Jaehaerys thought of the north. The cold lands where he grew up. Had he stayed there, he would have enjoyed peace and tranquility. Perhaps he could even have taken Sansa's hand and inherited a castle. But the north was isolated and had few resources. And he would have to be under the command of Lord Stark and, after him, the king.
At ArgentStone, he had everything at his fingertips and answered only to the king. And not even to him. The dragons gave him the privilege of ignoring the king if he wished.
Sotis he thought about taking the throne. He did not doubt that once the lords saw that he had an army of more than eight thousand, they would think he was behind that monstrosity.
Taking the throne ant entering into an even greater drama than he was already in. He would have to appease the Lannisters, the Martells, and find a way to keep everyone happy. It was too much trouble; it would leave him with little ti to fulfill his purpose in this world.
The soft moan to his right reminded him of his current situation. Daenerys and Ros were curled up beside him. He didn't even know how it had started, whether it was him, Dany, or the redhead who had taken the initiative. But it ended up like this.
He couldn't help but feel vigorous. In his previous life, he was pro-monogamy, although perhaps that was because two girls never looked at him at the sa ti. He was a nerd studying three majors simultaneously. Sotis he would drop one to start another. He never graduated from any of them, but the accumulated knowledge did not escape him.
At tis, he wondered if his first life had been rely a prologue, preparing him for this world. To acquire the tools necessary to thrive in this world. His family did not love him before he died, nor did they hate him; they were like background characters in a life imrsed in books.
Now, in this world, he had to deal with a god of fire, another god of ice, a demigod with a thousand and one eyes, and his brother, the new mad king.
He got out of bed without waking either of the two won. That day marked ten months since he left Winterfell to answer his brother's call. Ten moons since he traded the cold snow for the warr and more sinister Harrenhal.
In another three moons, it would be a year. Since sun cycles here were asured every thirteen moons, it was a system of three hundred and sixty-four days. It was a day and a quarter shorter than the solar years in his forr land. Although it was much rarer, for years the Earth could remain at a constant distance from the Sun, without moving away or closer to it. This caused a continuous sumr.
Then it would decide to move away from the sun, causing a winter that could last for generations, if history has been well docunted.
It was illogical. And only magic and the gods could explain it.
His steps led him to the Godswood, where he encountered a surprise in the form of a brown-haired girl.
"Lady Redwyne," he watched her tense up, but did not show her surprise. "Admiring the dragons?" A silver wing could be seen in the distance.
"Everyone who hears about the Targaryens in their heyday is curious to see them," the girl confessed, relaxing when she heard no rebuke.
"I hope Westeros doesn't need to see them anyti soon." He hated war and hated killing. But his hand would not tremble if he had to do what is necessary.
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Desra remained silent, still lost in her thoughts. She wanted to look at the dragons and see how they had grown. Her grandmother, Olenna, had urged her to report back, but with the prince discovering her, she hesitated. She saw them tear apart a cow brought by one of the keepers. The ease with which they separated and burned the blood was terrifying.
She did not want to join their victims.
"There are those who say they should never have returned," the comnt escaped her mouth.
"When you are at the rcy of another man who is stronger, better ard, more skilled, you think the sa thing," Jaeaherys comnted. "Several n have told that before I killed them. Not always with words, but a man's eyes are the window to his soul," the girl shuddered. The prince's voice was raspy and mature. "They say that because they are inferior out of fear. If everyone had dragons, they wouldn't think the sa. Don't you agree, Lady Redwyne?"
She humd in agreent. If her grandmother, Olenna, had had a dragon, she wouldn't have complained when she heard about the birth of three.
"They are magnificent," she said when she saw one take flight. Sotis the workers can see them flying above the trees in the forest. "A tool of war. But war also brings peace. Prince Jaehaerys, what do you desire?"
"I want to finish my castle. I want to spend the rest of my life developing my land and researching. To have children and watch them grow into n and won," he confessed. "For that, I need peace. And I will use dragon fire on anyone who breaks it," was a veiled threat. The Reach was unhappy with Viserys.
Desra swallowed hard. The prince was terrifying at first glance, but she didn't believe he would kill her. She had seen the n talk about war; they had smiles and happiness as if the feeling of killing soone made them happy. Jaehaerys spoke of war not with devotion, but with respect, as sothing that had to be done, even if it was unpleasant.
At tis, she considered her grandmother's words.
"Use what you have between your legs to charm him and keep him coming back for more," but she couldn't. Not for lack of desire. It was simply too risky. Olenna knew that, otherwise, she would have sent Margaery. But the Queen of Thorns didn't love Desra that much.
"Even so, my lady. The forest is forbidden unless you are a caretaker," he said, and she bowed her head and made a majestic curtsy.
"Curiosity clouded my judgnt," she excused herself vaguely.
"Dragons usually eat sheep and cows... but humans are not off the nu," he said. She let out a nervous giggle, not knowing if it was a threat or if he was worried that the dragons would hurt her.
"I understand, my prince. I will leave then, the princess wishes to break her fast with her ladies," she walked away with a determined stride. At a certain distance, she turned her head to see if his eyes were following her figure.
But no, they were fixed on the forest. A wave of disappointnt washed over her. She had been comparing herself to the princess since she arrived at ArgentStone. With such a beautiful woman as his wife, the other ladies must be like pack mules.
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He entered the forest. The dragons seed to sll him. The black one looked at him with a small show of respect. The red dragon hid, and the silver one ran in his direction.
'He was an idiot,' he thought, amused and concerned. He wondered if this curious and friendly creature would be capable of burning armies. He rembered her eating Lyanna's guards. Her pleasant attitude suddenly beca terrifying.
The dragons were already bigger than him, more than capable of defending themselves against humans. But he still kept them in the forest. Soon, however, it would be too small for them. They were still weak against arrows and spears. He wasn't afraid they would fly away. Only the red one was riderless, and it was too cowardly to stray far from the other two.
Dany and he had been designing a place for them to rest. The initial plans were done. But it would take too long to build. Even then, it would delay other construction projects. They had to finish the dragon pit in less than a year, because at the rate they were growing, they would start knocking down trees just by walking in the Godswood.
Daenerys wanted to replicate the Dragonpit in the capital. But Jaehaerys forbade it. It was confining them in caves that caused them to begin shrinking in size. Her three dragons were special. They were imbued with the Jera growth rune. Their size was abnormal for their age.
The best thing was a tower that would allow them to take flight and live more freely. It would not be a closed tower, like those in the castle, but it had to be able to support the weight of several adult dragons. Dany gave the order to begin digging the foundations for a large tower. They would start with a simple but sturdy floor. The walls would be much thicker than those of the towers, approximately three tis thicker. Almost 300 feet in diater. It was about half the diater of the Roman Colosseum.
It would have arches to distribute the weight once more floors began to be added. It would not be as tall as the other towers, but it would be much larger.
It was a long-term project and would be built in parallel with the rest of the construction. They could start imdiately. But another problem limited them.
'Bricks, bricks again,' he had to increase the production.
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