Disclaimer: This is a story based on ASOIAF Universe and all recognizable characters, plots belong to GRRM. I have no ownership to it.
Chapter 65: Love and Pride
King's Landing
The Rogue Prince
"Benjen, don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Daemon almost snorted hearing what his king and cousin said to his bastard son. He saw Benjen walk out of the room in rage, and even Daemon couldn't blame the boy. He too wanted to rage and try to convince their vaunted king to send someone to Lyanna, but he knew the truth of the matter. If a dragonlord needed saving every time a true threat came, then it would send a very negative image regarding their strength, especially when there were other threats to their very existence.
Daemon didn't want to believe that there were ancient millennia-old White Walkers waiting to hunt every living being in this world, but the uncertainty in the most powerful man's eyes Daemon had seen in his life gave credence to belief rather than dismissal.
Still, Daemon would have tried harder if it was not for what the king had done for him. The king had come through on his promise of annulment, and he had even managed to make it happen by convincing the old king to do it and take the blame for it in the eyes of the realm. Even now, Daemon could remember the meeting the old king, his namesake, and his bronze bitch had in the king's solar regarding the matter.
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First moon of 107 AC
"I apologise for my tone, Your Grace, but you want me to agree to the annulment of my marriage with Prince Daemon? My king, you know that my own position as the Lady of Runestone is precarious. As much as I ha… don't like my husband, my marriage with the royal house is one of the reasons there are no overt movements against me by my lesser cousins. If it is annulled by your command, then they will turn against me, and it would impact my house's standing among the Vale." Rhea said with a slight bow and a tone expressing her regret.
Daemon snorted hearing the bronze bitch admit that she had benefited from him. He knew that she must be cursing the circumstances that had made her admit it.
The old king nodded, acknowledging the point.
"My lady, one of the major points of any ruler is having an efficient and worthy heir. Clearly you know that it is not to be in your matter because of my idiotic, headstrong grandson." The old king said with a mocking look at Daemon.
Daemon wanted to protest, but a glare from the king stopped him for now. He saw that the bronze bitch had a smirk on her face as she looked at him for a moment, though she quickly hid it.
"Rhea, you may not have been close to my family even though you are my granddaughter-in-law by marriage," the old king continued, "yet I do not want to cause you harm, my lady. My heir will make sure that nothing will happen, and he will ensure that House Royce will be well rewarded for this amicable annulment."
Daemon looked at the third chair in the room where the heir was sitting, and he saw the others also turn toward the man who appeared very nonchalant and relaxed. The bronze bitch appeared wary and doubtful that anything would compensate for the loss of himself and Caraxes that the annulment of marriage would cause.
"Your Grace, I am loyal and I will follow your commands." Rhea said with a slight incline of her head, and Daemon knew everyone there understood the matter. Rhea didn't believe that anything, even the heir, could compensate for her loss. She would comply as ordered, but she would not be happy nor offer cooperation from House Royce for some time.
"As you should." The heir finally said with a careless shrug. Daemon looked at his cousin. "Lady Royce, when you were greeted before the Iron Throne, I saw the traditional armour of your house. It was very well made, and the rune work was exemplary. Now, you want to continue this farce of a marriage because of the protection it provides and, of course, the importance of royal marriage and patronage. I will assure you that for five years you can have all the privileges you have received until now because of this marriage. As for protection, I will share with you something priceless. It took me three days of work to find everything and learn it."
Daemon saw that, like himself, even his wife was confused by the words of the heir.
"Benjen." The heir called out from his chair, and the bastard walked in with a piece of armour in his hand.
Benjen laid the work on the table when he received the nod of permission from the old king.
Daemon saw Rhea's eyes widen in confusion and surprise seeing the rune work in the armour. The armour was of exceptional quality, and even to his amateur eyes the rune work was beautiful and similar to the various runes he had seen before. The dark metal gleamed beneath the candlelight of the solar, and the carved symbols along the breastplate carried a faint sharpness that drew the eye. The heavy stone walls of the chamber trapped the warmth of the braziers, while the banners hanging behind the king stirred faintly from the cold draft creeping through the narrow windows.
