Chapter 7: The Feast

Chapter Text

The wedding ceremonies were upon them, seven days of tournaments, the most lavish feasts the Kingdom had ever seen.

Aerion had signed up for the duels despite many being against it, most of all Rhaenyra, urging him not to due to him still recovering from his bout with Rymun Mallister.

He told them that it was his duty to bring honor back to Runestone when he returned, in the name of his mother, though that was far from the truth; he wanted a challenge again.

The last few days had been a similar routine, he would wake, train in the courtyard from dawn to noon, and spend a few hours with Rhaenyra, learning about each other whenever they could not keep their hands off one another.

He had learned of her love for jewelry, fine silks, balls and tourneys; she went riding on her beloved Syrax almost everyday, flying above Kings' Landing for everyone to see.

Aerion had told her all he could of Runestone and his childhood, not that there was much to speak of, in truth, he preferred to learn more about her than to tell his own story.

There were only a few things he had missed from Runestone; chief among them was Rodrik, only a few days had passed and already he was feeling his absence; they had not spent a day apart since he was the age of four.

Rodrik was his sworn shield since then, and although they had their differences, he felt weakened by the mans' absence, he had no one to watch his back in this pit filled with vipers waiting to attack.

The day began like any other, waking up and taking a steaming hot bath, he dressed in a black tunic, a bronze jerkin made to give same textures as dragon scales, he wanted to look his absolute best for the feast tonight, he had hoped it would gain the attention of Rhaenyra and make her have only him on her mind.

He made his way to the courtyard when he was met with the Queen and her son, Prince Aegon, holding her hand in the corridor of Maegor's holdfast, the little boy had always looked as if he was going to shit in his breeches whenever he had seen him.

Aerion bowed to the queen as they came to a stop "Queen Alicent, what a pleasure it is to see you this fine morning, must I say you look absolutely stunning." he then crouched down, peering at the boy "And a pleasure to you, little Aegon, I trust you are behaving well?"

"I am.." the boy said, there was a shyness to him, and he hid behind his mother's leg.

"Aerion, I was starting to think you had forgotten about us." the queen responded, and Aerion took note of the disdain as he rose back up to his feet "With the princess always at your side, it seems you barely have time for our sweet Aegon."

"I assure you, my queen, that was never my intention." he said, giving Aegon a sweet smile as he peaked his head out from behind his mother "Let me make it up to him."

"Oh? And how will you be doing that?" Alicent responded.

"I was just about to train, how about I take Aegon off your hands so that he might watch?" Aegon's eyes widened, and the shyness seemed to have lifted off from him and been replaced with overwhelming happiness, making Aerion chuckle.

The queen looked surprised by his offer "What a generous offer, but Aegon and I were just headed to break our fast though -" she was about to continue, though was shortly interrupted by Aegon, tugging at her dress.

"I want to go." the boy said, looking as if he was about to throw a hissy fit, Rhaenyra had told him about the so-called 'spoiled' brat and the horrid queen, and while he could believe her when it came to Alicent, Aegon was just an innocent boy was who raised in such way, and children act up.

"Very well." Alicent replied, rolling her eyes in annoyance, she turned back to Aerion, and brought a fake smile to her lips "Please have Aegon brought back to my chambers once you are done."

She leaned down and hugged her son, he could see that she truly loved her child, and it gained some respect from Aerion, rubbing her hand on his cheek before leaving them alone in the halls.

Aerion squatted down to Aegon's level, who had become shy once more without the presence of his mother, he looked at her as she walked away, and Aerion tapped him on his shoulder.

Aegon turned his head back around to Aerion, and he smiled at the boy but only received a worried look in return "I don't bite, little Aegon, we are going to have great fun, I promise." he swiftly picked up and placed Aegon over his shoulder, to which he giggled the entire way to the courtyard as Aerion tickled him.

The keep was especially busy and nobles had been arriving in swarms from all over the seven kingdoms for the celebrations; it was not everyday there was a Targaryen wedding.

Knights and their squires filled the courtyard, all of them ready to prove themselves in the duels and the lists, he set Aegon down, and ran his hand through his scruffy hair, before removing the sword from its sheath.

Aegon insisted on getting a close-up view of his blade, to which Aerion allowed, and showed him the dragon pommel.

He began to practise, swinging his sword against the training dummy, but he would often get distracted as his attention was pinned to Aegon, who insisted on being a pain in his arse by not keeping still and distracting the others in the courtyard.

"Over here, Aegon." he called out to him, getting an idea, and walking over to where the weapons were held and grabbing a wooden sword "Do you want to learn how to wield a sword, hm?"

