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Prince Maekar rose from his seat and started pacing nervously, the light from the windows casting the royal solar into hues of yellow and orange. Where the fuck was the maester? He had summoned him as soon as he had heard of his arrival, eager to have news of his second son, who had been married off to a recently lorded low born knight in the Ashford tourney.
It had been a violent and messy affair and at the time, seemed like the only solution to the constant headache that was the young Prince. But as time went by and Maekar’s anger waned, it was replaced with worry and longing for his child who now lived so far from him with a man they barely knew. It did not help that ever since the young Prince arrived at Floodstone Keep, the castle of his new husband he had not responded to a single one of his father’s or his uncle’s letters. Maekar had tried to pry more information out of Daeron but he doubted his firstborn was sober long enough for correspondence to occur and Aegon would rather cut off his hand than write to his older brother.
Maekar had picked some of their staff in the new Keep himself and they were all loyal to the crown and would have informed him much sooner if the Prince was mistreated or ill; but that did not necessarily mean he was doing well. Was he still angry? Did he still feel betrayed? Had he grown crueler and madder since his father had last seen him? Did this former hedge knight treat him with consideration?
Maekar had no delusions about the nature of his boy, but as a father he hoped beyond hope that someone would find in him something to love. To cherish and be loyal to. Otherwise what would become of him? The knot in his chest drew tighter as a servant opened the door and announced the arrival of the maester of the Floodstone Keep, Lord Duncan’s new castle and Aerion Targaryen’s new home for the last 6 moons.
“Bloody fucking finally.” Maekar exhaled as the Maester walked into the room and bowed before his Prince.
“Apologies for making you wait your Grace, It was a long and arduous journey and I needed to make myself presentable before joining you”
“I don’t care if you smell like Flea Bottom shit or Highgarden roses when I am awaiting news on my son’s welfare.” Maekar spit out and the Maester just bowed deeper.
“Of course my Lord. But let me ease your mind at once that Prince Aerion is in very good health and he is just as er… spirited as he ever was when I left him 10 days ago.”
The Prince breathed a sigh of relief and managed to sit in his chair once again and gestured for the maester to sit in the opposite one and the man was quick to obey.
“How is he getting on? Has there been more trouble?”
“There was some trouble in the beginning, " the maester replied politely, “Prince Aerion found the castle to be severely lacking in the comforts he is used to as you can imagine. And he erm.. found the staff particularly ill prepared to tend to a Prince. But his husband sought to it that he did not abuse them much, nothing beyond a few insults”
Maekar frowned.
“Sought to it, how?” he asked.
"He just talked to him, my lord. They sort these things out in their chambers but the chambermaid overheard some of the conversation and she reported back that the young Lord explained to him that the staff was not as well equipped and with as much experience as the Red Keep but they were not to blame for this rather instructed and supported in their new roles.”
Maekar could not imagine anyone telling Aerion this and not ending up with a blade up their arse and so he winced before the maester even finished talking.
“The Prince took the advice to heart,” the maester said then and Maekar straightened in his seat.
“He did what?” he asked incredulously.
“He kept throwing jabs here and there but they kept getting fewer and farther between. He has not attempted to break anyone’s hand or set them on fire so a marked improvement to his behaviour here” the Maester said merrily then stopped in fear he had overstepped.
“Because the hedge knight said so?” Maekar asked again doubtfully.
The maester nodded thoughtfully.
“I think the Prince understands the loss of his privilege and that everyone in the castle belongs not to him but to his Lord husband.”
“And is his Lord husband pleased with him? Does he treat him ill? Does he neglect him?” Maekar asked fervently because he knew that his boy’s wellbeing would always come first to him before his behaviour. Which is what got him in this mess to begin with.
The maester smiled brightly at that.
“I do believe, your Grace, that Lord Duncan dotes on the Prince a great deal. He is a good, honest, hard working lad and he treats everyone with great decency and generosity but his most important task is to see to Aerion’s comforts.”
