Chapter 148: Prince of Flea Bottom, the Battle of the Royal Guards
In the Throne Room, King Viserys sat on the Iron Throne, beneath the terrifying giant skull of Balerion, with his Valyrian steel sword, Dark Sister, laid across his lap.
"The engagement of Rhaenyra and Aegon is a grand affair, and I hope the High Septon himself presides over the ceremony."
Ser Otto Hightower's jaw was tight. "Your Grace, is it truly necessary to invite the High Septon? A Septon from King's Landing's Great Sept of Baelor would suffice. If we have to wait for the High Septon to travel from Oldtown's Starry Sept to King's Landing, it would take many days."
King Viserys stated firmly, "The engagement ceremony will not be compromised. Furthermore, King's Landing will host a grand tourney, and I wish for the best knights and warriors from the Seven Kingdoms, as well as champions from the Three Daughters, to all participate."
Lyman Beesbury, Master of Coin, the Master of Coin, looked distraught. "Your Grace, is this truly wise? A tourney will cost a fortune."
King Viserys smiled. "A little money is nothing. One should enjoy life while they can."
Daemon caressed his sword, Dark Sister. "A tourney not only provides a stage for knights to showcase their skills, but also offers entertainment for the common folk. Innkeepers, prostitutes, bakers, and weapon masters can all make a killing during the tourney. I remember during King Jaehaerys's time, at the Dragonpit Square tourney, a prostitute on Silk Street earned enough to buy a house from her clients."
Thanks to the wealth left by King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne, the royal treasury was abundant, with mountains of golden dragons and silver stags. King Viserys had always been generous. He loved feasts and tourneys. With his daughter Rhaenyra about to be engaged to his nephew Aegon, King Viserys deemed it the perfect time to hold a tourney.
Back then, Daemon was a perennial victor at tourneys and the most dazzling star. Daemon was deeply loved by commoners and noblewomen alike. His popularity was so high that even the legendary Kingsguard, Ser Ryam Redwyne, could not match it.
Daemon had not participated in a tourney for many years. He still missed the days of jousting with Ser Ryam Redwyne, Clement Crabb, and other highly skilled Kingsguard. Now, these old knights had all passed away. Daemon estimated that only Criston Cole, Harwin Strong, and a few other knights would have a chance to stop him in the tourney.
King Viserys descended the steps from the Iron Throne. Daemon was waiting for him at the staircase exit. Daemon said, "Brother, I'm going to inspect the Kingsguard's street patrols in King's Landing. Are you interested in coming along?"
King Viserys shook his head like a rattle drum. "No interest. I still need to carve my Valyrian Freehold, and the scene of Aegon conquering the Great Grass Sea. I've already started carving the part where a Khal crowns him. That golden crown will be finished in a few days."
Grand Maester Mellos gently fiddled with the chain around his neck. "Your Grace, prophecies do not necessarily come true. Aegon cannot even spell 'Dothraki'. He has been increasingly inattentive in his studies recently. Yesterday, during class, when I was telling the children about Aegon's great conquest, Aegon actually fell asleep at his desk."
King Viserys suppressed his anger. "Aegon truly disappoints me. He is the Prophet Prince, destined to make the Dothraki Khals and the cheese mongers of the Free Cities submit. I will personally reprimand him tonight."
Daemon was too lazy to correct Viserys's dream prophecies. Let King Viserys keep those unrealistic dreams! After all, the higher King Viserys's expectations for Aegon, the greater his disappointment would be.
Daemon strode out of the Throne Room. Ser Otto Hightower gazed grimly at Daemon's retreating back.
Ser Otto Hightower climbed the spiral staircase of the Hand's Tower and happened to encounter his daughter, Queen Alicent. Alicent was holding one-year-old Daeron. Over the past few years, Alicent had given King Viserys three sons and one daughter, yet her figure remained excellent, with full hips and a captivating allure.
Queen Alicent said, "Father, Grand Maester Mellos says Aegon is always inattentive when studying. Perhaps we should find a scholar specifically from the Citadel to teach Aegon. The Grand Maester is, after all, busy with many affairs and has too little time for educating the children."
Ser Otto Hightower nodded slightly. He led his daughter into the Hand's chambers. After the door closed, Ser Otto Hightower said, "Aegon is the Prophet Prince, yet His Grace insists on making Rhaenyra the heir to the Iron Throne. King Viserys seems to have forgotten that he himself became king by virtue of being a male heir, defeating Princess Rhaenys, a female heir, at the Great Council on Dragonstone. Now that he is king, he disregards his own son's right to succession and favors Rhaenyra."
