Into the Dragon's Den

I'll Be Missing You

We're getting closer to the end of the story. In truth, I didn't even plan for it to be this long. This started as a 3am, sleep-deprived plot bunny and snowballed into something insane!

Thanks for reading <3

**

Laena spent as much of her flight in the clouds as she could, dropping beneath them only when she absolutely needed to. She was already cold, her body growing tired from gripping the saddle. Dragonstone came into view as the sun peaked over the Narrow Sea and it suddenly occurred to the princess that she could not land Sunfyre on the island without calling unnecessary attention to the dragon. Aegon had agreed to let her return; she would not betray him by getting his dragon captured. She measured in her head, deciding she would have to get to the beach herself. At the furthest point she believed she could swim from, they dropped low on the horizon. She released herself from the saddle, commanded Sunfyre to return to Aegon, and threw herself into the sea.

Her body hit the water like a ton of bricks, pain coursing through every limb as she struggled to rise to the surface. Kicking and paddling her arms, she gulped in a deep breath as her head rose above the water. It was cold, too cold. She felt as though her limbs were being stuck with hundreds of tiny knives. Laena sucked in a deep breath of determination and forced her arms and legs to move, paddling toward Dragonstone. Her abdomen seared and she briefly wondered if she had torn her stitches when she jumped. Her muscles ached as the gate came into clear view; she let out a sob of relief. Home...

"It's the princess!" She was ripped roughly from the water by strong arms and carried up the beach. Laena was already sobbing, though she wasn't certain if it was from pain or alleviation.

"Move, move! I will take her," Ser Erryk insisted, pushing the other knights away and scooping her up into his arms. "Are you alright, princess?" She sniffled and swallowed down her hears.

"Your brother is well..." she finally said and a strange silence passed between them. "If he came here; if war ensued... Could you kill him, your own twin?"

"In the pursuit of what is honorable, I would, princess..." he replied solemnly.

"How do we know what that is?" she asked. "Avoiding war is honorable, in my eyes, yet I feel I've betrayed everyone I love, in some way or another. I've done horrible things; I've accepted horrible things..." She sniffled, clenching her jaw and fighting back the tears that had welled in her eyes.

"I've known you, my lady, for long enough. I know you have a good heart. Perhaps you should put more trust in yourself..." The rest of the walk was silent.

"My queen, it's your daughter," Erryk announced.

"Oh, gods!" Rhaenyra rushed forward the moment they entered the hall, tearing Laena from the knight's arms. The princess hissed in pain and returned her mother's tight embrace. "You're hurt... We thought you—"

"I'm alright, mother, really, just sore." Laena lied softly, ignoring the throbbing in her abdomen. Laena lost track of time as the warmth of her mother's embrace seeped into her bones. For the first time since she couldn't remember when, she felt a glimmer of something more than grief. The Queen sent her to bathe, worried she would fall ill, and commanded her to return to the hall once she had eaten. She sat, neck deep in the steaming water, and her eyes fell closed.

"Is it true?" Rhaena asked, startling her, "Luke's really—" Laena swallowed and nodded, sorrow flooding her as the memory was pulled, once more, to the forefront of her thoughts. The urge to gag rolled through her stomach as the sound of Arrax's body crunching reverberated in her ears. Gods, would the sound ever be forgotten?  "Pieces of wing washed up on the shores of Storm's End..." her cousin told her, "When one of Daemon's spies sent word, we held out hope, but..."