Hello!

Wednesday chapter is here!
We'll dive deeper into Daeron and Daenerys' relationship.
As always, thank you for the support!

Warning: the last part before the dream is rated M.

Enjoy your reading!

Chapter XLV: Dragonseeds

Daenerys joined him hesitantly on the terrace. She looked to be frightened by him, after all, he had just stormed into her rooms without even a scratch from her guards and had perturbed her intimacy. With her hair down, the large robe and no jewels, Daenerys looked like the young woman she was supposed to be. For the first time, Daeron really saw they were the same age.

"Why did you do that?" She asked. Her voice was an interesting mix of fear and anger.

"You refused to talk to me… So, I came." He replied coldly.

"I told you I would come, and you are my guest. You should have waited. Is that not how hospitality works in Westeros?" The fear disappeared for a second, replaced by only annoyance.

"You did not offer me bread and salt, you did not offer me hospitality then… You should know that. You should also know that according to the laws of Westeros, I am the head of our House and since you conquered this city in the name of our House I could legally seize this city." When he saw her reaction, Daeron held his hands up in defence. "I won't do it, but I could. You talk about laws you don't know again."

Daenerys scoffed. "Does that give you the right to threaten my guards?" She glared at him.

"I did not threaten them, I insisted…" He shrugged. Truly, if he was in her place, he would be bothered too, buthe had heard that slaves slaves usually obeyed to a family and that was what Daenerys and him were. "What did you want them to do? Kill me?" His aunt remained silent. "No answer…" He commented.

"What do you want?" She barked.

"I want you to tell me what you plan to do since you now know who I am?" He told her.

"What makes you think my plans changed?" She challenged.

"Let's see. If I were you and I thought myself the last Targaryen… I would have landed on Dragonstone. But since you are still here after a year and you still do not have ships, I guess you would have to wait maybe a year more, half a year if you're lucky." He saw her composure fall little by little. "Let's say you managed to arrive on Dragonstone. Then, you would have reached out to Dorne, knowing what Quentyn told you. With their help and your dragons, you would have tried to conquer the rest of the kingdoms. Am I wrong?"

"I would have reached out to the Riverlands and the North as well…"

"Frey or Tully? Bolton or Stark?"

"Stark and Tully, of course!" She countered.

"So, hostages who also happen to consider you only as the Mad King's daughter. A King they fought and bled to overthrow… But we are diverging from the real problem." Daeron looked at her intensely. "I am real. I control Dragonstone and Dorne already." That was only half a lie. Dragonstone would fall to him since Stannis bent the knee and Dorne would at least ally with him more than they would ally with her thanks to Aemon and - regretfully - the death of Quentyn. "By the time you would begin to imagine sailing to Westeros, the Riverlands, the North and the Stormlands would be under my control as well. So, I ask again, what will you do?" He took a menacing step closer to her.

"I still have an army and one dragon more than you." She defied him.

"I have an army too… One the Westerosi will accept more than they would accept former slaves." He indicated. "And I have control over my dragons… Not to mention, two of yours are riderless, they could obey me as well as they obey you. Also... the last is missing." Again, the mask fell and Daenerys' face was a picture of anger.

"They are my children. They will obey me no matter what." She hissed. It was more than Daeron could take, he laughed.

"Would you like to make the test dear aunt?" He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Your children? Seriously?"

"They are the only ones I will ever have…" She avoided his gaze and became sad as she said that. It stirred Daeron's curiosity.

"What do you mean?"

"When my stillborn son was born, the witch who cursed me and killed my husband told me I would never birth a child again." She revealed. Again, Daeron wanted to laugh.

"And you never considered she could have lied?" He raised a sceptical brow. "Even if she was right… what would you do about the Throne? It would descend into chaos at your death, even if you managed to get a strong hold on it."

"You could be my heir." She pointed out.

Daeron scoffed. "Daenerys… you're delusional. I have a better claim, a wife, an heir and I could crush you even now without an army. Stop holding on to things you cannot have!" He pleaded.

"Let's say I agree." He could see she had completely lost the confidence she had in the beginning. He was starting to understand his aunt better. She was impulsive, she did not really take into account the consequences of her decisions and the events around her. That was probably what made her so delusional. "What place would I have in your plan?"

