Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Dragons’ Supper. 126 AC
Hotfix 1: fixed Tessarion's size from half to third of Vermithor's size.
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Maegor sat in front of a long table in the room. The place was brightly lit, the curtains of the windows moved slowly from the wind, fire was crackling from the torches, warming up the otherwise quiet room.
The Lord of Runestone sat right in the middle of the table. In front of him, the princess and her children to the right, and the hand, the queen and her children to the left. Besides Maegor, Helaena to his left, and Princess Rhaenys to the right, along with the Sea Snake beside her. From the left edge of the table sat Prince Aemond Targaryen, his eyepatch covering his blinded eye, and across him, Prince Daemon Targaryen, watching the table quietly with his ever judging eyes.
Aegon the Elder sat opposite of his mother, with a girl that is barely even eleven besides him. The Future Lord of Driftmark, Little Laenor Antaryon, now Valeryon, sat beside his grandfather, ever nervously.
Not one sound came from every single one of their mouths, the children and the adults alike. The children were playing with the utensils in front of them, while the adults just stared at each other, using either a cold expression or a flat one.
"Everyone's quiet." Whispered Helaena suddenly to Maegor. "Should we say something?"
"Don't bother," Maegor whispered back. "The king will arrive soon."
Helaena hummed a tune. "And so everyone will see the mask of lies…"
As Maegor predicted, the princess and the queen suddenly stood up, welcoming the king as the door of the room suddenly opened. The rest of the family quickly rose from their seats, turning towards the door. They then saw the king, he was carried on top of his chair, wearing a black and red robe, his crumpled face hidden beneath a golden mask.
As the guards carried him towards his spot in the middle of the table, all of the ones who attended simply lowered their heads, even Aegon put his cup of wine down, his face ever tense.
When the king finally arrived at his supposed spot, everyone sat down, the room was quieter than ever before, the tense atmosphere still lingers, but a tinge of pity could be seen in everyone's eyes.
The king could sit on his chair as he observed his family. He could only see them with his one eye, his breath was short, a wheezing sound came from his mouth from all the liquid that reigned over his throat.
As the king's gaze over Maegor, he spoke. "How good it is… tonight… to see you all here…"
The king continued his observation of the table, his eyes turned to his eldest daughter, then to his brother, then to their sons.
"You are all here…" he said. "Together… As one family…"
The queen suddenly touches the king's shoulder. "Should we pray first before we begin?"
The king turned towards her. "Yes…"
Only the queen took a praying position, everyone instead turned towards her, looking at her with the usual judging eyes of Targaryens.
She ignored them, instead, she recited a couple of words for supper. "May the mother smile down at this gathering of love… may the Smith mend the bonds that we have broken… and may the father guide us—"
"Just get on with it." said Daemon suddenly, interrupting the queen's prayer. With the sudden and rude awakening, the queen instantly broke her praying position, glaring deeply at the rogue prince. The hand shook his head, the Seasnake sighed deeply, and Princess Rhaenys smiled.
"Pardon me, Prince Daemon?" questioned the queen with a bit of a stern voice.
The prince didn't do nor say anything, he just leaned against his chair, stared at the queen with a faint smirk on his face. Aemond Targaryen across him hummed deeply, seemingly mimicking his position.
The king coughed roughly at the sight of the scene, but he's saying nothing at all.
"Now is not the time, father." said Maegor deeply. "It's supper. Not a dueling arena."
Daemon once again didn't say anything. He raised his non-existent eyebrow, leaned his face to his arm.
Seeing no one speaking, the king continued his words.
"Thank you all… for accepting my invitation for today." said the king weakly. "I know… that you all have your own domain to rule, have your own business to take care of… but you've taken the time to agree to my selfish request… to that, you have my gratitude."
"The honor is ours, your grace." said Corlys with a smile. "I am sure that you can use your energy elsewhere, but you've spent it on us."
The king smiled at Lord Corlys. "Indeed… I am not the same as I was years ago… I've grown… sickly… and I'm afraid age is starting to catch up to me."
The king laughed at his own suffering. no one was laughing with him.
