Violent Tides - Chapter 14: Consequences

Aelora and her family visit Driftmark, leading to them being there when trouble comes to the island's shores.

Three Weeks Later (121 AC)

Aegon crossed his arms as he looked at the girl before him dubiously. “Why is your mother choosing now to travel to Driftmark? You all just went!”

Aelora giggled. “Egg, we went to Driftmark years ago, when Jace was a babe.”

“Jace is still a babe,” Aegon muttered. “But that’s not the point, you have no reason to go back.”

“Do we need a reason?” Aelora asked.

No, but it should be a better one than our mothers fighting again. Aegon thought.

He was aware that Rhaenyra had done something, along with Corlys Velaryon and the Tyrells, that infuriated his mother and her house, but Aegon did not pay much attention when Alicent was raving about it to her friends and supporters.

He had long since gotten used to the two women attacking each other indirectly, but things had never gotten so bad that one of them felt the need to retreat from the Red Keep.

And that is what this felt like, especially with how quickly Viserys, the man who loved his daughter more than any other and who desired to her by his side at all times, agreed when Rhaenyra made the suggestion of herself, Laenor, and their children staying in Driftmark for some time.

Now the two were standing on a balcony, watching as servants carried the heir and her family’s belongings into different carriages. The people below were working quickly so as to spend as little time as possible in the cold and pouring rain.

“And why can’t you all leave tomorrow?” Aegon asked, shivering when a gust of wind blew in their direction.

“Father said that the rain isn’t as bad as it looks. And mother really wants to leave today,” Aelora said as she stepped away from the railing.

Aegon huffed as he and Aelora walked back inside the Keep. “Of course, why am I even surprised? Did your mother say how long you would be gone?”

“No, but we should be back soon,” Aelora promised.

“You better,” Aegon muttered. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me with these people.”

Aelora giggled. “Don’t say that about everyone.”

It’s the truth. What am I going to do with Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron? And mother and father are going to be even worse.

“Aelora, there you are,” Aelora and Aegon turned their heads, seeing Rhaenyra approaching them. “You were not in the nursey, where I told you to stay.”

“Sorry, mother. I wanted to watch the carriages with Egg,” Aelora said, giving her mother a sheepish smile.

“You are forgiven, but we must leave. Your father and brothers are waiting for us,” Rhaenyra said gently before looking to the side blankly. “Goodbye, brother.”

“Goodbye, sister,” Aegon said just as plainly and coldly as Rhaenyra, staring at her with no emotion on his face.

But a smile soon appeared on his face when Aelora soon hugged him, squeezing him tightly. “Goodbye, Egg.”

“Goodbye, Lora,” Aegon said, resting his chin on top of her head. “Don’t take too long to come back.”

“I won’t, I promise,” Aelora smiled brightly at her uncle as she let him go, and Aegon did the same, much to his reluctance. Aelora then skipped to her mother, holding her hand as they began to walk away, but she kept her head turned to Aegon, “Bye, Egg!”

I hate this. Aegon thought as he made his way back to the balcony and watched his niece, her parents, and her brothers pile into a carriage.

There was something about this trip that did not sit well with him, which only served to confuse him, not knowing why he was so worried. This type of vacation was not out of the ordinary, so much so that most people did not come to see the small group of royals off.

But Aegon eventually wrote off this feeling as he simply began to already miss Aelora and not wanting her to leave.

~X~

Aelora could feel the blazing heat of the sun above her and could smell the sweet ocean breeze around her. She was breathing heavily, and Aelora had never felt so tired and out of breath in her entire life.

But what drew her attention the most was the excruciating pain coming from left arm, it was the type of pain that would come from hitting something or being hit by someone exceptionally hard, the kind of pain that felt never ending and lingered for days.

What’s going on? Aelora thought.

It was only as she looked around that she noticed she was not alone; she was standing in the middle of a street, surrounded by a crowd of people.

Aelora was still struggling to breathe and when she looked down, Aelora felt her heart speed up and her stomach drop.

From her elbows down, Aelora was covered in blood, but what drew her attention the most was the body lying in a bloody pool in front of her.

Aelora wanted to jump back and scream, but she was unable to do either when she realized that it was her father that before her. She was forced to look at the man’s slit throat, watching as blood continued to seep out from it before looking at the man’s face, staring into Laenor’s lifeless eyes; his expression frozen in shock and fear.

Aelora sat up with a gasp, sucking in air as she clutched the front of her shirt, her heart racing as she quickly looked around. She slowly calmed down when she realized that she had been dreaming.

