Ashes In The Castle ||| Aemond Targaryen

twenty-two

Naerys felt quite useless in Dragonstone. If she had it her way, she would be helping fight, helping plan. Instead, she was stuck in endless councils discussing when they would fight and plan. Rhaenyra still didn't want to use dragons.

It felt cowardly. To sit at Dragonstone while the Riverlands went to war. Both sides, those that declared for Rhaenyra and those that declared for Aegon, demanded justice for the dead princes.

No one went to help them, though. The Houses fought for the side they declared for. It was a civil war. And eventually, Rhaenyra's supporters did pull out a victory. They won the support of the Riverlands and Aegon had no supporters left there.

One of the only ways Naerys felt useful was surveying the skies on Vermithor. The councils were all about what they should do, where they should attack. But there was never any true action taken.

And when Naerys wasn't sighting the skies on her dragon, she often sat by Luke's nameplate. It honoured him, instead of a traditional grave. Naerys couldn't ever leave him for long

Often times she was joined by Jace and sometimes even Joffrey would sit with his older siblings. It was a time of quiet, when they could mourn the little brother that should have been there with them.

Corlys tried his best to be there for them in place of a father. He'd lost his grandson. He never wavered when it came to their legitimacy. Luke was his heir, they all fought for him. In pursuit of the throne, Corlys lost both of his children and a grandchild.

***

Naerys was becoming tired of the word games. The inaction. It had been months. And the only thing they'd done was kill an innocent child.

There came word from spies in King's Landing that the Greens had a new Hand. Ser Criston Cole.

Apparently, Aegon had grown bored with his grandsire's tired political advice. Nothing had happened, neither side had fought. The war was incredibly cold.

Aegon wanted action. True action to take place. He didn't care to have others do the work for him, to reach out to allies in hopes they would kill Rhaenyra.

With the appointment of Ser Criston, the council concurred that they would need to be very vigilant in the following weeks. To alert allies of possible attacks, to keep watch in the skies.

Naerys was tasked with that, along with Jace. They took turns throughout the day scanning the skies on their dragons. The watchtowers took over at night.

It was at night that they were infiltrated, though. Aegon tried to use deceit, as Daemon had done to kill Jaehaerys.

Ser Arryk, twin of Ser Erryk, intended to infiltrate the castle under the guise of said twin.

No one knew who his intended target was. If it was Rhaenyra, if he meant to kill her bastard children as revenge. To kill all four of them. That could never be clear.

The plan was foiled, though, when the twins came upon one another in a hall of the castle. They fought, there were no witnesses. Many claimed they witnessed it but no one could decide how they died.

After professing love for each other or fighting to the death within minutes. Hatred or love.

Naerys was truly the first to happen upon them. She'd heard something that sounded suspiciously like swords clashing. And when she found them, she immediately yelled for a Maester.