Blood and Cheese
Upon learning of Lucerys‘s tragic death, Rhaenyra succumbed to grief and collapsed. While stationed at Harrenhal, Prince Daemon vowed to avenge his son’s demise. Utilizing connections in King’s Landing, Daemon enlisted the help of a former serjeant from the City Watch, now known only as Blood, and a rat-catcher from the Red Keep, known as Cheese. They infiltrated the Tower of the Hand by sneaking into the Red Keep through secret tunnels and hidden doors.
Inside, they found Queen Alicent bound and gagged, her bedmaid strangled. When Queen Helaena and her three children appeared, Blood and Cheese blocked the doors and forced Helaena to make an unimaginable choice.
Reluctantly, she selected Maelor to spare her other sons. However, Blood went against the order and killed Prince Jaehaerys instead. Blood and Cheese fled with the young prince’s head in their possession, leaving the rest unharmed but shattered by the cruel events that had unfolded.
Blood was captured at the Gate of the Gods, clutching the head of Prince Jaehaerys hidden in a saddle sack. Under torture, he revealed his destination: Harrenhal, where he hoped to claim his reward from Prince Daemon. He also disclosed details about the prostitute who had hired him and Cheese, a woman named Mysaria.
The gold cloaks, led by Ser Luthor Largent, combed the Street of Silk thoroughly but found no sign of Mysaria or Cheese. Enraged, King Aegon II ordered the hanging of all the ratcatchers in the city. In an odd twist, Ser Otto Hightower brought a hundred cats to the Red Keep to replace the executed ratcatchers.
Meanwhile, Queen Helaena sank into a profound depression, refusing basic self-care and avoiding her chambers. She couldn’t bear the sight of Maelor, whom she had named to die, and thus, Aegon took the child from her and entrusted him to Queen Alicent for upbringing.
From then on, the king and queen led separate lives. Helaena’s descent into madness deepened, while Aegon succumbed to rage and alcohol, marking a period of darkness and despair in the midst of the tumultuous Dance of the Dragons.