Of course she would tell him. She just couldn't resist the chance to be a matchmaker. Rhaenys was the romantic out of Aegon, Orys, and Visenya. Given to flights of fancy, she had rather rosy views in regards to courting and marriage. While Rhaenys would be allowed to take the love between her and Aegon to its natural conclusion, she was oblivious to how marriages worked in real life, especially when it came to the lords of Westeros.
Fortunately for them, they had the blood of dragons and that of Valyria, meaning that they would not be married to some random lord or lady from some backwater estate in order to maintain their blood's purity. If they didn't have dragonblood, that would have been their fate. Then, discussions regarding dowries and land exchanges would take place and the production of male heirs being emphasized by both families, the last part making her skin crawl when she considered what would happen had the Sunglass lord got what he wanted.
Such was the case of marriages in Westeros. No one gave a damn about love and beauty even if the tourneys made a crown symbolizing both, to be given to the lady of the champion's choice. The cynic in Visenya told her that properties and coin made the whole world go round and marriages were just another means for families, especially lordly ones, to get more of both. Her upcoming betrothal with Lord Belaerys was no exception, even though an important factor influencing their father's decision to marry her to him was to strengthen their dragonblood by bringing in new dragonblood.
At the same time, Visenya was not completely unhappy about her coming betrothal to Lord Belaerys. Being a dragonrider already put him very highly in her eyes, as he could understand what it meant to have dragonblood flowing through their veins and the joy that could be drawn from feeling the air rushing past his face when riding a dragon through the sky. It certainly helped that he had the Valyrian features of silver hair and amethyst eyes as well as having a body that would make any lady grow wet between the legs in arousal, his form of solid muscle obvious even with his loose garments and lacking the fat that Orys had and even Aegon occasionally. Also, like their father said, she and Lord Belaerys were about the same age, so it would not be too difficult to connect with him over youthful pastimes like hunting or storytelling.
Then again, Visenya met many handsome men and turned them all down. She either found them all either uninteresting, predictable, or unwilling to accept a woman who could actual books and could beat them in swordplay. It also terrified one of her suitors when she was found with a book that talked about Valyrian bloodmagic rituals, an area she held interest in for a long time but considered largely forbidden throughout Westeros after the Doom. Men who fell into that group annoyed her the most and she had to fight the urge to have Vhagar turn them into tiny piles of ashes. It was very possible that Lord Belaerys would not respond well to a woman who knew how to fight, so she thought about the ways she could bruise him before allowing Vhagar to engulf him in flames after she beat his dragon Cloudwynd.
Blood and benefits aside, Visenya was quite interested in who Lord Belaerys was and how rooted he and his people were in Valyrian ways. He obviously understood the common tongue, but could only speak High Valyrian. That indicated that his family was more rooted in the customs of old Valyria than even her family. She knew the language, but so did other lords in Westeros who wanted to boast about their level of education and who could not speak more than a few simple sentences. She looked forward to conversing in High Valyrian with Lord Belaerys and learn more about the mindset of those directly from Valyria.
Visenya also spoke with members of his ship's crew who could speak the common tongue, learning from them that his mother was a Leniar, who had extensive knowledge of blood magic and on how to control fire. Given what her father said about the Leniars, Lord Belaerys must have learned at least some blood rituals and maybe inherited magical capabilities from his mother. The prospect of learning blood rituals excited her, as the books she read were written by those who did not have the highest respect for such practices and even less grasp of what it actually was.
Despite the prospect of learning blood magic from a practitioners' offspring thrilled her, that was not the principal reason on why she was not fully unhappy with marrying Lord Belaerys. While she saw that he had a gaze as piercing as their father's, she used the moments greeting him on the docks to fully scrutinize his eyes. The crew on his ship held a similar gaze, a kind of gaze that had them looking like they were staring a thousand yards into the distance. She read about how some soldiers and knights after battle would seemingly focus on something far away while sitting or standing still, and no words would leave their lips for at least a few days. The maesters stated that hearing screams during battle and being exposed to parts of the body that were only revealed through forced cutting of the flesh would affect those long after the battle was fought. Whatever Lord Belaerys and his people experienced certainly affected them and it showed no signs of disappearing soon.
