court of lies | robert's rebellion

the champagne problems

"the price of freedom is high, it always has been"

281 AC, Oldtown

"I do not need you to baby me, brother.", she said that night with a huff as he took the soup from the tray to his own lap.

"You had injured your hand.", he pointed out dryly. "Carbollen said not to use it for a while, your first cut had just healed."

"It wasn't a deep cut. It wasn't even a cut.", she tried to defend herself with an eye roll. "It was that bad because it was Valyrian steel and nothing more."

"You are lucky that the king did not seek to punish you for that.", he stopped mixing the soup and sent her a look. "I will not scold you, not when time had passed from it but you've been getting too comfortable with the royal family. First this and now you had showed the dragon eggs to the prince without asking my permission."

"You did not approve it, brother?", she frowned slightly. "He wondered about them and I didn't see any harm in it. I even blind folded him and paraded him around the wing so that he wouldn't know dragons are here.", her eyes found the wall on the left -which was a secret door. "He has no idea."

"What if he decides to take them?"

"He has no right to do so. They belonged to us now, he understood that much."

"Aegon understood that the time of the dragons had ended and yet later on he changed his mind because that is what kings do."

"The prince is not the king.", she reminded him. "And he is not going to demand them to be given to him."

He seemed like he was going to object but chose to held his tongue. Her fever had decreased greatly but she still was not well, he didn't want toa argue with her. "Nervetheless, please do not mention no more about the dragon eggs nor prophecies and myths."

"I do understand your reluctance. Magic and the Targaryens should never combine with each other but-"

"-there is not 'but'.", he pointed. "Targaryens think they are closer to the Gods then mortal men and they seek glorification from ancient letters. It is why Jaehaerys married his children, those parchemtns are the sole reason of the prince's existence. Without them, Aegon would marry his grandchildren with others as he hated incest just like his father. The prince seems different for now but you haven't seen Aerys when he was younger. He was even brighter than Rhaegar now."

"The king?", she asked with raised eyebrows. Of course she heard many tales about Aerys the Second though she met with him only until recently but those tales started after his ascencion and all were clouded by Tywin.

"I knew Aerys since we were boys.", though Leyton was older by three years. "Both our grandmother and father hated their lot but I had squired for our uncle at the capital. I thought he would be a great king. He was not as meek and feeble minded like his father nor over friendly like his grandfather. He was a true Targaryen prince and many of us thought we shall finally have peace.", he sent her a look. "His downfall started the day he befriended Tywin and with that all he could achieve got destroyed because in order to elevate himself, he humiliated the king and shut down his ideas all while pretending to be his friend. Duskendale was only the cherry on top, an excuse to show the madness within, nothing more."

"You fear Rhaegar is like his father? What if he took after the late queen?"

"That is even worse.", he shook his head. "Rhaella when we were young was not a likable person, do not mistaken her with the queen she had became. She was vindictive with a bad heart.", his eyes got cold. "She deserved a lot better than Aerys' treatment but this does not change the fact that she was every bit of a monster Aerys is now."