LUKE

Luke dreamt a forgotten dream.

The cinders crackled in Driftmark's skies as the scent of salt filled the sleeping halls. Luke rose from his bed to find Jace and Joff standing before him. Jace's brown eyes were as cold as ice, and Joff stank of dragon droppings. The putrid scent mixed with the wretched salt, and the statues of the room began to spin.

"This is early," Luke said, his words quiet.

"Aemond attacked Joff," Jace stuck out the hilt of a wooden sword towards Luke,"He must pay."

Luke tooked the sword, and the dragon statues roared and came to life, filling his heart with fire as smoke danced across an open sky. The sky was the colour of blood, and the sky was a golden shimmer in that river of red. Until a grey shadow descended from the sky, and Luke gripped his wooden sword as a roar tore the sky asunder. Luke took one hand off his sword and checked his belt for the steel dirk there. It was there, and he put his hand back on his sword.

The grey dragon landed with a great roar, but Luke knew that he must not have fear. Aemond must pay. His sniveling uncle was off his dragon, his boots ringing on the stones of High Tide like thunder. And Luke ran forward, screaming.

Aemond wrenched Luke's sword away, and lifted his fist. When it fell on Luke's nose, he saw the blood flow below in a sea of red. Yet all he felt in his nose was a numb emptiness. All he heard was a numb emptiness, as Luke tried to crawl away.

The crack of the wooden sword on Jace's head pierced that emptiness, and soon after Luke heard Aemond's laugh: "I thought the Strongs would possess more strength." Jace flew at Aemond, but Aemond only laughed as he caught Jace's arm and threw him on the ground. His punches rose and fell. Rose and fell. Rose and fell. And Luke drew his dirk, and ran forward, screaming again.

He knew what to do. He remembered. He slashed at Aemond's face. Yet when the knife touched Aemond's right eye, Luke felt as though a blade cut bloody across his own. Aemond screamed, and his voice was not alone.

Luke woke with a scream in his mouth, but he never let it out. There was darkness before him, and he lay on soft feathers. When he wrenched open the lids of his eyes, he saw that half the world was missing. He was confused. His vision was blurry and his mind in a thick fog, and he thought there were twinkles of light in the distance. He reached a finger towards the light, and he heard a whisper: "Luke. You're awake. Be gentle with yourself. Everything is alright." It was the sweet voice of Gerardys, the voice of home.

It seemed an eternity that Luke waited for the lost half of the world to restore itself, to become awash with light. The clouds in his head dimmed only a little, and the lost world did not return. "Clouds," Luke whispered,"I can't see."

"Milk of the poppy," Gerardys's gentle whisper sounded in Luke's ear,"For the pain."

Luke waited another eternity until the clouds dimmed some more, and he at last found a little strength in his hands. He began to lift his left hand, the hand at the side where the world was missing. Luke felt a sharp pain, and then another's hand put Luke's down gently but firmly.

"You must rest, Luke," Gerardys's soft whisper sounded again,"Your mother will be here soon." Luke nodded. He did not want to feel that pain again. Mother will make things better. He no longer heard Gerardys, so he assumed the maester had gone to get Mother. So Mother was not waiting at Luke's bedside, like she always did at Jace's and Joff's when they fell ill.

"Luke," Luke's nurse's familiar voice filled the emptiness Gerardys left. Luke breathed, and he closed his eyes. Her voice was cracked, but it was warm to Luke's ears. "Do you want to hear a story, Luke?" his nurse asked.

Luke's head bobbed ever the tiniest of nods.

"Do you want to hear again the story of Harlor Hoare?" his nurse said,"The tale of the King Who Returned."

Luke nodded again.

"Very well," his nurse said,"It was a time long ago, in the lands of the Ironborn far out the Sunset Sea."

Luke smiled as he heard that story again. It was a happy story, and he loved happy stories. Jace had hated those, but Jace was Jace and he was far away.

"Harlor Hoare was the only son of the King of the Iron Islands," his nurse said,"A great mariner and a daring adventurer who sailed the great galley Winter's Queen, but he had one problem. He was not a loyal son, and that was where disaster struck for him. When his father the king caught a chill one night walking across one of the bridges of their island holdfast, he did not remain by his father's side but instead sailed the Winter's Queen into the Summer Sea."

