Chapter 20
Ginny's first view of Summerhall came at a moment when she least expected it. The following morning after their small party had left the inn she was very quiet, simply thinking about what she and Rhaegar had talked about the night before.
It was the first time she had felt like there was a genuine understanding between them. It was refreshing to see that he had similar concerns and fears about ruling and whether or not he knew what he was doing.
Though she was a princess, Ginny had more experience ruling than many girls her age and she was still concerned that it wouldn't be enough.
Am I ready to be a queen? She often thought to herself and it was nice to know that she was not the only one with the same mental burdens.
Maybe we should really talk more, she thought to herself. A genuine relationship begins with conversation and I think I really do want to have a genuine relationship with Rhaegar. Missandei was right about what she said before we left Mereen. If I want this to work, I need to put in the work to get it done.
As she was thinking such things, the small party turned down the road and then rode up a short hill before they came in sight of one of the most magnificent sights that the red head had ever seen.
Perhaps it was just the time of day given that it was early morning and the sun was just beginning to come over the horizon, gently cresting above the water and the dawn breeze was still cool, the waves still gentle but it was the most atmospheric thing that Ginny had ever seen.
It was there that she saw the ruins of Summerhall.
It was hard to believe that such a horrific tragedy that had nearly wiped out the Targaryen family had occurred there.
Despite the crumbling rubble and listing ashes across the ground there was something sorrowfully beautiful about the site where the fire had occurred.
Summerhall had a beautiful mysticism to it that in some ways reminded Ginny of Hogwarts. She didn't want to imagine what the great castle would look like in rubble as it was too painful, but the area was very much like the most wonderful spot in the world in Scotland where her old school had been.
With the sun beginning to set the place all aglow, it almost didn't seem to matter that the pieces of this once great place would never rise again. It was sorrowfully magical in its own way.
Rhaegar didn't seem to think along the same lines she did however. The expression on his handsome face was sad as they came in sight of the hill overlooking the sea that was now occupied by a pile of rubble.
"Summerhall," he said quietly. "The place of my birth."
Ginny paused to look at him for a moment before getting down carefully from her horse and looking up at him.
"Show me," she said quietly.
The prince regarded her for a moment before stepping down from his own charger that was fit for a tourney champion and giving her a sad smile.
"Very well then your grace," he said before uttering a command at Ser Arthur to stay with the horses.
He helped her down from her own horse and taking her hand, led her towards the ruins of the once great fortress.
Because Summerhall was on a cliff that looked out over the ocean, it almost made the ruins of the place bearable. The wind was whipping Ginny's hair about her face making it hard for her to see and she almost wished she had cast a sticking charm on her red locks in order to keep the strands in place.
The lack of obstruction caused the wind to come at her full force and almost made her colder causing her black and gold cloak to whip about her and expose her arms. Ginny drew the garment further around herself and murmured a warming charm which had instant effects.
She breathed a short sigh of relief as the prince drew her ever closer to the ruins.
The sun was just coming over the horizon when they had arrived and had lit the entire area in an almost ethereal glow. The stones turned to gold and shimmered like they were being seen from beneath water.
If she listened carefully enough, the red head could hear the faint whistling of the wind as it came through the rocks all around her and made a strange and lovely sound.
"Come your grace," Rhaegar said and she realized that they had paused. "There is more to see."
And he was right.
The ruins of Summerhall were enormous. In some places walls were still standing and pillars remained erect. There were even a few scraps of black banners whipping in the wind from long ago when the great keep had burned down.
Ashes still listed across the ground in clumps and mingled with the dirt at their feet as they walked through the ruins.
Even after all this time, the grass would not grow and appeared dead and cold. It came up at a curling angle and then hunched over as if bent by the wind and the rain and the constant trodden down of objects upon it.
And it was quiet….so very quiet.
But for the whistling of the wind in the crevices of the rocks, no other sound could be heard.
The whole atmosphere of the place was one of silence…and sorrow.
"It's so…quiet," Ginny murmured knowing she was stating the obvious.
Rhaegar's face had turned sad. "Aye, I know. My mother often told me that on the day of my birth when this fire was happening, it was the loudest the area had ever been, filled with screaming people, men women and children, the roar of the fire and the crashing of falling beams to the ground below. And when the fire was finally put out…there was nothing but silence. She said that my newborn cries were the only thing that could be heard for miles around as there was nothing to be heard but the silence. Ever since then this entire area has been dominated by silence as few come here."
"Then why do you?" Ginny asked.
He shrugged. "Clarity I suppose. Understanding perhaps. My mother frowned out of all of the death that came from this place, I was the one life that was taken from it. It is a rather uncomfortable feeling."
I'll say, Ginny though grimly to herself.
"But there is something…ethereally beautiful about the place as well," she continued. "Why is it that sometimes tragedy and sorrow can be so beautiful?"
"I know not," the prince said with a sad smile. "One of life's many mysteries I supposed. Something is taken away and the essence of what is left behind is the chief property that leaves us wanting."
Very well put, Ginny thought, thinking absently of her family.
Rhaegar turned back to the company who were standing by the horses. "Arthur, see to the horses and the tents, we will rest here this night."
"Are you certain your grace?" the night asked. "This is no very defensible position. Suppose someone unsavory were to come upon us?"
"Then I am certain you and the princess's guard will dispatch them with the same consistence with which you deal with all those who have threatened me in the past," the prince said looking amused.
"Have there been many?" Ginny whispered.
The prince shook his head. "Nay. The only time I have come close to being harmed have been in tourneys gone by. And if I have, it hasn't been intentional."
I can only imagine what your father would do to the person who had done it intentionally, Ginny thought but she refrained from giving voice to her words. There was no sense in ruining a day that promised to be wonderful.
Despite the wind, the sun rising in the sky cast a dense heat and Ginny could tell that it was going to be a warm day.
"Are they any other keeps around this area?" she asked.
"We are not far from Storm's End," the prince said thoughtfully. "But I do not wish to go there at this time."
Ginny wondered at the darkening of his tone when he mentioned the Baratheon ancestral stronghold and the cousins that lived there but decided she wouldn't press him for information.
"But no more on that," the prince said as if to punctuate her thoughts. "This time is for you. Is there anything you would like to do today?"
Ginny was about to answer when all of a sudden an idea popped into her head. It was a rather reckless idea but as she had told the prince earlier, success was not accomplished without risk.
Septimus had been away from her long enough and had spent his time flying along the southern half of Westeros from the capital, keeping far enough out to see so he wouldn't be noticed by those on the mainland, but close enough that he would be able to hear her through their magical connection.
Ginny had learned when she had hatched his egg a few years earlier that a mental connection was established between the creature in the egg and the one who had done the hatching. It wasn't as if the dragon could communicate with her, but there were times when she would be able to see things through his eyes. Her connection with Septimus was something that she was still exploring, but the benefits of being able to see the world through his eyes was something she did not overlook. Septimus seemed to be able to sense her moods when they were close together and he seemed as aware of the mental bond they had as she did.
It had been a tremendous comfort to her since coming to Essos.
And it was something she hoped that her children would one day share.
Which was when it hit her.
"Well," Ginny began, an idea beginning to percolate in her mind. "There was an idea that I had, but I am somewhat hesitant to mention it."
Rhaegar frowned. "You need not hesitate Ginevra. Tell me what it is at once so that we may do it. My intention was to show you Summerhall, but this is a desolate area so there is not much around here to do or to look at but the ruins. So whatever you have in mind, let us do it."
Ginny smirked and then nodded shortly before reaching out with her mind along the mental connection that she had with Septimus so he might hear her and come. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists together. "Very well."
Come my friend, she thought in her mind. You have been away for far too long.
The dragon hadn't come near the coast so that he remained out of sight of the public view and had spent these last few weeks flying back and forth along the southern coast of Westeros, hunting and fishing at night and resting on abandoned islands during the day.
Ginny had cloaked him in a disillusionment charm before they had docked in King's Landing so that he wouldn't be seen. She had no doubt that scouts may have seen him beforehand but after that she had made certain that he would be left in peace to travel along the southern coast of Westeros at his leisure.
The red head hated that she wasn't able to spend more time with him given that she was used to riding him every few days when they were in Mereen, but now that her time was divided between the prince and the royal family, riding her dragon had to have been put on the back burner.
Rhaegar's handsome face deepened further into a frown. "What are you doing?"
The moment the question left his lips, there was a thunderous roar from the ocean behind them and a shadow passed over their heads.
It was rather amusing to watch both the prince and Ser Arthur look up in shock at the rush of wind that blew past their faces from the thrum of a mighty pair of wings.
The Creed who were well used to the presence of a dragon were not fazed at all by the sudden appearance of the one belonging to their princess. Missandei bore a similar expression.
After taking a moment to smile at the incredulous expression on Rhaegar's face, Ginny then looked upward herself.
High in the morning air and using the wind to balance his wings and keep him aloft and coast, the red head caught sight of the pearl colored dragon by the way the light was shining on his head and diamond like wings.
The shadow he cast on the ground was enormous and Ginny smile with pride as she beheld one of her most constant companions that she had ridden into battle and in some ways reminded her of her brother Charlie.
The light that reflected off his wings was dazzling and Ginny and present company had to put their hands over their eyes to be able to take him in. He seemed to glow as the light danced off his scales and almost made him appear a creature out of ancient myth.
Which of course he was.
He had grown large having eaten healthily over the past two plus years since he had hatched and was now as large as some of the dragons of old. She privately wondered if
Septimus would be as large as Balerion the Black Dread the ancestral mount of Aegon Targaryen but there was time enough for that later. Balerion had lived a long life and she was certain that Septimus would as well.
The dragon circled the small group three times, each time coming lower and lower until he landed as near the princess and the edge of the cliff as he possibly could, shaking the ground with a thunderous crash.
His wings fanned out as he landed like great white clouds and fanned out to lessen the impact of his landing.
His long claws gouged into the soil and created large indentations in the ground as he tightened and loosened them.
He landed with his back to the cliff which created a magnificent picture backdrop for the current scene.
Rhaegar stumbled but managed to catch himself before he fell. Ser Arthur drew his sword halfway from its sheath before he seemed to remember that a sword would do nothing against a dragon and sheathed it.
Missandei and the rest of the Creed looked somewhat smug, having seen this occurrence many times.
Ginny couldn't contain her smile upon seeing the white dragon standing in front of her, fierce and proud with his wings furled back, looking like a king or an ancient god in beast form.
He looked down at her from the top of his scaly long neck and the look in his golden eyes was one of familiarity.
Completely unafraid, Ginny strode the last few steps toward him and he snaked his head down towards her so that the two might look each other in the eye.
The moment his large head was in front of her, Ginny placed a hand on his large scaly jaw and leaned her head against the space between his eyes, feeling the connection of her magic between them and closed her eyes.
"Hello my friend," she whispered so low that no one was able to hear her. "It's good to see you again."
Septimus seemed to think so as well for he blew out a puff of air from his nostrils into Ginny's face causing her to giggle.
When she raised her head from the dragon's and turned to look at the man who may become her betrothed, Ginny wanted to laugh again at the look of pure unadulterated shock on his face.
The red head realized then that it was one thing to hear that dragons were once more in existence and another thing entirely to see such a beast out of legend for themselves.
The closest Rhaegar must have come to a dragon after all would have been the skulls his father kept in the throne room in the red keep.
Ginny knew that Septimus was an important part of her life and if she and Rhaegar were to marry, Septimus would become a part of Rhaegar's life as well. There would need to be a good relationship between them and she didn't want Rhaegar to be afraid of the dragon.
But from the look on the crown prince's face, he looked more awestruck than afraid.
"He is magnificent," he whispered.
Ginny stepped away from the dragon and reached down to take Rhaegar's hand which had gone slack at his side.
"Come," she said. "Would you like to meet him?"
Rhaegar blinked and tore his eyes from the white dragon in order to gape at the princess. "Can I?"
Ginny laughed gently. "Yes you can. "Come."
"Your grace?" Ser Arthur called having recovered his wits. "Is it truly wise to be so close to such a creature?"
Ginny wanted to roll her eyes.
"I have raised this creature from the egg Ser Arthur," she called back, merely throwing a glance in his direction. "He knows my face and the sound of my voice. I would risk no one's safety with him."
"I trust the princess Arthur," Rhaegar said to the knight, adding to her statement and pausing before the dragon to look at his old friend. "If she says that it is safe, then I see no reason to worry."
Ginny shot the blonde a small smile, grateful for the public demonstration of his trust.
She didn't let go of his hand, but took her other one and reached up so that it rested against the side of the dragon's jaw.
Septimus made a creaking sound and turned his head, almost as if he were leaning into her touch. His eyelids lowered halfway over his enormous golden orbs as if he were enjoying her touch.
Ginny smiled.
There were times when Septimus reminded her of a large cat in his mannerisms. Whenever she scratched the scales along the outset of his jaw, he would make a humming noise curiously similar to purring.
"He's very calm," Rhaegar said quietly almost as if he were afraid to disturb Septimus. "Is he always like this?"
Ginny laughed at his almost childlike attitude towards the dragon. "He is one of our more even tempered dragons. However like any dragon, he has a fearsome temper in some circumstances."
She took note of the wider stance between the prince and the dragon and chuckled. "Come closer."
Rhaegar did so somewhat gingerly and without a lot of apparent mental effort it seemed until h was standing side by side with her in front of the dragon.
"Now place your hand where mine is," Ginny instructed and Rhaegar hesitantly reached up and covered her hand with his own atop the dragon's jaw.
Ginny slowly removed hers from under it and felt a small sense of loss at the absence in contact.
Instead of dwelling on it however, she raised her hand to the left side of Septimus' jaw and began to gently scratch the scales there.
After a moment of having his eyes closed, simply absorbing the contact, the dragon opened his yellow lamp like eyes fully and gazed down at Rhaegar.
"Remain relaxed," Ginny instructed the prince calmly. "I find like dogs, dragons can sense fear. If you are afraid, he will be able to tell. My father told me when I was learning to raise him that dragons' show respect to those who give it to them. Show him respect and he will do the same for you."
Rhaegar took a deep breath not daring to take his gaze away from Septimus' golden eyes. "How do I do that?"
Ginny smiled, remembering her classes for Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid and the unit they had studied about Hippogriffs. She had read somewhere, or perhaps Charlie had told her that dragons were proud creatures as well.
The same technique Hagrid had used could be applied here.
"Dragons are very proud creatures," she told the prince. "Given their size and strength and power it is not hard to understand why. A public gesture of respect generally works.
Try inclining your head to him."
Rhaegar nodded and swallowed appearing more nervous than Ginny had ever seen him before consciously and clearly lowering his head in a gesture of respect to the dragon in front of him.
There was a long moment of silence where everyone in the clearing had their eyes fixed on the dragon and the prince.
Ginny remained with her hand on the side of Septimus' jaw in case something went wrong so she could step in.
But the prince seemed to recover his nerve when he raised his head and looked the dragon in the eye.
And then a surprising thing happened.
There was a pause after Rhaegar lifted his head in which he and Septimus simply looked at each other.
And then to nearly everyone's surprise the dragon lowered his head in a gesture of inclination in response to the prince's gesture.
Ginny blinked and then let out a wide smile.
Rhaegar's eyes widened and he let out a breathless laugh, both of relief and delight.
Septimus made a humming noise and hesitantly, with a shaking hand the prince continued to scratch the scales along the dragon's jaw.
Ginny smiled. "I believe he likes you."
"Well I should hope so," the prince quipped. "I don't want to see what he would do if he didn't like me!"
Ginny let out a high peal of laughter which caused the prince's smile to become even more radiant.
"Are you well your grace?" Ser Arthur called, hand never leaving his sword hilt.
"Quite Arthur," the prince called back laughing. "In fact I feel better than I have in a very long time."
Septimus then surprised the royal couple by making a sound deep in his throat in his throat that seemed suspiciously like chuckling.
Both Ginny and Rhaegar looked at him in amazement.
"Has he done that before?" Rhaegar asked.
"No," Ginny said shaking her head. "But then Septimus is not quite three years old so there are still things that he is showing me that are rather surprising."
"Septimus?" the prince asked raising an eyebrow. "What a curious name. Where is it from?"
"An ancestor of mine on my father's side," Ginny explained, a feeling of nostalgia coming over her. "I had always liked the name and when this dragon hatched it felt…right."
"It does seem fitting," the prince mused. "Do you think that he can understand us? The sound he made earlier seems to suggest so."
"It wouldn't surprise me," Ginny said remembering something her brother Charlie had told her. "Dragons have always had a deep seated connection to magic. I could study their ways for a hundred years and in the end, they can still surprise me."
Rhaegar smiled, any look of stress leaving his handsome face as he ran his hand down the side of the dragon's neck, looking far more confident than he had earlier. In fact he looked as happy as Ginny had ever seen him.
I wonder how long I can keep that smile on his face, she thought mischievously to herself.
"And now for the next part of what I have planned," she said and took her hand from the side of Septimus' jaw before striding around the dragon until she reached his right foreleg.
Rhaegar frowned and reluctantly took a step around the dragon, hand never leaving the scaled face so he could watch her. "What are you doing?"
Ginny turned to him, red curls whipping about her face and smirked. "Well now that you have seen and petted a dragon…wouldn't you like to know what it's like to ride on the back of one?"
It was one of those rare moments when she wished she had a camera.
Rhaegar's shock upon seeing the dragon appeared to be nothing compared to his reaction to being asked if he would like to ride one.
"You're jesting," he said finally when he had stopped blinking at her in shock.
Ginny's smile grew wider. "Not at all. Come on."
There was nothing stopping the prince now. He took his hand away from Septimus' neck and strode quickly over to her side.
"What do I do?" he asked.
Ginny quickly stepped on the bony projection on the back of Septimus' foreleg and gingerly rested her feet on the scales on the dragon's back near his neck before sliding herself into the divot behind his neck where she usually sat.
"Now simply do as I did," she said.
"Very well," the prince replied, eye slightly furrowed in concentration. He placed his hands on the side of Septimus' where Ginny had put her own and placed his right foot on the same protrusion.
His attempt to climb onto the dragon wasn't as graceful as hers but it endeared him to Ginny all the same.
The moment he had successfully climbed onto Septimus' back and settled in behind the princess, Ser Arthur stepped forward.
"Your grace, I feel I must protest. Is this entirely safe?"
Ginny opened his mouth to repel that statement when Rhaegar beat her to it. "Is war safe Arthur? No, and yet we do it all the time. Flying a dragon is surely no more dangerous than riding a horse into a battle."
Before the knight could speak again, Ginny turned to her guard who had remained where they were by the horses and were watching her every move carefully.
"Orius?" she called.
"Yes your grace?" the captain replied.
"Please set up camp here for the night and do not be alarmed. Prince Rhaegar and I will be back before dark."
"Of course your grace."
Ser Arthur looked somewhat disapproving, but at the moment Ginny couldn't care less what he thought. Missandei looked oddly pleased and that was a much of a green light as
Ginny was going to get from her.
She patted the side of Septimus' neck and immediately the dragon turned around, lifting one heavy foot after the other so the ground around the ruins shook slightly as he moved.
With the sound of sails being lowered on an enormous ship, the white dragon unfurled its wings and raised then above his head to that they might catch the wind.
Just before Septimus launched himself into the air however, Ginny turned her head around so she could see the prince. "You might want to hold on to me when we get into the air and you feel comfortable enough to let go."
He nodded and slid forward slightly so that he might wrap his arms around her waist. "Is there anything else I need to do?"
"Just one more," Ginny said smiling as they faced the open water.
"And that is?" the prince asked.
"Don't let go."
And with that, Septimus launched himself and his two riders off the cliff and plunged straight down towards the water below.
Ginny let out a scream of pure unadulterated joy as the dragon sped down the cliff at a near ninety degree angle, wings tucked in around him to cut the wind.
The wind was screaming past their ears like a banshee and made Ginny's eyes tear up to the point where she could barely see.
The whole world had blurred into a series of colors of blue and brown and green and white until she couldn't make out any intelligible images.
She was conscious of her back being pressed into the prince's hard chest and Ginny unconsciously leaned back more so she would feel more of it.
Rhaegar's arms around her waist had tightened exponentially but he made no sound surprisingly.
Just when it seemed as if they were going to hit the surface of the water with a mighty crash, Septimus shot his wings open and their descent came to a screeching halt. Right before that the dragon used the momentum of the air to shoot himself forward across the waves, tips of the claws on them just grazing the water and sending droplets everywhere.
The wind blew back from Ginny's face with the force of a gale and she couldn't have wiped the smile from her face even if she had tried or wanted to.
Meanwhile back atop the cliff, Ser Arthur was watching the pearl dragon speed away from the land over the water and trying to contemplate what had just happened.
