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"Uncle?" A small voice calls out to him drawing his attention away from his sword and the rag he was using to clean it. He'd not had the chance since his arrival to train, and he was beginning to think he wasn't going to have any spare time soon, not if his nephew had anything to say about it.
Gwayne lifts his head from his sword cleaning. His eldest nephew, Aegon, stares at him with wide amethyst eyes. Half-hidden behind a stone pillar, the boy looks younger than his eight name days. In fact, Gwayne almost sees his little sister in the tiny figure before him.
"My prince," Gwayne smiles at the boy though he falters when he sees how shocked Aegon is to receive such an expression. While he had not been present in the boy's life until now, he's sure that he'd given no reason for the boy to be surprised his uncle was glad to see him. He'd tried to write letters to his sister and her children in order to get to know them better. Though he would admit he occasionally forgot. "How may I be of service?"
"Well, I," Aegon did not come out from behind the pillar. In fact the boy shuffled an inch further behind it. "I was wondering if you could, I mean if you have the time before you return to Oldtown, I would like to learn."
"Learn what my prince?" Gwayne asked. Aegon's eyes darted from his face to the sword still in his lap. Gwayne arched a brow as he started to understand his request. He knew his nephew had been training the past few years as was befitting a prince of the blood. He'd even gifted the boy a practice sword on his fourth name day upon hearing the news, but according to his sister's letters, the sword was not one of Aegon's favorite things. Which made the boy's presence and obvious nerves even more interesting. Cleaning now forgotten, Gwayne puts down his rag settling his hands in his lap. Aegon stiffened, most of his body still hidden behind his chosen pillar.
"You would like the sword learn from me?"
Aegon nodded his head hastily nearly braining himself against the stone.
"I thought you took lessons with Ser Criston?" Gwayne questioned.
He'd not had time to watch any of his nephew's lessons only heard about them from Alicent, who only mentioned them to hiss about the Princess' son partaking. Gwayne hadn't thought much of it at the time. Both boys were princes it was expected of them. He'd started his lessons at the same age Prince Jacaerys did, as had Aegon though his sister seemed to forget that, and it made sense for the child to be paired with Aegon since the boy could learn from helping. Teaching the basics ensured that Aegon had them mastered, and it would help foster a better relationship between the two princes.
Aegon shuffled his feet. His eyes stared down at the ground still wide and still scared.
"Mother says I'm not doing enough." Aegon mumbles. "Grandfather says I have to try harder, but I... I don't know how."
Gwayne winced at the boy's words. His father, for all that he was known for his intelligence and cunning wordplay, had never quite figured out how to temper his words for children, a trait his sister seemed to have inherited in her years at their father's side at court. His mother had done her best, but after her death, whatever softening she'd done to the Hand and his tone had vanished. He could only imagine the harsh words Otto Hightower had for the young prince before him, old memories springing to the surface.
"Mother likes you!" Aegon burst out. The force of his words had him stepping away from his hiding spot. He sniffled, and Gwayne prayed those were not tears in his eyes. "She says you are one of the greatest swordsmen she's ever met and the most honorable! If you taught me, maybe, maybe she'd be happy."
"It is admirable that you wish to bring your mother such happiness, but I believe she would be just as happy to hear that you're trying." Gwayne attempted another smile only for Aegon to shake his head. The tears Gwayne had hoped against finally springing to life in his eyes. "Any mother would love such a devoted son."
"Mother doesn't like me." The whispered words said with such conviction that Gwayne froze. "She likes you, so if you teach me, she'd like me some too."
Oh, how Gwayne's heart shattered hearing those words.
"Where did you hear such nonsense?" Gwayne asked. He gently lifted a hand to wipe away Aegon's tears only to freeze when the boy flinched away from him.
"Everyone knows." Aegon glared down at his shoes, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "She likes Aemond and Helaena well enough, but she hates me. She always has time for them, to praise them, but she doesn't even look at me unless I've done something wrong!"
It isn't to say that Gwayne hadn't noticed how his sister interacted with her children. Its just that he hadn't given it much thought. Alicent had birthed three children in six years when she was scarcely but a child herself. She handed them off to nurses and maids more often than he remembered their mother doing, but Alicent was also the queen with a sick husband and a demanding father. There were not enough hours in the day, or so she said in her letters to him. Some sacrifices were expected of her. With Aemond nearing the end of his infancy, she devoted what little time she had to him, and that was normal.
What wasn't normal was how Gwayne now couldn't remember ever seeing Aegon around Alicent. Her letters also barely mentioned the boy except to mention how much trouble he'd gotten into since the last time she'd written him. Alicent never seemed to be around her eldest unless the boy was doing something wrong.
Since his arrival in King's Landing to celebrate his youngest nephew's second nameday, he'd barely seen his sister and Aegon in the same room, and he never heard her mention the boy. Aegon no longer slept in the nursery where Alicent tried to care for Aemond with his nanny. His lessons were done in the library not the Queen's apartments as Helaena's were, and he was still too young to stand through a full day of court where his mother would be in charge of him. Alicent and Aegon appeared to never intersect.
"Grandfather says I have to be better than a fool." Aegon, it seemed, hadn't noticed Gwayne's diverted attention and had kept talking. "No one will want a king who can't swing his sword correctly or know the names of the lords he oversees. He says I can't be stupid any longer. I don't want to be stupid!"
Aegon was eight, Gwayne near boiled with rage at his father's repeated words. He was still young enough that his swordsmanship could be stumbling. He shouldn't have to know all of the knowledge of a Grand Maester or feel that he was stupid for forgetting and messing up a lesson. Even ignoring what Otto had said about being a king, Aegon was doing well.
"You," Gwayne settled his hands on Aegon's shoulders. "Are not stupid. You have never been stupid nephew."
"But Grandfather!" Aegon lifted his head to argue with him.
"Grandfather is an old man who has forgotten that he too was once a child." Gwayne shook his head. "You are not stupid Aegon. Only stupid people believe themselves sated with what they already know. A smart person asks for help and tries to learn more."
Gwayne gently squeezed his nephews shoulders before dropping his hands. Aegon swayed forward trying to prolong the touch. He wondered at that, but chose not to dig too deeply at the moment. Later he could dissect it. For now he had a prince to console.
"How about this?" Gwayne smiled. "I'll take over your lessons with Ser Criston. He can focus on Prince Jacaerys while we turn you into a great knight, how do you feel about that?"
Aegon stared at him, hope welling up in his wide eyes finally replacing his tears. Staring down at his nephew, Gwayne can see how Aegon had inherited Alicent's features. Had he been born with the Hightower coloring rather than the Targaryen's he would have been Alicent's twin.
"Do you promise?" Aegon's lip trembled. "Do you promise you'll make me into the greatest knight? So that Mother will like me?"
Gwayne drew Aegon into his arms. The little boy flinched but quickly enough melted into the touch. Gwayne could not stop his heart from breaking for the boy. As a child, he'd known that Alicent had been their father's favorite, but he'd still recieved love from his father and mother, something Aegon seemed to have grown up without. Aegon deserved better than this. He deserved a mother who loved him unconditionally and a grandfather that wished for his happiness. He deserved a father that looked at him. Gwayne could be none of those things for his nephew, but he could be the boy's shield, protecting him and loving him. He could teach the boy that he was more than what other's saw in him.
"I promise nephew."