"Who spoke of Aegon?"

Aemond turned on his heel, marching down the storm swept beach, no longer caring for his niece's woes, only his own, as always.

Truthfully, he only cared for his need to wed his niece. He cared to take her from beneath Aegon's nose. Cared to show him the crown was a prize he could have but Laenora? Laenora was his, and he would not share. He cared to protect her, politically and physically. He cared to prove, she was more than just an object to him.

He. Cared. He only wished she would believe it. That was why he warned her Alicent would move for her mother's throne in the first place, why he sent that blasted letter and did not talk to her the morning she was sent away on dragonback with her mother.

She was her mother's child after all, more than any of them, and as the heir to the throne, he knew the weight she held on her shoulders - but he could help take that.

Rhaenyra would surely allow their marriage, if only he could prove his loyalty. Of course, the people would call him a turncloak, but once he married the princess he would be their king and they would have no say in the matter. Common people rarely did, they only had their whispers.

"Where are you going Hightower?" His bride called to him, "Do not turn your back on me!"

"Sweet Laenora." He chuckled, venom in his tone however silky he masked it. "So naive. You hardly realise do you?"

That was when he felt her knife at the nape of his neck, ready to hook under his skull and tear through him, to push the sapphire from his eye socket from the inside - she would not hurt him, he knew that, but the knife of his father's, the same that his mother had used to cut Laenora's own mother, was sharp enough to convince him otherwise.

She was a great swordsman after all, and if her finger slipped he knew it was not without lack of intention.

"First your brother takes my eye with a knife. Now you wish to take my head? The irony is palpable, my queen."

"Your queen?" She laughed, a hand pressed around his throat. "I realise enough Aemond. You almost took Lucerys from us, so I will take you from them. A son for a son."

It was no laughing matter. Laenora was not laughing. Nor were their dragons who waited upon the crumbling turrets of stormsend. Neither was Luke, who watched from a far, unable to make out little of anything over the lapping of the waves and anger of the storm.

Aemond however, burst into fits of it. So comfortable in fact that he leaned forwards, hands to his knees, holding his sea water soaked stomach. Just as quickly, he hit the knife from his niece's palm, kicking a gust of sand over it before walking away.

Laenora was quick to unbury it, and much faster than her betrothed, and so it was with a pull of his silver hair, that his back was to her front, and the knife clung to his throat. This, was not so amusing.

"You bury your father's knife. My grandfathers? You disrespectful cunt." She spoke through a laugh of her own. "Now why don't you tell me wherever it is you're going? Or shall I force it out of you?"

"Wherever it seems you are niece." Aemond relented. "Shall we then?"

"You are my prisoner Aemond, and for my mother and father you will make a grand prize. Do not forget your place."

"With you." He nodded curtly.

"Good. Now come along." She motioned, her knife pointing at The Cannibal as they approached the creature with rushed steps.

Luke was already waiting by his saddle, unsure of himself, wary of the legendary beast, but Laenora knew her dragon would not dare to harm Luke, not the same way Vhagar had attempted. And so she made a quick decision, and ushered both her brother and betrothed upon the back of her dragon.

Luke did not question such an act and with a kiss to his forehead he settled in at the front of two pronged saddle, right between his sisters arms. Aemond however, as he always did, kicked up a fuss, refusing to leave Vhagar, refusing to ride upon such a criminal animal, especially so when Cannibal stared upon Aemond's own dragon as if she were the tastiest meal he had ever seen.

"You expect me to ride upon that thing?"

"You ride the ugliest brute in the land, my boy will do no harm unless you do any to me."

Aemond had little choice and so with his grandfathers blade aimed at the apple of his throat, he climbed atop the Cannibal's saddle, nestling in close behind Laenora and he wrapped his arms around her waist like a chain.

"Hold tight Lucerys." Laenora whispered.

And just as quickly, Cannibal took flight to the skies, almost throwing the young boy from his place.

"Laenora!" He called out, swallowing the lump in his throat, clutching to the dragon's spine for dear life.

"I have you!" She yelled into the wind.

But it was not the Cannibal that Lucerys feared in that moment, but Vhagar. The same creature that flew along side them at criminal speed, desperate to catch up to her rider, to not be left behind, to devour Luke whole at the earliest convenience.

"Vhagar will behave lord strong. I assure you she won't try eat you again!" The one eyed prince taunted, to which Laenora calmly handed Cannibal's reigns to her brother.

In an instant she'd turned on her betrothed, the very same who had saved her life, all in Lucerys's favour. She clawed at his throat and balled the front of his tunic up in her tightly gripped fist - it was clear the heir was not to be toyed with, at least not anymore.

Her message to Aemond was loud and clear.

"If you so much as look at him the wrong way, I'll throw you from dragon back. If you talk to him without my say so, I'll have your other eye. Do you understand me?"

