" Come on, brother, let me just—" Aegon mumbled grabbing his brother's face.
" No." Aemond pulled away from his brother and dragged him toward his bathtub.
" No. No ! Aemond please not the cold water !" He desperately tried to free himself from his brother's grip.
" Be grateful it's not Daemon taking care of you." He pushed his brother in the tub splashing water on the floor.
He hoped his head could hit the tub and his skull would break but it did not. Unfortunately.
Aegon groaned when he met the cold water and tried to get out of it but Aemond grabbed his shoulders to keep him in it. He didn't know what was keeping him from drowning him right now. Keeping his head in the water long enough for his lungs to hurt him, for him to suffocate, to die.
No one would know.
He could say that he left the room when he brother fell asleep, that he drowned by himself. That he was too drunk. That it was a shame, he could even pretend to cry in the funerals, perhaps Rhaenyra would come. Would she ? She would probably be happy. His mother had always told him that she was a threat, so was the rest of her family, that she would kill them to secure her claim. The three of them. The king's sons. Aemond might hate his older brother, but he hated Rhaenyra more. No, Aemond would not make it easier for her.
" Wh— why are you so.. so.. you. Can't you just have fun ? t'was a joke no need to be —" Aegon groaned looking at his brother. When did he became so tall ? I wished I could punch him in the belly like when we were children.
" You almost lost your tongue in the dining room. And yet you—" Aemond sighed, interrupting himself.
He couldn't believe how this man had been borne from the same woman as him. He was just a stupid drunken wicked cunt.
" Don— Don't be like that. I know what you think about our beautiful niece." He hiccuped sinking deeper into the bath.
Aemond clenched his jaw and looked away.
Our beautiful niece. She wasn't pretty. Not at all. She was not an ugly woman for sure, but pretty ? No. She was pretty stupid that was for sure. But she was not beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the realm they called her, but she was not. She never was and never would be.
She had pretty lips, he guessed, but that was all. Lips didn't deserved to be labeled as the most beautiful woman in the realm. He chuckled. She was the stupidest, the dumbest and the most infuriating girl he had ever met.
" Tell me, brother. Now that Dark sister isn't here to behead me, how was she like ? Riding that red dragon." He said before raising his hands above his belly as if there was someone -Aemma- upon him. "Perhaps she'll ride me soon and I will find out by myself.." Aegon gasped when his brother forcefully grabbed him by the collar banging his head against the bathtub.
Aemond didn't understand why he saw red, why the couldn't stand the sight of his brother making filthy jokes and gestures about Aemma, why it frustrated him as mush as when Aegon did it about Helaena. Aemma was not his sister, she was not his family. She was his half sister's daughter, but she was not his family. She was just kin. Aegon had sometimes made that kind of jokes about their Hightower cousins but it never angered him. But right now, he couldn't stand it. Allow it.
" Listen to me you little piece of shit. You stay away from her." He hissed and Aegon's smile widened.
" And why would I do that brother ?"
Why. Why wanted he to keep his brother away from Aemma ? He didn't care about her. No, he didn't. Why would he ? In fact, he didn't even care what his brother could do to her, that cunt hadn't even thanked him for the arrow he took for her. Perhaps she deserved to be defiled and bring shame to her family. To her mother. If she were to lay with Aegon, her mother would be forced to give up on her inheritance and wouldn't have to kill them.
But his hand was still tightly wrapped around Aegon's jacket and even if his mind wanted to let go his body wouldn't listen. It wanted to grab his neck and break it for even thinking about her in such ways. It would have, if the wound in his shoulder wasn't hurting him with every move. Because of her. Again.
" She's.." he couldn't let go of him. No matter how hard he wanted to. " She's Rhaenyra's daughter, mother,"- Aemond- "mother doesn't want you to start a war. Keep your cock in your pants when you're not in Flee Bottom."
" You're sure you want to stay here ?" Daemon asked and Aemma nodded.
He was about to leave for Dragonstone and after une dinner he was not really fond of the idea of leaving Aemma here.
" I can't leave. I'm not a coward." She whispered and the prince nodded.
" My presence here is the only reason Viserys is really taken care of." Aemma said and Daemon looked away. " I can protect myself."
Daemon nodded. " As long as you stay away from the stepstones. Promise me."
The princess slowly shook her head and Daemon took a deep breath.
" I won't do anything stupid again. That, I promise. But you can't expect me to stay here and eat cake while my grandsire is fighting for our lives." She said.
Daemon sighed and approached Aemma before kissing her forehead. " Be careful, riña." He said and the girl nodded.
