paradox - Aemond Targaryen

Chapter 12: The Prince is Gone

Later that morning... 

Ser Criston shut the door, turning to Alicent. 

'Prince Aegon's not to be found within the castle walls, Your Grace. Your father has sent Ser Erryk into the city to find him.' 

'Ser Erryk knows Aegon. He has the advantage,' Alicent said. Criston looked over to the fireplace in the room, where Prince Aemond sat with his back to them, and I stood with him. Alicent walked over to Criston, and the two moved slightly away from us to talk. 'I trust again to you, and to your loyalty,' she said softly. Aegon must be found, and he must be brought to me. The very fate of the Seven Kingdoms depends on it.' She leaned closer to him and lowered her voice to a whisper. 'Everything you feel for me as your queen.' 

'I will not fail you,' he replied in an equally low voice. 

'I'll come with you,' Aemond said, going to stand. Alicent turned, walking towards her son and me. 

'That would not be my desire, Aemond,' she replied. She caught him by the arm, and he lovingly cradled her arms in his. 'If anything has happened...' 

'Cole needs me, Mother. Ser Erryk isn't the only one who knows Aegon's doings.' Alicent turned to Criston, and he gave a subtle nod. Aemond and Alicent both looked at me. 

'Go, my love,' I said softly, standing on tiptoe to kiss my newly wedded husband on the cheek. 'Be swift. Be safe.' He let a small smile slip, and then he turned and walked away, Cole following just behind him. 

The Street of Silk. King's Landing. 

Aemond and Cole walked together on the streets, both wearing disguises so that it would be hard for anyone to recognise them. 

'Aegon brought me to the Street of Silk on my thirteenth name day. It was his duty as my brother, he said, to ensure I was as educated as he was.' The two stopped in front of a door, and Aemond grabbed the handle of the doorknocker. 'At least that's what I understood him to mean.' He knocked sharply on the door with the knocker, twice. 

'I don't follow,' Criston replied. 

'He said "Time to get it wet".' Criston responded with nothing but a disgusted look, then shook his head as if to clear his mind of the impure thoughts and leaned over to knock on the door as Aemond had. 

'Every woman is an image of the Mother, to be spoken of with reverence,' Criston said. 

The two continued to walk the streets, having come up empty-handed earlier. 

'Here I am, trawling the city, ever the good soldier in search of a wastrel who's never taken half an interest in his birth right,' Aemond spoke in a low voice, but it was an angry one. 'It is I, the younger brother, who studies history and philosophy. It is I who trains with the sword, who rides the largest dragon in the world. It is I who is faithful to my newly wedded wife. It is I who should be...' The two stopped in their tracks, Criston having stopped slightly ahead of him. He turned and walked back towards the prince. 

'I know what it is to toil for what others are freely given,' Cole replied. Aemond hummed in assent. 

'And we can't find him, Cole,' Aemond replied. 'You are a decent man with no taste for depravity. His secrets are his own. And he's welcome to them.' He stepped closer to Cole. 'I am next in line for the throne. Should they come looking for me, I intend to be found.'

Back at King's Landing... 

Princess Rhaenys turned away from the window as the doors to her chamber opened. A member of the Kingsguard was there, and Queen Alicent stepped into the room. He shut the door again, leaving the two women alone in the room. 

'I will do you the considerable courtesy of assuming there is a good reason for the outrage of my treatment this morning.' 

'My sincerest regrets for the lack of ceremony,' Alicent replied softly. A look of realisation came over Rhaenys' face. 

'The King,' she replied. An air of sorrow fell over the room. 'And you are usurping the throne,' she added with a sigh of frustration. 

'It was my husband's dying wish,' Alicent replied, to which she earned a scoff from Rhaenys. 'Believe it or no, it is of no consequence. Aegon will be king. I came here to ask for your support.' 

'Well, I must credit you for your boldness.' 

'House Velaryon has long allied itself with the Princess Rhaenyra and what has it gained you? Your daughter dead, alone in Pentos. Your son - cuckolded. Rhaenyra's heirs are none of yours. It is your husband who grasps so heedlessly for the throne. And even he has abandoned you.' Rhaenys' face was tight with anger. 'Gone these six long years to fight a desperate battle, returning grievously, if not mortally wounded, leaving the Lady of Driftmark to chart her course alone.' 

'The word of my house is not fickle,' Rhaenys replied sharply, turning to walk back towards the window, but Alicent hurried after the princess, grabbing her arms and turning her to face her. 

'No. But dear cousin, you more than any soul alive understand what I say now. Princess Rhaenys, I loved my husband, but I will speak the truth we both know. You should've been queen.' 

'I little thought to hear those words from you.' 

'The Iron Throne was yours by blood and by temperament. Viserys' would've lived his days a country lord, content to hunt and study his histories, but here we are. We do not rule, but we may guide the men that do. Gently. Away from violence and sure destruction and towards peace.' Rhaenys scoffed, ripping her hands away from Alicent's and walking away from her. 

'Is it in the name of peace that you've imprisoned me?' She spun around, a venomous look in her eyes. 'And what of my dragon?' 

'If we are overmatched, Rhaenyra will attempt to strike us, and war will ensue. Without your dragon, she may be persuaded to negotiate. If it's Driftmark you want, you shall have it, for you and your granddaughters to pass on as you see fit.' Rhaenys' look softened into a look of respect. 

'You are wiser than I believed you to be, Alicent Hightower.'

'A true queen counts the cost to her people,' Alicent replied. 

'And yet you toil still in service to men. Your father, your husband - your son. You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison.' She stepped closer to Alicent, bent down, and whispered. 'Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?' Alicent stood, staring straight ahead, her eyes filled with tears. She was quiet for a moment before she met Rhaenys' eyes. 

'I'll leave you with your thoughts,' Alicent said, walking around Rhaenys and towards the door. 'Ring the bell when you have an answer,' she added. The door of Rhaenys' quarters squeaked as she opened it, and as she closed it, it made a hollow thudding sound.