Pre-Chapter A/N: Here we go with another chapter. Here on time! Next four chapters on my patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)— same username as here and link in bio. Also started a new story (SI into Bill Weasley in the HP Universe) so go check that out. As we do when we have new stories, there's a cheeky little discount until midnight on July 9th (GMT+1). Code: THEFIRSTSON
XXXXXXX- LAENOR VELARYON (ELEVEN MOONS INTO THE PREGNANCY)
"How often does this happen?" I whispered to Bernard as we watched the midwives and maesters examine my wife's much swollen stomach.
"Usually, we would administer the quickening to induce the birthing at this time, but your wife is adamant in refusing our remedies." His look to me told me what he did not say. He wanted me to put my foot down and order her to take their advice. He had scorned Myriah's inclusion in this process from the very beginning and even with how much I agreed with him I could not bring myself to do it.
This decision. It had weight. If I forced things and they went badly, it wouldn't just be lost children. Laena would be lost to me forever, I had no doubts about that. And that was not a risk I could ever take. No. It did not bear considering. The guilt would kill me first, and then the loneliness would do it again right after.
"As is her right," I said, making my stance clear. My eyes tried to pass the message that I did not agree with her but I could not side with him. His nod said he understood. At least I hoped it did.
"The birthing is taking longer because there are multiple children in the womb," Myriah declared with too much confidence for my tastes.
"I have seen twins birthed before. It still happened in 41 sennights," Bernard snidely remarked, not directing his words at her. My Maester, petty man that he was, liked to pretend she did not exist. He spoke in the air instead.
"I said multiple children. The Lord of Light has blessed her with more than twins. A blessing to make up for her many losses. Our lord is merciful and kind," Myriah said. And there it was. The second thing that made me more than apprehensive. She was one of them. Followers of the Red God. In truth, most of those who had come from Lys practiced the religion. Parvella herself even paid lip service to it but she had confided in me that she cared little for gods in general. But that did not stop her from attending their services every other sennight.
"It should not make a difference in gestation times," one of the other Maesters spoke now. An argument was brewing, I could see.
The midwives were already preparing to take Myriah's side.
"Go back to your books. Leave women's matters to women," one of them shot back. Beautiful. My pregnant wife anxiously waited on the table and this is what those assigned to handle her decided to do with their time.
"Enough of that. Everyone out," I barked sharply. The room emptied with no one contesting my authority.
"The Maesters have remedies for this," I said when it was just us in the room.
"I said no," she hissed back. I nodded. Yes, I'd seen that one coming.
"As you wish," I responded, and turned around to leave the room.
XXXXX- AEGON TARGARYEN
It was not hard for Aegon to tell when Lord Velaryon was in a bad mood. Usually the first sign was that he did not let anyone sleep in. He tended to need people around him when his mood was dark. They were his primary outlet. So when Aegon walked down towards the beach and found several Knights in various states of disarray, he put two and two together quickly.
Lord Velaryon would never transfer his displeasure to Aegon, and he was in fact very careful to avoid it. So when he was in a bad mood, Aegon could be certain that he would have a more relaxed training session than usual. Walking closer revealed a set of lit torches around the sparring ring that had been constructed not long after Aegon had arrived on this island.
Three men stood on it. Two were Knights whose names Aegon could not quite recall. He knew the faces though. That was enough, right?
The third was a man whose name Aegon could never forget. Lord Velaryon had no shirt on despite the cold Aegon could feel biting into his skin. He had added another layer to his clothing for this very reason, but Lord Velaryon was never bothered by the weather. Come rain, come shine, he was always dressed the same.
Beyond being shirtless, the other thing about him was that his sword was held in his right arm rather than his left. Considering everything Lord Velaryon did was done with his left— eating, writing, training Aegon, among others— this could only be a conscious effort to give his opponents a fighting chance.
A chance that they took with no hesitation. The first knight closed the distance with two quick bounds. Lord Velaryon met the sword with the shield he had strapped to his left arm and pushed outwards with it to push the man's blade out of position and leave the rest of his body wide open.
The other Knight joined the spar then, his blade forcing Lord Velaryon to block instead of capitalise on the opening he had created for himself.
Blades sparked and ground against each other as Lord Velaryon began to dance between them. It was two against one and their opponent was using his weak arm rather than his sword arm, and it was like these Knights had never held swords before.
He would push an attack on one, unleashing a barrage of swipes, slashes, and stabs that forced him to defend before he turned his attention to the other Knight before the first man could adapt or recover. It was working.
