Work Text:
When Aegon turned four-of-ten, he had paid little attention to the book his younger brother gave him as a gift.
Aemond held the brown-covered book close to his chest as he approached Aegon that morning. Aegon was already in a bad mood from having to wake up early and have his day be all about what his mother expected him to do and say. His tunic felt too tight and his hair felt too itchy tied back. All he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and disappear from his family’s gaze. Unfortunately, one of the more annoying members now was expecting him to be grateful for reading material. “I know it’s not your idea of an enjoyable pastime, but I thought this might be an exception.” Aemond said - not even sounding convinced of it himself.
So Aegon took the book, not bothering to hide his judgment as he did so. “Terrible veiled attempt to get me to join your trips to the library.” he took the book without any further word and thought nothing of it for a good while afterward.
It was another day that required him to be sober. Another mind-numbingly dull event for the court. He had simply scoffed at the book, tossed it onto a table, and forgotten about it for the next several days. Aemond had looked disappointed, but Aegon thought it was no more than his usual amount of daily disapproval toward his brother.
Then, one night, a massive storm set in, preventing Aegon from sneaking out of the Red Keep for the evening. He hadn’t fretted as he had taken a bottle of wine. As Aegon reddened his lips with the liquid, he looked down at the book that laid on the desk. For the first time, he read the title. Tales of the Ales. Just like Aemond to get him a book probably penned by some maester or septon over the evils of overindulgence. Aegon laughed shortly and opened the book, wanting to see what ramblings he would find inside. He froze and the smile fell when he opened the front cover.
There was a handwritten note written by Aemond.
We may style ourselves as opposites of each other, but you are my brother and therefore my blood. I hope you read the book, Clarence reminds me of you.
A constant companion, Aemond
It was as affectionate as the boy could get when it came to brotherly love. Yet, Aegon found himself staring at the words. He grunted, unsure about the sentimentality his brother just forced upon him, but his fingers flipped to the first page.
“I began my adventure on the ship Lillies Gold off the harbors on the island of Oakenshield. It had taken a bad idea, two bottles of honeyed wine, and an unlikely bet during a tourney for me to find myself sailing into the big and blue waters-“
As he read through the first several pages, he was surprised to find that the book was a humorous account of a Lord Clarence Hewett’s journey to visit every tavern of considerable note in Essos. Aegon sat with the book in hand. He pondered for a moment why Aemond had even read a book such as the one he had gifted him. The answer was obvious when it reached him. That boring little shit enjoyed the first-hand account regarding another continent. Still, Aegon couldn’t fault him. As he himself read on, it began to appeal to him as much as the amusing situations that Clarence oft found himself. How freeing, Aegon thought, to sail away from it all.
‘Constant companion’ indeed. Aemond was always there, borderline ominously. The once charming self-adoration he jotted on that paper so long ago now felt like a threat. As the years passed, he remained like an ever-growing shadow, silent and watchful behind Aegon. The sentimentality he had shown Aegon through the note was seen very little since that day.
The affection that Aemond may have briefly held for Aegon disappeared after Aemond’s nameday visit to the brothel when he was three-of-ten. There were no more notes and certainly no more words that even remotely paralleled the letter he penned to that first page of Tales of the Ales. Aemond seemed to watch him across rooms now, like a stranger who permanently was forced to be in the same vicinity as a dog that stinks and keeps humping everyone’s legs.
Mayhaps that’s all I am.
It mattered not to Aegon. If the younger prince wished to be bitter about the world with no vices to occupy his time, then that was his choice. Aegon had only attempted to help the boring fool. Years passed by with this divide between them. This… growing rot that left a distaste in Aegon’s mouth. He held no love for Aemond. He hated his stares and his tight frown and his rigid stance. The only thing that resembled love between them was the stupid note in that book that Aegon kept next to his bed. The book he read countless times over the years. The book that he hoped would shape his future.
