Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! I won't bore you all with my excuses because I know you don't care, but I hope the length of this chapter makes up for it. Thank you again to those of you were kind enough to leave reviews and I hope you all like this new chapter!
Chapter 27: Back on Track
"Incredible," Captain Hornigold breathed, walking around the crate that one of his men was holding. "A real, live dragon. If I wasn't looking at it with mine own eyes, I would never believe it." Maliya tensed as he moved even closer to the crate, bending down to peer at Meraxes, but she needn't have worried. Meraxes let out a defiant screech and flew at the bars of the crate, jaw snapping. Maliya felt a flash of pride as the fearsome pirate captain stumbled back several steps, almost losing his balance and falling flat on his ass. Instead of growing angry or embarrassed, Captain Hornigold let out a bark of dark laughter. "We've got ourselves a feisty one, men!" He crowed triumphantly, looking around with his arms spread wide. "With this one victory, we will make a big enough fortune to split between us for years to come!"
The captain's wicked grin widened as his men cheered and yelled their approval. He waited until they grew silent before speaking again. "Now. For those who surrendered, either peacefully or by force – I am a man of my word and you will be allowed to live. You will all be sold as slaves when we reach Lys. Put them below deck." Varying expressions of horror crossed the faces of the bound prisoners as they were forcibly hauled to their feet and taken across the wooden planks to the pirates' ship. "Whose dragon is it?" He asked, looking towards Asher.
"I believe it's hers, Captain," Asher answered, nodding at Maliya. She shot him a murderous glare which he easily ignored. "She was able to hold it, anyway, and her friends were trying to protect her."
Captain Hornigold nodded once. "Good. Put these two with the others." His men followed his orders immediately, two of them roughly grabbing Dacey and Daemon and shoving them to their feet, haulting them away.
"Wait!" Dacey cried over her shoulder as they both struggled against their captors and their restraints. Maliya let out a surprised yelp as Asher grabbed her arm and lifted her bodily to her feet. "Where are you taking her?" She demanded angrily, still trying to look back at Maliya. "Let go of me – you can't do this, you can't!"
"Be strong," Daemon told her in a loud voice over his shoulder, his blue eyes looking calm despite everything. "Remember who you are."
Maliya watched with a frown as they disappeared through the rain onto the pirate ship. Remember who she was? What did he mean by that?
Targaryen, Martell, Stark… all the names, all the identities swirled around inside her. Didn't he understand that she doesn't know who she is? Who exactly did he want her to be? She was born a Targaryen like her father and her ancestors before her. She was raised as a Martell in Dorne like her mother, but now her home was in the North, with Robb and the rest of the Stark family. So who was she? Was she her past or her future?
"Put her and the dragon in my cabin and wait for me there. I want to see what we've won first," he said to Asher with a greedy glint in his eye.
"Yes, Captain," Asher nodded, bowing his head slightly as the captain passed him and headed across the wooden board to his own ship. Meraxes began screeching loudly again, moving against the bars of the crate and making it difficult for the man holding it. Asher rolled his eyes in exasperation at the man's alarmed and slightly scared expression. "Give it here," he demanded, taking the crate from him in annoyance. "Make yourself useful and go check on the prisoners."
There was a moment where the skinny pirate was scurrying away and Asher was holding her arm loosely with one hand and the other was holding the crate that she could have thrown her body into his and attempt to get away. Not only did she have nowhere to go, however, but she was not going to leave Dacey and Daemon behind. On top of that, she was completely distracted by the fact that Meraxes seemed to calm down slightly when Asher took the crate. What in the Seven Hells? "Let's go," Asher ordered, shoving her forward in front of him. "Move."
Maliya shot him another glare over her shoulder after she stumbled forward, completely off balance with her hands tied behind her back. She walked across the wooden plank and jumped down onto the deck of the pirate ship, discreetly looking around as Asher led her to the captain's cabin. This ship seemed darker, more sinister than The Moonrunner. Maybe it was because of the weather or maybe it was because the pirates on deck gave her these sidelong glances that made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Asher pushed her inside a room that must've been the captain's cabin. She glanced around her as he set Meraxes down on top of a large desk cluttered with various papers and books. An ornate rug covered the wooden floor on one side of the room where there was an actual bed, but other than that there were several other odds and ends – some jewelery, a few figurines, things that looked like small treasures that the captain decided to keep.
Asher kicked one of the chairs to the center of the cabin and put a hand on Maliya's shoulder, roughly pushing her down into it. "Sit. Don't move," he ordered in a careless voice, turning back to the desk and picking up an apple, taking a bite.
Maliya impatiently shook the wet strands of hair off her face, leaning forward. "What are you planning to do with h – the dragon?" She asked, correcting herself quickly, unwilling to give him any information for free.
Asher's slender blonde eyebrow rose at her demanding tone and he looked mildly amused, which only served to piss her off more. "Me? I'm not planning to do anything with it. It's the captain who makes the decisions. Maybe he'll sell it to the highest bidder… or maybe he'll kill it." He seemed to enjoy the look of horror on her face and he shrugged. "Dragons are dangerous killers. Who knows how many lives we would be saving if we killed it now?"
Maliya's eyes landed on Meraxes, on her tiny, perfect white dragon and her stomach turned violently at the thought of them killing her. "You can't!" She protested in a strangled, desperate voice, unconsciously struggling against the ropes wrapped around her wrists. "The dragon is innocent, it hasn't done anything wrong – "
"And how long do you think that will last? I imagine it's appetite will grow as it does, and when it breathes fire – "
Maliya stopped listening, her eyes widening as she quickly tried to swallow the bile rising in her throat. "Bucket," she gasped, knowing the inevitable was about to happen. She had gotten sick so often since they began to sail that she was able to see the signs before it happened.
"What?" Asher frowned in confusion.
"I need a bucket, I'm going to be sick – " It took a second for him to comprehend what she was saying, and then another to look around the cabin and dive for the bucket lying next to the desk. He was too late – only half the contents of her stomach made it into the bucket he shoved against her chest, the rest, unfortunately, ended up on her dress. Asher wrinkled his nose, staring down at her in disgust as Maliya struggled not to wince at the taste in her mouth.
The door to the cabin suddenly burst open and the captain stepped in out of the rain, his frame filling the doorway. His lip curled and his nostrils flared. "What is that horrible stench?"
"The girl got sick," Asher expained waving a hand in her direction.
"Well? Don't just stand there, take care of it. Quickly, before that smell becomes permanent," the captain ordered in annoyance, walking across the room to the table on the other side of the cabin.
Maliya's eyes darted back towards Asher but if he had any reaction to the order he didn't let it show on his face. He took the bucket from Maliya's lap and walked outside. Her eyes flickered back to the captain to see him pouring a liquid that looked to be some sort of ale into a cup. He ignored her completely, taking a large swig and turning to stare at the dragon thoughtfully.
Asher returned to the cabin, carrying a larger bucket than the one he had left with. "Wait – " Maliya tried to cry as Asher turned towards her and brought the bucket back, but it was too late. Maliya gasped and spluttered as she was once again doused from head to toe with cold water. It wasn't the most effective method for washing away the sick on her dress, but it worked for the most part.
Captain Hornigold watched her glare up at Asher with a mildly intrigued look on his face. "Normally when people find their ship is over taken by pirates, they're filled with fear or pleading for their life. You're doing none of those things." Maliya quickly smoothed out her expression, her brain racing. Would the way that she was acting somehow let them know who she really was? Not her name, of course, but her station and privilege? "You don't seem to be be part of the crew, so tell me… who are you? How did you come to be on that ship? And how is it that you have a dragon?"
Maliya clenched her teeth together, wishing more than anything that she had Dacey and Daemon here with her. They would know what to do, what to say – or what not to say. She forced the panic down, trying not to think about the consequences of being captured by pirates, trying not to think about what would happen to them and to Meraxes.
