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The news came to him from one very agitated and very unhappy septon coming into his solar to inform him of one of the strangest crises Summerhall had ever seen in the long years it had stood.
Ser Duncan the Tall, sworn knight to House Targaryen and master of his son Aegon, had gone into a surprise heat. Taking the young boy whom he had taken under his wing ever since that cursed tourney at Ashford, before hiding with him in his room in order to nest.
“Let the knight go through his heat in peace, but retrieve my son.”
—
Maekar looked from the captain of his guard, to the men under his command, to the assistant busy treating various bruises and a few broken bones inflicted upon them.
“Omegas are dangerous, my prince.” His maester informed him, “More so than an alpha during his rut, they become aggressive when faced with a potential threat to their pup. Especially when they are in heat. It seems Ser Duncan’s inner omega has accepted your son as his own; sending in guards to forcefully take the boy must have made him defensive. I suggest leaving them be for now.”
Ridiculous.
Utterly ridiculous.
—
His own son, a prince of the realm, kidnapped to the nest of some lowborn omega because he fashioned himself a dam to the boy. Maekar may have accepted it for the sake of Aegon, if it weren’t for the fact that he, too, seemed excluded from seeing his own child.
The alpha stood before the heavy door leading to the small room the knight had been given and had to stop himself from growling. “Ser Duncan, I am warning you! Let Aegon go, lest I be forced to resort to other means!”
He did not even get an answer.
—
The window was locked.
The god damn fucking window was locked.
It was already demeaning enough for Maekar to be forced to try and enter the room through the window, but now it was locked too. And his son, the pup for whom this tomfoolery started, didn’t even seem bothered to try to aid his poor sire when he spotted him from his place within Ser Duncan’s nest. Happily cooped up against the overlarge omega’s chest while he purred and cooed at him like a babe. Most likely drowning the boy in his scent while he fussed.
Aegon fucking giggled.
—
My dearest brother,
I have received your raven on the matter with Ser Duncan, and I must admit it is surprising how quickly Summerhall’s birds fly when their master is angered. You asked for my advice, which I shall give you now.
If I were you, I would simply let the pair be. No heat lasts longer than a fortnight, which means Aegon shall be returned to you soon. Our knight would rather see himself dead than allow any harm to befall him. There is no reason to worry at all. Personally, I find it rather endearing.
Yours truly,
Baelor.
—
His family was filled with unhelpful morons, and his son was still kept from him against his (though not Aegon’s) will.
If it were any other knight, Maekar would have thrown him out of his household a long time ago. He might still, should his temper get the better of him. Never mind that none of his children would ever forgive him and that Baelor would simply snatch him right up to take to Dragonstone. He was only here for the sake of Maekar keeping his son close by in the first place. His asshole idiot brother would not complain.
—
“It’s unfair! Why does Aegon get to spend Ser Duncan’s heat with him while I am not allowed to do so at all?” Whined Daeron in one of his more drunken states. Maekar’s inner alpha was asking the same for different reasons, which the man ought to ignore.
“Go back to bed, Daeron”, he grumbled. “You reek of wine.”
“Ser Duncan always carries me. It’s unfair; I wish for him back. He’s much kinder than you’ve ever been.”
His adult son sounded like a toddler. Still, something in the back of his mind was satisfied. Ser Duncan took such care—
—
Neither threats nor forceful attempts have brought Maekar anywhere close to his goal. It left him resorting to the most desperate of methods.
“I can make you a landed knight if you let me inside, Ser.” The prince offered rather pathetically. “Or I may even recommend you as a knight for the Red Keep. You’d find glory there, more so than here at Summerhall. I can also offer you gold, if that is what you wish. Anything if you let me see my boy.”
Tragically, and quite infuriatingly, nothing happened.
The knight was horribly unambitious, just as he always was.
—
If instinct did not allow for rationality, perhaps he could appeal to the man with food. It was how Maekar stood before that dreaded door, roast duck in hand.
“You could have this if you came out. I would only need to see my son once, and then-”
Maekar couldn’t even react before the door opened just barely. The pupils of his eyes were so blown out that they swallowed nearly all of the blue in Ser Duncan’s eyes.
For one second they just stared; in the next the plate was ripped from his hands and the door closed again.
—
Taking a deep breath, the alpha knocked.
“Listen, I- I know that you only want what is best for the boy.” Maekar conceded, “And I trust that you are able to protect him, I swear I won’t take him from you. But can I please- please -just see my son? At least once for the sake of my own peace of mind?”
Once more, the door opened. The omega looked at him with concentration, then with satisfaction.
Why he did not know, though his cheeks heated. As if having found that he wanted, he stepped aside to let him enter.