GoT: The Blessed and the Cursed

"Rhae!" A sweet voice suddenly called out to the girl who was sitting on the bench, reading a book, with a maid behind her tying her half-black and half-silver-blonde hair into a braid.

Rhaenys stopped reading and smiled at her little sister who had rushed into her room.

"Yes, Dany?"

"Rhaemon and Aegon are fighting again," Daenerys angrily informed her, and the older Princess sighed at those words.

"Hurry up."

Hearing her call, the maid quickly braided the rest of her hair, and then the two Princesses brisked over to the training ground, where the Princes were grumpily sitting next to each other with their clothes all covered in dust and mud, not daring to meet the angry gaze of Ashara, who was back from her evening ride on Starfyre.

"Act like Princes, and do not forget that you are brothers!" She scolded them, and even Rhaenys and Daenerys winced at her words.

"What happened?" The older Princess asked, but neither of her brothers dared to meet her eyes.

"Tell her," Ashara coldly ordered.

"Aegon made fun of me again..."

"You lost again..."

"You cheated!"

"I did not. You are just not good enough."

"You used magic!"

"So did you!"

...

..

.

"Shut up!" Rhaenys shouted at them, and sensing her anger, Draegon, who was resting, woke up and roared to the sky.

Both her brothers tensed up after hearing the warning from their older sister's Dragon and lowered their heads again.

"How dare you let your verbal argument turn into a physical conflict?!" She growled at them, and now, they feared her more than Ashara, "I will tell Azaerys about what you two did today."

"No, Rhae!" Rhaemon panicked, and even Aegon turned pale at her words.

"It's enough now. Brother's on his way here. I will tell him what you did," said Daenerys, catching them all by surprise, and they forgot the matter at hand.

"Azaerys is coming back?" Ashara asked, and there was an unmistakable hint of hope in her voice.

"Yes," The little princess nodded her head and then brightly smiled. "He's bringing me a Hippogriff Egg as well."

"Hippogriff?" Rhaemon confusedly looked at her.

"You will see, but I am going to tell him that you two fought over a silly thing."

The two Princes once again panicked and then started convincing her to not tell Azaerys about their fight. They promised her they would not do it again, and Daenerys kept looking at them with her narrowed her.

Eyes that children were not supposed to possess.

"You will fight again. You always do."

"We promise!" They both said in unison, but the little Princess shook her head.

"Don't make promises you can not keep. We will stop trusting you."

Her words made them feel ashamed, and they lowered their heads before her.

"Go to your rooms, wash yourselves. I don't want to see you in these dusty clothes at the table," said Ashara, and Aegon pleadingly looked at her.

"Please don't tell brother..."

"We shall see. Go now."

Her words had not finished when they heard the call of a dragon in the sky, which was soon followed by another call.

As soon as Rhaemon and Aegon spotted the massive Crimson Dragon, and Nefaerion, who was like a black dot in the sky given how high she was flying, the brothers rushed to their rooms to wash up and get dressed.

On the other hand, the ladies and the servants arrived at the back of the Manse, where Rhaelyx soon landed, and they watched as Viserys helped the tired Arianne get off the dragon.

"How long was your ride?" Rhaenys asked as she rushed forward to support her cousin, now taller than her by an inch, despite being years younger.

"We left early in the morning," said Arianne, and the Targaryen Princess grinned at her.

"No wonder you look like you just want to sleep..." She stopped when she heard her cousin's stomach rumble, and both Viserys and she burst out laughing, making the Martell feel even more embarrassed.

"Help the queen freshen up, and give her some snacks." The Princess ordered the maids, who immediately stepped forward and helped Arianne to her room.

When Nefaerion finally landed on the ground, still looking very energetic, she roared at Aerylyx, almost as if challenging him, but the white dragon ignored her and instead walked over to sniff his Master and blow his hot breath on him.

"Behave..." Azaerys laughed at their actions and then got off Nefaerion's back.

Rhaenys and Daenerys rushed at him, and he opened his arms for them.

"Hey,"

"I missed you!" Daenerys said and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Give me my Egg now," she demanded, and the Young King curiously looked at her.

"You knew I was coming?"

"Yes," she cutely nodded her head, and then excitedly looked at the sack that he was carrying on his back.

"Here. There are two Eggs inside it. You two can have them."

"Thank you!" Rhaenys too kissed him on his other cheek, and soon their attention was on the two heavily wrapped eggs that were resting on the cushions inside the sack.

"Careful with them, they are more fragile than the Griffin Eggs."

The two nodded their heads in undertaker, and Azaerys let them be.