He turned to Missandei who was standing beside him and watching the entire thing with a smirk on her face.
"Does the princess do this often my lady?" he asked.
The pretty servant frowned at him. "Does the princess do what often Ser?"
Arthur tried to gather his thoughts into cohesive sentences. "Does she often throw herself into tasks that may seem reckless or unwise?"
Instead of becoming offended Missandei chuckled and she could practically feel the amusement from Orius, Gavreen, Visrael and Sion behind her.
"She is our princess Ser," the servant replied simply. "I don't think conventional means will ever define her. Nor for that matter should they."
Ω
Rhaegar was still trying to get his wits about him.
He had made a promise to the princess that he would ride one of the Gryffindor dragons when they arrived in Mereen in just under two moons. But he had not been expecting that she would collect on such a promise so early or in so startling a fashion.
However, he couldn't bring himself to entirely mind the way in which she had done it.
It had been startling certainly but breathtaking all the same.
Watching the enormous pearl colored dragon flying on the morning breeze with the bronze light illuminating its scales and making every one shine as brightly as a diamond was truly a surreal experience.
He had never seen a dragon before much less ridden on one and now he had done both in the span of one morning.
Ginevra's familiarity with the beast had surprised him at first before he realized this was the creature she had used to help conquer Essos.
After that it seemed to make perfect sense.
At the moment they were speeding over the open water, the wings of Septimus a steady beat above them and the cool breeze stinging his cheeks with the water that splashed up against them.
The glare of the sun that had broken free from the horizon was shining in his eyes, but not irritatingly so. In fact everything the light touched threw into sharp relief the vividness of the colors over the ocean and the hues of the clouds. He glanced up at the heavens and noted with surprise that the clouds seem to be arrayed in a bevelled pattern almost like the surface of the water looked if one were beneath the waves of the sea.
He imagined that this must be what it looked like to be beneath the waters looking up.
It lent an air of mystery to the environmental atmosphere and caused Rhaegar to ponder questions that he never had before.
How many times have I looked at the stars and pondered their mysteries and what secrets they held? He wondered to himself. And now that I am so close to those very heavens I puzzled at I cannot help but think about what lies beyond them.
He was conscious of Ginevra's presence in front of him, her back leaning into his chest and her warmth mingling with his. It was a comfort he realized to have her so near. This was an experience he would never forget he knew and the fact that she had shared it with him endeared her to him in ways that he did not fully understand.
It was truly remarkable.
"Are you alright?" the princess asked. Her voice was low but because of their physical proximity, he had no trouble hearing her.
"I'm not sure," he responded honestly and he felt her shoulders shake with laughter. "I remember being the same way on my first flight on Septimus. In a way it is…indescribable."
"An apt word," he murmured. When he looked back on his first ride on a dragon in the years to come, he would not be able to think of an adjective accurate enough to describe the feelings of awe and joy he experienced sitting there on the back of a mythical creature speeding over the surface of the ocean.
It seemed he wasn't the only one to experience these feelings of hyper euphoria however.
The look on Ginevra's face was one of complete contentment and when she closed her eyes for what seemed to be an indeterminably long time. Whatever inhibitions she seemed to hold were stripped away from her and she seemed as innocent and free as a child.
They were weightless….flightless…and yet doing something no human being had done in centuries.
And it was magical.
Rhaegar didn't even feel the cold as they sped over the waves and the wing stung his eyes and face. He didn't think he would ever be cold again.
"Where are we going?" he asked into Ginevra's ear so that she would hear him.
Her answer was a chuckle. "Wherever we want."
And just like that, the possibilities seemed endless. No longer would the two of them be grounded by gravity and the constant pull of the earth beneath their feet.
If there was one thing that Rhaegar valued in life it as consistency. But now that life had veered off the constant path for a moment, he couldn't bring himself to ask questions or even care.
The sun was rising into the sky over head and for a moment, Rhaegar began to wonder that it was urging them on and lighting their way.
Come faster, it seemed to say. Come and see what I am hiding.
I will, Rhaegar thought. And now I don't have to wonder about what it's like anymore, now I can truly come.
The farther they flew, the warmer the air began until Rhaegar felt secure enough to let go of his hold on Ginevra's waist.
He didn't though, instead he only lessened his grip not wanting to let go completely.
Ginevra adjusted her shoulders slightly as if she were stretching and arched her neck to work out the kinks.
"How do you become used to it day in and day out?" Rhaegar asked. "I don't think I could ever become accustomed to soaring above the ground and day in and day out. It would always be a surreal experience for me."
"It still is," Ginevra relied. "In many ways it's therapeutic. When you're soaring above the ground and everyone below looks no bigger than ants in your eyes, your problems seem to fade away and its then when you truly feel like the ruler of the whole world."
"I can imagine," the prince said wishing he had known about this earlier. "There are times throughout my life that I wish this had been an option for me."
"I think everyone does," Ginevra said quietly and her tone had turned somewhat sad.
Rhaegar blinked and changed the subject, trying to get back the joyful feelings they had both felt when Septimus had leapt off the cliff.
"Have you and your father often rode your dragons together?" he asked.
Ginny chuckled. "My father may seem like an extremely self-confident man Rhaegar and he is. But when we ride our dragons he becomes somewhat reckless. He is careful in every aspect of his political life but when riding his own dragon Faebian, it is as if he becomes a child again with a new toy and will not listen to anyone about it."
Rhaegar chuckled. He couldn't picture the commanding assertive Gryffindor king being anything like what Ginevra had described. When he had first heard him speak in the throne room several weeks earlier, Rhaegar had been stunned at the powerful presence that Sirius Gryffindor. He had looked like a king and a conqueror when he had strode into the room behind his guard with Ginevra beside him but it was when he spoke that the prince truly began to believe it.
And the way he had looked at everything was something Rhaegar would remember as well for it was a representation of a man who was in complete control of himself, his situation and perhaps even those around him as well. Confidence had emanated from him like an odor and even though he had been in a foreign realm Rhaegar had almost believed that Sirius Gryffindor could walk up to the throne and simply take it from his father.
And that had both impressed and alarmed him.
Lord Varys had been adamant that this marriage was the only way to avoid a potential war and though Rhaegar could see the logic in his words he had been hesitant to immediately give in right away and agree.
He had resolved upon seeing his parents' marriage that he would make decisions for himself and was secretly glad that his mother had never given birth to a girl.
If she had, I certainly would not be where I am now, he thought to himself.
At that moment, Septimus rose higher into the air and Rhaegar gripped the spike in front of him in order to keep his grasp on the dragon.
"What is he doing?" he asked.
Ginevra let out a breathless laugh. "Septimus I find is like my father. He likes to show off and whenever he meets someone knew, such as you, he will wish to show you what he can do."
"Should I be worried?" the prince asked.
Her answer wasn't exactly comforting. "Like I told you before Rhaegar. At this point, all you need to do is hang on tight. And above all else, do not let go."
He didn't have time to answer then for all of a sudden, Septimus reared up above the water and shot into the sky.
