11 Dropping All Pretense

During the whole way back, Kael was in silence. His host of armored soldiers guessed that he was too immersed in his prized book to talk to them. Even Valanar thought so.

Once they arrived back at the Regallyon's main tower it was already evening and the sun was already setting on the horizon.

Kael walked down from his palanquin. This time he was not limping like a sickly man, although still pale looking, Kael walked with elegance and displayed a constant confident smirk on his face.

As he passed by his servants that waited for his return outside the tower, he nodded to them.

Valanar was walking valiantly beside his liege, with confidence and pride.

Once they finally entered the tower and ordered all the servants to go back to their duties, they climbed to the higher levels, the private quarters of the family. Only the siblings were allowed here but with permission Valanar could come too.

Once they entered the private area of the tower, Kael collapsed on the ground, panting hard.

Valanar instantly became worried and came to help him.

His sister, Vaela, who waited for his return and saw him flaunting his elegance and confidence through the windows, couldn't understand what was going on, but she went to help him as well.

"My Lord!" exclaimed Valanar, worried, panicked even, holding him by his armpits and helping him to sit on his comfortable sofa chair.

"Keep it down, Valanar.." said Kael panting, but with a satisfied smile on his face.

"What's going on here? Why did he suddenly collapse like that? He was looking just perfect before!" Said Vaela, completely confused but scared.

"I-it's nothing Vae, I just used some magic to win a duel..." Kael answered with a bit of difficulty, he was really feeling weakened right now.

"What? How… WHY?!" Vaela started speaking in a lost tone, but then shouted in anger. How could Kaelarys put his own health in jeopardy for the sake of a stupid book? He had Valanar with him for the fourteen!

"I wish to know that as well my Lady, my Lord was behaving perfectly, I even believed it when I saw no aftereffect whatsoever after the duel… I also don't understand why he did it now that I see his outcome..."

Both of them cast angry judgmental gazes toward Kael, who simply started laughing.

His laugh was kinda creepy due to the pain in his chest and weakened body.

"How long… do you think… the vultures would stay away… if I kept displaying weakness?" he said with long pauses between words.

""What?"" both Valanar and Vaela asked at the same time.

"Our father… died 10 years ago… 10 years… I'm 30… Vaela is 9 and 10… for 10 years, I wasn't capable of riding my dragon… how do you think that … the other dragonlords would see us…?" he asked while taking deep breaths

Hearing no response, he continued "They would see us … as weak… they would think that… our time has passed… and that we are unworthy of our stand … So, tell me... How long… would the vultures stay away… if I kept displaying… weakness?"

"B-but… My lord! You breathed fire after mounting your dragon!" Valanar shouted.

"Aye… and that kept me in bed… for two days… and locked inside... this tower… for a fortnight… with many healers and bloodmages… coming to see my condition… how long until… rumors were spread… and everyone discovered… that the Lord of the Sacred Dragonlord family of Regallyon …is with one foot in the grave?"

"A-are you really almost dead, Kael?" asked Vaela while hiccupping, she had tears in her eyes.

"No, I am not… far from it…" Said Kael while looking at her with a gentle smile, despite of his pained visage "But… how would the others… see it…?"

"They would see the family of Regallyon as a free meal..." said Valanar absentmindedly.

"Aye… the property… the knowledge… the riches… and in their mind… the key to powerful magic… and more important… my wife... and my people…"

Vaela hugged him tightly and let her tears flow down her pretty face. Even Valanar's eyes watered a bit after hearing that.

"So…" said Valanar "All of that was a ploy? You didn't really want the book, did you?"

Kael chuckled "Of course I wanted the book, because I fear… that what is written in here is indeed our future…"

"Wha.. Ho-" Valanar tried to talk but was instantly cut off.

"Clairvoyance" said Kael.

"Clair what?" Vaela was confused.

"The magical gift of seeing the future… through visions or dreams… I assume… that… the Targaryen bloodline has that gift…" He raised the book "And this book… is related to most if not all... their visions…"

His sister and his sworn sword couldn't help but exchange gazes.

"I'm not… talking about some horseshit…" he took a pause to catch his breath "I've seen it… the future… the words of that little girl… were not lies… Valyria will be doomed… in less than 12 years…" he decided to let them know about it, he can't do everything by himself. He needs trusted aids.

