Chapter 2

There was much debate about the founding of Pentos. Some claimed that it was initially founded by the Valyrian Freehold, or more specifically by merchants, seafarers and traders from the Freehold who used their funds to establish a trading outpost. Other debates included that it was actually founded by the Andals and later conquered by the Freehold. In fact there was even a theory that the Valyrians annexing Pentos into their Freehold, and resulting conflicts with the Andals was what forced them to migrate to Westeros. Considering no one knew exactly how long ago Andals migrated to Westeros, with some claiming it to be 2,000 years ago and others claiming it to be as long as 6,000 years ago, it was very possible that this theory was the truth.

Aeron didn't know which theory the truth was, but he was interested all the same. Aeron wasn't much of a researcher, but he had always been fascinated by the Freehold, even more so now that he knew about his magic. Unfortunately regardless of Pentos' founding, it was not the closest daughter with Mother Valyria and as such it's information on the Freehold was limited, and it's knowledge on dragonlore was so hilariously outdated and false that he had to resist the urge to laugh at some of the 'facts' about dragons that the Magisters recommended to him about how he should raise Solthys. Many generally believed the Valyrians, and now his family used magical whips on their dragons.

Using a whip on a dragon was a sure-fire way of getting yourself burned alive, hell Aeron knew if he attempted to use such a thing on Solthys, treating her like a common animal, then he was more likely to get ripped to shreds, regardless of the bond between the two of them. Although Aeron made no attempt to correct the Magisters views, he had enough experience with pompous nobles in Westeros to know that attempting to change their views, and pointing out faults was not going to endear himself to any of them and the magisters had been nothing but courteous to him since he arrived in Pentos, and with the increasing number of problems with the Triarchy and Braavos' dislike for his family due to their status as the last dragonlords of Valyria, he had no desire to cause issues with one of the few Free Cities that was actually on good relations with the Iron Throne.

Aeron put down the book of Pentoshi history and walked to the balcony of the manse he was staying in, watching Solthys in the clearing within the lands. He didn't plan on staying in Pentos for much longer, his uncle had warned him about how the magisters would try to manipulate him into a war on their behalf, after all they had attempted to do the same to Daemon. Unfortunately, his uncle had a reputation as a warrior and not someone to be manipulated and trifled with, Aeron did not have that reputation, and already the Prince of Pentos had made many subtle hints about growing Braavosi influence, Triarchy expansion and the Dothraki threat, and how Pentos always greatly rewarded those who aided it.

He had no desire to get involved in Pentos' conflicts, nor use his bonded Solthys as a mere tool for the magisters' ambitions. Westeros had its game of thrones, well Essos had its game of cities, and what all the cities wanted was control over the rest. Volantis had attempted such using armies and conquest but failed, and now the Three Daughters were attempting the same but through trade and pooling their combined resources, surpassing any single Free City in terms of wealth and power. Pentos wished to upset the power of the Triarchy and wanted to use him to do it.

One of the guards of the manse entered his chambers, disturbing him from his thoughts. "I apoligise for disturbing you my prince, but Prince Dorak is here to speak to you." The guard informed him, causing him to sigh slightly.

"Tell him I'll meet with him in a few moments." He ordered the guard. Giving one last glance at Solthys who was lazily eating the carcass of a cow, he headed off to the entrance of the manse where Prince Dorak was awaiting him. He knew the man wasn't here for a simply meeting, Dorak wouldn't make to journey to his manse for a simple visit, no the man wanted something.

The Pentoshi Prince wasn't very impressive, and like most of the magisters within the city he was obese with multiple chins, wearing many glamourous necklaces and rings, as well as absolutely stinking of perfume. "Prince Aeron." Dorak spoke, bowing as he did so.

"Prince Dorak." He replied with a small fake smile. "Can I offer you a glass of wine?" He asked, gesturing to one of the servants.

"No thank you my prince." The Pentoshi answered, surprising Aeron slightly. Dorak was well known for his love of wine, clearly the man wished to keep a clear head. "I was wondering if I could give you tour of the city, while you have been here for a few weeks I do not believe you have had an official tour."

