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The egg crackled under the heat. Its dark scales sparked a fiery orange and shuddered to the ground in piles of ash.
Daena watched intently. The bright flames reflected on her face and illuminated her irritation.
"Why won't you hatch already?" She snarled, pressing her hands on the egg and ignoring the searing pain.
Daena refused to be dragonless like her brother, Baelor, who stared longingly at a still egg that would likely never see daylight.
"Please," She whispered. "I was born to ride a dragon."
The egg continued to burn, forcing Daena to draw her hands away with a pained hiss.
She sniffled as she massaged the irritated skin of her hands and ducked her head, trying to obscure her tears.
Suddenly there was a loud crack, like a stone splitting open.
Daena's head snapped up, her eyes wide with wonder as she watched a small dark head poke out of the remnants of a broken shell.
The dragon's fiery amber eyes stared back at her.
-
Only a few days earlier, Daena was looking for a name.
She had already considered Balerion, of course, and Vermithor or her grandfather's Caraxes and Meleys, the dragon of Rhaenys, the Queen Who Never Was and wife of the Sea Snake. She had even considered Vermax, Arrax, and Tyraxes in honor of her uncle's, Lucerys, Joffrey, her aunt Baela's lost love Jacaerys. Maybe even Moondancer in honor of her. But not Vhagar.
Daenaera had expressly forbidden Daena from naming her dragon after the old hoary beast that played a significant role in her late grandfather's death.
Daeron suggested she use a name like Stormfyre or Halestorm, as he had to honor their father's Stormcloud. Daena had taken a fancy to that idea.
Baelor, on the other hand, proposed a name to honor the Seven, such as Warrior or Maiden. Daena wasn't quite as receptive to that suggestion.
Her dragon would be second coming of the Black Dread. It deserved a name worthy of such a title.
She found one in the Valyrian god of fire, stars, moon, sun, and the dawn.
-
Aegon did not often get enough sleep, but when he did, it was usually interrupted by some crisis or another.
On this particular night, his rest was disturbed by a shout.
He quickly identified the scream as belonging to his eldest daughter and leaped from the bed to his feet. Daenaera reacted similarly, running out of the room like a woman possessed.
They found Daena standing in the middle of the hallway, her hands reddened and her face alight with joy.
In her arms was a newborn dragon, the biggest Aegon had ever seen.
The beast was a larger size than Stormstar was at her hatching, with scales so dark the dragon would've been difficult to see were it not for the eyes that gleamed like twin flames in the dark.
"Mother! Father! Look!" Daena exclaimed, lifting the wriggling dragon up to them. "Gaelithox has finally hatched!"
"Gaelithox?" Aegon repeated faintly, and Daena nodded with much enthusiasm.
"For the Valyrian god, I take it," Daenaera mused, reaching out to pet the fussy beast.
Gaelithox gave her an unamused look and attempted to nibble her fingers.
Daenaera couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, you're a fierce one, aren't you?"
Just like Daena. The last part went unsaid, but Aegon knew his wife well enough to understand her unspoken thoughts.
He had no doubt that Daena and her little Black Dread would be the wonder and terror of the age.