The courtyard lay deathly still.
The burble of the fountain sounded especially grating now, making the silence all the heavier, until it almost crushed everyone's chest.
Viserys's mouth hung open, his eyes stretched wide, his purple pupils trembling wildly as his gaze darted between several points.
The silver-haired young man with Violet Eyes before him, the pale golden shadow slowly drifting overhead, and the empty patch in the middle of the courtyard where only wisps of smoke remained.
Moments ago, one of the most powerful governors in Pentos had stood there.
"You..."
Viserys forced the word from his throat, dry and hoarse, like two rusty pieces of iron scraping together.
"You said... you're Aegon?"
He drew a sharp breath, his chest heaving as he struggled to recover a shred of a king's bearing from his limp, helpless state.
He braced himself against the edge of the table, his nails digging into the grain, his knuckles whitening with the effort.
"Rhaegar's son?"
His voice suddenly rose, distorted by excitement and disbelief:
"Gregor Clegane smashed that infant's skull against a wall in the Red Keep with his own hands! His brains were splattered everywhere! Tywin Lannister announced it to the Seven Kingdoms himself, as proof of his allegiance to the Usurper."
"What kind of ghost conjured by sorcery are you?! Or are you another fraud trying to deceive people with silver hair and purple eyes?!"
"Proof...!" he roared.
"Show me proof!!"
Aegon listened quietly to the hysterical interrogation.
His face held no expression, neither anger at the insult nor any eagerness to prove himself.
Only a stillness like the depths of a pool.
Even when Viserys mentioned the "smashed skull," not a ripple stirred in his violet eyes.
Only after Viserys finished shouting and stood glaring at him, chest heaving, breath ragged,