Prince Aegon's Chambers

"You didn't fight shoulder to shoulder with them," Aegon pointed out, apparently thinking fighting from dragonback did not qualify. "But you might be right. Seems like less and less people can be trusted. Ever since Aemy..." Aegon looked angry, and took a large drink of the strongwine.

"I thought she did," Aegon said sadly, "I know she did once." He thought back to her at Casterly Rock, only five and ten, ebullient and gaining confidence fast. "I wonder what changed her. Ambition, maybe. Or maybe she was just tired of being kicked around by father and did the only thing she could think of to try and put and end to it."

"She did target me, or so I was told," Aegon replied. "Maybe she thought that if she was in for the penny, she might as well be in for the pound. And there is a difference between a reward, and basic human empathy and appreciation," Aegon said, trying to articulate himself. "The latter costs nothing. And yet father has always guarded it like dragon eggs. For Aemy, at least." It was not necessarily true in Rhaena's case.

The strongwine was beginning to make Aegon's head feel fuzzy. "The bitch," he said. He preferred not to speak ill of the dead, but he had been deliberately not confronting the full implications of Aemy's actions.

"Good in what way?" Aegon asked, drinking from his newly refilled cup.

Aegon laughed. "I can't tell if that makes sense or not. But I think it does... Everyone has their own strengths." That's what he thought she was getting at, anyway. "Though I heard Daenya went off to the Smer Islands? Summer Islands. What's that supposed to be about? You talk to her more."

"She probably heard about their fuck temples," Aegon replied, taking another drink. He didn't think that was the technical name for them, but he could not for the life of him remember what they were supposed to be called. "I can only hope that wasn't Daenya's motive too."

"Do the Valyrian gods say that a man should encourage his baby sister to flounce around like a whore?" Aegon asked her. "I learned them all same as you, and I seem to have forgotten that lesson."

"It is like you said," Aegon responded, "Princesses are held to higher standards than other people. If she develops a reputation like Adara, none of our bannermen will ever take her seriously as a warrior or a commander. It is immaturity."

Aegon shook his head. The room kept moving a little when he stopped, so Aegon took another drink to correct it. "Just saying so does not change minds," Aegon said. "But she is not married, I suppose it cannot hurt too much." He frowned at Rhaena, suddenly seeming more sober. "Get whatever you have to out of your system now, Rhaena. I will not have our heir's paternity challenged and the stability of the realm threatened just so you can satisfy your urges."

"It is not about being an Andal or not. It is about responsibility. Our family is already fucked up, Rhaena. If Aemy would act against me with no pretext at all, then how much more likely will it be for one our children to plot against another if there is even a possibility they might be illegitimate?" Aegon frowned. He had known this would be an issue, but they could only talk about favorite colors and their siblings for so long, and this was something they would need to discuss to prevent the marriage from being any more a sham than it already was. "I will make it easy for you. If I suspect another man is the father of any of your children, I will declare it a bastard. The heir's claim must be unchallenged. After that, I do not care who you sleep with."

"I will not be declaring our children illegitimate," Aegon replied firmly, "Only any that are not mine. There is no trouble you could cause worse than a succession crisis for our children."

"But I agree with that deal. I intend to keep my marriage vows."