"I would be honoured." Aeron replied, hiding his suspicions about the prince's ambitions. If he hadn't thought the prince wanted something before, he certainly did now. With the number of international problems going on in Essos, as well as dealing with cutthroat magisters who would slice his throat on account of failure, giving a tour to a foreign guest, granted a wealthy and powerful one, but still a foreigner was beneath someone like Dorak.

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Aeron had expected a tour of the city's wealthiest provinces, the port and many trading stores within the city, perhaps even going to the prince's personal manse. He had not expected to be patrolling the walls of the city, which were armed with siege weapons, visiting the barracks for both Pentos' city watch and its army, even if it was a small one by Westerosi standards, and currently approaching the training grounds.

It had allowed him to form a good few suspicions about what was going on. One, the city was clearly preparing the for attack, his training by his uncle Daemon had taught him as much, and that conclusion was obvious considering the number of siege weapons, not that they'll do a great deal of good in a battle. The ballista's and scorpions were of good quality; however, the catapults and trebuchets were severely dated and in need of being replaced. In most cases the weapons would be lucky to fire one or two shots before breaking apart.

When they finally reached the training yard he had to resist the urge to show his disgust as what he saw. Unsullied. Aeron did not like slavery in any shape or form, and he was glad that his family did not practice such an abomination, or any of Westeros for that matter. Unfortunately the slave trade was a deeply ingrained aspect of Essos' economy and there was nothing he could do about it.

The Unsullied however were even worse. One of the many impacts of the Doom of Valyria was the rise in Ghiscari culture and influence, along with the return of their infamous slave soldiers. Slave soldiers was something that most of the Free Cities used, Pentos included. The Unsullied however couldn't be called slave soldiers, hell they couldn't even be called human after all the atrocities done to them. With no conscious thought or will they would slice open their own throat if their master ordered it without an ounce of hesitation. And unfortunately after they had managed to defend Qohor from the Dothraki the influence of the Ghiscari had not only grown but the demand for the Unsullied had also increased throughout Essos.

A small callous part of him couldn't help but note that their training did indeed make them the ideal soldiers but his disgust far outweighed his respect for their skills. And their skills were another cause for concern. They truly were superior to any infantry force of Westeros, and though it was never stated he knew his grandfather and the small council feared that Slaver's Bay would become a new Ghiscari Empire. And become as much of a threat to house Targaryen as the old Ghis Empire had been to Valyria.

"Impressive aren't they." Dorak loudly proclaimed as the two of them stopped to observe the Unsullied training.

"You could say that." He replied with thinly held disgust. If the Pentoshi noticed, he said nothing. After several moments Aeron decided to break the silence. "So Prince Dorak, what is it you want?" Aeron demanded, gaining a look of shock.

"Want my prince?" Dorak asked sounding shocked, while the two guards who protected the Pentoshi tensed slightly, fearing an attack.

"You have been showing me the defenses of this city and armed forces, and I have come to two conclusions. One, you think that I'm planning to attack this city so your showing me your defenses as a deterrent, a warning against me." He spoke the first conclusion causing Dorak to splutter slightly. "Two, you're expecting an attack and you want my help, but you don't want to appear desperate, so you've been showing off your defenses. So which one is it my prince?" He asked with an almost mocking tone.

"Prince Aeron, I assure you that I would never do such a thing." Dorak spoke with no small amount of desperation, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. Despite outwardly showing anger, Aeron was truthfully very amused with the fact even though he was only four and ten namedays he was causing a man more then four times his age tremble.

"Then I guess you won't mind me and Solthys leaving Pentos and continuing our travels." He said as he turned around to head back to his manse, causing the Pentoshi to call after him.

"Wait." Dorak called out.

"Well then I guess it's the second option." He spoke as he turned back towards the Pentoshi Prince. "So who is attacking Pentos?"

"The Dothraki. Numbers vary between fifteen to twenty thousand. We are more then capable of handling them, but..."

"A dragon will make things much easier." Aeron stated causing Dorak to nod. Aeron had been expecting this, and even though he had no desire to get involved that didn't mean it couldn't work to his benefit. "I did not come to Pentos to fight its battles for it, what can you give me in exchange Dorak?"

"We have gold, lots of it." Dorak offered, causing Aeron to snort slightly.

"I am the future king of Westeros, gold I will always have in abundance." He stated. Gold may have been useful in the short term, especially during his travels, but not in the long term.

