End of Negotiations

"I will no longer be party to this farce!" Aegon roared angrily as he shot to his feet. The sudden action meant that the guards of all parties drew their blades in preparation for an attack. But it never came leading to a standstill as Aegon glared hatefully upon Robb who remained seated and dismissive. "Just as I suspected, you never had any intention of negotiating! This was nothing more than a cruel joke to delay me so that your army could get in position! Well, I will not allow that to happen! War is what you want and war is what you shall get!"

Glances were shared all around, Robb and Aegon both looking to the strangely quiet Daenerys Targaryen. The Mother of Dragons had been deep in thought all day, rarely saying a word or seemingly aware of either of their presences.

"Queen Daenerys, aunt." Aegon beseeched her. "Join with me, we are Targaryen's by blood and so we should not allow this pretender to rule over our Kingdom, he has no right. We have the legitimate claim."

Robb scoffed loudly. "Claim? Right? I find it strange how naïve you are."

"Naïve?"

Aegon's anger didn't dissuade and Robb didn't flinch in the face of it. "Yes, naïve." He replied simply. "You think being King is a right, it's not, it's a responsibility. I became King not because of ambition, but because of other people's actions. I have not demanded respect and loyalty; I have earned it, something you have not. And if we talk about right, then as a descendant of the Kings of Winter who ruled as Kings while you were but sheep farmers, I have far more right than you, boy."

"Call me boy one more time." Brynden chuckled lightly from beside Robb who for the first time, cracked a slight smile. The Blackfish was right, Robb and Aegon were similar, or at least the old Robb and Aegon shared similarities. War had changed him though, hardened him and Aegon didn't have that.

He still had a chip on his shoulder, hating it when people called him, "boy."

"Well, boy." Robb continued, Aegon's hand resting upon the handle of his blade. This action caused many people to react defensively. "Despite your naivety, I'm glad you brought up claims because you seem to have made many."

"King Aegon," Illyrio whispered, just quiet enough for only those closest to him to hear. For a moment, Aegon looked ready to charge across the field and start the war early on but that was the last thing they needed, especially when things had already become derailed. The plan had been to bring an end to this meeting, causing Daenerys to panic and force her to make a quick decision.

Improvisation was not her strongest suit; she had made many mistakes during her time in Essos and then she had come here. By leaving the negotiations, they could leverage this along with the familial connection to gain her alliance or at least a non-aggression pact.

But Robb Stark seemed to have found the weak spot that could easily enrage Aegon and he was digging into it like an open wound. Unfortunately for them, it was working perfectly as now everything had broken down.

"You need to calm yourself." He continued, Jon also standing and placing a hand upon his shoulder.

"He's right, we can't let him rattle us," Jon whispered, everyone, watching them try to calm the Young Dragon. The young man in question glared murderously out at the Wolf King who sat calmly within his chair, openly staring back at him.

Ragging his shoulder free, Aegon sat down upon the chair, foot-tapping anxiously upon the floor. "What claims are you talking about?" He demanded, voice dripping with frustration at the situation he was in. His anger was still on the brink of murderous rage as he looked upon the smug, self-assured look upon Robb's face, that little smirk making it ten times worse.

"A few, let me start with the one that Queen Daenerys brought up yesterday. About my aunt and Prince Rhaegar, namely the fact that he kidnapped and raped her." Those words earned a reaction, Aegon unsurprisingly was one, but another was Jon Connington.

"You lie!"

"Do I?" Robb questioned. "My aunt despised Robert Baratheon for his whoremongering ways. Why would she then elope with Rhaegar Targaryen, a married man with two children?"

"That proves nothing of your claim, Rhaegar was a good man and a better King! Better than you will ever be, better than anyone!" Jon roared out.

Robb was far from perturbed by this response. "So, you say. However, The Mad King didn't start out mad but later developed into it. Who's to say that Rhaegar didn't develop some madness of his own?"

"My-"

"But by all means, let's move on to another one of the claims you've made." Robb interrupted Aegon, instead of pressing on further, not letting up for even a moment. "Your claim of being Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell. During the Sack of Kings Landing, the Mountain entered into your nursery and dashed your brans across the wall then raped Elia Martell with your blood still hot upon his hands. Miraculous, is it not, that you're still alive?"

His words were sharp and clear, cutting straight to the point and leaving everyone quiet. It was like a taboo had been broken by speaking of what happened on that day and the words he used to describe it, were meant to insight their imagination.

It was Illyrio that kept a calm head. "The King was spirited away from Kings Landing before the Lannister army arrived." Despite his words being calm, Illyrio was far from pleased with the way things were going. This was not what he, nor anyone had expected from a Stark of all people. But one look at his advisors told them who had helped him do what he had this day.

"So, you knew of the Lannister army arriving beforehand?" Robb continued, no smile appearing on his face but his eyes showing his happiness. "Then why did you not spirit away Princess Rhaenys and Elia Martell also?"

That sharp response made more than a few look towards Oberyn Martell to judge his reaction. His face was set in stone, nothing showing, but the tight grip he held upon his spear was telling.

"Do you know what I think? I think that you're not Aegon Targaryen, but a boy from Lys taken and raised to believe you were." Aegon looked baffled by this news, Illyrio sitting back into his chair. "After all, everyone knows that Lys was a pleasure city for the Valyrian Freehold with many of its residents still having the blood of the Old Valyrian Dragon Lords. It'd be quite easy to take a random child off the street that bore a passing resemblance to Rhaegar. Considering Jon Connington's reaction, he wouldn't be able to properly judge the situation for himself and bought the lie you sold him."

Silence.

No one said a word.

No one even knew how to respond to that claim.

"But that also raises the question of how you got the Golden Company to fight for you. Are you really a resident of Lys that was taken and raised to think of him as a Targaryen. After all, we all know that the Golden Company fought for the Blackfyres." He need not say anymore considering that many around were smart enough to connect the dots, but he carried on anyway. "In which case, very smart of you to convince everyone you're a Targaryen when you could very well be a Blackfyre."

"Ironic even." Everyone looked towards the Imp who had much like everyone, sat quietly and watched the proceedings until now. "Especially if we take into consideration what you said about Lys. Young Aegon could not only be not a Targaryen but also not even a Blackfyre. He could just be a boy from Lys that has convinced everyone he is what they want to be to gain their loyalty."

"And it couldn't have worked better for him," Garlan added in. "As a Targaryen, he could gain the loyalty and support of the Targaryen loyalists. As the son of Elia Martell, he gains the support of Dorne. As the son of Rhaegar, he could leverage that to gain the support of Queen Daenerys and her Dragons through a familial connection. Then as a Blackfyre, he gains the loyalty of the finest Sellsword Company in Essos. All things considered, it's perfect for you, isn't it?"

Robb rose to his feet at that moment. "You're right, Aegon if that is who you really are. This negotiation is over with. I do not negotiate with men who hold no power and war shall be my answer to you. So, return to Kings Landing and witness my army take it from you before you even get a chance to defend it."

"Queen Daenerys, forgive me for the poor showing that has resulted from your offer of good faith." Robb apologised to the Mother of Dragons. "But I'm afraid we all have many things to think over and I did not lie when I came here to negotiate. War is not what I want and if you're still willing to negotiate, I will be more than willing to hear what you have to say."