Aegon had kept that book by his side for those trying years. He had underlined observations and circled taverns that caught his attention. He folded every page that he favored so he could reread it again and again. Aegon had kept it mostly stain-free from wine. It may have been a rather humorous and bawdy book, but the Lord from the Reach had made many insightful comments on life that had stuck with Aegon through his growing years. In a way, he was more of a father than the King ever had been.
Meanwhile his real father, Viserys, was dying and Aegon did not plan on sticking around long enough to see what happened when he croaked. It was remarkably easy to leave. Aegon did not realize how many people did not watch him until he was already gone. It was the easiest thing in the world to get on Sunfyre and simply… disappear.
The hard part was figuring out where the fuck he was going afterward.
Aegon knew few languages besides that of his mother’s. His Valyrian side was laughable whenever he butchered his father’s tongue in the attempt. But coin, coin could get him a lot.
Like stabbed.
But that was nothing compared to getting lost on top of Sunfyre on the way across the sea.
Aegon had not planned this out as well as he should have, he just knew he had to leave.
So he followed ships he knew were headed to Essos. Ships he undoubtedly caused to shit themselves but they were devoted to their job at least and kept at it long enough for Aegon to get to where he needed to go.
“It was never about to brew, nor the wine, or even the women. It was about the impossible search that I would eventually find a place in Essos without mirrors. To step foot into a city and hope that I did not follow.”
Aegon enjoyed the musings of Lord Clarence Hewett even more than the jokes some nights. It was like the man had the soul of a maester but was trapped in the body of a drunkard. It was one of Aegon’s favorite sentences in the book. He had marked it to make it easier to find, which, in retrospect, was uselessly lost under his countless other markings and notes that Aegon had pinned throughout the years.
If the man hadn’t died from health issues two years before Aegon even read his work - he would have sent a raven to him asking for an audience. It had been a great disappointment when the prince learned of the lord’s death. He felt it would have been one of the rare moments in life where he could have idolized someone the same way Aemond idolized their ancestors.
With no Clarence though, Aemond was alone once he landed. But he did manage to find someone who spoke the common tongue. Some old man who seemed more than eager to help him. Aegon kept a blade under his cloak, wary of thieves who would recognize him as a prince, but the old man didn’t seem like a killer so Aegon followed him.
He was taken to a market with food and wine and interesting women. Aegon’s next problem hit him, never having thought he’d make it this far. I am here. He thought. Now what do I do for the rest of my life?
“Drink myself to death most likely.” Aegon whispered to himself, as he ran a hand over his book that listed the finest taverns around. When said out loud, however, it seemed like quite a fine idea.
Aemond threw the bottle across the room, having torn Aegon’s chambers apart looking for clues over the drunken fool’s whereabouts. There was nothing. Not a damn thing.
They had needed him. As useless as Aegon had been, he had been essential to their futures. To Aemond’s future especially. Aemond knew Aegon scuttled away like a mouse into someone’s bed to hide from his responsibilities. And yet their mother was certain he was dead in a ditch somewhere rotting away. The thought distressed her greatly. But to Aemond - he thought that Aegon better be dead otherwise he would strangle the man himself.
Aemond kicked a book on his way out and then stopped. He tilted his head and bent down. The Misery of Miserable Women. A humorous book by Clarence Hewett. A man not particularly loved by maesters or devout lords and ladies of faith. Literate commoners and more crude lords adored his works though. Aemond himself remembered reading a book of his when he had been a boy.
I gave that book to Aegon.
Aemond turned quickly to look through the rest of the books. Most of them seem untouched by Aegon. Pages perfect and safe from the risks of ever being read by their stupid owner. But the ones that were read through were all of Lord Hewett’s. Fish Catching with Fishie Females, The Breath and Smells of Sins, and Don’t Kill a Poor Sinning Lord. None of them was of any interest to Aemond. But the one that was missing was. Clarence Hewett’s book that made him a name that was infamously known. The one Aegon would have definitely liked the most if he had in fact read these books like Aemond was suddenly realizing he likely had. Tales of the Ales. A chronicle of a man’s exploration in new cities far from home. A literal list of places Aegon could be.
A map to the missing prince.