154
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299 AC
Kingslanding - Red keep
Eddard Stark
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I rub my temples hearing Robert roar to charge on Dorne, with the death of Daemon Blackfyre he thinks it's time to kill the Targaryens. I should have stayed in the North, he is not following on our agreement. Calling all his banners to march as soon as possible straight for the Prince's pass and into the Dornish sands. I can't even refuse as I will be imprisoned for treason to be an example to the other Lords.
"Ned why are you acting like a fool?! This is the golden opportunity all this waiting around has presented, we can crush them now! Even if one of the Blackfyre whores manages to pull the Golden company under her control we can make a decisive blow on the Targaryens right now. War is coming, I would rather take my hammer and crack skulls myself to start it than wait on my ass for it to come to me!" His face is going red with rage and I am not sure if it's at me or the 'dragon spawn'.
How he can hate a bloodline his own house was born from I will never know, his own grandmother is a Targaryen. Willing blindness that I can slowly start to see in every little thing he does, he has had his moments of genius but they have long passed. Now, all there is of my old friend and brother by choice is a pale shadow.
"Do you not remember what you agreed to back in Winterfell?" His meaty fists clench and I wonder if today is the day he strikes me, the first will be the last.
"You damn fool! You have gone soft on the people who killed your brother and father, bewitched your sister and soiled her! They will burn us all with their flames if we do not cut them down now and you want to sit around on our asses?!" He slams the table and turns around marching toward the door. "The North remembers my fat arse! The only thing you seem to remember is being a suckling babe!" The door slams behind him and I let out a sigh while looking down.
The Hand of the King pin shines on my chest and I reach up and pluck it off like a weed, twirling it between my fingers. This pin will cause the North to bleed, even if the dragons are still small the Dornish are masters in a defensive war. They withstood the assaults from the conqueror's dragons, and even when they lost to the 'young dragon' Daeron Targaryen they eventually took back their lands.
The Dornish will extract a hefty price to get to the Targaryens, to get to my sister and her child.
My duty to my King and old-time friends tells me to call my banners and join him, my regret at not finding out the truth before the rebellion strangles it. If I knew before the rebellion, if father and Brandon knew then none of this would have happened. Aerys the mad king needed to be put down, but it didn't take all the bloodshed it eventually took.
There is another way this can all end, to right the mistakes we once made, to honor the memory of Daeron. I have to make a decision that could turn out to be worse than if I didn't but I feel that I must make it.
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299 AC
Dorne - Sunspear
Arianne Martell
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Another day Viserys has not given in and continues to train as if he actually intends to be a proper warrior. He had a sudden change of heart and is putting his all into bettering himself in both body and mind. Studying mainly old battles that have happened across Westeros, lately all about the Defense of Dorne from Daeron the young dragon. He has been especially interested in those books since the news of the Blackfyre's death.
The Stormlands have been stirring and word is the Westerlands are stirring with them, no one else has moved so far. I am surprised the Tullys have not made a move to suck up to Robert, if they prepare now for the inevitable invasion it would look better for their king. My father is still working with Myr and Lys to try and stop any invasion from the Blackfyres across the Stepstones. Things on that front look to be turning in our favor but with the full attention of the Stag, war will still be here soon.
If only Daemon Blackfyre could have weakened the Iron Throne before he got himself killed, but alas he died without even touching Westeros. Nothing has been heard from Uncle Oberyn but he should be making a move on the last two Blackfyres. He managed to get us news of them having three dragons now which is a surprise.
I don't even think Kingslanding knows about that yet, at least the general public does not. The Triarchs of Volantis trying to silence the spread of information and are caught in a stalemate with the Golden Company.
The good news is the Dothraki have all left except a few, so their numbers are significantly less.
A strong kick in my stomach makes me feel like throwing up but I grit my teeth and rub circles around the tiny foot pressing on my side. A baby who does not want to settle no matter what I do, I can't wait for the birth to be rid of these jabs at my insides. I also can't wait to hold the little dragon in my arms and get my revenge through kisses and tickles.
I wonder if my uncle could steal at least one of those three dragons when he deals with the Blackfyres to bring for my baby to claim. To grow with the dragon and have a strong bond with it would be for the best, a powerful bond to become a powerful rider. I do not know the chances of it actually happening though, they are likely more protected than the two Blackfyre women.
