Valyrian Customs of Old

"Brother, can I speak with you for a minute?" said Jaelar, while eyeing Kael from the corner of his eye.

Aenar frowned "Sure." He saw his daughter and sons interacting with Kaelarys and couldn't help but smile.

They walked a bit far away, a bit hidden from the Regallyon host by using the big ships as cover.

"We got lucky brother, that sickly boy is interested in the brat's book. Considering that he came here by himself even under that condition, it means that he really wants it. And I mean.. REALLY wants it" said Jaelar with a smug smirk.

Aenar kept frowning "You have been off since their arrival, brother. What are you planning? They are at the top of the Freehold's food chain. Are you really going to antagonize them?"

Jaelar chuckled "Of course not! I'm not that stupid, if Daenys' dreams are wrong then we would be antagonizing someone with the power to trample our family."

Ease appeared on the Targaryen Lord's face "So what do you suggest?"

Jaelar grinned "What about some Valyrian steel? We only have two swords. We could very easily get a third."

"You must be joking Jaelar!" exclaimed Aenar "A Valyrian steel sword for a mere book written by a six and ten name days old girl?! They will contest you out on that."

A smug smirk appeared on Jaelar's face "If they contest my offer it's even better! I can demand a duel to set our rights, the boy is sick, brother. He can't fight."

Aenar stared into his brother's eyes "What if they just reject the deal without contesting? That means no duel, you can't push a duel without them contesting. And don't forget about that warrior beside Lord Regallyon, he is big and seems experienced and skilled."

A sly laugh came out of the younger brother's mouth "Hahaha, brother open your eyes! Do you think that boy would come all the way here to just reject my price? No, he wants it and I can see it. He will accept our price in the best-case scenario, or contest our price at the worst."

The Targaryen lord didn't like it "I don't agree with your sly approach brother. That will probably cause tension between our families. We could ask for some Valyrian steel yes, but a whole sword? That's absurd. Even if you win, our relationship with one of the sacred five would be tarnished, and considering their reputation… we won't be able to forge good relationships with bigger families either."

Jaelar just shrugged "Who cares? We are getting out of here anyway. They already mock us, it's impossible for any Dragonlord family to see us in a positive light because of the little girl. And if she is right about her dreams… we get a free sword out of a doomed man that won't be alive to retaliate."

Taking a deep breath Aenar nodded "You can't kill their fighter, otherwise they will hunt us down. So you will have to win without going too far."

"Leave it to me, brother! I've fought at the Valyria Daughters for years. I can subdue a man without many injuries" Jaelar nodded with a serious expression. He didn't want to think about the outcome if he permanently maimed someone from such high status and power. They would be fucked.

While the brothers were discussing the possibilities of a contestation battle, to earn the most out of their current circumstance, the little dragonlings were pestering Kael with a lot of questions.

"Is it true that you rode the biggest dragon in the freehold?!" Asked little Rhaenar with stars in his eyes. "I heard that his wingspan was as big as the city of Tyria, and he spewed wildfire from his mouth!"

"Who cares about the dragon's size?" Interrupted Gaemon. "I've heard that you can spit dragonfire like a real dragon, is that true?"

Rhaenar nodded "YES, that too! What about wings? We heard that you can unfold dragon wings from your back and fly on your own, and you fought your dragon in the skies to subdue him!"

Kael sweatdropped 'God damn brats, I can't even say anything…' he looked to Daenys and saw her considering something. 'At least one of them is polite enough.'

He was about to speak when the girl in question interrupted him.

"Ah, excuse me Lord Regallyon. Is it true that you are the age of my uncle, but because you are partially a dragon you look like you are of my age?" she asked

""REALLY?"" Shouted both boys. "I didn't know that! So you really are a dragon! Can you show us your wings?" asked one, he couldn't even notice who of the two little imps "Pretty please!" said the other.

All he could hear was the laugh of Valanar behind him, the man was tearing up at that, and approached him to join their fun chat. Unfortunately, before he could add anything to this amusing conversation, the two Targaryen men came back, and he could see a greedy look in their eyes, especially the thin, long-haired one.

"I hope we are not interrupting anything," said lord Aenar with a smile.

"No Father," said the three in unison.