What was that? Aelora thought, pulling her knees up to her chest, unable to get the feeling of blood off her skin and the image of Laenor’s face from her mind. Aelora tried to focus on the rocking of the ship, closing her eyes as she took deep breaths.

Aelora had immediately gone to her room to sleep the moment she and her family stepped onto the ship, wanting to get out of the rain and not having anything to do on their journey.

I hate this, why does this keep happening to me? Aelora knew that she would not be able to go back to sleep, and climbed out of bed, grabbing her cloak, and leaving her cabin.

Aelora was forced to hold her cloak over her face as she walked across the deck, the rain and wind battering her body the moment she opened the door.

Aelora ignored the cold as she made her way to her parents’ cabin, not bothering to knock as she pushed the door open and made her way inside.

“What the? Aelora? What are you doing?” Laenor said from the bed, sitting up as he realized who had entered the room.

Rhaenyra left the letter she was writing behind as she stood from her desk, walking across the room and kneeling in front of her daughter. She pushed the hood of Aelora’s cloak off her head and cupped Aelora’s face. “Did you have another dream?”

Aelora looked to the side and shrugged her shoulders, not saying a word as her parents stared at her worryingly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Rhaenyra asked, brushing her thumbs along Aelora’s cheeks.

Aelora shook her head. “Can I stay with you and father?”

“Of course you can, sweetheart,” Laenor said, joining his wife and daughter, gently taking off Aelora’s wet cloak and making her take off her boots. “Come, sit on the bed. The blankets should warm you.”

Aelora lay on her father’s chest as the two of them lay on the bed, wrapped tightly within the bed’s blankets. She felt relieved as she listened to and felt the soft beating of Laenor’s heart against her ear but was still unable to remove the images of her dream from her mind.

Rhaenyra returned to her desk, but was still worried about her daughter, finding it hard to focus on the letter in front of her.

“We’re almost to Driftmark. Finally seeing your grandparents and having a proper bed should help you sleep better,” Laenor told Aelora, whispering softly in her ear.

Aerea hummed, pressing herself harder against Laenor’s body, not feeling the need to respond to him verbally.

She was still thinking about her dream; it was not as bad as the dream she had a few years ago of Rhaenyra and Aegon, but it still unnerved her all the same.

I hate my dreams. Aelora thought sadly, wanting more than anything for her detailed and graphic visions to finally end, and give her the peace of mind she so longed for.

~X~

The Next Day

Aelora sat in her grandsire’s arms as they walked through the streets of Hull, looking at the various ships that lined the shipyard.

Corlys had come to the town for one of his frequent visits to the shipyards, and both Laenor and Aelora had decided to join him, a group of armed guards following them at a distance.

“Grandsire, can I have a ship like yours one day?” Aelora asked.

Corlys grinned. “Of course, you can, my little sea snake. I’ll have on commissioned for you the moment we return to the castle.”

From his father’s side, Laenor sighed. “Father, don’t make such promises.”

“Why? I am not lying when said I would have a ship commissioned,” Corlys said.

“That is the problem,” Laenor drawled. “Aelora is five name’s days old, what is she going to do with a ship? Where would we keep the ship? And how will you explain to mother that you gave a little girl an entire ship?”

While she was a bit disappointed that she would not be getting a ship of her own, Aelora giggled as she saw the pout on her grandfather’s face.

Eventually, Corlys had to put Aelora down as they met one of his fleet captains, and the young princess moved closer to the village square, having grown bored of listening to the discussion her father and grandfather were having with the man.

A few guards broke away from the others to follow the princess, but Aelora ignored them as she walked. The last time she had come to Driftmark, she had stayed in the castle and was not given the chance to see the rest of the island and wanted to make sure that did not happen again.

And as Aelora walked towards a store filled with baked goods, Aelora caught a flash of silver from the corner of her eye.

At first, she thought it was either Laenor or Corlys, but when she turned her head, she realized that the silver was coming from the head of a small boy.

The boy was younger than her, looking to be the same age as Jacaerys, with curly silver hair, dark brown skin, and purple eyes. He was walking next to and holding the hand of a small pretty woman with the same skin tone, brown hair, seafoam green eyes, pierced ears, and from the top of her dress, Aelora could see that the bottom of her neck, down to her chest, was covered in black tattoos of a ship, waves, and sea animals.

With her other arm, the woman was holding another boy with it who was younger than the one walking but had the same features as him.