But the other two collapsed on their chairs after hearing that...

"W-What?" said Vaela "Y-you've got to be joking, Brother"

"I am not."

"My Lord, the Valyrian Freehold has been ruling this side of the world for five thousand years…"

"I am NOT!" shouted Kael, which seemed to make his sister and best friend see the seriousness on his face.

"But.. then why did you do all of this? Why did you fight when we should be preparing to leave?" Asked Valanar with a solemn tone.

"We can't… not now.." said Kael.

"Why?" Valanar asked.

"Because of our position." It was Vaela who answered absentmindedly. "The Targaryens leaving can be seen as them feeling ashamed and humiliated by what happened, they will be mocked… but if we leave... considering our status in the Freehold… it would give some veracity to their claims…"

"Smart girl" Kael grinned at her, which made her grin back at him.

"But isn't that a good thing?" asked Valanar "That way others would leave too, and-"

"And what Valanar?" interrupted Kael again, but this time he was solemn "Do you know… why the Freehold works? Because all of the Dragonlord Families are on the same side. Why are we on the same side? Because we built this together, we all hold this place dear to us, and the Freehold is what keeps us together… without the Freehold… each Dragonlord family would go to a corner of the world, and after decades or centuries…"

""…War.."" Said both Vaela and Valanar, finally realizing what Kael was planning, he wanted to let everyone but their family perish in Valyria.

"This world is too small for too many powerful families… sharing this world with the Targaryens is already me being generous… the others are not needed…" he concluded.

Both Valanar and Vaela kept staring at Kael blankly, they never expected the man in front of them to say such words. Was he cruel? yes sometimes, but allow the biggest empire in the world to disappear with no survivors just to have no one to contest his dominance… that is not just cruelty… that's ruthlessness.

"But… why did you use magic on the Targaryens? You could've let me fight and I would've won easily…" said Valanar still not understanding.

"I needed to send a message, to increase the morale of our men, and to tell the Freehold that not only am I alive and well… but growing more and more powerful each day that passes…" Kael grinned "The Targaryens were just the prime target, I killed three birds with one stone"

".. But you kept pretending to be alright… if you had told me I would've helped you on our way back here." Valanar insisted.

".. The easier magic seems to the others, the more they will fear it..." Kael grinned. ".. and now... I'm sure that in one day or two… the whole Freehold will know what I did, and how easy it was for me to do it… and they will know… to not fuck with us."

There was a tense silence for almost a minute. Then Vaela and Valanar finally calmed down.

"Do you really plan to let Valyrians die? Just like that?" Aske Vaela while staring at her brother.

"Their life is not my responsibility; they heard the words of Daenys Targaryen and treated it as a joke and mockery. Vanity is a deadly disease in this world."

"But the innocent people… "

"How many innocents died for the sake of the Freehold, how many innocents have we killed to take over Essos during the past 5 millennia? Innocent die every day, and don't put the weight of their lives on my shoulders. I'm not their king and I'm not their God… How many innocents have our family enslaved and sacrificed for the sake of bloodmagic, sister? Do you think that you and I got born without anyone bleeding for it? And no... I'm not talking about mother."

"But these are OUR people! They are Valyrians!" She shouted.

Kael said nothing, just kept staring at her dead in the eyes with a calm, serene and yet ruthless gaze.

"My Lady. I think is best for us to put this conversation on hold, we are clearly not in the best mood for this. We can continue tomorrow."

She just nodded and avoided his gaze; she couldn't look at her brother right now. Then she stood up and left, leaving both men behind to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about.

"She will get over it, my Lord."

"Hmm… I hope so"

"But you surprise me more and more every day… to think you would be this ruthless, not only to others… but also yourself." Valanar said while staring at his liege.

"Do you disagree with me as well?"

Valanar shook his head "No, this world is a nasty place. You said yourself… cunts tend to live longer" he grinned. "What surprises me is not that, it is your behavior… right now if you had a crown on your head, I would've called you 'Your Grace' instead."

Kael smirked at that "You will have your opportunity for that later"

One of Valanar's eyebrows raised "My Lord..?"

"Tell me Valanar… are you with me?" Kael's eyes started to glow violet under the dim candlelight.

Valanar stared deep into Kaelarys' glowing violet eyes. "Til the end."