"My prince, the armour and rune work are of excellent quality, but I don't understand." Rhea said with slight worry.
"My lady, I can tell you how to activate these runes and finally have the actual use of your armours, as opposed to the decorative and subpar armour work of the last centuries." The heir said with a slight satisfied grin. Daemon could see that the heir was too confident for a positive outcome no matter what happened. Rhea was stupefied, and Daemon was very happy to see the stupid expression on the bronze bitch's face.
"How is that possible?" Rhea whispered in surprised fascination.
The heir just waved his hand dismissively at the question. "The how or why is irrelevant. The question is what to do with it. I will demonstrate an example later, and you can see the results. I will be willing to explain how to activate your existing runes if, and only if, we come to an agreement on a willing and amicable annulment. You shall not disparage or badmouth House Targaryen or my cousin Daemon ever again, and do not doubt me when I say I will know if you do."
Rhea remained silent for several heartbeats as she thought, then finally replied with a nod.
"I accept your order, my prince. I will be happy to learn from you how to activate the runes and make use of them, and it will be enough to stay the hands of my enemies in the from attempting an assassination, as I would not be teaching this to them at all."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, my lady." The heir scoffed. "I didn't say I wouldn't use the runes. I can't afford not to use them, and I would be providing their actual use to my men when needed. The runes in your armour will protect the metal against wear and tear, increase durability, and more than that, protect you from cold. Similarly, other runes I have discovered, or can invent, could be used for almost anything if I worked hard enough. I am not the idiotic Citadel that sits on such knowledge and does nothing effective with it. Even you will gain more prestige and utility for your house if your men could use it before others, who will inevitably start learning it after seeing its usefulness among my men here."
Daemon could see that Rhea wanted to protest, but to his disappointment she controlled herself.
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Present…
Daemon went to fly on Caraxes to clear his mind after the disastrous meeting with the king. He had to think about the order he had received. He had been happy about the earlier order of escorting the ships to Dorne because it provided the chance for a fight against the Triarchy and their pirate ships, but now the order had changed because of some prophetic dreams of the king. If Daemon wasn't completely sure of the heir's magic and capabilities, he would have dismissed the matter. He knew that protecting the eggs and dragons was far more important work than escorting the ships. Still, it affected him that he couldn't be sure of Lyanna's safety or miss a battle in either one of the coast.
Daemon had realised that he liked the girl and that she was a dear friend unlike anyone else. He knew enough about himself to see that he could have deeper feelings for Lyanna if pressed, but the lack of true Valyrian features stopped him. The pride, no, the obsession that had made him mock the bronze bitch and hate her stopped him from accepting the loss to his name had he accepted Lyanna as his wife. Everyone knew that one of the major reasons for his hatred of the bronze bitch existed because of that, and he had made sure of it for all these years without restraint. Then there was the fact that bastard Benjen was deeply in love with Lyanna, and Daemon didn't know whom Lyanna would actually choose. That uncertainty rankled something deep within him and angered him.
The cold air lashed against his face as Caraxes climbed into the air with heavy beats of his wings. Dark clouds stretched across the evening sky, and the distant sea below reflected only dull grey beneath the fading light. The wind roared around the Blood Wyrm as the dragon cut through the sky above Blackwater Bay, while the sharp scent of salt and smoke lingered in the air. There was a pressure in the atmosphere as if something was waiting to happen. Even the joy of flying with his most trusted friend, Caraxes, couldn't make Daemon relax from the tension.
For a moment, as Caraxes flew northwest, Daemon wondered whether he could fly to the Iron Islands while ignoring the order of his king, but with a shake of his head and a yell of anger that was swallowed by the rushing air, he made his choice to follow the order of his King as ordered and he asked Caraxes to fly to Dragonstone.
