26 Last days in Skagos

Kael spent a whole week teaching Vaela everything he knew about this island, he also introduced her to his commander and his men, letting them see who will be leading them for the time being.

He also gave her tips on how to handle their soldiers, how to behave in front of people, whom to trust and some dos and don'ts, which she obviously needed since she was educated from birth to be the Lady of the Family, and as a Lady, she shouldn't have the need to go through any of that, that's the Lord's responsibility according to Valyrian and Westerosi culture.

He also told her about his goal to demolish the known tunnels towards the Valinor Highlands and use their slaves to carve a new hole in that mountain, facing south.

"I don't know how long I will be away, if I am lucky, it will be a fortnight…. if I am not… several moons…" he said as he was getting dressed after a steamy night activity with his soon-to-be wife.

Vaela chuckled, but had a somewhat sad expression "I didn't really want you gone… especially to a place like that…" she said while she hugged the blankets while completely naked underneath.

Turning his head toward his sister, Kael offered her a smile "Don't worry Vae… I will be carrying a Glass Candle all the time, and we will be able to communicate often… what I want you to do is take this as a unique opportunity, I won't be around and neither will Valanar… you will be the ruler until I am back… learn as much as you can"

Vaela stared at Kael's eyes for a few seconds and smiled back "Leave it to me, since you lost your memory, you've changed so much… but I like you better this way… more assertive…. You know what you want and you know what must be done to achieve that." She concluded with a cute blush on her soft cheeks, while meekly hiding half of her face underneath the heavy winter blankets that were covering her.

Letting out a loud and cheerful laugh, Kael approached her and gently touched her cheek "I can't believe I didn't have you claimed before… to think that you had to wait so long…" Her face grew hotter and hotter, and her skin was turning crimson "… But now you are mine… and I am a very ... VERY… possessive man."

Vaela just nodded cutely trying to hide her face.

"What are the qualities of a dutiful wife, Vaela?" Kael asked out of nowhere.

After gulping Vaela stuttered a bit while responding "T-to be loyal and faithful to their husband, to never dishonor their family, t-to bear c-children…" her voice was getting lower and lower the more she spoke.

Kael chuckled and nodded "Aye… that's the qualities of a regular wife. Now tell me what are the qualities of a Regallyon Queen?"

Vaela was confused, she started to think for a bit "To help their King to keep the realm safe and stable?"

All she could hear was a snort in response.

"That's what a council is for, a wife of mine needs a set of very specific qualities, all the regular dutiful wife's qualities yes but they also need to be…" Kael stared deep into her eyes "A Queen in court, a Dragon on the Battlefield and a Whore in Bed"

She instantly turned red after listening to the final words.

"You already know how to be a Queen in court with all of your upbringings. The whore in bed…" he chuckled and grinned "… you don't have to worry about that, I will help you out… in a few years you will be a master at that…"

Vaela snorted instantly with narrowed eyes. "You better not have any more weird thoughts, what you did to me last night was not….nice…." She hid again, earning a shrug from Kael, who continued.

"… As I was saying" he continued completely ignoring her embarrassment "While I am gone you will have the perfect opportunity to learn the one thing that you lack and what you can't rely on others for… you are a dragon Vaela, your flames might not be dragonfire but you have dragon blood… true dragon blood, unlike the other Valyrians who only have magic blood, and this island is where you will make that blood ignite"

"… but… what if I… ruin your plans?" She asked, doubting her own capabilities.

"Plans change, and the future will be more chaotic than just taking over an island… a Dragon King needs a Dragon Queen by his side, you have everything you need to become that, shred that doubt you have about yourself… so what if you fuck things up? Learn from it and improve it the next time, it's not like the world will lack chaos from which we will thrive."

"But…"

"No! Vaela, if even I changed… so can you!" Now Kael was being quite unreasonable, old Kaelarys never changed, he was gone! It's a completely different person, but he knew that she needed a push, he will sleep better at night knowing that she will have the resolve to do what is needed in the future, even if a little white lie was the key to achieving that future.

Silence remained after Kael's final words, Vaela kept shifting her position underneath the blankets until her gaze finally met his, making him grin with satisfaction.

"I will do it, leave it to me." She said with resolve, although he knew it was a fleeting resolve, nothing stopped her now, the first step was taken. "Once you leave, I will request Commander Aren to teach me the sword, I learned from Valanar while I was in the Freehold, but just like you… I think I have no aptitude for the sword… it's like my body is not right for it…"

She was expecting Kael to do one of his dramatic complaints again, ever since he woke up that day he has been complaining about being bad with a sword, but to her surprise his grin just grew wide.

"Aye… here.." he took a tome from a trunk and tossed it to her.

"What is this?" She asked confused.

"A new thing that I created, it's a spell…" he stopped 'damn they have no concept of what a spell is.. they just call it magic', seeing her confused by his words he coughed "A spell is how I call a certain application of magic, for example… the dragon breath is a spell, the burning lungs is another spell as well, I named it 'Combustion', and that wave of fire that once came out of the tip of my cane was another spell, named 'Fire Surge'…"

She nodded "I understand, but what is this one?"

