Dance of The Dragonwolf

No, No. This can't be happening, Laena thought in desperation as her mother dragged her out of the Throne Room with a grip on her wrist. She tried to struggle, but her mother was taller and stronger than her, and she could do nothing but watch as the doors went further away from her.

Eventually, she stopped struggling and let her mother lead her to their chambers. She could feel her father look at her disapprovingly, but she cared not.

Once they reached their chamber, her mother pushed her away with a look of anger and disappointment, sneering at her as if she were some wild beast. "What the hell is wrong with you? Acting like a child in front of so many people." Her mother scolded her, but Laena cared little what she thought; her words didn't hurt as much as they used to hurt; they were harmless, just winds.

Laena opened her mouth to say something when her father slammed the door closed with a loud thud. Everyone fell silent, and the words died in her throat as her father motioned for Laenor to walk up to her. She could see the way his eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared. She knew he was angry with her, but he still said nothing. The silence felt uncomfortable, and Laena's mind went to Aenar.

The words repeated in her head like a bell; she wanted to go back there and curse the King, cursing herself for not having a Dragon of her own yet; if she had a dragon, she would have her own power, her own strength, people wouldn't be as dismissive of her, but she had no dragon of her own. Even her younger brother had a Dragon. Seasmoke was small still, but he had one, and she had no dragon. She had thought that, eventually, she would have the opportunity to tame Vhaegar, but she had never considered this would happen.

"Laena, you are of House Velayron. Not some bastard girl of some worthless House like the Hightowers. You will never scream like that again. You hear me." Her father scolded her, and she couldn't look at him for a brief moment; right now, she wished she hadn't screamed like she did; if she hadn't, then maybe she would still be in the Throne Room and hear what was happening right now.

"I'm sorry, father. It won't happen again." She apologized half-heartedly. If only I had a dragon, Laena thought, trying to suppress her anger; her father seemed to accept her apology.

"Now. I want you both in your chambers; me and your mother have to discuss something." Her father ordered with a commanding voice, the kind of voice she knew she shouldn't disobey. Her brother followed the order without saying a word. He walked out of the chamber like the good dog that he was, but Laena had yet to move from her spot.

"Laena, you heard your father. This discussion is not important to you." "It's important to me. I'm your eldest daughter. I deserve to know what you two are discussing. What you two are discussing about my future." Laena interrupted her, standing her ground; she didn't want to be a chess piece in someone else's game.

"Laena." She fell silent when her father looked at her once again disapprovingly. He sat on the side of the desk and observed her for a moment.

"Did you know the foolish King would choose Rhaenyra as heir of the Throne?" Her father asked.

She felt a bitter taste in her mouth; it felt as if she just sucked on a lemon when her name was mentioned. 'Rhaenyra.' She almost growled in anger. She had thought of her as one of them, but instead, she had gone behind their backs and had taken Aenar's Throne from him.

"No, Lord Father. Princess Rhaenyra never mentioned that she would become Heir to the Throne." Her father made a face as if he was already expecting that answer before motioning for her to leave the chamber.

"Father, I don't want to marry the King. I want-" "Laena." Her mother interrupted her with a scolding look, her eyes wide with anger, the same look she always gave Laena when she said that she had no interest in the King, but she knew she couldn't disobey them; she held no real power. Right now, she was powerless, and with her head slumping down in defeat, she left their chamber instead of going to her chamber. Laena decided to take the secret route.

*

*

"That girl can be quite stubborn," Rhaenys said exasperatedly the moment her daughter left the chamber. Corlys chuckled with a proud smile on his face—the kind that was rare.

"I wonder where she got that from." Corlys said with a smirk, as Rhaenys fixed him with a glare, but her husband was one of the few who cared not about her glares.

"You." She quickly fired back at him with a challenging look, but Corlys let out a laugh once again before calming down, and once he did, their mind went back to the very reason why they had come here to discuss.

"Why would Viserys make his daughter heir of the Throne?" Corlys wondered out loud as he idly played with her black hair, but she was sure she knew the answer to that question. It was no wonder this happened three days after Aemma's death; it was as clear as day to her.

"I think he wants to atone for Aemma," Rhaenys answered. Corlys seemed to disagree with her. Rhaenyra being The Heir changed many things.

"I don't think it matters if Viserys decides that his daughter is Heir; his future wife will not care about Rhaenyra," her husband said with a knowing smile. Rhaenys found herself smiling back, knowing what was going through his head.

"Laena." both said at the same time; Corlys leaned away from the desk and walked up to the pitcher filled to the brim with wine.