In a matter of minutes, the first Knight to attack was disarmed. Once it became one on one, the second one only managed to last a few more seconds. With Lord Velaryon's full attention, the gap in skill between them was put on full display. He was forced backwards and backwards, until his feet were swept out from under him and a blade was placed at his neck.
"Aegon, good morrow to you. Ser Cargyll." Lord Velaryon turned in their direction, offering a nod to both of them in turn. Aegon returned the greeting and Ser Cargyll responded with a nod of his own. Aegon started walking over to the sparring ring only for Lord Velaryon to stop him with a raised hand.
"Before we start for today, I find myself with some nervous energy to work out. Ser Cargyll, what say you?" he asked his Knight.
"It would be poor form for me to tire myself out with a spar and then be unable to guard my charge," he said, politely refusing.
"I assure you, here in the middle of so many Knights with my dragon, Vhagar, and Sunfyre mere heartbeats away, Aegon has never been more safe. Besides, how tired would you be after a single spar? Surely you would relish the chance to keep your skills sharp," Lord Velaryon offered.
"I find your arguments convincing, but the Prince must give his leave first."
"Aegon?" Lord Velaryon pointedly called.
"Of course," Aegon said, stepping to the side. Any excuse to give him more time to rest and just stand about was very acceptable to him.
"I assume you do not mind sparring with live steel, my lord?" Ser Cargyll asked. A hush spread across the group. Ser Cargyll was in full armour and Lord Velaryon was shirtless and only had his breeches on. Live steel would be dangerous, and the danger would be borne by only one of them.
"I have no problem with that. My only sword here is Riptide, but I am sure you will not mind her use. I will be sure to not take any limbs, worry not," he said. Valyrian steel? Sparring with Valyrian steel? Aegon had never seen something like that before. He was no stranger to the enchanted metal named for his family's ancestral home. His family had two of them after all. But using such a blade in a spar was unheard of.
Ser Cargyll having pushed for live steel could not back out now and he accepted the condition, marching forwards and accepting a wooden shield from one of the Knights standing around the ring. Aegon walked a bit closer to get an even better view. This was sure to be good.
There was a hush and then a buzz as Lord Velaryon pulled his blade from its scabbard. Almost a year as the man's squire and Aegon had never seen the unsheathed form of House Velaryon's newly acquired blade.
It was a deep blue near the hilt and lightened as it reached the tip. Coloured Valyrian steel. Even more rare than the metal itself. The blue gave it an ethereal look. Like it was made of ice or something like that.
It was beautiful. Aegon had never thought that a sword could be called beautiful but this one was worthy of that word. It looked like it was as much of a work of art as the tapestries that lined the walls of Bloodstone castle, but it was a sword. A tool for killing and fighting. Not for gawking at.
Ser Cargyll stepped onto the ring, taking his stance and waiting for Lord Velaryon to show that he was ready. Lord Velaryon pulled on the shield strap attached to his hand, allowing it to drop so he was holding the strap in his hand. He tossed it and the shield it was attached to outside the sparring ring.
He held only the sword now, holding it with both hands and taking his own stance. The match began with little in the way of hesitation from each side. Both of them rushed at each other.
Ser Cargyll lashed out with his blade, but his slash did not manage to cover even half of its required distance before Lord Velaryon had blocked it and killed its momentum. Both men pushed against each other for a second before Lord Velaryon danced into a spin, forcing Ser Cargyll into a stumble at the lack of weight pushing against his own blade now. Lord Velaryon spun around him and swatted the back of his helmet with the face of his blade.
It would not injure his opponent, but that was sure to hurt a lot. Ser Cargyll spun back around, trying to catch Lord Velaryon with a slash that followed the twisting of his hips as he turned.
It was too high though, and Lord Velaryon just ducked underneath the somewhat desperate slash before stomping on Ser Cargyll's boot while he did so. Aegon had begun to wonder now if Lord Velaryon had chosen to challenge for this spar just to embarrass his sworn shield. Because it could not have been for the practice. Ser Cargyll was said to be one of the best Knights in the world. Lord Velaryon made him look like Aegon, chasing at shadows and just hoping he could manage to get a good glancing blow or two in before the match inevitably came to an end with his teacher's victory.
----
The morning training session had been just like he had expected. Easy to run through. Ser Cargyll and Lord Velaryon had sparred a few more times, but each one ended with a Velaryon victory. Aegon was gifted with the sight of what he hoped to one day become. A Knight without equal just like Lord Velaryon. He could see it clear as day now. He would fly from Tourney to Tourney on Sunfyre's back. His golden scales reflecting the sun, as he made the whole realm stop and stare.
