Chapter Text
"What bait did you use this time, brother?"
The boy by the pond looked behind and was greeted by the sight of another silver-haired boy, only a few years older than him. He made a shushing gesture and answered. "Don't tell Father, I've been sneaking in the kitchen to steal the good bread. They won't take old or dry ones, seems the fishes here have an acquired taste, must've got them from us!"
The older of the two, Daeron, chuckles at that. He walks closer and stands beside the young Aerion, who's holding a fishing rod by the pond. "You're saying these fish, who mind you, have the thinking capacity of a rock and eat their own shite, have a taste of royalty?"
"Well, why else won't they catch my bait?" Aerion huffed.
"Maybe you're just terrible at this?" Teased the older one while patting the younger's head.
"Hey! I'm the best fisher out of all the Targaryens! And soon enough in the whole of King's Landing!" Aerion shoves away the hand patting his head. "Stop treating me like a kid, it will be my 10th winter soon!"
"Whatever you say, brother dear. Though you are a Targaryen, shouldn't you dream higher?" Asked Daeron. "But if your biggest ambition is to become the best fisher in all of Westeros, that's a welcome one too." For a moment, Daron looked a bit detached. "Perhaps then out of all of us, you'd have the most fulfilling life."
This had Aerion thinking. "Well... Now that you mentioned it. I do have one. But it's... Kind of embarrassing..." The younger boy said while looking a bit red.
"You do?" Daeron tickles Aerion's stomach playfully. "Why are you getting all embarrassed? Is it one of the serving maids? Did one of them catch your fancy?"
Aerion wiggles free from the tickle attack. "Stop that, you're scaring the fish away. And if I tell you, you'd laugh at me." The younger one said with a huff.
"Aww, come on. I won't laugh at you! A Targaryen just said he wants to become a fisher, and I didn't laugh at him, so come on, tell me!" Daeron said while laughing.
"Fine." Aerion decided to believe his brother. "I want... I want to fly..." His last word was so low that Daeron could barely hear it.
"To fly?" Daeron laughs out loud, unable to contain his laughter. "You want to be a dragon then?"
Aerion playfully shoves his brother. "You promised you wouldn't laugh!" A short silence. "But yes. Imagine if I could be a dragon. I don't have to wait for fish to catch the bait; I can just comb the river with my mouth! I can soar the skies freely, I can leave King's Landing whenever I want, and I can-" Suddenly, there was a tug from his fishing pole. "Oh, I got something, help me out here, Dae!" His thoughts about dragons and flying vanished at the tug from his fishing pole.
"A daring dream, brother. To that, I say good luck!" Daeron holds Aerion's pole with him and helps to pull. "Oof, heavy one seems like."
"You're just weak, Dae!" Aerion said teasingly.
"Well, you're not wrong with that." Daeron scoffed.
Aerion opened his eyes with a jolt. Followed by a cough, followed by retching, and ending with puking. He can feel the insides of his stomach pouring out. What did I eat last night... Only then did he realize the red streaking his hand, chest, and basically his whole body. He looked at the pile of mess he made, and was greeted not by food waste, but a viscera of gory, red, and way chunks of flesh.
He immediately became nauseated. What? What the fuck did I do last night? He couldn't stop staring at the pile of gore. No, what the fuck did I eat last night? His answer arrived soon when he looked around. Alone in a meadow with short grass, he's surrounded by corpses or chickens and sheep.
Hells, what's happened? Aerion stood up, unbothered by the fact that he was bloody and naked. This is probably just a prank Daeron planned. I must've gotten drunk last night, and he did this to me. When he comes back to the Red Keep, he'll have a word with his brother. Maybe threaten a finger or two.
He stood up and wobbled a bit, still feeling nauseous, and walked towards the nearest road. He kept walking and walking, a bit aimlessly, as he didn't know where he was.
Soon enough, he came across a lone traveller. Who was immediately frightened, but Aerion caught up to him before he could escape and tackled him to the ground.
"Spare me, please! I have a wife and two daughters!" The peasant begged with his face shoved on the ground.
"Hush. The dragon will be merciful lest you brook disobedience." Aerion would kill and take his belongings, but for now, he needs information. "Now tell me, serf, where are we from King's Landing?"
"To the North East, milord! Halfway to Rosby!" The commoner starts to sob as he answers.
Rosby? What? That caught him off guard. Aerion was confused about how he got so far from King's Landing. Daeron, what kind of prank is this? Aeron let go of his captive and rose from the ground. "You are lucky, the dragon is feeling merciful this day." That and I don't have my blade on me right now. Strangling you would take too much time.
The man stood up and looked at the bloodied naked man fearfully.
"Here is what's going to happen. Hand me your cloak and point me in the direction of King's Landing. Feed me false information, and I will scour this general area and kill all families with a wife and two daughters." Aerion outstretches his hand, expecting the man to hand over his cloak.
The man takes off his travelling cloak and hands it to the naked man. "King's Landing should be that way." He said whilst pointing in a general direction. "It would take a day's walk at most. Half a day on horseback."
