Led By Fiery Passion (currently being revised)

Part 21

Morning arrived too quickly, dragging Aenyra from a night filled with restless tossing and tangled dreams. Her heart was heavy, a swirling storm of anxiety, hope, and unspoken fears. Around her, the castle bustled with quiet urgency as her family prepared their dragons for the short but significant journey to King's Landing.

Daemon, Rhaenyra, Joffrey, and Aegon, long since gone since they had to travel by ship

Baela's soft whisper broke through the tense morning air, her voice barely audible, meant only for Aenyra's ears. "You going to be okay, Aenyra?"

Aenyra forced a smile, fragile and practiced, masking the turmoil beneath. "Why wouldn't I be?" she answered, her tone light but brittle, trying to convince both Baela and herself.

Baela's gaze lingered, sharp and knowing. "It's just... well, you know who you're going to see, it's been so many years and he never wrote you back. What if he ignores you?."

Aenyra's smile faltered, the weight of Baela's words pressing down on her chest. She met her sister's eyes, the silence between them heavy with the truth neither wanted to say aloud. After years of guarded hope, that hope was now tangled with an unfamiliar dread, creeping cold and sharp as the northern winds she once felt at Winterfell.

"I'm not there for him so it really shouldn't matter." she finally said.

Baela's eyes softened with sympathy, understanding the storm raging inside her sister's heart. There was no need to push further—the unspoken was already understood.

"Uh-huh. Just know I'm here for you if you want to talk." Baela said softly, her voice full of quiet support as she turned and made her way back to Moondancer.

In the distance she heard Jace take off with Vermax along with Luke on  Arrax.
Aenyra climbed atop Cannibal, settling into the saddle with practiced ease. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to calm the fluttering nerves in her chest. Reclining her head back to gaze at the drifting clouds above, a heavy sigh escaped her lips.

"Sōvēs, Cannibal."

With that, she rose, soaring into the vast sky after her siblings. Anxiety crept in, swirling with every beat of Cannibal's wings as her mind raced through the countless possibilities of what meeting Aemond again after all this time might bring.

————-

After landing their dragons, they climbed into a waiting carriage for the ride back to the castle. Expecting a grand welcome from the royal family, they were instead met by only a handful of King's Guard and a few maidservants. The atmosphere felt oddly subdued, the usual warmth of the castle noticeably absent.

One of the guards spoke up with a polite but distant tone, "Queen Alicent sends her regards. She is currently engaged in a council meeting and expects to see you all at the petition scheduled for noon."

Rhaenyra's eyes swept over the group, reading the tension in the room, before settling firmly on her children. The unspoken weight of the moment pressed down as she prepared them for what was to come.

"Your father and I are going to speak with the King," Rhaenyra said, smoothing the front of her gown with practiced grace. "Promise me you'll all stay out of trouble."

"We promise," they replied in unison, though a glimmer of mischief flickered in their eyes.

Rhaenyra gave Aenyra a pointed look. "They're your responsibility."

With that, she took little Joffrey and Aegon by the hand and began making her way through the castle gates. Daemon lingered for a moment, giving everyone a firm, knowing nod—the kind that said behave yourselveswithout needing words—before turning to follow his wife.