Chapter Text
The day after the melee the effects of the encounter between the so called Rouge Prince and the Lord of Runestone are felt immediately. The Lords of the Vale have withdrawn immediately. Lord Rodrik Arryn severs any talks of marriage between his beloved daughter Aemma and Viserys. The reason he gives is that Aemma is too young and that is Viserys is anything like his younger brother he can not be trusted to treat a Lady of the Vale her due. All of the Houses descended from First Men seem to be giving the Royals a large berth. The actions of an arrogant boy have lost the Crown a great deal of respect. After all if the Spring Prince is so lax in training his son in the rules of combat in a melee how are the rest of the dragons acting? If a boy dares to insult a Lord of an ancient House so brazenly how do the King and Queen act behind closed doors?
The day after he defeats an arrogant boy Lord Yorbert Royce acts as if he has not done some great feat. He walks around his men, trains with his daughter, and argues with his mother Elena Florent. He catches up with his cousins Benjen Stark, Tomas Blackwood, Alister Florent, and Rodik Arryn. He also sees old friends that he only sees at the capital. Artos Dayne, Bywin Strong, and Willis Manderly. In Yorbert’s mind all he did was beat down an arrogant pup who needed to be taught a lesson. He could care less that the boy was a Targaryen. In his mind a boy is a boy. He is a little startled when a Greyjoy approaches him about fostering his son of a Frey mentions the same. He shrugs off the offers as a court political maneuver and nothing more. He does not see that the eye of Westeros are on him.
Meanwhile the Old King and the Spring Prince are furious over what the Rouge Prince has wrought. He has cost them a marriage for Viserys, the respect of the Vale, and exposed an attitude that the nobles are already whispering shows signs of being Maegor reborn. The Queen is fussing over her grandson who has a broken nose and bruised ribs. The boys pride is the most broken however. He struggles to believe how a sheepfucker from the Vale could beat a dragon???!!!!
The day after the melee The Old King and Spring Prince spent hours locked in the King’s Solar trying to figure out how the damage from this encounter can be minimized. Finally Baelon has an idea. It may not work because he will have to connive the Lord of Runestone. But if he succeeds it could show Daemon some humility and patch up relations between the Vale and the Crown.
Little does the Spring Prince know the consequences of his actions. Centuries later historians will look back and point to this time in history when House Royce would begin their rise, the time of First Men would come again, and the Rouge Prince would meet his Bronze Queen.