Aegon and Arenya

Arenya opened her door, dressed in her usual britches and blouse, holding a wine goblet. "Aegon.." she then corrected herself, with a chuckle"...Your Grace."

"To what do I owe the visit, nephew", she stepped aside letting him enter. "Everything is fine I trust?"

"Well there have been many things happening since I arrived", she took her seat, placing the goblet down. "Seems I have to follow my niece, your betrothed like a babysitter." Arenya looked at him,"....And I do apologize in advance."

Sighing,"Basically she doesn't need me, but as knight it is my job to keep her safe. Between you and me, she's not skilled with a blade worth a damn, but...."

"With a bow, I hear she's pretty lethal."

Listening to him, she smiled,"Did you now and you brought a gift of... Tyroshi brandy?", she chuckled,"Never had it. Please pour a few glasses and let us talk."

"Not surprising....", taking a sip of the brandy,"Rhaena has always been.... Difficult. She always seemed to go her own way."

Shrugging,"Kings Landing is Kings Landing." Arenya looked at him,"Secretly I was thrilled to get the letter from my mother telling me to meet her here with Orys."

"Difficult, but strong. When it is her time, she will be a good Queen."

"I'm thrilled to be elsewhere than what I am used to, nephew", she sighed taking another sip. He was right the brandy was very good. "From the way you describe it, with it's useless formalities, it reminds me of the throne room and everything that surrounds us in Kings Landing."

"Occupy my time? Rhaena will be take up most of that. She will make it known to me that my presence is not wanted, I'm sure."

"Hmmm", she agreed, taking a large sip. "Politics.... We are surrounded by them at all sides and at all times, Aegon. But I choose not to dance to that music."

"Sometimes, I feel pity for your father and your mother. That is a life I never wanted.. To rule, to listen to every shit problem, whiny complaint and be the solution for some pissant Lord, who can't control his own people within his own lands. To worry over the amount of funding and who I was stabbing in the back to get it..."

She looked at him,"To rule over them, yet have most of your people look at you as an wayward Godless abomination because their Gods say you are. That is beyond my scope of caring."

"It makes you tired and old before your time. And if our Gods be good, I plan to live forever." She smiled into her glass.

"You are far too young to have that look", she touched his chin,"It maybe a luxury I have yes, say it was a choice from the Gods. I do not regret it."

"But all other choices I have made", she smiled,"Haven't exactly went my way, nephew." She swirled the small amount of brandy around and then drank it.

"You are right, you can not ignore the game as shitty as it maybe.. For now", Arenya looked at him,"But when it is your turn to play, you will have the power to change the rules a bit. Make it to your fashion."

"You are not my brother, Aegon. He is a different man now, and it is not the weight of the crown that did it."

Pouring another glass,"You will be king and the people will love you. I don't know why but they will..." She shrugged jokingly with a smile,"Now Rhaena, I'm not sure."

"I will always have faith in you", she looked at him. "I don't have children and I dolt secretly over my kin." Laughing,"Out of the three I have taken a shine to you because there is something there."

Her look was of small surprise,"I believe that would be a good idea, you should see the Gods of your people, of your family." Her face serious as she spoke her devotion,"I believe in them, in their clarity of justice and purpose. They are who we are, Valyrians..."

"They outnumber your Gods of your... Faith, but they are worthy of worship",she smiled at him jokingly,"Maybe a visit may help you understand."

Arenya smiled,"No prophecy, it is the fact that you are just a man who tries to do good."

"We are human, we make mistakes. It our way to learn from them not to fail repeatedly dong the same thing."

"Things are not meant to always go our way, not even when we force it", she drank from the glass. "no matter which Gods are worshiped, they were not created to give us everything we want... it is placed before us to work for it and give them praise when we receive it from their guidance."

Arenya sat back in her chair, looking at him,"Well atleast you mind is open to even accept the suggestion. Good Kings listen then make their decisions, I watched my father enough to know that. "

She cleared her throat,"I do not think this trip will change your mind overnight. If it doesn't you will still have the knowledge of your people, your history to reflect upon. It is not your fault you were began to admire the Andal ways, we do not have the places of worship in Kings Landing to educate on our Gods."

"The Seven hold such a powerful sway, that shoud be evident from the lifelong war we've been fighting before you were born. They even pushed back the Old Gods of the Starks to remain in worship in the North. When their religion was the first in Westeros."

