11º A funeral, an execution
Haelyx was flying with Hedwig. She felt one with the sky as the dragoness did somersaults and enjoyed an acrobatic flight
Haelyx's laughter was audible as the dragoness rose above the clouds and spread her wings, gliding in the sunlight. Haelyx raised her neck and head, spread her arms and let the wind surround her.
She felt happy, she felt free. A stolen moment before returning to her tense and precarious reality.
Hedwig began to descend in slow and reluctant circles when the sun showed that it was afternoon. Dragon and rider did not want to return to the capital. But as they were descending something caught Hedwig's attention. Something that the dragoness heard and her rider could not hear
-What's going on?
At that moment Hedwig made a sad coo and Haelyx heard a distant echo, barely a whisper in the wind of a desolate roar
-Sunfyre
The most beautiful dragon of all, the golden Sunfyre was out of the pit and roaring in despair. The guardians were trying to calm him down and chain him again, but the dragon was burning them and keeping them away while he continued to roar his pain. Haelyx jumped off Hedwig and began to shout orders
Haelyx and Edmyn had killed Aegon, but Sunfyre did not deserve to be treated like an animal.
-Enough! Leave him alone! He is mourning the death of his rider, leave him alone! – She began to push the guardians away. The guards came to help her as Haelyx turned to Sunfyre
The dragon was bleeding in several places, having escaped from its chains and having damaged itself too much to mourn Aegon. Haelyx approached Hedwig and grabbed a bottle of ointment from her saddle before climbing back down. Sunfyre growled at her before Hedwig growled back at him
After that the dragon stood still as Haelyx put the ointment on the wounds. Haelyx spoke in parseltongue to the dragon.
-Go to Dragonstone, stay there after the funeral. Cry as much as you can, but don't let them chain you up again
The white cloaks arrive as Haelyx continues to calm Sunfyre
-Princess
-Sir Arryk, did my cousin die peacefully?
-He had been asleep for days. The Stranger took him away calmly. – The man spoke solemnly
-That is a blessing from the seven. Is Helaena alright?
-She is waiting for the Silent Sisters to finish off the body. Our orders are to take her to the Red Keep
Haelyx stood still for a moment. Then she turned to the loose dragons. She knew she shouldn't let the Guardians chain Sunfyre again. She would escape again and do herself more harm
-Hedwig, accompany Sunfyre. Don't leave him alone
The white dragon snorted, but stayed close and surrounded the smaller dragon. No Guardian would approach Hedwig
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Upon reaching the Red Keep several maids gave Haelyx her mourning clothes and veil. She changed quickly and tied her hair up high before walking down the hall to where she could hear the Queen crying.
It was incredible how quickly the fortress had gone into mourning, or maybe not so incredible. Everyone had been waiting for King Viserys to die for years. Everything must have been prepared for a long time
Queen Alicent was lying on the floor sobbing in front of the door behind which the Silent Sisters were preparing the body. Helaena sat silently, but her veil stuck to her face against her tears. Many consoled the Queen, so Haelyx sat next to her cousin and hugged her
-He was good, when we were children he was a good brother. He always played with me. Something broke in him when he knew wine and the pleasure of a woman's body
Haelyx heard her nodding slightly and taking her hands tightly. Helaena poured out her heart for her brother, not for her husband. Haelyx believed that none of her cousins had ever considered themselves married
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Haelyx spent the night watching over Aegon's body, accompanying Helaena. The ladies who arrived focused more on the grieving Queen than on the Princess who would never wear the crown again. The one who would wear the crown would be Jaehaerys, Helaena would be skipped
In the end the body was prepared by the Silent Sisters and carried out. He had been bandaged from head to toe and only a few strands of hair were visible. The ladies of the Court murmured among themselves in strangeness, but Haelyx knew that Alicent Hightower would never let them see the body of her son devoured by disease. This was a Valyrian practice that no one expected the Queen to follow.
There was a commotion in the hallway and the door slammed open, crashing against the wall. The sound rumbled like thunder on a clear day.
Haelyx froze.
Everyone in the room did not move at the sight of the man who slowly entered the room.
King Viserys walked slowly and painfully to where his son's body was. He caressed his fingers over the covered cheek and several tears spilled out. Haelyx felt the King's pain. The pain of a father who loses his son.
The best thing for the Kingdom, the King's decision, was for Aegon to die. But he was still her uncle's son.
-Haelyx.
She straightened up at her uncle's voice.
-Yes, Your Majesty?
-I don't think I have the strength to go to the funeral. I want you to take care of the rites.