He chuckled "That one… is called 'Power Within' and will help you out, after I trained the sword for a while, I noticed that it was like my body and mind were not in sync…. It means acting together… it was like my instincts were behind my body, and my body wasn't reacting as I wanted"

Her eyes instantly went wide in realization "For me too! I also felt like that, I just couldn't really put into words how I felt!"

Kael raised one eyebrow "Oh… as I expected… it seems our dragon blood and enhanced body is holding us back, we can't fully use it to its full potential, it's like something is missing… a key element, that's why I created that spell… it took me a while and I only finished it a few days before flying here." His eyes went solemn "Be careful with that magic Vae, it's dangerous and can cause you to harm yourself in irreversible ways, learn it carefully before using it in battle"

She nodded in response meeting her Beloved's solemn gaze with her own "Leave it to me, I will do my best, I am glad that you found a solution to our problem"

He shook his head "That's no solution, not permanent anyway… it will help us but at a cost… you will understand when you fully learn and master it, but I will find us a solution… it's one of the reasons why I am going to the Shadowlands"

She nodded her head and kept staring at her brother putting his armor on, after a while she got up and while still naked, she helped him properly equip all the different plated parts of the armor. "Don't take too long… I want more nights like last night…" she whispered in his ear after mustering all her courage.

He smirked and slapped her butt before walking out of the tent, carrying his sword in one hand and a large pack of provisions in the other, holding it over his shoulders.

Letting out a growl at his action while rubbing the slapped area, she remembered something and instantly went to the cabinet, grabbing the easiest robes to dress in and putting on a pair of comfortable winter boots before she grabbed a box near her things and rushed out of the tent.

The whole camp was staring at her with agape mouths, she was, by all means, in thin dressing robes which made it obvious what happened in that tent, not that the poor souls that rested their heads on nearby tents wouldn't know, they had to bite their lips and go take a walk that night to avoid the loud moans and groans.

"KAEL!" She shouted, earning his attention by the time he reached the gates and Neltharion was already there waiting for their next adventure.

"Vae? What are you doing out here dressing like that?" He was kind of angry now, he didn't like the kinds of gazes that HIS woman was getting from the nearby men.

She stopped her jog when she arrived in front of him "Here!" she said while presenting him with an ornated box "If you are leaving, I want you fully armored!" She said with a serious expression.

Kael grabbed the box, doing his best to not lash out at her because of her behavior, but once he opened it, he couldn't help but stare at her again "You came all the way here, dressed like that… just to give me this?"

"I don't care how I am dressed as long as I can improve your chances of coming back alive!" she said while staring at him "What is a few minutes of shame when compared to a whole life of regret for not giving you this and having your head pierced by an arrow?"

Kael locked his scabbard to his belt and used his now free hand to grab the item inside the box, an ornate silvery helmet with ornated dragon patterns, forming a T visor on the front so he could see and breathe properly, it was a beautiful helmet with a dragon added to its crown, the sides had dragon wings patterns and the remaining of the helmet felt like small scales once he ran his thumb over it.

Neltharion on the other hand saw some men staring at his "Brother's" woman, and felt angry. With a loud earthshaking roar, he stared at them, green smoke coming out of his snout and small flames coming out from between his teeth as he opened his massive jaw, making everyone gulp and instantly back away.

'What a good dragon!' Kael thought as he smirked staring at his men, then at Vaela. "I understand… my wife…" he added the final words with a teasing tone and hugged her tightly, gently whispering in her ears "I will punish you for that behavior when we get back, you have no idea how fucked you are…"

Vaela's legs trembled but she endured, once they parted from their hug, Kael climbed Neltharion's saddle while equipping his helmet.

"Until I am back, Skagos is yours, my Queen!" He said out loud, staring at his sister, earning him a grin and a nod in response.

'Let's go then'

After Vaela backed away, Neltharion flapped his massive wings and took to the skies at absurd speed, leaving the camp behind in seconds, turning the landscape into a blur and moving full speed towards the southeast.

Once everything was settled, Commander Aren took a step forward "I will be under your direct command, my Lady!" he said while dropping to one knee, and everyone else followed suit.

"Good" She nodded "Now escort me to my husband's tent, I will be living there"

"Your will shall be done, my Lady" he bowed his head and led her back to the camp, as they were walking inside a bunch of slaves kept staring at Vaela's figure, she was alluring, beautiful and exotic, especially with those thin clothes.

One brute of a man shouted from the distance "HEY LASS, COME OVE-"

He was instantly interrupted by a pillar of fire that was instantly ignited below his feet, for the next several seconds only cries of pain could be heard alongside the horrible smell of burning flesh

She snorted in disgust "Fucking savages..." she then turned towards Aren who was sweatdropping from what he just watched, not even his lord had killed a man personally yet, at least not in the presence of any of the soldiers otherwise he would've known by now

"Who was that vermin?" she asked with narrowed eyes

"H-he was the son of the last Lord Magnar of Kingshouse, my Lady…" he gulped.

"…No one important then…"

[Helmet image here]