AERYS I

AERYS I

         Aerys Sunryder entered the path that was leading her to the entrance of the Glass Palace. She had taken a bath in warm milk and white rose petals to nourish her fair skin and to make it brighter. She was never fond of red roses. Red, the colour of blood, was the color of the coffin in which her late parents were kept during their funeral ; she was scared of this colour. She would rather seek for one beautiful white rose than a garden full of bloody red roses. Perhaps that was the reason why the Royal Garden was not including any red flowers in it. Her royal gown was as white as ice and it was nearly similar to her skin-shade. But her hair had a shade of the darkest black,  people had ever seen of a Queen. Her eyes were sticked at the Gate, she kept walking. Her guardsmen were following her at a distance from her and her trustful companion, Ser Bennyt. Ser Bennyt was continuously speaking about something. Aerys didn't pay any attention to it. She was wondering how the Prince looked like, if he was handsome, if he was as tall as her late father. An attractive fragrance of rose was coming from her body, Ser Bennyt loved this fragrance and the choice of the girl. The watchers on the tower had seen the Prince and his companions entering Queen's Landing through the East-Gate. Aerys was overwhelmed with an curiosity ever since she was informed about it. She hadn't wasted a moment and asked Ser Bennyt to get ready to welcome her guests. She reached at the Gate and her eyes kept longing for a glimpse of the guests' arrival, awaiting. She asked Bennyt suspiciously, "How do I look, Ser Bennyt?". She set her crown, as if it was a bit loose for her. "You look absolutely scrumptious, like a rose that you favour. The Prince may have never seen someone as magnificent as you are.", answered the man, praising her beauty. She satisfied herself with his answer. After all, she had never thought Bennyt had ever lied to her. "Are you well prepared for it, Ser ?", she raised an eyebrow at him. "For the hospitality, yes, we are. But I fear that you aren't, your Grace.", said he. Aerys looked at her with a bit of fret. "Oh please, Ser Bennyt. This is not the time.", she averted the talk. 

            Aerys looked back at her Queensguards and turned back curtly. Ser Bennyt started again, "I've been told that they are only four." Aerys was flabbergasted, "four ?", she asked delusively as if she misheard Ser Bennyt. "Four", confirmed Bennyt mysteriously. "Howmany people were we told about ?", Aerys was startled. "More than four", Bennyt smirked at her. Aerys seemed a bit amazed for a moment, then returned to her previous expression. She was supposed to welcome at least one hundred men including the Prince. But she dismissed this exclamation easily as she saw the Prince and his three companions. She pondered and decided to welcome them heartily despite this amazement. She noticed the banner, containing a flying falcon, swinging along with the wind. They were approaching closer and closer. They were concretely four with four horses. Ser Bennyt instructed the musicians to play the instruments on Prince's arrival. Aerys knew that the moment had come when she had to be a queen and perform her duties gracefully. As the Prince stopped before them, Bennyt whispered in her ear,"They are only four, as I said. All our preparations are in vain." Aerys had no concerns about the preparations and neither about the fair amount of money that she squandered on it. " She replied, "Forget about the preparations and think why they didn't bring their troop with them." She knew that her assumptions had been proven wrong and Ser Bennyt would start warning her about the guests for money was a great deal for him. She knew that Ser Bennyt would never tolerate such a waste of money. "I wonder if they believe we are monsters. As if we would  fry their men and feed them to the hounds", Bennyt mocked. Aerys contradicted showing a fearsome eye, "That is not a matterof joke, Ser Bennyt." Her eyes then returned to the Prince who was getting off the horse with the aid of a squire.  "They are frightened. They have mistaken me as my father. It is not their fault",said Aerys in their defence. 