She tried to imagine what her Uncle Oberyn would do if he were in her position. Aside from several undoubtedly snide and sarcastic remarks, he wouldn't give away any important information that they could use against her. And her father… he wouldn't waste any time being scared. He would be thinking ahead, constantly planning, assessing the situation and learning everything that he could about his captors. So her strategy was to try to embody the two men who taught her everything she knew.
"Why don't you start with your name?" Asher prompted when she stayed quiet, sitting in front of them stoically.
Her mind raced, but this question seemed safe enough to answer. "Lusia," she responded after a moment.
"Alright, Lusia," Asher continued, leaning back against the desk and adopting a very casual manner, one that she assumed was supposed to make her feel comfortable. A huge feat considering her hands were bound, she smelled of vomit, they were captives of pirates and her dragon's life was in danger. "What were you doing aboard that ship?"
"My friends and I were traveling to Slaver's Bay to find my brother," Maliya told him, easily falling back on the lie she had created with Dacey and Daemon. "He left a few years ago and his latest letter said he was traveling to Astapor."
"Why would you leave your home to travel to find someone who might be in a foreign city?" Asher asked, frowning and looking unconvinced.
"I'm not sure what you've heard, but war has broken out in Westeros," Maliya told them, her voice grave. She worked hard to make sure her expression was solemn and her eyes sad. "The kingdoms are splintering apart and our village was raided and plundered. My mother was raped and killed," she murmured, casting her eyes down, her voice involuntarily catching as she told a portion of the truth. "She was the only family I had left besides my brother. My home was burned to the ground and I didn't have anywhere else to go."
"And the dragon?" The captain pressed, sounding impatient as he leaned forward slightly.
"I.. found it."
By the looks of disbelief on both of their faces, Maliya knew they heard the small hesitation in her voice, but it honestly didn't matter. She would never be able to think of a good enough reason for why she had a dragon. She doubted they would even believe the truth. If she told them that she found the egg in a secret room behind Cregan Stark's tomb in the crypts of Winterfell, it would sound like a complete lie.
"You found it," the captain repeated slowly, his beady eyes boring into hers. "Stole it, more like." Maliya didn't say anything to contradict him. It didn't matter what he believed, it wouldn't help her situation at all. "Nakario," he barked, making her jump slightly. A young man stepped inside the cabin, looking as though he were trying to steady his nerves. His black hair was cut close to the head, and his brown eyes kept jumping from the captain, to the floor and back again. "Put her with the others."
Maliya's eyes widened, her head snapping back around to look at the captain. "Wait, what about the dragon?" She asked, her voice growing louder as the Nakario bloke headed towards her. "What are you going to do with it?" Her panicked gaze swung from the captain to Asher and she found herself pleading with him, trying to break past the emotionless expresson on her face. "Please!" She cried as Nakario wrapped a hand around her bicep and lifted her to her feet. Meraxes let out a cry to match hers, growing agitated once more in response to Maliya. "You can't hurt her! You can't! She's done nothing wrong, please, you have to promise me – "
"Shut her up," Captain Hornigold growled in annoyance, waving a hand and turning his back on her.
"No!" Maliya screamed, trying to wrench away from the pirate as Asher moved towards her, pulling his sword free. "Please – " She was abruptly cut off as Asher lifted his sword and brought the hilt down on Maliya's temple. Her body went limp as the darkness enveloped her quickly, the sound of Meraxes' angry shrieks ringing in her ears.
Asher sheathed his sword again, crossing his arms and watching as Nakario dragged the girl from the cabin. "She's hiding something," he announced to Red as the cabin door closed. "I don't believe she is who she says she is."
"Obviously," Red drawled as he collapsed in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "But it matters not. She's still going to be sold as a slave and we are still going to sell this dragon to the highest bidder." His eyes landed on the small dragon and it hissed at him furiously, its neck snaking forward and its wings flapping uselessly. Her, Asher reminded himself absently. The girl said that 'she had done nothing wrong.'
"I'd like to question the girl." When Red remained silent and uninterested, he pressed on. "If she stole the dragon, then someone might be looking for them. If she didn't, then she might be someone important and we can hold her for a ransom larger than what we would get at a slave market."
A slow grin was just visible through Red's beard, though it didn't quite touch his eyes. "I've taught you well, boy. When I found you, you were just a dirty, hungry street rat constantly looking for a fight. And now look at you, using every situation to get the biggest prize. Like a true pirate." Asher's fists clenched under his crossed arms, but outwardly he gave no response to his captain's words. He didn't like thinking of the life he was living before Red had found him. Wondering when he would find his next meal, where he would sleep – it wasn't something he wanted to think about, let alone go back to. "Question the girl if you'd like, at least it will keep you occupied until we've reached Lys. Let me know if you find out anything interesting."
"Yes, Captain."
When Maliya slowly crept back into consciousness, the first thing she became aware of was the pounding of her head originating from the lump on her temple. "Unghh," was her pained and muffled groan, her eyes squeezing shut against the pain as she shifted. She went to raise a hand to the lump on her head but the movement was accompanied by an unexpected metallic clanking noise.
She blearily opened her eyes and took stock of her surroundings, the information slowly filtering through her confused brain. The source of the clanking sound was a chain that was nailed into the floor, the other end binding both of her wrists together. She was lying flat on her stomach in a cramped, dark room that smelled strongly of sweat, bodily fluids and something rotten. Her eyes trailed over Jantara and the other crew members from The Adventure, all of which had varying expressions of fear and defeat written across their faces. Dacey and Daemon had moved as close to her as their chains would allow. "Are you alright?" Dacey asked anxiously, eyes worried.
"What happened?" Daemon demanded, looking angry. "Did they hurt you?"
"They asked me questions about where I was going and how I found a dragon," Maliya muttered, carefully sitting up with a wince, her hand going to her head once more and gently probing the lump. "They weren't impressed with my answers."
"And where's…." He trailed off, looking at her expectantly and Maliya heard his unfinished question.
"He has her," Maliya whispered, despair and fear coating her voice. She made to shift further against the wall, chains rattling and sucked in a sharp breath at the intense pain in her stomach. She froze, hardly daring to breathe, waiting with wide eyes.
"What is it?" Dacey demanded quickly, both her and Daemon immediately on alert.
"I – I'm alright," Maliya answered shakily, carefully sitting up again but experiencing no further pain. She had felt a more intense pain like that several moons ago. Quickly taking stock of her body, she came to realize with an overwhelming feeling of relief, that this time there was no warm blood coating the insides of her thighs. Other than the pain in her head, her sore breasts and her conspicuously absent moon's blood… "Oh," she murmured softly, her hand slowly drifting down to cover her stomach, chains clinking. "Oh," she whispered again, a breathtaking smile lifting her lips. An incredible warmth and joy filled her, bubbling in her chest and spreading outwards. An involuntary tear slipped down her cheek and for a second, she forgot where she was and the peril she was in.
Maliya was carrying a child… Robb's child. The timing, of course, couldn't have been worse. She was hundreds of leagues away from her husband and her life was in danger. Anxiety filled her, twisting her insides as fear quickly followed the joy. She didn't want to lose this child the way that she lost the last one. So now, for the first time since she she started this journey, she was questioning whether she made the right decision to find her aunt.
Deep down in the very center of her being, she felt that she was doing the right thing… but what if she was wrong? What if this decision ended not only her life, but Dacey's, Daemon's, her unborn child and her newborn dragon's? She frowned. Hadn't she been the one to tell Robb that he couldn't live by the what ifs when he was trying to keep her safe? Maliya pinched the bridge of her nose, her head pounding with the confusion and uncertainty.
"Who are you?" The voice was loud and demanding and it startled Maliya from her thoughts so badly that she jumped. The three of them looked over to find that it was Jantara that spoke. Her eyes were narrowed in a fierce glare that was directed solely on Maliya. "You obviously lied about who you were to smuggle that damned dragon onto my father's ship. You put us all in danger with your lies and your deceit and now my father is dead along with most of our crew!"
