-Chapter 157-
-POV Jeyne Targaryen-
"So?" I asked while brushing my hair, observing him through my mirror.
"Harlon Greyjoy is on board. He accepted my proposal quite easily," Aemon said as he removed his stifling doublet and shoes before letting himself fall onto the bed with a small sigh of relief.
'It's really amusing to see this side of him, still lacking a bit of confidence despite all the power we possess,' I thought.
'It's also a great quality,' I noted, as it prevented him from becoming too arrogant. It reminded me of how he had insisted that I speak harshly to him in front of all the lords of the realm, not caring about their opinions of him, in order to show false weaknesses to our enemies.
"It's a good thing, but it's not exactly news," I said, knowing that, caught in Aemon's web, the Lord of the Iron Islands didn't have much of a choice.
'Like all the others,' I thought.
"I know," Aemon said without adding anything else.
'He's hiding something from me,' I thought.
"What's keeping you from breathing easy?" I asked, determined to uncover whatever had been weighing on his mind. For weeks now, he had seemed more troubled than usual.
"I spoke with Viserys a few weeks ago," he said. When I raised a confused eyebrow, he clarified, "My uncle."
"And what did our king say to put you in such a state?" I asked, for I had understood who he was referring to, but I still didn't understand why he had been so anxious in private lately.
"He explained to me that, in his opinion, the reason why Aegon Targaryen, our ancestor, did not take Dorne after his wife's death was likely because the Martells must have threatened the lives of his bloodline," Aemon said, finally giving me a glimpse into what had been troubling him.
I thought for a moment before asking my husband:
"What is the King basing that on?"
'It's not as if he could have heard it from Aegon himself,' I mused, a touch of irony in my thoughts.
"Nothing," he said, before immediately adding, "But that was Jaehaerys' belief."
I frowned before saying:
"Are you sure?"
Aemon shrugged, then said:
"Viserys added that this was one of the reasons why, even though Jaehaerys waged war against the Dornish, he never forced the annexation of the Principality into the Kingdom."
'If that's true, it puts us in a delicate position, because it would mean that neither dragons nor armies will be enough to bring the Dornish to heel,' I thought as I switched hands with my brush, styling my hair more effectively while continuing to observe Aemon in the mirror.
"Hmmm… so your initial objective was Dorne," I said, now better understanding his fixation on controlling the regions bordering the Principality.
'It wasn't obvious at first, as he hasn't taken any aggressive measures against Dorne. He has only gradually isolated the Principality without ever revealing his true intentions,' I thought.
'The Reach, the Stepstones, Lys… Completely isolating Dorne from potential allies so that it can be picked once ripe, all while eliminating our enemies along the way,' I thought, finally realizing the true target lurking in the shadows.
"My next objective is still Dorne," Aemon said, turning towards me before shifting his gaze to the ceiling, continuing his calm contemplation.
I frowned, still not fully understanding.
So I said, in a slightly provocative tone, hoping to draw him out so he would reveal all his thoughts to me:
"But you're afraid of the Martells."
"I fear no one," Aemon said in a neutral tone, refusing to fall into the trap I had just set for him.
"Then what are you afraid of?" I asked, still struggling to grasp his line of thinking.
His words, his thoughts, his desires, and his worries were all contradicting each other.
Sensing my confusion, Aemon sighed, then explained:
"I cannot gamble with the lives of our children, and our enemies will try to exploit the slightest weakness I present to them."
I nodded, understanding his point of view, and said:
"Especially now. Even though we seem invincible, this would be the best time for someone to try something."
Aemon nodded, but I wasn't finished. I continued:
"But that doesn't explain what's haunting you. What are you so afraid of that you're being this cautious, even though we have the advantage and have taken full control of the capital?"
Aemon looked at me in silence, and I could see the gears turning in his mind, debating whether or not to share what was truly troubling him.
"You're not seriously afraid of an assassination, are you?" I asked, recalling what he had told me about his conversation with his uncle.
