-Chapter 12-

-Chapter 12-

-POV Rhea Royce-

-2 moons later-

-12th day of the 6th moon of the year 111 AC-

"Are you ready?" my son asked me with a mischievous smile.

I gritted my teeth and said, "You'll pay for this, be sure of it."

His smile widened and then he shouted, "SOVES URRAX."

From atop my son's dragon, I held on as he ran towards the edge of the cliff and then leapt into the air.

I was practically certain that it was a wicked game between my son and his dragon to scare me, so I clenched my jaw without screaming in fear as the ground approached.

My son made an annoyed noise seeing that Urrax had opened his wings and we took flight.

"I thought you were going to scream."

'I almost did,' I thought, my heart pounding violently against my chest.

"I want you to behave properly when we are in the presence of the king," I said loudly so he could hear me.

"Yes, mother," he said before patting the flank of his dragon to indicate the direction in which he should go.

I smiled slightly, feeling the wind blow through my hair.

I hated dragons because of Daemon, but riding on Urrax's back was a favor he had been asking of me for too long, and which I had finally granted because we had delayed leaving for the capital due to an attack by mountain clan men on one of the newly built studs.

---

-5 hours later-

-POV 3rd-

DRAGON'S ROAR

The capital of the Seven Kingdoms was noisily awakened by the powerful roar of a black dragon. The shadow of the latter was so large that nearly a third of the capital was enveloped in it.

Faced with the arrival of this unknown dragon, panic quickly seized the masses' minds, but seeing the dragon circle the Capital several times before landing peacefully in the Dragonpit, everyone calmed down and sighed with relief.

---

-POV MC-

"What a remarkably pointless entrance," my mother said in a teasing tone.

I smiled cheekily and then said, "Admit that you liked it."

"I wouldn't say it like that, but it was rather satisfying to feel the power that the Targaryens feel atop a dragon."

I smiled because it was important that she understood my bond with Urrax and the sensation that having a dragon brought. It was one of the things that had contributed to the distance I had with everyone around me in Runestone except her.

Being able to feel the thrill of omnipotence was something that few people in the world would ever feel, and which, in my opinion, created the social rift between the Targaryens and the rest of the world.

A dragon at this time was nothing less than a nuclear bomb at the rider's command.

'It's an immeasurable feeling of omnipotence that can make you forget all too often that you are just a man, a microscopic speck in the universe,' I thought.

I quickly dismounted from Urrax's back once we landed in the Red Keep's courtyard, then helped my mother, who had a smile plastered on her face, dismount in turn.

I knew her far too well to know that she was far from being a traditional court lady who only talked about embroidery and other such things.

No... my mother was an adventurer who, if she hadn't had me, would have gone hunting every day or to various parts of our territory to defend our people from the mountain clans.

'Which she still does but to a lesser extent,' I thought, seeing the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard arrive before us without the rest of the royal family.

"His Grace King Viserys asks you to kindly excuse him, he is currently indisposed but allow me to show you to your apartments," said Ser Harrold Westerling, the commander of the guard, who, although I knew would die next year, looked perfectly healthy to me.

I was not offended by the absence of everyone because we had arrived very early, and I followed Ser Harrold to our apartments where our guards were already posted.

I had sent a troop of 200 knights and 300 guards to the capital in several waves, of course, and under several different identities such as guards for House Royce stalls selling precious furs and sturdy quality horses.

Within the Red Keep, I was only allowed an escort of 50 knights; the rest were housed in the city where I had bought a few properties, and a plot of land on which I was unofficially building a barracks for my men under the pretense of building a manor.

"Thank you, Ser Harrold."

He nodded and then left, and we entered our apartments. As soon as we entered, I collapsed on the bed and said, "I can't wait to return to Runestone."

My mother rolled her eyes before saying, "We haven't even been here for a quarter of an hour, and you dare complain."

"I am tense in this place whereas in Runestone everything is fine, everyone listens to me, peace is assured, I don't have to fear being poisoned," I said, sighing in annoyance.

'The farther I am from the capital and all the intrigues of the capital, the better I feel,' I thought.

"You are greatly exaggerating the situation. Remember that we are here for ten, maybe twenty days and then back home. It is extremely important to show the rest of the nobility of the Vale and even the kingdom that House Royce is doing well and that you are strong; it will keep the vultures seeking blood at bay," she said, this time seriously.

"Don't worry, mother, I know perfectly well why we are here," I said in the same tone.

Although I complained, I was the one who had agreed to return this time, and I had agreed for a good reason.

'To get rid of these completely absurd betrothals that I have been dragging around for years,' I thought.

---

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