The delegation from the Westerlands arrived with remarkable speed. They came not only with vast quantities of gold, but with two young women as radiant as the metal itself, daughters of Lord Jason Lannister, sent west to east with deliberate haste.
They were presented as companions to Princess Rhaena, yet no one in the court mistook their deeper purpose. They were assurances made flesh. Hostages wrapped in velvet and jewels. With them came the first shipment of treasury gold, wagons heavy enough to groan beneath the weight of Lannister contrition.
Both girls wore crimson velvet gowns trimmed in gold thread. Their resemblance was unmistakable. Golden curls fell artfully over pale shoulders, green eyes bright with calculation, figures slender and carefully adorned. They curtsied with practiced grace, their gazes lingering just long enough on the Prince to suggest intent rather than accident. These were not frightened offerings. They meant to dazzle.
Among all the great regions, the Westerlands had moved the fastest, and with the greatest show of sincerity. Lady Johanna Lannister had heard of the dragon's return and of Tyland's restoration to favor. She had understood the danger at once and acted without hesitation.
"The Westerlands send their greetings, Your Highness," the elder of the two said. She lifted her chin slightly as she spoke, fingers clasped at her waist, her smile warm but measured. Her eyes flicked to Aegon, bold. "We submit to the rightful king and accept all terms set by the Iron Throne. Our stored gold has already been transported, and the remaining fines are being prepared even now."
They had seen him clearly. Prince Aegon with his short silver white hair and sharp, handsome features, bearing himself with the quiet confidence of true dragonblood. They had also seen the dragon waiting beyond the city walls. The Cannibal. A colossal black behemoth whose pale green eyes regarded the world with open disdain. The rumors had not lied.
Aegon inclined his head, his expression calm. "Lady Johanna has shown great wisdom," he said. "A royal pardon will be issued. The Westerlands are forgiven for their rebellion."
The younger sister released a breath she had been holding, relief softening her shoulders. Encouraged, the elder pressed on, her hands tightening together.
"Yet our lands have been ravaged by the Red Kraken," she said. Her voice wavered, and she swallowed before continuing. "Now that we have returned to the Iron Throne's rule, we beg Your Highness to free the men and women of the Westerlands from his cruelty. You have a dragon. Please help us."
Aegon did not answer at once. He turned instead toward the tall northern lord beside him.
"His reply has arrived as well, has it not?" he asked.
Cregan Stark's mouth twisted in distaste. "It has, Your Highness. Arrogant. Foul mouthed. Like something dragged from the bottom of the Bay of Seals."
Aegon took the letter from his hand, scanning it. A laugh escaped him, sharp and incredulous rather than amused.
"The Red Kraken claims reaving is a sacred right granted by his Drowned God," Aegon said. He tapped the parchment with one finger. "He will not yield. As for the women he abducted, he says only his god may separate an ironborn from his salt wife. Fair Isle, he will return gladly, if its lords can rise from the seabed. He even found time to comment on my betrothal, claiming the Iron Throne is best suited to an iron maiden, and that he has a sister to offer."
The smile faded from Aegon's face. His jaw tightened, heat coiling in his chest.
"I hear he also boasted of wanting a silver haired concubine," he said quietly. "That stinking fish has mistaken restraint for weakness."
Rhaena stepped closer, her hand brushing his sleeve. "You must stay calm," she said, her voice low with worry.
Aegon turned to her, the fire in his eyes easing as he pressed a brief kiss to her cheek. "He should be the one afraid," he replied. "He has stirred the wrath of a true dragon."
Straightening, he looked back to Cregan Stark. "I leave this in your hands. The Red Kraken, like the Bone Armored King before him, is begging for death."
"You are leaving at once?" one of Lord Jason's daughters asked, shock plain on her face.
Aegon was already turning away. "Yes. Now."
Before nightfall, he was gone from King's Landing. Cannibal took to the sky, tearing westward with thunderous wingbeats. Below them, the Riverlands spread flat and green, giving way to the rising hills and jagged mountains of the Westerlands.
