The Blood of Old Valyria

III

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘢
Chapter III

The dragon's dark wing sliced through the cloud, and Mayrea found herself above a fluffy blanket of sunlight. She had always loved rising above the clouds, feeling the wind in her short hair, realizing the happiness she had found when she had ridden a dragon at the age of ten. There had always felt a connection between Rhea and Endarion. And it wasn't she who chose him, but he chose her, which was a rarity. And she was madly in love with her dragon, her fire-breathing friend.

    Egarax came out of the clouds from the side, almost hitting Endarion, who dodged in time. The silver giant soared, flapping his wings with a measured flap of his wings, driving Mayrea's dragon away. She and Dayraena had been flying for a long time, enjoying the views above and below them. After flying as far as the Velvet Hills and even seeing the Little Rhoyne, the sisters turned back towards Pentos, descending below the clouds and dispersing a flock of birds flying in the same direction.

    Several days passed after the lavish reception, during which nothing much happened. Dayraena went about her business, often walking in the garden or sitting on the grass with her feet in the pond, reading, walking in the company of Daemon and Mayrea. It was not uncommon to find her with Calryn, the bastard who seemed to have melted the woman's heart. The boy was bright, but very shy, and so far he had only shown trust in Nanny Erlissa and Dayreaena herself. Sareya, who was by nature a very gentle and quiet girl, was trying to play with him, but as it turned out, she was very persistent. Despite the fact that Calryn did not show much interest in her and even tried to avoid her at times, she did not stop trying to establish a relationship with him.

    Mayrea, much to her surprise, didn't ask any questions about Daemon or what their relationship was. It was as if she had forgotten what she had seen. That made Raena suspicious, because she knew her sister's temper and how impatient she could be when she wanted to know something. She would insist on what she wanted no matter what. Dayraena could not help but be pleased with such patience, perhaps it meant that Mayrea was waiting for her older sister to tell her everything herself, when she will be ready...

    As a matter of fact, she really was patient. But not from the beginning. The day everything happened, the younger Gelarion was about to question her sister, but something stopped her. She had been watching the interactions between Dayraena and Daemon closely for the past few days, watching them, trying to figure out who they were to each other, whether they were just lovers or if there was more to it than that. She couldn't come to a definite conclusion, but they were definitely very close. There had been a scene in the training yard that Mayrea had caught by accident while she was returning her sword to the weapon rack.

    It was a cool and overcast day, and the weather was just right for the grueling sword training that Ilias had arranged for Mayrea. And they were soon joined by the prince, who after not too long had already managed to take down both the former mercenary and the perky lady. Daemon Targaryen could be considered a master swordsman without a doubt, and Mayrea even wanted to take a couple of lessons from him if he wouldn't refuse, but her sister beat her to it... Dayraena appeared on the training ground unnoticed, wearing the breeches and flared camisole she usually wore when she flew the dragon. Rhea watched as she scrutinized the fighting Ilias and Daemon, gradually approaching. The younger Gelarion had decided to give herself a break, which ended up being hours, not minutes as planned. It was because Dayraena had suddenly asked to be trained in the art of wielding a sword or dagger. She explained that she didn't know what dangers awaited her during travels, so she could use a weapon. And it was hard to argue with that. Her mentor was none other than Daemon, the only one who knew swordsmanship perfectly.