Chapter 26: The Spring Prince - Flashback

85 AC 

The setting sun was a beautiful sight and on any other day Baelon would have enjoyed the sight but today all it brought was dread. Dread crept to his bones, he was the rider of Vhagar and yet he feared the night and what it might bring.

"There is still a chance, Baelon, Elysar says that if Aegon makes it through the night, he will survive," Aemon tried to reassure Baelon but it did no good but brought back bitter memories.

"That is exactly what he said for Alyssa," Baelon bitterly replied. The love of his life died broken on a bed after six fucking months of agony. And now Aegon would enter the Stranger's embrace after another six months of grief.

"It is only a fortnight to his first nameday and now he will be taken from me," Baelon said as he felt tears stream down his face. Baelon could feel Aemon's arms wrap around him in comfort but Baelon could feel no comfort, just grief overwhelming him yet again.

"It is going to be alright, you need to have faith, you need to have hope," Aemon said as he comforted Baelon, "I will stay the night with you, Aegon will live, you just need to believe, believe that he will live, do you remember what Ser Joffrey used to say in the training yards, believe you can and the battle is half won."

Those words were meant to inspire him instead they felt hollow, Baelon believed that Alyssa would recover, and he believed that they would make their twenty sons but instead, she died, leaving Baelon broken with three sons to take care of and now it seems like it will be two.

The sun descended and the moon rose, the darkness enveloped the room until Aemon went about filling the lamps with oil and lighting them, all the servants were forbidden from entering, and despite Elysar's wishes, he was barred from entering the room.

Baelon looked at the crib, Aegon was a small and quiet thing, unlike his brothers who were large, loud, and lusty. The dragon egg on the cradle was a beautiful one, Alyssa had chosen it within a moon of her pregnancy. Baelon wondered what would have happened if the babe was a girl as he desired, would she have been healthy, would Alyssa have lived or would it have been no different?

"The lamps have been filled with oil, long enough to last the night, you might want to rest for a while, I will watch," Aemon said but Baelon stubbornly refused. "No, I will not rest until my son is alive and well," Or dead, Baelon's thoughts said to him as they ran dark. "I rested when Alyssa was sick thinking that she would prevail but I was wrong, I will not make that mistake again if my son is to die he will die in my arms."

Aemon sighed as he knew it was hopeless to argue with Baelon once he made up his mind, so he sat down next to Baelon as they waited through the longest night of their lives.

The sun rose and its light streamed into the room and the chill of the night dissipated with it. And a red-eyed Baelon with dark circles under his eyes got up while his brother slept. Baelon walked to the crib expecting the worst and to his great shock, he saw Aegon wide awake and his bright amethyst eyes staring back at him.

Tears of joy erupted as Baelon gave out a relieved sob which woke Aemon up. 

93 AC

The days were long and the nights longer, each day ate into his bones and the days were difficult, dealing with Lords, and settling into the position of Prince of Dragonstone for the realm, a position that rankled him, it was meant for Aemon and Rhaenys after him, but his father chose him instead, the duty of holding the realm together until the Great Danger from the North came, that duty was given to him for he was a man.

And also because Corlys was too ambitious for a Velaryon who is supposed to be a loyal vassal, while his father wouldn't admit it, Baelon knew that was one of the main reasons. He wondered if Rhaenys wed Viserys instead of Corlys would his father have left Rhaenys as the heir and told her the Conqueror's dream? What if Aemon had told her instead of waiting?

It made no difference for the family was now torn, a rift in the House of the Dragon that may prove disastrous in the end for them.

Aemon, his beloved brother, thinking of him brought Baelon shame and guilt. He stole more than just his daughter's position as heir, Baelon stole Aemon's life, Aegon dreamt that a dragon would die by a crossbow bolt surrounded by a sea of sapphires and Baelon did not believe him and his brother paid the price for his disbelief.

And now his father was after Aegon, trying to milk Aegon off his dreams as one would do to a cow. While Baelon may have prevented his father from pressing Aegon too hard on his dreams, he knew that it was a matter of time before Aegon's dreams would come out.

Taking care of three sons who were so vastly different from each other was yet another headache, at least Viserys became a man and was due to marry Aemma at the end of the year. Though Baelon wondered when he would learn to grow a spine. While Daemon and Aegon had to fight, brood, and sulk over something or the other every single day.

Baelon thought about his sisters, other than Alyssa, Daella, and Viserra were also dead. Thinking about Viserra brought about more guilt in Baelon, there were many times when he wished he hadn't sent her away, had he just given to his desires, had he not mayhaps Viserra would still be alive and she might have breathed fresh air into Baelon's life.