"Mother says I am not old enough yet." the boy frowned.

"Nonsense, I was about your age when I first picked up a sword." he continued "Listen, your mother won't have to know, little hatchling." he placed both of Aegon's hands on the hilt of the blade; his little hands barely fit around it, and he attempted a few strikes at the dummy.

They spent a few more hours in the courtyard, Aerion ended up being more focused on the boy's training than his own, but he did not mind; he came to enjoy Aegon's company, he was not as Rhaenyra described.

It was true that the boy wanted things his way, but what else would be expected by a boy who had been raised with everything he could dream of, Aerion gazed at the skies as a loud screech could be heard from above, and he saw Syrax flying overhead back towards the dragonpit, bringing a smile to his lips.

"Come on, little man!" he called out to Aegon "We best get you back to your mother, we wouldn't want her to start worrying." 

"I want to stay." he stomped his foot on the ground "I command you to let me remain out here."

Aerion chuckled "I am not your servant, little man, when I say we are going back to your mother, I mean it." he continued "I will bring you out here another day, hm?" the boy nodded and followed on behind him as they went back into the red keep.

As he travelled through the red keep, Aegon insisted on being lifted up, to which Aerion agreed, and it was not long until he heard soft snores as the boy rested his head on his shoulders.

Only a couple of hours and the boy had already managed to use up all his energy, and it had barely even reached noon.

Aerion reached the queen's chambers, and she had three of her ladies surrounding her and she prepared the dress for the feast, standing on a small stool looking out of the window which gave a great view of the city and the sept.

He walked in without making his presence known to her, and planted Aegon gently onto the couch, resting his head on the cushion "Apologies, your grace, it seems I may have worn the young Aegon out."

"Thank you, Aerion." the queen replied, and possibly gave him the first genuine smile he had received since he arrived from her "Talya, please take Aegon to his bedchambers, and have a meal ready for when he wakes." she ordered.

Alicent removed herself from the stool and dismissed her other ladies, moving over to sit at a table filled with the finest fruits from across the seven kingdoms "Please join me, Aerion, I thought we may speak for a while."

Aerion sat opposite her, grabbing an orange from the table and peeling it "No need to thank me, my queen, Aegon is my cousin, as Rhaenyra is, it is good that I spend some time with him."

"The life of a prince can be a lonely one, especially in Kings' Landing, the lords of the realm will seek to place their children in front of him, to befriend him, and I won't allow it." she said, there was a slight hint of spike as if she knew from experience "he has his family, and that is enough."

"Much similar to my own mother." he said, smirking "though she did not want me to learn more about my family, the Targaryens."

Alicent quietly scoffed, almost feeling insulted that he compared her to his mother "Tell me, Aerion, what is it that you do with the princess while you are alone with each other?" the line of questioning caught him off guard, and he almost choked on his orange slice, which was met with confusion from the queen.

"She teaches me more about our history, things that might not have been available in the books at Runestone." Aerion replied, tapping his foot on the ground "And I get to know her, what she likes to do in her spare time, and the sorts." his answer amused her, though he could not tell if that was good or bad.

"I would urge you to be careful around the princess, Aerion, she has often been influenced by bad company." she warned.

"And what type of company would that be, my queen?" he asked curiously as she ate a few grapes from her plate.

"Your father, they were immensely close with each other on his last visit…perhaps they still are." she paused for a moment "Oh..what am I saying? It is not for me to tell you of their relationship.

Rhaenyra had hardly mentioned Daemon to him, whether it was out of respect or that he did come into the conversation, but what was the queen trying to get? So many questions ran through Aerion's mind.

"Considering Daemon spent most of his time here when he was on the small council, I am not surprised they were so close." Aerion responded.

"Does that not upset you? To know your father preferred the company of another than his own son?" she countered.

"Upset me? Perhaps at some point it may have." he replied "though I have learned to live with being one of my fathers' many disappointments." he lifted himself from the chair, bowing his head "If you will excuse me, I shall see you tonight at the feast."

He spent the next few hours in the library, history had intrigued him more than anything else, he had heard the stories of Aegon's conquest and how he and his two sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys, conquered the seven kingdoms.

The door to the library opened, and Rhaenyra came through, wearing a gorgeous white dress, her hair was lifted up into a bun "Aerion…" she whispered, slowly closing the door on her way in.

"Rhaenyra.." he whispered back, rising from the chair "What are you doing here? Should you not still be preparing for the feast?" he questioned, and she walked closer to him.

