Chapter Text
With more than thirty thousand men fighting for his cause, Jongin flew to King’s Landing on Temerios, the “Bronze Fury”, with the armies of Lord Peniel Baratheon, Lord Kyungsoo Lannister, and Prince Taecyeon Martell riding not far behind him. Among these men were two of the Kingsguard sworn to Minho Targaryen who defected to Jongin.
When King Minho received word of his nephew’s massive approaching army, he furiously murdered the messenger. He grew even more insane as the days passed, unable to accept that the people had chosen Jongin over him. Wary and paranoid, he ordered the defenses of the city to be strengthened for the upcoming battle.
As Jongin’s forces reached King’s Landing, it did not take long for the first few swords to clash with each other. The king’s soldiers fought desperately, but they were no match for the Lannister, Baratheon, and Martell forces. In retaliation, the king ordered arrows lit on fire to be aimed at the invaders. Soon, several buildings were set ablaze and many citizens fled the scene of battle. Minho believed that if he was to go down then he would take his enemies down with him.
The fighting continued and the defending army was gradually losing ground in the city. Jongin seized the opportunity to storm through the gates of the Red Keep, sword in hand. He landed Temerios down and climbed off his dragon’s saddle on foot. He ran through the castle halls, fighting through every knight and guard that came his way, until he reached the king himself.
When he barged through the door to the throne room, he immediately saw Minho waiting for him on the iron throne. The king clutched the armrests of the throne as he sat intensely and looked fiercely at the young prince.
“Your tyrannous reign ends here, uncle!” Jongin shouted at Minho. The king stared at his nephew defiantly and unflinching, though he almost appeared as if he were in great physical pain.
“My reign is only beginning, boy!” Minho barked, “You will fall just like your stupid father and brothers before you!”
“The only person between the two of us that will fall is you!” Jongin shot back.
Minho mockingly laughed and attempted to raise himself from the throne. But when he sat up he felt a sharp and agonizing pain throughout his arms, legs, and back. The throne had left deep cuts all over his body, injuring him significantly. The sight of the king’s blood spilling around the throne did not go unnoticed to Jongin.
“Hmph, it appears that the iron throne has rejected you!” Jongin said to Minho, “As did the whole of the realm!”
“You speak too soon for your own good, dear nephew. It matters not if the realm supports me. I’ll just torch it down myself and put an end to your wretched existence!” Minho asserted.
“I am not a little boy anymore, uncle. I am my father’s rightful heir. You are nothing more than my grandsire’s second son and a disgraced usurper.” Jongin affirmed.
Minho angrily ran down the steps to the iron throne and drew his sword out. Jongin, unfazed, responded by raising his own sword for battle. It was then that the king realized where Blackfyre had gone to since the day he seemingly lost it.
“My sword?” Minho asked incredulously, “How did you get that? Give it back to me?!”
“Our Great House’s ancestral sword should be wielded only by those worthy of bearing the burden of leading the Seven Kingdoms, uncle,” Jongin said as he refused to heed Minho’s command. “You never understood what my grandfather, Hakyeon the Conqueror, taught us. What he tried to teach you, uncle.”
“What would you know of my father’s teachings?” Minho asked, “The Conqueror had me trained all my life on Dragonstone to fight and rule. You are just a brat that he doted on in his final years!”
“Then it is a shame that you did not become much wiser than you are now.” Jongin snarked.
Minho decided he had enough of his nephew’s rambling and charged at him with his sword. The two Targaryens dueled each other for the right to sit upon the iron throne. They were both formidable and capable fighters well-versed with the sword.
Jongin’s intense training during his years at Storm’s End had paid off. The young prince was able to match the king’s sword fighting skills and hold his own against the king. And Minho, despite his wounds, was able to keep up with his younger relative.
“You are not as terrible of a fighter as I expected,” Minho remarked. “I am glad that you could at least give me one last challenge, dear nephew.”
