Two days after the Targaryen Siblings met the Envoys of Lys, Tyrosh, and Summer Islands, a Fleet of 25 Trading Vessels, carrying logs of Pine and Ash arrived at Dragonport.
Azaerys did not accompany the Summer Islanders as they inspected the wood. He invited Xasaya Qo to lunch later that day, and the Princess of Sweet Lotus Vale reached a trade agreement with him.
To her agitation, Rhaenys always stuck close to him, giving her no chance for having any deeper conversation with the handsome Lord of Dragonport.
And the Targaryen Princess heartily laughed when Xasaya Qo admitted defeat for the day.
Right after lunch, Azaerys left with a group of 100 Kharziks atop their Hippogriffs.
In the evening, two Kharzik Sky Riders returned to drop Aegon and Rhaemon on top of the Temple of Pride.
Rhaenys was present to receive her brothers, whom she happily hugged, and though they insisted that they wanted to explore the City, she forbade them from going out.
She showed them around the Pyramid, asked them how things were in Siren, and how was their journey to Sothoryos on Rhaegal and Lyrax, who had stayed back with Silvexis in the depths of forests, south of the ruined city of Yeen.
"Did you see any Brindled Men?" She curiously asked, and both the boys disappointedly shook their heads.
"Arthur said that they hide in their settlements if they see Wyverns in the sky. Our dragons, when they breathed flames, must have scared them," said Aegon.
"Anything interesting?"
"Nothing," Rhaemon sighed. "We had to stay put for hours. Arthur did not even allow us to leave the clearing. We were bored to death... Ow..." He winced when his sister painfully tapped his head.
"I thought you were wiser now, but you are still a kid who wants to cause trouble for Az." She narrowed her eyes.
"Rhae, you have become scary..."
"Have I, Rhae?" She asked and smiled when her little brother laughed.
"Nope!"
"Come here, you..."
Even though Aegon and Rhaemon were disappointed that they could not go out and explore the City, the Pyramid of Pride was so big that by the time they finished their exploration and sat down for dinner, received lots of love from Lyanna, they wanted nothing more than to enter their beds and sleep.
However, early the next morning, their excitement was back.
Rhaenys, to both their glee and disappointment, chose to not go out with them. And Lyanna was forbidden by Azaerys from leaving the Pyramid of Pride. She could not disobey his command.
The Targaryen Princess made sure that Aegon's glamour, which kept his platinum blonde hair hidden, making them appear the same as hers, was in place.
"Remember, you can not use your name," She spoke to her little brother, but not to her youngest. "Your name is Aelyx Nefaeryon."
Aegon smiled at the name that she gave him.
"I love it," He told her, and she lovingly patted his head.
"What about me, Rhae?" Rhaemon expectantly asked.
"You are Rhaemon Zaelystar."
"Awesome!" He grinned.
Rhaenys then assigned their trusted Household Knight, Aro, as their Protector. And also chose two more soldiers, brothers, Horus and Seth, who had been trained by the Red Priests of the Grand Temple in the Art of Killing.
These two were Warriors and Assassins forged by flames, and ever since they took oath as the servants of House Targaryen, they have been part of the Legion of Light, which was now a thousand strong.
Only 100 members of the Legion of Light were present in Dragonport and 100 more in Astapor. The rest of the 800 were still in Siren, serving as the guards of the Targaryen Household.
These people were the ones whom they could even blindly trust as they considered Azaerys the incarnation of their Lord of Light. They treated him as if he was their God.
Once Azaerys had asked them to slit their throats with their knives, and if he had not used magic to stop them, they would have taken their own lives on the spot. There was no hesitation in their eyes as the blades kissed their necks.
"Do not let any harm come to them." She coldly ordered the three, who saluted to her.
Rhaenys then gave Aegon a pouch with a hundred Silver Hippogriffs, and sixty Silver Griffins, the newly, magically-minted coins for Astapor and Dragonport.
There were two types of Silvers, as well as two types of Golds.
Five Silver Hippogriffs were equal to one Silver Griffin. Twenty Silver Griffins were equal to one Gold Dragon, and three Gold Dragons were equal to one Gold Droarg, which had the image of an Ancient Dragon on it.
The standard currency in the City was planned to be limited to Coppers and Silvers. The Gold Dragons and Gold Droargs were made out of pure gold, and so, their values, when put in the rest of the world, were very high. Therefore, none of them had been circulated in the City.
Their exchange when available, would only be through the Dragon Bank, which would open in the City by the end of the summer. The Dragon Bank was also going to open its branch in Astapor on the same day.
"So few?" Aegon asked after looking inside the pouch and ran away with a grin before his sister could take back some coins.
"Wait for me!" Rhaemon shouted as he ran after him, and their Protectors were already on their toes because of their antics.