I can only imagine how many attempts have been made on their lives and bodies since the dragons have hatched. The blood purists of Volantis are already fanatical toward old Valyria, put a fertile young woman with a baby dragon in front of them and there will be blood spilled. Wars by the Tigers have been fought for less, a tiger with a dragon to push for reforming Valyria is a scary thought.
But I am sure Eragon could handle it with Arrax, the white fury? The white death? The white dread?
I am sure Arrax will earn a powerful moniker when he burns his first field of enemies and shows who holds the true power in the world.
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299 AC
Summer Isles - Ebonhead
Eragon Targaryen
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I smile as Arrax tries to lift me with his neck going between my legs, my boy looks forward to flying together almost as much as I do.
""Soon my son, we will fly every day when you are just a bit bigger."" I almost wish I was not as big as I am at times like this.
He grows fast but I am a large man and he will need more time before he can even lift me from the ground. His groans as he can't pick me off the ground without struggling with his neck amuse the onlookers. My other scaled children watch with keen interest as Arrax shows them the way, soon they will also be getting close to rideable.
"You should get off him before he strains a muscle." My mother speaks up with worry as she watches Arrax who seems determined.
"Your right." I sling my leg over and take quick steps as Arrax moves to scoop me back up with his head. ""That is enough for now, eat more and maybe we can fly sooner."" He rumbles and scratches at the ground but stops chasing me.
"He wants to fly with you so bad he is willing to break his neck, a dedicated little dragon." Shaena who is sitting down on the side as she is having trouble standing long reaches out for Arrax.
The white dragon drags himself toward her and lets her scratch at his scales as he sniffs her.
"You think when he is big enough he will let me fly on him with you?" Shaena asks curiously and Arrax rumbles before I can even think about answering her. "I take that as a yes." She smiles and kisses the top of his head.
"I think he just wants to fly with anyone at this point, all the stories Eragon has been telling the dragons about the Targaryens before us have them excited. It looks like a father reading to his children to put them to bed when he is down in their tunnel with them all curled up watching him. If you are not careful he might try to fly off with one of the babies when they are born just to get a flight in with a rider." I sigh as my mother might be on to something, I will have to watch the little troublemakers so they don't try to fly off with a baby.
It is one thing to grab an adult's clothes and pull them around or trying to lift me, but babies are fragile and need to be kept away. But dragons are also the best guards so maybe I will just have to train them myself to not touch them or they will crush them. Their scales are also getting dangerously sharp and will cut a baby to death.
"Yea, we will have to be careful but I think it will be fine since they mainly stick around their bonded rider. The only person they all jump on and nip at to play with is me, so I think they will ignore the babies for the most part. The babies won't be able to run around or give them food so they will lose interest after sniffing them for a while." Shaena nods as she rubs her stomach with one hand and Arrax's snout with the other.
"Are you still waiting for Oberyn?" Mom asks as she points to the candle on the table and I nod.
I love these candles but the stress they cause also feels like a poor trade-off, I feel like I am looking at it half the day. But with Oberyn taking the Blackfyres and their dragons I need to be kept in the loop to see what's going on. He wants to bring them here, he thinks they can be an asset rather than a threat. He claims to know them well enough from all his spying to say they are not overly obsessed with the Iron throne.
I have doubts but I will talk to them and if we come to a deal then I will give them protection. Without a doubt the Blackfyre family name and claim are dead and that will not change, they will renounce any claim before coming here. Not much good it will do since they can say they never renounced it later when their dragons are big but I have a plan. I have a feeling their dragons will be attached to me in the same way the seven here are.
If that is the case then I will be able to prevent them from doing anything I don't like, the dragons listen to their riders and prefer them. But they all listen to me when I make a command and if I command one thing and their rider commands another they usually just do nothing.
It might be different since I am not hand-raising them but when they get here with or without the Blackfyres I will spend as much time with them as possible. Arrax will also lay down the law and set himself as the leader, with his much larger size they should fall in line behind him. I will feel it out as things happen and come to the best decision I can while keeping the words of others in mind.