Chapter 12: Confronting the Past

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Aerion entered his mother's apartments during the hour of the owl; he tried his best to avoid them as much as possible since his return, though being back had unlocked memories that he would otherwise keep locked away.

He had his issues with his mother, this much was true, though despite all their differences, he found himself missing her now more than ever before, and without the company of others, he was brought to tears as he came to the realisation she was no longer around.

Taking in a deep breath, the first thing he noticed was that it no longer smelt of the scented lavender that was once familiar.

It had not been only her chambers that brought back feelings, wherever he went in Runestone was a place that reminded him of her, he sat upon the same throne she previously occupied, and whenever he trained, he found himself looking up to the viewing balcony where his mother would watch him from.

"Was I such a disappointment?" he asked himself "Was this what you had envisioned, mother?" the questions swarmed his mind a lot more than he cared to admit.

Aerion ran his hand along the desk, which was covered in unfinished letters, he picked up one that was addressed to Lady Jeyne.

Lady Jeyne,

I understand your concern, Arnold came and visited us recently and was acting beyond strange, when asked as to why he had travelled this far east, he stated that he was touring the Vale on behalf of House Arryn.

This was no doubt a lie, my father had never trusted his intentions and neither will I, he is currently being escorted to Gulltown by my cousin, Gerold, and a dozen men-at-arms.

As soon as Aerion returns from the south, I will make plans to visit the Eyrie, where we shall discuss this further.

It is with hope that Gerold may be able to find out his true -

The letter had ended abruptly, and left Aerion with many questions, he folded up the piece of parchment and stuffed it in the pouch on his belt, scouring the desk for the original letter sent by Lady Jeyne, but without success.

He sat down at the edge of the bed, running his thumb across his eyes, wiping the tears away, and then gripping tightly onto the covers, he threw his head back and closed his eyes, remembering the last interaction he had with his mother in this very room.

Aerion entered into his mother's apartments, having been summoned while training, he could remember it all clearly, she was sat on her chair infront of the mirror, as her hair was brushed by one of her ladies, Alayne, who had been rather close with her.

He coughed to get her attention "I was summoned, mother." 

"Sorry for taking you away from your training, Aerion." she told him, looking at him through the mirror "Rodrik has informed me of your travel plans."

"What of it?" he shrugged

"Where do you plan on going?" she asked him "I cannot have my heir disappearing." 

"A raven arrived from Kings' Landing." Aerion answered "the Princess is getting married to Ser Laenor Velaryon." He removed the letter from his belt and threw it on the bed "I plan to compete in the melée that is to take place beforehand."

She rose from her chair, and her lady moved to one side, bowing her head in respect "Those letters are addressed to me." she stated "I thought I taught you better."

"It bore the Targaryen seal." he shrugged. "I had a right to see what the contents of that letter was."

"Says who? I am not only your mother, I am your liege."

"Aye, mother, that you are, which I am not denying." he said "But I am also your heir, and a Targaryen, you would not have told me of the contents otherwise."

"There are reasons for that, Aerion, you are still young, and too wild, it is not your business to know everything." she shook her head "I am forbidding you from going to Kings' Landing."

"You can't do that." Aerion scoffed "They are my family."

"They are not your family, Aerion." she replied "You may share a name with them, but you are my son."

"I have to go." he said "I wish to finally meet them, for too long have I heard stories, I wish to see them with my own eyes, and feel less like an outsider."

"You are not an outsider, Aerion, you are the future lord of Runestone."

"And yet you insisted on sending away the one person who understood me." he spat. 

"I understand your wishes, Aerion, but at the moment the Vale has been under attack from the Mountain Clans, our own villages are experiencing raids, this far from the mountains of the moon."

"Then let me lead an expedition through the mountains, I am certain with a few hundred men we can stop these raids," he asserted.

Rhea chuckled at the thought of him going on an expedition, as everyone else, she underestimated both his ability and skill "Absolutely not, you are my heir I do not need you disappearing in the mountains."

"Fine…" he pouted "Just please let me go to Kings' Landing, Ser Rodrik will look over me, that is his job after all."

"Give me a day to think on it.." she responded sincerely, nodding her head, and for the first time in a while, he saw a faint smile on her lips, could it be that she was proud? "Now do explain the incident in the yard yesterday."

"I do not know what you speak of, mother." he stepped back, turning away from her.

"With the squire, Maester Daveth informed me that he almost died."

"Oh right, the squire…what was his name, Jon?" he questioned

"Edmund." his mother corrected him.

"Right, well I wanted to practice with real steel." Aerion revealed, and his mother had been less than impressed. "I told him to keep his shield up, the fool had let it slip out of his hand when I went to strike."

