Great Bastards

LONG LIVE THE KING

AEGOR I 

184AC

Aegor watched his father's life fade away before his very eyes.

The king's bedchamber stank worse than the Red Keep's stables. Soaked in sweat, Aegon the Unworthy lay feverishly before his children, pale as the soiled sheets which covered him like a shroud.

Ignoring her brother's warnings, Daenerys held tightly on to her father's hand as she wept, kissing it with despair. The king Aegor knew would have rebuked and mocked his daughter, but this was another man, a rotting skeleton slipping ever slowly out of consciousness.

Aegor looked around at his siblings; Daemon, Mya, and Gwenys were all still and silent and statues, while Brynden was still trying to cover Shiera's face, but the six-year-old was tenaciously attempting to break free of his grip.

Aegor snapped, pulling Brynden away from the girl. "Let her see," he growled. "She needs to remember this, to understand what is happening. A five year old is not a baby, Brynden. Those eyes of hers were not meant to be covered."

Shiera turned towards her father. Her mismatched eyes - one a deep green, the other a sapphire blue - met the dying king's. Those eyes had long fascinated Aegor, and he had often gotten lost in them. Faced with his daughter, Aegon's pained moans stopped; he finally seemed calm. He started to whisper, with a softness Aegor never knew his father was even capable of.

"Serenei...I can see you, Serenei..."

The fact that the adults in the room - Daeron, his wife Myriah, and the king's cousins Daena, Rhaena, and Elaena - would not say anything only angered Aegor even more. "He's going to die," he stammered to Daeron, not knowing what else to say. "He's going to die."

As usual, Daeron kept his composure. This only irritated Aegon further; Daemon tended to agree. Without even regarding his half-siblings, he simply turned to his wife, who was clutching his arm tenderly. "Myriah, take the girls away. I must speak to my brothers. And fetch the maester."

Aegor glanced at Daemon, who nodded in silent understanding. "We stay together, or not at all." The two of them made for the door, gesturing for Mya, Gwenys, Brynden, and Shiera to follow. Like any good bastards, they obeyed. With a scowl, Aegor said to Daeron on his way out, "you must be happy now."

Surprisingly, the king's condition somewhat improved several hours later. Aegor was with the rest of his half-siblings in Daemon's chambers, brooding as the others quarreled back and forth over their future.

"I don't want to leave the court," ten-year-old Gwenys wailed. "Raventree Hall is so boring. Everyone says Daeron is going to exile us when he becomes king."

"You're being silly," Mya replied, confident as always. "We will stay here at court. Together, like we have for years now. We may be father's bastards, but we are his noble bastards."

Finally Daemon spoke. He was a man now, with his own sword, his own name, and even a betrothed across the Narrow Sea. Aegor understood this now more clearly than never. "We're more than that. We are great bastards. The future of the realm lies with us. Daeron can try to isolate us from Daenerys and the rest of the court, and he can welcome as many Dornishmen into our home as he wants, but he can never change the fact that we are children of the king."

The conversation was interrupted when Grand Maester Gordys arrived to inform them that Aegon had requested their presence. As Mya led Gwenys, Brynden, and Shiera out of the room, Gordys pulled Daemon and Aegor aside. "This may be the last time you see your father," the kindly maester sighed, his voice heavy with regret. Gordys had been the Grand Maester ever since Aegor had returned from Stone Hedge several years ago but oddly, he seemed younger than any other maester he had met. Gloomily, Gordys admitted, "I just want you boys to be strong for your siblings. Set the example for them. They don't have support the same way Daeron and Daenerys do, so they are relying on you, their big brothers, to protect them. Are you ready?"