"Laenor has just arrived on dragonback." she said, a sorrowful look in her eyes "He is a great man, but I am still having my doubts..." she shook her head "Why must I be forced to marry someone I do not wish."

"You must, Rhaenyra." he said.

"Why should it not be us? We are far more compatible, and we care for eachother.." she placed a hand on his chest "Let us go to Dragonstone, we can marry for the gods of our ancestors to bear witness."

"That may yet come, in the distant future." he placed his hand over hers, and smiled softly "but you need the Velaryons, they can give you something I can not in order to secure your place as the rightful heir."

"Had I not been forced to choose Laenor, perhaps it is you who I would have chosen." she said, to which Aerion shook his head.

"You having to marry Laenor led to me coming to Kings' Landing, I would not have been here to meet you." he replied "Perhaps we never would have met at all, I'd remain the lonely dragon of Runestone."

"But I choose you." she said, meeting him with a small kiss as their foreheads rest upon each other.

"And you shall have my heart, and that is something you do not need vows for." he replied, placing his hand upon her cheek.

"Aegon the conqueror had two wives, why can it not be the same for me to have two husbands?" she asked, and Aerion raised an eyebrow "Let us marry, no one needs to know until I take the crown."

"The realm would not accept it, Princess." he shook his head "the Faith would rise up against us, I can not accept." she stepped back from him, a tear fell down onto the ground as she looked down.

"Who cares what the faith may think of us?" Rhaenyra questioned "I will be their queen, they would have no option but to accept it."

"You would be right, Princess, they could do naught." Aerion replied "but do you not understand what it would mean for me? I'd have you, but not be able to show that affection, and we'd continue to remain in the shadows as we do now, so what difference does marriage make?"

Rhaenyra was silent, looking as if she was going to cry.

"Rhaenyra.." he went to grab her but she flew his hand away and stormed out, and he let out a sigh, slamming his fist into one of the book cabinets, causing some to knock over onto the floor.

The feast had begun only an hour after, and he headed to the great hall where it was taking place, food covered the tables, from roasted duck to piglets, more food than anyone knew what to do with.

The king, and his hand, Lord Strong sat at the long table directly in front of the Iron throne, beside him sat the princess Rhaenyra, he made his way down the hall, and the princess would hardly make eye contact with him until he spoke, bowing his head.

"Princess, may I wish you good fortunes in your marriage, he is a very lucky man." he smirked to her, bowing his head to the king, before turning to take a seat at one of the lower tables.

"Where are you going, my boy?" He turned back to Viserys, who gave him a broad smile "A targaryen sits up here with his family." He gave a tilted nod to the servant, who soon placed a chair down at the side.

"Thank you, my king." he nodded to him, sitting down at the table and the servant placed cutlery along with a plate in front of him.

"How are you finding your position, Lord Hand?" he turned to Lyonel, lifting up his goblet for the servant to fill it with some wine.

"It was a difficult transition at first, my prince, but his grace honors me with the posting." the servant filled his cup up to the brim, and he took a long sip, his eyes turning to Rhaenyra.

"Well let us both drink to the future ahead of us, you as Hand of the King, and I as Lord of Runestone." he smirked, clapping their goblets together and drinking a mouthful.

The drums began to bang as the Lord commander Westerling positioned himself at the doors to the great hall, and they opened back up.

"It is with great pleasure that his grace, King Viserys I Targaryen, announces the start of the royal wedding celebrations." He continued "House Lannister with its lord, Jason Lannister, Lord Paramount of the West, and Master of Casterly Rock."

Jason looked smug and proud as he made his way down the hall, beside him was his twin brother, Tyland, who served on the kings' small council as Master of Ships, Aerion leaned closer into the table and listened in on the conversation with the king.

"Congratulations, your grace." Jason stated "You have made a fine match for the princess."

"Thank you, Lord Jason." Rhaenyra replied, with a hint of sarcasm "I can think of no better man than Ser Laenor." Aerion scoffed as he saw the princess glaring at him for a short second.

Jason Lannister smiled "Well, if this is only the welcome feast, I admit, I cannot imagine what you might have planned for the wedding."

"My daughter is the future queen." Viserys sighed. "I want this to be a wedding for the histories." Rhaenyra and Aerion shared a thoughtful look with each other as she looked his way; he couldn't keep his eyes off her, she was stunning in her white dress laced with gold.

"Where is the queen?" Jason questioned, "I had hoped to pay my respects."

The king looked to the empty seat; Aerion had also wondered where she was; nothing seemed to be a problem when he saw her in the morning. "I understand the queen is still readying herself for the celebrations."

