GoT: The Blessed and the Cursed

*Woosh*

*Woosh*

Two arrows left the bow, in quick succession, with the first hitting the bullseye, and the second splitting it apart and hitting the same spot.

The Kharzik Twins grinned at him challengingly, and he smiled before he nocked the arrow and drew the string.

Taking a deep breath, he aimed at the target that was a hundred and fifty feet away, and his brows furrowed as soon as he let the arrow loose.

It was on target, but nowhere near bullseye, and seeing the result, the twins proudly smirked at him.

In the last few days, they had discovered that he was better with the staffs, battle axes, halberds, and swords, but they were better than him with their Dirks and Bows.

Azaerys could not even compete with them in Archery on Foot, much less on the back of the Horse or Hippogriff and against moving targets. And it pleased them a lot.

There was something they were better at than him.

The skill that the Kharziks possessed with their bows was simply astounding. It was as if every child was born with a bow and arrow in their hands and had practised the skill since their first breath.

And even though the Young King was reluctant to admit it, he knew that it would take him a lot of years to reach the level of skill that Laeha and Laena possessed with the bow.

"Yours Grace," a sweet voice called out from behind him, and he smiled before turning to look at her.

Arianne seemingly had some things going on in her mind, and she immediately tip-toed and pulled him down with his collar to kiss him.

When their lips separated, she threw an innocent smile at the twins, who were looking their way with their brows raised.

"Is she really your wife?" Laena asked him, and seeing him nod his head, she seemed confused. "Why?"

"What do you mean?" He curiously asked.

"She's weak. Just a pretty Charmer. How will she be able to give you strong children?" Asked Laeha, and on the side, Viserys' mouth twitched in amusement.

"Is she very intelligent?" Her sister inquired, still trying to make sense, and Azaerys chuckled at her words.

"She's smart, not warfare smart, but she possesses good interpersonal skills. She's beautiful. I feel happy with her. She's also a princess, so, there is a political aspect to our relationship. And even though she is not a brilliant fighter, she is willing to learn."

The two still did not understand everything but nodded their heads. He knew that the politics and its subtleness were lost on them, so, he did not bother explaining things in detail.

"What did they say?" His wife lightly asked.

"They say that you are weak, and they don't understand why I married you. According to them, you won't be able to give me strong children and you are just a pretty Charmer."

Viserys looked at him in disbelief at being so honest, and he wisely walked a little away to keep practising with the bow.

"Is that so?" The Martell narrowed her eyes at the Kharziks. "And what did you say in my defence?"

"That you are smart and possess remarkable interpersonal skills. That even though you are not a fighter, you are willing to learn. And that you are beautiful and I feel happy with you."

Arianne only cared about the last sentence, and she beamed a smile at him before kissing him again.

"I rode a Hippogriff!" She happily informed him, and he nudged his nose against hers.

"I saw. How are they compared to the Griffins?"

"They are smaller, almost the size of horses, so it is easier and more comfortable to ride them," she honestly answered.

"That's true. These creatures are better rides, and Griifins are better warfare companions."

"Can I keep one of the Eggs or take a young Hippogriff?" She requested, looking at him with doe eyes.

"Here's the bow, and there's the target," he said as he handed her the weapon and pointed at the target that was a hundred and fifty feet away. "You have 10 arrows, 10 chances, hit it once and I will give you an Egg or a baby Hippogriff."

"Promise?" She grinned, and as soon as he nodded his head, she took the quiver, wore it on her back, and then selected her first arrow.

*Woosh*

Arianne frowned a little when she missed the mark, and seeing the waving flags on the walls, she observed the strength and direction of the wind.

Nocking up an arrow again, she aimed, and then let it loose.

It missed and missed again.

Arianne kept trying, but she always missed the target by a little.

Suddenly, she heard someone giggling, and when she saw the twins cover their mouths as they watched her, she became even more irritated.

