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We turn to page ii of this book . . .
I.
"Edwin Hightower, an older brother of Queen Alicent, was arranged to marry Princess Aelara following the mysterious death of her first husband, Emory Snow. And while his name was slandered even months after his death, they praised Edwin. For he was known as a man who selflessly agreed to marry Aelara Targaryen, a woman had already been pregnant with another man's child.
Aerion Targaryen is born in the dead of night, with hair and eyes the color of the Black Dread's scales. He was a small, quiet little thing, a babe who arrived into the realm amidst the crimson tides of childbirth. In the eyes of the realm, Aerion, who had never drawn blade nor uttered ill will, was branded with a grisly title. A kinslayer, for he was deemed the harbinger of his mother's demise."
II.
"While the house of the dragon celebrates the arrival of their prince, the realm morned the lost of their summer princess.
They said Princess Aelara Targaryen gave birth to a monster — a dragon. They claimed he was scaled like a lizard, with the stub of a tail and small leather wings like the wings of a bat. Such tales of horror turned into mere stories for children who misbehaved. For in truth, Prince Aerion Targaryen was just a boy, a killer, but a boy. And by the Faith of the Seven, he was marked for a cursed life."
III.
"In the crowd of hundreds, the babe takes the name Targaryen and suddenly, the world momentarily forgets about Aegon the Conqueror-babe.
Queen Alicent's handmaidens whisper about her distaste towards the plain featured babe. The King had been taken by his grandson's birth that he momentarily forgets about Aegon's second name day. He tells, demands, Alicent that their son will share the celebration with Aerion. The King hopes this would somehow help ease the one-sides enmity between his wife and grandson.
Rhaenyra Targaryen holds her nephew close before the celebration and she does not let go. Minutes later . . . hours later . . . a day later . . . she does not let go. 'He is all that's left of her,' she tells her father, and the King understands.
When the celebration came to an end, King Viserys had taken the heads of five men, all whom which had slandered the name of his grandson. Bastard, kinslayer, and monster were their last words before their lives were ended with a swing of Blackfyre."
IV.
"Queen Alicent never harbored any love for Aerion. Aegon shared a wet nurse and countless name day celebration with his nephew. Despite all of this, it was clear to the Queen that only one got the King's unconditional love, and it was not her first-born son.
Maids of the prince whisper about Lord Edwin Hightower, although not his father but kin, striking Aerion's cheek bloody. The five year old boy only stumbles backwards in fear, receiving scoldings for it. Once he leaves, the maids rush to the boy, holding him as he weeped and his cheeks ran pale.
The stories of Aerion Targaryen's hatred for the Hightowers is said to be rooted to that moment. However, it is unclear whether or not this is true."
— Archmaester Gyldayn, The Kinslayer, or, the Dragonslayer: The Deaths of Aerion Targaryen.
