Sworn Fate // Aegon Targaryen II

Chapter 11

Aerion knew his mother had hoped his love for Aegon would dim through distance and time, but he continually kept disappointing her. As the years passed and he became older, he only fell for Aegon more.

It was difficult for them to see each other. Aerion's mother only took their family to court when it was absolutely necessary and she did her best to keep him too busy with either his combat training or his duties involved with eventually taking over as Lord of the Tides to prevent him from finding time to visit Aegon.

Once, not long after Aerion had learned the truth about his father's disappearance, his mother had attempted to ban him from flying alone to visit Aegon. She'd said he would need either her or Daemon to escort him to King's Landing. Of course, any time Aerion had asked for them to accompany him they were always conveniently too busy to fly with him. Eventually, he'd gone into town and paid for a ship to take him from Dragonstone to King's Landing.

He'd been punished extensively for that act of rebellion, but it had convinced his mother that Aerion would do anything it took to be able to see Aegon with some regularity. Now that his eighteenth nameday had passed, she'd resigned herself to Aerion disappearing every now and then to fly to King's Landing.

In a similar fashion, Aegon had been banned from visiting Dragonstone, though it was much harder for him to slip away. Alicent was a lot more vigilant about keeping him blocked from the ports and the dragonpit without explicit permission. She disliked the relationship between them, but Aegon had confided in him that his mother was more worried about Rhaenyra assassinating Aegon the second he stepped foot on Dragonstone in order to solidify her claim to the throne. It was a laughable idea, but Alicent believed in it enough that she enforced Aegon's Dragonstone ban with an iron fist.

Aerion preferred visiting Aegon to the alternative anyway. It was harder to find privacy on Dragonstone and it lacked the twisting secret passages that wound through the walls of the Red Keep. Besides, visiting Aegon had the advantage of getting to go out into the streets of King's Landing where in certain places affection between two men was hardly given a second look. Everyone knew who they were and being seen together surely fueled the flames of the gossip about them, but Aerion hardly cared. He didn't want anyone or anything else other than Aegon.

It had been a few weeks since he'd managed to last visit the Red Keep. He'd been stuck at Driftmark helping his grandmother Rhaenys and his cousin Baela organize ships to reinforce the Velaryon fleet at the Stepstones. Their forces had sustained heavy losses in the past few weeks according to the reports Aerion's grandfather had sent back to them. It had taken multiple discussions to decide the right amount of ships and supplies to send without critically depleting the fleet left at Driftmark in case of an emergency attack.

Thankfully, the matter was settled for now and Aerion was relieved to be able to finally see Aegon. They'd exchanged a couple of letters, but Aerion hadn't written to say he was coming. He quite enjoyed surprising Aegon with his presence. Whenever Aegon spotted him, his features always lit up as he stared at Aerion like he was the most precious thing in the entire world.

He'd left Ajax curled up in a field on the outskirts of King's Landing, though he was sure to make his way to the Dragonpit for the easy food eventually. Still, he usually got most of the night before Ajax alerted Otto and Alicent of his presence. Aerion paid a local farmer a slightly ridiculous sum to save one of his horses for him at all times so that he could ride into King's Landing. While Aerion was technically allowed into the Red Keep at any time, it was easier to avoid all the hassle (along with Alicent and Otto's prying eyes) and instead head directly to Aegon's room through the secret passageways Daemon had outlined for him.

As much as he'd once agonized over his dark hair when he was younger, he now found it incredibly convenient when he wanted to stay undetected. After being at Dragonstone for so many years, most of the citizens of King's Landing had forgotten what he looked like. As long as Aegon wasn't by his side, nobody ever recognized him as one of Princess Rhaenyra's sons. It gave him a freedom of movement he treasured.