Are they cousins of mine? I have never seen them before. Aelora thought, thinking they may be family of hers.

The family crossed the street in front of her, but as they did, the older boy turned in her direction and saw Aelora. Aelora waved at him, and the boy returned the gesture, something that the woman noticed and when she turned, her eyes widened slightly when she saw Aelora, looking at the girl’s expensive clothes and the guards who were with her.

The woman then looked at something behind Aelora, her expression hardening as she looked away and pulled the young boy with her, walking faster than before and quickly disappearing.

“Aelora,” Corlys said, his jaw clenched; his eyes filled with guilt and anger, something that Aelora found confusing. “You should not walk off, not without telling your father and I.”

“But the guards came with me,” Aelora said, pointing to the men behind them.

“Still, you must tell us,” Corlys said before looking at the direction the woman and her children were last seen. “You did not speak to that woman and those children, did you?”

“No,” Aelora frowned, noticing how uncomfortable her grandfather had become. “Are they, my cousins? I don’t remember meeting them.”

“No, they are not,” Corlys spat, forcing himself to calm down when he saw Aelora react to the sudden harshness in his voice. “They are no one, Aelora, do not worry about them.”

Aelora did not respond to Corlys, wondering why her grandfather was lying to her. She could feel it, why else would he react the way he just did?

And Aelora could not stop herself from thinking about the woman and her two boys, unable to get them out of her head. She felt drawn to them, but could not explain why, and Corlys telling her not to worry about them only made her more curious.

Laenor was smiling as he joined his father and daughter. “Father, you took off quickly back there. Did you truly miss your precious granddaughter in the short time she was gone that much?”

Corlys laughed, a fake hollow thing that Laenor did not regard as strange. “I suppose so, but you cannot fault me for that. It has been over six moons since I have last seen her.”

Laenor laughed, and the trio moved walked down the road, Aelora noticed her grandfather making a few more glances down the road that the family of three had walked down but did not say anything about it.

“We should take Jace and Luke with us next time,” Aelora told the two men.

Laenor smiled. “We will, we can even go to Spicetown if you’d like.”

Aelora’s smile grew, already imagining how a day in Spicetown would be like with her brothers, father, and grandfather. “Promise?”

“I promise,” Laenor said with an equally large smile.

~X~

Rhaenys glanced at her eldest granddaughter with mirth as she looked away from the letter that she had just finished writing a response to. The girl was sitting in the chair in front of her, albeit on two pillows so she could see over the desk. “You do not have to stay here with me, Aelora. You can play with the other children in the castle.”

Aelora shook her head, opening another letter for Rhaenys. “I want to stay, and the other children are boring.”

Rhaenys took the letter, beginning to read it. “Boring, you say?”

Aelora nodded her head. “They keep calling me ‘princess’ and ‘Your Grace.’ And they don’t want to play with me because they think I’ll get hurt.”

Rhaenys chuckled. “You are a princess, Aelora. And as those lower than you in status, they must treat you respectfully.”

“But if I’m a princess and I tell them to do something, then shouldn’t they have to do it?” Aelora asked.

Rhaenys huffed. “That is not how that works, my dear.”

Aelora crossed her arms. “They’re still boring, and they're not as fun as Daeron and Daemion.”

To her disappointment, Daeron and Daemion were not on Driftmark when she arrived; both boys having been taken as squires of Clement Celtigar, meaning that they currently lived on Claw Isle.

The rest of her Velaryon cousins and the other noble children who called Driftmark home were distant and overly formal, much like the children of the Red Keep were whenever Aelora was near.

“They are more boring than sitting here with me while I write letters to different lords and ladies? I did not think you would enjoy such a task.”

Rhaenys was often the one who kept correspondence with the various houses, whether they were allies, neutral parties, or even enemies on behalf of House Velaryon. A necessity as Corlys often lacked the finesse and tolerance to fully partake in the flowery illusion that courtly politics pretended to be.

But Rhaenys had been raised from birth to play the game, had been taught the importance of when to throw the weight of her name and title around and when to compromise and adhere to another’s ego to get what you wanted.

“Yes,” Aelora said. “And I like being with you when you work. It’s way better than with grandfather, his chair hurts my butt, it’s too pointy.”

Rhaenys let out an unladylike snort as she heard Aelora’s complaint about the Iron Throne being too uncomfortable to sit on.

I think our ancestors and Viserys would have a few things to say if they heard that. Rhaenys thought.

