House of The Dragon: The blind warrior

Three days have passed since Daemon proposed assassinating Aemond in the council meeting.

The air in the castle has been tense since then, largely due to Daemon's absence from council meetings, a clear display of defiance against my mother's decision.

Though outwardly, little has changed.

I was on my way to Lucerys's room to see if he had awoken today.

Since that day three days ago, he has been in and out of consciousness, sometimes awake for mere minutes before succumbing to slumber once more.

The maester said it was his body's way of preserving energy for healing. I sought confirmation from Yue, who was proficient in his homeland's medical knowledge, and he had confirmed it as well.

So, since then, I have visited him every morning in the hopes of catching him during his waking moments, but I have not been so lucky.

Walking the familiar staircase that led to Lucerys's chamber, I was greeted by the usual guards posted at the chamber door before stepping into the room, which smelled of herbs and death.

Hearing the familiar, steady heartbeat of Lucerys made my anxiety lessen before I went ahead and sat on the chair next to his bed.

Touching his forehead, which had a sheen of sweat, I brushed the strands of hair away from it.

"You're adamant on keeping me waiting," I whispered, knowing full well he couldn't hear me.

I looked at his bandaged leg and arm—the ones that had been bitten off by Vhagar.

Aemond. If I didn't have a plan in motion to deal with him, I would have gone to King's Landing myself to butcher that cunt.

It was hard—seeing all of these things happening right now play out in my dreams over and over for years, not knowing whether they were the truth or just my mind sinking deeper into the famed Targaryen madness.

My dragon dreams, as they are called, are different from the conventional foresight people believe them to be.

Because they aren't that. They're much more jumbled and confusing than anything else I've experienced. The dreams come to me in random sequences at times.

Sometimes they're of the future, other times of the past, and even occasionally of the present. But after years of living with them and learning to distinguish patterns and events, I've learned to piece them together.

So even though I may not know things with complete accuracy, I know them well enough to change them—or at least attempt to change them.

After sitting with Lucerys for a little more than an hour without seeing any signs of him waking, I decided it was time to stretch my muscles. I haven't had the chance to visit the training yard since arriving at Dragonstone over a week ago.

As Vealor left the room, however, he didn't see—or in his case, feel—the fluttering of Lucerys's eyes.

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"My lord?" Yue and Ignis called out to me as I approached them on the training ground. There were many soldiers present—my own men of the Sons of Dragons and the Targaryen household guards—all training to hone their martial prowess.

"What are you doing here?" Ignis asked as I stood there, clad in an all-black training outfit with my black dragon mask on.

"Well, what does it look like? I haven't swung my blade since I stepped on this volcano. Can't have my skills rusting now, can I?" I said, tapping the blade strapped to my waist.

"Excuse me for my language, my lord, but that's just horseshit," Ignis said, drawing laughter from the men listening in on our conversation.

"Oh, is that any way to speak to your lord, Ignis?" I asked, drawing my sword, my voice laced with humor.

"I'm sorry, my lord, but you did say to give you unbiased counsel. Yue, do you think our lord would lose his skill with the blade after a week of not swinging it?" Ignis replied smartly, dragging Yue into his ploy.

"No, I do not. As you said earlier, it is horseshit," Yue answered, earning even louder laughter from the men.

I chuckled lightly before saying, "Well, I see you two have jokes. You'd make fine court jesters, but you're needed for something else today. I was only planning to spar with Garret over there," I said, nodding toward Garret, the arms master of the Sons of Dragons.

"But I see I have two able volunteers right here. We can discuss your future careers as jesters after you've given me a good warm-up," I said, brandishing my sword as Yue and Ignis exchanged glances.

"Come on, we don't have all day."

Ignis and Yue's smirks faded as they realized there was no escaping the challenge. The laughter from the other men died down, replaced by a hum of anticipation. My sword gleamed in the morning light, its dark ripples sharp and menacing.

"Well, I suppose we walked into this one, didn't we?" Yue muttered, drawing his own blade—a sleek, curved sword of Yitish design, fast and deadly in his hands.

Ignis unsheathed his sword with a flourish, the polished steel ringing in the air. "Don't think we'll go easy on you just because you're our lord," he said with a grin, though there was a tinge of seriousness in his tone.

Sparring with me—blind or not—was no simple feat.

I stood calmly, sword in hand, my posture relaxed yet poised. Though I couldn't see anything with my eyes, I could feel the tension in the air, the weight of their gazes. I didn't need sight to sense how they shifted, uncertain of how to approach me.

"I wouldn't expect anything less, Ignis," I said coolly, my voice cutting through the silence. "Now, come at me."

Yue moved first, quick as a snake, his blade slicing horizontally in a blur of steel. I could hear the sound of his footsteps, feel the subtle shift in the air as he lunged. With a slight tilt of my head and a flick of my wrist, I parried his strike with ease, the clang of metal ringing sharp and clear.

