Chapter 31 - 30 - Valar Morghulis (2)
Later that same day, after breakfast, Maekar was preparing to mount his horse when he heard the exclamations of the maids behind him and saw a small figure running quickly toward him. It was a little girl with silver-gold hair.
"You’ll never catch me!" she shouted in a happy and quite bold tone, running faster than ever on her small legs.
Suddenly, the girl stepped on a stone and lost her balance, but just as her body was about to touch the ground, a pair of hands caught her small frame, and, still shocked by what had happened, the girl found herself back on her feet.
Looking up, she saw a tall young man with completely silver hair and violet eyes staring at her with a touch of amusement.
"Who are you?" Crossing her arms, Rhaenyra asked in a quite precocious tone.
"Your father calls me brother, so you can call me uncle," Maekar looked at the girl and said with a laugh, ruffling her silver-gold hair.
Hearing those words, Rhaenyra’s eyes widened, and she looked at Maekar with a gaze full of admiration. She quickly approached Maekar and spoke excitedly: "You’re the hero who saved Aunt Gael from that scoundrel named Tymond!"
Maekar couldn’t help but laugh hearing those innocent words. In her eyes, he truly was a hero saving the princess.
"That’s me. Shall I save the princess who is running away?" Maekar knelt on one knee and looked at Rhaenyra with a touch of tenderness in his eyes. He truly liked children. If his sons or daughters with Gael were as cute as Rhaenyra, he wanted a dozen of them.
Rhaenyra hesitated; she really wanted to play with Maekar, but remembering that she had told her mother she was already an adult, she shook her head and resolutely refused. "No need. I am a princess who can save herself. Besides, the maids are too slow."
Seeing such an adorable girl, Maekar couldn’t believe that this little girl would be one of the reasons House Targaryen would be without dragons for nearly two centuries. Fate was truly cruel and strange.
"Be careful and don’t run too fast," Maekar said in a gentle tone. "If you run into Jaehaerys, remember to kick him in the shin and tell him I sent you. It’s a joke between him and me."
Rhaenyra showed a confused expression but still nodded. She didn’t understand why Maekar wanted her to kick her grandfather (great-grandfather) in the shin, but she felt it sounded fun and accepted without any hesitation.
Watching the figure resume her running, Maekar showed a satisfied look. The kick of a three-year-old girl certainly wouldn’t hurt the king, but it could annoy Jaehaerys, which was his purpose.
Mounting his imposing black horse, Maekar, with his sword at his waist, quickly left the Red Keep. He had already arranged a hunt with Borros and Harwin. As for Gwayne, the young man was grounded after Otto learned he had been at a brothel.
No matter how much Gwayne insisted it was the fault of Maekar, Harwin, and Borros, Otto simply didn’t care and locked his son in his room for a month. Since there were three weeks left, Gwayne naturally couldn’t come to the hunt.
Maekar rode through the Hook and reached Fishmonger’s Square, where he intended to cross the River Gate to the Kingswood, the scheduled location for the hunt.
However, when he arrived at Fishmonger’s Square, Maekar looked at the crowd before him with a calm gaze. He looked around and smiled. If he were an assassin, this would certainly be a good spot to ambush and assassinate someone.
Maekar smiled and, without any hesitation, urged his horse forward, but at a slow pace so as not to trample anyone.
People naturally noticed the imposing black horse making its way, but upon seeing the silver hair shining under the sun and the violet eyes, exclamations rang out all around.
"My prince!" a fishmonger smelling of fish greeted Maekar with a tone of respect. Others also began to greet him.
"My prince!"
"My prince!"
"My prince!"
Maekar smiled and dismounted. He greeted everyone back and began to chat with some of them, asking the price of fish and even for some news.
Everyone around was flattered to see what was happening and gathered around Maekar. It was the first time they had seen someone from the royal family so approachable.
"I heard that old Jon was caught chasing Big Joe’s son. Apparently, he caught his daughter and son having sex with Old Joe’s son." The fishmonger naturally told the most unusual thing to the prince, which made the others around laugh and even guffaw.
Maekar also let out a laugh; it was indeed funny to everyone except the father to catch such an unusual scene.
Suddenly, Maekar saw a woman approaching with a look of expectation. She was holding a girl in worn but clean clothes. "My prince, could you bless my daughter with health?"
Maekar was surprised but understood. Jaehaerys’s propaganda, claiming that House Targaryen was sacred, might not work for the Noble Houses and the Faith of the Seven, as seen by the death of Daenerys, Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s daughter, from the plague, but for common people, it was still very believable.
After all, in the eyes of commoners, the Targaryens possessed dragons and were like legendary heroes. Combined with Jaehaerys’s prestige among the common folk, it wasn’t truly strange to ask for a blessing.
Under everyone’s surprised eyes, Maekar took the girl, who was no more than seven years old, in his arms and gently kissed her forehead, looked at the child, and said with a smile, "Grow up and become a beautiful woman."
However, what shocked people even more was what happened next. The seven-year-old girl drew a dagger from under her dress and brandished it toward Maekar’s throat!!!
But Maekar caught the girl’s wrist with a smile on his lips. The girl, who now showed a cold and indifferent expression, looked surprised. Before she could think about how Maekar had predicted such an attack, she saw him looking at her with a discreet smile, but his gaze was icy. Myria (the Faceless assassin) knew immediately that Maekar had already expected to be attacked at that moment.
Slipping from his arms with inhuman agility, the small figure of the girl landed on the ground and advanced against Maekar again. Her speed was nothing more than a blur to the people around.
Clang!!!
The dagger collided with the sword Maekar had just drawn to defend himself.
"A Faceless assassin," Maekar commented with a touch of interest in his voice. He expected assassins, but he didn’t expect Loreon to actually pay so much to kill him.
The Faceless Men are not a charity. The price to kill a prince and a dragonrider was not cheap.
"Loreon truly paid a high price to take my life," Maekar commented aloud for all to hear.
Only then did the crowd react to what was happening, and screams began to ring out in Fishmonger’s Square. The same men who were chatting happily with Maekar were the first to flee without any hesitation.
Defend Maekar? Sorry, these people were the most rational of all. Living in poverty, how could they dare risk their own lives for Maekar?
"Run!!!"
"The prince is fighting assassins!!!!"
"Assassins!!!"
Maekar was not disappointed; he even wanted this to happen. Only in this way would public opinion be enough to pressure Loreon to the limit where he would finally make a mistake.
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Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard