The Northern Dragon

CH 17: YOU MUST CHOOSE

"A test?" Rhaenys narrowed her orbs as they trained on the woman's. Her whole face was covered with that mask so Rhaenys couldn't see her expression, but those eyes of hers weren't giving anything away either. She had never met someone who was so unfeeling. "You took my children to give me a bloody test? Stop it with your ridiculous nonsense and tell me where they are."

"You may believe what you wish, Mother of Dragons. You may even take my life. But if you do, you will never find them." Quaithe spoke coldly, not even flinching with the blade cutting into her skin.

The intense anger within the dragoness was more than visible, yet she held it in and lowered her weapon. Once again asking, "Where are they?"

"I will take you to them. Your weapon, however, must be left behind." Quaithe didn't wait for her answer and walked out the door calmly. Not once glancing back to see if Rhaenys was following her.

Rhaenys hesitated for a moment, but this woman was obviously more than capable of killing her if she wanted at any moment. There was no need for Quaithe to play this whole game just to get her out of the palace and murder her in secret. If anything, is more than possible that Quaithe could have taken her in the middle of the night if she wanted to and no one would have found out until it was too late.

With that in mind, Rhaenys sheathed her sword and left in on the table by the side before going after the older woman. Neither of them speaking another word.

Even if she knew Quaithe could take her life whenever she wanted, Rhaenys wasn't about to make it any easier for her, her guard never lowering for a second. And as she carefully watched her surroundings constantly, she noted how Quaithe was able to effortlessly move around the palace.

The paths they took were all empty at the moment so the two remained undetected. Another thing was that Quaithe looked as if she was right at home. She didn't even stare around to find the way, she just kept walking at the same pace throughout the trip.

In no time, they had exited Sunspear.

Quaithe led her in the opposite direction of the city and towards the desert. For hours, the two of them walked, the sand getting inside their shoes and the freezing breeze of the night hitting their skins.

The coldness was something Rhaenys had never felt, thus that did not bother her, but she was still human. Walking for so long, after a while, she began lagging behind and it became harder to keep up with Quaithe.

The Targaryen watched her back as she panted, disbelief written all over her face when she saw that Quaithe wasn't tired in the slightest. Her pace remaining the same speed as when they left. The younger woman couldn't help but feel some annoyance.

"How much longer?" questioned the Targaryen after much consideration. There was nothing except sand and rocks around them, nor was there any noise. It was hard to imagine that there would be anything around here.

"Soon." was all the masked woman uttered, not turning back as she continued forward.

Once the full moon had reached the center of the sky, then did they reach a forest. But Quaithe didn't stop, her feet taking them deeper into the forest until they reached a clearing.

Large mountains stood before them. Rivers falling from the tops as they formed a number of waterfalls that connected in the same lake that flowed in between the mountains.

Quaithe moved to the side, finally facing Rhaenys, "Walk into the water. Keep walking and do not stop. You will know when you have arrived at your destination."

"Or, more accurately, I will drown." Her children would always cry when she wasn't close to them and it took a lot to coax them to remain quiet every time she left them with her friends. She couldn't hear them now though. "Are they... under the lake?"