'Those pricks are so well behaved in front of him… but total brats behind his back' thought Kael.

"We thought of a price, Lord Regallyon," said Jaelar with a gentle smile, which ironically made him look incredibly sly and untrustworthy.

"Oh? Do tell, as long as the price is fair, we can settle it easily." Said Kael while looking at the man.

"We want a Valyrian steel sword, that's our price." Said the Targaryen brother with a smirk.

"…"

Sneeze.

Everyone looked at Valanar, the source of the sound.

"Oh, I'm sorry… did I interrupt anything? I apologize my Lord, it's just that I am allergic to horseshit." He said with an impeccably innocent face.

The Targaryen children giggled, even Daenys. Aenar's face didn't change much, a tiny frown appeared but he controlled it. Jaelar on the other hand eyed him up and down.

"Why are you intruding on our negotiations, Valanar? This is a talk between Lords, vassals have no say in it" said Jaelar.

Valanar sneezed again "Oops, I apologize again… it seems that it's really nasty today…" he then turned to Jaelar and grinned "This is no talk between Lords, it's a talk between the second son of a weak exiled family and the Lord of the second most powerful house in the Freehold… but don't let me intrude your negotiations, I don't want to overstep my worth here…"

Jaelar obviously got livid, he was never insulted by mere vassals before, being a member of a Dragonlord family had many perks and most people looked up to them, except stronger families of course. But calling him the second son was stepping on his toes, he always hated that he was born second.

"What is your answer then, Lord Regallyon" said Aenar stepping in, he knew that although this Valanar was being incredibly rude, he wasn't wrong. So at least him talking face to face with Kaelarys on this would balance the situation and save his brother's pride, at least a little bit.

"I can't possibly agree with this price Lord Targaryen. Valyrian steel is priceless and you say that it's equivalent to a book written by a six- and ten-year-old girl about her dreams… it is quite a stretch, isn't it?" replied Kaelarys.

Aenar nodded, he was almost certain that the man in front of him wouldn't accept being taken advantage of so easily. "Would you like to reject our offer or contest our offer my Lord?"

At that question, Kaelarys grinned 'You are so obvious, little wyrmling…'.

"I would like to contest it of course; I came all the way here for the sake of this book." He spoke, which made Jaelar grin widely "But, why don't we increase the wager?" he asked.

"Oh? Do tell my Lord" Asked Aenar curious, but also a bit reluctant, his adversary here was way more confident than what he expected, a contestation he expected, but a counter-offer? No.

"If you win the duel, not only I will give you a Valyrian steel sword, but I also will grant you Valyrian steel armor." Said Kael with a smile.

The Targaryen brother gulped at that.

"But if I win… I will pay you a thousand gold honors for the book, which is already a high price, but I also will take Balerion, as I believed he hasn't bonded yet... being so young and all that." He finished with a wicked grin.

The two brothers now went pale, that damn dragon cost their family a fifth of their house riches five years ago when their father bought the egg, and now it costs them so much just to keep him fed. Not only that, but that Dragon was bred by legendary breeders, and it will grow to be the biggest known dragon in the future, according to Daenys' dreams.

But at the same time… Valyrian steel armor! Just the concept of it is absurd, of course the extra sharpness property of a blade would be useless, but the resistance and weight of such armor would make any knight who wore it to be as agile as a cat and as resistant as a dragon once they entered the battlefield.

Jaelar turned to his brother "Let's do it brother, I am confident that I can win."

Aenar kept staring at him with a serious gaze for several seconds, considering many outcomes of it. "I trust you brother." He said.

He turned to Kael "We accept your terms; my brother will represent the Targaryen family's interest in this duel."

"Good" Nodded Kael as Valanar approached his side, but before his loyal vassal could say a word he continued.

"And I shall be representing mine."

Kael concluded, to the dismay of Valanar and panic of Aenar and his brother.

"My Lord!" exclaimed Valanar "You can't! You are sick and weakened, and even if you weren't… Your skills with a sword…" he decided to keep the rest of it unsaid.

But Kael grinned at him "Who said I will be using a sword?"

Valanar got confused. "What?"

"A dragon wields no sword… A dragon needs no sword…"