Thanks to everyone who reviewed and sorry to be so slow with the update.

Dance with the Moon, Reach for the Sun

Chapter 3

"Go to bed. We'll summon you as soon as things start moving along."

Baela looked at her stepmother and shook her head, her eyes fixed on the swirly pearly green expanse of the egg. For the last few days, it had started growing steadily warmer and harder to the touch. It had also started cracking – at least, her father and Rhaenyra claimed that it was cracking, although all Baela saw were fine white ripples into the silky surface of the egg. The castle dragons were more fidgety, creating a veritable thunderstorm all of their own with their roars and tail thumping. The servants whispered that they were nervous but the children recognized their behavior for what it was – anticipation. Baela remembered the night Vermax had come out of the shell – the dragons had been practically dancing with joy. Setting the stables afire had been an accident, not a battle mood. It was just that their joy was quite rough for most people's liking, just like the older boys' wild delights were often enough to scare little Viserys into silence. To the little pest's credit, Baela had to admit that he almost never cried and never sought protection against his brothers' idea of expressing love. Of course, Rhaena was never far away from the little boys' side, scolding Jace and the others for being such boys.

"Go to bed already…"

Baela raised her chin defiantly. "I'm staying," she declared, although her eyes were burning for sleep and she'd nod off each time she leaned her back against the stable wall.

All of a sudden, Rhaenyra smiled. "Well, I suppose a few sleepless nights won't kill you. I remember that after Syrax hatched, I slept for two nights and a day, I've been awake for so long."

She turned around and took Aegon and Viserys' by the hands. "Come on," she said. "We're leaving. I'll come back as soon as I am over," she added and Baela nodded, knowing that Rhaenyra was busy with the everyday management of Dragonstone. How anyone could think today was a day like any other was beyond Baela…

It was already a bright day when something changed so suddenly that Baela jerked wide awake. She needed a moment until she realized what it was: the silence. All the dragons in the stable had fell silent after all their roaring and tail-thumping, and straining against their chains. They were waiting for something.

"Look," Luke whispered, awe in his voice. Rhaena and the boys had spread in a semi-circle around the egg, not too close because the heat radiating off it. While Baela had napped, Aegon and Viserys had come back, with Viserys holding to Rhaena's hand. Baela tried to rise but fell back on her bottom, having underestimated the kinks and cramps of her doze. Joff came near and held out a hand; with a small grunt of effort, the girl pushed herself upright, almost knocking Joff off his feet in the process, and lurched for the egg, held out a hand, drew it back as the heat licked it.

And then, the crack came – the song of the fishermen beneath the castle of Dragonstone, the fury of a thousand thunderstorms, the lullaby of the sea, the sweetest sound ever. The egg disintegrated into a shower of pale green waves and pearly stars. Little Aegon looked up and caught one of the radiances on his palm, awe on his face.

The tiny green thing crouching where the egg had been only a moment ago blinked and looked around with bright pearl eyes. Then, her wet graceful neck trembled and she sneezed softly, like a newborn kitten. Silently, Baela held out a hand and the dragon inclined her head. Those shiny eyes traveled up Baela's hand, arm, and neck and finally came to rest at the girl's face, studying the first living thing the dragon met out of the shell.

Baela looked into those huge pearls and felt instantly smitten. The whole body of the dragonet was green, its tiny crest and horns clear as tears. Baela's own eyes swam, she reached out further and touched the delicate wings, scared of breaking them.

They were hot, hotter than the flames breathing in her face when she sat closest to the hearth. But she didn't pull back. Her hand went slowly down the spine, the other wing, the graceful head. Then, she slowly drew back.

Rhaena whose dragonet had died a few hours after hatching hugged her and murmured with joy and envy, "Oh how lucky you are today!"

Moondancer's eyes slowly went up to the unnatural white curtain falling from the sky in the huge stable yard. She looked bewildered. A slender claw slowly reached out to grab this new substance, only to have it flow between the shining talons as soon as she took it. The young she-dragon looked at her empty claw, utterly puzzled. There had been strange things happening around here for a while. Only the day before, she had found another she-dragon, as big as her but with no smell at all, who dwelled in the water trough. When she had advanced on her, though, warmer with wariness, and reached in the water, this other dragon had just rippled away. And now this vast white expanse that was everywhere but only until she reached for it. Her neck twitched curiously.