Aemon raised his eyebrows, surprised, and I immediately realized I had hit the mark.
He sighed and said:
"Assassination, poisoning, accidents…"
"How could they possibly succeed? We've locked down the capital completely. Every guard inside the Red Keep is ours. This is one of the safest places in the kingdom, apart from the Eyrie and Runestone," I said, knowing we had reviewed every detail for this event.
'Even if a revolt broke out in the capital, without even using the dragons, we could crush the riots in less than an hour thanks to our preparation,' I thought, having participated in several council discussions with Aemon.
"Not as much as you think," he said before continuing:
"Even if we reinforce security within the Red Keep, that isn't the real problem."
"Then what is the real problem?" I asked, curious to know what had been troubling him for so long.
"The real problem is that when King Maegor had secret passages built into the castle, he did it too well," Aemon said.
"How well?" I asked, slightly worried about his answer.
"Well enough that one could enter through a passage from the kitchens and reach the King's private chambers," he said, sending a slight chill down my spine.
If it was that easy to infiltrate the royal chambers…
'How many other places could be accessed with a complete map?' I wondered.
"Additional tunnels were built, connecting the castle's secret passages to an underground network stretching for miles beneath the city, reaching all four corners of the capital," he continued, confirming my worst fears.
"If someone with bad intentions were to discover that…"
"Not if," Aemon interrupted me before continuing,
"These passages have existed for nearly a century. It is certain that at the very least, the House of Black and White knows the ones leading to the important chambers, if not…"
"All of them," I finished for him.
"That means we could be at their mercy if a conflict arises," I said, now worried for our children's safety.
"Just as they are at ours," Aemon reminded me, as if the presence of dragons alone was enough to balance the scales.
Before my maternal instincts could push me to demand we leave the capital.
"Upon discovering how vast the underground network is, and realizing that we don't even know enough to map a tenth of it, I also wanted to abandon everything and return to Runestone until our children were old enough to defend themselves. But it would be useless. We have power. We simply need to consolidate it and send pawns to sacrifice themselves for our goal under a false banner," Aemon said, clearly having thought about it extensively. He seemed slightly calmer now, though still uneasy with the situation and determined to change it as soon as possible.
"Who did you assign to investigate?" I asked, not wanting this information to spread and risk making it seem like we were panicking.
'We must not show any weaknesses,' I thought.
"Robar," Aemon said confidently, trusting his left hand.
I frowned, as I despised all men from the mountain clans for being responsible for my father's death.
'But Robar is different, and things have changed,' I thought, suppressing the hatred I still harbored toward those now-tamed savages.
"Who else?"
"For now, only him," Aemon said.
"Why him?" I asked, curious to know what he had seen in him to entrust him with such a delicate mission.
"He has a special talent," my husband said without giving me any further explanation, once again compartmentalizing the information.
I held back from rolling my eyes at his attitude, but knowing he wouldn't say more, I simply asked:
"How is the investigation progressing?"
Aemon raised his eyebrows before answering:
"This castle is a maze riddled with holes. They're everywhere."
He paused for a moment before adding, clearly frustrated:
"Some entrances and exits can only be opened and closed using specific mechanisms. Mapping all of these passages and sealing them will take years at the rate we're going."
"And we don't have years before things escalate with the Free Cities," I said, fully aware of the plan Aemon was implementing to control maritime trade from Gulltown to Valyria.
'They certainly wouldn't dare try to assassinate one of us, knowing we would retaliate with an unprecedented fury… but is he truly willing to risk the life of one of his sons for more power?' I wondered for a moment.
'Absolutely not,' I thought, knowing how much Aemon loved his children.
'He would never put our children in danger for anything,' I reminded myself, well aware of the kind of man he truly was.
'And that's why I'm falling for him more and more,' I added silently as I set my hairbrush down, stood up, and walked toward him.
Without thinking, I lay down on his chest, feeling his hand instinctively move through my hair.