Maliya could practically feel the rage and the grief in Jantara's voice and she flinched, her teeth clenched as a lump formed in her throat. Lies and deceit, Maliya repeated in her head, retreating deep inside herself, horror-stricken, her stomach twisting and churning as if she swallowed several burning snakes. I've done it again! Is this who I've become? Is this all that I am good for? Hurting the innocent people around me?
Dacey spoke up to defend Maliya when she remained silent. "I mean no disrespect, Jantara, and I'm sorry for your losses, but those pirates would have attacked your ship whether or not the dragon was on board."
Maliya felt Daemon glance over at her with concern. "We kept our identities and the dragon a secret for both our protection and yours." He was speaking to Jantara but his voice was firm, as if he wanted Maliya to hear his words as well. "If you had information about what could possibly be the only dragon in existence, then your life could be in danger as well as ours."
"You brought a dragon aboard our ship," Jantara snapped, only growing angrier. "Pirates or not, you still put all our lives in danger. So I'm going to ask you one more time. Who are you?"
"My real name is Rhaenys," she declared in the resulting silence. The name felt odd passing through her lips, but something inside her chest loosened at the words.
She saw both Daemon and Dacey's head snap around to stare at her in shock. "What are you doing?" Daemon hissed under his breath, looking at her as if she were mad.
"I'm tired of hurting the innocent people around me with my secrets," she explained, her voice thick and weary. "First Robb and Tyene and now the crew aboard The Moonrunner. I can't live with the guilt anymore!" She cried, grabbing two fistfuls of hair in agitation and pulling slightly. "It's eating me alive and changing me from the inside out. I don't like the person that I'm becoming," she told Dacey and Daemon, looking up at them with her expression contorted in despair. "I made a promise that I would try to be a better person and I'm already failing."
Dacey's gaze was sympathetic and understanding, but Daemon's still looked somewhat stern. "We need to be smart about this adventure of ours, Lusia," he hesitated slightly over the name, obviously unsure which one he should be using. She bit down hard on her tongue to stop the near hysterical giggle from escaping. "We don't know who we can trust, so we can't be sharing all of our secrets with everyone we come across. It's a fine line to walk, but we can't put ourselves in unnecessary danger." His sky blue eyes blazed into her and she found that she couldn't look away. "What would you do to protect your family?"
Her lower lip trembled. Arianne, Trystane, her father and uncle, the Sand Snakes, Lady Catelyn, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Rickon…Grey Wind, Meraxes, Robb…their unborn child. "Anything," she answered resolutely, the faces of the people she loved floating in her mind's eye, her hand unconsciously sliding down to rest over her stomach once more. She didn't notice Dacey's gaze following the movement, a speculative look in her green eyes. Straightening slightly, she glanced between her two companions. "I may still be trying to figure out who I am, but I think the time for hiding is over." What with her newborn dragon and the death of Maliya Martell, this seemed like the next logical step. "For the first time in over six and ten years, I am officially changing my name back to Rhaenys."
"Are you sure?" Daemon asked in a quiet voice, understanding the gravity of her decision. "This isn't something you can just take back whenever you feel like it."
"I know," she nodded solemnly, taking a deep breath. "It's going to take some getting used to, of course, but at least this is one secret I don't have to keep anymore." She turned to Jantara and the other's next, who were watching them with expressions of apprehension and confusion. Jantara was still glaring at them angrily, however, and it was to her that Rhaenys spoke. "I am sorry for the loss of your father," she told her sincerely, trying to reach through Jantara's rage. "He was a good man and kind. Nothing I say or do will ease the pain that you're feeling right now. But what I can do… I can promise that I will do everything I can to get you and the rest of your crew off of this ship."
Jantara folded her arms, eyebrow raised almost mockingly as the chains rattled loudly in the small room. "And how exactly do you expect to do that?"
"Well, we can't do anything until we reach Lys," Rhaenys mused out loud. "We don't exactly have anywhere to escape to at the moment."
"Which means we have time to think of a plan," Dacey said, looking around their small group with a determined expression. She looked so confident and so sure of her own words that Rhaenys felt reassured. "I'm not sure about everyone else, but I definitely don't want to become a slave. So let's brainstorm. Anyone have any ideas?"
Sleeping on the hard deck of the ship with that miserable smell permeating the air was near impossible. Sighing, her head lolled to the side to see Daemon lying comfortably with his arm behind his head. Mild irritation ran through her when she heard him snoring softly. That bastard could sleep anywhere.
She turned her head to the other side to see that Maliya – Rhaenys, she corrected herself for the hundredth time, was also awake, curled up on her side. It was incredibly difficult to see through the darkness, but Dacey thought she saw her eyes blinking. "Rhaenys?" Dacey whispered quietly. She did not think that she would ever get used to calling the queen by that name. "Are you awake?"
"Yes."
Dacey frowned at the tone of her voice. "Are you alright? You're sure that purple-eyed freak hasn't been hurting you? He's pulled you out of here to interrogate you multiple times now." Each time that the blonde pirate brought her back, it seemed to Dacey that she withdrew further and further into herself. She looked exhausted and Dacey instinctively knew that she was battling the conflict within herself. Dacey couldn't quite relate to what the queen was going through, but she could understand both sides of her battle. She obviously wasn't as affected by Rhaenys' secrets as King Robb had been, but maybe it was because she could be objective that she could understand why the queen did what she did.
Ever since she was brought to Dorne, she had been told being Rhaenys would cause King Robert to find her and kill her and everyone that she loved. Dacey couldn't imagine living with that secret and that fear from the age of three and she could only guess at the damage that would cause. But then, on the other hand, she could also understand Robb's betrayal at Rhaenys' secrets, especially at the cost of the trust that they had built with each other.
Rhaenys reached through the darkness, finding Dacey's hand and patting it reassuringly. "I'm fine, Dacey," she whispered back, giving her hand one last squeeze before pulling her hand back. "Just slightly disappointed, I suppose. I've been trying to learn as much as possible about the pirates and their ship but I haven't been able to get much of anything out of Asher. Nothing seems to phase him. Although…" she trailed off. "There's something about him."
"What do you mean?" Dacey frowned.
"I'm not sure. It's like something that's nagging in the back of my mind everytime I look at him, but I can't quite figure out what it is." She sounded confused and lost for a second, before clearing her throat and continuing on. "Anyway, all he does is ask questions about who I am, where we came from and the dragon. We can make as many different escape plans as we want, but if we can't get out of these chains then there's nothing that we can do. "
"We'll think of something, don't worry." A moment of silence followed her words and Dacey chewed over a question that she had been wanting to ask for a while now. She'd been holding off because of other ears listening to whispered conversations. "Your Grace? Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course. And please, Dacey, just call me R-Rhaenys."
Dacey's lip twitched when she heard her stumble over her own name. "Is that as weird for you to say as it is to hear it?"
"You have no idea," Rhaenys sighed softly. "Hopefully the more often I hear it, the easier it will be to get used to. Was that your question?"
"No." Dacey hesitated again, not wanting to over step her bounds. "Are you… are you with child?"
She waited anxiously for the answer, straining to hear through the darkness. Rhaenys was silent for a long moment. "Yes… I think I am. Robb and I were – we were… intimate before that fight and I haven't had my moon's blood since. With everything going on recently, I just hadn't noticed."
"So what we thought was sickness from the sea was actually sickness caused by the child," Dacey mused out loud, a grin beginning to spread across her face. "But this is wonderful, congratulations! Now the North will have its heir." Dacey clung to this piece of good news, trying to forget for their current predicament for the moment. "How do you feel?"
"Physically, I feel fine," Rhaenys told her, shifting slightly. "Just a little nausea every once in a while. Other than that… I'm happy, of course. Actually, I can't remember the last time I was this happy about anything." Dacey thought she could hear a smile in the other woman's voice. "But then there's also the shock, the excitement, uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. It's all very overwhelming."
Dacey blinked. "That is a lot to be feeling at one time," she agreed quietly. "Maybe – maybe once we reach Lys we should find a way back home instead of to Astapor. If you're carrying the heir, then we we need to keep the child safe – "
"The plan remains the same."
