284 AC
I stood there for a while and then I could hardly lift myself up. I sat on the iron throne, exhausted from all these months. From the moment I woke up, I had been working nonstop, either preparing for battle and making plans or studying magic in my mental library, but finally it was over, Aerys Targaryen's corpse lay at my feet, his skull shattered. Just then Jaime Lannister started talking with terrible timing.
Jaime Lannister "Well, we may have a slight problem."
I squinted at Jaime Lannister, "You better have a very important reason." All I wanted was some peace. Is that too much to ask?
Jaime Lannister must have realized he was speaking at an inappropriate time, because after a small swallow, he continued. "The mad king has been storing wildfire under the city for some time. When word came that you were attacking the city, he ordered it all burned."
It took a while for my brain to process the nonsense I had just heard, and when it did, I jumped to my feet, eyes wide with shock and panic. I didn't know who to curse, the mad king or the men who had carried out this stupid order.
The men who entered the hall with me must have realized what was going on because they started whispering in concern.
Jaime Lannister continued before I could speak. "There is no need to worry too much. I killed everyone within earshot before the order left this hall." He gestured to a few bodies off to the side. I had noticed them when I first entered the throne room, but I hadn't had a chance to pay attention until now.
Well, that was good enough news. Turning to one of the men I had brought with me, I began to give orders. "Captain, take a hundred and fifty men and sir Jaime Lannister. Go through the castle, neutralize the Targaryen guards and find the remaining members of the royal family. I repeat, none of them will be harmed. After you meet Jonal, give him the news and leave the castle and inform Isaac and Arthur that all fires will be extinguished immediately and all alchemists will be captured alive and questioned about the location of the wildfire stores." The Captain and Jaime Lannister nodded in agreement. I was glad that Jaime Lannister did not object. The presence of a Kingsguard would make it easier to suppress resistance.
Jaime Lannister said, "The Queen and Prince Viserys left for Dragonstone some time ago. Only Princess Elia and her children are in the castle. Please do not harm them, they are innocent." Let's say he at least partially did not object.
Artos said, "I don't like to repeat my orders and if I am not mistaken I just ordered them not to harm the Royal family. We do things the Old Way and the way is clear. The sin of the father does not affect his children."
After that, I sat back on the iron throne while everyone else went back to their duties. Damn it, can't I have a moment's peace?
..........................
It was evening and the city and the Red Fort were completely under control. I finally had the courage to come here. In a random room in the Red Fortress there were a few bodies in front of me. Two of them belonged to my father and my brother. At least that madman had let the silent sisters do their work. The bodies had been embalmed instead of left to rot.
I took a deep breath and forced down a sob. I moved a little closer to my father and Brandon. I forced myself to look at them more closely. My father was unrecognizable. The mad king had burned him alive in his armor.
I stood beside them and whispered quietly, "Rest in peace. I have avenged you and I swear by the old gods and all that is sacred. The North will be stronger than you can imagine. No one will ever look down on us like this again." I took another deep breath, wiped the tears from my eyes and straightened myself up, then I took the ice that had been left next to my father's body and left the room.
Jonal was waiting for me outside the door with a few guards. As I started to walk, he came up to me and began to report. "The princess and her family are at Maegor holdfast, Sir Jaime Lannister is with them, refusing to leave. Other than that, we lost 500 men taking the city." That was less than I expected. Usually more men were lost when taking a city. Jonal must have realized the questions I had in my mind as he began to explain. "We were just recruits. I doubt most of them had ever been in a real fight in their lives. Jaime Lannister was also successful in breaking the resistance, and when they heard that Aerys Targaryen was dead, all the gold cloaks surrendered immediately. The only trouble was at the Red Keep." I nodded my head in understanding and he continued with his report.
"Spymaster Varys is missing. The law master fell and broke his neck while trying to escape. The money master Quarlton Chelsted was captured alive. The money master spoke without much difficulty. There are now more than 6 million gold dragons in the vault. The grand master has surrendered. He is now imprisoned in his tower." Too bad Varys escaped. I think he'll show up soon, though. "Open the treasure. Distribute 70 gold dragons to all the men. Prepare the bodies of the deceased and give their families 140 gold dragons in addition to the normal compensation." I was handing out almost half a million gold dragons, ten times a soldier's usual salary for a year. One of my guards was so surprised that he almost tripped and fell. I got the rest before Jonal asked." Then burn the logbooks. What happened to Wildfire and the alchemists?" Jonal looked a little angry now. "No one knows their exact number or location. The only one who knows it all is Rossart of Wisdom, and he's dead. So far we have found six storerooms. I'm not letting anyone near them, and when this mess is over, we'll start destroying them."