Maekar could not believe what he was hearing. He knew his omega son was as beautiful as they come but he could not imagine someone overlooking his monstrous behaviour long enough to get attached to him. The maester carried on.
“There have been quite a few improvements in the castle that see to the Prince’s pleasures. The bed chambers are fortified against chill and humidity, the tapestries have been changed, the kitchen has learned all the Prince’s favorite meals and they make them for him on rotation. Lord Duncan found a good strong horse that he gifted him for his nameday, the Prince is quite taken with it. I have been consulted on many occasions by his lordship on what other luxuries the Prince may be lacking in his new home and I have seen them be brought in within a fortnight.”
Maekar was impressed by that. It seemed that Egg’s recounts of the hedge knight's honor were true. He was a good and kind man. And moreover he sounded besotted with his temperamental son which was more than the old Prince dared to hope for.
“And Aerion?” he finally asked hesitantly. “How is he bearing his new husband?”
The maester’s expression became thoughtful.
“It’s hard to say my Prince. Whatever short temper he is saving from the staff he gives his lord husband tenfold. His way of addressing him has not changed from the time when he was merely a hedge knight and he seems to take great pleasure in mocking him.”
Maekar sighed heavily. Of course Aerion would take the kindness he is being given for granted. He wondered how long young Duncan would suffer through it before all his good will left him and his son lost his main advantage in this marriage.
“But…” , the maester continued. “This is merely conjecture on my part but the Lord does not seem particularly bothered by it. I would go as far as to say he looks … entertained most of the time from the clever sentences Prince Aerion constructs to insult him.”
Maekar raised an eyebrow. He never thought he’d see the day where someone would find Aerion’s offensive speech charming.
“He finds his new husband’s disdain amusing?”
“You can probably understand from this a certain disdain from the Prince’s part, but his words are one thing and his actions sometimes convey something else entirely.”
“Speak plainly maester” Maekar said, irritated.
“The Prince is rude in his speech, yes, but he doesn’t seem to find Lord Duncan’s presence as intolerable as he describes. In fact they spend as much time together as they can under the circumstances. They dine together most nights and the Prince often will spar in the courtyard with his Lordship for hours at a time. Many days they go on long rides together and don’t return until nightfall. I am of the opinion that Prince Aerion enjoys the company of his husband much more than he is likely to admit. And.. “ the maester blushed at this ” there is the matter of their bedchambers.”
“What about it?” Maekar asked hesitantly. “Is Aerion not being handled well?” his stomach dropped.
“Nothing of the sort milord,” the maester was quick to reassure him. “It is just that when they arrived they each had their own bed chambers as is befitting to a couple of their status but once a moon had passed… the Prince started sharing the Lord’s bedchambers and he … well he… never really returned to his own. The servants now don't bother maintaining it as regularly unless ordered otherwise.”
Of all the things Maekar was expecting, this was not it. He and his late lady wife had shared a bed for over 20 years and she had scarcely used her own bedchamber unless when heavily pregnant and in need of more space and comfort. But they had been deeply in love with each other. Aerion and the knight on the other hand…
“Are you sure the knight is not forcing my boy into this arrangement?” he asked the maester bluntly.
“Most definitely not your Grace.” the maester said. “Lord Duncan did try to tell the Prince from time to time to sleep in his own chambers as he would be returning late from his border patrols and did not wish to rouse him but the Prince … he erm … called him “as stupid as he is tall” and ignored his request,” the maester finished with dignity.
“I see,” Maekar finally said. If he was sharing a bed with his Alpha husband this often, that meant he shared at least 3 heats with him. He did not know how to frame the question, not sure if he was ready for the answer. “Have you educated him on … precautions he could take to prevent a pregnancy?” It is an omega’s responsibility to give children to their alphas but Aerion barely knew his mate and since Aegon the unworthy, the Targaryens had become quite understanding in matters of omega fertility and health. No Targaryen Prince or Princess was left without access to ways to prevent a pregnancy in circumstances of ill health or general adjustment.