"He is twelve, how foolish must you be?" Rhea scoffed "Where was Rodrik when this had happened?"

"I don't know." he shrugged "I was awake all night drinking with the guards..and as always, he was watching over me, so I assumed he might have been sleeping in."

Rhea turned towards Alayne "Have the cooks prepare some food." she asked, and her lady had left their presence.

"No more steel…" she commanded "Promise me."

"Okay..no more steel, unless it is with Rodrik." he smirked "This I promise." knowing full well he was not going to keep such promise, she dismissed him and allowed him to return to his training

He was interrupted from his thoughts as the floorboards creaked near to the door, he popped his head up from the covers ready to strike at whomever dared enter, but calmed once he released it was Rodrik, he wiped away the tears from his eyes and stood.

"Is there a problem, my prince?" he asked softly as Aerion walked over to his mothers' desk, keeping a distance and attempting not to look to him as his eyes remained sore red.

"You know…I used to hate her apartments" he shook his head. "There wasn't a time I didn't enter this room that wasn't to get scolded for something I supposedly did wrong."

"Aye, you made mistakes.." Rodrik replied "Your mother wanted you to always be at your best, and tried so hard to make sure you did not take the path your father had."

"Well, for all her attempts, it would appear she has failed.." Aerion admitted "From the stories I have heard about the rogue prince…we are not too different from one another."

"I would be lying if I said you did not remind me of him…at least from the few times I have had interactions with the man..." Rodrik responded.

"Enough of the past." he ran his hands across his eyes once more "We haven't found the time to speak on what you have learned about my mothers passing, so?"

"I ventured out to where the search party were said to have found her, and it had been too long since her death for any clues, my prince." Rodrik revealed, and received a sigh.

"Could this lead to something?" Aerion said, grabbing out the parchment from the pouch on his belt, and passing it over to Rodrik "I found it among my mothers' things, it is written to Lady Jeyne."

Rodrik began to read the parchment, and shook his head before passing it back to Aerion.

"Arnold Arryn would not be so bold as to murder your mother, Aerion." 

"We do not know that for certain, right?" he responded "Whatever my mother was looking into is the reason she had been killed, she told me of how Arnold attempted to usurp Lady Jeyne when she was a child."

"Speak with Gerold, it says in this letter that he had escorted Arnold to Gulltown, perhaps he learned of his plans." Rodrik said "We will find out what happened, Aerion…I promise."

"If Arnold is planning on usurping her once again, how do we know that Gerold is not involved? For all we know, he could have killed her, and it would make sense considering he attempted to steal power from me." 

Aerion wiped his hand on his forehead, thinking of anything else that might assist them in their search.

"I recall your mother's lady, Alayne…she has not been seen since the incident where she was with your mother that very morning." Rodrik added

"Perhaps if we ask the servants, they may know where she is." Aerion replied "We need to find her, have Jory even search the nearest villages, tell him what she looks like."

"And what will you be doing, my prince?" he asked.

"I will speak with a traitorous snake at dawn." he grabbed the dagger from his belt and twisted it in his hand "and I will get my answers…one way or another."

Once he had dismissed Rodrik, he made his way back to his own chambers, feeling a mountain of pain buried beneath the armour he put up for others to see, how he could not see his own mothers' affection towards him was unforgivable.

He managed to sleep for a few hours before the sun was soon beaming across his face, once he had dress himself and tied his hair back into a knot

Searching through the draws of his desk, he found a silver pendant gifted to him on his eighth nameday, it had the runic bronze arms of House Royce residing on one side, and the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen on the other.

Aerion had reached the dungeons where Gerold had been left to rot, holding half a loaf of bread in his hand as he dismissed the guards and unlocked the cell, he wanted to hold his breath from the smell.

He grabbed the wooden stool in the corner and sat down in front of Gerold, who had been sleeping. Aerion looked at him for a moment, tugging a small piece of bread off from the loaf and throwing it in Gerold's direction, hitting him on the forehead.

Aerion would continue to do this until Gerold was forced to wake from his slumber "Good morrow, Gerold, we have some unfinished business." he grinned, leaning back on the stool and resting his head on the stone wall behind.

Gerold went for the pieces of bread and ate them all up as if he was a hound, the few days of no food seemed to have done its work, he threw the remainder of the loaf his way "Eat up." Aerion added.

As he finished, he wiped his mouth and spat in Aerion's direction "If you are expecting answers from me, you will be disappointed"

"Very well.." Aerion pulled out the dagger hanging from the back of his belt, running the steel against his own hand, looking into Gerold's eyes "I do not seek to torture you, but I would not test me, right now I urge nothing more than to kill you, bus alas, I cannot."