"I've heard… that my son's betrothed had just bled a couple moons ago… It seems, it will be a celebration, as Aegon will soon marry…"
"Ah… About that, your grace." said Princess Rhaenys. "I'm afraid we must beg you to delay the marriage… I'm afraid that even if she has bled, she is still too young…"
"Delay?" the king breathed. The king's gaze then turned towards his daughter Princess Rhaenyra, and spoke. "Perhaps… tis' the right choice… I agree with that…"
The hand frowned, but he didn't protest. Princess Rhaenys bowed her head a little, a thanking gesture to the king.
"And… Daeron…" the king continued. The boy who sat on the corner besides the hand turned to the king. "How is it? Oldtown? Has Lord Hightower treated you well there?"
"He has your grace." said Daeron politely.
The king sighed as he tapped his cane. "Call me father, Daeron… Tis' not a formal matter."
Daeron looked surprised. "He has… father…"
"Good…" the king nodded. "Jace…" he called again, the teenage boy turned towards the king, his face seemingly a bit annoyed because he was talking to Aegon before. "My grandson… How is your study on High Valyrian?"
"It… is going well, grandfather," he said calmly. "The maesters of Dragonstone have taught me well."
"That's surprising." jabbed Aegon, which made Jace frowned.
The king ignored Aegon, and spoke again. "Daemon didn't teach you anything?"
Jace's eyes widened as his gaze turned towards Daemon. "He um… He taught us a couple of things…"
"Example?"
"He taught us how to fight… and Valyrian history…"
"Taught you how to fight?" questioned Aegon with a smirk. "With that bony arms of yours?"
Jace was quite pissed, but before he could say anything, the king suddenly stood up, his cane hit the table so hard that it made a loud noise.
"Enough," said the king. He used his energy on that voice, and he is now wheezing sporadically. The princess tried to make him sit down, but he refused. The king could only clenched the table as he sighed deeply, trying to gather some energy to speak again.
"It both… gladdens my heart… and fills me… with deep sorrow… to see your faces… around me… around the table… the faces most dear to me in all the world… yet you've grown with each other in the years past…"
The king's gaze traveled from his right to his left. From the queen to the princess. From Aemond to Daemon, and finally stopping again right in the middle, at Maegor.
The king stared at him for a few seconds. The king looked at him as if he was asking answers, but Maegor provided none.
Before long, the king's hand started to move towards his face, his golden mask. He roughly pulled the leather strap, and the mask dropped towards the table.
There was gasps, there was no cry, only silence. The king's face was not the same as years ago, a literal hole exists on his left cheek, his whole left eye was missing, his nose rotting, his hair dropping.
The king once again stared at Maegor for a few seconds, and his gaze then traveled towards Rhaenyra, where she could only look at it in pity.
"As you can see and observe… I am not the same mighty king from years ago…" the king said vaguely. "If indeed I ever was…"
The king's gaze came back to Maegor as he held his mask tightly. Maegor just looked at him, his eyes didn't show pity. Didn't show anger nor disgust, just a blank look.
"But tonight… I wanted you all to see me as I am." he said, pointing his mask at himself. "Not just a king, but your father. your brother. A husband, an uncle, and your grandsire… who may not seem to be walking among you… much longer…"
The king dropped his mask on top of his plate. The expensive thing broke to pieces, but no one bats an eye. "I beg of you," said the king. "Let us no longer bear… ill feelings in our hearts… the crown cannot stand strong, if the house of the dragon remains divided… Put aside your grievances…."
The king raised his cane and slammed to the ground, his gaze traveling to the left, and to the right.
The king's hands were shaking as he clenched the table. "If not for the sake of the crown… the for the sake of this old man! Who loves you all so dearly…"
The king's lips quiver as he sobbed. "We are all one family! Everything will be fine, as long as we are united."
The king continued to stand, although not for long. His body quivered sporadically, as if it cannot stand its weight any longer, yet he continued to stand, he looked at every single one of them, no one except Maegor had eye contact.
The king breathed deeply as he finally sat again, he seemed to be unsatisfied, yet he cannot do anything.
Suddenly, the princess stood up from her seat. She looked in doubt, but against her own heart, she spoke.
"I wish to raise a glass for her grace, the queen." said Rhaenyra. She looked at the queen dead in the eyes. "I… must admit, no one has stood loyally by father's side than his good wife."
The queen looked quite surprised, but she didn't not accept the compliment of the princess. The queen looked at the princess in respect as continued.
