Chapter 12: The Old Wolf Walks into the Trap
The meeting adjourned.
Daeron walked out of the White Sword Tower and ran into Varys.
Varys smiled and nodded as a greeting.
"My Lord, I heard your hometown is across the Narrow Sea?"
Daeron called out to him.
Varys acted humbly and smiled, "One could say that."
Daeron was interested in the Essos and found a topic to start with: "After the end of the first Blackfyre Rebellion, the House Targaryen's ancestral sword 'Blackfyre' was taken to the Essos by Bittersteel, and its whereabouts remain unknown. Do you have any way to look into it?"
Varys had a guilty conscience and naturally didn't dare to agree.
"Prince, that was a matter of the previous generation. Even Maelys the Monstrous did not possess Blackfyre."
"But I want to gather both ancestral swords."
Daeron patted dark sister at his waist and requested, "If you have any news, please inform me in time."
"It is my duty."
Varys bowed slightly.
The two parted ways, and Daeron pondered the conversation they just had.
Varys was truly meticulous in his speech and actions, without a single flaw to be found.
He wanted to inquire about news of Three Daughters, but the other party likely wouldn't provide any real substance.
Daeron shifted his thoughts, wondering: "Two months have passed, is Lyanna pregnant?"
It wasn't slander; Rhaegar's attitude toward his partners was indeed questionable.
In the original work, Elia gave birth to a daughter as her first child at the end of 280 AC.
In the spring of 281 AC, the Tourney at Harrenhal was held. By then, Elia was already pregnant with her second child and gave birth to little Aegon at the end of the year.
This showed that Rhaegar gave his wife Elia no time to recover at all; after the first child, he immediately pushed for a second.
Elia nearly died on the birthing bed with the second child, leaving her with chronic health issues ever since.
The timing of Rhaegar's elopement with Lyanna was exactly after Elia's second child, when the Maester diagnosed her as having lost her fertility.
Rhaegar rushed to the Riverlands without pause to find Lyanna.
Reasoning back from Jon Snow's birth in 283 AC, Lyanna became pregnant not long after.
"The Prince That Was Promised was not born among your children."
Daeron shook his head.
Based on the original work, the Prince/Princess That Was Promised was the unborn younger sister, Daenerys.
Now, it was likely him.
Daeron thought as he walked: "Rhaegar's busy efforts will lead to nothing."
Furthermore, his appearance had caused Elia to come to King's Landing early, preventing a second pregnancy.
The butterfly effect seemed to have erased little Aegon.
Could Rhaegar still manage to make 'the dragon has three heads'?
Lord Rickard Stark, who had rushed from Winterfell, finally arrived at King's Landing after a long journey.
Upon arriving at the Red Keep, he immediately requested an audience with the King.
Aerys heard of this and agreed to grant him an audience.
Due to the scandal between the two families, the location was set in the Council Chamber.
—
Noon, 12:00.
Lord Rickard, wrapped in a black coat, knelt on one knee and pleaded: "Merciful Majesty, my son's wedding is imminent. He had no intention of offending your dragon's might. Please release him so he may go and marry."
"What does your son's marriage have to do with me?"
Aerys was in a good mood but was completely bewildered.
Daeron participated in the meeting, sitting at the head of his father's right hand, opposite the Hand of the King.
He observed this Lord of the North.
Rickard Stark was over forty, tall and burly, with a rugged but majestic face and a thick beard.
He didn't immediately question his eldest son's situation or obsess over where his daughter Lyanna had gone; he only pleaded for his eldest son's release as a father.
Facing the King's counter-question, Lord Rickard was stunned: "My son heard the scandal between the Crown Prince and Lyanna and rushed to King's Landing, disregarding his wedding to Miss Catelyn Tully. There has been no news since."
According to the information he had gathered.
Someone saw his eldest son Brandon and others arrive at King's Landing, and they were even escorted into the Red Keep bound hand and foot.
How could the King not know?
Aerys truly didn't know and thought the other was mocking him, instantly becoming enraged: "I haven't seen your wolf pup. Your daughter seduced my son, and I haven't even settled that account with you, yet you dare come and question me."
He ordered on the spot to have Lord Rickard bound.
"Wait!"
Tywin suddenly stopped them. Aerys shouted in fury: "Tywin, what are you doing?"
"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood Lord Rickard."
Tywin was very calm.
He explained everything about how Brandon and the others intended to storm King's Landing to demand an explanation from the King, but were intercepted by the men he sent.
Tywin added: "They are currently held in the Red Keep's dungeons, awaiting disposal."
Lord Rickard was uncertain and suspicious. He looked first at the high-and-mighty Hand, then at the King who had been kept in the dark, and his heart rate suddenly quickened.
He had a premonition that he was in trouble.
Sure enough, Aerys's face contorted, and he laughed in extreme anger: "A wolf pup actually dared to bring people to King's Landing to question me."
"Lord Rickard, you have truly raised a fine son."
Lord Rickard quickly explained: "Your Majesty, my son is impulsive and doesn't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. Please, for the sake of no great mistake having been made yet, deal with him leniently."
The enraged Aerys didn't listen to a word. He only wanted to punish them severely so the world would see his ruthlessness.
