Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 87 Queen
Arax landed first, followed by Vermax. The two boys jumped off the dragon's back and ran to the castle in a hurry. Luthris almost tripped over his own black cloak. Vermithor was too big and could not fly as fast as the two dragons, so he could only land on the beach of Dragonstone.

As Longzel climbed down from the dragon's back, Wormisol suddenly turned his head and looked at the small boat slowly approaching the shore. The people on the boat immediately raised a flag with a red dragon on a black background and a flag with Princess Rainier's personal emblem.

This is the banner of the Targaryen family and one of the banners followed by the Black Party. The other side is the quarter banner of Princess Rhaenyra. Her personal coat of arms is drawn on it. The four patterns on the shield are two red dragons on a black background, one is the crescent falcon coat of arms of her mother Queen Emma Arryn, and the other is the seahorse coat of arms of Laenor Velaryon.

Longzel squinted his eyes and looked at the people getting on and off the boat, especially the old man with white armor and white cape hidden under the black cloak.

"Prince Longzel." Sir Stephen Darklin recognized Longzel. After all, he was not much different from six years ago, except that the childishness between his eyebrows and eyes had completely disappeared. His face was also much tougher. When they arrived in King's Landing that year, Stephen Darklin was on duty at the Red Castle. He witnessed the moment when the Longzel brothers arrived.

Dozens of huge ships with purple-bottomed silver dragon sails sailed into the port of King's Landing. The silver dragon laurel leaf patterns on the sails of each ship were sewn with silver thread, shining brightly in the sun. When hundreds of tall silver-haired warriors wearing silver plate chain mail and purple cloaks rode armored war horses with tiger stripes paraded through the city, the whole King's Landing was boiling, especially when they saw the huge Sothoryos forest elephants carrying boxes of gold and jewels.

The long voyage and the unfamiliar climate caused the giant elephants to walk unsteadily. The jewels originally inlaid on the elephant's clothes and ivory, along with the jewels in the box, fell to the ground with the elephant's wobbly steps. In fact, the elephants of the Varese family did not survive to return to the Red Mountains, and all died on the way. However, this did not prevent them from giving the citizens of King's Landing a big shock.

So that night the Flea Bottom was brightly lit. No, not just that day, but for several days in a row the Flea Bottom and every street was brightly lit.

Sir Stephen still remembers the moment when two giant dragons descended from the sky, two handsome young men with only slight differences in hair length and height walked down from the dragons' backs, the shocked looks in his and his sworn brothers' eyes, and the silent throne room.

Even the king on the Iron Throne was silent for a long time, until the servant beside Longzel, the young man with black hair and golden eyes and the barbarian boy who dared to take off his shirt in front of the king announced the names of the two brothers, the king broke out of silence.

When his thoughts returned to his brain, Sir Stephen Darklyn was suddenly delighted. If Longzel was willing to stand on the side of Rhaenyra, then the Black Party would surely win.

"I am Stephen Darklyn, a member of the late king's Kingsguard. I am now following the late king's will to guard the true Queen." Stephen Darklyn explained why he appeared on Dragonstone.

Longzel nodded: "The princess will welcome you." After that, he walked towards the castle.

"Your Highness, it's time to call her Queen." Stephen Darklin insisted, tightening his package and following closely behind Longzel.

"The princess has not been crowned yet." Longzel said with a smile, "But the 'legitimate king' in King's Landing was crowned the Conqueror's Crown by the captain of the Kingsguard in front of the people. This alone, plus the fact that Aegon is a man, is enough for most of the nobles in the country to favor him."

"Oathbreaker," Stephen Darklyn spat. "Criston Cole has sullied his white robes. The duty of the Kingsguard is to protect the king, not to participate in the transfer of the throne. He is gambling with the future of the Kingsguard."

Longzel spread his hands slightly, indicating that he seldom participated in the intrigues in the palace. Compared with the quagmire of King's Landing, he preferred his own territory.

As they were talking, they had already reached the courtyard of Dragonstone Castle, where Rhaenyra dragged her weak body out with everyone from the Black Party meeting. Jacaerys and Lucerys clung to their mother, apparently having been talking for quite some time.

"Prince Longzel, thank you for your support." Although Rhaenyra was still very weak, the smile on her face was visible to almost everyone: "I have reserved a seat for you in my royal council. As long as the usurper surrenders, I will give you whatever you want!"

