Aegon Snow

-Chapter 171-

-14th day of the 10th moon of the year 300 AC-

-POV MC-

It had already been more than a moon since Daenerys Targaryen had sent assassins after me, and I couldn't calm down, couldn't forget.

I started doubting everything and everyone, and even though my rational mind saw that I was beginning to fall into a kind of paranoia, I couldn't do anything about it.

My mind was racing because once the assassination attempt was thwarted, I realized that the conspiracy was not as simple as I had thought.

It wasn't just an attack by Daenerys through Illyrio Mopatis; no, it involved many people, and very powerful people, who did not appreciate the rapid development of my empire.

Many people were arrested: servants of great houses who had previously worked for houses I had punished, smallfolk who had lost family members in wars, knights who had lost family members because of me...

The list of traitors was long.

No one entered the capital, let alone the Red Keep, without allies. They all had good reasons to resent me, but in my eyes, I couldn't care less.

All that mattered was me, my empire, and my family.

'I have become egocentric over time, or maybe I have always been this way but now I see it clearly,' I thought.

Although the list of people who had allowed themselves to be corrupted was long, their crimes were not as severe as one might have thought.

It was the whole that was severe.

Some didn't even know what was happening and accepted an easy coin.

Some simply turned a blind eye to clandestine entries, others allowed themselves to be bought to expose the weaknesses of the Red Keep, and still others gave the names of the Dragon Guards most likely to spend a drunken night in a brothel without showing up the next day.

Although many didn't know what they were getting into, I couldn't and didn't want to grant them clemency because this greed, this corruption could have signed the loss of my throne, my life, and my entire family.

'The family I did everything to build.'

Benjen, though reluctant, agreed with me on this point; however, he was practically opposed to all my other decisions.

I knew that by appointing him as my Hand, he would oppose many decisions I made, and that was somewhat the goal, but now I couldn't achieve anything because he was clearly against everything I undertook since I burned Meereen.

I still remember my uncle's reaction when I told him I had kidnapped Quentyn, and even worse when I had to explain how I did it, that I had burned all the food reserves in Meereen so that the slavers could retake the city.

'It may not be honorable, it may be cunning, but it will keep me on my throne.'

"He must be really desperate to ask for help from your other uncle," said Connor.

I smiled, looking at my friend who had come back to serve me after learning about the attempt on my life.

"Thank you."

He looked away, leaving his joking demeanor, and then he said, "Bryan is loyal and capable of doing many things for you, but not what is necessary. He is too weak for that; I shouldn't have left you."

I said, placing my hand on his shoulder:

"Don't worry, you are not at fault, and your brother is not made of that stuff, you know that perfectly well, and I knew it too."

Connor nodded and then said:

"Damn, without those bastards, I would be with my wife and daughter."

I smiled and then said, "She finally gave birth?"

"Yes, a complicated pregnancy, but fortunately, she is fine."

"Bring them here."

He frowned, and knowing already what was on his mind, I said:

"That will never happen again. Anyway, where we are going, there are no secret passages; they can only enter through the Great Gate."

I smiled and then said:

"Do you realize that I almost got killed by people I created, that I spared, people who were nothing but whom I raised to the highest heights?"

"You will be able to do it," said Connor.

"I have to do it," I said, looking at the horizon.

"You don't have to, close your eyes to what she did..."

I silenced Connor with a look and then said:

"That's life, she shouldn't have betrayed me. Since she did, let it be at her own risk."

A long silence settled before I broke it by saying:

"I waited because I knew they would all come. I wanted everyone to see what the price of betrayal would be: Harrold Arryn, my uncles, Quentyn Martell, Willas Tyrell, and even Viserys. I want them all gathered when I punish that bitch."

Connor nodded and then said, "You will be able to take your revenge sooner than you think."

I turned my head in his direction, and then I saw his eyes shine slightly and change from pure white to their original color.

I smiled and then said, "I'm glad you came back. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to understand the extent of this net that closed in on me."

He smiled and then said, "I will always be there for you, you know that, I swore it."

---

-POV Eddard Stark-

As I disembarked from the 'Sweet Lyanna', I was immediately greeted by my brother, who smiled upon seeing me. He looked more relieved than happy to see me and much more tired than when he was a Ranger of the Night's Watch.

'It seems Aegon hasn't made things easy for him,' I thought.

"You look like you've aged 10 years even though it's only been a little over 10 moons," I said.

Benjen smiled and then said, "You, on the other hand, seem to be doing quite well, the fresh air of the North."

"Now that peace has returned, I'm happy to enjoy the peace."

Benjen's cheerful demeanor immediately faded, and then he said:

"Who knows how long we will enjoy this peace?"

"Explain to me in detail what's going on here."

"Aegon was waiting for your arrival to start the trial of Arianne Martell. Failing to find Tyene Sand, Oberyn's third bastard daughter, he decided to depose Arianne Martell to punish Dorne. Despite his words filled with justice, I know he has only vengeance on his mind," said Benjen.

"How serious is it?" I asked, this time genuinely concerned because I didn't want Aegon to be affected by the madness of his father's family, losing himself in a vengeful quest.

"He has imprisoned Oberyn's daughters, imprisoned his wife, burned Meereen with his dragons, and is delaying the dispatch of his fleet to subjugate the Summer Isles, likely to declare war on Daenerys Targaryen. He is going to set half the world on fire and blood and perhaps drag all of Westeros and Essos into a war that will last for years," said my brother softly.

