Blood of Dragons

The court of King Aegon IV remains aflame—not with war, but with spectacle, whisper, and the slow-burning rivalry between Bracken and Blackwood that has played out in the King’s absence, while he loiters in the Riverlands on an extended progress. The factions loyal to his Hand and to his mistress have taken to subtler battlefields: the hunt and the yard.

In the Kingswood, Lord Kennoth Bracken, the Hand of the King, hosted a grand hunt and feast beneath the turning leaves. A noble stag was brought down, Ser Othan Bracken delivering the killing shot. The fireside celebration that followed was unmistakably Bracken-aligned. Ser Quentyn Ball, Lord Ambrose Butterwell, Ser Morgil Hastwyck, and Ser Myles Hightower all dined at the Hand’s high table, a clear signal of the Crown’s current loyalties. Lord Farin Prester, newly returned to court after taking up the rule of Feastires, and Lady Pennei Massey, rode alongside the hunting party and feasted well. Toasts were raised to King Aegon and to young Aegor Rivers, the King’s bastard son by Barba Bracken. And many may think that the Brackens are winning the war for influence, knowing that accompanying the king was Lord Bracken’s younger daughter, Bethany…

In the torchlight, with wine flowing and banners unfurled, the Brackens seemed triumphant. But the court’s wheel turned again the very next day.

Lady Melissa Blackwood, royal mistress and mother to His Grace’s twin daughters as well as the albino boy Brynden Rivers, hosted a rain-soaked archery contest in the Western Yard of the Red Keep. Though the skies hung grey, the day was marked by color and competition. Ser Omrys Baratheon, Ser Orbert Farman, Ser Luthor Rivers, Lady Elyse Caswell, and Lady Jannia Buckwell stood among the best of the field, cheered on by highborn watchers such as Lady Arwen Westerling and Lady Alys Baratheon.

The contest seemed set to conclude in fair sport when Lady Melissa herself took the field. With three perfect shots—one near the center, two striking dead on the mark—she brought the yard to its feet, a display of Blackwood prowess that stunned even her detractors. Yet in the end, Ser Omrys Baratheon proved the victor, claiming the prize.

But before the applause faded, the mood darkened, however. A Blackwood servant delivered news quietly, urgently. The King, from afar, had issued word: Lady Melissa and her household were to remove themselves to Raventree Hall. Her quarters were being packed even as the contest played out. Whatever title she once held in the eyes of the court—mistress, mother, favored companion—had been revoked, without ceremony but with unmistakable finality.

Lady Melissa walked away with her head held high, dignity intact, but her favor extinguished. In the space of a single afternoon, the Brackens had risen further. As the rain gathered and the banners of red and black grew sodden, the crowd dispersed, whispers multiplying like weeds.

In the aftermath, Missy has seen a stream of visitors—Queen Naerys, Prince Daeron and Princess Myriah, Princess Elaena, and others—but some have made note that Princess Daena has not been among them. But then, ever since her return from the North, the princess has largely been closeted in her apartments with her ladies, rarely seen without. Rumors have followed, wondering if mayhaps she’d become ill from the climate, or mayhaps had become love-struck—were there not accounts of the events of White Harbor, that the Stark heir had taken an interest in her?—but even as Missy Blackwood is preparing to leave King’s Landing with her own children, the rumors have coalesced into something quite different: Daena is again with child.