"I was afraid you were going to say that," Dacey sighed.
"Besides this one small snag with the pirates, trying to find my aunt is probably safer than returning to a war ravaged Westeros where the most powerful family is trying to kill me specifically. If we can't find my aunt, then we'll return, Dacey, I promise. We still have some time before we have to go back. Belive me, I have no intention of delivering this baby without my husband by my side."
Rhaenys wearily rolled her head in circle, biting back an irritated sigh. Her hands were once again bound behind her with rope and she was sitting there facing a smirking Asher once more. "Haven't we been through this already?" She asked, exasperated. "You ask me a bunch of questions, I ignore them and then you send me back to that miserable room. It's getting monotonous."
"This will all be over if you would just tell me the truth about who you are," he drawled casually, crossing his arms and slouching back against the desk. "Your answer might save you from eternal slavery."
"Where is my dragon?" Maliya demanded, ignoring him completely. Since she had been separated from Meraxes, there had been an empty hole in her chest that made her feel like a part of herself was missing. It had been filled slightly upon learning about her child, but she knew she wouldn't be complete without her dragon. "Has she been eating? Have you been letting her out of the crate to move around? I want to see her."
"The dragon is fine," Asher told her, waving his hand dismissively. "I would seriously reconsider your silence. It won't be long now until we reach Lys and once we do, there's no escaping the fate awaiting you there." Not long until we reach Lys… they needed to get their plan together, and fast. She filed that piece of information away to tell the others later. "You know, there are ways that I could get you to talk."
"You can't hurt me," she said at once, her heart pounding at the threat, struggling against the ropes as one of Asher's hands drifted to a dagger in his belt. "I'm the only one who can control the dragon, you need me."
"I'm not so sure about that," Asher disagreed with his smirk almost spreading into a pleased grin. Rhaenys' eyebrows furrowed, her head cocked to the side again as she stared at him. What in the Seven Hells was it about him? He seemed almost… familiar, somehow. "The other men are either wary or afraid of your dragon, but I am not. She listens to me the best and will allow only me to feed her." Her eyes narrowed at the flash of jealousy that went through her; she was supposed to be the only one who could control and take care of Meraxes. Why would she allow this man to do it? Just picturing him holding and taking care of Meraxes made her feel incredibly betrayed, her heart twisting painfully. "So really, we don't need you at all."
"I'm with child," Rhaenys blurted without thinking, her eyes widening upon hearing what she said.
Asher cocked an eyebrow, his purple eyes flickering down to her still flat stomach with a doubtful expression on his face. "You don't look it."
"It's still early."
"You would say anything to save your life."
"I would say anything to save my child's life," she argued heatedly. The conviction in her voice was impossible to ignore and she saw the doubt reflected in his unnerving eyes. "Are you willing to have the death of an unborn child on your conscience?"
"Do I have to remind you of your friends that we have in chains right below us?" He asked, quickly switching gears. "Maybe I should bring one of them up here to loosen your tongue. Who would you prefer? The male or the female?"
"Don't you touch them," Rhaenys snapped furiously, the anger abruptly coursing through her body. "They've done nothing wrong, all they've done is try to help me."
"Help you with what?" Rhaenys' mouth snapped shut so quickly that her teeth clicked together. Asher saw the defiance in her eyes and annoyance flashed across his face. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling it back away from his face for a split second and Rhaenys' entire body tensed, shock running through her.
'Your journey will be difficult, Rhaenys, but I have faith in you. It's important to know that you will not make this journey alone. Trust your heart and your instincts and you will go far.' Her father's face, Rhaegar's face, appeared in her mind's eye and she suddenly realized why Asher looked so familiar. With his hair pulled back like that he was the splitting image of Rhaegar Targaryen. His purple eyes were even the same deep violet shade.
It felt like something heavy was pressed against her chest, restricting her ability to breathe. It's not possible… it couldn't be possible… and yet, I shouldn't be alive either. If someone smuggled me out of King's Landing, then why not him?
She struggled to focus through her jumbled and confused thoughts as Asher spoke once more, oblivious to the battle raging on inside her. "We'll start with the woman first," he announced, beginning to head towards the door.
Dacey.
"Wait!" She cried desperately, struggling against her bonds once more. "My name is Rhaenys Targaryen." She waited with bated breath as Asher froze with his hand on the door handle, his shoulders tensed. She knew she was taking an enormous risk, but as far as she could tell, this could go one of two ways. Either Asher had no idea who she was and would use this against her, or her insane gut instinct was right and… well, then she didn't have a clue what would happen. "My parents were Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell," she continued, speaking quickly. "When I was three years of age, my father died, my mother was raped and murdered and my baby brother's head was smashed against a wall - "
"Enough!" Rhaenys jumped and flinched as Asher whirled around, his face contorted, finally showing some emotion other than indifference and amusement. "The Targaryens are dead. Their entire line was wiped out by the Usurper so shut your fucking mouth!"
Rhaenys was unphased by his anger, though her heart did pick up at his words. "The Usurper? Is that what they call him in Lys?" She asked pointedly, tilting her head to the side as she peered up at him.
His lip curled up into a snarl, violet eyes flashing. "Get up," he snapped, grabbing her arm and forcibly hauling her to her feet. "I'll hear no more of your lies."
"Lies?" She panted, half laughing and half gasping as she struggled to keep up with Asher's long legs as he hurried down the stairs. "You wouldn't even believe the irony of that statement. That's the first truth that I've told in a long time."
He shook her violently and her head spun. "I told you to shut up," he scowled. "Move," he ordered the pirate guard standing before their small prison. The guard hurried out of the way at the look on Asher's face as he threw the door open, tossing her inside. Rhaenys landed painfully on her side with a small cry, nearly cracking her head against the floor.
"Watch it!" Daemon shouted angrily. He struggled to reach her but the chains held him firmly in place.
"Chain her back up!" Asher barked over his shoulder as he stormed off. Rhaenys stayed quiet and obedient as the other pirate came into the room, fastening the chains back over her wrists.
"What happened?" Daemon demanded, helping her sit up further.
"Are you alright?" Dacey asked over him, looking significantly down at her stomach with the subtlety of a small explosion.
"I'm fine," she told Dacey firmly, narrowing her eyes at her. "I finally found out something useful. He said it won't be long now until we reach Lys. We need to finalize our plan if we have any chance of escaping."
"We can't do anything until we figure out a way to get rid of these chains," Dacey said, holding her hands up and shaking them so the chains rattled loudly.
"That guard out there keeps a key in his right pants pocket." The three of them turned to look at Jantara, who was hunched back against the opposite wall, still looking sullen and angry. She hadn't spoken much since they've been captured, just listened to their attempts at making an escape plan and pointing out flaws here and there. "What? I saw him put it in there when he took Lusi – Rhaenys out of here."
"Do you think you could get it off him the next time that purple eyed freak pulls you out of here?" Daemon asked.
"Careful with that," Rhaenys warned half-heartedly. "But yes, I think I would be able to get the key." If Asher ever came to get her , if he thought she was lying, he might not. "Alright, so I get the key and we take these chains off. That pirate only has one weapon on him. So what do we do next?" She asked, looking around the room. "And how do we get Meraxes back when we don't know where she is?"
It was two full days before Asher sent for her again. She had begun to think that they would reach Lys and have to escape before she saw him again. The past two days had been absolute torture for her and she had just begun to doubt her instincts.
Now, she was sitting in that damned chair again, her hands tied. Asher was pacing back and forth across the room, extremely agitated. He'd barely looked at her let alone spoken a word to her since she'd sat down ten minutes ago. She wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling – she wanted to know what he was planning to do next. But he was the one who brought her here so she was going to wait for him to speak first.
"Who are you?" He asked, finally turning to look at her, pushing back the silver blonde hair that fell across his forehead and into his eyes. "The truth, this time."
Brown eyes met violet. "My name is Rhaenys Targaryen. My parents were Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell. When I was three – "
"The truth!" He interrupted with frustration, hands clenching into fists.
