"What even is this..." Baelon stared at the dragon, writhing like a serpent and letting out an insidious hiss, making him cover his ears in disbelief while the nurses that took care of his son took a step back, trembling.
This drag... This abominable beast made a noise so sinister that it felt like a voice that could only be produced by thousands of tortured screams intertwining with each other, like nails scratching at metal or glass shattering.
It was very difficult to describe.
The dragon itself was as harrowing as its voice. It did not resemble normal dragons, appearing mutated like his brother's Caraxes, which had a serpentine, slender body.
This one, however, was too monstrous. Instead of a clean, draconic head, this one was elongated and partially skeletal, as if covered by a mask of bones.
Staring at the hideous creature, the gathered family members wore different expressions. Aemon was more calm and composed, since his own dragon was unnatural too, but this one was especially ugly. Jaehaerys wasn't here, occupied with calming the lords and ladies, while Alysanne had come, her expression anxious.
Alyssa too was here, staring down at the dragon coldly, not knowing what to do. Suddenly she frowned, looking back and noticing the children. "What did I say?"
She asked seriously, in no mood for Daemon's mischief. He had even managed to convince Viserys, Rhaenys and Gael.
"I'm sorry, mother. We were just curious." Viserys tried to explain with a helpless look. He had been worried that Daemon and the others would do something stupid, so he had followed them, even though he had wanted to stay behind.
"Mhmm..." Alyssa nodded absentmindedly, glancing back at the dragon, which squirmed like a worm and let out another rattling scream, its serrated fangs gleaming coldly, unnatural and sharp as nails. Numerous tendrils curled and writhed below its head, spilling out from what was probably its snout. No, there was an empty space near its neck. That was where they were flowing from, slimy and appalling, making Alyssa shiver with disgust.
Its eyes were hidden behind the bone mask, sickly dark green in colour and bright, glowing with bioluminescent light.
Its tail was long, and at every centimetre, dark bones twisted upward from it on all sides, and at the end there was a scorpion-like stinger, leaking liquid.
It had dark, leathery wings, appearing a bit tattered like old robes. The little beast was spreading them wide, trying to fly up but failing every time, falling back down. Its hind legs were like the talons of a bird.
The dragon's scales were as dark as a starless sky, reflectionless black, as if absorbing all light, exactly as its egg had been.
Glancing at the Dragonkeeper, Aemon voiced his question, feeling uncertain and wanting to understand if something was wrong with the dragon. This was definitely a unique case. "Why is it this deformed?"
The Dragonkeeper remained silent, touching his chin and observing the bizarre dragon intently, lost in thoughts and incidentally ignoring his prince while watching the long jagged spine running along the length of its neck and back, as if the dragon had a ribcage not only inside its body but outside it too. Its spine was deformed, sharp and unnatural, densely packed like the mighty exoskeleton of a centipede. Its horns blended with the spine and connected to its bone mask, resembling broken antlers.
Narrowing his eyes, the Dragonkeeper glanced at his subordinate and nodded at him.
The subordinate dragon guard understood what his superior meant and nodded back, approaching the dragon and raising chains in order to catch it.
But before he could finally put chains upon it, the beast tilted its head. The sickly glow of its eyes grew brighter, and all across its body the same bioluminescent light spread, green veins branching out like rivers of venom just as its egg had shown, as greenish fumes escaped its nostrils and it spat weak flames.
The Keeper sighed in relief, wiping sweat from his forehead, but the moment the smoke reached him, he froze in place like a statue.
"What happened?" Aemon asked grimly.
"Go back... Leave, all of you!" The Head of Dragonkeepers yelled in alarm, cursing under his breath as he pushed the royal family back before the smoke could reach them too, forcing them to leave the chambers at once.
Then, covering his mouth with a cloth, he held his breath and walked to the window, slamming it open to clear the smoke.
"Andrei, get back too! What are you doing!?"
Andrei couldn't answer. His eyes were wide open and his body began shaking uncontrollably, foam bubbling at his mouth as his eyes started bleeding, and he fell right before their eyes.
He was dead.
"What even is that..." The Dragonkeeper grimaced, taking a step back as the dragon watched Zalarys with curious eyes. The door was still open and the cradle was visible, so it could see the young Prince, beast was trying to climb over its edge to reach him, spitting weak green flames around that were so faint they might just have been smoke.
