The Dragons and Their Sun (aemond/oc)

aurora XIX

She was drowning. She couldn't breathe. She was drowning. She was drowning. She was drow-

"Are you awake, gevives?" A voice sounded from her left. She shot up with a strangled cry, scratching at her throat. She couldn't breathe. She was freezing. Her wide eyes shot around the room, trying to figure out where she was. There were hands on her. She needed to get away. People were on each side of her; she couldn't get out. She was trapped. They were going to hurt her. She couldn't breathe.

Her hand was pressed against something firm. It was moving. "Follow me," the voice from before said.

Follow? She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't.

A second voice commanded her, "Aurora, you need to breathe."

She couldn't. She couldn't breathe. She was drowning. They were drowning her.

The moving thing her hand was touching made exaggerated movements. Up and down. Slowly. Breathing. She tried to follow it, but the lump in her throat was blocking her airway.

"Aurora!" Her face was grabbed. She flinched away from it.

Another voice yelled at the second voice, the face grabber, "Aegon! You can't grab her like that!"

Aegon. Aegon. Aegon. Her Aegon. Her best friend. The moon to her sun. Her moon.

"Aegon," her eyes shot open as she lurched forward, taking in her first breath. The intensity of her inhale hurt her throat. She heaved as the air made its way down her throat. Even with the oxygen flowing, she felt like she couldn't breathe. The exaggerated breathing from the person under her hand didn't stop. With her throat cleared, she tried following along again. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

Once she was certain she wouldn't suffocate, she tried to focus her eyes. She hadn't realized how blurry everything had been. She moved her hand, trying to find out what she was touching, as she rapidly blinked. She was touching something soft. A shirt, her mind told her. It had to be Aemond, she thought after a moment of thinking and calming her brain. He, and Daemon, were the only ones to address her with High Valyrian names.

Rhaenyra's worried face was the first thing she saw when her eyes focused. She blinked, "I'm sorry."

Her voice was raw, and the speaking made her voice hurt horribly.

"Water. Please," Laenor commanded one of the nearby servants at the table. If she wasn't so frazzled, she would've smiled at her father's kindness even when he was demanding something.

A small cup was placed into her hand's, and she took it, drinking it greedily. A voice, Jace, she thinks, chuckled, "Slowly, sunshine. It won't stay down if you go too fast."

It was too late; the water was gone. She waited for her stomach to reject it. The only thing she felt was pain in her stomach as the water hit it. She was starving. The smell of food met her nose. Her mouth watered immediately after.

"We were just about to eat before you woke. Join us," Helaena's sweet voice sounded from her right.

"How long?" She asked, knowing she had to have been asleep for a long time. Her body didn't feel as weak as it did before. She knew she had to have entered her healing sleep at some point. She just didn't remember when.

"Too long," Aemond spoke from above her. He was clutching her hand with reverence. She felt horrible for making him worry so much.

She let out a horrid noise of surprise when she was suddenly lifted from the bed. Any arguments she had were silenced by Aemond's look. She decided to stay silent as he put her in her chair at the table. Her eyes widened as they took in the food. She was starving.