Maegor V
25AC
My dragon swooped low over the Blackwater Rush and I flew just beside a river barge. I banked left and climbed steeply once I reached the shore of the river. I flew past the hulking monster of Vhagar before I swooped back down towards the river. I had been doing this plenty of times already. I was willing to swoop low because the water got much clearer once you got away from King's Landing. I would never have done this near the city, the filth in the brackish water could drive a person to vomit. I had departed King's Landing with my mother about an hour ago after my morning sparring with Ser Gawen. I would reach God's Eye and then I would return following the river. Navigating this world was really just not easy at all. I had the Maester back at Dragonstone working on a prototype of a compass but it was still too unwieldy to be used.
As I flew around the Blackwater Rush and flew around my mother's dragon once more, I thought about the last two years. ' What a godsdamned disaster, ' I thought as I swooped low once more. Everything was perfect before my mother made the betrothal between me and my adorable niece Rhaena. I had been expecting something like it, the world was different from how I remembered it but not too different. Though I must say I was hoping it would have been butterflied away. I was so shocked during the dinner that I could not even speak. I just sat there and stared at my feet. After that dinner, I went to speak with my mother to find her reasoning.
I still remembered it like it was yesterday. I walked right into her solar to pick my mother's brain. She had too many secrets for my liking and it was time to find her motivations.
It was eerily similar to the one on Dragonstone. Many of the same dragon-based imagery and treasures covered the walls. It signaled that she intended to stay here. I needed to know her reasoning, Rhaena was my niece. The firstborn daughter of my big brother. My mother had made Alyssa quite upset and now she was not speaking with me.
"Why Rhaena, mother?" I questioned before she could ask. I had been growing more bold now that I was in King's Landing but I normally still tiptoed around my mother. Her wrath was not something to underestimate.
"Like I told your father, Maegor. Rhaena is the best possible option for you to wed based on our traditions."
"She is one and ten years my junior," I said after some hesitation. My mother was busy with something and was clearly not pleased to be answering my questions but I needed to know.
"Such an age gap matters little. You are a boy, she is a girl. Men are fertile much longer than women. You will have no trouble giving the girl children, I am sure of it."
"I…" I was about to interject again but she cut me off.
"Listen Maegor, I know this is sudden for you but it follows all of our traditions. When there is no suitable sister to marry it is customary to look for a cousin, uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew depending on the gender. The Velaryons have no other girl for you to marry so this match solves all of our problems. Alyssa will no doubt give Aenys's son another sister if her next babe is a boy."
I wanted to argue with her, that Rhaena should marry her younger brother if one is born. To be queen one day but my mother's argument did make sense on a superficial level. She was also arguing in my favor, trying to help me. I could not openly go against my mother. I would have to suffer Alyssa's displeasure for the foreseeable future.
"Alright Mother, I understand. I will raise no issue," 'Though I will not speak in favor of the match,' I thought with resignation. Regardless of my mother's words I still did not want to marry an infant.
"That is fine, you are a smart boy, you will see the wisdom in this in the future. Let me handle this, I will convince your father to agree to the match and your future will be secured" she said with a smile. She did so less and less ever since we stopped living on Dragonstone but it reminded me that she was my mother, the same one who would smile and read to me when I could still sit in her lap. She was also a pretty damn good one too, if a bit unorthodox.
Returning to the present I saw the river widen until it became nearly the size of a sea. The God's Eye was a truly enormous lake. It was also the goal of this little journey and it signaled my return to the city I now called home. I quickly made the hand signal to my mother atop her dragon before we turned back around.
As I commanded my dragon to turn back I remembered my current betrothal. The Rhaena match did not go through and truth be told I was not terribly torn up about it. No matter how I rationalized it I could not imagine being betrothed to my niece. Who was still soiling herself in her crib. What I was dreading was my father's choice for my betrothal.
