Here we will see a little glimpse on how the relationship between Aemond, Rhaenyra and Daemon has changed in the 2 weeks he has been been on Dragonstone. We will also see the efforts Rhaenyra has made to get closer to her siblings. We see how those changes has affected Aemond's relationship with his mother. In this chapter Deirys will also give a surprise to her parents and uncle. High Valyrian will be in italics. I hope you guys like it ❤️
Deirys Targaryen (1 year old)
Rhaenyra Targaryen (18 years old.)
Aemond laughed and let Deirys put the small piece of honey cake in his mouth. Only half the cake actually ended inside his mouth, the rest was on his face. His little niece had decided to share her food with him, but she was not very good at aiming at his mouth, so he ended up with most of the food on his face. If it had been someone else he would have probably killed them by now, but since it was his niece, and she would laugh every time she fed him a bit and act like she was bestowing him the greatest honor by sharing her food, he did not mind so much. He cleaned his face once more and smiled while Deirys squeezed some cake between her tiny fingers and then shoved most of her small hand into her mouth.
"Are you both still here?" He looked up and saw Rhaenyra walking toward them. They were sitting on a blanket, at the mouth of a small cave, looking towards the beach, where Vhagar was sleeping without a care in the world. "Have you both eaten enough cake yet?"
"Most of the cake she has given me has ended up adorning my face, but small the bits I have managed to eat have been really good." Deirys smiled at her mother, then shoved another small piece of honey cake into her mouth. Half her face was covered in cake at this point and her fingers were sticky, but she appeared to be having a grand time. "I'm afraid she will have a bellyache by the end of the night."
"I hope not, we are all leaving for Kings Landings tomorrow. I do not need her being sick during the ride."
"Muña." Deirys waddled towards her mother and reached up. Immediately Rhaenyra grabbed her hand. The little girl pointed towards Vhagar, still sleeping on the beach. "Dragon."
"Yes my little hatchling, I can see you like the big dragon. