HOTD : Reborn as Spring Prince #Chapter 17: Family and Sacrifices Part : I - Read HOTD : Reborn as Spring Prince Chapter 17: Family and Sacrifices Part : I Online - All Page

Chapter 17: Family and Sacrifices Part : I

They had just begun their supper after that tense and exhausting small council meeting.

The mood in the room was far lighter now, the weight of the day's deliberations momentarily cast aside. Every member of House Targaryen was present, enjoying warm glow of the candelabras that adorned the Great Hall.

The long dining table, laden with roasted meats, fresh bread, and exotic fruits, buzzed with animated chatter and laughter. It was a rare moment of unity and respite, where the burdens of rulership, duty, and prophecy were set aside—if only for the span of a meal.

Baelon leaned back slightly in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the scene before him. A gentle smile played on his lips as he watched his family, unburdened and carefree, at least for now. His father, King Jaehaerys, was seated at the head of the table, his usual stern expression softened as he exchanged a joke with Vaegon. Although father had made it clear to him, he wanted to talk about what just happened in the Council Chamber, with him effectively declaring war on whole of Westeros.

Beside him, Queen Alysanne chuckled softly, her eyes alight with maternal warmth as she helped young Saera reach for a platter.

Across the table, his siblings were in varying states of merriment—Vaegon was teasing Alyssa, who retaliated by playfully tossing a piece of bread at him, while Baelon attempted to maintain some semblance of decorum, though even he couldn't hide his amusement.

Baelon took a moment to savor it all. Seeing his family like this—laughing, playing, together—stirred something deep within him. It was a rare sight, one that filled him with a strange contentment and a deep, unspoken resolve. This was what he was fighting for, what he would fight to protect at all costs.

The memory of the small council's tense discussions lingered faintly in his mind, but here, in this fleeting moment, it felt distant and unimportant. For now, there was only the warmth of his family, the sound of their laughter, and the comforting knowledge that, for this evening at least, all was well.

I smiled to myself as I thought back to the last 3 years. Today marked 3 years from the date of the 'accident' which enabled me to recall those memories. I think while I am on the right track, I still have so much to do.

It has not been always smooth sailing. Although I have memories of a grown politician from an advanced world and knowledge of future events, it's not as easy, as one might believe.

First of all, memories of James are just that, memories. Although his knowledge of disciplines like mathematics, science, and others, mainly law as he had a Major degree in Law was inherited by me without any effort.

But I didn't immediately possess all the qualities of James. I didn't have that charismatic personality James had developed to rise as a politician in that world, nor did I have his analytical or logical thinking skills. These things are not inherited but must be developed by oneself.

'Not that I am complaining about anything', I already have an advantage over everyone in this world, as long this only happened to me. I remember when I first explored 'science'. The vastness and depth of something so basic is imaginable to everyone in this world. From a single atom to the vastness of the universe, it will be a humbling experience for anyone in this world, even those arrogant Archmaester at Citadel.

Comparing nuclear weapons to dragons was an inaccurate comparison by the past me. Just thinking of something that can evaporate a city in a blink of an eye is terrifying. Dragons at least give a fighting chance. From then on fully grasped the importance of the survival of the dragon and their control only in the hands of House Targaryen.

Secondly, Knowledge of the Future. Although the books read in the past helped a lot and showed where the major threats lay, it wasn't helpful in everyday life. No matter how good 'that' writer is, he can't capture a whole world in a book. There are real people here, many important ones who never appeared in the canon. Every action changes things, so many variables so many uncertainties. It almost becomes traumatizing for me. I used to think twice before communicating with anyone.

Will it change everything? What if I said something that can make everything worse?

And I almost did. Many mistakes have been made in the last 3 years. But it didn't dishearten me, it made me learn from them and adapt. Mistake of underestimating Faith and carelessness with Caesar, risking the life of my family. But it made me realize many things, it is not enough to know the future, if I wish to change it I will need to be better. From then now I doubled my efforts, trained harder with my sword, and spent every waking hour trying to influence things.

The real world is so much bigger, so much…more. I remember my first trip to Dragonstone after the awakening of my memories. It was nothing like what was shown in the Show. It was a monstrosity of a castle, its sky filled with ashes from regular eruptions from the active volcano of Dragon Mount. It gave an eerie, almost horror feeling. So much bigger than a small island. The majority of land is unexplored with dense forests on fertile soil.

