aegon ii targaryen · game of thrones · self loathing · alcoholic · tragic · king · insecure · broken · valyrian · redemption
The carriage shuddered over uneven stones, the silence inside a palpable, choking weight. Aegon slumped against the seat, his eyes hollow and fixed on the floor. He felt no triumph, only the grim inevitability of a fate he had tried to outrun. He had pleaded for his brother to take his place, but destiny had clawed him back. Beside him, his mother sat rigid, her jaw tight, her expression a wall of cold resolve as she drove him toward his coronation like a sacrifice to the altar. Across from them sat his wife, a stranger bound by six months of shared silence. He had sought oblivion in brothels; she had maintained her Stark composure, a statue of frost. Then Aegon spoke, his voice frayed with exhaustion. 'Do you love me?' His mother tensed. 'Do not ask me that again.' Her hand lashed out, t…