Chapter 23 - Blackfyre

[a/n: Alright guys, this is somewhat good news. Considering that I finished "For The Queen, Not The Prince" and I'm going to try to finish "The Black Lord" by the end of the year, that will leave this story and the new one on my plate. 

That said, this story and the new one will be the focus. That means that once I finish "The Black Lord", this story will be uploaded more frequently. That won't happen until Next Month and even so, I'll try to pump a lot of chapters before February 28. ]

(Baelon's POV)

"Baelon." I woke up to the sound of my mother calling for me, "Wake up." 

I opened my eyes and groaned, "Huh?" I said as I sat up, "W-What?" 

I looked at her, she was standing next to my bed with her arms crossed. She had a somewhat serious look on her face, typical of her whenever I do something that she doesn't agree with. 

"What did you do?" she asked seriously

I looked at her, trying to keep my eyes open, "What do you mean?" I asked, "You know, it's the same with you. You always wake me up when something's happened. Why can't you wait until I've already woken up?" 

"Helaena." She said seriously, "What did you do to her?" 

I frowned, "Nothing, what do you mean?" I said

"Don't lie to me." She said as she walked closer to me, leaning in towards my face, "Why did she go to my chambers in the dead of the night begging me to tell your father to marry the two of you already? Baelon, you did not-" 

"Whoa, take it easy!" I said as I leaned back, "No, what are you saying? Helaena and I didn't.....well you know...." 

"Then why is she smitten with you all of a sudden?" she said, "She wants to be married already, she doesn't normally act like this!" 

"Oh, it's probably the kiss." I said simply

She froze, her eyes widening a bit, staring into me, "The what?" 

"The kiss." I said as I straightened up, "A few nights ago, we went to Balerion to read and we kissed." 

"Y-You...." She said softly, "You kissed?" 

"Yes." I replied

"You...kissed Helaena?" She repeated

"Yes, do I need to repeat what I said?" I said rubbing my hair, "What is the problem? She's my betrothed, this should not be an issue." 

She stepped back, "I...uhm.." She said softly, "And that is all that happened?"

"We kissed a couple of times, it was quite nice." I said, "But that's all that happened. I did not think she would have liked it that much." 

"Why would you take her to Balerion at night?" She said all of the sudden, "You know I do not like it when you take her to that beast." 

"Listen, Balerion is not just any beast. He's my dragon." I frowned, "And Helaena agreed to it. Besides, Balerion knows her, so it's alright." 

She sighed and closed her eyes, shaking her head, "Oh Baelon...." She said softly, "I....I do not know what to say to you right now." 

I shrugged, "I did not do anything else, Mother." I said getting off the bed, "I give you my word." 

"Fine." she said, "Your sister will speak to your father about the marriage. She is smitten completely, Baelon. You have no idea how happy she is." 

"I am glad." I said with a smile

************

"Uncle, you have not left?" I said sitting down in the table at the Small Council table, "That is surprising?" 

"Laena and the girls went back to Driftmark." Daemon said as he sat across from me, facing Father who was sitting down in his seat, "I have decided to stay for a few days, some matters need attending to." 

"Yes, attending..." Father said

I looked at Father, who was looking at me with a serious look, "What?" 

"My daughter came to me at daybreak." He said, "Something about pushing the wedding up." 

I shrugged, "What about it?" 

"Is there something I should know about?" He asked

I shook my head, "Not really." I said, "Why?" 

"Are you sure?" He asked

"Brother, take it easy." Daemon said, "I am sure my nephew would not do whatever it is you are thinking of." 

"Uncle is right." I said leaning back, "It was just a kiss." 

Daemon raised his eyebrow, "Oh? A kiss, you say?" He said with a chuckle, "Now, that is surprising." 

"A-A Kiss???" Father said, "Are you mad? First, you are holding hands and now you are kissing???" 

I looked at him, "What is the problem here?" I said, "She's my betrothed, I....you know what? I should not explain myself, okay? I didn't go any further, I will leave it at that." 

Father sighed, "Fine fine...." He said, "I will discuss this further with your Mother. The wedding will come sooner than later, regardless." 

"Someone sure does love to overreact." Daemon chuckled, "They're children that are in love, brother. Let them kiss once in a while." 

"Yes yes." Father said, "Now why did you call a meeting, Baelon? Can you believe this, Daemon? My own son calling for me, The King?" 

"He's the Heir." Daemon chuckled, "And your favorite child." 

"Alright, let's not go there." I said, "Father, I think it's about time we speak about this very seriously." 

He looked at me, "What?" 

"You are The King, yes. And you are clearly healthy, the Realm will see another peaceful reign with you, similar to Jaehaerys." I said, "What I mean by that is that you have more and more years left in you." 

He raised an eyebrow, "And...?" 

"House Targaryen has two Ancestral Valyrian Steel Swords." I said, "And only one of them is being put to use at the hands of Uncle Daemon. The other one? Yea, not so much. You are no warrior, respectfully." 

He looked at Daemon, "Did he..." He said, "Did he really just say that?" 

"It appears he did." Daemon chuckled, "The balls on this one." 

"Blackfyre needs to see some action." I said as I leaned back, "It's about time it is in the hands of a warrior." 

"Blackfyre is the Conqueror's Sword." Father said, "It is the symbol of The King, which you are not. It needs not to be wielded in combat. Dark Sister is the warrior's blade." 

"It's a sword, it needs to see combat." I said shrugging

"What are you saying? Do you want the sword? It's yours when I'm dead." Father said with a chuckle, "Why are we speaking of this? Decades of tradition, the King holds Blackfyre, Baelon." 

"17 years, you have waved that thing in my face...." I said looking down and shrugging, "I won't hold it in my hands until you are dead, who knows when that will be. I want to use it now in my youth, you see." 

"This....boy..." Father said with a bit of bewilderment, "Blackfyre belonged to Aegon The Conqueror, it is the-" 

"Symbol of the King." I cut him off, "Well, guess what? Who has the Conqueror's dragon?" 

"Ha!" Daemon laughed, "Good one." 

Father scowled, "What is that supposed to mean?" 

"Father, grant me this one request." I said, "You are probably going to sit on the throne until you are a grandfather and quite possibly until I am a grandfather, with Helaena and I marrying soon. I do not mean anything with ill-intent with this. I just want to use it, it is the Conqueror's Sword, who was a warrior. And Dark Sister? Yea, it's a bit too thin for my tastes, should Uncle meet his demise soon." 

"Hey, watch it." Daemon warned

"No." I quickly told him, "Father, you are the King. You can gift your Heir the sword, as a display of good faith. It would be a nice wedding gift, I'm just saying." 

I said the last part a bit softly, looking away. 

He sighed, "This son of mine...." He said as he shook his head, "I'll think about it, alright?" 

I nodded and stood up, "Great." I said with a chuckle, "Thank you, Your Grace. If you excuse me...." 

"I will go see my beloved Sister."