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Baelon Targaryen, Sky Palace

Baelon looked at the horizon from his good brother's terrace, the servants prepared everything for breakfast, his mother was happy, children and grandchildren gathered together were a balsam for their mother’s-tired soul

The royal family had a private meeting to decide what to do about the assassination attempts mentioned by Lord Stark, his father would return to King's Landing as soon as Hadrian and Baelon traveled to Novigrad, Aemma would stay at Sky Palace along with Queen Alysane, Viserra and Gael

He did not like that his father was alone in the viper's nest, but the king calmed his fears a little when he mentioned that he had ordered his brother Vaegon to return immediately to King's Landing

Baelon was sure that his brother would complain nonstop, but the well-being of the family was the most important thing

And speaking of family...

Baelon watched as Rhaenyra and Laena fought for the attention of his nephew, who had given his broom to Laena so she could fly, much to the utter terror of Rhaenys and Corlys, who almost fainted at the sight of their young daughter flying on a broomstick all over the place

Fang and Syrax were awkwardly flapping their wings all over the place, always close to their two companions, little Alyssa was laughing and babbling looking at her brother from her mother's lap, and Baelon sighed wishing with all his soul that the rest of his family would meet him here

Alyssa, Daella, Saera and Aemon were needed in this place, thought the prince sadly, who was so distracted that he did not notice the presence of Hadrian by his side, until he spoke

"A knut for your thoughts?" Baelon was startled and looked at Hadrian in confusion and said

"A what?" at his answer, Hadrian only sighed and spoke

"What are you thinking about?" Baelon was silent for a moment, lost in thought, until he answered

“my sister and my brother, Aemon did not know his grandchildren, nor did he have the opportunity to reign, as was his right, Alysa did not see our children grow up, nor did she meet Rhaenyra, they were denied so much... I miss them, you know?" Hadrian nodded and replied gently

"Death is part of life, that you suffer so much for their absence is simply the price you pay for loving them, it speaks well of your character, but it is important not to live in the past" Baelon sighed at Hadrian's wise words, and continued

"I understand Hadrian, but it's complicated, I couldn't say goodbye to Aemon, our last conversation was a military meeting, I never told him how much I loved him, or that he was the best brother, or Alyssa, who died when I was in Dragonstone solving some pending issues" Hadrian looked at Baelon and sighed

"I understand, but you can't live in the past, you have two sons who need you and a granddaughter to spoil, don't neglect the family you have left to drown in the regret of the memories of the past, Baelon," the crown prince nodded resignedly, Hadrian continued

"My centurions mentioned that Lord Stark is a couple of hours away from Albion, he is accompanied by another family looking for an audience with me, the Royces of Runestone, led by Lady Rhea, does the name sound familiar to you?" Hadrian looked on curiously as Baelon grimaced at that name

Baelon replied “Yes, Lady Rhea is the lady of Runestone and the wife of Daemon” at those words, Hadrian looked at Baelon in disbelief and replied

"I didn't know your son was married" the surprise in Hadrian's voice was evident, Baelon simply sighed and answered

"It was a marriage that my mother arranged, she wanted to bring us closer to the vale and give Daemon a wife so that his children could inherit land, however, my son took it as an insult and has refused to bed his wife" Hadrian snorted at those words and spoke

"You mean, your son is throwing a tantrum" Baelon sighed and nodded embarrassed by Daemon's behavior

Hadrian spoke again “Lord Stark speaks well of Lady Royce, and from what I've heard her family are experts in runes, perhaps they have interesting knowledge” Baelon simply shook his head and spoke

"Don't have high hopes Hadrian, if the Royces had magic we would know" the young king looked at Baelon with a knowing look and answered

"Just as your family knew about the magic of the Starks and the first men?" those words stopped the prince in his tracks, who nodded in favor of Hadrian

"Be honest with me Good Brother, how fucked up is my family?" Hadrian looked at Baelon for a few seconds, until, sighing, he replied

"Rhaenyra and Laena are the ones who have the most magic, it's curious that, like the Rhoynar, Valyrian magic is more powerful in women, however, it is not focused on war, but on fertility, it is likely that, as soon as I break the curse, Viserra and Gael will give me at least seven children each without a problem" Baelon nodded, having reached the same conclusion

“What can we do to strengthen our family? Some kind of offensive spells?" Hadrian shrugged and replied

"Your family has a great affinity with fire and earth, something natural, considering that the entire Valyrian culture is based on dragons, however, that dependence also limited the magical development of your people." Baelon sighed, his head hurt at the thought of this situation, Hadrian noticed it and answered

"Let's have breakfast, your son's wife will arrive and I'm intrigued to know what she has to offer, we can chat later about the magic of your family"

