Rhaenys shook her head in response to Viserys' question about how the dragons approached her.
"These details are unnecessary and unimportant," she said in her neutral voice. "Those are things of the past, and they have no bearing whatsoever on the future."
"It is better if we let the past remain in the past," he added.
The frown on Viserys's face deepened into an angry scowl. She was deflecting the topic again and refusing to tell him the truth. He was about to retort but Rhaenys continued.
"What is important and necessary is the future," she said. "The plans and the steps for the future."
"The future of Westeros and the Iron Throne," she added. "And the future of the House Targaryen."
"What is there to think about the future?" Viserys scoffed. "We have five dragons. With five dragons, we can conquer the world if we wish to. What is a mere Iron Throne?"
"You asked about my plans for taking the Iron Throne back," he continued, an arrogant smile spreading across his face. "Let me tell you my plans, then."
"Firstly, I am going to claim the largest of the five dragons," he said with a smirk. "Then I am going to ride it to Westeros and burn everyone who dares to stand in my way. Everyone will have to bend the knee to the True Dragon."
"And then, the noble houses and smallfolk who have remained loyal to us, who have been awaiting my return, will rise up to welcome me," he declared.
Daenerys and Illyrio gulped in fight and nervousness. Viserys had definitely crossed certain lines and they could not help but think that Rhaenys was about to snap. Illyrio had even started to think about how to placate her. But there was barely any reaction on Rhaenys' face. She was as calm, composed and neutral as she had been.
"I see," she murmured softly.
"You will bring the dragons to me, will you not?" Viserys demanded. "You will call them?"
He leaned forward, his arrogant expression unwavering.
"Did you send them away because you were worried that I might claim one for myself?" He pointed.
"If you are so certain of your abilities," she replied calmly, "you can surely try. Who am I to stop you or deliberately keep them away?"
"If you are a true dragon as you claim," she said. "You can surely claim one of the dragons for yourself, probably even the largest one."
"And yes," she added. "I will call them. You can meet them."
The smirk on Viserys's face widened and his pride and ego ballooned even more. For him it was Rhaenys accepting his suzerainty. For him, it was like her bedding the knees to him. Only the formality remained. And he will have that formality too. Once he claimed the dragon, he would make her kneel.
On the other hand, the nervousness on Daenerys's face only deepened. She could sense that something was terribly wrong.
"Then what is the delay?" Viserys said, abruptly standing up from his chair. "Take us to the dragons. I will need a few days to claim one for myself."
"The sooner I begin, the better it will be," he added.
He was impatient. He refused to wait a moment longer. Rhaenys nodded and rose to her feet.
"We will have to go outside the city walls," she remarked. "Having five dragons inside an unfamiliar city is not a wise idea."
"I do not see a problem in this," Viserys remarked and he was on his way outside the room.
Rhaenys cast a glance on the still shocked Daenerys and Illyrio before following after Viserys. They could not believe what was happening. Anything that was happening was outside their expectations.
[Illyrio POV]
I, along with Viserys, Daenerys, and Rhaenys, was riding through the empty plains just outside Pentos. We were escorted by a dozen sellswords of the Golden Company and a dozen of my own personal guards. According to Lady Rhaenys, the dragons should be resting at the edge of a forest about an hour's ride from the city walls. And so, we made our way toward our destination.
Viserys, being in a hurry and impatient, was leading the convoy and I was keeping pace beside him. Lady Rhaenys was riding behind us, alongside Princess Daenerys, while the guards and sellswords were following closely in our wake.
The meeting between Rhaenys and Viserys had not proceeded as I had expected. Or rather, it had unfolded in a manner I could never have anticipated. It had been a totally shocking scenario that had unfolded before my eyes.
Rhaenys Targaryen, the same fearsome woman who had conquered Qohor in a single day and held five living dragons under her command, had turned out to be surprisingly meek and soft.
I had expected great friction and sparks to erupt between Viserys and Rhaenys. I had expected fierce claims and counterclaims.
The moment Viserys announced that he was going to claim the largest dragon and capture the Iron Throne, I thought she would snap. I thought that she would challenge his claim and lay her own claim. But she did not.
True, in the history of House Targaryen, the claim of the male heir has almost always been prioritized over the female. Rhaenys's own namesake, the Queen Who Never Was, was a prime example of this over a century and a half ago. But that precedent was established when both factions had dragons.
This time, it was only Rhaenys who had dragons. I fully expected that when Viserys demanded one of her beasts, she would grow livid. That she would outright deny him any right to claim what was hers.
But no. She did not deny him.
In fact, she was actively taking us to the dragons. Nor did she contest his right to rule from the Iron Throne. It was an absolute shock to me.
Even now, following them out of the mansion, I found it impossible to believe this was the same lady who had captured Qohor. Was she truly this ambitionless? Or was this all a carefully constructed facade? Varys would be exceedingly curious to hear of all this. And more curious, to hear what happened when Viserys and dragons came face to face.
But I think the most curious ones would be the readers. And no. Not about Viserys. But probably about Daenerys who had merely been a side character till now.
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