After he had told the entire court of my betrothal to Ceryse Hightower I could only really just stand there. I remembered this and hoped it would be butterflied but it seemed this world was too cruel for that. ' What is with these crazy age gaps? Is it that hard to find a match who is less than ten years older or younger than me? ' Those were my thoughts as I just sat there in the dining hall. I happened to have a chance to look at my mother. It was a mistake I soon realized as I could see the bubbling cauldron of hate and rage beneath her smiling face. I had never seen her so wrathful before, after seeing her face I half expected her to blow up then and there. I doubted my father could do anything to stop her. I would come to learn later that she did blow up on my father but she chose a more private place to do so.
The morning after the feast my mother practically ordered me to fly to Dragonstone with her. We had done this before. Mostly because I just liked Dragonstone and I missed my old bed and sometimes I wanted a proper bath but other times I went on the orders of my father. Some of those orders regarded the hatchlings. The remaining four had all died while we were busy in King's Landing. Every hatchling was different but it was common knowledge to Dragonkeepers that young dragons are very fragile. I was concerned but my mother was not particularly worried. I asked her about it and she explained it kind of awkwardly but it also added up in my head.
"Dragons require magic to power their bodies, older dragons can generate it for themselves, some younger dragons can, most cannot. If a hatchling is not claimed it is very likely it will die" she told me and it added up in my head. Dragons were magical creatures and our bond with our dragons was the strongest magic still alive in the world. I only realized then that I may have just saved my dragon Terrax from the same fate. I did not have a specific duty for this visit though.
We sat in her solar once more and I started sweating once she was silent for a considerable time. It meant that she was much angrier than I originally thought. Visenya Targaryen was not one to waste time.
"So what do you think of your betrothal, Maegor?"
'Ohhhh fuck,' I thought to myself. She was pissed, like really mad. She was already upset with the refusal of the Rhaena match but she was clearly much more upset with this new betrothal. I knew she and father argued back in the Aegonfort but she brought me here to vent. I realized all too late.
"I… I do not want to marry her. Especially not at three and ten, Mother," I said truthfully. I raised these same thoughts to my father last night but he told me not to worry. He said that my fears would disappear in time and I would find happiness in my match. He also told me about many benefits that a marriage with Hightowers will provide.
I doubted his words. I did not want to be forced into a marriage. Especially with a woman I suspected to be barren. I had big plans for my life, being tied to a barren woman would inevitably send me down Maegor's original path towards polygamy, which was a can of worms I deeply wished to avoid. I would also rather not outlive my future wife and Ceryse being a full ten years my elder made that likely.
Returning my thoughts to my conversation, I resolved to speak truthfully. Trying to dance around what she wanted here was a fool's errand. I had tried that previous tactic a few times, to varying levels of success but here I would not try it. I would just speak my mind and pray I survived this meeting.
"I do not want you to marry the hag either. Your father has thrown away your future, our traditions, and our trust to placate his fucking ANDAL SAVAGES!" She slowly got louder as the tirade continued and she ended it by throwing her ink pot out her window. She threw it with surprising strength and it flew past my head before I could even react. It reminded me that my mother was very strong, even with her advancing age. I was glad she dismissed basically the entire staff. Nobody was present to hear us talk except the seagulls outside and the rats beneath the stone floor.
"He threw out all of our traditions like they mean nothing! I should have known he cared nothing for our traditions the moment he bent his knee to the High Septon." She was speaking more to herself now but I had not the courage to butt in.
"He even threw out our agreement. Aegon wants to make decisions on his own? Fine, then he can rule his damned kingdoms by himself." My mother had entered a rant and I was helpless to speak.
"...Mother… what is going to happen?" I said after a long period of hesitation. I thought this would bite me, when my mother was upset she was very unpredictable. One of the castle guards did something bad on Dragonstone when I was just six. I did not remember the event very well but I do remember it was a serious slip-up and it royally pissed my mother off. She sentenced him to death, I pleaded she send him to the Wall instead and all it got me was a clear conscience when his head was separated from his neck and my chores doubled for two sennights. So I thought this would not go well for me but apparently, I was mistaken.
