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(EM Vol. 2: A Wandering Melody) Chapter 19: Curious Dragons
🕑 Added 2025-06-17 14:00:09 +0000 UTCChapter 19: Curious Dragons
123 AC, Dragonstone
Rhaena quietly left her room, with Solarys perched on her shoulders. She had gotten used to sneaking out, but she had to admit that the guards being overwhelmed by the visiting royal family helped a lot. Her father had been on edge ever since Princess Rhaenyra flew to meet with the King, and the visit had been a surprise to everyone and the entire castle scrambled around, trying to prepare for the King’s arrival.
Thankfully, her father had been oddly subdued, even if Rhaena could recognise that he was angry. She liked to think that Solarys’ hatching had something to do with his better mood. He had made the effort to spend more time with her and even taught her tricks on how to deal with her dragon. It was everything she had ever wanted, but it felt so empty.
Lord Harry had been right. It wasn’t nice to know that her father only cared because of her dragon. She had always wondered what she had done wrong, why he looked at Baela with pride and at her with something colder, more distant. She had thought, foolishly, that maybe if she tried harder, spoke softer, obeyed quicker, he might see her. Really see her.
But all it took was Solarys.
She knew that her father loved her, but why couldn’t he have shown it before?
She couldn’t help but feel bitter regarding the entire affair. He even spent most of the evening drinking wine and was angry at his wife and brother.
Speaking of the royal family, the King had disappeared after a while at the feast and had retreated very quickly. The Queen had also gone somewhere until Rhaena’s grandparents arrived. Helaena had spent most of the time with her babes, while Aegon had gotten drunk and disappeared, likely to a brothel somewhere.
Thankfully, Aemond hadn’t come. Rhaena didn’t think she could see her mother’s dragon at the hands of that boy, and she didn’t think that he would be happy to see any of them again, not after what happened in the Driftmark.
Nevertheless, the King had come from King’s Landing so abruptly, and Rheana knew exactly why he did that. It only took a look at the man, seeing the sickness miraculously gone, and him looking even younger than she remembered, to realise that Lord Harry was responsible for that. People could call it a miracle all they wanted, but she had seen Lord Harry’s magic, seen him call lightning from the sky, fight off spirits of wind and fire, seen him create a storm of molten stone as they had discovered the giant dragon egg.
She could see him or Lady Daphne healing the King, and why he would come all this way to speak with them, but they spent most of the feast with her and the rest of the children, instead of the king. It also didn’t explain why, after a small conversation with him, both the King and Queen had all but stayed away from the feast completely. Rhaena couldn’t help but wonder what he had told them. Did they know about his magic? She did hear Queen Alicent call him a sorcerer, but she spoke it like it was an insult, which Rhaena didn’t like.
Even her grandparents had all but disappeared after the King summoned them. She had missed them greatly, but she hadn’t spent much time at the Driftmark.
The worst of it was the fact that the Potters hadn’t talked to her like they had after her adventure. They were there during the feast, but they were talking to everyone. Rhaena thought that she was special, that they cared.
No, this wasn’t the time for sad thoughts. She would have her answers when she arrived at the manse. Solarys seemed to feel her sadness and licked her cheek. Rhaena chuckled and decided to continue her walk.
She arrived in front of the familiar structure, only to hesitate slightly before knocking. Would she be welcomed here again? The Potters had been kind to her; they had given her Solarys and saved her life, but that kindness didn’t seem reserved for Rhaena, something that she disliked for some reason.
As if it made the decision for her, the door opened on its own, and Rhaena gulped as she walked forward. The moment she stepped across the threshold, she heard something, a sound, or perhaps a song.
Did they have musicians inside somehow?
Despite herself, Rhaena followed the music. It was different to anything she had heard before. It didn’t sound like anything she’d heard in King’s Landing or on Driftmark. It wasn’t the music of harps or flutes, or even the lively lutes the minstrels liked to strum during feasts. No, this was something else. It was deeper, slower, like it came from a place of aching.