      She had heard that people scarcely admired her father when he was the king of Glasslands. Queen's Landing had been ruled under his late father, King Hoseyn for more than three decades. He had succeeded his father, Aerys's grandfather Vaenys, the Great. Love had influenced every ruler and their reigns. The day Hoseyn wed Allirie, the foreigner for the victory of their love, his reign was said to be started to  downfall. Aerys always had a great enthusiasm to discover the true meaning of love and life. She was too young in everyone's eye. She became queen in a mere age of sixteen. She never thought she was younger for her role. In the books she had read about ladies who were married to a stranger and delivered babies at this young age. If they could bear the pain of this, why she couldn't rule over a kingdom, being able to deal with the troubles of her realm. Aerys got reminded of the day when she had absentmindedly seen Herbert Sunspear during his archery lesson. For a moment, she wondered if all the fairytales she had been told were true, where a gallant and dashing prince would come and take the princess away with him to marry her. Herbert took Aerys's heart at her first sight. Although he didn't get to stay in the Glass Palace for long for he was sent back to his homeland, named as the Lord of Golden Pearl. She would think of his masculine figure and it would bring smile on her face anytime. It took Aerys a long period of time to recover from Herbert's spell. She never discovered that she was in love. This time, on seeing this man, she was feeling something relevant to Herbert. She was smiling and kept gazing at the young man. 
   
      Shannon, indeed was a fascinating gallant prince with golden hair and bright blue eyes gifted by his mother. Shannon seemed as if he was the true Prince Charming of those stories, that Aerys had been told by her late mother. Beside Shannon's white horse, there was Miss Natalie, her brown hair covered in a hood, as blue as the sparkling water of the Queen's Bay. She thanked the squire as she got off her black horse with his help. Behind Shannon and Natalie, Mason and Nene were exhausted after riding for weeks. Nene didn't need any  help from the squire to touch the ground with her feet, while Mason was still riding his horse, startled to see a beauty like Aerys. Nene looked at him fiercely, directing him to get off his horse. Aerys caught Mason staring at her and nodded gracefully with a smile. Nene patted on Mason's horse and he climbed down. Nene was not pleased with his distraction. She admonished, "Keep your eyes moving or I'll stop them forever." They joined Natalie and Shannon while the announcer was introducing them to Aerys by shouting their names and the names of their houses. Aerys persuaded herself that the man she just made eye contact with, was not the Prince. She set her sterling gray eyes on the  other man to examine his trait. Shannon's eyes were reflecting the sunlight like diamonds and were emitting rays of peculiar sensation towards the Queen. Her inner persona started being uneasy as the Prince started taking steps towards her with a delightful smile. Soon it was altered and became so courteous that the fickleness vanished. After approaching the Queen, he started waiting for the Queen to greet him. Bennyt stopped the music with a gesture. Aerys stolidly greeted him welcome in spite of being fickle inside. Shannon bowed his head in order to thank her and said, "Thank you, Princess." "Queen!", Ser Bennyt put in. "She's the Queen." Aerys didn't like Bennyt's interruption as she had no issues with being called princess. She remained to be quiet and smiled gracefully. Shannon realized his mistake and tried to correct it, "Forgive me, Ser Bennyt.  Of course she is the Queen." Shannon looked steadily at Aerys and presented her a scrumptious red rose. "A small tradition", said he "Beauty for the beauty." Aerys was perplexed by the circumstances and she looked at Shannon's alluring face and accepted it without any  diffidence. She knew Ser Bennyt would be upset knowing the fact that she doesn't like red. Yet she received the rose with pretense. She smelled it and inhaled its fragrance. It didn't remind her of blood or peril. This sweetness was as same as the scent of the roses she loved. It aromatized her senses in such a pleasant way that she forgot Ser Bennyt was displeased with her. She got a notion that he was glaring at her with sheer dissidence. She was a bit frightened about her moves towards her guests as she knew that her people wouldn't like her for treating their so called enemies well. But soon she realized she shouldn't care as she was the Queen. She smiled and said, "I'm glad to have you in Queen's Landing. My city has been brightened by your presence." Her voice was as tender as a rose and it suggested that she was truly exhilarated.

        "You must be gruesomely exhausted after the long journey you've had. I'm well aware of the terrors that people face in the Crosslands", said she courteously. She had read about the wild folk and their barbaric acts. Books never explained the cause for this barbarism. She had tried to find something good about them, that could express their humanity. But there were no words about their noble deeds. Wlidlings had been enemies of the common people of the country for centuries. They were noted to be highly uncivilized and blood-seeking in the books. Aerys never truly believed those books. They didn't horrify her. They plotted curiousity in her. Ser Bennyt wanted this ceremony to end. He directed his squires to take the horses to the stable. "Your horses will be at the Royal stable." Aerys understood his motive. Yet she didn't say anything for she knew her guests were weary. She insisted, "Come with us." Shannon joined her and ask for her hand making a gentle eye contact and Aerys could not refuse to hold his manly hand. It was a good touch, she felt. She smiled and showed her guests the path that was leading into the Glass Palace, "This way !" Shannon's hand was different from the hands she had held before. It was cold, but sending some warmth through the touch to her. This warmth was the comfiest warmth she had ever got from her fireplace. 