The prince stared at her for a moment, still deciding wether he would force her to come or not, feeling his hesitation, Aemma nodded again and Daemon made his way to the door.
" Dameon !" She called out and the prince turned toward her. " Do not tell mother about.. anything. Please."
" Are you asking me to lie to my wife ?" He leaned against the door.
" Yes, but for your beloved daughter. Please you know she will want me to come back." She begged and Daemon scoffed.
"I want my beloved daughter back home too." This time Aemma was the one to scoff.
" Miss me already ?" She teased and the rogue prince rolled his eyes.
" Don't make me take you against your will riña." He warned and Aemma bitted her cheek. " Don't do anything stupid mh ?"
She slowly nodded and the prince sighed before leaving the room.
Aemma was not stupid, he knew that, he knew her, he had practically raised her but unfortunately for those who desperately wanted to protect her, she was a dragon. He did not think that the blood of the dragon would run in Laenor's blood, but it did in Rhaenys' and Rhaenyra's.
Aemma Velaryon was definitely a dragon, a stupid one, but a dragon. He had seen it the day she bounded with Bloodfyre. He, himself, had been scared of the beast, scared that she would kill him along with his stepdaughter. But when Aemma had walked toward her, fearless, when that child whose shouts of fear and pain had resounded against the walls of the castle for months had walked towards Bloodfyre he had seen it. He had known. When the beast had let out a screeching, when it had clearly threatened to kill her, Aemma had only taken another step, she hadn't been scared. And she had become a dragonrider at nine. One of the youngest in history.
The princess sighed and watched through the window as Caraxes flew out of the city along with the Red beast.
" Where do you think you're going ?" She whispered at her dragon when she saw her flying east. Even if she couldn't possibly hear her, Bloodfyre let out an annoyed cry before flying back toward the main land.
" Aemma. May I come in ?" Trystane asked from the other side of the broken door.
" You may."
She said and the knight slowly stepped in the room.
" I'm sorry." Aemma spoke up still looking at her dragon circling above the city.
" I know you're not." Trystane laughed and Aemma shook her head.
" I am. Truly. I did not only put myself in danger. You could have been expelled from the king's guard because of me." She turned to look at him.
Trystane smiled. " I don't give a shit about this pretty cloak as long as you're safe Aemma."
And it was the truth. Trystane could have endured the worst thing in the world as long as Aemma was safe. She was his family and he would do anything for her.
" You need to be a knight your fat—" She started but he grabbed her face.
" What I need, is you to be safe. If I ever let you out of my sight, Daemon might have my head. And if anything happens to you, I might let him take it." He smiled and Aemma rolled her eyes.
Aemma didn't understand why Trystane and her had grown so close to each other, but she knew that his loyalty would always lie to her, as hers to him. She knew that he had been there for the worst parts of her life and that he was the only one she could always trust.
Aemma was the closest thing he had to a family. His father was still in the capital but they couldn't really see each other.
" My lord, princess." Deria opened the door as Trystane suddenly pulled away from Aemma. " The queen sends me to escort you to your new chambers."
Aemma frowned. " My new chambers ?"
"Yes princess, since the door has been broken you are to move to the eastern side of the royal aisle." She explained and Aemma rolled her eyes.
These chambers were her mother's, and she loved being here, it reminded her of her youth. The eastern side of the royal aisle was further away from the king's chambers. Those were her late chambers and she didn't want to be back there.
As they walked towards the chambers, Aemma's heart got heavier. She didn't understand why those chambers anguished her so much but she couldn't help it.
She had grew up in those chambers and they held memories.
" You can go to sleep Trys." She whispered taking his hand when she stepped into the room.
" Are you sure ?" He frowned.
Aemma nodded. This aisle was well guarded. More than her mother's and Aemma knew that the queen had probably asked for a reinforcement of the surveillance over her.
" Yes. Go get some sleep. You had a tough day." He nodded and pressed her hand before leaving her.
Aemma watched him disappear in the dark hallways playing with her Valyrian steel dagger. Once he was out of sight, Aemma closed the door and allowed herself to look at the room.
It was all the same. Except for the things Rhaenyra had had brought when Aemma moved to Dragonstone, nothing had changed.
Most of her books were still here, her dolls had not moved, and the bed... the sheets had changed since she mourned Harwin's death but I was still the same wooden bed where she used to spend hours reading with Aemond.
She hated that room.
Aemma sighed and threw away her dress before throwing herself on the bed and taking a deep breath. But she frowned when she realized that the scent wasn't the same. It used to smell like vanilla mixed with rose, but now it smelled like lavender.
Aemma hated lavender but she was far too tired to mind that, so she forced herself to close her eyes and quickly fell asleep.
