"Addam, you have done well."
"I owe you a debt of gratitude for your bravery."
...
High Tide, Hall of the Nine
Sea Snake, leaning on his cane, placed his hand on the shoulder of the young man with silver hair and dark skin, and solemnly thanked him. "Addam, you did well."
Addam looked directly at the Lord and humbly replied, "My Lord, this is what I should do."
"No, you did what no one else dared to do," Sea Snake said, a hint of pride in his eyes as he regarded the young man before him. Addam, dressed simply, was so nervous he couldn't maintain eye contact. Despite his humble appearance, Sea Snake saw great potential in him.
He was worthy of being his... He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind and looked around cautiously.
In the Hall, Rhaegar, still in his black robe, was speaking with Rhaenys, and the captain of the Kingsguard, Erryk.
"The children are fine, but Rhaena is in shock," Rhaenys said, her voice tinged with sadness. "Both sisters are scared, and Baela has been crying." She sighed deeply, feeling the weight of the incident. Even strong-willed Baela had shed tears, and as their grandmother, Rhaenys felt particularly heartbroken.
"Tell Baelon to keep them company. Children can empathize more," Rhaegar suggested, his expression remaining unchanged. His gaze shifted to Erryk. "Ser, do you have anything to say?"
Erryk gritted his teeth and spoke with regret. "Your Grace, I am deeply sorry for what has happened." He had hoped that Driftmark, almost a second home for the royal family, would be free from such brazen acts of treason.
Looking directly at Rhaegar, Erryk straightened his chest and tried to make amends. "Ser Cole killed seven assassins and was seriously injured, but fortunately he was not fatally wounded."
Rhaegar's cold gaze showed no sign of being impressed. Erryk quickly continued, "To protect the Princes, I have assigned Arryk, Lorent, and Steffon to them. This will never happen again."
Despite Cole's bravery, his heroics couldn't erase the mistakes made through carelessness. If not for Prince Maekar's quick thinking, the consequences could have been disastrous. Prince Baelon and Lady Rhaena had narrowly escaped death.
Rhaegar felt a mix of annoyance and relief, his voice icy. "I want to see the heads of all the assassins before nightfall."
"I promise!" Erryk replied firmly. "The assassins invoked the Harpy, but they weren't the Sons of the Harpy from Slaver's Bay. They were a group of illegal mercenaries." He emphasized that the Sons of the Harpy wore golden masks, a symbol of their faith, and these assassins were clearly different.
Tapping, tapping...
Two figures entered the hall. Arryk walked quickly, holding a dark red dragon egg, with Baelon close behind, holding the dragon compass.
Arryk handed over the dragon egg. "Your Grace, the assassins who stole the Prince's dragon egg have been captured. They were on a cargo ship bound for Braavos."
"Father, the compass," Baelon said, slightly out of breath, offering it as if it were a treasure.
Rhaegar took the items and instructed Arryk, "Seal off Driftmark completely. Cannibal will patrol the Gullet. Any suspicious ships that venture out to sea will be sunk."
"Yes!" Arryk pounded his chest, bowed, and hurriedly left.
Rhaegar's eyes flashed as he rubbed the egg. "Men from Slaver's Bay, ships from Braavos," he mused. There was a definite connection, even if indirect.
Sea Snake, having just bid farewell to Addam, approached Rhaegar with a serious expression. "Your Grace—"
"Quiet, Lord Corlys," Rhaegar interrupted, waving a hand. He looked into Corlys's eyes, disappointment clear. "My child was almost assassinated in Velaryon's territory. You don't need to say anything now."
"Your Grace..." Sea Snake began, stunned and wanting to explain.
But chaos erupted in the castle. Maids and servants screamed, and Ser Lorent led guards in a thorough search of High Tide Castle. Before Corlys could speak, five disheveled Velaryon members, tortured and shackled, were brought into the hall. Their hands and feet were injured, fingernails pulled out, knuckles broken, and their mouths stuffed with rags soaked in herbs.
Rhaegar's eyes narrowed, his grip on the dragon egg tightening behind his back.