      Nene, Mason and Natalie were walking behind them at a distance. Mason was mesmerized by the Queen's grace. He released his eyes from its spell when he saw the Glass Palace coming near and near. It was as splendid as it was described in the books. Nene was looking at Aerys and she didn't trust her amicable manner of dealing. She neither liked the beauty of the Castle as much as Mason. Miss Natalie had been in this palace in her previous years. She was being reminded of those days, she had spent there during her training. She didn't really care about its beauty.

         Aerys was heading towards the diner that had been set up beside the Royal Garden. "Your goods will be sent to your chambers, while then you would be having lunch with her Grace in the gardens.", said Bennyt. 

        Mason was pleased with the sound of lunch in the garden. Sea ! He could see the Queen's Bay right by his side from the diner.  

        They sat at the diner together and many delicious dishes were served for them. Apple pies, steamed rice, salted red beans, sour vegetable and fruit salad, bread covered in cheese, roasted chicken, trouts from the bay, wine from the Sunlands and many more decorated the table with their presence, the guests were craving for. The blue edges of the sparkling Queen's Bay were as endless as the exhaustion of the guests. Aerys watched the fascinating way Shannon was using his fork and knife. She drank more wine than she had intended to. 

       As a consequence of this, she was a bit dizzy when she was escorting her guests to their appointed chambers after the delightful lunch. There were things she had to explain about the castle, but she forgot while talking to the Prince. At a point she said, "I'm glad you didn't have to capture the wild people and I thank Gods that you're safe." Shannon smiled with gratitude and informed her, "Perhaps they have moved away to the northern parts of the Crosslands. We're fortunate that we didn't see them."

        Aerys expressed her aspiration, "I've always wished to see some of them. Their way of living, if it is truly bizarre or they just wrote the books keeping the ancient rivalry in their mind." She giggled as she said.

      "There are always two aspects of someone. And one shouldn't be closed because of the other, we must acknowledge both of them before our judgement", Shannon replied in a supportive manner. "Your Grace", he added  hesitantly.

      Aerys blamed Ser Bennyt for this hesitance in her heart and found him smirking at her right by her side. He suggested, "You've never expressed your wishes to me, my Queen. Well, for your good, your Grace, it would be better if you don't see them. But if that's what you wish, our men will bring some as hostages and perhaps you'd like to interrogate. But there's nothing worth-knowing about those wild and violent people." His voice suggested disgust.

    "I'm touched by your proposal, Ser. We will think of it later", said Aerys with a facade of mock gratitude. She was disgruntled with his presence for the first time. She wanted him to leave. Yet she kept moving on and got engaged herself in talking to Shannon.

    "She's so manipulative", said Nene "I can see how she's framing up with Shannon." She took care of her voice so that no-one else could hear, but Mason. He disagreed, "She's beautiful. And so is this castle." He was fascinated with the stones and idols and all those old things that were shining in the sunlight. Nene said, "It's like a museum. All I can smell is the scent of roses."

- "I love this place. I'm grateful to Queen Misae that she sent me with Prince Shannon."
- "That is insane, Mason. You never said you loved the Sun Palace even after living there for years. And you're fascinated with this place at once. That's ridiculous !"

     Miss Natalie shushed them. "What are you doing ?", said she in a low voice "We can not quarrel with each other till we're here with these people." Ser Bennyt smiled as if he was able to hear them.

    As they crossed one tower and reached another, an old croaky voice echoed throughout the hall. "I beg your pardon your Grace." An old lady in black leather approached holding a thick book and bowed her head to show respect to the Queen and her guests. Aerys didn't understand why she appeared all of a sudden. "What is it ?", asked she "What brings you here, Grand Mistress ?" She turned her eyes to Miss Natalie smirking mysteriously at her. "A little bird whispered that one of her sister has returned to the nest from far across the land. I couldn't resist myself to come and meet her. She was such a student." Aerys didn't understand what this old Mistress was talking about.