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Benjen Snow
"Benjen, don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Benjen really wanted to smash the door harshly while closing it to express his rage, but the thin layer of fear and self-preservation stopped him from doing it. Already, walking out of the meeting with your father and the king without permission or dismissal was the utmost disrespect that would get you punished very harshly elsewhere, but his father was a different kind of ruler. Benjen cursed the gods because that same difference had made the king choose the current course of action for the threats that had emerged.
Intellectually, Benjen could understand where his father was coming from. The threat beyond the Wall was greater, yet emotionally the threat to his sister and the love of his life made him unable to accept the fact. More than that, the lack of care in his father's words angered him. Benjen had always taken pride in believing that his father would be there for him, and his behaviour had changed due to that belief ever since starting his current role as his father's assistant.
He needed his intelligence and cunning in the coming three days to make sure Lyanna was safe, and currently his anger was overwhelming. He decided that he needed to vent before he could even come up with a proper plan.
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Benjen panted heavily as the practice sword in his hand splintered from the force of his swing against the practice dummy. The bronze armour of the dummy stood almost mockingly before him, the runes engraved upon it glinting beneath the torchlight as they granted the metal unnatural resistance against wooden swords even with his enhanced strength. His father had wasted no time in starting to use the runes after discovering how to activate them through his greenseeing. More than that, his father was powerful enough to design and invent new runes entirely.
In a way, a rune was a letter or word carrying a specific intent or meaning that the world itself acknowledged as truth. One only needed strength to enforce that will upon reality, and currently only his father possessed enough of it, both personally and as king of millions of men. Even then, it was difficult and time-consuming to find the correct letters required to enforce his will. Still, the number of ancient runes his father had reintroduced had already proven absolutely useful.
As his breathing slowly calmed, he looked at the dummy again and felt another surge of rage at the situation, enough to almost draw his Valyrian steel sword, Winter Rose, and destroy the dummy entirely. He was saved from that temptation by the sound of footsteps approaching from the entrance to the training hall.
Benjen turned and saw his trueborn brother Gaemon, his Kingsguard half-brother, along with Gaemon's direwolf. The large hall echoed faintly with the sound of boots against stone, while the scent of sweat, oil, and worked metal lingered heavily in the air. Rows of weapons lined the walls beneath hanging banners, and the afternoon light slipping through the narrow windows cast pale streaks across the training grounds.
"Brother, you seem to be agitated and angry." The five-year-old son of the king and queen said seriously. "Is it something to do with what happened to father last night? I tried to learn more, but I didn't succeed in finding out anything."
Benjen always wondered how unusual his trueborn brother was. He had the perfect Valyrian features, but one only needed to look closely to see how much he had inherited from their father, the king. Gaemon was far more intelligent than any other child Benjen had ever met, and he possessed an enhanced body whose limits no one truly knew, nor how advanced it was compared to the other bastard children.
Even with all his unusualness, the boy still managed to use his age and cuteness to behave like a child should, except in the eyes of his blood family. Maybe Gaemon understood that his immediate family was too intelligent to be fooled by such behaviour. Benjen instinctively knew that the king wanted to keep the meeting and his dreams secret for now, but he saw an opportunity. For all the precarious nature surrounding Gaemon, Benjen knew that the boy truly loved Lyanna very much, and he also cared for even his bastard half-brothers.
"I am glad that you asked, brother." Benjen said with a smile, and he informed the child of what had happened and what the king had ordered and was currently doing.
"So, you are angry that father didn't do more for our sister?" Gaemon finally asked after remaining silent for some time as though thinking deeply.
"Aye. I am angry at that, or at father not ordering Lyanna to withdraw." Benjen said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice, though he failed miserably.
Gaemon just laughed at that. "Do you really think our sister would follow that order after knowing her men would be in danger?" Gaemon asked with a scoff.
Benjen immediately wanted to disagree and claim that Lyanna would obey the order of her father, but he closed his mouth and thought about it.
