The Dragon's Dance: Maekar's Legacy (Completed)

In the year 87 AC, another public scandal erupted in the Royal Family that was still reeling from the transgressions of Saera Targaryen. Princess Viserra and Prince Baelon were found abed by the Kingsguard. King Jaehaerys rushed to have them married especially after Princess Viserra was found to have missed her moonblood to prevent this scandal from going further. House Manderly was affronted by this disgrace for which a public apology was issued by the Iron Throne but the deed had been done much to Queen Alysanne's dismay. The next year Princess Viserra gave birth to Maekar Targaryen.

It is said that after coming to his senses, Prince Baelon was horrified by his lack of judgment and moment of weakness that he never once again touched Princess Viserra much less shared her bed, yet it was too late. After his investiture as Prince of Dragonstone in the year 92 AC, he sent her and his son Maekar to Dragonstone away from the court where they would come to King's Landing only for certain important occasions. However, this would change after the Great Council of 101 AC wherein they would move to the Red Keep.

103 AC

Viserra walked through the hallways of Maegor's Holdfast feeling her heart thrum with anticipation, she turned her face to indifference as she passed by the rushing servants and the guards who were careful not to look her in the eyes. She reached her son's room and pushed open the doors to find a damp, dark room that reeked of wine and sex.

The partially dressed servant girl screeched upon seeing her and ran out of the room upon seeing her stony gaze, she whipped her head toward the bed where Maekar was still snoring under the sheets.

"Maekar, wake up," She pushed him but he merely moved away.

"MAEKAR, WAKE UP," She shouts before Maekar finally wakes up, "what?" he groggily asks as he rubs his eye.

She slaps him in the face, "Today is the cremation, Maekar, so get your head out of your arse and out of this bed"

"Oww," Maekar grumbles as he rubs his cheek, "You don't have to slap me for that."

"If you don't realize the importance of this day then I have to slap you, today is the cremation of the King and you are here sleeping with every serving girl that you can get your hands on," Viserra angrily answers. Just like that idiot Daemon, that part went unsaid.

"Yes, I get it, the old man is dead, then again he has been dead for quite some time now," Maekar remarked as he got up from the bed naked as his nameday, Viserra threw his breeches at him while he walked to get a pitcher of wine.

While Maekar put on his breeches and his tunic, Viserra took a few deep breaths before speaking, "Now that my father is dead, do you know what means?"

Maekar pretended to think for a moment before saying, "Umm, I assume that means that Viserys will become King, or rather hasn't he already become King."

"No, you dolt, that's not what I meant," Viserra hissed as she walked toward him, "I meant to say that Vermithor is free and you know full well that I want you to have him."

"Right, that one, are you still plotting for the throne Mother, I would have figured that the Great Council would have crushed such ambitions," Maekar said trying to act smart in front of her, "Are you still bitter that you won't get to become Queen, though I doubt that my old man would have crowned you Queen either way."

Viserra felt her anger spike as her son tried to provoke her, "Perhaps, it was never your destiny to become Queen no matter whichever path you take." For that Viserra gave another slap only for Maekar to laugh it off.

Maekar poured wine for himself before saying "Fine, I will go and bond with Vermithor, though I will have to ask you this Mother, are you plotting for the throne, if so please tell me now for I would prefer not to be blindsided by your schemes."

Viserra evenly replied, "I will tell you what you need to know when you need to know, for now, you need to get out of the Red Keep and go to the Dragonpit, the Dragonkeepers won't deny you, and in the chaos of the cremation everyone will be too busy to bother you until you get Vermithor."

Maekar pointed out "Would it be that bad if I bond with Dreamfyre, she is rather docile while I believe that Vermithor might have inherited my grandfather's disdain for me."

Viserra conceded "Fine, take Dreamfyre if you want but by the time of the cremation, it better be you who gives the command for having the pyre lit and you better not bond with any of the other little hatchlings in the pit. Though I would prefer if you had Vermithor, a powerful and fearsome beast that might put that cunt Daemon in his place."

"Right, Daemon, that fool," Maekar nodded, "Yes, I would like to see his face when I have Vermithor, he has been insufferable ever since he bonded with Caraxes."

"Yes, and it might even make up for the fact that Daemon is a better warrior than you," Viserra dryly replied.

"Hey, I am a capable warrior myself, and I am still a squire." Maekar retorted affronted.

"Not as good as Daemon," She pointed out to which Maekar shook his head, "Nothing will ever be enough for you."

In the few times, Viserra and Maekar visited King's Landing from Dragonstone, the family meetings were always strained and filled with tension, Daemon made his feelings for Viserra and Maekar abundantly clear, and when he thought no one was looking he tried to bully Maekar in the training yard which made Viserra furious though her son was mature not to make a big deal of it in front of anyone.

"And one more thing Maekar," Viserra said as she walked up to Maekar and grabbed his face, "Don't even think about running off to the Summer Isles or any other place that you foolishly thought of running off to back when you were young. If you do I will fly on Silverwing and find you and bring you back dragging your ear, do you understand me."

Viserra locked her purple eyes with those of her son before he nodded, "Don't worry, I won't run."

"Good you better not," She replied as she dropped her hand from his face.

Maekar then put on his robe before heading out of the room "If you don't mind, I am going to the kitchens, I need some breakfast, I am starving."

Viserra let out a long-suffering sigh before she turned her gaze to the window in Maekar's room, wherein she could see the Dragonpit, thoughts of Silverwing came to her mind. The day she bonded with Silverwing was a day of sweet revenge against her wretched Mother. Her father and Baelon could do nothing, her father was too broken and Baelon had long since washed his hands off her.