Rhaegar gripped Ginny's waist with one arm and the spike on the white dragons' back in the other. His hand and knuckles went white on the spike and his teeth were clenched so hard together that he feared they would break.
The wind screamed past his ears and he wished with all his heart that he could cover them, but that would be a fool's errand to take his hands off their secure places.
"Does he always do this?" he managed to shout.
"Sometimes!" Ginevra yelled back. "But sometimes he just needs an audience!"
There came a certain point when Rhaegar closed his eyes and didn't even realize he was doing so.
It was only when the dragon levelled off and he felt Ginevra nudging him gently that he opened his eyes.
"Rhaegar look."
Somehow he managed to pry his eyelids open and look around.
It was then that he gasped.
They were surrounded by nothing but sky.
The air up above the clouds was so blue and so fresh that Rhaegar feared he wouldn't be able to take it all in. The light wasn't merely in front of them, it was all around them and the pink hues that were laced throughout the atmosphere created a veritable smoothie of colors and shades that was almost dizzying to look at.
Good Lord….
"Isn't it magnificent?" Ginevra whispered. "And now we are so far above the ground that no even the clouds separate us for the heavens. We are completely free us here."
Well I should certainly say so.
"I don't think I want to come down," the prince said quietly and Ginevra heaved a small sigh. "Sometimes I don't want to either, but we always must. Duty is just as important as freedom sometimes and you cannot have one without the other.
She got a faraway look on her face as if she were remembering another time and place and Rhaegar wondered what was on her mind.
But the atmosphere was far too beautiful to make him want to search too deeply at this time.
"How long do you often stay up above the clouds?" he asked, searching for a way to break the silence.
"As long as I can," she replied. "Up here, the air is thinner so it is somewhat harder to breathe and can make me lightheaded when I stay up here longer than a half of an hour.
So we should not stay up here for longer than that."
Rhaegar found he was disappointed, but agreed with her. "Very well then. And what shall we do afterwards?"
"I don't know," Ginevra said nonchalantly. "Didn't you tell me that the day is ours to do with as we please? As long as we are back before dark, I don't see the harm in us having a bit of fun."
"Fun?" the prince asked as if it were a foreign word.
The princess turned around on the seat and gave him a smirk. "Yes, fun. You do know the meaning of the word don't you? In fact when was the last time that you had fun?"
Rhaegar blinked and then chuckled. "I thought that was what we were doing right now."
She nodded. "Point taken. But if this is to be a day of fun, than we cannot return until sundown."
"Agreed."
"Good," she said repositioning herself on the back of Septimus. "Then let us continue."
Ω
About two hours later, the royal couple aboard the dragon landed on a small island off the coast of Rainwood that was dotted with trees and long beaches, but was currently uninhabited.
They left Septimus to rest upon the shore and slowly made their way down the sand. Now that the sun was up, the chill of the morning air had drifted away and Ginny didn't feel the urge to wrap her arms around herself to ward it off.
Granted her cold had abated a good deal in lieu of Rhaegar's arms around her pulling her close to his body. She knew the gesture had been so that he might keep his seat on
Septimus but he had unconsciously shared his heat with her, something she had appreciated.
Westeros, with the exception of Sunspear and the southern coast of Dorne perhaps would always be colder that Essos and so the change in temperature when she came to King's Landing was something she had had to adjust to.
Ginny still remembered the snow that had piled against the windows of the Burrow on Christmas Eves in the past and how she and her family had sat around the wood fire in the living room and opened presence. The room had been hot but not stiflingly so and Ginny fondly remembered sitting on the sofa beside her brothers, watching and laughing as presents were opened.
Christmas was one of the things she missed from home.
In Essos, holidays weren't really a part of yearly life on the continent and so she had accepted one regular day after another without having any annual holiday to celebrate.
Though her life was wonderful…she did miss it.
And speaking of missing, she had nearly missed catching Rhaegar when he had gotten down off of Septimus and it had taken a moment to get his legs under him again. His knees were shaking slightly and there was a slightly glazed look in his violet eyes that Ginny knew had been in hers when she had ridden Septimus for the first time.
"Are you alright?" she asked when he had leaned on her heavily for a moment before he straightened up and seemed in command of himself again.
"I'm not sure how one is supposed to be alright after such an experience," he replied and even his voice seemed far away, sort of echoed and distant like how Ginny remembered
Sybil Trewlawney's being in that pathetic Divination's class that Hermione had sworn to loath and abhor.
He cleared his throat after and when he spoke again, he was the Rhaegar that she knew. "Thank you."
"For what?"
The look in his eyes was intense but soft as he looked down at her. "For sharing this experience with me. Such a thing as surreal as that you would think one might guard jealously and want to keep to themselves. I am grateful that you did not."
The look Ginny gave back to him was just as serious so that he would know that she meant what she was about to say.
"You may be my husband one day," she said. "I think that there might be a lot of things we will have to share and this was simply one of the more important ones."
Rhaegar seemed amused but also pleased. "Yes I agree."
They slowly walked away from the dragon who seemed content to lie in the sand with Rhaegar looking back at him every few seconds until they lost sight of him.
Ginny was then surprised when he chose to thread his fingers through hers instead of placing her hand on his arm the way they had walked before.
She was pleased by the gesture as it meant he was feeling a similar sense of intimacy with her as she was feeling for him.
They had become closer in these last few weeks and they both unconsciously knew it. The ride on the back of Septimus had only served to further enhance it.
Now that the sun was high in the sky, the light on their backs and upturned faces was warm enough to chase away the chill of their morning flight.
The prince was quiet for a very long time and Ginny could empathize. After her first ride on Septimus, she had been silent for almost an entire hour just so she could process that she had been as high as the clouds.
She had been hesitant to talk about it as well, fearing that that might cheapen the experience somehow, so she understood that Rhaegar didn't seem to want to talk about it and simply held his hand quietly as they walked along.
Finally he spoke.
"I didn't think it would be quite like that," he said quietly, his normally deep voice dying to a whisper.
"What did you imagine flying would be like?" Ginny asked.
The prince chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "The only time I have ever thought of flying was in my dreams Ginevra, but there was always a feeling of utter weightlessness. For whatever reason, I didn't have wings and was using my arms to fly which I never understood."
Ginny chuckled. She had had dreams like that before only she was on a broom in them and was familiar to what being in the sky was like.
She had also ridden a Thestral to the Ministry when Harry had falsely thought that Sirius had been kidnapped by Voldemort.
That was the night everything changed and her adoptive father's life in Essos had really begun.
It was a bitter sweet time, seeing the look of hopelessness and grief and shock on Harry's face.
She blinked and tuned back into Rhaegar, shaking herself out of the past as she did so.
"Was the feeling the same as in your dreams?" she asked.
"No," he said smiling down at her. "It was better."
"Good," she said. "Then perhaps we should make an effort to do it more often."
Rhaegar sighed. "I would love nothing better Ginny, but I fear that we won't be able to do that until we reach Mereen. If my father had any idea that I was riding a dragon around the southern tip of Essos, he wouldn't rest until Septimus is in the dragon pit and under his command. As it is, he already knows that House Gryffindor possesses no less than seven dragons and he would do whatever was necessary, perhaps even sacrifice his blood in order to get his hands on them."