"Brother, for all your intelligence, you were not born a noble lord nor raised as one." Gaemon said. "The first thing my father taught me about my station as heir to the Iron Throne and prince of the blood is the noblesse oblige I am bound by because of that station. Of course, you can abuse it if you are powerful enough, but only a fool would do so because then the problems begin. Lyanna is the heir to Bear Island and was raised by our father in a similar manner. Even if father ordered it, Lyanna would never abandon her men who gave everything for her and her house. Even with all this, father is still being foolish by not sending someone to Lyanna. I agree with that, and I am also angry that my sister may even die to evil freaks. I will try to convince mother to do something about it."
"Thank you, my prince." Benjen said with a slight smile hearing that, ignoring the slight insult, knowing it was the truth. "I will also try my best to do something."
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It had been one day since Benjen had tried to convince one of the dragonlords to go to Lyanna, but it had all been for naught. They were not willing to disobey the king even though the king himself had left the previous night for his own fight beyond the Wall.
Benjen was in the godswood trying to pray for protection for Lyanna when he was stopped by his half-brother, Prince Gaemon. It only took Benjen one look at the grumpy anger on Gaemon's face to realise that he too had failed in their self-appointed task of sending another dragonlord to Lyanna.
Benjen, who had been kneeling before the heart tree, simply sat down on the ground in exhaustion and laughed at the helplessness of it all. The cold wind rustled through the ancient red leaves above them, and the carved face upon the pale trunk stared silently across the godswood. Damp earth pressed beneath Benjen's boots while the faint scent of moss and wet bark lingered in the still air. The distant noise of the castle felt muted beneath the heavy silence surrounding the sacred grove.
"I am sorry, brother." Gaemon said with a voice full of regret and sorrow. "I too failed, and my dragon is not yet large enough for riding. If not, I would have personally flown there."
Benjen nodded before replying, "Well, at least you, a child, have more courage than other adults who consider themselves vaunted dragons when they follow the king like ugly ducklings."
Gaemon laughed heartily at that. Even Benjen laughed slightly seeing the young prince's reaction. With some effort, Gaemon finally controlled his laughter before smirking with mirth in his eyes.
"Well, brother, the answer to our problem is right in front of our faces. If the existing dragonriders won't go, then we must have new ones, and I see before me one who would be willing to risk his life for it." Gaemon said, the smirk widening as he finished.
For a moment, Benjen lost his breath and his eyes widened in surprise at the suggestion.
"This is treason and insanity." Benjen finally said. "I don't think the king would allow the greatest strength of his house to be easily taken by others, and that is why it is one of the first laws of the Iron Throne charter: the king's permission for claiming a dragon. Then there is the small problem of the Bronze Fury actually letting me do it so soon after he lost the old king."
Gaemon's eyes glinted as he smiled. "Oh, I didn't say it must be Bronze Fury. Dreamfyre is also free and currently in the Dragonpit, unlike Vermithor, who is in Dragonstone. Why did you say that unless your mind instinctively knows that you only have a chance with Vermithor?"
For a moment, Benjen closed his eyes and imagined flying upon Vermithor. When he opened them again and looked at his youngest half-brother, he saw mirth and excitement in Gaemon's face, the delight of doing something the adults had forbidden. Then there was the satisfaction of finally finding a solution that could assure Lyanna's survival.
The lack of caution in Gaemon made Benjen realise that the boy did not understand that it was almost suicide to try to claim a dragon so soon after the death of its rider. Benjen closed his eyes once more to think. The temptation was there, and the purpose was not even selfish desire. It was the noble purpose of saving the woman he loved, the king's own daughter. He had wanted to accept the mad plan the moment Gaemon suggested it, yet his love and respect for his father, the man who had taught him so much, supported him so much, and given him so much power, stopped him. He was loyal, and he did not want to betray his king.
"Brother, as much as I want to do this, I am afraid. Father would be furious, and he is pragmatic enough to make an example out of someone who claims dragons without his permission. There are enough people with his blood, and the threat of losing dragons leading to war is enough to make him even kill me." Benjen whispered in horror.
