For a moment, Helaena looked after Rhaenyra and Laenor, walking away along the beach. What was there to even talk about? The blue eyes? They were dead, obviously. Not much to mention. Shaking her head – grown-ups – she looked at Daenerys. Daenerys and her two dragons. Out at sea, she had believed she was simply good at convincing the poor green one, but now… The way she petted it, the way it just let her. No one could just pet her Dreamfyre like that. Not ever. They acted like… like dragon and rider, which was impossible. The black one was her dragon! The green one seemed to as well, though. How? How could she have two dragons? No one had two dragons. It was just not a thing. One rider bonded with one dragon and that was it.
"Daenerys?"
The woman looked at her.
'How can you have two dragons?' It was right at the tip of her tongue, but she did not ask. There was another ever more important question, which floated around her head ever since she saw the black dragon. It would sound insane, completely insane, but she had to know.
"Are you a Queen?" She had to be. She was the rider of the last dragon.
Daenerys stared at her. "I –"
"The black dragon. Drogon. I saw him in my dreams," she cut in before Daenerys could say anything. "It was him." As he was right now, not years and years away. "You flew away from the dead. More than here. Way more."
Daenerys stared at her. Maybe lost for words. Or getting ready to tell her she had lost her mind. Probably the latter. But they both were dreamers! Somehow, a dreamer turning on her was worse than all the rest. She could see her thinking again, just like her mother did. Thoughts moving. What to say? She would pick her words carefully, wouldn't she? Turn on her after all.
But Daenerys did not. She nodded slowly instead. "Do not tell anyone. Please. If they know…"
Smiling somewhat, she sat down beside her. "No one believes me." No one believed her dreams already. If she started to run around claiming this strange woman was a queen from a faraway time… Could Maesters treat insanity? What would they do to her? Nothing good for sure. She shivered at the thought.
"Well, they ought to. Without your dream, maybe Drogon and I would have been too late."
"Really?"
"Yes. When I reached them, the blue eyed man was one moment away from killing Seasmoke." She paused for a moment. "You did good out there. Very good. Without you..." She shook her head and fell quiet.
Once again, Helaena stared. Was she saying she was the reason they were all still alive? Just because she had come? Tears welled up in her eyes. She had the odd urge to hug her, to get hugged back, to just cry for hours because everything today was insane, but she did not. She barely knew her, after all, although she already knew so much. All the important bits. Dreamer, dragon rider, queen, slayer of blue eyes.
"I will not tell that – you know. I promise," Helaena said and then fell into a whisper. "How is it to be queen?"
Daenerys smiled. "Mostly boring to be honest," she whispered back. "All the audiences…"
---
The waves lapped up their words. Laenor and Rhaenyra walked side by side, stopped every now and again, talked, walked on.
Rhaenyra sighed relieved and leaned against Laenor when he said Harwin was alive. Badly burned, yes, but alive. Better than she had feared. Her Harwin… she wanted to fly for him, see him, make sure he was alright… but she knew she could not. Not anytime soon. Lyonel was alive as well, unburned even. And then Laenor told her of the servants, who had not been servants.
"Larys? Why should he…" Rhaenyra stopped again. "The greens." No one else would benefit from the Strongs dying but the Greens. Larys would be Lord of Harenhall, not only the second son somewhere in line, and always be grateful to… he had always been around Alicent. Just the thought he would murder his own family was repulsive. Beyond words. That Alicent would order something like this... She refused to believe it. Manipulation, sure, rumours, yes, but killing someone? Alicent?
"I thought so as well." Laenor sighed. "They are moving. Taking out our allies, replacing them with theirs."
"Why now?" Maybe simply because the possibility arose. Maybe…
Rhaenyra froze. "How was my father? When you were in Kings Landing." Illness could move quickly sometimes.
"Oh, the Gods." Laenor looked horrified. "He looked okay! Not any worse than normal. I am so sorry, Rhaenyra…"
She touched his arm. "I asked, you answered. Maybe… maybe they are just starting their moves. Pre-emptive strikes are easier than after the fact."
They had to make their own moves. More now than ever, knowing what would come for them.
Of course, they talked about the dead. Laenor was freaked out about it all. The dead on their island, the things he had seen in the storm. The man of ice with his glowing blue eyes, the dead dragon, the other dragon.
