#and then sunfyre and aegon swoop in to help

[navree]

https://href.li/?https://www.reddit.com/r/HouseOfTheDragon/comments/zjkdxf/now_this_is_an_interesting_tidbit_from_tom/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

what do you think of this? aegon and aemond were loyal to one another till the end in the book, I really hope their relationship "spiralling" isn't permanent

I think it's not out of the realm of possibility that we're going to see the relationship spiral for a period of time. TGC makes some good points in that video, which is that Aegon and Aemond have a lot of complicated feelings towards one another that have yet to be fully expressed or resolved. One thing we also have to keep in mind is that Aegon and Aemond are going to go from massive highs to massive lows in a really short amount of time in season 2. Aegon is the only person, in the book, who isn't viscerally angry/horrified/disgusted with Aemond following the events of Storm's End (he literally throws him a party my son I love you), and I think that'll likely be important for Aemond, now that the show's made it clear that he didn't intend to kill Lucerys and clearly understands that this is a massive fuckup. So we might see them get closer for a moment, if Aegon's the one trying to stick by his side while Alicent and Otto are upset with him, both out of whatever brotherly affection might exist, as well as knowing what it's like to be seen as the screw up.

Problem is, Blood and Cheese follows soon after. Blood and Cheese, for however much it was spurred by Aemond's actions, is an attack on Aegon. It's Aegon's mother who is physically assaulted in her own rooms, it's Aegon's children who are terrorized, it's Aegon sister and Aegon's wife who is being psychologically tortured, it's Aegon's daughter threatened with rape at one point, and it's Aegon's son who is murdered. Blood and Cheese are a strike by Rhaenyra against Aegon, his son for her son. And while everyone in the family is going to be hugely affected by what happens, we know from the book that Aegon takes it really badly, that he "raged, and drank, and raged", and I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that, in that rage and that grief over what's happened to his family, is going to let loose on Aemond. Blood and Cheese say point blank "an eye for an eye, a son for a son", Jahaerys for Lucerys, and who killed Lucerys? Aemond did. It's entirely possible that Aegon is going to blame Aemond for what happened, and be vicious in doing so, and that the relationship will spiral out for a time, especially if all those other unresolved feelings get dredged up in the ensuing conversations.

I don't think it'll be a permanent rift. Things said in grief and anger are often excused, and Aegon's going through it in a way nobody else except for Helaena could understand, and Aemond's likely going to go the route of blaming himself for what happens (personally I think we should get one of those scenes where Person A allows Person B to beat them into the ground without fighting back because they think they deserve it, I would like to see it), but whatever spiraling that happens as things reach an emotional crescendo with them doesn't have to last, and likely won't. Rook's Rest happens soon afterwards, where Aegon and Aemond are fighting together against Rhaenys, and Aemond's going to be named the Prince Regent (and despite wanting to be king, very conspicuously doesn't name himself as such and only calls himself "Prince Regent and Protector of the Realm" while Aegon recovers).

And even beyond all of that, one thing to remember is that the actors aren't the writers. TGC has amazing insights into Aegon as a character and generally seems to get him far better than even the writers do sometimes, but he is still ultimately beholden to act out what he's given, and what he says at a convention isn't necessarily gospel truth unless the writers take what he says into account when starting pre-production for the next season. So his interpretations isn't necessarily how it's even going to go.

[idontevenknowhowtolife]

Petty Rhaenyra

So Rhaenyras pretty pissed off at Viserys and Alicent for the whole getting married and producing a threat to her claim to the throne thing. Unfortunately she cant really take it out on them because their the King and Queen and there are lines she cant cross or else it will be used against her and to paint her as a spoilt brat unworthy of the throne. So she decides she is going to play the perfect princess in public and private but use her own knowledge of them to make them uneasy about her being so nice. Comments about how she wishes them all the best in the marriage bed, and how she has picked some petals to be strewn across their bed. They look like blood. This is in the Queen chambers. Where Aemma was cut open. Rhaenyra is smiling innocently at them, asking if they like them. This is just the beginning.