Rather than be repulsed by it, Visenya saw that gaze in Lord Belaerys' eyes as something that made him different than most lordlings his age. He must have known what it was like to struggle, something she understood whenever lordlings commented on her rough exterior and her pursuit of interests "unbecoming of a lady." Her devouring on anything related to the Valyrians especially blood magic unsettled even Aegon and Rhaenys, although they and their father indulged her nevertheless. Aegon, Rhaenys, and Orys were more accepted among the more Westerosi noble circles, with her brothers possessing the outlook and appearance befitting of knights and Rhaenys being the proper lady who brought liveliness to a dull court. The only reason why men tried to pursue her was because they lusted after her looks and the idea of a Valyrian beauty who was resilient and intellectually-inclined, but they did not truly respect her or that kind of woman.
Visenya could care less about what others thought or felt, but not caring also brought the kind of struggle that came with choosing between being true to one's self and conforming to others' expectations, especially if one is surrounded by those who served as a constant reminder of how those differences prevented those from easily approaching you. And she doubted that she would find someone who knew what that kind of struggle is like. Maybe Lord Belaerys may not have had that same type of struggle, but it was apparently just as severe. So, a marriage with him was not entirely hopeless.
Lord Belaerys admitted losing his parents, which certainly made him a strong man. Most lordlings grew up in comfort their entire lives and would crack at the first indication of life not going the way they wanted. But that apparently did not apply to him, who was leading thousands of people at a young age and doing well at it so far, if their voyage from Sothoryos said anything. As their father said, that took maturity and he clearly had that. Visenya always appreciated maturity in a man, which admittedly Aegon and Orys did not display a few times such as in the training yard and when doing the lordly duties their father made them do.
Visenya did not know if she was evil in seeing his maturity and experience with struggle as things that made him more attractive while also ignoring the pain that must've come with that, which included the death of his family. She was fortunate in not having to experience that yet, but she had to take care at not seeming insensitive when they engaged in the deep conversations she was sure would occur.
Back in their father's solar, Visenya, Aegon, and Orys watched as their father scolded Rhaenys.
"Do you have any idea how much jeopardy you put our plans in?" He was quite indignant at Rhaenys deciding to give into her usual flights of fancy. Admittedly, Visenya also felt annoyed at her for thinking that her relationship with Lord Belaerys would be like the ones in the songs.
"I just wanted to see what kind of person he was, since he will become my good-brother," Rhaenys defended herself.
Their father dipped his head and let out a heavy sigh, his frustration evident. "There is a reason why I decided to wait until he was more settled into Dragonstone before I told him of the price of sanctuary. I wanted him to get more comfortable, more at ease with his new surroundings, which would make telling him about the marriage easier. By 'easier', I mean that he will have difficulty in leaving once many of his people are settled here and he will have no choice but to accept. Since you told him about those plans before he was settled in, he could simply go back to his ship and sail elsewhere. Had that crossed your mind when you decided to play matchmaker for your sister?"
"Father, I would not worry about him leaving. From what I've seen, he seems open to a marriage with Visenya."
That got his attention, along with Aegon, Visenya, and Orys. "What do you mean?"
"Well, when I told Jaenyx that Visenya is great at swordplay and likes to learn different tongues, he got interested. He also told me that he likes a certain sort of music that he was sure that Visenya would like," Rhaenys revealed.
Visenya internally groaned. I'll have to see about that, but Rhae said too much, again.
However, their father's frustration slowly disappeared and his hard face softened. "This makes things a little easier. If we could find more similarities between Vis and Lord Belaerys, then we could make him stay out of his own volition."
Visenya held back a sigh. I won't see the end of it. He'll probably put me in the training yard or in the library with him to stress our commonalities. On the other hand, I'm curious as to how he fights and what he knows.
