Chapter 34: Crestfallen

                                    

                                          
YEAR 130 AC
A whole moon had passed since the death of Lord Cregan Stark, and, as was very much expected, the Greens did not meet strong opposition from the noble houses sworn to Rhaenyra Targaryen. The death of the Lord of Winterfell had shaken the fundamental beliefs of Northern houses, who had been terrorized by Daena Targaryen and Vermithor for only several days before the banners of Aegon II were placed on the castles' walls. Lord Corlys Velaryon, one of the biggest supporters of the Blacks, had withdrawn his forces completely, retiring to Driftmark and taking no further actions in the remaining continuation of the war. Prince Daeron Targaryen, alongside his loyal dragon Tessarion, had taken the responsibility upon himself to complete "the conquest" of the Reach, threatening Houses Beesbury, Caswell, and Merryweather. All three houses had surrendered without a fight. The Crownlands became a dreadful playground of Prince Aemond the One-Eye and Vhagar, who, having left the trails of many corpses, had taken complete victory over opposing houses in several weeks. On the seventh moon of year 130 AC, King Aegon II had returned to King's Landing, finding the Red Keep completely abandoned: there was no sign of either Rhaenyra Targaryen or her two remaining sons, Joffrey and Aegon the Younger. Sometime later Lady Daena Targaryen, as well as Princes Aemond and Daeron, returned to their home as well, bringing along all the living children of the royal family: Princess Jaehaera, Prince Maelor, Lady Ceryssa, and Lord Aemon. Dreamfyre had returned to reside in the Dragonpit once more, and Princess Jaehaera was finally reunited with her young dragon Morghul. The city of King's Landing was almost completely destroyed by the riots of the residents, yet the peace was quickly restored before the rebellion could even get out of control. The Green Queen Alicent Hightower crowned her son Aegon II anew, and all the living lords of noble houses were made to pledge allegiance to the rightful King. The search for Rhaenyra and her sons continued. 
*** 
"You may leave for today." 
"Your Grace, we haven't lit the candles-" 
"I said, you may leave." The male voice became more insistent. 
Aegon was sitting in the chair by the window, his fingers playing with a small wooden toy. It was a horse, a plain wooden horse, absolutely nothing remarkable about it. However, the King couldn't take his eyes off the little object, stroking the wooden surface carefully and slowly, as if the action was hypnotic to him. His face was stripped of any emotion: he was neither upset nor happy, his lips stiff, his eyes glued to a toy in his hands. It seemed like Aegon could sit there for hours, if unbothered by anyone, the silence of the chambers and slight movements of his fingers being enough of an entertainment for him. However, it wasn't quite meant to be that night. 
The heavy door slowly creaked open, the sound of which made the young King turn his head towards it. A shadow of annoyance brushed over his face, and he was about to say something extremely inappropriate to whoever dared to disrupt his solitude, if it wasn't for the locks of silver hair that glistened in the moonlight peaking through the window. 
"Daena?" Aegon whispered, narrowing his eyes to see the face of the woman better in the dark. 
The Targaryen Lady entered the chambers, closing the door behind herself. She walked to the chair Aegon was seated in, taking her own seat on the floor, right next to him. 
"Do you remember how I used to sneak into your chambers when we were young?" A quiet question fell into the King's ears, and the warmth of the memories instantly washed over his body. 
"I do..." The man nodded, a small smile curling the corners of his lips. "We would talk for hours, you and I, until we were too tired to stay awake anymore." 
Aegon moved his hand, placing the wooden toy he was holding onto the windowsill. 
"And here we are again. The very same chambers... But not quite the same us." Daena's voice grew slightly darker. She placed her arms carefully on Aegon's lap, putting her head on them afterward. A small sigh had left her lips.