The Art of Love & Hate

Chapter 19

"He is not the king." Darya frowned at her mother's words and gave her a questioning look. "I took away his title."

"You did what?"

"While you were in Kings Landing I received a letter, letting me know what he had planned to do. Thank the gods that those men were caught before they could hurt my sister and my nephews." Her mother cleared her throat before continuing. "I cannot imprison Daemon or have him whipped. He is my husband and we need him for this war, and even if is not right I love him. I have loved him since I was a small child and I cannot simply stop."

Darya understood that more than she cared to admit. "I understand."

"So I did something else, something I knew would hurt him and his pride." Darya knew how much pride Daemon had taken in being a king. "I took away his title as king consort, he will not be able to declare war without my permission or make any major decisions without my approval."

Darya understood why her mother had not locked Daemon away or whipped him. Even while doing horrible things, he was still her husband, and as her mother had said, he was the most experienced man they had. Her stepfather was a great warrior and they needed him to win the war. Now she was hoping that her mother would get dressed and out of bed, they needed to come up with a plan to win the war once and for all. They could not continue to live in limbo.

                                                                       Darya Velaryon (16 years old.)

                                                                       Rhaenyra Targaryen (35 years old.)

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Vhagar batted her wings as she broke through the clouds, he had left the city under the cover of darkness, not wanting his Aegon or his mother to know what he was doing. Things in the city had gotten even worse in the past moon and Aemond knew they would not be able to keep the small folk away for too much longer. Aegon was annoyed that he could not travel to Flea Bottom any longer, it had become too dangerous for any of them to leave the palace. His brother's annoyance was getting on Aemond's nerves and he was really close to throwing him down the stairs. People were starving and all his brother cared about was getting his cock wet. His mother was not any better, she had become a bit unhinged since the death of Criston and Otto and spent most of her time talking to herself.

Rain was beating down on them as Vhagar landed on the deserted island. Aemond climbed down and pulled his cloak tighter around him, it was no use, the rain seemed to be getting stronger. He made his way to one of the smaller caves and was lucky to find a few pieces of wood and started a fire. He could tell people used the caves and had left several things behind, including a bed roll. He had an idea who the people were, after all, the deserted island was very close to Dragonstone.

"What do you want?" He jumped and turned around, surprised when he saw her. Even after sending her the letter, he had not believed she would come. His niece did not look friendly, she looked like she wished to stab him. "I hope you have a good reason to ask me here, I should not be gone too long."

"I cannot believe you are here."

"You sent a letter." She said with a roll of her eyes and walked farther into the cave until he could see her better. She pushed the hood back until he could see her beautiful face. "It sounded important."

"It is, but I thought you hated me." He gave her an amused look. "I am sure you want to kill me."

"I do, but for now I have more important things to do." She did not look pleased to see him. "Now, what do you want?"

"I want to talk about our situation."

Darya raised an eyebrow. "Our situation?"

"Yes, this little issue between our families." He ran a hand through his wet hair. "We cannot keep going like this."

"And what do you think is going to happen?" Darya crossed her arms over her chest. "Your brother usurped the throne, with yours, your mother and your grandsire's help. Did you truly believe that my parents were just going to sit around and do nothing?"

Aemond narrowed his eye. "My father's last wish was for Aegon to be king."

Darya let out a sarcastic laugh. "Please, not even you believe that. My grandsire had over twenty years to change the succession and he never did. He knew that Aegon would not be a good king, or are you telling me that your brother has suddenly changed and become a good ruler?"

"No," He admitted with a tired sigh. Aegon would never be a good king. "But that is not why I am here. You gave Aegon a good idea while you were in Kings Landing and I have seen how much you care about my sister and her children." She still did not say anything, apparently, she would not make things easy for him. "I was hoping you would convince your mother to meet with Aegon."

Darya narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"So they can speak and try to solve this situation."

Darya seemed thoughtful. "What makes you think Aegon will agree to meet with her?"

"I will take care of my brother." He would make sure Aegon met with Rhaenyra if he had to tie him up and take him by force. "I would just need your mother to agree and to meet on a neutral ground."

Darya tilted her head and just stared at him for a moment. He held his breath as he waited for her to decide. He let out a relieved breath when she nodded her head. Now all he had to do was convince his brother to meet with Rhaenyra and hope that they would come to an agreement. 

                                                                                   Darya Velaryon