"So Viserys just accepted Larra like that?" Draezell found it both amusing and exasperating. He had envisioned many scenarios, but Viserys directly accepting a bride seven years his senior was not one of them. Hoffa, with his black hair and golden eyes, seemed to appreciate the prince's decision. "Your Highness, I quite admire Prince Viserys's decisiveness. After all, Lady Larra is certainly mature and beautiful."
"Well, he's certainly not on the losing end of this arrangement," remarked Sebastian. After giving Lysandro's eldest son a thorough beating, his anger had subsided somewhat. "The Rogare family has agreed to grant Viserys an annual pension of six thousand gold dragons—a sum far greater than what the royal family currently provides him. Moreover, once Viserys turns fourteen and is formally wed, the Rogares will finance the construction of a palace for him near King's Landing. Honestly, even if Larra were plain-looking, this deal would still be quite generous."
"Good, very good," Draezell was also pleased with these terms. The Rogare family had truly bled themselves dry to secure their survival. However, they were shrewd—once they realized they could no longer leech off House Targaryen and House Vaelarys through Lysandro's generation, they swiftly adjusted their strategy. Though the Rogares remained deeply rooted in Lys, they sent three of their most outstanding legitimate heirs to serve House Targaryen. Their goal was clear: hedging their bets and securing a strong fallback for their family.
"That mute black warrior whom Valar won—let's assign him to Viserys," Draezell suddenly recalled the boon the Rogares had offered Vaelar. That warrior, Sandoq, was impressive, but House Vaelarys had no need for foreign sellswords. The Silver Guard of the Dragonpit were the family's own sworn swords—warriors who had passed their station from father to son for generations. There were always one hundred and twenty-five of them, their faces marked with dragon tattoos or tear streaks. They carried Draezell's blood curse within their veins, allowing them to approach dragons without being burned. They were loyal, formidable in combat, and absolutely trustworthy. And unlike Sandoq, they weren't mute.
"As you command, Your Highness," Hoffa responded.
Meanwhile, a raven soared toward distant Tyrosh, where Dalton's flagship was anchored amidst the ruins. The Red Kraken had been raiding so relentlessly that his eyes gleamed with bloodlust. It was only when the raven arrived, days later, that he was pulled from his rampage. Upon receiving Draezell's letter, Dalton didn't even wait for Daemon to arrive on dragonback—he immediately plundered the ruins of Tyrosh once more. At the same time, he ordered the scattered warships near Myr and Lys to launch one final raid—though he strictly forbade killing or taking salt wives in Lys. Satisfied, he then led his fleet back to the Iron Islands, his ships overflowing with treasure and captives.
As Draezell soared above on Vermithor, watching the mighty Iron Fleet cut through the Stepstones toward the Summer Sea, he once again marveled at Dalton's ruthlessness.
That kraken would not be easy to tame.
Dragonpit
Aegon brought Rhaegor and Viserys to visit their dragons. The Dragonpit was peaceful, with only the three young dragons still requiring daily feedings. Shadowmare, Stormcloud, and Vermax only needed to be fed once every fortnight, while Silverwing and Vermithor could gorge themselves once and remain sated for half a year or longer. These two elder dragons spent most of their time dozing, save for the occasional flight with their riders, making the Dragonpit a livelier place than before.
Starsong had taken to flying out with Shadowmare and Stormcloud to catch fish, bringing them back to feed Candlelight and Morning. It had also begun mimicking Shadowmare and Vermax—both of whom had built small caches of dried, smoke-cured meat in their lairs to snack on later.
"So, are you happy with the wife your brother found for you?" Aegon teased, smirking at his younger brother. Viserys groaned internally. So what if she was a beautiful? He wasn't like Aegarax, who had fallen hopelessly under a woman's spell at first sight. No, he couldn't allow himself to embarrass House Targaryen like that. Oh, but Lady Larra truly was stunning, and incredibly gentle as well.
During their brief days together, Larra had made an earnest effort to communicate with him in broken Common Tongue. She had stumbled embarrassingly at a ballroom dance in the Water Gardens, but Viserys had saved her with fluent High Valyrian, allowing her to gracefully recover her dignity. Now, she had roped her older brother Moredo—who knew not a word of Common—and her other brother Lotho—who was fluent—into language lessons, and rumor had it that she was improving at a remarkable pace.
Viserys's face turned red, and he stayed silent. He had finally come to terms with it—while it was mortifying to be so captivated by Larra, it wasn't truly shameful. After all, the Rogares had gone to great lengths to secure this marriage. The annual pension alone—six thousand gold dragons—was enough to make his heart race.
That was enough money to buy a small army.
"It seems our dear Viserys is quite satisfied," Rhaegor said, crossing his arms like a little lord.
"Ahh, children shouldn't interrupt adult conversations," Viserys laughed, reaching to ruffle Rhaegor's short hair, but the boy deftly dodged.
"Your Majesty, look! Viserys is bullying a child!" Rhaegor called out in mock protest.
"Alright, alright, as long as everyone's happy, it's all good," Aegon chuckled, waving them over to look at the dragons.
Dragons grew quickly. Stormcloud and Shadowmare were still expanding at a rapid pace. Shadowmare had always been a fast grower, but Stormcloud had only begun his explosive growth after arriving at the Dragonpit. Now, he was steadily keeping pace.
Starsong, however, was growing at an astonishing rate—faster even than Shadowmare had in his youth. But despite the rapid growth, the harmony within the Dragonpit remained undisturbed.
Recently, Starsong had even joined Shadowmare's little gang, stealing food from Vermithor and occasionally flying out to collect tributes from Argo's khalasar.
Speaking of Argo's khalasar, his wedding was about to begin. Draezell had already decided to take the children and King Aegon to witness the customs of these Dothraki before visiting the estates of the Silverblood Army across the realm.
After all, the once small khalasar that had needed House Vaelarys' protection had now swelled to over ten thousand riders, even absorbing a number of northern.
Yes, among the Northmen left behind by Cregan, many had chosen to follow Argo's khalasar. Though the reasons for this were unclear, the fact remained that his horde had grown significantly, developing many new customs along the way. This was precisely why Draezell had decided to bring Aegon and the others to attend Argo's wedding.
A new people might soon be born.