I don't know whether to be outraged or surprised that Aerys Targaryen has qualified men under his command. When Jonal said nothing more, I continued. "Send scouts around the city, especially to Kingsroad and Goldroad, I want to know everything within a two-day walk of the city, not a bird flies without us knowing." Jonal only grunted in agreement. He had always been a quiet man, but sometimes I wished he had spoken more.
As Jonal left to relay new orders, I made my way to Maegor Holdfast. I needed to speak to Princess Elia.
........................….
I hate the Targaryens, I hate this shit stinking city, I hate Maegor Holdfast, most of all I hate Maegor the tyrant who built the castle in such a complicated way. I've been lost in the fucking castle twice now. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, there were no servants around to ask for directions. Only guards who knew even less about this castle than I did. I heard a small chuckle behind me and turned to my personal guards behind me.
Artos said, "If word gets out about this, forget the 70 gold coins."
That must have perked them up because the giggling stopped. It also lifted my spirits.
When I saw the company soldiers appearing in front of us, I almost cried tears of happiness. I was so happy that I could hardly restrain myself from running and hugging the guards.
When I came to the gate guarded by the guards, I couldn't see Jaime Lannister there. Where had he disappeared to? Best to ask and find out.
"Is the princess inside? Where is Sir Jaime Lannister?"
Their commander stepped forward and saluted. "Princess Elia, Princess Rhaenys, Prince Aegon and Sir Jaime Lannister are inside, sir."
After signaling them to move away with a small gesture, I opened the door and went in. The sight that greeted me was not much different from what I expected. A young woman from Dorne, whom I thought was Elia Martell, was sitting in a corner and holding a baby in her arms. A little girl was on the floor pretending to play with her cat, but when the door opened she jumped up so frightened that the cat jumped at least 2 meters away from her. Then she ran and hid behind her mother. And a young man in gold plate armor and a white cloak stood silently guard in the corner of the room.
With what I thought was a polite smile on my face, I began to speak. "I'm sorry if I startled you. I am Artos Stark. I'm sure Sir Jaime has told you about me."
Elia Martell was the first to pull herself together. If I were to compare her to anyone I remembered from Thomas's memories, it would be a young Salma Hayek.
He slowly stood up and spoke, making a slight reference. "Pleased to meet you, Lord Artos, I am Elia Targaryen nee Nymeros Martell."
I bowed slightly and there was silence for a short while. Until a small head reached out from behind Princess Elia and spoke.
She spoke in a shaky, timid voice. "I was not afraid. I only came to my mother to protect Aegon."
I slowly knelt down to talk to the little girl. "And I suppose you must be the brave princess Rhaenys? I hear you did a very good job protecting your brother."
The little girl looked a little proud. "Of course I'll do a good job, I'm his big sister."
"Very good. I'll tell you what, I'm sure the cat and his brother are bored in this room. Why don't you and Sir Jaime go for a walk. I'm sure there's a room around here somewhere with lots of toys."
Now his face lit up with a big smile. "We have a playroom just nearby and there are lots of toys there." Here he hesitated and looked at his mother. "But I don't want to leave my mom alone."
Jaime 'fucking' Lannister also found this moment to speak. "I think I should stay here with Princess Elia."
I frowned and looked at Lannister, who did this man think he was? He didn't understand his situation. My good intentions were the only reason he was walking or living freely now. I turned to Jaime Lannister, taking a position where little Rhaenys could not see my face. "Sir Jaime, this is a request for Princess Rhaenys, not for you. I'm sure you remember my words in the throne room. I do not like to repeat things."
For a moment he looked as if he was going to defy me, but then he gritted his teeth and remained silent. Just then Princess Elia joined the conversation. "I think it's fine for Rhaenys and Aegon to go to the playroom. I'm sure a walk around will do them good."
Rhaenys turned to her mother hopefully. "Mommy, will you come too? Let's play a game."
The princess now looked hesitant and looked at me questioningly.
I guess I will have to answer. "Princess Rhaenys, your mother and I need to have a word, but I'm sure she will come over to play with you afterwards." Elia looked relieved now. "Lord Artos is right, Rhaenys. I will be with you in a moment."