This time, however, it was not the poisonous kind. The Dragonkeeper had figured it out. It only releases toxic fumes when its body begins glowing with that emerald light.
"How should I deal with you now..." He mumbled to himself as the dragon scratched at the wood, staring at Zalarys intently, blinking rapidly and rolling around.
"Kreakrrrrr!" Letting out another sinister shriek, it turned and stared at the sky, bathing in the moonlight.
The Dragonkeeper sighed, looking back at the royal family and closing the door, getting ready to capture the disgusting beast that had already taken a life.
____________________
The royal family returned to their shared chambers. The feast was already over and rumours of the birth of the insidious dragon were already spreading around.
Alysanne was holding Zalarys. The boy was still sluggish and fragile, even his cries quiet and weak.
At the same time, Alyssa was staring at the Maester and Dragonkeeper, her expression twisted with anger, borderline murderous, to the point they wouldn't have been surprised if she unsheathed her sword and cut them down right there and then.
"Explain everything!" She demanded, her tone enraged. "Now!"
The Dragonkeeper sighed, covering his face for a second before answering. "I think we have come to a conclusion as to why the young Prince is so weak. From our understanding, the egg was leaking poisonous smoke from the time it was placed in his cradle, perhaps even before that. However, the poison was very weak, produced by an unhatched dragon. That is why he managed to survive. And as time passed, the young Prince began adapting to the poison his dragon unintentionally leaked."
The Maester nodded, stroking his beard, his expression thoughtful. "Indeed. The little Prince managed to overcome the poison, to the point he was unbothered by it. That is why he was slowly regaining his strength.
From my observation, at first the Prince was on the verge of dying. As we all remember, he barely managed to live. However, as his body adapted he began recovering, and that is why his life wasn't in mortal danger in these last few months."
Baelon sat down, staring at the floor with a conflicted expression. The other family members were no better. Because of their oversight, the boy had almost died. He had never been sick. He had been fighting the venom of that disgusting horror.
Daemon was for once silent, not daring to say a word, a hint of anxiety noticeable in the depths of his purple eyes even as the young Prince tried to appear brave. Viserys shared similar emotions, though there was also relief that his brother was fine and his life was no longer endangered.
Vissera, on the other hand, remained motionless, sitting on the couch and thinking. Did I curse him or what? I did wish for the dragon to be ugly, but... this thing cannot even be considered a normal dragon.
Hmm... It is what it is. Now, how should I ask for the white egg? This is definitely not the right time. Maybe I can use my birthday to get it. That should work, should it not? There will not be a better time than that.
"What of the dragon?" Aemon asked, his brow furrowed, standing tall with his arms behind his back.
"We were able to transport it to the Dragonpit, my Prince. It is locked and isolated. But I must note, it doesn't like being chained and is very aggressive, trying to kill everything it sees."
"It will be humbled sooner or later." Aemon nodded, pouring wine into his glass and gulping it down, exhaling softly.
"Uhmm... Mother, can we name the dragon?" Daemon popped up, asking curiously.
"It isn't the time for that, Daemon!" She hissed at him with a scolding look. But Alysanne chuckled, interrupting her daughter and saving Daemon from a beating.
"I think it is a wonderful idea. But who should name it?"
"Me! Me! Grandmother, let me name it!" Daemon rushed to her side, practically begging, while Viserys smiled faintly, happy that the mood wasn't as dark as before.
"Vissera, dear. You chose that egg. Why don't you name it too?" Alysanne asked with a warm smile, not wanting her daughter to think she was to blame for what had happened. At the same time, she wanted her to grow closer to the family and warm up. Alysanne understood that because of her duties, she had not been the best of mothers. So she tried whatever she could, like this, giving her daughter something to hold.
Technically, none of them had the right. It was Zalarys's place to name his dragon, and if he was incapable of doing so, the task fell upon Alyssa and Baelon. However, they too shared their mother's sentiment, not wanting the poor girl to blame herself.
As for Vissera... This has to be a joke, huh? She leaned back, looking up at the ceiling and licking her red lips, not saying a word for some time until she finally spoke.
"How about...