Three days later...
Dragonmont, Eastern Mountain Range
"Give me your hand and stamp your feet hard."
"Wait, I haven't stepped firmly yet."
...
On the steep mountainside, Rhaegar lay half-faced on the rock face, reaching out to help Aemond climb up.
Rustling...
After an arduous climb, Aemond finally made it up the steep slope and collapsed to the ground, panting and exhausted.
"Take a breather, the cave is just around the corner."
Rhaegar took a sip from his water pouch and handed it casually.
Looking around, the brothers stood on a treacherous peak, their silver hair fluttering in the salty sea breeze. The mountain was barren, littered with sharp debris, miles away from the towering active volcano.
"Roar..."
An ear-splitting roar echoed as a cascade of debris fell from the mountain top. The dragon covered in brown, mud-colored scales, known as Sheepstealer, landed on a craggy patch of cliff, peering down at the brothers with a mischievous look.
Aemond's face fell at the sound. "This stupid thing will wear me out before it's ready to do anything."
After days of separation, he had reluctantly accepted the fact that he had won Sheepstealer's favor. But the dragon still found ways to torment him.
"This treacherous peak is Sheepstealer's territory, and it insists we visit its lair," Rhaegar explained, rubbing Aemond's head in amusement. He stood up to continue climbing.
Cannibal and Silverwing had suffered minor injuries from their battles and were recuperating at the sea cliffs. Sheepstealer had also been injured dealing with Sunfyre and was not yet ready for Aemond to ride.
Aemond's eyes darkened, and he said despondently, "I'd rather not have any treasure. I just want to take a boat back to King's Landing with Father and the others."
The day after Viserys tamed Vermithor, Rhaegar explained the mounting troubles one by one. The vacation had abruptly ended, and the overwhelmed king led his family back to King's Landing to address the problems. Aemond, however, was pestered by Sheepstealer and forced to stay on Dragonstone.
At this moment, only Aemond, Rhaegar, and the unaware Four Storms remained on the island.
As the sun climbed higher, reaching noon, Rhaegar was the first to reach the mountain top. He took a deep breath. "It's been a while since I've been this active."
Looking around, he saw Dragonmont stretching far and wide under the azure sky.
Aemond soon joined him, tired and sweating profusely.
"Roar..."
The Sheepstealer roared, perching on the mountain peak and flapping his wings as if to show off his self-proclaimed majesty.
Rhaegar shook his head with a bemused smile, glancing at the sullen Aemond before moving towards the cave, littered with sheep bones and dragon dung.
The cave entrance was narrow, but the interior was spacious and surprisingly shallow, resembling a natural cavern.
The brothers entered, tripping over bones and rotten rocks until they reached a makeshift nest. Dragon nests are best located near volcanoes, where they can bask in the high temperatures of underground magma. The next best are dark, stifling underground caves like the Dragonpit.
Rhaegar stared at the crude nest made of rotten wood, stone, and mud with dismay. "Aemond, you've really found a treasure. The Sheepstealer is definitely not an ordinary dragon."
"Rhaegar, please stop," Aemond muttered, covering his face with his hands.
Rhaegar's brows furrowed in concern. "Let's see what's in the nest."
He recalled that wild dragons had different habits than those tamed from birth, and their survival environments varied significantly. The Grey Ghost lived on the east coast of Dragonstone, finding a cliff cave with seabirds as neighbors. The Cannibal had no fixed nest, living wherever it pleased and flying all over the world. Compared to them, a Sheepstealer's nest seemed logical.
Navigating through a field of skeletons was difficult. The grotto was filled with bones, rotten rocks, and dragon dung. Most of the skeletons were goats, but there were also large dogs and human remains scattered about.
"Not bad for a wild dragon with the most contact with humans," Rhaegar mused, raising the perceived danger of wild dragons.
"Rhaegar, come look at this!" Aemond called, his smaller frame more agile as he navigated through the mess and climbed up the massive nest.
Rhaegar stopped dawdling and quickly joined him. Climbing along the exposed logs of the nest, they uncovered the collapsed center, revealing a hoard of different-colored gems, a rotting wooden box glinting with gold, broken swords, and remnants of armor—all shiny objects that dragons favored.
Rhaegar's eyes were drawn to two oval dragon eggs nestled among the gems. "Dragon eggs?" he exclaimed.
"Yes, and they look like they can hatch," Aemond said excitedly, holding out the two dragon eggs.
Rhaegar examined them; one was green and the other light purple, both showing signs of hatching activity. "Could the green egg be Silverwing's?" Aemond speculated, touching it carefully.
"Probably. Vhagar stopped laying eggs long ago. Only Silverwing would be suitable," Rhaegar agreed, looking out of the cave with an odd expression. "Do Sheepstealers have a penchant for stealing dragon eggs?"
He had thought only Cannibal would do such a thing, and that was mainly for satisfying his hunger.
