Capítulo 76: 78
Second Moon, 205 AZ
"You need to stop fidgeting Your Highness," his ever loyal Tide Guard told him.
"Can't help it Jarod, I need to look perfect," Corlys replied.
He adjusted his outfit in the vanity, an impeccable doublet and pants in dark blues, golds, silvers, and sea-greens, before he turned to the portrait of Corlys the Sea Snake that hung to the side.
Perhaps it was due to all the incest and inbreeding in his family, or some strange coincidence and chance of fate, but many said that he looked exactly like all the portraits they had of the first Corlys Velaryon and he could not help but agree. With any luck, he had inherited more than just his famous ancestor's looks but if he hadn't he could at least be content that he looked the part of the dashing future emperor.
Turning back to his Tide Guard, he asked him. "How do I look?"
Resigned but loyal, the man answered. "Like a prince," he said with a gracious bow.
"Thank you Orange," Corlys said, looking at the orange badge on his belt buckle.
The service of Lord Commander Jaremy Gottwell had proved so inspiring that from the reign of Corlys the Magnificent onward, all Tide Guard would wear an orange badge as their belt buckle to commemorate the example and loyalty of Jaremy Gottwell. It just so happened that Jarod was more than just a Tide Guard like Jaremy was, he was his direct descendant as well, having been born the second son of Lord Gottwell.
It had also been starting from the reign of Corlys the Magnificent that Imperial Tide Guard protection, as the unit was now formally named, was restricted to only the children and male line grandchildren of an Emperor, past or currently reigning, as was the definition of the immediate Imperial Family, the styling of Imperial Highness, and the titles of Prince and Princess.
His future bride could be a Princess, one of his first cousins, the daughters of his father's brothers, or it could be a more distant cousin, a lady that was the daughter or some other relative of one of the many Dragonlords within the Empire. He knew his father would prefer the latter though his uncles would certainly be pleased if he married one of their daughters. Technically speaking it could even be one of his younger sisters but though that was technically allowed, most everyone would think him a fool for doing so and wasting the potential alliance.
Regardless of who his bride would be, she waited inside that ballroom. The herald walked into the room, calling out to him. "It's time Your Highness. I can't delay any longer. His Majesty's orders."
"Well if my imperial father summons me, a good and loyal son can only obey," he answered with a nod before walking with the herald and Jarod to the great ebony doors that were all that stood between him and a pack of jackals. He had already been invested as the Prince of Tyrosh that morning and confirmed as his father's heir apparent. Now it was show time.
The doors swung open and the herald proclaimed. "Announcing His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince Corlys of the House of Zaldilaros Velaryon! Prince of Tyrosh and Heir Apparent of the Sea Dragon Throne! Heir to the Empire and eldest son of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Daemon!"
There was a thunderous applause as he walked down the luxuriously carpeted stairs into the ballroom, but Corlys could see the hunger and ambition in the eyes of all who stared upon him. For the next hour he helped himself to some food, and greeted and schmoozed with all the various dignitaries from the Dominions and other realms and with all the peers, legates, and magisters of the empire.
Chief among them were of course his own relatives and kin, namels the Imperial Family and its Princes and Princesses followed by the Dragonlords, all of whom were Zaldilaros Velaryons. And then came Sealords, Marshalls, Protectors, Wardens, Keepers, Magisters, Legates, and so many more. It got a little hard to distinguish them all after a while too; the room was filled with silver and gold hair and blue and purple eyes as the vast majority of the peerage and the bureaucrats were all blessed with Valyrian descent, with many hailing from the old Valyrian noble and merchant families that had dwelt in the Free Cities before the Velaryon Liberation.
Apart from those within the Empire proper, he was also greeted by those who came from without, meeting with kings, lords, merchant princes, and councilors from the Dominions and tributaries, the Targaryen ambassador, and resisting the urge to chuckle when he saw the dignitaries from the once proud Golden Empire of Yi Ti humbling themselves before him and currying for his favor like bootlicking dogs.