Taking a deep breath, she imagined their faces at the target, and this time, her arrow did hit the mark, and surprisingly it was very close to the bullseye.

Even she was dismayed at the results, but then she laughed and jumped at Azaerys, hugging him.

"I did it!"

"Do it again."

"No! You promised me." She pouted, knowing well that she had fluked the last shot.

"Fine. So, an Egg or..."

"A baby Hippogriff!" She happily said, and as soon as Azaerys nodded to her, her face paled as she looked behind him.

"Gwaaaarrrrr"

The roar of Nefaerion, as she landed behind her Master, scared the life out of the Kharzik Twins. Even the guards on the walls were alarmed, and Viserys too felt his heart thumping hard against his chest.

"Yes?" The Young King turned around to meet the crimson eyes of his she-dragon, who blew some hot breath on his face, making him chuckle. "No. You can not eat them." He shook his head when his dragon signalled towards the Hippogriffs who was flying in the distance.

She let out a whine, and he laughed at her behaviour.

"They are not tasty. You must not eat them." He gently said to her in Ancient Valyrian and then stepped forward to hug her head. "Let's go flying. I will hunt with you."

As soon as she heard his words, Nefaerion lowered her body down to the ground, and Arianne wisely stepped away with Viserys.

Once he mounted her, the she-dragon let out a roar again, and then she ran forward before flapping her wings and taking off to the skies.

The Targaryen Prince laughed when he saw the dragon go farther and farther away, and then excitedly called out to his own Dragon.

"Rhaelyx!"

Laena and Laeha watched in intrigue as the crimson dragon, which was much larger than Nefaerion, answered from somewhere in the forest and came flying towards Viserys.

"Take me with you!" Arianne excitedly said, and the Prince nodded to her as he helped her climb the back of the dragon.

Since there were no saddles, he made sure that she was sitting correctly and that she had a good hold on the spine bone that stuck out on Rhaelyx's back in the form of spikes.

He then sat a little ahead, right at the base of the neck, and Rhaelyx moved as soon as he was ready.

She flapped her wings, leaving behind strong gusts of wind, and then she ran forward before taking off, heading in the same direction that Azaerys and Nefaerion had gone into.

"Lykiri, Rhaelyx..." Viserys reminded the She-Dragon that she needed to fly safely since Arianne was on the back too, and thankfully, the crimson She-Dragon was the most gentle dragon of their household.

They flew for a good hour before they reached the end of the grasslands, right where the forest leading up to the tall mountains began, and they found Nefaerion, who was eating a wild buffalo on the thick grass.

Azaerys was sitting next to the stream, dipping his feet into the water, relaxing under the cloudy sky.

Rhaelyx landed behind him, and then teasingly blew hot breath on him, which tickled and prompted him to laugh.

Arianne swayed on her feet when she stepped on the ground, and an infectious smile remained on her face when she sat by her husband's side and told him how amazing flying was and how much more fun it was on a dragon than a Hippogriff.

Viserys and his Dragon let them be and flew off to hunt as well, and seeing the opportunity, the Martell Queen decided to seduce her King.

She was happy today, and Azaerys loved this wild and adventurous side of hers.

A couple of hours later, when the Targaryen Prince returned, he found the Young King taking a nap against his She-Dragon, who was asleep too, and in his arms was Arianne, peacefully asleep as well.

Seeing that there were still a few hours of daylight left, he decided to not bother them and landed a little away from their place.

Not knowing what to do, he sat down against, Rhaelyx, shared the Dragonsight with her, and looked around. Later, he started chatting with his companion, and eventually, drifted off to sleep as the sweet breeze lulled him to his dreams.

"Hey, wake up."

The Prince panicked a little when he felt someone shaking his shoulder, but immediately relaxed when his eyes saw Azaerys' face.

"Time to head back."

The sky was already dark, and the pale moonlight and stars were providing illumination now.

"Head back to the Lion's Town."