The histories would no doubt record her Father as a great king, she wondered if they would record his failings, stripping Rhaenys of her rightful place as heir, she would have made a far better Queen than Viserys would have been King. Then again, even her son would have been a better king than Viserys, had Maekar been older and bonded to a dragon, then perhaps she could have conjured some political magic during Great Council but that was neither here nor there.

It was unlikely that Aemma would bear a living son for Viserys and with only a daughter, it meant that Daemon was the heir apparent, with Daemon as king, Viserra feared for her son and herself, though her son could care less.

Dragonpit

I rode through the great and massive bronze doors of the Dragonpit that were already opened for the sake of the cremation that was to occur later today. The crowd was already large in the stands as nearly half the seats were full and even more were thronging the streets. The din of the crowd did not take away my focus from what was to come.

Officially, I had left the Red Keep, claiming to go to the Street of Steel to pick up my armor that I had ordered a week ago but unofficially, I took a detour to the Hill of Rhaenys. The knights accompanying me did ask about the new route, but I told them to shut up and there were perks of being a Prince of the Blood, you don't question them.

The commoners upon seeing my approach made way, my silver hair and fine red and black clothes were a dead giveaway of who I was, along with the surcoats of the knights who followed me to the Dragonpit. I was not important enough to warrant a Kingsguard as a security so I had to make do with the regular household knights.

The Elder Dragonkeeper who was in charge approached me as I dismounted in the area taken up as makeshift stables for the horses of the nobles who were to attend. The knights who accompanied me did the same.

"Prince Maekar, We have been expecting you," He said in High Valyrian as a younger acolyte took the reins of my horse.

"Then you know why I am here," I replied to which he nodded.

"I shall accompany you to his lair," He replied as I motioned my knights to stay put.

As I walked down the brick-lined tunnels, I felt anticipation bubble from my gut, this was going to be a major milestone in my fucked up life.

My life was a screwed-up one when looking at a normal family people normally have. A distant and awkward father who would have preferred that I never existed (that makes two of us), whom I saw only a couple of times and a caring yet bitter and ambitious mother who decided to place me as a pawn in her games.

Viserra got what she wanted yet they were all poisoned chalices for her, she escaped the betrothal to Lord Manderly and got married to Baelon just as she wanted, yet Baelon could care less about her, even less about her than me. She was practically thrown from court to the dreary Dragonstone with me. She was a good mother to me on a personal mother-son basis which I believe is rather rare in House Targaryen but being a Princess meant politics had to seep into our lives and make it toxic. But being an orphan in my old life meant I was not complaining about what I got.

As for my brothers (half), I barely saw them and didn't know them much personally and it was mutual, Viserys was affable to a degree but he was old enough to know what was going on by the time I was born and he wasn't exactly happy with all that went down, and Daemon who saw me as a bastard and my mother as a whore who tried to replace his mother. It was a good thing that we didn't meet much, my interactions with them were not so great, and my antisocial personality contributed much to it. As for Rhaenyra and Aemma, a few polite greetings here and there didn't make much conversation.

My Grandfather Jaehaerys couldn't stand the sight of me, a royal bastard who wasn't a bastard by pure luck of the draw whose very inception caused him so much embarrassment. Both Jaehaerys and Baelon intended on sending me to the Citadel, out of sight and out of mind, and it would have happened if not for my mother Viserra bonding with Silverwing on the same day that Alysanne died in an ode of revenge is best served when dead. Her subtle threat of burning Oldtown to the ground alongside the Citadel and Starry Sept, if they dared to send me away from her made them backtrack their plans. So too did my plans of running away.

My Grandmother Alysanne was another piece of work, the world considered her a saint and she might have been if not for what she did to Gael. During the fiftieth anniversary of my grandfather's reign, I managed to help reveal that Gael was fooling around with that singer/boyfriend of hers, needless to say, both Alysanne and Jaehaerys nearly got a stroke, and the singer found himself in the torture chambers of the Red Keep.

As for poor Gael, she was also found to have been pregnant. Being impregnated by a Prince is much different from being impregnated by a wandering bard, so marriage was out of the question. Gael was adamant about having the baby, so Alysanne tricked Gael into tricking Moon Tea, just like how Hoster Tully tricked Lysa. Only in this case, Gael died of complications following the abortion. So much for trying to save people, things went practically the same way.

As we approached Vermithor's lair, the sound of the crowd ebbed, and with it becoming pitch dark around us, the torch we carried being the only source of light and our footsteps making the only sound. Then the Elder stopped nodded toward me and handed me the torch, I would have to make the next part of the trip on my own.

I took the torch and I walked forward and then I reached the point of no return, this was it and then it came, the growling began at first but my mother had given me a crash course on what to do, I held my nerve and I stared back defiantly, no fear whatsoever, anyone who wants a dragon should not be afraid of a dragon, especially of the one they intend on bonding with.

Then came the fire blast above my head but I stayed unmoved as the head of the great beast came into view in little light given by the torch, and then he came closer and we locked eyes and then I felt a grin coming up on my face.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the people of King's Landing were treated to a sight that had long been missing. The sight of the Bronze Fury, the mount of the Old King flying over the city taking a few turns around it before landing in the outer courtyard of the Red Keep. Princess Viserra who was watching the spectacle from her balcony window, looked on in smug satisfaction as King Viserys, Prince Daemon, Queen Aemma, and Lord Hand Otto were left stunned.