"Your Majesty, if you consider me your enemy, say so and I will gladly end my life." High Priestess Kinvara, kneeling before Daenerys Targaryen, her voice firm and fearless.
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As I climbed off of Saphira, Visenya's arms immediately wrapped around me. I felt her body tremble against mine, and my heart sank as I heard her muffled sobs as she buried her head in my neck.
"I thought... I thought I'd never see you again..." she whispered, clinging to me so tightly that she seemed afraid I'd disappear if she let go.
Her gaze lifted shortly after, heading upward to where Saphira was watching her curiously.
"You already knew that," I said, noticing that her expression didn't reflect the awe I was expecting.
Visenya sighed lightly and nodded.
"I'm just surprised it's so big," she admitted, looking at Saphira with bright eyes, as if she were dreaming.
Dragons had been thought extinct for over a century... and yet there they were, the last of their kind, in front of her.
"The gaze I felt upon us that night…" I murmured, remembering that day.
"It was me," Visenya confessed, staring at me. "You weren't in bed and I went looking for you…"
She had found out much sooner than she imagined.
"I was waiting for you to introduce me to her yourself," she continued with a slight smile. "The truth is that the next day I thought it was a dream…" she laughed at the memory.
When Visenya finally pulled away from me, my gaze fell on the Red Priestess waiting a few feet away. Behind her, soldiers serving the faith of R'hllor, known as the Hand of Fire, stood in formation with other priests.
When Visenya finally pulled away from me, my gaze fell on the Red Priestess, who waited a few feet away, with the patience of someone who knows her time will come. She had respected our reunion without interrupting, but her presence was impossible to ignore.
To be honest, Visenya had exaggerated the situation, although, to be fair, I would react the same way if it were her who disappeared.
Behind the woman, soldiers serving the faith of R'hllor, known as the Hand of Fire, stood in formation with other priests.
Isn't she the High Priestess, Kinvara? The first servant of the Lord of Light?
Beside her also stands Benerro, High Priest of R'hllor in the Free City of Volantis.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Visenya, although deep down I already sensed the answer.
She seemed to suddenly remember them and, with an instinctive gesture, placed herself in front of me, like a shield.
"Stay behind me. They were looking for you."
I let out a sigh and, without hesitation, stepped forward.
"Relax, Vys. I'll protect you."
I didn't mean to sound arrogant… but that's how it came out.
Visenya looked at me like I had just said the biggest nonsense in the world.
"You protect me?" she exclaimed in disbelief.
And well… maybe I was right to react like that. After all, she was almost two heads taller than me and I was barely eleven… almost twelve, if that was anything to go by.
But, instead of taking it back, I gave her a cheeky grin before proudly adding,
"I have a dragon."
Behind us, Saphira snorted in amusement, letting out a thin cloud of smoke from her nostrils.
Almost as if rehearsed, the moment I stepped forward, Kinvara and Benerro, along with the dozens of men and women who accompanied them, all faithful followers of the Lord of Light, knelt in unison.
Their foreheads touched the ground in an absolute display of reverence and their eyes shone with an almost superhuman fervor, as if witnessing me was the fulfillment of a long-awaited prophecy.
Kinvara wore a beautiful red dress that fluttered in the breeze and a necklace adorned with rubies sparkled on her elegant neck. Her curly black hair cascaded over her shoulders and breasts.
When she raised her head and her burning eyes met mine, I instinctively took a step back.
I knew what I was getting myself into, and yet I decided to continue.
To her, I was not just a young princess or a member of House Targaryen. In her eyes, I was the Chosen One, the Messiah, the embodiment of God walking in the mortal world.
"You may rise," I said, trying to maintain my composure.
Kinvara smiled and, with the same grace with which she had prostrated herself, slowly rose, though she kept her head slightly bowed in respect.
Noticing that the priests, priestesses, and warriors of the Burning Hand were still kneeling, she nodded to herself, pleased. They did so not out of obligation, but out of devotion.
Then, she turned to me, placed her hands on her stomach, and with an elegant bow, introduced herself.
"Allow me to introduce myself, Daughter of Light."
"I am Kinvara, current High Priestess of the Red Temple of Volantis, the Flame of Truth, the Light of Wisdom, and First Servant of the Lord of Light…"
As Kinvara spoke, Magister Illyrio Mopatis stood a few feet away, silent, his gaze fixed on Saphira. His mouth had dropped slightly in surprise.
A few days ago, he had discovered that his petrified dragon eggs had disappeared.
Was it a coincidence?
Now, in front of him, a living dragon spread its wings majestically. Could it be possible that Princess Daenerys had managed to hatch one of the eggs?
Daenerys, oblivious to Illyrio's thoughts, continued to watch Kinvara.
Behind that serene and elegant expression, she sensed a disturbing fanaticism that made her feel uncomfortable.
"What do you wish of me, priestess Kinvara?" he asked in High Valyrian.
"Only as you command, my lady," Kinvara replied without hesitation, using the same language.
Daenerys was sure that if she asked her to take her life right now, she would do so without hesitation.
That was how deep his devotion to her was.
"Blood magic." The words made Kinvara blink in confusion. "I need fire and blood, and right now, all I'm missing is blood."
Fire was easy to come by, but to awaken the dragons, she needed someone capable of using blood magic.
The priestess smiled with a mix of reverence and enthusiasm.
"I am honored to know that I can serve you personally, my lady. I can help you with that myself."
Daenerys had expected that answer. That was exactly why she brought up the subject.
Before she could continue, however, she felt a firm hand grip her shoulder.
"Blood magic is the darkest of sorceries, Dany," Visenya warned, stepping forward. "Don't mess with her…"
Daenerys frowned.
"For someone who doesn't believe in magic, you take it very seriously, sister."
"If I may ask…" Kinvara intervened cautiously, "what do you need blood magic for, my lady?"
Daenerys looked her straight in the eyes.
"Because I have three petrified dragon eggs… and I know how to bring them back to life."
A murmur ran through the priests and warriors of the Burning Hand. Their gazes, already filled with devotion, burned with even more intense fervor.
According to the prophecy contained in the ancient texts of Asshai, written over five thousand years ago, Azor Ahai would be reborn as the Promised Prince to challenge the Others.
This rebirth would occur after a long summer, when darkness, evil, and cold descended upon the world. It was said that the Prince Who Was Promised would once again wield the Light and face the Others. If he failed, the world would perish with him.
But it was also said that he would raise stone dragons.
Kinvara remained silent, watching her with an almost feverish intensity. In that instant, she knew she was not wrong.
She took a deep breath and turned to the others.
"The prophecy was originally written in High Valyrian," she said in a vibrant voice. "And this led to a great mistranslation..."
She paused, making sure everyone heard her.
"The word for 'prince' in High Valyrian is gender-neutral."
The priests' gazes lit up with wonder and excitement.
"The true title of the prophesied savior was always 'The Prince or Princess Who Was Promised.'"
Kinvara knelt again, bowing her head in reverence.
"Behold Daenerys Stormborn, of House Targaryen. The Betrothed. The Daughter of Light and Fire. The Chosen of the Lord."
Behind her, Visenya watched with a frown, a mix of confusion and surprise in her eyes. She said nothing, but Daenerys knew that, later, her sister would seek answers.