𝐀𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐀 - 𝑰𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝑔𝑢𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒.
I APPRECIATE EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED THIS BOOK!! Thank you for a million reads <333
𝐃𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐎...
╔═════════๑♡๑═════════╗ CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR ╚═════════๑♡๑═════════╝
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THE SOUND OF STEEL CLASHING FILLED the air. Rhaemax, Jaelyx, Daemian, and Rhaenelle trained near the beach, along with Jacaerys and Lucerys. The four children of Aenora and Daemon were exponentially good at wielding a sword. Over the six years that had past they had gained much knowledge of fighting.
As for Aeva and Aedith, they preferred other things. Such as, working with their dragons, Ajax and Vermithrax.
Aenora often spent her time alone with Vyr, riding him freely wherever she pleased. He had grown to be large, bigger than Caraxes. Aenora found that it was only her dragon that could bring her a sense of peace these days. Anxiety clouded her mind.
Her reign was near and she had nightmares of it almost every night. But mostly, she had nightmares of her death. Though, she didn't tell anyone of this.
Aenora dreamt of a knife being drove through her chest, but by who was never revealed. After a year, this dream no longer scared her. She had come to realize her dream was not a warning, but a glimpse of her fate.
But what did scare her was her other dreams. The deaths of her sons and daughters. Those dreams came vividly. She remembered a sentence she heard, "four of murder, one by choice". This confused her, because she had six children, not five.
The fear turned into anger, and there was nothing she could do.
The anger drove Aenora and Daemon apart. Not because they would fight, but because Aenora just wouldn't speak. And it wasn't just Daemon she wouldn't speak to, it was her entire family, including Rhaenyra. This angered Daemon. He could understand her not wanting to talk to him for the choice he made so long ago, but he felt as though she was punishing their children too.
"Again," Rhaenelle said.
Daemian scoffed up at the girl. He was embarrassed and tired of being beat by his twin sister.
Rhaemax and Jaelyx both laughed at the boys reaction.
"Don't like being put on your ass by a girl, Daemian?" Rhaemax smirked.
"I'm stronger than her. I should be able to beat her," Daemian stood up from the ground.
"It's not only about strength," Jaelyx spoke in Valeryian.
"I'm faster than you, Daem." Rhaenelle told her twin.
Jaelyx rolled his eyes. In his opinion, fighting wasn't only about strength and speed, but determination and intelligence.
"You fight her then," Daemian told his older brother as he got up from the sand.
Jaelyx gave a simple nod before turning to Rhaenelle.
Rhaenelle excitedly smiled. She had been fighting Daemian and beating him for so long, she was glad to finally have a challenging opponent.
The girl set down the training sword and drew the one Daemon had made for her.
Jaelyx simply smiled. Unlike his sister, he picked up a training sword and set aside his real one.
Rhaemax, Daemian, Jacaerys, and Lucerys formed something like a circle around them, intrigued to say the least. Rhaemax and Daemian knew Rhaenelle would lose to Jaelyx, but Jace and Luke thought differently.
Rhaenelle and Jaelyx got into their fighting stances. The girl smiled at him before lunging at him with her sword. Jaelyx swiftly moved out of her way, hitting her back with the flat side of his sword.
The young princess fell to the ground with a thud. She stared up at him in shock.
The other four hid their smiles and muffled their laughs by covering their mouths.
Jaelyx kept a straight face. As he waited for the girl to get up from the ground, he tapped his finger against the handle for his sword.
Once Rhaenelle stood up, she thought for a moment. Debating on whether or not she wanted to make the first move, since the first time ended with her on the ground. She was sure she'd have bruises by morning.
"Not so fun, now is it?" Daemian smirked.
Rhaenelle reminded herself that Jaelyx was a strategic fighter. He calculated things quickly and he would probably already know her next move. The only way she could win is if she was stronger, or simply smarter. Which she knew she wasn't. No one except their own mother was.
The girl lunged quickly and just as she expected, Jaelyx blocked the sword. But this time she was not pushed to the ground, she stepped back just as quick as she lunged, giving her time to swing her sword forward again. Unfortunately for her Jaelyx was just as fast. He hit her sword so hard with his that it flew from her hand and against a rock.
The two continued sparring until the sky was almost consumed with darkness.
After awhile the rest of the boys became bored with watching Rhaenelle fail and began sparring with each other.
For the final time, Rhaenelle hit the ground. She groaned in pain, as this time hurt worse than the others. She was tired and hungry but she also lost hope in winning against her older brother.
Jaelyx lifted his sister up by the hand and brushed the sand off of her back and out of her hair.
"We'll try again tomorrow," Jaelyx told her.
Rhaenelle let out a soft sigh before she nodded. She put her sword at her side, and began making her way towards the castle with her brothers and cousins following closely behind.
As the six of them walked up the pathway, they heard roars coming from behind the hills. They all smiled, knowing their dragons were back from wherever they had ventured off to.
"Do you think mothers waiting for us?" Daemian asked Rhaemax.
Rhaemax looked at his young brother, his heart ached for him, and also his other young siblings. They still hoped that their once loving mother would return to them. Though she was not gone physically, she was lost mentally. It was only he, Jaelyx, and Aeva who completely understood that Aenora was no longer Aenora.
People change and Rhaemax understood that.
He too wished his mother would be who she once was, but he knew that it was unlikely.
Rhaemax simply shook his head and continued walking.
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AUTHORS NOTE heyyyyyy, long time no see...... anyways. i missed you guys🥹. i literally love each and everyone of you. sorry it took me so long to come back but i had writers block, mostly because i think i was going way too fast. so i think i'm just gonna take my time now! but yeah, hi. go drink water if you haven't :)