This continues on and even ramps up after Alicent announces she’s pregnant. Rhaenyra makes comments about her dead siblings, commenting on how she “only ever got to hold them for a short time”, and how she never got to see their eggs hatch and how she desperately hopes this will be different. She offers to pick out the eggs for the baby while Viserys is there, staring at Alicent and smirking the whole time as she goes on about how she hope to make a good pick so that the egg will hatch into a strong dragon. Alicent doesn’t know whether she is genuine or fucking with her. And then Aegon is born.

Rhaenyra is in the birthing room encouraging Alicent, being genuine this time because pissed as she is, she doesn’t want Alicent or the baby to die. She is the first person to hold Aegon after the birth, claiming that he would recognise her dragon blood. Alicents doesn’t get to hold him until after Viserys and Rhaenyra, and just barely gets him before Otto does. Rhaenyra presents the eggs, a gleam in her eye as she pronounces that this dragon will hopefully aid the new baby through any trouble that comes his way. And then she turns to Viserys and offers to take the baby on his first dragon ride. She claims that she never got this as neither of her parents were dragon riders at the time and everyone else was either too new to their bonded dragons or too sick. She adds how she hoped she would be able to do it with each sibling from her mother but never got to. Viserys agrees immediately and gives no room for protest. The next day she takes Aegon to the dragon pit and introduces him to Syrax before taking flight. She kinda hoped the baby would cry and be scared, proving that he was more Hightower then Targarean but Aegon loves it and she feels herself softening to him. She decides this is the perfect way to fuck with Otto and Alicent as well as spend time with her new baby brother.

Rhaenyra just starts taking him on rides with her. Viserys loves it and hopes it mean she’s on the way to forgiving him while Alicent is terrified and Otto furious. Aegon loves it and eventually the only thing that will calm him down is Rhaenyra. To Alicent, young and already struggling with motherhood, this just proves to her that she is a failure as a mother. Rhaenyra and her hesitantly make up thought for the sake of Aegon, but these actions stick with her, as well as her fear of Aegon flying.

When Sunfyre hatches, Rhaenyra immediately swoops in with Syrax and takes over training him. She insists on having him in the nursery close to Aegon as much as possible, which gives Alicent a heart attack when she comes in. Sunfyre is a menace and only calms for Aegon or Syrax.

Rhaenyra repeats this with Daeron, Aemond and Helaena. Alicent still is unsure about whether or not Rhaenyra is fucking with her and her father getting sent away makes it worse, but the fact that Rhaenyra was actually still talking to her stops her from wearing the green war dress. Then Laena and Daemon come back to court and her kids latch onto them. It’s too much for her and nearly triggers a nervous breakdown that prompts Rhaenyra to help her. There are apologies and actual communication and the Dance is averted. Somehow.  

[dragonsoftheeast]

second son

It is a second son’s nature to covet, because he had been made to be a spare. But done properly, a second son can be molded, can be made useful. Scholar, warrior, priest, he may be any of these, so long as he carves a place for himself.

read on Ao3

Chapter 1: a chance untaken

As a second son, Aemond was made to be molded into whatever his family needed. The king had made it clear that he was not the defender his family needed or deserved. So now, he had a need to fill, a role to follow. That in itself could come as its own relief.

The voyage back from Driftmark was almost entirely silent. His mother did not allow him to ride Vhagar on his return, not to take to the skies alongside Sunfyre and Dreamfyre. Not when he swayed with every step, veering to his blind side whenever he is allowed to walk on his own. Not when he kept his face so still, fearful of moving the stitches that held it together, pain pulsing along the whole of the wound.

But watching the pair of them take off, a matched set, beautiful scales gleaming in the noonday sun, the future king and queen on their backs, without him, without him, it brought bile to his throat, mixed with that sickly sweet taste of milk of the poppy. 

His mother kept him close, but he was more comfort to her than she to him, the child that stayed close to her. And she cannot help but pale at the sight of his eye.

The only thing that brought him comfort was that great shadow of Vhagar, looming over their ship. That pride, the new strength that came to him through the bond, is a greater balm than any the maesters might have provided.