Lorent stepped forward. "Your Grace, these five traitors were in contact with the remnants of the Triarchy in Slaver's Bay and intended to assassinate Lady Rhaena. They have committed treason."
"Traitors?" Sea Snake's face changed as he recalled the patrol ambush in the Disputed Lands.
Rhaegar sneered. "Lord Corlys, House Velaryon truly has many hidden dragons."
Sea Snake, his head spinning, stumbled in disbelief. "My two nephews died in the war with the Triarchy. They..."
He stopped talking, realizing that his relatives had betrayed their blood relatives and conspired with the enemy.
Rhaegar declared, "The Kingdom's occupation of the Disputed Lands has long been a target for many."
He walked past the Sea Snake, who was overcome with self-doubt, and beckoned for a longsword. Waving it, he found it lifeless. His gaze shifted to a bloody hammer hanging on a stone pillar.
"My children are frightened because of this. Then no one should live," he said, his voice as cold as winter in the North. He reached out and took the three-foot-long hammer, ready to strike.
At that moment, a beautiful figure hurried into the hall. Rhaegar paused, glancing at her.
Helaena, dressed in a blue silk dress, carried a limp Maekar in her arms. "What's wrong with him?" Rhaegar asked, hiding the hammer behind his back.
Helaena lowered her head, holding Maekar tightly. "Did you catch it?" she asked in a strange voice. Maekar looked back at her with teary eyes, his head resting on her delicate neck. The scene warmed Rhaegar slightly.
Rhaenyra was looking after her two foster daughters and was more concerned about the twin brothers.
As the youngest and an introvert, Maekar was closer to Helaena. Upon returning to High Tide, Maekar was taken away by Helaena, who had heard the news.
Rhaegar held the dark red dragon egg aloft and smiled. "Don't be afraid. The bad guys paid the price, and the dragon egg was not lost."
Helaena's spirit lifted, and she patted her nephew's bottom. "Look, your dragon egg."
Maekar stopped crying and stared at the dragon egg he had given away, his big blue eyes filled with inexplicable sadness. Rhaegar, thinking his son was blaming himself, gently comforted him. "No one blames you. In your father's eyes, you are more precious than any dragon egg."
The little one was smart enough to know he had just saved his life. When he was a child, Rhaegar had wandered around Crackclaw Point and haggled with the wildlings. This child was just like him.
"No," Maekar shook his head violently, his eyes sad. "I gave the dragon egg away, and it won't recognize me anymore."
In other words, he sensed that he would never be able to break the shell of this dragon egg. This was the price he had to pay. Rhaegar, full of doubts, sensed his son was telling the truth.
Helaena stroked Maekar's back, placing her forehead against his, whispering, "Shh, don't cry. You'll find another way."
Maekar wiped away his tears, took one last look at the dark red dragon egg, and then huddled against his aunt's neck. "I'm sorry, but I can't have it anymore."
The two of them had unexpectedly hit it off.
Rhaegar sighed and handed the egg to Baelon. "Take your brother downstairs. Father has some business to attend to."
"Leave it to me." Baelon patted his chest and took his brother from Helaena's arms. Maekar tried to walk on his own but was easily carried away by his three-year-older brother.
"The egg will be kept by the Dragonkeepers." As he watched his sons leave, Rhaegar tossed the egg to Erryk and picked up the hammer, advancing menacingly on Malentine Velaryon.
"Woo-woo..." The five Velaryons tried to speak, whimpering in fear. Malentine stared with wide eyes, shaking his head frantically and kneeling to beg for mercy.
Boom!
The heavy hammer struck, and flesh and blood splattered everywhere. Rhaegar's expression remained cold as he crushed the thick brain matter, then moved on to the next victim.
"Uhh..."
The next man bowed heavily, screaming like a madman, and tried to bite Sea Snake's trousers.
"Your Grace, should we..."
Boom!
Half of the brain flew out, landing at Sea Snake's feet. He swallowed his suggestion to publicly execute the prisoners, his pupils twitching and his teeth grinding as he backed away.