"I will not let anything harm you or your future Maegor. I will ensure that you do not marry that Andal harlot. You are my only priority now. To hell with Aegon and his damned iron chair. You need not worry about me, I will do nothing treasonous, but Aegon seems to forget that I do hold power in my own right. He wants to slight me? I will return the favor a thousandfold." She had a dark look in her already dark purple eyes and I feared for my father. My mother was nothing if not determined and he thoroughly pissed her off.
I weighed my options. I had been working hard over the last moon to get to know my family better. It was important to me to keep the family together, the kingdoms were still in an unstable position and I knew my brother's ascension to the Iron Throne would be tenuous regardless. So family infighting would help nobody. Yet I could not just leave my mother hanging.
"Mother, I will support you however I can," I said after a moment of thought. I may love Aenys and my father as they are my family. We had been growing closer and closer over the last few moons before the Rhaena debacle. However, my mother was the one person I could count on above all else. She had given me unconditional love in this disgusting world from the moment I was born, I would support her until the end of my days.
She flashed a true smile, the first one I had seen in years and it made me return one.
"You want to help me? You are a silly boy Maegor. Fine, I do have a goal for you."
"What is it, mother?"
"Get better at swordplay, I have seen you in the yard. You are stagnating, once we return you will begin sparring against knights." She said the words as if they were a warning but I could only rejoice.
Remembering that brought me back to my current thoughts. I could see King's Landing on the horizon and I realized that I should hurry. I had agreed to spar with Aeron and Jasper earlier and I did not want to break my word.
…
I deftly stepped out of the way of a swing from a blunted longsword as I put distance between me and my other staggered opponent. I imagine Aeron made a distressed face beneath his helm to accompany his squawk as his sword met the dirt and the flat side of my shield met his face. I did not hit him hard enough to break anything but it still sent the poor boy off his feet. Then I turned my attention to my other opponent.
Jasper Arryn faced me down with a determined stare from his gray eyes behind his helm. I did the same move against him as I just did against Aeron and he was thinking of countermeasures. He was keeping his shield close to his chest and he held his sword in a defensive position. ' He wants me to attack? Fine by me, ' I thought as I quickly closed the distance. Our swords clashed and he staggered back just like he was last time he tried this. I pushed him back for a time until he finally caught his footing and stalemated us. I let him have some fun before I decided to put an end to our little duel. I dropped my shield and while Jasper was confused I raised my armored fist and punched his shield. It was flush against his chest so the punch carried straight through and knocked Jasper onto his ass.
"That is enough," I said after I removed my helmet. We had been fighting for around twenty minutes now and they were slowing down to the point I was no longer having fun. I was fighting both at the same time because a one-versus-one would have just been unfair. I towered over both boys and with my added strength I could toss them around the yard with ease. Fighting the two at once was fun for a time but they were too uncoordinated for it to be a true challenge.
"Alright."
"If you say so, Prince Maegor."
Aeron was more casual with me because I had known him longer. He started following me everywhere after the wedding in Oldtown. He shared many of my interests like history, warfare, and combat so we hit it off. We also both loved swordplay and he was a determined opponent, even if he was no match for me. On the other hand, Jasper Arryn was a new addition to my retinue and still acted very formal, even in private much to my displeasure. My victories in the yard had won me the admiration of most of the boys around court. The older ones tended to crowd around my brother but the younger nobles centered themselves around me. The ones I was closest to were Aeron Velaryon, Jasper Arryn, and Rayford Rosby. There were others who I sparred with from time to time but those three were my main friends.
"Oh? Done already?" came a response from above the yard. Shiera had taken to watching me spar in the yard for a while now. ' I mean it's not like she has ladies to spend time with, ' I thought to myself. Shiera Qoherys had been summarily dismissed from her position as a lady in waiting for my goodsister, Alyssa Velaryon. I had no idea why but apparently she was tired of her and ordered her sent home. This was the beginning of my Mother and my goodsister's relationship of abject hatred. My mother took Shiera on as a lady in waiting out of sheer spite of Alyssa. Their feud had been the talk of the court for the last two years and Shiera was just one piece of that complex puzzle.
