As the melting snow dripped away and the forests along the Blackwater Rush began to sprout green shoots, a fleeting spring arrived. Few died of cold and hunger in Fleabottom this past winter, and the situation of all the vagrants had improved somewhat. Some brown stew shops gave away fifty servings of hot stew each day to the elderly, the weak, and the women and children who had nothing. Men with hands and feet had work: a road of sand, soil, shells, and pebbles began to be paved northeast from the direction of the Great Sept of Baelor—the workforce was recruited from the vagrants. Workers toiled from the statue of the Holy Mother in the sunlit sept until dark, sustained by brown stew and paid fifty copper pennies a day.
That's right, Rhaegar was beginning to imitate the policies of the previous benevolent rulers by building roads. He wasn't yet king, so he could only improve the living conditions of the poor in the name of honoring the Seven Gods, in order to make the Great Sept more beautiful.
Even so, King Aerys had heard the slanderous words about Rhaegar's intentions to build his own reputation. The content was also very ridiculous: the Crown Prince was praying to the Seven Gods to ascend to the throne as soon as possible.
Aerys on the Iron Throne severely reprimanded Rhaegar.
But Viserys ran out and loudly spoke of his brother's grievances: he said that Rhaegar wanted to erect a statue of their father in front of the Great Sept of Baelor, alongside the Father and the Mother. But the Great Sept stated that mortals could not stand alongside the gods, and even the king must first pave a clean, white road for the Father and the Mother.
He lied with a straight face and deflected the conflict: the neurotic Aerys resented the religious forces and expressed forgiveness for Rhaegar.
Back in Maegor's Holdfast, the Crown Prince looked at his younger brother, who acted as if nothing had happened, and gently warned him that he didn't care about the king's reprimand, but he didn't want Viserys to lose the necessary quality of a knight in the future: honesty.
"I remember, brother," the young prince said cheerfully. "Let these flies and mosquitoes buzz. Brother is the True Dragon. Don't let it affect your mood! Brother! Let's go eat cake!"
Rhaegar sighed softly, picking up Viserys. The little prince snuggled his head against Rhaegar's shoulder, sniffing his silver hair with a look of deep affection.
Rhaegar felt a wave of tenderness. But his most cherished younger brother was spouting nonsense to protect him. Rhaegar knew he needed to accelerate his plans.
The interests of the common people were never considered by the hereditary nobility, even when right in front of them. However, among the general populace, who made up the largest proportion of King's Landing, the idea that the Crown Prince Rhaegar was a reincarnation of the benevolent King Jaehaerys began to spread like wildfire.
Furthermore, news circulated in Fleabottom: the most moving wandering singer, who had previously played the lute, was actually a high-ranking figure from the Red Keep! He was kind and upright, generous in his charity, even giving away his personal belongings to the poor. He had also looked after Fleabottom during the winter!
"I bet it's the Crown Prince Rhaegar," someone in the small tavern exclaimed. "I gave him a few copper pennies! By the Seven Gods!"
"What's the Crown Prince like?"
----Young, incredibly handsome, promising, and concerned for the poor.
True bards thus created songs that were sung in the streets. The themes didn't directly praise Rhaegar, but rather painted a hopeful picture of the future, that everything would eventually get better. Regarding this, Viserys felt the commission fee he paid was quite worthwhile: two Gold Dragons for the author, and a handful of Copper Pennies to buy the street children to sing the songs.
Viserys didn't actually have much money. At least, he was very poor compared to his friend Tyrion, who had a family with gold mines.
In King Aerys's court, there was, of course, a substantial fund for each prince and princess to live on, but not a single copper penny of it ever reached his hands. He wasn't the eldest son, and unlike Rhaegar, who had Dragonstone and the income from the heir's lands, he was too young to participate in tournaments to earn Gold Dragons. He had heard that his brother had won the tournament in Lannisport and received forty thousand gold dragons.
"When will I have a lot of money of my own?" Viserys muttered, flopping onto the ground after counting less than a hundred gold dragons.
"Soon. After you become someone's squire. Maybe in a year or two." Tyrion also lay down, staring at the ceiling, and said dejectedly, "Following a great figure, then becoming a knight, it's the path all boys must take—except for me."
"I'm not interested in being a knight," Viserys replied. "You might not want to be a knight either; you just want to travel the world, even to the eastern continent. You can do that with just two legs."
"But I want honor."
"A knight's honor... I think it's a very vague and illusory thing. Why do you need a tournament title to gain honor? If a boar knocks over a knight, who has more honor? The pig?"
Tyrion laughed, "You always have strange logic. But, Prince, you will definitely become a knight. After you become a squire, your father will give you a large sum of money to spend. That's what happened when my brother was a squire to Ser Creighton."
Viserys knew that life was inevitable. His wish at this moment was to become his brother Rhaegar's attendant: to hold the reins for him, pour his wine, wash his clothes, and polish his armor! How wonderful!!
His desire seemed likely to become a reality soon: when the green leaves flourished, the Kingswood south of King's Landing became lush and dense, providing the best cover and concealment for lawbreakers. A group called the Kingswood Brotherhood began to brazenly abduct nobles traveling to and from King's Landing, robbing them of their wealth and extorting ransoms.
The favorite, Colton Chested, was attacked there. He was stripped bare from head to toe, along with his mistress. After he ran to the Iron Throne, wailing and sobbing, Aerys made a rare decision that a normal king would make: he sent his eldest son, along with fifty guards and two Kingsguard, to wipe out the bandits.