Luke liked this Harlor Hoare. He sounded like Grandfather, who had made nine great voyages to Yi Ti and back. Grandfather would show Luke the riches he gained from his journeys all piled in Driftmark's treasury. "One day, Luke, this shall all be yours," Grandfather had said.

"And it was on Harlor's ill-fated journey that tragedy struck," his nurse said,"His father was old, and this chill was too much for him. Whilst Harlor sailed the Summer Sea to the Summer Isles, his father gave up his ghost in his bed and the oldest of Harlor's uncles called a kingsmoot before Harlor returned."

The usurper, Luke remembered. That was the darkest part of the story.

"When the Ironborn were still kings," his nurse said,"they chose them from a kingsmoot, a gathering of the foremost captains of the Iron Islands. Each captain had a vote, but in the end it was who would shout the loudest at the gathering. Harlor's oldest uncle called the kingsmoot, and since Harlor was absent, it was his oldest uncle who was shouted king. Yet his uncle feared the eldest son who had the rights to the throne, and he laid a trap for Harlor's return. When Harlor returned from the Summer Sea, his uncle clapped him in chains and threw him in the dungeons of their holdfast."

"Why didn't his uncle kill him?" Jace had asked when Luke and his brothers heard the story the first time, "He's leaving alive a threat to his crown."

Kinslaying, Luke knew, a crime worse than treason.

"Yet all was not lost for Harlor," Luke's nurse continued,"One night, one of Harlor's other uncles, a loyal one, snuck into the dungeons and freed Harlor from his chains. They then fled on the loyal uncle's longships. When the new king heard of his nephew's escape, he sent out his own fleet to chase them. He blocked off the seas from the north, the east, and the south, of the Iron Islands. The west, the king judged, was endless seas where no man had ever returned from, and there was no hope for his nephew there. Seeing three directions blocked, Harlor and his loyal uncle had no choice but to sail west. For seven days and six nights they traveled west into the empty Sunset Sea. Their stores ran low, and it seemed that they would starve upon the landless waters. Then, on the seventh night, one of the sailors spotted a light on the horizon."

Luke breathed, his heart beginning to race. His nurse was approaching his favourite part of the story.

"Harlor commanded his ships to steer for the light," his nurse said,"which burned even as the sun rose behind them. He soon found a lonely isle in the midst of the endless seas, and his crew cheered at their salvation. When Harlor and his loyal uncle made landfall, they were greeted by a kingdom of ragged men. Yet they spoke the tongue of Harlor. Their distant fathers were Ironborn just like Harlor, and they had been stranded on the isle several hundred years ago. They had been lost in the Sunset Sea until they saw a light, and followed it to the isle."

It was the Lonely Light, Luke had searched long in the maps for the isle, until he had spotted it in the Sunset Sea. He would like to fly there some day when Arrax was older and tougher. But there was no light there anymore.

"When the leader of the isle heard of Harlor's plight, he bent the knee there on the beach they called the Withering Shore," Luke's nurse said,"Harlor took the leader's daughter to wife, and his loyal uncle crowned him on the isle's Withering Shore. Harlor remained there for many a year, building his ships and training his sailors to one day return home and take back his crown. Yet there was one problem in the way."

He was lost, Luke remembered, He could not find his way back to the Iron Islands.

"The winds are uncertain in the Sunset Sea," Luke's nurse said,"and Harlor knew that if he lost sight of the isle and the light, he would lose his fleet in the endless blue of the oceans. He laboured three years to find a solution, but he could not. Then, one night, his wife suggested to him to ascend the rocky outcrop on the shore of the isle and find the light that guided so many to its shores. The light was very bright, and any who came close were blinded, but Harlor had no other choice. So one night, beneath a rare moonless and starless sky as the heavens were full of clouds, he ascended the outcrop with three layers of cloth around his eyes which were squeezed shut. Before he went, he uttered a prayer to the Drowned God. That god did not answer, and he uttered another prayer to a god he had known in his travels: the Seven Who Are One. The Father answered by sending a fierce storm that blanketed the cliffs in rain and darkness, and in the rain Harlor journeyed for the light. Seven times he saw the light shimmer and thought to turn back, but seven times he steeled his heart and endured. When he at last stood upon the outcrop where the light lay, he looked down, and through his blindfolds and closed eyes he saw a ball glowing white. He picked up the light, and the blindfolds fell from his eyes. The light had accepted him, and he could open his eyes without being blinded. He raised the light to the sky, and saw that he could now light the seas back to the Iron Islands. So, he set off with his great fleet to reclaim his throne, a ball of burning fire in his hand…"