He walked over to his wife, who was smiling at him, and hugged her tightly.

They did not say any words to each other and just hugged, and it was the same for Viserys and Allyria, who were hugging on the other side.

The younger Dayne was six moons pregnant now, carrying twins in her womb, and both Azaerys and Ashara smiled when they saw the Prince laugh as he placed his hand on her round belly, looking extremely happy.

"Where's everyone else?" The Young King asked.

"Lyanna and Elia went out on a hunt, Aegon and Rhaemon are in their rooms, and Elaena is sleeping right now," Ashara informed him. "Azer, Ser Willem's health is deteriorating..."

"I know," He sighed and then led her to see their loyal Knight and Servant, who had not left his bed in two days now.

Ser Willem, now a man who had lived to see his five and eighty namedays, was covered with white hair on his head and in his beard, looking a lot like a bear, as little Dany used to call him a couple of years ago.

His every breath was laboured now, his complexion pale, and his eyes, under his bushy brows, looked very listless.

Despite his weakness, he still tried to get up when he heard the door open and saw who entered.

"Your Grace..." He softly greeted his King, who smiled at him and helped him lie back in the bed.

"At ease, Ser Willem," Azaerys gently said. "You are old now." He teased, and the man tried to laugh before he broke into a fit of coughs. "Here, drink this, it will make you feel better."

Without asking any questions, the old man drank the glass his King offered him after mixing something in the water. By the time he finished drinking it, he could already breathe much more easily than before.

"I feel like I can serve you for another decade now." He laughed, this time, not breaking into a fit of coughs, and Azaerys smiled at him.

"I would very much appreciate it if you would stay by our side until I grow old, Ser Willem,"

"The servant asks you to forgive him, Your Grace. I know my time is close. I have lived for far too long..." He sighed but smiled again. Just looking at his King's face made him feel better. "This Old One has some words to say to you, Your Grace."

"Please say," he nodded.

"I was five and ten, Your Grace, when I saw Aerys, The First of His Name, and forgive me, but he disappointed me."

"Oh, he disappointed me too," Azaerys chuckled, and the old man smiled.

"After his passing, Maekar, the First of his Name, sat on the Iron Throne. A Great Warrior, and an unlikely King. Everyone alive back then knew that Maekar did not want to become a King, and he was another disappointment to me and the Realm. Your house was big back then, and having seen two kings and a lot of Princes, I wondered what made them so different from normal people. Some were even dumber than a child..." he sighed, shaking his head. "I questioned what was it about them that they deserved to wear the crown and rule over people. Eventually, I realised that there really was not anything special about the Targaryens, except that they looked beautiful. The Realm just needed a King, and they just happened to be the Royalty."

Both Ashara and Azaerys listened to his words with attention, and there were smiles on their faces at his honesty.

"Then Maekar died, and Aegon, the Fifth of his Name, was named the King. He was good, better than his predecessors, but he was not a King. No. He was a boy who had been a squire to a Hedge Knight, who travelled a lot, learned a lot, and as much as it did him good, it hurt the House of Targaryen. He gave the people power over the Throne and made them able to influence his decisions, and during his reign, he was focused on proving himself worthy of the decision of the Great Council that chose him. It was not until his children rebelled against his decisions to marry them off for political gains, that he was reminded that he was a Targaryen, and yet, he bowed when he gave his daughter to Ormund Baratheon in compensation. A Princess who paid the price for her older brother's fault. She was not happy that day. Her eyes were filled with sorrow..." The old man recalled.

"She loved Duncan, her brother," said Azaerys, shaking his head at the tragedies his House had to suffer at the hands of utterly stupid Kings.

"A tragedy," sighed Ser Willem. "Her younger siblings did remind their father that they were Targaryens. I remember the commotion and the talk of the smallfolk when the news arrived that Jaehaerys had wed his sister Shaera. People were upset and disappointed that the Targaryens had not yet completely submitted to the Westerosi ways and the Faith of the Seven," he laughed. "Jaehaerys was clever, wise for his age, not a warrior, but a much better heir than his brother Duncan. However, the tragedy of Summerhall ruined him. His reign was short-lived, but people were not too sad about his demise. It was almost as if he had been forgotten by everyone the moment he took his last breath..."

Azaerys, who had seen everything that happened in the past that Ser Willem was talking about, sighed again.

