The sleeping dragon's wrath?

Night had fully fallen.

The forest was entirely different at night. The temperature plummeted, and cold rose from the ground.

The calls of nocturnal animals drifted from afar, along with some bird's shrill cries and the rustle of wind through the treetops.

But firelight illuminated the clearing, creating a small pocket of warmth and safety.

Rhaenyra and Aegon shared the food Cole had brought. Soft bread, rich cheese, savory salted jerky-it was certainly more substantial than their monotonous fare of roasted rabbit.

Sunfyre lay at the edge of the clearing, his body a golden barrier facing the darkness beyond, his ears pricked for any movement.

Aegon leaned against Rhaenyra's chest, taking small bites of bread as he watched Cole.

The young white knight sat across the fire. He barely ate, only occasionally taking a sip from his waterskin.

His gaze lingered on Rhaenyra most of the time, but whenever she looked up, he quickly glanced away, pretending to survey their surroundings.

Loyalty, adoration, restraint, conflict.

Aegon assessed him silently. Cole had yet to experience those crucial turning points of betrayal-

He had not been sent away on other duties when Rhaenyra needed him, had not seen love turn to hatred, had not turned toward certain things.

At this moment, he was simply a loyal white knight with an uncomplicated heart, though he might still harbor affection for the beautiful young princess and be willing to do anything for her.

Yet that did not change the youthful ardor and chivalry he still retained, or...

The restraints imposed by the white cloak he wore.

But hearts changed easily.

Especially when affection went unanswered, when political allegiances began to clash, when personal ambition became entangled with moral dilemmas...

Aegon closed his eyes.

He had to find a way. Not now-he was still too young-but he would have to lay plans for the future.

Cole could be an ally or a deadly enemy, but he must never become the "Kingmaker" who set Aegon against Rhaenyra, unleashed the Dance of the Dragons that would destroy everything Aegon cherished, and placed him on the Iron Throne.

The key was how to guide him, how to bind him to their cause, how to ensure he always stood with Rhaenyra.

Or, in the worst case, how to eliminate him before it was too late.

Of course, Aegon's own feelings were deeply complicated, mingling admiration with wariness...

The fire crackled.

Rhaenyra finished her last bite of apple and tossed the core into the flames.

Holding Aegon, she leaned against the rock and gazed at the dancing fire, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"The day Mother died," she said suddenly, her voice soft, as though speaking to herself, "was a night like this, too.

I was on Dragonstone, and Father was in King's Landing. When the raven brought the news, I was still caught up in the joy of Mother's approaching delivery. I rode Syrax back.

I remember how strong the wind was that day. The waves crashing against the cliffs sounded like giants weeping.

I cried against my dragon's neck for a long time, but dragons don't know how to comfort people. She just nudged me with her nose and rumbled in her throat.

In the end, Syrax and I personally sent her and Baelon off with dragonfire, as tradition demanded..."

She paused, her fingers unconsciously curling Aegon's silver hair. "Later, Father came to see me alone.

He held me and cried, too.

He said he would always protect me, that he would never let anyone hurt me.

He said I was his heir, the pride of House Targaryen. He said... so many things."

Firelight danced in her eyes, revealing a faint sheen of tears.

"But then he married Alicent, and Aegon was born. Now he's considering my marriage, considering the succession again...

Sometimes I wonder whether those promises were only true at the moment he made them.

As time passes, people's hearts change, and so do the things they care about.

And I'm just... the one left standing in the same place."

Cole wanted to say something, but his lips moved, and he ultimately remained silent.

Aegon reached out, closing his little hand around Rhaenyra's fingers. "I'll always be here. Sunfyre, too."

Rhaenyra looked down at him and smiled, a weary tenderness in her expression.

"Yes, I know. At least I still have you."

She held Aegon a little tighter and wrapped her cloak around them both.

The night grew steadily colder. Even with the fire, the chill bit into their exposed skin.

Cole stood, unfastened his white cloak, and approached Rhaenyra. Dropping to one knee, he gently draped it over her and Aegon.

"Please use this, Princess. The night is cold. You and the prince must keep warm."

Rhaenyra looked at him and did not refuse.

The white cloak still held the knight's body heat, its wool thick and warm.

"Thank you," she said, her voice much softer than before.

Cole nodded and returned to the fire.

Without his cloak, wearing only chain mail and an outer coat, he looked inadequately dressed for the cold night. Yet he sat perfectly straight, without the slightest hunch against the chill.

Time passed.

Aegon gradually grew sleepy in Rhaenyra's arms.

A young child's body needed plenty of sleep. Even with an adult soul, its biological demands were difficult to resist.

He closed his eyes. Before his awareness blurred, the system interface flashed one last time:

[Notice: High-energy creature approaching... Distance: 5 miles...]

A high-energy creature?

A dragon? Or something else?

