R O O K S
R E S T
P A R T 2
Knights hid behind shields, oak and iron had little protection against the flames. As they burned, some attached to their horses and some running from the battle, two others descended the sky.
Dragon upon Dragon, kin upon kin. The battle of Rooks Rest produced nothing more than a second sun, igniting the sky with dragon flame sparking off all three. Aemond upon Vhagar, Aegon on SunFyre and Rhaenys upon Meleys.
The Queen that never was made no attempt to flee, the thought never crossed her mind. Now a thousand feet above the lands, she charged at both her foes. The crack of her whip was heard by those who had stood their ground and watched.
Against Vhagar, she had a chance. After all, she was a vast war beast and did not care for tactics and such, only aiming to kill. Meleys was swifter, smaller and had a rider who was more experienced than the Rogue Prince. However, sunfyre was not expected and the doom she faced was almost certain.
Flames and smoke made it hard to observe the battle, none of the outsiders could see as the three dragons sparred for victory. The knights below watched as the sky filled with suns, for some, it would be the last thing they saw.
Shouts and roars filled the skies, dragons to dragons, men to men, warriors to warriors. It was certainly unclear who would be victorious, though many knew it would not be Rhaenys. Vhagar was restless now, roaring into the lands, Sunfyre not far behind as Meleys fought.
She was an incredible warrior, they watched as her scales reflected the light, red in all its glory. Aemond observed the rider, he was certain she knew she was going to die, she kept on fighting instead of getting herself and her dragon to safety. If they were not on opposite sides, he might've been impressed.
She was little match for Vhagar though, as she flapped herself through the sky, aiming at any and all. It was clear to Aemond that she had little care for whomever she hit, only needed to fill the need for blood, she never did obey him fully. For a war beast, she did whatever she pleased.
It all came to a head when Meleys had moved herself to Sunfyre, wrapping her jaws around the neck of the golden beast. It seemed she was about to feast on the dragons flesh, which could ultimately kill them both. She only needed one to fall to win the fight.
Vhagar slammed herself against both of the dragons, her large size plummeting all three toward the ground in a matter of seconds. It had been said that rocks from over half a league away fell when they impacted the earth. The dragons were out of control, completely unfazed by the commands of their riders as they spiralled down.
Knights around the three dragons were killed instantly, not even having a chance as they saw the magnificent beasts descent upon them. Perhaps they had already accepted their fate, or perhaps they tried to run. The ground was hit so hard that a small crater had been left where they landed.
Meleys and Rhaenys were dead, meleys had been torn to pieces upon the fall, left behind nothing fully but her head. Rhaenys was not even recognisable, she was complied to ash, led by her dragon. She had died a true dragon riders death, leaving amongst blood and fire. Mother, wife, daughter. Dead in a matter of moments.
Amongst the ash and smoke, one true dragon rose, like a phoenix Vhagar shook herself from the dirt and rocks that stuck themselves to her scales. Unharmed, her rider patted her gently and got off her saddle slow, he would not die getting off the beast . It seemed her revenge had satisfied her as she let out a victorious roar, possibly sending a sign to the other dragons around the realm.
The same could not be said about his dear brother Aegon, who was now trapped under Sunfyre, unconscious due to the fall. His body was covered in burns, seething in whatever liquids were coming out of them. Aemond looked over him, unsure of what to do. He looked dead, he seemed dead and yet the twitch of his fingers said otherwise.
His left arm had become the worst injury he had, his armour melting into his skin from the flames. His dragon had also been left scathed, his wing badly damaged from the fall. Men around scrambled to help their king who had fallen like the warrior he was.
As they helped their king, Aemond and Cole shared a look. With Rhaenys dead and Rhaenyra no where to be seen, Rooks rests fate now led in the hands of Aemond. He seized Rooks rest, ordering the death of every lord that had shut him out.
With the satisfaction of his victory, Cole delivered one last blow, rising the sword above his head and slamming in down in one quick shot. As the head rolled, the body began to seize, the muscles letting out one more sign of life before it too fell to the floor.
At this point, Aemond was oozing with confidence, him and his dragon had been left unscathed, he had taken one of their most crucial possessions back to its rightful owner. The king was now being tended to by maesters and people alike, they informed him of his broken ribs and hip, there was little hope when they spoke to him of these words.
In a fit of both happiness and rage, he appointed himself Prince Regent, serving the realm while his brother had been brutally attacked by the blacks, they did not report of Rhaenys death as heroic, only as calculated and traitorous in which they celebrated Aemond's victory.
As they made their way back to Kings landing, Aemond made sure to take the head of the traitor lord with him and the head of Meleys, a sign to both the folks people and their enemies that any alliance with Rhaenyra will result in death.
Otto Hightower had now approached Maellery's chamber, knocking quietly on the door. She wished him to come in and when she realised who it was, her face dropped slightly. She had spent the days coming to terms with it, his death, though she never truly believed it.
"Prince Aemond has been victorious in the battle, he has seized Rooks Rest." a sigh of relief and she placed a hand on her chest, trying to slow down the beat of her heart. "King Aegon has fallen in injury, Aemond has appointed himself Prince Regent, he will be stepping in duties while he heals."
Her relief now turned to anger. Prince Regent? Was he stupid? She placed her hand on her head as she looked around. "They're on their way back princess" she heard the man say as he departed. She laughed in a fit of rage, waiting upon the arrival of her husband.