"Then what?" Dorak asked with fear creeping into his voice. Fools thought the Prince of Pentos had power but truthfully Dorak was trapped to obeying the whims of the magisters and if he failed to deal with the Dothraki then he would be sacrificed, or worse given to the Dothraki in tribute.

Aeron gave Dorak his offer, which the Pentoshi very eagerly accepted. With that matter dealt with Aeron headed back towards his manse.

He had been surprised by how quick the Pentoshi had been to accept his proposition, perhaps it was desperation, Aeron was more then aware of the fact that being Prince of Pentos was a double-edged sword. Or more likely Dorak didn't think that Aeron was demanding was a high price to pay. After all, in the long run what use was three stones to the city of Pentos.

While walking towards his manse Aeron opened his link to Solthys. While Targaryens couldn't necessarily speak with their dragons they did have their own form of communication. They could send emotions, images and memories to their bonded. He could feel his dragons annoyance at being disturbed, but when he sent her a mental image of the Dothraki he could feel her bloodlust and desire. Dragons, while remarkably intelligent creatures still possessed animal instincts that included bloodlust and a desire for combat and war, it was what made the dragons such terrifying war beasts, they enjoyed the conflict.

Solthys had absolutely no objection to aiding the Pentos, which would make things a lot easier.

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The war council of Pentos was not particularly impressive, in fact disappointing seemed to be an accurate word for it. There were six people present including him and Prince Dorak; There was the leader of the Unsullied who was known as White Rat, the commander of the city watch of 2,500 men, a fat blob known as Daario, the leader of Pentos' army of 6,000, a greybeard by the name of Boris but at least he appeared the part and had the air of an experienced warrior, even if he was passed his prime. And finally was the leader of a sellsword company, the Golden Horses numbering 1,500 soldiers, known as Qyent. As the name suggested the Golden Horses were a primarily a cavalry company, but when the Dothraki were regarded as the best cavalry force in the world Aeron was not having high hopes about their ability to hold off a Dothraki horde. He'd much rather fifteen hundred archers then horsemen.

Pentos had very quickly developed a history of appeasing the Dothraki as opposed to fighting them, but with a dragon within the city it seemed that the council of magisters had found a small sliver of courage. Time would tell whether or not it lasted, but for now Pentos was ready to fight. Unfortunately there were large disagreements about strategy.

"Why don't we just send out the eunuchs?" Daario demanded angrily. "We paid them to defend this city, so why can't they do that? It worked in Qohor."

"Yes everyone knows the story." Qyent replied with no small amount of exasperation and a frustrated look on his face. "20,000 Dothraki attacked Qohor and 3,000 Unsullied repelled every charge they made. Well you seem to be forgetting that while only 18,000 Dothraki are attacking, and that's only if the dragon boy's reports are accurate," The sellsword captain threw a skeptical look in his direction as he said that, but the reports were the truth. Aeron had been observing the Dothraki on the back of Solthys and his numbers were accurate. "But we only have 1,000 Unsullied and if we sent them out then the Dothraki will cut them down."

"Not to mention the Dothraki, especially this Khal Harko, have become accustomed to fighting the Unsullied. While they are still effective against Dothraki they are by no means invulnerable." Boris stated calmly, no doubt used to dealing with the fat slob that was the commander of Pentos' city watch.

"And what of the boy and his beast?" Daario snapped, not even looking in his direction.

"For starters Solthys is no beast," He stated, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Second of all we have established that the Unsullied are ill equipped to fight the Dothraki on their own. We have 11,000 men and one dragon to fight 18,000 Dothraki. And Solthys is no Balerion the Dread."

"So your saying that you can't contribute." Dorak stated with a small amount of trepidation in his voice.

"I didn't say that. The Dothraki haven't fought a dragon since the Doom of Valyria, they have no experience in fighting one. We have at most two weeks before the Dothraki are at our walls, and they expect us to stay behind our walls, after all only a fool would face the Dothraki in an open field."

"What are you getting at Prince Aeron?"

"If the Dothraki attack this city then perhaps we can defend against them, but that is no guarantee and we all know it." Pentos was above all a merchant city, and while they had the numbers to defend it their siege weapons were dated and inefficient and the closer the Dothraki came the closer the magisters were to paying tribute to the Dothraki. When the Dothraki attacked, they had reasonable chance of rebelling them, but no guarantee. What he was going to suggest was riskier, but far more likely to stop the Dothraki.

