Chapter 4 - The Dragon Princesses
The People living near Rhaenys' Hill had grown accustomed to being woken up in the early hours of the day by the roars and screeches of the Dragons that were housed in the Dragon Pit atop it.
It had taken a decade to repair the Domed structure that housed the Dragons of the Royal Family and since the time the repairs had been complete the structure had once again been brought into use for the very same purpose however it didn't house any of the Queen's Dragons but those that belonged to the Queen's daughters, those of the Visiting Targaryens, those of the Dragon Riders and a few unclaimed dragons hatched by the Queen.
The Queen's dragon "Drogon" seldom took shelter in the Dragon Dome, choosing to lair in the Godswood of the Red Keep.
The Dragons belonging to the Princesses however had been lairing in the Dragon Dome for the last few years since they became too big to remain within the Red Keep.
Princess Valaena's dragon, Valarr and Princess Rilane's, Bayrisse had grown large enough in size but were still considered small in comparison to The Queen's Drogon, Prince Aegon's Rhaegal and Prince Jon's Viserion. Both dragons had black scales, and had a wing span measuring over 30 Feet. The dragons bore a strong resemblance to Drogon but only Bayrisse had his molten-red eyes while Valarr's eyes were an eerie Golden Yellow.
The Princesses took great pride in their dragons and in being the best dragon riders of their generation however Princess Valaena never seemed to lose an opportunity to best or establish her supremacy over Princess Rilane. Valaena was elder to Rilane, and heir to her mother's crown but she believed that her mother thought of her younger sister as an ideal ruler. And while Valaena knew that Rilane respected her and would never usurp her. She just couldn't help but think about the what if ?
This morning however the Dragons were unsettled and especially so was Valarr, trying to break out of his cell and breathing fire on the chains that kept him there.
The guards had managed to send a word out to Princess Valaena and soon enough after receiving the word she and her sister had ridden out to the Dragon Dome on their steeds.
The gate keepers opened the bronze doors of the Dragon Dome as soon as they sighted the Royal Sigil in the distance, sparing no time to ease the tension that the dragons within had created.
She jumped off her steed as soon as she and her sister made their way into the Dragon Dome, the heavy Bronze doors were closed behind them by the Gatekeepers of the Dragon Dome.
"Valarr seems tense today." Rilane said from beside her as the cells of their dragons were close enough.
"He just needs some fresh air Sister and some time to stretch his wings." Valaena told her younger sister.
"If you say so." Rilane said, before she turned and walked into another corridor which housed the cell of her Dragon.
As Valaena walked to Valarr's cell, she felt the intensity of his screeches and roars increasing.
She'd never share it with her sister but it seemed he had sensed the unease that she was going through this morning. However, se brushed the thought away from her mind and soon enough found her self staring into the golden eyes of her dragon.
"What's wrong Valarr? Why are you in such a bad mood today?" Valaena cooed to the dragon, moving towards the wall of the cell to undo the shackles that kept him grounded.
Valor screeched again but broke into a slight purr upon seeing his mistress.
"There's nothing to worry about Valarr. I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about." she whispered to him but the dragon would not sate and a growl deep emanated from deep within her chest.
"Trust me Valarr" Valaena said, switching to High Valyrian and quick gaining the dragon's attention and silencing him.
She then slipped the saddle on his back, fastened it and mounted him.
Earning a silent acknowledgement from him, she then egged him towards the exit of the Dragon Dome at the far end of the cavern from where his cell was.
As soon as Valarr entered the central courtyard of the Dragon Pit, the guards and the dragon keepers moved away; quick and quiet giving way to the Dragon and it's mistress.
"Open the Dome doors", Valaena told the Pit Commander and with a single nod he motioned for the dragon handlers to open the great circular door on the roof of the Dome structure through which the Dragon could fly out.
The grinding of gears and the heaving of the heavy stone doors gave way to the sun to illuminate the dark Dragon Pit.
Valarr screeched as he spread his giant wings. Valaena tightened her grip on the reigns as Valarr flapped his wings and lift himself from the floor of the Dragon Pit and flew out of the Sky Roof, the flapping of his wings eerily similar to that of Thunderclouds.
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Princess Rilane watched her sister fly out from the Sky Roof.
