Chapter 27: Blood in the Kingswood

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  The moonlight glinted off silver armor, and there they were. I reized the sigil that flew on their banner and glinted on their armor. It was… House Veryon. It was one of the only other houses besides the Targaryen that had Valyrian blood in them.

  The first thing I noticed was the white hair; it shone even in the darkness, unmistakably Valyrian. It was a hoax. The group of two dozen riders pulled their reins as they spotted me, curiosity evident in their gnces. At the front of the armroup, a man with sea-weathered features, dark skin, and a regal bearing observed me, his expression one of cautious curiosity.

  I'd done my study before ing to Kings Landing from Dorne, so while I didn't reize his face, I reized his identity. Lord Monford Veryon, head of House Veryon, and beside him rode his young son Monterys.

  “You there!” Monford called out, his voice carrying across the clearing. He nudged his horse closer, the animal’s hooves g against the underbrush. His eyes narrowed as they settled oaking in my appearahe light armor, the white hair. “Who are you? What are you doing out here in Kingswood?”

  His tone wasn’t overtly hostile, but there was an edge to it. I was more curious about what he was doing here, apparently hunting with his son, from the looks of it. We Targaryens allowed House Veryon to hunt in Kingswood when we ruled as a show of appreciation to their loyalty. However, that ged when Robert took over. He only allowed himself to hunt here. I doubted Joffrey would allow them sidering that.

  Wait no, they support Stannis, not Joffrey. So they were here ung of Joffrey’s decree? They were close to Kingswood, from the other side, the seaside, so it made sehey came here, sure that they'd not find anyone else. Then, they fouhis could be troublesome if they choose to eliminate me, thinking I'd report them to Joffrey.

  I straightened, giving them an easy smile, though my mind raced. “Rys, my lord,” I said simply, adopting a nont tone. I couldn't use the Vis identity here. “I am a wandering merary from Vontis. I’m just making my way to King’s Landing, but got a little lost in the woods. Am I not allowed here?”

  Monford’s gaze was sharp, his eyes lingering on mine for a moment before drifting to my hair. What was he looking at?

  “Vontis, eh?” He nodded, and somehow he sounded fully vinced. “If not for your hair and eyes…” his voice trailed off as he scrutinized my eyes, “I might’ve doubted it.”

  I froze for a heartbeat, the ers of my smile faltering. My hair was bck, right? Why was he…

  The wind blew a loy hair in front of my face, and I caught white. Shit, fuck. What happened?

  I needed a moment, but I realized what had happehe System’s little ‘Old Valyrian blood strengthened’ notification wasn’t just fluff. It had simply overwritten Kinvara's little hair-ging magid returned my hair to white. I could feel the weight of my gaze shifting, cheg the refle in my dagger’s bde flimpse of my eyes. Sharp purple, uhe faint one before that, was almost unnoticeable unless someone looked too closely.

  Was that why I could see better now?

  I nodded, keeping my smile in pce. “Yes, it seems some features are hard to shake off,” I replied easily, letting my gaze drift pointedly to his own locks of hair. “Like that familiar silver hair, my lord. Beautiful braids.”

  The little boy, who sat beside his father on a smaller horse, couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from me. I failed to recall his name. Was it Monty? He was staring intensely.

  The boy’s gaze was wide, openly fasated as he took in my appearahere was something i in that curiosity, something that made him easier to read than his father’s scrutinizing stare.

  “Whoa…” Monty blurted, his voice high-pitched with the kind of wohat only children possessed. “You have Old Valyrian blood too? Do you… do you know magic?”

  “Monterys.” His father gave him a stern look, but there was no denying the boy’s eagerness, the way his fingers fidgeted against the reins.

  I chuckled softly, shrugging. “Just a wandering knight, young lord. No magic, I’m afraid. Only a spear and some lubsp;

  Monford eyed me a moment longer, his gaze slipping to the clearing around us, to the faint glow of the embers from the earlier dragon fire was o be seen. I didn't remain in spots that were too burnt, and this pce was as good as new. However, the st of bur did linger in the air, and his nostrils fred slightly as he caught it. I hoped he'd just assume I was cooking myself a game.