Once they arrived at the Central Plaza, they excitedly looked at the Eight Pyramids around them and then at the fountain and the statue of the Harpy, atop a large platform in the centre, which was quite pretty.
They, however, were not interested in art and architecture.
The boys wanted to visit the markets and see how different things were here compared to the Kharzik Towns in Ulthos, the city Asshai, and the town of Siren.
And they were not disappointed.
The markets of Dragonport were a lot more crowded, and there were all sorts of people there.
Old, young, fair, dark, some black as night, and some pale as if they had no blood in their faces. Most people had brown and copper skins, and their way of dressing was not the same either.
The blend of a dozen different cultures excited them a lot, and when they started paying attention to the accents of people, it made them laugh from time to time.
Even after spending hours, purchasing lots of snacks and delicacies, watching belly dances of beautiful ladies, and betting in the Fighting Pits, they only ended up spending 20 Silver Hippogriffs.
Aegon and Rhaemon were quite tempted to spend their remaining money, but they had nothing in mind. They also realised that if they spent all the coins, Rhaenys was going to punish them for being spendthrifts.
"Aro, where should we go next?" Aegon turned to look at his Protector, who thought for a while before making a suggestion.
"How about we visit the Horse Market? It happens to be open today. A lot of different breeds are up for sale."
"Horses?"
After being around Griffins and Hippogriffs, not to mention having their own Dragons, horses were not the creatures that interested them.
However, with nothing else on their minds, they chose to visit the Horse Market of Dragonport.
They quickly made it to the more exclusive part of the market, where the best of the breeds were being sold, and here, only those people, who could be considered well-off and rich, were present.
Once they saw the well-groomed horses with beautiful coats, their interest grew.
"Do you have a horse, Aro?"
"Yes, My Prince. Quite a few of them." He smiled.
"Horus, Seth?"
"We have our Horses too, My Prince."
"What are we doing here then?" He rolled his eyes and laughed before walking towards the enclosure where some quality Warhorses were on display.
However, he stopped when he sensed that his brother was not by his side, and when he turned to look for him, he found Rhaemon running towards the Palfrey Enclosure.
It did not take long for him to understand the reason though.
There was this beautiful pair of a Stallion and a Mare on sale which put everything else to shame.
Their coats were even more lustrous than the Sand Steeds, and they were undeniably the horses only meant for Nobles.
The mare was white as snow, and the stallion was golden and had a slight metallic sheen to its coat.
"Nice!" Rhaemon grinned as he looked at them from up close, and soon heard a girl talking to the Protector behind her.
"Ser Heward, where is this Horse Breed from?"
She had a clean accent of the Common Tongue of Westeros but with the slightest Northern tinge to it.
When Rhaemon heard the Knight behind her communicate with the Translator, and saw the sigil of House Stark on his armour, he froze.
His eyes landed on the girl, who was a couple of years younger than him. Dark brown hair, the same as his, fair skin, the same as his, and an extremely adorable face.
She was so adorable that he was quite tempted to pull her cheeks but kept the desire in his heart.
"These horses are from Asabhad, along the shores of Jade Sea. They are specially bred to have all the qualities that Palfreys are known for, and more. They have the stamina comparable to that of Sand Steeds of Dorne and Essos," He informed them, and all three of them looked at him in curiosity.
Rhaemon smiled at them and then walked over to the girl, took her hand, and planted a kiss on her knuckles with a bow.
"I am Rhaemon Zaelystar. May I have your name, My Lady?" He gently asked and grinned in his heart when he saw their girl furiously blush at his actions.
He now understood why Aegon took great interest in lessons of greetings ladies and conversing with them.
She pried her hand away, glaring at him, but seeing his smile, her eyes softened.
"Alysanne Stark."
Hearing the name, his eyes widened in surprise.
"The Starks of Winterfell?"
"Are there any other Starks in Westeros?" She rolled her eyes.
"There are..."
"They are not called Starks," she corrected him.
"Umm... they are? But I suppose you are right," He nodded his head and chuckled before looking into her beautiful lilac eyes.
She too was observing his features.
His hair was the same as hers, and his eyes were grey, beautiful, cold, just like that of the Starks. However, his facial features were unlike that of her cousins Robb and Jon, who were of the same age as him.
He was handsomer... or perhaps, she should describe him as beautiful.
"Do you like horses?"
"I do, yes, but my interest in them pales in comparison to my mother. She loves them and has more than a dozen horses, including two this breed," he informed her and glanced at the beautiful pair that was up for sale.
"Are you from Westeros?" She curiously asked.
"No."
"Then?"
"I am a Valyrian."
His answer surprised her so much that her mouth cutely dropped open.
"Like the Targaryens? The Dragonlords?"
"Precisely." He grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes in irritation.