"The path the Dothraki are travelling to Pentos has no shortage of places to ambush the Dothraki. Send out maybe a hundred men to harry the Dothraki, attack their supply lines and such. That should distract the Dothraki enough to buy us time to properly trap them." Aeron spoke, pointing at several parts of the man in front of them all as he continued to propose his plan.

Many skeptical looks were passed between them. "It has potential," Boris admitted after a while. "But still risky. If we lose..."

"If we lose the Dothraki will still have taken significant loses and would not be capable of assaulting Pentos, at least not immediately, this Khal Harko will need time to regather his Khalasar. Which is time Pentos can use to rebuild its forces. Regardless of the outcome, victory or defeat Pentos will stay protected."

That seemed to settle the matter for both Prince Dorak and Daario, though Boris and Qyent both seemed hesitant with the idea. White Rat hadn't said a word since the meeting started and Aeron was actually starting to wonder if the Unsullied were mutes as well as eunuchs. He had yet to hear a single one of them actually speak.

"You are a bold one Valyrian." Qyent admitted after a while. "I agree with your strategy." And with that Boris also consented to the plan, although with a good deal of reluctance. "However, you better hope that if this plan fails that I don't survive, otherwise I will hang you with your own guts, dragon or not, Targaryen or not."

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To be honest Aeron did not actually know much about the Dothraki, most of his knowledge came from his uncle Daemon, who admitted that he himself was no expert on them. But what he did know about them was that they weren't people for strategy, more akin to a blunt hammer that slammed against their enemies then a fine blade piercing an enemy's weakness.

In Westeros it was a common tactic to send out a squad of soldiers to raid the enemy, often for the purpose of buying more time, unfortunately due to being such a common and well known strategy in Westeros its effectiveness was limited. Against the Dothraki however, the tactic was proving to be far more effective. When a group of Pentoshi warriors started raiding the Dothraki's camp, rather then sending a small force to hunt them down and continue on his way to Pentos like any competent Westerosi general would, Khal Harko had instead decided to personally hunt down the attackers, halting the process of his entire Khalasar until the raiders were dealt with. It had bought them far more time then Aeron had expected that it would.

In fact, they had even managed to increase their force to 12,300 men rather then 11,000. But in the end the time they had bought was over, and by dawn the Khalasar would be at their position. The strategy they were implementing was a simple one. The Unsullied along with along with 500 hundred archers would be positioned directly in front of the Dothraki, along with 4 ballistas, 5 scorpions and even a catapult. The path the Dothraki were travelling was surrounded in forests and hills, providing ample ambush territory.

When the Dothraki attacked the Unsullied, the soldiers encamped in the trees and on the hills would attack them at the sides, while the Golden Horses would attack from behind. Or at least that was the plan, Aeron had never fought a battle before but he had been trained by Daemon in the art of warfare for years and he knew that no plan survived contact with the enemy.

He was nervous, almost trembling in fact. Aeron was about to fight his first proper battle and he was nervous, excited about the prospect of being like many of his warrior ancestors and like his uncle, but also very nervous.

He felt a strong wind on the back of his head but didn't turn around, he knew it was only Solthys. "How are you girl?" He asked her as he walked towards his dragon, scratching her head, causing her to purr, or at least give the dragon equivalent of purring, to anyone else it would sound like that Solthys was growling.

He was honestly more worried about Solthys then he was about himself, or any of the men he would be fighting with. A dragons scales maybe stronger then any armour but all it took was a single shot to bring down Meraxes. Granted a lucky one in a million shot, despite how much Dorne claimed otherwise, but still a single shot in the eye. The eyes were a dragon's weakness. And 18,000 Dothraki, who were well known for their skills in archery would be aiming directly for Solthys.

"Do you know what you have to do girl?" He asked her, causing her to snort a puff of smoke in his face. "I'll take that as a yes then." Aeron spoke with a laugh.

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Aeron sat on Solthys back, the chains keeping him firmly attached to his dragon. It had come. He could hear the Dothraki in the distance, their war cry bellowing across the land and the sounds of the hooves of thousands of charging horses.