"With Aemma gone and Aenar out of the way. Laena will marry the King, and our grandchildren will rule Westeros." Rhaenys said with a look of glee. Finally, the Throne would be back to the one who deserved it as her husband filled the cups with wine, but she noticed that he wasn't as convinced her; he turned to face her as he held two cups in his hands.

"Aenar is still a danger to us." Corlys reminded her, but Rhaenys scoffed at his words, with the cup's rim on her lips.

"He is just a child." She said dismissively. "He might have Cannibal, but that's all he has. He has no experience in fighting and wars. I don't think he has that good of a Dragonrider, the only real problem is Daemon." She finished with a small shudder, she knew Daemon was a real risk to all their plans, but with Rhaenyra being the Heir and Aenar marrying the Hightower whore, she knew even if Viserys refused to marry their daughter, he would have no other choice but to marry his daughter to Laenor, whichever happened, the Throne would return back to the one it always belonged to, but only now she noticed that Corlys didn't seem convinced by her words.

"One should never underestimate their adversary, Rhaenys. Aenar might still be a child, but I have seen the way he fights, and they say he is already better than his father. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Now, tell me, do you really think Daemon's son is as harmless as you think? Aenar Targaryen can become our greatest enemy or our greatest ally." Rhaenys wanted to scoff; she could not see how a child would ever pose a challenge, even if he had Cannibal. Rhaenys had Meleys with her; she would destroy Aenar and Cannibal herself if needed. Her dragon was one of the fastest dragons, and she was only beaten by Caraxes.

"What do you think we should do about him if he is really such a big threat as you believe?" Rhaenys asked, wondering if they should try other ways to get rid of their problems. Corlys finished his cup of wine before turning his gaze towards the window that showed the view of King's Landing. He slowly walked up to it, his hands locked behind his back.

"Nothing."

Rhaenys blinked; surely she must have heard miss-heard him. "Nothing?"

"Yes, nothing. Everything I own right now is through blood and steel. But I learned long ago that one should never put all one's eggs in one basket. Aenar has the support of his Great-Grandmother, and she still has Silverwing." Rhaenys wanted to say that her grandmother was not strong enough to ride her dragon anymore. Everyone knew that; it was a miracle she was still alive, but she doubted that she could really ride Silverwing anymore.

"We need to wait for now and see what Viserys will do. Aenar has the support of the North, and Gael Targaryen is married to Lord Stark. Their children will be dragonriders. It is not so easy. Aenar might be a child, but right now—" He turned to face her with the full-length window behind him.

"Aenar has the support of the North. You saw Lord Stark's anger when the King announced that Rhaenyra was the Heir. The North will side with Aenar if it comes to war, and Princess Gael has a dragon of her own." Rhaenys chewed on her lower lip, knowing her husband was right; she didn't like that he was right, though; she didn't want her daughter to be with Aenar. She didn't know why, but there was something strange about that kid, something that put fear in her heart.

"I have heard rumors that Princess Rhaenyra is fond of her cousin, and I don't think she will be happy that her father decided to marry him to Lady Alicent. Daemon is the best Dragonrider in Westeros. He himself is the most dangerous ally that Prince Aenar has." Her husband looked at her keenly when she opened her mouth to deny his words, but she knew Daemon was better than her.

"So, what should we do?"

"Right now, we wait and see how the two parties will act. They might decide to go to war right now or even call the council the same way King Jaehaerys did. But Viserys will refuse to do that if he's smart enough; he will know the majority will vote for Aenar, and Daemon. He will be left with nothing, but if something happens and we cannot marry Laena to the King, then Aenar might be a good candidate." She frowned the moment those words left his mouth; she didn't like the idea of her daughter marrying the Prince.

"Are you sure? You said yourself that Prince Aenar can be our biggest enemy." She quickly reminded him as he strode towards her with a smile, the same kind of smile he had when he could see a good opportunity for them, an opportunity to climb higher.

"Or our biggest Ally and I know it's better to see him as an ally rather than an enemy. We can use him for our battles. The Triarchy is attacking my ships, killing many of our men. I think I can convince both son and father to fight for us. Aenar might taste a real battle for the first time in his life-" And hopefully die there, Rhaenys wanted to say, but she held her tongue; she knew her husband wouldn't approve of her saying something like that, despite Aenar not being on their side right now.

"What if this taste of battle only makes him more powerful?" Rhaenys questioned with a look of triumph, but the joy she felt faded away when Corlys gave her a look; he seemed proud of what he had in mind.

"As I said, dear wife. It's much better to have him as our ally, and if our daughter really fancies him as much as I think she does, then if marrying her to Viserys fails, then we have a second option for her."

Laena

It didn't take long for her to reach his chamber through the secret passageway. She pushed the wall, and a small part of the wall, only reaching to her knees, opened up. She kneeled down and crawled into his chamber. She coughed, the dust filling her lungs. She quickly dusted her clothes as she stood back up in his chamber, but much to her disappointment, he wasn't here.