Aerion roughly grabs the cloak and drapes it on his shoulder. He then fixes the hood on his head. "That will be all. Speak of this to anyone. Even to patrons at a bar, and I will maim all daughters here. Begone from my sight.
The man turns back and runs away from his view.
Aerion sighs. A day's walk. Gods, this'll be dull. Daeron You will lose a finger for this, I promise you.
1 Week Later
Dunk has been back at King's Landing for the past year. With Egg reaching his 17th birthday soon, his squireship is complete, and now it's time for him to enter more courtly duties. To that end, Duncan is sworn in to become part of the Kingsguard. Though currently new, he has been climbing the ranks quite fast thanks to his skill. Though it also helps that he's favored by one of the princes.
With his armor donned and white cape billowing on his back, he walks through the red keep's corridor and finally reaches his intended destination. With haste, he knocks on the door.
"Come in." A voice can be heard from inside.
Dunk enters Maekar's study. "You've called for me, your grace?"
"Come in, have a seat, ser Duncan." Maekar puts down the parchment he was reading. "I shall cut to the point. Let us not waste each other's time. What I'm about to say cannot leave this room. This is only between you and me. Swear it upon the iron throne. The reputation of House Targaryen is at stake here. Ser Duncan, I trust you, but I need to know if you can trust yourself with this." Maekar's voice is grim, yet at the same time a bit... detached.
Dunk nods. "You can trust me, your grace. I shall carry out the task to the best of my abilities... Only if it's still within the code of honor."
Maekar scoffs, but not in a mocking way. "Oh, not to worry. This task won't have you consign your knightly honor." A pause, silence. "Now, I have a task of utmost discretion that I can only entrust to you." He pinches his eyebrows tiredly, as if annoyed at what he's about to say. "It involves my son."
Sweat starts to form in his brow, and the room becomes colder suddenly. Dunk has a bad feeling about this.
"Aegon, sire?" Said Dunk hopefully.
"Nay."
"...Daeron?" Said Dunk pleadingly.
"I do not think you're that you are that much of a fool, ser. Do not pretend that you are a jester."
Duncan could only sigh. "With all due respect, your grace, why me?" No, but really, why me? There are hundreds of other Kingsguard, but you pick the one worst one to be within 10 meters of that dragon.
"Because no one would suspect that your mission is to find Aerion. Most people know of the Ashford Meadows debacle, and if I send you, of all people, they would not suspect even for a second that you are tasked with finding him." Maekar said as a matter of fact.
"I... But..." Realization that dawned on him. "Aerion's missing?"
Maekar sighs. "For the past week. Haven't you noticed the servants have been more lax than ever?" Maekar pours some wine into his cup. Clearly, this conversation is not something he'd like whilst sober.
"Right." Dunk did realize that. He also felt that his stay in King's Landing had been more cheerful for the past week. Almost as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. "So find Aerion. Got it."
Maekar sighs. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, ser." Maekar holds out the piece of parchment that he was reading when Dunk enters the room. "You know how to read?"
Dunk accepts the offered parchment. "Not perfectly, milord, but Egg- I mean, Prince Aegon has been teaching me."
Maekar couldn't help but smile a bit. "What can you tell me from the report?"
Dunk skims through the report. Some words were a bit unknown to him, as it's an official report, but he thinks he's got the gist of it. "Someone's been killing cattle and farm animals in the North East?"
"Yes. Specifically near Rosby." Maekar takes a sip from his wine.
"Inhuman bite and claw marks... Burns... Footprints in the mud... Suspected dragon..?" Dunk looks at Maekar incredulously. "Sire, are you sure this is not a prank by the locals? A way to spread fear to the House Targaryen?"
"I thought that a possibility. However, evidence seems to point otherwise, no. Ser Duncan, my son has been missing for the past week and reports like this arrived soon after." Maekar drank the whole cup of wine. "A few days ago, I received another report. Someone was assaulted on the road by a naked man with blood all over. Silver hair and violet eyes."
"Oh..." Has he gone mad? Dunk shakes his head. "You don't think he... actually became a dragon, don't you, sire?"
"Semantics, Ser Duncan. I am not saying that is out of the realm of possibility. The magical arts may be a dying breed, but it still exists nonetheless. However, for now, the fact remains that farm animals are being slaughtered by what seems to be a monster, and a Targaryen was spotted in the area. This does not help our reputation. We don't need more tavern stories of how dragon sickness spread in our blood; it would ruin our standing."
Dunk nods. "Right. Of course sire."
"Your mission is simple. Travel on the low and find out what the hell's been going on in Rosby. Do not attract attention to yourself; you are on a covert mission. Ask around the locals and locate Aerion; that is your number one priority."
Dunk sears all the information into his mind. "Very well, sire. I shall depart on the morrow."
Maekar nods. "Good. Set aside your past grievances, Ser Duncan. If he's actually gone mad, you may resort to force to restrain him, but do not kill him. You're dismissed."
"Of course, sire. Never crossed my mind." Dunk rose and bowed down. He then left Maekar's study.
That is, if he doesn't try kill me first. Dunk sighs and leaves to prepare for his journey.