House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Chapter 129: Chapter 128 – Repercussions (III)

While Maekar seemed lost in thought, he heard the door open and saw Gael, wearing a black dress, entering the room. Just like her mother, she wore an elegant bun to hold her hair back. She looked more mature and solemn, with the aura of a strong queen.

“Maekar, a letter has arrived from King’s Landing.” Gael said in a gentle tone. She knew this letter would eventually come. After all, what she and Maekar had done was simply something Westeros hadn’t seen in decades.

Gael could even imagine how many letters her father had received in these past few days.

“Come, let’s not waste time.” Maekar didn’t even need to open the letter to know that he and Gael had been ordered to appear at the Red Keep for questioning before the Iron Throne.

“And White Harbor?” Gael asked in a worried tone. She too knew about the letter she had received, but, since she had been in mourning, she had only learned its contents recently. The city could be attacked by Braavos at any moment.

Maekar was also worried about this. The Starks were nearly allied with him; he didn’t want the North to suffer any attack at this moment. Especially knowing he could win over the North simply by returning the Gift to House Stark.

“We’ll reach King’s Landing in a day; we can reach White Harbor in four or five days.” Maekar said, calculating the distance between King’s Landing and White Harbor. By land, it would take nearly a month, but, since they had dragons, that number was much smaller.

Gael nodded; she just thought Braavos could attack White Harbor at any moment. Fortunately, the fear Maekar and Bahamut had instilled along the Braavosi coastline was enough to delay any military operation.

No one wanted to die under flames at sea, and, even if the Sealord of Braavos paid far more gold than usual, there would still be a great deal of hesitation. After all, you need to be alive to enjoy the gold you’ve earned.

“Come, my father must be confused and maybe a little furious.” Gael said, linking her arm with her husband’s, who just let out an amused laugh. He gently kissed her lips and looked at his wife with a teasing look.

“For some reason, seeing Jaehaerys angry fills me with joy.” Maekar remarked, walking toward the door. Gael just rolled her eyes but showed a gentle smile on her lips. She felt the sadness inside her chest ease. Maekar could still make her laugh even after everything that had happened.

“I love you, Maekar.” Gael said with a smile, catching Maekar by surprise, but then he smiled and answered back in a gentle tone. “I love you too, my sweet princess.”

Gael laughed but didn’t think the word “sweet” was quite the right way to describe her anymore. She was a killer and wasn’t worthy of such praise.

Maekar didn’t know what Gael was thinking, or he certainly would have started scolding his wife for overcomplicating things.

–

About a day later.

In the sky, two gigantic dragons glided through the air. The larger dragon was covered in platinum scales; the smaller one had sky blue scales. They were Bahamut and Dreamfyre, respectively. Both dragons flew side by side, keeping a distance of ten meters.

Maekar looked to the side and saw Gael, arms spread wide, eyes closed, enjoying the breeze of the wind. He could tell that the sorrow of losing their son was gradually easing. It would take a long time, a very long time, for his wife to escape the shadow of depression, but he was trying to make her feel safe and comfortable.

Honestly, Maekar felt that another child would be enough to help Gael out of her depression, but he felt it was still too soon for Gael to get pregnant again. Even without knowing anything about medical knowledge, the common sense cultivated from his past life told him a woman should rest for some time before trying again.

Because of this, even with Gael wanting to sleep with him these past few days, Maekar made a point of always finishing outside, never inside Gael. Though he felt Gael was doing everything she could to get pregnant again.

Letting out a sigh, Maekar looked ahead and saw the gigantic city coming into view. The Red Keep gleamed under the sun with its pale red color. The seven massive, crowned cylindrical towers rose along the wall that surrounded the enormous castle.

Maekar had to admit the castle was a beautiful, majestic castle. It didn’t have the solemnity of Storm’s End or the sense of invincibility of Harrenhal, but it was a great castle worthy of a royal family.

As soon as the two dragons flew over the city, shouts of exclamation and excitement could be heard below, which pleased Maekar. His deeds were already known among the common people, which was a very good thing.

People felt proud of their own rulers, especially if it was someone who had accomplished great deeds; that was natural to the human race.

Bahamut and Dreamfyre flew to the outer entrance of the Dragonpit and landed in the open space. Though Dreamfyre was visibly displeased to be coming near the place where she had been imprisoned for decades.

Maekar dismounted from Bahamut and removed his gloves, revealing a hand scarred by burns. Gael, who had also dismounted, looked at her husband’s hand and showed a fierce look.

Maekar had explained what happened, which left Gael upset at not having been told sooner and furious upon learning Maekar had nearly died.

After recent events, Gael felt she was becoming more and more protective of her husband. The idea of living in a world without Maekar was more agonizing than any nightmare. So, she was overprotective when it came to Maekar’s safety.

Gael wondered if this was how Visenya had felt, worrying about Aegon’s safety. She had created the Order of the Kingsguard, recruiting the seven best knights in the realm to protect the king from every danger.

“Come, your father is waiting.” Maekar offered his arm to Gael, who linked her arm with his, and the couple walked toward the metal carriage that had just arrived.

–

Great Hall.

Jaehaerys could be seen sitting on the Iron Throne, but, besides him, there was only Ryam in the Great Hall. Clearly the king didn’t want to hold a public trial. After all, what Maekar and Gael had done wasn’t exactly something noble.

Watching his daughter and grandson enter with arms linked, Jaehaerys showed a thoughtful look. He could see that both looked far more mature than before. Maekar had grown more mature because of the war, and his daughter had grown more mature because of recent events, though he didn’t know exactly what had happened.

Since they were alone, with only Ryam as a witness, Jaehaerys was quite direct in his questions. “What happened? Why did you burn the Twins and Stone Hedge?”

Just as Maekar was about to answer, Gael took the lead. She touched her belly and bit her lips. “They took my child from me, Father. They used magic to kill Baelor.”

As soon as Gael spoke, a frightening silence hung in the air.

Jaehaerys clenched his fists and suppressed the fury in his chest. His grandson was dead. Dead, apparently, by magic.

“He was born small and deformed, Father.” Gael said in a sorrowful tone. “His body was covered in dragon scales; there was even a wing and a tail.”

“Was it House Frey and Bracken?” Jaehaerys asked in a terrifyingly cold tone. He could kill the lords of other noble houses, but those noble houses could never be allowed to kill a Targaryen prince or princess. It was hypocritical, but that was the truth.

“There were three suspects, but we only destroyed two, House Bracken and House Frey,” Maekar answered Jaehaerys’s question. “But I found out it was House Frey who used the witch to kill Baelor.”

Jaehaerys breathed deeply; it was the first time in a long while he had felt such anger. But there was one recurring question in his mind.

“Why did House Frey want my grandson dead?” Jaehaerys asked in a cold tone. He didn’t understand what House Frey stood to gain from killing Maekar and Gael’s child.

Maekar looked at Ryam and remained silent. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the old Kingsguard knight, but this was a very delicate matter.

The king noticed this and waved Ryam off, who understood the signal and left the Great Hall, leaving only the three of them in the room.

“I accepted the loyalty of the Red Faith, and the Faith of the Seven killed my son as a warning.” With Ryam’s departure, Maekar spoke in a calm tone, but murderous intent simmered beneath that calm.

——-

Note: The trailer for the Harry Potter series got me more excited than ever.

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard