Fire And Blood

Of Prophecies And Hatchlings

Rhaenys XIII

A fortnight had passed since they had left the Sorrows behind them and what a wonderful fortnight it had been.

Being behind locked doors in their bedchamber, helpless as the sound of battle reached them below deck, had been difficult. Adding the worry about their dragons' whereabouts to being separated from Aegon and then forced to stay within their bedchamber for fear of them catching greyscale made the entire situation almost unbearable.

All was well now, however. The Black Walls of eastern Volantis were visible on the horizon and their dragons had eventually returned to them. They were soaring through the sky and hunting fish to their hearts' content, as they should and as they had done before the Sorrows. Aegon, Uncle Oberyn, Ser Barristan and everyone else involved in the fight against the stone men including Commander Pahryl and Donodos had returned to the deck after a couple of weeks of being locked away from the rest of the ship. They had been regularly stripped down to be examined and pricked endlessly on their fingers and toes to make sure that they had not caught the terrible disease.

A few changes had to be made for their approach to Volantis, however. Much to Korra's disapproval, they had opted to shuffle the crews of their ships the night before they arrived to minimise any suspicion regarding them harbouring Korra and her band of maidens.

Korra was now staying on the Master's Whip with some of her crewmates while the rest had been distributed to the other four ships while sailors of those ships had been distributed to the Hag's Teeth, with one of the more experienced ones now captaining it. Rhaenys was sure that, throughout the settlements along the Rhoyne, Korra must have earned a lot of infamy. A ship captained by a woman with a crew made up of only women would be rather suspicious and noticeable and the last thing they needed was for the city guards, which Dany had told them about, to stick their noses where they were unwanted.

Fortunately, according to Korra, every single patrol ship sent after her by the Volantenes was usually either sunk by her band or ravaged by the other pirates lurking within Dagger Lake. It was highly unlikely that her face was recognizable in any manner. The Hag's Teeth itself was also a rather nondescript appearing trading galley and shouldn't be identified by Volantenes as a pirate band's ship. Still, it was best to err on the side of caution, so Korra and her crew were ordered to remain on the ships until their business in Volantis was concluded.

All was well, except that Rhaenys had been feeling a bit queasy and weak for a few days now. Her breasts had begun to feel tender around a moon ago and she would swear on the Seven that they had grown if only just a bit. Also, her moon's blood was late.

She was quite certain about what was wrong with her, though a healer was still needed. After a bout of dizziness too many, Feraya, bless her gentle heart, had informed Aegon, Daenerys and Uncle Oberyn about it and they had decided to immediately look for a healer as soon as they had reached Volantis.

"How are you feeling?"

Rhaenys turned around with a tired sigh and a smile. Aegon, his face red and drenched in sweat, was standing next to her with a hand on her back, the warmth of his touch seeping comfortably through the thin fabric into her skin. "Same as an hour before and an hour before that," she told him while leaning into him.

She had to bite her lower lip and fight the blush spreading on her cheeks, her heart skipping a beat at the thought that Aegon might just be the father of her likely child.

"You cannot blame him for asking, my love," Daenerys spoke up. She hadn't even noticed her aunt being there as well. "We are all worried sick."

Rhaenys refrained from shaking her head in disappointment. At least Dany, as another woman, should have noticed the signs. The missing moon's blood, how she had described she had been feeling. No one appeared to be making the connections except for her uncle. Then again, Dany might not have been taught these things, however, having Viserys and Ser Willem Darry be her caretakers for most of her life. But her uncle, oh, her uncle had made the connections alright, she was sure of it. The raised brow, peering into her eyes without the slightest waver, the clear question without even saying a word. Rhaenys was a bit grateful that he had opted to remain quiet on the matter. She was certain that he wanted certainty first – as did she.