Both fell quiet for a bit. Rhaenyra mulled over the other dragon. Yet another one. Who could it be? Vhagar would be the most reasonable answer, which was impossible. Laena could not ride her yet. If it had been her, she would have come for the island after and burned every walking dead to a crisp. The color was wrong either way. Big and black was only Balerion. Or the Cannibal, but he had been here. Sighing weakly, she shook her head ever so slightly. When would her life start to make sense again?
"Can you fly for Driftmark? Patrol along the Blackwater after."
"Yes, of course."
"You thought of it already, didn't you?" Driftmark was home to him, after all. Laenor smiled somewhat and nodded.
They fell quiet again. Laenor broke it this time. "What do we do if they attack again? What if they attack someplace far away from us? We need days to some village at the end of Westeros. Until then they could wipe out entire regions."
"I do not know. I hope it will not happen again, but…" She trailed off. Hope wouldn't help them.
---
Watching Laenor take flight again, part of Rhaenyra wanted nothing more than to jump on Syrax. Make sure the dead were… all dead, that none of them had gotten away. If even one got into one of the villages along the shore… the thought made her shiver.
"Daenerys?"
She looked up at her. "Yes?"
"Can you fly along the Narrow Sea? Maybe towards Tarth." She did not want her near the Blackwater. Her father ought not to see them until necessary. "Make sure none escaped. Or else burn them."
Daenerys nodded, glancing at her green dragon again. Rhaenyra racked her mind for his name, but it did not come. She was sure Daenerys had said it at one point or another.
"I will have dragonkeepers look after him. He will be okay."
"Can I help too?" Helaena asked, all giddy.
Rhaenyra hesitated. 'No', was her first instinct. She did not want her sister in danger again, but in comparison to the rest of today, searching for runaway wights was barely worth mentioning. Helaena could hold her own.
"We will fly together," she decided. Helaena lit up again. "I need a moment first."
She had to make sure her sons were okay. Hurrying through the corridors of her castle, she looked for Jace and Luke. They might have heard something and… and what? Run away? They had to be here somewhere. Maybe hiding, scared out of their minds. Gods, she should have told Laenor to come with. Their sons should see them both. He could have waited another few minutes. If the dead had attacked Driftmark as well, chances were they were dead already.
Jace's room was empty. As was Luke's. As was the main hall. She had glimpsed into it on her way up. As was her own and Laenor's chambers.
Where were her sons?! Were they still alive? How could she still panic after everything? But she did, and it got worse. Had they tried to go out to help and – well. They were Laenor's sons, after all. He was the one acting their father. Responsible, most of the time, but damn headless every now and again. If they got some idea into their heads…
At last, she tried Joffrey's room. The door did not move.
"Jace? Luke?!" Please!
"Mother?"
Oh the Gods, Jace.
"Mother?" Luke asked as well. They were together. Of course, they…
"Yes. Yes! Everything is okay now. Can you open the door?"
"Give us a moment, princess," a man yelled through the door. Probably one of her guards.
When the door finally opened, Jace and Luke jumped at her, hugging her. Rhaenyra hugged them back. They were fine. Both of them were fine. Everything was okay.
"Whose idea was it?" She asked, eyeing them.
"Mine," Jace told her, all proud.
She nodded and ruffled his hair a bit. "Well done." He grinned, one second away from launching into a full-blown story about it all, but he could see his mother had no mind for it right now. Maybe later. Definitely later.
She looked at the wet nurse and stepped closer, looking at her third son. "How is he?"
"He is alright, my princess. Slept through most of it."
Rhaenyra smiled while stroking his head. Babies.
---
The beating and beating of wings… the ocean flew by underneath them, just one endless band of dark blue. It was strangely calming. After everything, after all the chaos and horror, the worry of getting overrun, it was nearly too calming. Rhaenyra stared at it, everything else flitting away. The water rushed by for miles without her even realizing.
They could have died today. All of them, everything. The horde could have gotten the better of Syrax and her. Seasmoke could have died, just as the green one and Drogon. If all those dragons had turned blue eyed… they could have taken on Vermithor and the Cannibal. And then Vhagar was barely worth mentioning. All their dragons flying for the dead. Except maybe Dreamfyre, who could have gotten away with some luck, and Meleys, who could outfly all of them even on her worst days. They were all still alive because…
"Rhaenyra?" Rhaenyra blinked and finally ripped free of her thoughts. Dreamfyre was flying close now, Helaena looking at her all worried. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes. Just lost in thoughts."