The strangely nostalgic feeling had been quite strong when they had done that, almost like some part of Corlys felt pleased that they were bowing to him instead of the other way around. That had confused him a little since it was only natural that things were the way they were. No Velaryon had ever bowed to a Yi Tish in well over a hundred years and even the God-Emperor of Yi Ti himself would have no choice but to fall prostrate and kowtow if Corlys or his father ever deigned to journey to Yin.
Eventually as the music started, and he felt his father's watchful eyes on him, Corlys sighed and began asking some of his prettier female relatives to a dance. Corlys was dancing with the third girl of the night, his second cousin Daena if he recalled correctly, when the doors opened again and a new cadet branch entered into the room.
"Announcing His Excellency, Aethan of the House of Zaldilaros Velaryon, Dragonlord and Magister of Tarhor! His lady wife and consort, Her Excellency, Lady Maella, and their only child and heir Lady Viserra of Tarhor!" the herald proclaimed.
The Tarhor branch? If Corlys recalled correctly, Lord Aethan was quite well liked among the other Dragonlords, though there were others more influential, and he had many connections, business and political, in Sarnor and Lhazar, having long championed the incorporation of both Dominions into direct imperial rule. He was also well trusted enough by his father to have been appointed as the Magister of Tarhor in addition to having a hereditary peerage and estate in the city's environs, a concentration of power that could potentially make the Tarhor branch kings in all but name if they did not remain watchful.
Corlys had met both Lord Aethan and his wife Lady Maella before but he had never had the chance to meet their daughter Viserra. She was greatly pampered and sheltered as their only child he had heard, which would explain why he had never seen her before now and what a shame he had not because Viserra of Tarhor was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on.
Considering the family and privileged position he had grown up in, that was an incredible statement to say the least, but it was no lie or tall tale and he was sure that everyone else in the room would agree as well, the men as awestruck as he and the women jealous and insecure, for Viserra of Tarhor put them all to shame.
She was slender and slim but had more than enough curves and thickness in all the right places. Her bottom was shapely, her bust was divine, and her deep purple dress had been cut in just the right way to show off enough to get men's attention but not too much to make her seem like a loose woman. The slightest slits along her hips showed off her sinful legs.
Her hair was of the purest silver-gold, a perfect shade that was not too much of one or the other but a perfect union of the colors. Her face had an aristocratic sharpness and tilt to it that made her look elegant but as she noticed the speechless eyes of the crowd on her, a smile found its way onto her face and it changed how she looked entirely, making her face heart-shaped and sweet. Corlys could have sworn that their eyes met for the briefest of moments and a mischievous smirk replaced her sweet smile in that moment as she stared at him in hunger but when he blinked his eyes it was gone.
Turning back to his dance partner, he could see that Daena was remarkably unimpressed by him all but drooling over another woman and while he did not regret being captivated by Lady Viserra's beauty, he did regret the impropriety and discourtesy with which he had treated his current partner. With a charming and disarming smile and a whispered apology, he nursed her hurt pride and had a lovely dance with her and when they had finished, he immediately went in search of one Viserra of Tarhor.
He found her surrounded by a whole crowd of suitors each hoping to get her for a dance but as he approached, that smirk of hers returned and she looked at him expectantly and waiting. Coolly and firmly Corlys made his way through the crowd of other men, all of them forced to back down now that the Crown Prince had chosen his prey.
As he finally reached his prize, Corlys bowed dramatically. "May I have this dance my lady?" he asked as she gave him his hand to kiss.
She giggled then, inappropriately for a lady perhaps but Corlys found that her laugh was as perfect as the rest of her was. "Of course, Your Highness."
All eyes were on them as they moved to the dance floor and vaguely from the corner of his eye he could see the impressed and hopeful look on his father's face but Corlys paid their onlookers no attention. All of him was focused on the beautiful woman in his arms.
Now that they were so close to each other, he could say that she honestly looked even more beautiful up close than from afar. There were many, many other Viserra's in their house but none quite like Viserra of Tarhor. He realized now that just as he had inherited perfectly the looks of his namesake, so had she, looking exactly like Viserra the Sea Dragon had walked out of the portraits and into their time, right down to the exact shade of her eyes.
Her eyes… Seven save him. They were a purple so deep he could get lost in them and made her slave and he would care less. And they dilated as she stared at him, taking in every inch of him as he did her, deepening and darkening with a lust and longing so strong Corlys had to resist the sudden urge to ravage her right then and there.
