The world felt far too small when Queen Edith and her husband King Aemond went into the depths of the dragon pit.

Much had been destroyed by Princess Rhaenys and her dragon and some walls had collapsed.

It wasn't easy in the magnificent dress and with her round belly, but Edith fought her way through the partially destroyed corridors with Aemond, even though he still didn't understand why.

Eventually the sounds from above died away as they reached the bottom of the pit. They heard no more desperate cries from the injured or those searching for their friends and families.

The minutes after their coronation had been a true disaster and it felt like an escape to disappear alone.

But it wasn't an escape - it was another step in Edith's revenge plan.

She would take revenge for everything that had happened today and in the last few months. For everyone who wanted her dead, for everyone who made her life difficult or wanted to make it difficult.

Queen Edith Targaryen is ready to fight.

With one hand, Aemond held a torch that had been lit when they descended. With the other hand, he held Edith by the upper arm so that he could catch her in an emergency and support her at the same time.

He knew exactly that this was a difficult path for his wife in this state and he didn't understand why she was doing this to herself.

The two of them had a lot more to do, clarify and organize after Rhaeny's appearance. Instead, they fought their way through the ruined underground passages of the dragon pit.

The dragons were restless as the royal couple walked past them. Of course, they had witnessed Rhaenys literally go through the roof with her own dragon Meleys to escape.

"The Dragon Keepers should take care of them as soon as possible." Edith said compassionately to Aemond.

She would love to do it herself, calm each of the dragons, fly or let each one fly, but she couldn't do that now.

"Sunfyre could still be a problem for us." Aemond finally remarked quietly.

The two of them stood rooted to the spot for a moment in front of the golden dragon's lair - Aegon's dragon.

"He knows for a fact that his rider is still alive." Aemond spoke so quietly that Edith had difficulty understanding him. "We should set him free."

"No." Edith contradicted immediately. Her eyes were fixed on Sunfyre. "He'll find him. That would be the end of us all."

Should it really be that Sunfyre would find his rider, wherever Aegon was supposed to be, it would truly be another disaster. Aegon would have to give up his new life and Alicent and Otto would do everything they could to bring the prince back to King's Landing.

Neither of them wanted to voice the question that the royal couple were currently asking themselves: What would happen to them then?

They had betrayed their families and the crown in order to ascend to the throne themselves. That is treason and is punishable by death.

"It breaks my heart, but we have to keep Sunfyre here until we find a solution." Edith let her gaze wander and looked at the corridors and caves of the other Targaryen dragons. Not far away sat Helaena's dragon and she could hear Daeron's.

"You want to lock him up here?" Aemond questioned.

"Not lock him up, just protect him." The woman justified herself. "Neither Otto nor your mother will ever come down here, besides, they don't understand dragons, you know that."

Aemond nodded now. "They won't notice the change and find out that Sunfyre is still bound."

"Exactly." Edith took Aemond's hand and led her deeper into the passage until they stopped in front of another cave.

When Aemond saw the dragon in front of him, he finally realized what Edith's plan was down here.

"Myrax is still unbound. She needs a rider, I need a dragon." Spoke Edith what Aemond was thinking at that moment.

"You want to claim her?"

Edith nodded. "Since the first time I saw her." She answered honestly.

Her eyes began to sparkle as she saw the beautiful dragon before her.

It felt like an eternity since she had seen Myrax and again it took her breath away.

"I was considering giving you one of her eggs as a present." Aemond admitted, "But Myrax herself seems like a better idea now."

"My father gave me and my sister a dragon egg when we arrived here in King's Landing... As a parting gift." Edith's heart grew heavy at the memory.

It was one of her favorite moments with her father and younger sisters, and she thought back to it often and fondly.

Curious, Aemond listened attentively to his wife.

"It was all I had when my family had to leave." She sighed sadly and dug her fingers into the fabric of her dress.

It was no longer as beautiful as it had been this morning when she had put it on. It was now full of dust and dirt and the fabric had torn in places when she had gotten stuck somewhere.

The crown was still firmly in place on her head, as was Aemonds' on his silver hair.

"What happened to the egg?" he wanted to know when Edith didn't continue.

"I'm sure you remember the fire that Maester Ludwig set in my old room?"

