Dragonstone, 301 AC
The storm is raging when Daenerys and Aegon can see the coasts of Westeros. Daenerys' heart hammers in her chest: finally, home. A smile roves on her perfect lips. Aegon, by her side, stares at the coasts, a hand on his sword. Behind them, the Dothrakis make terrible sounds as their guts reject anything they have eaten or drank. Disgusted by the smell, Daenerys walks to the edge of the ship, smelling the pleasant perfume of the sprays. Aegon joins her:
"The men need to rest" he tells her with his soft but firm voice. She looks at the one who became her husband d in Essos, not that long ago. She does not think she would ever love him, but he has given her support and legitimacy. He should have ruled, after his father Rhaegar. But he will rule now. Or more, they will rule together. Aegon is already riding Rhaegal. Drogon will always be Daenerys's. And Viserion is like Viserys: it is impossible to understand him, and Daenerys thinks he is even wilder than Drogon. The time when she has to lock them up has shocked him deeply. She looks back at the sea:
"We cannot lose time"
"The Dothrakis are exhausted", Aegon protests. "They need to eat and drink" he repeats.
Daenerys' stubbornness has always driven him mad. That and her obsession for power. She although nods and Aegon orders to sail to Dragonstone, their ancestral land. They will take what is theirs, with fire and blood.
Maester Cressen is the first one to notice the sails, betrayed by the lightning in the sky. He cannot count how many ships there are. He is supposed to leave to Riverrun in the morning, where his Queen is going to deliver a new prince very soon. But, tonight, he needs to wake Ser Davos up, the new lord of Dragonstone, appointed by Stannis after his victory in King's Landing. He runs to his chambers, as fast as his old legs allow him to, and he pounds on the door. Davos wakes up with a start, and goes open: Cressen is out of breath but he manages to say: "They're here". Davos understands immediately. He hastily leaves to get his armor and turns to Cressen "Leave to Riverrun. Immediately. The Queen needs you."
"But", Cressen protests "Stannis must be warned"
"He will be", Davos leans a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Leave now."
Cressen nods and walks away. Davos goes wake the men up and tries to not make them panic. They are alright, until they hear a dragon screeching. Davos swallows hard, closes his eyes, and prays silently. Mother, protect me. Warrior, give me the strength to serve my King and my realm. Father, protect my Lord and savior. He blesses the fact that his sons are far from him at this moment. He quickly kisses his leather pouch and joins his men. The dragons are screeching, some soldiers place their hands on their ears and whimper or scream with fear. Davos does his best to gather his courage and supports them, comforts them, hits their shield with his sword. They run to the battlements, where the men in charge of the catapults start using them. Stannis has never liked the idea, but he had made Davos the lord of Dragonstone. It is his land now, and he has grown fond of it. He has studied the sea carefully, sailed almost every day on it: Dragonstone would be difficult to take, moreover with a storm night like this one. He orders the men to get ready to attack Daenerys' fleet. The men dig their arrows in oil, ready to set them on fire. As he stands on the battlement, he orders part of them men to join their boats. Davos tries hard to focus on the battle: the yells of the Dothrakis ring out, and he can see Unsullied soldiers as well. But that's all: Daenerys has no force from Westeros. In Highgarden, Olenna Tyrell has although foreseen a rebellion. She has even sent troops by ships, but they have been stopped by Stannis after Lord Tyrell and Robb Stark have warned him. Somehow, with Margaery's wedding with Robb, the Tyrells have become part of Stannis' family. Lord Mace has begged Stannis to spare his mother, tears in his eyes. Stannis could not possibly kill Lady Olenna, so he has chosen to send her to the Silent Sisters, despite her age. The Tyrells have remained loyal to him.
"My Lord, your orders?" a young soldier looks at Davos hopeful.
The dragons are getting dangerously close and Davos says very calmly:
"Aim the wings. Fire the catapults. Arrows on the ships."
The young soldier yells these orders and there is suddenly a brief silence, just after the order, when Davos can only hear the waves crashing on the rock where Dragonstone was founded. He looks around, he sees the waves getting bigger and bigger, and lighting so violent it looks like it is noon. Then, the light whistles of the arrows pierce the night. And, finally, the deafening sound of the ships crushed by the heavy stones of the catapults. Davos looks down, to see one of the ships sinking, the Dothrakis yelling with fear, their horses neighing. He smirks proud but suddenly, yell makes him startle. The dragons have been infuriated with the arrows and if the green one flies away quickly, despite Daenerys yelling his name, the two others, with their masters on the back, fly dangerously closer from Davos's men.
"Catapult!" he yells as he can see his fleet attacking Daenerys. "Use the catapult against the dragons!" he urges his men. Some are quick, and a huge stone hit Rhaegal's face quite hard, making him squeal. Others are too slow and Drogon gets dozens of them with a sole strike of his tail. Men yell with fear, and Davos tries his best to gather them together. He grabs a spear and throws it on Drogon's flank, making him screech and flying away. Daenerys flinches and he thinks, for a second, that she is going to fall. But she holds on, and Drogon flies away, Rhaegal following him. Aegon flies by Daenerys:
"We need to leave!" he points at the fleet already sailing away because of Davos' men. "If they sink our ships, we're lost!" he yells.
Daenerys glares at him, but keeps flying away from the battle. Davos' men cheer, even more when they see Daenerys army sailing away. Dragonstone's fleet chases them, but soon sail back to the castle. Davos, exhausted, sighs with relief but knows that Daenerys and Aegon are certainly not sailing back to Essos. He needs to warn Stannis, as soon as possible. He orders soldiers to take care of the injured people and the dead.
Cressen is riding as fast as he can, his heart beating violently in his chest. His horse is neighing with protest but Cressen cannot stop spurring it. They need to reach Riverrun as fast as possible and as far as possible they will be from the battle, the best. He turns his head back to Dragonstone; he can hear the screeching of the dragons, the screams of the soldiers dying, and the ships crashing violently against each others. He looks back at the road sadly and tries to remember the times of peace and happiness he has lived with Stannis. Somehow, he misses Stannis's childhood, the happy times when Steffon and Cassana were still alive, and when Stannis would show up for his lessons early, when Robert was always late. And still, he is happy to know Aylis, and their children: the sweet Shireen, the secretive Aistan, the bubbly Doryos, and the warrior Oryos. He spurs his horse again, but, suddenly, the animal neighs with fear. Cressen turns his head around and his eyes widen with horror when he meets Viserion's eyes. He mutters "Forgive me, Stannis" before the dragon opens his mouth. No sound is heard, except for the noise of the jaws closing upon horse and rider.