Baela could not contain her laughter. Her dragon was a bit like Aegon and Viserys when they were little – she needed to be taught anything. Her father had claimed that since Moondancer was still so young and small, she could be let out of her chains when he was there to intervene if necessary… and provided that there was no servants around. Usually, they all vanished into thin air the moment Prince Daemon took Moondancer out in the yard.

Now he looked from his daughter to her dragon, amused. "She isn't very clever, is she?" he asked.

Baela's eyes went dark. "She is! She's the cleverest dragon ever born!" she claimed with absolute certainty until she saw the spark in her father's eye that showed Daemon only joked.

"I think she's very beautiful," Rhaena said, to appease both of them. "So elegant of movement."

Noticing the sad envy in her voice, Daemon gave her a long look. "Very soon, you'll have an egg of your own, sweet dragon," he promised. "And your hatchling will be just as beautiful, I assure you."

All of a sudden, Moondancer gave a low roar and spread her wings, taking off a little. Then, she landed again and sniffed at the air a few moments before Rhaenyra's three sons appeared on their horses, clearly over with their morning practice. Their faces were quite black with dust and streaked with sweat. Moondancer howled in displeasure. Another strange object! Three of them! Four-legged and not smelling like humans. She was quite overwhelmed.

"Should I take her inside, Father?" Baela asked.

"No," he said. "Let her start getting used to different animals. Today is as good a time as any."

The small she-dragon's anxiety grew. She was turning her head this way and that, trying to follow the movements of all three horses. Rhaena rose from the bench. "You aren't being nice," she scolded as she joined her sister in her attempts to soothe Moondancer. "You're doing it on purpose."

"It isn't this hard," Jace said. "She doesn't look very smart."

He had gone too far. Eyes ablaze, Baela headed across the yard at him. He laughed. "Are you going to try and take me down from the saddle?" he teased.

"I might," Baela said darkly.

Their little battle of looks was interrupted by Rhaena's gasp as she hurried to stand between them. Behind, Prince Daemon stayed where he was, not intending to interrupt what looked like a good entertainment to him.

"You'd better sit down, girls," Jace said. "You look a little pale and for delicate creatures like you…"

Now, he had managed to infuriate even Rhaena which, of course, had been his goal all along. She put her hands on her hips and glared. "Jacaerys Velaryon," she said with the most terrible of all her terrible voices. "I forbid you and your stupid brothers to get this dragon confused anymore."

"Pardon?" Luke said from his own saddle. "You forbid us? Who are you, our mother or the King?"

She didn't flinch. "Consider yourselves warned."

Luke and Jace looked at each other and seemed to reach an understanding. Before the girls could have the time to think what this understanding might be, the boys turned the horses at them in full gallop. "How about eating some dust?" Jace called out.

Rhaena screamed and in the last moment dropped to her knees. Baela stood where she was. A moment later, the boys reached them: Luke's horse leapt over Rhaena who was still on the ground, Jace's pale grey animal flew over Baela. She saw the horse's head, his chest and forelegs. Her hands instinctively went above her head to shield it from the impact. She felt it but she managed to stay upright even when the world swirled.

"What's going on here!"

"Oh-oh," Rhaena muttered and jumped to her feet quickly, dusting her gown off, trying to pretend that nothing at all had happened. Baela didn't say a thing, busy not to sway.

"What did you think you were doing!" Rhaenyra burst out. "Dismount this moment and come here. How could you even think of doing such a thing? You could have hurt them very badly!"

Baela knew three boys who probably wouldn't be able to sit comfortably for the next week or so. Tough luck that Rhaenyra had witnessed their antics. Baela's father showed more understanding to rough games than his wife did. Rhaenyra was a stern disciplinarian and as angry as Baela was at the boys, she wouldn't give them to their mother. She would think of a way to retaliate all by herself.

She headed back for Moondancer, taking great care to hold her right arm out of sight. No one should see that it had been hurt and was probably turning blue in her sleeve.

As she led Moondancer back to the stable, she looked back to where Rhaenyra and the boys were just leaving, she still furious, they dragging their feet but not too much, as not to anger her further. Jace met Baela's eye for a moment, looked at her arm and then her eyes again. A small smile of gratitude played about his mouth.

Baela smiled back.