The Prince of Whispers Chapter 6: Wild Dragons P2 (Patreon)

Viserys was in a unique but dangerous position. He was standing right in between two massive temperamental wild dragons. Sheepstealer was not usually a harmful dragon, but it was a dragon with extraordinary strength and a penchant for being aggressive to anything that challenged it. It was also one of the older dragons on the island after Vermithor and Silverwing.

The Cannibal, on the other hand, was the most dangerous dragon in the world after Vhagar because of its sheer size and character. The dragon had made it a habit of picking fights with other dragons and making dinner out of them. Its avarice for dragon flesh and bones made it one of the most dangerous creatures in existence. The Cannibal was one of the reasons there were not as many dragons in the Dragonmont. It was also a major reason the Dragonpit was built in King’s Landing.

The Cannibal’s presence in Dragonstone had culled many young dragons. The hatchlings would find themselves as food for the Cannibal. Even some large dragons that dared to challenge it found themselves as food. The dragon stayed well out of anyone else’s way, especially when larger dragons like Vhagar, Silverwing, and Vermithor were present on the island.

So, it was just his luck that he and Aegon somehow ended up right in the middle of Sheepstealer and the Cannibal.

“Do not make any sudden movements. They’ll burn us to a crisp.” Viserys whispered to his brother as he stared at the wild dragons in abject terror.

“So, what’s the plan?” Aegon whispered back. “If we stay, we’ll be crushed when these dragons tumble, and if we move, these two might scorch us to death.”

That was a quandary Viserys keenly knew. Dragons were temperamental, especially wild dragons. He also knew dragons took any sudden movements as hostile, especially when they were primed for battle.

“Sheepstealer knows you. Perhaps it’d be less inclined to see us as a threat with the Cannibal this close.” Viserys muttered, desperately hoping his brother’s many attempts to woo the wild dragon would make it predisposed to disregard them.

“So, we move towards Sheepstealer?” Ageon asked, which gave Viserys pause.

“We’ll take a slow, tentative step backwards and see how it’ll behave.” Viserys said finally.

“All right. On three, then.” Aegon whispered back.

Viserys took a deep breath, counted to three, and stepped backwards with his younger brother. The roar from Sheepstealer made him flinch.

Not one to back down from a challenge, the Cannibal also let out a terrifying roar that rattled his bones.

Looking up at the glinting black scales of the Cannibal, Viserys was reminded of his late mount, Balerion. The Black Dread’s presence was more than enough to scare men and dragons alike. The Cannibal also had that same effect on people despite not being the largest dragon. It was one of the reasons why no one had tried to put an end to the dragon. The Cannibal was a cunning and dangerous foe.

'And now, that foe has ended up inside the walls of the castle where my wife and daughter were…'

Viserys' eyes widened at the thought. He realised belatedly that if the dragons fought inside the castle walls, everyone, including his wife and daughter, would die. In his desperation, his eyes fell on the closed door of a tower, and an idea started to form in his mind.

“I'll create a distraction by running towards that door. When I do that, you'll run inside the castle and find Rhaenyra and Aemma. Take them as far away from the castle.” Viserys said, after gathering his wits.

“What?” Aegon asked with wide eyes.

“Promise me you'll protect them.” Viserys asked earnestly.

Viserys watched his little brother stare at him with wide eyes before a strange gleam entered his brother’s eyes.

“No child should grow up without their parents.” Aegon said firmly.

Before Viserys knew what was happening, his brother kicked his legs from underneath, making him fall. With growing horror, he watched his little brother run towards the tower while shouting at the dragons.

“No!” Viserys whispered in horror.

The two dragons stopped glaring at each other and focused on his brother.

“No!” Viserys cried as the dragons opened their maw and breathed fire on his brother. The Cannibal spat out purple flames while Sheepstealer spat out blood-red flames.

He watched teary-eyed as his little brother was consumed by the wild dragons' fire. Taking a deep breath, Viserys ran towards the castle's main keep, crying for his lost brother. He saw knights with their swords drawn, men with spears and shields, and archers with their bows pointed at the dragons.

