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CaveLeather The ships made landfall at the harbor of Dragonstone in the late afternoon.
The acting lord who governed the island had received the raven in advance.
A banquet already waited, and a detailed report on the two great dragons lay ready for the king’s eyes.
“Your Grace, please take the carriage.
Allow us to escort you, the queen, and the princes and princesses to the castle.” Viserys gave the man’s shoulder a satisfied pat.
“You have done well.” The family climbed into the carriage together.
The king sat in the center.
On his left rode his favorite son and daughter.
On his right sat Alicent, Helaena, and a thoroughly seasick Aegon who wanted nothing more than silence.
Daemon claimed the seat nearest the door, apart from both sides, and watched them in quiet amusement.
Caraxes and Syrax had been released the moment their riders set foot on the island.
Both dragons knew these skies; by dusk they would return to the Dragonpit of their own accord.
Viserys lifted the curtain and called to the acting lord riding alongside.
“Vermithor and Silverwing—are they as they always were?” The man answered with careful deference.
“No, Your Grace.
Their behavior has grown strange.
Vermithor, once content to sleep through the day, now flies from the pit while the sun is high.
At night the gentler Silverwing takes his place.
The night watch has heard dragon-roars in the small hours.
We believe the Cannibal may have entered the island’s skies.” Viserys already knew the tales of that beast—the second-generation giant hatched in the same age as Vermithor, larger than Silverwing of the same generation, its strength and growth said to rival the Bronze Fury itself.
Its only true flaw was that no living soul had ever seen its face or learned its nature.
“You are certain it is the Cannibal?” “Only a reasoned judgment, Your Grace.
No other dragon would make both Vermithor and Silverwing so wary.
The roars and the change in their habits are the only evidence we possess.” The acting lord kept his eyes lowered.
He knew how thin the claim sounded.
Viserys’s brow furrowed.
This concerned the honor of the house and the life of his firstborn.
A mere guess from the man charged with the island’s safety was no longer simple negligence.
Daemon saw the king’s restraint and turned a cold stare on the rider.
“If you do not know, why have you not found out?
The Crown feeds and pays you so you can answer questions even a whore would find less stupid?” The acting lord swung down from his horse at once and dropped to one knee.
“Forgive me, Prince.
We have searched.
The Cannibal is simply too cunning.
No one has ever seen its true form, and no trail of it has ever been found.” The sharp rebuke eased Viserys’s temper.
The man had not tried to shift the blame, and the king had never been one to stain a carefully built reputation with needless blood.
“Your honesty earns you mercy this once.
Find solid word of that wild dragon at once.
Fail again and I will take your head.” “Thank you, Most Merciful Grace!
I swear the error will not be repeated!” The carriage rolled on and entered the castle proper.
The acting lord timed the meal perfectly.
By the time the royal family had washed away the salt and dust of the voyage, the table was already laden.
Half a day of travel had left them all hungry; conversation was brief, and the food received the greater share of attention.
When the plates began to empty, Baelor rose first, ready for rest.
“Sleep well,” Viserys said.
“Wait until the acting lord finishes gathering every scrap of intelligence before you approach the pit.” The king had heard the legends of the Cannibal in his youth—a dragon the smallfolk called cruel, savage, and as changeable as a storm, the living shadow of some dark god on Westerosi soil.
Exaggeration or not, it remained an untamed second-generation giant of Vermithor’s own age, never claimed, never gentled.
Its danger stood equal to Vhagar’s.
“I understand, Father.” Baelor embraced the king, then Rhaenyra, and turned to leave.
“Brother—me too!
You haven’t hugged me yet!” Helaena stretched both arms toward him, eyes bright with expectation.
Alicent’s face tightened with sudden unease.
“Helaena, your brother needs rest.
Do not trouble him.” The little girl shook her head stubbornly.
“Brother will hug me.
Brother loves me best.
Don’t you, brother?” Baelor looked at the hopeful face, sighed, and walked back.
“Yes, yes.
Brother loves Helaena best of all.” She nuzzled against his cheek with open delight.
He set her carefully back in her seat—then, almost without meaning to, glanced toward Aegon.
The boy’s eyes held the same quiet hope, carefully masked behind a princely mask that still managed to say: What about me?
Is it my turn?
Baelor’s smile vanished.
He ignored the look completely.
Rhaenyra propped her chin on one hand and watched with open amusement.
“My, my.
Only a few days apart and the brother-and-sister affection is already this strong.” “Nothing of the sort,” Baelor answered lightly.
“I merely answered a little sister’s request.” The moment the words left him he felt the strangeness of the scene.
A simple farewell between kin should not carry the flavor of a jealous romance in some cheap play.
Rhaenyra’s smile widened.
“Ooooh~ Then you truly are the best big brother in the world, aren’t you?” Baelor decided silence was the safer path.
He found a convenient excuse and left the hall at once.
Viserys remained at the head of the table, gaze moving from the departing boy to Rhaenyra and then to Helaena.
The expression on his face was not quite strange, yet it held a complicated weight, as though he were weighing some private possibility.
When the meal ended he called Daemon back before the prince could escape.
“Go to Baelor’s chambers.
Use that wealth of dragon-lore you carry and tell him how a man faces a great dragon without getting himself killed.” Daemon gave a tired half-smile.
“Dear brother, I am exhausted.
Tomorrow will serve just as well.” “One more day of advice is one more day of experience he can use.
This is not a request.
It is a command.” Daemon’s smile turned resigned.
He inclined his head and went to find his eldest nephew.
CaveLeather