𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 ||Aegon Targaryen||

20. „Dragonstone..."

The ship glided smoothly over the waves, the gentle swaying of the sea barely noticeable beneath Alysanne’s feet as she stood on the deck, the salty wind teasing at her white-gold hair. Beside her, Rhaena stood silently, both of them watching as King’s Landing receded into the distance, the familiar towers and walls shrinking into the horizon. The city, the place they had called home for so long, where they had been raised, where so much had happened... now it was disappearing before their eyes, like a memory fading away.

As the last glimmers of King’s Landing vanished, Alysanne couldn’t help but feel the weight of her departure. This wasn’t just leaving a city; this was leaving behind a life, an entire world. The looming shadow of Dragonstone waited on the horizon, their ancestral home. The seat of their family, where their bloodline had once begun its long and legendary history. She had always felt the ancient power of Dragonstone, even from afar, and now as they neared it, that familiar pull grew stronger, more unsettling.

The sea, which had seemed so peaceful, now carried a strange undercurrent, a tension beneath its calm surface. There was an eerie energy in the air, a feeling that something lay just beneath the waves, hidden but powerful. It was almost as if the sea itself knew they were returning to their roots, to the place where their family had first tamed fire and blood. The closer they got to Dragonstone, the heavier that sensation weighed on Alysanne’s chest.

She pressed her hands to the railing, fingers curling around the worn wood, her mind churning with a mix of emotions. Memories of her time in King’s Landing flickered through her mind. She had grown up within the Red Keep, surrounded by its towering stone walls, the grand halls that always seemed to buzz with tension, and the lush gardens where she and her siblings would run free. She remembered the countless dinners, the feasts where her mother and stepmother exchanged barbed pleasantries, and the endless formal events that were more about politics than celebration, where alliances were forged and broken with a single glance. But now? Now those memories felt distant, like they belonged to someone else. The thought of leaving behind the city where she had grown up, where every corner held a piece of her childhood, tugged at her heart. Would those memories fade as easily as the city itself?

At least she wouldn’t have to see Aegon or Aemond again. That was a relief, she thought bitterly. Her stomach twisted at the memory of Aegon’s cold, dismissive words. You’ll never be anything to me. His voice still echoed in her mind. She had tried not to care, to tell herself it didn’t matter. And perhaps it didn’t, not really. But she’d be lying if she said it didn’t hurt at all. Not as much as it should, perhaps, but it still stung.

She had never wanted this betrothal. Her heart had always been with Cregan Stark, a man who treated her with kindness and respect, who saw her for who she truly was, not just as a pawn in a political game. She remembered his smile, the way he spoke to her like she was a person, not just a daughter of House Targaryen. But even Cregan had bowed to duty. And Alysanne? She had done the same. The kingdom was more important than her happiness, she reminded herself. She had to be stronger than her own desires, her own dreams.

“We’re almost there,” Rhaena said softly beside her, her voice barely audible over the wind. Alysanne glanced at her sister, who was gazing ahead at the shadow of Dragonstone growing larger by the moment. Rhaena’s face was calm, serene, but Alysanne could see the tension in her eyes, the same mix of excitement and apprehension that roiled within her own chest.

Alysanne exhaled slowly, watching the dark shape of Dragonstone draw closer, looming on the horizon like a storm cloud. Somewhere below deck, she knew Joffrey was waiting with Tyraxes, his dragon, blissfully unaware of the turmoil that simmered within his older sister. The family with dragons, returning to the place that had shaped their destiny.