“Don’t attack the dragons. Get inside now.” Viserys ordered, clamping down on the grief.

“My prince, look.” Ser Reyne said, nodding at the dragons.

When Viserys looked back, he saw something impossible. His jaw dropped open in disbelief as he saw the purple and red flames of the two dragons being pushed away from his brother, who was on his feet with flames of his own dancing on the palms of his hands.

Viserys blinked twice and shook his head for good measure, and still, the scene did not change. His little brother was pushing back the dragon fire with white flames pouring out of his palms.

“The dragon fire… it’s changing.” Ser Reyne said in awe.

Viserys also started to see what Ser Reyne noticed. The flames surrounding Aegon were changing colour to white. The red and purple flames started to become white until both dragons stopped breathing flames altogether, as they, too, realised something phenomenal was happening before their eyes.

The white flames roared to life as they towered over the dragons in the blink of an eye. Viserys saw Sheepstealer let out a painful shriek as the white flames bit into the wild dragon's brown scales.

Perhaps it was the strangeness of the situation, the presence of the Cannibal and Aegon’s white flames. Whatever it was, Sheepstealer turned tail and flew away rather than remain inside the castle. But the Cannibal was not so easily pacified or chased away. The bane of dragons had fought for decades against its own kind and had made a habit of crushing dragon bones between its teeth. It was not ready to back down from a challenge so early.

Viserys watched with worry as the Cannibal breathed more and more flames against Aegon. The heat from the flames was such that he was forced to turn his eyes away. He felt a tremor pass through the ground, followed by a large thud. When the heat subsided, Viserys looked back and found his brother's white flames had dominated the field, and the Cannibal lay prone on the ground with smoke coming off its pitch-black scales.

On a closer look, he could see the black scales of the wild dragon were singed and pulsing with heat. The wings were the only part of the dragon that looked untouched. Viserys took tentative steps out of the safe confines of the castle despite the warnings from the men. He made his way to his younger brother, who looked out of his breath and sweating profusely.    

“Aegon.” he hesitantly called, but his brother remained unresponsive.

“My Prince, we should kill the dragon while we have the chance,” Ser Reyne said, drawing his sword and looking at the Cannibal warily.

“No! No one will be killing that dragon.” Aegon shouted, making everyone step back as they saw his fiery eyes were trained on them.

Viserys’ eyes widened when his brother suddenly collapsed on the floor.  

“Call for the maester.” he shouted immediately while cradling his brother’s head on his lap.

He could feel the heat rolling off his brother’s body, and for a moment, he wondered how his brother was even alive. How did his brother even make flames from his hands? Those were questions which bothered Viserys, but the answers were far out of his reach. The only person who could give him those answers was lying unconscious on his lap.

****

Jaehaerys felt like he should’ve seen this coming. The signs were right before his eyes. But as his dear wife accuses him these days, he was willfully blind to Gael’s interest in Aegon. His daughter had not only summarily rejected the betrothal he had painstakingly nurtured, but she had made her intentions to marry Aegon quite clear and loudly proclaimed to everyone in the Red Keep.

And now, his daughter wanted to leave King’s Landing to be with Aegon while he remained bedridden in Dragonstone.

“What do you mean I can’t go to Dragonstone?” Gael shouted at her father, her lilac eyes flaring in righteous anger.

“It means what it means.” Jaehaerys said firmly, glaring at her daughter, unwilling to back down in front of his rebellious daughter.

“I must go. Aegon needs me.” Gael stood her ground and glared right back at him, making Jaehaerys all the more angry.

“You’ll not be going anywhere without my say.” Jaehaerys thundered.

He swallowed heavily when tears rolled down the cheeks of his sole living daughter. She turned on the balls of her feet and ran from his solar, crying all the way. All that rage in him drained away upon seeing that, and his eyes fell on the two kingsguard knights in his solar.

“Ser Clement, look after my daughter. Make sure she doesn’t do anything untoward,” he ordered.

“Your grace.” the Crabbe knight bowed before speedily exiting his solar, chasing after his wayward daughter.