A knock at the study doors was soon heard, and Vaemond quickly entered the chamber. This inwardly surprised Rhaenys as she never knew her good brother to knock before entering any room in the castle, until she saw Malaera enter after him, and knew that the other woman must have insisted on the action.

“Hello uncle Vaemond, hello aunt Malaera,” Aelora greeted the pair with a smile.

“Hello, Aelora,” Malaera smiled softly. “Your uncle and I must speak with your grandmother. Do you think you can give us the room?”

Aelora nodded her head. “I can.”

As Aelora pushed herself off the chair, Vaemond handed her a pouch that he had been holding. “Here, my dear. I meant to give this to you earlier but did not have the time.”

Aelora took the pouch and opened it, smiling brightly as she saw that there was a large heap of the candy, he usually gave her whenever she saw him. She then hugged his legs. “Thank you, uncle Vaemond!”

Vaemond chuckled. “Of course.”

Rhaenys shook her head as she watched Aelora run out of the room. “You are always spoiling that girl’s appetite.”

“I’m sure everyone else around her does worse,” Vaemond waved off.

Rhaenys sat back. “What is it that you need to speak to me about?”

Vaemond crossed his arms. “The pirate sightings have grown worse, but Corlys is not doing anything to stop them.”

Rhaenys sighed. “How close?”

“Some of the children spotted their ships in the distance, off the eastern coast, and they told their parents today,” Malaera answered. “And our sailors have also reported the same these past few weeks, as you know.”

Rhaenys knew what her good brother and sister were talking about well, having already heard the rants from her husband. “It is not that Corlys won’t, it’s that he cannot. The King was quite clear on his instructions for my husband to keep his any ships of ours not meant for trade or exploration, to Driftmark’s shores and nowhere else.”

Corlys had angered Viserys with his recent actions involving Rhaenyra and the Tyrells, but this had all stemmed from Viserys’ order for Corlys to keep his fleet out of Westerosi waters and stating that the Lannister fleet will handle all navel threats from that moment forward.

Corlys was right in his assessment that Tyland and the Lannister fleet were not doing a respectable job of protecting their continent’s waters, but he had disrespected Viserys and his council by trying to force their hand on the matter.

House Velaryon was already on thin ice with the Crown. If Corlys did anything else without the Crown’s leave, it would only further deteriorate things.

And this deterioration was making them look unruly and aggressive to their detractors and other neutral parties.

Vaemond placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward. “That is why you must beseech the King to rescind. If we continue to sit back and do nothing, then it will only be a matter of time before that scum do something far worse.”

“I will write to my cousin, but I doubt it will change much. At best he may have the Master of Ships send some of his forces to the island.”

“That’s just what we need, more Lannisters who do nothing but sit on their asses!” Vaemond spat.

Rhaenys had long since heard Vaemond’s rants against House Lannister, and she shared a commiserating look with Malaera, who had to experience such even more often than she did.

Malaera sighed. “The Lannisters have been against us since our house displaced them as the richest in the realm. And even without that history, the Lannisters along with the Westerlands, are firmly aligned with the Greens. After everything that happened with the Hightowers recently, they will not truly come to our aid.”

“I told Corlys not to do that foolish tax, but did he listen? No! And now we are in this mess.”

“What’s done is done, Vaemond,” Rhaenys said, barely keeping herself from rolling her eyes. “We will move forward and figure out what we must do next.”

“That is all we can do,” Malaera agreed.

Vaemond could only scoff at this, but said nothing further, seeing this whole affair as something that he could not control, no matter how much he postured.

~X~

Later That Night

As the wind and the rush of waves crashed against the shores of Driftmark, leagues away, several of House Velaryon’s warships patrolled the waters of the Gullet.

The night had been shaping up to be as dull and uneventful as any other for the crews; the only difference was the gently fog that had rolled in earlier, making it hard to see anything beyond the torches of their allies.

Beyond the poor weather, they were simply left to wait for the hours to pass until they were relieved from their posts.

One sailor who was occupying a ship’s crow’s nest, leaned against the wooden edge of the lookout point and looked through his Myrish lens tube towards the open ocean. With his position as one of the ship’s far-eyes, he often found himself with little to do but move about his small perch in search of imaginary dangers.

To him and almost everyone else on board, no one would dare attack vessels with the silver seahorse of House Velaryon on their sails.

And it was this belief that had led everyone to being taken off guard by what happened within the next few moments.

It was not until a shadow came into view from the ship’s starboard side that the sailor in the crow’s nest became aware that something was wrong, but before he could alert anyone, grappling lines were thrown onboard, hooking into the railings.

