Get comfortable, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🔥 ✦ The Red Keep, the feast hall.
After being reprimanded by the king, Tyland left with his pride tucked away.
The feast went on.
“Lord Lyonel, it has been too long since we last spoke.” Viserys forced a smile and summoned the steady-tempered Master of Laws.
Across a table covered in pastries, Lyonel Strong had been speaking with another guest.
He turned at the sound of the king’s voice, puzzled.
“Your Grace.” Lyonel did not dare delay.
He stepped forward and bowed.
He was a well-read man, a true scholar in his youth.
He had once gone to the Citadel in Oldtown and earned six links for his maester’s chain.
Age had softened him.
His once powerful frame had thickened, and his round face gave him a mild, approachable air.
Viserys looked the important lord over.
After hesitating several times, he said, “Rhaenyra has gone missing.
Cole says she took Vaelor to the Dragonpit.” “Prince Vaelor is of noble blood.
If he is willing to grow close to the princess, that is a good thing.” Lyonel’s answer was proper and serious.
He was pleased to see it.
Still, judging from the troubled look on the king’s face, there was clearly something more important behind the question.
Sure enough, Viserys shook his head and sighed.
“I like Vaelor very much, but Rhaenyra holds too much resentment toward me.
She will not listen when I try to advise her.” That wounded him deeply.
“How may I help you, Your Grace?” Lyonel raised his brows slightly.
The conflict between king and princess was known throughout the court.
But a king’s family troubles left very little room for a subject to interfere.
After all, not everyone was as skilled as Otto Hightower at turning opportunity into influence and marrying his daughter into the royal family.
“I have certain considerations, and I would like a trustworthy man to answer honestly.” Viserys’s expression grew complicated.
He checked that no one nearby was listening, then spoke with solemn care.
“Rhaenyra is nearly of age.
Who do you think could support her?” Lyonel froze on the spot.
His mouth opened, but no words came.
There was too much meaning packed into that one sentence.
First the king had mentioned Prince Vaelor.
Then he had turned to the princess’s marriage.
And the word “support” was chosen with particular care.
It proved that deep down, the king had no intention of replacing the princess as heir to the Iron Throne.
In that case, the court whispers about little Prince Aegon “replacing” her had been nothing more than wind.
In an instant, Lyonel thought of many things.
Beyond all those guesses, one point mattered most.
Otto Hightower, Hand of the King and “grandfather” to little Prince Aegon, had already been struck from the king’s list of trusted men.
‘The king is testing me.’ Lyonel’s heart sank.
Seeing Viserys grow impatient, he hurried to answer.
“Your Grace, according to the Small Council’s own discussion, Ser Laenor is unquestionably the best choice.” It was a safe, balanced answer, one that left room for the conversation to continue.
Viserys frowned, dissatisfied.
“Perhaps there is someone better.” Lyonel chose caution.
“Ser Laenor Velaryon is the heir to the wealthiest house in the realm.
He is unquestionably of ancient Valyrian descent, and he carries Targaryen blood.” There were no stronger qualifications.
What fault could there be?
But those words touched a nerve in the king.
Viserys drank a large mouthful of wine.
His gaze sharpened, and his tone turned grave.
“Ever since the Great Council of 101 AC, from the moment the maesters read my name as heir, and then after I refused to take Lady Laena Velaryon as my wife, I have always felt those covetous eyes staring at me from across Blackwater Bay.” Since his father’s death, the Sea Snake, Corlys Velaryon, had always been the rival he feared most.
Lyonel had expected this.
After a silence, he said, “Your Grace, if you truly wish to hear my honest counsel…” “Of course.” Viserys cut him off at once.
If he had not wanted the truth, he would not have asked the Master of Laws, a man from an honorable house with a clean reputation.
House Strong held Harrenhal, a position that watched the riverlands and the Vale and could support King’s Landing at the first sign of unrest.
That alone showed where the Strongs’ loyalty lay.
Lyonel let out a heavy sigh and spoke plainly.
“The Small Council recommended Ser Laenor precisely because you refused his sister, Lady Laena.
That refusal led Lord Corlys, your Master of Ships, to resign his post.” “Lord Corlys the Sea Snake is better kept as an ally than made an enemy.” It was blunt enough.
He trusted that the king understood.
The royal family and House Velaryon had fallen into a deadlock.
If a marriage could erase that misunderstanding, it was better than letting the wound deepen.
Viserys asked unwillingly, “And if I refuse this proposal?” “The Sea Snake will not be the one to bow first.” Lyonel kept to the facts.
“Without a bond to the Iron Throne, he will not be easily satisfied.” “When the realm has need of him, who can refuse?” Viserys’s emotions surged.
He said bitterly, “Is he threatening me?” “You are the king.
No one would dare.” Lyonel tried to soothe him.
Viserys laughed in anger and rejected the idea outright.
“I will not marry my daughter beneath her station, and I will not throw away the dignity of a king.” Corlys would not bow, so Viserys was expected to bow instead?
Never.
Lyonel saw the gains and losses clearly.
Helpless, he said, “Prince Vaelor is highborn, yes, but the war in the Stepstones is urgent, and the Sea Snake commands half the realm’s fleet.” Unfortunately, Lord Corlys held the stronger hand.
Viserys tightened his grip around his cup and slowly calmed.
“It does not matter.
Corlys has lost men and ships in this war.
His threat has already weakened.” His brother Daemon was on that battlefield as well.
War was cruel.
No one needed to tell him that.
They had even sent a plea for aid.
“Then…” Lyonel saw that the king had begun to measure his options and opened his mouth to advise him.
Suddenly, a scream came from outside the hall.
“What has happened?” Viserys straightened, thrown into confusion by the sudden uproar.
“Shriek!” A dragon’s cry, filled with fierce delight, rang out like thunder across the Red Keep.
Viserys was shocked.
He quickly strode out of the hall.
When he looked up, white clouds drifted across a clear blue sky.
“Shriek!” A pale blue dragon soared high above them, spreading her wings as she slipped through the clouds like a free and graceful butterfly.
“Seven hells.” Lyonel stared, dumbfounded.
Viserys was even more shaken.
He stepped forward and stared at the dragon’s back, confirming again and again that there was no rider.
His daughter and nephew had gone to the Dragonpit together.
Dreamfyre had not been claimed.
How had she flown out?
For the moment, no one could answer him.
Under countless staring eyes, the pale blue dragon circled King’s Landing three full times, drawing gasps and screams from every corner of the city.
Only when she seemed tired did her great body pass over the red brick and white walls of the Street of Silk.
She folded her wings and landed once more within the domed Dragonpit.
The Dragonpit.
Vaelor looked up with a bright smile on his fair little face, delighted that Dreamfyre had returned to the sky.
Dragons were meant to fly.
How could they be kept locked away forever?
If they were caged too long, their bodies would weaken, and perhaps they would even stop laying and hatching eggs.
The only losers would be the Targaryens.
All at once, an unfamiliar roar sounded beside him.
Vaelor made a small sound of surprise and turned to look.
Rhaenyra had disappeared at some point.
Now she was walking out from the Dragonpit.
Beside her moved a powerful dragon the color of yellow topaz.
The great beast swung a huge head crowned by a pair of curved horns, calmly accompanying her rider.
Vaelor’s eyes lit up.
“Rhaenyra, can I touch her?” He did not wait for an answer.
He worked his short legs as fast as they would go and scurried over.
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CREATORS’ THOUGHTS EmberHollow Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you deeper into the story.
Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.