"She has tended to him with unfailing devotion." Rhaenyra said. "She's with him through his sickness, his sorrow, and his pain… and for that, she has my gratitude. And… my apology."
The princess then sat, leaving the baffled queen to speak alone. Alicent wiped her tears for a little as she spoke to answer.
"Your graciousness moves me to heep… princess…" said the queen. As soon as he heard this, Daemon leaned towards the table, seemingly not believing what he's seeing right now.
"We're both mothers," said the queen. "And our children… are the most precious thing to us… we have more in common than we have previously thought."
The queen then stood up, raised her wine cup, and spoke. "I raised my cup to you, and to your house."
As she said that, she looked the princess dead in the eye, and continued. "You will make a fine queen."
And so, everyone raised their glasses, and drank their wines, in honor of Princess Rhaenyra. The queen sat down again, everyone was feeling that the tension was being pulled away from the room, in a second, everyone thought the rest of the supper would feel normal.
But suddenly, Maegor, from the corner of his eyes, saw that Aegon was whispering something to Jace, and the teenage boy couldn't contain his rage. He stood up from his seat, and slammed his fist to the table, making the others turn to him.
Looking at this, Prince Aemond stood up as well, ready to hear what Jace would say.
Instead of either of them speaking, another stood up. It was Maegor, his left hand was holding a cup of wine, and he raised his glass towards the king.
"I wish to raise my glass to everyone in this room," said Maegor. "To my cousins, my nephews, my stepmother, my wife, my uncle…"
Maegor looked at the blacks and the greens, he looked at the colors, reminded him of petty infighting, he was done with it. "I understand that we haven't seen eye-to-eye in a long time. But, tonight, I hope that we can dine together as one family, one of the surviving members of old Valyria. Tonight, I hope we celebrate the life of uncle Viserys, and his peaceful reign as king. I wish my cousin Daeron all the best on his squiring days, I wish stepbrother Jace godspeed on his learning of High Valyrian, and I wish my stepmother, and my mother-in-law's relationship be mended, never to arise conflict once again. To your reign and your prosperous life, dear uncle."
And Maegor sipped his wine in front of the king, and everyone followed. Aemond looked disappointed, and sat down again, before also drinking his wine.
Helaena suddenly held Maegor's hand behind the table, making him turn towards her. She then whispered to him. "A Traitor's Dagger is not Treacherous after all…"
Maegor just frowned, and he heard The king sighed deeply as he leaned on his chair. "Thank you, nephew, for your good health, and your family's as well. Now, let us have some music."
As the music played in the background, the food also came to the table. The smell of roasted pork permeated the room as it was placed in the middle of the room, wine was refilled, all kinds of fruits were served.
The king saw as his family talked with one another, laughs soon filled the room, he could see Rhaenyra talking to Daemon, he could see the queen talking to the hand, he could see Maegor talking to Helaena, he could see the sea snake talking to his wife.
For a second, the king thought that he had seen peace. He saw Maegor smiling at him, seemingly enjoying the scenery.
Suddenly, his milk of the poppy wore off, and he could feel his pain again. The king breathed loudly as he tried to hold the pain, but it was of no use. He called his guards, and asked them to bring him to his quarters.
And so they did, they carried the king away from the room, leaving the family alone.
The family seemed to carry on without him for a few minutes. A whole roasted pork was put in front of Aemond again, and this time, Luke saw it, and couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered the time when they would give Aemond a winged pig when they were little because of how obsessed he was with obtaining a dragon.
"What are you laughing at, nephew?" asked Aemond sharply.
"Nothing, uncle." Luke said with a snicker.
"If you have something to say, be a man and say it out loud." Aemond continued.
"Aemond, stop it." the queen interrupted, but he paid no attention to her.
Luke, seeing the scene, turned to his mother. He saw that princess Rhaenyra was shaking her head, telling him not to move forward.
At first, he didn't say anything. He drank from his cup, and took a spoonful of pork, but once again, Aemond continued.
"Not going to say anything?" Aemond questions with a sharp eye. "It seems that my nephews are only 'strong' in name."
Luke frowned at Aemond's words. He clenched his cutlery tightly, and looked at the one-eyed man dead in the eye. "Twas' nothing uncle. I am only reminiscing about our childhood together."
