-Chapter 136-

-Chapter 136-

-POV Daemon Targaryen-

Knock... Knock... Knock.

I frowned upon hearing someone knocking on my door so early in the morning, but I still went to open it.

I was eager to know who could disturb me at such an hour and especially why.

When I opened the door, I found no one.

There was only a letter on the ground, and no trace of the knights who were supposed to guard my chambers.

I picked up the letter, frowning, with a bad feeling, but I opened it anyway.

---

You have lost.

---

'What the hell is this?' I thought, frowning as I looked at the letter, which bore no seal or signature.

I turned the letter over, looking for other words or a clue about who could have sent it.

Even though Aemon was the obvious suspect, I couldn't understand the message.

'What could he have won?' I wondered, finding this incomprehensible. 

I decided to close the door and go back to bed, though I couldn't shake off the message I had just received.

---

-POV Aemon Targaryen-

I observed the contours of Runestone in the sky, feeling deep relief and an inexplicable warmth as I returned to my lands.

"Home at last," I thought, mentally signaling Urrax to begin his descent so we could land, while gently patting his scales.

Gradually, Urrax approached the ground, and as soon as he landed, I grabbed Baelon and slid down his neck, landing smoothly.

I set Baelon down, who was curiously looking around at the environment, so radically different from anything he had ever known.

'Mountains, endless meadows, and forests' I thought, smiling at the familiar scenery.

'My territory' I thought as I walked straight ahead.

ROAR OF SUNFYRE

As the gates of Runestone slowly opened, I heard Sunfyre's roar coming from the sky.

He dove rapidly toward us before spreading his wings just a few meters above the ground, sending a swift trail of dust our way.

"Hahahahaha," Aegon laughed from atop his dragon before landing a bit further away.

'Arrogant little brat' I thought as I saw him practically leap off his mount upon seeing me.

Still, I was happy to see that despite the rising tensions with his family, Aegon still felt happy and at home with us.

'This will save me a lot of trouble. Once I return him to his father, he will be more my son than his' I thought as I hugged him.

"How was your morning flight?" I asked him, ruffling his hair.

"Perfectly fine," he said, throwing curious little glances at my silent little brother.

"Judging by your smile, I take it Jeyne's delivery went well," I said, observing Aegon's reactions.

He nodded, and then I asked him, "A brother or a sister?"

"A brother," he answered, his tone genuinely joyful.

'He seems so... natural' I thought.

I smiled at his reply, happy to see that my brainwashing was starting to show results, and also happy to have a second son and heir.

'Now, I just need to reconcile with Viserys and find some common ground so I can give my son Aerys a dragon egg' I thought, deciding to name my son after the mad king who would likely never exist in this world.

I didn't wish the same fate for him, far from it.

I hoped for a completely different future for him and that he could make this name, carried by our ancestors, a glorious one.

"Where were you? Can you tell me now?" he suddenly asked.

I pretended to hesitate, and then he added, "You said you'd tell me where you went once you came back."

"I ended the war," I told Aegon without elaborating further.

I had made sure to explain to him in advance who we owed this war to and why he needed to stay with me so I wouldn't have to kill half our family to put an end to the ambitions of Daemon, the Strongs, and the Hightowers.

'To think he even cooperated by hiding Laena's pregnancy in his letters... I've really raised this boy well' I thought, looking at the child who was growing up more and more quickly.

In some ways, despite our close age, I was more of a father to him than his own.

He was, in a way, the first child I had ever had to care for, with the heavy responsibility of raising him and turning him into a man.

As I watched Aegon smile joyfully at Baelon and strike up a conversation with him, I realized I had completely and definitively changed the history of this world.

Aegon II would never exist.

The cruel, greedy, and ambitious Aegon would never exist.

I had raised a little boy I considered a younger brother and turned him into my first son.

"Would I be able to betray him if I were ever forced to?" I wondered, as until recently, I still considered him more of a pawn than a family member.

---

-POV Laena Velaryon-

Seeing Aemon return with Aegon and his little brother, I let out a small sigh of relief, as it had been two days since I last had any news from him or the Stepstones, and I was growing more and more worried.

I walked toward him as quickly as I could, accompanied by his mother, and after she embraced him tightly, I took my turn to hug my husband, relieved that he had returned safe and sound.

I knew perfectly well that nothing would happen to him with Urrax by his side, but I couldn't help worrying about him.

I feared that news of what he had gone to do might have leaked and that he would fall into a trap set by the king and Prince Daemon.

