A rich lunch was laid out on the table.
Aegon waved off the serving girl.
He cut a piece of bread himself, layered on a seared, juicy cutlet and a fried egg, then spread honey jam over the top.
He took a huge bite.
The tender meat and the rich egg burst across his tongue.
The sweet-tart jam cut through the fat, fragrant without being heavy.
Aegon let out a satisfied groan.
There was no internet here, none of the distractions of his old world.
Good food had become one of his chief pleasures.
That, and riding his dragon, or watching the dancers perform.
He swallowed the last bite and turned to Alicent.
“I’m going to Dragonstone.
I’ll fly over after lunch.
I may stay a few days.
I’ll ask Father’s permission.”
“Why Dragonstone?” Alicent’s brow furrowed.
“A small matter.
Don’t worry.
No danger.”
Aegon took a sip of milk, then added, “Ser Arryk, I’d ask you to go ahead by ship.
I’ll follow shortly.”
Arryk nodded.
He asked no questions.
He rose and left.
Alicent sighed inwardly.
Aegon was clever beyond his years.
When he was small, he used to share his days with her.
Now he would not even tell her what he was doing.
“Be careful.”
A thousand words, and all that came out was be careful.
“Before you go, see Helaena and Aemond,” she added.
Aegon nodded and headed for the royal apartments.
The moment he stepped inside, a small figure shot out from under the table and threw herself into his arms.
“Did you miss me, my sweet little Helaena?” Aegon laughed.
Helaena, only five, said nothing.
She just held him tight, burying her face against his chest.
“What’s wrong?
Another bad dream?”
Aegon patted her back gently, his voice soft.
Helaena shook her head slightly.
She kept holding him and said nothing.
Then four-year-old Aemond threw his hands up.
“Me!
I missed my brother!
I did!”
Aegon grinned and beckoned him over.
When Aemond shuffled close, Aegon ruffled his hair hard.
In the original story, Aegon married Helaena.
But after the wedding, he never changed.
He kept mistresses everywhere.
And Aemond had no dragon of his own before 120 AC.
During those years, Aegon not only failed to defend his little brother, he joined Rhaenyra’s sons in mocking him.
Until 120 AC, when Aemond claimed Vhagar, the strongest dragon alive.
Even then, Aegon kept mocking him.
When the civil war broke out, the Aegon in the books finally stopped sneering at Aemond.
But a transmigrator would never be that stupid.
Even if he had never read the original, he would never let outsiders bully Aemond.
That was a line you did not cross.
Too much depended on it.
“Brother, my egg still hasn’t hatched.
Rhaenyra said it’s dead.
She said I’ll never have a dragon.”
Rhaenyra had said it that morning.
The instant Aemond saw Aegon, he told him.
Aegon’s eyes flickered.
His smile faded.
He looked at Aemond and asked, seriously, “Half of all dragon eggs are dead.
It has nothing to do with you.
Do you want a dragon?”
Aemond blinked.
Then he nodded, hard.
“I want one.
But Mother won’t let me go to the Dragonpit.
Or the Dragonmont on Dragonstone.”
“I’m going to the Dragonmont soon.
I know a gentle she-dragon there.
Big.
Powerful.” Aegon kept his voice low.
“Yes.
I want to go!” Aemond did not hesitate.
“Wait here.
I’ll ask Father first.”
Aegon found Viserys assembling a model of the Valyrian Freehold.
“Father, I need to go to Dragonstone.” He stated his business plainly.
When Aegon was five, he flew his dragon to the Wall in the North.
He nearly scared Viserys and Alicent to death.
After that, Viserys gave orders.
The Dragonkeepers were not to let Aegon take his dragon without permission.
Viserys frowned and set down the dragon figurine.
“What do you want on Dragonstone?” he asked, suspicious.
“Your sister’s wedding is next month.
You are not running off anywhere.
No.”
Aegon’s mouth twitched.
“I’m just going for a few days.
Two weeks at most.
Please?”
“What’s fun about Dragonstone?
Bare rock.
I know you.
You want to fly off somewhere else and cause trouble.
No.”
Viserys wore the look of a man who had seen through a child’s trick.
The last time Aegon had said the same thing, he had slipped off to the Wall and nearly given him a heart attack.
The lands beyond the Wall held a darkness few men knew.
Aegon the Conqueror, founder of the Targaryen dynasty, had left behind a prophecy.
The Song of Ice and Fire.
He dreamed that winter and darkness would come sweeping down from the North and destroy everything.
That dream was why Aegon Targaryen, the First of His Name, chose to unite Westeros.
He ended the wars of the Seven Kingdoms so all their strength could stand against that unknown horror.
The Song of Ice and Fire passed only from king to heir.
Viserys had told Rhaenyra, hoping she would understand the weight she would one day carry.
But Aegon was not the heir.
Viserys could not tell him any of this.
He could only forbid him from going to the Wall.