Aegon tried to think, but sleepiness washed over him like a tide. His final sensations were Rhaenyra's steady heartbeat, her warm embrace, and the almost imperceptible sound of footsteps on fallen leaves coming from somewhere in the distance.

Then he sank into sleep.

He did not know how much time had passed when a piercing squeal jolted him awake.

It was not Sunfyre's warning cry-

Sunfyre's roar was deeper.

This was the cry of some beast, filled with pain and fury.

Aegon's eyes snapped open. The fire had dwindled considerably, leaving only faintly glowing embers.

Day had not yet broken, and the forest remained shrouded in the deep blue darkness before dawn.

At the edge of the clearing, Sunfyre had risen. His body was taut as he faced something in the darkness, a threatening growl rumbling deep in his throat.

Cole was awake, too, his sword already drawn. He stood in front of Rhaenyra and Aegon, leaning slightly forward in a defensive stance.

Rhaenyra stood with Aegon in her arms, gripping the little dagger in her other hand.

There was no fear on her face, only tense vigilance.

The sounds came again-

Heavy panting, the dull thud of hooves trampling fallen leaves, and the grating scrape of something against a tree trunk.

Closer and closer.

"A boar," Cole said quietly, his tone grave. "An adult male, judging by the sound. It won't be small."

No sooner had he spoken than the bushes in the darkness burst apart.

A boar charged into the clearing.

It was astonishingly large, its shoulders nearly level with Cole's chest. Coarse black bristles covered its body, and tusks curved like sickles from its lower jaw, gleaming yellow-white in the dim light.

Its eyes were small and blood-red. White vapor streamed from its nostrils as it pawed the ground with its forehooves, grunting threateningly.

Most striking of all was a wound along its flank-

Fresh, deep enough to expose bone, and bleeding freely. Clearly, it had fought something not long ago.

That explained its fury and aggression: a wounded beast was the most dangerous kind.

The boar's gaze swept the clearing and fixed on the humans beside the fire.

It lowered its head, pointing its tusks forward, and tensed the muscles in its hind legs-

It charged.

Straight at Rhaenyra and Aegon.

"Get back, Princess!" Cole shouted, stepping forward to meet it.

But he was a fraction too slow.

The boar moved faster than anyone could have imagined. Rather than weakening it, its injury had unleashed a savage strength.

Cole had taken only two steps when the boar was upon him.

The young knight tried to sidestep while swinging his sword, but the boar abruptly swerved, catching him off guard and slamming its massive body into his side.

The impact made a dull, terrifying sound.

Cole flew like a puppet struck by a catapult and crashed into a tree at the edge of the clearing with a pained groan.

His sword flew from his hand and landed among the fallen leaves several feet away. He struggled to rise, but his ribs were clearly injured, slowing his movements.

The boar did not pursue him.

It shook its head and fixed on its targets again-Rhaenyra and Aegon, standing in the middle of the clearing, nearest the fire and most exposed.

Rhaenyra backed away with Aegon in her arms, but the clearing was only so large. The great rock was behind her, leaving nowhere to retreat.

The boar charged again.

Time seemed to slow.

Aegon saw the boar's blood-red eyes, the saliva dripping from its open mouth, the deadly tusks aimed at Rhaenyra's abdomen-

If they struck, they would pierce both Rhaenyra and him in her arms.

He wanted to act, but his child's body was too small, too slow.

All he could do was gather every scrap of his will and send Sunfyre the strongest emotions he could muster-

Protect! Attack! Kill!

Sunfyre moved.

The Gold Dragon did not breathe fire-

They were too close. The flames might hurt Rhaenyra and Aegon.

He chose a more direct approach.

An instant before the boar struck Rhaenyra, Sunfyre lunged from the side.

Though he was still only the size of a small foal, a dragon's strength far surpassed that of any other creature of equal size.

He struck with his foreclaws-

Those powerful limbs joined to his wings-slamming them into the boar's side.

The impact was louder than the last.

The boar was knocked clean off its feet and rolled toward the other side of the clearing, crushing a swath of bushes.

But it immediately struggled upright. Heavy as the blow had been, it had not proved fatal.

It shook its head and turned its attention to Sunfyre.

The Gold Dragon and the boar faced off.

Sunfyre growled and spread his wings to make himself more intimidating, his golden eyes shining like two lamps in the darkness.

The boar pawed the ground and grunted threateningly. Blood flowed from its wound, mouth, and nostrils, but its fighting spirit only grew fiercer.

Cole finally struggled to his feet and retrieved his sword. He limped toward them, but clearly could not intervene in the confrontation in time.

Just then, Rhaenyra did something unexpected.

She did not retreat or hide.

She gently set Aegon on the rock behind her-

Her movements gentle but swift-

Then tightened her grip on the little ruby-studded dagger and walked toward the boar.

"Princess!" Cole cried.