Longzel smiled and said, "Your Highness, I am Xiaojie's knight. His affairs are my affairs. However, I also have my own territories to take care of. Stormland and Riverbend are adjacent to my territories. If the negotiations fail and the war breaks out, I must consider my territories first."

"As long as you stand by my side, I have the confidence to make the usurper pay the price." Rainier didn't care whether Longzel would fight by her side. She cared more about whether the governor of the borderland could fight for her.

"Your Majesty." Sir Stephen Darklyn took the opportunity to take out the crown from the package. "I brought the crowns of the Centenary King and the previous king." The white-haired White Knight glanced at his nephew Gunthor Darklyn and knelt on one knee in front of Rhaenyra.

"Your Majesty, this is your legal right." The White Knight respectfully placed the crown in his palm.

"Long live Her Majesty!" Lord Bartimos Celtigar was the first to raise his hand, and then all the Black Party nobles and the Dragonstone soldiers in the courtyard began to shout "Long live Her Majesty! Long live the light of the kingdom! Long live the rightful queen!"

Daemon took the crown and carefully placed it on his wife's head. "Hail Queen Rhaenyra of House Targaryen, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm!"

Dragonzel smiled as he watched the crowd cheering. Princess Rhaenys was also applauding. The old princess had a complicated look in her eyes, showing relief but also a sense of loss. Rhaenyra tried to straighten her back and slowly bestowed the title of Protector of the Realm on her husband. She also appointed Jacaerys as Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne.

"My Lords, Your Majesty, Your Highness." Bartimos Celtigar walked into the crowd again. "Prince Longzel's Wormithor has arrived at Dragonstone. We now have three dragons that can go into battle immediately. The dragons of the two princes can also fight in the sky. The dragon of the usurper Daeron is far away in Oldtown. Now there are only three dragons in King's Landing. It's five against three. The advantage is on my side. Your Majesty, I suggest that we send out the dragons immediately to let the usurper of King's Landing experience the dragon's wrath."

"Lord Setiga," Daemon said softly, "I understand your defense of my wife's power, but the situation is different. Dragons are not everything in war, especially in the war of the Dragon King family. Westeros has a lot of history of Valyria, and it is not without records of Maegor riding the Black Death to kill Silver. Dragon war is not a foolproof measure. Unless it is a last resort, we will not use our dragons to fight the usurper." Daemon said and looked at Longzier. "The dragon is a deterrent. It is like my dark sister. It is always more feared by the enemy when it is hidden in the scabbard and ready to strike than when it is unsheathed and ready to cut people."

He and Rhaenys had held the same idea at the beginning, so although they were ready to launch a dragon war, when they saw the two dragons strengthened by the mysterious energy of the Valyrian ruins, Daemon decisively gave up the idea of ​​a dragon war. Now that there are only two dragon king families with dragons left, every dragon is precious. It doesn't matter how many mortal troops die. Every dragon that dies is a loss of flesh from these two ancient families.

"Before you take up your sword, fight with your words," Daemon continued.

Longzier nodded slightly, and continued Daemon's words: "Aegon has the support of a large number of small and medium nobles. His base is the Hightower family in the south and the Lannister family in the west. The entire west and most of the south are at his disposal." Longzier said: "Duke Loras dare not offend the Hightower family, but as the governor of the Riverland, Duke Loras still has considerable power. If he can deal with the Hightower family, it would be best. If not, I need to stay in the south. Dorne is broken, but they promised to fight for the queen. Prince Keoren sent 1500 troops to support your cause." Longzier stood in the middle of the courtyard, analyzing the situation in the south. "And the Stormlands."

“Storm’s End will stand by me,” said Princess Rhaenyra.

Rhaenys nodded: "My mother, Jocelyn Baratheon, is a blood relative of the late old Duke Bermond, who has always firmly supported the rights of Rhaenyra and me." "The Vale and the North will most likely stand on our side, but the North is too big and too far away." Daemon smiled and said, "If I wait for the Stark family in the North to come south, I might have put the usurper's head on the tip of the spear."

"Damon, don't underestimate Lord Stark in the North." Longzel smiled. "Although I am in the borderland, I have heard of the great achievements of Lord Cregan Stark. I am amazed at his decisiveness in dealing with Ser Benard Stark. As long as he stands on our side, I can guarantee that he will bring us surprises."

