Field Near Duskendale

After a short time, a black shape moves through the night sky. Cyrax had been famed for his nocturnal raids on farms and flocks on Dragonstone, for his ability to blend almost invisibly into a starless sky. This night, however, no ivory flames poured from the Dragon's mouth, though it circled the field a number of times, as the King looked down at the two dragons beneath him.

He could not make our their colors, but they were the correct size and he assumed that Rhaena had brought a guard with her. Satisfied that it was not a trap, he descended, landing a short distance from them. He slid off the dragon's back onto the grass, and pulled a lantern from the saddlebags and lighting it, before striding over to the others.

He stopped short when the light illuminated Dany's face, however, and he realized that she was not the woman he had requested to meet.

"Lady Velaryon..." the King said, in a low voice. "I thought it was foolish to request this meeting, after my sister's previous response, but I suppose I hoped she would do me the courtesy of hearing me out. Has she sent you to treat on her behalf, my lady?" he asked politely.

Maekar stood casually, holding the lantern with his left arm hanging at his side; he would have to drop the lantern to draw any kind of a weapon, which would be an awkward motion. He was unarmored, though he was wearing a suit of black-lacquered riding leathers, with Dark Sister hanging at his hip.

He studied Lady Velaryon for a long minute without speaking, before he responded. "I loved her, more than my own life. It is for that, that I still offer her the chance to rule as our lord father wished, despite her disregard for my words," he replied.

"I did not murder the King, Lady Velaryon, though my sister surely believes that I did. If she knew the truth, she would not be so quick to denounce me, I should think," he said.

Maekar frowned deeply, as the implications of her statement dawned on him, though he let out a light laugh of his own when he realized. "I only made her one offer" he replied, "and she most decidedly declined. My second letter did not offer the same terms again, only requested that she meet me here. I wished only to talk."

"My lord father was not well loved, but I served his interests every day of my life and would not have acted against him. My brother, on the other hand, had very good reason to murder the King; you know of Aenar's daughter, Elseyris Targaryen, do you not? Aegon is said to love her, to have even married her in secret, but fewer know about the treatment she suffered at Trajan's hands. The King was aware of her relationship with Aegon, and she was gifted to Trajan in order to keep Aegon compliant with the King's wishes," Maekar continued, completely unaware that Elsey had even died, let alone that Dany had been an accessory to her murder.

"My offer will stand until I die, and I suspect she knows it well," Maekar replied, still not referring to Rhaena by name. "I would take her as my wife in an instant, and could no more choose otherwise than the tides could choose to cease flowing."

"You do not seem to care who murdered my lord father, my lady, and I cannot fault you for that, but others surely do care. I do not know the truth of what happened, but I do know what did not happen, which is what she thinks happened. I hired a Braavosi man, a fellow called Sergio whose family is related to the Sealord, to report on the movements of the King's Sorceress, whom I suspected of conspiring with Aegon. However the Braavosi disappeared immediately after the King's death, as did the sorceress, and I now believe that they were in league from the beginning," he said.

"I suppose it was a futile hope, that she would be willing to hear me out. Her mind is already made up, is it not?" he asked Dany, his voice carrying the hint of regret. "You know as well as I that she'll not be swayed when she has already decided on action.

Maekar fought the urge to mention that it was actually striking the ground that had killed Rhaella, rather than his hand, but he doubted the distinction would matter. "I fought my lord father's wife in a fair duel, on dragon back as befits those of our blood. She was a liar and a criminal, and the Gods judged her guilty, as a thousand witnesses in King's Landing were able to see," Maekar replied, his tone growing icy. "She concealed the King's death for days, illegally issued proclamations in his name, and destroyed his last will and testament in an attempts to conceal their contents from the court. She met a deserved fate, and was still accorded full funeral honors and rights as befit the Dragon's blood."

His face softened, and he sighed. "I suppose I waste my time and effort because I never truly learned what my lord father tried to teach me; that the heart is a weakness that must be ignored."

Dany frowned, looking disturbed by these new pieces of information about the former queen. "Did she really?" she asked with some uncertainty. "The testament that would name you the King of Westeros, I presume?" There was no sarcasm or malice to her voice, just curiosity and a hint of doubt.

"Is the heart really a weakness, or is the lack of one? In any case, I feel as if there are worse weaknesses out there to be had. Lust. Gold. Power."

Having thought about this for a long moment, Daenerys only had one question. "Did Rhaena know about your father's intentions?" she asked.

"Then it is likely your cause here is a lost one," she said, and swayed briefly where she stood, hesitating between leaving and stepping closer to him. Finally, she decided to inch forward a little. "Perhaps you ought to pursue more reachable goals. I detest war. I have not been in many naval battles, but I am not stupid. I know you have Redwyne. And I know he will rip my fleet to pieces," she said, and suddenly found it hard to swallow, "And I have no intentions of ending like my father."

"Perhaps I shall," Daenerys replied, bringing a hand to her chin in a thoughtful gesture a second before drawing her slender Braavosi blade with her other hand, thrusting it at Maekar's chest in one swift motion, knowing that it would cut through his riding leathers like a knife through warm butter, if she were to strike true. At the same time, she backhanded the lantern in Maekar's right hand. Her attack was meant to be quick and sharp to give Maekar as little reaction time as possible as she was planning to rush back to Mithrax and Seaskimmer under the cover of the darkness as soon as the light went out.



(Expert Waterdancing, Apprentice Unarmed Combat/Novice Athletics, not sure which is necessary for the lantern here)

Maekar stumbles backward in pain, dropping the lantern. He instinctively moves toward Cyrax, but his overconfidence had betrayed him and he could see the other dragon rider would be in the air in moments.

"I have missed your heart," Daenerys said softly from the darkness, walking backwards towards Mithrax and Baelon. "Perhaps someone else will have it yet."

She felt the soft breeze of wind from behind her and knew Baelon had taken to air. "Or perhaps not," she said. Turning on spot, she started running in the direction of Mithrax so she would not become dragonfood.u