Daemon left the room, and Ser Erryk returned Dark Sister to him.
Not long after Prince Daemon departed, Helaena appeared outside Baelon’s room, carefully carrying a thick storybook in her arms.
“Ser Erryk, please let me in.”
“My brother promised me that if I couldn’t sleep at night, I could come find him and have him tell me a story!”
“Well…” Ser Erryk hesitated.
The prince had just said he wanted to rest.
If he opened the door now, would Baelon hold it against him?
“It’s all right.
Just let me in.
My brother definitely won’t punish you.
I promise!”
Helaena imitated the adults she had seen countless times, patting her chest with an unusually serious expression.
” Erryk, who’s outside?” Baelon called from inside.
“It’s Princess Helaena, Your Highness.
She says she has come to ask you to tell her a story,” Ser Erryk respectfully replied.
A story?
Baelon was momentarily dumbfounded.
It was one thing for this little girl to cling to him during the day, but she had actually come knocking in the middle of the night.
If Rhaenyra and Alicent—who treated their children like precious treasures—found out about this, Baelon felt that even if he survived, he would probably lose a layer of skin.
After considering the consequences, Baelon decisively chose his words.
“My dear Helaena, my sweet little sister, it’s already very late.
Can we tell the story tomorrow?”
“You’re lying to me, brother!”
“You said before that if I couldn’t sleep, I could come listen to you tell me stories!” Helaena’s voice immediately became choked with tears.
Baelon hurriedly opened the door and pulled the little girl into his room.
“Ah, I really don’t know what to do with you.”
“All right, all right.
What story do you want me to tell?”
“The Song of Ice and Fire.” Helaena placed the book aside and nestled herself comfortably against her brother.
Baelon’s brows knitted together.
To be honest, what he knew about the legend came from several ancient books in Oldtown as well as what his father had told him.
He still hadn’t figured out how to turn the whole thing into a story suitable for lulling a child to sleep.
After thinking for a while, he decided he could make some appropriate changes to the tale of the “Prince That Was Promised.”
“The Prince Reborn Amidst Smoke and Salt shall raise the glowing and burning Lightbringer…
but he will need dragons…”
Baelon did his best to tell the legend like something born from magic—mysterious, almost impossible to comprehend, yet strangely profound enough to make anyone who heard it stop and think.
Helaena listened with complete concentration.
Sometimes her little eyes blinked rapidly with excitement; at other times, she lowered her head and muttered things that Baelon couldn’t understand.
Several minutes later, the story was nearing its end.
Baelon glanced at the water clock on the table and gently patted Helaena’s head.
“That’s enough for tonight.
“But, brother, you told it wrong!”
“I saw it.
A true dragon isn’t afraid of fire, because it is reborn from the flames!”
Helaena earnestly corrected him.
Baelon clearly remembered that Helaena had said something similar the last time he had told her a story.
If it were merely childish stubbornness, she wouldn’t have repeated the same thing so many times.
“Helaena, tell your brother.
Where did you see that?”
“And who is this dragon you’re talking about?” Baelon lowered his head and questioned her.
Helaena looked up with a bright smile, as though she had just revealed a great secret.
“You, brother!”
“I saw it with my own eyes in a dream.
You were on fire, and then you turned into a really, really huge dragon!”
Helaena exaggeratedly spread her arms apart.
From her description, Baelon sounded less like a human being and more like some mysterious creature born from magic itself.
“All right, all right.
Now you need to go to sleep.
Otherwise, your brother will turn into a dragon and eat you in one bite!”
Baelon picked Helaena up, intending to carry the little girl back to her room so that she wouldn’t sneak back halfway through the night.
Helaena wasn’t frightened in the slightest.
Instead, she happily rubbed her little face against Baelon’s cheek.
After delivering Helaena safely back to her room, Baelon finally returned to his own quarters to rest.
The next morning arrived.
After breakfast, Baelon accompanied Rhaenyra, Helaena, and his good uncle Daemon to the dragonpit to inspect the situation.
At the same time, he planned to make a preliminary attempt at approaching Silverwing, the most docile of the available dragons.
Aegon did not come.
Alicent was far too worried about allowing her son to accompany Baelon and the others.
If something happened to Aegon, House Hightower would truly be finished.
As for Helaena, Alicent was beginning to find this little girl increasingly difficult to control.
Even if she forbade Helaena from going, the girl would simply sneak after them on her own.
Alicent had no choice but to use her authority as queen to arrange additional guards to keep watch over her.
…
Some time later, they arrived at the volcanic caverns beside Dragonstone.
The temperature here was perfect for dragons to sleep and hatch their eggs, and Vermithor and Silverwing frequently came here.
“Did anything unusual happen with Silverwing this morning?” Baelon asked the dragonkeeper leading the way in High Valyrian.
“Please rest assured, Your Highness.
We fed Silverwing enough sheep beforehand.
She is currently in a very stable condition, and you may approach her safely.” The dragonkeeper placed one hand against his chest and bowed respectfully.
“What about Vermithor?” Baelon asked casually.
He knew that if he wanted to put on an act, he had to play his part all the way through. Get faster updates on g.com.
“Vermithor’s mood is extremely unstable.
He was unusually agitated when we fed him this morning and nearly burned one of the dragonkeepers alive with his flames.”
“If Your Highness wishes to tame Vermithor, I sincerely advise against attempting it today.”
The dragonkeeper’s advice was completely genuine.
A furious dragon was simply too dangerous and unpredictable.
They absolutely could not allow the king’s eldest son to take such a risk.
“Oh, is that so…” Baelon nodded as though he were merely considering the suggestion.
“And the Cannibal?
Have you discovered anything about the wild dragon?”
The dragonkeeper shook his head again.
“I’m very sorry, Your Highness.
The Cannibal has always been extremely elusive.
Finding his location requires a great deal of patience.”
Baelon nodded thoughtfully.
Patience…
Unfortunately, patience was precisely what he was lacking right now.
…
Outside Dragonstone’s castle.
“Your Grace.”
A woman dressed entirely in black was led into the area by a maid through a secret route.
She knelt before Alicent.
Alicent sat on a wooden chair, doing her utmost to suppress the tension in both her expression and her heart.
“Rise, witch.”
The woman in black smiled as she stood.
“Rather than the title of ‘witch,’ I would prefer you call me a sorceress.
In Asshai, that is the name we reserve for women such as ourselves.”
“Tell me.
How confident are you that you can accomplish the task this time?” Alicent secretly clenched her hand.
“If there are only two or three people, my chances of success will be around eighty percent.”
“Of course, that estimate does not include dragons.”
Alicent naturally understood that.
But what excuse could she possibly use?
Viserys valued Baelon enormously as his eldest son.
He had even allowed Rhaenyra and Daemon to accompany him on dragonback as his personal protectors, all so that his son could safely attempt to tame a dragon.
“Your Grace, I can sense your concern.
If the problem is the number of people—or the presence of dragons—then simply use the same method to lure them away.”
The sorceress from Asshai spoke respectfully.
“What do you mean?” Alicent raised her head and stared at her.
“Use people against people.”
“Use dragons against dragons.”