"Afraid so, any more and I might seriously hurt these two," I said with a joking tone. I had picked up some of Shiera's teasing attitude on top of my own witty nature and seeing my two friends embarrassed over failing to even harm me put a smile on my face.
"I will best you someday Maegor," Aeron said and I returned a smile to him. He had already promised that numerous times and I welcomed the challenge. I was having more fun in the yard than I ever had before. I spent the last two years fighting knights and I was not outmatched. My victories became legends and all sorts of lordlings began following me around. Wanting to learn my secrets, as if I had some magical way to win fights. I did not, I was big enough to fight and practice every day. There was not all that much to it.
"Mayhaps one day, Aeron," I said, and then we all moved towards the edge of the yard. We needed to take off our armor and go get cleaned up. It was barely midday and it would not be a good look to smell of sweat for the rest of the day.
"You performed well out there," Ser Gawen accosted me when I was putting my sword on the rack.
"It is all thanks to your training Ser," I nodded my head. I may be a prince but I respected this man greatly. The only people I found I truly struggled in the yard against were the more senior members of the Kingsguard and Ser Gawen. He was sort of a mentor figure for me, he taught me everything in swordplay beyond the basics which I learned from my mother. I would call him a friend but I do not really think that correctly describes our relationship. We were more distant than I was with Shiera, Aeron, Jasper, or Rayford. Though I still did like spending time with him, he was a phenomenal swordsman and had plenty of interesting stories to tell. I questioned him frequently on what it was like to fight in a real battle. I knew sparring was nothing like the real thing.
"Training wouldn't mean a damn thing if you didn't have a good head on your shoulders. Perhaps one day you could even match me," he chuckled and I was reminded that while he was a fantastic swordsman he was also quite arrogant. ' Can't really blame him though, he was so skilled he was noticed by the Queen, ' I thought with some amusement. Ser Gawen was the staunchest of my mother's few supporters.
"Mayhaps one day, Ser," I said before looking back at the yard and I realized how empty it was. Aenys was currently on a progress to The Stormlands so many of the lords around the Aegonfort followed him. As a result, basically the only people in the fortress were the ones I would call my friends. Which was a smaller number than I had hoped. My mother's feud with Alyssa practically split the court.
They openly disagreed on basically everything. My mother would insult Alyssa rather publicly and then Alyssa would try to get back at her in some way. Knowing my mother basically had no friends to lose she successfully peeled off many of the lordlings who followed me around. It was disappointing but the more distressing thing was how Alyssa was treating me.
I tried my very best to remain on good terms with Alyssa but it was all for naught. She could not harm my mother in any way except through me. I doubted she was genuinely malicious towards me but she definitely was towards my mother. Meanwhile, I was still on very good terms with Aenys but spending time with him grew more complicated. Not that I could totally blame him. He was a father twice over now and his wife hated my mother. Alyssa had given him the heir she promised with a little boy named Aegon a little less than a year ago. The birth left her bedridden for a few sennights, the maesters advised her to take a break from childbearing. On top of being a father, Aenys was also back to joining our father on his progress. They had a grand progress planned but my father came back early so he was currently doing the progress himself.
…
After I cleaned myself up with a wet sponge. I moved towards my mother's solar. She told me she wanted to speak with me after we landed at Aegonfort.
" Mother, " I did not bother knocking. She really did not do work anymore so she was no doubt just sitting idly, maybe talking with Shiera but she was most likely reading.
Only I was wrong as my mother was once more doing paperwork. " Mother? " I questioned with a little shock. I had not seen my mother do any sort of real work for the last two years.
"Maegor. Why are you shocked?"
"Did father come here again?" If she was helping run the kingdom then they must have made up. My mother told me he tried many times to get her back into the fold but she kept rebuffing him.
"He did, I agreed to start helping him again. Though I was lying when I said I would make up with that bitch."
"What about my marriage? I thought you two were feuding over that?" This was what I was most concerned about. I was relying on my mother to deal with the situation for now. I planned on making a firmer request to my father when I gained more agency but for now, I was putting my trust in my mother. If she had already given up with my father that was a bad sign.