As the instruments of the band began playing the familiar anthem of Rule Velaryon, they began their dance in earnest, twirling and twisting, matching the other's every move seamlessly, like they were two old partners who had finally reunited after decades apart.
"So, tell me about yourself Lady Viserra," Corlys asked as he twirled her around to the tune of the song's second verse. "How old are you?"
The lady stared at him with mock offense. "Did your mother never teach you that it was bad manners to ask after a lady's age?"
Corlys could not help but chuckle. She was a bold one he'd give her that. No other woman save his close family members would have dared to speak to him like that. The title of Crown Prince was too intimidating for most of them to be so frank. "She did," he answered. "But my father also taught me that good manners were secondary to good governance."
Lady Viserra was very amused. "Eight and ten," she said at last.
"So you're older than me," Corlys said, a little surprised. He really didn't know why he was. With how… developed her body was, it only made sense. Some part of him had just expected that she would be younger and he didn't understand why.
"Is that a problem?" Lady Viserra said, with some challenge in her voice.
"Not at all," Corlys answered truthfully. "I think I quite like it," he said slyly.
"Oh? Does the Crown Prince and future Emperor enjoy the idea of an experienced and beautiful older woman giving him some… lessons?" she said sensually, leaning in to let him get a good look down her cleavage.
He fought the urge to blush at her forwardness and he was about to reply when she suddenly pulled back, looking insecure all of a sudden.
"I'm only japing of course Your Highness. As expected, I am a maiden," she said, perhaps worried that he would think lowly of her.
He couldn't deny the thrill and pleasure he felt at hearing her words. He liked to think that she only acted this way for him and he hated to see her so insecure and down. He rushed to reassure her.
"Think nothing of it. I would not dare to cast aspersions on a maiden's virtue though I will not deny it pleases me to hear it. As I'm sure it will please you that I am much the same," he told her.
She looked a little surprised at that. "You… you've never had anyone?"
"Not one," he answered with a smile though he was hiding his own worries now. He knew that ladies often expected that their men came into marriage experienced and able at least to give them a good time in the marital bed.
His worries were for naught it seemed because a genuinely happy smile and not some sultry smirk adorned her face now. "Perhaps we might learn it then, together."
It was Corlys' turn to smirk. "Is that a marriage proposal my lady? Why, I must say, that is awfully forward of you," he teased, taking pleasure in seeing her flustered and speechless for once.
Feeling a sudden fear of what her answer would be however, Corlys cut off her response. "There are more complicated considerations than just the two of us and our mutual attraction to each other of course." At least he hoped it was mutual.
"Such as?" she asked, eyebrows raised.
"Well we have only just met for one," Corlys pointed out. "And then we must consider the political requirements. Your place in the line of succession for one, your cadet branch's influence, and your own dragon would all be taken into consideration as well."
At that Lady Viserra became a little proud and overly defensive. "I am the 35th in the line of succession, I may not be a princess but I am no pauper either. My father is the great-grandson of Lucerys the Bonebreaker and he is the Dragonlord and Magister of Tarhor, wielding great influence in both the Empire proper and the Dominions, and I am his only child and heir. Furthermore, I am the rider of Starflame, a fearsome and large dragon one hundred and eighty years of age. You would only benefit should you marry me Your Highness."
"You raise fair points my lady, but as the Emperor in waiting I must do more than simply accept your points. Some would criticize if I were to marry you. Your place in the line of succession is too low they might say; others would point out how your family branch has but three dragons to offer mine own," Corlys countered but he felt his will faltering when the lady almost began to pout.
"Fret not my lady. It is no slight or insult to your person or your family, nor is it an outright rejection. I am simply warning you that there is much I must consider and I cannot act hastily on a matter such as this."
"Fair enough. Shall we turn then to a more pleasing topic?" she asked.
"Whatever you wish it to be."
"May I inquire after your dragon then Your Highness? Why did you decide to claim Tessarion? The Azure Empress may be the largest living dragon left in the world but is she not also one of the oldest? Are you not afraid that you will outlive her by far?"