“What am I to do now, Ser Harrold? When I try to solve one problem, another takes root within the family.” Jaehaerys bemoaned, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

“Your grace, shall I offer you some water?” the Westerling knight asked.

“Yes.” Jaehaerys gasped as he felt himself sweat.

He greedily drank the water that Ser Harrold had provided. After that, he gave the chalice back to his trusted kingsguard knight as he rested in his seat. It took him some time to bring his racing heart under control, and slowly, his sweating ceased.

‘I’m not a youngster anymore. I might’ve been crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms when I was ten and six. But now… the crown is far too heavy a burden for me to bear,’ Jaehaerys thought morosely.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts.

“The fault lies with me, I suppose. I should’ve seen this coming sooner. Gael was always interested in Aegon. Ever since she saw him in Alyssa’s hands, she had never left his side.” Jaehaerys muttered, his eyes glazed over as he focused on a distant memory. “They were playmates and friends before anything else. I didn't see their friendship growing into something more.”

“May I ask a question, your grace?” Ser Harrold asked as the silence that followed his admission dragged on for too long.

“Ask away, Ser.” Jaehaerys opened his eyes and watched the Westerling knight.

He rarely gave much leeway to his kingsguard knights, but he was in desperate need of good counsel. In the absence of his dearly departed friend Barth and his wife in open defiance, Jaehaerys felt he had very little choice in whom he confided. He’d have talked with his Hand, but Ser Ryam Redwyne was too close to the issue at hand. Baelon was also not an option, and that left him with the recent addition to the kingsguard. Ser Harrold Westerling had taken the place of Ser Roxton, who passed away in his sleep.

“Why may I ask your grace sought a betrothal for the princess with House Redwyne? Wouldn’t it have been better for Prince Aegon and Princess Gael to marry to keep the dragons within House Targaryen?” Ser Harrold asked with genuine curiosity.

This was why Jaeherys liked Ser Harrold. The man had a good head on his shoulder but was also not a self-serving knight who’d sing praises day and night.

“You’re right, Ser Harrold. I made a mistake. The enemy at the gates blinded me to what was happening right under my roof.” Jaehaerys admitted.

“Forgive me your grace. Are you perhaps talking of Lord Corlys?” Ser Harrold asked tentatively.

“Who else?” Jaehaerys muttered angrily. “That man has poisoned my queen against me. He has sunk his claws into my wife, and now he wants to claim Aegon to his side through Alysanne.”

Jaehaerys didn’t miss the way Ser Harrold’s face twitched at his words.

“You do not know Corlys Velaryon like I do, Ser. He is a snake that bites the hand that feeds it. My biggest mistake was giving the hand of Rhaenys to that ungrateful upstart.” Jaehaerys snarled, his lilac eyes blazed with fury.

“It is not enough for the Velaryons to claim a Targaryen bride and a dragon, but now he wants my throne. I don’t know why I trusted the man to be any different from his grandfather. They were Maegor’s supporters. Opportunistic turncloaks, the whole lot.” Jaehaerys spat derisively.

“May I speak freely, your grace?” Ser Harrold asked after Jaeherys fell silent after his rant.

Jaehaerys looked searchingly at the bald-headed knight before letting out the breath he was holding.

“Speak your mind, Ser.”

“I don’t think Prince Aegon necessarily supports Lord Corlys. Make no mistake; Prince Aegon is well-trained and smart for his age, but he is still a boy. I believe he likes Princess Rhaenys more than Prince Baelon for the same reasons he liked Princess Maegelle or Queen Alysanne. He sees his mother in them, and that is enough for Prince Aegon to stand with them.”

“She is only ten namesdays older than Aegon.” Jaehaerys said with disbelief.

“And yet, Princess Rhaenys has always treated him like her little brother or a son.” Ser Harrold pointed out, “She claimed the Red Queen, and you know how Prince Daemon took the news. But Aegon was never bothered to see his mother’s dragon bonding with Princess Rhaenys.”

‘Could it be that simple? Have I been blinded my fears over Corlys to see…’ Jaehaerys frowned thoughtfully and closed his eyes in shame as he came to a painful conclusion.

‘Yes… yes, I went too far and allowed my fears to guide my actions.’

