When Rhea Royce died, the noble house of Royce blamed the Rogue Prince. Daemon Targaryen was the culprit for the downfall of the House, no matter what was said. Leaving Runestone with no Lord or Lady at its helm, a decision was made to promote a min...
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AEMOND couldn't believe just how much the Royce girl had crawled under his skin. He'd been restless throughout the night; tossing and turning and thinking upon her request. When she'd first asked to be trained by him, he couldn't help but laugh. What use would a girl of her standing have with a sword?
That's when the realisation dawned on him. If violence is what she sought, who did she plan to be violent towards? He hadn't reported their encounter to anybody, but if she was going to hurt someone, it was his duty to follow that up.
Luckily for him, he saw her the following day. She was strolling through the gardens at the rear of the Keep, his sister in tow. They laughed as they walked through the trees, Helaena stopping to thread a red flower into Donella's brown hair.
"My Prince?" A voice broke him from his focus, and Aemond realised that he'd been blatantly staring toward the Royce girl for all to see, "Would you accompany me on a walk through the gardens?"
He glanced down at the girl who stood beside him. She was a few years his junior and looked up at him through fluttering eyelashes. Once upon a time, he would have found her charming, though he would never court her, nor would she see the inside of his chambers. Now, he was just frustrated by the audacity she had in approaching him when everyone could clearly see that he was preoccupied.
Not knowing her name, but aiming to keep up the pleasantries, "My Lady, I would love that."
He brought her hand to his lips and left a gentle, yet meaningless, kiss on her knuckles. She flushed and kept her face down. Anytime her eyes met his, they darted away. Was it fear - horror - disgust?
There was a reason that Aemond didn't court these ladies. He was only good for a political match.
Nevertheless, the pair linked arms and took their dutiful steps down into the gardens, where he heard Helaena let out a loud laugh as she threw her head back,
"I've never heard something so obscene!" Helaena leant forwards, clinging to every one of Donella's words,
"You didn't see her!" Donella said in a hushed voice, making sure that nobody else heard, "Somebody had stolen every single piece of clothing she must have had!"
"And to run out into the corridor like that?" Helaena plucked another flower from the ground, "A naked babe in a field of thorns."
Donella watched the Princess carefully as she examined the flower. Helaena was well known to spout verbal mysteries, and occasionally found herself lost in them. She hadn't had one of her moments in a while now, and Donella didn't want her to experience one so publicly. It took a few seconds, and some heavy blinking, before Helaena met Donella's eyes met once more and the pair giggled again. They'd found themselves under a willow tree, watching the people walk by. The weather was uncharacteristically warm for this time of year, and the girls were making the most of it,