"My name is Rhaenys Targaryen and my parents were – "
"Stop it!" He roared, causing her to flinch back as he took a step forward, glaring. "I already told you, the Targaryen line died during the Rebellion."
Rhaenys unconsciously leaned toward him even in the face of his terrible anger. "The Targaryen line lives on," she insisted passionately, trying to convince him of the truth. "Listen to me. The body that they found, that wasn't me. Someone smuggled me out of King's Landing and brought me to Dorne, to my uncles. I had to take a different name, assume a new identity. I was raised there, under the nose of the Usurper." She still saw the doubt on his face and she sat back with a huff. "If I wasn't a Targaryen, then how do you explain how that dragon hatched for me? Nobody can truly steal a dragon, no matter how small it is, they would have no control over it. So that got me thinking. Why would my dragon take to you so quickly when it was weeks before it took to my friends? Then there's the fact that besides the hair and the scar across your eye, you are the spitting image of Rhaegar Targaryen." She shook back her hair from her face with an annoyed twitch of her head. "Now it's my turn to ask. Who are you?"
His head shook back and forth in denial, taking several steps back with his eyebrows furrowed. "It's not possible," he muttered frantically, a tinge of anger still in his voice. "I was led to believe that they were all gone, that I was the only one left – "
"Who are you?" Rhaenys repeated, raising her voice above his ramblings. Her own fists were clenched so tightly that her fingernails were biting into her skin. Her entire body felt as if it were vibrating with energy, the adrenaline pumping through her veins and making her heart break into a sprint. There was a fist sized knot in her throat and when she spoke, her voice sounded strangled. "Say it. I need to hear you say it."
"Aegon," he finally admitted. "My name is Aegon Targaryen."
The floor dipped beneath her and her breath left her in a gasp. Part of her had been expecting to hear those words, had wanted to hear them, but it still seemed so unbelievable. "Aegon. Seven hells," she breathed. Her little brother was alive and somehow, miraculously, they had found each other. Although if she had ever envisioned this moment before, he certainly wouldn't have looked like the young man standing before her. With that scar over his eye, that tooth earring hanging from his ear and the black dragon tattoo, he looked more like an intimidating pirate than her baby brother. "How - how did you escape King's Landing? Where have you been all these years? And how did you become…"
"A pirate?" He finished wryly, that smirk returning for a moment before it disappeared. "I don't remember how I was smuggled out of King's Landing, obviously. My first memory was in Pentos, where I was raised by a man called Jon Connington. He was my – our, I guess," He corrected, looking confused and slightly lost. "Father's friend. The world believed he had drunk himself to death, but we still moved often so the Usurper would never find us. During my tenth year, from what I could understand, Connington's past caught up to him. Several men from the Golden Company must have recognized him and in the battle he died. I fled and for several moons I lived in the streets until I was found by Red – by Captain Hornigold. He saved my life." He fell silent again and in the silence, his purple eyes found hers again. "I have traveled the world. I've seen both beautiful and terrible things, met all kinds of different people… but how is it that you happened to be on the ship that we attacked?"
"I don't know," Rhaenys murmured, shrugging her shoulders as best she could with her arms tied behind her back. "It's almost like it was fate. Like we were brought together for a reason."
"And what reason would that be?"
"Before your ship attacked us, my friends and I were on our way to find our Aunt Daenerys," she told him, belatedly wondering if she was doing the right thing. He may somehow be her brother, but she didn't know him – he was a virtual stranger to her. Then again the dream or vision of her father had told her to trust her heart and her instincts. Wasn't that what she had been doing since she decided to find her aunt? "Maybe you're supposed to come with us. Maybe you're supposed to put your pirate life behind you and help put our family back together."
"I have an aunt?" Aegon questioned faintly, looking overwhelmed.
"With three dragons of her own," Rhaenys added helpfully, wondering if his mind was reeling as much as hers was.
"This is all so fucked up!" Aegon abruptly yelled, becoming angry and pacing once more. Rhaenys jumped again, frowning when she realized how upset he was. "I have a good thing here, I like my life. I'm the captain's right hand man, the crew respects me and my life is full of excitement and adventure. And now you come along. How am I supposed to live with myself if I knowingly sell my sister into slavery?"
There was so much wrong with that question that Rhaenys didn't even know where to begin. Though she was glad to see that there was some morality behind that pirate exterior. "Listen, I've been where you are, I know what it's been like – "
"No, you don't," Aegon disagreed shortly, sounding bitter. "If you were taken to the Martells in Dorne, then you were raised as a princess, whereas I was shipped halfway across the world, never settling in one place for too long. We were always looking over our shoulder, always running. Do you know what it's like to never make any real friends? To watch the man who was supposed to protect you die in your arms? To have to nowhere to live or to have to steal and beg for whatever scraps of food you can get?"
Rhaenys' heart broke hearing the pain and the fury in his voice. "You're right," she said softly. "I can't even imagine what you've been through and I'm sorry that you had to do it all at such a young age. None of this should have ever happened. We should have grown up together, we should have been raised by our own parents. We shouldn't have had to deal with everything that we've been through. But that life was stolen from us," she spat, speaking fervently now that she had Aegon's undivided attention. "That's part of the reason I'm heading to the other side of the world to find our aunt – to put our family back together and to hopefully gain an ally that will help us get justice for the people who destroyed us." Aegon was now looking at the floor, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. When he remained silent, she continued on. "I know more than anyone how confusing it is to have two different identities battling inside you, never truly knowing who you really are. Asher was a name you created to protect yourself but it's also been your identity for the past several years and it's helped shaped who you are today. Listen, my entire life I've thought you were dead. I used to imagine what kind of person you would have been, what kind of man you would have become - " She broke off, her throat closing up as her eyes welled with tears. "I don't know you. I don't know what kinds of things you had to do to survive. But I don't care. All I care about is the fact that you're my brother and I don't want to lose this chance to get to know you."
"What are you saying?" He whispered, watching her once more.
"I have no intention of losing my friends and my dragon and I bloody hell am not giving birth as a slave," she told him heatedly. "We're planning to escape this ship when we reach Lys and I want you to come with us."
"Why are you telling me this?" Aegon asked, crossing his arms with a serious expression. "I just told you I was the captain's right hand man. One word from me and your escape plan is useless."
"It's a risk," Rhaenys agreed, nodding and sending up a quick prayer that her instincts were right. "A huge risk. But I wasn't telling Asher the Pirate. I was talking to my brother Aegon, someone who I hope will want to get to know me as much as I want to get to know him."
She finally stopped speaking, waiting for his next words with baited breath. She had said everything that she could think of to say in order to get him to leave with her and now the decision rested with him. It seemed like ages passed before he finally spoke. "I'll help you escape, but I'm not coming with you."
Disappointment flooded her, her heart sinking all the way passed her stomach and down to her toes. This was wrong. How was she supposed to leave him behind when she had just found him again? Embarrassingly, tears began to fill her eyes. "But Aegon, if the captain finds out we escaped and that you helped us, your life could be in danger! He doesn't seem like a very forgiving man – "
"He's not, which is why he won't find out," Aegon responded, his face turning blank as he straightened and helped her stand once more. "We reach Lys the day after tomorrow. Make sure you're ready."
"Please think about what I've said," Rhaenys pleaded, once more jogging along to keep up with Aegon as her brought her back to their small prison. "We're family, Aeg – Asher," she corrected in a hushed voice. "We should be togeth – "
"Be quiet," he hissed as another pirate approached them. "You have no idea what you're asking. Just be ready."
Aegon didn't sleep more than an hour the night before and he was beginning to feel the exhaustion seeping through him. Part of him wished that he had never insisted on trying to figure out who the girl with the dragon was. If he hadn't, then he wouldn't have to worry about risking his life trying to make escape plans. But on the other hand, he wouldn't have known the girl was actually, somehow, his sister.
