Chapter 64: Taming the Dragon and Returning

Dragonstone Island, the castle.

The rain pattered and dripped as cloaked soldiers marched from all sides of the castle.

Viserys sat alone in the dimly lit hall, listening to the rain with deep eyes.

The castle hall opens.

A drenched Rhaenyra strides in.

"Any news of Rhaegar?" Viserys said in a low voice.

Rhaenyra said in a dejected tone, "A fisherman saw a pitch-black dragon leaping toward the Narrow Sea."

"Gather more men, mobilize all the manpower in the castle, and send out all the ships on the island that can go to sea." Viserys' face changed and he sighed deeply.

He had already researched the origin of the pitch-black dragon.

It was the largest and oldest wild dragon on the island.

Often preying on young dragons and dragon eggs, it was known to the fishermen as the Cannibal.

It was a vicious black dragon.

Rhaegar was only a six-year-old child, and the chances of taming the Cannibal were slim.

For now, they could only pray that the Cannibal's distaste for human flesh would allow Rhaegar to save his life.

Wiping the water stains from her face, Rhaenyra said in a trance, "All the manpower that can be sent has already been dispatched, and I have also asked the people to prepare a great ship for the return voyage to King's Landing."

"Return to King's Landing?" Viserys looked at her in disbelief.

Rhaenyra's face was filled with worry, "If there is no word from Rhaegar tonight, I will return to King's Landing to take Syrax and set out to the sea in search of the Black Dragon."

"That's not a good idea, the Black Dragon is much bigger than Syrax, you and your dragon will only become its food."

Viserys was very clear-headed and rejected the suggestion immediately.

"If it comes to that, I will slaughter that wild dragon." Rhaenyra said stubbornly.

....

On the third floor, Alicent sat on the edge of her bed.

A black-robed man stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the balcony, overlooking the castle's tumult below.

"You set the boy up for the wild dragon to devour him." Alicent's face was tense and her tone irritated.

The black-robed man turned and said indifferently, "That was his bad luck, I had originally planned to lure in Silverwing who had lost her dragon eggs, who knew a wild dragon would intervene."

"It was you who asked me to reveal the information to Rhaenyra and trick him into traveling to Dragonmont." Alicent's eyes were red with inexplicable fear.

Naturally, she knew that the man in black had found her so that he could set a trap for Rhaegar.

But the panic she felt after having done that made her uneasy.

The man in black knew this about her and said sarcastically, "If the king's eldest son dies, your son Aegon is the first male heir, shouldn't you be happy?"

"But I'm afraid, if Rhaegar isn't dead..."

Alicent was a bit uncomfortable.

"The Cannibal is the most savage of the wild dragons. The boy had no chance to tame it. I'm afraid he's met his end in the dragon's mouth by now."

He did not believe that a wild dragon that had survived alone for decades could be tamed by a small child.

He had already moved the Dragonkeeper who had delivered the false message, and nothing could be learned from the two guards who had been taken into custody for questioning.

Alicent closed her mouth and covered her face with her hands in distress.

She was still frightened and her resolve was weak.

The black-robed man said indifferently, "Don't worry, even if the boy gets away with it, I have other ways."

...

The bickering in the castle was non-stop, and Rhaegar became the center of the conversation.

Rhaegar knew nothing of this and enjoyed the pleasure of riding a dragon.

After a long journey across the wide, narrow sea, Rhaegar finally had enough.

"Cannibal, let's return to Dragonstone Island."

Rhaegar spoke in High Valyrian and gave his orders to Cannibal.

The connection between them was still new, and he had to rely on language to convey commands.

But Cannibal was an adult dragon with a sense of self-respect.

As soon as it recognized Rhaegar, it stopped resisting.

The dragon's head reversed direction and flapped its wings to accelerate forward.

The speed of the Cannibal at full power was extremely fast.

It was like a black meteor streaking through the dark clouds.

It didn't take long for the Cannibal to arrive and for Dragonstone Island to appear beneath it.

"Cannibal, let's fly low, I'll show Rhaenyra and the others how powerful you are." Rhaegar's face was filled with anticipation.

He had tamed the mightiest of the wild dragons and now he had to surprise everyone.

At that moment, the castle was in chaos.

Rhaenyra argued with Viserys and ran out of the hall.

When she found Lord Robert, she ordered him to prepare the ship for the return voyage.

"I want to be back in King's Landing by morning, not a moment too soon." Rhaenyra urged.

Lord Robert had a troubled look on his face and didn't dare take the liberty of arranging the princess's return without the king's consent.

"Roar..." In an instant, a deafening dragon roar echoed throughout the castle.

Rhaenyra raised her head as a gust of wind whistled, blowing her long, wet hair away.

In her line of sight, a huge beast, black as charcoal, soared above the castle.

A pair of sky-covering wings enveloped half of the castle, stopping half of the rain.

"Dragon! It's a black dragon!"

A guard was the first to speak, screaming in panic.

The others snapped to attention and stared fearfully at the dragon above their heads.

Cole, who was in a sorry state, ran from the corner to Rhaenyra and said eagerly, "Princess, it's that dragon that took the prince."

"I know, I saw Rhaegar."

Rhaenyra was lost in thought as she looked up at the black dragon circling overhead, her eyes unblinking as she stared at the figure on the dragon's back.

Despite the distance, it was hard to make out.

Rhaenyra knew only that it had to be Rhaegar.

Under the horrified eyes of the crowd, the Cannibal circled the castle three times.

Then he glided down slowly.

Rumbling

Accompanied by a thunderous blast, the Cannibal circled the castle's towers and landed smoothly on the towering walls.

With both limbs stepping on the wall, the Cannibal's wings spread wide, its neck stretched out and roared at the sky, and a ghostly green dragon flame cut through the pouring rain.

Seeing the dragon flames, the guards were all frightened to the ground, not daring to move an inch.

"Cannibal, let me down," Rhaegar said softly, riding on the dragon's back.

The Cannibal let out a low roar, its wings curled up on either side of its body, and its slender neck was lowered so that it stuck close to the ground of the castle's school yard.

The Cannibal exposed Rhaegar to a multitude of eyes as it lowered its head.

Rhaenyra looked up from below. She was staring at him excitedly.

"Rhaegar!"

Rhaenyra cried in concern, running quickly toward the wall.

Rhaegar did not jump off the dragon's back, looking down at his sister.

He followed the neck of the dragon to the top of the Cannibal's head.

One hand held the dragon's horn, bent to the side, and he looked down from above.

Rhaenyra ran to the top of the Cannibal's head, gulping unconsciously as she saw the green eyes.

The Cannibal was worthy of being the strongest wild dragon.

Never mind its massive size and ferocious character.

Just looking at him was enough to make you want to cry.

His entire body was as black as charcoal without a hint of mixed color.

Indifferent to everything, the green eyes were like two clusters of ghostly flames.

The head of the fierce dragon was full of sharp horns and spikes, and one pair of large horns and two pairs of small horns were bent back to form a crown of gray horns.

If you stood in front of Cannibal and stared into his eyes, you would think that you had just seen an evil god, incomparably evil and terrifying.

Rhaenyra felt the searing breath of the Cannibal. She took half a step back, signaling that she meant no harm.

"Great, Rhaegar, I thought something had happened to you," she said ecstatically, looking at Rhaegar on the dragon's head.

God knows how worried she had been.

She had only one brother, and without him, she was as good as gone.

"I said I could tame a full-grown dragon, and now I've done it," Rhaegar said calmly.

(Word count: 1461)