Their father wasn't finished, though. "But Rhae, while your efforts bore fruit, you nearly jeopardized our plans. Try something like this again without our knowledge, I'll keep you from flying Meraxes for a month. Understood?"
Not riding Meraxes was an effective way of getting Rhaenys in line, as everyone in Dragonstone knew how much she loved to ride her dragon, spending more time than Aegon and Visenya combined. She nodded begrudgingly. Even for you, father, that's harsh, she mused.
"Also, I've noticed that you called Lord Belaerys by his first name. Why is that?"
Visenya was also interested. Being one a first name basis with anyone signalled friendship, and Rhaenys becoming fast friends was not all that surprising given how outgoing she was to anyone.
Rhaenys shrugged. "When I asked if I could call him that, he said yes. I'm guessing it's because I made accepting a marriage with Vis easier for him."
Their father was about to ask something else when they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," their father ordered.
One of the men servants entered the solar. "My lord, Lord Belaerys seeks an audience with you."
Surprise came to all of them. "Is he here right now?" The servant nodded. "Tell him to come in."
"My lord," the servant gave a look of confusion. "He wants to meet you in the courtyard, in front of your dragons, along with Lords Aegon and Orys and Ladies Visenya and Rhaenys."
Normally, one would not make such a request of a lord in his own home. But considering what had just transpired between Rhaenys and Lord Belaerys, this had to be important. "All right. Tell him we'll meet him there," the servant complied and left the room. "Let's hear what he wants to say."
Moving through the hallways and past the metal doors, Visenya and the others found Lord Belaerys in the courtyard stroking his dragon's snout. Balerion and Vhagar were also in the courtyard, with Meraxes flying somewhere else on the island. Sensing their presence, Lord Belaerys turned around and gave a slight dip with his head in greeting, which their father returned. Visenya noticed that he had a servant with him who carried a white ivory chest on his arms.
"Lord Targaryen, forgive me for calling you out here but I have matters that I must discuss with you and your family." Visenya sensed something different from his words, different from when he introduced himself at Dragonstone just a few days ago. Whatever it was, it had an edge that was lacking from when they first met him.
"Not at all, Lord Belaerys, but couldn't we discuss them in my solar?" Visenya noticed their father speaking in High Valyrian instead of the common tongue. As they were in the courtyard, which had their servants and other members of their household bustling about, he didn't want them to be aware of their intimate discussions.
"I'm afraid that if we discussed them in your solar, you won't be able to fully comprehend my words and I want to make sure that nothing is lost on you."
What are you going to do? Visenya was honestly a little worried at the moment. He wanted to talk to them along with their dragons, meaning that something major will happen.
"All right," their father acquiesced. "What is it you want to discuss?"
"I am sure that you know that I am aware of what you want from me in exchange for you providing sanctuary for me people here at Dragonstone." Their father said nothing, as there was no point in denying it now. "I don't approve of you leveraging the safety of my people for your benefit, but I guess that's my fault since I should have expected that you would not help us out of the goodness of your heart and me being a young man limits my experience in negotiating the world's realities."
Visenya was taken aback by his honesty and bluntness, and found herself impressed. He doesn't mince words like other lordlings.
"I am sure Lady Rhaenys told all of you of how my interest was piqued by what she said about Lady Visenya, and she's right. If that is your price for giving sanctuary to my people, I will marry her."
Visenya did not know if she should be shocked by how quickly he agreed to it or if she should be delighted since she should now see for herself if Rhaenys' words about him being open to a relationship with her were true. Nevertheless, that was one bridge crossed for her and her mind turned to the next bridge ahead, which involved actual interactions with Lord Belaerys.
"I'm pleased that you've accepted," their father replied, satisfaction spreading through his face.
"However, I asked you to meet me here because I had some discussions with the heads of the families that came with me and they made me aware of the more formal details of a betrothal between two families that are addressed before being they're joined in matrimony."
Their father was surprised, and Visenya could only guess what those "formal details" were.