Baelon nodded and they both sat down at the table, forgetting about trouble for a few brief intrigues

Rhea Royce, the gates of Albion

To say that Rhea was impressed was an understatement, Shield Bay had been impressive, easily better than any city in Westeros, a clean and wealthy city, which was growing ever larger, yet Shield Bay looked like a simple village compared to Hadrian Potter's seat of power

The capital of the Dragon lands, built at the foot of the King's Plateau and in the shadow of Sky Palace, with huge buildings up to ten stories high, cobbled streets and dancing trees, with the crystal-clear waters of the Queen's River, inhabited mainly by the families of soldiers and wizards loyal to King Hadrian

The city of Albion, the true capital of Westeros, as many were beginning to call it

An impressive city, where the first men, Rhoynar and Hadrian people lived in harmony, all in the service of the dragon king

Beside him, his uncle Ellard spoke

"Hadrian doesn't do things by halves apparently, magic is practically alive in this place" and Rhea nodded, agreeing with her uncle, although not as powerful as the Starks, The Royces were masters of runic jewels, as proof was the peculiar earring around her neck, which had served her faithfully from the moment she was forced to marry the imbecile Daemon, Rhea looked at her uncle and spoke

"Do you think King Hadrian will accept our proposal?" Rhea had not met the young dragon unlike her uncle

Lord Stark nodded and replied

"He will, Hadrian doesn't want land, or riches, those mundane things are no essential for him, Hadrian wants only one thing, what any user of magic always seeks" Rhea nodded and replied

"Knowledge," Ellard looked proudly at his niece and continued

"That's right, knowledge, I'm sure we can come to some agreement, we must also explore the city" Rhea nodded quickly with a smile and replied

"I've heard about runes different from ours, I'm curious, maybe there are some books there," said the young maiden with emotion, Ellard let out a small smile when he saw his niece so happy

Without realizing it, they were already at the gates of the imposing palace, the centurions took them to the throne room, where they were received with a tense room, on one side was the royal house, the Targaryens and on the other, were the Dornish, Princess Mara, Princess Delia and Prince Daron, both families gave each other hostile looks, but no one dared to do more in Hadrian's domains

As he entered, Hadrian smiled and spoke with relief

"Lord Stark, welcome to Sky Palace" the tone used was not one of indifference, on the contrary, King Hadrian seemed... Eager to talk to his uncle

Hadrian turned his gaze to the young lady and spoke “and you must be Lady Rhea, Lady of Runestone, welcome to Sky Palace” the tone was formal but friendly, the aforementioned Rhea felt those green eyes penetrate the depths of her soul, the maid quickly responded with a blush on her cheeks

"Nice to meet you, King Hadrian, thank you for having me," Rhea said while bowing

After the introductions, Jaehaerys couldn't take it anymore and spoke

"Lord Stark, you mentioned a name, a certain Tharik in Myr, I would like you to share the information with us" although the old man spoke kindly, it was still an order, however, Ellard Stark was surprised at the number of people present, and spoke

“Here? With everyone present?" it was obvious that he was referring to the Martells, however, Mara's voice was heard

"We are on the same ship Stark, my parents, apparently, were killed by this "order" they had my maester in their pocket” to the disbelief of those present, Ellard Stark nodded and replied

"It's the nature of betrayal Martell, it never comes from enemies" The princess simply raised an eyebrow at the disrespect, but said nothing more

Ellard looked at Hadrian and continued

"Tharik is part of the order, but he is an ambitious pig, he plans to eliminate the rival magisters in Myr, to have full administrative control of the city, his goal, to dominate the Stepstones" Baelon spoke in disbelief

"I see it unlikely Lord Stark, Tyrosh and Lys would not allow it and much less us or Dorne" everyone present nodded, the Stepstones were too important

Ellard Stark nodded and spoke “Tyrosh and Lys won't do anything, two members of the order are infiltrated in those cities, I don't have the names yet, but the plan is simple, they will show themselves as a trade alliance known as "the thriarchy" and they will not dominate the Stepstones in the name of the three daughters, but they will do it through pirates,  the plan was to destabilize the Iron Throne, assassinating Septon Barth and Prince Baelon, without an heir, the Conciliator will have his eye on the internal affairs of Westeros, giving the order enough time to consolidate his power in the islands” Lord Stark took out a piece of parchment, and extended it towards Hadrian

Reading it, Hadrian sighed and said

"It's a solid plan" those words shocked everyone present, Jaehaerys looked at Hadrian and spoke

