(Rhaegon's POV)
"Finally." I said as I approached the Dragonpit's gate, "Some fucking peace…."
I was finally able to slip away from all the lords and ladies of the court, and made my way down to the Dragonpit to take my dragon for some laps on the sea, his much-needed exercise.
As I approached, I was greeted with some nods from the guards there and they opened the gates, letting me through.
"Nephew!" I heard a voice call out behind me
I stopped and turned around, seeing Uncle Viserys jog up to me with an unusual smile. As he got closer, I was hit by the reek of wine coming from him. He must've been drinking an awful lot for him to be smiling at me.
"My Prince." I said as he reached me
He patted my shoulder as he immediately wrapped his arm around my neck, forcing me to walk alongside him, "Where are you off to?" He asked
His breath was potent with wine, I could immediately tell, causing me to flinch and look away, "Uhm...." I said, "Taking Morghul for a couple of laps."
He smiled at me, "Let us join you then. Moonfyre has been aching for a good race!" He said with a chuckle
"I....uh...." I said as he walked down towards the entrance of the cave, "Have you been drinking, Uncle?"
"Yes, plenty..." He said with a chuckle
"I don't think you're in condition to fly." I told him
"Nonsense." He said as he pulled away from me, "I'm sobered up. I drank many barrels of wine last night, straight from the Arbor, my lady-wife's House."
Ah yes, Lady Esther Redwyne, his wife and mother of his daughter.
He gestured towards the keepers, signaling them to bring our dragons out. I merely stood there and watched as he turned back around and gave me another smile.
"While I drank, last night, my nephew." He said, "I've done plenty of thinking."
"Hm." I said, "What did you think about?"
He grabbed me by the shoulder, "We, you and I, are the blood of the Dragon." He said, "Rhaegar is right, we should get along. While it is true that Rhaegar and his wife have favored you over me, I have my own allies in the Realm that love me. Together, Rhaegon, we'll be an unstoppable force! Should there be another River Dragon, we'll crush any signs of treason and rebellion, in the name of Rhaegar and our heritage."
I nodded, "Is that so?" I said, "I'm glad you see it that way."
"Nephew, you and I are the Realm's greatest power!" He said as I heard the rumbling of his dragon through the cave's mouth, "We.....have dragons!!"
I turned to see a massive figure appear from the cave mouth, Moonfyre, a dark grey Dragon with silver stripes all around her body. Her fierce silver eyes were reminiscing of the moon in the night sky, full of fire, hence her name.
She let out a deep rumbling as she saw us, shaking her head slightly as the keepers slowly escorted her out.
She roared as she approached Viserys who extended his arms while laughing.
"Dohaeras" the dragonkeeper commanded, "Umbas"
Viserys chuckled, "Ah, my sweet sweet muse." he said as Moonfyre reached down and nudged him with her snout, "We shall take to the skies today, the city shall be delighted with the sight of your wings, my dear."
"Hm." I said as I saw Moonfyre look at me with a slight rumble
Viserys patted her snout, "Easy, girl." He told her, "He's my nephew."
"Demas"
Moonfyre then lowered herself even more, enough for Viserys to walk around and climb atop her saddle, laughing as he did so.
"Ah, Nephew, where is your beast?" He said looking around, "Hurry now, I expect you to catch up!"
"Soves!"
Moonfyre let out a roar as she began to take flight, leaving me no choice but to back away a couple of meters to avoid being hit by her force. I watched as she flapped her wings, taking the skies in mere seconds.
"Hm...." I said, "That fool...."
I then heard a deep growl as several thudding footsteps.
"Dohaeras, Morghul, Lykiri..." the dragonkeepers commanded as I turned around saw him approach
His sight was different than Moonfyre's, he was larger than her and while Moonfyre could be intimidating, she was a beautiful sight. Morghul, on the other hand, was a much more terrifying sight to behold when coming from the caves of a shadow.
His golden amber eyes looked at me as he emerged into the sun.
"Mazis" I offered my hand forward
Morghul let off some vocalizing, shaking his head as he approached me. I could feel the pressure of his loud snorts hit me lightly.
He leaned down and met his snout with my hand as I caressed his beautiful obsidian scales with a smile, "Ah, my boy." I said with a chuckle, "You've been awfully moody lately, have you? Let us go and have some time to ourselves."
He opened his mouth and rumbled, his loud vocalizing resounding all throughout the dragonpit.
I took a step back and began to put my leather gloves on, "I look forward to it too, old friend." I told him, "Let us go then."
*****************************************************
"Aha!" Viserys said as he drunkenly stumbled into the arms of a dragonguard, "That was quite fun! Nephew, I beat you in those 10 laps, you owe me 10 gold dragons."
I sighed, "Sure sure, Uncle." I said as I took my gloves off, "Maybe later I can actually fly around in peace alone."
It was a few hours later, after taking our dragons for a flight, Viserys and I returned to the Dragonpit and decided to leave them for their supper as the sun was setting. He had so annoyingly insisted we raced around the black water, ten laps.