Queen Alicent did not possess her father's strong ambition. She said, "Rhaenyra and my children, after all, share the same father. If Rhaenyra ascends the Iron Throne, Aegon can, as the prophecy says, forge a dragon kingdom across the Narrow Sea in Essos, conquering the Dothraki's Great Grass Sea. Then, Aegon can still be king."
Ser Otto Hightower sneered. "Conquer the Great Grass Sea? The Dothraki territories are a desolate wasteland. The Dothraki possess the strongest cavalry. Even with dragons, conquering the vast Dothraki Great Grass Sea is by no means easy."
"If Aegon truly is the prince from King Viserys's dream, then how exactly will he conquer the Great Grass Sea? Once Rhaenyra sits on the Iron Throne, Aegon, Aemond, Helaena, and Daeron will likely be driven out of the Red Keep. Rhaenyra might even harm them. If Aegon can't even hold onto the Iron Throne, what talk is there of conquest?"
Queen Alicent began to feel afraid. "Does Rhaenyra intend to wield a butcher's knife against her half-siblings?"
Ser Otto Hightower stroked Alicent's shoulder. "Child, court power struggles are very cruel. Never mind half-siblings, for the throne, even full brothers killing each other is commonplace. If you look through the bloody histories of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and Old Valyria, they all confirm this."
"If King Viserys continues to be so blind, the Iron Throne will ultimately fall into Daemon's hands. Daemon is simply insatiable. He now commands the Kingsguard. Soon, the Red Keep, Silk Street, Flea Bottom, the Great Sept of Baelor, and all the city gates will fall into Daemon's hands. I have decided to expand the numbers of the Hand's Guard and the Hightower Guard. After all, in extraordinary times, the more warriors one has, the better."
Daemon, with his sons Aegon, Jaehaerys, and Baelon, and his nieces Rhaenyra and Laena, walked through the streets of Flea Bottom.
Some things never changed. Flea Bottom's eateries still offered free meat stew, containing all kinds of meat, occasionally even fingernails and hair; children waved sticks, chasing each other barefoot through the streets of Flea Bottom; jugglers walked on stilts down the streets; cheap prostitutes stood by the roadside, posturing to attract clients.
Daemon's children had never been to Flea Bottom. Rhaenyra often flew over Flea Bottom on her dragon, but this was her very first time visiting Flea Bottom for leisure. Rhaenyra and Daemon's children were all very excited.
The streets of Flea Bottom were narrow, with pigsties, latrines, brothels, and taverns all crammed together. The air was a strange mix of roasted meat from taverns, pigsty smells, ale, and the cheap perfume of prostitutes.
Daemon's youngest son, Prince Baelon, covered his nose. "Father, it smells awful here."
Daemon smiled. "Yet this is the most authentic King's Landing. The people here love me. I have a famous nickname: 'Prince of Flea Bottom'."
Soon, the people of Flea Bottom noticed Daemon. They surged forward like a tide, shouting "Prince Daemon" and "King of Flea Bottom". Kingsguard Commander Rio Stone had no choice but to order Kingsguard soldiers to form a human wall and clear a path.
Daemon took his children to watch a puppeteer perform by the roadside. The puppeteer performed "The Battle Beneath the Gods Eye". With nimble fingers, the puppeteer manipulated two dragons and their Dragon Knights: King Maegor rode Balerion, while Prince Aemon rode Silverwing. This Prince Aemon was King Jaehaerys's brother and King Aenys's eldest son. When Balerion struck down Silverwing, the onlookers immediately let out a sigh.
Rhaenyra frowned. "Dragon civil war is truly foolish. Such things only happened during King Maegor's time. In the future, Westeros will never again see Dragon Knights fighting each other."
Daemon could only pray that Rhaenyra's dream would come true. However, as the number of dragons and Dragon Knights grew, a civil war among dragons seemed inevitable.
Afterward, Daemon took his children to visit the fighting pits and the underground casino. Daemon then went to the Kingsguard barracks, where he was warmly welcomed by the soldiers.