The chamber exploded in light, and Luke's eyes jolted open. Half the world was still missing, but Luke's right eye turned to the world that was still there. The door to the chamber was open, sunlight spilling from beyond. In the doorway was Father with a smile in his eyes, and Cousin Baela trailed behind him with her monkey Egg on her shoulder. Gerardys appeared in the doorway behind them, the old maester telling Father something. Father waved his hand and frowned, and the maester retreated.

Father came forward, his steps ringing in Luke's ears as he came to Luke's bedside and sat. Baela followed him, and Gerardys stood behind them with one hand fingering his chain. Egg jumped on Luke, and Luke could not help but laugh as the monkey rubbed his face.

"You are awake, Luke," Father said,"That is well."

"Where is Mother?" Luke asked,"I want to see her."

"Your mother is still recovering from her labour," Father said.

"Can I see my new sister then?" Luke asked. He knew the babe would be a girl, since Mother already had five boys.

"Prince Daemon," Gerardys said,"Mayhaps it is wise to n-"

Father cut Gerardys off with a wave, and spoke: "The babe did not survive.'

Oh. Luke closed his eyes and bit his lip. Only one side of his cheek was wet.

"Aemond made a clumsy job of it," Luke heard Gerardys whisper to Father,"and Prince Lucerys's eye was still in its socket when he returned to Dragonstone. Yet the pupil had become infected, and I had to cut it out. The wound has been cauterized, though, and the prince will live. He will never see again in his left eye, but he will live."

"Luke," Father's voice pierced the gloom, and Luke opened his eyes again. No, eye. "What do you remember, Luke?" Father asked, his voice laced with ice.

"A red cave," Luke searched his head,"I was undoing my chains, and I fell. Arrax stood above me, and there was a green dragon."

"That was Moondancer," Baela said, then sighed: "Arrax wouldn't let us near you."

"What do you remember, earlier?" Father asked.

"I was flying, and it was blue all around me," Luke said,"There was a girl's whisper, and she fell from the dragon."

Baela winced, but Father's eyes did not change,"Tell me what you remember about Aemond taking your eye."

"That," Luke whispered,"That. Lord Borros was hosting a feast, and Aemond arrived at Storm's End. He saw me, and demanded an eye for an eye. I saw… Vhagar, and I cut my eye out."

"You cut your own eye out?" Father rose from Luke's bed, a sneer on his face,"Like a craven? If you had died fighting Aemond in a duel, I would have avenged you. Instead, your mother's cause is now the laughingstock of the Seven Kingdoms, made by the prince who fled." He turned and stormed out of the room.

"The prince who fled," Baela snarled, and Egg jumped up onto Baela's shoulder by kicking Luke's face. "Serves you right for throwing that girl from your dragon," she turned and followed her father before Luke could open his mouth. The door shut with a boom behind her.

"You must rest, Luke," Gerardys said,"Forget their words. Let your wounds heal first."

"Where's Mother, truly?" Luke asked.

Gerardys only shook his head. Luke turned his eye to the closed door and let his gaze remain there.

"Would you like me to tell you the rest of the story?" Luke's nurse asked.

"Please," Luke said, but his heart was on the door.

"Harlor returned to the Iron Islands with a ball of burning fire in his hand," Luke's nurse continued,"The light lit all the dark seas before him, and he knew the way home. Harlor landed on the westernmost isle seven days and six nights after he set sail. On the seventh day, the lords of that isle woke to find that the sun rose in the west. The king had returned. Any defiant army or lord were blinded by the light in Harlor's hand, for their banners fell and their swords dropped out of their hand. Isle and isle Harlor reclaimed with the light of the west in his hand, until he reached the last holdout, his old home which had become the seat of his oldest uncle. His oldest uncle had long since died then, and it was his grandson who wore the crown. When Harlor's nephew saw the sun rising in the west ahead of the thousand ships that Harlor had won, Harlor's nephew too struck his banners like all his lords and yielded the castle. Harlor stepped back into his old home, an old man but a king - crowned his rightful crown, sons captaining his fleets, and grandsons at his knee. When he at last stood upon the walls of his home and looked to the west across the sea, he threw back his hand and hurled the ball of burning fire into the sea. The light sailed through the sky like a falling star, until it disappeared beneath the dark waves."