“We are being boarded by pirates! All hands-on deck!” The far-eye cried jut as arrows were being fired from the galley next to the warship.

Men ran around the warship like scattering ants; some were struck down by the arrows raining down on them, some moved to try and remove the grappling lines from the ship while their attackers were using them to climb aboard, and others went to equip and aim the siege weapons.

In an instant another galley made its way through the fog and attached itself to the ship, an act that was happening to all the warships patrolling the area, turning the Gullet into a warzone.

At first, the pirates’ sneak attack seemed to be quickly starting to falter under pressure from a superior force, their gulleys beginning to take water and countless men were being struck down by the Velaryon sailors.

But as they were focused on the enemy directly before them, the sailors failed to notice over the horizon that several dromonds had also used the fog to cover their arrival, using their catapults to assault their enemies.

~X~

Laenor sat up startled when he heard heavy knocking from his bedchamber doors, his heart racing as he held Aelora's body against his chest.

Aelora muttered in her sleep, her hands clenching his tunic before her body relaxed again.

The noise soon woke Rhaenyra up, and the woman looked just as confused as her husband. “What is going on?”

“Ser Laenor! Ser Laenor!” They heard a voice shouting.

Laenor gently placed his daughter on the bed before leaving the bedroom, and when he reached the doors of the suite, a young servant boy was standing on the other side of it along with the guards that were posted outside, his eyes manic and his skin shinning with sweat.

“What is it, boy? Why have you awoken me at such an hour?” Laenor asked.

“Lord Velaryon has requested your presence in the Hall of Nine, Ser. There are sightings of the house’s ships being besieged by pirates in the Gullet.” The servant said.

Laenor’s eyes widened. “Pirates? Just pirates, or are they aligned with the Triarchy?”

“We do not know,” The servant said, shaking his head.

“Tell my father that I will be there shortly,” Laenor said before turning around, closing the doors behind him.

When he returned to the bedroom, Rhaenyra was sitting upright, moving her fingers through Aelora’s hair. She lifted her head to look at Laenor when he returned, seeing the look on his face. “What is wrong?”

“Pirates are attacking the ships we have patrolling the Gullet,” Laenor answered, taking off his sleepwear to put on something more appropriate.

“Pirates? Would they truly be so foolish as to attack House Velaryon so close to Driftmark’s shores?” Rhaenyra asked.

“It seems they have become quite brazen as of late. Who could have imagined that this would happen?” Laenor said, looking away from his wife.

Rhaenyra, having heard the tone in Laenor’s voice when he stopped speaking, narrowed her eyes as she continued to look at him. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

Laenor sighed as he put on his boots. “It means nothing, Rhaenyra.”

“No, clearly you have something to say to me. Do you believe that I am to blame for this attack? I did not know that I possessed the ability to command a horde of pirates from our bed.”

“Well, we have never had an attack so close to the island before you and father decided to that messing with the Queen and the Hightowers was a good idea!”

Laenor felt bad when Rhaenyra did not respond, feeling her eyes still on him as he finished dressing himself. “Rhaenyra, I did not mean-”

“You did,” Rhaenyra quickly said, clenching her fists. “You meant to say that do not lie to me and say that you did not.”

Laenor turned around and walked to the bed, standing in front of the woman. “I was not trying to-It was not my intention to hurt you.”

“I know that it wasn’t, but you must have been holding these feelings within yourself for some time,” Rhaenyra said softly.

“Rhaenyra-”

“We can talk about it when you return, Laenor,” Rhaenyra said with finality, laying down again, facing the other way.

Laenor stared at Rhaenyra for a few moments before sighing and turning away, briskly leaving the chamber.

I should have kept my words to myself. Laenor thought.

By the time Laenor reached High Tide’s great hall, he found the chamber to be as chaotic and busy as he expected it to be. Guards were dashing in and out of the chamber, and a large table had been placed in the center of the chamber, covered with charts of the Gullet and Driftmark's surrounding waters.

As he walked, Laenor saw his father standing at the bottom of the Driftwood Throne at the head of the table, still in his nightclothes beneath a hastily thrown cloak as he spoke to one of his captains.

Rhaenys and Vaemond stood on either side of the lord, both dressed similarly to the man.

“Laenor!” Corlys exclaimed once he spotted his son. “Finally! The Seven Hells should have frozen over in the time it took you to get here.”

