Dreamfyre had an enormous appetite now. Only after swallowing more than a dozen plump goats did she let out a satisfied roar.
After all, she had already eaten at least a thousand pounds of great white shark scraps that morning.
Still, a hearty appetite was a good thing. It would keep Dreamfyre growing rapidly.
She was older than Vermithor, the Bronze Fury. If she could grow larger than Cannibal or Vermithor, Danyla's position within the royal family would undoubtedly become more secure.
With Danyla as a new variable, there was no telling whether the Dance of the Dragons would still unfold in some form.
But Danyla knew that only by commanding enough power herself could she remain in an advantageous position, no matter how events developed in the future.
Once Dreamfyre had eaten her fill, everyone who had gone to White Sheep Town to prepare the picnic supplies had returned.
That day, Danyla and her family not only admired the early-spring orchards of White Sheep Town, but also thoroughly enjoyed a barbecue picnic. The bonds between them grew warmer as well.
After the picnic, Danyla rode Dreamfyre and brought the whole family back to Dragonstone Castle. Once again, everyone witnessed her Dragonriding ability.
Over the following days, Danyla often rode Dreamfyre and took her adoptive parents sightseeing around New Dragonstone Island. Her "younger sister," Rhaenyra, naturally rode her own Syrax.
Occasionally, Daemon Targaryen followed on his Great Dragon, Caraxes the Bloodworm. As the family spent more time together, their bonds deepened rapidly.
Cannibal truly was a cunning, vicious old dragon. After being driven away last time, he had stayed out of sight for a long while. Clearly, he knew everyone would remain on guard against him for the time being.
He even knew how to lie low until everyone gradually forgot about his presence. It had to be said that a Great Dragon's intelligence and temperament were sometimes no different from an ordinary person's.
After King Jaehaerys and the nobles had divided up their shares of the Dragon Porcelain, they departed one after another.
Viserys and his family wanted Aemma to give birth safely on Dragonstone, so instead of returning to King's Landing, they settled on the island.
In the current timeline, perhaps the birth of several more Great Dragons into House Targaryen had eased Jaehaerys's grief over losing his son? Or perhaps House Targaryen's dragonfire was powerful enough to restore vitality to his body?
Whatever the reason, King Jaehaerys was in good health and had not begun choosing the next heir to the throne as he had in the original timeline.
But the undercurrents among the Great Lords had never stopped churning. With Otto Hightower appointed Hand of the King, House Hightower was doing everything it could to cultivate friendly ties with the Great Lords and consolidate Otto's power.
Otto Hightower's daughter, Alicent Hightower, had also made a favorable impression on Jaehaerys with her gentle temperament and sweet voice, becoming one of his more trusted attendants.
Yet she had not attained the standing she enjoyed in the original timeline. Danyla had taken this opportunity to present King Jaehaerys with Audrey, a beautiful woman from Lys.
Audrey had the distinctive features of Old Valyria: platinum-blond hair and deep blue eyes. Her petite, delicate figure and gentle disposition greatly pleased Jaehaerys, His Majesty the King.
Danyla had asked the Earl of Tarth to select Audrey carefully from among the many beautiful young women he had brought back from the Free Cities. She was said to be descended from an impoverished noble family of Volantis.
Rescued from the pleasure gardens and made the king's personal attendant, Audrey was deeply grateful to Danyla. She had thus become an excellent informant for Danyla within the Red Keep and even throughout the capital.
Meanwhile, House Velaryon had already spent vast sums of money deliberately cultivating ties with nobles great and small throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
Since Prince Baelon's death, if gender were disregarded, Princess Rhaenys, the wife of Lord Corlys the Sea Snake, and their son Laenor had become nominally first in line to the throne.
The far-sighted Sea Snake had therefore begun laying plans on every front. He knew that, as a woman, Rhaenys would find it anything but easy to inherit the throne smoothly.
All he could do now was devote himself to winning the friendship and recognition of nobles great and small throughout the Seven Kingdoms, hoping to secure more support should a struggle for the throne arise.
Yet Viserys, Princess Rhaenys's strongest rival, seemed entirely disengaged.
All he could think about was whether Aemma would give him a son.
Daemon was far more proactive by comparison. Even while indulging in wine and women at the "Dragon's Kiss Garden," he never forgot to cultivate ties with the powerful figures of the Seven Kingdoms.
He had also gathered quite a few nobles' younger sons and wandering knights under his command. To fund this, he had borrowed a million Gold Dragons from Danyla.
But Danyla had no intention of spending her Gold Dragons merely to help him recruit loyal followers.
Through her informants, Danyla identified those among his recruits with decent character and temperaments. She then demanded twenty of them outright to form her own dragon-guard knight contingent.
Every day, Danyla had to lead people driving flocks of sheep from White Sheep Town to the hillside orchards to feed the dragons. Her twelve flaying knights were clearly no longer enough.
Her swordsmanship instructor, Bronn, became the commander of these guards. Under his distinctive training methods and exacting standards, the twenty knights' skills improved by leaps and bounds within a month.
Being able to come into close contact with Great Dragons every day also filled them with pride. Once people had a sense of honor, their entire bearing changed.
By now, the bearing of the twelve flaying knights and the twenty dragon-guard knights was no less imposing than that of the seven White Cloaks of the Kingsguard at His Majesty the King's side.
Over these past days, Danyla had personally fed the three young dragons every day, and her relationship with them had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Although she had yet to attempt Dragonriding in flight, Danyla could already stroke them freely. They were very affectionate toward her.
Danyla's family occasionally joined her to feed the dragons, so the three young dragons gradually grew familiar with them. Although they showed no affection, they at least let their guard down completely around Danyla's family.
The three young dragons were also given new names by her family.
Her elder sister Rhaenyra named the black one Little Balerion, in honor of Balerion, one of the three Great Dragons of the Conquest.
Viserys named the green young Great Dragon Vhagar. Now all three Great Dragons of the Conquest had successors to their names in the new generation.
As for the silver one, her mother actually named the dragon Grey Ghost again. It seemed history's inertia was truly formidable!
But with Danyla and her Dreamfyre protecting them, she believed these Great Dragons would never again follow the tragic paths of the original timeline.
With an abundant supply of food, the three young dragons grew astonishingly quickly over a little more than a month. They were already close to catching up with her elder sister Rhaenyra's Syrax.
Little Black Balerion
Grey Ghost
Vhagar
Cannibal
Before you continue