I clearly won but he's too fucking drunk to realize that.
The keepers were corralling our dragons back inside the pit. Morghul was satisfied with the flight, I even let him bathe in the blackwater for a couple of minutes while uncle flew Moonfyre above us in a random rock, spewing flames in the skies.
Viserys stumbled towards me and wrapped his arm around me, "Nephew...." He said
"Did you have reserve wine on Moonfyre's saddle, Uncle?" I asked, "How do you look more drunk than prior to taking flight?"
"Ah, yes, I did." He said simply as he dragged himself alongside me, "Anyways, I have heard some whispers."
"You too?" I muttered
"Wait, you've heard them too?" He said stopping as he pointed at me, "You've heard whispers of treasonous statements directed at our precious Myrcella, my Niece, the Princess?"
I looked at him, "What have you heard?" I asked
He looked around before leaning in towards me, "They call her.....illegitimate." He said before placing his finger on his lips, "The scum. It angers me that such a thing is even a question! He has Targaryen eyes!"
"What have you done about it?" I asked, "Do you know who has said this?"
"No, I have set the Spider on finding out." He said, "Rest assured, Nephew. I will find out who is responsible for such rumors and I will rip out their tongues. Wait....we could do it together! ha!"
"Quiet down." I muttered as I pulled him alongside, "Let's get you to bed first."
"That aside, Nephew." He said as he got closer to me, "I heard Rhaegar finally took the River Dragon's blade out of the Vault."
I raised an eyebrow, "The River Dragon's?"
"Of course, you don't know much about it." He said, "The River Dragon had a Valyrian Steel Greatsword, said to be bigger than the Stark's sword. After the rebellion ended, Rhaegar locked it inside a vault and for years, Tywin Lannister has asked him to make use of it."
I nodded, "I see." I said, "It makes sense he hasn't taken it out."
"Of course, it is symbolic of the dread brought upon our Family." He said, "But still..."
"Valyrian Steel is hard to come by."
*****************************************************************
"Apologies, Your Grace..." I said as I sat down in the table across from Queen Cersei, "I was unable to join you last night....I was preoccupied."
She smiled, "It is fine." She said softly
I looked at the table, it was filled with delicacies, from meats to pies. It was not something I was used to as stated by Myrcella, I usually just eat whatever I can find when I'm in my adventures.
Next to me, Myrcella sat as she gave me a warm smile. Her two sisters sat next to her, Naerys and Heleana. They were so small, so precious, their white hair reflecting the light of the candles. They were giving me smiles that I could not ignore, my cousins. They were filled with so much purity and innocence that even Viserys would be softened by. Its not surprising he takes great offense to the rumors about Myrcella, he loves her dearly.
I felt the piercing eyes of the Queen as I sat there silently.
I cleared my throat, "I uh.....I plan to leave King's Landing soon." I said as I placed my hands on the table, "My dear sister had wished to see Morghul and was unable to do so due to my sudden call. She can be quite sad if she doesn't see the Dragon."
"Give my regards to your Mother and sister, Ser Rhaegon." Queen Cersei said, "But I am afraid that will wait until after Rhaegar speaks to you."
I looked around, "Where is His Grace?" I asked
"You'll see him after dinner." She said, "Eat, I know your Mother would love for you to partake in a proper meal and well, my cooks had so much trouble preparing this for you."
"Y-You honor me, Your Grace." I said with a slight smile, "But I.."
"Nonsense, eat." She said as she took a sip of her cup, "And my girls have wished to see you, their cousin, for quite some time. Didn't you, girls?"
Naerys, the middle daughter, looked at me, "When can we race our Dragons, cousin?" She asked
I raised an eyebrow, "Is your Dragon large enough to be ridden yet?"
She shook her head, "No." She said
"Then until that is the case, we won't be able to do that." I said with a chuckle, "And if it comes to that, Morghul will win."
She laughed, "No he won't!" She said, "Mine is faster!"
"We'll see about that." I said
"Is it possible for you to take me on a ride, Cousin?" Myrcella asked me, "On Morghul."
I looked at her, her bright eyes looking at me with hope. I couldn't exactly refuse that request, the way she looked at me.
"Of course." I said, "If it's my Princess's request, it will be done. Mayhaps on the Morrow or when I return to King's Landing."
"G-Good." Myrcella said as she looked down with a smile, "Thank you."
I looked past Naerys and Myrcella and to Heleana who was eating, "Is the Princess hungry?"
She looked at me with a smile, a piece of lemon cake in her hand, "Yes." She said
I chuckled, "You've grown quite big, Princess." I said, "Soon you'll be able to ride your dragon as well."
She nodded and continued eating, ignoring me completely. She was so full of blissful child ignorance, that one.
"When you're done here, Rhaegar awaits you in his study, Nephew." the Queen said, "Eat your fill and enjoy the wine Viserys brought from The Arbor."