She quickly closed the small hole in the wall and drank some water to clean her throat and mouth.

After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the sound of footsteps, and the door opened forcefully, almost slamming against the wall. Her heart swelled with joy upon seeing him, but he wasn't smiling; he was furious.

"Aenar." He quickly spun around, looking tense with the dagger in his hand, but relaxed when she caught sight of her. He quickly dropped the dagger before rushing towards her. She melted into his hug, and the kiss felt as amazing as always. She felt herself melt and wanted nothing more than to continue this, but the logical part of her brain that was still working quickly reminded her what had happened today, so reluctantly, she pulled away from him.

"What happened?" she quickly asked, seeing the clear anger in his eyes. She couldn't remember ever seeing him like this. Aenar almost growled as he walked past her and sat down on his bed, looking frustrated. She heard him murmur, 'Why is happening again?' She didn't understand what he meant, but she quickly sat beside him, ready to comfort him and make him feel better somehow.

"Aenar, what is happening?" Aenar still looked furious, but after several minutes, he calmed himself and told her what happened in the hall; after hearing everything, she was lost for words for a moment but quickly squeezed his hand in support.

"You did the right thing, Aenar. You are the only Heir." Laena quickly reassured him, kissing his forehead before kissing his lips once again. Again, they almost got lost in their passion and love for each other but quickly broke away.

"I'm leaving The Red Keep." Aenar said the moment their lips parted.

"I'm coming with you." Laena quickly blurted out without thinking; she would not stay here a moment longer, even if her parents wouldn't agree with her; she cared not; they didn't care about her happiness; she wasn't a little girl anymore; she knew what they were thinking, now that Queen Aemma was dead, she knew they wanted her to marry the King, and she knew they wouldn't agree to marry her to Aenar, but much to her shock and disappointment, Aenar shook his head in denial.

"No." Laena almost couldn't believe what she heard.

"Why not?" Laena asked, almost pleadingly, but she stopped talking when he cupped her face with affection, his bright purple eyes looking at her with love as they always did.

"Listen. I need you to do something for me. Do you trust me?" Laena quickly nodded; she trusted him more than anyone else in her life.

"Well, I need you to-" Laena listened to his words, and once he had told her the plan, she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you sure about...this, Aenar?" Laena asked with a hint of disbelief in her voice. She always knew Weirwood Trees had strange powers, but she never imagined one could see such visions, almost like a Dragon Dream.

"Yes. Trust me. I would never lie to you." She knew he would never lie to her.

"What about Rhaenyra? She betrayed us?!" She reminded him with a snarl.

"She didn't, Laena." She quickly opened her mouth but continued before she could. "Laena. I have known Rhaenyra for far longer than you. I saw the way she looked when my stupid Uncle announced she was the Heir. This is not something she was part of." Laena wanted to believe that, but if Aenar said so, she would believe him.

"I trust you, Aenar, but I hope she understands that the Throne is yours, not hers."

While his plan needed her to stay here a bit longer than she wanted, if it meant she only needed to wait a little while longer for them to finally be together, then she would do that much for him, not to mention what he said about Vhaegar.

"I will miss you, Aenar...." It was now or never, she thought as she swallowed thickly.

"I Love You," Laena confessed, her arms around his neck. His bright purple eyes glittered adorably upon hearing her words, and his lips brushed against hers.

"Avy jorrāelan, tolī. Issa gevie zaldrīzes (I love you, too. My Beautiful Dragon)," he said passionately with a bright smile.

Their lips met once again, but unlike ever before, this one was gentle and full of love. As they slowly pulled away, she found herself that she couldn't look away from him. But he broke eye contact when he reached for something around his neck, moving it over his head. She gazed at it. It was a silver necklace resting on his palm. The silver necklace had a wolf head at the end.

"My mother said. I should give this to the woman I love," Aenar said, sounding vulnerable as he looked right at her as he said it. He slowly put it around her neck. She felt her heart bursting with joy as the silver chain pressed around her delicate neck. She slowly grabbed the wolf's silver head resting above her bosom. It was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen, but she knew how important this must be for him.

"I cannot accept this, I know how important this is for you." She tried to give it back to him, but he quickly grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"You are important to me, too, Laena. I want you to keep it." Aenar said softly and with so much love that she felt like crying like a silly lady.

"Thank you, Aenar. You are important to me, too," she said passionately before kissing him once again.

Tomorrow

When the news came that Aenar had left the Red Keep, Laena wasn't as surprised as everyone else. She smiled innocently, her eyes going to the one guard left who would protect her if needed.