She found him a little too confident, and perhaps, boastful as well.
"My mother looks more Valyrian than you do," She said, but her words did not seem to bother him at all.
"I can see your Valyrian eyes." He smiled and then looked at Aegon, who was standing next to Aro with his brows furrowed. "Brother!" He called out to him and asked him to come over.
Alysanne was surprised when she saw the violet eyes of the boy, who was likely two years older than Rhaemon.
And indeed, this boy was Valyrian. There was no question about it.
She also noticed the similarities between the facial features of the two, and though she never doubted the boy's claim, she now firmly believed him.
"Hello."
Aegon nodded to the girl when she greeted him and then glanced at her Protector, who had the Stark sigil on his armour.
"The Starks of Winterfell. You are far from home." He lightly said, and Ser Heward curiously looked at him.
"We did not know that the Starks were famous even in this part of the world."
"Oh, they are. Especially after they helped the Usurper against the Targaryens."
Rhaemon's expression stiffened at his Brother's words, and it was the same for Alysanne and her Protector.
Thankfully, Aegon kept his prejudice in his heart.
"So, here for trade or sightseeing?"
"Both," answered the girl.
"Have you seen the Hippogriffs?" He curiously asked, and instantly, the girl's mood brightened.
"Yes! Have you seen them?"
"Of course." Rhaemon and Aegon both chuckled at seeing her so excited. "And you are still interested in horses?" Asked the older Prince.
"Not like I can ride them or anything," She rolled her eyes, and though Aegon nodded his head, Rhaemon suddenly had an idea brewing up in his mind. "I only saw them from afar, but they are beautiful!" She said, gushing over them.
"Want to ride them?"
Alysanne cutely tilted her head at Rhaemon's words.
"Don't you know that people are not allowed to touch them or get close to them? They are quite ferocious..."
"Really?" The Prince grinned and grabbed her hand. "Come. I will take you on a ride."
Aegon sighed when he saw his little brother grab his cousin's hand and run off towards the Sky Pyramid.
The Knight of the House Stark was right after them, and Aro as well.
He too had no other choice but to follow them.
When he arrived at the Pyramid where the Hippogriffs were stationed, perched up at its steps, bathing in the sun, he saw that Ser Heward had a sword on his neck after he insisted on following his Young Lady into the Pyramid.
"You are not allowed to enter the place," He informed the man, who worriedly looked at the door that was now closed. "Relax. Rhaemon is mischievous, but he won't harm your young lady."
The man calmed down a little after his words but panicked again when he saw Alysanne and Rhaemon appear on the fourth step of the Pyramid, walking towards a Hippogriff who was resting on a platform.
There was a guard behind them, but he was not stopping them. And his heart nearly dropped when his young lady started running her hands through the feathers of the majestic beast and even petted its beak.
In his mind, he had already seen the scene where her hand was ripped apart by the beast.
Heward nearly fainted when Rhaemon climbed on the back of the Hippogriff, without any saddle, and then pulled Alysanne up with him.
Before he could even form words and shout at them, the beast got up and started running on the step before taking off to the sky.
Alysanne's cry made Aegon grin, and when he watched the knight accepting the death sentence that was going to be awarded to him, should anything happen to the girl, he laughed.
And to make things worse, the Hippogriff disappeared with his Riders...
"Where is he taking her?!" The Knight anxiously asked him, and Aegon just shrugged.
"Relax. They will be back after they have had their fun." He said and to make sure that the man would not create a commotion, he stayed by his side.
Only Gods knew how relieved Heward was when Rhaemon and Alysanne appeared in the sky after a couple of hours, and when the Hippogriff landed on the Pyramid, one of the guards stationed on it helped them both get off.
Aegon grinned when she saw Alysanne excitedly hug his little brother and then start jumping on her feet.
"Kids..." He said, and then froze, realising that he used to behave the same way only a year ago.
The Prince wished he could erase his memories of all the embarrassing things he had done in his life...
After Rhaemon came out of the Pyramid, Alysanne excitedly started narrating the experience to her Protector, who was on the verge of breaking into tears.
"Let's return to the Inn, My Lady. Your parents must be anxious."
"Okay..." She hesitantly looked at her new best friend, and the Prince smiled at her.
"I will see you tomorrow," Rhaemon promised her.
"Only if you survive the punishment that awaits you, Rhae." Aegon grinned, and Alysanne felt guilty, understanding that the boy had broken some rule by taking her on a ride.
"You can blame me..." She whispered.
"Relax. My sister would never harm me." Rhaemon assured her and took her hand to plant a kiss on her knuckles again.
His calm demeanour, however, immediately collapsed when his cousin left with her Protector.
"Rhae will kill me..." He gulped, and Aegon heartily laughed at his plight.
"Yes. Yes, she will."