"I came to a tentative agreement with Aegon," I noted her not calling him husband or brother or my father. Their relationship had seriously deteriorated over the last two years. Basically the only times they would talk would be when he asked her to rejoin court.
"And that is?"
"I got your marriage to Ceryse pushed back until you are at least six and ten name days old. We will decide on the proper time later but for now, I have successfully postponed it. He was not happy about it but he is desperate for my support so he had to agree."
I sighed in relief, it was not the perfect fix I wanted but it would suit my needs for now. The closer I grew to my father the more inclined he would be to my requests. Making myself more invaluable and getting a nice reputation going would go a long way in my negotiating power. I was even willing to accept some level of punishment if it meant I could avoid the match.
"You need not worry, you will not marry her. I will not let you fall into the machinations of Andal barbarians. They belong under our feet, not in our beds. I would sooner wed you to a Lyseni whore than a damned Andal."
"... Alright… So you wanted to see me for some other reason? I doubt it was just for that."
"You doubt correctly, I have spoken with Ser Gawen and after seeing your performance against Ser Raymont two days ago we are in agreement. It is time you earned your knighthood."
I could not restrain the smile on my face and my mother finally looked up from her paper to smile back at me. This is what I have been working towards for the last two years.
"I assume there is a plan?"
"Yes, you and Ser Gawen will discuss it later. Now go play your games with your friends. I will handle the preparations."
"Thank you, Mother," I said from the bottom of my heart before I departed her solar. I could hardly hold in my excitement. ' Finally, all my hard work will pay off. ' I had been working myself to the bone to earn my knighthood.
Despite my title of prince, I was seriously hampered in how I could help my mother by age. I was only three and ten so I was still expected to defer to my father and mother. With a knighthood, I could begin acting on my own and start making a difference. I could hardly contain my excitement as I made my way toward the garden where my friends were set to meet me.
…
"That is one and thirty," I said as I threw down my cards and the rest of the table sighed. All of my closest friends were here and we were playing one of the card games I had taught them. It was called One and Thirty and I had plenty of memories of it. There was not much skill involved so it was easy to teach them.
"Mannnn again?" came the response from Rayford Rosby.
"Yup, it is the luck of the draw."
"I doubt that," Shiera added her two copper stars and I could only smile. Whenever they won they claimed it was pure skill but when I won they claimed I had cheated. I would have been upset but having friends again was quite nice. My lonely days on Dragonstone were far behind me.
Our table was a relatively small one in one of the adjacent gardens in my mother's manse. She purchased it after her fight with my father, another injury on their relationship as now my father lived in the Aegonfort alone. There were five of us here. Me, Shiera Qoherys, Aeron Velaryon, Jasper Arryn, and Rayford Rosby. The people sitting at this table were the people I could truly call friends here. There were others but I doubted if they were true friends. I had already lost quite a few after Alyssa set her sights on peeling them off.
I took the cards into my hands and began to shuffle. It was my turn as Shiera had dealt the hand last time. "So, what were you up to today Rayford? You said you could not join us in the yard, but was there a reason?"
"Besides not wanting to eat dirt? Yeah, my father asked me to go back to Castle Rosby and see my little sister. Apparently, she misses me."
"Aww that is sweet," Shiera cut with a quiet comment and Rayford sent her a questioning look. Shiera could verbally tear every member of our group apart with laughable ease so most regarded her words with suspicion. ' Maybe it was what got her kicked out of Alyssa's little posse? ' I thought as I finished shuffling the deck of cards I had custom-ordered.
"Whatever, so Aeron. How have you been holding up? I heard your father was upset with you," Rayford said the words as I dealt out the cards. Now we were playing crazy eights, I had gotten bored of one and thirty.
"Ehh, it's not so bad. He was always more focused on Daemon and Alyssa."
"Hang on, why would your father be upset with you?" Jasper questioned. He had only recently arrived in court. Officially Lord Ronnel wanted Jasper to ingratiate himself with the royals but it was an unofficial sign of support for my mother. Lord Ronnel was probably the one great lord that liked her.