 Miss Natalie knew who she was. She was not changed at all. The same wrinkled hands, throat and face, her azoic silver curls, shineless yet ambitious eyes and that miraculous powerful smile. And the book she was carrying, "Praise to the Heavens" had all the elemental prayers for the Gods. The Grand Mistress carried on speaking, "All these ladies are like fledglings at the very beginning. As soon as they fetch some knowledge through our training, they intend to fly far away from the nest. What can we say ! After all, the era of ungratefulness it is. None of them remembers the days of diligence once they kiss the sky with their trained wings. Isn't it true, sweet Miss Natalie?" She waited for her response.

     "That is so not true, Grand Mistress. We are said to be like the birds. We need freedom, the sky awaits for us. We cannot be locked in the walls. And I do remember everything distinctly. You're the one who has made lives of many like me and I'm forever grateful", Natalie answered humbly bowing her head. 

     "Thank the Gods, Miss. I'll be glad if you'd like to join us for the afternoon prayer. Would you ?", the old woman questioned. Natalie was terribly exhausted, her legs were cramping. She asked for permission from Shannon through the eyes. Aerys watched Shannon nodding his head, which meant approval. "I'd love to",said the Mistress. She warned Nene and Mason before leaving, "Be careful of what you do." Aerys saw her vanishing with Grand Mistress Nushio from the hall. She felt pity for her guest. She could have stopped her, but the old lady would have persuaded her by hook or crook. She knew the Grand Mistress well. Aerys heard Ser Bennyt's voice again, "Don't worry, my Prince. She's safe in the hands of Grand Mistress. She'd enjoy her if she loves the Gods." Shannon replied, "She loves them. But she loves the papers more"

      Aerys didn't know what to do next. She gave a cold look at Bennyt and said, "Ser Bennyt. Go and look after the preparations for the dinner." Bennyt knew he was being dismissed. Yet he bowed and left. Aerys was scared inside her mind that she had offended Ser Bennyt with this harsh command. She was dissapointed with herself. Shannon drew her attention, "Shall we ?" He wanted to go on.

    "Please excuse us for the distractions. We'll be in your chambers sooner than you think." She started walking again and so did her guests.

     As she said, it took a few moments to enter the tower which was appointed for her guests. One of her guard opened the door and they were inside Shannon's chamber. It was perhaps the largest chamber of the tower. It was filled with the scent of lilac. The bed was looking so comfy that Mason wanted to jump into it, but he controlled as it wasn't his. He had been keeping control since he had arrived at Queen's Landing. From one of the room's window, they could see the infinite Bay . Opposite to the window, there was a balcony, decorated with some lilac and creep of some kind of yellow flowers. Wind was cool and fresh with a smell of the sea. But lilac was more alive. The purple curtains of the sea-facing window was flapping their wings like the seagulls. Shannon thanked Aerys and kissed her soft hand. 

     Nene asked suspiciously, "What about us ?" She was thinking that this chamber was for all of them. Aerys thought she was impatient and stupid. She said calmly, "You are staying in the chambers next to this. There are three more in this tower. One for each of you, Lady Nene." She added looking at Mason, "I hope you'd like our services." She directed Ser Desmond Arry to show them their chambers. "Ser Desmond will take you to your chambers. I'll send some men and maiden to settle your goods. Get some rest, my Lord and Lady." Mason and Nene left the chamber with Ser Desmond.

    Shannon thanked her again,"We are grateful to you, my Princess." He stopped and wondered that she repeated his mistake. "You can call me Princess, my Prince. That's what my father used to call me." Shannon smiled and his face shone as golden sunlight fell on it. "You're too kind, your Grace", he said. 

    "And so are you, my Prince", said she looking into his eyes, who were in need of sleep. Her voice softened, "Please make yourself comfortable with us. No harm will come to you. Our ancestors had not been quite friendly. But I want those old curtains to be raised. I want to build something new. Superstitions shouldn't let the future stick to the past. I believe that the day an old page would be turned, something new would be written."

     Her crown shone and reflected on Shannon's face. It had the rays of peace, affection, harmony and something fresh.