She had been walking back to central courtyard from the cell where her dragon, Bayrisse resided.
"Ser Archas", she called out to the Pit Commander as the catacomb doors which led to the Dragon Cells were shut behind her.
The Knight looked to her and made his way towards her, "Princess, Aren't you taking your dragon out for a ride?" He asked walking towards her.
"I believe it's in our best interest if only one dragon takes flight from the Dragon Pit at a time." She said.
The Pit commander simply nodded, "I remember as it were yesterday when you and your sister were young and the dragons small."
Rilane smiled, "And when they grew just big enough to ride, the Sky Roof was never closed and now…"
"Now, we need to take precautions." He said, completing her sentence albeit politely.
Dragons were dangerous, there was no other way to explain it. A dragon couldn't be controlled nor could it be tamed. Her mother, the Queen always said that the dragons were to be respected and although they couldn't be tamed that could be bonded with or taught. They could be reasoned with for they were creatures with a higher intellect much like the Direwolves of the North.
"The Queen's dragons learnt well." He commented as they heard another shrill screech coming from the catacombs, a Dragon without a Rider.
"Is Arxeus still ill-tempered?" She asked the pit commander, walking towards the now closed doors of the catacombs." running her hand over the closed doors as if to soothe the lonely dragon in the depths of the catacombs.
"He's been so for the last couple of days." The Pit commander replied, "More so, since the Queen hasn't visited him. Her Grace is the closest thing he has to a Rider. He seems to long for her company."
Rilane shook her head, "My mother would never ride him. Dragon would never allow it."
The Pit commander simply nodded, he had understood what she was referring too.
Daenerys was Drogon's rider and Drogon had ensured that she never ride another dragon.
It had been stated in several tomes, even the most ancient from Asshai and Valyria that every Rider may have only one Dragon at a time but no one explained why.
Daenerys had learnt why.
A decade or so ago when Rilane was about three to four years of age, her mother was to visit the North. She had decided to take the journey on Dragon Back and decided she'd fly Viserion instead of Drogon, since she'd not flown him since the great night when Drogon had been sent further North to assist Jon and Rhaegal to fight the Great Other.
Viserion had just taken to the air, when Drogon's screech and growls echoed across the Red Keep and the city itself.
Drogon had chased Viserion till he caught up and then began attacking the Drogon, breathing fire and even attack the smaller dragon with his claws. Daenerys however managed to evade the large dragon and landed a dafe distance from the City. She jumped off from Viserion and went to stand before him by the time Drogon landed opposite them, his blood red eyes burning with anger.
It is said, that Daenerys had walked up to Drogon, commanded him to heel and then bend so she could climb on to his back while Viserion simply cowered in front of the Larger Dragon. Once on his back, Daenerys then commanded Viserion to go back to its Lair while she flew away with the enraged Drogon to the North.
Since then, Drogon had willingly shared his mother with Viserion. Daenerys never again tried to ride Viserion and she never might.
"Has there been any sighting of Viserion over the last few days Ser Archas?" she asked walking away from the stone doors of the Catacombs to the Exit of the Dragon Pit.
"A couple of Dragon riders have reported that she's been flying over the Kingswood for the last few days." said the aging Knight as he escorted the Princess out of the dragon pit and down the steps where a couple of guards stood, a stable-hand holding the reigns of the Princess' steed.
That's strange, Rilane thought to herself. "Who may I ask saw Viserion? She's never been away from the city for so long." she asked him.
"I believe it was Lady Reyna and Lady Neila. They are responsible for the patrol of the Kingswood and the Crownlands." He said, helping her get on her steed.
"Please tell them that I'd like to ride out there myself and confirm Viserion's whereabouts. It is unlike Viserion to stay away from the Red Keep for so long." Rilane said, "It's never happened before." she continued, clicking to her horse to start walking.
"It's not the first time Your Grace." Ser Archas said with a smile on his face, "It's happened once before, when your mother gifted you and your sister with Bayrisse and Valarr."
Rilane didn't know what to say. She simply nodded to the Pit Master and turned her steed to begin the march back to the Red Keep.
In the distance she heard the screech of a Dragon, not Valarr no. This was most definitely Arxeus.