Helaena smiled somewhat, nodded, and Dreamfyre dove down again, letting one of her claws cut through the waves. Watching them for a moment, she had Syrax follow suit, getting closer to the waves. The ocean rushed by. No dead until now. Maybe it was too deep, and they couldn't see them. Maybe they were already out of the water, murdering anyone nearby. Rhaenyra forced the thought away and looked at her sister.
"Helaena? How do you… I mean… How did you handle the storm?" Flying through those was dangerous, no matter their dragon's size. Okay. Maybe Vermithor and Vhagar didn't have to mind, but to all others gales were a problem.
"Dreamfyre did all of it!" Helaena yelled back truthfully. To claim she had done any of that would be crazy.
"Can you show me?"
She watched her smile again. "Of course!" Dreamfyre flew up abruptly, acting as if she was battling winds. Rhaenyra watched curiously.
"Repeat it," she told Syrax. Her dragon only growled. "Do, Syrax." If anything like today happened again, they could very much need it. "I will get you some sheep later." Hells, all of them deserved all the sheep.
After a few moments and her talking at her dragon, Syrax followed Dreamfyre reluctantly. What followed could only be described as play while the dragons warmed up to each other. Dreamfyre flew up and down, always half an eye on the water, shifting and turning, holding her position at any cost. Syrax followed her moves, reluctantly at first, Rhaenyra would have sworn even annoyed. The longer they flew, the more they got into it. All the while, with all the abrupt changes in direction, Helaena commented on what to look out for. Rhaenyra watched her nearly in awe. The young girl just held onto her saddle stoically. A lesser rider would have been thrown off.
"You are really good at this!" Rhaenyra yelled at her. Helaena beamed again, which made her heart hurt a little. Did no one ever tell her she was good at things?
Syrax swayed to the side, repeating one of Dreamfyre's stabilizing moves – and folded her wings, dropping like a rock. She stopped right above the water. Rhaenyra stared at it. Blue eyes shimmering down below. At least some of them were paying attention.
Dreamfyre caught up to them. "What is – oh."
The two dragons hovered over it; it stared up at them, uselessly trying to get to them. If it didn't want to murder them, its jumping would almost look comical.
Rhaenyra looked at Helaena. "Does Dreamfyre dive?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Syrax hates water."
Helaena stared at her and giggled. A dragon hating water. Did she even fly in rain, less alone storms?
After Dreamfyre had taken care of the wight – Helaena sat in front of Rhaenyra now, holding onto Syrax' saddle – they flew on, all serious again. Enough with the play. They had work to do.
---
Humming to herself, Dalla spread out their freshly washed clothing on the plot of land behind their house. Well, their lord's house, but it was theirs for the time being. As long as they reached the wheat quota and paid taxes. Gathering small stones from the pile nearby, she walked along between the clothes, warm grass beneath her feet, and placed a small rock or two on them. If her husband's undershirt got away in a gust of wind… she did not even want to think of it.
Someone screamed. Dalla looked up, frowning. Birds still chirped. Their cow mooed. Leaves rustled in the wind.
Quiet. Had she imagined it?
More screams. Dropping the remaining stones, she ran around their little house and froze. Addam, Lily's son, was ripped apart by… by… she stared at it but couldn't comprehend. A man, half his body bones. Lily was screaming. A woman ran past the man, her eyes glowing blue, and killed Lily. Just bit through her throat. Falyse had gotten out of her house, undershirt in hand, and stared at the commotion. Her little girl peeked out the door behind her.
The screaming pulled one of the men from the nearby fields. Stomping around the corner towards Lily's house, he yelled. "What is going –" Then the woman was on him and he was screaming too. Dalla watched him punch and kick her, but the woman just went on attacking him. Dalla finally moved. She ran towards the two, trying to pull the woman away. She did not care, did not even look at her. Something like claws dug into her back and she screamed. The half-man-half-skeleton stood behind her. His eyes were blue as well, visible teeth turned up in a grin. Backing away screaming, it followed her slowly. He was missing half a leg as well. Probably the reason she was still alive.
