"I do. But my brother doesn't, and Aegon never bothers him," Vanya pointed out, watching the shadows dance before them, "You know why? He never reacts."
Vanya was only telling half the truth. It was true that part of the reason Maegor didn't get bullied was that he never reacted. He only laughed along. But it was also true that Maegor never experienced a word of belittling from Aegon for other reasons. Reasons Aemond may not understand.
"Aegon says Maegor is the eldest, that he'll be King one day; I don't think so," Aemond said, but Vanya knew he didn't mean Vanya was to be Queen instead, "you would know, though, which one of you is older?"
"No, Mother never told us," Vanya said truthfully, "but everyone hopes it's Maegor."
"Why? You're smarter than he is and much less annoying."
Vanya smiled at that.
They both knew why Maegor was preferred, even if Aemond was too polite to say so.
Vanya was too silent for the Lords of Westeros, too easily mistaken for shadows and forgotten. Maegor was always the centre of a crowd, loud and commanding. It wasn't just that, of course. Many people thought Vanya was mad. Maids would whisper about the many nightmares that plagued Vanya, and while her mother tried to stop the gossip, it was difficult to stop once in motion.
No one wanted a crazy ruler. To have a mad king was one thing, but to have a mad queen would bring about riots and revolution.
Vanya had nightmares about Aemond sometimes. Although, in those dreams, one of his eyes was a piercing sapphire blue. In nightmares, that eye would follow her as she tried to flee, always just behind her in the shadows.
It was one reason Vanya hardly interacted with Aemond. He scared her. The Aemond beside her, the Aemond that was always melancholy and aching for more recognition, didn't scare her. Dream Aemond scared her. He scared her so much that it bled into real life, and sometimes when she blinked, she'd see a sapphire eye in place of Aemond's regular purple.
"Do you think I'll get a dragon one day?" Aemond asked, finally turning his face towards Vanya.
"I think so," Vanya said, her gaze retreating to her hands as the blue flashed at her, "If my mother could claim a wild dragon, why couldn't any other Targaryen?"
"Vhagar was claimed by Laena Velaryon when she was a child, too," Aemond said, almost excitedly.
Vanya frowned. Aemond had been thinking about this for a while. It was clear to anyone who was paying attention how deeply Aemond desired a dragon, though not many people seemed to pay attention to Aemond. She wondered if her mother knew. Vanya would have to tell her.
"Having a dragon isn't so amazing. Mother can hardly ride Cannibal. He's so wild," Vanya said quickly, "I couldn't even bring Moonstone here, people don't like them around all the time,"
"You don't fly Moonstone because you don't have anyone to fly with," Aemond said simply, his face hardening in determination, "If I got a dragon, you could fly every day beside me. Helaena could come too. We could go where we like. No one would try to oppose three dragons,"
Vanya paused, watching Aemond. Silently, she placed her hand on Aemond's clenching fist. Slowly, Aemond released his fist as the two stared towards the darkness.
"Vanya! Vanya!" Maegor's booming voice echoed through the halls, "Vanya, where are you? I have a great idea!"
Vanya sighed, standing up. Aemond watched her as she brushed off her dress, his brow furrowed.
"He won't find you if you stay here, I've been here for hours before you came," Aemond said hopefully, "You can stay,"
"He'll always find me, no matter what," Vanya smiled softly, "I don't mind it. I'm always happy to have him find me,"
"But he's annoying,"
"He's my brother. I love him," Vanya shrugged, though she knew Aemond wouldn't understand, "I'll see you at the funeral,"
With that, she stepped off the staircase and made her way towards her brother's voice, leaving Aemond to his sorrows.
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