3 Chapter 3: Daily Affairs In Runestone. 113 AC
[1st POV]
It's been years since I was born into this world. I've discovered some things at least.
I was born in 107 AC, a year after King Viserys I remarried to Alicent Hightower. My father, Daemon Targaryen, is waging war in the stepstones, bringing mercenaries from the crownlands, and House Royce's knights. I hear from the maesters that they are winning, and if things progress like it did right now, it would only be a couple of years more until victory.
I have silvery blonde hair and violet eyes, but the maesters seemed convinced that I will grow up to be a bulky man, just like my namesake, Maegor. Honestly, it's scary, from the Fire & Blood book, Maegor is a fucking cunt, and I kinda hated Daemon for naming me that, and I bet a lot of lords in the kingdom didn't like my name as well.
Honestly, when I turned 3 years old, I almost convinced myself to jump out the window again, I don't want to live anymore, that's the reason that I killed myself in my last life, I don't want to feel the burden of life, I just want to live freely with no restriction, or not live at all. But I stopped myself from doing so, maybe, just maybe, in this life, I could achieve that, that freedom, I am an heir to a castle for god's sake, I don't have to work…
Or so I thought.
It's been 6 years since I was born, and now, it is 113 AC. I was sitting in front of a table aside the window as a Dragonkeeper stared at me, speaking in High Valyrian, that honestly, sounds cool as fuck. But still, studying is boring…
[Maegor! gaomagon ao rȳbagon?(Maegor! Are you listening?)] said the dragonkeeper sternly to me.
[Nyke rȳbagon, yn nyke pendagon issa jēda naejot mōris bisa. (I am listening, but I think it is time to end this lesson.)] I said, though I tried to speak it clearly, my puffy and childish cheeks held up my tongue.
The Dragonkeeper in front of me sighed. [Bisa tembyr iksis qopsa, yn kesā jorrāelagon ziry lo jaelā naejot jiōragon iā zaldrīzes mēre tubis. (This lesson is hard, but you will need it if you want to tame a dragon someday.)]
Honestly, I'm not keen on the idea that I have to tame a fucking huge dragon someday. Seeing it from the screen is one thing, standing in front of it is another.
[Eman daor ūndegīon iā zaldrīzes. skorkydoso gaomagon nyke gīmigon bona jaelan ziry?(I have never seen a dragon? How would I know that i want it?)] I said carelessly.
The dragonkeeper frowned. [Iā zaldrīzes iksis hen kustikāne. Daorys kessa jenigon ao lo emā mēre. (A dragon is a symbol of power. No one will bother you when you have one.)]
No one will bother me huh…
[Iksan hen lentor Royce. Tolvys kessa jenigon nyke lo eman iā zaldrīzes. (I will be of House Royce. Everyone will bother me if I have a dragon.)] I continued, and I saw the look of the Dragonkeeper drop. I stood up from the seat, and slightly bent my back towards the Dragonkeeper. [Kirimvose syt se kustikāne, Maegel. (Thank you for the lesson, Maegel)]
After that, I walked towards the exit of the room, intending to go to the next lesson. But before I could go, I heard a couple of sentences from the back.
[Kostā sagon iā Targārien se iā Royce rȳ keskydoso jēda, yn skorkydoso ao gaomagon se brōzi iksis isse aōha ondos. (You can be a Targaryen and a Royce at the same time. How you will keep the name, is up to you.)]
I didn't stop. I just opened the door, and closed it again, before walking to the next room I was supposed to be in.
What a bunch of bullshit.
I was supposed to die. I was supposed to be surrounded by the darkness, unable to feel anything anymore and be free. Yet here I am, in Westeros, in this god forsaken world, carrying the name of Targaryen, yet I will inherit Runestone as a Royce.
I can even see what's going on here. The king sent a bloody dragonkeeper to Runestone to teach me Valyrian and how to handle a dragon, so that means, I'm allowed to take a dragon, or rather, I'm expected to take a dragon.
The king's late wife, Aemma Arryn, the Baratheons, and the other houses that married a Targaryen weren't granted the privilege. My situation is a weird one. I am a Targaryen, yet in the future, I will be a Royce.
I entered another room where my mother sat besides the window. Once she saw me enter, she had a faint smile on her face, before gesturing her hands to the seat in front of her, asking me to sit down.
I of course sat down, and my mother asked a question. "Andar, how was the lesson with Maegel?"
"It is fine, mother." I said calmly. "He's forceful as always."
"Well, be patient. Learning a language is hard." said mother, standing up and walking towards a shelf nearby.
"He is not only teaching me Valyrian, mother. He's also teaching me how to tame a dragon."
"Well that is his job." mother hummed. "One day, you will ride a dragon."
"What if I don't want to?" I mumbled. "Dragons are… huge. I doubt I could tame one of the wild dragons."
