The prince is a curious thing, eager to explore and move, Driving his maids crazy, and chasing him around the nursery.
Though he calms in the hands of his mother, Alicent watches him in those moments as the king refuses to heed her father's words, and more often than not completely ignores her son to chase after her former friend.
Her son, despite his dragon coloring and the egg that grows warm in his cradle.
He, a life gifted to her by the Mother, a life she would do anything to protect.
Her father comes by more often as the days go by, the praise and happiness of having a grandson soon falling through as Aegon isnt named heir.
The hand grabbing her shoulders is familiar and cold all the same, his eyes the same hue as when he ordered her to comfort the king.
It was her duty! She done as her father headed had provided the king with comfort, that Laena Velaryon could never give, she had done her Duty!
So why can't Rhaneyra understand?It is Aegon who is the kings firstborn son, by the laws of the seven it is her son who should sit the throne!
She knelt until her knees ached, pressing into the cold, unyielding stone of the sept floor. Seven faces stared down at her-unmoved and unchanging.She was a good woman. A dutiful daughter. A faithful wife. But the words felt hollow, no matter how many times she whispered them under her breath.
She bowed her head lower. Mother, guide me. Maiden, protect me. Crone, grant me wisdom. Over and over, the words came, but they no longer tasted as sweet on her tongue. No matter how often she prayed, no matter how red and raw my knees became, her husband did not look at her son, her son with his white hair and too purple eyes.
Her father had praised Aegon for it, for having the dragons coloring despite Alicent's own Hightower blood.
But she couldn't help but cringe whenever her Aegon looked at her with his queer eyes, they were simply too inhuman, like the rest of the red keep with their Targaryen Sigils and their scandalous paintings and sculptures.
She had tried to change them, to have them changed and replaced by the light of seven, but her old friend had stopped, had thrown a tantrum and just like always her husband had bowed down to the whims of his only daughter.
Why couldn't Rhaenyra understand that she was just trying to help her? She was a princess of the realm and she should follow her duty.
It was of no mind, Alicent would forgive her this time, she would make sure to arrange a good respectable match for her after Aegon was named heir, Rhaenyra would understand her duty just as Alicent had.
Thus the moons passed, Alicent held back her grimace at the dragon egg placed in her sons cradle, a egg which grew hotter by the day, even burning a maid's hand when she wasn't careful. She had been held back by her fathers words when that happened, even though all she had wanted was to pull Aegon away from that monstrosity.
Though, her son always seemed to be more at ease around it, his hands remaining unburnt even when pulling it close, his too bright eyes looking at her shocked face completely unaware.
The Queen did not visit the nursery for quite a few days after that particular incident.
And so time passed, the princess pulling away, the prince slowly growing and a queen who was invited to the kings chamber again.
The celebration of the prince's first name day is grand and full of Hightower supporters.
The princess and the king fight, the queen feigns kindness and the Lord Hand schemes.
In the end, it is not the day that carves itself into history, but events that follow in the night.
On the night of Aegon the second's first name day, the dragon placed in his cradle hatches.
In the dead of the night it cracks, crawls its way out from the egg as his human watches too aware yet unable to truly remember his past.
It is only when the black dragon escapes the clutches of his egg, in the moment slit bright red eyes meet unhuman purple ones, that both dragon and human understand.
And so the first prince screams, with the name and life of Noah flashing before his eyes, as his bond puts together the seams of his soul, and the Dragon roars as if to announce his arrival to the world.
The maid's are the first ones to reach though they all kneel and stand outside at the understanding of the situation.
The king smiles and admires the dragon so alike to his, the Queen can barely hide her flinch's at the monster and holds back the urge to pull her son away, The hand smile's, his mind already planning his next steps.
It is the princess who steps forward who cleans the dragon, and does the duty of a Targaryen.
A black dragon, with scales of yellow scaling down his spine and the brightest eyes of amber.
A cradle-born dragon, whispered as Balerion reborn and named Keraxes by the King.
The bond between AegonII and his dragon Kerax, is one famed for its closeness, the bards of kings landing often composed songs of the prince more in place in the sky than bound to land, and of The dragon and Human who moved as one.
Kerax and AegonII would remain companions for life and would see many battles together. Yet, it was still a shock when the fearsome dragon called Balerion reborn, born in AegonII's cradle chose to depart with his rider as AegonII's body burned in the fires of his beloved companion. Till the end, they were a pair together in life and death.
- Excerpt from the Targaryen and their dragons, Maester Zhongli.