“You may be a kinslaying cunt, but I can not deny your own skills with the sword, uncle.” Jongin repaid the compliment. Their swords continued to clash with one another as the duel continued. Both men not giving in to the heat and strain of battle. Though the king’s cuts had started to affect his reflexes and precision with his sword strikes.
Jongin left a slash on Minho’s right shoulder, forcing the latter to fight with only his right hand as he gripped the damaged shoulder with his left hand. He was slowly losing ground to the younger man. Eventually, Jongin cut Minho once more and he fell to the ground of the throne room. But Jongin did not land the killing blow. Instead, he merely looked down at his wounded and tired uncle.
“When I was young, I used to believe that you were some sort of monster that was out to destroy us. But now I see that you are just a sad and pathetic man desperate for power.” Both men glared at each other as their duel temporarily halted. “Yield, uncle, and I shall grant you the mercy that you refused to show my brothers.”
Minho stood up and looked at Jongin with unadulterated disgust and disdain. “Me, yield to you? Not on my last breath, boy!”
“Very well then,” Jongin said stoically as they raised their swords once more to fight. The king fought even more fiercely than before and managed to strike the prince a few times. Though they did little damage to him, Jongin remained with the upper hand. He slashed his uncle once more, this time on his dominant hand. Minho dropped his sword to the ground as he was stabbed just below the chest on his stomach. He grunted out in pain as he stumbled from the force of the blow. Weakened and close to death, he slowly walked towards the steps of the iron throne, refusing to let it go even to the very end. Jongin followed him through the steps and as Minho looked back again to face him, he viciously kicked the king forward. Minho landed on the iron throne itself, where his whole body was impaled by the many swords that composed it. The life escaped out of him in an instant. Minho Targaryen’s brutal and cruel reign had finally ended.
—
Jongin walked out of the entrance to the Red Keep into the steps that led to the streets of King’s Landing. Blackfyre still in hand, he made his way towards the battlefield to declare victory against the mad usurper.
“Soldiers of the realm!” Jongin shouted, “Minho Targaryen is dead! I now succeed him as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms! Surrender now, and your life will be spared!” The soldiers obeyed the soon-to-be new king’s command and dropped their swords, bows, and weapons. The fighting in the city stopped. The citizens took comfort in knowing that the bloodshed was over and that the tyranny of King Minho was no more.
Lords Peniel and Kyungsoo, and Prince Taecyeon reaffirmed their victory as they and their men rejoiced in the thrill of it all. A new age for Westeros was about to begin.
—
Jongin’s family were all present to witness his coronation at the Red Keep. Eunkyung, Jian, Harin, Sooyun, Youngmi, and Sunhee all alike embraced their relative’s ascension to the iron throne. Peniel, Kyungsoo, Taecyeon, Minjun, and all the other lords and nobles that declared for Jongin also attended his coronation. Thousands of men, women, and children gathered around to welcome their new king.
Jongin wore the golden crown his sister fashioned for him as a septon announced the news that the whole of the realm had been anticipating since Minho’s defeat. “Today,” the septon declared before the eyes of gods and men, “we welcome a new king to lead us all! All hail His Grace, Jongin Targaryen, First of His Name, King of the Andals, and the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm!”
The young king looked away from the crowd of people and back to the iron throne. He nervously walked to the steps of the throne. He never thought all those years ago that this moment would come. That it would be him that ascended the iron throne and not his eldest brother. It should have been you, brother, he thought sadly of Jongdae. However, he understood what the realm demanded of him at that moment and accepted it readily.
Just as Jongin came near the iron throne, he felt a light touch on his shoulder. “You can do it, dear brother. I believe in you,” Harin said to him. He nodded at his sister and rested his body on the throne. As he sat on it, everyone in the room gazed upon him intently.
“Long live the king!” Echoed the septon. “Long live the king!” Many more in the room declared before the new king.
Jongin Targaryen was nineteen years old when he was crowned king of Westeros. The first time he sat on the iron throne, he did so cautiously and without gripping the armrests too tight. It did not harm him in any way. Destiny had declared that he was fated to lead the Seven Kingdoms as his grandfather, father, and uncle’s successor. The realm was once more at peace.