'⌁ ◜DANCE OF THE DRAGON◞
CHAPTER 000     ,  council causes  .

˖ ࣪ ꒷QUEEN HAELA III TORUK ׅ𖥔 ۫
285 years after conquest     , the dragon keep .

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       " MOST SAY that the realm will never feel the burning grip of a tyrant such as the mad king himself ever again thanks to the brave men of houses baratheon and lannister . " the old septa stelsa would tell the youngling ,

        " by brave men , do you mean usurpers ? " the queen would reply for her daughter as she'd walk in through the doors of the teaching hall . " please pardon me , your grace , i did not mean to offend your family . " spoke the woman once more . haela stepped forward toward her darling girl , who was sitting at a table with her hands in her lap , and caressed her soft cheek under her fingertips .

        " has she been good ? "
        " she's been a delight as usual , your grace . "

        haela grabbed her hand and gently led her off the chair before saying her final goodbyes to the septa stelsa . the princess maelora of houses toruk and bolton clung to her mothers hand in stead as they made their way through the halls of the castle that was named ' the dragon keep ' . she walked along , passing knights , maids , handmaidens , and other young lords before reaching another room .

        haela pulled the child by her side and sat her down in a chair somewhere in the corner , taking her own seat at the head of the table . " shall we begin ? " she looked to her closest adviser , lana qhoqua , a woman from the summer isles who fled and arrived in westeros just at the end of the mad king's reign . she was found washed up and clinging to a broken log in the shallow creeks that were normally used as a passageway into the weeping river .

       " knights of the vale have come forth to declare another war , your grace . " lana shared , " petty lies from petty lords , house arryn have been declaring war upon house toruk since the time of the first men . " haela concluded . a quiet laughter was heard from the table , " your grace , the lady mysaria of house blackwood has made an offer for the princess's hand in marriage with her son , dennas . " spoke another adviser . the queen looked at him in disbelief , " my daughter is the age of five , why in seven hells are we still discussing marriage ? " she went on , " i have another little girl who has only just started walking , perhaps we leave the discussion of joining houses until they're of age , hm ? " haela finally let out a huff .

" of course , your grace . " he nodded . haela the great was always a woman with wonder , and a woman with pride . nobody , even her council members , dared to question her decisions . besides , she'd always wanted maelora to marry into another noble house of westeros . whether it being one whose words were , " Hear me Roar ! " or " Ours Is the Fury ! " , she didn't care .

" any words from ser byran ? " she stammered , " there have been no ravens received from lanner's lakeside , my queen . " lana reported again , " shall we send a search party ? " ser luke of house lakeshore commented . haela hesitated , sitting up straighter as her eyes looked upwards , glancing at the honourable lords and ladies sat at the table with her .

        she raised her hand to them , " ser byran has pulled through in times such as these before , i'm sure that if we wait a little longer — " the queen paused her sentence mid-way , her eyes travelling again , but this time , to the corner of the candle-lit room . she noticed a certain someone had moved from where they were sitting .

        " your grace ? " lana moved her hand on haela's to achieve her focus again . " this meeting is adjourned . ser luke , your queen asks of you to hold off the search party for now , and would be greatly appreciated if your men would keep watch outside the city's walls to see if ser byran and his men return . " she rose from her seat , watching as everyone else followed . the knight nodded his head at the sound of his anointing and left the room in a formal manner .

         afterwards , the meadowland beaut left the scene to find herself in the keep's old dragon pit . the light from the purposeful holes in the roof gave just enough brightness to see her daughter sitting on one of the wooden benches . " maelora , what is it that you're doing down here ? " she asked , brushing the hair from out of her face as she kneeled down in front of her . " where did all the dragons go , mother ? " the princess whispered .

haela looked through her daughter's electric , blue eyes , her heart wrenching as she watched maelora pout her lips . " the last dragon ever known belonged to king jacaerys velaryon , your great , great , great grandfather . " she told her , " he rode a frightening beast during his reign over the springs . " haela smiled as maelora's eyes grew .

      " where is it now ? can i ride it ? " maelora's pout returned as she watched her mother shake her head , " alymys soon died of old age . maesters say that he lived for a century , and was badly inflicted by the many wars he was put through , including the dance of the dragons . " the queen referred to her sources .

maelora teared up , " so i'll never get my own dragon ? " she stuttered . her mother gave her a hug , shushing her as she cried in her arms , " you will have a dragon one day , my dearest . your father and i will make sure of it . " haela breathed .

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ֶָ֢⭑ᥫ᭡ NOTES !! 𖠵 ⋄ 𓍯

ser byran x haela please 🙏🏻
fr hate aemon