And then they would never stop staring because Aegon would come in and then win all the events at the tourney. He would win both the melee and the joust. He'd be even better than Lord Velaryon. Lord Velaryon had lost the melee at King's Landing to Lord Baratheon after all. Aegon would lose to no one. He would be the best in the world.
Those thoughts held him in their thrall so tightly that he did not hear the sounds of another person ambling through the forest along with him until he almost ran into her. Heat rushed through his face. Lady Myriah.
"I am sorry, my Lady. I should watch where I am going next time," he said after she had been forced to leave the path to avoid him.
"Oh it's no bother, Prince Aegon. And what did I say about calling me a lady? Just call me Myriah," she said. He nodded, but he could not imagine it. She wasn't really a serving girl. She was so beautiful and dignified and well spoken. She had to be a lady. She just did not know it maybe. Maybe that was what her family had been before she had been stolen to be a slave.
"What brings you here, Prince Aegon?" she asked, gesturing around the forest.
"I am taking a walk, my Lady. Sunfyre is sleeping now and Lord Velaryon is too busy to teach me," he said.
"And you are alone?" she asked.
"Ser Cargyll is asleep. He had a busy morning," he said.
"Asleep is he? Would he be asleep if he knew his charge was walking around the island unprotected?" she said. He felt even more heat rush to his face. Best to change the subject.
"There are no dangers on this island, but that is not important. What are you doing out here, my lady?"
"I am not a lady, my Prince. And to answer your question, I am gathering ingredients for a special tea for the Lady Laena."
"A lady should not be alone in the forest," he said. He knew exactly what to do here. He would offer to escort her and get to spend the day with a beautiful lady. Aemond would be so jealous when he told him when he finally got back to King's Landing.
"You just said there are no dangers on this island, my Prince," she said, and he struggled to find the words to say.
"Why don't we help each other? Guard me while I gather the herbs I need and if Ser Cargyll comes searching for you I will take on the brunt of his rage," she said.
"O-of course, my lady," he said, cringing at the stutter. His lessons had only stopped for a few sennights now and he was already back to all his old habits. Lady Sentara was going to have his hide when he got back.
They walked through the forest together, passing several trees. This forest was new. Most of the trees being young and fledgling meant that the sun was not blocked out the way it was in the Kingswood. He had only been there once or twice but the differences between it and this one were too clear not to notice.
This one did not have a well worn path trudged by generations of horses and their riders, but it did not need one as the undergrowth was not much of an issue. Whenever they had to step off the worn path of the Kingswood, it felt like there were roots, stones, and all sorts of things just trying to trip him up. This one was lacking in that department. The walk was pleasant rather than arduous and the company? Well, the company was what Lady Sentara would describe as stupendis. Stupendos? Who even knew? It just meant that the company was very good which could be said in just as much time and with far less stress.
The herbs she was gathering were not things Aegon could identify. He had lessons on 'flora and fauna', but those were some of his least favourite classes and unless he could see a really large drawing of the plants, greenery was greenery as far as he was concerned.
She seemed to know what she was doing really well though.
"How long have you studied plants, Lady Myriah?" he asked.
"Plants? I never studied them. Everything I know, I learned from my mother," she said.
"Come let me teach you as she taught me," she said, beckoning him even closer. Aegon felt the heat again but stepped forward so he could look closely in the basket. As he did so, he noticed the bracelet around her wrist. The large red gem was there and it seemed to shine with a light of its own, not merely reflecting the sun as so many jewels did.
"This plant is—" he heard little of what she said, so focused on the bracelet. Had it not been a trick of the light?
"Lady Myriah. Your bracelet—" he began, not even really noticing that he was interrupting what she was saying until he had spoken. She looked up at him.
"What bracelet?" she asked. He looked back down, and it was not there. That could not be. He had seen it. He was sure of it.
He reached out to grab her wrist and feel it only for her to snatch her hand backwards.
"You forget yourself, my Prince," she snapped. He froze. That had been ill done of him. To try to grab a lady? What was he thinking?
"I think it best if we continue separately," she said.
"My Lady, I—"
"Please excuse me, my Prince," she said and began to walk away. Aegon was left there, watching her walk away. He could not understand what had just happened.
A/N: Chapter over and done with, hmm? A cold glass of wine for anyone who can figure out what is going on here. Next four chapters up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) (same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early. Don't forget to check out the new story or redeem the discount before thursday.