Silently, Aemond nodded. As she had stolen every other part of him, she stole his voice.

"And if your abomination of a dragon even thinks about eating my brother then the Cannibal will consume her. He is not called such a name for little reason. Do you understand me?"

"Yes my princess."

"Good uncle. Now was that so hard?"

Aemond did not speak a word, his mouth hung open as if the words were ready to spill but they never returned to him, the only thing that returned was his tight grasp on Laenora's waist; claiming her as his.

That was the first moment Lucerys Velaryon felt himself ready to turn to violence; the very first effect the war would have on him.

His body against hers.

His palms on her waist.

The traitor on the back of his sister's dragon.

Lucerys wanted more than anything to be able to turn and push him, to watch Aemond fall through the skies and his corpse to come apart upon the earth, to commit the most heinous act he possibly could - if only it would not ruin his sister.

He knew her better than anyone. And so he knew her denials too, he knew her denial of her feelings for the prince, and no matter how much he wished to kill, Lucerys would not hurt her.

He knew then, the weight of the world which hung itself on his shoulders.

The weight of the dance of dragons.

He would not survive it.

***

"Laenora!"

By the time the three royals had made it back to Dragonstone, greeted by the sand the sea and the queen, chaos had already began to ensue.

"Lucerys!"

Queen Rhaenyra already had her Strong son clutched upon her chest before the heir nor her prisoner could think to free themselves from the Cannibal's saddle. Daemon however, was unmoving, as he watched and waited, noting the way the princess climbed ashore and dragged her betrothed with her, waving his brother's blade.

"Luke! Are you hurt? Where is Arrax? What happened Lucerys?" Rhaenyra wailed, "We thought we had lost you!"

"He almost killed me, mother. You must know Laenora did not mean to do it - you must know! She was protecting me-"

"Who?"

"Aemond!"

Now the queen's eyes were on him.

"Daughter." Daemon greeted, ignoring his wife, ignoring his step-child, ignoring all for her. His stern face only grew wider into a devilish smirk the longer he held the girl at arms length.

"I may not have returned with Lord Borros's word, but I have something better."

Aemond. Bound at the wrists. Viserys's knife pointed at his throat. Nothing could ever serve the rogue prince greater  satisfaction.

"A son for a son." She told him.

Except for that.

Daemon did not hesitate to hug his child, something which he had only done on a short matter of occasions before. The night he married her mother, the moment before she claimed a dragon, and now. Laenora could've counted them out on one hand, however, she could not deny, that as of recent times she craved his respect more than his affection, craved the fatherhood it seemed only he was willing to provide her. She would be his rogue if he allowed her so.

"Laenora." Nyra's voice called to her. "What is the meaning of all of this?"

Laenora pulled away, readying to explain herself, to unravel to her mother all of the days events, but before she could the queen marched right by her and instead landed a harsh slap against Aemond's cheek.

He took the hit, letting her, and blood fell his lip once more.

"All for you." He uttered, eyes on his captor.

Laenora's eyes didn't dare leave him again until he was dragged away to his chambers, sea soaked, and buried beneath the castle by Ser Erryk.

And yet her chest ached. What was this feeling?

"You did well." Rhaenyra cut in, caressing her daughter's hair. "No harm came to you?"

"No... But it was I who brought harm to Arrax, I was trying to ensure Luke would be saved... Cannibal broke his neck, I- we never intended to kill him."

"You claimed a dragon?"

"She did." Daemon nodded proudly. "The cannibal. Largest of the wild dragons."

Almost as if moved by the hand of the old gods himself Cannibal stepped forward briskly, presenting himself to his newfound Targaryen kin. Cannibal was much larger than any dragon Rhaenyra had witnessed, perhaps even larger than Vhagar and so it was on reflection that she stumbled back, pulling Luke with her.

Laenora nor Daemon did not falter. They had done this dance before.

The dragon comes towards them and Rhaenyra takes a step back for a brief moment until she sees the dragon lean down baring it's snout to her child and she softly strokes the bridge of it, whispering to the creature.

The creature's snout nuzzled against Laenora's cheek in an instant, desperate for her touch and assurance, for their unbroken bond, and Laenora allowed the beast so much in return. She stroked his snout, soothing him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear only she could provide.

In a way, the beast reminded her of Aemond.

"Ziri iksos syz." It is fine. She told him.

"Nyke kesi taoba." I am here boy.

"You knew?" Rhaenyra narrowed her sights upon her consort. "You knew all along-"

Daemons responded filled with smug. "I was the one who sent her."

"May I go to rest my queen?" The bastard cut in, "I have had a harsh journey."

"Your dresses, they are burnt Laenora!"

"My legs too. Little price to pay for Lucerys's life."

"Come. We shall have your ailments seen to."

The matter was seen to dutifully, Rhaenyra's suspicions however, were not.