It represented the dread and terror of Valyria to its enemies. A normal person would dare not attack it, even given a chance. May it be the reason the Conqueror didn't make it the capital and chose to settle at King's Landing. It was simply a welcoming place. As such no matter the skill of a writer and storyteller, you can't just fit a living world in a book, the size and scale presented always disrupts.

Thus, all that future knowledge simply gives is the general direction of things and maybe the nature and personality of some characters. It simply leaves so much out of it. I think it is both a good and a bad thing. Good as It gives me much more freedom compared to if maybe it was a time of important events in the canon (like a timeline of the Game of Thrones show) and bad as it is very easy to change so much.

I noticed this when I noticed a significant change in the family relations, so different from stories in the canon. In 'canon', during the peaceful reign of King Jaehaerys Targaryen, House Targaryen was not so peaceful. Sibling aside from maybe Aemon and me, and me and Alyssa, other siblings didn't get along. And putting it that way was an understatement they nearly hated each other. Mainly due to each having a strong personality they inherited from their parent. I can see that future playing out so easily, even if it was not explicitly explained in the 'books'.

Aemon and I simply were older and always learning at the knees of father and simply didn't have much time, as much hasn't changed for Aemon even in this timeline.

Alyssa from a young age had a strong warrior heart in a woman's body strong, quick-witted, and smart. She always chases after me, I can imagine my alternate self, who himself was a child irritated by her nagging which led her to be even more obsessed with 'that Baelon'. Proved by various incidents in that timeline like her breaking her nose with a wooden sword. In her desire to become like her, she disliked her young sisters like Maegelle and Daella. Various conflicts were there with others and Vaegon, whom she made fun of due to his lack of physical strength. This was mainly due to the lack of involvement of both parents in that timeline and guidance from them. Maybe it was because increase in the number of children, our mother being always pregnant and heavily involved in affairs of the court.

But all that has changed in this. I think mostly because of my active involvement with my siblings and subtly guiding and influencing them, but my actions have led my father to be more involved in their upbringing (since that 'dinner confrontation', family is more important than the throne). My advice of teaching Aemon to be heir and reforming of justice system has reduced quite a burden on him.

Mother? Well, I remember when I had to guide and make her understand she was the pillar for the devolvement of her children. She had to know the importance of uniting a House of the Dragon.

It was a delightful morning in the Red Keep, corridors illuminated by sunlight craping through windows as hustling and bustling of servants moved through the corridors. It was when I had just received my father's approval to be Dragonroads throughout Crownlands. I was due to leave for about a year or so in maybe a week. But today was Special.

I had woken up earlier than usual in the morning as that day was special. That was the 8th birthday of my little sister Alyssa. I quickly met up with Aemon and we both made our way to our sister's room to wish her. They found 5 name days Vaegon holding his black dragon toy laughing and running from his exhausted maid in the corridor.

"Prince Vaegon, please stop." Said the poor maid out of breath, gasping.

Vaegon didn't stop but ran even faster but stopped seeing Aemon and me. I crouched to his level as he sheepishly smiled, knowing he had nowhere to run.

"Good Morning, Valonqar," I said to him High Valyrian.

I mostly speak to my siblings in high valyrian and being the cool brother, I am they made a genuine effort to learn it. It was meant to subtly cultivate a sense of family from an early age and it was successful. Vaegon and Maegelle almost only spoke High Valyrian. It also ensures they do not have not much friends outside of family, with children of other nobles. One of the main reasons for the disobedient and rebellious attitude of Saera and Viserra in the canon was the other ladies of court filling their ears with all sorts of nonsense gossip.

"G-Good Morning, lēkia Baelon and Aemon." He said with a guilty smile and averting his eyes.

"Haha, you are running again from your maid, you don't like to bathe? do you?" Aemon said in common tongue, as this was a common occurrence. He wasn't used to High Valyrian being surrounded by Westerosi nobles all day.

"um-I don't understand," Vaegon said not understanding the common as fast as Aemon spoke.

"Aemon, High Valyrian with our siblings." I said reminding Aemon with a glare as Aemon rarely speaks it.

"Fine Fine. Never understood your obsession with it, mother has complained to me more than once how some maid have difficulty understanding Vaegon and Maegelle sometimes." Aemon said with a tired tone.

"Valonqar, Aemon meant why do you keep running from Rose (maid), it is just a bath," I said to Vaegon ignoring Aemon pointing at the bowing maid.