When Rhaena travelled, she travelled far and wide. Upon Rhaegal's back, journeys that would have taken months, even years, were shortened to sometimes only a few days. She explored all nine Free Cities of Essos, travelled across the Dothraki Sea upon horseback, flew above the vast expanse of the Red Waste, sailed upon a pleasure barge in Qarth and began an exploration into the unknown regions of Sothoryos. Fearing nothing, Rhaena gladly delved into the wild depths of jungles and forests to discover what might be hiding there, Rhaegal never too far from her. What was not frightened away from Rhaegal's presence, Rhaena fended off with fire, sword or arrow until even she became feared as she traipsed through the exotic jungle, mapping the land as she went and detailing her findings, knowing that Sam would have her hide if she did not bring back an extensive collection of reports and notes. The wildness and danger brought a rushing thrill to Rhaena's days who found no fear in anything in such a remote part of the world. She would remain a little longer then begin to head west in order to see the Basilisk Isles and finally, reach the island of Naath.
The journey took weeks but Rhaena did not begrudge a single moment. When the jungle proved unsurpassable she would merely call for Rhaegal and he would sweep her up and carry her away to find a better place to continue until they reached the coastline, where the islands lay spread before them. Valyria and the Burning Mountain lay beyond that, and Rhaena intended to explore there too, but first Naath, to visit Missandei and Grey Worm. Hoping they would remember their promise, Rhaena flew across the water to the fair isle which was everything Missandei promised it would be. When they landed, Rhaegal became encased in butterflies, making him snort and twitch until Rhaena laughed. The peaceful people of Naath, all of whom were dark skinned, screamed upon seeing Rhaegal, fleeing in fear as their cries summoned their Unsullied protectors, but the moment they recognised the dragon as well as the woman upon his back, they cast down their spears and cried out in rich greeting. Life clearly had treated them well, for Rhaena could not recall ever hearing an Unsullied soldier sounding happy. Word quickly spread and Rhaena was directed to the other side of the island where Missandei and Grey Worm had made their home, and there she was greeted with warmth and welcome. They began to address her as princess, but Rhaena waved away all formalities. To them, she was only Rhaena, an unannounced guest who wished to beg their hospitality. It was freely given.
Together they sat in the small hut that Rhaena discovered Grey Worm had built for Missandei with his own two hands, both of them living together as husband and wife. Missandei's people had welcomed the presence of the Unsullied, pacifists in themselves but grateful to have such strong protectors. Their shores were often raided by pirates and slavers, but ever since the arrival of the Unsullied, their bounty had decreased and only rarely was someone taken away. Still they persisted and, according to Grey Worm, they were growing more daring and better equipped. His men could only fight against the pirates when they were on land. From the water, they could not be touched. There they prowl, waiting and watching, until they find a chink in the Unsullied defences, and then they attack. "We drive them away, but still they return. Each time, they kill a few more of us. Eventually, there will be none left." Grey Worm explained as the three sat upon the ground around sharing fresh fruit, richer and sweeter than anything Rhaena had ever tasted before.
"Then it seems to me that these pirates need to learn that Naath is not only under the protection of the Unsullied, but also of House Targaryen. Next time one of their ships appears, we shall set Rhaegal upon it. If more than one show, then we shall burn all save one, and allow that one to return to carry our warning to all other pirates." Approving of this plan, Grey Worm offered Rhaena some more fruit that was apparently called mango. It was swiftly becoming a favourite of hers and she gladly accepted. Once refreshed, Missandei was eager to show Rhaena the beauties of her home and present her to the village, even introducing her to several of her siblings with whom she had reunited. It brought Rhaena great joy to see Missandei so happy, and although Grey Worm still appeared rather stoic and unmoving, he was not as stern faced as he had been. Whenever he looked at Missandei, he would smile. It was good to see another peaceful place such as Naath, Rhaena comparing it to the north beyond the Wall. Where one was ice and snow, the other was heat and sand. Both were a paradise of tranquillity, merely opposites of the other. Rhaena imagined she might one day choose to settle in either one place or the other for more than simply a fleeting visit.
She stayed and learned of Missandei's people and their culture, enjoying their cuisine and the freshly picked fruits, exploring their jungles and racing with the young children as they ran up and down the beaches. Several days passed in such peacefulness until one day, one of the guards who watched from the lookout tower that had been built by the Unsullied raised an alarm, blowing upon a giant conch shell to warn of pirates. The Unsullied mustered, the people of Naath ran to hide, and Rhaena sounded her own horn to call for Rhaegal. He came at once, flying down from the north where he had been hunting the seas for dolphins or whales to eat. Rhaena climbed onto his back and flew upwards, circling until they were high enough in the air that the could see all of the island as well as the small specks upon the water which revealed half a dozen pirate ships. "Let us teach them that piracy is not tolerated upon this fair isle, Rhaegal. Dracarys!" Opening his mouth to expel a roar, Rhaegal dove downwards whilst in the path of the sun. The pirates only heard his cry, unable to locate the source of the monstrous sound until all at once, a shadow descended upon them from above.