Gaemon snorted before laughing slightly. "Do you think that even with Vermithor you would be a threat to the king, our father? Or do you think any of the dragons here, even combined, would be a threat to our father? No, there is no threat to our father's life or rule from dragons. He wouldn't kill you, and if he wanted to punish you, you could always run away to Essos. Benjen, this is your only chance to get a dragon and finally marry our sister."
Benjen remained silent as images of his possible future passed through his mind.
With a sigh he finally replied, "I want to think about what to do before I decide. At least I want to think of a way to get to Dragonstone without raising suspicion and in time. Planning that is easier than deciding whether to disobey my father."
"Oh? You are worried about Dragonstone? That you do not need to worry about. I already know how to get you there as soon as possible." Gaemon said with a smug grin.
Benjen looked expectantly at the prince, but the boy remained silent beneath his stare, the grin on Gaemon's face becoming wider and wider as the silence stretched.
"Fine. I will bite." Benjen said with a defeated sigh. "Tell me how."
"It's quite easy, dear brother. I would ask Sheepstealer to take you there, and he would." Gaemon replied, grinning as he enjoyed the surprise on Benjen's face.
"How? That is impossible." Benjen spluttered. He knew that approaching dragons without their riders was extremely dangerous, and riding one without its rider was impossible and insane.
"Not at all, brother. I have ridden Sheepstealer without my mother being there. She is more intelligent than any other dragon here other than Morghul. I even got to ride Morghul once without father present. Father has said that their dragons are emergency transport if we are ever trapped or need to escape from King's Landing. Sheepstealer would definitely agree to take you to Vermithor if I ask, and even if mother grows suspicious and tries to see what is happening through their bond, she will not countermand us." Gaemon explained.
Benjen nodded slowly. "This is quite surprising. Let me think, and I will decide tomorrow morning, brother."
Gaemon nodded and walked out of the godswood, leaving Benjen alone with his thoughts.
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Benjen was left alone with his thoughts in the godswood for only a short while before he was drawn out of them by the sound of footsteps. Benjen used one of the nearby animals under his control to see who it was, and he discovered it was his uncle, Lord Aethan Reed.
Benjen did not open his eyes as he sat before his gods. He felt Aethan approach and stand beside him while quietly looking around the godswood. The cold wind stirred the red leaves of the heart tree overhead, and the carved face upon the white bark watched silently over them. Damp earth and fallen leaves covered the ground beneath their feet while the distant sound of ravens echoed faintly from the castle walls beyond the trees.
"I am surprised that you haven't decided to go and do what Prince Gaemon suggested immediately, Benjen. With your current anger and emotions, you should have easily decided to do it without all this second-guessing and pragmatism." Aethan said pointedly.
Benjen merely snorted. "Aren't you the master of whispers for my father and his best friend? Shouldn't you be reporting me rather than encouraging me to commit treason?"
Aethan simply shrugged. "We both know what you are going to do. Why waste precious time when you could prepare for the upcoming fight? You and your dragon could be less tired if you did not need to push the speed of flight."
Benjen was confused by the absolute confidence in Aethan's voice. "You cannot possibly know that my love for her overpowers my own fear of my father."
Aethan snorted. "I don't need to know that to say what I did. I know that you are your father's son, and eventually your cunning mind would provide the justification that gives you the perfect reason for the treason you dearly want to commit."
For a moment, Benjen was confused by the words, making him think back to what justification he could possibly use for disobeying his father. His mind ran through the meeting and the words of the king before finally reaching the last sentence the king had spoken to him.
"Benjen, don't do anything I wouldn't do."
For a moment, Benjen's eyes widened in surprise before he finally snorted and then burst into uncontrollable laughter. He was sure it was something he would have eventually realised himself once he calmed down further. After several dozen heartbeats, Benjen finally regained control of himself and stood up while looking at his uncle.
"Uncle, thank you for your wisdom. I am going to find my princely brother and then go on a short trip. After all, I received my order from my own father and king. He only told me not to do anything he wouldn't do. He would definitely claim a dragon, fly halfway across the realm, and then save the princess for his love."