The other men came. Two of them died to the woman nearly instantly. The third put up a fight. Gilbert, her husband, ran towards her and rammed his pitchfork into the midsection of the half-skeleton-man. He just kept on walking. Of course, he did. He was missing half his body already.
"Run!" Gilbert screamed, trying to keep the thing at bay. When it couldn't get to her comfortably, it turned to trying to claw at her husband. Thank the Gods the pitchfork was longer than its arms.
The wind sounded strange. And then something roared. Dalla looked up just in time to see the golden dragon fall from the sky. It landed right beside her, bit the man-skeleton, threw it away with a flick of its head, and breathed fire. Another dragon fell from the sky. It caught the woman in its claws, threw her into the air, and breathed fire.
The woman on the golden dragon looked around and stared at Lily, Addam, their dead men. Dalla stared at her. She had to be some royalty. Both of them had to be. They rode dragons. The woman dismounted her dragon, while the light blue one circled above them.
"Are there more of them?" She asked. Her Gilbert still held his pitchfork, staring dumbfounded.
"I… I… I…"
A dragon. Here.
She reached out for her, touching her arm gently. A royal had saved her. A royal had touched her.
"They… They were after Lily. They… they… wanted to go fishing today, I believe."
"Where to?"
"Down by the cliffs."
The woman looked up and the light blue dragon took off, back towards the sea.
---
The pain came rushing back, making her groan. Awake was always pain. Even sleeping was pain. Her dreams, if she dreamt at all, were of her getting torn open or ripped apart, sometimes even dragons came for her. When she first opened her eyes again, she barely knew what had happened or who she was. There was only pain and the distinct knowledge that something was wrong. The maester had given her Milk of the Poppy and that was that. Three days just blurred into each other. If anyone had asked her, she'd have sworn she lost her child yesterday.
Had they burned her already? had been her first question. Yes, they had.
Daemon was by her side most often, whenever she drifted in and out of sleep. Once it was Baela, looking at her all worried. All other times, it was her mother, looking even more worried than Daemon and Baela combined.
Slowly blinking open her eyes, she realized she was alone for once. No one was by her bedside. She had lost her child. Was her mother still here? She had the strange fear to wake up and learn she was gone. Left without a word. Just left her alone with all the pain, all the horror.
"Is my mother still here?"
A servant stepped closer. "Yes, my lady. Should I get her?"
"Not right now."
Laena closed her eyes again, waiting for the pain and grief to take over. Neither did. Both were constant, yes, but manageable for once. She could even think mostly straight. No Milk of the Poppy, she thought dryly, and waited a little.
When she could still think straight some 5 minutes later, she went to work. She wanted to go home, and she would go home. If need be, she would take the girls and leave. Should Daemon try and stop her… Vhagar was always most convincing. Not that she wanted their dragons to fight, watching them attack each other would tear her heart apart, but whatever was necessary. She would not stay here. She would not die here if things got worse. She had only barely made it as is. She wanted her family.
"Can you get Daemon?"
The girl nodded and left.
Laena stared after her, stared at the guard in her room. Everything was so quiet. As if they were plotting for a funeral. Where were her girls, running down corridors screaming and laughing although they had been told to be quiet? Where were…
Her thoughts ripped. Just slipped away in the pain. And then there was only pain. The memory of them breaking it apart. How things had moved inside her, all those hands moving around.
Daemon cupped her cheek. The touch made Laena come clawing back, holding onto her sanity with all her strength. She had to talk!
He looked at her, worried as ever. "How are you?"
"Horrible." Who even came up with those questions? "Daemon…"
"Yes?"
"I want to go home."
He sighed, looking away already. She knew he would either change the subject or avoid her altogether. Or just leave.
"I nearly died. I do not want to stay here for the rest of my days. Baela and Rhaena should grow up around family, with… with their nephews. Not… not here." They deserved better than lickspittles and beggars. Beggars here had way more money, but beggars all the same. Begging for their dragons, begging for their power.
"We talked about this already," Daemon replied.
Well, no. They never had, because he never did.
Laena sat up carefully, her body screaming at her not to do it.
"I will go home, Daemon. You can come with or stay."