"What will we do about it?" Mara replied

"We already have a plan old man, we will conquer the Stepstones first, a joint operation between Dragonstone and Sunspear, that should put enough pressure on this order to rethink its plans, my nephew will rule the islands with the backing of Dorne and Sky Palace" Jaehaerys spoke

"Dragonstone will participate in the conquest, I demand that Targaryen blood rule those islands" and after those words, the screams returned to the hall

Until Hadrian exercised his authority again

"ENOUGH!" the throne room temple and the braziers were lit up with golden flames, Hadrian looked at Mara and spoke

"My son with your sister will rule the islands, however, he will be engaged to a Targaryen member, in twenty years, the houses will be united and there will be no problems with them, the rulers will receive support from Dorne, Dragonstone and Sky Palace" Hadrian's stern tone left no room for discussion, everyone present nodded, satisfied with the commitment

Lord Stark took the opportunity to speak “Is it a bad time to request a commercial agreement with Sky Palace?”

Hadrian sighed and replied

"No, let's end politics once and for all, for Merlin I thought I got rid of these things when I left Novigrad," Lord Stark continued

"House Stark wishes to negotiate rates and prices for food from Sky Palace, since the new gift was expropriated, we have been dependent on the south more and more, I would like to buy from you, instead of the Andals of the reach," Hadrian nodded and looked at Lord Stark

"You care about your people, you come to me to negotiate food, something we have in abundance, you will be assigned 15% fees if the purchases are less than ten tons and 10% fees if they are larger, it's a fair deal" Lord Stark thought for a moment, until he nodded, the deal was good and fair

"The north remember, you don't take advantage of the desperation of my people and offer us a dignified treatment, I won't forget it King Hadrian" and Ellard Stark was serious, he came prepared to negotiate, but apparently, Hadrian Potter was more human than many of the insignificant lords of the kingdom

Nodding, Hadrian turned his gaze towards Rhea, or more importantly towards her chest, the young dragon felt a magical presence of considerable power in the young woman's chest, Hadrian spoke

"It's a powerful talisman Lady Rhea" at those words, everyone present looked at Rhea, who was overwhelmed by the attention of the most important people on the continent

Hadrian continued "What does your artifact do?" Rhea began to stutter, until her uncle gave her support and said

"It's okay niece," she replies, taking a breath, Rhea spoke

"I forged it your grace, using my family's magical arts" at those words, everyone present looked at her with amazement or in the case of Daemon, doubt and mockery

Hadrian continued “May I see it?” Rhea nodded and, before the incredulous eyes of those present, took a steel necklace from her neck, which shone with bronze runes, the magic power of the artifact was considerable

Hadrian levitated the necklace to his hand and began to murmur to himself for several seconds, until, without warning, he began to laugh, much to the disbelief of those present

Hadrian looked at Rhea and replied “it's an interesting, powerful but quite simple enchantment, you need to refine your technique, your cores are misaligned, so there's fluctuation in the effect” everyone looked at Hadrian like he was crazy, except for Rhea, who replied

"I forged it before my wedding, it was my first job, I was nervous and the cores were out of focus" the young lady justified herself with a blush, Hadrian laughed again and said

“It's incredible, I would like to forge one for Alyssa, the enchantment is simple but effective, I imagine you use it to avoid your husband right? The brat is quite irritating, I don't blame you” at those words, Rhea blushed much more, pleased by Hadrian's compliment, it felt good that a man as handsome as he had his attention on her

Alas, it couldn't last, hearing those words, Daemon spoke in confusion

“Avoid? What do you mean, I avoid you! Not the other way" at those words Hadrian snorted and replied

"It is a runic talisman, with two simple but effective spells, the talisman transmits repulsion, if Rhea does not want your presence near her, the talisman will make you believe that you do not want her and you will leave, while, if you are near her, it will make sure your cock never gets hard, that she has built it so young is impressive" Rhea smiled at the king's genuine tone of amazement,  it felt good to be spoken to in such a way, however, the moment was broken by the Targaryens' reaction

Jaehaerys and Alyssane gained a calculating look, no doubt thinking about how to gain the knowledge of the Royces for their house, Viserys dying of laughter at imagining Daemon with a limp dick, while Daemon glared at Rhea and replied

"YOU, HOW DARE YOU!! I..." Daemon was interrupted by Rhea, who completely furiously looked at Daemon and roared