"Taming a dragon is not a one time thing, Andar." said mother as she took a big ass book from the shelf. "It's a long process."
"And with each step, I will lose a limb." I scoffed, making my mother chuckle.
"For a boy who is only in his 6th name day, you sure have a sharp tongue." said mother in amusement, dropping the thick book in front of me.
"What is this?" I asked.
"Now, I will teach you how to write and read runes." she smiled. "We, as the line of the Royce, will need to keep this tradition."
"Does it have magical power?" I questioned curiously. Who knows, might be, that would be cool.
"If you believe it." said mother mysteriously. Great, we're speaking in riddles now… "Now, let's start."
And so my daily affairs in Runestone continued. With the same boring old routine, and the same boring lessons…
—
[A few minutes later]
"Okay, write this." said mother to me, pointing at a runic word on the book.
"What does it mean?" I asked nonchalantly.
"It means 'light'. Try writing it."
And so I did. I wrote the rune. It was [ᛚᛁᚷᚺᛏ].
But once I was done writing it, a burst of light suddenly appeared from the parchment, burning it instantly.
The room froze for a couple of seconds, with my mother's face full of shock, as well as probably my face as well…
"Mother… Is that supposed to happen?" I questioned nervously.
"No, my child… that is not supposed to happen." mother gulped. She turned towards the books again, and pointed at another word. "Try this. It means 'water'."
I took another parchment, and wrote the runic words [ᚹᚨᛏᛖᚱ]. And lo and behold, the parchment turned to water, soaking the entire table.
Mother quickly takes the book in front of me from the table, so it won't be wet, but her face is still in shock. She put the book to the shelf, and walked up to me, running her hands all over my body.
"Andar, do you feel okay?" she asked in worry.
"I- I am fine, mother." A bit weirded out and confused about what's happening, but fine.
Mother turned her gaze towards the door, and quickly rushed towards it to lock it. She then turned to me. "Don't tell anyone about this, do you understand?"
"Mother, I am confused—"
"Promise me, Andar. Don't tell anyone. Not even your uncle, not even servants. Do you understand?"
"Yes…" I murmured. "Mother, did I just do magic?"
"You did child." mother nodded. "We will change our lesson time during the night, alright?"
"Alright mother."
"Good." mother nodded. "In the meantime, don't write any runes for now, and go to the maester to check up on your condition, maybe using magic will take a sacrifice from your body…"
What!? What the hell is this?! Aw come on man! I don't want all this! I just want to let go and not be disturbed! Why did I get this weird sacrificial magic?!
Ah fuck, let's just not use it then… but I kinda want to now… finally, some interesting stuff…
—
[1 Year Later]
I was now in the middle of the training fields, hitting a harmless straw man that looked quite pathetic. My mother's cousin, Gerold, was watching my movement, pointing out every mistake that I made.
"Your footsteps' too extended, do it again," said Gerold.
It went for hours, he pointed out every little mistake that I made, some of them were even harmless ones, which really annoys me.
"Again! Swing harder!" he shouted, and I just lost it. I dropped the sword from my hand, and glared at Gerold.
"Did I tell you to stop?" he asked with a stern voice.
"I just reached my 7th nameday, yet you act like you are training a knight of the vale." I said with annoyance.
"You will be a knight of the Vale," said Gerold. "Nephew, I'm training you like this now so you won't lose to those flower knights when you go to the capital. Show how superior House Royce is to them."
"But I don't appreciate you treating me like I'm some sort of mule that has endless stamina!"
Gerold just chuckled, probably amused by my childish shouts. God, I hate being a kid, you're not being taken seriously.
"Fine," he said.
What?
"I will free you of sword training if you can defeat me in combat." he continued, taking a wooden sword from the corner of the field.
Are you kidding me?
"Gerold. You realize that you are 4 times older than me?" I asked with a frown.
"So?" he said casually. "If you want to be free. Then you have to defeat me."
Ah fuck me… you know what? Screw it. If it means I don't have to hit fucking straw men every afternoon for a couple of weeks, then it's worth it.
I took my wooden sword that was on the ground, and got into a stance.
"Come. hit me if you can." Gerold taunted.
I never noticed it, but when I'm focused, I can almost… feel anything. The movement in front of me seems to slow down, the smell around me seems to strengthen, my eyes feel like they can see farther than ever before, and my body becomes… easy to control.
I saw a sudden twitch from Gerold's sword, and I moved. It feels like it was instinct. I reached for his hands, and hit his wrist using my wooden sword as hard as I could.
Gerold flinched, the pain on his wrist seemed to make him drop his sword, and I instantly redirected my sword towards his neck, demanding him to give up.
I probably made a big smirk on my face, but Gerold seems to not like it. So, with a scummy move, he took my wooden sword, and pushed it towards my face. It hit me so hard that it probably knocked out my seven year old body.
Great…