"Any memory in particular?" asked Aemond again.
"Oh you know." said Luke, a faint smirk on his face. "Remember The Pink Dread, uncle? That whole hog in front of you reminded me of it."
As soon as Luke said that, Aemond rose from his seat. He slammed his hands on the table, turning everyone's attention towards him.
But before he could say anything, someone interrupted him.
"Enough." said Maegor quietly from his seat. "Are you children or what?"
Aemond looked at Maegor with his one eye, he had a flat expression on his face, seemingly trying to think on what to do next.
Surprisingly, Aemond smiled sweetly, though he was still standing up. He then took his cup from in front of him, and raised it.
"Aemond, what are you doing?" asked his mother, once again, he ignored it.
"I would like to raise my glass to my nephews." he said. "Jace, Luke, and Joffrey… Each of them handsome… wise…. And…"
"Aemond, enough." Maegor interrupted. He stood up from his seat, and looked at Aemond dead in the eye. The room quickly turned tense once again, the hand chose to lower his head, while the princess and the queen clenched their cups tightly.
Aemond's gaze slowly turned towards Maegor, then towards Jace. "And strong…"
Jace slammed his hands to the table, and stood up, an annoyed look could be seen in his face. Maegor quickly grabbed Jace's shoulder, and prevented him from going towards Aemond.
"To my three nephews." Aemond continued, raising his glass much higher. "Let us drain our cups… to these three… strong… boys…"
"I dare you to say that again." Jace warned sharply.
"Why?" said Aemond with a smirk. "Twas' only a compliment."
And with a sudden move, Jace rushed towards Aemond. His hand was raised, in position to punch, as he launched his fist, it was grabbed by Maegor, throwing him away from the scene, making Jace stumble to the ground.
Behind Maegor, he heard a slam on the table, he turned around, only to see Luke being beaten by Aegon, who prevented the boy from helping his brother. Maegor quickly stepped up along with the guards, he pulled Aegon's clothing from the back, and threw him away towards Aemond, fumbling down to the ground.
Jace, who was on the ground, continued to stand up and rushed towards the two princes, but Maegor blocked his way.
Seeing all this, Aemond just smiled, while the guards tried to hold on to the two 'Strong boys'.
"Enough." Maegor warned, standing in the middle of the four Targaryens. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I was merely expressing how proud I am of my family, cousin, I do not why they are so caught up with it." said Aemond with a smirk.
Maegor just hummed as he raised his eyebrow. "Aemond, you're not blind, you only have one eye. Everyone in the room could see what you are trying to do, except you for some reason."
Aemond just stared at Maegor, then his gaze turned to Daemon, but didn't say anything.
"Look." Maegor continued. "You want to do idiotic things? Go ahead. But not at a family supper. If you do that again, that sapphire behind your eyepatch will have a friend by the end of dessert."
Aemond frowned at Maegor's words. He turned towards the queen and the hand, who were staring at him judgingly.
"Go to your quarters." said the queen to him. "I will talk to you later."
Aemond hummed displeasingly as he walked past Maegor, not forgetting to bump at him on the way.
"Everyone, go to your quarters as well." said the princess with a deep breath as she stood up. "Come on."
The kids then left the room. As Daeron was standing up, he was looking at Maegor, his eyes full of guilt, and possibly admitting that he had lost the bet. As the boys left the room, Maegor heard a whisper in his left ear.
"Good job on that one." he heard, it was Daemon, seemingly amused by the scene. "The sapphire behind the eyepatch will have a friend by the end of dessert? I'm still deciding if that was a good one or a bad one."
"Fuck off." Maegor said as he walked away from the adults. "This is all your fault. The queen, the princess, you… your conflict should've stayed with you, don't transfer it to your children. I am having a hard time deciding on who are actually the children here."
As Maegor and Helaena left the room, Daemon could only look at his back as his wife and the queen spoke to each other, apologizing. Daemon took a deep breath, and turned towards the queen.
"Do not say anything to my brother," he said calmly, seemingly commanding the queen. "Let him rest in peace."
The hand was about to say something, but the queen spoke first. "Agreed, prince Daemon. The king should rest peacefully right now."
And so, the Dragons' supper had ended. It was meant to be an event that mended relationships. Instead, it tore it off.
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