"I could never forget that." And that was true. He also remembered exactly how he had felt when he stood in front of Edith's burning room and nobody knew whether she was still alive. His heart had ached and had only felt lighter when she had risen from the flames.

"As you know, Aegon came with me to get my things afterwards, but the fire destroyed everything I had with me except the egg." Edith swallowed hard at the memory and didn't know exactly how to continue. "He brought me here and helped me hatch it."

Jealousy welled up in Aemond, because she had never told him anything about it and Aegon especially not. He hated that Edith and Aegon had been so close and he knew that Aegon had loved her - and she probably loved him too.

He quickly brought himself back to his senses by reminding himself that Aegon was gone forever and Edith had chosen him.

"The egg was empty." Edith stared at the beautiful dragon in front of her.

Myrax lay calmly in front of them. She knew Aemond and she also remembered Edith. When they had first met, Myrax had been about to lay eggs and Edith had been by her side, talking to her and stroking her scales.

At the same time, Edith thought back to her time with Aegon down here. It had been a special moment to watch the egg hatch and the most special moment had been when they were waiting for it.

Aegon had kissed her and held her in his arms - they had made love not far from Myrax's cave.

He had kissed her all over her face afterwards and promised to give her a dragon of her own soon, since her own dragon egg was empty.

"I will give you a dragon of your own. Not long now, and we'll fly away from here together," Aegon had whispered the promise to her.

She had felt so happy at his side, even though everything inside her had been screaming because her egg had been empty and she still had no dragon.

Back then, she had been willing to go with him, to run away, to disappear. But the wind had changed, many things had happened and Edith was no longer as naïve as she had been a few moons ago.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Aemond asked quietly.

Edith shrugged her shoulders, though the answer was obvious. "I didn't mean to hurt you." She finally said after a moment of silence.

She didn't have to say any more.

Aemond ignored the unpleasant feeling inside him and took a few steps back.

She watched him until she moved herself and walked forward to Myrax.

"I haven't seen you this shy in a long time." Aemond teased with amusement at the nervous sight of Edith. "I tamed a much bigger dragon, when I was half the size I am now."

"And you lost an eye because of me afterwards." Edith replied dryly and looked at him warningly. "I can take the other one away from you too."

She didn't feel as small and useless as she had before their wedding, when they had hated each other and he had always made fun of her and provoked her. It hadn't been a nice time, even if she sometimes missed the wild battles with him.

Aemond raised his hands innocently and his lips curled into an amused grin.

Then the mood became more serious again and the silver-haired man let his wife walk closer to the dragon lady.

There was no instruction, tradition or protocol on how to bond with a dragon. Each Targaryen had found their own way because it was in their blood - it is an instinct that is inborn. Something that comes naturally and is as natural as opening your eyes every morning.

Nevertheless, Edith's heart beat loudly in her chest with anxiety that Myrax might reject her or even hurt her again. The small scars on her back began to ache.

"Myrax." She spoke loudly to the dragon with the beautiful scales of pure blue.

They were made for each other, it was meant to be, Edith told herself.

Myrax growled and rattled loudly as she lifted her large head, right in front of Edith's face. She felt the warm breath of the beautiful creature on her face and it gave her goose bumps.

Edith put one foot behind the other, but she didn't move. It was a primal instinct that made her do this and if everything went wrong, she could quickly turn and flee.

"Dohaeras." Edith said a little uncertainly as Myrax came closer and closer, but the dragon remained unfazed and seemed to be getting excited. "Lykiri!" she quickly added in a more serious voice to calm Myrax down again.

But Myrax didn't react and opened her mouth wide to roar louder.

Edith swallowed and stood straight in front of the dragon to appear more confident in front of Myrax. "Dohaeras, Myrax! Lykiri."

She hadn't spoken Valyrian for a long time, but the words weren't hard to find. Her father Daemon had taught her every word for a bond and had quizzed her almost every night when she was little before she could go to bed.

"Lykiri." Called the queen to Myrax in a now really serious voice and the restless dragon seemed to calm down as well.

The thought of her father calmed Edith down and her heart stopped beating so fast because she knew she could do this. She had been well prepared!

"Dohaeras!" Edith broke through the last few meters to the dragon lady and raised a hand. Myrax looked at her and finally closed her mouth again. "Dohaeras, Myrax."

