"Everyone, prepare to welcome His Majesty the King and the lords!"
Danyla called out her orders to everyone.
They immediately straightened their clothes again, then waited solemnly for His Majesty the King's arrival.
Harold leaned down and whispered in Danyla's ear,
"Princess, Princess Rhaenyra isn't with the procession."
"Hmm?... I see."
Danyla froze for a moment at his words, then put it out of her mind. She wasn't particularly close to this niece of hers anyway. What did she care?
Before long, the king and his nobles arrived. The procession was so enormous that it took over an hour for everyone to enter Dragonstone Castle.
These nobles had brought almost everything they might need on their journey. After all, enjoying life was their foremost priority. Wherever they went, they generally brought along the things they were accustomed to using.
They only had to give an order. Their servants would naturally arrange the rest.
Having not seen her for days, her cousin Viserys and his wife Aemma hurried straight over to Danyla.
Viserys affectionately patted Danyla's shoulder, a hint of a smile finally appearing on his weary face.
"Cousin, how have you been getting on here by yourself?"
Aemma also took Danyla's hand and remarked,
"It's only been a few days, but why do I feel as though Danyla has grown quite a bit taller?"
"Viserys! Aemma!"
Danyla answered sweetly,
"I've been doing well here. I've just missed you both!"
"I don't believe you! Ever since you got Dreamfyre, I feel as though I'm about to lose my little sister."
Viserys teased her,
"I imagine you've been living quite comfortably on Dragonstone! How would you ever spare a thought for us?"
Viserys and Aemma had always taken good care of Danyla, so they were very close.
Danyla pointed at Aemma's slightly rounded belly.
"Aemma, why don't you stay on Dragonstone with me for a while? Then you're sure to give birth to a healthy little nephew for me!"
"After all, we have the blood of Great Dragons. Only a place like Dragonstone is truly suited to nourishing our bodies!"
Although Viserys and Aemma found Danyla's claim dubious, Aemma, who had already suffered two miscarriages, wanted to give it a try. She said,
"When House Targaryen lived on Dragonstone, more of their children did survive. Perhaps..."
Viserys desperately wanted a male heir, so he was willing to try as well and agreed,
"Then stay and give it a try. Perhaps it really will help!"
They did not linger. After a quick wash and a little wine, everyone prepared to head to Dragonmont for the Funeral Rite.
Just then, several piercing Dragon Roars broke through the bustle of Dragonstone. Prince Daemon and the older princess, Rhaenys, had arrived on their Great Dragons.
Princess Rhaenys Targaryen rode Meleys, the Red Queen, whose entire body was covered in blood-red scales. She was already fifty or sixty meters long, with silver spikes covering her neck and back, and looked powerful and fierce. She was reputed to be the fastest dragon ever to fly.
Rhaenys and Meleys had fought side by side for years and forged a profound bond. Although Meleys was only the sixth-largest living Great Dragon, her fighting strength certainly placed her among the top five.
Quicksilver, the Bloodworm ridden by Daemon Targaryen, was covered in the same blood-red scales as his elder sister Meleys, though he was slightly smaller.
But Quicksilver had a long, slender body, and his exceptionally long neck clearly distinguished him from other Great Dragons. He was also said to breathe more fire than any other Great Dragon.
Perhaps that had something to do with his unusual anatomy. According to House Targaryen's books on Great Dragons, the first Great Dragons had been created through Blood Magic by fusing a volcanic Fire-Breathing Insect with a Wyvern.
The Bloodworm's talent for breathing fire might indeed have had much to do with his insectlike, streamlined body.
With Daemon riding him, the Bloodworm was a fearsome Great Dragon whose fighting strength ranked among the top three.
Behind the two red dragons followed a yellow Great Dragon over ten meters long, with a wingspan of thirty or forty meters.
The dragonrider on her back was none other than Princess Rhaenyra.
"Rhaenyra really is dazzlingly beautiful while Dragonriding!"
Just as Danyla was admiring Rhaenyra's beauty,
Another resounding Dragon Roar rang out, and Dreamfyre, who had shot up to seventy meters in length, flew in from the northeast.
Danyla did not know whether it was because of the new volcano, but Dreamfyre, who had hardly grown for a long time, had begun growing at a frantic pace again since arriving on Dragonstone.
Every day, she hunted all sorts of large sea creatures in the nearby waters to fill her belly. Her daily ration of roast sheep could no longer satisfy her appetite.
Then Vermithor, sensing his master's presence, flew out of Dragonmont with Silverwing.
Vermithor was currently the second-largest Great Dragon, his entire body covered in golden scales with a bronze sheen. He was nearly a hundred meters long, with a wingspan of over two hundred meters. As he passed overhead, the surroundings instantly darkened.
Silverwing was a gentle, silvery-white female dragon who shared a very close bond with Vermithor. Over sixty meters long, she ranked fifth in size among the dragons.
It had been a long time since so many dragons had taken to the skies together.
The hot-tempered Bloodworm, Quicksilver, stretched out his long neck and gave a sharp, high-pitched, clipped Dragon Roar. His voice was unlike that of many other Great Dragons.
With all the dragons gathering, he immediately made his presence known. But only his sister Meleys answered him with a low growl.
Princess Rhaenys's Red Queen was the fastest living Great Dragon, so she was the first to land near the cremation site.
Vermithor and Silverwing circled above King Jaehaerys, showing how deep their attachment to their rider remained.
Just then, a Great Dragon's mournful cry echoed between heaven and earth, and Vhagar, the largest Great Dragon, emerged from the clouds. As though sensing her rider's death, Vhagar's cries carried a grief that moved everyone who heard them.
She landed directly beside the funeral pyre, lowering her head to sniff again and again at Baelon, who had already been wrapped in a burial shroud.
Then the Bloodworm, Quicksilver, landed nearby. Vermithor and Silverwing followed, settling not far from Vhagar, while Dreamfyre landed directly beside Danyla.
Rhaenyra landed last on Syrax. The young girl was still thrilled after Dragonriding such a long distance for the first time.
Could you stop smiling so happily at a time like this?
Looking at her radiant smile, Danyla could not help silently grumbling.
The gathering of seven Great Dragons awed the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms present, while inevitably stirring a host of complicated thoughts within them.
The Great Dragons finally quieted down, and Jaehaerys personally presided over the funeral.
With the death of his last child eligible to inherit the throne, the king had visibly grown more haggard, despite having witnessed so many partings and deaths.
After a somber tribute, Jaehaerys personally commanded Vermithor to light the funeral pyre. As the flames burned, firelight shone on everyone's solemn faces.
Apart from King Jaehaerys and Baelon's children, was anyone truly grieving?
What schemes and calculations lay beneath those solemn expressions? The crowd stood silent, keeping watch as the pyre gradually burned out.
"Squeak, squeak! Squeak!"
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to the squeaking from the burned-out pyre. Then a little pink reptile, about the size of a wildcat, crawled out of the ashes.
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