She took along drink from the brandy,"Puzzling isn't it? How the Seven Gods could come an roust so many?"

"As we have witnessed, yes", she nodded. "Every religion has it's fanatics that interpret the will of their Gods beyond reason." The brandy slid down her throat, warm and sweet.

"We are mortal, that is so true", she nodded,"Maybe I should find that Red Sorceress and worship her Lord of Light. That seems to within his power, or so I've heard." Arenya laughed loudly. "Now that would be a sight."

Arenya looked at him,"I think Maegor would shit lightening bolts.. Or maybe not." She sighed deeply,"He is my brother. I love him, well I have loved him, since we were children. It is no lie that is he is not a secret that he is not happy with your choice of religion, but he can not deny the man that you have become."

She looked out of her window at the starry night sky,"We will go the temple. I will let you take your time, I will tell you what I know."

Arenya turned back to him, her face sad,"You are your own man, Aegon, but you will never sit on throne believing in the Seven. And I'm sure you know that by now, don't you?"

Arenya touched his shoulder,"One of the qualities, Aegon that you have always had is being true to yourself", she looked at him",Your heart is true, in time your words will follow."

"No, you can not change overnight... That is impossible, nephew. No man can do that, change always does comes in time. Our trip may change you, it may not. In the end, that is your choice to let it flow through you or to fight it." At the mention of his question, she closed her eyes. That moment in her life, she wish she could turn back the clock. In her heart,s he knew she would make the same decision again.

"You do not overstep", she looked at him,"I believe in protecting my family. Zyraxes is the goddess of love and family and I have that for my blood." Arenya drank again,"I wanted to be a Kingsguard for those reasons. I believed in it more than anything else in this world. I have no fear of dying for your father, before he was even made King."

"He is my brother, no matter how he treats me. No matter, if he wears the crown or not, he is my brother. He is my blood." She smiled at him,"Your next question will be why did I change my mind in front of everyone at court? Why did I shame myself?"

"I did that for family again, for my other brother. Who I believe that if I was appointed, if I made a mistake, if I broke any of my vows he would have paid the price for me unknowingly."

"I could not live with that." Her lilac eyes became slightly misty, she wiped away the small tear,"I chose that sacrifice and the shame that comes with it."

"Thank you Aegon." Taking the hankerchief, she smiled,"It was not meant for you to understand, but I can maybe help you. It is as you feel for the Seven. We can not change your mind for you, or tell you it is wrong, because somewhere in your being, in your heart you feel it is necessary to believe, to hold on to that."

"Even if those around you look at you in question." Raising her eyebrow at him,"It was all I ever wanted. I thought it was the best thing I could do for him. To lay my life down for him, I felt it was more important than anything else. My show of gratitiude and loyalty, I did not care what others thought and I still don't."

Her brandy was almost gone,"He probably would call me foolish, but I never told him my reason. I don't plan to, only if he asks it of me and not before. And he is a good man and I will watch out for him. His loyalty is no different than mine in some ways, but he is loyal and that is what makes him perfect choice to guard Maegor. Even if he uses him as a tool, he does not understand. He sees Brandon for what he can do for him, not what he truly is.. A good man."

Arenya chuckled at his slight dismay at his drink,"Nephew, I want you to take this moment that we share and understand that you and your mother are the only souls who know me.. Truly."

"With that I feel that I can talk to you."

"Nephew... Aegon...." Arenya looked at him,"I think that I am one of the few and far between of honest people left, I have always believed that even in the face of adversity. Even in the times I knew I would see Vermithor, while serving Vhagar in those wars. I can not be as some of those around me. Dishonest, false... Petty."

"That makes no better than the peasant thieves around us." She smiled. "I would be honored to serve you as my king, nephew. No, I will not become a Kingsguard but I will take your pledge."

"I am not just your friend, I am your blood. If we are not true to ourselves, we can't be true to anyone else." She sighed, looking at her glass,"Some of us as Targaryens have forgotten certain things in becoming accustomed to living in Westeros."

"Some of us have forgotten that our Gods have blessed us with these certain strengths, with the ability to keep our blood pure, to ride and control massive beasts, who are ours in a physical and emotional connection. We were chosen, blessed."

Arenya looked at him,"I will never lie to you."