They could not find a place for her in the Dragonpit, so they must allow her to fly free. The people of King’s Landing had grown used to feeling the coolness beneath a dragon’s wings, but as they rode back to the Red Keep, there were gasps of awe as his dragon swooped over them.

Vhagar had not been seen over the city since the days of his grandfather, and she had only grown larger since then. 

Yes, he wanted to shout outside the window, she’s mine, she’s mine.

He’d paid the price for her, he should be able to revel in it, he thought, just as Vhagar lets out a most excellent scream above them.

His mother started at the sound, but, like the sight of his eye, she pretended to be unfazed. She had never grown used to dragons, for all that she had birthed them. Perhaps Vhagar would change her mind, when she saw her magnificence. 

He lost sight of his dragon- his, his, his,- as they entered the walls, but he knew that she was out there, as sure as he knew his heart beat in his chest.

He spent that first night walking the halls of the Red Keep, walking the familiar place with hesitant steps. He must adjust to having one eye, or else he’d be truly useless. What good would having the strongest dragon in the world be if he could not navigate with her?

When the light of his lamp began to pale, he knew he’d been up all night. And his shoulder ached, from all the times he’d hit the walls. 

There must be bags under his eyes, he thought, as he joined his family around the table. He is the second to arrive, Helaena already at the table. A spider crawled between her fingers, legs weaving through them, delicate as thread.

“Qēlossa ozūndesi,” she murmurs, face screwed up, half in concentration, half in pain. “A vow, a vow in darkness and light.” *The stars stand witness.

“What vow?” he whispers. The words in Valyrian, he knows what they mean, but it must be an idiom he does not understand. He boasts a better command of the language than all the realm, but it is not his mother tongue, it is the tongue of his father's family. Maybe if he saw it written out?

"It'll be mine, soon," She mumbled, as he traced the words as glyphs on the table, trying to jar his memory.

He reached out, stopping just short of her hand, just resting on the arm of her chair. It took her a moment, but she met him halfway, squeezing his fingers in her grip.

At the sight of Aegon, crashing into the room, her grip tightens, and she hurriedly coaxed the spider back in its box.

How she hated to coop up her precious creatures, but she grieved more at the thought of them, crushed beneath Aegon's cruel boots. She has had far too much experience in the matter.

Last to arrive is their father, along with their fussing mother. He visibly sighed with relief every time he sat down somewhere. The waxy strands of his hair, clinging to his scalp, would move limply around his head as he breathed, laboriously. A sore had begun to form on his face, and it was only a matter of time before it would break open. 

It is a wonder that anyone at this table has any appetite at all, Aemond thought. A diseased father, and a maimed son. 

Nevertheless, when food was brought to them, they began to eat, and he chewed gingerly with his right side. Across the table, the king had done the same, father and son, disgusting mirrors of each other.

A page marched in, breathless.

The king looked so tired, even glaring, when he asked: "Who are you to be interrupting our meal?"

"An urgent message from Dragonstone, Your Grace," The page burst out, gasping, handing over the missive.

"Dragonstone?" He perked up at that, of course he did, to hear from his beloved daughter. His hands shook as he opened it and read.

Aemond, before that moment, did not think anyone could grow this pale or this red, and never in such rapid succession.

The paper crumpled in the king's tightening fist, and he smashed it on the table.

Helaena's hand flew from Aemond's grip, covering her ears.

"Your Grace, what is it?" Mother cried out, leaping to her feet.

The king could only grit his teeth, whatever remained of them.

"My love?"

"Daemon and Rhaenyra have married," he spat out. "In a secret ceremony on Dragonstone."

Mother's hand flew to her mouth. The indecency of it must have shocked her immensely. Not a month having passed between the funerals of their spouses and already remarried?

Aemond saw it for the move that it was. Now that he had Vhagar, Rhaenyra must be trying to shore up allies, in the only way she knew how. And there was no denying Daemon- and Caraxes with him- would make for fearsome allies.

"Daemon, once again, defies and insults me," his father roars.

It was so rare, to see his father as king, to see him make true commands in wroth. Now Aemond had seen it twice in the span of a month.