Saera was as good as dead to the family, Maegelle tended to be far away helping the poor, and his brothers were either dead or away like Vaegon, he wondered if he would be the last of all the children, his father would sire and he feared that he would outlive his sons, the worst thing a father can endure is to cremate their dead sons.

As he approached the Royal Apartments where he lived with his sons, he heard sounds of fighting which caused him to quickly sprint inside to see Daemon and Aegon fighting each other. This was no friendly roughhousing between brothers like how he and Aemon used to have, no, this was a bitter and fierce fight, both of them were bleeding from their lips and Aegon had a cut over his eye while it seemed like one of Daemon's eyes were starting to swell.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Baelon thundered while his sons flinched. "WELL, I AM WAITING," Baelon demanded.

How did the guards not intervene? Baelon would have to deal with that later.

Aegon spoke first pointing at Daemon, "He said that I killed Mother,"

"WHAT??!" Baelon whipped his head toward Daemon who flinched at first before angrily saying, "You love him more than me,"

Baelon did not know what to do for a few moments before he walked toward them and gave them both a tight slap that rang across the room. He had been lax with his sons for too long and now they were at each other's throats.

He turned to Daemon who was clutching his face as tears came out, "How many times have I told you not to say that nonsense? Aegon did not kill your mother no more than I did if you want to blame anyone then blame me."

He then turned to Aegon who did not clutch his face, making Baelon's red handprint stand out, while it pained him to do that on his sons, he had to else they would stab each other next time. "And you Aegon, you are the smarter one, why do you accept fights with him? Next time Daemon or anyone says anything like that, come straight to me, don't take things into your hands."

Then in the tense silence where nobody dared to move or say anything, Baelon knelt and took them both by their hands and pulled them toward him, both made a valiant effort not to cry but now Baelon wished that they would get everything out before it ate them from the inside.

In a soft voice, I spoke: "You both are my sons and I love you both just the same, I loved your mother as she were of my own heart, body, and mind, and if I don't blame Aegon then you shouldn't either Daemon."

"The two of you along with Viserys are the three heads of the dragon, the future of Westeros is in your hands, I won't be there forever and what will you both do? Fight and tear apart our family and the realm, you are brothers and only if you stand together will the House of the Dragon stand strong."

"We are surrounded by crows who wait for the chance to feast on our corpses and this infighting will do nothing but make their dreams come true, you can only trust each other because only a dragon understands a dragon."

"After me, Viserys will be king, and who will protect him if not you, there will be many who will try to harm Viserys and our family for they are not us."

"This is how dynasties fall, not because of the enemy from outside but from within, if you fight your family, our dragons, and everything that we hold dear will be destroyed, a man who doesn't stand with his own family is a man who stands alone and I don't want either of you to ever be alone, you cannot fight each other."

Feeling tears come into his own eyes, Baelon implored them "You are all that I have left of your mother, your father is now here on his knees begging you that you don't fight each other, keep this quarrel behind you, do it for me, for your old father who loves you so dearly."

Daemon and Aegon then with their tears freely falling embraced Baelon on the neck.

101 AC

For five days Baelon suffered unimaginable pain, he knew that he wasn't long for this world, yet through all that he was relieved, Aegon warned him that a dragon would die when its stomach burst open from within, for months he feared that his sons would die of a burst belly yet it was him, his sons would be safe.

Aegon was by his bedside weeping alone when Baelon opened his eyes, "Don't cry Aegon, you are a man now and you need to be strong, strong for Viserys, for Daemon, for our family."

"What good are dreams if you can't protect the ones you love?" Aegon bitterly remarked through his tears.

Baelon shook his head as much as he could, "No, Aegon you did not fail, I am grateful that it is I who is dying of this burst belly rather than you, Viserys, or Daemon, I would make this choice a thousand times over and die without regrets."

"Daenys saved our family from the Doom and I know you will save our family from another such fate, I know it, you will do me proud, I know you will,"

"Just promise me Aegon, promise me that you will be happy, promise me that you will live, promise me that you will have a big happy family that your mother and I wanted to have, promise me that when someone opens themselves to you in love you will love them back, don't close yourself off like how I did for it brings deep regrets ."

Aegon quietly replied, "I promise, Kepa."

Then as the darkness began to close in on Baelon the Brave, he saw a person on the other end, a person for whom he had been waiting for a long time, she had tangled dirty blonde hair, a broken nose, and mismatched eyes of purple and green and she looked at him with a lopsided smile.

"My love," Baelon the Brave said as he breathed his last.