A month passed since the duel with his mother. Nyna’s medicine had certainly worked wonders, allowing his arm to recover in exceptional time. Despite this, Aleria insisted he was still too weak to practice with his axe. Not wanting to upset his sister, he found a new joy in playing badminton with her. Or at least that’s what she told him would happen. Unlike other sports, badminton relied more on strategic planning and positioning rather than pure athletic might. It was the physical equivalent of chess, and his performance was identical as a result. On a dark, cloudy day, Raegon engaged in an intense match with his sister. With her trailing six points ahead, he was growing impatient with his lack of success.

“Could you explain to me why I can stand on the court for hours losing to you but I can’t go hunting?” he asked with a frustrated tone.

Aleria responded with a light sigh as she prepared to serve. “I’ve told you, this is good exercise for your arm without the danger. The last thing you need right now is to hurt yourself more. Now, prepare yourself.”

With the grace of a swan, she launched the shuttlecock directly into the center of the court. Raegon sprinted forward and hit it back into her side of the net. The two engaged in a stable back-and-forth volley for half a minute. Just when he thought he had the upper hand, Aleria lightly tapped the shuttlecock over the net. Unable to reach it in time, it fell to the ground giving her the point.

“I think the score is two to nine?” she asked.

“Chess is one thing, but this is humiliating,” Raegon muttered, loud enough for his sister to hear.

“Oh don’t be so negative! You’ve been getting better with every day.”

“Still not good enough to—”

A sharp pain surged in his right arm, forcing him to drop the racquet. It seemed his muscles did not take kindly to being overused. Aleria quickly rushed to his side, examining him. They would have to cut their game short. As a light mist fell upon them they quickly moved to the gazebo and sat down. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t ignore the unfriendly look of the sky. Something about it prognosticated a bad omen.

“Have you heard anything from mother or Horacio?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “I hope nothing is wrong.”

“I’m sure they’re just very busy, it was a big expedition after all,” he said.

“Maybe you’re right…”

“Hey, your birthday is coming up. Is there anything you’d like me to do?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“I heard there’s a merchant from the Ruby Shore that arrived, I’d love to get a few seashells from them.”

“Seashells? That’s all?”

“Well, maybe a few silks to make a nice dress,” she said before poking his shoulder. “It’s your birthday as well, is there anything you want?”

Raegon never cared much for material things, always valuing experiences more. For his seventeenth birthday, he traveled to the south to visit the rocky cliffside with Horacio. For his eighteenth, they planned to travel to the border to see the Xacrela mountains. Thinking about this only made him miss his friend more.

“When Horacio comes back, I’d like to see the mountains,” he said.

“Could I come along, assuming Horacio would approve?” she asked, slyly placing a finger on her cheek.

He let out a small chuckle. “Yes, I’m sure he would appreciate that very much.

As they shared a laugh, they heard heavy footsteps approaching from the entrance. They turned and saw none other than Horacio himself walking towards them. Aleria called for him to join them under the gazebo as the rain began to fall harder. As he approached, Raegon noticed his face was scratched and scarred, his pristine blue coat was smothered in ash and dried blood, and his eyes were weary and tired. It didn’t take a seer to see that something was wrong.

“Horacio, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Raegon asked with concern.

Horacio said nothing, stopping just before the gazebo to stand shamefully in the rain.

“What happened to you? Is the queen with you?” asked Aleria.

The mention of the queen caused him to grit his teeth. “Raegon, Aleria… I’m sorry,” he muttered.

“Sorry for what? Come here you’ll get drenched!” pleaded Raegon with a confused tone.

Horacio ignored his concern as he reached into his coat pocket before bulling out a black envelope with a red seal stamped with the Ironborn family crest. A lifeless silence filled the air. All of them knew the significance of a black envelope. His hand trembled greatly as he gave the siblings the letter.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“She told me to grab a horse and ride as fast as I could.”

The writing on the envelope was clearly his mother’s handwriting. No matter how he tried to rationalize what he saw, there was no denying what it meant. There was no denying reality.

His mother was gone.

Aleria collapsed to her knees, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed loudly. The rain began to come down in sheets, followed by a crack of thunder. But even that wasn’t enough to muffle the sound of her agony. Without a second thought, Raegon grabbed his friend by the collar and pulled him closer. He stared down Horacio’s eyes as fury began to form in his own.

“What happened?!” he yelled.

Horacio gave no reply. His wet hair covered his eyes like a curtain.

“TELL ME!” he screamed, raising his fist ready to strike.

The words that came out of Horacio’s mouth were barely audible. “Go ahead… I deserve it. I should’ve been better. It should’ve been me.”

“Raegon, put him down! Please!” his sister pleaded.