Before Yue could recover, I sensed Ignis lunging from my left, his heavier sword cutting through the air, aiming for my midsection.

I pivoted smoothly, turning just enough for his blade to miss me by the narrowest margin. In one fluid motion, I brought my sword down and tapped Ignis lightly on the shoulder—a reminder that I was in control.

"Too slow," I said calmly, as if we were casually discussing tactics instead of sparring with live steel.

The crowd watched in awe as I handled both of them with supernatural ease. I could feel Yue circling, trying to catch me off guard with a feint, while Ignis prepared a more aggressive assault from the opposite side. But they were always a step behind. The soft sound of their boots on the dirt, the whistle of their swords cutting through the air—I could read it all like a map.

Yue's feint came next, but I parried it with a swift upward strike, then stepped inside Ignis's guard and tapped him on the ribs with the flat of my blade. It was over in a heartbeat, and I hadn't even broken a sweat.

"You're both too predictable," I said, a smile creeping behind my masked face.

"Predictable, my lord?" Yue panted, clearly surprised by how easily I had deflected their attacks. "We haven't even begun to press you."

I lowered my blade slightly, my tone still light but with an edge. "Then press harder," I commanded.

Ignis and Yue launched into a synchronized assault. Their blades flashed in unison—Yue with his quick, precise cuts and Ignis with his powerful, sweeping strikes. But I moved like a dancer, weaving between them, parrying their strikes and using their own momentum against them.

Every time Ignis thought he had found an opening, I was already there to block it. Yue's speed meant nothing when I could hear the faintest rustle of his clothing before every move. These two were among the best swordsmen in the Sons of Dragons, but in this match, I held the upper hand.

Just as Ignis moved in for another strike, something shattered the rhythm of our fight—a deep, earth-shaking roar echoed across the sky. We all froze, the sparring abruptly coming to a halt as heads turned toward the horizon.

A dragon's roar, loud and unmistakable.

I didn't need my eyes to know what it was. The leathery wings beating the air, the low rumble of its growl, and the smoky scent that every dragon emitted told me enough.

"A green dragon," Yue whispered, lowering his sword, his eyes scanning the sky for the source of the sound.

Ignis, breathing heavily from our match, stepped back and wiped his brow. "It has a rider, my lord."

"The spar is over," I said quietly, my tone serious. "I have more pressing matters to attend to. Yue?" I said, walking out of the training ground, Yue following closely behind me.

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Standing outside my mother's chambers, listening to her and Jacaerys talk, was a surreal experience.

The last time I had been in a situation like this was years ago, overhearing her ask him if he wanted to become her heir.

That was right before I ran away. The last time I saw my little brother.

I placed my hand on the door knob, taking a moment to breathe deeply before stepping inside and finally meeting him after all these years.

"My lord?" Yue's voice broke through my thoughts, questioning.

"It's fine, just nerves," I admitted, my voice quiet.

The last time I'd felt something like this was during one of our many close calls in the Red Waste of Essos.

Deciding not to stall any longer, I drew in a deep breath, turned the knob, and stepped into the room. Yue stayed behind, understanding the intimate nature of this meeting.

Inside, my mother and Jacaerys, who were sitting next to each other, turned to look at me. Their gazes met me as I entered the room. My senses took in the familiar smell of my mother, and another—smoke—undoubtedly Jacaerys.

"You're here," my mother said, standing. I felt Jacaerys shift between looking at my masked face and my mother's smiling one. He stood as well.

"Who are you?" Jacaerys demanded with a rude tone. "How dare you enter the Queen's chamber without her leave?"

"Jacaerys!" my mother's voice cut sharply, reprimanding him.

Hearing his voice, and the fiery tone he took, made me chuckle softly, the anxiety I'd carried dissolving. Memories flooded back—how he'd used to get angry with me when we were children. How he'd huff when I refused to play knight with him or perform a song on the lute.

I took slow, measured steps toward him and my mother, stopping just in front of them. My focus turned to Jacaerys as I felt his heartbeat quicken, either from nerves or temper.

Reaching out, I gently brushed a strand of his long hair out of his face.

"You let your hair grow," I said, my voice calm.

I felt his confusion as his body stiffened slightly. Before he could ask the questions I knew were forming, I reached up and removed the mask covering my face and hair.

As the metal mask came away, the air felt cold against my scarred skin. Silence blanketed the room as I heard both my mother's and Jacaerys's heartbeats speed up.

"Last I remember," I began, my voice soft but steady, "you kept it short. But I suppose it's been years since we've last seen each other, hasn't it...

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.

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Brother?"

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Hey everyone, it's the author here!

It looks like I broke my promise of releasing one chapter a week by dropping two this week! Don't worry though, that doesn't mean I'll be skipping next week's chapter. I just wanted to give some of you an extra treat, so I hope you enjoy it!

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