I AM A DRAGON - HOTD AU

Chapter 35

Daemon was getting tired of this war. His bloodlust, long satisfied. At first all went well, the Crabbfeeder and his army didn't expect two dragon riders and an entire army knocking at his door, but he learned fast. Daemon could easily agree that the Crabbfeeder was a worthy opponent. The morale was high the first year, but then the second one came, then the third, and more than once he thought about sending a raven to his brother or sister for reinforcements. The rats learned that if they hide into the caves the dragon fire cannot reach them, just like the fucking Dornish. His brother with Vhagar may melt down the entrances trapping them inside, or his sister with her magic. He didn't know exactly what Maenera could do but he was sure if he asked she could solve the problem. Alas he did neither of these things. He wanted to prove to Viserys that he was capable. Their relationship may have taken a turn for the better since Marnera appeared in their life but the old hurts still reared their heads to the surface every time he began panning a letter asking for help.

Maenera would have been there in an instant if he asked, he knew. But to drag her into a war zone and ask her to perform her magic and subsequently pay the price for it, just so he can finish a war he wanted to participate in, didn't sit well with Daemon. He was getting impatient, he missed his home, his brother and more importantly his sister. Caraxes seemed the only one to enjoy himself anymore, the fact that his boy could unleash all his aggression was doing wonders. Even so there were times when Daemon could feel his melancholy, he missed the company of the two she-dragons he got used to.

They were at a stall, they have been for a few months. Some skirmishes here and there but no actual fighting. The men were getting restless and the cunt, Vaemond Velaryon always had something to say. More than once he wanted to feed the man to Caraxes but he abstained. He doubted the camaraderie he developed with the Sea Snake would survive if he killed the man's brother. Daemon also hoped that Corlys won't find out he fucked Laenor. The Sea Snake would drown him in the sea if he did. He didn't regret taking the boy to bed.  Laenor was clearly struggling with the attraction to the male gender and the high he got after a fight,  Daemon just helped him out a little bit. Not all of them had the opportunity to go back home and fuck their wives like Corlys did, they got rid of the frustration as best as they could. The boy also confided in Daemon that he doubted he could bed a woman. That was a problem. Daemon wasn't the one to judge his own preferences making him a hypocrite if he did, but for the most part they weren't following Valyrian law anymore, where anybody could fuck anybody. If the boy's preferences were to be  discovered he would become a pariah in the eyes of the Seven Kingdoms. Usually when a man was enjoying the company of other men, the masses turned a blind eye as long as the man in question got married and started to reproduce, but if Laenor was right about his assumptions and he couldn't get hard for a woman that may create complications. Corlys seemed wilfully blind to the way Laenor's eyes were tracing the bodies of the men in the camp, Vaemond wasn't though. Daemon was sure that Vaemond was already imagining a scenario where his sons will take over Driftmark in the future.

Daemon realized that his brother was a sneaky bastard after he arrived in Stepstones. Before that he could swear up and down that his brother didn't have a cunning bone in his body. He purposely ignored the book he received from Jon when he got back in Kingslanding. His brother tried to convince him to read it but Daemon was stubborn. He didn't want to read something he received without the knowledge of his sister. Viserys in his extreme wisdom sneaked the book in his bags before he left. Daemon resisted the temptation of reading it for almost a moon, but he unfortunately got bored one night. He opened the book and he thought at first that it was a jest. It was filled with songs. Mostly. Some of them weren't even songs, just some verses that seemed to be part of songs. Why in the seven hells would he be interested in songs. It didn't become clear until he found a short note at the end. Jon put in this book all the songs he could hear Maenera singing. From when she was little and was barely able to string two  words together until she left for Kingslanding to meet Viserys. One song in particular he recognized, the one she sang when they were in the North, in the book was called Jenny of Oldstones. He read it from start to finish, then read it again and again. He knew the verses by heart. He didn't know the tunes but he could be heard whistling or softly singing the songs sometimes around the camp. Some men looked at him weirdly. He didn't care, these were Maenera's songs.