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Aerys Targaryen, Royal Docks – Dragonstone

Rhaegal flew over the towering ocean as the untamed vision of Dragonstone loomed over the horizon. Behind him, Aeranax and Sun Strider flew alongside him, each carrying two crew members.

His beloved queen carried Viserys strapped to her chest, to the obvious pleasure of the young prince. Rhaegar flew with his wife, so Aerys stayed with the little princess Rhaenys.

“WA WA WA!” she screamed with excitement, tied to his chest, laughing non-stop as she felt the wind on her face. His little granddaughter was a dragon; she was born to fly in the skies.

In the vicinity of Dragonstone, the monarch was pleased to see how the royal fleet was stationed. Merchant ships were entering and leaving the fortress’s growing trading dock.

The small fishing village that for centuries had remained Dragonstone’s only pier had disappeared, and a small but fairly fortified naval fort had taken its place. Fishermen had been moved inland, and the fort was now part of the Davos and Ashara Naval Academy.

Why had their ancestors never bothered to fortify and prosper their ancestral home? Aerys didn’t know. Maybe they had been too busy thinking about stupid things.

Too preoccupied with chasing glory, conquest, and dreams instead of optimizing what they already had under their rule.

“Parmot, Rhaegal!” said the monarch, causing the towering winged being to begin swooping down into the huge cave near Dragonstone, straight into the landing zone inside the castle, followed by Aeranax and Sun Strider.

During the descent, the king smiled in satisfaction, noticing that his ship was docked at the castle’s pier, which meant that the northern troops had returned.

And with them, the rest of the monarch’s wives, including…

“FATHER!!” shouted a red-haired missile who did not stop jumping and moving her arms when she saw Rhaegal descend to the end of the stone walkway. Yrma did her best to hold the small earthquake, while Genna and Ashara watched from afar.

The three dragons landed, allowing their riders to descend calmly. Aerys, as the knight he was, helped his wife descend, at which point little Viserys took advantage of the moment to cling to his father’s beard.

“Shit,” said the king, wincing in pain, drawing laughter from the little dragon, from Rhaenys, and, to his surprise, from little Ygritte, who had run to meet him.

The monarch smiled at the little girl, who began to talk non-stop about her adventure on the ocean.

“And then we came to this huge place, and the guards said it’s yours. Is that true?” asked the little girl curiously, her expressive eyes looking toward the monarch.

Aerys smiled calmly and said,

“Technically, it belongs to Rhaegar, my eldest son,” said the king, pointing to the young dragon, who looked at the little redhead with curiosity and confusion.

To the exclusive surprise of Rhaegar and his wife, who did not know the little girl, Ygritte walked toward the young prince, staring at him for several seconds.

“You’re cute. Aren’t you supposed to be a man?” asked the insolent girl, eliciting stutters of indignation from Rhaegar, laughter from Elia, and snorts of amusement from the king and queen.

“I am a man. My name is Rhaegar,” said the prince, calmly composing himself, although that composure was tested by the doubtful look on the little redhead’s face.

“I don’t know. My father is manly and strong, with a beard on his face. Your cheeks are as soft as baby sealskin. You look more like a princess,” she said, making Elia laugh even harder, while Rhaegar frowned in a mixture of amusement and indignation.

Aerys chimed in with amusement.

“Enough, Ygritte. Leave your brother alone. Come, I’ll introduce you to your niece,” said the king as he knelt and showed little Rhaenys to the curious and mischievous redhead.

“It’s so small!” Ygritte said with emotion, raising her gaze to the king, her eyes shining with excitement. It was evident that she had never seen such a small baby.

“She is, and she’ll need your protection. Can I count on you?” Aerys asked seriously, smiling in satisfaction when the little girl nodded quickly.

“Yes, Father. I will protect her. I will stick a hundred arrows in the cock of whoever dares to harm her,” said the little girl, making Aerys and Rhaella frown at the crude word.

“Where did you hear that word, dear?” Rhaella asked, her eyes dangerous, like a shark smelling blood. Aerys instantly detected the terror in Howland’s gaze.

“Howland said it!” said the little terror with a smile, making the queen glare at the terrified heir.

“I have business to attend to, my dear. Why don’t you go with Elia and help her put Rhaenys to bed? The journey was heavy, and she needs to rest,” said the king, handing his granddaughter to her mother, who received her with a huge smile.

“Okay, Father,” she said, as she walked toward Elia and took her hand naturally.

Elia smiled warmly at the innocent girl and gave one last amused glance at her husband before saying,

“See you in a while, princess,” only to laugh loudly when she saw the indignant look on Rhaegar’s face.

“My love, I’ll put Viserys to bed and see you at the table prepared for the meeting,” Rhaella said, pulling the prince from his father’s arms.

