Bronze She-Dragon

Chapter 7: Free

YEAR 128 AC

Just as planned, Daena left Runestone the very next morning, embarking on a long journey to King's Landing. The flight took almost the whole day. As she flew only a little below the clouds, to remain as unnoticed as possible (even though, taken Vermithor's size and color, it wasn't the easiest of tasks), the young woman took her time to savor every moment of this beautiful freedom she shared with her invincible dragon. The fear of dragons, that haunted Daena for some time as a child, vanished pretty soon after she had claimed Vermithor. Now she only found dragons fascinating and powerful, and this was exactly the way she wanted to see herself.

By the time the sun had long set, Daena and Vermithor landed near the Dragonpit, far enough for the Maesters not to notice. She was quite lucky to have arrived at night: she didn't want her presence in Red Keep to be known for at least a day, so that she could talk to the Queen and secure her position at court, the way it always was. Getting to the castle was quite a walk from that spot, and a rather dangerous one, but Daena didn't have much of a choice, so preferred to show no fear. As she was approaching the gates of the palace, she saw a shadow of a person wearing a cloak. She quickly hid behind the walls to stay there until the person passed. There was only one torch lighting the whole street, so the idea seemed to be quite successful to Daena until she turned her gaze back to where she saw the shadow, realizing that the person had vanished. In a split moment, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She flinched as she turned around, seeing... Aegon.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, a small smile present on his face.

"I could ask you the same, brother." Daena chuckled, obviously relieved.

"Next time you want to hide from someone, be careful enough to at least cover your hair. The silveriness of it gives us away too much." Aegon touched the edge of his hood with his fingers.

Daena nodded... That truly was quite careless of her not to cover her hair. That very moment she pulled her hood on, hiding her silver locks under a layer of thick fabric.

"That doesn't answer my question. Where are you headed?" She repeated her question.

"Hmm... Why don't you come with me and see for yourself?" He asked quietly. "Moreover, I'm pretty sure you have a lot to tell me yourself, don't you?"

Daena sighed: that certainly was true.

"Fine. Lead the way."

Aegon, seeming genuinely excited, took Daena by her hand, dragging her along the dark empty streets of King's Landing. The woman was looking around, taking all the view in with great curiosity: as they were approaching the place, she started to see more people. Lowborn, she thought, as she was walking past them. However, the whole idea of escaping, even for one night, filled her with excitement, the one she had probably never felt.

Aegon stopped in front of one of the doors, encouraging Daena to come in with him, which she did. It was a big tavern, and, it looked like, Aegon was an often guest there, for the people greeted him, immediately leading them away from all the sweaty fuss to a small secluded area, hidden from the eyes of commoners.

"You do stop by quite a lot, don't you?" Daena whispered, chuckling.

Aegon nodded.

"Life in the castle is not much fun. I have to look for it elsewhere."

As they were brought all the possible foods and drinks, Daena sighed, looking at her brother. She could understand his longing for a simpler life, but, as an heir to the throne, he could've shown more dignity by not attending these commoners' gatherings. She didn't say anything to Aegon though: the setting was quite satisfying for her as well, and she had no intention of ruining it.