---
Another day. Another long boring day. Standing by the railing of his ship and watching the horizon, Viserys sighed. One more day and they'd be at Dragonstone. If the winds were kind, maybe even this evening. Thank the Gods the seas were calm or it would take even longer. Especially in moments like this, he missed having a dragon. One who could fly for longer than a moment, that was. Balerion… the thought hurt, even after all those years. Watching him die after only so little… he shook his head and turned, forcing the thought away, and walked along the deck to get some movement. He would sit again soon enough. Continue his book about the Histories of Valyria, maybe a glass of wine. Endure Alicent's stares.
A mysterious dragon with a mysterious Valyrian rider. What to even make of it? If only Lyonel was here. He would give good counsel, like always.
"Jaeherys would have killed her," he muttered to himself.
Simply by existing, she was a challenge to Targaryen rule. But killing her… it felt like such a waste. Her dragon would revolt against them as well. Maybe never accept another rider. Maybe fly away. Hopefully, the girl was reasonable enough. If she was… Marry her into the family, yes. Bind her to them, one way or another. Keep her out of other families' hands – keep dragons and dragon blood with them, where it belonged. Otherwise, it could easily turn into a challenge.
His slow walking nearly turned to pacing now. The three Kingsguard he had brought along watched him silently.
Yes. Talk with her, assess her, figure out how she got the dragons, marry her. Or kill her. Sounded like a plan. He would probably go over it a few more times because some things did not make any sense. Why had she turned up now? How could they not have heard of her? How could they have missed her?
Questions he would not get answers to right now. He turned again, stopped at the railing and looked down at the water. It moved along well enough thanks to the wind. Viserys frowned, staring intently at the waves. There was… the face of a woman? She was staring at him.
"Ser Harrold. What do you see?"
His Lord Commander stepped beside him, staring at water as well.
"Just water, your Grace."
"Thought I saw something."
"Must have been a reflection, your Grace."
"Yes, yes. Must have."
He could have sworn…
---
Rhaenys kissed Laena's cheek.
"We will see each other again soon," she promised. She would fly for Pentos again. Maybe escort her part of the way home. Maybe just send Velaryon ships to get her. Daemon couldn't say much about established facts, could he? She knew it was a risky bet, trying to force Daemon's hand. If he refused and stayed here… but no. She did not believe he would. She had seen him while Laena miscarried. He would do anything for her. Maybe throw up a fuss, complain, even stall, but in the end do as she asked.
Laena smiled and nodded. "Safe flight. Give my greetings to Laenor and Rhaenyra."
"I will." She squeezed her daughter's hand again. Leaving her felt wrong. Way, way too wrong. She should stay here, be at her side, but she knew just as well Rhaenyra was waiting for answers. She herself wanted some answers. What had Daenerys said to her? How could she have known Laena was in danger? What else did the girl know?
After some more goodbyes, Rhaenys finally left her chamber. Daemon stood outside, watching her.
"What did you say to her?"
Rhaenys shook her head. "Nothing of concern to you. I will visit again as soon as I can."
Daemon nodded, following her through the corridors.
"I will leave Maester Geradys with you. To make sure she is in the best hands." He would not appreciate another dragon flight either way.
Another nod. This time without any snarky comment, which likely meant he was grateful. They walked side by side for a bit until they reached the stairs down to the yard. Rhaenys glanced at him.
"Do you have bastards?"
For once, Daemon frowned. "Probably. Why?"
She shrugged. "Curiosity." Maybe Daenerys was one of his.
---
There had been no dead on Driftmark. His father had looked at him all skeptical when Laenor asked if anything had happened, anything at all. No, his father had said. Which was good. Very good. He had needed a bit to extradite himself from the inevitable follow-up questions. Flying over the Gullet, there were none. Crossing over Sharp Point, there were none. Turing towards Blackwater Bay, he expected exactly the same. They seemed to have only come for Dragonstone. For their dragons, specifically. The way they had hunted after the poor green one… Laenor shook his head at the thought and yelped when Seasmoke dropped.
"What are –"
His stomach sunk, while his hope they were gone and dealt with disappeared. There were five in the water beneath them. They looked up when Seasmoke's shadow crossed over them and started to pile on top of each other, trying and failing to reach them.
Seasmoke growled lowly. Water and fire ain't working well. His dragon dropped into the sea.
"Oh, the seven hells! Seasmoke!"
His dragon only rumbled lowly, flapping his wings a bit, spraying up water, and paddling with his claws. Waited. And then shook him off. Laenor stared exasperated for all but a second. Seasmoke disappeared underwater, brought them up in his claws and breathed fire.