The king nodded with a smile and watched, hypnotized, as his queen withdrew with a sensual sway of her hips.

“Can you stop doing that, Father?” pleaded the prince, making Aerys roll his eyes.

“Don’t be a hypocrite, my son. You have a daughter. You know perfectly well what I do to your mother every night,” said the king, making the prince look even more uncomfortable.

“Come on, Rossart is waiting for us. Besides, Ashara and Davos will give us a report on the state of the fleet. Were the Lords summoned?” asked the king, walking toward Genna, Yrma, and Ashara, who received him with a bow, before getting back to their obligations.

“Yes, the members of the council who belong to naval houses will come with Lord Tywin. The rest will arrive over the next two weeks, enough time to consolidate the status of the royal fleet and coordinate a unified strategy to besiege the islands,” said the prince, now fully focused on his strategic role, much to the king’s pride.

“I’m worried that Quellon Greyjoy’s death is so secret. Either the Greyjoys’ spy network is formidable, or they’re getting outside help. If I’m honest, I don’t know which notion is worse,” he replied with a sigh, causing the prince to nod calmly.

“That’s not all, Father. Two of our ships were sabotaged. Cersei caught the spy, but the damage was done,” the prince said with a frown.

“From the new fleet?” asked the king cautiously, as he used Lorkan and Arwena to guard the surroundings of the castle. His ravens were the best spies, but using them too often would attract attention sooner or later.

Rhaegar shook his head.

“No. A merchant ship and one from the old fleet. But they were close—very close—to the new shipyards. We asked around, and no one saw anything. It’s an area dominated by the Faith of the Seven. I fear a plot against us,” said the prince, making the king nod, lost in thought.

“The Greyjoys are moving north. They have avoided the shores of the Starks and have traveled beyond the Wall. The journey is long, but there have been no attacks on the coasts. I cannot intervene without looking like a tyrant. We are in a dangerous game, Rhaegar. Perhaps we should look for allies on the other side of the ocean,” said the king cautiously, though, to be honest, he was somewhat lost at this time.

The situation with the Greyjoys did not seem as simple as before. It was evident that they were receiving help—but from whom?

The rebels? Arryn and Tully? Or perhaps the Faith?

Aerys did not have the answer yet, and that irritated him greatly.

Both monarch and heir walked calmly, escorted by Ser Brynden, into the depths of the castle, where the most volatile experiments of the alchemists were sheltered.

It was there that the idea of Green Death had been born—the flammable gas that Aerys had used to burn pirate ships on their journey north.

He was anxious to see what crazy thing Rossart had prepared for him. Knowing the old man, he would surely have something that made wildfire look like a fucking candle.

After a long walk, both dragons reached the deepest part of the castle, a remote area that, according to legend, had once been used for blood rituals before falling into disuse—until Aerys had reconditioned it for alchemical experiments.

And speaking of alchemy...

BOOOOOOOOM!

A thunderous roar shook the castle, causing Rhaegar and Aerys to brace themselves against the wall to avoid falling, while Brynden drew his sword in alarm.

And then...

“SUCCESS! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Rossart’s voice echoed from behind the door.

Both dragons exchanged a look and, with a simple nod, entered the old madman’s workshop.

They were greeted by a strong smell of sulfur and thick smoke that made them cough instantly. To one side stood Rossart. Two of his apprentices lay on the ground, while he laughed like a maniac beside a shattered bronze cylinder.

“Damn,” Rhaegar muttered as he surveyed the room.

And when Aerys looked, he could not help but echo him.

“Damn,” he whispered, staring at a stone-and-mortar wall at least two meters thick that had been completely destroyed.

“What the hell are you doing, Rossart?” sighed the monarch, drawing the old man’s attention. Rossart first looked surprised, then delighted.

“YOUR GRACE! WELCOME! WE WERE SUCCESSFUL!” shouted the old man, making both Aerys and Rhaegar wince.

“Rossart, the last thing I need is for you to tear down my castle. What is this? Another prototype of explosive crossbows?” asked the king, eyeing the cylinder with interest.

“NO, YOUR GRACE! BETTER! MUCH BETTER! IT’S A DEVICE WE CREATED BASED ON THE ACCOUNTS OF A SAILOR WHO VISITED YI-TI—SIEGE ENGINES OF IMMENSE POWER!” he bellowed.

Aerys raised his hand to silence him.

“It looks interesting, but it is evident that the fumes in your workshop have done you harm, Rossart. Come. We will take a break, and you will plan a demonstration for the naval meeting tonight,” ordered the king.

For a moment, the old man looked ready to protest. Then he sighed and nodded, obeying.

Rhaegar guided Rossart and the terrified acolytes out of the gloomy catacombs, leaving the monarch alone, looking around curiously.

There were all kinds of experiments: vials of substances similar to wildfire but in different colors—red, blue, purple, even yellow.

