it something like Paella but he was not paying much attention. Even with the masterfully cooked food and extravagant spices, he did not take the first bite. It was only when his father took a bite that he followed his example. ' I cannot taste anything, ' Aenys thought and was bewildered. There were dozens of rare spices included in the dish but he could not taste any of them, ' Mayhaps due to stress ' Aenys decided.
"How is the food, King Aegon?" Nymor broke the silence and suddenly the table was staring at the two monarchs.
"It is good, Prince Nymor. Your choice of spices is quite good. Certainly pleasing on the palette," his father returned with the same strong stare.
Aenys started sweating in earnest now, the tension was so thick at the table that Aenys thought he could cut it with his sword. He rarely carried a blade with him, though Maegor often did, he simply did not care for it, he was no warrior and he would rather dress in finery than flaunt a sword and armor. But his father made him dress more warrior-like and carry a sword for this visit. ' Perhaps I will carry Blackfyre when I am given it, ' Aenys thought.
As the meal progressed he began to falter. He did not do well in stressful situations and he began to lose the iron look he had at the beginning. He stopped eating a while ago as the food was tasteless to him and he was sweating so much he did not want to display his hands. He was also shifting his feet and was staring at his plate. He tried staring around at the rest of the area to distract himself but everything looked fake.
The whole place looked almost like a mummer's imitation of a palace. The walls were empty and the trees had yet to regrow to their full height. Above all else were the staff. They looked extremely lost and some of them did not even respond to questions.
This entire meal he was accosted by thoughts of his mother, ' she died here, ' he kept reminding himself. They refused to bend the knee, they voluntarily sacrificed hundreds of thousands of their smallfolk in order to keep their title of prince. Had they surrendered nothing would have changed in reality, they would pay a small tax, their title would have changed, and they would have carried on exactly the same as every other kingdom. Yet they fought, hundreds of thousands died for their title of prince and they even took away his mother, the darling of the realm, loved by all.
He was no fan of the Dornish and as the meal progressed he began to show it more, he glared at Nymor Martell a few times though the Prince of Dorne was focused on his father first and foremost. His father did catch his glare though, he hit Aenys in the thigh and was given a look he had only ever seen Visenya give Maegor, ' stop your foolishness, ' the look screamed. He always thought that his father and Visenya looked very different as siblings. Visenya had much sharper features compared to his father and had darker eyes compared to her brother. Yet in this moment, he noticed the similarities they shared. His father was more light-hearted than Visenya but they were still siblings, the look stopped him dead in his tracks. The rest of the meal continued with light conversation.
After the food was done and the meal ended his father and Prince Nymor said some curt goodbyes and they departed Dorne atop their dragons. He hoped this would be the last time he would have to go to Dorne. He did not like it there, it was too different and had too much baggage. He was glad that he did this though. Now that peace with Dorne was secured, he could safely ignore the kingdom. They would not cause trouble if left alone so Aenys was quite happy to say that Dorne had been pacified.
…
Getting back to the capital made Aenys breathe a sigh of relief, he much preferred this place to Dorne. He and his father touched down on Aegon's High Hill and dismounted their dragons. It would be a few more years before the dragonpit completed its construction so they were kept atop Aegon's high hill for the time being. 'The construction should move faster now that more workers are freed up for the construction' Aenys thought with a smile as he turned to look at the enormous black structure that was rising atop Visenya's hill in the distance.
He departed the Aegon Fort nearly instantly to return to his manse. It was on Rhaenys's hill so it was not a super long horse ride but he wanted to see his wife more than anything. Entering his manse he was relieved to find it exactly the same as he had found it last. He had purchased the manse after his marriage as living in the Aegonfort was quite unpleasant. It was richly decorated and the finery and cleanliness made Aenys feel much more secure than the dirty Aegonfort.
Now that Dorne could be ignored he could live in this place in peace. He could raise his family here and rule as king when the time came. He greeted his friends along the way to his Lady Wife's luncheon in one of the gardens. She had been building a small court of ladies in waiting and she spent most of her days with them. Aenys guessed his wife had quite a bit of following as ladies from all over Westeros were in her service except for North and those Dornish. Once he returned to King's Landing, Aenys wanted to do nothing else but see his wife after all the stress in Dorne.
Turning the corner of the manse he came into the garden to find a lively discussion.
"Good day, my lady wife"
"Ah, lord husband, you have returned! I heard a dragon roar but I did not know it was you. We have been quite busy," she said with that lovely giggle of hers.
"As have I, my love. Anything interesting happened while I was away?" Aenys asked and slid next to his wife who was sitting on the bench.
"Afraid not, my love. Just the same old luncheons and Rhaena being the best little girl the world has ever seen," she said with a bored smile but Aenys could not be happier at the sight.
'Everything will be up from here. ' Dorne was done with, the realm was loyal, and he had his own burgeoning family. Aenys did not know how his life could possibly get better