He can certainly try, Ginny thought darkly. But he will burn first.
She decided now would not be a good time to inform the prince that not only did they have seven already hatched dragons, but that there were five more still in the egg that had yet to make an appearance.
Because they were magic users, Ginny and Sirius had learned that their blood was more potent than that of the other ancient Valyrians who would have had to use some sort of blood sacrifice in order to wake a dragon….a life to gain a life and all that.
Dragons had a deep connection to magic and so a drop of magical blood to awaken them was far more potent than the blood from a regular body that had been burned in order to rouse them from their shells.
Of course there was no way in the seven hells that she was going to tell this information to anyone. It was a closely guarded secret of House Gryffindor and Ginny would be damned before she gave it away, not even to the man who might one day be her husband.
The red head turned and looked out at the horizon where the sea met the sky and knew that beyond that place was her home.
She often apparated there in the evenings to see her adoptive parents but had refrained from doing so this last week as she wanted to spend as much time seeing the southern coast of Westeros as possible.
Thinking of Mereen reminded her of Sirius and Vellaena and how she hadn't spoken with them since she had notified Sirius that she was going with the prince to see Summerhall.
The thought made her wonder how they were. She usually didn't go more than a few days without speaking with her adopted parents when she was away in one of the cities that her father ruled in Essos.
When sitting on the established small councils of Tyrosh, Myr, Volantis, Braavos and the like, Ginny usually checked in with her father every evening to update him on the council and the general climate of the city and what their needs were.
It felt odd going more than seven days without speaking to them.
I hope everything is okay, she thought to herself. Perhaps when we turn in for the night and everyone is asleep I will apparate to Mereen to check in. It's been a while since I've seen the triplets at any rate and Vellaena is most certainly showing by now. I hope she's feeling alright and isn't too sick.
"It's so peaceful here," Rhaegar said quietly, prompting her to look up.
He was right. The sun was high in the sky and the waves were lapping at the white sand shores of the island with a quiet rhythm consistent enough to lull one to dreams.
The trees of the island were far enough back from the waterline that one had a significant plain of sand to walk on and the breeze was constant but not cold.
It was the south after all.
The sky was a pure azure blue with the only difference in its color palate being the golden sun that blazed down on the sand and the royal couple as they walked along like a spotlight.
If they looked hard enough they would be able to see the faint outline of the mainland in the distance no doubt where the rest of Ginny's guard and Ser Arthur and Missandei were.
"It is," she replied.
"I had forgotten just what it was like to be alone," the prince confessed. "I didn't realize how much of a lack of privacy one has when they are followed around all day by an armed guard."
Ginny nodded. "I appreciate the service and protection more than words can say but after a while, the prospect of being alone…truly alone is a luxury."
"I wonder how my mother is," Rhaegar said suddenly.
Ginny looked at him carefully. "Would you like to go back to the capital and check on her?"
"No," he said. "We came out here for a reason and I know that you placed protections on her. I would only be indulging my own foolish anxiety if we were to return now."
The red head laughed. "Being worried about someone you love is not foolish. I would be concerned if you weren't worried given how far we are from the capital and your father's own…temperament."
She said the word delicately so she wouldn't offend but the prince gave her a bitter smile all the same.
"You're being kind Ginevra. My father's temperament as you so eloquently put it is all but non-existent. He only has two shades in personality: his visible insanity and his subtle insanity and both are poignant and deadly."
He shook his head then. "But come, let us speak on something else. I have no desire to talk about my father."
The red had nodded. "Alright. What shall we speak on then?"
"Tell me about your family," the prince suggested. "I already know a great deal about your father, but very little about your mother and brothers. What are they like?"
Ginny smiled. "Like you I am the oldest. It was a while after my birth that my parents decided to have children again. My birth was somewhat difficult and so they wanted to make certain that my mother was healed before they tried again. After that time got away from them and the focus switched to other things. My father loves children but during the time after my birth and his assent to the throne of Essos, having children wasn't as big of a priority for him. Until a few years ago when my mother discovered she was pregnant again. It was a surprise but a pleasure for both of them and even more so when my mother gave birth to triplets."
Most of this story was just that. She couldn't actually tell Rhaegar that Vellaena wasn't her mother at all as that would raise questions about who was and bring them closer to the revelation that she was from a different world.
So for now it was simply better to tell a tale than the truth.
No one would believe her and Sirius if they found out where they had come from any way.
"And what are they like?" Rhaegar asked.
Ginny chuckled. "They are a handful for lack of a better word. I sometimes think that the magic they have gives them far more energy than my mother which explains why she looks tired almost whenever I see her."
"And they are named after your ancestors as well?"
"Yes. Godric, the eldest is named after our first ancient Valyrian ancestor, and the second born Edric is named after his son. The third, Haedric well…I named him."
"You did?" The prince asked in surprise.
The red head nodded, her expression turning wistful. "His nickname is Harry. I named him after a friend of mine. A friend who died a long time ago."
"I'm sorry," the prince said and he truly did sound sympathetic. His hand tightened on hers. "Were the two of you close?"
"Very," Ginny said softly.
Thinking of Harry caused a bitter sweet feeling to rise up in her and she closed her eyes briefly.
When she opened them again, she was a little embarrassed to find Rhaegar looking at her closely.
"I see," he said just as quietly and she got the distinct impression that he felt a little uncomfortable. Perhaps even a little envious of the way she had described Harry.
Ginny felt a little guilty then. She hadn't meant to express the emotion she still sometimes had over Harry quite so vividly but there were times when she couldn't help herself.
"But that was a long time ago," she said quickly and the prince nodded.
"What killed him?" he asked.
Ginny was silent for a long time. "Duty…honor. Perhaps a cross between the two. I'm not entirely sure anymore."
Rhaegar nodded.
"Tell me," he said. "In your opinion, is it better to be honorable and to die for it or to be craven and to escape with your life?"
"A very philosophical question," the red head noted.
"It is."
"Alright then. In my opinion, neither is better."
"How do you mean?"
"A person who has honor and dies for it may have principals and morals of the highest calibre but at the end of the day those morals got them killed. A person who is a coward has no morals at all and has no connections to those people around him. He makes more enemies then friends because he has no loyalty and lives only for himself. Both are dangerous and both are impractical."
"What would you suggest as an alternative viewpoint then?"
Ginny paused for a moment.
She remembered all too well the House rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin and how it had led to many fights between the two of them as well as points lost and detentions issued. Now that she had the benefit of time, she could look back and see both sides were wrong.
Being too brave could equate to being foolish and being too sly could equate to cowardice and disloyalty.
"The best way that I can think of is to employ both methods. Caution and courage allow you to be more dextrous."
The prince looked intrigued. "And what would that look like?"