"Then I served your Grandfather, Aerys, the Second of his Name. Kind, charming, clever, and someone who was born to be a King. I thought I would finally get to see a True King, but then madness consumed him. His kindness was replaced by cruelty, his charm was replaced by terror, and his cleverness became wickedness. I had never seen such a stark contrast between the personalities of the same man, but I had already pledged my life to your House, and I was not the one to go back on my vow. Perhaps, it was because your father gave me hope, Your Grace. He was just like your Grandfather when he was young, all the way until your mother passed away and you were born. I feared, people feared, that he would start showing madness too, but he just turned quiet. His music was sadder, his smile, when not around you, was sad, and if it was not for Lady Elia, he might have gone crazy as well. However, people close to him did think he was going crazy when he showed interest in prophecies and started seeking knowledge like a crazy man..."

Azaerys raised his brow when the old man stopped speaking.

"Continue."

"Forgive me, Your Grace, but your father would not have made a great King. He had his qualities, but he was no different than people who had come and gone before him. He was too ambitious, and yet, way too kind and honourable for someone so ambitious. They say that if you are kind and ambitious, you are not going to live a long life, and your father did not live for long. He died at a young age. A consequence of his ambitions."

Ashara was now frowning at his words, but Azaerys was still smiling.

"And you were disappointed again."

"Yes," sighed Ser Willem. "All my life I only had one dream. To see someone who truly deserved to rule over people, and when I was old enough to understand that such a person could not exist unless they were magical, like the Targaryens who conquered Westeros, I still held hope that I would be proven wrong. I don't know if you are Mortal or an Immortal, Your Grace. Sometimes, when I look at you, I want to go on my knees and prostrate to you. If you are a God, please, don't tell me that. I am just happy that my dream came true. I now see someone who is born to rule, who deserves to rule, and who shall rule. I believe it, I truly do, that you are already the best King the world has ever seen."

"That I am," he nodded and smirked at the old man who laughed at his playfulness.

"The servant is curious, Your Grace. They say that every time a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin. What is it about your Blood that makes your family go mad?"

"It's the Magic, Ser Willem. It talks to us, and those who can not listen to it, or control it, end up going mad. As for what happened to members of my Family, they suffered the consequences of sullying our Blood generation after generation. If it happens once or twice, in several generations, as long as we stick to our traditional marriages, things turn out fine. However, after the Dance and the death of the Dragons, our Blood started losing its blessings. Aegon, the Third, married outside to a Velaryon who did not have Targaryen Blood. His sons died without any issues, and Viserys, from whom our line continued, married outside as well. Even though he realised why the Dragons had gone extinct and tried to remedy it by marrying his children to each other, he committed another mistake. Aegon, the Fourth, was truly unworthy, and Naerys never loved him, she loved Aemon. And Aegon was just jealous of his younger brother and lustful to the core. Whilst the future King sired a lot of bastards, his wife also sired one with Aemon the Dark Knight."

"Daeron?" Ashara and Ser Willem looked at him in surprise.

"Yes," he smiled. "It's funny that two bastards wanted the Throne, and the one who sat on it was the undeserving one."

"You mean Daemon Blackfyre deserved the throne?" His wife frowned.

"Yes. He was a better Targaryen, a truer Targaryen than any of his siblings and cousins. Yet, a tragedy with love struck him, and Daenerys was wed to the Martells," he sighed. "Daeron too did not stick to the traditions and married outside to a Martell. All his children were married outside the Family too. At this point, the last remaining magic in the blood was already screaming at them, and these screams intensified, warning them that they were about to lose all their blessings. So, as a result, the Targaryens started going even more mad. The last nail in the coffin was Aegon, The Fifth. It was a miracle that the attempts to hatch the Dragon Eggs at Summerhall turned into a Blood and Fire ritual, with the Targaryens becoming the sacrifice, and those who survived it, saw their blood strengthening. My father was born, strong in Magic, and so was my mother. Even though they were not dreamers, they could see glimpses. My father was indeed going mad, Ser Willem, because he had seen something that scared him to death."

"What did he see?"

Azaerys smiled at him.

"Winter is coming."

Even though the man did not know exactly what he meant by it, he felt very restless.

"The madness..."

"Dragons are back, our magic is stable. Importantly, I and Daenerys are special. As long as a Targaryen is not left alone in this world in the future and our legacy does not give up on our traditions, our line will not lose their blessings and get consumed by the madness that plagued my ancestors."

Hearing his words, both Ashara and Ser Willem were lost in their thoughts. Eventually, the old man smiled, a smile of relief.

"I have a request, Your Grace."

"Ask, Ser Willem."

"Give your Servant a Valyrian Funeral, and bury my ashes near Harrenhall. I wish to leave this world as a True Servant to your House."

"Harrenhall?" He raised his brow and watched a tear leak out of his eyes.

"When my wife and my newborn child died, I buried them there, and I want to be close to them..."