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

Chapter 150: Chapter 149 – Before the Great Council of King’s Landing (VI)

A few hours later, outside Maekar’s bedroom.

Clarisse could be seen standing in front of the door, her hand resting beneath the hilt of her sword. Hearing the sounds inside the room finally cease, she breathed a sigh of relief. The prince and princess had not seen each other in a long time, and when they finally reunited, they had gone straight to the bedroom.

Still, Clarisse admired the prince’s stamina; it was the first time she had seen anyone last more than an hour in bed. She also felt that many women envied the princess’s nightlife.

Inside the room, the air felt warm. A lustful scent lingered around them, while an ambiguous atmosphere filled the room.

Maekar lay beside Gael and looked at his wife with a playful gaze. The woman, completely naked, lay on his chest, breathing heavily after exercising for so long. Both were sweaty and sticky, but neither minded.

“I missed you,” Maekar said, brushing aside a strand of hair stuck to Gael’s face.

“Me too.” Gael answered as she lifted her head and kissed Maekar’s lips with an intense kiss.

Gael pulled back and settled comfortably onto her husband’s sweaty chest. Her hand slid over Maekar’s abdominal muscles, while her other hand gently massaged his half-hard manhood with soft movements.

“Things in the city are getting more and more out of control.” Gael said, after a comfortable silence between them. She continued the motions of her hands, bringing pleasure and comfort to Maekar.

Gael then told him what was happening in the city, including the White Flowers religious group and the religious leader called White.

Maekar could not help but show a cold look. “It seems the Faith of the Seven wants a pawn to stir things up in King’s Landing. Still, that’s good; I needed a reason to blacken the Faith of the Seven’s reputation in the eyes of the people, at least the people of the capital.”

To destroy, or at least control, the Faith of the Seven, the church’s reputation had to be severely weakened. And, honestly, that was not hard. Maekar refused to believe septons had no scandals involving sex, orgies, or even pederasty. If these men were so holy and pure, they would no longer be in this world but would have already reached the Seven Heavens and stood beside their god.

“I’ve already had all the leaders located; let’s destroy them all at once so there are no problems later.” Gael said, kissing Maekar’s sweaty chest. She already knew how to handle these situations, once and for all.

“Seems I have an incredibly shrewd wife.” Maekar said in a teasing tone as he kissed Gael’s lips tenderly.

“I’m amazing!” Gael said in a proud tone as she let out a happy laugh.

Seeing her so happy, Maekar felt happy too. Since Baelor’s death, it had been a long time since Gael had smiled so much. That brought him great relief, as he liked seeing Gael as the happiest woman in the world.

Remembering something, Gael got out of bed and walked naked to the writing desk, picked up a scroll tied with a ribbon, and returned to bed, where she nestled against her husband’s chest.

“This is the list of City Watch officers, all their names, where they live, who they’re married to, and even which brothel they frequent.” Gael spoke in a proud tone. “The new Master of Whisperers is quite competent. Though I think he’s rather cowardly.”

Maekar smiled and opened the scroll, where he saw the names of all the officers. He understood perfectly the implications behind Gael’s words. Controlling the City Watch was essential to seizing King’s Landing should he lose the vote.

“I wanted to ask for the names of the officers guarding the castle, but I didn’t dare so as not to draw my father’s attention.” Gael said in a slightly displeased tone. Unfortunately, if she ordered Yandel to investigate such a thing, it was almost certain the Master of Whisperers would tell Jaehaerys.

“It’s fine; having this list spares us a lot of trouble.” Maekar said with a satisfied smile. Gael was becoming more and more efficient and shrewd as time passed. In this world, where conspiracies were as common as bread, having such a mindset was essential to survive, especially for a queen.

“Let’s try to win these men over; whoever refuses will be dismissed.” Maekar looked at the list of names and spoke in a calm tone. As for killing these men, that was unnecessary. It would only make the City Watch wary of him, fearing they might be next if they did something wrong.

That kind of stress and fear could be used by his enemies, so Maekar did not want to take such harsh measures against these men. After all, the best attack in a castle siege was to attack from within. No wall, no matter its size, could remain impenetrable if attacked from the inside.

“We can use money to push these men out; if they still refuse, we can break an arm or a leg. Enough for them to be removed so we can put our own men in their place.” Gael advised Maekar, just as Alysanne had always hoped she would.

Maekar thought for a moment and nodded. With the wealth Jaehaerys had promised him for not killing Daemon and the wealth from the sack of Myr, he was one of the richest men on the continent. A few thousand or tens of thousands of gold dragons were nothing to him.

