-Chapter 143-
-2nd day of the 4th moon of the year 301 AC-
-POV Rhaenyra Targaryen-
Clinking of steel.
"You're spending more and more time in the training yard," I said as I arrived behind my uncle, who didn't react, pretending not to have heard me, focused on his son's fight.
Clinking of steel.
'The last one he has left,' I thought, finding his situation truly…
'Pathetic,' I mused, averting my eyes from my uncle to observe his son, who, I had to admit, was rather skilled.
'Even though defeating children won't make him a dangerous fighter,' I thought, losing interest as quickly as I had taken an interest in the fight between him and the little red-haired boy, who was probably a castle squire too timid to even try to hurt him properly.
"You're really going to act like I'm not here talking to you?" I said.
Daemon remained silent for a few moments, then finally said, just when I thought he would continue to ignore me:
"What do you want, Rhaenyra?"
"It has never changed," I said before adding, looking him straight in the eyes:
"I want what is rightfully mine."
Upon hearing my words, Daemon silently turned his head and inspected me with a gaze that no longer held the warmth of the past.
'The one he had when he looked at me on the day I got married,' I thought, remembering the desire he felt for me, even though he was already married.
"You still don't understand, do you?" he said, shaking his head and turning away from me to focus again on his son.
Clinking of steel.
"Aemon will decide everything from now on," Daemon said before adding, "It is not me you should be speaking to. My time is over."
I frowned, surprised by the tone he used when speaking about himself, a tone I never imagined I would hear from my uncle.
'An uncle I admired so much as a child,' I thought, because throughout my childhood, if there was one man I never thought could be defeated, it was him.
"You talk as if you've been defeated," I said, convinced that we could still turn the situation around. As long as father is alive and the boys grow up properly, we can still find a way to put pressure on Aemon.
Daemon suddenly laughed bitterly, then said, "I have been defeated for a long time."
He let his words hang for a few moments, then finally said:
"I only realized it yesterday."
'Yesterday?' I wondered, searching for what could have broken Daemon's spirit, who was usually so unyielding.
"Is it because of your wife?!" I asked incredulously, as that was the only time his reaction had been… strange.
Daemon shot me a look that froze me in place but then turned away without saying a word.
'I didn't know he had loved her that much,' I thought.
It was an arranged marriage, and in such marriages, it was rare for both parties to find a lifelong, faithful partner—let alone love.
Daemon clenched his jaw, then said:
"If I had not held a grudge against my own blood, I would have…"
Daemon's throat tightened, preventing him from speaking.
I didn't know if it was sadness, anger, disgust, or even regret that he was expressing.
He took a small breath before saying:
"If I had been a good father to Aemon, none of this would have happened today. If I had seen beyond our quarrels, Raevyna would surely still be alive, that vile viper Otto Hightower wouldn't have tried to turn us against each other, and you…"
Daemon suddenly stopped, then said:
"If I had put aside my pride, we would be united."
"What were you about to say about me?" I asked, frowning, because I could sense it was something I wouldn't like.
"Nothing," he said, blatantly ignoring me.
'There's nothing he wouldn't dare say to me, but there are few things he would hold back to avoid hurting me,' I thought, furious that he had even mentioned it.
I was about to get angry at him for even considering saying it in private because…
'As long as no one says it, everyone will have to accept my truth,' I thought.
But Daemon stopped me by coldly saying:
"Don't pretend to be outraged by the truth, Rhaenyra. No one is a fool. The fact that you didn't stop after your daughter was your gravest mistake."
"The king said that…" I tried to say in my defense.
Daemon scoffed dismissively, then said:
"The king has no power anymore. That's why I told you that you should speak to Aemon. From now on, things will change, and if you want to be part of that change, you'll have to abide by his rules. Viserys' crown cannot protect him from Urrax's fire, just as it won't protect you or your children."
I wanted to retort, but I ultimately refrained.
And just as I was about to leave, I saw Aemon a few meters away, looking at me with a slight smirk.
'Always the same little hypocritical smile,' I thought angrily. But I put a smile on my face and slightly inclined my head.
'I will follow your advice, uncle,' I thought before slipping away, leaving father and son time to talk.
---
-POV Daemon Targaryen-
As I watched Rhaenyra leave, I saw Aemon approaching and sighed inwardly, as I didn't want to have this conversation, but…
'It has to happen at some point,' I thought, waiting for my triumphant son to arrive.
He positioned himself at my side, taking Rhaenyra's place, and said nothing, watching Aegon torment the young squires seeking their first stripes.
The first thing my eldest son said was:
"It's an aggressive style, but nothing like yours."
I raised an eyebrow, then said:
"He wasn't always this strong. When he was a baby, he was rather frail. Raevyna spent all her time with him. I taught him to always win, no matter the size or strength of his opponents."
Aemon remained silent for a few moments after my statement, then finally said:
"Baelon wanted to attend the funeral."
"I didn't see him there," I said curtly, as it was a sensitive topic.
'A subject I had little control over,' I thought.
"I prevented him," my son said, looking me straight in the eyes without a hint of fear or nervousness, calmly holding my gaze.
I looked away, then said, "I understand. I was your enemy."
"That wasn't the reason," Aemon said.
"Then what was the reason you prevented your little brother from attending his own mother's funeral?" I asked in a tone that was anything but understanding, emphasizing the fact that Raevyna had been Baelon's mother, despite having heard about his reunion with Johanna in Lys.
'That had hurt Raevyna, even though she was also happy.'
'The one she held responsible for that fracture, and the one she resented the most for it, was me,' I thought, still remembering how she had advised me, on her deathbed, to make peace with my sons.
'She was right,' I told myself silently, faced with my regrets.
Aemon looked at me for a moment before saying:
"I was afraid you would see it as provocation and take out your pain and frustration on him."
I let out a small scoff, rejecting his accusation, then said: "We'll never know."
"Indeed," Aemon said.
"Then why are you here?" I asked before quickly adding in a much sharper tone:
"Are you here to show me that you won? That you triumphed? That you were right?"
Aemon shook his head, then handed me a ball that I immediately recognized.
I frowned, then said:
"If this is some twisted way to assert your dominance, Aemon, I…"
"You were the worst possible father to me," Aemon suddenly said, shutting me up.
He looked at me for a few moments, and I thought I saw a glimmer of pity in his eyes, which enraged me, but Aemon didn't let me respond as he continued:
"I saw the look Aegon gave me when we arrived, but more importantly, the one he gave Baelon."
I frowned, and then Aemon said:
"You have no chance of ever being a father to me. You lost that right a long time ago because I never needed you to grow up and become a man. Unfortunately for my brothers, you will always be their father, and I will not allow any of them to kill each other just to please you, just so you can satisfy your thirst for revenge."
Aemon raised his hand, holding the ball, then said:
"This is an olive branch I extend to you, a peace offering so we may bury the past and move forward as a family. It's up to you whether you accept it or not, if you believe you have no fault and wish to hold onto this resentment until one of us falls. But be certain—this is the last time I will extend my hand to you."
I looked at the ball Aemon was offering for a long time, then finally took the ball representing my new position as Master of Laws.
Aemon's expression suddenly softened, and he nodded without saying a word before leaving.
As I watched him go, still accompanied by his right-hand man, Gunthor Royce, I turned the ball in my hand a few times before finally sighing, weary of all these conflicts.