"It really depends on what you want to do." She looked surprised by his answer. "I came here mostly because I wanted to know you, know your intention and give you the opportunity of joining your family." In truth, he also wanted to make sure she would not attack him from behind. "You could come to Westeros and join me in my conquest. Afterwards you could come back here or be reinstalled as a member of the royal family in the Red Keep. Or you could choose to remain here all the time. I don't mind, whatever you choose."

"I want to see my home again…" She sounded like a little girl when she said that. "But I cannot abandon Meereen. It would descend into chaos."

"You would be welcomed in Westeros if you chose to visit later you know…" He shrugged. If there is still a Westeros after the White Walkers have attacked that is. He added to himself. He still did not trust her with the truth.

Daenerys nodded. "I will tell you of my decision before you leave. And I will not hold your 'intrusion' against you. I owe you that much after Prince Quentyn."She declared.

"I know you did not mean harm to Quentyn even though my wife is furious with you... It's another death I worry about, what happened to Ser Barristan?" He asked her. She looked genuinely grieved by his demise.

"He and Daario had a disagreement, over my protection. To deescalate the tension, he asked me if he could go investigate in the city far from the Pyramid and Daario." This revelation did not help with Daeron's opinion of the sellsword.

"And you sent him alone?" He cleared his throat.

"I will regret it until the end of my days." Daeron decided against chastizing her. She looked to have learnt the lesson already. They remained silent for a while, then she seemed to remember something since her eyes widened. "When do you plan to leave?"

"Our ship is making a tour of Slaver's Bay. Once it comes back we will leave. A fortnight maybe." He explained.

"Could you teach me how to rule Meereen?"

...

Daenerys led him to the cave where she held the dragons. It was located near the harbour, but in an almost deserted place, with easy access from the Great Pyramid. There, Daeron could almost forget he was in a city, there were bushes growing freely around the caves and the paved ground blurred into the sand almost seamlessly. Only one of the caves was guarded by six unsullieds, in their armour and pointy helms made in a dark grey colour that had to turn the sun into an unbearable oven.

Daenerys was clearly uneasy when she ordered the stone that blocked the entrance pushed to the side. It took four strong men to make the massive stone bulge. Inside, it was dark and, as of now, Daeron could hear no sound that could have indicated the presence of a dragon inside. One of the guards handed him a torch.

He called for Rhoynax, creating a tumult when the large grey and bronze dragon landed on the paved way. The unsullieds were startled but did not look frightened. Daeron guessed his mount was larger than any creature they had ever seen. Daenerys was impressed.

"She's beautiful." She whispered.

From inside the cave, a roar came, followed by a loud shriek. The dragons his aunt had imprisoned sensed one of their own. Daeron had had the occasion to feel the relations between dragons when he warged into Rhoynax, he hoped the feelings they sent each other's way were positive. He urged Rhoynax to reassure her cousins. She purred in response. Daeron stopped focusing on her when Daenerys gestured for him to follow her. They went inside.

It was dark, even with the torches, he could not locate the dragons at first. They had, in fact, backed away in a corner of the cave. What he discovered broke his heart. Two dragons, one green and one cream and gold were pressed against one another. There were a few carcasses of burnt sheep around them, but they were small. So small, they looked the size of young horses, the size Rhoynax and Weirion had been before he left for King's Landing. And they were chained at the ankle. As he walked closer, he saw burn marks on the metal of the chain. Why had Daenerys chained them? They were already locked away in the dark. The two small dragons hissed as he approached. He whispered soothing words in Valyrian, all those he knew. He realised then that his aunt had stopped, she had not come as close as him. He called her and gestured for her to help him. The dragons hissed and spat a little fire at her, but she gulped and did as Daeron said.

Daeron worked on the ankle of the green dragon. He did not seem too annoyed by the King's presence and let him free him without resistance. Though, as soon as the metal fell to the ground, he raced to the door and took to the sky. Daenerys was still struggling with the other one, the cream creature was less docile than his brother. Daeron went to help her and discovered it was not a problem of docility, but of Daenerys. The dragon did not act in aa hostile way toward him. So, he finished the work and the creature followed his brother to the sky.