“I approached the Prince with the matter, your Grace.” the maester nodded. “I brewed some moon tea for him after he spent his first heat with his Lord husband, but he took a sniff of it, found the smell offensive and set it aside. I informed him that Lord Duncan need not know and would not know from him but he reminded me that Lord Duncan obeys him not the other way around so i could say what i pleased”
Maekar snorted and rose from his seat. He seemed to have picked the softest, most malleable Alpha for his thorniest, most deranged omega child and yet … it seemed to be working.
“How is his mind, maester?” he finally uttered the sentence that had been burning a hole in him all day.
The maester paused before answering.
“He seems, calmer your Grace. His fire is still there and very much alive but.. It’s more controlled. As if there is a limit to what he is willing to do, as if there is a balance in him that was not there before. The Prince never suffered the dreams of Prince Daeron but I was always of the opinion that the blood of the dragon burned in him in a different way. He seemed to have focused it in more productive endeavors.”
Maekar let out a long breath and ended the conversation and sent the maester on his way with many thanks and informed his servant to provide him with whatever amenities he needed after his long journey. Once he was alone, he found it easier to gather his thoughts. Was Aerion truly better? Was he actually comfortable in this new life they set him in as a punishment? Could it be that he was in love? Or was it all a ruse, trying to lull his spouse into a false sense of security and exact revenge when he least expected it. An idea came to him.
Dear son,
These many moons and unanswered letters weigh very heavily in your poor father’s soul. I am too old, Aerion, to hold on to grudges and not see my children as much as I still can. For whatever imprudences of youth you have committed, I forgive you and you just need to say the word and I will find a way to dissolve your match with not much fuss and have you returned to the Red Keep. Your marriage was so scandalous that I hardly think anyone would blink an eye at its dissolution.
Your father,
Prince Maekar
He sent it that day with the hope that this would be enough of a bait for Aerion to make his wishes known. If he was pretending to get along with the knight, this chance would not be wasted. A few days later, Prince Maekar received the first letter from his son since his marriage.
My dear lord Father,
Your offer is very generous and very expected as I have always known you would eventually realise the grave mistreatment that I received in Ashford. I appreciate your desire to make amends and as kind as your offer is, I'm afraid I must decline it.
In the half year that I have been master of this Keep I have taken countless measures to reform it to a decent stronghold and royal residence. I have taken even more drastic measures to reform my oaf of a husband from a hedge knight to a half decent royal companion.
I am quite pleased with the results of both endeavours and find myself very comfortably situated in my own settlement. I miss the sun of Kings Landing and the smell of the sea air but I do not miss the brown nosing noblemen and women or my insufferable siblings. As of before your letter I had no reason to miss you either.
There is a second reason for which the dissolution of my marriage is no longer possible and that is because I am with child. That is right. Your first grandchild is on the way and I am not planning on long travel at least until his arrival. The hedge knight is quite overbearing in his attentions and nearly collapses in fear when he sees me outside of the castle. I cannot imagine how he would react to me suggesting I travel halfway through Westeros. I find myself quite incapable of upsetting him at the moment, it must be a mating deficiency. I recall my lady mother had it as well.
This does not mean that we cannot see each other, it just means that you would have to come to me. If you find the time please bring the list attached with items from my old home I would need and please do not bring Aegon along. I cannot be annoyed in my current condition. I wouldn't recommend waiting for me to give birth before asking again to come to Kings Landing. I have a feeling my Lord husband has just begun putting babes in me and he is quite determined to repopulate the stronghold of Old Vallyria before he is done. But I have no fear, I am the blood of the dragon.
Your son,
Prince Aerion
Well, Maekar thought, that seems to be that and with great excitement he called for the servants to prepare him for a journey to the Riverlands. And to tell Aegon to get ready as well.