As dusk fell, Casterly Rock came into view, carved from a colossal stone promontory above Lannisport and the Sunset Sea. At the highest tower, lion banners snapped in the wind as a black shadow plunged from the clouds.
Lady Johanna Lannister emerged onto the heights, donning a lion helm and crimson cloak. The dragon did not roar, yet its presence alone made the stone tremble.
Cannibal settled atop the Rock like a newly born mountain, scales swallowing the light, eyes burning with sickly green fire. With such a beast upon her roof, Johanna knew the Red Kraken's fate was already sealed.
Lady Johanna Lannister stood rigid upon the heights of the Rock, the wind snapping her crimson cloak as the great dragon settled behind the Prince.
"Your Highness… you came so swiftly," she said at last, disbelief and relief mingling in her voice. Gold, it seemed, still worked wonders even upon dragons.
Prince Aegon Targaryen regarded her without warmth. His black scaled armor drank in the dying light, and the presence of Cannibal loomed behind him like a living omen.
"How stands the situation?" Baelon asked.
Johanna drew a slow breath, steadying herself. "The ironborn strike wherever our defenses are weakest. They sacked Lannisport and carried off more than a hundred women. Among them were my late husband's favored paramour and his bastard daughters." Her voice tightened before she forced herself onward. "They have seized Fair Isle as well. The Farman daughters were taken."
She hesitated, shame coloring her cheeks. "The situation is dire."
Aegon's eyes hardened. "I am not helping you for nothing. Your husband died for the Greens. Yet I answered grievance with mercy. I restored Ser Tyland. Now I strike the Red Kraken first."
Johanna's jaw clenched, her hands curling at her sides. "House Lannister will be loyal to the Iron Throne and to the rightful king," she said. After a second, she continued more quietly, "And I am willing to pay double for your campaign. No interest. This will be a gift."
She did not speak of how the Westerlands had already been bled nearly dry in the Reach war. Lord Jason was dead. What remained were the old, the wounded, and the young. Gold could no longer be hoarded, only spent to survive.
Aegon felt a cold satisfaction settle in his chest. From the Lannisters alone, millions would flow, nearly emptying their vaults.
"Will word leak out?" he asked as he dismounted Cannibal , his boots striking stone.
Johanna shook her head at once. "No. Dusk is when the ironborn grow complacent. They trust their command of the sea and do not fear Casterly Rock. The Rock itself is impregnable. They dare not come too close."
"Are the Rock and the city sealed?" Aegon pressed.
"They are," she said. "Since the Kraken's attacks, nothing goes in or out without my leave."
"I want absolute certainty," Aegon said, his voice low and unyielding. "Seal the city. Let nothing slip. At dawn, I strike the Kraken's lair."
"So soon?" Johanna breathed, startled despite herself.
"Speed is life," Aegon replied.
Plans were drawn up at once within the ringfort carved into the summit of the Rock.
"How many ships remain to you?" Aegon asked, leaning over the table.
Johanna's shoulders sagged. "Few. The ironborn seized three quarters of our fleet, sank the rest, and forced their way into the harbor to sack Lannisport. I can muster fishing boats and flat bottomed craft, little more."
"They must be reliable," Aegon said sharply, lifting his gaze to hers. "No loose tongues. Once the fires begin tomorrow, you land your forces. I want certainty. Absolute certainty."
"Yes, Prince Regent," Johanna said, bowing her head.
"And I want someone who knows Fair Isle well. Every inlet. Every shore."
Johanna summoned the Lord of Fair Isle at once. Once a proud man, he now appeared white haired and hollow eyed, his back bent beneath grief. Five daughters had been taken by the Kraken. Only he and his sons had been ransomed back with silver, now living under Lannister protection.
"This… this is no dream?" he whispered, his eyes shining as they fixed on the Prince.
"No dream," Aegon said. "Draw me Fair Isle. Its harbors. Where the longships anchor."
"Yes. Yes, of course." The lord seized the charcoal with trembling hands, not daring to delay.
Fair Isle's main harbor lay to the north, where most of the longships gathered. The southern coast, poorly defended and rarely watched, was the key.
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