Daeron and Daenerys ran outside to discover the two dragons setting fire to the bushes. The guards were panicked and shouting incoherent orders. It got worse when the two little dragons went higher in the sky, the unsullieds worried for the city. So did Daeron to be honest and he could see that Daenerys too, even though she was as if frozen to the ground. He would not find help from her.

Daeron looked at Rhoynax for help. Gods, he wished he could warg at will to follow the two creatures.

Well, apparently it was that easy. She did not linger on the ground to look at his body fall, she flew up after her two incontrollable cousins. What kind of stupid human locks a dragon? She did not like the silver hair human… too impulsive… too angry for her taste.

Thankfully, the two little ones had not started burning the humans' lairs. It would have created more problems, she knew. She came to their level and they looked at her with curiosity. It was what she had feared when she first tried to make contact, they barely knew how to communicate, they were completely confused. She roared, they hissed. What did they think? That they could attack her? They had no chance, especially if her brother finally decided to appear… She had called him twice already. She roared again. She could see the humans panicked below her. This time, the two did not hiss. She attempted to get closer and push comfort toward them.

Her white and red brother finally arrived from above. At least, he understood the situation almost instantly. Now, they encircled the two and could slowly bring them back to the ground. They started to calm down. She realised they were in fact completely frightened. Again, why lock them away? She could not imagine how traumatising that had been.

When they landed, she and her brother cradled the two small ones in their wings. They tried to transmit comfort, reassurance and a sense of family to them. She did not know how long it was before they backed away to let the humans in.

His shoulder was bloody. Just a scratch he had to have fallen on his shoulder when he started warging. Daenerys and her guards were not looking at him when he stood back up. He dusted his red samite robe and walked behind Daenerys.

"We can go see them now." He told her making her jump a little.

"Daeron, you fell! What…" He did not give her a chance to finish her question. There was no need for her to know and he should still keep some secrets to himself.

"I noticed." He stated. "We can go see your two dragons now, but slowly, you will have to gain their trust again." She looked pained.

They walked into the circle formed by Weirion's and Rhoynax's wings. Daeron went to pet his two winged companions. He felt them purr under his touch and try to nuzzle their snouts against him. After a moment, he lifted his head back up to look at Daenerys. She had held her hand up and was waiting for the dragons to come. The two little dragons inched closer tentatively, but they seemed to change their minds in the end. They backed away from Daenerys. She had a pained look on her face. Daeron walked closer to her slowly.

"It will take time, Daenerys." He stated soothingly. "Rhoynax and Weirion will stay with them so that they don't cause trouble." She nodded but remained silent. The walk back to the pyramid was silent.

...

"What do you think she will choose?" Arianne laid her head on his chest and was drawing swirls with her fingers on his skin. He stroked her arm lazily, up and down.

"She wants to at least see Westeros, but she has no wish to leave this city until it's back under control." He kissed her forehead absent-mindedly.

Arianne scoffed. "She will never come to Westeros then. Good riddance…" Daeron knew why Arianne was so mad at Daenerys. She blamed her for Quentyn's death. In Daeron's opinion though, the Prince's early end was an accident, brought about by the stupidity of both. His aunt should never have locked the dragons away, nor ignored a prince of Dorne. But his good-brother should not have tried to capture a dragon… "What do you hope she will do?" It was quite a different question and one Daeron did not feel as comfortable answering.

"I hope… I hope she chooses to live in Meereen after all is done." He admitted.

"But you would like her to support you in your conquest." She completed his thought.

"It would make my life so much easier." He breathed out. They remained silent for a few minutes. "How are you, truly?" He finally asked. They had not really talked of her brother's death since he died.

"I am sad… but not as much as I feel I should have been. Quentyn was my brother but I did not really know him." She explained. "I dread my father's reaction though. Quentyn was his heir… And I wish I could see Mother…" She said the last sentence in a small, quiet voice. He wished he could take her to Norvos. On dragon's back, it would be on the way. But it would also delay them and the urgency the North faced did not allow that. So, he did not reply but he shifted her head so that their lips could meet.

