M
The two men stuck their heads together and whispered. Rhaenys frowned. What part of her question needed discussion?
"Maybe you should talk with the Princess –"
"Answer my question," she demanded, cutting him short.
Both men stared at her again. When had they lost their tongue? Normally, even dragonkeepers were more talkative.
"The dead attacked us, my princess."
Rhaenys stared at him. The dead?
"The dragons burned them," the other man said. One of the dragonkeepers glanced at them and went straight back to work.
"The dragons?" Rhaenys repeated. The beach looked like dragons had fought, yes, but that was about it.
"Yes. Princess Rhaenyra defended the Dragonmount until we were nearly overrun. She ordered Vermithor brought outside. The rest…" the man shrugged. The rest had happened how it happened. The commotion lured more dragons in. They even had to keep Vermax at bay, who had wanted nothing more than to join the others.
Rhaenys still stared. Did they have some illness of the mind? For two of them to claim the same… She had to tell Rhaenyra about it. Who knew what other delusions they believed? They may break their eggs or hurt the hatchlings thinking they did right. Whatever had happened, certainly no dead. Meleys turned towards the castle. She would tell her Laena was alright, or as alright as any woman could ever be given the circumstances, and then demand answers. Whatever the dragonkeepers tried to cover up, she had to know of it.
"Princess Rhaenyra left, princess. All the dragon riders did."
She turned back to them. "All dragon riders?" While she said it, she realized she had not seen the black dragon. Had Rhaenyra sent Daenerys away as well? Was she insane? The girl may never come back! What had happened while she was gone? Had the dragons revolted and everyone tried to cover it up with ever more ridiculous stories? The thought was insane as well, but how else to explain the look of the island? Why send away the girl? What to tell Viserys when he got here and their mysterious dragon was gone?
"Yes. Scattered into the wind. Laenor flew towards Driftmark, I believe."
At least one thing made sense.
---
Men were still screaming. One sailor got very close to Laenor, gesturing right in his face, and got dragged away by Ser Erryk. Her father demanded silence. Rhaenyra just stared, feeling numb. Everything seemed oddly far away. Time seemed to slow. Like in a dream she walked across the ship towards the anchor chain. Seasmoke still hovered over it. He would have only breathed fire if the dead were here. Had they lured them in by accident? They sure loved dragons. Of course, they would try to reach them. Climbing up an anchor chain looked like the perfect way to gain some height.
Very slowly, she leaned over the railing. Just water. No dead right there.
She exhaled softly, her numbness fading. She heard Laenor exhale relieved right beside her as well.
"We have to get the dragons away," she whispered to him. Laenor frowned, opened his mouth to ask, and then horror dawned on his face.
"Seasmoke, up!" Laenor yelled at his dragon. Seasmoke just looked at him confused. "Up, I said. Get away from the ship!"
Still, his dragon did not listen. Just stared at him.
"Is everything alright?" Alicent of all people asked.
"Yes," Rhaenyra said, one step away from snapping at her. She could not deal with her fake niceness right now. Still, she turned towards her. "Sometimes, dragons can be stubborn."
"Rhaenyra? Are they here?" Helaena asked quietly, standing partly behind her mother.
"Who is here?" Alicent asked, turning to her daughter.
"Rhaenyra, what is going on?" Her father demanded.
"Seven hells, up Seasmoke! I said up!"
"Rhaenyra?"
Seasmoke still had not moved. His wings beat rhythmically through the air. He just looked down and back at his Laenor. Was he sure? Really sure? Why should he fly up?
Something grabbed her dress and fabric ripped. Seasmoke growled, opened his jaws despite all other commands and got ready to breathe fire.
"Seven hells no!" Laenor yelled, panicking. "Dohaeris, Seasmoke! Keligon!"
Rhaenyra turned. More fabric ripped. Laenor looked at her at the sound and horror ran down his spine. A boy with blue eyes, holding onto Rhaenyra's dress, half over, half below the railing. He must have climbed up while he argued with his dragon.
He did not even think of it. He jumped at it, grabbed the arm and ripped at it. The arm ripped right off, as well as part of the dress. The hand dropped the fabric and started to claw at him. Laenor screamed, holding the thing away from his face.
Seasmoke growled.
Helaena screamed seeing Laenor wrestle with the arm. She did not mind them as long as she was on her dragon. Right now, she was not. Right now…
Rhaenyra finally backed away, bolting away, really. The dead thing fell onto the deck and went for the closest thing in its field of vision. Alicent. The queen only stared at it dumbfounded.
Laenor finally threw the arm overboard. Seasmoke snapped it up and burned it some. But only a little.
Ser Criston ran for his queen.
"Stop right where you are!"
The boy did not. Swinging his sword, he cut the boy in half. His upper body just went on crawling.
More screams. "What in the seven hells?!" "What is that?" "It's still moving!" "How can it still move?!" Sailors were running away from it all over.
"Protect your King!" Ser Harrold's yell cut through the chaos.
Ser Erryk pulled Viserys behind him, while Ser Steffon guarded the king's back, sword drawn, looking around, looking for more of whatever they were.
No fire. Rhaenyra stared at the dead. No fire, no fire, no fire. Another wight got onto the deck, going for Laenor, who had looked over the railing and backed away. If they set the ship ablaze they would all die. What else, what else? Anything… Dragonglass for the White Walkers, yes. Would it work on wights too? They did not even have dragonglass, so why bother… They could not… they… throw them into the sea, maybe? Have the dragons handle them there? But just getting close to them was a challenge in not getting killed, much less picking them up. Her gaze fell on her father, who looked somewhere between horrified and utterly surprised. Did anything dragonfire related work? Valyrian steel was touched by it.
A new wight ran past its crawling friend and jumped at Alicent. Cole grabbed it at the last second. Boney fingers moved inches away from Alicent's face, who finally screamed and backed away. Cole was wrestling with the dead, while the other one crawled on between his legs and grabbed Alicent's ankle, making her trip.
Ser Erryk hesitated but moved for the queen. Killing the thing was in all their best interests.
Valyrian steel. Her best bet. Her only bet. Rhaenyra bolted again, this time for her father. She pushed her way past Ser Steffon and grabbed the hilt of Viserys's dagger. Swirling around, she nearly flew the few steps and rammed the dagger into the head of the wight scratching along Alicent's leg.
The blue eyes dimmed down and faded. Rhaenyra panted. It was dead. Dead again? Looking up, she saw more of them. Another one jumped Cole. One attacked Ser Harrold. The others ran for their sailors. Some of their men jumped into the sea, only to disappear.
"Dracarys," Helaena yelled, pointing towards the anchor chain. She had climbed onto the bow of the ship, close to the chain but yet far enough away, and waved for her dragon. Dreamfyre got lower and breathed fire, burning the anchor chain again. She dipped her claws into the water, pulled out two more and burned them. Seasmoke grumbled annoyed. Why wasn't he allowed to breathe fire?! Syrax circled above them, growling fearful, not sure what she should do. She had to do something! But they sure did not want fire close to the big wooden boat. Or did they? Or did they not?
While Rhaenyra killed her first wight, Laenor was cutting the one following him into pieces, trying to dodge the hands reaching for him. Even the leg was moving. How was that even possible? Dancing around the pieces, he grabbed the head to throw it for Seasmoke. Its hairs and part of the scalp slid off the bone. Staring at the fleshy mess in his hand, he forgot about the head for that one second. Teeth sunk into his calf.
Cole screamed. The thing on his back was clawing at his neck, drawing blood. Dropping the thing wiggling in his arms, he tried to grab the one on his back. It went straight for Alicent again. Ser Steffon stepped in front of her, slashing it in half, kicking and stabbing at it, holding it off. Viserys helped Alicent up, pulling her close.
