They woke up a few hours later, their bodies intertwined and Aemond's smile had still not left his lips. He kissed his wife's forehead, waking her up gently, his hand resting on her warm belly.
"Hmm," he grunted with a smile. "I know we will only find out at birth, but, I know my son is in there."
"What if it's a daughter?" Rhea asked maliciously.
Aemond looked at her, an amused smile on his lips.
"Then I'll love her just the same, I promise," he swore, kissing his wife. "But it is a boy, I feel it."
Rhea nodded, she was sure she carried a boy, too.
"My cousin named his two young children after me," Rhea announced both proud and sad. "I think I might name my son after myself, then." She laughed lightly.
Aemond could spend days listening to her laugh, watching how her eyes creased when she did, how her voice was slightly high when she spoke right after. He knew her completely and yet, she surprised him every day.
"I would have quite liked to honour my brother, but I'm afraid Aegon is an awfully overused name these days," Aemond smiled sadly.
"What about Daegon?" Rhea asked softly. "Daeron and Aegon?"
Aemond smiled and kissed her temple.
"Yes, Daegon it is," he agreed, his heart full. "And if it's a daughter, then?"
Rhea paused for a moment, thinking.
"Helaena, of course," she finally said, nostalgia overcoming her. "Little princess Helaena."
"Princess Helaena and future King Daegon, I like that," Aemond smiled widely again. "Of course, we'll have to find more names when their siblings come, later, won't we?"
He kissed her again and she squeezed his side.
"Yes, we will, Aemond," she smiled and they started getting ready.
Aemond's face fell serious again and he turned to his wife with a worried gaze.
"Rhea? Promise me something, will you?" He asked, his brow furrowed.
"Whatever you want, love," Rhea promised.
"Stay away from the fighting today, please. Keep yourself and our child safe."
"But-"
"You said whatever I wanted, Rhea," Aemond cut her off with a cheeky grin and he became serious again. "This is what I want."
Her shoulders slumped, she was disappointed she couldn't stay by her husband's side like they said they would, but she wasn't the only person she had to worry about when fighting, now.
"You'll fly Sapphire and help from above, my love. I'll fly Vhagar, that way I can keep you close and safe," Aemond ordered.
As they left their tent and made their way to their dragons, they noticed not many men were ready to leave, and Aemond told his wife to fetch the dragons alone, while he had a word with their men, getting them ready to leave in less than an hour. They might have enjoyed their night a bit too much the previous night and Aemond cursed himself for telling them to.
Rhea arrived at the makeshift dragonpit and she cried out in shock as all their dragons had been beheaded in the night. Vhagar, Sunfyre and Dreamfyre were dead. This was the Blacks' doing, she was sure of it. Sapphire was nowhere to be seen and she began calling his name, shouting, which caused Aemond to run to her and his face contorted in an angry expression as his eye fell upon the scene.
"They'll pay for this," he swore and almost on cue, Sapphire landed at his wife's feet and she cuddled up to the giant beast.
"Oh, my boy, thank the gods you weren't here," she told the blue dragon while climbing on its saddle. "Come, Aemond, let us leave."
Sapphire, almost as if he had known, had flown away in the small hours of the morning and had only returned when he heard his rider's shout to protect her and their bond.
The King climbed behind her, cradling her belly as they took off and gave their campsite, and his own dragon, one last glance. He had barely just taken his eye off Vhagar when he noticed his mother struggling to free herself from the grasp of two men, one he recognized to be Daemon, his uncle. He asked Rhea to turn back but, just as she did, Daemon slit Alicent's throat, letting her fall to the ground and drown in a pool of her own blood. Aemond shifted his eye away and closed it, anger and grief overcoming his every thought. Rhea's eyes blurred as tears filled her eyes and all she could focus on was her King's voice, asking her to let him down so he could kill his uncle himself.
"No, Aemond," Rhea ordered.
"It wasn't a question, Rhea," her husband commanded.
Reluctantly, she did as he told her and promised she would be back for him. Aemond watched as she flew away towards Winterfell, fire leaving Sapphire's mouth.
"Well, look who's here," Daemon taunted his nephew. "It's a shame your whore of a wife couldn't join us."
Both men drew their swords out, standing off. Their eyes staring daggers at each other. Aemond killed the man accompanying Daemon without a single difficulty and his uncle and him began brawling, casting their swords away and throwing punching at each other. They needed to get the anger and resentment they felt towards each other out.
"Funny enough, my first wife had the same name as yours," Daemon continued taunting Aemond as he dodged his fist. "They're both cunts, only my wife had the self-awareness and the decency to die. Yours, on the contrary, refuses to."
Aemond landed one punch and laid astride his uncle, keeping him on the floor as he reached for his sword.
"I won't bother trying to describe the usurper you call your wife, she's my sister after all," Aemond spat in his uncle's face.
Daemon managed to knock Aemond away, standing up and picking up his own sword, lunging forward as she almost hit his nephew in the shoulder.
As Rhea flew over the same battlefield as the day before, she could already tell the fights were much more intense. More screams and more blood everywhere. She spotted an enormous crossbow had been mounted on one of the collapsed towers of Winterfell in the night and realised the truce had been nothing but a decoy to plan the Blacks defence better. She dodged an arrow, the same kind which killed Aegon and would certainly kill Sapphire if it etched itself in his scales. Lowering themselves, she made it more difficult for the archers to hit them and she commanded her dragon to breathe fire on them all, shouting to give herself the courage she needed to go on. She was terrified.
When all this would be over, she would finally take that flight to Essos and not touch a sword for at least a year, only relax and get ready to welcome her child, she promised herself and it give her the drive she needed to go and find her husband, she would not let him fight his uncle alone.
Daemon and Aemond's fight lasted longer than the both of them expected, they were both fine swordsmen, insanely well trained and their resentment would not let them surrender to the other, no matter the pain the inflicted and were inflicted. Aemond heard Sapphire's shriek and smirked, he knew Rhea would come back for him. In a swift move, he lifted his leg and kicked his uncle in the chest, causing the elder Targaryen to fall to the ground, hitting his head heavily as he did. Aemond placed a foot on his chest and pressed hard, causing his uncle to cough up blood. Rhea strode fast towards them and stood behind her husband as he lifted his sword, ready to finally take Daemon Targaryen's head.
"Your wife is next," he promised Daemon as he let his sword separate the Rogue Prince's head from his shoulders.
Daemon Targaryen was dead.
Aegon, his children and wife, as well as Marian were all avenged and Aemond embraced Rhea. Justice had been served and they felt empowered as they saddled back on Sapphire, flying away from Daemon's severed head, not even bothering to bring it to Rhaenyra.
"From now on, my love, I am not letting you leave my sight," Aemond kissed the back of his Queen's head as they took off. His hand caressed her belly lovingly and she smiled as they headed towards Winterfell once more.
"Me neither," she squeezed the hand he had on her belly and they flew above Winterfell, killing many Stark and Black men as they did.
Flying dangerously low in the skies, readying Sapphire to lay waste to the main part of the castle, Aemond and Rhea didn't see the second crossbow Rhaenyra had installed, they didn't see the long, thick silver arrow heading towards them.