DAEMON POV
267AC
The preparations for the trip to the Westerlands were finished. It was time for me to say goodbye to Rhaegar and my mom. It was the first time in my life that I would be leaving the capital. I wondered what fresh air smelt like?
The people accompanying me would be my ever dutiful nanny and Barry . Mother and Rhaegar were not allowed to for some reason. I could see how defeated my mother felt when she told me that she was sorry that she could not accompany me for the trip. She gave an excuse that she was not feeling well and that she needed Rhaegar to stay with her.
Of Course me being an adult in a child's body knew that something was off. It must have something to do with my useless father , so I did what a good child does, and told her that I would wish that she gets well soon and that I would visit the sept for her good health. She just smiled weakly and gave me a tight hug . I could feel the tears running from her eyes. I asked her whether she was hurt and said that if anyone hurt her I would go and beat them up. Hearing that she started crying more and hugged me more tightly saying what a good child I was. Hehe , I learnt from the very best that one should always value whatever brownie points they get. All my efforts should really come in hand.
Surprisingly saying goodbye to Rhaegar was easier , he was pretty smug about it too, saying how when I would come back he would have read more books than me . The little shit has too much confidence.
Finally the day that I would leave for the Westerlands arrived. I gave my mother a big hug while telling Rhaegar about all the books I would read In Casterly Rock. His face turned sour when he realized what he would be missing , serves him right for making fun of me. Father just said a few words to Rhaegar and mom and left. He truly was an ass.
I realized the scale of Kingslanding as a whole when I could still see its silhouette even after going a few kilometers away from it. After a half days ride, I could feel something weird . You could say that the air smelt different , way different than the smell Inside the city. This must have been what fresh air smelt like.
Our Caravan was pretty big. There must have been about a thousand people in it along with a few hundred servants. The guards wearing the house color of House Targaryen along with the Knights of the Kingsguard with the men-at-arms . Big tents too were set up along with the courtiers , jesters, poets etc.
I did spend time with my father. I remember when he took me out of the carriage and made me ride on his horse. I was shit scared because I was worried what would happen If I fell off, but he just laughed likely saying that it was the first time that he saw me on the verge of tears. The man truly knew how to rile me up, I could give him that. We travelled through the kingsroad after which we would pass through the Gold road towards the seat of House Lannister.
I was disappointed when I saw the road which was proudly called the kingsroad. In simple words you could say that it was a muddy road without any trees or rocks near it. A simple dirt road. This was supposed to be the best road which existed across Westeros. No wonder the Free cities looked down on us. If this was the extent of our technological prowess no wonder the Valyrians did not consider conquering us before the "doom". Who would want to rule over emo assholes whose prides get hurt easily which results in wars. If Jahaerys the 'Wise" tried to improve the roads and make it out of something more concrete rather than fucking his wife and producing children I would not have to suffer these shite traveling conditions. Why did the fuckers never try to improve the roads? only the gods know why. The first order of business should be definitely improve the roads which would help to improve trade through land rather than depending mostly on the ports.
The days passed by rather fast since I was busy admiring the surroundings . One thing was there that Westeros truly was beautiful despite all of its people's flaws. As soon as entered the Westerlands the scenery changed dramatically . Unlike the crownlands there was not that much greenery rather there was rugged hills, rolling plains, fertile fields, and broadleaf forests. The land contained lakes and rivers, and the hills conceal systems of caves and caverns.
Despite not being the largest, most populous, or most fertile part of the realm, but they are the richest. Full of hills and crags, the land of the Wetsrlands were dotted with mines from which poured gold and silver in astonishing quantities.
The first castle that we stopped in was the "Deep den", the seat of House Lydden . We did have to take a detour since even Aerys was tired of being on the road for so long and not being able to sleep on a what he considered a proper bed. Lord Lydden was a good host keeping a feast for the king since it had been a long time since the royal family had been hosted by House Lydden. I did speak to his heir Lewys Lydden who seemed to be agreeing with me on every occasion. He Must have been told by his father to be as courteous to the prince as he could be. Too much pressure on a boy of four namedays.
After a few days we again started our journey towards Casterly Rock. Lord Lydden looked a bit relieved, knowing that he payed his duty as a host pretty well. I did promise Lewys to write to him. He seemed like a nice kid. It took us a few more weeks until we reached the seat of house Lannister and boy oh boy did I nearly faint when I saw the "Rock".
The castle was carved out of what looked like a stone hill. It was not just a castle , It was a fucking mountain. I could see the city of Lannisport too. It is one of the major ports of the Seven Kingdoms and is the largest settlement in the Westerlands.
When I looked at my father he seemed pretty pissed of at the fact that the city of Lanissport looked way better than Kingslanding part of which was the fact that it had less than half of the population of Kingslanding . As we made our way towards the entrance of the Rock It truly felt that we were entering the Lions den. I was truly excited to explore Casterly Rock along with all of Its secrets .
Lets hope that nothing bad would happen during our visit.
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