"Ah, it's because of this whole split court nonsense. He does not like me spending so much time with all of you."
"Yet here you are," I teased. Aeron was my best friend in this world, not counting my brother, so I had some leeway with him.
"Pfff, my sister has enough friends, plus she has made her thoughts about me clear."
"Are you still upset about Driftmark?" Shiera questioned. She was a more recent addition but she had been clued in quickly.
"And you're not upset with my sister? Oh please, we all remember when you were being sent away. I don't think I have ever seen someone so sad," Aeron quipped back. He did not like talking about his family much. I could not really blame him, from the sound of it his father hardly cared about him. According to Aeron the Lord of the Tides put all of his parenting effort into Daemon and Alyssa, neglecting his two younger sons. I could relate to that feeling, maybe that was why we got along so well.
I was about to rebuke Aeron and defend my friend but she retorted first.
"Oh I am, but Alyssa Velaryon is not my sister."
"Yeah well, she certainly does not act like one to me."
"Enough of the serious talk, we are here to have fun, I call spades," I cut in as I placed down an eight. The last thing I wanted was my friends arguing, these people were my escape from the annoyances of my new life.
Our night continued like this for a while. Just playing cards and talking, as we had done for many many nights before this. We switched up the games frequently to not get bored and even broke out a nice ivory dice set I found at the market but as the night grew later people started to trickle off. First Rayford had to go back to his home. Due to the closeness of his castle to King's Landing, he did not actually stay in the city most of the time, electing to stay in his castle. Next to go was Jasper. He was staying in the city with his cousin Hubert and had to go back to their manse. Aeron trickled off after that, saying that his brother wished to speak with him. That left me and Shiera.
She looked deeply lost in thought as I sat back and enjoyed the pleasant cool night air. She was twirling a strand of her white hair between her fingers and I decided to end the silence.
"Shiera… Shiera!" I said quietly before I had to yell to get her attention. She had been getting caught in her mind more ever since she became my mother's lady-in-waiting.
"Huh?! Wuh! Yeah! What Maegor?" she stammered before she realized where she was again.
"Are you alright?" I had to ask. I figured that her time with my mother was weighing on her but she was relapsing into her quiet nature. She had been oddly quiet this card game.
"Wha? Uhh yeah, I am fine, why do you ask?" I saw a blush rise to her cheeks and I got intrigued. ' What is up with her? '
"You are acting differently. You were much more reserved today." I was genuinely worried for my friend. She was normally so chipper. Her relapse made me internally worry. It had taken a great deal of effort and private chats to raise her spirits after she was dropped by Alyssa. It nearly broke her then.
"Uhm, so much has changed. That's all," she said twirling a strand of her white hair with a finger. It was something she did a lot.
"Sure but a lot has changed before today and you did not act like this."
"I dunno, I guess I am just nervous. You are getting married soon right?" she asked with a blush and I got really confused. ' Why would that matter to her? ' I thought with interest. My betrothal was mine and my mother's problem not Shiera's.
"Then stop being nervous. My mother got my marriage delayed. I have more time to convince my father."
"Really? She never told me of such a thing." Her red eyes looked sad, like she was about to break out into tears. Shiera had grown more fragile since her whole situation was flipped on its head. I tried to convince my mother to be nicer to Shiera and she was giving her more attention but I knew better than anyone except perhaps my father that Visenya Targaryen interacting with you more can be a double-edged sword. I had no idea what happened in their private meetings.
"Yeah, I think it just happened. She told me of it not long ago," I tried to reassure her. She was slowly growing on my mother from what I could tell but she was still within the tool category of people she interacted with.
"So you are not getting married yet?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and I raised my own in return.
"No, my mother has seen to it," I said once more.
"Good," she said with a smile and then she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine.
I was caught frozen and had a dumb look on my face but she just continued to smile and got up to leave.
"Talk to you later Maegor," she said with a final smile before she walked out of the garden.
I just sat there for a while, dumbfounded. ' HUH? ' was all I could think as I stared at the exit she took