"Naath now belongs to you, Your Grace?" A Volantene asked.
He was a tall man, fair, with golden blonde hair and deep blue eyes, indicating his Valyrian descent, and he was close to his forties.
"My name is Demphos Zaengyr, Your Grace. I have been sent by Triarch Roiphos Zaengyr, who is my uncle. This is my wife, Trianna, and my younger brother, Odephos."
Azaerys glanced at them and nodded his head.
"Yes. The Naathi have submitted to me. Our markets have Naathi silk, spices, and other specialities of the Isle of Butterflies if that is what the elephants of Volantis are interested in." The Summer King stood up and slowly descended the stairs.
He approached the table, and the envoys subconsciously parted ways for him.
"All the Summer princes and princesses of the Summer Islands are allied with us, but they are not part of the Summer Kingdom and neither do we have interest in inviting them to the fold. Both sides are very clear on it."
"You lay claim to the Isle of Cedars, Your Grace?" Xaro Xhoan Daxos frowned.
"It's free to lay claim to. No one resides on it other than the monkeys, who have submitted to me." He playfully said, but given how his forces could control beasts, the envoys did not doubt his words.
"Our reports tell us that the Sky Company of Gremm as well as the yellow soldiers of Boros have been relocating some Lhazarene villages to Ghaen."
"Yes, we are making two new settlements on the island. Two towns called the Green Garden and the Sheep Town. We offered them a safe place, an offer to take them away from the hands of Dothraki and the slavers, freedom of practising their religion, and promised farmlands to their people. They happily agreed to submit to us. Lhazareens are good farmers and quite polite and kind."
"A lot of Ghiscari villages and settlements have been contacted as well." Xaro meaningfully said. "Some have already moved to the ruins of Old Ghis."
"The plan is to open a harbour town there called the Copper Harbour."
Everyone looked at the peninsula he laid his finger on.
"As you can now tell, we have our hands full with all these plans. Why would we want wars? Truthfully, I have more interest in the Basilisk Isles than Yunkai and Meereen." He smiled and placed his palm on the map.
A few of the envoys stepped back and gasped when they saw blood-red ink come to life and mark the borders of the Summer Kingdom on south-central Essos as well as the Basilisk Isles.
"The trade route between Lhazosh and Vaes Orvik marks the borders of my Summer Kingdom. I also lay claim to the ruins of Vaes Orvik, and negotiations are underway to invite Lhazosh and the other two Lhazarene cities to the fold of the Summer Kingdom," he informed them. "If Qarth is ready to form an alliance, the Summer Kingdom guarantees that we will not make a move on the territories claimed by our ally."
"Why Vaes Orvik?" A tall young man, who was wearing ornate clothes from Qarth, frowned. "My name is Dahao Hozo Baska..."
"Younger brother to the merchant prince, Zahao Heza Baska, one of the Seven Heads of the Ancient Guild of Spicers. And you are one of the Heads of the Guild of Sorrowful Men," Azaerys lightly said, but the envoys were shocked by his words.
The Volantene delegation subconsciously stepped away from Dahao, whose eyes were quivering as he looked at the Summer King.
Very few people in the world knew that he was one of the Seven Heads of the Sorrowful Men.
"No reason other than an interest in history. The place is in ruins and I don't suppose Qarth lays claim to it?" He answered the assassin's question and then looked at the representative of the Pureborn, a pale-skinned lady with gorgeous curves and an oozing sensuality.
"It's not up to us to decide, Your Grace. We will have to consult the Pureborn on this matter."
"Of course." He smiled. "I hope I won't have to wait for long to receive their answer."
Azaerys then turned to look back at Dahao.
"Take back the spies and those two assassins whom you have assigned to keep an eye on the matters of Dragonport. If you leave the city without them, you will find their heads waiting for you at the Gates of Qarth upon your return." He coldly said, and all of them felt chills run up their spines.
"My apologies, Your Grace." The Sorrowful Man said his apologies and bowed, promising to listen to his warning.
Azaerys gave a meaningful look to the Volantene delegation, who tensed up as well.
An old man amongst them nodded his head in understanding, promising the Summer King that they would take back their spies as well.
"Volantis seeks an alliance, Your Grace. On the condition that the Summer King will not march against Yunkai and Meereen."
Azaerys looked at the Valyrian lady who had spoken, and she bowed to him and gave him her name.
"Hiranno Tagaros, Your Grace. I am the daughter of the Triarch Margelo Tagaros."
"The tigers seek an alliance?" He smiled. "You can not tame the giant apes if you want to ask for them, neither hippogriffs nor griffins. As for tattooed lizards, we can supply them. However, we will not be responsible for their behaviour."
