A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: A Witcher/House of the Dragon Crossover

Chapter 23

It was day time in King's Landing, high afternoon to be exact; the skies were clear with not a cloud in sight. The wind was brisk and light, not to strong that the birds could fly about without trouble, and the temperature was neither too cold not too hot.

The weather was perfect...it was the perfect weather to go out for dragon riding.

And that's exactly what young Aemma Targaryen was doing. Astride her dragon Cirillia, who at this point was around the size of her cousin Rhaenyra's dragon Syrax, the princess of three and ten had taken to the skies with ease.

It was something Aemma had grown to love ever since her gold and black she-dragon was big enough to ride.
She could still remember when Cirillia was first fitted with a dragon's saddle, how her father was present when she first mounted the beast and the nervousness that had enveloped her before her first flight. She could also remember the look on her father's face which she knew to be a sense of pride, something she had not seen in him since she could first string together more then one sentence of words in High Valyrian.
The takeoff of the dragon had been rough at first, but the moment Cirillia was high enough in the sky to level out, Aemma felt a wave of exhilaration along with a sense of peace, strangely enough. This was the moment she knew what it meant to be a dragon rider of House Targaryen.

In the present, Aemma was relishing these feelings again, but was interrupted by the presence of another dragon next to her. Aemma looked over to see it was Sunfyre, and atop the beast was her cousin and betrothed, prince Aegon.

The two made eye contact for a brief moment; Aemma shared a small smile, though Aegon did not seem to return it.
Earlier today, Aemma had wanted to go dragon riding, and when she had made this announcement to her uncle King Viserys, he thought it an excellent idea and had suggested Aegon go with her so both them and the dragons could have some bonding time together. Aemma had actually liked the idea at first as Aegon had seemed to be a little distant with her recently.
She didn't know why. She and the prince had actually been close when they were younger, but ever since their betrothal was made official, Aegon's behavior towards her had started to change; Aemma had found herself spending less time with him and more time with her other cousins, even with Rhaenyra's sons Jacaerys and little Lucerys.

Aegon had initially declined the invitation to go dragon riding with Aemma, and while the princess was glad her cousin had changed his mind, she had a feeling Aegon was probably persuaded/forced to go, if not by his father then more likely his mother.

While flying, Aegon turned his gaze away from Aemma, who at this point, didn't want her betrothed to ignore her any longer. She spoke a special command to Cirillia in High Valyrian. At once, the dragon moved about in the air till she was flying upside down above Aegon.
Shocked, Aegon looked up to see Aemma hanging onto the reins and saddle with one hand and used the other to reach out and tap the prince on the head as her dragon moved again till she was right side up and nose diving towards the ground.
Aemma suppressed a giggle as Aegon urged Sunfyre to pursue the princess and her dragon.

The little chase continued until Aemma guided Cirillia back to the dragon pit. Aegon parked Sunfyre next to the two as Aemma dismounted. The prince had a scowl when he faced the princess, but it dissipated when Aemma started laughing from seeing the look on his face. "You could've gotten yourself killed pulling a stunt like that," Aegon casually points out, "fallen off your dragon and cracked like an egg when you hit the ground."
"But I didn't, did I, dear cousin?" Aemma points back, "If I had fallen off then I would've just landed on top of you. And if I didn't, Cirillia wouldn't have hesitated to come save before I made impact with the ground."

Aegon said nothing, opting to walk back to the Red Keep while the dragon keepers arrived to escort Sunfyre and Cirillia back into the pit. Aemma sighed a bit; it wasn't quite what she was hoping for but at least Aegon was still talking to her, that was something.