Daenerys quickly helped Vada up and warmly embraced her.
"Don't talk about asking for forgiveness anymore. How could I not know that you all have suffered greatly these past few months? During the Long Night, the blizzards of the Ice Bay are not easy to bear!"
During the three months Daenerys was missing, Vada and the people of Bear Island had been braving the severe cold and snow, continuously searching for her whereabouts in the Ice Bay and Frozen Coast. Under the Long Night and extreme weather conditions, the casualties on Bear Island were not small.
It's easy to imagine what great challenges they faced during this period. So, no matter what their intentions were, Daenerys was grateful and touched by everyone's actions.
Therefore, Daenerys ordered the Holy Flame fleet, which was heading to Sislande Peninsula, to bring a significant amount of new, high-yield grain seeds suitable for cold regions to Bear Island, and also dispatched more than a dozen experienced farmers to personally provide them with guidance.
However, she didn't like the heavy atmosphere now, so she deliberately pinched Vada's face a few times and said,
"Look, this beautiful face has become rough; it truly pains my heart!"
"Princess…"
Vada was flustered and blushed by Daenerys's playful actions; the usually heroic female warrior unexpectedly showed a rare hint of shyness.
"Princess, Princess!"
"Our sisters, just like Vada, have come to seek refuge with you!"
Meggie House Mormont's tall stature made it difficult for Daenerys to not notice her, and her voice seemed to have become even louder during this time.
"Then I naturally welcome you!"
Daenerys gave Meggie and her sister a warm hug, and while hugging, she playfully teased,
"Meggie, your voice has really improved!"
Meggie replied proudly,
"During these past few months searching for the Princess at sea, I shouted from morning till night every day, and I've already developed an iron throat."
Meggie's words made everyone burst into laughter, and Daenerys's personal maid, Besani, even joked,
"Then Miss Meggie can definitely serve as the Princess's herald. Hail to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Holy Flame Island and Guardian of Oldtown, the Princess who rides the dragon, Her Royal Highness Daenerys Targaryen."
As she spoke, Besani even demonstrated with a serious expression.
Meggie, however, took it completely seriously and began practicing repeatedly on the side,
"Hail to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Holy Flame Island…"
"Alright, Meggie! Don't let Besani fool you. From now on, you and your sister, along with Vada and her female warriors, will be my personal guards."
"Come, I'll give you a welcome gift first!"
After speaking, Daenerys led them towards her room in the Red Keep.
"Greetings, Princess!"
As soon as they entered Daenerys's room, seven maids holding large cats quickly bowed respectfully to Daenerys.
"Squeak~"
Sensing the aura of the large cats, the Purple Sable at Vada's waist immediately let out a tense warning sound and quietly poked its head out from the seal skin pouch it was in.
And the large cats, which had been unusually docile in the maids' arms, immediately became alert and all bristled up.
"Purple Sable, quiet!"
The maids had very different attitudes towards the Purple Sable.
In Andal culture, for a long time, people had some very strange ideas about Purple Sables. Although its fur was coveted, the animal's misunderstood reproductive behavior was criticized, so much so that for a long time, it unfortunately became a symbol of immorality and transgression in folklore.
This is because Purple Sables undergo embryonic diapause when stimulated by the environment, which means that the Purple Sable's embryo may not immediately enter the female Purple Sable's uterus and can even remain dormant in the mother's body for up to 10 months.
When the next season arrives, the female Purple Sable can be fertilized and give birth through different mates.
In other words, Purple Sables are extremely fertile, and under extremely harsh conditions, embryos can even be "recalled."
Purple Sable pups are born tiny, blind, deaf, and toothless, and are often carried by their mothers from one den to another.
Therefore, among the Andals, there was a rumor that Purple Sables conceived through their mouths and ears. This misunderstood legend further fueled the dogmatism of the Seven Gods Church.
Early Seven Gods doctrine considered Purple Sables to be promiscuous animals, used to deter and warn humans about "dangerous, impious" sexual behavior that would lead to children being born from the mouth.
But for the First Men, Purple Sables carried the souls of the dead. In their folklore, weasels represented attractive young women, and the Ancient Valyrian considered them sacred animals. Perhaps the oldest myth is about its white fur, which legend says the weasel would rather die than stain its "coat," making it a symbol of purity and sacrifice.
However, in modern times, the old and sordid stories about Purple Sables were cast aside, and they were elevated to talismans for newlywed and soon-to-be pregnant women.
"The Purple Sable's 'magical' method of conception was considered similar to the Annunciation, as the Virgin Mary conceived after a whisper in her ear."
The Purple Sable's success in raising offspring was admired, and women at the time liked to wear Purple Sable fur, believing it would bring them "luck" for a large family. In an era without surgical anesthesia and modern medicine, Purple Sable fur was believed to help mothers give birth more smoothly.
Consequently, these "essential accessories" symbolizing successful pregnancy quickly found their way into aristocratic portraits of the time. Today, Purple Sable fur coats and bedding are highly sought after among noblewomen.
Therefore, descendants of the First Men and girls who grew up on Dragonstone were very fond of Purple Sables, but some devout families of the Seven Gods still held some prejudices against Purple Sables.
"Quick, let me see this Dragon. I haven't seen him in over three months, and I didn't expect him to have grown so much."
The current little Purple Sable, not counting its tail, was already over a foot long, and its fur was shiny and lustrous, shimmering with a beautiful purple light in the sun. As expected, magical animals are different; even though the magic within this little Purple Sable was extremely faint, it was still much stronger than an ordinary Purple Sable.
The little Purple Sable, Sebel, did not reject Daenerys, because Daenerys emitted strong magical fluctuations, which had a powerful attraction to any magical animal.
Sensing that the magical fluctuation frequencies of Sebel and Vada were very close, Daenerys excitedly confirmed with Vada,
"You can Skinchange now!"
"Yes, Princess!"
Vada became very excited when this was mentioned.
"While searching for your whereabouts, we were almost always sleeping rough. At night, the two of us naturally often huddled together, and slowly I found that my consciousness could enter Sebel's body."
"Thanks to him, we avoided many dangers during the search for you."
"Is Sister also a Skinchanger?"
Shirei, now six years old, had grown even more lovely, with the typical Targaryen Family appearance, which also made King Jaehaerys very fond of her. During the days Daenerys was missing, the intelligent and clever Shirei spent a lot of time by the Old King's side.
"Sister Dona and the others are also Skinchangers; they can Skinchange the large cats and small birds in the Red Keep."
Dona and her seven companions were specially chosen by the Children of the Forest Watcher. Under her careful cultivation, they happened to catch the peak of the minor magic tide, so their Skinchanging abilities all advanced by leaps and bounds.
The strongest, Dona, could control four or five large cats and a group of small birds simultaneously. Even six-year-old Shirei awakened her Skinchanging ability, and her first successful contract was surprisingly with a large prairie eagle kept by King Jaehaerys.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"