The Dragon in the North

Foe, Friend or more?

High Valyrian is in italics

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I am Aegon Targaryen. Eldest son of King Viserys and Alicent Hightower. That dragon back there is Sunfyre, my most loyal companion. Now it's your turn, who are you and why do you look like a Targaryen?" "My name is Dina and according to my mum, it must be a genetic defect." At that moment, Daenys desperately hoped that Silverwing wouldn't draw attention to herself.

"Why are you so far away from King's Landing? Isn't it dangerous for a prince to come here alone?" "Nothing will happen to me; I have my dragon with me. You can't stay in that place for long and it's always nice and quiet here." "It's really nice here." They both just stood there for a while. Suddenly Aegon took a few steps towards her. "Would you like to pet Sunfyre? He loves attention and love." "I'd love to, but he won't eat me, will he?" "Not if I'm around." Aegon and Daenys walked towards Sunfyre. Sunfyre allowed Daenys to pet him and a smile spread across her lips. "Wow. He's a beautiful dragon." "Well, he's, my dragon. Before any more sentimentalities come up here, I'm going to fly back to King's Landing. I'm still a Prince." Without saying goodbye, he climbed onto Sunfyre's back and flew off. Luckily for Daenys, he flew in the other direction and couldn't see Silverwing.

Daenys thought about the encounter again and was incredibly glad that Silverwing didn't move. However, she gave him the wrong name because she didn't trust him. She made her way to where Silverwing had landed and was still waiting patiently for her rider.

"Thank you, my beauty, for being such a good girl." Daenys put her arms around Silverwing's large muzzle and her head against the gentle dragon's head. After a while, Daenys climbed onto Silverwing's back and took off into the air. Together they flew a few more laps before Silverwing landed near Meraxes and Vermithor. Daenys dismounted from Silverwing's back and walked to the two other dragons, who were already eagerly awaiting the attention and love of their rider. Both got the attention and love they needed straight away and so Daenys sat amongst her three dragons. At that moment, she thought back to the words Aegon had said about his dragon, that he loved attention and love. He had said this with a strange undertone, so Daenys had the feeling that he wasn't just talking about his dragon. What was going on in King's Landing?

With these thoughts, she sat there for some time, enjoying the time with her dragons. Suddenly, all three dragons raised their heads and looked in the direction from which a figure was approaching the group. "Daenys can I come to you?" "Of course. Come here Luke. The three of them won't hurt you." Luke went over to his big sister and sat down on the floor with her. "Dany, do you think I could fly with you on one of your dragons?" "That's a great idea. We could get Meraxes interested in a flight around Dragonstone, but not until tomorrow. It's getting late and we should get back to the castle before Mum gets worried." "Thank you, Dany."

Luke and Daenys made their way to the castle, where Jace was already waiting for them. "Dany, Luke, there you are. How was your flight with Silverwing? How does it feel to fly on such a big dragon?" The curiosity in Jace's voice was unmistakable. "The flight was wonderful. Silverwing is such a gentle dragon and the flights on her are always calm. I've already suggested to Luke that we take a scenic flight on Meraxes tomorrow. I can also take you on a scenic flight with Silverwing." "I'd look forward to that." "Well, let's do it like this, first Luke and I will fly round Dragonstone on Meraxes and then you and I will fly on Silverwing. Does that sound like a good plan?" Luke and Jace both nodded happily at the prospect of spending more time with their big sister. All three went their separate ways after the conversation and the next morning they met up again outside the castle.

"Are you two ready?" They both nodded eagerly and together they made their way to Meraxes, Silverwing and Vermithor. "Meraxes, my dear. Let's take a flight around Dragonstone. We'll be accompanied by my younger brother Luke today." Meraxes had already positioned herself so that Daenys and Luke could climb onto her back without too much trouble. Meraxes took off and flew a few laps around Dragonstone. Luke screamed with delight and laughed the whole time. After flying on Meraxes' back, it was Silverwing's turn to fly round and round and Jace also enjoyed it immensely. After the two flights, the three children sat together on the ground and talked about all sorts of things. Meraxes, Silverwing and Vermithor lay around the three children to protect them. All three dragons knew how much their rider cared about her family.

Time flew by and so it was already late afternoon when Daenys, Luke and Jace walked back to the castle. A master was already waiting there with a pile of letters for Daenys. She took the letters and said goodbye to her brothers. Once in her room, she sat down on her bed and read one letter after another. She was close pen pals with Cregan, Arra and Nora and hoped to see them again soon. The penultimate letter was from her grandmother Rhaenys, in which she apologised for not being able to come to Dragonstone after all and hoped that Daenys could forgive her. The last letter startled Daenys. The seal was that of the royal family.

Who had written to her and why? Is the letter perhaps from Aegon? Did he find out that she lied to him? So many questions and only this letter would provide the answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would you be interested in an intermediate chapter in which I briefly describe the relationships between Daenys and her family?

- Bails ❤️