“By the way, how is your father?” Maekar asked in a curious tone. Learning that Jaehaerys had fallen ill was a welcome surprise. He truly wanted to see the old bastard suffer a great deal.

“He’s recovering; the Grand Maester said he should recover after weeks of rest and good food.” Gael answered in a slightly worried tone. There was nothing more natural than a son or daughter loving their father, and, even though he was a terrible father, Gael still loved hers.

“This war is truly exhausting.” Maekar immediately understood that Jaehaerys had fainted from overwork. Combined with Jaehaerys’s advanced age, it was more than normal for the man to faint. It was not only Jaehaerys who was tired; everyone was tired of this war.

“Thankfully, it will all be over soon.” Looking at Maekar’s hand and half his arm, scarred by burns, Gael kissed that hand and spoke in a soft tone.

“The Sealord must hate me down to the very last fiber of his existence.” Maekar said with a laugh, picturing the furious face of the Sealord of Braavos. The man probably dreamed of him every night when he lay down to sleep.

“We have to be careful; he doesn’t hire a Faceless Man.” Gael frowned at those words and spoke in a solemn tone. She did not doubt, not for a moment, that the Sealord hated her husband.

A man full of hatred and thirsting for vengeance could do anything.

“I know, he’ll certainly try to kill me.” Maekar said calmly, his eyes gleaming with a hint of anticipation.

He almost wanted the Faceless Man to come. Maekar wanted the blood magic used in crafting the masks worn by the House of Black and White; after all, that organization had its origins in Old Valyria. He refused to believe there was no blood magic involved in making those masks.

Just imagining his Master of Whisperers and the entire intelligence organization of the realm using such masks to spy on and kill his enemies made Maekar feel quite motivated to make the Sealord even more furious.

“By the way, I received a chest full of scrolls on blood and fire magic from our allies.” Maekar said with a smile as he looked at Gael with a teasing gaze.

Gael’s eyes widened hearing those words. Magic. After losing her son because of that strange power, she had come to desire possessing such power herself so she would never again lose a child because of someone else.

“We could become true dragonlords, just like in Old Valyria, where the Lords of Dragons rode dragons while wielding fire magic against our enemies,” Maekar said in a solemn tone.

Gael nodded and felt quite happy at the arrival of magic. She saw it as a gift for House Targaryen, which would no longer be defenseless even without dragons.

——-

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

Five days later, Caraxes could be seen crossing the sky over King’s Landing.

Looking out the window, Gael, completely naked, gazed at the crimson dragon with a calm expression. She sat on the couch feeding Maekar, equally naked, in her lap.

“What do you think they’ll do if they lose the Great Council?” Maekar ate the grape Gael gave him and asked in a curious tone. His violet eyes watched the serpentine dragon in the sky with a thoughtful gaze.

“Viserys is weak and will accept the outcome, though the same cannot be said of Daemon.” Gael put the grape in her own mouth and lowered her head, passing it from her mouth into her husband’s.

Biting into the grape, tasting Gael’s saliva on it, Maekar let out a laugh and remarked casually. “Daemon will certainly rebel, though not right away, probably years later. After all, he knows Caraxes cannot fight Bahamut and Dreamfyre alone.”

Even though Caraxes was formidable, there were limits to a dragon’s strength.

“Still, I think Viserys will rebel too.” Maekar spoke with a cold, murderous smile. “Not because of himself, but because of others. Especially with the Faith of the Seven not backing me.”

“What do you plan to do?” Gael frowned and asked, worried. She could kill other people without any hesitation, but her own family?

“I will do everything to protect my family, Gael,” Maekar said in a calm tone. He waved his hand, and the flames from the torch in the room magically flew to him, dancing around his hand. “Still, I will only do it if Viserys makes the first move. That is my only mercy toward him as my brother.”

Watching the flames dance around his hand, Maekar smiled with satisfaction. The pure Valyrian blood running in his veins gave him a 200% affinity for Fire and Blood magic. It could be said he was a genius who could learn magic dozens of times faster than a normal person.

Five days had been enough for him to learn to control flames and become a Pyromancer, perhaps the first Pyromancer since the Doom of Valyria. Of course, five days was not even enough to scratch the surface of magical knowledge, but it already showed the power of magic.

Interestingly, as Melisandre had said, every spell exacted a price. Maekar felt that price. He discovered the price was some kind of ethereal power originating from the soul, for, when he used too much magic, he grew more and more tired and exhausted.

Not even sleep could restore that mysterious energy. That was why he assumed it was something related to the soul or mind, rather than the body.

Hearing Maekar’s words, Gael fell silent for a moment and nodded. In the end, it all came down to Viserys’s actions. If her nephew could just stay quiet in some castle and not get involved with dragons and the throne, he could live a normal life with his feasts and banquets.

