-Chapter 196-
-POV Daemon Targaryen-
"Your Highness," said two knights of the Order of the Bronze Shield in unison, stepping aside and bowing to let me pass and show the respect I deserved.
'And the only reason for that respect was that I am the father of their masters,' I thought, appreciating this new treatment but not forgetting all the events that had brought us to this moment.
I was about to walk past them, but thinking of Aemon, I remembered the conversation I had had with Johanna, and deep down I knew she was right.
The longer we kept this matter a secret, the more likely it was that Aemon would not only find out, but also take it badly.
'He might think I intend to go against him,' I thought, staring at the floor, lost in thought.
I looked up at the two guards and then asked them, "Has Aemon returned?"
"I saw the prince return from the gardens less than an hour ago," said the knight who seemed to be the highest-ranking of the two.
I nodded before heading to my son's solar, for I knew perfectly well that's where he would inevitably go—or was already—while inwardly I kept planning what I could possibly say to him.
"Father," said a voice behind me that I recognized immediately.
I looked up, surprised to hear the voice of my eldest son, whom I thought was in his solar planning his future, and I said as I turned toward him:
"What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you."
"You were looking for me?" I asked him, slightly surprised by his statement.
Despite our truce that had lasted several moons already, I sensed that he was holding back, and that our truce was nothing more than that.
On the surface, I was his father, but too much had happened for me to claim—and for him to grant me—that place in his life, and although I was smart enough to understand it, I couldn't bring myself to accept it.
I felt branded with defeat, and I knew that if I rebelled against this feeling to take what was... what should have been mine, it would be a road that would only lead me to ruin.
"I need your advice to understand something," he said before adding, "And to make a decision."
"Why me?" I asked my son, who frowned. I didn't wait for his answer before adding, "Why not your mother?"
"She's not like us."
"How so?"
"Ruthless."
"You're not ruthless," I said, then added with a slight chuckle, "You're far from it—otherwise, you would have burned House Hightower to the ground, along with all the sheep who blindly follow the Faith of the Seven."
"And start a war?"
I rolled my eyes before saying, "You scare everyone by constantly talking about war, but it's just a cowardly way of saying you don't have what it takes to kill."
"I abhor pointless massacres," he said, piercing me with his falcon's gaze.
'Just like his mother'
"If you say so," I replied, deciding to change the subject and return to what really interested him.
I hadn't yet decided how to tell him, and I doubted this was the right moment, since he looked rather unsettled.
"Tell me what you wanted, I'll advise you as best I can," I said.
Aemon thought for a long time, then finally said: "Follow me."
He walked past me, heading for his solar, always followed by Gunthor, who stared coldly at me every time we met, though he said nothing. And in the same silence, I followed them both.
'This conversation is going to be long,' I thought.
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-POV Aemond Targaryen-
"Your room is here," said Ser Alfred Broome, pointing to a chamber that clearly did not match my rank.
'This is complete nonsense,' I thought, seething as I looked around the room, devoid of ornaments, decorations, or anything other than a fucking bed.
'The kind of room given to guests we hold in no regard—or to servants.'
'As if being exiled wasn't enough, I was now going to live imprisoned in enemy territory like a servant.'
To live like this, when I could have been loved and respected had I found the dragon that would bond with me, was beyond unbearable.
'Fuck,' I cursed inwardly, staring at the middle-aged knight who looked at me with contempt.
"What are you waiting for?" I asked him coldly.
I had perfectly understood whose side he was on, and I wasn't about to pretend I wanted to win his favor simply because he held a little power granted by my whore of a sister.
The old knight snorted and walked away with a faint mocking chuckle, muttering into his beard:
"Fucking false dragon."
He had whispered it so quietly I couldn't be sure if he meant for me to hear it—but the truth was, I had excellent hearing, and I had heard the insult.
And secretly, I swore I would return the offense a hundred—no, a thousand times over, and that he would regret ever counting me among his enemies.
As soon as I felt the door close behind me, I let out a sigh—but what troubled me was that I heard two sets of footsteps walking away.