She confidently placed her hand on her dragon's nose and began to smile when Myrax didn't fight back again. She remained calm in front of Edith and lowered her head so that her new rider could touch her better.

Edith stood on her tiptoes and leaned her forehead against her dragon's head. It was an incredible feeling and she felt comforted.

She finally had a dragon of her own!

"I am proud of you, my dear." Aemond stepped up to his wife and Myrax after a while and smiled at them contentedly. "We should go for a ride later."

"Later? No. I want to fly now." Edith did not break away from Myrax as she turned her head to look at Aemond.

He now looked at her reprovingly. "We can't forget what happened earlier, Edith. Princess Rhaenys is on her way to Dragonstone right now to warn the black ones."

He was right, again, and she hated it.

She stroked Myrax's nose once more, then gathered her dress and moved forward to leave the cave. "Good, then we should make haste to win this war, my king."

~~~

There was no time to re-dress, so the new royal couple were seated in the Council Chamber shortly afterwards.

Edith and Aemond sat at the head of the table, with men to their left and right, some of whom Edith had never seen before. In front of each member of the small council was a separate sphere of stone or glass, but not in front of Edith. She and Aemond seemed to have to share one, which lay in front of them.

Tyland Lannister looked at them both critically until his eyes wandered over Edith's body. He didn't trust the whole thing and was visibly skeptical, but Edith's breasts in that dusty dress made him sit still.

Jasper Wyld and Maester Orwyl were equally skeptical. They had already planned Aegon's coronation before Otto Hightower, who was also seated at the table, even initiated it.

Next to Otto sat his daughter Alicent, who was pale and unusually quiet.

Where Lyman Beesbury had once sat, a chair was empty and instead of Harold Westerling, Ser Adrik Tyrell now stood at a pillar.

Edith looked at everyone at the table and listened carefully to what Otto Hightower had to say. Aemond quickly joined in the conversation, as did the other men.

The crown on the queen's head became heavier and heavier and her head began to ache. She really only had one thought during the whole discussion: she had to replace the members of the small council quickly.

"The princess is probably already on her way. We should cut her off before her feet can touch our ground." Suggested the Lannister.

"You're suggesting killing the princess?" Alicent looked at Tyland in astonishment. Her eyes widened and goose bumps appeared on her arms.

"Would you rather have your own son killed by her?" Tyland asked a counter question.

"Princess Rhaenyra will drag each of us to our deaths with her until she dies herself or sits on the throne. The risk is too high." Jasper Wyld stood up loudly, causing his chair to fall over. Behind him, Adrik immediately put the chair back up so that Jasper could sit down again. "We have to protect ourselves. Now!"

Finally a point Edith could agree with, she thought. "It's either them or us, and we're not going to give up that easily." Edith agreed with the Wyld and all eyes turned to her.

"Edith." Alicent gasped, startled. "E-Edith, she's your aunt. Aemond, she's your half-sister."

"Queen Edith and King Aemond." Edith corrected her mother-in-law. The crown gave her the courage she had been lacking. She also finally wanted the respect she deserved from everyone.

Alicent looked at Edith with wide eyes and couldn't say anything back.

She was clearly still attached to her old childhood friend. But if Alicent knew what Rhaenyra had done and, above all, what she had done to Edith, she would think differently. Perhaps it was soon time to enlighten Alicent on the matter.

"We need to strengthen and expand our connections and contacts before Princess Rhaenyra gets here." Aemond sat upright in the chair next to his wife and looked urgently at everyone in the group.

"I will draft letters immediately, my king." Maester Orwyl nodded quickly and reached excitedly for his quill.

"We can try to make connections in Essos, but we do not send letters in Westeros." Decided Aemond confidently. "We will visit the houses ourselves and ask for advice."

"That's far too dangerous." Otto replied. He was the only one with Alicent who disagreed with Aemond's statement. "I will travel to Dragonstone and offer to bend the knee to the princess, in exchange for which we will spare her and let her live. She can even have Dragonstone."

"No." Edith slapped her hands loudly on the table and looked at Otto insistently. "Dragonstone is mine, I have been named the heiress by the late king himself."

"What is Dragonstone when you can rule over Westeros on the iron throne?" Otto shook his head at the young queen's naïve pretensions.