"That is definitely something Daemon would do, and he already did a different version of it." Aethan replied with a smile. "Now, since you are going into such danger, I have a gift for you."
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Dragonmount
Dragonstone
Benjen had enjoyed the ride upon Sheepstealer that Gaemon had somehow arranged. He had observed dragons for most of his life in south, yet somehow he had never noticed that Sheepstealer was not like the other Targaryen dragons. The dragon seems to somehow be less important or less conspicuous compared to Morghul and other dragons.
"Maybe it was the name. Is that why the queen kept the name Sheepstealer?" Benjen whispered as he stood before the cave entrance while watching the dragon fly away.
He had heard the boasting tale from his father's own mouth about how he had tamed Cannibal over the course of years with the help of Sheepstealer and another dragon, yet he had never realised how much his father had influenced Sheepstealer herself. Clearly, all the blood his father had given for the dragon to heal had affected her far more than Benjen had ever considered. No wonder the queen possessed that dragon. The cunning man had ensured that his own dragon, his queen's dragon, and his heir's dragon were special above the others.
Benjen sighed and shook his head to clear his thoughts because he needed his full focus here if he wished to claim Vermithor.
It was usually foolhardy and outright suicide to attempt to claim a dragon who had recently lost its lifelong companion without allowing considerable time for mourning. The old king's death was still too recent, and the Bronze Fury would truly be living up to his name currently. Still, Benjen steeled his mind and entered the cave.
At first the darkness was absolute as he walked deeper inside, taking nearly a hundred steps before his eyes finally adjusted enough to grant him proper vision. Something at the back of his mind warned him to run away, and with a quick check through his warging senses, he understood why. Vermithor was projecting threat and hostility so that he would not have to kill another human. Benjen wondered whether the dragon even realised that one with the blood of the dragon was approaching him.
Another several dozen steps later, the threat came with a growl that reverberated around the cave and through Benjen's bones. The immense cavern trembled faintly beneath the sound, while heat rolled through the air in suffocating waves. Shadows shifted across the stone walls from the glow of molten cracks deeper within the mountain, and the scent of smoke and ash lingered heavily around him.
"Vermithor," Benjen called out.
A thunderous roar exploded throughout the cave, making sand and loose stones fall from above. The air became even hotter as the dragon turned to look at him, and for a moment Benjen lost all coherent thought as instinctive fear paralysed him upon seeing fire blooming deep within the dragon's throat. His hands tightened around the hilt of his sword, and he shook his head violently to overcome the terror.
"I am not here for myself!" Benjen yelled as his mind projected images through warging, desperately trying to connect. "I am here for Lyanna and Silverwing. They are in danger and will die without you. The kraken is hunting, and we need you. The old king would not want his favourite granddaughter to die."
The image of Lyanna flying upon Silverwing before drowning within the ocean was sent through the connection, and Vermithor slowly closed his mouth as the fire vanished.
Benjen could feel despair, agony, sadness, and then apocalyptic rage from the Bronze Fury. There was no warning before Benjen suddenly felt his mind connect with the dragon more deeply than it ever had with any animal before. Their shared love for those precious to them overwhelmed every other emotion, while rage enveloped them both at the thought of their deaths.
Without warning, Vermithor surged forward to leave the cave, and only Benjen's speed allowed him to escape outside before being trampled beneath the dragon's massive body. Vermithor saw the sky for the first time since the old king's death, and he unfurled his gigantic wings before lifting his head toward the heavens with a roar dozens of times louder than the earlier one. The sound rolled across Dragonstone like thunder, echoing from the black volcanic cliffs surrounding the mountain.
Then the dragon lowered his gaze toward Benjen, and he felt the impatience radiating from Vermithor.
With wonder and disbelief, Benjen climbed onto the dragon.
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Author's note: so answer to which dragon was it in last chapter end.. but one more chapter to see what happens to lyanna.
Like canon where Poor rogue prince follows all the orders of viserys at this point of time, here he decides to follow the current king's orders because of fear, respect and gratitude.
To read ahead 4 chapters: My Pat reon: search for the blackwolf
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