Jaehaerys Targaryen (98 A.C. Eight Moon)
Jaehearys sipped his wine as his mind wondered where his Hand was. 'Where was Barth? The man was always on time for the council meetings.' He mused. "Lyman, do you have an inkling on where my Lord Hand is?" He asked his master of coin.
"No, Your Grace, I haven't spoken with him this morning," Lyman replied kindly. Then the door opened, 'There he is.' He mused. Yet Otto Hightower walked inside instead. The man had a grim look on his face.
"Your Graces, my lords." Otto began. "I come with sad news. Our gracious Lord Hand has passed away." Otto proclaimed.
"What did you say?" He implored, his words and ears not believing what was said. "Sadly, Your Grace, Septon Barth is gone. I found him lying over his table in his solar. I was waiting for him so we could travel to the small council session together. When he did not arrive, I went to check on him. To my own sadness, Barth was already gone. As far as I saw, there weren't signs of pain. Barth seemed to have gone to sleep based on his posture, and sadly, he did not wake from it." Otto finished.
'Barth is gone, my loyal friend who stood by me for as long I could remember.' He thought, shocked. "Father, are you alright?" Baelon questioned.
"I will be. The council is diminished. Baelon stay for a while. We come together in two days, time. Let's now morn our friend and one most loyal men of the realm." He declared. His heart was hammering in his chest, 'Barth gone.' Jaehaerys mouthed inwardly.
"I shall do my examination on him, Your Grace. It's a sad day to lose such a man." Grandmaester Ruciter announced. "As you say, your grace," Lyman added. "My condolence, Your Grace. Barth was a good man," Corlys commented before he walked out of the door with the rest.
"Bye the gods, my friend, for almost fifty years is gone. He married me in Alyssane in Kingslanding." He muttered, not sure if he believed it.
"I'm sorry, father. I know you loved that man as a brother. Especially after Viserys and Aegon." Baelon stated. "Indeed, I lost them, but I gained Barth," He replied.
"Shall I start the funeral arrangements? Let's have him put to rest in the royal sept in the red keep. He was so close to us all and served the realm loyally for many years. I see no better place to lay him to rest." Baelon suggested.
"Thank you, my boy, that is a wonderful idea. While I go and see my friend. Also, send a letter to your mother. She would wish to be here." He added.
Barth/Hand Bedchamber.
Ryam had helped up the last stairs. 'Damn you, Rogar, had to design a grand tower for the Hand." He crumbled inwardly. As they arrived in the bedchamber of his loyal friend.
"Your Grace, welcome. As Ser Otto commented, the Lord Hand died in his sleep. Once more, a true loss for the realm." Ruciter commented as he saw him enter.
When he saw Barth lying still on his bed. Eyes closed, without his chest moving, he knew it was true. His loyal friend was gone. "Leave alone with him for a while," Jaehaerys commanded. "As you wish, Your Grace." Otto Hightower proclaimed. He clapt his hands, and all servants and the grandmaester were ushered out of the room.
Jaehaerys pulled up the chair and moved to the bed. Pick up his friend's hand. "Cold," He muttered to himself. "You are truly gone, old friend. I have relied on you for the past forty years as my steady right hand. Build my relationship with the faith, and help guide my decisions, and many other things. Even if it broke my heart on the occasion. Oh, Saera's departure and Rhaenys face when I announced Baelon would be my heir still pains me. Seara, her willfulness and stubbornness reminds me so much of me. Of all my children, Saera was closed to me in character, if not in deed, and cost her. I was bold when I took Alysanne with me, and she was bold when she took those idiots to her bed. I wish she could come back, but it's too late now." He lamented as a tear dripped down his face.
"Rhaenys, she will have her blood on the throne one day. Aemon and Laena will have babes and will marry into Viserys's line. That boy will change things even if I'm not here to see it. Pity he wasn't born first, but he will be a guiding force when Viserys takes the throne, a strong hand like you were to me. Even if I know you weren't the biggest advocate for my son marrying a northerner and one that worships the old gods. Aemon will be the light in our houses, as was his mother." He added, smiling.
"So, my old friend, who will be your replacement, mmm? My gut tells me it should be Baelon. He will be King soon rather than late. Let the realm get used to him. Yet is he ready to take the mantle of Hand? He sometimes still lives in Aemon's shadow." He mused.