Rhaegal bellowed his flames as he streaked over the ships and broke them in half in a single pass, pirates screaming as they leaped overboard in order to avoid the fire and being dragged under with their ships. It was over in moments, all but one ship burned and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, though Rhaegal had him dig his claws into the ship's hull and rip through the sails so that the evidence of his presence could not be denied. Frightened sailors screaming of dragons might not be believed, but giant slashes in a ship's sails might prove their worth. The lone ship took on board as many survivors as they could before turning about and rowing away, oars lashing at the water in order to escape as swiftly as possible as Rhaegal chased them off, lashing his tail to knock off the figurehead of a naked woman so that it too dropped into the ocean to sink. Rhaena received the sense that he was quite pleased with himself, making her laugh as she drew him aside in order to return to land. The people celebrated and Grey Worm nodded solemnly in thanks as Rhaena descended from Rhaegal's back. They did not expect a single warning to stave off other pirates from attacking, nor that they would not attempt a stronger force in order to take what they wanted, and so the Unsullied remained diligent in their watch. The next time the signal sounded, there were more than thirty ships. Rhaegal sank them all, tearing through them so effortlessly that it was not even a challenge, allowing only the one to escape to once more bring back word to whomever seemed to be leading these pirates. According to Missandei there were several notable pirate leaders who held the waters, each with their own number of ships under their command. She knew only some of them by name, as well as their preferred routes to take plunder and slaves from.
According to her, Bay of Dragons had not maintained its vow to abolish the use of slaves, meaning that the trade was still increasing profits and continuing the use of slavery. With an angered twitch of her mouth, Rhaena thought that perhaps it was time she returned to Bay of Dragons and remind the cities there the vow they swore to her sister. At the very least, Rhaena could uphold Daenerys's legacy. Before that, however, Rhaena was determined to see that Naath would no longer be plagued by pirates, and so when the third assault came, this time seemingly a full fleet of ships with multiple banners which proclaimed several pirate lords had banded together, Rhaena was more than happy to sink them. Grey Worm ordered his Unsullied into their own ships to sail out and meet the pirates, to end this once and for all. It felt comforting and familiar to go into battle with a dragon flying overhead, and so Grey Worm felt at ease as Rhaegal stretched his wings and glided forwards, breathing fire upon the first ship that he came upon. This time, the pirates were better prepared. They had mounted scorpions upon the decks of their ships as well as harpoons, chains and ropes, though Rhaena wondered what they hoped to accomplish with that.
All the same she proceeded carefully, unwilling to risk Rhaegal falling because of a lucky bolt, but it appeared that these were not as powerful as the ones that Euron Greyjoy had possessed, and even when one did manage to strike Rhaegal's flank, it rebounded off his thick hide, unable to penetrate. A little more at ease, Rhaena flew for another pass. She counted at least eighty ships, perhaps more, circling overhead and trailing another line of fire over the ships as she looked down and watched pirates leap into the water mere moments before Rhaegal flew at their ship. She was not entirely without mercy, she gave them ample time to abandon ship and save themselves from burning. The ships, however, were not so fortunate. After all, what was a pirate without a ship? And what was a captain without a crew? The answer was simple. Destroy the ships, scatter the crew, then Naath would be safe from pirates at least for a few more years, but then Rhaena could always return. Distracted by her thoughts, Rhaena failed to notice that one of the ships had released their ballistae all at once, releasing something which whirled and spiralled through the air. Rhaegal dipped his head in order to dive, evading the objects from striking him, however when Rhaena looked up, she came face to face with flying ropes with iron balls.
It only took one to strike her, and one found its mark. The ropes snapped around her torso and locked her arms together, the balls spinning tightly to secure her so tightly that she could not breath, crying out as the iron balls clapped against her and almost broke bone. At best Rhaena could only hope there was bruising. However, as she lost her grip upon Rhaegal, the force of being struck knocked her completely from him, striking his back before rolling helplessly from him as he continued his dive. "RHAEGAL!" She screamed to him, causing his head to whip around and see his rider falling. A furious cry filled the air as he attempted to twist and snatch her from the skies but she fell too quickly and he missed his mark, unable to correct his flight pattern in time to reach her. Rhaena plunged downwards and within moments, struck the open ocean. Were they any higher, the fall might have killed her, but as it was she only blacked into unconsciousness from the force of hitting the water and the sudden cold. Unable to swim with her arms trapped, Rhaena sank. Above her, the brilliant sapphire waters shining with the sun overhead became overshadowed by the silhouettes of boats, sending her further into darkness as Rhae Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone, vanished underneath the waves.