Oh. Yeah. Of course. Dropping back into the water beside him and wetting him through for good, Seasmoke nudged him gently, rumbling what could only be a sorry. Laenor laughed and stroked along his scales.
"Warn me next time!" As if that would work. Seasmoke rumbled again, kind of happy this time, dove, and then he was on the back of his dragon again, really close to the saddle. Scrambling back onto it they were up in the air, looking for more.
They found small packs every few minutes now. Laenor went swimming, Seasmoke went fishing. How could there still be so many?
Hovering over a pack of 50, he watched them for a bit. They walked in a straight line. The earlier packs too, when he thought of it. Only looking up when a shadow fell on them, most likely to check if it was a dragon. They were going for… Laenor stared at the horizon, plotting where around he was… Kings Landing. It was a straight line for Kings Landing. Depending on the currents, they could hit Duskendale first. Or maybe crawl out of the water around Rosby. And then it was only a short walk to the capital.
---
A knock on the door.
Alicent nearly sighed relieved. There was only so much small talk about Valyria and the taste of wine she could take before she lost her mind. Way back when, when she had married him, she had found it fascinating. Who wouldn't have? Old Valyria, the place of legend and power, rulers of the known world in Essos. The ancestors of House Targaryen. As time went on, she realized her husband did not care for much else of anything. Not ruling his country, Lyonel and before that, her father had done so, he did attend small council meetings and sometimes held audiences, yes, but… he wasn't ruling, not really. Not actively. Just lost in stories of old. He did not even care for their children. Rhaenyra, yes, which made it all the worse. Why could he not care for their children? Only Aemma's daughter, the little apple of his eye. He had three by her! Three! The son he had always wanted. When was the last time he had done anything with Aegon? Ages ago.
"Come in," Alicent said. Hopefully, it was good news. Maybe Dragonstone finally got into view. Ought to be time. And then… the girl. The dragon. Just things getting worse. If Viserys decided to keep her alive, which she feared, she'd try convince him to marry her to Aemond.
The door to their chamber opened. Ser Criston stepped inside, looking the tiniest bit worried, which in turn worried her. What had happened?
"Your Grace, my Queen. We spotted Dreamfyre to the west."
"What?" Alicent asked as did Viserys. Oh, now he cared for his daughter!
Stepping onto the deck with Viserys on her arm, her heart sank. She could not see Dreamfyre. Only Syrax of all dragons, hovering in place, probably the one she did not want to see the most. Some of their sailors stood by the railing, all yelling over each other, just as Ser Harrold. He stared at something in the water and finally turned, yelling commands to halt and turn the ship.
Alicent hurried for the railing and stared. Her Helaena was down there, in the water, swimming. Oh, the gods, her baby!
"What happened?" She yelled, one moment away from staring daggers at Rhaenyra. How could she be up here and her baby down there? Viserys finally joined her.
"Dreamfyre wanted some fish!" Helaena yelled back. Alicent stared. Dragons. Her husband chuckled.
"Why are you even here? You should be back at home!" Her damn brothers had not looked out for her after all. She had to have a word with Aegon.
"I… wanted to see you."
Alicent smiled weakly. They should not have left her.
"I came for your ship, father. My Queen. The last part of your journey befits a royal escort, don't you think?"
"Oh, a splendid idea," Viserys said.
Yes. Everything Rhaenyra did was splendid. Shoving bastards in everyone's faces was so splendid!
"How did you find Helaena?" Alicent asked, way colder. Sailors were running all around, doing their best to stop the ship.
"I got lost," Helaena yelled up. "She found me over… ehm…"
"Close to Claw Island," Rhaenyra said. "One of our guards spotted her. Took a little to catch up."
Alicent hesitated. Reasonable enough, but still... Why fly for them together? Why hadn't she just left Helaena at Dragonstone? To parade her daughter around? Or had Helaena insisted on coming with to see them?
Helaena looked down at the water and frowned. She disappeared, leaving only tiny waves behind.
"Helaena!" Her baby! "No!" She lunged at the railing, ready to jump in to get her out. Ser Criston held her back. She could not even swim well, she thought later. In the moment it did not matter. She had to get her baby girl!