~ ~
"Aemma" she reopened her eyes and frowned when she realized that the room was plunged into darkness.
" Aemma." She heard again and started to walk toward the noise.
" Father ?"
" I'm here, sweet princess. Come to me little sea dragon."
She smiled and started running when she recognized her father's face.
" Father, I missed you."
Laenor started laughing and Aemma frowned when she realized that with every step she took, her father's smiling face turned into the memory of his burnt face. " No you didn't."
Aemma tried to slow down but she could only go faster. " Wh— what ?"
"You burned me, daughter." He whispered but it felt like a scream in her ears.
" No. I—"
" You burned them all. You killed them. You're a killer. You killed me."
Aemma shook her head when she felt her throat hurting. Laenor had his hands on her throat and was trying to choke her.
" Stop it." She whispered but he only squeezed her neck harder.
" You're no daughter of mine. You burned them. You're no Velaryon."
" It was to save him.." She tried but his hands started feeling like fire on her skin.
" You killed me ! You killed me ! You burned them all !" He shouted and Aemma tried to push him. She couldn't breath, she was dying.
" Have you been down there ? Have you seen ? Children ! Little children burnt !" He shouted again but it was not his voice anymore.
" They were not. They were
soldiers—" she choked out and her father's burnt face became blurry.
"Trystane ?" She asked when she recognized black hair.
" Soldiers in the army of the dead." The man spoke but it was not
Trystane's voice either.
Finally, the man let go of her throat and pushed her so hard that the window broke under her weight but it sounded like thunder. The fall lasted hours and when she finally reached the ground it felt like fire on her skin. The ground was fire, but there was no light.
" No ! Mother I'm burning ! D—DAEMON ! Father! I'M BURNING !" She shouted but she couldn't hear her voice. The only thing she could hear was the fire crackling and her flesh melting.
" From my blood." She heard and suddenly everything went quiet.
It was her mother's voice, but there was another voice she couldn't recognize. A man's voice. " Come the prince and princess that were promised." Aemma frowned when her eyes started seeing the man. He was tall, muscular and had silver hair but she couldn't see properly since a red light emerged from his head and blinded her. " And theirs will be the song of ice and fire."
Aemma tried to stand up but she heard another thunder and she was falling again.
The fall seemed to last centuries and Aemma was overwhelmed by the things she saw.
Black fire,
red fire,
green fire,
blue fire,
purple fire.
Suddenly she was back in Bloodfyre's mind and she could feel the wind on her scales. She could see the snowy city beneath her, but she couldn't hear anything.
She tried to scream when she saw a shadow chasing her but she couldn't hear her voice. Bloodfyre started flying higher and Aemma gazed at the sky and suddenly she could hear again.
" STOP IT !" She shouted when all the voices melted into one and started screaming.
" Born amidst salt and smoke"
" STOP IT !" She shouted again and the voices became louder.
"..under a bleeding star." The voices screamed and Aemma tried to put her hands on her ears to stop the voices but it only became louder.
" NO STOP IT !"
The dark.
And she was back in her chambers.
Helaena was standing in front of her but her ivory wedding gown was pierced and her blood was everywhere in the room.
" The gown shall fall but no blood will follow." She smiled with teary eyes and Aemma crawled away from her. " Please no." She begged when Helaena's tears changed into blood.
But the blood never stopped dripping. And soon the whole room was filled with blood. Aemma tried to swim out of it but she couldn't. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear and she couldn't breathe.
Her eyes shut open and she suddenly sat on her bed taking a deep breath.
Her throat was hurting her and her whole body felt like she had actually been thrown out of a window.
Aemma took off the sheets and tried to stand up. She needed water.
She dragged herself to the table but she almost cried when she saw that the table was empty.
Aemma leaned on the table and took a deep breath before searching her nightgown. When she found it, she put it on and walked towards the door.
She didn't know if she would be able to walk to the kitchens so her legs were shaking.
But she knew that she couldn't stay in that room any longer.
Aemma took her dagger and avoided her reflection in the mirror before leaving the room.
" Princess do you need—" a guard spoke but Aemma shook her head.
" I will go myself." She said with a shaky voice.
Aemma didn't even gaze at the man and walked in the hallways trying her best to keep the anxiety attack away.
The kitchens were empty when Aemma stepped in, so she silently walked toward the first jug of water she saw and grabbed it before emptying it without bothering with finding a cup.
Every sip she took felt like a thousand needles were piercing through her throat and the water tasted like blood in her mouth.
" Fuck." She whispered putting her hands on her throat.
Aemma took a painful breath before putting the jug down and leaving the kitchens. She needed to breathe and being inside of this castle felt like someone was constantly sitting on her chest.