"How about a few of your beast masters?" She smiled.
"We don't sell people into slavery, Lady Hiranno. The Summer Kingdom has its own codes."
"Your new warships? And medicine?"
"We can accept orders for them from our allies," he nodded. "We, however, will not be supporting Volantis if you ever move against the Triarchy. Your wars will be yours to fight, and our wars will be ours to fight. The alliance will be a trade alliance and an alliance of neutrality."
His words made Hiranno a little uncomfortable, but they relieved the two groups that represented the two elephant triarchs. The last person in the Volantene delegation was a priest of the Temple of the Lord of Light. And he bowed his head when the Targaryen King looked his way.
The red priest was dark as coal with white hair and beard, and there were orange and red flame tattoos on his face. He was massive, with a belly like a boulder, and nearly twice as broad as Azaerys.
Interestingly, he was carrying a staff as tall as him with a dragonhead and brimming with magic.
When the Summer King drew his hand forward, the red priest offered him the staff without any hesitation.
He was the only one who did not gas p when a flame wyrm made of green flame escaped the dragon mouth of the staff and coiled around Azaerys, hovering in the air.
"Interesting." The Targaryen chuckled and tapped the hilt on the floor, and the flame wyrm immediately receded in the dragonhead of the Staff.
The red priest accepted the staff with reverence in his eyes and bowed his head again.
Had there been no one else present in the great hall, he would have surely prostrated to the incarnation of his Lord of Light, but he understood that now was not the time for it.
"The Summer Kingdom will not lay ruin to Meereen and Yunkai as long as the two cities mind their own business and their Great Masters and Wise Masters behave themselves. You have my word," said Azaerys as he glanced at the envoys.
The envoys discussed the specifics of the alliance for a good couple of hours, and then had their meal at the Pyramid of Pride before retiring to the Pyramid of Peace, where the noble guests of the Summer Kingdom as well as the yellow soldiers of Dragonport and the warlocks lived.
Azaerys again had his meal in his room with Quaithe, who was silent as ever, and this time, she entered his bed on her own accord and hugged him to sleep.
The Targaryen King stared at the ceiling that was made out of gold and bore the murals of dragons, griffins, and hippogriffs.
When he closed his eyes, his consciousness escaped towards the east, in the Shadow Lands, to Siren.
It was the hour before dawn in that part of the world, and the manse was peacefully quiet, except for Jaerra's room, where Viserys and she were making love.
Azaerys did not pry on them and checked up on his children, Maelor, Maena, Haera, Haela, and Zaeron.
The Monferyen twins were with Elia, sleeping by her side on the bed with their little dragonlings. And the Ostaryens were in the twins' room, peacefully asleep in their large cot with their dragonlings.
Lyanna was sleeping alone in the room next to them, and Ashara was in her room, sleeping with her sister, Allyria, who always felt restless on the nights that Viserys spent with Jaerra.
Daenerys was in her room, sleeping on the large bed with Elaena and Missandei, and there was also a newborn griffin in their room, which belonged to the Naathi.
He smiled and leaned in to plant a kiss on the heads of the two Targaryen princesses, and then gave one to Missandei as well, who squirmed at the touch.
"Azer..." Daenerys whispered his name in sleep, smiling as she sensed his presence, and not willing to disturb her, he left their room and checked up on his dragons.
A smile formed on his lips when he saw Nefaerion and Xeraxes snuggling with Aerylyx, and the three opened their eyes when he closed in on them but did not get up.
Their hearts thumped hard when he gently stroked their snouts and gave them some love, and they let out some comfortable growls in response.
His she-dragon also blew hot breath on him, which made him chuckle.
He then checked up on Starfyre and Silvexis, who were snuggling with each other.
Rhaelyx was with Draegon, and Rhaegal was sleeping close to Lyrax. Only Viserion was sleeping alone, and he seemed to be having some very disturbing dreams just like his master.
Azaerys gently stroked its neck, feeling the warmth of his life, and when the dragon relaxed, hearing a song in ancient Valyrian from him, the Targaryen King stepped back and blinked away to check up on the kingsguard and everyone else's health and wellbeing.
Inadvertently, he found himself back in Daenerys' room, and his heart dropped when he saw his daughter's brows furrow to a sad dream.
Without looking at her dream, he already knew what disturbed her the most nowadays, and he sighed.
Her little siblings all had their little dragons, but she still did not have one.
Azaerys, however, had no clue about the location of the dragon egg which was meant for his daughter.
He had seen a vision of her riding the most beautiful and breathtaking dragon to ever exist, whom she would name Helexis.
