"Betrayal truly hurts, but what hurts more is being abandoned by everyone in the world." Varys, The Spider.
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Perhaps by luck, perhaps by reflexes, perhaps just because he dodged in time, Aegon managed to throw himself to the ground while the funnel of black and red flames passed a few centimeters from his body. However, the intense heat still made the armor on his body heat up like never before.
He was practically cooking himself inside the armor; burns began to appear under his skin, making the boy start to let out a scream of agony.
(Note: The Iron Bull torture was not famous for being gentle...)
"ARGHHHHHHHH!!!" Aegon's agonizing scream spread throughout the place, making nobles and commoners alike turn completely pale at such an agonizing scream.
The audience recoiled in fright as the funnel of black flames with red streaks hit the ground, slowly melting the sand and gravel. Many women and men exclaimed in fright, seeing the terrifying scene.
What would happen if the fire hit a human directly?
They had an idea seeing Aegon and the ground itself gradually becoming crystallized.
"It's a little too sweet." Daenerys commented casually as she ate another spoonful of lemon cake; she narrowed her eyes with pleasure as she listened to Aegon's agonizing screams. She was not at all surprised by the result. If there was one person who knew Balerion well, it was her.
Her dragon was simply the personification of bad temper; there was no more irritable and tyrannical dragon than her sweet and adorable dragon.
In the box, everyone watched Daenerys eat cake and talk casually while listening to the screams of agony with a touch of fear. Yes, fear. They felt fear for such a young girl, who hadn't even turned sixteen to be considered an adult in the eyes of the world.
Olenna, in particular, looked at Daenerys with admiration; she could see that this was the image Daenerys wanted others to see of her. Only when there is awe will respect and reverence be born. Do not confuse fear with awe; both are two completely different things.
Honestly, if Aenar didn't exist, Olenna saw no problem in kneeling to Daenerys; the girl really knew how to manipulate and control people.
"It must hurt." Rhaenys commented with a sarcastic touch as she listened to Aegon's scream of agony. She seemed pleased that he was in so much pain.
"Of course it must hurt; he's cooking inside the armor." Daenerys replied with a smile as she watched Aegon thrashing on the ground, rolling in the sand and gravel. By his expression of extreme pain, he was truly suffering at that moment.
Eating another piece of cake, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes with pleasure, feeling the taste sweeter than ever.
Aegon, still thrashing on the ground, knew he couldn't stay any longer or he would die. So, even though his body protested, he dragged himself, praying to the gods that Balerion wouldn't pursue him.
Balerion, seeing the two-legged sheep dragging himself away, sharpened his eyes again, and when he was ready for a delicious meal, he closed his mouth and looked at Daenerys with a pitiful look, like a child who was prevented from eating ice cream before dinner.
"But mother..."
But, seeing his rider's firm expression, Balerion let out a dissatisfied trill, and not long after, the black dragon could be seen flying in the air, disappearing from everyone's sight. Moonfyre and Vermithor followed Balerion, flying behind him.
Leaving an extremely injured Aegon on the ground, but full of relief for surviving. He looked towards the box, expecting to see Daenerys's worried expression, but what he saw left him completely stunned, which made the pain disappear.
Before his eyes, the woman he believed to be full of admiration for him was eating and talking happily with his sister (Rhaenys), as if his screams didn't exist. To be more specific, Aegon felt that even his existence was not even known by Daenerys and Rhaenys.
He finally discovered something about House Targaryen: the extreme prejudice and xenophobia of House Targaryen.
For a Noble House that marries among themselves, it can be said that the cohesion of House Targaryen was quite great. Anyone who wants to enter House Targaryen really needs to be accepted, and that's not so easy, as no one will accept anyone for no reason.
Aenar saved and helped Daenerys, Visenya, and Rhaella for many years, showing that he truly cared about House Targaryen, but Aegon simply arrived, calling himself a Targaryen, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, like an unknown relative coming to join the family for Christmas.
An example of this is Rhaella; although she hated Aerys, she loved him as a brother and never wanted him to die, because in the end, he was just a sick man in her eyes.
At that moment, the physical pain was completely insignificant compared to the mental pain. He felt a pain in his heart that he had never felt before.
In the end, he laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Everyone fell silent as they listened to the increasingly loud and hysterical laughter; for some reason, many people remembered the laughter of King Aerys II, the Mad King.
Daenerys rested her face in her palm and looked at Aegon with contempt. Although she estimated that he would be easily broken, she didn't expect him to be like glass, broken at the slightest touch. It seemed that he really hadn't seen the cruelty of the world.
"But if you haven't seen it, let me show you how cruel the world is, especially when you participate in the Game of Thrones." Daenerys felt no pity for Aegon; she even began to despise him the moment he started laughing.
She lived and saw many things over the years, but pain did not make her bow before fate, but fed her, and like any food, it made her stronger instead of weakening her.
Aenar once said that the environment shapes how you will be in the future, and Daenerys deeply agreed with that.
A flower grows in the greenhouse safely, but when the cold northern wind comes, the flower dies. Grass, on the other hand, survives despite the adversities of the harsh and deadly winter.
Daenerys just let out a low laugh as she watched Aegon's mental state with interest. "Don't go crazy so easily; it won't be interesting~"
Rhaenys looked at Daenerys and rolled her eyes at the cruel Queen of Westeros; she truly felt sorry for Daenerys's political enemies. At this age, she was already a terrible adversary to face, much less in the future. Just imagining Daenerys, an experienced and veteran queen, made Rhaenys feel a shiver run through her body.
Aegon stopped laughing, and with Jon Connington's help, looked at the box, where he saw Daenerys smiling at him, but her smile didn't reach her eyes, making her eyes particularly cold and full of mockery at his laughable performance.