***************************************************
"You wished to see me, Your Grace?" I asked as I closed the door to his study behind me
He sat behind a desk, a lit candle next to him as he wrote on a paper.
He looked up at me, his tired eyes telling me a million stories, "Rhaegon." he said as he set his feather down and stood up, "You're here. I wanted to catch you before you grew bored of the Capital and leave."
I sighed, "You know me well, Uncle." I said, "But I think I'll stay a few more days, there is something I must deal with."
He walked around the desk and towards a table where a large case lay, "Is that so?" He said, "Good, your presence here is always welcomed."
I looked at the case, "What is that?" I asked as he proceeded to open it
"A gift." He said, "I didn't want to make a spectacle about it despite Tywin's suggestions."
I saw that there was a shiny sword inside it, a bastard sword with a silver hilt and black handle, a golden amber gem at the end of it. I noticed the rippling pattern on the blade and recognized it immediately.
Valyrian Steel.
"That's quite a blade." I said
He slowly lifted it in his hands, looking at the craftsmanship. Even from where I stood, I can easily tell a master smith must've worked on this piece of work. There was something about that sword that called to me, which was....unusual.
He then placed the broad of the blade on his palm as he held the handle with his other hand, offering it to me.
I looked at it and then at him, "Y-Your Grace?" I said
"Hard of hearing?" He said, "It's a gift. For you."
"M-Me?" I said, "But Your Grace...."
"Take it." He said
I lifted my arms and gently took the blade in my hands, trying not to cut myself by accident. It was light, lighter than my own bastard sword that I have grown attached to. I felt an odd aura coming from the blade, as if it wished to erupt in flames.
"Is this for me?" I asked him
He nodded, "Yes, Rhaegon." He said, "It is yours."
He turned around and lifted the scabbard from the case, handing it to me as I lifted the blade, pointing the blade up. I examined the waves on the steel, completely enthralled. I never once held Valyrian Steel in my hands. Uncle would often let me see his sword when I was young but that was pretty much it.
"T-Thank you....Your Grace...." I said softly, "But....I don't recognize this blade....."
"Hm." He said before drawing Dark Sister and pointing it up to the ceiling, "Do you know the tale of this sword?"
I looked at him, "Uhm, well, yes. Everyone does." I said, "Dark Sister was wielded by Visenya Targaryen when she and her sister conquered the Kingdoms with Aegon. Afterward, it was wielded by several prominent figures such as Daemon Targaryen and Aemon The Dragonknight."
He nodded, "Indeed." he said, "It was then lost, like Blackfyre, during the rebellions started by the Pretender Bastard of Aegon IV."
"Yes, it was wielded by Brynden Rivers." I said, "Who was last seen beyond the Wall before disappearing....."
"Yes. Which is quite peculiar it ended up in the hands of a Bravoosi swordsman....." He said, "Ser Arthur cut down his comrades with ease when he clashed with the swordsman. He would've cut him down himself if I hadn't step in and offered to duel him in single combat. I defeated the man and took the famed blade that belonged to our Family. I used it during the River Dragon's Rebellion and it was Dark Sister that was plunged into his chest."
I nodded, "yes....." I frowned, "It is strange....how did it get down to Bravoos.....maybe.....well, I don't know. Rivers was alive a long time ago.....and as for Blackfyre, well it is also unknown where it ended up."
"The River Dragon wielded a Valyrian Greatsword so large I was confused at how he was able to wield it so efficiently." He said as he sheathed his blade, "Nevertheless, I killed him and took the sword, shut it inside a vault and forgot about it. It wasn't until Tywin and his ceaseless requests to bring it out. So I did and called forth one of the few smiths capable of reforging Valyrian Steel."
He nodded at the blade.
"I see...." I said, "This is from that sword?"
"Yes. I made another longsword from it and will gift it to Viserys. I only made yours slightly longer, as a bastard sword." He said, "Obviously because you favor bastard swords. I hope Viserys doesn't get envious of that."
I chuckled as I placed the blade in its sheath, "You have no idea how grateful I am, Your Grace." I told him
He then walked up to me and placed his hands on my shoulder, "There is something you must know, Rhaegon." He said seriously
I raised an eyebrow, "Your Grace?"
"When I killed the River Dragon....he uttered some strange words.....they have haunted me for years...." He said, "But alas, it is only recently that I began to understand those words....."
"What words are that?" I asked
"He told me: 'You don't have three eyes, do you?' and laughed." He said with a grim tone, "He laughed as he bled out and his life left his body."
I frowned, "Three eyes?" I said, "What does that mean?"
He stepped back, "Three Eyes." He said, "I've done my research about this but do not wish to speak of it here.....the walls full of rats and spiders....I can only tell you this, Nephew. I can only trust you. I would trust Viserys but said rats and spiders have their clutches on them harder than they can hope to have them on you."
"Your Grace?" I said
He gave me a serious look, "The North." He said,
"You'll find your answers there."