Fire and Blood

Chapter 25: Royal Progress

Red Keep ― Maegor's Holdfast...

"All preparations have been made for the Eyrie, my prince," Steffon advised. "We have a ship ready to depart at your leisure."

Aeonar nodded. "Thank you, Ser Steffon," he replied. Being the Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne, he had been assigned two Kingsguard knights to protect him. Another seasoned veteran, Steffon was first sworn to the Old King Jaehaerys and remained with his successor Viserys. He was also the uncle to the Lord of Duskendale, Gunthor Darklyn. "Though I prefer to ride Vaelor with us."

"A travel by ship on calm oceans is preferably a much safer choice."

"But dragons are faster." And mine is the fastest in the world.

"Would you prefer we remain with Lady Alicent?" Erryk asked.

"Yes, that would be preferable, Ser Erryk. I'd rather prioritize my wife and son's safety over my own." Aeonar looked out the window. A single ship was being prepared by the bay, often the dockworkers occasionally overlooking to see Vaelor staring at them as they passed by him. He is growing bigger by the day. The prince then noticed one of his agents looking up at him signing hand signals. Farrier's men must have found something. Good. But someone must've been giving them a tough time considering it took longer than usual. Whoever it was, they were not ordinary schemers. No, this had to have been planned very thoroughly and covered their tracks well. "One more thing before we depart, I'll need a moment to speak with my father."

"Of course, my prince."

But before Aeonar or any of his Kingsguard escorts could say or do anything else, Ser Harrold Westerling came into the room. Both Steffon and Erryk stood at attention in acknowledgment of their Lord Commander. "Ser Harrold," they said.

"At ease," Harrold replied before turning to Aeonar. "Pardon the interruption, my prince. But His Grace has requested your presence before you leave for the Eyrie," he informed.

Aeonar raised an eyebrow. His former mentor would not tell him this personally unless he believed it was necessary. "I was actually on my way to see him, Lord Commander. But why so sudden?" he asked.

"I dare not say, but you must meet him in his quarters without delay."

What could he possibly want at this hour? Aeonar felt suspicious. Since his return from the campaign in the Stepstones, he had been avoiding his father for quite some time. Even so, Alicent was insistent that he at least talk to Viserys to see if there was anything that could be salvaged from the estranged father-son relationship. He had his doubts but only complied with his wife's request after being repeatedly asked to the point of annoyance. Dismissing his Kingsguard escorts, Aeonar accompanied Ser Harrold to Viserys's room. He could faintly hear gossip from courtiers, but he ignored them as they soon arrived at their destination.

Harrold pushed the doors open. "Your Grace, the Prince of Dragonstone is here to see you," he said. "Good luck, lad."

"Thank you, Ser Harrold," Aeonar nodded. He watched the Lord Commander leave the room, closing the doors behind him to give the king and him some privacy. The prince closely examined his father's room, vaguely recalling the last time he was brought here. But to see it now? Some dust had gathered, but it remained the same. The model of Old Valyria had grown to take up a much more significant portion of the room and was given more intricate details of design.

Viserys was alone, seated on a high-backed oak chair, looking over letters. Aeonar stood silently. Neither greeting his father nor giving any indication of his arrival. Viserys in turn did not look at or acknowledge his son. It was a few good minutes of cold silence before finally the king rolled up the parchment he had been reading and looked at his son. "My father didn't get to choose his wife. No, it was decided that he would marry his sister. It was the same for my uncle, me, and my brother. Our grandfather and grandmother chose our wives for us. The reasons were political, of course. The point was, we did not have a choice. But we did as we were bid. Some of us found love and happiness in our marriage. Others did not."