Rhaegar turned to him, bloodstains on his porcelain-white skin resembling bright plum blossoms. Sea Snake shuddered, realizing the true meaning of hell.
"Lord Corlys, did I ask you to speak?" Rhaegar asked, feigning confusion as he shook off the sticky substance from his hammer.
Sea Snake was at a loss for words, unable to answer.
At that critical moment, Rhaenys stepped in front of her husband, speaking helplessly. "Your Grace, Corlys only thinks that this will undermine your majesty. Besides, they have already admitted their mistake. Perhaps they can be given a chance to atone for their sins by wearing black robes."
Corlys's eyes were filled with mixed emotions, and his wife's words reflected his own thoughts. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.
"Ohhh..."
The remaining three Velaryons nodded repeatedly, their eyes full of a desperate desire to live. They would rather live on the Wall than die here.
Rhaegar paused, looking back and forth between Sea Snake and Rhaenys. After a long silence, he sighed lightly, seeming to be persuaded.
Rhaenys's brow relaxed, and she continued, "The assassins are from Slaver's Bay. We should send a message to Daemon to prepare."
Boom!
Before her words had fully settled, a head flew into the air like a rotten watermelon bursting. Rhaegar kept his hammer raised, looking almost apologetic. "Sorry, I hit the neck."
Plop!
The headless corpse fell backward, its spine swaying grotesquely. Rhaegar turned around and casually threw the hammer to the stunned Ser Lorent, coldly ordering, "Take the other two and execute them according to the tradition of the Boltons in the North."
"Your Grace?" Lorent hesitated, wanting to persuade him. The traditional methods of House Bolton had long been banned and were widely opposed by both nobility and commoners.
"Do it!" Rhaegar ordered coldly, not wanting to hear any more excuses. His children had almost been killed. The perpetrators needed to feel the pain they had caused.
Lorent dared not argue further and quickly ordered the three bodies and the two half-crazed Velaryons to be dragged away. The hall returned to a semblance of peace.
Rhaegar turned his gaze to the Sea Snake, who stood with his eyes closed, deep in thought. "They don't understand their wrongdoing; they're just afraid of punishment."
The Sea Snake remained silent, but Rhaenys spoke up, "You're right, Your Grace."
Rhaegar dismissed any potential dissent and intensified the punishment. "Their families will be imprisoned and sent to Winterfell to serve as servants. Lord Cregan will receive them personally."
It was well known that two years prior, Cregan Stark, who had rebelled against his uncle the Regent, had reclaimed control of Winterfell. He had even traveled to King's Landing to renew his ties of friendship with Rhaegar.
As Rhaegar finished speaking, the Sea Snake's eyes snapped open, expressing strong protest. The five nephews were guilty, and their deaths were acceptable. But punishing their families and sending them to the North was not only a disgrace to House Velaryon but also a significant weakening of its bloodline.
Rhaegar's voice was indifferent. "Do you have a problem with that?"
The Sea Snake felt a lump in his throat, his voice becoming hoarse. "There is a mastermind behind this. Before the storm, a wise sailor does not abandon all available resources."
Slaver's Bay, Volantis, Braavos... All the forces on the continent of Essos were potential enemies of the Iron Throne.
Rhaegar agreed, saying, "Yes, but I am not a sailor. I am Rhaegar Targaryen the First, The King on the Dragon's Back."
With that, he walked past the Sea Snake. "Slaver's Bay is too far away. Pick a suspect and strike."
"This is just killing some rats to warn the others!" he declared, ignoring the Sea Snake's stunned expression, and strode out of the hall. Helaena, who had watched the whole exchange, followed him leisurely.
The first thing Rhaegar did after leaving the hall was find Aemond, who was hiding in his room, brooding over his loss of face at the brothel.
Bang! Rhaegar kicked open the door and shouted at Aemond.
...
A moment later, three dragons soared into the sky from Driftmark, flying over The Gullet and heading towards Braavos.
The Sea Snake was right. War was coming. Agreements would be broken, or they would be forged anew in a baptism of blood and fire.
(Word Count: 2,145)