Rhaena didn’t even realise she was moving until the manse lit the way for her, torches flickering to life one by one. Solarys clung tightly to her shoulders but didn’t make a sound.
When she turned the corner to the main hall, she froze.
There they were.
Lord Harry and Lady Daphne stood in the middle of the room, bathed in candlelight and soft shadows, their bodies swaying gently in a slow, graceful dance. No words were spoken between them. There was no audience, no performance. Just the two of them, moving as if they had done this a thousand times before.
The woman’s head rested lightly on her husband’s shoulder, and his hand held her waist with a reverence that made something in Rhaena’s chest twist.
She felt like an intruder. Like she had stumbled into something too private, too real.
Rhaena motioned to leave, only for Lord Harry’s voice to stop her, “What do you think of the music. Chopin has always been a favourite of mine. Very few people have the command of music he has, a way to describe the world with just sounds. I wish I could have met him before he died, and yet I am grateful for it. There’s no need for the illusion to shatter, huh?”
The young girl didn’t know what to say in response and just blurted out, “I’m sorry for interrupting. I didn’t mean to come.”
“If we did not wish to be disturbed, then the manse’s door would have remained closed. We’ve been waiting for you, young Rhaena.
Something bloomed in her chest, but she stopped herself from feeling hopeful, “You have?”
“Well, of course. You’re a wonderful young girl. Why wouldn’t we want to see you?”
“You spent more time with the other children during the feast,” she complained despite herself.
She wished to take back what she had just said, only for Lady Daphne to kneel down and give her a hug, “Oh, you poor thing.”
When the hug ended, the man knelt down and looked her in the eyes, “This was just politics, my dear. Certain appearances have to be maintained to give a pretence of neutrality.”
“I don’t understand.”
The golden-haired lady rolled her eyes at her husband, “What Harry is saying is that if we show in public that we like to spend time with you, then everyone would think that we support Rhaenyra’s bid for the throne.”
“Isn’t the princess the heiress? Why wouldn’t you support her?” Rhaena asked.
“In a perfect world, she would be, and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, as you probably noticed, things are pretty tense. We didn’t want to be bothered by the politics of a place that isn’t even our home, so we have to pretend not to care, or at least, not see the division in the court.”
“If you wished to stay away, then saving the King’s life isn’t a good way to remain unnoticed.”
Lord Harry’s smile widened. “You’re a smart one, aren’t you?” Rhaena blushed, and he continued, “You’re right, healing the king put us in the eyes of the Seven Kingdoms, but the benefits of doing so far outweighed the issues they would cause us.”
“And what benefits did you gain?” Rhaena asked curiously.
“Well, we’re planning on travelling everywhere for a bit, including around the Seven Kingdoms.” Rhaena’s heart bristled at that thought, “So, Westeros not being on fire is a nice incentive to have to risk a bit of attention.”
That brought Rhaena short, “What are you talking about?”
“Imagine what would happen if a sick king died, where the realm is divided into two sides, who completely hate one another, and also ride dragons. What do you think will happen next?”
The young Dragonrider froze slightly in realisation, “War. You did this to stop the war between the Greens and the Blacks.”
“Not stop, delay. The rest will be up to your king, not us. We’ve interfered enough to keep Viserys alive, hopefully for a long time, and then we’ll likely be gone from Westeros by the time any conflict starts,” Lady Daphne explained, “Perhaps there won’t be a conflict at all. Words can be extremely powerful, and Harry knows exactly what to say to get what he wants whenever he feels like it. It’s a charming yet very annoying quality.”
The man smiled with false arrogance, “It’s a talent,” before snickering at his own ridiculousness. Rhaena found herself joining his laughter, which slowed into a comfortable silence, “Enough boring politics. I’m more interested in how you have been.”
