𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 | 𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐞𝐧.

𝐗. 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐄

«The first rule—and it is the last one—is to survive in the games for the throne: even if you open the truth, never spill details. Make sure that without them your story will look like a fantasy. Something, others would never believe. Even if you love this person.»

— From Drusilla Tyrell's diary.

•

Aemond quickly realised that his future wife doesn't seem surprised by this statement. Instead, she looks at him with a taunting satisfaction in sapphire eyes, as if she was waiting for this moment to come too long.

And maybe, maybe she truly did.

'I connected the dots,' he continues, despite the lack of answer. He speaks, and it seems almost as if he is a kid again, passing exams before Maesters. 'You and Drusilla Tyrell were always the exact copies of each other. Some even thought that you were a bastard kid.'

Irellea had—has?—no one in this world except herself. With her mother being an unknown woman, leaving right after giving her birth, and father, a mere servant around Tyrells, who died early - that is who she was. In the eyes of others they were practically twins, yet, much for Irellea's disappointment, they weren't connected, not by blood, not by anything in general.

"It would be so much easier," she always told him. "If I was a bastard, I would at least have some rights to claim a better life. But I am no one with nothing behind myself. How cruel."

'Hm-m,' Drusilla answers tonelessly.

With even more determination, Aemond starts to add more details he examined for a last hours:

'I was careless for not studying the matter of the health condition that Drusilla Tyrell had. But according to records about royal families, the lung problems she had were not only hereditary, but also without a cure to find. Yet, in the later mentions it is said that with the help of Gods, Drusilla Tyrell overcame it. But Gods don't exist. We both know that,' she blinks wordlessly. 'More to say... When you first met Vhagar, you told me that it is your time seeing the dragon, which I assume was an honest statement. Yet, Aegon is sure that you met Sunfyre before.'

At this point as he crossed the threshold of their chambers, Aemond was sure - his assumptions were correct. But standing on his knees before Drusilla, watching and not receiving simple emotions was making him nervous again and again. Perhaps, he is paranoid and foolish.

'Drusilla falls out of the window. And dies. I have no idea about how high her room is, but I assume that it was high enough to make her body become an unrecognisable mess. Augustus Tyrell is most likely the one to help you out. By acting that you are suffering from a dreadful grief, you were sent to seclusion as Drusilla's mother. And five years are enough for a ten year old to turn into a young and charming woman. Tyrells' features stayed the same, yet you become leaner and thinner; something you could always blame on puberty. And it is long enough for others to forget little details she had. Am I right?'

No reaction.

'The scar. Not only Irellea was the one to have it, but Drusilla wasn't even with us that day. Something I didn't remember, but got reminded by Aegon. She was sick that day. She couldn't know where we were, but you recognised that place right away,' Aemond smiles proudly. 'I figured you out, Irellea.

And that is when she speaks up, finally.

'You might be smarter than the most, Aemond, but you are no less fool than them,' her fingers catch his chin, leaving him speechless for a second. 'Aemond. You can do better. You missed the most important part.'