"Where are you going?" Viserys frowned, and even Arianne curiously looked at her husband.

"On the other side. Man-Apes should be out of their dens right now, and I need to see their numbers and observe their behaviour."

"I will drop off Arianne and come over to you."

"It's fine."

"No, I will come." The Prince shook his head.

"Suit yourself, but stay high in the sky, inside the clouds, where they can not see you. Use Dragonsight."

Viserys nodded in promise, and after they helped Arianne sit on the back of Rhaelyx, the Crimson dragon flew up towards the Lion's Town.

Azaerys watched them leave and then walked over to Nefaerion, who was waiting for him.

"Let's go, Girl."

Once he took his seat, the black dragon shot up in the sky at an alarming speed, being as playful as ever with him.

Nefaerion was soon above the clouds, above Rhaelyx, and after playfully circling the crimson dragon, she picked up even more speed and rushed towards the north.

Azaerys decided to take a short detour and checked up on their ships first, and finding that everyone was fine, he started scanning the Man-Ape region from the river mouth.

He had already seen glimpses of these creatures in his vision, but now he got to take a very good look at them.

For a good hour, he travelled further and further up north, as far as the clouds covered the sky, and he discovered a Pirate crew, who had landed on this continent and was being hunted by the Man-Apes close to the beach.

He did not need to instruct Nefaerion that she had to keep quiet. His dragon barely ever needed any instructions from him, as she could just sense his intentions.

The scenes they witnessed did not bother either of them and after the last pirate fell and the Man-Apes started ripping his limbs and body apart, he watched them take the hunted food back to their dens and offer it to the young Man-Apes, who happily munched on her flesh of men.

Azaer also saw that a group of Man-Apes push a tall tree, soon uprooting it, and then they began breaking off its branches to create their javelins. For the trunk, a group of them picked it up and started moving south.

He had already seen several such trunks piled up a league away from the river that divided the Man-Ape and Kharzik Lands. It was clear that they intended to use these trunks to create bridges to cross the river, which was their best route to enter the land of their prey.

There were a lot of other things that he witnessed as well, things that only savages could do.

By the time he landed near the Lion's Town and met with Viserys, the Targaryen Prince too had seen a little too much, and there was clear disgust and horror on his face.

"We need to kill them all, Azer."

"No," he answered, and the Prince stopped in his tracks as they neared the gate of town.

"No? There are millions of those creatures! Their region is almost out of prey, and I even saw them kill their own kind and eat the children of the fallen. They will not go back to their region the next time they come here, or maybe it will happen next year. However, they will invade this land and make the forests on this side their new home. The Kharziks don't stand a chance again that many Man-Apes. Did you see those creatures? They are two or three times bigger than Ser Gerold..."

"Lykiri..." Azaerys placed his hand on his shoulder and asked him to calm down. "We will cut their numbers, will reduce their population to a few hundred thousand. We will force them back to their land, and with their numbers cut, the prey in their region will not run dry for another decade or two. Don't worry."

"Why do you want them to live?" He frowned, and the Young King sighed.

"They keep this land safe, Viserys. They kill the invaders and prevent people from Essos and around the world from discovering the riches of this land. Once these Man-Apes are dead, no one will be able to protect these forests, and soon, people will come to settle here, proving to be a much bigger threat to the Kharziks than the threat that these unintelligent Man-Ages pose them."

The Prince lowered his head once he heard his reasons, and soon realised that killing all the Man-Apes was unwise.

"Besides, it is not possible to kill all of them without destroying the forests. It is something that Kharziks too would not approve."

Viserys sighed at his words and nodded his head.

"I need some sleep."

"Yes, get some rest. The two of us will leave tomorrow for Siren."

"What?"

"We need to make some preparations, and I need Aerylyx here."

"Okay," The Prince nodded to him and smiled when he found Arianne and Arthur standing at the gate, waiting for them. "They worry too much."

Azaerys laughed at his words and shook his head, not saying anything.