"He will have to come out of it one day. Maybe Ryam is better for now. The man is strong and steadfast." He added as he talked to the body of his loyal friend.
Jaehearys sighed, "I shall bother you no more, my friend. Rest, and I see when I go to my eternal rest."
Lyanna Stark Targaryen (98 A.C. Eight Moon)
Lyanna's chambers two days later
"Mother, father must be Hand. Ryam is up for the task. The man was one of the worst Hands in history, according to the books. You must go to father, and have him pettions grandfather. It will change father's life in a big way. Perhaps it will save his life if he starts earlier." Aemon explained.
"I hope so, too, and it will prevent your father from becoming ill. Like he was before. I doubt we would have as much conflict as we had in our timeline if Baelon was King. I love Viserys, the man is kind-hearted, but he loathes conflict." She replied, her face in a tight smile.
"Indeed, we can also bring in Lyonel Strong early as master of Laws. The man was by all accounts a loyal hand and a good master of laws. The man also has also partly a maesters education. So he will know much and more." Aemon noted.
"Also true. You have thought about these things, I suppose. I had to, but I wasn't most interested in reading. I like to ride, play with a sword, and sew. You are a lot like Rhaegar in that regard, you know. He liked reading and discovering new things, especially about his family. man, besides singing and playing the harp, it was his favorite pastime." Lyanna added, giving Aemon a soft smile.
"Hmm, I wish I could have known him. I love Baelon, yet part of me will always miss not knowing Rhaegar. You are telling me things you told me and help with filling in the blanks." Aemon lamented, giving her a sad smile.
"I have the same feeling. I will always love him, as will I, Baelon. Both of them gave me so much joy." She replied with a smile. "But getting back to the topic, I shall speak with your father, as well as to your grandmother, she will be arriving in two days by ship. Hopefully, she can help influence your grandfather." She remarked.
"Ship, not by Sliverwing, then. Hmm, I dread the day I can't fly anymore. I love flying on my black mount. A sad thing for grandmother though, she has become weaker ever since she fell and broke her hip." Aemon replied sadly.
"Don't you tell me about it? I can still remember my fear when I heard what you had done. As for Alysanne, it is a sad thing, but she still has a sharp mind." She added. "Yes, the Good Queen has always been sharp of mind," Aemon noted with a grin. 'He loves her very much. He remembers the many dragon rides she gave him.' She mused.
"Well, why don't you go and see your sisters? They should be with Aemma and Rhaenyra in the gardens. While I go speak with your father." She added as she kissed his forehead.
The study of the master of laws.
"Ah, Lyanna, what a welcome surprise," Baelon said as he rose to greet her, pressing a kiss to her lips.
"I've come because of Baelon," she began. "It's time for you to become your father's right hand."
Baelon exhaled, his expression unreadable. "Lyanna, my father will make the decisions he believes are best."
She knew her husband well. As much as she loved him, she understood the weight he carried. For most of his life, Baelon had been raised as the second son and told to stand beside his elder brother, not to lead from the front as Aemon had. But things had changed. Jaehaerys has done much to teach him, but some things still take time.
She smiled before she spoke again. "Baelon, it is time for you to take up the mantle of Hand of the King. One day, you will be Baelon Targaryen, First of His Name. Begin now while your father is still here to guide you. You have learned much and served as Master of Laws with wisdom and decisiveness. Now take the next step, even if it is not an easy one."
Baelon studied her for a moment, then nodded. "You have given this much thought," he mused. "Sometimes, I forget you were once your father's heir until you married me. I remember the petition your father sent to King's Landing, asking that you remain heir even after Benjen was born." A small smile played on his lips.
Lyanna nodded. "My father himself was never meant to be heir. But after his eldest nephew Edric died, his brother summoned him home to serve as the spare. He learned that his brother's side ruled as castellan of Winterfell, his right Hand. Even if Ellard was still the heir, I sadly don't remember him. He died in a wildling ambush when I was born, and Uncle Walton died shortly after. Losing to sons will do that." She stepped closer. "Now, you have that same chance."