  He gnced back at me, his expression guarded, though he didn’t press further. “We’re camped nearby,” Monford said, his tone shifting, being a touch more formal. “Why don’t you join us for the night, Ser Rys? It’s not wise to be alone in these woods after dark.”

  The ‘invitation’ was clear, but so was the uone. A lone knight out in the woods, an unfamiliar face—he didn’t trust me, and this was his way of keeping an eye on me before deg what to do with me. I ined my head, giving a small, seemingly appreciative smile.

  “I’d be honored, my lord,” I replied. “But I’d rather not bother you. I pn to sleep the night out and tinue my jouromorrow if you’d allow me.”

  He stared at me for a moment befrunting with a nod. “Sure thing,” he said, “the’s talk for a bit more. It’s not every day I meet fellow Valerian. Who is your family?” His voice olite, but his iions were mixed.

  I gave a slow shake of my head, my gaze going briefly to the moon before flig baeet Monford’s. “hat I know of,” I said. “My mother was a whore—a woman of on birth. My father? Never knew him. He is the oh the Valyrian blood, apparently, but I have no idea who he is. I’ve been on my own for a long time, my lord. Family’s not something I’ve ever had the luxury of.”

  My voice was measured, devoid of seality, just the way I wa. I could feel Monford’s gaze still weighing on me, searg for cracks.

  “A wanderer with Valyrian blood, I see,” Monford mused, a hint of curiosity in his voice. “Even rarer.” He left it at that, but his eyes lingered on me a moment longer, and I could feel the wheels turning in the man’s mind.

  I think I'm safe. He wouldn't want to kill a kin based on pure suspi. I hoped. The versation paused, and then the boy broke the silenbsp;

  “Have you ever seen a dragon?” Monterys spoke with wide, eager eyes. For a moment, I was scared they’d seen my dragon soar the skies earlier, and that was the reason they were here, But his curiosity was as i as his father’s was calcuted. His face icture of fasation.

  I turned my head to look at the boy, my gaze softening, a faint smile on my lips. “Nope. But perhaps one day, young lord,” I said. “Perhaps one day, you will see one.”

  Monterys’ eyes widened further, excitement lighting up his expression. “Really?!” He was ready to burst with questions, but his father’s haed on his shoulder, a subtle gesture to temper the boy’s enthusiasm.

  “Enough questions for now, Monterys,” Monford said, his voice carrying both authority and warmth. He gave me a polite nod. “It’s been a long day for all of us. We’ll let uest rest. We've interrupted his sleep long enough.”

  He nodded and then rode the other way. His group followed him in tandem, hooves clig against the ground. I stared at their retreating backs. I erhaps really lucky that they’d just let me leave. It robably because he sensed kinship in me, and part of him didn’t want to cause trouble for me. Any other day, and the result of this enter might have been different.

  House Veryon, huh? I watched them leave, eyes lingering on Monford. The ruler of Driftmark was a small family from the old Valyria. They were once allies of House Targaryen, their fleets unmatched, their loyalty unshakable. That was in the past. I khey supported Stannis now, and Monford paid dearly for that in the inal timeline by dying itle of Bckwater. I didn’t pn to save him from that.

  Instead, my eyes were on that boy, Monterys, who’d bee lord after that i. House Veryon could be an asset in time. The boy’s fasation with dragons could be a key.

  Wheime was right, I'd pay a visit to Driftmark, and that boy would remember me. “I guess I know which house I’d bring under me first,” I muttered uhe cold whispers of the wind.

  Then again, perhaps I'd already have the seven kingdoms under me by then. I had more than one pn, after all. Oarting with Renly Baratheon’s death…

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  Author Note: HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I have a good feeling about 2025 for myself, and an odd feeling for the world as a whole... May nothing bad happen.