Rhaenys stepped inside the room and approached Jon with a confused expression on her face. She had asked Melisandre what had happened inside the room, but the Red Priestess had merely smiled and said nothing. Rhaenys had no idea what kind of loyalty test she should expect.
"What do I have to do?" she asked.
"Nothing," Jon answered. "Just make sure that you have your loyalty."
Rhaenys nodded, though uncertainty still clouded her mind. Before she could think further, Jon raised his index finger and a drop of blood appeared at its tip. Her eyes widened in shock at what she was witnessing.
Before she could react, Jon pressed his finger against her forehead, and she felt the drop of blood invade her body.
She was about to ask a dozen questions when she felt something stirring within her. The reaction was not as extreme as Melisandre's. It was more akin to what had happened with Slyvia when she had first been granted Jon's blood essence. It was a simple, smoother process, though no less profound.
Melisandre's process had been time consuming and extreme because her body had deteriorated badly, and Jon's blood essence, together with magic had forced it to heal.
Rhaenys, however, felt the changes within her body almost immediately. For the first few moments there was only the strange sensation of something surging through her veins, awakening inside her.
Like the others before her, she instinctively raised her hands and in the next instant, two balls of burning fire bloomed into existence upon her palms.
Everything happening to her was overwhelming. She did not know how to react, what to say, or even what to think. And yet, as she stared at the flames dancing in her hands, she felt no fear. The fire seemed familiar, natural, almost as if it had always been a part of her.
Jon narrowed his eyes in contemplation. The strength of Rhaenys's fire magic was greater than Slyvia's and even stronger than Melisandre's. It was not much weaker than his own. Her Targaryen bloodline had clearly resonated with his blood essence. It was exactly like what he had expected. While Slyvia would have a balance between her powers from both the Targaryen and Stark bloodline, Rhaenys and Melisandre would have a tilt towards the fire magic because of their own constitution.
"Aeos? What is this?" Rhaenys asked in a stupefied tone as with just a thought of her, the fire in her hands subsided.
"I awakened your Targaryen legacy," Jon answered calmly. "And the blood drop confirmed and ensured your loyalty."
"How?" she murmured. A lot of questions were churning inside her were countless, yet under the weight of shock and overwhelm, only that single word escaped her mouth.
"How?" Jon repeated with a faint, mysterious smile. "It is an interesting question. Just like how you saw me in your dreams, just like how Melisandre knew she had to bring you to me, just like how I hatched the dragons."
"I have few abilities," he added.
"But this does not make sense," Rhaenys whispered. "And… and… what about Melisandre? She does not have a Targaryen legacy."
"She does now," Jon replied. "I gave it to her."
Shock was no longer enough to describe what Rhaenys felt.
"Nothing makes sense," she muttered, raising her palm again as a flame appeared, burning steadily as though it belonged to her. Her gaze remained those bright flames dancing in her palms.
"It will, slowly," Jon assured. Then, shifting the topic, he added, "And now, I imagine you want to see the dragons?"
Still dazed, her mind whirling too fast to settle, Rhaenys could only nod. She needed time to process everything, but the mention of dragons was something her heart could not ignore.
"Then come," he said as he moved forward, and Rhaenys followed behind him. Melisandre joined them outside the room.
"Aeos," Rhaenys asked midway through their walk, "Viserys and Daenerys… will they too gain similar powers?"
But then another thought struck her. "Are you even going to find them?"
Jon gave no answer, continuing his steady stride. Rhaenys, sensing the weight in his silence, thought it unwise to press further.
(King's Landing)
Varys was a troubled man. If you thought you were the only person serving the realm, then your troubles were bound to increase. But his troubles had shot up recently and there was a very good reason for it.
Lord Aeos. Or Jon Snow. The rise of Jon Snow, the power he had abruptly gained in his hands, had put Varys in a difficult spot. Not that Jon had done anything directly against him, but his very rise made the eunuch uneasy.
Varys had specific plans for the two siblings he had been watching in Essos. The beggar king and his sister. And despite Viserys' madness, both of them continued to survive, albeit in a beggar like condition. Varys could not deny that he himself had played a role in their survival.
But now, those plans felt threatened by Jon Snow. The boy was a mystery and a genius too. Even when Jon had captured only Astapor, Varys had not dismissed it as a fluke.
But now, with three cities under his control, Jon was more powerful than ever. His economy was thriving, his army was strengthening, and soon there would hardly be any force left in Essos capable of opposing him. At least, not unless a few of the most powerful cities joined forces and that was unlikely. No city trusted another. Most were either suspicious or outright at war with each other.
What worried Varys most was that he had no idea what Jon Snow truly wanted. Did the bastard boy have any plans for Westeros? Would he seek revenge from his father? It seemed highly improbable, yet not impossible. The treatment meted out to Jon at Winterfell might have left him bitter toward the Starks.
Everything Varys had carefully planned was now spinning out of control. Yet he still had time. And if he moved carefully, perhaps he could still pull off one of the greatest plots Westeros had ever seen.
To spy at Lord Aeos in Slaver's Bay was an extremely difficult task. Yet, Varys had spent enough coins and had sent quite a few spies. But he received no worthy news from them. To infiltrate the inner circle of Lord Aeos was proving to be almost impossible.
But there was something Varys could use. Jon Snow for whatever reason had contacted Illyrio to but three dragon eggs from him. And Illyrio was the man that could provide access to Jon Snow to set his plans in motion.
Varys witnessed the man who had just departed with his message to Illyrio. He could only hope that, Jon Snow might actually be interested in the plan.
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