The size of his ego could choke a small man, he stood in the great hall, talking to his mother of his thrilling battle when Maellery stormed in. For the first time since he left her side, it seemed the heaviness on his chest lifted. She seemed unhurt, unbothered and angry.
"Prince Regent?" She questioned, her voice being carried through the grit of her teeth. "Prince Regent?" She again asked as her husband stood looking at her.
"Hello to you too wife, I am alive." he responded sarcastically, he had been too elated to argue. He simply wanted to bathe in his glory with his wife.
"Do you know what they'll do to you? Now that Aegon is no longer a threat, they'll be coming for you!" She managed to shout, the panic evident in her tone. Aemond was pleased in a way, watching as she muttered about plans to protect herself and him. They had lost eight hundred in the battle.
His mind had not even caught up as he swiftly made his way over to his wife, capturing his lips with her own. She was in the middle of speaking, startled as she raised her hands, she did not make an effort to pull away. The two engulfed in each other and Aemond silently thanked the gods.
When she finally pulled away from him, he could not help but make a face of dissatisfaction, he pulled her into his arms, not wanting her presence to be ripped from his again. It had been the first time they kissed since their wedding day, Aemond still questioned why he did it but had been too wrapped up to care.
"Rhaenys has fallen, sunfyre is badly injured and Vhagar... well she seems to be feasting" Maellery laughed heartily at this, the old beast had just taken out one of team blacks most prized assets and she was feasting?
"Oh" Maellery remarked. "Well congratulations prince regent." Aemond did nothing but wave her reply away before she spoke once more. "Let her feast, we need her for the next battle."
"Lady Maellery, don't you think that there should be some time before we thrust Aemond back into battle?"
"And risk a counter attack? The sooner we get them to bend the knee, the sooner we all get back to a peaceful life." she sneered, now exiting the arms of her husband. "You're ready aren't you?" she turned back toward him, his head hung a little higher as he smirked and nodded in response.
"They'll bend the knee when they realise that she can give them nothing, kingdoms cannot survive off of ancient tales and false promises." She replied, Otto nodded in response, not wanting to argue with the angered princess. The Dowager Queen smiled at her, the sweet little girl that remained in her chambers when she first arrived had dissolved into an vengeful spirit, Alicent wondered how long it would take before she truly turned.
Both Maellery and Aemond crowded around, trying to form the next plan. Their next victim? Daemon. Maellery's anger had stayed beneath her conscious, now it was bubbling to the surface. Her husband wanted to do this for her and listened to her every suggestion. Vhagar was no match for Caraxes and so Maellery suggested leaving her out of it, the loss of Vhagar could be fatal for team green.
"I want his head." Maellery half demanded, half asked him. "I shall gift it to my mother." She added on, Aemond only nodded once in response. Aemond knew, her mother knew and yet she remained unknowing. Aemond had ordered her fathers death, specifically requesting it when his wife had gone away with Daemon. He felt no guilt, Daemon had done worse things and he deserved to pay the price for it, he would happily gift his wife his head if it meant she finally smiled at him again.
Meanwhile, Meleys head was being paraded through kings landing, showing the people of fleasbottom the victory brought to them. The streets were not full of cheers or encouragement for the young prince but met with complete silence. Nothing was spoken. Many had decided to flee after that, a counter attack was almost certain and the people would most likely be victim of it, young children, women, men all piled through the gates.
Until they were closed by the Dowager Queen, now all the safeness they had had vanished and all they could do was pray their death brought them no pain.
Lord Corlys had become impatient with Rhaenyra, when he learned of his wife's passing, he threatened to leave her cause. Without him, their fleets would be reduced to nothing, he would play a key part in Rhaenyra's battle. Jacaerys had taken his pin from his chest, giving it to the devasted lord. He no longer wanted to be hand of the queen and chose rather to fight beside his mother, she needed the strength and the guidance.
Two young princes were sent by their mother to other allies in the realm, promising their return to beside her when she had conquered Aegon and taken back her birth right. The children were all but sacrifices, what morals remained had been tarnished when Rhaenys had been slammed into the ground. One clung to his dragon, the others being hoist upon a ship, pushed over the black sea.
Dragons upon dragons were claimed on the rocks of Dragonstone, Jace had become restless and wanted to attack the capital back. He promised knighthood and wealth to those who succeeded in taming the dragons, only few did. The rest being turned to ash upon sight.
Aemond and Maellery stayed in each others presence as they discussed, Aemond had not been spotted feet away from her as he made sure his arm was touching hers, his hands were clutched in hers and occasionally their lips would find each other again. In a time of chaos, the two seemed to be at peace with each other, watching as the Kinslayer listened to her every comment and promised to obey her every command.
authors note*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:
POTENTIAL DEATHS BEYOND THIS POINT ARE NOT CANON, most of the deaths have been altered to fit what i want to do with these characters, some storylines have been tweaked to change how I want to portray this fanfic. If this does not interest you, thank you for all the support and reading, i hope its been good while you've read it and i hope you find a fanfic for you!!!!
Thank you all so much for reading, voting, commenting. It has been so fun writing this and I'm glad to see that people are enjoying it (hopefully)! Have a good week, hopefully update soon :))))))))
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