Chapter 31
ALICENT HIGHTOWER
Some lies in life were easy to believe. Like lies of love, of affection, of forgiveness. And yet she had little doubt of Aegon's words and his promises. He was not lying neither in the love he bore for her, or the forgiveness that came with it despite the actions of her father.
He had accepted the match, protecting her reputation and her honor when her own father had besmirched her to attain his political goals. He had accepted the shackles of this erroneous match with no complain, despite nearly dying in the process.
So, she did not doubt Aegon's love for her. Not for a second.
And yet she doubted herself, doubted what she had ever done to deserve this, and despite searching high and low, she found no such thing. And so, the answer was simple she did not deserve it. She did not deserve him.
And yet he would accept her with an open heart, accept the baggage and the rumors that would come alongside her. He would carry that burden, he would let it cripple him, and yet he would not complain.
She could enjoy that love, try to ease his pains, and try to help him through the struggles that he was set to face. And yet there was an easier way.
A much easier way.
As she watched the dragon vanish into the distant skies while the whole city slept, she wished him the best for the times to come as she entered the castle and walked towards her room after many sleepless nights.
The servants, now quite used to her late night strolls, did not bother, and as she entered the room her loyal maid, Anya, sat there dozing by the bed, waiting for her. She quietly tapped her on the shoulder, making her wake up, and upon seeing her, she immediately jumped up from the chair.
"My lady, you are back," she asked dutifully, and Alicent nodded.
"I am," she said as she pretended to have a small yawn.
"Would you like anything?" she asked, and Alicent shook her head, her eyes landing on the ornate bottle resting beside her bed.
"No, I am fine," she said. The maid must have caught her gaze and answered dutifully.
"The maester sent the milk of the poppy to help you sleep," and they had been doing so for several days now. Not that she had taken a sip of it, despite the troubling dreams, she had persisted and had asked Anya to throw it away.
"Should I dispose of it?" and yet today would be different.
"No," she said, stopping her maid in her steps. She gave her a small smile.
"Leave it here," she said, and the maid nodded, reciprocating the smile.
"With the Prince awake, you should take some rest now, my lady. It will not do you well to push yourself like this," she advised, and Alicent smiled.
"Yes. You are right," she said as she was helped into her nightgown. As Anya turned off the lamp illuminating the room and made to leave, she called out.
"Don't wake me up in the morn tomorrow. After these troubling days, I will wake up at my own time," she said and the maid nodded dutifully.
"As you wish, my lady," and with that, the doors to her chambers were closed as Alicent sat there in her bed, eyeing the milk of poppy beside her.
And so she steeled her heart as she rose from her bed once more and moved through the room. She reached for the quill and parchment placed in a drawer and found the ink bottle alongside them. She took it out and walked toward her desk.
Her eyes landed on the empty goblet and the poppy milk, and so she picked it up, along with a small knife. After a heavy heart, she prayed in her heart as she sought forgiveness for the great sin she was about to commit.
She begged the Seven, her mother, her brothers, her dearest Rhaenyra, and the boy who had given her more love than she had ever deserved for forgiveness, and yet her heart was heavy and she could take this no more.
And so, with a quivering hand, she reached for the milk of the poppy and drank it in a single gulp before reaching for the small knife she had picked up and, with clenched eyes, slashed it across her wrist as her blood began to gush out. The pain was immediate and so she took another sip of the milk of poppy hoping to dull it all.
As pain ripped through her heart and blood began to soak the carpet lining the floor, she picked up the quill and began to write just as she had done so hours ago with a quill and ink in Aegon's room and had placed the little missive in his rucksack.
And as she saw there, in pain, in agony, growing weaker by the hour, her mind going numb, her limbs growing colder, she finished the missive as her eyes spun and her vision blurred and as the quill fell down to the floor. Her body followed suit as well, and the last words that slipped out of that tear-laden face were an apology to a boy who deserved someone better.
"I am sorry...."
".....Aegon!"
0000
ARNOLD ARRYN
Arnold Arryn knew that something had gone wrong as he saw one of his men rushing back.
"My lord. My lord, it's an army," and he immediately clicked his tongue as he jumped out of his sea and rushed towards the castle walls. And there from the top he could see it, an army marching towards him and his castle.
The truth was that the years of captivity had eroded away at his prowess, and many a lord once loyal to him had not even deigned to reply to his request for aid or call for banners. Most of them had sold their souls to that damned 'Bloody Bastard'. The others were simply more afraid of the boy than of him.
It was why they had to end this war before that damned prick woke up. For he knew that as soon as that bastard got wind of this, he would mobilize the houses loyal to him and ruin everything.
And now, as he watched all the banners being carried by the marching army he knew that his time was running out.
"What are we to do, my lord?" his men questioned him with worry, as he stood there snarling in rage. The time he had given that red-head had run out, and yet there was no sign of surrender from the Eyrie. He never should have trusted a woman to do a man's job.
But still. He had come so far, and he could not let it all end like this. Not again.
"Get the horses ready!" he shouted as he made up his mind. It seems he must do this himself.
"We march towards the Eyrie!" he screamed as the men cheered on at his command. There was no way that they could hold back such an army, and so the only choice for them was to outrun them and beat them to the Eyrie in hope that the constant siege and the lack of food had broken their spirits.
