Highgarden

As Maekar passes through the castle, he sees that the men of the garrison are tired and wary, their armour old, dented and piecemeal and their weapons hardly better off. Loyalist though they may be, the Tyrell men have paid a heavy price in the war. Maekar notices that many are older men or boys a couple of years shy of manhood. He's sure that one of the guards is a girl with her hair cut short to make her look like a boy.

Lord Tyrell is in little better state than his garrison. His silk doublet is old and faded, his face scarred, with his missing eye concealed beneath a stained patch. Tyrell is only a few years older than Maekar's father the king but his hair is entirely grey. His children and other relations gather round. All of them wear faded and stained clothing, some of it probably hand-me-downs. Their faces are drawn and pale, and several look half-starved. Tyrell himself has the frame of a burly man who has not taken sufficient nourishment for a substantial period of time.

But the man's expression lightens as he sees Maekar. "Go away, all of you," he commands. "I must speak with our guest." He shooed off his kin. They hurried off. Then Lord Tyrell turned to Maekar with an expression of sheer relief.

"Is the king coming? It's all my children ask, you know. Every day for months."

"Indeed. I pray that this assault is successful. I remember the last only too well." Lord Tyrell spoke with bitterness; had the first battle of Oldtown ended the war, his own house would have suffered far less. "I know Lord Valarr. And Princess Rhaena, you say? Well and good. It will be good to see her too. And what of Highgarden, ser? What part in this for Highgarden and House Tyrell?"

"I can spare you a small force," Lord Tyrell replied. "We will need food and weapons for the garrison and household. As to the enemy, I know little and less. They keep to Oldtown and its holdings, mostly, only venturing out to forage or scout for enemies. But I daresay you know that already. The Arbor remains in enemy hands, of course."

"As you wish. But I will not see my children starve. My youngest daughter is but nine years old. and I've a couple of grandchildren here too." Tyrell sighed in sheer exhaustion. "Take what you need, but leave us enough to live on. I shall send my eldest son to march with you but no more. I have lost a son, a nephew and two goodsons already. I will not lose more."

"Nothing, ser. We've got a maester - an old man trained before this war began - so you may borrow his services if need be. And gods protect you, ser." He very pointedly didn't say which one but it was well known that the Tyrells were worshippers of the Seven

After the eight day trek from Old Oak, Rhaena eventually arrives with half the numbers Maekar would have expected. She parked the diminished near Maekars and then went immediately up to the castle, to find her brother and tell him of what has happened.

"The army was attacked on the road before we got there, numbers got halved by death or by wounded," she informed him, not embarrassed in the slightest by the embrace and smiled slightly at Maekar, "It can't have been long..." she said, trailing off with a thoughtful gaze about if she had arrived sooner, "I shan't lie, brother it's been a shitty few days." She looked round again, "to be honest, I am not sure what good they will be, it's half broken, this army, if you had seen what the faith did to Lord Serrett."

"A diversion is the gyst of what I thought it must have been, but neither of us were to know. I, at least didn't even know of the force moving before I went to King's Landing," she said, in an even tone, the hand moving to his arm the only real indication it was meant to be comforting.

The news of Aegon gaining command finished that off in a flash, "Father actually gave him the command?" she asked incredulously, shaking her head, but did not say anything more on that subject, The King would know best.

"If it is all the same to you brother, if it is training and preparation the men need, I would rather stay with them while they do it, father left them to me, and I let them get decimated, I can at least attempt to help put them together again."

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It is midafternoon of the next day when the first shadow of a new dragon passes over Highgarden. The fast-flying scout wheels back, returning later with Aegon's flight of dragonriders. It is an impressive sight -- eight dragons of various sizes flying together, the massive creatures landing wherever there is room for them. Aegon lands Glutton in what was once one of Highgarden's famed gardens, now only scorched earth, and dismounts.

His siblings could hardly have missed their coming, so Aegon looks around for sign of Maekar or Rhaena.

Having seen them approach Rhaena climbed onto Tyraxes and flew to meet them, stopping near Aegon and raising a hand in welcome.

"Will the gods never stop their tricky ways?" she said to him, not much humour evident in her voice. She did not get off her Dragon after approaching, sitting atop him and looking at Aegon directly, not paying much attention to the others, until she saw Elseyris, and her look immediately darkened, remembering the girl who stood up for the traitor the same time she stood up for the King.

Maekar was present a massive field, about a mile and a half square, that had been set aside adjacent to the army camp for the dragons to make their own 'camp' on. Cyrax was already there, curled up on the far side of the field apparently asleep, although occasionally one eye would open to survey the land before him before closing again.

A small honor guard of knights was with Maekar when the Prince of Dragonstone landed his dragon on the field, with Maekar's own banner flying beside Lord Tyrell's and the King's own banner above them both. "Welcome to Highgarden, your grace," Maekar said, stepping forward toward the Prince. "Every man in this army will rejoice at the coming of so many dragons."