"I will not repeat myself. Dragonstone is mine and I will no longer tolerate her staying there." She had to take a deep breath to calm down again. She could feel the movements of her child in her stomach, who also seemed restless. Her child had been kicking her all day.

She placed her hand on the round belly and stroked it gently.

"I will think of another place for the princess that you will agree to, my queen." Otto finally admitted defeat and leaned back, annoyed.

"Leave as soon as you can so that we can keep the advantage. Take whoever you need with you." Aemond placed a hand on Edith's thigh under the table while he discussed the plan with Otto.

Edith stayed out of it, as did Alicent.

"I will visit a few houses myself with Prince Daeron, while we send others to the closer houses." Aemond explained his plan aloud.

"You will fly, my king?" The maester looked at the silver-haired man questioningly, then looked at his queen, then back at Aemond.

"Just me and Prince Daeron. The queen will stay here and keep order." Aemond simply agreed without talking to Edith about it first. "King's Landing and Westeros need us now."

And somehow she felt betrayed by him, even though she knew it was the wisest decision. She couldn't forget that she still carried a child under her heart and had to restore order in King's Landing.

"Your dragon is certainly making a good impression for our cause, my King." Quipped the Lannister confidently.

"I hope so." Replied Aemond with a little grin of his own.

Vhagar is still the largest and oldest dragon currently alive and impressed everyone who saw her. And Aemond was damn proud of his dragon.

"Any news from the dragon pit yet? What do the numbers say?" Edith addressed this question directly to Otto, whose grimace was barely noticeable.

"We don't have all the numbers yet, but the ones we do have are worrying."

"We should think about compensation. You should do so, Hand, as soon as you get back from Dragonstone." the young queen commanded confidently.

Otto had no choice but to nod without a fight. He already hated the new situation with Edith as queen. Aegon would never have had such a ridiculous idea and Helaena would not have had the courage to speak out or attend a council meeting.

The council meeting finally came to an end and the discussions were repeated, especially the duties of each individual.

"Say hello to my aunt, Otto." Edith spoke quietly to Otto when everyone was in the mood to leave. "And offer to accompany my family to King's Landing. I want them to be safe here."

"Who does our queen still count among her family?" Otto raised his eyebrows and looked at her provocatively as he asked the question. "We don't want any misunderstandings."

"My parents and my siblings, Lord Hand." Edith replied in the same tone. She was already used to his manner and so remained unimpressed. "And please also find out which side Princess Rhaenyra's children are on."

Otto nodded.

There were no tender words between them as they said goodbye. They looked into each other's eyes in silence until Otto left the room, just like all the others.

The king and queen stayed behind.

"I have a bad feeling about letting you go alone, Aemond." Confessed the woman as the guards closed the doors. "Let me accompany you."

Aemond took his wife's hands in his and squeezed them gently. "Daeron will be with me and we have talked through everything several times, there is no danger for us, my dear." He kissed Edith on the forehead and smiled at her. "A king makes a better impression."

Edith immediately understood his reference to his half-sister and nodded.

"Don't stay out too long and take care of yourselves." The pregnant woman stroked her round belly as she felt kicks from her child again. "He's getting more active."

"It seems he wants to support us in this war." Aemond joked, placing his hand on top of hers on her stomach.

Edith laughed, but quickly became more serious again. "Write to me as soon as you travel on from Storm's End."

"I will." Promised the silver-haired one. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself and our child. My mother will help you."

"I will." Edith replied honestly. "We'll handle everything here and you out there, my king. Together, no one can defeat us."

"Our own dynasty starts now, my queen."

The two of them redressed together and Aemond packed up some things, as did Daeron.

Bending down to Edith, Aemond kissed her passionately goodbye. He held her in his arms for a long time and found it hard to tear himself away from her - he loved her that much now.

And when the sun had already disappeared, King Aemond and Prince Daeron left King's Landing on their dragons.

Edith watched them from her window until she could no longer see them, and the sight of the crown glittering in the dark on Aemond's head as he flew over their new kingdom on Vhagar made her smile with satisfaction.

Everything had gone according to plan so far - everything seemed to be going well.

***

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See you again soon with a new chapter, take care until then
xx