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"Are you really going to go riding Syrax in this weather?" Alicent asked, watching the rain pouring down the window. "Will she even tolerate it?"
"No, we're not going riding," Rhaenyra said, sounding resigned. "She doesn't like the rain. And it's hard to ride her like this anyway, because the rain just steams off as soon as it touches her." Alicent remembered hearing that dragons were 'fire made flesh', and thought of rain vaporizing into steam when it fell into a roaring fire. She nodded, and Rhaenyra turned to look at her. "I had a different idea, actually."
"What?" Alicent asked. Rhaenyra seemed unusually tense.
Rhaenyra paused, and then the words rushed out. "I thought I might introduce you to her. She's tame enough, as long as you don't startle her, and I'll be right there."
Thoughts flurried through Alicent's mind. Dragons were dangerous animals, and sometimes they reacted violently to strange humans. On the other hand, with their rider there, they could even be convinced to allow another person to ride them briefly, and surely Rhaenyra wouldn't let Syrax hurt her. She trusted Rhaenyra, and she wanted to take this opportunity to spend time with her. Fast enough that she didn't think Rhaenyra would notice the delay, she made a decision and smiled. "I would love to meet Syrax."
Rhaenyra smiled widely in return. "Wonderful. You'll need to get changed first - do you have anything suitable? Not full leathers, but something that can get muddy?"
Alicent nodded. "Back in my room. I'll go change." One of her traveling dresses would probably be best for this.
In a surprisingly short amount of time, they were in a carriage and on their way to the Dragonpit. The people of King's Landing were mostly hiding beneath awnings or rushing from place to place with hoods up, and few of them turned to watch the passing carriage. Ser Harrold Westerling sat silently on one side, and Rhaenyra and Alicent took the other.
"It's important to approach her slowly," Rhaenyra said. "Don't startle her. She might recognize you, since you've come with me before, but not well because you've never really been close to her." Alicent was a bit surprised at that. She'd never done anything to distinguish herself to Syrax, except being present when Rhaenyra took Syrax out flying. But she nodded and kept listening. The advice itself didn't seem too different from being introduced to a dog or horse, although with worse consequences; she was more focused on Rhaenyra's bright enthusiasm as she talked about her dragon. The spark of passion in Rhaenyra's eyes was more rewarding to her than the actual reason, and she would happily sit and listen to talk about dragons for the duration of the trip to keep that spark alive.
The rain was coming down even harder when they arrived, and Alicent's cloak could only keep so much of it off. Forgoing propriety for a moment, she darted into the shelter of the entrance to the Dragonpit, followed quickly by Rhaenyra and Ser Harrold. The smell of dragons, smoky and faintly spicy, suffused the air of the Dragonpit, and fog was creeping out where the warm air inside met the cool, wet air outside.
One of the servants - not a Dragonkeeper, probably one of the ones who was responsible for making sure the dragons were fed, watered, and mucked out - appeared as if from nowhere. "Princess Rhaenyra, Lady Alicent, Ser Harrold," she said with a curtsey. "Shall I take your cloaks?"
As soon as she'd disappeared with the cloaks, another servant appeared to lead them to Syrax's portion of the Dragonpit. The great gold dragon was curled up in a loose circle, one wing wrapped over her head as if she was sleeping, but when Rhaenyra called out "Syrax!", she sat up sharply. Her sharp eyes surveyed the scene before her. Ser Harrold and the servant hadn't entered Syrax's stall, leaving only Rhaenyra and Alicent in the room with her.
Seeing Syrax from a distance, being handled by Rhaenyra and the Dragonkeepers, had not prepared Alicent to have the dragon examine her. Syrax's head alone was larger than she was, and the dragon focused on her with a degree of intelligence that Alicent had never seen before in an animal. She took a deep breath and held out a hand, palm up. "Hello," she said, praying her voice didn't shake.
Rhaenyra said something in High Valyrian, and Syrax snorted, smoke trailing from the corners of her mouth. She leaned down, closer to Alicent, as if sniffing at her, and Alicent stared deep into the dragon's eyes. The creature was intelligent, she could feel that. Syrax knew her strength, and knew she could snap the chains that bound her and crack the roof of the Dragonpit to fly free whenever she chose. But Alicent could feel a deep love for Rhaenyra as well, keeping Syrax here so that she could be Rhaenyra's companion and ally. That desire to stay by Rhaenyra's side and help her was something they shared, Alicent could feel it, and it seemed that Syrax could too.
The tension of the moment broke as Syrax straightened up again. Rhaenyra was speaking in High Valyrian, saying something Alicent didn't understand except for a moment when she caught her own name. Syrax reared up and flapped her wings for a moment, buffeting Alicent and Rhaenyra with wind, before sinking back down onto the floor.
"You can come closer now," Rhaenyra said, dropping the High Valyrian and stepping towards Syrax. "She knows who you are, and you can touch her." Alicent approached hesitantly; despite her moment of rapprochement with Syrax, and her trust of Rhaenyra, she still wasn't completely confident that the enormous dragon was friendly. But Syrax didn't move as Rhaenyra reached out to rub the ridge above her eye, and Alicent finally took a deep breath and did the same. The dragon's scales were unexpectedly hot, and she could almost feel a pulsation like a heartbeat inside. As Rhaenyra rubbed along the upper ridge, Syrax's eyes closed and her tail began to sway, like a cat being scratched behind the ears.
They could only stay for an hour or so, but in that time, Rhaenyra showed Alicent the hardest places for a dragon to reach and scratch. A few times, she managed to draw a low rumbling noise out of Syrax, like a cat's purr. When they left, she was curled up on the floor again, ready to go back to sleep.
"Perhaps you'll be able to hatch one of her eggs," Rhaenyra commented on the way back. Her tone was light, but Alicent could tell she wasn't entirely joking. "She's laid several, but many of them haven't hatched."
"I doubt anyone would give me a dragon egg," Alicent said. "I'm no Targaryen."
"If I become queen, who's to stop me?" Rhaenyra asked, smiling. "If I say my closest friend should be given the chance to hatch a dragon, so that we can fly together, then it will be done."
My closest friend. The words sank into Alicent's heart, and she smiled back. "You're right, Rhaenyra. Perhaps one day I'll be able to ride on one of Syrax's children."