Nihilus Filius Et Sacerdos Chapter 10 preview

“Hold still, Aegon!”

The silver-haired boy smirked at the sight of his mother Alicent fussing over his drunken excuse for a brother. From the stain next to his neck, he must have found the ship’s liquor stores. The deck lurched beneath his feet as the faint creaking of wood tinged the sounds of the sea.

Seawater splashed over the rails and onto his hair, making him shiver and step away. He stared at the horizon, where a coastline had formed behind the mists. Already he could spot the silhouette of High Tide looming over the island. A shiver ran down his spine, though he’d not dare to let it show.

As the captain hollered at the deckhands to prepare the ship for arrival, Aemond Targaryen wondered why they were even here. He’d been out in the yard, being instructed in the sword by Ser Criston alongside Aegon. After repeatedly trouncing his brother and receiving praise from his Kingsguard teacher, he went through his usual lessons with Grand Maester Mellos, this time on the Houses of the Riverlands. He winced at the memory - there were too many of those Houses, and the two things he managed to remember from that lesson were that all of them hated each other with one house either marrying into or nearly killing the other within a generation and that House Tully somehow corralled them.

He’d nearly broken the table out of rage and sheer boredom but thankfully reeled himself in before the maester noticed his frustration. After the evening supper, he was running to the room when he passed by his father’s study. The two Kingsguards flanking the doors gave him appropriate bows, but the door was unlocked and he couldn’t help but faintly hear his father and grandfather arguing. That wasn’t unusual, he’d witnessed the king and the Hightower knight arguing each other’s decisions since he could remember, but he’d heard his uncle Daemon being mentioned and paused. He caught a few other words, like ‘ploy’, ‘Velaryon’, and ‘dragons’, but nothing noteworthy. When the talking had stopped, he quickly fled to his room. Aegon was there, sprawled and drunk on his bed. He pondered the conversation before shrugging; it was likely his uncle had angered his grandfather again with some outrageous stunt and the King forgave him. That’s what Mother told him always happened, and he didn’t disbelieve her. The one time they met, Aemond wanted to get as far away from Daemon as possible and it was clear the feeling was mutual.

So imagine his surprise the next morning when his mother told him and his siblings to prepare for a trip to Driftmark, at the command of King Viserys. When he asked why, his mother had scrunched up her face before saying the king wished to visit his brother, who had returned from Pentos and was residing at the home of his lady-wife Laena Velaryon. Aegon had started throwing a fit, but a quick chastisement silenced him. He might’ve imagined it, but Aemond had suspicion his mother was leaving out something. A preparation of packing later and they set forth with a small convoy, leaving the Hand of the king, Lyonel Strong, to take charge. The trip was dull for the most part, Aegon’s whining aside. Helaena had taken to staring and muttering at some of the spiders lurking in the ship's dusty corners, and while Mother would usually rope her in with lessons or sermons with the septa, she was too busy either fretting over Aegon or talking to Grandfather in her private cabin. That left Aemond with little to do but practice with Ser Criston on the deck or read whatever book Grandfather ordered him to. 

It wasn’t completely dull; he’d taken to peering over the ship and spotting the types of fish swimming past him. In three days, he was able to spot flocks - was that how it was said? - of silverfish and flocks of bluefish even at night…which only proved only how bored he was becoming. Even playing with stray dice he found one day had lost its appeal. Thankfully, on the second day of the voyage, that boredom was vanquished when the isle of the Velaryons was spotted over the horizon.

He’d heard of Driftmark and the Sea Snake’s castle through his lessons, but he had to admit, books and words alone did not do the sight justice. The towering cliff of High Tide gleamed off rays of sunlight, casting shadows upon the sea and the boats. The fort itself rested atop the cliff with its gleaming azure spires, as though a great hand of white had risen from the earth and displayed the castle before the gods above. He swallowed to recover his sudden loss of breath, even as he felt his mother’s hands guide him away from the rails.

“Enjoying the view, are we?”

Aemond snapped out of his thoughts and blanched at the bearded face of Otto Hightower, who merely raised his brow. “It is an impressive castle, Grandfather.”

After a moment of trepidation, the elder nodded. “Indeed it is.” He looked towards the white cliffs with a familiar ponderous gaze. He’d seen it often when he sat down with Mother and his siblings. “The firstborn of Corlys Velaryon’s ambitions, built on the wealth gained from his nine voyages. Who are the members of his House?”

“His wife is the king’s sister, Rhaenys Targaryen, who rides Meleys the Red Queen,” replied Aemond, keen on passing the sudden test. “His children are Laenor Velaryon, rider of Seasmoke and husband of Rhaenyra. His sister Laena is wedded to Daemon and her dragon is Vhagar, the oldest dragon alive.”

The continued stare made his stomach slowly drop, and he scrambled for the answer. Before he could, Otto sighed. It was a slight movement, barely a puff of his nostrils, yet it felt like a raging storm.

“If you had paid more attention to your mother, you would have mentioned Daemon and Laena’s twin daughters.” His eyes narrowed. “There is also Rhaenyra’s spawn, but I will spare you the embarrassment and assume you have known this, as we all did.”

“Of-of course, Grandfather.”