Their Kingsguard yelled. Seasmoke roared, drowning out other screams. One of their sailors ran by and got jumped and ripped apart by a wight. Only Viserys was oddly quiet. Maybe busy staring. Another one jumped Cole, trying to get his helmet off.
Rhaenyra still stared. Where should she even start? There were so many, there were…
"How did you kill it?" Ser Erryk asked, startling her out of her stupor. Whatever he had done, it had not stopped moving.
"Valyrian steel."
A wight jumped her, ripping her to the ground, clawing through her dress, biting her shoulder. Rhaenyra screamed, Syrax roared. Ser Erryk ripped the dagger out of her hand and stabbed the dead in the head, which stopped moving. Just as the princess had said.
Sitting up, she pressed her hand against the wound, watching how Cole's helmet fell to the ground. The wight on his back sank its teeth into his neck. He screamed even louder. Ser Erryk, dagger in hand, rushed to help him.
Alicent stopped screaming. She just stared at all the chaos. What was going on? What in the name of the seven was going on?!
Her father knelt beside her, touching her unharmed shoulder. "Is everything well?"
Rhaenyra nodded. She was turning numb again, everything slipping away, getting oddly dreamlike. She looked at her father.
"Did you bring your sword?"
"Yes."
"Where is it?"
"In my chamber."
Well, yes, of course.
"Rhaenyra!" Helaena screamed. Rhaenyra jumped up. Helaena backed away along the bow, climbing further out. A wight was following her. Alicent found her voice again. Screaming, she tried to run for her daughter only to be caught by Ser Steffon. Laenor turned, sword in hand, and limped-ran for her sister. Helaena slipped and fell, holding onto the bow. The thing got closer to her. Only moments now.
"Syrax," Rhaenyra whispered. Her dragon had to know, even without words. Syrax dove for her. Dreamfyre was quicker. She snapped her baby up in her claw, as gently as she could manage, taking half the bow along. The still connected rope ripped on the mast, making the wood groan.
Rhaenyra stared for a second. Another… Move! Turning, she sprinted over the deck, dodged a wight and slipped through the door into her father's chamber, pulling the door closed behind her and flipping the latch. Something crashed against the wood, rattled on it, and started scratching. Sword, sword, sword. Where was the sword?! His books, a wine bottle, servants cowering behind his chair, one of Alicent's necklaces, glasses…
She spotted it in the corner, leaning against the wall. Oddly careful, she grabbed Blackfyre and returned to the still-closed door. She stared at it, listening to the scratching. How to go about opening it? Drawing the sword from its scabbard, she held it in front of her, yes, that was it, and cut through the latch. The door flew open, the wight jumped her, and impaled itself on the sword.
It did not die. Just slid down along its blade, getting closer. Again, Rhaenyra realized she could still panic after everything. The thing reached out for her, going for her eyes. Rhaenyra screamed and ripped the sword upwards. Blackfyre moved through it like butter, straight through its chest and head. It stopped moving and slumped against her.
Was now the time to scream? She felt like it. She really felt like it! Rhaenyra whimpered.
They were not done yet. Later. She could scream later. Pushing her panic and the dead thing aside she stepped out of the room. Three wights still, one hanging onto Laenor, biting his leg, Ser Harrold trying to rip it off him, the other two circling Ser Erryk. Like hungry wolves going for the kill but worried about the dagger in his hand.
Could they think? Or did they only realize the dagger killed others of theirs, which still meant they could think. Of course, they could think. She ought to know! In some capacity anyway. They had dodged Syrax fire earlier.
Rhaenyra forced her thoughts away, grabbed Blackfyre tighter and went for Ser Erryk, slicing through one of the dead without much issues. Ser Erryk turned and jumped at the other dead, killing it.
Turning to Laenor, Rhaenyra killed the last one.
Notes:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I'm sorry I haven't yet replied to all your lovely comments. I'll get to it today. Last week was way too busy.
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