He wanted to kill the Stark father and son in the most cruel way possible.
And that group of noble youths who followed the wolf pup would also be buried with them.
Aerys shouted: "Guards!"
The door burst open with a bang, and two Kingsguard entered.
Daeron didn't stop them but gave his great-great-uncle a look.
Maester Aemon received the signal and checked the King's impulsive moment, asking: "Lord Rickard, Rhaegar and Lyanna's elopement is a shared scandal for both the Targaryen and Stark families."
"But before this, you said your eldest son was about to marry a girl from Tully family."
"If I remember correctly, Brandon and Miss Barbrey Ryswell, daughter of the Earl of The Rills, were in love and had long reached the stage of discussing marriage?"
Daeron was the one who revealed this.
"The Wild Wolf" Brandon was of a dissolute nature and was no saint either; he had slept with Barbrey when they were young.
But he abandoned her and accepted the marriage contract with Tully family.
He even told Barbrey that he didn't like Catelyn Tully and was only marrying her on orders, and that he would continue to love her in the future.
Pure scum, even worse than Robert.
But in this matter, Barbrey had once mentioned why she and Brandon failed to end up together.
Lord Rickard's pupils contracted. He didn't expect to see Maester Aemon of Castle Black, nor did he expect the other to be so well-informed about House Stark's affairs.
"I—"
Maester Aemon's eyes were clouded with age but exceptionally bright as he said: "Do not lie, Lord Rickard. If you do not explain things, I cannot help you."
Lord Rickard's expression changed, and he slowly lowered his head, speaking in a muffled voice: "It was Maester Walys Flowers of Winterfell who advised me to expand House Stark's influence in the south through an alliance with Tully family."
"What else?"
Maester Aemon's voice was soft, like a quiet listener.
Lord Rickard gave up and sighed: "I had my eldest son Brandon betrothed to the eldest daughter of Lord Hoster, and sent my Second Son Eddard to the The Eyrie to be the foster son of Lord Arryn, who has no heirs."
Coincidentally, Lord Robert Baratheon, who inherited Storm's End, also went to the The Eyrie to become Lord Arryn's foster son.
He also formed a deep friendship with the Second Son, Eddard.
He followed the flow and betrothed his daughter Lyanna to Robert.
The prototype of the four kingdoms alliance thus appeared.
Aerys was dumbfounded and went straight into a frenzy: "I knew it! You are all a bunch of rebellious subjects, coveting my Iron Throne!"
He almost jumped out of his chair but was held down by Ser Gerold behind him.
Losing one's composure before the court was never good.
Hearing these secrets for the first time, Tywin also frowned and asked: "Who is this Maelys Flowers?"
"I know a little."
Maester Aemon's expression was complex as he recounted: "Maelys is a bastard of House Hightower. He performed well at The Citadel and later became the Maester of Winterfell."
"Oldtown Hightower?"
Tywin's eyes were sharp as he glanced at the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
From what Lord Rickard just said, it wasn't hard to see that Maelys had been constantly egging him on, causing his ambition to swell and creating the four kingdoms alliance.
What does House Hightower want?
This is the second time they've stirred up trouble in the Seven Kingdoms.
Ser Gerold perked up and said solemnly: "I've never even heard of this person. He's probably a bastard of some collateral cousin."
.
His seniority was high enough.
Tywin withdrew his gaze, and the others also temporarily dismissed their doubts.
But once the seeds of suspicion are planted, they will take root and sprout.
Daeron frowned and said: "Before things are cleared up, take him down first."
Oldtown Hightower has a mysterious origin.
The Citadel was funded solely by House Hightower.
Throughout the brief history of the House Targaryen, many family members and famous Maesters have commented on the Dance of the Dragons.
Viserys I, 'The Young King', as the culprit, must take at least half the blame.
And House Hightower, Daemon Targaryen, and Corlys Velaryon, 'The Sea Snake', were the driving forces behind the Dance of the Dragons.
There's no need to argue; these three parties have always controlled the direction of the Dance of the Dragons.
On the contrary, the Kings and Queens of the Black and Green factions were merely puppets they pushed forward, with no political maneuverability to speak of.
And after the Dance of the Dragons ended, during the reign of Aegon 'the Dragonbane', the Targaryen dragons went extinct.
House Hightower played a certain role in that as well.
The Maesters of The Citadel were the executors.
Remember The Citadel's philosophy: to deny all magic.
The extinction of the dragons, besides Aegon the Dragonbane's negligence, was undoubtedly aided by House Hightower and The Citadel.
He could think of it, and naturally, there was no lack of smart people present who could also think of it.
Maester Aemon's face darkened for the first time, and Tywin silently frowned—
Instead, Aerys understood nothing and only cared about venting: "I refuse. Bind Rickard for me. He and his wolf pup are both rebels. I'll have their heads cut off."
Rickard was shocked and quickly struggled: "I have already confessed, why won't you grant me pardon?"
Aerys was finally smart for once and retorted: "You didn't confess, you were caught!"
"No, your trial is unfair!"
Rickard's desire to survive was strong, and he immediately said: "If I am guilty, let the Seven Gods decide my life and death. I demand a Trial by Combat."
He was not convinced!
He had already confessed, why did they still want to kill him?
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