“It’s amazing that Old Valyria managed to stay unified even with Forty Houses of Dragonlords.” Gael said, full of admiration for her ancient mother civilization. Though she despised the slave system, she admired that they had managed to remain an empire without a civil war.

After all, with House Targaryen as an example, it was astonishing to imagine forty houses like House Targaryen never fighting a civil war among themselves.

“Let’s not talk about sad things. How is your training going?” Maekar pulled Gael into the comfort of his arms and asked with a smile. His hand automatically settled on one of her breasts, where he began to fondle it, a look of comfort on his face.

Gael let out a small, cute moan at Maekar’s touch, bit her lip for a moment, and answered in a slightly breathless tone. “I’m not like you; it’s a bit too abstract, controlling flames as if you were the flames yourself.”

The princess had truly tried hard these five days, but her mind simply could not picture how to control flames. In the scrolls, you had to imagine yourself as a flame and move it through determination and pure willpower.

However, Gael got stuck at the first part; she could not picture herself as a flame, let alone act as one. The princess found it incredible that Maekar had managed it so easily. It was as if the flames themselves bent to his slightest whim.

“You’re overthinking it.” Maekar had certainly tried to help Gael learn, but he soon found that this could only be overcome by Gael herself. He could only try to help, but the results still depended entirely on her.

“You talk as if it’s easy. How does anyone picture themselves as a flame? Act like one, be its destructive nature. That’s simply nonsense from those mad pyromancers of the Red Faith.” Gael adorably puffed out her cheeks and spoke in a tone full of resentment.

“Don’t be angry, my sweet princess.” Maekar laughed and gently kissed her cheek. “You’ll eventually learn; you’re just too anxious.”

There was no lie in Maekar’s words. If a dragonrider like Gael could not become a pyromancer, then that profession of extraordinary power would have gone extinct long ago.

“And the blood magic?” Maekar asked in a gentle tone, with no intention of pressuring Gael. He would never do that sort of thing.

Hearing Maekar’s question, a smile finally appeared on Gael’s red lips. She turned and faced Maekar with an excited look. “I can heal small wounds using the blood of other animals, though only tiny, superficial cuts.”

“In the future, I think I might even be able to cure some plague or fatal illness.” Gael said, her eyes shining with excitement. Of course, animal blood would not come close to being suitable for such methods.

That was something Gael had discovered using a drop of her own blood. That single drop had proven more effective for healing than the blood of an entire pig. The princess finally understood why the Valyrians had preferred human blood for their rituals and human experiments.

Gael wondered whether, had her family possessed such power before, her brothers and sisters would still be alive and House Targaryen would likely be full of descendants scattered across the continent, all of them with dragons. Unfortunately, there was no “if” in this world, only a chain of choices that had determined House Targaryen’s future.

Seeing Gael so excited about blood magic, a satisfied smile appeared on Maekar’s lips. Gael seemed genuinely happy learning blood magic.

As for himself, Maekar had not yet ventured into the scrolls of Blood Magic. For now, he had chosen to focus on Fire Magic and leave Blood Magic for later, where he could give it his full attention once he had mastered Fire Magic.

Still, Gael’s words made Maekar consider a possibility he had never thought of before. For he had never imagined he would come to possess blood magic at all.

Deifying Gael’s image in the eyes of the people, turning her into a living saint.

Just picturing Gael healing a blind man’s eyes before the smallfolk, Maekar showed a wicked smile. Honestly, the power that could bring was simply unbelievable.

When Aegon (son of Aenys I) and Rhaena (daughter of Aenys I) married, the High Septon declared the marriage an abomination, and every faithful soul in the Seven Kingdoms heard his words and rebelled against House Targaryen.

Maekar did not want that to happen once he began undermining the Faith of the Seven’s reputation. So the idea of making Gael a saint, of turning it into a miracle from the God of the Seven Faces himself, was like putting Maekar right in a religious war.

With a saint at his side, Maekar would only need to launch a holy war to purify the Faith of the Seven of its corrupt High Septon and his demonic ascetics disguised as humans.

Maekar himself was shocked by his own thoughts.

Maekar left those thoughts buried in his mind for the near future. Something like that would need to be planned carefully and with great attention. Either way, Gael still had much more to learn about Blood Magic before she could cure someone’s blindness.

“Darling, stop plotting your evil schemes and let’s enjoy the day.” Gael, seeing Maekar so focused, knew he was scheming something sinister again and spoke in an amused tone.

Maekar rolled his eyes but did not deny it and enjoyed spending the day without worrying about war or anything of the sort.

—–

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