Ashes In The Castle ||| Aemond Targaryen

eighteen

Naerys felt some type of nerves. She wasn't specifically nervous or afraid. But it was her first time doing anything like it, treating with a Lord.

She assured herself that it would be fine, it would go perfectly. Naerys was confident in her skill and her cause; a simple Lord couldn't shake her.

Rhaenyra was right; the flight wasn't particularly long. A few hours at most. She knew she was getting close, though, when the weather started to turn. Lightning and thunder greeted her in the sky but thankfully, there was no rain. Not yet, anyway.

Naerys was relieved she hadn't gotten lost when she saw the large tower appear through the clouds. The castle was modest, nothing compared to Dragonstone or the Red Keep but it was a castle nonetheless.

Vermithor flew around the tower and Naerys spotted a courtyard. It wasn't very big, especially for her to land a dragon as large as Vermithor. She looked around for a moment, seeing only water and rocks surrounding the castle. She would have to land him on the bridge and hope he fit.

"Land, Vermithor. Careful."

The wind whipped in her face as she circled around and descended with Vermithor. He followed her command, though, and carefully landed himself on the bridge, right by the gate.

Naerys had to be careful too. He was quite wide to be standing on the bridge. So as she climbed down his side, she made sure to be touching solid ground before she let go.

In a last effort to appear as organized and respectful as possible, Naerys tried to fix her wind-styled hair and flatten her cloak.

When she felt ready, she walked forward. She hoped to exude nothing but confidence, strength, and grace. She approached the gate with a hand on her sword.

The knights manning the gate could tell she was a Targaryen by her hair. They did not stop her as she walked through the gate and into the small courtyard, the gravel crunching beneath her feet.

There were a handful of other knights that guarded the door. Those were the men she would speak her business to.

As she got closer to them, though, Naerys heard a thundering roar. She knew it hadn't come from Vermithor.

Her head shot to the left and what she saw shook her.

It was Vhagar, resting on a larger piece of land. She knew Naerys and Vermithor had arrived.

Her presence could only mean one thing. And that one thing almost made Naerys nervous. If Vhagar was there, Aemond was there. Vying for the support of Borros as well. It was likely they would see each other if he was inside already.

She could have let it shake her, let it disrupt her proposal. But Naerys shook it off and ignored the massive beast. Naerys would only match Aemond's energy.

When she got to the knights, Naerys spoke loudly and clearly over the wind. "I am Princess Naerys Velaryon. I bring a message to Lord Borros from the Queen."

The knights nodded and turned on their heels. Their helmets hid their expressions from Naerys so she was unsure what to expect. She only did what she knew she was supposed to; follow the two nights ahead of her.