And so soon enough, he was leading them towards the Eyrie, the journey through the crooked and steep paths was perilous, and yet he ran them hard as they marched towards the cloud-kissing castle, and just as they were about to enter the last stretch, he saw Arryn men gather infront of him.
Men from the castle, guards, and soldiers, all led by that bastard's little cousin.
"Royce!" he looked at the boy bearing the banner, who pushed forward and screamed.
"Surrender now, Arnold Arryn, you have lost!" he said as Arnold scoffed and took out his blade.
"We will see about that?" and with that, he screamed.
"Chargeee!" as the men tried to push forth, his scream was followed by a much louder sound. One that made his men's steps falter as the very ground under their feet shook.
"ROARRR!" the growl came once more. Dread filled his heart, and Arnold Arryn saw his men stop and point into the sky. He followed their gaze, and his eyes widened as a massive shadow overcame them all. Its skin was a pearly whitish blue, its scales glistening in the light of the emerging Sun. Its wings were wide enough to cast a shadow that covered all his army.
It was a dragon. One many in the Vale easily recognized for its frequent trips to the Eyrie during the reign of the Conciliator.
The dragon of the Good Queen herself, Silverwing, one which was now ridden by none other than that pric...
"Aegon Targaryen," he whispered as the massive beast landed on the winding path right infront of his army, which by now had begun running in the opposite direction and as the mighty beast opened its maw as it roared once more.
"ROARR!" and a chill ran down his spine as he saw the face of that accursed boy sitting atop the saddle.
"YOU! IT'S YOU AGAIN!" he snarled as he picked a crow bow and fired it at that bastard.
And yet the arrow simply rocked off the dragon's skin as that brown-haired bastard looked him in the eye.
"It was a mistake sparing your life all those years ago," the boy said as he pushed himself forward.
"I will not repeat it today," and with that, he saw him lean forward.
"Silverwing! Dracarys!" and the last thing Arnold Arryn saw was the dragon open its maw before a massive torrent of fire enveloped him and ended his life in screams of pain and agony.
0000
OTTO HIGHTOWER
Otto had woken up rather late and was immediately disturbed by a lack of missives on his desk. Every morning, he would receive one or two missives from his informants within the city and the court about the happenings there, and yet the day seemed to be an exception, for there was nothing waiting for him on his desk.
Either there really was nothing happening or something had happened to his informants. Regardless he would have to look into the matter later, and as he found himself on a table along for his breakfast, he was not surprised by his daughter's absence.
It had been some time since she had accompanied him for it, though it was rare for the servants to not even set the table for her. His curiosity must have shown when the servant answered.
"The lady asked us to let her sleep in. She went to bed rather late in the night and did not wish to be disturbed," he said. He nodded and quickly finished his meal before he left for the Council room. Only when he was there did a servant come up and whisper ominous news into his ear.
One that made him grind his teeth as he took the missive from him and entered the Council Room. He was early, much like the King and the Master of laws.
"Your grace, I bring grave news," he said as he walked towards his seat and passed on the piece of parchment he had just received to the King.
"Prince Aegon flew out of the capital last night in secret," and the king and the council were surprised by that.
"What?" the King asked, surprised by his words.
"Indeed, I was informed of this myself just now by one of the acolytes. The Prince flew away in secret, defying your command," which was his mistake. But regardless.
"The only thing he left behind was that piece of paper," he said, and the King unfurled and began to skim over it.
"This is preposterous!" the King said as he passed it to him.
"A rebellion in the Vale. We would have heard about such a thing," the King added with a frown.
"Indeed," he agreed.
"This is a ruse, your grace. One that I believe the Prince has crafted to hide his true intentions," he added as Viserys frowned.
"And what are those?" he asked.
"To go against your word, to dissolve the match between himself and my daughter. It is an insult both to you and my House," he thundered before he looked down and continued in a scoff.
"But what can one expect out of Daemon's brood," he finished as the King sat there speechless.
"Your grace," it was Lord Strong that added.
"Despite the Prince's actions, he has written explicitly that he has no desire to dissolve the said match," the man said, reading the letter left by that boy.
"Moreover, the Prince's suspicion while wild has some basis behind them. The lack of communication from Eyrie is suspicious enough. Moreover, we were all informed previously of the escape of Arnold Arryn. I believe it would be remiss to believe all of this a lie so easily," and Viserys's nod at those words made his blood boil.
Lyonel Strong was a cunning man who proclaimed to be impartial but would always try to go against him.
"But he defied the King's direct command," Otto added as he looked towards Viserys.
"That is a direct insult to the Crown and yo..." and before he could say any more, a loud scream filled the castle Halls as the whole council was forced to rush towards the source, and as Otto's eyes landed on the dead body of his daughter lying in a pool of her blood, he stilled for a second as he saw the Princess crying over a lifeless Alicent Hightower.
"NOOOOO....."
0000
Read ahead and support me on Patre 0n. Help me write this and other stories by becoming a Patr 0n. It would be pretty awesome of you and would help me out quite a bit.
www.Patre 0n.com/Drkest
Have a nice day!