"Cousin, we need your Silver Fleet," Rhaenys said. "House Velaryon will block the Throat, which requires a large number of ships. The Velaryons alone are a bit stretched."

Longzel nodded and said, "I have asked Sir Miles to lead thirty warships northward. The Silver Fleet still needs to patrol the Dorne Sea. The pirates in the Stone Steps Islands are ready to make a move recently."

Thirty ships. Corliss knew that these ships were not enough, but it was better to have more than nothing: "Prince, on behalf of the Velaryon family, thank you for your support."

Longzel nodded: "So what we need to do is to win over the lords of the Vale, Stormlands and the North, and then win the support of the Riverlands."

"We have no shortage of friends in the Riverlands." Daemon smiled. "But we need a base where they can boldly raise their black flags."

"Harrenhal," said Dragonzel.

Daemon nodded, "Your Majesty, I will go to Harrenhal and get you an army from the riverlands."

"I will guard Dragon's Nest." Longzel said, "If there is any change in Stormland, I will suppress it immediately. As for Riverbend, I will let the Hightower family know the consequences of betrayal."

"House Velaryon will block the throat," Lord Corliss said. "Without the south, King's Landing will be without food support from the Reach and no more supplies from the sea. Starvation will destroy this city and the usurper."

Rhaenyra nodded in agreement. She would stay at Dragonstone to recover.

"We will send troops to help defend Dragonstone." Lord Bartimos Celtigar said. Their forces are limited, but it is more than enough to protect a castle. Princess Rhaenys will ride Melias to patrol the Throat and Blackwater Bay, protect the fleet, and prevent the opponent's dragons from attacking. Dragonstone has a complete tunnel system. In fact, it is not particularly afraid of dragon air raids. It is more afraid of mortal armies. After all, it is difficult for dragon flames to burn people hiding deep underground and in the mountains, but mortal armies will really dig deep into the ground.

"Your Majesty." Maester Gladys changed his address and said, "I will send a raven to the lord I just mentioned."

"No need for ravens, mother." Prince Jacaerys stood in the center of the courtyard, showing off his brown-black hair in front of everyone. "We have dragons, and dragons are more convincing than ravens. Let Xiaolu and I be the messengers."

"That's right!" Lucerys jumped up: "We are also men of the Targaryen family. We will also fight for your power."

"And me!" Eleven-year-old Joffrey also jumped out. "Terrexu can carry people into space, so can I!"

Lord Collis couldn't help but laugh when he heard Xiaolu's words: "Brat, you are still named Velaryon now." Anyone could hear the pride and smile in the sea snake's tone.

"Joffrey! Stop it!" Rhaenyra pulled Joffrey back and tapped the boy's forehead angrily. But she couldn't refuse Joffrey and Xiaolu's request.

As a mother, she could only leave a kiss on each of her two sons' foreheads.

"Remember, you are just messengers, not knights," she said sternly. "Fighting is strictly prohibited, and guests' rights must be strictly observed."

"Don't worry, princess." Longzel's relieved smile never disappeared: "They are not knights yet."

"Hehe, my lord, so after this battle, can you enthrone me as a knight?" Jacaerys said with a smile when he heard it.

"Haha." Long Zeer laughed: "Let's talk about it after the battle is over."

"Xiao Jie, you go to the valley and the north, you are the elder brother, you have to..."

"I understand, mother." Jacaerys understood what his mother meant. The North and the Vale were farther away, more dangerous, and more likely to be intercepted by the Green Party's dragons or lords loyal to the Green Party. Storm's End was not only close to Dragonstone, but also closer to Dragon's Nest. The path could fly directly to Dragon's Nest at any time, and Silverwing was still guarding Dragon's Nest. Even Vhagar couldn't expect to escape unscathed from the siege of several dragons.

"Don't worry, little Lu, you will definitely receive a warm welcome at Storm's End." Rhaenyra hugged her son. Lucerys was almost as tall as her now. After following Valar for so many years, this cute chipmunk had grown into a handsome young man.

"Princess Rhaenys has the blood of House Baratheon flowing in her veins. They will definitely uphold their oath and defend their legitimate queen."

The first update is 4000 words. By September 9, the author will be busy with projects and papers, so the update time will be a bit chaotic, but the number of words in both updates will increase significantly.

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(End of this chapter)