He would speak to Rossart later about the nature of these experiments.

He checked the central table, where numerous blueprints were scattered across the wood.

“Hand bombs, medium-scale solid-state wildfire, flame-spitting machines and repeating explosive scorpions,” the king muttered, impressed by Rossart’s imagination.

He wasn’t a fucking madman. He was brilliant.

Then he examined the experiment Rossart had been testing.

“Explosive stick. What a shabby name,” said the king, placing the map back on the table and surveying everything at once.

And then—

The idea struck him like lightning.

What would happen if he used a flame-spitter on a small boat?

The king smiled to himself.

He had an idea.

And there was much to do.

Ashara Dayne, Fort Draco – Dragonstone

“As you can see, we have five shipyards working at the same time. The flow of material is constant, and thanks to continuous work, we now have a larger number of villagers inside the fort. At this point, it is practically a small city. With this group, we would have forty ships in the new royal fleet, not counting the older models, of course,” Davos said, completely in his element, talking about his greatest passion.

The ships of the new fleet were divided between the fort dock and Dragonstone Bay, conducting training exercises for new recruits.

Ashara knew that a huge amount of gold was being invested in the fleet, so she wanted everything to go perfectly. The training was rigorous and demanding, or at least that was how it seemed. She was not too involved in that aspect.

Her forte had always been administration and ship design.

“We don’t know how long we have before Greyjoy makes his move. We will keep the present pace. I would rather have fifty well-built ships than rush the dockyards and end up with useless vessels,” said the king, causing all members of the naval council to nod in agreement.

“The development of the fleet is masterful, Davos, Ashara. Good work to both of you,” said the king, impressed by the scale of the operations in Dragonstone, making both administrators exchange pleased looks.

“Davos, go and coordinate patrol movements across the ocean. With the safety of the Three Sisters secured, we can focus our efforts on the Stepstones. Have the Manderlys, Boltons, and Graftons patrol the northern waters. Focus our main efforts on Bloodstone. I want a base of operations ready to deploy a response force in case Greyjoy tries something stupid.”

The sailor nodded and departed, understanding the instruction for what it was—a pretext to leave the monarch and Ashara alone.

“Davos understands you well, Your Grace,” said the young woman with amusement, making the monarch chuckle softly.

At least for a moment.

Then, soberly, the king spoke.

“I have a message from your father. He wishes to betroth you,” said the king, causing Ashara’s entire world to freeze for an instant.

It couldn’t be possible.

This couldn’t be happening.

Inhaling sharply, Ashara looked at the monarch.

“What… what did you tell him?” she asked, naked hope trembling in her voice.

Aerys smiled and caressed the beautiful lady’s face.

“I told him you were far too busy to marry. A selfish decision on my part, to be honest,” Aerys said, lifting a piece of parchment before a surprised Ashara.

“What is that?” asked the Dornish woman cautiously.

“This is your future, if you accept it,” said the monarch.

With trembling hands, Ashara unfolded the parchment.

An edict.

A royal declaration.

Ashara Dayne as…

“Lady, on behalf of the King, of the Imperial Port of Maiden’s Pass, Lady Ashara of House Dayne of the Crown lands.”

For an instant, Ashara’s world stopped.

Lands.

A fortress.

The opportunity to rule, to truly rule, in the name of her king.

She...Ashara...on her own authority, not through a husband.

“I don’t know what to say. This is too much. I don’t deserve this, Your Grace. I just… I don’t know what to say. It would mean leaving my family. What if I’m not worthy? What if I make a mistake?” she whispered, clutching the edict tightly.

“Say you accept. We will solve the problems together, dear. With you in Maiden’s Pass and Cersei in Lioness Hall, the Crown lands will be fully secured. With you behind me, I can concentrate on the next phase of my plans,” said the king, gently caressing her face.

“What plans, my love?” asked the young Dornish woman softly.

Aerys smiled, but did not answer.

“You will know in due time. Now, let’s return to Dragonstone. Rhaella and the others are waiting for us. Most likely, they have already started the night activities,” said the king as he lifted Ashara and placed her onto his steed with effortless strength.

The Dornish woman watched with veiled desire as her king mounted his stallion in a single fluid motion. Not even Arthur possessed such agility.

As they rode toward the castle, Ashara could not help but ask,

“Shall we lose ourselves in each other tonight, my love? It has been a long time since you visited my quarters,” she said, desire evident in her voice.

The monarch laughed.

“You can be sure of that. It will be our last night of peace for some time. Tywin arrives tomorrow, and preparations for war wait for no one. But tonight, it will be just you, Rhaella, and me. My queen has wanted your company for months, dear,” said the king, laughing at Ashara’s blush.

The young Dornish woman could hardly wait.

The night would be serious…

And pleasant.