The King of Winters

Chapter-107

Rhaegar

His son is dead, they told him in the council.

Rhaegar watched the faces of the men in his council for a long time, wondering if any of them would be bold enough to say more to him now. None of them did, but the words were there on their faces all the same. His councillors were all doing their best to pretend that they were somewhere else. Aurane Waters does not give a fig, he thought, and Sunglass looks fit to gag.

"And?" Rhaegar insisted, silently daring the eunuch to present his reports in front of the council.

"The Dragonslayer opened his throat with his sword, my whisperer writes," Varys said looking down at the scroll at his hands. "He drove his blade through the prince's throat after seeking him out for single combat in the middle of the battlefield."

"How could this be?" Lord Rosby lamented. "Prince Aegon had a dragon with him. A dragon, powerful and fully grown."

"Where was the dragon?" Aurane Waters asked, curious.

"Brought down in the battle by the rebels the letter says," Varys told him, clasping his soft powdered hands together.

"This is madness," Rosby shuddered. "The dragons dead, our armies lost, only the gods could save us now."

"Can we be certain of these tidings?" Aurane Waters asked. "Perhaps this is a ruse and not written by the hands of any of our men. Prince Aegon was situated too strongly to lose the battle. He even had the Kingsguard with him."

"Ruse?" Varys asked softly, wringing powdered hands together. "My lord, you wrong me. Would I bring ties to king and council?"

Aurane smirked lightly. "I am not calling you a traitor, my lord. Perhaps your missives are wrong or misinformed. Perhaps this is some ruse of the rebels."

"There is no reason to deceive us here," Varys said. "The talk of the battle is already spreading throughout the realm as we speak."

"What do we do now?" Lord Rosby asked again. "With princess Daenerys and her beast still lost and now this. Without Prince Aegon and his dragon we cannot hope to win the war."

"All is not lost as it seems, Lord Gyles," said Guncer Sunglass. "Prince Aegon had Ser Barristan Selmy and Ser Jonothor Darry of the Kingsguard with him along with Ser Myles Mooton and his men. What of them?"

"Ser Barristan was grievously injured in the battle and was taken prisoner," Varys informed. "Our good Ser Myles Mooton was slain by Lord Robert Baratheon while defending the prince and Ser Jonothor is listed among the fallen as well."

"And the Lord Hand?" Sunglass asked. "Lord Jon was in the Riverlands as well, was he not?"

"He was too far away to be of any assistance in the battle."

"We have to call him back," Rosby advised, coughing. "The city will be left woefully undefended should Andrew Stark make his way down upon us. Yes, Lord Jon should be recalled back to the city to help us defend it."

"The Hightowers in the south, Stark in the north and Lord Tywin in the west. It seems we lack for no enemies in the realm," Aurane Waters said.

"And now with Prince Aegon and his dragon dead... Perhaps it is time to settle for peace."

He said it so easily that for a moment the King thought that he heard wrong. Rhaegar stared at the man in silence, aghast and enraged.

"My son is dead," Rhaegar declared in iron tones. "And all you can think about is how to protect your lands and title. You are disgusting me with your mindless chatter."