For so long he had thought that he was alone. When he was living with Jon, their relationship was more like a teacher and his mentor than like a father and his son. Day in and day out was spent learning how to rule, since before he could even walk. He learned how to fight, read and write, fish, cook, anything that Jon could think of, he taught Aegon. It wasn't much of a childhood at all, so when Jon died, Aegon was on his own, but he was also free to do what he liked.
That's probably why he liked being a pirate so much – it was completely different to what his life was like before the age of ten.
And now… now he had family several feet below him. It was incredibly bizarre and so unexpected that part of him still couldn't believe it. Yet he couldn't deny the proof that her dragon brought. From what he understood from his travels, only descendents with the blood of Old Valyria could hatch a dragon egg and their Targaryen line was directly descended from the first King Aegon.
Rhaenys was alive. Gods, no matter how many times he said it, it still didn't feel real.
Taking a deep breath, Aegon headed into the room that the crew shared, pushing his way through both men and hammocks. He grinned at the men as they greeted him and clapped him on the back. "What do ya have there, Asher?" One of them called out, eyeing the cask tucked under Asher's arm.
"Rum!" Another cried hopefully.
"A celebration!" Asher shouted, raising one arm in the air and grinning as the others cheered loudly around him, stomping their feet. "We are one day away from becoming the richest pirates to ever sail any of the seas!" More cheering and shouting. Aegon set the cask on one of the boxes and mugs were quickly passed around to everyone. "To our fearsome captain and the best crew a pirate could ask for! There's no one else that I would rather fight and plunder beside."
"Hear, hear!" The pirates responded, raising their mugs and drinking. Several pirates began to drum out a beat on some of the nearby boxes, and then an off-key song quickly followed. Aegon stayed for a while, nursing his one mug of rum and mingling with the others so that he was seen by others. It was the perfect plan. The crew would be too distracted by the rum to notice what was going on below them and too drunk to recall when he left the celebrations.
When his crew was sufficiently drunk, carefree and laughing loudly, he slipped out the doors again and headed towards where they were keeping the prisoners. He stopped in his cabin, picking up the prisoners' bags from where he had stashed them earlier. Luckily he didn't come across anyone roaming around, but he still proceeded cautiously to be safe. He peered around the corner to see that it was Nakario who was standing guard tonight. Pulling out his dagger, he moved quickly, leaping forward before Nakario could turn towards him and smashing the hilt down on his temple and watching as he collapsed at his feet. "Sorry, mate."
Heart pounding with anxeity, Asher fished around in Nakario's pockets for the key. He threw open the door, dragging the other pirate inside and shutting it behind him. Seven heads turned towards him as he entered, but his eyes focused only on his sister and the job he had to do. "Here," he said, tossing her the key. "We need to move quickly."
"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" Aegon heard the male ask her in a hushed voice.
"He's my brother, Daemon."
"Yes, I know, you keep saying that as if it's a reason to trust him. But you don't know him. What if this is some kind of trap?"
"If it gets us out of here, it's a risk I'm willing to take," Rhaenys responded briskly. "I want my dragon back and I would rather die than become a slave. Now come on, help me free the others."
While Rhaenys and her friends freed the others from their chains, Aegon dragged Nakario into the corner of the room, and chained him up, gagging him with a piece of cloth for good measure so the other men wouldn't hear him yelling. "I believe I was able to grab all your things," Asher said in a distracted voice, placing the bags in the middle of the room and ignoring the death glare that the Summer Islander woman was sending his way as she grabbed her bow and arrow. They picked up up their bags and slung them across their shoulders, buckling on various weapons. Their small group needed to move as quickly as possible if he was going to get them off this ship without being detected. "The rowboat is already prepped for when we reach Lys tomorrow. I snuck some sleeping draught to the man who's on watch in the crow's nest so the only person we need to take care of is the helmsman. Do you think you can handle that?" He asked, looking to Rhaenys' two companions and they nodded. "Rhaenys and I will grab the dragon from the captain's cabin and meet you at the boat."
Rhaenys buckled some sort of belt around her waist, slipping two daggers into the back of it. He cocked an eyebrow as he watched her. Did she even know how to use those? "And where is the captain?" She asked, looking over at him while throwing a cloak over her shoulders.
"He's down in the cargo hold cataloging the goods before we sell them tomorrow. Come on, we need to move. I'll go first just incase we run into some of the crew, you all follow behind me."
Moving slowly and carefully, Aegon opened the door and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear. He stepped outside, Rhaenys, the Moonrunner crew members and Rhaenys' two companions following behind him. Aegon led them up the steep stairs to the level above, where the sounds of the rest of the crew singing and celebrating loudly could be heard. "Did you have something to do with that?" Rhaenys asked in a hushed voice.
"It's the easiest way to distract the men," he responded. Putting a finger to his lips, he crept up the final set of stairs leading to the main deck, looking around. Fortunately for them. the moon was hiding behind the clouds so they had the cover of darkness. "Rhaenys, with me. You two go to the quarterdeck and take out the helmsman. The rest of you wait until the coast is clear before heading for the boat. We don't want the alarm to be raised."
"Wait," Rhaenys' female friend suddenly hissed, grabbing the sleeve of her cloak. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Do you want one of us to go with you?"
A significant, unspoken look passed between the two women, one that had the male friend looking between them in confusion. Aegon ignored his mild curiosity and checked the main deck again in agitation. They did not have time for this. Didn't they understand that he was risking his life by helping them escape?
"I'm fine, Dacey, just do what Aegon says and we'll meet you at the boat. Alright?" The woman named Dacey nodded reluctantly and Aegon ushered Rhaenys up the steps with him, a hand on her back.
Rhaenys followed quietly behind him as he crouched low and hugged the side of the ship, staying out of the open so the helmsman wouldn't see them. They paused in front of the door to the cabin and Aegon glanced behind him, a finger raised to his lips. "Wait here, let me make sure there's no one inside," he breathed, slipping a dagger out of the side of his belt. She quickly followed suit and nodded.
Hiding the dagger behind his back, he casually opened the door and strode inside, his eyes darting all around the room to make sure it was empty. He gestured for Rhaenys to follow him in and the dragon let out what Aegon could only describe as a delighted cry. Smiling widely, Rhaenys pushed past him and rushed over to the small white dragon. "Meraxes," she murmured happily, pushing a hand through the bars. "I am so sorry that you've been stuck in that crate all this time. I promise, after this I will never lock you up again!"
The dragon, Meraxes, nuzzled her small head into Rhaenys' hand a low growling in her throat that Aegon thought sounded a bit like purring. "Hate to break up this reunion but we need to meet the others at the boat. Make sure she stays quiet or all of this has been for nothing."
"Did you hear that?" Rhaenys murmured, bending down until her brown eyes were level with the dragon's golden ones. "You need to stay quiet. Lyka, Merakses."
The dragon blinked up at her. "Was that Valyrian? Did she understand you?" Aegon asked curiously, momentarily forgetting the urgency of the situation.
"No idea," Rhaenys responsed breezily, shrugging a shoulder. "Let's find out." She put her dagger away and carefully picked up the crate with two hands. She had just started turning toward him when Aegon heard what sounded like footsteps approaching the cabin. He acted immediately and on instinct, striding three steps across the cabin, grabbing Rhaenys with one hand and pressing his dagger to her throat with the other.
"What are you doing?" She hissed in fear and confusion, struggling against him. He ignored her, tightening his hold as the door was flung open and Red strode in.
He stopped short when he saw them in his cabin and his expression turned into that familiar anger. "What in the hells is going on here?" He demanded, his black eyes finding Aegon.
"I caught her trying to steal the dragon, Captain," Aegon responded, straightening his shoulders and carefully keeping his face blank so that he wouldn't give his lie away.
"How did she get out?" He thundered, his dark eyes flashing and his voice deepening. Aegon forced away the childhood flashbacks of when Red used to take out his anger on him, not acknowledging the smallest of shivers that ran down his spine.
"I don't know," Aegon lied again. "I was coming to you to find out our plans for the dragon tomorrow when I found her in here."