This seemed to finally convince the little girl. She ran to get her cat. Jaime Lannister approached Elia and took Aegon. In the meantime, I pumped some aether into the wolfblood to sense the surroundings and make sure no one was listening. While the more complex magic tricks were far beyond me at the moment, I could do some basic things, one of which was to use one of the basic bloodline abilities that runs through Stark blood.
Wolf blood basically gave me the powers of a wolf and one of them was extremely acute senses. Basically I can use it to sense my surroundings to see if someone is listening to us or not. What I was about to discuss with Princess Elia had to remain between her and me.
After a second or two, we were finally alone. After an uncomfortable moment of silence, I realized that Princess Elia was not going to break the silence, so I decided to break it myself. "I hope my soldiers have been kind enough to you. I specifically ordered them to be courteous, but they are mercenaries and do not know the etiquette among nobles. I apologize on their behalf if they were rude in any way."
Princess Elia spoke with a smile that was clearly forced. "They were as polite as they could be under the circumstances."
I acknowledged with a slight nod. "Princess Elia, to be honest, what we are about to discuss must remain between you and me. Both you and I will be in trouble if our conversations leave this room."
Now she looked a little surprised. "What do you mean?"
"You must have heard that Robert Baratheon has declared himself king?" She gave a small nod. "That makes your children the greatest threats to his dynasty. At least that is the case with Aegon. No doubt more than one person will want Aegon killed." Now she looked downright horrified. "You need not worry. I will speak to protect you and your family, I will ask that your children be raised in Winterfell." She seemed calmer now, but also curious, but at the same time too hesitant to satisfy her curiosity. "And if my words fall on deaf ears and my offer is rejected, my men will smuggle you and your children to safety."
The only words to describe Princess Elia were shock and surprise. Even the emotionless neutral expression she had tried to keep on her face at first had evaporated.
Eventually her curiosity overcame her fear and she decided to ask. "Why are you doing this? Given what has happened between House Targaryen and your house, you of all people should hate us the most?"
"My hatred begins and ends with the Mad King and his son. The sin of the father should not affect his children. Of course, there are other reasons. First, what do you know about the past relationship between House Targaryen and House Stark?"
"Not much. I know that House Stark and the North were often left to their own devices, and I even know that House Stark ruled the North as kings in all but name."
"Quite true. A treaty was made between Aegon the Conqueror and the kneeling king Torrhen Stark. It was that the Targaryens would not meddle too much in the affairs of the north, and that House Stark would not participate in the power games of the south, and that House Targaryen would come to our aid whenever we were called upon."
"But didn't Jaehaerys, the conciliator, take the gift from you, and didn't your father break the treaty by forging powerful alliances with the south?"
Indeed, these two events could be considered the biggest breaches of the treaty. "Jaehaerys the Conciliator was angry with House Stark for not standing up to the tyrant Maegor. According to him, we were the first to break the treaty for not standing up to Maegor the Cruel. So he decided to punish us for it. As for my father, the reason he wanted strong alliances with the south was the same reason the treaty was made in the first place. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't to restrain the mad king Aerys. Unfortunately, the mad king did not see it that way."
"So what was the reason for the deal? Frankly, I find it hard to believe."
"You are right not to believe it. As for the reason for the pact, it's best to talk about it in Winterfell, it's not safe enough here."
I gave him a moment to think things over, and this time he was the first to break the silence. "I'll do as you say. If we need to escape, I won't make it difficult. Again, do you trust your men with this? They are mercenaries after all."
He was right, even if I didn't doubt the loyalty of the company. There were rotten eggs in every basket.
"I am aware of your concerns, which is why I will assign the Unsullied to protect you."
"The Unsullied? You use slaves?" His voice was high-pitched, expressing his surprise and horror at the thought. He also seemed disgusted with me. I had to act quickly to avoid destroying the goodwill between us.
"You misunderstand. The Rose mercenaries do, after all, operate in Essos, and while we never take slaves as payment and we never use slaves, there are slaves captured as a result of missions. In such cases, those slaves are given two options. Either to be released with some money or to work for the company as free people for a fair wage. The Unsullied usually choose to join the company, though I have no more than twenty Unsullied under my command."
Most Unsullied preferred to fight to their last breath. Elia seemed relieved by my explanation.
She hesitated for a moment, but finally began to speak again. "I have heard that Rhaegar has taken Lady Lyanna to Dorne to the Tower of Joy in the lands of House Dayne."
"Thank you, princess. Now I have even more reason to protect your family."
There was nothing more to talk about. Princess Elia went to her children and I left for the rooms I had bought for myself.