High in the sky on Solthys' back the charging horde of Dothraki looked more akin to a line of ants as opposed to the ferocious warriors that they really were. It gave an odd feeling of power, being so high in the sky atop one of the most powerful creatures in the known world, with the enemy completely unaware of the fate that awaited them. He wondered if this was how Aegon the Conqueror felt before he burnt Harrenhall and before the Field of Fire.

It was hard from such a height to tell the exact position of the Dothraki along with the Unsullied army but when he assessed that the Dothraki were within 100 yards of the Unsullied he urged Solthys to fly down as fast as she could towards the enemy.

Like a bolt of lightning Solthys flew with a speed that even among dragons was impressive. Solthys let out a bellowing roar as they were within sight of the Dothraki and Aeron observed as thousands of Dothraki stopped in their tracks as the sight of an emerald scaled dragon entered the battle.

"Dracarys." He ordered and immediately Solthys let loose a flame of fire at the Dothraki approaching the Unsullied, sowing discord among the Dothraki ranks.

Aeron watched in near shock at the sight of dozens of men and horses were burned alive. Knowing what a dragon was capable of and seeing it was quite another. Despite the shocked state of her rider, Solthys was happy to continue unleashing strands of fire upon the dothraki. The female dragon completely in her element as she burned dozens of men and horses alive.

The effect Solthys had on the battle was a massive one. While she wasn't old or large enough to kill thousands of Dothraki on her own, the sight of a dragon burning hundreds of their comrades alive had a massive demoralising effect on them. Combined with the trap that the Dothraki had fallen into, it was not surprising that Aeron could see hundreds of them already deserting the battle.

As the battle raged on, more and more Dothraki started abandoning the battle, especially when their loses started mounting. Finally a horn was sounded, and the Dothraki started retreating in full force. The battle had been won.

With that he directed Solthys to land. Once she had landed Aeron undid the chains that kept him secured to his dragon and got off her back while she feasted upon the dead around her.

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Pentos was celebrating, in fact the entire city seemed to be one big party and even the slaves were pleased and happy, although that could very well be due to the fact that since their masters distracted they weren't being bothered as much.

Aeron had been invited to the celebration held by Prince Dorak but despite the party all around him Aeron truly did not feel like celebrating. Aeron picked at the food in front of him, barely paying attention to the mindless chatter of the various Pentosi magisters.

Finally Aeron had enough listening to the various magisters and their false boasts of how they contributed to the victory when in reality they all sat back and did nothing. Giving an excuse Aeron stood up from his table and left.

Truthfully he was feeling sick. The carnage of the battle had been nothing like he had expected. He had fought and killed, and on his command Solthys had burned hundreds of men to death. Dothraki or not, barbarians or not they had still been people.

"Now that is a look I have not seen in a long time." Turning around he saw the sellsword captain Qyent standing behind him, an amused look on his face.

"What look?" He asked warily. The sellsword captain had not been pleasant to him in any of their previous encounters, although Aeron was observant enough to notice the look of respect the captain of the Golden Horses now held for him.

"The look of someone who's seen their first battle. I was surprised you didn't throw up." Qyent remarked.

"It was a near thing." He answered back. "My uncle never told me about that part of war."

"Fighting is easy. It's the aftermath that's hard, looking at all around, some you killed, some who were killed fighting for you. It's not an easy thing to manage."

"How do you?" He couldn't but ask. He had killed before, the day where he and Helaena were attacked by bandits in the Kings wood came to mind, but this was different. He had killed those bandits out of self-defence, but this time he had chosen to fight, to kill.

"I look at the big picture. You and your dragon-"

"Solthys." He interrupted by instinct.

"Solthys. The two of you won the battle, and prevented Pentos from being sacked and thousands of men, woman and children from being captured as slaves for the Dothraki. The question is, do you regret getting involved?"

"No." He replied after a few moments, feeling a little better about his actions.

"As long as you believe in what your fighting for then it should definitely get easier."

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Khal Harko screamed in rage. He had known that apparently one of those arrogant Valyrian spawn, along with their lizard pets, had been present in Pentos but he hadn't expected it to be present in the battle, or as devastating as it was.

He had been forced to retreat. HIM, Khal Harko of the Great Grass Sea had been defeated by a child. Thousands of his warriors had deserted him and he'd already been forced to kill two fools who had attempted to replace him as Khal. But he was not dead, he had survived. He would regroup his Khalassar and make it larger then ever. And he would bring the fight to Valyrian brat.