"A central process that must be worked out before any betrothal can move forward is the negotiation of a dowry." He added a smirk, as if expecting their father to see him as naive youngster.
Visenya did not expect that and she saw Rhaenys, Aegon, and Orys just as surprised. Although she was aware of the great importance of dowries in marriage negotiations, it took nerve to bring that up in front of their father and in public, even though their servants and household members didn't understand what they were saying and simply continued their business.
"A dowry?" Although angered by impertinence like any other lord especially when seen in their own home, Visenya saw that her father taking it rather well and was more amused by it.
"The way I see it, Lord Targaryen, while I am in need of sanctuary, you seem to want me much more than I want you. Otherwise, why else would you want me to marry your daughter to prevent me from going elsewhere?"
The gall on this man, Visenya thought. But rather than be insulted by his impudence, she found herself more impressed since she never saw this side of him when he first came to Dragonstone.
Their father scoffed, as if trying to mask just how much he was enjoying this. "You come into my home with insolence and you think I'm going to treat one word with you on something as significant as a dowry?"
Lord Belaerys shrugged, his hands open and arms half-raised. "Why are you still talking to me then?"
Their father shook their head, but not in derision to him, and crossed his arms in an attempt to regain some control of the situation. "All right. What kind of dowry are you seeking?"
"I'm not looking for coin. My mother and father left more than enough for me to look after our people and to live comfortably for at least a few hundred years." Visenya could not tell if he was exaggerating or saying the plain truth, but he sounded confident enough to say that he essentially owned a fortune. "I seek a different kind of dowry. Lands."
"Go on," their father gestured as he gave his undivided attention. Visenya, Rhaenys, and their brothers listened with increasing interest.
"From what I saw at the first time, Dragonstone is not heavily populated, which is reasonable given that this island was made from volcanic activity and the rest from the magic of Valyria. The dowry I seek are portions of Dragonstone large enough to accommodate nearly three thousand people. You will provide the building materials that we need to build our homes and our fields. You will also sell to us seeds for us to plant crops that we will harvest while the summer lasts. I will pay for them and you won't need to worry about how we build them. The Rahitheons can handle building homes and farms from scratch. When I marry Lady Visenya, I will not live in the guest quarters of your castle. You will provide a keep for me and for my future wife to reside in and raise our family."
Visenya watched as Lord Belaerys became more bold and assertive with each term he sought. Most lordlings either relied on their fathers or were too timid to make their demands, restricted by the rules when talking to a lord. Then again, he's not really a lord in the Westerosi sense and he has no restrictions.
"Lastly, you might be Lord of Dragonstone and have other lords sworn to you, but I will not swear fealty to you."
Oh, gods. Receiving lands from a lord and not swearing fealty was unheard of. Everyone from a knight to a lord had answered to a more powerful lord, who then answered to a king. By not swearing fealty, he was defying the lordly system of Westeros. Then again, our family has lived in Westeros for a long time while he and his people came from a colony established by Valyria.
Their father's eyes widened, also understanding what he just asked. "No man is given lands by a lord without oaths of fealty. That's how it is in Westeros."
"But I'm not of Westeros, am I? In addition, would it be proper for a dragon to be subservient to another dragon?"
Their father sighed, conceding his point. But Visenya saw he was not going to let Lord Belaerys have the final word on the matter. "What if I refuse your terms?"
Visenya knew their father wanted a betrothal between Lord Belaerys and her too much to say no because that would mean forfeiting the benefits that came with Lord Jaenyx, which included the ones that held the Rhoynish at bay centuries ago and the ones who knew how to forge Valyrian steel. But he was a dragon and he would not give in easily.
As if expecting him to ask that, Lord Belaerys turned to his servant and opened the ivory chest. From the chest he pulled out a black and gold horn that was as long as his arm and as wide as the distance between his chest and chin. The mouthpiece curved slightly upwards before the rest of the horn curved downwards and grew wider, with the bell placed horizontally. It looked ominous, more so with Lord Belaerys holding it.
