Game of Thrones, Ice and Fire, I hatched the Black Death.

Chapter 10 Accept

"We have to think of something." Viserys finally regained some of his rationality, or rather, his opportunistic instincts. "We can't let this get out of hand. If news of the dragon leaks out, the whole of Essos will be shaken. We must find him quietly and... make contact with him."

He glanced at Daenerys, and the almost undisguised longing and radiance in his sister's eyes made his heart clench slightly, but it also made him realize that perhaps Daenerys would be a better "bridge".

The boy seemed...at least not hostile towards Dani.

"Let's get out of here first." Viserys struggled to his feet, brushing the mud off himself, trying to regain some composure, though he was still a sorry sight. "Let's go back to where we're temporarily staying. We'll think things through more carefully. That direction..."

He pointed in the direction Will had left, "It's deeper swamps and abandoned salt flats, rarely visited by humans. He might have a hiding place there. We can... search slowly."

Daenerys nodded, carefully wrapped the hairpin again, and placed it close to her body.

She didn't look at Viserys again; her gaze remained fixed on the depths of the reeds, as if she could see through the dense vegetation to the figure of the boy holding the dragon.

"He will lead us home," she whispered to herself, her tone more certain than ever before.

……

In the following days, Will clearly sensed that there were some unusual "traces" around his previously relatively secluded area of ​​activity.

It wasn't a chase, but more like a cautious exploration.

The slightly disturbed soil, the blurry marks left on the rocks or reeds that didn't belong to him and Yingyan, and even once, near a fishing spot he frequented, he found a small bag of slightly dried black bread and a piece of salted meat wrapped in a clean handkerchief.

The item was placed on a conspicuous stone without any message.

Shadowflame reacted directly to the package of food—it sniffed it to make sure there was no obvious smell of poison or trap, then looked at Will with expectant eyes.

Will hesitated for a moment.

Reason told him that it was best not to touch food of unknown origin.

But hunger and the growth requirements of Shadowflame are real pressures.

In the end, he let Yingyan eat a small piece of salted meat first, while he carefully broke off a small piece of bread. After waiting for a long time to make sure there was nothing wrong, he shared the food with Yingyan.

Bread is coarse but filling, and salted meat is a rare source of fat and protein.

This is more like a gesture of goodwill, or rather, a clumsy bribe.

Will was almost certain it was the Targaryen siblings.

They dared not approach directly, out of fear of Shadowflame, yet they longed to establish contact.

He did not deliberately avoid it, but he also did not show himself.

Shadowflame needs a stable environment and food to grow, and he doesn't want to get involved in the complex and dangerous politics of the Targaryens for the time being.

Although the fleeting glint in Daenerys's purple eyes would occasionally flash through his mind.

Until the evening of the third day.

Will was processing a large eel he had caught that day near a secluded cave with fresh water seeping out.

Shadowflame helped by holding down the fish's tail with its claws, making it easier for Will to scrape off the scales.

The afterglow of the setting sun gilded the swamp with a golden-red hue, and also shone on the increasingly unfolding fledgling wings of Shadowflame, the edges of the black membrane gleaming with a dark red sheen.

A very faint, hesitant sound of footsteps came from behind the reeds on the side of the cave.

Shadowflame immediately raised its head alertly, letting out a low warning hiss in its throat, and slightly opened its fledgling wings to block in front of Will.

Will stopped what he was doing, wiped his hands, stood up, and calmly looked toward the source of the sound.

The reeds were gently parted.

First, a strand of hair shimmered with a soft silver-gold light in the setting sun, followed by her delicate yet tired and nervous face.

Purple eyes, like amethysts bathed in twilight, gazed timidly yet with unwavering determination. Their gaze first fell on Shadow Flame, lingering for a moment with undisguised amazement and a hint of instinctive closeness, before finally shifting to Will.

Daenerys Targaryen appeared alone at the cave entrance.

She seemed to have taken great care of herself; her tattered dress had been washed, though it was still patched, and the mud on her face had been washed away, revealing overly fair skin.

She clutched the small cloth bag tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Her gaze met Will's calm eyes, and a faint blush involuntarily rose to her cheeks. She seemed to have mustered all her courage before taking a small step forward, her voice so soft it was as if she were afraid of disturbing something:

"I...I'm Daenerys. We...we've met before. By the swamp."

She paused, her purple eyes glistening with tears, filled with pleading, expectation, and a hint of indescribable shyness. "Thank you... thank you for saving me, and... my mother's hairpin."

She lowered her head slightly, then raised it again, her gaze fixed intently on Will and the Shadowflame beside him, who was watching her warily. Her tone became more resolute, even carrying an almost oath-like reverence:

"My brother Viserys and I...we are Targaryens, the last Targaryens. We believe...we believe you are too. You possess true dragons, you are...you are our brother, our hope for returning home."

She took a deep breath, as if using all her strength, and uttered the words that had echoed in her heart countless times:

"Please...please lead us. Lead us home. Reclaim everything that belongs to our family."

As dusk settled, the light and shadows in front of the cave became hazy.

The girl stood by the reeds, her silver hair fluttering in the evening breeze. Her purple eyes reflected the last rays of the sunset, as well as Will and the black creature beside him that was beginning to take on a dragon-like form.

Shadowflame remained vigilant, but its hissing at Daenerys was much weaker, and the hostility in its dark gold vertical pupils was not strong; instead, it carried a hint of scrutinizing curiosity.

Will didn't speak, but simply looked at the silver-haired girl who would one day cause a huge upheaval, yet stood before him like a lost fawn.

He could see the sincerity in her eyes, as well as the deep-seated fear, longing, and...

That almost overflowing dependence on and longing for him.

Brother? Lead them home?

Will remained unmoved.

The Iron Throne was far less real to him than the Shadowflame in his arms and the next full meal.

But Daenerys...

This girl, who had endured countless hardships in her original destiny and was ultimately reborn from the ashes, now unsuspectingly regarded him as her only hope and reliance.

He could sense a faint thought transmitted by Yingyan through the contract—curiosity about the silver-haired girl, and a kind of indescribable, yet not repulsive, sense of closeness.

The evening breeze carried the dampness of the swamp and the fishy smell of aquatic plants.

The cries of waterbirds returning to their nests could be heard in the distance.

After a long silence, Will finally spoke, his voice still hoarse and calm:

"My name is Will."

He neither acknowledged nor denied being called "elder brother".

He simply gave his name.

Then, he glanced at the half-processed eel on the ground, and then at Daenerys's trembling fingers and her thin body.

"You," he said, "can you start a fire?"

Daenerys was stunned, seemingly not expecting such a response.

But soon, a bright light bloomed in her purple eyes, and she nodded vigorously, her voice filled with barely suppressed joy:

"Yes! I...I've learned a little!"

Will stepped aside, clearing the way to the cave entrance, and gently patted Shadowflame's head, signaling it to relax.

"Come in," he said. "Grill the fish first."

Shadowflame grumbled softly, retracting its fledgling wings and hostility, but still stayed close to Will, its dark gold vertical pupils curiously scrutinizing the silver-haired girl who had entered its and Will's "territory".

Daenerys cautiously stepped into the cave, her gaze once again irresistibly drawn to Shadowflame.

She gazed at its black scales, its fledgling wings, and its breathtaking dark gold vertical pupils, her eyes filled with pure amazement and an almost obsessive tenderness.

Will stopped looking at her and squatted down to continue processing the eels, as if he had just taken in an ordinary homeless child in need of help.