'I don't think they would have killed him, but who knows what they're capable of when the realm is on the brink of open war, which could very well set the kingdom ablaze in the harsh winter cold,' I thought, relieved as I felt Aemon detach his cape and wrap it around my shoulders.

"How is she?" he asked me.

I frowned slightly, sensing that the slightly romantic atmosphere that had just been created had shattered the moment he mentioned Jeyne Arryn's name. But I didn't react much and simply said:

"She had a difficult delivery, but she's fine. She's waiting for you to name your son."

Aemon smiled and then said, kissing the top of my head:

"You will always be the only woman I love, the only one."

I felt my cheeks flush, and I pushed him away slightly, embarrassed, saying:

"Go see her. Even though I don't like her, she still gave you another heir."

Aemon smiled gently before pulling me along with him as he shared stories of what he had done and his plans for the future.

But I was no longer listening, as I couldn't stop hearing his words replaying over and over in my mind.

'You are the only one.'

Unconsciously, I couldn't hide the smile that threatened to light up my face, nor did I want to.

---

-POV Alicent Hightower-

"How could he do such a thing?" I asked, truly shocked as I read the letter Viserys had handed me.

'Since the hostage-taking, he's been sharing everything remotely related to this matter and no longer keeps me out of the loop because he knows that what concerns me most is the safety of our son,' I thought, pleased to have found a way to break through the wall of stone he had built between me and the small council since the beginning of our marriage.

"It's truly terrifying," Viserys said, staring out of his window at his dragon Vermithor, the bronze dragon flying in the sky.

I nodded, sighing slightly: "He ended so many lives simply because of his consuming ambition to control the Vale."

Viserys scoffed slightly and then said:

"It's not the Vale that drives him to such extremes at all. He's simply freeing himself from my control and that of his father. It's something that has always driven him. For as long as I can remember, he's always hated being bridled by the reins that Daemon or I tried to put around his neck."

Viserys paused for a moment before continuing:

"For a time, I really thought I had figured him out. But I think even Aemon doesn't truly know what he wants. Everything he touches turns to gold. Everything he undertakes succeeds. But what I fear is the day he decides that he deserves more, that he wants more... that he can claim more."

"What are you planning to do?" I asked, as Viserys's dark tone worried me.

'Now is not the time. If Viserys were to die in a war against Aemon, no matter the outcome, Rhaenyra would be propelled to the throne by Daemon and would try by all means to put an end to the prosperity of our family,' I thought, inwardly praying that Viserys wouldn't decide to rally his bannermen, mount his dragon, and seek vengeance against his brother.

"If I were in better shape and more in sync with Vermithor, if Rhaenyra were the competent heir I'm convinced she will be in the future, I wouldn't hesitate to lead our troops into battle to defend our family, but..."

"That's not the case," I said, standing behind him and wrapping my arms around him, so relieved to hear this from him.

'She'd even be capable of putting an end to our family altogether,' I thought, knowing full well the hatred she bore toward me, as I felt exactly the same toward her ever since she had my brother killed.

'I will never forget. I will never forgive,' I thought, forcing myself to stop thinking about it because I could still see my brother falling from his horse.

"That must never happen to Aegon," I thought, taking a deep breath before setting the plan I had just devised in my mind into motion.

"Prince Daemon is not the right ally," I said, before quickly adding in a measured tone:

"He only cares about his own interests and not those of the realm. Prince Aemon could have started a war and set the kingdom ablaze, but he didn't. Instead, he punished his father for trying to pit you against each other with vile lies concocted by his whore Mysaria."

"That's not what happened," Viserys said, turning to me, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion but mostly in shock, as I think he realized what I was trying to tell him but didn't want to hear it.

"The king's word is law, and no one will question it," I said, moving closer to him and continuing, "I know it will be heartbreaking to separate from your brother, but you are the king, and you must save our son."

Viserys stared at me for a moment, lost in thought, clearly unwilling to stab his brother in the back.

Sensing his hesitation, I finished my argument by saying:

"All you have to do is wait three years. Once those three years have passed, you can bring your brother back to court. We will retrieve Aegon, and Aemon will return to the capital, where he will finally be within our reach. We must be patient."

Viserys's jaw clenched several times, a sign of his tension, but he finally sighed and said:

"Three years, not a year more."

I smiled, pleased to have convinced him, then kissed him before whispering against his chest: "Thank you, thank you."

'Fortunately, everything went well. Now that Daemon has become the scapegoat, Aemon will have no reason to suspect us,' I thought.