"HOW DARE YOU!! YOUR INCESTUOUS IMBECILE!! YOU CALL ME A BITCH IN FRONT OF ALL MY PEOPLE, YOU HUMILIATE ME BY SAYING FROM THE ROOFTOPS THAT YOU PREFER TO FUCK A SHEEP THAN ME, HOW DO YOU THINK IT FEELS THAT YOUR OWN FIANCÉ GOES SCREAMING THAT IT IS A TORMENT TO MARRY YOU!! THANK THE GODS THAT I DID NOT LEAVE YOU STERILE AND POWERLESS FOR LIFE, YOU WRETCHED ANIMAL! I WILL NOT GIVE MY VIRGINITY TO A MAN AS WEAK AS YOU! I PREFER DEATH!! - the fury in the voice of the young Royce, was mixed with tears, no doubt remembering the humiliation of the past, the emotional charge was so great, that even the Martells remained silent, preferring not to participate

Hadrian sighed and looked at the old man “the Marriage doesn't work, free this poor woman, it didn't come to fruition” Jaehaerys was tired, but he didn't blame the young woman, Daemon was always quite complicated

Jaehaerys replied “I'll talk to both of them, I'll take care of the matter” Hadrian nodded and continued

"Well, since we're all here, we'll leave in two days, my personal ship is waiting for us in Shield Bay, arrange your affairs by then, Lady Rhea, I'm interested in your runic magic, would you accept a dinner for me to arrange some exchange of knowledge?"

Rhea, who was ashamed of her previous behavior nodded submissively, not trusting her words, Hadrian simply smiled and replied

“Splendid! I leave you to get ready, you have my hospitality." Then, Hadrian disappeared in a bright light, taking Viserra and Gael with him

A second later, Prince Baelon grabbed Daemon by the ear and dragged him out of the throne room, muttering under his breath that he would teach his son to behave properly.

Lord Stark spoke “Rhea, I have to talk to the king, will you be okay on your own?” it was obvious that his uncle was worried, but Rhea replied

"I'm fine uncle, don't worry, maybe I'll explore the city, take your time" Lord Stark nodded and Rhea took the opportunity to explore the palace

Apparently, the trip would be more interesting than I expected

Baelon Targaryen, that afternoon

"You will apologize to your wife for being a shitty cunt, I can understand that you will not want the marriage, but that is your grandparents' fault, not that poor young woman whom you humiliated with your words" Baelon's voice was firm and cold, Daemon tried to defend himself

"She spelled me..." the young prince knew that his defense was mediocre, but his pride did not allow him to accept that he had made a mistake

Baelon replied “she did, now imagine if you had been a good husband, you would have magical sons or daughters and a wife with magic at your service, a legacy” Baelon's words shook Daemon, who simply sighed and spoke

"I don't want that marriage, I'll apologize to Rhea, but I want the marriage to end, there's too much bad blood between us to try," Baelon sighed in relief, apparently his son could learn

"I understand son, we can find you a wife that you want, but it is important that you marry, perhaps Hadrian will meet magical maidens from his homeland" At those words, Daemon looked at his father quickly and spoke

"Would you do that for me?" Baelon snorted and spoke

"You are my son Daemon" Daemon nodded and spoke

"I'll apologize, and we'll both present a formal request to Grandfather, as adults" Those words put a smile on Baelon's face, who simply nodded, Daemon left the balcony and Baelon was left alone, looking at the horizon, lost in thought

Until a voice was present

"I never thought I'd see Daemon so... understanding” Rhaenys, his niece spoke

Baelon looked at her and replied “Hadrian's presence has calmed his ego” Rhaenys nodded and approached her uncle, since Aemon's death, things were cold between them

Baelon spoke “we'll finish off this Tharik, I give you my word” Rhaenys simply nodded and said

"I know, my father will be avenged," they were both silent for a moment until Baelon spoke again

"You don't have to worry about Laena and Laenor, Hadrian will cure them" again, Rhaenys nodded without saying anything more

Baelon sighed and was leaving the place, when Rhaenys' voice was heard

"I don't blame you uncle," it was soft, just a whisper, Baelon replied

"What don't you blame me for?" Baelon looked confused at Rhaenys, who looked at him and spoke again

"Of grandfather's decision, he is the king and the decision is only his" Baelon sighed and looked at the horizon, in silence for a few seconds, until he spoke again

"Are you happy niece?" Rhaenys didn't answer for a moment, lost in thought, weighing her answer, Rhaenys began to nod and replied

"I am," Baelon nodded and spoke again

"Anything you need, you know you can count on me turnip" at the nickname that Aemon and Baelon used to refer to her in her childhood, Rhaenys couldn't take it anymore, and tears began to come out of her eyes, the emotional damage of the last few days finally took its toll

The curse of her children, the news of her father's murder, the danger her family was in

And Princess Rhaenys, for the first time in years, cried like a little girl, releasing all the accumulated frustration, while clinging to her uncle, whom she had missed so much

For several minutes, no one said anything, silence was welcome

Tomorrow they could take their responsibilities again