Calla

The throne room was almost empty when Calla Blackfyre walked into it.

The monstrous structure stretched before her, the throne that her father died fighting for. Calla did not recall seeing it with her own eyes before. Had her father brought her to the Falseborn, when they were still brothers and not enemies? Calla did not know.

Aenys also seemed to be struck by a state of reminiscence. He stood there in front of the throne without saying a word. But Aegor's eyes were locked onto Shiera. He never wasted his time on reminiscence.

But perhaps there was more, Calla thought when she saw Shiera's eyes. Those were blue and green, The blue was of the clear sky and the green only a shade deeper than the grass in the Dothraki Sea. Those were the same colour as Calla's sword, her Crystal.

Shiera Seastar had noticed the gleam of Calla's sword as well. "How curious," She commented, "For it to be the same."

Calla had not answered. Instead, her husband stepped forward. "Shiera," He asked, from his harsh voice Calla did not hear the obsession he supposedly held for her, "Where is Aerys?"

The answer came in an eerily calm voice. "The King and his family left days ago. I wasn't informed of their whereabouts."

"But you knew. You always knew."

She did not deny it.

"Take her away," Aegor ordered, "I'll question her later."

Calla's aunt had not resisted her arrest. Though, when she walked past Calla, she stopped and asked, "He told me that you killed him. Did you?"

Calla cast a glance on Aegor, who had the Valyrian sword that once belonged to Visenya Targaryen. Aenys had granted it to him after Calla killed Bloodraven. Shiera could have guessed it. Or she had indeed heard the dead talking to her.

"I did," Calla admitted. "I avenged my father," she added, perhaps unnecessarily.

Shiera's eyes gleamed. "That you did, Crystal Knight."

They did not talk after that. But throughout the day, despite busily clearing the city, Calla kept thinking of Crystal.

Calla had gotten Crystal when she was a child. Not long after they arrived in Tyrosh, not long after her father died.

Even now she did not know why she was given it. But she guessed it all came from a desire. A desire to be useful. A desire to protect. A desire... for vengeance.

It was those desires that drove her to seek a sword. And what responded to her desperation gave her Crystal.

The sword which was sharper than Valyrian steel. The sword that only she could weld. The sword that could shine brighter than the sun, faster than her thoughts, stronger than any wind, and burn hotter than fire.

The sword that won Aenys the Iron Throne. The sword that slew Maekar and Bloodraven.

But despite all its power, she could not save her mother, her brothers. She started this war with three brothers. And now she only had one.

The war was not over yet. She had to keep Aenys alive. He was all her house had left.

"The coronation will be in the morning," Aegor informed them. "Before we ride out to face what remaining support Aerys has."

"Did she confess?" Calla asked, the innocent question hiding her emotions. Aegor had locked himself in the same chamber as Shiera for more than an hour. Calla did not want to imagine what happened behind closed doors.

"No. But it's obvious where they're hiding." Aegor clenched his fists. "Baratheon had been one of their most staunch supporters, and Aerys' wife was a Stormlander. Our forces will meet theirs within a week."

"With Calla, we could win any battle," Aenys declared, "but we should have proper funerals for Daemon and Haegon too… no, coronations. They're both Kings."

"It has been arranged," Aegor promised him.

Calla was still too heartbroken to mutter their names. The brothers that she could not save, despite being so close. If only Crystal's full power could have come to light earlier, then she could have killed Bloodraven before he killed them.

Instead she asked, "What of those we caught?"

Aegor did not answer. He stared at Aenys, and her younger brother shrugged. "I have a mind to have him take the black. He's but a boy."

"That would be after the north submits at the earliest. For now, I would have him be under arrest." Aegor agreed to Aenys' subtle bid for having mercy. This did not surprise Calla. People thought her uncle ruthless, but he was the one who taught her when to lay down her sword. He had a softer side few knew.

That was why she was curious.

"What of our aunt?" She persisted. "What did you plan to do with her, Aegor?"

His sharp glance pierced her, but Calla met him unyieldingly. She had to know, not the details, but his plans. Did he plan to have her locked there under his mercy forever? Calla would not stand for that. The thought made her skin crawl.

Aegor's lips pursed slightly. "She refused to cooperate, so I... disposed of her."

Disposed? Calla wanted to ask further, but she managed to stop herself. It was meaningless. Whether he killed Shiera or banished her, it made no difference. What was important was that he would not see her again.

That did not mean that he would have her out of his mind. But Calla never dared hope for that. She only hoped that he held a tinge of affection for her. For he was more than a husband for her.

He was her father figure, her mentor, who had recognised her power before anyone did. He had given her training and command on the field despite her gender. Her father gave her hand to him to bind him close to her house, and he treated her with all the respect, even when he learned of her defects, the price she had surely paid to obtain Crystal.

Still, she longed for more. For he was the only one she could rely on.