Those eyes were like a sword piercing his heart, waking him up to the reality before him.
He was not a Targaryen, even if he truly was one.
He was not part of this family; he was a complete stranger.
A stranger and nothing more.
A bitter laugh escaped his dry and slightly burned lips. Half of Aegon's face was partially burned by the heat of Balerion's flames.
Half of his face was still beautiful and young, but the other half looked dry, with blood between the cracks in his skin, looking extremely frightening. If his face was like this, you can imagine the state of his body at that moment.
"Aegon, are you okay?" Jon asked with a worried and anxious tone. The scene of what happened a few minutes ago was still fresh in his mind. The son of the man he loved almost died a few seconds before him!
A look of anger passed across Jon's face, remembering the Queen's innocent and laughing expression. The exiled knight felt a huge wave of anger pulse through his veins; his eyes stared at the queen in the box with a genuine look of someone who had just suffered a great betrayal.
"I'm fine, take me to a Maester." With a hoarse and expressionless voice, Aegon commented with a painful look on his face. The injuries began to hurt even more at that moment, making his face contort with all the pain he was enduring.
"Come with me." Varys said in a calm tone.
Minutes later, Aegon was placed on a bed while many other men surrounded the bed. All members of the Golden Company. They looked at Aegon's state with concern, and some showed complex looks, as if they were weighing something very pertinent.
An old Maester looked at Aegon's state and spoke in a calm tone. "Bring plenty of water, clean cloths, and bring something for this child to bite."
Jon nodded, and after long minutes, screams of agony were heard coming from Aegon's room. As time passed, the screams only became more intense and full of rage.
Inside the room, the Maester was removing Aegon's armor, but the moment the metal left his skin, his skin tore, and blood dripped, showing exposed muscles. Throughout the process, Aegon thrashed on the bed while fiercely biting a piece of wood.
The rage in Aegon's eyes became increasingly evident, especially after remembering Daenerys's appearance.
"How is it going?" Varys appeared in the room and asked about Aegon's situation.
"Many areas of his body were burned by the heat of dragon fire, and his muscles were exposed. The Maester said he would have to amputate one of his legs; the damage was too great, and if it continued, it could necrotize." Jon spoke with a tone full of regret and indignation. He still couldn't believe that Daenerys could do something like this to her own nephew.
"That damned queen is too cruel." He said through clenched teeth while his expression was dark and slightly murderous.
Yes, in Jon's eyes, Daenerys was to blame for everything that happened; from the beginning, Jon felt Daenerys already expected this to happen. Knowing this, how could he not blame the queen?
"Control yourself, Lord Jon." Varys severely warned Jon Connington. "Walls have ears."
He knew very well the skill of Daenerys's spies; none of his Little Birds could have such skills and discipline. After all, they were beggars and thieves; even if they received training, it was difficult to compete with a properly trained army.
"Fuck it if she hears, she knew this would happen and still allowed Aegon to almost die." Jon shouted, not caring about anything else; he ignored the frightened eyes of the main members of the Golden Company and continued to shout in anger.
"She's cruel, didn't you see her eating cake and laughing happily while Aegon was agonizing!!!"
"She's Maegor with breasts!!!"
"Daughter of the Mad King!!!"
With each scream, the main members of the Golden Company became more frightened and trembled at the last insult.
"Shut up!!!" Harry, the Captain General of the Golden Company, shouted at Jon with an angry expression.
What if Daenerys punished the Golden Company after hearing Jon Connington's words? Wouldn't they be exiled again?
"If you dare to insult the queen again, I will cut out your tongue." Harry spoke with a furious and angry tone. He finally had the chance to return home; how could he be indifferent to the possibility of being exiled again?
All members of the Golden Company seemed to agree with Harry's words; they also didn't want to leave Westeros because of one man's anger.
"Don't forget that you swore loyalty to Aegon." Jon Connington spoke with a cold and murderous tone, seeing everyone's calm expressions.
"The Golden Company is loyal to the king who sits on the Iron Throne and nothing more." Harry opened his arms and spoke with a smile, not caring about Jon Connington's extremely dark expression.
Although Harry felt a little ashamed to break an oath, nothing is more important than returning to Westeros. And if that happened if he betrayed Aegon, he would do it without any hesitation.
Before coming to Aegon's room, he remembered the letter he received from one of Queen Daenerys's servants.
"Those who kneel will prosper; those who refuse to submit will die under dragon fire."
Daenerys's words were more than clear; Harry knew that the Queen wanted him to betray Aegon. After some hesitation, he accepted the proposal. He pledged loyalty to House Targaryen, but never specified which monarch he would serve.
As for Aegon, Harry no longer cared.
It was more than obvious that the queen, the king's sister, and the king's grandmother did not recognize Aegon's identity. Even if Aegon truly was of House Targaryen, it no longer mattered at that moment.
"Sorry, Jon." Harry spoke in a calm tone. "The ancestral duty of the Golden Company is more important than anything else."
Having said that, he didn't wait for Jon's reply and left the room. The main members of the Golden Company hesitated for a second before following their leader.
Jon's expression was dark and full of anger; he wanted to shout at the traitors, but Varys stopped him and spoke in a calm tone. "Let them go; it doesn't matter at this moment."
"We have to start plan B." He said in a calm tone. Although the Golden Company's betrayal was not in his plans, it didn't mean he had completely failed.
Jon nodded and looked at Aegon, still being treated by the old Maester.
"We will not fail." Jon spoke with a determined tone.
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Note: Burned, missing a leg, half his face disfigured, and somewhat mad, poor Aegon. He suffered a lot at Daenerys's hands. The next chapter is the Plan to Kill a God!!!
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