Helaena still did not get back up. Rhaenyra cursed the Gods, because of course, she did and – jumped in, diving for her daughter. Alicent stared. They still did not come up. Syrax growled at the water, then full-on roared. Somewhere far off, Dreamfyre got out of the water, dropped fish while doing so, and flew towards them.
"Helaena!" Viserys yelled for a change, staring at the water. Both his girls… At least he did not yell for Rhaenyra. Alicent wouldn't put it past him.
A few sailors jumped into the water to save – Syrax roared again, looking panicked by now, if a dragon could ever look panicked, and dove into the water, creating waves that hit the ship some. A few seconds later, both Helaena and Rhaenyra emerged from the water. Her baby snapped for air frantically and started crying. Rhaenyra hugged her somewhat.
"Ssh. I got you. Everything is okay. It's gone."
Syrax emerged beneath them, lifting them out of the water, and breathed fire. Alicent stared. What was that about?
With the ship turned and stopped some 10 minutes later, they heaved Helaena and Rhaenyra on board, as well as the sailors. Syrax flapped into the air and shook herself, trying to get the damn water off her scales, thus showering anyone nearby.
Alicent hugged Helaena the second she was on board. She was safe! Thank the Gods, she was safe. And then went straight to scolding.
"What were you thinking? You could have gone lost! You could have drowned! Drowned! Why did you not stay in Kings Landing? You would be safe there! What would I do if you were dead, hu? You can't just do something like this!"
Helaena looked down, not even daring to raise her gaze, mumbling apologies. Rhaenyra watched them for a moment and turned away. Her father placed a shaking hand on her arm.
"Well done, Rhaenyra."
She only smiled and briefly hugged him. "Anyone would have done the same. How was your journey? Did everything go well?"
Alicent looked up and saw them. Of course, Viserys would talk with Rhaenyra first. Of course, of course, of course. What did his nearly-drowned daughter matter?
---
Rhaenyra was uncomfortable, to say the least. They were in her father's and Alicent's private chamber. Alicent's handmaid helped-forced her into one of Alicent's green dresses. It did not fit well. The least I could do, she had said, when Rhaenyra enquired about any dry clothing. She would have rather gone for a simple linen dress like Helaena was currently wearing. But no way she could turn her down. To refuse a dress from the queen… Rhaenyra could swear she saw glee in Alicent's eyes, who sat in a chair opposite and watched.
"Thank you for saving Helaena," Alicent said again.
"Always." Something flickered over Alicent's face. As if she wanted to either hug her or throw wine in her face. "Anyone would have done the same," Rhaenyra said again. "How was the journey up till now?"
"Long and boring. I guess that's good concerning ships."
Rhaenyra smiled politely. "It is. Laenor always bores me to death when we use a ship. I know more about wind patterns, sail directions and anchor chains than I could ever imagine. Or want to in the first place."
Alicent chuckled politely. "Oh my."
The handmaid threaded the dress close as good she could. "Done, my princess."
"Thank you." The girl bowed and moved away. Rhaenyra turned back to Alicent. "Thank you again for…"
"Oh, never mind. The least I could do," Alicent said again and waved her hand. The glee was back in her eyes. Or had it never left? She. Wearing green. Sure had to be a sight.
They stared at each other. One could nearly cut the tension between them with a knife. She was torn, more than she ever was. Part of her wanted to talk with her, at least try. She had seen wights today. Nearly died herself. Nearly watched Helaena get drowned by one of them. There were more dead beneath the ship than they had realized. What did all this squabbling matter in comparison?
The other part hated just the thought of it. Harrenhall had burned. It had to be the Greens. None other would profit off it. Larys was loyal to Alicent. If she really had ordered them dead… but murdering someone? Having Larys murder his own family? It was so unlike her.
"Did you hear of Harrenhall?" Rhaenyra asked. She would bring it up, she decided. See for herself and go from there.
Alicent frowned. "No. What of it?"
"It burned. Lord Lyonel and Ser Harwin only barely escaped with their lives."
Horror passed over Alicent's face. Whether she had something to do with it or not, she had not wanted this.
Alicent got up, stepping closer to her and then stopped. As if she wanted to reach out and remembered she ought not. "Do they know what happened?"
Lie or tell the truth? How much did she know? Anything? None at all?
"It was set ablaze. After the Lord made it out, someone saw a man posing as a servant. They rounded up more of them."