It was a kind of a four-limbed dragon, slightly smaller than the likes of Rhaelyx, and whose shape of the wings bore some resemblance to the wings of butterflies.
These dragons were always colourful, their scales shimmered in the light, which made them appear like they were made of glass or gems. And unlike other dragons, they did not look very terrifying, even though they were just as dangerous.
Azaerys knew that Rhaelyx, Lyrax, or Silvexis were not going to lay the egg of that dragon. It was for certain. After all, one of the parents had to be of that kind for their child to take after them.
So, it only meant that the egg was somewhere out in the world and still alive. But where?
Azaerys glanced at his daughter, and sensing her sadness, he made up his mind to go and explore Stygai for some clues. His resolve to find that egg was renewed and greater than ever.
However, just when he guided his consciousness to the ruins of the City of Night, he felt himself getting pulled by something as he experienced a vision.
He finally saw what he wanted to find, its story, its current location, and when the vision ended, he found himself staring at the dragon egg, inside a white chest, at the bottom of a lake in Leng.
Azaerys willed himself to grab the egg, which entered his hands with just a touch, and then instead of returning to Dragonport, he forcefully guided his consciousness to Siren, to his daughter, who had just been woken up by Daenerys and was cutely rubbing her eyes.
He did not have much time. He was attempting something he had not attempted before. So, he quickly placed the egg in her lap and retreated his hands, which, thankfully, let go of the gift he had brought for her.
The next instant, he gasped for breath and woke up in his bed in the Pyramid of Pride, and he found Quaithe looking at him with worry in her eyes.
Her soft fingers landed on his lips, and then on his cheek as she wiped the little blood that had leaked out of his nose.
He allowed her to clean him, and when she was done, she smiled at him and rested her head on his chest again.
"Good night, little bird."
"The night is dark and full of terrors, master." She whispered and closed her eyes.
"The day is bright, beautiful, and full of hope, my bird." He whispered back, and a smile crept on her lips.
On the other side, in Siren, Elaena Targaryen stared at the colourful and shining dragon egg in her lap in disbelief. It had so many colours that she fell in a daze.
Missandei was even more shocked than her. The egg was the first thing she saw after Daenerys woke her up. Or maybe it was the surprised cry of Elaena that woke her up. She was not sure anymore.
All they knew was that they had never seen something so beautiful before. The egg sparkled like it was made of gems. Had Daenerys not confirmed that there was a living dragon inside it, they would have believed that it was some artwork.
Daenerys managed to recover her wits before any of them and giggled when a mischievous thought crossed her mind. She did not hold back and said it out loud, which pulled them all out of their trance.
"You laid a beautiful dragon egg, Aena."
The little princess blushed in embarrassment when she heard her words, and Missandei heartily started laughing at her expense.
"I did not lay it!"
"Of course, you did not. Silly!" The older princess rolled her eyes. "I sensed Azer right when he dropped this egg in your lap." She whispered near her ear, shielding her words from Missandei.
Elaena sweetly smiled and hugged her dragon egg, nodding her head.
"Kirimvose, kepa." She whispered and then tightened her arms around the egg. "Avy jorrāelan!"
Daenerys smiled when she heard her words and then jumped on her, wrapped her in her arms, and congratulated her.
"Rijes aōt, Aena!"
"Kirimvose..."
Missandei happily congratulated her as well and asked if she could touch the colourful treasure, which she allowed.
Both of them knew how terribly she was yearning for her own dragon, and now, she finally had her own dragon egg.
The girls quickly got ready once they were finished inspecting and tracing the egg, and then they excitedly rushed to Ashara and Allyria to show them the gift from Azaerys.
When Daenerys told them who had sent it for Elaena, they looked at her in surprise, but soon got over it. Allyria thought that the Targaryen King had sent someone to deliver it, but Ashara knew better.
However, it was not something that she wanted to talk about. His dreams always scared her a little. And she was worried that he had gone to some deadly place again to get this egg. However, she was not allowed to dwell on her thoughts and worries.
The princess' laughter and joy brightened the mood in the manse, and Viserys decided to throw a feast to all the servants of the Targaryen household in Siren to commemorate this special day.
And of course, Daenerys and Elaena did not forget to show the dragons the new egg.
All of them congratulated the little princess in their own way, and Nefaerion even warmed up the egg with her hot breath and magic.
It was amazing how kind she could be at times.
The princesses ended up resting against Xeraxes for hours until Missandei came to call them for lunch.
But even when surrounded by everyone, Elaena and Daenerys' thoughts were all on the dragon inside the egg.
They could not wait to see the dragonling who would hatch out of it.