"And why be merciful to me, hm?" Gerold asked "Do you refuse to wear the title of 'Kinslayer' is that it?" he scoffed "Do not be merciful on my count, I know what you are…even if the rest of the realm does not."

"Oh you do now?" Aerion was intrigued "Then do tell, what is it that you think I am?"

"Ungodly…and filled with depravity." he spat "I watched as you grew older and stronger - they say your father is Maegor come again - they are wrong, it is you."

"You could be right." an evil grin landed on his lips "I know what some say about me - and they could be true." he received a look of confusion from Gerold.

"You do not think I know what is whispered? The lords of the realm will spread anything as long as they benefit from it."

There had been many whispers about how cruel and depraved the son of the rogue prince had been that he begun to lose count many years ago.

Every action he took was taken as a slight by those less talented than himself, but he cared for none of them, and all that mattered was himself.

"You are going to answer the questions I have." Aerion demanded.

"And what might those be, hm?" Gerold responded.

"Why try to take what is mine?"

"Because by the laws of gods and men, I should be the Lord of Runestone." he answered "Your mother is but a woman, she was fierce and brave, but a woman none-the-less, when your grandfather died, she should have been cast aside."

"You know, I was alive when he passed, if we are speaking by your logic, then it should have been I that was the Lord of Runestone, I was the grandchild while you were Lord Yorbert's father's cousin's grandson."

"Aye that much is true." Gerold replied "But you bear the Targaryen name."

"That means nothing." Aerion quickly added.

"You must understand that I could not sit as my house crumbled, we've been around before the andals came, we have the first men coursing through our veins."

"No, I will never understand." Aerion shook his head 

"So, what happens now?" Gerold asked

"That all depends on you, and whether you speak the truth to me when I ask my next question, fail to do so, and I start removing your fingers." he said casually.

"Ask me then."

"I came across a letter my mother was writing to Lady Jeyne, she had said that you were to escort Arnold Arryn to Gulltown, what did you discuss on your travels?" Aerion asked, twisting the dagger in his hand.

"Nothing noteworthy.." he said plainly "He mainly rode alongside Gunthor."

"Gunthor? What was he doing riding with you? He should be the bloody gate." Aerion inquired.

"He was headed to Runestone." Gerold continued "Gunthor had decided to travel with us to Gulltown, I left them as they entered the city."

"Did you kill my mother?" he asked, knowing what his answer would most likely be.

"What?..no.." Gerold replied, and the answer did not seem to please the prince.

Aerion banged on the door of the cell and the guards had returned "Remove his thumb." the prince said, and the guard obeyed, he heard Gerolds' scream as they battled to cut his thumb off.

"Arghhh..wha…I told you everything I know." he cried out, and Aerion rose from the stool, no longer paying any mind to Gerold.

"Take him outside the gates..,leave him with nothing but the rags he is wearing, and we shall see if he can survive the cold." he ordered the guards.

"You are kicking me out? I told you everything.."

"When you betrayed me, you went against my mother's wishes, and for that I will never allow you sit in my hall again, I'll hang you for everyone to see should you ever come back this way, and I will inform House Grafton to not give you access to his ports or his city either."

He left swiftly, and headed towards the great hall to hear the daily petitions of the people, though he was interrupted on the way.

"My lord, may I speak with you." he turned towards the household guard who requested him, who came along with one of the common folk, he looked very old wearing clothes that was covered in scorch marks and his skin looked as if it was charcoal, with burn marks on his hands and face.

"What is the meaning of this?" Aerion asked.

"This commoner brings troubling news, my prince." the guard turned to the man "Well then, speak up."

"I..I…my family." the old man sobbed and Aerion simply shrugged at the guard, who then nudged the man to speak clearly "The demon…it burned my family." he mumbled.

"What is this man talking about? I can barely understand him through his ridiculous mumbling." he bit at the guard.

"There has been a dragon sighting, my prince." the guard's voice trembled, and Aerion's eyes widened. "It was feeding on this man's livestock just east of here, when it also burned down his hut and killed his family."

Aerion did not understand what he was hearing, there was a dragon attack in the Vale, the only dragons he knew of resided on Dragonstone, Driftmark, and in the Dragonspit of Kings' Landing, why would one ever want to come here?

"I want Ser Rodrik and Ser Willam to meet me in the great hall at once." he said to the guard, taking a moment to think on his image.

"Have someone sent out to warn the local villages that a dragon has been sighted." He rested his hand on the commoner "And be sure this man receives care from the maester, and is given a clean bath and proper food."

"As you command, my prince." the guard nodded "Come on you, I will take you to Maester Daveth.."