Dragon's flame

Year 107 AC

[Daenerys POV]

Aelyx and I had been sent away to Driftmark by King Viserys, while he focused on "bonding" with his new wife and attempting to mend his fractured relationship with Rhaenyra. It seemed that the ties between them had grown cold, and Viserys was desperate to restore what was broken. Meanwhile, Corlys had taken matters into his own hands, invading the Stepstones with Daemon Targaryen, just after returning from King's Landing. The realm was in turmoil, and it felt as though everything was shifting, yet we were left in the shadows.

Lately, Aelyx had begun to... change in ways that unsettled me. His hair, once complete silver had taken on a snowy hue, and I noticed red flecks appearing in his already vibrant purple irises. The way he spoke remained the same, but something about him had shifted. There was a weight in the air, a sense of merging with him, as if our fates were now intertwined in a way I couldn't fully understand. It was akin to the feeling I had experienced when undergoing the blood ritual to bring my children into this world—a connection, deep and undeniable. And speaking of Vaxylis, he was growing at an alarming rate. At only two years old, he was already the size of a dragon of 5 years old

"Daenerys, my dear child," Aunt Rhaenys called in her warm, loving tone as she scooped me up into her arms, while a maid carried Aelyx behind her.

"You two, it's time for bed," she added, her voice tender and motherly, the kind of voice I hadn't heard in years.

[Aelyx POV]

Aunt Rhaenys had been everything to us—warm, loving, nurturing. She treated Danny and me like her own children, and in many ways, we had come to see her as our true mother. Driftmark had begun to feel like home, not because of the place, but because of her presence. Laenor and Laena, though, were often absent, too absorbed in their own lives—flying dragons and tending to their duties. They were rarely around to visit, and we were left in the care of Aunt Rhaenys, who had become a pillar of comfort in our lives.

Speaking of dragons, Laena had tamed Sheepstealer in this timeline—a strange twist of fate. Vhagar, however, had rejected her. That, in turn, gave me a rare chance. And it was this confidence that I had gained from my ancestor, Maegor, which pushed me forward.

[Flashback]

I woke up again in the same place as I had in my previous dream. It was a hauntingly familiar scene.

"You are here," Maegor's voice rang out, tinged with excitement.

I turned to see him sitting upon a stone, Blackfyre in his grasp, the sword gleaming in the dim light.

"Yes," I replied, my heart racing as the thought of training with Maegor flooded my mind. The anticipation was overwhelming.

"Let's begin," he said, standing up with purpose. He walked toward me, his every movement exuding authority.

Maegor slashed his palm open, and blood began to flow freely. His eyes shone with a feverish intensity as he began chanting in High Valyrian—words that had become familiar to me through my studies with Danny.

"Vezhvenar kessar, rhaeshisar. Rhaenagon va morghon, vezho kessar. Vezho rhaeshisar, rhaeshisar, va jhorro."

"From the blood of the dragon rise… The fire that would burn the dead… Rise the sword that would make even the frozen bleed."

As the blood entered my body, an intense heat surged through me. My skin burned as if something ancient and dormant within me had been awakened. For a brief, fleeting moment, I saw glimpses of Valyria—its grandeur, the colossal dragons that once soared through the skies, and the bloodshed that marked its tragic fall. The power that surged through me was intoxicating, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Maegor standing before me, a satisfied grin playing on his lips.

"What was that?" I asked, my voice shaky, overwhelmed by what I had just experienced.

"The ritual for awakening," he replied, his tone almost giddy with excitement.

"I feel different," I muttered, the weight of what I had seen—the wars, the bloodshed, the dragons—still heavy in my mind.

"Tell me everything," he pressed, his voice urgent. "After all, you're the only one to survive that ritual."

"What?!" I asked in disbelief. Had I truly become an experiment?

"Yes," Maegor answered, his expression serious. "My great-grandfather tried it on his two sons. Neither of them survived, leaving only Gaemon Targaryen—my grandfather—alive."

I stared at him, my emotions a tumultuous mix of anger and confusion. I wanted to scream at him for using me as a test subject, but the changes I felt, the power within me, made me swallow my rage. It was a gift, after all.

"From now on, I will train you in sword fighting, politics, and war tactics," Maegor declared, his tone resolute, as if he were preparing me for something greater than myself.

[The next night]

"Swing it with force!" Maegor bellowed as he instructed me in sword fighting, my eyes bound by a blindfold. "Don't act like a wimp! Put some force behind it!" The intensity of his words pushed me forward, each strike feeling more purposeful as I adapted my senses.

[Flashback ends]

"You feel different," Danny's voice echoed in my mind, a soft concern threading through her words.

I had the purest Valyrian bloodline in the world at this moment, and yet, I wasn't sure whether to see it as a blessing or a curse.

"Do I?" I replied, my voice uncertain, unsure of what was happening to me.

"Yes, you do," Danny said with certainty. "Vaxylis is acting more freely around you now, just like he does around me. He never did that before."

I paused, taking a deep breath. "I won't lie... I've been trained by Maegor," I confessed, my mind still reeling from the enormity of it. "The ritual, the training... everything. He's been molding me into something different."

Danny was silent for a long moment, clearly in shock.

"No way! You're telling me you're being trained by Maegor the Cruel?!" she exclaimed, her disbelief so palpable it felt like a physical presence in my mind.

"Yeah, I guess," I replied, unsure how to process it all.

"Train me," Danny demanded, her voice firm, full of determination.

"What?!" I blinked, taken aback. "Oh gods, what kind of mess have I gotten myself into?"

[Rahenys POV]

As I tucked Danny into bed and watched Aelyx drift off to sleep, a wave of frustration and sorrow washed over me. Viserys had abandoned them. He had cast them aside, sending them away to Driftmark as though they were some inconvenience—while he focused on his new life with Alicent. I couldn't help but feel a bitter sting every time I thought about it. These children had been left to fend for themselves, and Viserys, the man who should have been their protector, was nowhere to be found. Even Rhaenyra, their own sister, had distanced herself, too absorbed in her dragons and her own desires to spare a thought for them.

It broke my heart to see them like this—lost, abandoned, and neglected. And yet, they had no one but me. They needed love. They needed warmth. They needed a family. And I would be that for them. I couldn't let them suffer as I had. I had been cast aside by my own family in the pursuit of power, and I would not let it happen to them.

As I gazed down at them, my heart swelled with both pride and sorrow. They would never know the pain of abandonment again, not as long as I drew breath. No one would take them from me. I would protect them with every ounce of strength in my being, and I would ensure that they had a future.