Upon hearing this news, Viserys immediately took his small bow and arrow and, with a straight face, ran to the king, and again, with a straight face, talked nonsense: he said he longed to become a knight as soon as possible, so he hoped his father would allow him to accompany his brother to witness the knights' suppression of evil and promotion of good.
If his father would, by the way, simply send him to be the Crown Prince brother's attendant, that would be great! Viserys secretly vowed that if his wish came true, he would definitely repay the Mad King once.
Aerys watched his healthy and lively little son shoot an arrow in a serious manner and granted his request. But not to be Rhaegar's attendant to allow his little son to take the first step towards becoming a knight. He directly ordered that the team going to the Kingswood be divided into two groups, with twenty-five guards and two Kingsguard, Arthur Dayne and Barristan, must follow and protect the little prince, and obey his instructions.
His intentions were obvious. By then, all the merits of the Kingsguard in wiping out the bandits would be attributed to the little prince. Although Viserys was only six years old, he had already become a good pawn for him to suppress his eldest son. The Hand of the King, Tywin, and Aerys's confidant courtiers all saw through the essence of the two princes going to suppress the bandits together, and some people's minds began to stir again—
Jaime Lannister was also one of the guards selected to suppress the bandits. After dinner the day before the departure, Tywin specifically instructed him to pay attention to the two princes, especially the little prince's behavior.
"The Crown Prince is the finest knight I've ever seen. Just and merciful, with superb riding skills. He's a match for the Kingsguard's Captain, whether with a lance or a sword! Father! I will be a knight like him one day!" Jaime said with enthusiasm. "He loves his brothers! Not just Viserys, but all his personal guards are his friends and brothers! As for Viserys, he's too concerned with rituals. Like making everyone wash their hands before meals, using the little tools he makes to eat, and washing his hair and taking a bath every day. I shudder to think what eccentricities he'll have when he grows up."
Tywin looked at the young, golden-haired boy, feeling speechless.
At this moment, Tyrion, sitting alone in a corner and unnoticed, struggled to swallow the strawberry pie in his mouth and spoke, "Father, I don't think what you're thinking will happen. I'm certain Viserys has never coveted the Crown Prince's position."
Tywin felt displeasure and annoyance. He loudly reprimanded Tyrion to go back to Maegor's Holdfast. "What do you know! I'm asking your brother!"
The dwarf had no choice but to turn and leave. Cersei was also eavesdropping outside the Prime Minister's tower room, and he bumped into her. The most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms, with golden hair and green eyes, was somewhat anxious because her brother was about to go out to suppress bandits with the prince. She didn't want to be separated from Jaime and wished to see her most handsome dream lover every day.
"Who are you eager to hear news of? My dear sister? Prince Rhaegar or Jaime?" Tyrion asked.
Cersei glared at him and retorted, "Why aren't you going back to entertain Viserys with your somersaults?"
Tyrion wanted to fight back, but Cersei had alerted those inside. Tywin called her in. Tyrion, imitating her, listened quietly at the door for a while before taking his short legs and hurrying back from the Prime Minister's Tower to his friends' residence in the Red Keep.
He gasped, telling his friend, "Cersei will approach you at the next court banquet!"
Viserys, busy packing for the camping trip himself, hummed, tilting his chin, "I can guess what Lord Tywin is thinking. Don't worry, your sister is a beauty, and I won't hurt her."
Tyrion ??? Was that something a child should say?
After all, he was a Lannister. Viserys didn't tell him his true intentions: Tywin was a very capable politician and Hand of the King. At least until his brother ascended the throne, Viserys hoped Tywin would remain the Hand. To that end, he didn't mind... becoming a fragrant carrot, dangling in front of the Lannister mule. After all, his brother was going to marry the Northern lady, and it wouldn't be good if Tywin resigned in anger. He had to give him a second hope.
Well, and the foolish Jaime, he didn't want him to become a Kingsguard. This was his own doing, being seduced by Cersei to stay in King's Landing. Tywin couldn't blame the king entirely and resign in anger.
Over at Maegor's Holdfast, a large cauldron had indeed been ordered to be brought along by Prince Rhaegar. He was indifferent to the king's suppression. He only had his attendants make preparations for the journey according to the little prince's habits and preferences: for example, he must bring plenty of clean linen towels, and everyone could only drink boiled water, and so on.
The two Kingsguard were summoned by the Crown Prince and went to the small meeting hall in Maegor's Holdfast to check the Kingswood map and discuss the steps to suppress the bandits. As soon as they entered, they were surprised to see Viserys nestled beside Rhaegar. Both princes were wearing coats of the same color, their silver hair dazzling, their appearance beautiful, and they looked as handsome as figures from a painting.
The map had already marked the locations where the Kingswood Brotherhood had appeared. Rhaegar pointed out the water sources, villages, and other locations, guiding his younger brother step by step on where the bandits' hideout might be.
The little prince looked up at his older brother with adoration, his eyes full of stars.
My brother is so amazing. He thought dreamily, wondering if he would listen to his plan: some of the Kingswood Brotherhood, if used correctly, would be a good blade. For example, Colton Chested, whom they robbed. Viserys knew that the conflict between the Mad King and his brother was becoming increasingly sharp, and those favorites of the king were indispensable. Colton was one of those who slandered his brother.
So, he felt that the Brotherhood's robbery wasn't harsh enough. Why didn't they cut off Colton's hands and feet, or simply kill him?
***
Brothers' Bond~
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(End of Chapter)