"Not really. She may be two hundred and nine years old but she is still healthy and hale, and as strong as a dragon fifty years younger. I have little doubt that she has decades more in her and though I know I will for sure be her last rider, it worries me not."
"And is there any reason in particular that you chose her when there are many dragons younger and with less concerns for their age regardless of the Azure Empress' ability to live decades more or not?" Lady Viserra asked.
"I'm not sure to be honest. I've always had a great admiration and love for Jacaerys the Great I suppose and I've felt a strange affinity for Tessarion ever since I was young. It just felt right," he answered earnestly.
Lady Viserra looked thoughtful and impressed at his words though it wasn't long before a teasing smile found its way on her face once again. "And are you sure that all of this is not simply the excuse you give for choosing the largest dragon alive, one that has surpassed even Balerion the Black Dread and Vhagar in size? Are you perhaps compensating for something Your Highness?"
Why this little lady was becoming a little too bold wasn't she? "I can assure you my lady. I have absolutely nothing that I need compensating for," he said, with the slightest trace of warning in his voice.
To her credit the lady knew when she had gone too far and she took the rebuke well, apologizing for her words. For his part, Corlys was magnanimous and he accepted her apology quickly and soon they had moved on to other topics of conversation. Rule Velaryon was almost coming to an end now but he had little desire to change partners.
Though her words irked him at times when she went too far, Corlys found that it was a minute flaw he was more than willing to forgive her. He wasn't sure why but he had a feeling that her overly forward and teasing demeanor was an attempt by the sheltered Lady Viserra to form a lasting connection and impression on him and make her remember him, even if it did not go entirely as she intended at times.
If he was to put it simply, she was trying to seduce him. Quite successfully too if he might add. Normally when women tried overly hard to seduce him Corlys grew distrustful of them. It was never him they wanted but the crown after all. Yet something told him that despite her vain and haughty demeanor, Viserra of Tarhor could never be so shallow as to pursue him solely for his crown. There was something else motivating her.
He could feel it in the way she clung to him while they danced like she would lose him forever if she let go. He could sense it in the way she watched his every step. Yes, there was lust, there was desire and hunger, of course. But more than just a carnal craving for something purely physical or an attraction to his power, there was a true yearning and longing in the way Lady Viserra carried herself. If Corlys was more experienced, he might even call it love.
And that was a mystery he desired deeply to solve. Because this was the first time that they had ever met and while he could very much see himself falling in love with Viserra of Tarhor and she him and he would understand if she lusted for his throne and his body, he really couldn't comprehend why she would love him right now when before today she had never known him at all.
Soon the song shifted from Rule Velaryon to The Seafarer and his Seastar, a famous ballad that had been inspired by the legend of Corlys I and his wife, Viserra the Sea Dragon. In the ballad, the man, based on Corlys, is a seafarer who is lost at sea and trying desperately to find his way home when he sees a star over the sea that guides him home and finds that it was the woman of his dreams, said woman of course being inspired by the historical Princess Viserra.
It was quite a romantic song altogether, just one of many that had been inspired by the legends of the original Corlys and Viserra. It fit almost too well given that they, the namesakes of the pair that had inspired the song, were still dancing, to the point that he wondered if his father had intentionally ordered the band to play it.
He had thought that the song would amuse Lady Viserra and that perhaps she might tease him about it but he found that her mood had become increasingly somber and desperate as the song continued. Trying to uplift her spirit, he asked after her dragon.
"Which dragon do you ride again my lady? I believe you mentioned it earlier but I find myself forgetting," Corlys said.
That was a lie. He had not forgotten a single word that Lady Viserra had spoken all evening, but he wanted to lift her mood if he could. In his experience, asking after a dragonrider's dragon never failed to make them happy.
"Starflame Your Highness," she answered with a slight smile and Corlys felt pleased at having lifted her mood, even if only just a little.
"If I recall correctly, that is the she-dragon that Princess Serra rode into the Dance of the Dragons, am I wrong?"
"You are not. My beloved Star's first rider was indeed Princess Serra, the daughter of Lucerys the Loyal and Rhaena the Radiant."
"Our dragons have something in common then," Corlys said.
"Hmm?" Lady Viserra was confused.
