Unexpected Visitors

The fragrance of flowers drifted through the orchard, while the aroma of roasting lamb carried even farther.

As members of the royal family, Viserys and Aemma often accompanied the king on hunts in the Kingswood, where picnics were an essential part of the outing. But those occasions always involved noble intrigue and social obligations, along with the need to uphold aristocratic manners and decorum. Even the finest food lost some of its appeal.

Wanting to relax without restraint, Danyla had sent the guards and servants some distance away to enjoy themselves. With roast lamb and fine wine, they were only too happy to oblige.

The family roasted the goats themselves. Danyla applied the seasonings, while her elder sister Rhaenyra turned the spit; their mother Aemma laid out the seating and tableware, and their father Viserys carved the meat.

Casting all royal etiquette aside, Viserys joined Danyla and Rhaenyra in taking great mouthfuls of meat and hearty swigs of wine. They were having a wonderful time.

Even their pregnant mother Aemma caught their infectious enthusiasm and could not resist a small sip of "House Targaryen's Dragonfire."

Although the wine was safe for pregnant women, Aemma, who had already suffered two miscarriages, still dared not take the risk lightly. Even though Danyla had conducted many trials with pregnant women in White Sheep Town, Aemma had never dared try it.

Only the happy mood emboldened her to taste it today. After drinking it, she felt warmth spread through her body, and even the frequent dragging pain in her lower abdomen eased considerably.

Only then did Aemma exclaim in delighted surprise,

"It seems this Dragonfire Wine really is good for pregnant women!"

While Danyla's family was enjoying their meal, Dreamfyre, who nested in the nearby volcano, flew straight overhead. Whether she had smelled the roasting lamb or sensed Danyla's happiness, no one knew.

Fortunately, the spot Danyla and her family had chosen was fairly open, with enough room for Dreamfyre to land.

Once Dreamfyre arrived, Danyla immediately sent her personal guards to White Sheep Town to drive over some more goats.

Meanwhile, Danyla fed Dreamfyre the better part of a goat left over from the family's meal.

But that little bit of meat was barely enough to fill a gap between Dreamfyre's teeth. She finished it in a single mouthful.

Danyla gently stroked Dreamfyre's great head and said affectionately,

"Dreamfyre, you're eating more and more these days. Luckily, your rider knows how to make money, or you'd eat me out of house and home!"

Dreamfyre

Watching Danyla's closeness with Dreamfyre, Viserys and Aemma were filled with pride.

That's our daughter!

Hearing Danyla complain that she could not afford to feed Dreamfyre, Rhaenyra felt the flames of jealousy, which their family affection had just quenched, flare up again.

"You don't have money? Everyone knows Princess Danyla of House Targaryen is the best at making money! You must have earned several million Gold Dragons from Dragon Porcelain alone today, right? That's almost as much as the royal family collects in taxes in a year!"

"Could you already be saving up your dowry, elder sister?"

Danyla turned to Rhaenyra and said with an innocent expression,

"Saving up a dowry? Why would you think that, little sister? I have no intention of getting married right now. Staying with our family is so much more comfortable!"

"Besides, royal princesses like us don't necessarily have to marry out, do we? I think it would be better to bring a husband into our family. That way, we could make all our own decisions! Wouldn't that be better?"

"What do you think, little sister?"

Danyla completely derailed Rhaenyra's train of thought, and somehow she found herself nodding.

"That actually sounds quite reasonable!"

Aemma interrupted the sisters with a smile and admonished them,

"Seven above! Both of you, stop that at once! As royal princesses and examples to the ladies of the Seven Kingdoms, you mustn't talk such nonsense in public. People will laugh at you."

Viserys took Aemma's hand and said gently,

"They're still young. Let them enjoy their lives as they are now! We can deal with the future when it comes."

Aemma shook her head helplessly but said no more.

The personal guards worked quickly. In less than half an hour, they drove over another twenty-odd plump goats.

With twelve "Skinning Warriors" on hand, the goats were soon dressed.

They gathered all the roasting spits they had brought and began cooking the meat.

Afraid Dreamfyre would grow impatient, Danyla placed three seasoned goats on a boulder and let Dreamfyre roast them herself with dragonfire before eating them.

The three plump goats took the edge off Dreamfyre's hunger, and she gave several satisfied cries.

Just then, several young Dragon Roar cries rang out near the volcano. Everyone looked toward the sound, and before long, three little dragons of different colors flew over, drawn by the smell of blood and roasting meat.

Great Dragons were highly intelligent creatures. Now that Cannibal had discovered the three young dragons' shelter, they naturally dared not return to Dragonmont.

They had barely managed to survive on Dragonmont before this. Today, unable to bear their hunger any longer, they had ventured out to find food, only to be caught by Cannibal.

After Dreamfyre saved them, they cautiously found a new cave near the volcano where she had made her new home.

But after all the fear and alarm of the day, they had still found no food and were starving. So they followed the scent of blood and roasting meat.

The moment they spotted Dreamfyre, however, they warily stopped approaching and circled nearby instead.

Grey Ghost appearance reference

Black dragon (remove the red) and green dragon

Seeing this, Danyla quickly asked Dreamfyre to lower herself to the ground.

Dreamfyre looked up at the three young dragons in the sky, gave a disgruntled growl, and lay down.

Danyla then ordered the servants to move three roasting spits to a clearing far from the group. She had everyone hide in the orchard, where the lush fruit trees soon concealed them from view.

Great Dragons possessed exceptionally keen eyesight and senses of smell, and the three young dragons soon noticed the fragrant roast goats in the clearing.

After circling a few times, they finally let down their guard and slowly approached.

Yet they still refused to land. Half an hour passed, and the plump goats had begun to smell burnt.

Only then did the strongest young dragon, the charcoal-black one, boldly land first. He warily scanned the surroundings several times, and only after finding nothing amiss did he scramble toward a spit and begin wolfing down the meat.

Seeing that the little black dragon was unharmed, the little green dragon boldly flew down as well, lunging straight for another goat.

But the little black dragon, protective of his food, roared at the green one several times to assert his claim.

Already crazed with hunger, the little green dragon paid no heed to his angry roars. He quickly snatched up a plump goat and retreated far from the black dragon, swallowing great mouthfuls of meat.

Although everyone hiding in the orchard had grown somewhat impatient, they were still thrilled to witness Great Dragons feeding with their own eyes.

Naturally, Viserys was the most excited of all. After all, three healthy Great Dragons held tremendous significance for House Targaryen.

Although none of them had doubted Danyla's words that morning, they had not seen the dragons themselves. Now that three young dragons were feeding before their very eyes, their satisfaction and excitement were naturally far greater than anything hearsay could inspire.