Jaehaerys also remembered with a wince how happy he was to have pushed Aegon into a conflict with Corlys. That was the sole reason he manipulated Aegon into taking up responsibility for the development of Dragonstone. Otherwise, he’d have sent Baelon and Viserys in Aegon’s place as they were his chosen heirs. Not that he regretted sending Aegon to the island. From all the reports he received from the island, Aegon had worked splendidly so far.

Still, he realised that in his quest to ensure Baelon’s succession, he had started to behave like the enemies he so despised. It left a bad taste in his mouth to admit that he was callous enough to throw his family into danger, just like Daemon Velaryon did when Maegor usurped the Iron Throne.  

Most importantly, he didn’t want to make his daughter unhappy. She was the light in his darkest days, and he knew Aegon would protect her with his life. His grandson was loyal and honourable to a fault—a rare trait in the House of the Dragon.

What more could a father ask for from a prospective husband of his daughter?

‘I need to make things right with Aegon, Gael…’ Jaehaerys decided, ‘…and Alysanne.’

He had already sent the best maesters to Dragonstone when word reached him of what had happened to Aegon. The details of the incident were not clear, but Aegon had fallen ill after a confrontation with two wild dragons. Viserys mentioned that Aegon survived the ordeal using his power over fire. More details on the situation remained unclear, and perhaps it’d remain so for the time being. But whatever it was, he was confident Aegon would recover. The maester of Dragonstone had said as much using the raven.

“Ser Harrold.”

“Your grace?”

“Make preparations for my journey to the Arbour. I’ll need to speak face-to-face with Lord Redwyne to ensure there is no bad blood.”

“As you will, your grace.” Ser Harrold bowed before stepping out of his chambers.

Jaehaerys relaxed in his seat as some unseen weight on his shoulders disappeared. He watched the Westerling knight take his leave, and for a moment, he said silent thanks to his old friend and Lord Commander of his Kingsguard, Ser Gyles Morrigen.

Ser Harrold was Ser Gyles's squire, and it’d seem the Westerling knight had learned much from his old friend and sparring partner. The loss of Ser Gyles was another blow in his reign, but now he felt like the man was helping him from even beyond death.  

‘If only there were more men like Ser Gyles, this land would be heaven.’ Jaehaerys thought as he reminisced about his oldest supporters and dearly departed friends.

The preparations were speedily done, and he was out of the city within the day with a retinue of knights and lords accompanying him in his progress to Oldtown and from there to the Arbour. Jaehaerys stared out of the window of his wheelhouse and watched the lands passing by as the wheelhouse moved swiftly through the Roseroad. He had so wanted to take Vermithor and fly all the way to the Arbour, but he was not confident he’d make the journey with his body’s weaker constitution.

He shook his head and put all his worries to death. He needed to conquer his needless fears on this long journey so he could visit the Starry Sept along the way to Arbour. He was hardly a man of faith, but lately, he had been having trouble finding strength on his own. But at times like these, faith had the power to strengthen the mind, and that’s what he needed.

While he was away, he trusted his son to manage the affairs of the crown.

‘It’s time Baelon assumes some responsibility. If he’s to rule one day, he must learn what it means to be responsible for the Seven Kingdoms.’ Jaehaerys thought.

****

Baelon glared into his own hands as his mind churned out possible solutions to the quandary he was facing. His father had left the capital five days ago and since then he hadn’t had an iota of sleep.

“My Prince.”

Baelon wished he could snap at Grand Maester Allar for interrupting his thoughts, but the man was old—older than his father. It’d be disrespectful not to be mindful of such things when he was the crown prince and now the regent in his father’s name.

He was not supposed to sit in the small council chambers in his father’s seat and rule in his name. Ser Ryam Redwyne was his father’s Hand, and the man should’ve been making the day-to-day decisions regarding the running of the realm.

But King Jaehaerys had charged Baelon with the responsibility of leading the small council until his return.