'This is going way too far, it must stop. But I know him, once he sets his mind on revenge, no one can stop him. The proof is Catelyn's family suffered the consequences. If it had been Robb, I could have reasoned with him with lessons on honor, but with him, it would be more counterproductive than anything else.'

-Flashback Start-

"You have been caught raping a woman in Wintertown. Your guilt is beyond doubt. Do you have anything to say in your defense?" I said, looking at the man bent over the block by my guards.

"Mercy, I had been drinking, I wasn't myself, my lord," he said.

'As if that were a sufficient excuse,' I thought before proceeding with his execution.

"In the name of King Robert Baratheon, first of his name, I sentence you to death," I said, bringing down Ice, the ancestral sword of House Stark, on his neck.

"Father, why did you execute him yourself? Mother says it's not a lord's task," said Robb.

I frowned and knelt before him, then said, "We follow the old ways, he who passes the sentence should swing the sword. It is the honor of our house."

Robb nodded, understanding his duty as a Stark, and I thought with relief: 'Luckily, I returned from the Iron Islands.'

As I turned my head towards my second son, I saw that despite his cold and expressionless face, a contemptuous and disapproving glint resided in his eyes.

"Do you have something to say?"

He looked surprised but shook his head and said, "I wouldn't dare, my lord."

I frowned at this address and then said, "You are my son."

He stifled a slight laugh in his throat before saying:

"I am nothing but your bastard, a stain on your honor, a worthless shit. I wouldn't dare say anything for fear of being beheaded by one of the guards."

I knew Jon was an intelligent child and he was trying to send me a message without complaining, and I would get to the bottom of it.

'No one can threaten my son under my own roof.'

-Flashback End-

Although that day I decided to defend Jon and show everyone that I wouldn't tolerate anyone harming him, I couldn't oppose Catelyn and punish her because of the guilt I felt towards her.

'She didn't hesitate to use it in our disputes either.'

Since that day, every lesson I tried to teach Jon about honor hit a deaf wall.

He no longer listened to me, and when he did, it was mostly just to get me to stop lecturing him.

The first real break between us occurred at that moment.

'I was a poor father, but now is the time to redeem myself, whether as a father or as a simple uncle.'

---

-POV Sansa Stark-

At Dragonstone, I was impressed by all the knights on the island who were training. By asking questions, I understood that the King was soon going to organize a tournament to strengthen his Guard.

'It's a pity Bran is too young, he would surely have desired to be part of this tournament, no matter the cost.'

I was drawn to the handsome Knight of Flowers, Loras Tyrell, who was giving instructions to a knight bearing the crest of House Hightower.

I smiled, thinking of the naïve young girl I was upon arriving at King's Landing when King Robert was still alive.

'To think that I believed he was a knight and that any woman would be happy to share his arm, when he's nothing but a sword swallower,' I thought.

'May the Seven have mercy on his soul,' I thought, turning away from him.

As I walked, I couldn't stop remembering my mother's words and instructions.

---

'The Seven torment me because I was unable to love a motherless child, but you are innocent. You are his cousin; you were raised as if you were Ned's children. If you still want to become queen or even empress, this is your chance.'

---

'Though I was never able to love him, I have watched your cousin extensively, and I know him perhaps better than most people. As long as you follow the words of my father's House, you will have no trouble seducing him: Family, Duty, Honor.'

---

"Lady Sansa," said a voice I would recognize among a thousand.

"Lady Margaery," I said, placing a fake smile on my face that my mother had taught me to wear.

---

'Your smile will be your best ally. Hide behind it every time you are in the presence of another person, but never be false in front of your cousin; he will sense it. He has always been good at detecting such things, and even more so since he started doing those strange things.'

---

"It has been so long since we last saw each other. Have you come to comfort His Majesty?"

"My father, my sister Arya, and I have also come to support our cousin in the trial he is facing," I said.

---

'If you ever meet tramps who covet your crown, use your father and Arya as shields. No one would dare speak ill of your father, and even less of 'Princess' Arya. Since he became emperor, and even before when he was king, he made it well known to all that Arya was untouchable.'

---

Margaery smiled and then took my arm, her ladies-in-waiting following closely behind, and she said, "I understand perfectly what it feels like. When Renly died, Loras was inconsolable."

"But it was you who were his wife, wasn't it?" I said, pointing out the inconsistency in her words.

Perhaps she still considered me the stupid Sansa who was blinded by all the southern artifices, but in any case, she had greatly underestimated me.

She smiled and then said without changing her expression, "Loras and my late husband were very close; it was the main reason for our union. Otherwise, we would have declared for the king, maybe we would have been sisters… pardon, I meant cousins."

Without letting myself be destabilized, I said, "Maybe, but we will never know. I like to believe that the Seven have a reason for everything they do. Perhaps you could find true love far from His Majesty."

"I have thought about it too, but unfortunately, I have fallen madly in love with His Majesty, and I have sworn to remain single if His Majesty decides not to set his eyes on me. I will dedicate my life to the poor and to the smallfolk of the Empire, although I do not doubt that soon no one will be poor thanks to the magnificent measures that His Majesty has implemented since he inherited his legitimate throne."

'Inherited his legitimate throne,' I thought, amused by Margaery's speech.

'He rather snatched the throne from you, by fire and blood. It's a pity winter did not fall on your house; it would have spared me many troubles.'

'She will be a formidable adversary, but I will be the one to sit on the empress's throne.'