"They may be thirty years apart in age, but they are both daughters of the Blue Queen," Corlys clarified.
"Ah. Yes, I see what you mean now," she replied.
"I must say Tessarion looks quite a lot like her, at least from what I can tell from all the paintings and descriptions we have. Her coloring is wrong with the bronze and her shade of blue is completely different, but the way her head and body is shaped is exactly like the Blue Queen. Her blood ran strong in Tessarion," Corlys said, though he wondered why he felt that strange feeling of wistfulness again when he thought of the Blue Queen.
"Starflame as well. Her shade of pale blue is exactly the same, and if not for the white instead of silver and the presence of violet where the Blue Queen had none, it almost feels like Dreamfyre has come to life again in Starflame." There was a bittersweet note in her voice as she spoke, one that reminded Corlys almost of someone having a fond but wistful recollection of their beloved childhood pet. Why would she be like this over a dragon that had perished well over a hundred years before she was even born? It confused him as much as it felt right to him.
"She was an exceptionally beautiful dragon," he said, lost in his thoughts.
"Dreamfyre?" his dance partner asked with what almost seemed to be hope in her enthralling eyes.
"Starflame I meant," he clarified, crushing the corner of his mind that insisted he had actually been referring to Dreamfyre. "All white-blue and violet. She must be stunning to behold."
"She is."
"Though not quite as stunning as her rider I am sure," Corlys flirted.
Lady Viserra blushed at the unexpected compliment. "Would you like to see her for yourself to do the comparison then?" she asked him once she had recovered.
"I would. Where is she anyway? You did bring her here to Jacaria yes?"
Lady Viserra sighed. "The Third Dragonpit."
"The Third?" Corlys reacted, aghast. "But that is all the way on the other side of the city!"
The Third Dragonpit had been built during his grandfather's reign in order to prepare for the future when their house had even more and even larger dragons but Corlys had never anticipated that it would be used so soon. At the last count, there were one hundred and seven dragons in the Velaryon Empire, all of them ridden by members of his house, the House of Zaldilaros Velaryon and its various cadet branches, and all of them currently present in Jacaria for the Zaldilaros Day celebrations.
The Dragon Den beneath New Tide could hold up to twelve dragons and the stables and courtyards in the castle above could hold another eight easily with room to spare if they wanted to cram even more, though it was normally reserved only for the dragons of the immediate Imperial Family. The Three Dragonpits were each supposed to have forty vaults large enough to host Balerion or rather Tessarion-sized dragons and Corlys knew for a fact that not nearly all of their one hundred and seven dragons were anywhere near that large.
If the dragons were not Tessarion-sized, bonded pairs, mates, siblings, friends, and so forth could be kept in the same vaults to save on space, especially for short durations like this celebration would be. When combined with New Tide's own capacity, if his calculations were correct, there should have been absolutely no need for Starflame to be housed in the Third Dragonpit.
There was the slightest trace of bitterness… or was it annoyance in Lady Viserra's voice when she spoke next. "Well we can't all be so fortunate as to have the Dragon Den reserved for our own usage Your Highness. I assume that is where Tessarion is? It's very convenient I am sure."
"Still I would have assumed that a prestigious and large old dragon like Starflame could have been hosted in the Second Dragonpit at the very least, if not the First. Both of those are much closer to New Tide than the Third, all the way up near the north gate as it is," Corlys said.
"As you yourself pointed out Your Highness, my parents and I are but three, as are our dragons. There are other branches with more dragons than us and they received higher priority in the placement of their dragons for this celebration. It's not all bad. At the very least our dragons do have housing for themselves and the Third Dragonpit is extremely roomy and open and I'm sure they like it there much more than they would have in the crammed vaults of the First and Second," Lady Viserra said, trying to be positive though Corlys was sure she too was unhappy about the long distance between herself and her dragon.
"Tell you what. Tessarion is indeed below us in the Dragon Den right now. Whenever you or your parents want to see your own dragons, just let me know and I can fly you over to the Third Dragonpit. It would be good I think to exercise Tessa's old wings a little and to see how things are over in the Third pit, and I do want to meet Starflame and see her for myself as you suggested."
