c48: The Rebellion
However, Viserys, as a Targaryen prince of the blood and the last acknowledged male heir of House Targaryen after the fall of Rhaegar Targaryen at the Battle of the Trident,
was far more important than Queen Rhaella, including the child in her womb, until the sex of the child was determined.
None of them were as important as Viserys's head.
If they went to great lengths and took enormous risks to carry out their plan, only to kill Queen Rhaella but leave Viserys alive,
then their plan would be a complete failure, and the Iron Throne, now held by Robert Baratheon, would not keep its promise,
because the Targaryen heir was still alive.
Therefore, the bastard from Dorne and the guards he had bribed had no choice but to continue patiently waiting for Viserys's return,
knowing that Dragonstone, the ancient seat of House Targaryen, remained the last refuge of loyalists who still clung to the old dynasty.
Then came the news of the great victory at the so-called Battle of Shipwrecked Harbor.
The Targaryen fleet had destroyed the Baratheon navy in one battle and returned victorious, echoing the naval strength once commanded by Stannis Baratheon during his later campaigns.
Sir Shad had been cornered by Viserys; even the possibility of him continuing to hide had vanished.
As the person in charge of the castle, he could already sense the dangerous undercurrents within Dragonstone,
a fortress known for its stone dragons and hidden passages carved from volcanic rock.
Perhaps someone had already noticed their actions and was secretly investigating, almost tracing back to him.
The cooks he had bribed had already been quietly eliminated to silence them, much like the ruthless purges seen in King's Landing under Aerys II Targaryen.
But that wasn't enough.
Sir Shad's fear grew daily with the news of the fleet's great victory,
as each passing day tightened the invisible noose around his neck.
He feared that his actions would be exposed and he would die a horrible death, perhaps burned or tortured as traitors often were in the Seven Kingdoms.
So, in a desperate move, he contacted the spy from King's Landing, the capital now firmly under Baratheon control.
Telling him he would launch his plan on the first night after Viserys returned to Dragonstone, killing him and the newborn Targaryen girl, he then
requested that the spy send a small boat to rescue them under the cover of darkness,
hoping to flee across the Narrow Sea to Essos where many exiles and sellswords gathered.
The bastard, driven to desperation, no longer cared about the Targaryen fleet's return.
His sense of urgency told him that if he didn't act now, they might be exposed before they could do anything, and then be flayed or executed like traitors of the Crown.
Abandoning the plan and fleeing in the dead of night would not only mean losing the castle and the lordship he had already secured,
but the Baratheon regime might also not let him go, forcing him to live a life of exile in Essos, much like Viserys Targaryen himself would one day endure.
So, after weighing the options, Sir Shad had no choice but to make a desperate, all-or-nothing decision.
Unfortunately, the bastard was unaware that the messengers from King's Landing had not even reached Dragonstone before they encountered the returning Targaryen fleet.
Even abandoning ship was impossible; he was captured and implicated, his fate sealed the moment he was recognized. He was also implicated.
Therefore, Viserys already knew Sir Shad was the traitor on Dragonstone before disembarking,
having been informed through captured correspondence and interrogation.
However, Viserys did not immediately order his guards to kill him.
He was certain that if the traitor wanted to kill him, he was not acting alone, as conspiracies in Westeros rarely involved a single man.
He wanted to use this opportunity to lure them all out and eliminate them all at once.
Otherwise, if they remained hidden on the island, they would always be a threat,
lurking in the shadows of Dragonstone's halls and waiting for another chance.
This was Viserys' plan.
He had already discussed it with the equally knowledgeable Sir Geoffrey, who would lead a portion of the fleet's elite troops, along with his personal guards, to Dragonstone at midnight without alerting the enemy.
Meanwhile, those already arranged within Dragonstone opened the gates for them.
...
And now,
Viserys sat up from his soft bed, listening to the shouts of battle echoing through the stone corridors outside.
The guards of Dragonstone had been alerted and rushed out, grabbing weapons and armor in confusion.