But Rhaenyra ignored him. Her gaze remained fixed on the boar, her violet eyes burning in the predawn light with some fierce emotion-

Not fear, not anger, but something deeper and more primal.

Years of suppressed hurt, the loneliness of losing her mother so young, the betrayal of her father's remarriage, the humiliation of having her right to inherit questioned, the oppression of a political marriage, the helplessness of being treated as a bargaining chip, everyone's expectant gazes, the pressure to be perfect at all times.

At that moment, all her emotions found an outlet.

The boar seemed enraged by this little human's actions. It abandoned Sunfyre, turned toward Rhaenyra again, and charged once more.

Rhaenyra did not dodge away.

At the instant before the boar struck her, she twisted aside-

As nimble as a cat, nothing like a princess wrapped in a heavy cloak-

Then threw herself onto it.

It was not an elegant thrust or a knightly duel.

It was an adrenaline-fueled attack, primal, violent, and utterly without technique.

She flung herself onto the side of the boar's back, clutching its coarse bristles with one hand to anchor herself while the other drove the little dagger down in a frenzy.

Once, twice, three times.

The dagger was too short to inflict a fatal wound, but each thrust sank deep into flesh, drawing out blood and shreds of meat when she pulled it free. The boar squealed in pain and fury, twisting wildly as it tried to throw off the attacker on its back.

But Rhaenyra held on with a death grip.

Her lovely silver-gold hair was now utterly disheveled, her face spattered with blood. Her eyes were wide, and incoherent cries spilled from her mouth-

Not screams, but roars of release.

"You all want-! Everyone-!

Father-! Alicent-!

Daemon-! The throne-! Marriage-! Heirs-!"

Every broken phrase came with another stab.

At last, the boar threw her off.

She fell among the leaves but immediately scrambled up, gripping the dripping dagger, and lunged again, this time aiming for the side of its neck.

Cole had already rushed up, his sword raised, but at the sight before him, he froze.

Sunfyre stopped moving too, his golden eyes fixed on Rhaenyra. A stunned, frightened rumble even rose from his throat.

Sitting on the rock, Aegon could only stare wide-eyed as he witnessed the scene unfold.

Rhaenyra attacked the beast several times her size like a she-dragon.

There was nothing graceful about her movements, only pure violence and release.

The dagger plunged in again and again, pulled free, then plunged in once more.

The boar's squeals gradually weakened, its struggles growing feebler until its front legs buckled and it toppled onto its side.

But Rhaenyra did not stop.

She knelt beside the boar's carcass and kept stabbing. One thrust, then another. Blood splashed onto her face, her hands, her clothes.

Her breathing was ragged, tears mingling with blood as they slid down her face, but her hand never stopped.

"Why-!

Why does everyone have to push me-!

Why does no one truly care what I want-!

Why do I have to be perfect-!

Why can't I just be-

Just Rhaenyra-!"

Her voice went from roaring to tearful cries, then from cries to murmurs.

At last, the dagger slipped from her trembling hand and fell into the pool of blood.

She knelt there, bracing herself with both hands against the ground, her shoulders heaving. Her once-beautiful silver-gold hair had come completely loose and veiled her face.

Blood dripped from the ends of her hair, spattering dark spots across the fallen leaves.

The forest before dawn was utterly still.

Only her stifled sobs remained, along with the occasional crackle of the campfire's embers.

Cole stood rooted to the spot, his sword still raised, but his expression held utter shock and...

A profound sorrow.

He looked at her, at the princess who had always had to be strong, had to be perfect, had to bear the kingdom's future, now kneeling beside a beast's carcass, vulnerable, broken, and terrifyingly real.

Sunfyre slowly approached, lowered his head, and gently nudged Rhaenyra's shoulder with his snout, a soft, almost comforting rumble rising from his throat.

Aegon climbed down from the rock and walked over to Rhaenyra on his short little legs. He reached out a small hand and took her blood-covered one. "Sister."

Though while he had stood there in a daze moments earlier, he had still been inwardly quipping, Is this the true "wrath of the sleeping dragon" passed down through the blood of House Targaryen?

Now he softly called her sister to soothe her.

Rhaenyra slowly raised her head. Her face was smeared with blood and tears, her violet eyes red and swollen, but her gaze was much clearer, as though some heavy burden had been temporarily lifted by that outburst.

She looked at Aegon, into her little brother's clear violet eyes. Her lips trembled, and at last she gave him a weak but genuine smile.

Then she hugged him, buried her face in his small shoulder, and burst into tears.

This time, they were not stifled sobs, but wholehearted, childlike wails.

Dawn finally came.

The first true ray of morning light pierced the treetops and spilled across the blood-soaked clearing, illuminating the siblings in their embrace, the silent knight, the Gold Dragon standing guard, the dead boar, and the little ruby-studded dagger covered in blood.

A new day had begun.

And after this night, some things had changed forever.