"This is why men wage war because women would never be ready for the battle in time." His snarky comment was met with nervous chuckles from across the table; Aerion found himself chuckling at the comment.

"Your presence is always such a pleasure, Lord Jason." The princess replied, rolling her eyes.

"Princess." He bowed his head, "Your grace," turning to the king before returning to the rest of his family.

The drums beat in unison as the doors to the great hall opened once more. "Lord Corlys of House Velaryon." Ser Harrold announced, "Lord of the Tides, Master of Driftmark, and his lady wife, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and their son and heir, Ser Laenor Velaryon, the future king consort."

 Aerion twiddled with his thumbs as the hall beamed with applause; they all dressed in lavish attire, no doubt to make it known they were the richest in the room.

Rhaenyra rose from her seat and walked towards Laenor, taking his hand. "My Betrothed." Laenor accepted her and gave it a kiss, replying with the same, before being led to the head of the table, sitting alongside her.

Aerion thought he may be able to handle it, her being married off to another man, but each time he looked at her, he felt jealous; surely, he was more worthy than a man who did not want to marry such a beauty; she deserved better; he shared another look to her before her attention was locked to the entrance of the hall; along with everyone else.

There he was, Daemon Targaryen, walking into the hall with arrogance and self-confidence, with dark sister strapped to his side, Aerion did not how to feel, angry? Happy? How should one feel to a man they love and hate simultaneously?

He made his way to the high table, and there was an tense atmosphere being shared by all those present, an uneasiness no one could explain, the king above them all, but Daemon just had a smug look on his face, they spoke with their minds more than their tongues, and Viserys gestured he sit beside Aerion.

Aerion shuffled his seat over to make room for him, his eyes focused on Dark Sister as Viserys began to speak once more, and he only shared a quick look with Daemon as he came to sit down beside him.

"Be welcomed as we join together in celebration." Viserys continued "but tonight is only its' beginning, we honour the crown's oldest and fiercest ally, House Velaryon." Aerion looked towards Rhaenyra, who appeared to be fixated on Daemon, and he looked between the two, confused.

"Reaching back to the days of Old Valyria and the Age of Dragons, with House Targaryen and -"

Viserys was interrupted during his speech as whispers and gasps could be heard throughout the hall as the queen stood at the great iron doors, wearing an elegant green dress, she made her way towards the head table, and everyone rose to their feet, all except Daemon, who preferred to remain seated, with the same smug look on his face.

Aerion seated back down, and raised the goblet to his lips, taking another sip, he could not hear what was said between the princess and the queen, but neither looked pleased.

"Please be seated." the king commanded, with a rough cough to follow, and he turned his attention to Lord Lyonel and whispered "Where was I?" softly.

"The joining of the two houses, your grace."

"Yeah..Yes.." he said, looking back to the hall filled with nobles "With House Targaryen and House Velaryon united, I hope to herald in a second age of Dragons in Westeros." Everyone applauded, and Aerion clapped slowly, his attention still on Rhaenyra as she shared another glance with his father.

"And after tonight's small affair, seven days of tournament and feasting" the king coughed "And at the end of it all…A royal wedding between my daughter..my heir, your future queen, and Ser Laenor Velaryon, the heir to Driftmark."

As Rhaenyra and Laenor danced, Aerion leaned closer to his father, who's appeared to be fixated on the princess "Beautiful, is she not?" he questioned, taking another sip of his wine and finishing the goblet.

Daemon looked back at him for a moment, and eyed him from head to toe before scoffing and turning his focus back to the dance.

"I am surprised to see you here, father." Aerion continued "I had heard that the king sent you away." he couldn't help but whisper in his fathers ear as the rest of the hall were silent. Watching the two betrothed dance, he noticed the king looked over to him briefly.

"Well, I could not miss my niece's wedding." he turned back to him "What are you doing here? I would have thought with the bronze bitch finally in the ground, you would be travelling back to Runestone."

Aerion could not help but give a smirk at the response, only his father would dare say such a thing in front of him about his mother, and his abruptness intrigued him greatly.

"Oh well, I could say the same thing about you, father." he replied "should you not be there as well as her husband? Though I suppose if anyone was to benefit from her death, it would be you." he continued "You are now free to marry whomever you wish." Aerion grabbed his fathers' goblet and drank from it.

"You benefit as much as I." Daemon continued, ripping his goblet from Aerion's hand "With her death, you have inherited one of the great houses of the Vale."

"Did you do it?" he whispered, and was only met with a cold stare from Daemon "Did you kill my mother?"

