Viserys held his little sister in his arms while he showed her the fantastical view of Nightshade through the window of the house. He hoped the scenery would distract her from the confusion of their sudden arrival.
"What is that?" Daenerys asked. She pointed a small finger at a giant tree that remained visible despite the vast distance.
Its canopy seemed to brush against the very vault of the sky.
"That is the tree that holds up the sky so it does not fall on us," Viserys replied. He knew nothing about the geography of Nightshade and had resorted to making things up whenever she asked a question.
Daenerys looked at her brother with her mouth open in wonder. She tried to imagine a single tree sturdy enough to support the weight of the heavens.
Ser Willem offered a faint smile at the exchange, though his body remained tensed and angled toward the door. He was waiting in silence for any news regarding Rhaella's condition.
The three servants who had accompanied them were busy arranging their luggage under Willem'sorders. They occasionally paused to steal glances out the window, staring at the alien landscape with a mixture of anticipation and curiosity.
"Look! What is that?" Daenerys shouted. She pointed at a creature with deep red scales soaring through the clouds.
"That is a dragon," Viserys muttered. His voice was breathless and his mouth hung agape as he watched what he believed to be a literal dragon roaming the skies of this strange land.
"Your Grace?" Ser Willem asked in bewilderment.
"Ser Willem, there is a real, living dragon here. By the Seven, it is even larger than the stories say," Viserys answered. His expression remained frozen in utter disbelief.
Ser Willem moved to the window to see for himself, realizing the boy was not jesting, but the wyvern had already vanished behind a mountain peak.
They could not discuss the matter further because the door to the room swung open. A moment later Rhaella walked inside, looking completely restored.
The people in the room fell silent as they looked upon the former queen. She appeared younger and taller than before.
Her posture had become commanding and regal, carrying a potent aura that demanded the attention of everyone in her presence.
Daenerys jumped down from her brother's arms and ran toward her mother. Rhaella picked the little girl up and spun her around in a joyful circle.
"Are you all better now?" the girl asked with a giggle as she hugged Rhaella's neck.
"Much better, my love. I will never leave your side again," Rhaella said. Her eyes were wet with tears as she peppered her daughter's face with kisses. She opened her other arm to Viserys and pulled the boy into a tight embrace as well.
She kissed Viserys's cheeks and forehead repeatedly. She promised her children that she would always be with them, always awake, and always ready to tend to their needs.
"Come, my loves. I wish to show you something," she said. She gave Ser Willem a nod to indicate that he should remain in the house for the time being.
Ser Willem nodded back, he respected the fact that she needed some time alone with the children to share her experience with them.
Skoll was still occupied with his father, so Rhaella was alone with her children as she led them outside. Once they were out of sight of the other inhabitants of the estate, the scenery around them shifted abruptly.
They found themselves standing on a jagged coast beside a churning sea. A thick mist hung over the water ahead of them, obscuring the horizon.
Viserys and Daenerys looked at their mother with confusion before glancing at their new surroundings.
Magic had become a natural extension of Rhaella's being. And there were certain spells she could cast intrinsically as she was even more magically attuned then ancient dragons.
"Listen to me, children. I know you have many questions, and I promise to answer all of them. I simply wish to assure you that I am still your mother and I love you more than anything in this world. That will never change, no matter what form I take," Rhaella said. She let go of the children and took several steps back to give herself space.
Daenerys moved forward to return to her mother's arms, but she stopped when she saw the transformation begin.
Large horns and magnificent wings sprouted from Rhaella's body. She began to grow at an impossible rate, her frame expanding with every passing second.
The smell of thick smoke filled the air as a powerful red tail lashed out behind her. Vibrant red scales, harder than any steel, began to cover her skin.
Her neck elongated and her entire being shifted as she embraced her now, true nature. A moment later, a colossal red dragon stood before the children.
She lowered her head until her snout was only a short distance away from them. The sheer power radiating from her made the wyvern they had seen earlier look like a mere hatchling.
"Mother? What? How?" Viserys muttered. His mind struggled to process the visual evidence before him.
"It is me, my son. I have changed," she said softly.
Her voice echoed within their minds through telepathy. She began to explain the story of what had happened in the last few hours, though she obscured the more terrifying details to protect Daenerys and Viserys' young mind.
And she answered every question they had with patience and love.
"Can we? Will we?" Viserys stammered as he struggled to articulate his question, however his mother knew what he was thinking.
"No, my loves. You will not gain the ability to transform as I have. However, I will do everything in my power to make it so if that is what you wish," Rhaella replied as she shook her massive draconic head slowly.
Truthfully she was already going to find something for them to evolve as she knew she was immortal now and she did not wish her children to die before her, or ever.
As she looked at her daughter, Rhaella noticed something she had not seen before. Now that she was fundamentally connected to the fabric of the world, she could see three glowing threads of fate emerging from Daenerys.
They stretched out across the ocean, connecting to a distant, unknown location. She resolved to investigate the source of those threads at a later time.
Viserys stood in contemplation for a long moment. He looked at the mountain of scales and fire that was his mother and clenched his fist with resolve.
"You will never suffer again as you did during these past two years. You will never have to leave us in that long slumber again. That is all I ever wanted for you, mother," Viserys said. He offered her a happy, genuine smile.
His primary concern had always been his mother's well being. Now that she was safe and powerful, he chose to focus on that joy. He would worry about the implications of her divinity and the political future of their house at another time.