Baelon felt the weight of the realm on his shoulders, and he blamed his son for this entire mess. He knew for certain that it was because of Aegon that his father was now travelling to the Arbour to apologise to Lord Redwyne. Rumours of the affair between Gael and Aegon were spreading through the realm like a forest fire. His father was now humiliated in the eyes of the court and the lords of the realm for announcing the betrothal.

However, a small part of Baelon also blamed his father for rushing headfirst into betrothing his little sister and youngest son with the Redwyne siblings. He had hoped to betroth Aegon with Laena Velaryon and bridge the gap in the family. For all his talk of keeping the family together, his father was determined to keep Lord Corlys and Rhaenys at arm’s length when there were many avenues to bind their families together.

Although his father feared the Velaryons, Baelon considered them family, and he felt guilty for stealing his niece’s birthright.

He shook his head as his mind once again went into places that were not supposed to.

“My prince?”

“What is it, Grand Maester?” Baelon asked in frustration.

“We await your decision about the brigands camping at the Oldtsones. They’ve been attacking the bridges across the Blue Fork. Merchants are being harassed at the Sevenstreams and Fairmarket.”

“Tell Lord Frey to deal with these miscreants.” Baelon said with a scowl.

“The Oldstones encompasses a sliver of land that maintains the border between the holdings of houses Mallister, Frey and Blackwood. If one lord is to send their men into Oldstones, the others will respond aggressively.”

“Are you telling me the Riverlords will fight amongst themselves instead of hunting for these brigands?” Baelon asked incredulously.

“Grudges are far aplenty than pebbles in the Riverlands, my prince.” Grand Maester Allar said patiently with a thin smile.

“The Riverlords are not known for their understanding nature, my prince. They’ve quarrelled amongst themselves for thousands of years.” Lord Beesbury said, looking at Baelon with a look of pity, “I’m afraid the crown will have to intervene in this matter.”

If anyone in the small council understood his predicament, it was Lord Lyman Beesbury. The man had only served in the small council as the Master of Coin for a year, so Baelon had a much better relationship with the young Master of Coin, who was comparable in age to his own.

“Fine. We’ll send ravens to lords Frey, Blackwood and Mallister. Inform them that the crown will send an assortment of knights under Ser Lorence Roxton.”

“But my prince. Ser Lorence is of the Kingsguard. He is needed here to guard the royal family.” Ser Ryam protested.

“Ser Lorence will represent the crown. I trust you and your sworn brothers are more than capable of defending my family without Ser Lorence for a few days.” said Baelon, eyeing the Lord Commander.

“Of course, your grace.” Ser Ryam reluctantly agreed.

“That’s settled then.” Baelon sighed. “Now, what’s next?”  

“The lords and knights of the Cracklaw Point are acting up again, my prince. Lord Celtigar urges the crown to punish them and brand them as traitors.” said Grand Maester Allar.

“Punish loyal men of Crackclaw?” Baelon snorted, staring at the Grand Maester in disbelief, “I’d sooner cut off my own hands than do anything of the sort. Tell Lord Celtigar to mind his own business.”

He knew Lord Bartimos Celtigar was Corlys’ man through and through. He wouldn’t trust a word from that man’s mouth.  

“Moving on then…”

Baelon, the Spring Prince, was bound to the small council chambers for another hour as he dealt with the affairs of the realm. By the time the meeting ended, he was just about ready to collapse into a bed and forget he was now responsible for keeping the Seven Kingdoms together.

He cursed the gods for taking Aemon’s life as he walked the corridors of the Red Keep with Ser Victor of the Kingsguard, shadowing his every step.

‘If only Ameon was alive…’ Baelon thought with grief, unable to shake the feeling of being a thief for serving as their father's heir.

Suddenly, he heard screams coming from the end of the corridor, making Baelon stop.

“My prince. Let me lead…” Ser Victor stood before him fast and true with his sword drawn, but only a hysterical maid came running from the end of the corridor.

The woman immediately came to a standstill upon seeing him and Ser Victor.

“Why were you screaming? What happened?” Baelon asked immediately, already feeling something had gone horribly wrong under his watch.

“Princess Gael is missing, my prince.”

“What!”

 AN:

If you have any suggestions for the Cannibals' name, please let me know in the comments. I'll put up a poll soon.