Aerion was going to continue, however the hall filled with applause and cheers as the couple finished their dance, he gazed at Rhaenyra once more, who continued to dance with others.

He removed his gaze from Rhaenyra and began to look around the room, people flocked to the aisle to dance, and he locked eyes with a clean-shaven ginger-haired man sitting down at the table next to the Velaryons.

The man looked intently at him, as if he had an attraction towards him, though Aerion smirked, and waved his hand, making him look away.

Looking around the room further, he spotted a familiar face at the end of the hall, it was his newest northern friend, Jory, he rose from his seat and patted Daemon on his shoulders "Enjoy the festivities, father, try not to stare too much though…what would people think?" he pointed out.

His mind was rattled with the conversation he had with the queen, did they have a closer bond than he first thought, one he and Rhaenyra currently share?

He did not know what to think, though it would make sense, especially with his fathers sudden exile before he arrived, and Rhaenyra's willingness to commit adultery, perhaps she only ever saw something in Aerion because he looked like his father.

 Aerion reached Jory and playfully punched him on the arm, which gained the man's immediate attention, he looked as if he was going to hit back but decided not to.

"I did not think to see you here, my friend, who knew they would be for you." Aerion said, smiling widely, it was good to have someone he could call a friend nearby.

"I beg to differ, this place offers something the taverns in the city do not, free drinks." he laughed, raising his mug in the air "there is nothing better than looking at a beautiful woman dance." nudging towards a single girl in the crowd of dancers, she had brunette hair and wore a long dress of oceanic blue with white lacing.

"Who is she then?" he asked.

"Hm?..oh, I could not tell you, friend, that beauty arrived this morning, I swear I have not been able to keep my eyes off her."

"Then go dance with her, learn her name." Aerion offered, folding his arms.

"No..I couldn't." he replied nervously, shaking his head.

"You're going to have to take a risk sooner than later, Northman, you might as well take it now." Aerion's added comment seemed to have put fire in the northerners spirit as he walked out onto the aisle to dance with the lady.

The feast was going well, and Aerion almost fell on his arse laughing when the girl Jory had been dancing with splashed wine in his face; the gods only know what he must have said to enact such a reaction.

They drank and spoke with each other for the majority of the night afterwards, and it turns out his brother had been banned from attending any of kings' feasts after a fight broke out between him and a knight of House Lannister.

Aerion still kept focus on his surroundings, looking around to those he knew, he witnessed Daemon speaking with the young Laena, twin sister to Laenor Velaryon, Valyrian women had a habit of being incredibly beautiful, and she certainly caught Aerion's eye.

Though none were as stunning as Rhaenyra, she outmatched everyone in her beauty by far, especially the queen above all, who despite her attempt to look the finest in the room, never even got a gaze from Aerion.

He soon removed himself from Jory's company, patting the northerner on the back as he headed out onto the floor, though as he passed the pairs dancing, he spotted Daemon leading Rhaenyra through the aisle, closer to him.

Aerion stopped as they spoke with each other, he could not hear anything they were saying though the way their lips moved were as if they were speaking with one another in the Valyrian tongue.

Their lips were close to touching, and Rhaenyra looked as if she was egging him on, though Aerion's thought soon led from confusion to anger as he saw him grip hold of her neck and pull him into her.

He worked his way closer to them, pushing people out of his way as he did, there was a loud scream and everyone started to panic, and before he knew it, he was being pushed away by the crowd "Rhaenyra!" he shouted.

Aerion managed to push himself through the crowd, though as he was soon pushed to the floor as a man in the kingsguard armor was thrown against him, he grunted before rising to his feet.

Rhaenyra's kingsguard, Ser Criston, had been beating the ginger-haired man he shared a few glances too earlier that evening; he tried his best at separating Criston from him, though received an elbow in the nose in return.

Aerion squeezed his nose, grunting in pain, and wiped away the blood on his sleeve, it was as if Criston was only seeing red, like a mad dog, needlessly beating in a mans' face.

He pressed his full weight against Cristons, throwing him off the ginger man and onto the ground before positioning himself over him, and battling to keep him secure as he attempted to resist.

The guards came through and assisted him in this until Criston took slow deep breaths and stopped resisting against them, giving Aerion the chance to rise back up onto his feet.

Aerion looked up to where the king had been standing, and a part of him was relieved that Rhaenyra had been standing beside him, though there was no sign of Daemon.

He was still confused, he didn't know what to think anymore, Rhaenyra and Daemon had engaged each other in the same energy that seemed all too familiar