The captain made an angry noise in the back of his throat, prying the dragon's crate from Rhaenys hands and setting it back on the desk. "Oh, shut the fuck up," the captain snapped at the dragon's cry of displeasure. "I swear, I'll never be so happy to sell anything in my entire life. This fucking dragon doesn't ever shut up, I haven't slept in days."
"That's because she doesn't belong with you," Rhaenys growled, struggling against Aegon once more so fiercely that the point of his dagger dug into her neck slightly, drawing blood. Aegon inwardly cursed, trying to hold onto her and not slit her throat at the same time.
Red took a step forward, backhanding her across the face and making her head snap to the side. Anger filtered through Aegon as he watched her wipe the blood off her lip with the back of her hand. "The dragon does not belong to you either, not anymore. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will adjust to your new life as a slave."
"Never," Rhaenys vowed.
A slow, empty grin spread across Red's face, one that was even more terrifying than his anger. "Perhaps I'll just kill you," he declared with a shrug, slowly pulling his sword free. "With the dragon, the other prisoners and all the goods we won, the amount I would get for you is hardly worth the trouble you cause. How would you like to die? Decapitation?" He asked softly, seeming to savor the moment as his sword flicked up with her neck. Aegon felt Rhaenys' freeze against him and he clenched his teeth. "A clean stab through the heart?" The sword point moved down to her chest. "Or how about through the stomach?"
"No," she breathed, shrinking back against him as the sword moved down to point at her stomach. "Please," she whispered, her voice twisted with fear. A hand covered her stomach protectively and he could feel her trembling against him. It was such an abrupt change from the aggressive defiance that she was just showing that Aegon frowned at the back of her head in bewilderment. And then he remembered Rhaenys telling him that she was with child. At the time, he had assumed she was saying anything she could to save herself and her friends, but the fear that he could feel coming off her body was real.
Red's grin only widened at the terror on her face and Aegon instinctively felt his body tense, his heartrate picking up at the look on his captain's face. He could feel the situation building and knew that something was going to happen soon.
He felt like his very soul was being torn in two. Red had given him food when he was starving and a place to live. He had taught him how to fight and survive in a cruel and unfair world. Red had saved his life and he owed him so much.
On the other hand there was Rhaenys, the sister that he had thought was dead, and apparently an unborn niece or nephew. They represented the family that he had never gotten the chance to know and a whole different set of responsibilities that he wanted no part of. His life was simple – sure there were hard days at sea when their hunt took longer than expected, but those were also days where he got to enjoy being out on the open waters drinking with his men. There were women with no ties when they made port and the thrill of the adventure when they set their sights on an unsuspecting ship.
Family…. Family was messy.
"A slow and painful death it is," Red promised. He brought his sword back and made to stab her stomach but Aegon found himself instinctively pushing Rhaenys out of harms way, his dagger clashing with Red's sword to halt it's progress. Shock filtered through Red's expression, his black eyes widening. "What do you think you're doing?"
I don't know, Aegon's mind responded as he used Red's shock to his advantage, shoving his sword arm to the side and raising a leg to kick him in the chest.
Red stumbled back several steps before he caught his balance. "I've given you everything," he thundered in his deep voice, black eyes flashing. He drew himself up to his fullest height, his imposing presence seeming to fill the entire cabin. "I fed you. I clothed you. I taught you everything I know and trusted you as my second in command. And now you think you can betray me, boy?" He laughed, a deep, unamused laugh. "You'll die for this."
"You always did talk too much," Aegon smirked, taunting him. With a roar that seemed to shake the room, Red rushed at him, sword raised. Aegon moved quickly, pulling his own sword out of his sheath in time for their blades to connect. He was dimly aware of Rhaenys scrambling out of the way as the sound of steel clashing filled the cabin, their swords flashing quickly. Red came at him with the brute strength that he was known for and Aegon cursed, gritting his teeth. The cabin was small and cramped and he was finding it difficult to fully swing his sword.
He managed to block the first three blows, duck under the fourth, but when he went to sidestep the fifth thrust, he slammed his leg into the desk, rattling the dragon's crate and making her shriek. Red grinned as he drew first blood, his sword slicing Aegon's left bicep and making him hiss in pain. The burning of his arm and the feeling of the warm blood flowing freely only increased his anger and his drive to win. He surprised Red by lunging forward and going on the offensive.
He constantly changed his moves, teeth bared. He swung at his head, thrust at his chest, faked a blow with the sword and successfully stabbed his side with the dagger. Red roared with pain and Aegon was forced to release the dagger and skip backwards as he swung wildly at him. Red pulled the dagger out with a grunt, and sent it flying towards him. Aegon quickly ducked and before he knew it Red was standing in front of him, knocking his sword out of his hand and grabbing his throat.
He choked and gasped for breath, eyes wide as he stared up at his captain's still ginning face. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Red pull back his sword arm and he desperately grabbed his wrist to stop the blade from impaling him. He was using all his strength, but with the lack of oxygen filtering into his body, both he and Red knew he was fighting a losing battle.
"No!" Rhaenys cried in despair. She launched herself at Red, plunging her own daggers into his back. Aegon used Red's scream to his advantage, wrenching his sword arm to the side and sending him staggering back. Coughing and greedily gasping for air, Aegon crouched low to the floor, the world coming back into focus. He scrambled for his own sword as Red shoved Rhaenys off him, sending her crashing into the wall.
Red staggered again and swayed, bracing himself against the desk. He collapsed to his knees as Aegon rose to his feet, his eyes noticing the blood soaking through his shirt from the three stabs wounds they had inflicted. Panting, his eyes filled with pain, he looked up at Aegon. "Why?" He growled in a voice tinged with agony, anger and confusion.
"Because," Aegon began, walking towards him, sword in hand. He shoved away any guilt, hardening his heart to do what needed to be done. "She's my sister." And with that, he thrust his sword through his captain's heart. He watched as the light faded from his eyes, a gurgling sound escaping from his throat as he collapsed back on the floor and took his last breath.
"Aegon?" Blinking, he looked down to see Rhaenys lighly touching his arm, looking up at him with concern. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," he answered, dimly realizing how empty and wooden his voice sounded.
He knew Rhaenys didn't quite believe him, but she didn't press any further. With a hard look on her face, she pulled her daggers from Red's back, cleaning them off before slipping them back in the holster in her belt. She retrieved Aegon's dagger and he mechanically followed suit while she picked up the dragon's crate. "Come on, we need to go," she murmured softly, grabbing his hand and gently pulling him to the door. When he resisted and stayed where he was, she turned to him with a stern look on her face. "Look at me, Aegon." Frowning, unable to think properly, he did as she asked. "You have just killed your captain. I'm sorry for your loss, I really am. I know how much he must have meant to you. But there's no way you can stay now, your crew will kill you for this. You have to come with us."
"I can't, I – "
"You're my brother and I am not letting you die." Aegon recognized the familiar, stubborn look in her eyes and realized that she wasn't going to give up. His eyes found Red's body again and deep down he knew that his life as a pirate was over. He may be hesitant to go with Rhaenys but he definitely didn't want to die for his betrayal. A sigh of relief left her when he finally nodded and she smiled up at him, taking his hand once more.
He let her lead him out of the cabin and once they were outside they broke into a run. A glance up at the quarterdeck showed the helmsman's body lying on the floor so at least that part of the plan had gone off without a hitch. They approached the part of the ship where the rowboat was prepared and saw Daemon and the Summer Islander woman waiting.
"Rhaenys!" Daemon called, the tension practically leaving his body at the sight of her. "Thank the Gods." His bloodied sword was still in his hand, but he was careful as he pulled Rhaenys into quick hug. "And Mera!" He stuck his fingers into the bars of the dragon's crate and grinned when she halfheartedly nipped at him. "It's good to see you too," he chuckled, pulling his fingers to safety. "Come on. We lowered the boat into the water and Dacey took the others down already, they're waiting for us."
"What is he doing here?" The woman snapped. In one fluid movement she notched and drew her golden bow and aimed it at Aegon. "He's a pirate, he's not coming with us."
