Fire and Blood

Chapter 74: Healing a Wounded Heart

"My... my love..." That confirmed it. Viserys was referring to his first wife, the late Queen Aemma Arryn. The king still shook and trembled, his lips quivering as he held the right side of his face. "Oh, what... what have I done? So sorry... please... forgive me, my... my love... I'm so sorry..." Even after twenty years since that fateful moment, the king still loved her dearly and missed her terribly. "Aemma..."

However, Aeonar frowned. He was getting angry. "That's enough," he said silently. Don't even speak her name in front of me, father. You know damn well what you were doing to mother was wrong, but you did it anyway. You've no right to talk about her. Reaching over for a vial of the king's medicine, he coincidentally knocked it over and heard it shatter on the ground. "Ah, damn it!" he cursed. As the Young Dragon leaned over to gather the broken pieces, a paper was discovered among them, possibly placed under the vial. What's this? Picking it up, Aeonar turned the page to see it was a written letter addressed to him.

My dearest love,

I apologize for going behind your back like this; but I must inform
you that so many things will be left unsaid if you choose to ignore
this request. Although, understandably, you may wish to
discard this letter, I urge you to hear His Grace out.

While cleaning out the inventory, we stumbled upon a small chest
that we will place by Viserys's drawer. So far, only Rhaenyra knows
what's inside. All that's left is you.

If you wish to know the truth, please open the chest and look inside.
Some things mention you by name.

I only hope this brings you peace, sweetheart.

May the light of the Seven shine brightly upon you.

Love,
Alicent

As Aeonar's eyes scanned the familiar handwriting of his wife, Alicent, he couldn't help but feel confused. Why would she go behind his back and keep something from him? His mind raced with possibilities, wondering what could be so important that she would risk their trust in each other. And why was Rhaenyra involved in this clandestine operation? The mystery deepened as he pondered over the contents of the chest that was meant for him to see. He had debated with himself before finally deciding to open it, hoping to find answers to his questions.

As he turned the key, the locking mechanism clicked, and the chest was finally opened. Aeonar's gaze fell upon the first item, a massive black dragon scale. From the size and layering of the scale, it was evident that it belonged to none other than Balerion the Black Dread, the greatest and largest of all dragons to have ever belonged to House Targaryen born in Valyria and the last creature to have seen the Freehold in its prime before the Doom. Aeonar couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and reverence as he held the scale in his hands, knowing that it had once been a part of such a legendary creature. He couldn't help but find it somewhat ironic that the dragon that had been ridden by the Targaryen kings Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel before Balerion was claimed one last time before drawing its final breath by a rider who would be remembered as Viserys the Peaceful.

Two hundred and eight years...

Upon opening the chest, Aeonar's eyes were immediately drawn to the next object resting inside. It was a stunning silver signet ring adorned with a majestic emerald cut in the shape of a dragon. Aeonar knew instantly that this was his grandfather's, Prince Baelon the Brave. The memories flooded back to him of his grandfather wearing it on his finger with pride. As he picked up the ring, he noticed a delicate lock of silver-gold hair tied around it. Aeonar couldn't help but wonder if it belonged to his grandmother, Princess Alyssa Targaryen. Though he had never met her, he knew of her reputation as a worthy successor to the great legacy of Rhaenys and Visenya and the previous rider of Meleys, the Red Queen. The ring and the lock of hair were precious artifacts that held so much history and meaning for Aeonar and his family.