-Of course, Your Majesty. I will see that the dragon fire consumes Aegon and that he joins the wind with our ancestors
The King nodded and whispered a weak thank you before going to sit down with a weak and unsteady step. The Queen and Helaena looked at him in amazement, as if they could not believe that the man kept vigil over the body of their son
They were not the only ones who were surprised. Aemond, Daeron, Rhaenyra and Daemon did so as they all together watched over Aegon's body.
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Haelyx was in the third carriage of the funeral procession. In the second were the Queen and Helaena, the mother and wife of the deceased. In the first were Aegon's remains, well wrapped and surrounded by aromatic plants so that the rotten smell would be hidden, syphilis decomposed the body quickly.
In the carriage with her was the Crown Princess, her stepmother. Haelyx knew she really shouldn't be that high on the scale of importance of the carriages, but she supposed that being the one to give the fire rite to Aegon's body had made her rise in position.
The men rode alongside the funeral procession, sometimes coming closer to speak to one of the ladies
-What disease has my brother died of?
Haelyx turned to look at her stepmother, she was looking ahead. Then Haelyx noticed that all the guards around her were golden cloaks, loyal to Daemon Targaryen. Or her father and her husband, there were no prying ears that could listen
-Syphilis. The low-class brothels she went to almost daily have finally taken their toll on her, at least in the expensive ones the girls are healthy
-I understand. Helaena and the children?
-They are fine, at least the children. If they had been born infected they would have symptoms, delays. – Haelyx was wary of Jaehaera's learning delay, the girl was doing well while Haelyx and Helaena implemented the Montessori method, at least the little that Haelyx remembered of that method. But she would never be completely independent or functional and in this world where women were seen as nothing more than tools that was a very bad thing. – Helaena could manifest the symptoms at some point, or maybe never. But I think they were not having relations when Aegon became infected. After all, Helaena can no longer have children. Aegon did not find her useful as his wife
Haelyx looked to the side. There were several white-haired children watching on the side of the road. She pointed them out to Edmyn with a nod. Apparently they had not managed to remove all the children of Valyrian lineage from the streets of King's Landing
Rhaenys' Hill had the funeral pyre prepared. At the top of the rock formation Hedwig was sunbathing next to Sunfyre who looked at the pile with a sad expression even for a dragon.
Aegon might not be a good man, but he had been a good rider.
Everyone gathered around, leaving a circle for safety and Haelyx advanced. She stared at Hedwig and then at the pyre
-Dracarys!
Haelyx froze when she saw that it was not Hedwig who advanced. It was Sunfyre. The dragon slowly lowered itself before expelling its flames over the body of its rider. Then it let out a cry of pain to the heavens and took flight
Haelyx and the others watched in amazement as the golden dragon headed for Dragonstone.
No, Haelyx and Edmyn noticed it instantly. It was heading for Avalon.
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Haelyx wanted to kill Otto Hightower, the human rat. You would think the man would mourn his grandson for a day or two before moving on to something else, but no, he was a completely cold and heartless man. Absolute scum
He was portraying Helaena to the others as a madwoman incapable of caring for her own children. Haelyx gritted her teeth as she listened to Otto at the table make another comment about how easily Helaena got lost in her thoughts when she was young and the bugs she kept in glass jars. Otto then added how worried he was for the children if their mother was like that
Edmyn put his hand on Haelyx's arm as he noticed that she was going to throw a knife at Otto.
It was obvious what Otto wanted, to be Jaehaerys' Regent, but that position was traditionally taken by the mother. That would be Helaena. But that could be discussed if the mother was not in full possession of her faculties
And that was what Otto wanted to plant in people's minds. That Helaena was crazy and should be taken away from her children and locked away somewhere else
-Grandfather, I doubt you are speaking sensibly. After all, Helaena has only been a widow for a day, she is broken with grief. You always talk to us about feminine delicacy, Helaena just needs time
Haelyx looked at Daeron with some surprise, she had not expected him to attack Otto so easily. Although it was clear that of the Queen's children he was the one least under the control of his grandfather
-That is true, Hightower. I still remember how you got drunk after the death of your wife and no one considered you an unfit father to your children. – The glances turned to Prince Daemon.
-I remember that you did nothing after the death of your first wife and quickly remarried after the death of your second. Prince Daemon, are you suggesting that my granddaughter should follow your example?
Haelyx sat back to enjoy the catfight
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Executions were something that any ruler had to deal with. Haelyx had seen many growing up because sometimes a member of the royal family had to be present to give legitimacy to the execution of a noble or knight. Haelyx remembered her first execution and how she had vomited and cried in the carriage on the way back to the Red Keep hugging the Septa who comforted her
Somehow Haelyx had managed to keep a straight face while the noble accused of raping a noble lady was sentenced to the vile garrote. The method was so cruel because the woman's family had a great relationship with the Hightowers and they wanted to set an example, an example that they later failed to follow through on with Aegon.