"It's something my father and I have strived to exercise in the Gryphon Empire since before we came to Mereen and still lived in Qarth. Courage is an excellent and admirable quality and more people should have it as it allows them to do what is right. But if that courage is not interspersed with common sense then it becomes foolish and can lead to an early grave. However, if there is too much common sense, it can prevent someone from seeing an injustice right in front of them. You need to have both. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important."
"Courage and common sense," the prince mused. "Oddly enough it sounds like the words of a great house."
Ginny laughed. "Don't tell me you're think of replacing the Targaryen words of Fire and Blood with those."
Rhaegar laughed as well as they walked along. "They're not the most menacing words but they do make one think far more than our house words would."
"My own house words have something to do with that I said," Ginny explained. "House Gryffindor bases itself on the words, Where Dwell the Brave. It's a lesson from the past and an example for the future."
"I hope that that can be employed into our reign," the prince said softly.
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Our reign?"
He gave her something of a shy smile. "Well…you can't really blame me for being hopeful."
Ginny cocked her head up at him and took in the coy but beautiful smile and felt something stir in her heart.
"No," she said. "I don't suppose I can. I think I'm hopeful too."
Ω
They spent a few more hours on the island and then return to Septimus who was waiting for them before mounting him and flying back to the mainland.
The both of them were very quiet on the ride back, having talked about many things that they hadn't before.
Family, politics, philosophy and the past had dominated their discussions and Ginny was very glad that she had decided to ask Septimus to meet them as it allowed for an alone time between her and Rhaegar that they had not had before.
One can only have so much privacy when they are in a keep surrounded by guards and servants.
As they were nearing the coastline however, Rhaegar broke the silence by frowning down at the ruins of Summerhall that had just become visible. "That's odd."
"What is?" Ginny asked as her attention had been focused on the clouds.
"It would appear that we have some guests."
Ginny looked at the ground sharply and saw that he was right. Where they had had six companions with them before now there were at least a dozen, perhaps more.
There were also horses that she didn't recognize and two figures there in rich robes. Following them were several warriors in strange armor carrying a bronze banner with a golden sun upon it.
The symbol of House Nymeros Martell.
"Well, well, well," Ginny mused. "It seems that Prince Doran has become aware of our presence. That was quick."
"I find the Lord of Sunspear has almost as many spies throughout Dorne as Lord Varys does," the prince muttered and Ginny couldn't tell whether he was irritated or amused.
"What do you suppose they are doing here?" she asked. "We are still a ways from Sunspear."
"The Martells have been to the capital several times," Rhaegar explained as they drew closer to the cliff again. "Do you see the two that are richly dressed standing next to Ser Arthur?"
"Yes."
"They are Prince Oberyn and Princess Elia Martell. It's curious that both of them are here."
"Why?"
"Because if Prince Doran needs to send a message, ravens are the best way to do it, not by sending personal representatives from his own family. I suspect what they come here to impart is important."
"Do you suppose they were looking for us?" Ginny asked as she narrowed her eyes at the brother and sister duo who were standing beside Ser Arthur and Missandei. It appeared that they were talking quietly and Ginny could see him gesture to the sky. All at once, both Martell siblings looked up.
Ginny smirked, knowing that they must have made quite a picture soaring above the clouds towards them.
"Shall we make our presence known then?" she asked leaning over the neck of Septimus so she could whisper to him without the prince hearing.
Septimus responded by arching his long neck and releasing an earth shattering roar that seemed to make the clouds tremble.
Ginny felt Rhaegar flinch behind her and then mutter to himself. "I think you enjoy this far too much."
Ginny only laughed and Septimus dipped forward to make a landing on the edge of the cliff face.
As he did so, the great dragon fanned his wings at so that it would lessen the impact of his descent. His still landed with a jarring thump on the ground, causing both of his riders to flinch however.
Rhaegar immediately took his arms from Ginny's waist and leapt off the back of the dragon with much more agility than he had climbed on.
He turned back to Ginny and offered her his hand which she took with a smile.
The moment they were both down from the dragon, the red head could see Ser Arthur making his way through the ruins towards them, leaving the rest of the guard and the Martell siblings behind.
"Your grace," he called. "Are you well?"
Ginny distinctly saw Rhaegar roll his eyes upward slightly as they walked arm in arm towards the knight.
"I am perfectly well Arthur," he replied.
The knight came to a stop in front of him then and Rhaegar lowered his tone exponentially so no one else but the three of them would hear. "I am rather curious as to why
Prince Oberyn and Princess Elia are here. When did they arrive and what are they doing here?"
"They arrived no more than a half of an hour ago your grace," the knight explained. "Apparently it came to Prince Doran's attention that you had crossed into Dorne on a somewhat informal visit and he wishes to…invite you and the princess to Sunspear."
Rhaegar blinked and the somewhat overt display of attempted ingratiation. He had always liked the Dornish as they had more than any other realm in Westeros had a long standing tradition of equality between men and women.
Rhaegar had always secretly favored that view growing up with a mother who was abused by his father on a consistent basis.
What gave him pause however was the fact that Prince Doran was as shrewd a player in the game of thrones as anyone perhaps even Lord Tywin or Lord Varys. If he wished to invite them to Sunspear, Rhaegar had a feeling that it had less to do with him and more to do with making an ally of Princess Ginevra, both as the potential new queen and as a daughter of a man with a massive empire across the sea.
Though she is much more than that, he thought to himself looking down at the red head by his side.
In the meantime, Ginny was rather intrigued by the invitation. "It sounds interesting enough. Refusing an invitation from a prince would be rude wouldn't it?"
"Yes, it would be," Rhaegar said slowly trying to stall for time so he could think. "But are you sure you wish to travel another several days, a week or so more to reach Sunspear?
We have already been on the road for a week already. And it will take an extensive amount of time to return."
Ginny chuckled. "If it bothers you that much Rhaegar, I will use my magic at the conclusion of our trip to transport us back to King's Landing so there will be no time lost."
The prince sighed, knowing that there would be no way to dissuade her once she had made her mind up about something. She was just that sort of woman.
"Very well," he said.
"Good," the red head said clapping her hands together. "Then let's meet our hosts from Sunspear, we can't stay over here talking for too much longer or else we will be seen as impolite."
Rhaegar nodded and took her hand again, following Ser Arthur back through the ruins to where the horses were along with the rest of their guard.
The first thing Ginny noticed about the Martell siblings were their dark good looks. Their olive skin had been kissed by the sun and their deep brown eyes were set deeply into their faces, framing their aristocratic but sultry features permanently.
However despite their physical similarities, there were subtle differences in their expressions that Ginny noticed right away.
Oberyn had the sultry expression of a cat that had just eaten a hard won canary and his pose as he stood watching the royal couple approach was somewhat feline. His eyes were the dark and luminous orbs of someone who was hugely confident in himself and very nonchalant in his attitude. He was extremely handsome but in a way that Ginny remembered seeing on the faces of many of the boys of Durmstrang when they had come to Hogwarts for a visit in her third year. They were extremely arrogant and superior which had been a bit of a turn off. Not all of them expressed those qualities and Viktor Krum had been surprisingly not one of them but there were those all the same. He would be an interesting personality to be sure.