"Oh Your Highness, did you just offer me a ride on your dragon?" she asked in a husky whispered voice, batting her eyes with deceptive innocence and a mockingly scandalized expression.
This damn woman and her innuendos! Two could play at that game Corlys decided.
"Yes," he replied in a husky voice of his own, cupping her perfectly round bottom with his left hand to make his meaning perfectly clear. He meant it too. If Lady Viserra of Tarhor wished to tease him so much then he was perfectly willing to make her answer for it, make her walk the talk so to speak. He imagined that it would be a very enjoyable first time with such a beautiful woman.
"And what is your reply to that?" he asked.
To his slight surprise and his immense satisfaction, Lady Viserra blushed furiously. She averted her eyes and almost fanned herself with her fingers. "You have to marry me first if you want to do that," she finally managed to say.
"And do you want me to?" he asked her, finally getting to the point. They had discussed the merits of marrying already but Lady Viserra had never made her intentions explicitly clear though anyone could have guessed them long ago. He wanted to hear it from her own lips. He wanted to know why she looked at him as if her very soul was yearning for him and his love.
Instead of answering him, she asked him a question of her own, summoning all the courage she had. "Tell me my prince, do you ever have incredibly lucid dreams that make you feel as if you are reliving certain events in history? Are you ever struck by these strange feelings of familiarity, nostalgia, or wistfulness whenever you think about certain things? Do these feelings and dreams come to mind particularly about our namesakes; Corlys the Sea Snake, Viserra the Sea Dragon, and their children?"
Corlys froze. He had never told anyone about his strange experiences, not his parents, not his siblings, no one. He knew that he would never be able to truly explain them enough for anyone to understand and so he had simply accepted them and did his best not to dwell on it too much.
"How do you know about these? I have never once told even a single person about these experiences," Corlys demanded, growing angry and fearful.
And yet despite his raised voice, Lady Viserra did not shrink away in fear nor did her own temper rise up to challenge his. Instead she almost burst into tears and Corlys panicked and held her closely to himself, trying to hide her distraught as part of their dance lest he be lectured by his father for making a maiden cry.
"Forgive me," Lady Viserra choked out. "These are tears of relief, of joy. I had almost lost all hope, cursing at whatever higher beings there are for condemning me to a life without you, but at last after eighteen long years I've found you again my love."
Her very voice had seemed to shift entirely, making her sound like someone else altogether. The vain mask that Lady Viserra of Tarhor had worn had all but vanished, replaced with someone open and honest about their heartfelt yearning for him. But why? The answer was right in his face, pressing her face desperately into his chest to hear his quickening heartbeat but Corlys was still in denial. It was insane to even consider it!
"Marry me again darling. Then we can make the most of this second chance of ours. Here in this wonderful world that our descendants have made, we have a chance to be peaceful and carefree. Together."
"Who are you?" Corlys begged, desperately wanting to know but deep in his heart he knew the answer already.
Viserra looked up at him from where she laid on his chest and snaked his way up to whisper in his ear, making him flinch. "I'm someone special to you in a way that cannot be put into words," she said before she kissed him.
Her red rosy lips were full and lovely. She tasted sweet and intoxicating, she tasted of chocolate and wine, of love and longing. She tasted of home. As Viserra deepened the kiss, Corlys remembered, almost like her very touch was stirring up the memories in him.
He remembered voyages upon the sea, great storms, adventures, and conquests. He remembered loving her. He remembered the children they had given each other, the children they had raised and taught how to be good and great. He remembered a lifetime at her side in a pale fortress they had destroyed. He remembered the way they had died together in fire and water, a legendary last stand immortalized in history.
When they finally broke the kiss, the entire ballroom was staring at them in shock, with some more prudish individuals even sporting scandalized expressions. Viserra looked at him nervously, perhaps fearing that he still did not remember her. "Corlys…"
He held her tightly, never wanting to let her go again and she smiled and tightened her own embrace around him. And all the Empire knew then that the future Emperor Corlys IV Velaryon had chosen his bride. What they did not know was that he had chosen her over two hundred years ago and now he was renewing his commitment to her in a new life. What a wonderful final conclusion for the Legend of Corlys the Sea Snake and Viserra the Sea Dragon, Corlys thought.
The End
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