Blood of Dragons

There was no great fanfare, no trumpets nor bells. Just a dockman’s hoarse shout—“Sail! King’s colors!”—mostly lost in the morning din of gulls, ropes, and rising tide. Yet the _Royal Spear’s_ return did not go entirely uncelebrated.

She came into port as quietly as any ship might, bearing the battered marks of her journey: cracked railings, Braavosi planking, weather-worn sails, and the weary souls of her crew and passengers. The royal war galley, presumed lost to storm in the journey south from White Harbor, glided once more into King’s Landing’s harbor Among those aboard were Ser Orbert Farman, heir to Fair Isle and captain of the _Spear_, Ser Omrys Bartheon, Ser Otho Royce, Ser Bryar Mooton, and moore. Prince Daeron Targaryen himself appeared at the docks to greet them, accompanied by a modest escort of his household guards and a few empty palanquins. A handful of courtiers gathered as well, many drawn by news of returning kin or close friends. Lady Arwen Westerling, Lady Jannia Buckwell, and Lady Alys Baratheon were seen among the welcoming party.

The tale of the Spear’s survival unfolded in brief: she had been caught in a terrible storm and driven east, ultimately seeking refuge and repairs in Braavos. The cost was steep—some two thousand dragons for expedited repair, secured through a patchwork of private loans and, most strikingly, vouched by Lady Cindria Lannister herself. She remained behind in the Free City, reportedly by her own will, to oversee the matter and await repayment by her House but sent letters to be dispatched to Lord Lannister and the rest of her family to explain the situation.

The matter caused no small stir. Lady Arwen Westerling was visibly affected by the news of her cousin’s absence, while other witnesses wondered aloud whether the Braavosi had found themselves a hostage rather than a guest. Prince Daeron expressed quiet thanks to the gods and congratulated the crew and passengers on their return, though his comments on Braavosi “generosity” drew knowing looks, given the Iron Bank’s fraught relationship with his lord father.

Inside the Queen’s Ballroom later that day, over warm meats and autumn wines, the Prince was said to have spoken more freely. With the King still away in the Riverlands on his alleged-progress—and seemingly intent on remaining there until Lord Kermit Tully’s nameday tourney outside Riverrun—Daeron could make no promises as to when the Crown might assume the debts taken on by the ship’s passengers. Still, he vowed to do what he could. His concern appeared genuine.

There was other talk at the feast as well, including a tale stranger than most. Gossip from Oldtown spoke of a common scribe—a Dornishman, no less—who had nearly eloped with a Targaryen cousin, a daughter of the dragonrider Princess Rhaena. They were set to geld the youth (or so the gossip said) but the Dornishman somehow persuaded the Hightowers that he was a long-lost scion of House Dayne, the son of Ser Wallace Chester and the Lady of Starfall, Alia Dayne. It was said that the Hightowers stayed their hand and instead sent him south to Dorne to claim his inheritance—or die trying, if found false.