If only she could trust him, then she could tell him the glimpse of the horror that had been troubling her since she got Crystal.

It was not entirely dissimilar to those Daemon had told them. Dragon dreams.

But the nature of it was different. Dragon dreams were vague things, unreliable though real. What Calla could recall seeing, she could nail it down to the exact year it would happen.

The last of her house, a monstrous kinslayer, taken down by a white cloak. The end of the line of Daeron Falseborn, it was not her house that cast them down, but the Stags. Their rule was short-lived, however, as war emerged, and Winter engulfed the realm.

The nightmare had haunted her constantly throughout the years. But it was thanks to them that she had foreseen Daemon's plan, that she could convince Aegor to return to Westeros in time, that Aenys sat on the Iron Throne.

Had she changed the future that the Winter would not reign?

Yet Calla could still feel the cold wind blowing.

"...Calla," Aenys called, "Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry, brother." She blinked. The chill of Winter had not yet gone, no, but it was pushed back to the depths of her mind. "I was distracted. What are you saying?"

"I might give you an official position in my small council after this war. Lest those lords challenge your command again."

"They don't know me. It's expected." Calla sighed. They had enough to worry about without all this political nonsense. "I may have proven my worth at Whitewalls, but that was just the first step. It's only natural that those who haven't seen me in action will still doubt my story. Give them time, brother."

Aenys frowned. "A challenge to you is a challenge to my authority. And unlike Haegon, I have never shown my merits on a battlefield more than any common foot soldier. They have to respect you just as they respect Uncle Aegor, you two being the pillars of my reign."

"It's heartwarming to hear such a high opinion from you, Aenys." It was true, but Daemon had never expressed such gratitude when he was alive. Aenys always had the sweetest tongue out of them all.

No, this would not do, Calla reminded herself. Do not think ill of the dead. Daemon was her brother. And she failed to save him.

She had failed to save her king. What kind of pillar was she?

Aenys smiled briefly. He didn't seem to notice her discomfort. "This is simply the truth. Uncle Aegor is my hand, but you… what do you think about being the Lady Commander of my kingsguard?"

Calla's eyes widened. "You must be joking! Should I remind you that I'm a married woman, not a knight?"

"You're a knight in Whitewalls. The Crystal Knight, you named yourself. As for your marriage… you and I both know the truth with that."

That was Aenys being considerate with her, Calla knew that. He did not call it a farce, though he could have, as her other siblings had said a number of times. Because they were right. It was.

But she still could not accept that.

"No! It'll cause an uproar if you named a woman to the Kingsguard. And you plan to name me Lady Commander!"

"Fine," Aenys sighed. "I'm getting less and less enthusiastic about the prospect of my crown."

"We still have a bit to go before your crown is secure. Aegor should take care of the Baratheons and Aerys, but we cannot be sure that we have captured all the false dragons."

"We have taken Dragonstone." Aenys started counting. "That gave us the mad Rhaegel and his children. Summerhall is under our control, giving us Maekar's eldest Daeron and his sisters. Our allies in the Reach have captured Aemon. Aegon had been in our grasp since Whitewalls. This leaves…"

"Aerion Brightflame." Calla frowned as she recalled the deeds she knew that man had done. "He had been exiled to Lys."

"That's indeed a problem." Aenys crossed his arms, one hand stroking his chin in thought. "To have no knowledge of his whereabouts—"

"Aenys! Calla!" Aegor strode in, holding a piece of parchment in his hands, his eyes sharp as he looked into their faces. "Have you two heard from Daena?"

Calla shook her head. "I have no idea what you're on about. What's in that letter?"

Aenys was similarly confused, though he did force out a tired chuckle. "Did she cause trouble again?"

Aegor sneered. "See for yourself." He threw the letter on the table with evident anger.

Aenys spread out the crumpled letter and they read it together.

"Oh, Daena, why?" Calla could not help but ask. This was no mere trouble. No childish prank she used to pull.

This was a disaster.

A/N: So this one requires some explanation.

The Black Dragon's Daughter is the first fanfic idea that I have ever come up with, shortly after reading Dunk & Egg. It has never been posted, but the story actually went through two complete rewrites. Every time I wrote this story, I never thought it was good enough to be posted, until now.

It has to do with the nature of the story. Despite being fairly dark, this was still no doubt a Blackfyre wank, with Calla Blackfyre receiving a weapon of mass destruction that made her unbeatable, not to mention her visions. But both are central to the story.

Crystal itself is a weapon from a high fantasy comic. I won't call this a crossover because Crystal is the only thing that came over from that comic. It has a backstory of its own, but what matters here is that it's extremely powerful.

The other thing that made me hesitate to post this is the questionable shipping. Aegor/Calla is problematic in many ways, but it is an important relationship for our main character. This is also not the only ship in this story that is problematic. I'll go through it later if I have more to post.

I'm still not confident that this is worth posting, but here it is. I hope you like it.