The kiss soon deepened, their tongues exploring each other's mouth. With the hot weather, getting rid of what little night clothes they wore was easy. Arianne's skin was so soft under his touch, it was as if he was touching porcelain. As usual, she responded quickly to his touch, arching her back to melt into him. His fingers found her nipples. So sensitive, so inviting. His lips left her mouth so that he could suckle on them. Arianne's moans were music to his ears. He loved the way she squirmed under him. His free hand wandered down, between her thighs. He pushed a finger inside of her and grinned when she gasped. She soon answered the attack by taking his manhood in her head and stroking it fast, then slow, then fast. It was a sweet torture. One he tired of rather quickly. He stopped his exploration of her body to focus back on her face. Her black eyes looked even darker than usual – if it was possible – and he knew that his were the same. He captured her lips again and shifted his hips to be at her entrance. He pushed inside of her and welcomed the familiar warmth and tightness. Her hips rocked to meet his and they moaned, groaned and breathed together. He did not want this sensation to stop, no matter how good his release felt, he wished he could remain like that, just on the edge, drowning in pleasure so strong it was almost painful. But nature did not work that way and before to long, he planted his seed inside his wife's body.

Arianne's smirk indicated she was as pleased as she was. Though her ragged breaths did not allow her to speak just yet. Daeron remained on to of her, laying his head on her breasts, though he was careful not to crush her.

"Do you think we'll have another prince or princess?" She asked when she found some air.

"I don't know. I hope so… we can certainly try some more if it did not work." Arianne laughed at his lustful comment. She kissed him softly.

...

"She's a funny one, isn't she?" Daeron was startled by the voice he heard in a dark room of what could only be Dragonstone. He turned to see someone he had met only brifly. He was younger than the last time Daeron had had a dream including him, but it was unmistakably Prince Daemon. "So much like me."

"Because of Essos?" Daeron guessed he was talking of Daenerys.

"Essos, the temper, the ill-completed conquest, the position, the marriages… She is much like me." He pointed out.

"I thought you were dutiful to your family… that's what your son said last time." Daeron reminded him.

"I was… but only when I was older, and only when it suited me. I was not dutiful to my nephew Aegon for instance." Daemon stated.

Daeron nodded, conceding the point. "So, you are here to instruct me on how to manage Daenerys, are you?"

The man jumped to his feet. "Not at all, the only way to manage Daenerys is to be wary of Daenerys. The most leeway you give her, the more rogue she will become." He explained wiggling his brows in a disturbing manner. "No, I am here to have a dragon flight with you." That was odd and his perplexity must have shown on Daeron's face because his ancestor added. "It will be fun."

He followed Daemon outside, they climbed up a small hill toward the Dragonmont. There was smoke rising from the mountain. Rhoynax and Caraxes were waiting in a creek they accessed by walking down stairs carved on the side of a cliff. Caraxes was red, lean and huge. He was the same width as Rhoynax, but twice as long.

He followed the Rogue Prince up in the sky. He had to admit, it was the first time he flew over Dragonstone with no other purpose and he enjoyed it immensely. He did not know what it was about the place, be it the sea or the smoke from the Dragonmont, but he felt good. He felt like this was the place where he belonged. The place where he could be himself with Rhoynax, the weight of responsibilities was lifted here.

He noticed Daemon had taken to another direction and followed him. After a few more tours around the Mont, his ancestor landed on a beach. Curious, Daeron did the same. He noticed the carcasses of sheep first, layering the beach and the cliff was weird. It did not go straight down, it created like a small but wide cave almost as long as a beach.

"What is this place?" He asked Daemon.

"The dragons' lair." The prince answered. "Come." He bid him to follow. Soon, Daeron saw two young dragons. One was a silver grey colour, very pale, the other was mud brown. "Seasmoke and Sheepstealer." From behind came another grey dragon, his tint looked like a morning mist. "Grey Ghost." Daemon introduced. Finally, a loud roar resonated, it frightened even the dragons. It was produced by an enormous black dragon, as black as coal. "The Cannibal."

"They were riderless." Daeron guessed.

"Seasmoke was Laenor Velaryon's but the young lord died young and did not mount him for long. He was claimed again by the dragonseeds as was Sheepstealer. But Grey Ghost remained riderless until they died. Actually, no one ever saw proof that the Cannibal died…" The prince seemed to contemplate the possibility.