Their words were enough to snap Raegon out of his rage. He looked at his raised fist in horror, realizing he was going to strike his best friend. He set Horacio down, ashamed that he nearly let his anger control him this way. Still, he needed an answer.

“What happened?” asked Raegon.

“We were exploring an old ruin when a vampyre attacked us. It was going to kill me until…” Horacio paused as he choked on his tears. “Until the queen saved me. She gave me the letter and told me not to stop until I reached the capital.”

“So that vampyre’s still there?”

Horacio took one look at Aleria sobbing and shook his head. “Not in front of her, she doesn’t—”

“Tell me!” he demanded while raising his voice.

The sudden burst of his voice was enough to startle the others. Horacio took a large step back as Aleria ceased her crying. Once again, he felt great shame as he lowered his voice and calmed himself down. “Please, I need to know.”

“The few soldiers that followed me say it’s still out there,” said Horacio. “I’m sure some of them are slaves by now.”

Without saying a word, Raegon walked into the pouring rain towards the training yard. At that moment he made a promise: He would not leave his mother’s body to rot in the ashy wasteland. He would not let the other soldiers be reduced to blood cattle for a vampyre.

It was time to prove he was an Ironborn.

***

Over the next few days, Raegon assembled a force of warriors to venture into the Isin’s Scar. The news of the queen’s death was not yet known, a decision made by Aleria to not stir panic. As a result, many thought they were on a rescue mission to save the queen and enlisted in droves. Although he felt guilty for hiding the truth, he knew it was necessary to maintain morale.

Nyna was pressured by the Ironborns into healing their friend faster. Although initially refusing out of concern, Aleria’s strong insistence was enough to make her capitulate. From dawn until dusk, Raegon and Horacio trained harder than ever before. Their spars with one another had much less banter and much more silence. Aleria would watch them from the balcony, occasionally giving a few words of encouragement that fell on deaf ears.

On the day of departure, Raegon had amassed a sizable company of fighters. While it was not to the grand scale of the expedition group, it was still much more than he expected. Many of them were eager and excited for a chance at glory. Such excitement now felt alien to him. As the last of the supplies were loaded into the carts, Raegon saw his sister briskly walking to him with Horacio chasing after. Her face was filled with a stoic rage he had never seen before.

“Aleria, wait!” Horacio cried.

His words were useless, only causing her to walk faster. She walked up to her and, with surprising force, stuck her hand across his face. The slap caught him off guard and stung much harder than he anticipated. “Raegon, you can’t leave! I forbid it!” she yelled.

“Aleria…” he muttered, not sure of what words to say.

“Don’t you ‘Aleria’ me!” she snapped back. “I already lost one family member and I don’t want to lose another! Let the soldiers handle this!”

Her iron demeanor was remarkably identical to Telecia’s. For a moment, it was like his mother was standing right there scolding him. Before he could reply, she turned her attention to Horacio.

“I thought you of all people would be on my side! Do I have to lose you as well?!”

“You know this is something we have to do,” said Horacio. “Your mother would agree!”

She raised her hand to slap him only for Raegon to stop her. The fury she had summoned evaporated, leaving behind sorrow. Tears began to well in her eyes and stream down. “It’s not fair! It’s not fair that I’m going to lose both of you!” she cried

At that moment, he felt like a terrible brother. To leave his sister alone while he ventured to the Scar was difficult, especially for her. He gently put a hand on her shoulder and spoke in a soft tone. “Do you remember when we were children and we got lost in the woods?”

She gave a simple nod but refused to turn around.

“You ran into a boar that tried to charge at you. I jumped in front of you and stopped it. When mother came and saw me bleeding, she scolded me for my recklessness.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked.

He took a deep sigh and turned his sister to face him eye to eye. “Mother was right, I was reckless. But I couldn’t live with the idea that I let my family get hurt. This vampyre hurt her, it hurt us. We need to make sure it can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

Horacio took out a small locket and placed it in the palm of her hand. “I’m going to leave this with you. Could you keep it until I come back?”

She looked at the locket, wiped her tears, and stood taller. “You better come back, do you hear? Or else losing to chess will be the least of your worries.”

Horacio gave a small, but sincere chuckle.

Aleria then turned to her brother. “When you find the vampyre who killed her, tell it they made the wrong decision to cross the Ironborns.”

He embraced his sister tightly. “I’ll tell them you said it too.”

The final horn blew, indicating it was time to go. Raegon let go of his sister and hopped into a cart with his friend. The driver whipped the reins as the horses quickly rode off. The last thing he could see of his home was Aleria waving to him. As he waved back, he felt a sharp pain run up his arm. Despite Nyna’s care, it had not finished healing. Now more than ever did success look unlikely. But there was no turning back now.