House of the Dragon: The Green King

A vow

"My brother may have been tough on me growing up, but I never doubted even for a moment that he would die for me or kill for me." --Prince Aegon

107 AC

Aemon pov

I was seated outside the birthing chamber as the screams of my mother reverberated through the castle. It was Aegon; she was giving birth to Aegon now.

It has been nearly four years since I was born in this cursed world based on a fictional story from my previous world, and even now I find it hard to believe what happened to me after my death.

Patience was never a virtue of mine. I hate to wait, but I had become more accustomed to the feeling thanks to the years I spent as a baby where I could do nothing but shit and sleep and eat. It was the most humiliating experience of my life, and I hated it even now. Thinking about how helpless I was ignited a wild fury in me.

I took in a deep breath and sighed, calming myself. The experience of being a baby wasn't all bad, I thought, a soft smile gracing my lips as I thought of her.

Alicent, once a fictional character, is now the woman who was my mother. Sure when I first realised I was born in the dance when she introduced herself to me I was angry scared and even desperate I mean I was born the son of Alicent Hightower and I know what happened to all her sons I mean non died peacefully and that terrified me as the realisation hit me I was in more danger than anyone I mean I was the first son the rightful heir by all laws and traditions but not named heir by my "father" Instead that reckless vindictive useless sack of shit was heir along with her pedo future husband I mean come on I would rather have been born as Rheagar's older brother or Aegon the conquers younger or older brother I mean then at least I would be safe and would marry Visenya most likely a win-win but nope I was born as the main target of an entire faction who wanted me brutally murdered.

So my original plan was to get a dragon, run away, and try to live in comfort elsewhere in Essos, most likely in Braavos.

Creek

The door opened, and the silence of my mother, whose screams had turned into background noise as I lamented my fate, perfectly illustrated what had happened.

"My prince, you have a healthy baby brother. Would you like to see him? a jovial voice rang out. It was Emilia, my personal maid, who had been with me since I was born and was obviously quite attached to me, who spoke, gesturing for me to come in.

I got up and walked forward into the birthing chamber, and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding as I saw my mother fine while she cradled my brother. A sense of relief washed over me unlike any I had felt before at seeing her in good health.

Walking up to her, I gazed at the silver hair on the baby's head and the shining violet eyes that stared back at me.

He was beautiful. I felt a soft hand rub my head, a feeling I was all too accustomed to. I gazed up at my mother, smiling at me as she spoke in a gentle voice that filled me with warmth. "Would you like to hold your bother, Aemon? It would be an odd thing to trust a toddler to hold a baby, but I wasn't a normal child, and she knew it. Hell, half the kingdom knew it. I mean, I was much bigger than children my age; I looked like a seven-year-old boy, not four, and I had practically finished all my studies that the maester had been tasked to teach me a year ago.

They were pretty easy; reading was no issue, and arithmancy was even easier. I finished all he could teach me in that year; having a photographic memory helped a lot with that. Well, he said if I wanted to learn more, I would need to go to the Citadel, a prospect I was not keen on. Due to my unusual progress, rumours began to spread that I was gifted by the seven: the strength of the warrior and the mind of the wisdom father. This is a foolish statement, but rumours do breed legends, and I have no doubt my grandfather spread these rumours. I mean, he was the one with the connections and the political genius who was on my side, so, of course, he thought of this and did it before more unsavoury rumours spread. The best way to get a head of rumours is to make your own. I was now a blessed child, a gift from the gods instead of a unholy demon in child form.

I reached out my hands and held my little brother gently, taking all the care to not harm him in any way. I started to rock him gently as he started to make unintelligible noises, but even in them I could feel his joy, and like a switch, everything clicked into place for me.

This was my family. I had never had a family; I now had a mother who, from the moment I was born, showered me with affection and care; a woman who wouldn't even let a wet nurse feed me and did it all herself; a woman who, for the first time ever, showed me unconditional love, and I was thinking of abandoning her. I felt immense disgust at myself.

In my previous life, I was an orphan who had no family, no one to rely on, and back then, I had vowed that if I ever had a family, I would cherish them above everything, even my own life, and now I did, and I was going to run away from them.

No, this was my mother, and in my arms was my brother. My previous life doesn't matter to me now; the only thing that matters is my family, those who will rely on me, and those who will rely on my blood.

Right here, right now, I vow on my very soul that I will protect my family no matter what, cherish them above all else, and save them from the fate that could befall them. Helaena will not lose her children or her sanity; her mother won't die alone in a fever, and I will not allow Aemond, Aegon and Dearon to die.

I will burn this realm to the ground if it means I can keep them safe. Morality, and decency don't matter nothing else matters; only my family and their comfort matter, and that's all I will aim to protect and accomplish.

The End

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