His eyes raked over her body without shame and Ginny felt a spike of irritation mixed with a subtle form of mild amusement.
He seems like a handful, she thought to herself. Perhaps a bit of the philandering type, knows no bounds sort of man. He has the same look in his eyes as a few of the boys I went to school with at Hogwarts. Ah well if he tries the same sort of nonsense on me I will show him what it means to be a Gryffindor.
His eyes flicked to the dragon that was waiting on the cliff behind them, eyeing the four as if he understood what was going on completely and the emotion in his dark eyes was one that she could not read.
Interesting.
His sister standing next to him was also a beautiful woman with miles of dark silky hair and luminous golden brown eyes. She had a kind smile and even kinder eyes. She was dressed in bronze and had the sultry curves of those who seemed to be characteristically Dornish but she didn't bear the same sultry expression as her brother which made
Ginny think that this girl could be a good friend.
"Prince Oberyn, Princess Elia," Rhaegar said as he stopped in front of the pair of siblings. "How wonderful to see you. We did not expect such a visit so soon."
Or so informally, was the unspoken line.
Oberyn opened his mouth but Elia beat him to it. "Forgive us your grace. When our brother Prince Doran heard that you had crossed in Dorne with the Princess Ginevra, he was eager to meet her and sent us on ahead to offer his greetings and welcome you to Dorne and to invite you to Sunspear."
I can see this one is the diplomat in the Martell household, Ginny thought to herself in amusement. She seems good at it.
"And we thank the prince for his greetings," Ginny said before Rhaegar could speak giving Elia a warm smile. "We would be honored to accept his invitation."
"Wonderful," Prince Oberyn said. "I think I speak for all of House Martell when I say that we have all been eager to meet you your grace."
Rhaegar cleared his throat slightly, but Ginny was somewhat amused. "Have you? How odd because my father has told me a great deal about Dorne when he was still a merchant and sailing to the different ports in Westeros. He told me that it was his favorite place in all of this great country. I hope that I have the same experiences he did."
Oberyn's smile grew. "I have no doubt you will your grace."
Rhaegar ran a hand through his hair and made a sound that distinctly sounded like a sigh. I hope we all do.
Fortunately the awkwardness of the conversation was replaced when Princess Elia looked at the dragon behind the royal couple and her face broke into a smile mixed with the same awe that Rhaegar had exhibited earlier.
"He's beautiful," she murmured. "I've never seen a dragon before, only in pictures."
Instantly Ginny's face changed from amusement to fondness. "It is quite a surreal experience seeing one."
"I'd imagine so," the princess said. "I would also imagine that it is an even more surreal experience to ride on one."
"It is," Ginny replied. "I have been doing it for a few years now and I don't think I will ever become tired of it."
"Imagine dragons have become a part of the world again," Elia said softly, her eyes never having moved from the magnificent white creature. "The ancient world has come back to us."
Ginny looked at Elia and decided right then and there that she was going to be a friend. Perhaps even a close one.
After a moment, she turned back to Rhaegar. "If we are to travel to Sunspear, shouldn't be leaving as soon as possible? It's still a long road and we can still cover a few hours before dark."
"An excellent idea," Oberyn posited. "It was purely luck that we chanced upon you your graces. We did not know Summerhall would be your destination."
No one did, Rhaegar thought to himself.
He glanced at Ginny whose expression hadn't changed from one of politeness. I hope she knows what she's getting into. I will say that Dorne contains some of the more…shameless people in Westeros. Then again she is from Essos, a land which is not so stiff in its policies as the northern half of Westeros…perhaps it will be alright.
He signalled to Ser Arthur to bring around the horses and the Creed guard brought up Ginevra's mount.
"One moment," Ginevra said. "I will send Septimus off and then we can be on our way."
She hurriedly picked up her long skirts and stepped lightly over the ground until she reached the dragon who snaked his long head down to her.
Reaching up a hand, Ginny rested her hand against the side of his scaled jawline.
Thank you my friend, she said, communicating through her mental bond with him. Go and rest now. I'm sure you're tired.
Septimus blew a breath of air gently into her face and Ginny smiled. A moment later, he turned, raised his enormous wings and took to the skies.
Ginny watched him for a moment until he became nothing more than a dot in the clouds before she turned back to the company and strode for her horse.
She felt a curious lump in her throat as he disappeared. She knew she would see him again, but she also knew this was an afternoon that she would never forget.
Rhaegar caught her hand before he helped her onto her horse. "Are you well?"
She gave him a genuine smile. "I am much better than that."
As soon as all parties were on their horses, Prince Oberyn kicked his heels in to the side of his mount. "To Sunspear!"
As they got back onto the road to continue south, Ginny looked back to the sky and smiled to herself.
To Sunspear indeed.
Ω
Mereen…
Sirius had been up for most of the night planning.
He had dictated letters, sent ravens and spoken with Gulian for over an hour about the best route to Kosrak.
The day had now come and he was busy coordinating both with the commander of the Unsullied as well as Rasheed the second in command of the Creed now that Orius was in Westeros with Ginny.
He had also made plans to bring all six of the family dragons with them. Septimus was in Westeros with Ginny as well so he could not count on that form of assistance but he also knew that he wouldn't need it.
Six dragons….
Gods….
Never before had such a number been seen in battle together.
And barring a catastrophe, never again.
"You are intending to tell Ginny of your task aren't you?" Vellaena asked, standing before his desk with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. "You leave in nine days for the Dothraki Sea and Vaes Dothrak."
"Yes darling," the king replied. "I will inform her before I leave."
"Good," the queen said. "If she is with you then I don't doubt that the both of you will come back alive. This little one I am carrying needs its father and sister."
Sirius softened slightly as he looked up at his wife who was doing an admirable job of being strong but whom he could also tell was nervous.
"I will return to you my dear," he said. "I made that promise when we married and time does not render it void.
"Good," she said.
It was only after she had left that Sirius contemplated what he was about to do. If all went according to plan, another field of fire might be imminent.
Except this time it would be forty thousand souls as opposed to four thousand.
It will be a massacre, he though grimly. I just hope it doesn't come to that. I do not want to do this but if Drogo forces my hand…I will have no choice. I do not want to be known as a king who burned forty thousand souls. I am a conqueror but I am not a butcher. Gods help us all.
Ω
Okay so after having looked at a map of Westeros, I know that Summerhall is nowhere near the ocean, but for the purposes of the this story I planned it that way. Also seeing as how Rhaegar and Ginny have been traveling in Dorne for almost a week, I don't think it is too unbelievable that someone would have seen them at some point and notified Doran, one of the owners of an inn or a passing traveler, whatever the case. For those of you who know me, you know that the Martells are my favorite family in Westeros and Elia is one of my favorite cannon characters. Her death enraged me even though it is only talked about in the books and whenever I write her in any story I am giving you guys a heads up now that she is going to live. Anyway, the next chapter will focus on their stay in Sunspear and have more Sirius in it as he prepares for war with the Dothraki in which Ginny will play a role. Don't forget to review and happy reading everyone!