Baelon sighed, his silver beard catching the candlelight. "Perhaps you are right. I accepted my father's command to become his heir because it was my duty to be loyal and obey my elders and my father. And yet, it was Aemon who should have held the title Prince of Dragonstone. It should have been his place to become Hand, not mine."
"Aemon is not here," She said firmly. "Neither is Rhaenys' heir. You are Baelon the Brave. Now be brave, and take the mantle of Hand of the King and step out of Aemon's shadow."
Before he could respond, she cupped his face and kissed him fully, his silver beard prickling her chin.
Baelon Targaryen (98 A.C Ninth Moon)
Jaehaerys - A Week after Septon Barth Furnal
Baelon took a deep breath as he walked inside his father's solar. "A my son. What a welcome surprise." His father said.
"Father, I know the two weeks have been hard. Barth's passing has been lost for the whole realm. Yet you haven't yet named a new Hand of the King." He began.
"Father, it is time for me to take the reigns of the realm into my own. You are becoming older, and one day, I will sit on the Iron Throne. For most of my life, I have lived as a second son. I learned to stand beside my elder brother and protect him with all my might. Yet Aemon is gone, and I am here. I need to show the realm I can rule, and I would rather have you by my side while I'm still learning, even if I'm already forty and one namedays old." He stated firmly.
His father smiled, stood up, and embraced him. "Well done, my boy, you were a King just then, taking the lead. I know you were raised with a second son. I can't deny that I sometimes feel Aemon's loss. I would have wanted him to take up this role, yet he can't. You are my heir now, you will be a great King when the time comes, and I will name you as Hand, my son. We both have to move forward." His father expressed.
"Thank you, father. It was my wife who reminded me of whom I am now." Baelon said with a chuckle. "Hmm, Lyanna has always been a she-wolf. She compliments you well and will be a great Queen-consort when the time comes. Your mother also urged me it should be you." His father remarked.
"We both married strong-willed women, and Lyanna will be a fine queen. She returned my fire. I lost after Alyssa." Baelon added with a smile. "Indeed she has, even if wish it had been Vissera instead, would have been able to do it, yet that is the past." His father said, his voice saddened with loss. 'I suspect it when she hadn't yet been betrothed.'
"You know her marriage arrangements were made quite late. That was the reason. I hoped you two might crow to each other, but Alyssa and Vissera were different. While Lyanna shares similarities with Alyssa, you have a type son." His father finished with an amused chuckle
"I suspected something. I love Vissera as a sister, yet I never looked at her like I did Alyssa or Lyanna." He remarked.
"Mmm, I know. That's why your mother eventually arranged the match with Manderlys. Although now I see, a different match would been better. Vissera would have hated the North. She loved court life, tourneys and the south, even if the Manderlys were the most southern of all the northern houses. Perhaps if we had, she would still be around. How the older I become, the more regrets I seemed to have." His father sighed.
"Yes, I do too. I wish I had handled her better when she came to me. Perhaps she still would have been here." Baelon added with a sigh. Vissera will always be a loss.
"Well, let's look to the future instead and send out announcements for a tourney to celebrate the new Hand of the King." His father grinned.
"Very well, father." He replied as he embraced him once more.
The year 98 A.C.
The day Lord Barth died struck like a hammer blow. He had been a steady pillar of my grandfather's reign, a guiding force that held the realm together. I knew, as surely as the sun rises, that the King would name Ryam Redwyne as his new Hand instead of my father. As that was what the histories said.
My mother and I could not let that happen. So we planned to make my father the new Hand, urging him to push to become appointed as the Hand of the King. That, I suppose, was the second change I wrought upon history. The first had been keeping the Black Dread alive through our bond.
But my mother had already changed far more than I had. By marrying my father and giving him three children, she had altered the course of history. The marriage also strengthened the bonds between the North and the Crown, as well as healing the rift been my grandparents. She had also prevented the death of Gael, my sweet aunt, who went on to bear a son, Clemaerys Celtigar, in the twelfth moon of the year 98 A.C.
With this change of my father's Handship. I hoped the chance of saving him grew. Such a duty reshaped a man's life in ways both seen and unseen. And I prayed then that this change would be a start.
Page out of the Journal of Aemon Targaryen the White Dragon.
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