"What if it's an egg laid by Sheepstealer?" Aemond guessed.
Rhaegar pondered for a moment and shook his head. "Dragons don't have genders, but they do have habits. Sheepstealer doesn't seem like an egg-laying dragon. Otherwise, it wouldn't have let us take them."
Aemond's eyes brightened, and he let out a relieved "Oh."
"Don't dawdle. You found the dragon eggs, and when you have children in the future, you can pick from these two," Rhaegar said cheerfully.
Aemond pursed his lips and remained silent.
The brothers soon emerged from the cave.
Aemond took off his cloak, using it to wrap the two dragon eggs and secure them to his waist. Rhaegar, not wanting to waste the Sheepstealer's goodwill, used his space bracelet to collect a pile of precious stones and the crushed gold from the chest.
This unexpected bounty would help cover the costs of constructing Harrenhal and training the Fearless, expenses that had been significant.
He and Aemond agreed to split the loot, taking advantage of the Sheepstealer's unwitting generosity.
As the afternoon wore on, they slowly descended the mountain, chatting as they went. Aemond often sought out his older brother Rhaegar to discuss dragon taming, warfare, and the management of fiefdoms. Rhaegar, in turn, offered specific advice, hoping that Aemond would grow into a reliable leader, unlike their useless brother Aegon.
"Roar..."
Suddenly, the Sheepstealer swooped overhead, its sharp claws piercing the rock as it perched on a ledge.
"What's wrong with it?" Rhaegar asked, puzzled.
Having just raided the dragon's nest, Rhaegar wondered if it was coming for revenge.
Aemond shook his head, unable to sense the dragon's emotions because of their lack of a bond.
"Roar..."
The Sheepstealer roared shrilly, its dried-up dragonhead sniffing the air before flapping its wings excitedly and taking off.
"It seems like it's found an enemy," Rhaegar observed, frowning slightly. "You keep climbing down. I'll check it out."
Dragons had a strong sense of territory, and the Sheepstealer's reaction suggested it felt threatened by an intruder.
Click...
Navigating the uneven mountain rocks, Rhaegar slowly approached the crags, examining the area where the Sheepstealer had landed. The rocks bore several messy, huge claw marks, each about three fingers in length—unusually large.
"A dragon?" Rhaegar's eyes widened with surprise. The size and shape of the claw marks could only have been left by a dragon, given the steep cliffs.
Examining the marks further, he noted they were larger than Syrax or Sunfyre's but smaller than the Sheepstealer's. "Not a dragon on the island," he speculated. "A wild dragon!"
Considering the known dragons: Vhagar, Cannibal, and Vermithor were all true giants, much larger than the Sheepstealer. Silverwing and Dreamfyre were also larger, and Caraxes and Meleys, although slightly smaller, still exceeded the size of the claw marks.
The fourth-generation dragons, Syrax, Sunfyre, Seasmoke, and Grey Ghost, were all smaller than the Sheepstealer.
"This wild dragon is probably around forty or fifty years old," Rhaegar calculated, "its size between the family's fourth-generation and third-generation dragons."
A sudden realization struck him. "The Wild Dragon of the Smoking Sea?" After the Doom of Valyria, the Targaryens' dragons were supposed to be the only ones left, with all others residing on Dragonstone or the Dragonpit.
The Cannibal was the only known wild dragon, notorious for eating dragon eggs and young dragons. Now, there's a new trace of a wild dragon on Dragonstone Island?
A sense of urgency gripped Rhaegar. Tightening the cloak around his waist that held the dragon eggs, he quickly descended the mountain with Aemond.
The steepness gradually lessened, and they landed safely at the base, where an old man and a young Dragonkeeper were waiting.
"Prince, you finally came down the mountain. Miss Cassandra asked about you many times," the older Dragonkeeper spoke in rich High Valyrian.
Rhaegar unbuckled the cloak and carefully handed the two dragon eggs to the young Dragonkeeper, instructing in High Valyrian, "Store them in the cellar under the Stone Drum."
"Yes, Prince," the young Dragonkeeper replied, handling the eggs with great care.
Rhaegar then turned to the older Dragonkeeper, pointing to the mountain with the claw marks. "There is a wild dragon on the island, in Dragonmont, the east coast. Increase Dragonkeeper patrols in these areas."
The older Dragonkeeper peered up in surprise. Rhaegar grabbed his arm, eyes cold. "If you spot an unknown wild dragon, leave a marker and send word immediately. I will ride the Cannibal to hunt it."
"Hunt?" The elderly Dragonkeeper's mouth fell open.
"That's right," Rhaegar affirmed. "Do you hear me?"
No dragon that did not belong to the Targaryens would be allowed to roam free, potentially threatening the family. If this wild dragon dared to appear, it would either be captured and added to the Dragonpit or hunted down and killed to satisfy the Cannibal's appetite.
(Word count: 1,664)