Alicent indeed looked horrified. One hand raised to her mouth, shaking her head. It seemed so genuine. She wanted it to be genuine.
"Dear Mother. To rebel against their lord like this…" She shook her head again and fell quiet. Rhaenyra watched her. Her honest upset about Harrenhall burning… her being grateful for saving Helaena… they may not get a better moment to talk in years.
"Alicent, I…"
What to say? Where to start? Appealing to their long-gone friendship had not helped the last time. What else could she say? What could move her, even the slightest?
"Yes?" Alicent looked at her, waiting. The moment was slipping away. Gods, she should have thought about this already, but no. She had wanted to talk to Rhaenys first, get her opinion on things. What to tell her? What was important to her? Back then, when they were girls, she would know. Nowadays… she was still Alicent, wasn't she? Deep down. Alicent, her best friend, always by her side. Scheming behind her back, yes, but...
"I wanted to thank you for looking out for my father. I did not realize while I was in Kings Landing… he has gotten frail. Being by his side loyally, helping him, it cannot be easy." She hesitated. "You have my gratitude for that."
Alicent looked at her.
"Further, I –"
A knock on the door. Rhaenyra closed her eyes. Why now?
"Come in," Alicent said.
Cole of all people entered. "My princess, your lord husband is here. He asks for a word."
"Leanor is here?"
Cole nodded.
She turned to Alicent. "Excuse me, my Queen." And hurried out of the chamber. On the deck, she watched a wet Laenor jump onto the ship. Seasmoke circled over them lazily. "Laenor, how come…"
"We got a raven which could not wait," he proclaimed for anyone to hear and walked across the deck to hug her. "You in green?" He whispered into her ear.
"Somehow happened," she whispered back.
Alicent watched them closely. More word from Harrenhall? She was horrified about the news. Yes, she had wanted them handled, but not burned! Not like this! To kill his own kin… The disguised servants must have talked… Had they told of Larys? Of course, the good Ser Harwin would let her know. Had Larys accused her? She had thought him loyal, but rats always ran first.
"There are more dead in the water," Laenor carried on in a whisper. "I stopped counting at some two hundred. I think they are heading for Kings Landing."
Rhaenyra closed her eyes and sighed. "We found some close to the Whispers, but none otherwise." Which made sense if most of them were heading to Kings Landing. "I hoped this was over. We have to guard…"
"What is it about?" Alicent asked, stepping closer.
"Oh… ehm…"
"Laena had a miscarriage," Rhaenyra said on a whim, hoping with all her heart that Laena was alright. "She asked if we can fly for Pentos."
"My condolences. Some days are just bad news."
Another forced smile turned up on her face. Seasmoke saved her from having to answer. He roared and breathed fire on their anchor chain. The sailors started yelling at the dragon, thin air, and Laenor all at the same time, as did Ser Harrold and the captain, trying to calm them down.
---
The flight back was uneventful. Meleys shot through the skies high up in the air, making their travel seem barely worth mentioning. Blue skies, calm air. A stark comparison to their way to Pentos. Two times, Meleys seemed to see something interesting, losing height, but she never fully dove down. Probably hungry, but not her type of fish. Dragons could be so picky.
Circling over Dragonstone again, Rhaenys stared. Vermithor and Silverwing lay outside by the beach, staring at the ocean. The Cannibal sat on a cliff of the Dragonmount, staring out over the island. A green dragon. Another dragon she did not know. And the beach… from up here it looked like flight paths. Sand did not burn well, but earlier or later it would melt. There were streaks of glass scattered all across the beaches.
Landing close to the green dragon, she stared at it. Wounds, and lots of them. Just like the black one when he got here. Dragonkeepers were swarming the poor thing, inspecting its wings, patching up wounds along its back. It looked enough like Dreamfyre to be one of hers. Another one of hers. Two of the three stolen eggs.
"What happened here?" She demanded. Two of the dragonkeepers stopped and looked at her, hesitating. As if she would believe any word they said.
Notes:
The chapter got way longer than I expected. Hope you had a good time!
I'm still torn about whether or not Alicent and Viserys (and everyone else on the ship) should see a wight in the next chapter. The possibility is there after all. It would short-cut some back and forth between Rhae and Alicent, which kinda feels too easy. Oh, just take whatever and be friends again!
Let me know what you think!