They did not know who the attackers were, assuming it was another infiltration like months before, when sellswords from across the Narrow Sea attempted to breach the castle.
However, they had not expected their former comrades to turn on them so suddenly.
In an instant, many of the castle guards were killed or wounded,
their blood staining the ancient black stone of Dragonstone.
A large portion of the Dragonstone guards were former soldiers loyal to Rhaegar Targaryen, and most remained fiercely devoted even after his death.
However, a small number had been bribed by Sir Shad, their loyalty bought with gold rather than honor.
Having just been attacked by their sworn brothers, bound by oaths once sworn before the Seven in the fashion of the Kingsguard and other knightly orders of Westeros,
the Dragonstone guards quickly realized who their enemies were, and filled with rage, accused them of betrayal before drawing their swords in retaliation.
The two sides quickly clashed throughout the castle, the sound of steel echoing through the volcanic halls of Dragonstone.
Now, Viserys, sitting on his bed, was surprisingly calm.
Although he had only been in this world for less than a year, the boy had already endured turmoil reminiscent of the chaos following Robert's Rebellion,
and experienced more thrills and danger than anything he had known in both his past and present lives combined.
Raids, assassinations, and the ever-present threat of war had hardened him.
Viserys's blood was still boiling, but the initial fear and tension had long since faded.
In Westeros, there was a saying, often repeated among soldiers who survived brutal campaigns led by commanders like Tywin Lannister:
'A recruit becomes a veteran by surviving a war and killing someone.'
The silver-haired boy had already experienced all of this, so facing it again, he would not seem so helpless.
Viserys sat calmly on the bed, adjusting the leather armor he had not removed, ever prepared for sudden danger.
His short sword rested beside the bed, but within his chamber lay another powerful weapon,
the crossbow left behind by the mercenary who had once tried to assassinate him, a reminder of how easily death could slip past even guarded walls.
Viserys felt that this weapon was most useful to him at this stage.
Compared to a boy wielding a sword, facing a potential threat, the wielder of a crossbow held a far greater advantage in lethality and distance.
Just then, there was a firm knock on Viserys's door,
the sound cutting through the distant clash of battle.
"Your Majesty,"
the guards outside the door called out, fearing the young king might not yet be awake, even as chaos spread through the castle.
These two fully armed soldiers were elite troops temporarily drawn from the fleet,
men hardened by naval warfare and loyal to House Targaryen despite the fall of Aerys II Targaryen.
They had served the old sergeant for many years, their loyalty beyond question, which was why Viserys could sleep so soundly despite the danger.
At that moment, Viserys pushed open the door and emerged from the bedroom,
his expression composed, betraying none of the turmoil surrounding him.
Although Viserys was not particularly afraid of Sir Shad's rebellion, believing it would not escalate beyond control,
he clearly understood that his life was not his alone to risk.
Viserys's life represented not only himself, but also the fragile hope of House Targaryen's restoration,
much like the exiled legacy that would later follow Daenerys Targaryen across the Narrow Sea.
So, according to the plan, Viserys would be escorted away from his bedroom, as it would inevitably become the rebels' primary target.
The two soldiers were tasked with escorting the young king to the Hall of Illustrations,
a fortified chamber within Dragonstone's upper levels, where narrow corridors and thick stone walls made defense easier.
Meanwhile, the elite naval forces entering from outside the castle would advance directly toward the top floor upon breaching the gates.
Their priority was to secure Viserys's safety before systematically crushing the rebellion within the castle,
ensuring that no conspirator could escape into the hidden passages and tunnels carved beneath Dragonstone.
"Let's go,"
Viserys said calmly, his face steady, slightly adjusting his collar, a crossbow still firmly held in his hand.
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
the two soldiers replied in deep, disciplined voices, their tone unwavering despite the chaos.
Then, maintaining formation, one leading and one guarding from behind, they escorted Viserys through the stone corridors,
moving swiftly toward the castle's top floor as the sounds of betrayal and battle raged below.
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