Blood Upon The Snow ||| Cregan Stark

twenty-four

It was a month and a half between Jacaera returning from Winterfell and when it was planned for her to go back. She didn't want to leave Luke but he was steadily improving. The Maesters said maybe they could reduce his intake of milk of the poppy soon.

Just before she left, they heard news of what Daemon had done in retaliation for Luke's attack. He had mercenaries break into the Red Keep and kill one of Helaena's sons.

Jaehaerys. Her oldest boy. Beheaded in front of her.

Jacaera couldn't believe it when she'd heard. The cruelty that Daemon stooped to. Especially to Helaena, a woman who had nothing to do with the war. She was trapped in that Red Keep.

Rhaenyra said she didn't know exactly what he was going to do. Not to that extent. But she couldn't admit he'd acted without her consent, that would make her look weak.

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise for Jacaera to be returning to Winterfell. To escape the depravity for a few weeks. She was friends with Helaena.

She couldn't imagine the pain of watching a child die.

Hopefully, her marriage would take her mind off of it. She could be happy for a short time before things got worse. And they would get worse.

***

Rhaenyra saw the three off. Jacaera had more clothes packed that time around and had made sure that both Jace and Baela packed their warmest attire. It would be even colder than before.

"Be good and be safe. That goes for all of you," Rhaenyra said, kissing Jace and Jacaera on the head and hugging Baela. "You must tell me about it. Because he won't," Rhaenyra said to Baela, making her promise to remember details.

Together, on the backs of Cannibal, Vermax, and Moondancer, the three took off for Winterfell. Food and festivities awaited them while civil war brewed in the Riverlands.

***

The flight to Winterfell took longer simply because the dragons liked to goof around in the sky. Flying around one another, going low and high and into the clouds. It definitely kept their riders entertained.

But as they got further North, all of the dragons seemed to realize how much colder it was getting. Their riders did too. Baela and Jace seemed to underestimate what Jacaera told them.

They flew lower then, low on approach to Winterfell.

Their arrival was expected. Courtyard clear for dragons to land. Jacaera went first, since her dragon was the largest.

It was a sense of déjà vu for Jacaera as Cannibal landed in the courtyard. It had felt so long. And the more she thought about him, the more she remembered what he told her before she left.

Cannibal wasn't happy to be back in the cold. But he tolerated it as Jacaera took her things and slide off his side, ordering him to lounge in the forests that surrounded the castle. He could hunt for his meals there.

Baela and Jace landed together, their dragons small enough to land side-by-side. They followed what Jacaera had done and sent their dragons to the forest.

"You didn't lie about it being cold. Fuck," Jace said, breathing out and watching his breath go.

"Yes, brother. We're in the North," Jacaera said obviously, looking towards the gate to the Great Hall. She imagined that's where he would be waiting. "Come."