"Stop!" Rhaenys hastily said, quickly stepping between himself and the arrow. Everybody froze and the tension between the four of them increased tenfold. The dragon shuffled her wings restlessly, snaking her head forward at the potential threat and letting out a warning hiss. "You can't kill him, he's helping us escape – "
"He killed people I care about, people that I thought of as family," the woman snapped, hatred etched across her face. "His captain killed my father – "
"Captain Hornigold is dead!" Rhaenys interrupted heatedly, effectively shutting her up. "Aegon just killed him to save me and help us escape. Please, Jantara," she murmured softly. Aegon stared at the back of her head, surprised by the amount of emotion in her voice. She barely knew him – why was she continually risking her life for him? "He's my brother. I can't lose him…. Not again."
Jantara's eyes narrowed at her and for a long moment Aegon thought she was going to release the arrow anyway. Still glaring furiously, she reluctantly lowered her bow. "Fine. But if I sense even one hint of a betrayal from him, I'm going to kill him."
"Agreed," Rhaenys nodded, sending Aegon a pointed look over her shoulder that clearly told him not to cause any trouble. "Now, let's get out of here before we're caught."
Rhaenys and Jantara carefully but quickly climbed down the rope ladder over the side of the ship to the rowboat gently bobbing on the water. Aegon and Daemon tied another rope to the dragon's crate and slowly lowered her down to Rhaenys. When Aegon made to follow them, however, Daemon gripped his arm tightly.
When he looked over at the other man, he found himself staring into a pair of hardened blue eyes. "I know you're supposedly her brother, but if you do anything to hurt Rhaenys or endanger her life, Jantara's not the only one that you're going to have to worry about. Understand?"
"Perfectly," Aegon answered with a smirk, ripping his arm out of Daemon's grip and climbing down the ladder.
When he reached the bottom, he squeezed himself next to his sister who was currently being pulled into a tight hug by Dacey. "Oh, Your Grace, I'm so glad you're safe."
"I'm alright, Dacey," Rhaenys answered patiently, patting her on the back. "But I would be dead if it weren't for Aegon. He saved my life."
Dacey pulled back, sending him a wide smile. "Thank you."
"Right," Aegon responded slowly, feeling uncomfortable. Raising an eyebrow, he turned to Rhaenys. "Your Grace?" He repeated questioningly.
"Did I forget to mention that I'm a queen back in Westeros?" Rhaenys answered breezily, shrugging a shoulder.
"A queen?" He repeated again, feeling completely bewildered. "How – "
"Well, I suppose technically Rhaenys Targaryen is dead," she amended, waving a hand. "It was Maliya Martell that became a queen, the name I had taken when I was brought to Dorne. Although… now she's supposedly dead too," she finished, looking slightly confused with the logistics herself.
"I don't understand," Aegon confessed, shaking his head.
"Don't worry, we have time to get to know each other now," Rhaenys smiled, patting his hand. She looked up as Daemon made his way down the ladder and yelped, gripping the boat when Daemon's weight sent it rocking. He sent Aegon another long look and moved behind them, picking up a pair of oars and beginning to row them away from the ship.
Aegon watched as the ship that had been his home for the past seven years faded into the night. So many different emotions were filtering through him, tearing him apart on the inside. This wasn't what he had planned, this wasn't what was supposed to happen. It was true that Red was a hard, unforgiving man, but he was also the closest thing to a father that Aegon had. Now he was dead and the blood was on his hands.
He glanced over across the boat. Jantara was still glaring at him distrustfully, but she didn't break his gaze when he caught her. The other crew members were huddled together, keeping wary eyes on him and the dragon.
"There you go, Meraxes," he heard Rhaenys mutter, looking over to see her opening the crate. The small white dragon practically fled the cage with an exhultant cry, making the crewmembers jump and gasp. Rhaenys laughed lightly when she eagerly climbed up her arm to perch on her shoulder, stretching her wings to her full capacity. "That's better, isn't it?"
"How far is Lys?" Daemon asked from behind them.
"Keep going in this direction and we should reach it by morning. Before that, with some help," Aegon answered, reaching under the seats and pulling out two more pair of oars.
Jantara held out her hand for a pair oars. "This will help stop me from killing you," she explained in a short voice and Aegon nodded, giving her one pair while he took the other.
"Meraxes?" Rhaenys said in a confused voice as the dragon began beating her wings up and down, clipping the side of his head with one. They all watched with awe as the dragon took flight for the first time. Her wings weren't entirely steady at first and she wobbled more than once, making Rhaenys tense. "Oh," she breathed, her eyes following her dragon as she gained more confidence and began to soar around, letting out a happy shriek. Aegon noticed a tear slipping down her cheek even though her smile was widening. "It makes you wonder, doesn't it? How can so many bad things happen in a world where something so beautiful and amazing as this happens?"
There was no answer to that question and she knew it.
"I hate to end this beautiful moment, but what is your plan exactly?" Aegon questioned, his eyes still on Meraxes. How many people other than the ones sitting in this boat have seen a real dragon fly? "How are we finding this aunt of ours when we reach Lys?"
"I suppose we'll need to find another ship," Rhaenys frowned, glancing over at Jantara. "Any chance you'd be able to help us out with this?" She asked hopefully.
Jantara stared at her for a long moment while she rowed, debating. "Only because you helped us escape," she finally responded. "There's a Lyseni captain that owes my father and I a favor. But – " she said quickly, interrupting the grateful look that was beginning to spread across Rhaenys' face. "Only if there's full disclosure. You must tell him about the dragon and who you are and even then he still has the right to refuse to allow you on his ship."
"I understand," Rhaenys answered, nodding solemnly. "Thank you, Jantara. You know, you are more than welcome to come with – "
"No," Jantara said quickly, looking slightly apologetic as Rhaenys blinked in surprise. "Thank you for the offer. But my people and I need to go home. We have families to inform of the death of their loved ones."
"Of course," Rhaenys said, bowing her head slightly. One of Jantara's crew members pulled her into a conversation and Rhaenys used to the distraction to look up at Meraxes again.
"Rhaenys? Are you alright?" Dacey asked, frowning at the strange look on her queen's face.
"Something amazing came out of being captured by pirates," Rhaenys smiled, looking over at Aegon. He shifted uncomfortably at the happiness shining from her eyes as another tear slipped from her cheek. She was accepting the fact that they were siblings much easier than he was. "Meraxes has learned how to fly. I've learned that I'm with child, and I found my baby brother," she murmured, clasping her hand in his. "And now I'm once again on my way to find my aunt. I'm putting my family back together, Dacey. There are few things that feel better than this."
Author's Note: So this chapter reached 20,000 words before I realized that I had to cut it in half. I am glad most of you liked the twist with the pirates and I hope you liked how I wrapped it up!
Lots of revelations in this chapter :) Rhaenys is now officially Rhaenys from now on (you have no idea how many times I typed Maliya when writing this chapter), she's pregnant with baby Stark (finally!) and Asher is really Aegon in disguise! Kudos to those of you that guessed that. Now they are officially on their way to Dany with no more obstacles getting in the way. Promise!
Time for you guys to start suggesting baby names! I know what the gender's going to be and I have an idea on a name, but I'd like to hear all your suggestions in case your idea is better. Please keep in mind the history between the Targaryens/Martells and the Starks.
**Just a quick note – we're still on season three. As for Dany's, I'm going to speed her timeline up a bit because we all know how she acquires the Unsullied and the sellswords. This way I'll be able to focus more on the dynamic between Rhaenys, Aegon and Dany.
Anonymous - Thank you! I really did like your guess, but I figured the pirates would want to sell the slaves and the dragon as quickly as possible and Lys is closer than Astapor. Thanks for reviewing.
RevanKnight25 - Thanks so much!
Guest - I'm so happy you liked the twist with the pirates and good call with Aegon! What are the odds indeed? Almost like it was fate...
Cgv - Here's the next chapter! Hope you like this one too.