Inviolable Bindings | Aemond & Aegon II Targaryen

Chapter 22

Hearing Viserra's name from his grandsire's mouth sent a wave of anger through Aegon's body. He would not take yet another childish lecture from the man, especially not on this day. Scoffing at the thought, he began rubbing his head to indicate he was more than frustrated at both Otto's timing and presence.

"What concerns have you and my mother made up in your free time?" Aegon spat.

Otto sighed and approached his grandson with just the slightest apprehension. "As Hand of the King, my duty is to guide you in defending and keeping this realm together."

"I did pay attention to some of the septon's lessons, Grandsire. Do you think me a halfwit?" He scoffed, the sarcasm laid thick in his words.

"I do not think you are a halfwit, Your Grace. It is only for the good of the realm that I bring you my concerns when they warrant addressing." Otto's attempt at backpedaling was obvious, his priority aimed to save the conversation before it spiraled out of control.

"Then speak plainly on your intentions here. I do not have the patience for you today," he scoffed, his arms crossing his chest in an unfriendly manner. His only desire at the moment was to rid himself of this thorn in his side, wishing his Grandsire had chosen any other day to badger him.

There was a brief moment of silence that seemed to last longer than it should have. From behind the bed chamber door, Viserra could suddenly feel her heart beating up into her throat. There had not been any more mention of her, but she knew it was coming. When the Hand spoke yet again, she felt all of her senses pulled to pay attention to his words.

"It has not gone unnoticed that you have grown quite fond of your cousin. That her presence and words seem to have a great influence on you," Otto stated carefully. He paused for a moment as if he meant to give the boy a chance to reply.

"What of it? She shares the blood of the dragon, same as I. Something I would not expect you to understand." Aegon's words were sharp but the attempt to offend his grandsire did not seem to have the effect on him he had hoped.

"I would not claim to understand anything of the sort. But it is imperative that you heed my counsel on ruling while we are at war. " He pressed, though under the steadfastness of his voice there was a hint of desperation.

The tension was palpable even though she could not see the interaction herself. Viserra only hoped that Aegon could somehow handle this with grace instead of creating a new conflict within the family. The anticipation had made it hard for her already impatient self finding to stay silent in hiding.

"You know, Grandsire...it seems as if it is only you who cannot find the means to act against Rhaenyra. I do not know if it is fear or stupidity but I am surrounded by others who support us taking action against her with more than just the ravens." Aegon's choice of words had made it clear that he was not pleased with how the Hand had handled things recently. Was this his attempt at distracting his grandsire from her?

"With all due respect, my King, I believe you do not yet understand the complexities of running a kingdom. We cannot just lash out and take your half-sister's head because we want revenge. Our response must be carefully planned and executed." Otto seemed to be speaking through his teeth, the slightest hint that he was losing patience with his grandson.

For once, Viserra did not disagree with Otto's reasoning. In fact, she did think things needed to be handled in a careful manner in which they could strike a blow yet come out as unscathed as possible. While Aegon had improved in caring about and finding the determination to fight this war, he certainly still lacked the experience in planning and implementing the movement behind it.

Nonetheless, there was a small amount of irritation she felt towards the concerns he had brought to the King's attention. Where did he think Aegon had finally found the desire to attend to his responsibilities? It was not simply by chance, a large part of it had been her doing. Instead of concern, the Hand should have been coming to him with thankful praises. Even he could not be so ignorant to the fact that she had some influence in it. Her intuition and dislike of the man only had proved to be true with time. Something she would not ever put behind her.