"Aeron Targaryen you will by my hand. This I vow by the great stallion." He swore.

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Aeron eyed the three dragon eggs laying in the open chest before him. After decades the three dragon eggs stolen by Elissa Farman in 54 AC, they were finally returned to house Targaryen. Aeron brushed all three eggs with the tips of his fingers, the lack of heat confirming his suspicions. They had all turned to stone.

It was annoying but not unnexped. After decades away from Dragonstone where its volcanic heat kept the eggs warm and healthy it was no surprise that they had frozen. 'But very annoying, it will take years for the hatchlings to awaken and even longer for them to hatch,' He thought as anger raged through him.

Opposite him Prince Dorak was fidgeting slightly. While there was no denying that the Targaryen Prince was pleased that the eggs were back in his family's possession, he was also clearly angry that Pentos had kept the eggs in their possession. And there was no way to predict how the rest of the Targaryens would react to the news. King Viserys may be a peaceful man but he was still a Targaryen, and he genuinely feared how his brother Daemon would react to the news. He only hoped they remembered the strong friendship between Pentos and the Iron Throne, although that fact may enrage them further.

"Pentos was never able to hatch them." Aeron stated as he picked up one of the eggs.

"No, but not for lack of trying." Dorak stated, not even bothering trying to deny it. Countless Pentoshi magisters and princes had been trying to hatch them since 54 AC, attempts ranging from blood sacrifices to prayers but with no success. A part of him was tempted to demand Aeron to tell him how to hatch them but he managed to refrain himself. "I trust that there will no be no retaliation from your family."

"My family has long since suspected that these three eggs were either in Braavos or Pentos, and while I am disappointed that of the two cities it was the one we considered an ally to hide our stolen treasures we are not going to declare war on Pentos. You have no need to worry, after all you weren't the one to steal it, merely the one to return it." Dorak was visibly relieved at that, though Aeron knew his family was going to be furious with Pentos. To steal their dragon eggs was a crime that was

House Targaryen would forgive Pentos for it's past crimes against their ancestors, if only for the lack of allies among the Free Cities, but if Pentos ever attempted such an action again then Aeron would personally turn the city of Pentos into a second Harrenhal.

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Daemon sat at the painted table within the council chambers of Dragonstone, staring at the piece of parchment in his hand from his spies. It was certainly surprising. Aeron had fought a battle against a Dothraki Khal and had won. Granted from what he understood Aeron had spent the battle on Solthys but it didn't change the fact that it was his strategy that had won the battle.

Daemon was proud of the actions of his former squire, and the boy that he viewed as his son. After all Aeron had just won his first victory, hopefully the first of many in his life. But at the same time he was also worried. War changed people and Aeron, though remarkably mature for his age was still only a boy of four and ten name days.

"How can you be so calm?" Rhaenyra asked him, all but pulling her hair in frustration and worry as she stared at her husband who merely read over the letter in his hand, looking almost lost in thought.

"Because after fighting a war, learning that Aeron has won a battle is more a source of pride then one of worry." He replied to his frantic wife. "And I am worried about him, but I also trust Aeron."

"I do trust Aeron, I would never have let him leave if I thought that he couldn't take care of himself." Rhaenyra snapped in reply. "I just worry, Essos is dangerous."

"Aeron is by no means foolhardy. I'm surprised he got involved in the first place." It made him wonder what the Pentoshi had offered him. Must have valuable. "The fact he is now experienced in battle will also send a message to any fools he may encounter while in Essos that he is not to be trifled with."

"Is that all you care about?" Rhaenyra snapped at her husband, her temper reaching its limit. "The fact that Aeron has proved himself in combat. Now every Free City is going to try to manipulate him into fighting their wars for him, and the other cities may seek him harm to prevent that from happening."

"Your wrong." Daemon corrected. "I do care about him, he is my son after all." He stated, a look of shock coming over Rhaenyra's face. "Come on, you must have suspected that he was mine and not that imbecile Laenor's."

End of chapter 2. Please review.

For pairings I think I will go with Baela Targaryen, the only other ones I'm considering are Aliandra Martell and one of the daughters of Borros Baratheon.