'No one is here to guard me?' I wondered.
I waited a few moments, then opened the door to my room, and to my great surprise, the hallway was empty.
I felt an invisible hand tighten around my throat as I realized my safety meant absolutely nothing to them—not even in appearance. Perhaps they even hoped I would die from a blade in the shadows.
'Maybe they've even decided to get rid of me,' I thought, feeling my heart pound violently in my chest.
After a few moments of reflection, I finally told myself deep down:
'I can't let things go like this. I can't accept dying—not like this.'
I grabbed my cloak and left my room, moving with agility and discretion through the corridors of Dragonstone.
This wasn't my first time in the castle—we had been here in the past with Father, and I knew these corridors like the back of my hand.
Once I reached the underground passageways leading to the dragon caves, my legs began to tremble nonstop as I heard the groans and even some roars of dragons who had settled in the long cavernous maze beneath the castle that stretched to the four corners of the island.
I took a deep breath to try and calm myself, trying to remember which direction Silverwing's cave was in, trying to recognize its roar—but just at that very moment, I heard the sound of multiple armored boots approaching.
I turned around and saw the bastard knight who had sent me to the servant's room leading a small group of men in pursuit.
"HE'S THERE!" he shouted after me.
'Shit,' I thought, feeling a fresh wave of panic before running with all my strength down the right-hand passage.
I ran without stopping, without looking back, for a good ten minutes, as if the Stranger himself were chasing me.
I turned into the corridor that seemed the most deserted, driven once again by my fear of running into a dragon—but it seemed it hadn't been such a bad decision, as I had managed to escape.
When I had no more energy left, I finally stopped, collapsing to the ground, panting, my tongue hanging out like a miserable beast just trying to catch its breath.
RRRRRRRRRR
Hearing the growl behind me, I froze.
I could barely see anything due to the low lighting in the cave, but when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw two yellow orbs staring at me with… hunger?
'RUN,' I screamed internally, realizing that if I didn't move, I would be eaten by the young dragon that wasn't more than 10 feet long.
I got up and leapt forward with all my strength, feeling the wild dragon's flames lick my back.
I stifled the cry of pain and got back up to run again, with all I had, hoping to escape this monster.
Each time I sensed it preparing a fiery breath, I would dive to the side—and it worked, until I found myself face to face with a dead end.
'No… no… no… no, no, no, no, no, no,' I kept repeating to myself, trying to find crevices in the rock that might help me locate a small passage to the outside—but there was nothing.
I turned around, feeling the dragon had stopped. Faced with its hot breath and triumphant gaze, I screamed wildly with all my might, pouring every bit of hatred, defiance, and helplessness I had inside me:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Dragon roar
The young dragon roared back, and I didn't stop—I screamed wildly, without ever stopping, unwilling to admit defeat:
"FUCK YOU! DIE IN HELL, YOU STUPID FUCKING LIZARD! I CURSE YOU! MAY THE CANNIBAL TAKE YOU AND SWALLOW YOU BEFORE YOU EVER GET TO GROW!"
I froze as I felt two green lights appear behind me and the entire cavern began to tremble.
The young dragon lowered its head and began making small noises as it backed away—to my utter confusion.
It was only when I turned around that I realized what I had taken for the end of the cavern… was actually a dragon.
The enormous black dragon with green eyes didn't even roar to assert its territory—it simply stretched its neck swiftly and swallowed the young dragon whole.
Craaaaaack
The sound of bones crunching sickeningly in the dragon's mouth snapped me out of my stupor.
'What dragon could be that big on Dragonstone? What dragon has eyes that green? What dragon is as black as night?'
All the questions racing through my head were rhetorical—because deep down, for each of them, there was only one answer.
The Cannibal.
And as I looked into his eyes, I didn't feel fear—I felt a deep, overwhelming excitement, because I could feel it—that bond everyone in my family always spoke of.
'This is my dragon,' I thought, placing a hand on the skull of my dragon, who didn't move, but stared at me intently, as if he were evaluating my entire soul.
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