-Chapter 115-
-POV Aegon Targaryen-
"There are a lot of people," I said, surprised by the number of people attending my cousin's name day celebration this year.
Cregan nodded in agreement, but Mark shrugged, not at all surprised, and said:
"It's the name day of the Prince, the Bronze Dragon."
I rolled my eyes because he was starting to act as if I were a child who didn't understand anything.
'Like mother,' I thought, frowning.
"Stop talking to me like I'm a little boy. Last year, there weren't this many people, just the family, the officers of the Order of the Bronze Shields, and us."
"You are a little boy," Mark said, laughing, while dodging my question.
"You're not seriously going to sulk," he said when he saw me turn my back on him.
Usually, I enjoyed his jokes and his informality, but right now, I was serious, and he was treating me like a kid.
It annoyed me, so I stopped talking to him.
"Alright, big boy. If you really want to know, the reason there are so many people this year is because the Vale is at peace," said Mark.
"At peace?" Cregan asked, surprised by Mark's words, just like I was.
"Last year, the Vale was at war. This year, the Vale is at peace, so everyone comes to pay their respects to the Prince. It's logical," Mark said, looking at us as if we were stupid.
"The Vale wasn't at war," I said firmly.
"How can you be this ignorant while being a Prince?" Mark said, laughing loudly on purpose to make me react, as it amused him.
I narrowed my eyes, displeased, but said nothing, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me lose my temper again.
And when he saw that he wouldn't get a reaction from me, he finally explained:
"The House sitting at the table to the right is House Grafton. They had to offer a hundred of their best merchant ships and twenty warships to the Prince, to keep the 'nasty pagan savages' at bay, the ones sitting to our left."
Cregan frowned at this appellation, and Mark added, raising his arms at Cregan's discontent:
"That's what they call them. It's the least offensive term I could find."
I frowned, thinking, my gaze lost on the horizon, as I still couldn't understand the connection between the attacks, the protection, and the... gifts.
I immediately turned my head and asked Mark, eyes narrowed at his insinuations:
"You're not suggesting that my cousin is responsible for these attacks, are you?"
Mark said nothing and shrugged: "I'm not suggesting anything, but how do you explain that your cousin is receiving all these gifts, and that the lords of the Vale, as well as the mountain clans' leaders, are sharing a meal together in 'joy' and 'goodwill'?"
'Cousin Aemon would never do that,' I thought, immediately denying the possibility.
'How could he know about this when even I don't?' I wondered.
'But if it's true, father won't tolerate it, because my cousin would have broken the king's peace, and it would be war across the entire kingdom,' I thought, hesitating for a few seconds before leaving the table.
"Where are you going?" Cregan asked.
I didn't respond, as I was heading to the main table where my cousin was talking with his wife.
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-POV Aemon Targaryen-
"Do you like the festivities?" Laena asked, placing a hand on mine, as she had organized most of them.
I nodded happily and said before taking her hand and kissing it lightly:
"It's truly a success, thank you."
'And seeing all these old lords bloated with pride here to lick my boots is even more satisfying,' I thought, watching each of them come with a "gift."
'The ransom to make the attacks stop on their lands so we can all move on,' I thought.
"Cousin," said a small voice on the side.
I was surprised to see Aegon approaching me on his own, so I gestured for him to come speak to me from the other side, which he did.
I leaned toward him and asked, "What's the matter?"
"I'd like to know something," he asked, not very enthusiastically, as if he were walking on eggshells.
"Ask me your question," I told him, wanting to break the barrier between us, as I could sense that I intimidated him, and that wasn't what I wanted.
'At least not entirely,' I thought.
"Is it true that you ended the war in the Vale?" he asked.
Surprised by his question, I frowned, but decided to be honest since I had nothing to lose anyway.
I nodded, and then he asked, "And is it also true that you started it?"
'Where could he have heard such a thing?' I wondered, but still opted for honesty, as it was an open secret: everyone knew, but no one was supposed to talk about it.
"Why?" he asked, his confused gaze desperately searching for an explanation for my actions.
"Why do all men fight, Aegon?" I asked him.
My young cousin, almost nine years old, shrugged, unable to find an answer.
'How I envy that... innocent glimmer,' I thought, gazing into his eyes.
Then I placed a hand on his shoulder and said:
"Power is all that matters to men in this world, so make sure you have enough of it, because one day you'll face a path littered with bad choices, and the only way to avoid and reduce the damage those bad choices will have on you and yours will be to have enough power to act."
Aegon looked at me for a long moment, then nodded and was about to leave, trying to understand what I was saying, before turning back to me:
"Why didn't father do anything when you broke the king's peace?"
"Your father did nothing because he's already started down that path."
Aegon frowned, not understanding, so I ruffled his hair and said:
"Don't worry about all that now; you'll have plenty of time to understand in the future. For now, just make sure you remember all the lessons that the maesters and I will teach you over the years, and you'll leave ready to face the world."