He knows that he is a fool to do it, but he does it anyway. As he picks up the crown of winter roses, he glances at his father, and understands why he chose Lyanna Stark on that day in Harrenhal.

He remembers the day that the wolves came to the capital as clear as yesterday. He remembers Lord Eddard Stark and his family kneeling before the Iron Throne. He remembers the angry eyes of the lords and ladies of Dorne and the Reach, who lost fathers, brothers and sons to the Starks of Winterfell. The Usurper's dogs were not welcome in court.

He remembers the icy stares of his sister Rhaenys and the sad smiles of his half-brother Jon at the tense welcome feast. There was laughter and fools, drinking and smiles, but it was only ever skin deep.

He remembers the practice fights between him and Robb Stark. He remembers their blunted swords crashing into one another again and again. He remembers the way Arthur Dayne's hand drifts to Dawn when Robb lands a blow on Aegon.

He remembers the angry whispers when King Rhaegar announced Aegon's betrothal to Lord Stark's oldest heir. He remembers the arguments between his father and Lord Connington that lasted well into the night. He remembers his father telling him of the good their marriage will do for the realm.

He remembers the long walks he has with Sansa Stark. He remembers the way she blushed when he said kind words about her dress, the smiles she gives him when she watched him practice his sword play. He remembers her soft voice and dreamy eyes.

And he remembers that he does not love her. Her songs are sweet to his ears and her face is beautiful, but she cannot see him. She can only see what she wants to see; the prince that they sing songs and write stories for. No matter how many times she calls him her Prince, he can never believe her.

But he does remember who he can love.

He remembers the day he truly meets her. He had seen her in court and talking to Jon, but he was only seeing Lady Stark.

He was not seeing Arya Underfoot.

He remembers her dirty clothes and her thin sword. He remembers Sansa's horror at her younger sister. He remembered how Arya told Aegon to watch where he is going.

He remembers her forced apology the next day. He remembers Sansa's disgust at her sister and Jon's amusement.

He remembers finding her chasing cats in the clothes of a commoner, not the clothes of a lady. He remembers how she doesn't hesitate to push him over after he laughs at her not being able to catch Rhaenys' cat Balerion.

He remembers the times when she watched him train with Ser Barristan. He remembers the times when her Braavosi teacher scolded her for getting distracted.

He remembers how he started talking to her more and more. She was and still is wilder than her sister, but far more interesting. He remembers how she didn't hesitate to speak her mind to him, unlike any other person in the Red Keep.

He remembers the times when they sneak off to the dungeons together to get away from everyone, how they played in the skulls of Balerion and Meraxes. He remembers how her direwolf would alert them to approaching guards, and how the three of them would hide in the skulls of the dragons that his ancestors rode. He remembers the mock fights they had, and how her rapier would clash against his broadsword.

He remembers the day he broke Needle in two. He remembers how he brought a blacksmith in from across the Narrow Sea so that they could reforge his Valyrian steel dagger. He remembers the day he gave her the first Valyrian steel sword to be forged in a century, Wolf's Heart. He remembers the delight on her face, and the long embrace they shared.

He remembers the day that the first dragons in a century are hatched, and how she had laughed when the hatchling nearly bit of his finger. He remembers how she unintentionally gave him the strangest yet most meaningful name for his dragon; Needle.

He remembers how he finally convinced Ser Barristan to let her train with him. He remembers how she proved to everyone a woman could fight when she fought him to a draw.

He remembers how Jon Connington stopped reprimanding the girl for spending time with Aegon, and how the other lords and ladies would laugh at her antics rather than scowl at them as they had when the Starks first came to the capital.

He remembers the afternoons spent in the godswood together after particularly boring walsk with Sansa. He remembers the day that she fell asleep there and he had to carry her back to the Red Keep.

He remembers when illness had struck her down, leaving her bed-ridden. He remembers how he had gone to her room every day to read to her. Not stories of princes and princess', but stories of wars and conquests. He remembers how her eyes would light up whenever he entered her room.

He remembers the day the Martells came to the Red Keep, and how his Uncle Doran had offered to wed his eldest son Quentyn to Arya. He remembered the argument Arya had with her father, how she had refused to marry the Dornish prince.. He remembered how she had spat in Quentyn's face in front of the whole court when he offered her his hand in marriage. He remembers when she came to Aegon for comfort after her father had yelled at her for her outrageous behaviour, and how he had welcomed her with open arms.

He remembers when Lord Eddard resigned as Master of Coin to return home to Winterfell and his other children. He remembers when King Rhaegar told him that his marriage to Sansa would be brought forward. He remembers when Arya had burst into his chambers, sobbing, and how she had told him that she didn't want to leave him. He remembers how he had held her close to him and let her spend the night in his bed. He remembers how warm she felt curled up against him.

He remembers his father announcing a tourney to celebrate Lord Eddard's service to the crown. He remembers the look of surprise on his father's face when he announced that he was entering the lists. He remembers how jealous Arya had been at not being able to participate. He remembers how he had promised her that he would make it worth her while.

He remembers how he had trained day and night with Arthur Dayne. He remembers arranging for a special crown of winter roses to be made for him to present to the woman he would marry. He remembers the night before the tourney, praying to the old gods and the new for victory.

He remembers the day of the tourney. Both smallfolk and the nobility had cheered as he, their crown prince, had rode against opponent after opponent, never failing to defeat them (all the while thanking his father for not allowing any of the Kingsguard to participate).

He remembers his final opponent being none other than Robb Stark, who had come all the way from Winterfell. The two broke a dozen lances against each other until finally, Aegon emerged victorious.

He remembers hooking the crown of winter roses around his lance, catching the eye of his father as he did so. He remembered his father's nod of approval.

People had always told him that he was his father's son, and now he knew why. As he rode to where the Stark sisters were sitting, he knew who he truly wanted to be his queen.

He rode up to the podium, and presented the crown of winter roses to the only woman who could ever truly be his wife…

…Arya Stark.