"Send him a raven," he snarled at the page, pointing a shaking finger. "Tell him I do not want to see him. Tell him I am done with him!"

He wiped his brow, and once again his fist slammed on the table. Helaena could not take it any longer. Ears covered, she fled the room.

"Viserys, please, calm down," Mother cajoled, but the disbelief could not be fully hidden from her face. "Viserys, you will hurt yourself!"

"Poor Rhaenys," he moaned, "To see both her children disrespected in this way, to see them go unmourned."

He turned to Aegon.

"You!" He snarled, and as usual, Aegon pointed to himself.

"Me?"

"You will have your marriage and be done with it," He said, sweeping his hand. "I cannot bear any more fucking nonsense from this family."

"You may go, Aegon, Aemond," Mother said, eyes widened. Her plans have moved quicker than she expected. She had not even asked him about Aegon and Helaena yet. "Let me discuss this with your father."

Aemond made sure his feet were steady when he left the table, and went after Helaena. She must still be overwhelmed. And he had no desire to hear his mother propose that Aegon and Helaena be wed.

"Let me be done with wedding troubles!" The king's voice echoed down the hallway as he went. 

It took time for him to find her. Maegor had made sure to make so many places to hide in his Red Keep. He was incredibly grateful for his late-night explorations, now.

But find her he did, tucked behind a tapestry, sprawled on her back. She so loved the feeling of cold stone against her. It’s blank, she would say.

“Don’t disturb it.” Her voice rang out, and he let the tapestry fall with a start.

“What?” He asked through the tapestry.

“There’s a spider there. Spinning a web. It’s working quite hard, please don’t ruin it.”

“Oh.” He sat on the floor beside her then. Well, he tried to, but he misjudged the distance to the ground, so it became a bending of the knee and then a short fall to the floor. The sting on his hands was becoming a familiar feeling.

He felt half a child, with his legs crossed and back to the wall, but he made sure his new blind side was to her so he could keep an eye on the rest of the room. Sir Criston always said that a warrior must be vigilant.

“I’m going to have to marry Aegon, won’t I.” She said it like a certainty.

“Father will want it done soon,” he said, “Mother will most likely ask about it after he calms down.”

“Oh.” To the uninitiated, she would sound serene, but the amount of hopelessness in that one syllable crushed him.

“Perhaps marriage will change him,” he said, but her hopelessness was reflected in his own voice. He began to anxiously tracing Valyrian glyphs against his knee. Qēlossa ozūndesi. Qēlossa ozūndesi. Qēlossa ozūndesi. He will figure it out. 

“Ozdakogon kosti,” she said dreamily.

“Skoros?” *What?

“We could run away,” she repeated. “Ēdrurzi eman, sīr Vagar emā. Ozdakogon se dīnagon kosti, heksīr Jaehaerys Alisān.” *I have Dreamfyre, now you have Vhagar. We could run and get married, like Jaehaerys and Alysanne.

He imagined it, then. Being Helaena’s husband. Flying beside her. Placing a cloak of protection over her. Being the father of her children. Perform his duty. The most lovely duty he could have.

But he had never been one for fantasy. He was too much his mother’s son, and this duty would come at the expense of another, his duty to be an obedient son.

Their father’s wroth, a king’s wroth, would be turned on them, all too grateful to be away from his favored child. Turned perhaps towards their mother, for failing to control her children, as he failed to control his. But surely turned on them for their disobedience, most likely exiling them from court.

On his own, Helaena would never be treated as she deserved, as a princess of the blood. A moment of fantasy, and he would bring suffering to those he loved most?

And his mother had suffered for him. All the goodwill she had accrued, strived for, spent all in one night, for him. How could he repay her by running away?

“Our father would not allow it,” he said finally. “And a dragon slumbers in him still.”

“I see,” she said, and peeked at him from behind the tapestry. “We must do our duty then.”

Now he remembered what her words came from. The stars bear witness to a vow of darkness and light spoken through time. Valyrian poetry. Wedding vows.

He saw then that she had never thought that they could run away. She had seen it, just as she had seen the loss of his eye. But she had just wanted to say the words.