In the barracks' study, Daemon flipped through the Kingsguard roster and said to Kingsguard Commander Rio Stone, who was beside him, "Since I left King's Landing all these years, the Kingsguard's combat effectiveness has visibly declined, and King's Landing's public order has also deteriorated. We must strengthen training and dismiss unqualified personnel."
Rio Stone was a handsome young man, with a striking appearance, sea-green eyes, and bronze-colored hair that fell to his shoulders. He was a talent Daemon had discovered in Tyrosh a few years ago and sent back to serve in the Kingsguard. Rio Stone indeed did not disappoint Daemon, rising to the position of Commander in just a few years.
"Prince Daemon, we can screen soldiers through physical fitness tests, sword and shield skill tests, and so on," Rio Stone announced.
Daemon revealed a sharp smile. "Yes, but we must prioritize eliminating those who entered the Kingsguard through connections. I want to investigate the background of every Kingsguard soldier: which lord did they serve under? Who recommended them? I want to know everything."
Next, Daemon began to reorganize the Kingsguard. Leveraging his deep connections within the Kingsguard, Daemon easily rooted out the soldiers and knights Ser Otto Hightower had planted in the Kingsguard. These individuals were all dismissed. Daemon reappointed captains for all the city gates, the Dragonpit, and the Great Sept of Baelor, firmly taking control of the Kingsguard.
Days later, at a routine Small Council meeting, Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, glared at Daemon.
"Your Grace, Prince Daemon is purging dissidents within the Kingsguard. Some excellent knights, simply because I recommended them, have been swept out by Prince Daemon. It seems Prince Daemon treats King's Landing like the Three Daughters, believing he can do as he pleases."
King Viserys said indifferently, "Is that so? Daemon, why would you do such a thing?"
Daemon replied calmly, "Your Grace, I dismissed those soldiers because they were unqualified, not because of Ser Otto Hightower. If Ser Otto Hightower is not convinced, I would be pleased to defeat every one of them with my sword, Dark Sister, in front of Your Grace and all the Small Council members."
Ser Otto Hightower raised his head. "Your Grace, Prince Daemon is practicing nepotism within the Kingsguard. If this continues, the Kingsguard will become Daemon's army, not Your Grace's army. Prince Daemon has placed too many noble second sons in the Kingsguard."
Daemon sneered. "Ser Otto Hightower, do you look down on noble second sons? Allow me to remind you, you yourself are a noble second son. Have you forgotten your origins just because you became the esteemed Hand of the King and your daughter became queen?"
Ser Otto Hightower was about to retort when King Viserys said, "Enough! Ser Otto Hightower, if you feel those soldiers dismissed by Daemon are a loss, you can recruit them into the Hand's Guard. I will also send people to investigate, and if their abilities are indeed outstanding, they can return to serve in the Kingsguard in the future."
Under King Viserys's mediation, Ser Otto Hightower had no choice but to accept the outcome.
To celebrate the engagement of Dragonstone Princess Rhaenyra to Tyrosh Prince Aegon, King's Landing hosted a grand tourney. This tourney attracted knights, free riders, and wandering warriors from all over Westeros, and some even returned from the Three Daughters specifically to compete in King's Landing.
The tourney took place in Dragonpit Square on Rhaenys's Hill. On this day, the nobles of Westeros and the commoners of King's Landing flocked to Dragonpit Square.
King Viserys sat on the high platform. Queen Alicent, with Aegon, Aemond, and Helaena, sat beside him. Prince Daeron, still an infant, was held in his wet nurse's arms. The seats for Daemon's family, however, were empty.
King Viserys raised an eyebrow. "Where is Daemon? He would never miss a tourney."
Queen Alicent said, "Gael and the children aren't here either. Where in the world did they go?"
Ser Otto Hightower, however, was delighted. He wished Daemon would be absent. "Your Grace, there's no need to wait for Prince Daemon. The tourney should begin immediately! So many nobles and commoners are waiting for Your Grace to declare the tourney open!"
Just then, the roar of a dragon echoed from the sky.
Dragon Caraxes stretched his long, slender neck, flapping his blood-red wings, soaring over Blackwater Bay. Prince Daemon sat on the dragon saddle, and the crowd cheered and applauded him.
Behind Daemon followed his dragon legion and family: Gael rode Dreamfyre, Aegon rode Balerion, Jaehaerys rode Blue Sprite, Baelon rode Ancalagon, Laena rode the massive Vhagar, followed by her mother Princess Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys, and Rhaenyra rode Syrax.
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