"I have always wondered how the dragonseeds were able to ride dragons. Do you know?" Daeron asked.

"I have several ideas… The official story is that they were all Targaryen bastards or their children." He sighed. "But I do not believe it is true. They might have had some blood of old Valyria and for Addam and Alyn Velaryon it was quite obvious, but for others… I laid with the girl, Nettles. I am telling you she had no drop of Targaryen blood." He explained.

"Then how? Targaryen blood has always been believed to be necessary." Daeron asked.

"Yes, that's what we want everyone to believe. And it is true. After centuries of being dragonriders some magic has infused in our blood. But it does not change how we started. We started the same way Nettles did. By feeding dragons and winning their trust." Daemon revealed.

"This knowledge could cause great damage if it became known." Daeron stated. "You were foolish to let the dragonseeds even try."

"It was Prince Jacaerys' idea." Daemon revealed. "And he was desperate to win. He thought he did not have a choice."

"The Dance has always made me feel uneasy. I cannot begin to understand why our family tore itself apart this way." Daeron felt like talking with his ancestor some more.

"Don't you? If Daenerys had remained defiant, would you have hesitated much before killing her? If your son's life was on the line?" Daemon questioned.

"You're right…" Daeron conceded. "But Daenerys very clearly did not have the means to threaten me."

"We all think we can win. We are all a little too overconfident. See, I was certain I would be King after my foolish brother." Daemon explained. "When his son and daughter started fighting each other, they were both sure the lords of the Seven Kingdoms would rally to them. Rhaenyra because their forefathers had vowed to do so, and Aegon because there was a precedent of a brother having a stronger claim than his sister." He went on. "Then, Aegon was the most confident… but his son killed Rhaenyra's son and Aegon's heir was killed in return. Then, he was wounded, and the greens lost the confidence. The blacks were strongest when they had the seeds and they held King's Landing. Yet, it also made Rhaenyra paranoid and ripe for betrayal. Still, when she ran from the capital, she was confident she would find some safety on Dragonstone. She died there." He paused. "In wars, there is no certainty, no matter who would logically win in the beginning." Daeron nodded.

"What happened to the dragonseeds?" He knew for some, but not all.

"Nettles… I sent her away with her dragon. She was assumed dead but truly she died of old age. Ulf White and Hugh Hammer betrayed Rhaenyra. I think one of them even styled himself a king. They were killed at Tumbleton during the second battle. The legitimised Velaryons became Lords of the Tide. It wreaked havoc in their House." Again, the prince paused to think. "I believe there should be a law that says bastards, even legitimized cannot inherit if a trueborn male heir remains."

"A law like the one that says brothers inherit before sisters and sons before brothers?" Daeron asked.

"Yes, this was a law formally decided after the Dance."

"It is not the case in Dorne." Daeron pointed out.

"No, it is not, and honestly, I do not see why it could not work to have girls before boys. Though there could be the problem of ambitious husbands…" Daemon reflected. "But it is the law. We needed a law, not for when everything is normal and the heir is worthy and accepted by everyone, but for the times when there are ambitious, dangerous or stupid men. Like my brother."

"But this laws brought forth Aegon the Unworthy or Aerys the Mad on the Throne. Don't you think we would have been better of with their other relatives?" Daeron countered.

"Maybe… but if good people with good intentions break the rules for good reasons, what is to stop bad people with bad intentions to break them for bad reasons?" His ancestor said.

"I see what you mean." Daeron conceded.

"The laws are your shield Daeron. Whether they are just or fair is subjective, you need them nonetheless." Again, Daeron nodded his approval. It gave him ideas of what laws he would need to implement when he finally sat the Iron Throne.

The dragons finally met! What did you think? We will see Drogon next.
I liked writting the dream with Daemon, I hope you liked reading it.

Next chapter: Daeron meets his good-uncle, some traditions are honoured and we get news from Westeros.

Guest reviews:

- Good guess ;). You'll see, but I cannot tell you when, it won't be soon.
I won't be that drastic with Dany just yet I think, but I see what you mean.
Thank you!

- (Bautista) I wanted to have her around for the North and for Robb.
As you like ^^.