“Father,” Laenor said, ignoring what Corlys had just said as he stood next to his mother. “Have we received confirmation that it is the Triarchy that are attacking... how many ships are being attacked?”

“Five patrol ships have been attacked, my lord,” One of the captains stepped forward and spoke.

“They are the Triarchy’s little rats; no one else would be foolish enough to dare striking us,” Corlys spat, gritting his teeth. “This is exactly what I warned our King would happen, but did he listen? No, he was too busy trying to appease the Lannisters and prove that he did not need House Velaryon to keep these waters safe.”

“Perhaps if you had not incited his anger then we would not find ourselves in this predicament,” Vaemond said drily, crossing his arms as he stared at the maps on the table.

Corlys glared at his younger brother, but before he could reprimand him, Rhaenys placed her hand on his forearm, giving him a look that made him grit his teeth and turn his attention back to the problem at hand.

“We will be launching counterattack from-”

“The King ordered our fleet to remain close to Driftmark, even the five ships that we allowed into the Gullet,” Vaemond reminded him. “If you send the fleet beyond those limits without royal leave, it will be viewed as yet another act of defiance.”

Corlys slammed his hand onto the table. “And what would you have me do, brother? Sit here while pirates burn my ships?”

“That is not what Vaemond is saying,” Rhaenys said evenly. “But that we must think before acting.”

“I am thinking, Viserys should understand that I am only acting to protect what is mine, it is not my fault that the Lannister fleet was so incompetent to allow the Triarchy to come this close to Westerosi waters.”

Before his mother or uncle could respond to his father’s stubbornness, Laenor cleared his throat, drawing the table’s attention to him. “We do not have to send out more ships; I can destroy their forces with Seasmoke just as I had done when we fought in the Stepstones.”

Several of the captains nodded in agreement and Corlys' eyes lit up immediately.

“Yes, this could work, Seasmoke is young, fast, and battle tested. The pirates would break the moment they saw a dragon,” Corlys said.

“Assuming he can find them in this fog,” Rhaenys said and several captains exchanged uneasy looks with each other.

“The princess is right,” One of them said carefully. “Visibility is poor and Ser Laenor and his dragon would have difficulty distinguishing friend from foe in the darkness.”

Laenor crossed his arms. “Even so, that is a risk we must take, the Triarchy has no weapon capable of bringing down a dragon.”

“Now that is not necessarily true, they could have scorpions or ballistas aboard their ships,” Rhaenys stressed.

Laenor could see the worry that his mother tried to hide within her gaze and placed his hand on her shoulder. “They would need a lucky shot the take me down, mother, and I will not give them such an opportunity.”

“We can send a few ships with Laenor when he leaves. Not enough to be considered a fleet,” Corlys said, giving Vaemond a terse look when he said his last sentence, noticing that Vaemond had been preparing to interrupt him. “If anything, it would just be enough to replace the shops were undoubtedly losing.”

With a plan formed, Laenor wasted no time, turning on his heel and leaving to go put on his riding leathers before striding toward the castle yard where Seasmoke awaited.

“Laenor,” The man stopped, turning around and seeing his mother standing behind him in the hallway, also wearing her riding leathers.

“Mother, what are you-”

“I’m coming with you,” Rhaenys said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Laenor frowned. “Mother, there is no need. You do not need to risk your life against a handful of pirates.”

“A handful of pirates do not just launch coordinated attacks against five warships in the middle of the night,” Rhaenys replied sharply. “And with this thick fog, I will not allow my son to face them alone in such conditions.”

Laenor opened his mouth to protest, but Rhaenys interrupted him.

“Do not argue with me, you are my child and a father now, that means I am allowed to worry about your wellbeing and not just allow you to run off into danger.”

“You allowed me to do so when I followed Corlys to the stepstones.”

Rhaenys scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Only because your father was so adamant about ridding those blasted islands of the Triarchy and said that it would be an embarrassment for him to have a son at your age not participate.”

For a moment, Laenor was silent, then he laughed softly and shook his head. “I suppose that is fair.”

“It is more than fair.”

Laenor stepped forward and kissed her cheek. “Very well, mother. We fly together.”

Rhaenys nodded. “Good.”

The pair made their way through High Tide's corridors and into the castle yard. Rain had begun to fall as they made their way outside, but the fog remained, only adding to the tense atmosphere.

Once Laenor climbed into Seasmoke's saddle, he took a deep breath, steadying himself as he and Rhaenys faced the southern horizon.

Together, the two dragons vanished into the darkness heading for the Gullet.