Rhaena hesitated for a moment. The last few days were eventful and slightly overwhelming, to say the least. She wanted to talk about her feelings about her father’s newfound attention towards her, but stopped herself. Instead, she spoke of another subject, “Nothing much. The King’s arrival caused some tensions and chaos, but it wasn’t as severe. It was odd. The princess and the queen barely traded their usual barbs, and everyone looked nervous, for some reason. Ah, the King summoned my grandparents from the Driftmark, but I do not know why. It was nice seeing them again.”
Lord Harry perked up, “The Velaryons are here? That was quick. I have wanted to speak with the Sea Snake for a while. He could have some insights about our future expeditions.”
Rhaena chuckled, “He would be happy to speak with you as well. He seemed taken with Jace and Luke’s gifts. Are you sure that they’re not magic? The North-pointing box must be magical.”
“No, they’re just normal items. The world is a large place, Rhaena, very large, and people have explored it for thousands of years. They make discoveries, slowly gain more understanding of the world around them, which can result in wonders, magical or otherwise. I am sure that a savage with stone tools would consider steel to be magic. This is the same thing.”
“But things haven’t changed in a very long time,” Rhaena commented, feeling confused.
For some reason, this question made Lord Harry have a proud expression on his face, “That’s very good, Rhaena. Very good indeed. Yes, the world hasn’t changed much in the last few centuries. There hasn’t been any progress, likely due to a lot of issues. For one, the Citadel cherishes its monopoly on knowledge, but in my opinion, the most likely cause would be the weather. Dealing with winters that last for years makes survival a far more important task than innovation. A mistake could easily kill you and your family. So, why risk things? If anything, things have regressed. For all its horrific uses of magic, Old Valyria was more advanced than most of Essos and Westeros. I’m not sure about Yi-Ti or anything further East, to be honest, and its fall caused enough instability that a lot of knowledge must have been destroyed.”
Lord Harry looked thoughtful for a few moments before perking up, “Speaking of Valyria, do you mind if I take a look at the little tyke?”
Rhaena didn’t have time to even accept, not that she would have denied his request, but the moment Lord Harry motioned towards Solarys, the little dragon jumped up from her shoulders into his embrace. The sorcerer held the dragon and gently ran his fingers across Solarys’ scales.
The dragon seemed to enjoy the attention, given the adorable chirps it made, and Lord Harry hummed with a small smile on his face, “She’s growing very quickly, and her flames are conceptually different, likely an influence from her hatching. She grows more quickly in the sun. How interesting. Hmm… she’s slightly different from the rest of the dragons, either, at least conceptually. The properties of Amaterasu’s gemstone seemed to fill in some of the inconsistencies of the blood magic used in their creation. I have to admit that I’m very curious to see her growth.”
Rhaena’s heart bloomed at that. She knew that Solarys was different from the other dragons. She was stronger, grew faster, and seemed to obey her commands without needing any training or even a verbal command.
Maybe Solarys’ being special would get the Potters to stay on Dragonstone. That would be nice. If she hadn’t known that Lord Harry was a sorcerer, she would have thought him to be some sort of foreign Maester. There was something about the way he spoke, despite his clear dismissal of courtly courtesies, that showed that he was a learned man.
Still, Rhaena did not have to be asked twice to brag about her dragon, “Solarys is very smart. She was quiet when I needed to sneak out, as if she knew that I didn’t want to be caught. She’s already started to breathe fire. It’s normally white, but I think that I saw it change colours once.”
Lord Harry hummed, “How curious. Let me try something.”
He pressed his finger on Solarys’ face, and the dragon opened her maw, releasing a burst of white flames. The fire stopped in thin air, compressing into a ball, that the sorcerer simply grabbed with his palms, looking at it very interested in the results. The ball started to shift colours before fading away once Lord Harry seemed done with it.
His wife seemed just as interested and spoke up with a curious tone, “That’s impressive. These dragons certainly are adaptive. A product of their creation, maybe?”
“Maybe… But we should have noticed this property when we saw the adult dragons. The eggs could be especially flexible to allow for manipulation…”
“You don’t sound certain,” the golden-haired woman replied.