Ghost laid his head on her lap as she caressed his cute head. She knew how difficult it must have been for Aenar to leave his direwolf behind, but knowing that he left him with her made her heart swell with joy. A part of her still wished that she had been the one with Aenar on his ship right now, on the way to Dragonstone, not Rhaenyra, but she would do her part of the plan.

When her parents told her that she would meet the King a week later, it took everything to not snort. Her parents still wanted her to marry the old foolish King who had just ruined everything for himself, but she would do her job. She knew his eyes weren't on her, thank the gods of Valyria.

Alicent Hightower had been the only one he had seen since he was informed that his daughter had left; she had heard the King had sent a letter and had ordered a group of guards and Kingsguards to bring his daughter back; she could already see how that would end for the guards.

Did Viserys forget that Cannibal, Caraxes, and Syrax were in Dragonstone too?

Laena couldn't fathom how the King didn't take into account that he had no dragon of his own. If he still had Balerion like he used to have, then she would understand if he was a little haughty, but he held no dragon, and dragons were the sign of strength in their house; without one, they held no real power, and the King right now was King only in name.

To her surprise, Queen Alysanne was still in the Red Keep; she wondered why the old Queen had decided to stay here and not go with her great-grandson and grandson to Dragonstone.

Laena was there when her parents told Viserys he needed to remarry, especially now that his daughter wasn't with him. The King looked much older than she remembered, but she knew the King agreed with her parents.

One Week Later

One could cut the tension with a knife because all knew what would come. The King would take a new wife.

"Good morning, my lords," King Viserys said, starting off the small council meeting, which Alicent had never been a part of before. Her lord father had dragged her along, a sly grin on his face. He hadn't needed to tell her why. However, unlike her father, Alicent was not sure exactly how things would turn out, nor had she any idea how her father might react if things did not go as he had planned.

"Your Grace," her father answered with a bow of the head as he went to take a seat and nudged her over by his side.

"I assume you all suspect why I have called you here," the King continued, looking at his daughter, who stood on the other side of the table. He also glanced at Alicent, however briefly. "I have decided to take a new wife."

The lords all looked around, presumably gauging each other's reactions. Anything to gain some information to further strengthen their role in the small council, Alicent surmised. When her father looked at her, she scratched her nails, averting her eyes.

Why is this happening? Alicent wondered, her eyes still red from crying. Aenar had abandoned her. He had left for Dragonstone without saying a word to her. Now, she knew this could go only in one way. The King had promised she would marry royalty, but now she knew she wouldn't marry the one she desired.

"I intend to marry...," King Viserys began, darting across all the eyes in the room, from The Hand to Lord Corlys, to Alicent, to Lady Laena, and finally towards Queen Alysanne. The Hand looked expectantly at his King, his sly grin growing ever wider.

King Viserys shook his head and visibly swallowed as if having to regain composure. He spoke firmly, not as wavering as his posture would make one believe: "... the lady Alicent of the House Hightower. We shall be wed before spring's end."

Watching her father storm out of the chamber was the best feeling for her. Laena knew Aenar's plan had only just begun.

Alicent forced a smile on her face, but all she could think about were the five words ringing in her head—words Prince Aenar had told her the night before he left for Dragonstone.

' "I was hoping we could talk, Prince Aenar, " Alicent said sweetly as she walked into his chamber, but the prince merely let out a bitter chuckle; his bright purple eyes didn't seem as bright anymore.

"Tell me, how did you do it?"

"I don't think I understand what—" "You know what I'm talking about, Lady Alicent. Now, I understand why you were able to fool everyone last time. My Uncle was always weak, and you were there when he needed someone to listen to his complaints. You were to act like the sweet, innocent lady who was worried for her King. You lied to King Jaehaerys and told him you were his daughter Saera."

"Your Grace, I didn't mean-" "I believe you didn't mean it, but you saw an opportunity, and you took it, just like how your father took that opportunity to become Hand of the King, and then you used that opportunity to have things happen the way you want them too, the same way you paid those soldiers to 'attack' you when I was nearby, in hopes of me hearing you and coming to rescue you, so you could have an opportunity to talk with me, and make it seem like some silly love story," Aenar growled as he loomed over her like a dragon. She wanted nothing more than to run away from him. She wondered how he knew about the soldiers. Her brother had told her the soldiers were loyal to House Hightower, so who told Aenar about her ploys? She wanted to apologize, but the words died in her throat as Aenar said five words that made her body freeze on the spot.

"You Will Doom Us All." '

How does Aenar know what Alicent's mother told Otto??

Aenar and Laena finally confessed their Love to one another. Rhaenyra will soon have her time to shine in the Story, especially with the upcoming War.