"Dragons," Luke said.

"What did my prince say?" Gerardys asked.

"Dragons," Luke said,"That is what the ball of burning fire is like. The light brought Harlor his crown, just like the dragons brought my fathers theirs. But my fathers knew not to throw away their power like that fool Hoare."

"Truly, Luke?" his nurse asked,"I thought Harlor Hoare was your favourite hero."

"He was, and still is," Luke said,"but stories are only stories. Jace was right."

"No," Gerardys said,"Stories are life, which heal where maesters cannot." Luke did not answer, his eyes watching the door. It was another eternity before it opened to a flash of blinding light. He looked at the doorway, and there was the shadow of a girl and a short knight.

"Rhaena," Luke greeted,"Ser Harrold."

There was no answer as his betrothed came into sight. Rhaena was dressed in a silken sky-blue dress patterned with black lace, which scratched as it dragged on the floor. When Luke looked up to meet Rhaena's face, he saw that her lips were curled whilst her violet eyes were high and cold. He turned away, but Rhaena appeared above him, her icy gaze looking down as she sat at Luke's bedside. He saw only the shadow of Ser Harrold behind Rhaena, and it looked like a giant against the lamplight.

"Prince Lucerys," Rhaena said, smiling,"Are you well?"

"I am," Luke said, frightened by Rhaena. Her eyes were not smiling. "Why did you come here?" he asked.

"Father sent me to care for my prince.," Rhaena said,"We are to be married, are we not?"

"Where is Mother?" Luke asked.

Rhaena's smile remained on her face,"We are here to talk about you, Prince Lucerys. I heard from Baela that you threw a girl from your dragon above Shipbreaker Bay. You quite annoyed my sister."

"No," Luke felt blood rush to his face,"It wasn't above Shipbreaker Bay. One of the Baratheon girls helped me into the saddle after…after the eye. As Arrax took off, she rolled off the wing. Please, tell Baela that."

"I will," Rhaena said,"though I think it shall do nothing for Baela. She told me how glad she was to wed the future king, not the prince who fled. Did you know that we received a raven from the Eyrie? Jace has won the Vale's banners. Compared to you…"

"Where is Mother?" Luke demanded.

"Your mother?" Rhaena laughed, then leaned in and whispered: "Let me tell you a secret, Prince Lucerys. Your mother is imprisoned in her own castle, though quite at peace in Sea Dragon Tower. Our great and benevolent father says that she is mad with the birthing sickness, and it just so happens that he becomes Prince Regent and rules her kingdom." She retreated, a smile still plastered on her face,"Prince Lucerys, are you well?" When Luke did not answer, she stroked his cheek,"Take care." She then rose from her seat and strode out of the chamber with her guard, her dress scratching the ground behind her.

Luke rose from his bed, Gerardys's large arms pressing Luke down in an instant. "You must rest, my prince, until you have the strength to rise," Gerardys pleaded.

"Let me go, maester," Luke said,"That is a command from your prince." The maester let go, and Luke struggled to his feet. His head fell into clouds again as his feet touched the ground, and he leaned sideways.

Gerardys caught Luke as he fell. "Let me help you, my prince," Gerardys said, and Luke nodded. Leaning on the large maester, he made his way to the door as the chamber spun around him. The fires were dancing on the candles. The door was locked, but the maester knocked. There was the click of a key, and two guards opened the heavy oaken door from outside. When his eye calmed in the sunlight, Luke saw that the two guards were both Father's men, the sellsword Caswan and the hedge knight Ser Robert Quince. Their hands were set on their sword hilts.

"What business does the prince have, Gerardys?" Caswan asked,"Prince Daemon has decreed that he must rest."

"I want to see Mother," Luke said.

"Your mother is unwell at the moment," Caswan answered,"You shall be able to see her when she is better."

"At least let me see my dragon Arrax," Luke said.

Caswan slid his sword slightly from its hilt, and Luke caught the gleam of sunlight shining on steel,"My prince must rest."