Chapter 4

(274 AC)

The following months were marked by constant training, personal lessons from Steffon and his maesters, and hunting. Lord Baratheon was a great enthusiast of such pastimes — he said that no training could yield such results. Well, in my opinion, this is quite debatable, but participating in the hunt was indeed an interesting experience. Stannis, however, didn't particularly enjoy it — he called his father's pastimes a waste of time, though he mentioned that his elder brother Robert loved it.

Whenever I tried to ask Stannis more about his brother, he would evade the topic, only replying that Robert bore a striking resemblance to their father. It seems that issues with relatives don't only plague me — my new sullen friend tried very hard to conceal his feelings towards the heir of Storm's End. Fortunately or unfortunately, Robert had also been sent away a couple of weeks before my arrival, though to the Eyrie.

After another hunt, we were all returning to the castle when Stannis heard a very faint sound.

"Do you hear that?" he asked me, to which I responded with a puzzled look.

"What are you talking about?"

"Everyone, be quiet!" he ordered the guards.

"What are you up to?" Lord Baratheon approached us.

"Please, father, be quiet."

No one could understand what was happening for a minute, and only then did I also manage to hear a faint squeak. Turning to the bushes where it was coming from, I pointed:

"The sound is coming from over there."

Stannis immediately moved in that direction and, pushing some branches aside, noticed a wounded fledgling.

"It looks like it has a broken wing," said one of the guards accompanying us.

"Oh, Seven, what do you need it for? It's too small to cook," Lord Steffon asked.

"I will take it with me, father, and nurse it back to health," my grim friend declared uncompromisingly.

"As you wish. Well, let's hurry back to the castle; I'm getting quite hungry."

We continued on our way, and I approached Stannis to take a closer look at the injured fledgling. I joked:

"Almost a dragon." To which young Baratheon gave a barely noticeable smile. "Such a mighty beast should have a name."

"No, I'll name it only when I help it."

"Don't worry, it will pull through."

"I'm not worried. By the way, you've long promised to show me Solarax in person."

"I keep my word, so tonight, when everyone is asleep, we can sneak out of the castle and go."

"What if we get caught?"

"Unlikely. I've done it often enough."

"Really... have you ridden it yet?"

"No. Of course, I want to very much, and a couple of times I even got mad at my father when he forbade it. But being here, in the Stormlands, where no one can stop me, I kind of realized that it's still too early. Rhaegar was allowed to ride Balerion at twelve; I'll conquer the skies on my eleventh nameday."

"Do you just want to do it faster than he did?" Stannis asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"You know, maybe your father was right, and that bird really should be cooked," I replied, provoking him a bit.

"What did you say?!"

"Hahaha!" I started running away from Stannis with a laugh.

Closer to the night, we really managed to sneak out of the castle and then headed to the place where I always met with Solarax. As we approached the huge forest clearing, we noticed that the animals around seemed to have disappeared, and some trees were broken. As soon as we reached my dragon's lair and saw him in all his glory, lying peacefully on the scorched ground, Stannis froze like a statue. Nudging him with my elbow, I joked:

"Don't worry, Solarax only eats my enemies!"

"Very funny, Aeryon," he replied, stammering.

"Moreover, no matter how you look at it, you also have Targaryen blood in you."

"From what I know from the maesters, even much purer dragonrider blood hasn't saved people from fire."

"Well, that's true. I just wanted to reassure you," I said, patting him on the back and approaching Solarax. "Hello, friend."

The enormous dragon's head slowly turned towards me and lowered. Then our heads touched. I was enveloped in the heat that Solarax constantly exudes from head to toe. Many people who fed our dragons, mine and Rhaegar's, complained that even being near them was very hot, though my brother and I couldn't think of a more comfortable place than under the wing of our partner.

"I've brought my new friend, so don't scare him and try not to swallow him," I joked, receiving a low growl in response.

"He's just..." Baratheon tried to formulate his thought but I interrupted him.

"Magnificent!"

"Well, I was going to say majestic, but your word works too, Aeryon..."

"What?"

"What is it like to possess the most powerful creature in the world?"

"Haha, I don't know," I replied and, seeing his unspoken question, continued explaining: "I've long realized that I don't own Solarax. We are friends, partners, in some ways brothers, but definitely not master and servant. And look at him — he's pure nature's whim; can he be subdued? Only negotiated with."

"Interesting..."

After we had enough of admiring Solarax, we decided to make a fire and talk a bit. Though Stannis wasn't a person for much chatter, we still had one common topic.

"Aeryon, I've wanted to ask you for a long time..." he hesitated a bit, but after my encouraging look continued: "What's it like being the second son?"

"Hah, so that's what you're getting at. Well, I won't lie, it's annoying, especially when everyone sees you only as a backup. On the one hand, it's clear that we were born noble; we have everything one could dream of: food, water, clothes, education from the best maesters, knights, and lords. Common folk would die for much less."

"But..."

"But it's not enough for me! I don't want to watch my brother get what he doesn't deserve!"

"Your brother isn't a complete fool, though. Robert, on the other hand, is only interested in hunting and fighting. What kind of Lord Paramount will he make? I try to learn how to rule, I try to prepare..."

"To serve?" I asked with a smirk, though I understood we were similar. "For what? So all the glory still goes to him?"

"You talk as if we have options."

"Maybe we do."

After my response, silence fell over the clearing; only the crackling of the fire and the dragon's breathing could be heard.

"You don't really plan to go against your brother, do you?" not receiving an answer from me, he continued pressing: "Aeryon, you must understand that nothing good will come of it. Even if by some miracle you manage to rebel, you'll lose."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because even if you are the luckiest bastard, the mark of kinslayer will stay with you forever, as will the label of someone who broke all possible oaths."

"I know, Stannis. Believe me, I've thought about all of this. And I've decided that I'll try to prove to father that I'm the better heir, and then everything will be lawful. But if it doesn't work out and they crown that smug head of Rhaegar, I'll fly to Essos. They say cities there are constantly raided by mounted barbarians; let them try that against a dragon, hm."

Pondering my words for a long time, young Baratheon finally decided to speak:

"You're wrong, Aeryon. Without a doubt, spending your life in second place is unbearably insulting, believe me, I understand. But you must become a support for your family, your king, and your state, not someone who will destroy it, and certainly not run away."

"Oh, you sound like a saint. Maybe you should transfer your talents to serve in the sept?"

"Very funny. Alright, it's time for us to head back to the castle."

"True, I'm afraid your father will raise all the guards to search for us."

"You can be sure of that."

We extinguished the fire and slowly made our way back to the castle. The night was quiet and cool, and as we returned, I reflected on what Stannis had said. His words touched me, making me think about my own motives and aspirations.