The nobleman urinated on himself, begged and cried. He begged the woman to talk about how they were in love and that it had not been rape. The poor man took a long time to die, Haelyx had to suffer for almost an hour while the garrote was pressed tighter and tighter against the poor man's neck.
Later Haelyx discovered from her spies that the man had been innocent and had actually had a relationship with the woman he was accused of raping. She kept silent on the orders of her family and married quietly after that.
Haelyx took revenge on that family, remembering at every turn how slow they were in tightening the garrote around the boy's neck.
But now she faced a tough test as Queen, her first execution.
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Edmyn looked at Haelyx as the last house elf stepped away. She was ready for the unpleasant task ahead of her. She could see the discomfort on her wife's face and she hated it. Edmyn wanted to protect her from what was about to happen, even though they had both agreed at the time that Haelyx would have to do this
- You don't have to do this. As heir to…
-No. – Haelyx took the light sword in her hands and pulled it out, examining the edge enchantment. – As Queen this is one of my duties. After all, we want Avalon to be as equal as possible. People must see me doing this.
Haelyx looked at herself in the mirror and didn't recognize herself. She was wearing an outfit that was not her usual outfit, leather, tight and black. It almost looked like her riding outfit, but it had distinctive features that her current outfit didn't have. Her hair was also pulled back in an austere manner. No jewelry, no unnecessary adornments.
It didn't look like her
Haelyx stepped out into the courtyard where the Silver Wings guard was waiting for her with a black steed prepared for that moment. The Silver Wings, an order of female knights created by Edmyn exclusively to protect and defend the women of the Royal family of Avalon. With an oath of only five years that could be renewed as many times as desired
Haelyx had always been surprised by how her ancestors were so foolish to trust men near their wives. Haelyx got on the horse, it was strong, stronger than normal, almost a draft horse. But a good horse with noble and powerful lines, a Dothraki Khal would feel very proud if this animal were his mount.
Haelyx rode calmly to where the crowd gathered outside the walls of the Castle of the Fallen Stars. Haelyx got off the animal and climbed onto the gallows, standing nobly to the side. Many in the crowd called her by name and cheered. Then the cage with the prisoner arrived.
She was in a cart, a black metal cage, and inside was a man. Haelyx thought that most people thought there was only one kind of slave, when in reality there were many kinds. The kidnapped, the warriors captured after a battle, the ones born into slavery, … And this man was a criminal slave
A man turned into a slave after committing a crime. Haelyx did not want to be hard on criminal slaves, many times the crime was a nonsense imposed by the lord of the lands they served. Even in the files of the slavers their crime was not listed and many lied about it. But due to their good will it was obvious that some rotten apples had slipped into the basket.
She could only be thankful that the barriers in the orphanages and public buildings were the first thing she had installed with the help of the house elves.
The prisoner was being held by Oscar. Edmyn had not wanted to be present, another strategy, but in exchange, Oscar would be there
-My dear people of Avalon. I as your Queen am here present to execute the first criminal who has committed a crime so serious that it could not be paid for in any other way than with his life. This man is called Joseph, he was bought in Yunkai. I was told that he had served since he was twelve years old as a criminal slave, a total of fourteen years of slavery loading and unloading ships. Upon arriving in Avalon we gave him freedom, a bed, a job and food. But he has not ceased his criminal behavior
Haelyx raised her chin and looked at the people before her. They were all silent, staring at her
-Joseph planned for months to drug the water supply of the orphanage he was paid to run and once all the children were asleep from the drug he planned to enter and kidnap one of the girls. A little girl of nine years. His plan was to force her to marry him or simply rape and kill her, mind readers are not sure because he had not yet decided. However, the fact is that Joseph decided to commit the most detestable crime, putting his hands on a child with sexual intentions. Thank goodness the orphanage has barriers that prevented Joseph from passing and held him until he was captured by the guard.
Haelyx took a deep breath. She had to calm down, her voice was being too emotional at the end. She was the Queen. She was the one in charge.
-After being judged by a court of citizens of Avalon and according to our laws, he has been sentenced to death. And I will carry out the sentence. - Haelyx unsheathed her sword and approached the man whose face was covered by a hood. – May your gods and mine have mercy on your soul for in me you will certainly find no mercy
Haelyx lifted the blade and visualized the cut, just as she and Edmyn had practiced. It was…. Surprisingly easy. The sword cut through the flesh like butter and the head slid to the ground. Haelyx felt a few warm drops hit her cheek, but she did not raise her hand to wipe them away or acknowledge them.
-This man's body will be left in a mass grave. Nameless, unmarked. He will not be remembered, he will be erased from our history, forever. Even if what happened today is recorded, this man's name will never be mentioned.