Lord Belaerys steadied his grip on the horn and placed his lips on the mouthpiece. As he blew on it, a loud and piercing droning sound blew out, filling the courtyard with the noise and those on Blackwater Bay's west shores being able to hear it. The sound's pitch became a little higher while becoming slightly softer, before becoming loud again and reaching a higher pitch only for a short moment before the horn's blast dissipated.
Visenya assumed that must've been some war horn, but she then noticed Rhaenys looking towards their dragons with wide eyes. She followed her gaze and knew why she was shocked. Balerion and Vhagar stood very still, their breathing stopped and their eyes focused on something in the distance. It was as if something put them in a trance, as they were never that still. She turned towards Cloudwynd, who also stood very still.
Putting the horn back in the chest and having the servant close it, Lord Belaerys whistled. As if on cue, Balerion, Vhagar, and Cloudwynd snapped out of their gaze and looked straight at him. Their mouths were snapped shut as their eyes followed him as he walked through the courtyard. Seeing a goat walking around, he grabbed it by its horn and placed it in the middle of the courtyard. By now, their servants and household were looking at the scene with sheer terror, having never seen the dragons act like this.
Relaxing the goat and after making sure it would not leave its spot, Lord Belaerys walked back to his servant. He then pointed to the goat and shouted a Valyrian command. "DRACARYS!"
Immediately, all three dragons doused the goat in dragonfire, the combined flames of the three of them creating an inferno in the courtyard and burning so brightly that the ones without dragonblood had to cover their eyes tightly with their arms. After a few seconds, the three dragons closed their mouths and stopped the stream of dragonfire, the spot where the goat was now a small pile of ash.
Walking around the pile of ash, Lord Belaerys stared at each of the dragons straight in their eyes. Then, he gave another Valyrian command. "Sōvēs!" The dragons flew off into the air and away from the castle. He turned to see Visenya, Aegon, Rhaenys, Orys, and their father, not knowing if their wide eyes and dropped jaws expressed shock or terror at what they had just seen.
"Is that… a dragonhorn?" their father managed after a moment.
"Yes. The last true one in the world. But don't get any ideas since that horn will only sound when someone carrying Belaerys blood blows it. A gift from when Jaenara Belaerys returned in triumph from her exploration of Sothoryos, which prompted the Freehold to elevate her brood into one of the seven great dragonlord families. There were only seven horns given, and I have the only horn left when the Doom destroyed the others."
Lord Belaerys stepped closer to their father, their noses mere inches from each other and their equivalent heights masking the power difference between them. "With my horn, I can control your dragons at will and turn them against you. Your family may have been important dragonlords in Valyria, but we were far from equals. However, Valyria is gone and we're all that's left. I am willing to work with you in preserving what remains of our people and I will treat you and your children with the respect and kindness that they deserve once I become part of your family. But do not misinterpret my benevolence for weakness. Do we understand each other, Lord Targaryen?"
Visenya saw the color drain from their father's face, the confidence that he previously had extinguished with how much more powerful their new guest truly was. It was true that the Targaryens were far from the most powerful dragonlord family in Valyria, and now they saw a reminder of their previous station.
"Yes, we have an understanding," their father replied while trying very hard to hide his trembling.
Lord Belaerys let out a sigh before easing up and smiling. "Well, I think I've shown you enough today. How about we discuss further particulars in your solar?" Their father bobbed his head, simply accepting the reality of the situation. Lord Belaerys exchanged a look with Visenya before walking with their father back into the castle.
While Rhaenys, Aegon, and Orys wordlessly followed them, Visenya began reflecting on what just happened while the servants slowly returned to their duties. She was definitely frightened by Belaerys' display, but her thoughts turned to Belaerys himself. Although he had the looks and maturity that she was looking for in a man, she felt something stir inside her at the man that completely surprised her. He was no pushover and he knew how to get what he wanted, like a true dragon.
If I didn't desire him before, I certainly desire him now.