She clenched her fists once she reached the gardens and tried to breath correctly.
But each breath felt like fire burning from within.
" Aemma ?" She gasped in fear when she heard a voice from behind her.
" Leave me alone." She painfully whispered without looking at the person behind her.
She needed to be alone and catch her breath but the person didn't seem to care and she shook her head when she heard him walking towards her.
" Go away." She coughed but Aemond grabbed her arms to put her back on her feet.
She hadn't even realized she had fell on the grass.
" Get off me. I'll get you a new horse leave me—" she tried to push him but the prince frowned and grabbed her chin.
"He choked you." He whispered looking at her neck and Aemma's blood went cold.
Was she still dreaming ?
" Please don't." She whispered as tears filled her eyes.
" He choked you. Daemon choked you."
What ?
Why was he talking about Daemon ?
" Aemma. Did Daemon choke you ?"
Hearing him saying that brought her back on earth.
Daemon would never hurt her.
" Are you mad ?" She retorted snatching herself out of his grasp.
" He choked you Aemma." He said and Aemma shook her head. " You neck is bruised !" He shouted when he realized she was protecting him.
" It's not." She spat feeling her heart getting heavier.
She couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. Was she still in the stepstones? Had she died when she had fallen of Bloodfyre? Or perhaps she was still in her room. Still weak, still a prey free for anyone to hurt, still falling,
burning,
dying.
No.
" Show me." He said cupping her sweaty face to have a better sight but she pushed him when she felt his skin touching her neck.
" Stop it ! Stay away !" She shouted hiding her throat with her hands.
Since that night on Driftmark, Aemma had never let anyone touch her neck. Except for her mother and Daemon. And her father.
" You're hurt Aemma. Your neck is bruised. He had choked you, why are you protecting him ?" He shouted and Aemma shook her head taking a step away from him.
It had already happened. Sometimes her dreams were so...intense that they would leave marks on her body. But no one had ever seen them.
" Daemon never—." She choked out shaking her head.
" Then who was it ?" He asked and Aemma looked away.
She didn't want him to know that she had been traumatized by what she decided to do in the stepstones. She was the one who chose to fly south and brun the Martell fleet. Nobody had forced her. But she had no idea the wound and the memory of her father's death were still fresh.
" It's not your business." She spat even if she knew this was the worst answer she had to offer.
Aemond would probably alert the queen and if it wasn't Daemon, Trystane was the only one left who could have possibly done it. And by the way Aemond's eye had darkened when he had heard her, Aemma knew she had fucked up.
Aemond turned around and quickly walked back into the castle, Aemma ran after him and grabbed him by the arm when she realized he was walking toward the white sword tower. " It was me !" She shouted to stop him. " I did it to myself I swear it."
" I don't believe you." He retorted trying to make her let go but she only grabbed him harder. " You're just trying to protect that knight."
" It was me. I swear it on the memory of my father. Stop it please."
Aemond turned to face her when he heard Aemma talking about her father.
She wouldn't lie about him. Would she ?
She loved him more than anything, and he had heard how much his death had affected her. He couldn't blindly trust her, but he had seen the way the knight was terrified when he had realized that Aemma wasn't in the castle, and the relief in his eyes when he saw that she was well. Why would he hurt her ?
Aemond didn't believe that Aemma did it to herself. Why would she hurt herself that way ? Her neck so was bruised that the person who did it tried to kill her. Aemma would have passed out before it could turned that black if she had indeed done it to herself. The only suspect left was Daemon.
Daemon had seemed mad at her the moment he saw her. Aemond had heard the way he had shouted at her in the room. He could have lost his temper and choked Aemma or hit her to make her shut up. But he had also threatened his own nephew of killing him when Aegon started to make dirty jokes about Aemma. That was not the behavior of someone who had tried to kill her an hour ago.
So she was the only one left.
Aemond sighed and snatched himself from her. He stared at Aemma for a moment, he didn't know what to do. He didn't trust her and he didn't want anyone else than him to hurt her, but as she had said, it was not his business. And he had already done enough to help her today so he walked away from her.
" You should put something cold on it." He heard himself say before leaving her alone in the hallways.
- - -
One of my favorite chapters !!! Sorry for the wait and wanted to write more before publishing this one. We can see more of Aemma's powers and her dreams and the way it changes her.
Who do you think are the people she didn't recognize ? Let me know if you enjoyed it and I donc remember if I wrote it but English is not my native language so if there's any mistake I apologize and tell me in the comment so that I can correct it ! I won't be angry 🫡
Anyway hope you enjoy the story so far !