“Because I’m not. Something else is at play here, something that I didn’t notice,” he answered with a serious expression that morphed into an excited smile, “How wonderful.”
“Maybe the giant Dragon Egg has some answers,” Rhaena spoke up. She didn’t know why she did this. She knew little to nothing about magic, but she wanted to help, or at least, be part of the conversation.
It had the opposite effect; the two sorcerers stopped being enraptured in their conversation, as if they remembered suddenly that she was there. Solarys jumped towards her and perched herself on her shoulders once more.
Lord Harry gave her a warm look, “That’s a good thought, but the egg is far more primal, has a powerful identity of its own existence, in a way. It would have the exact opposite property that your dragon displayed. Speaking of the egg, Daphne tracked down the network of Weirwood Trees and found similar concentrations of the trees to the ones in the Dragonmont.”
“Do you think there are other giant dragon eggs?” the young girl asked, feeling excited.
“We were planning on visiting the closest one soon,” the sorcerer spoke up, “Now that you’re here, Rhaena, what do you think about going on another adventure?”
“I’d love to,” Rhaena replied quickly.
“Well, let’s go then,” Lord Harry replied before snapping his fingers.
Rhaena blinked before finding herself in a completely different place. The first thing she felt was the cold. She shivered slightly before she noticed that she was wearing furs, somehow. She turned, and it took a few seconds to come to a realisation, “We’re not on Dragonstone.”
“We’re not,” Lord Harry replied, his clothes having changed as well into furs, making the dread she felt settle in her stomach.
The Lady Daphne, who was standing next to him and also wearing furs, seemed to give him an irritated look, “We don’t need to wear furs, Harry. Warming charms exist for a reason.”
“Aesthetics are important, Daph.”
Rhaena interrupted their bickering, “Where did you take me?”
“Like I told you, our next expedition. Welcome, Rhaena, to Skagos,” the man answered casually.
"Oh!" she simply said.
It took a few moments for the answer to truly sink in: “I’M IN SKAGOS?”
AN: I’m not sure about this chapter. It was meant as a transition to the next expedition. I do have something cool planned for Skagos, and I decided to go with it sooner rather than later. I think that Rhaena was more suitable for this one, since it’ll be connected to the giant dragon egg in Dragonstone, but I’m tempted to have Helaena for the next one.
I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up to par. I wrote it while in a hurry, and with around three hours of sleep in the last two days. This week has been extremely hectic, and I was tempted not to upload this one, but I pushed myself a bit. I'll take a proper look at this chapter after I get some sleep. As usual, I don’t mind rewriting this depending on your feedback, so please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
Comments
athass_prkr
I have something special planned for the God's Eye, and the presence of dragonglass in Skagos gave me some inspiration. I hope you liked it.
Damon Fitzgerald
Would not have expected Skagos. Would have thought the God's Eye would be more likely.
Marius Petrauskas
nice
Garri Sarkisov
They way things are going Rhaney is going to be adopted by the Potters
omiguh
Will the valerian dragons have the same magical immunity as the potter verse dragons? I feel like they shouldn't. Haven't watched house of dragons or whatever so I don't know much if there is any magical stuff going on but the only magic I remember would be from the white walkers and they killed dragons quite easily with just an ice spear. I feel like it would make sense for these dragons to not have it as well because I doubt the valerians would want to create creatures that they couldn't kill with their own magic. But then again I don't know much of old Valyria. I also feel like this could work well with the dreams the targaryans have. The dreams are not necessarily warning the targaryans their destiny to destroy the white walkers but to start running away from Westeros so the world isn't destroyed. After all, the realm beat the white walkers back without the help of dragons so they don't necessarily need them in the future. I mean we've seen the walkers start their attack as soon as they got their hands on a single dragon. The hard part, ironically, was getting a dragon to go north of the wall. Not the killing. Idk, that what I think. sorry for the long comment, just voicing my thoughts lol. Anyways, thanks for the chapter
Monzter E
Hahahahahaha
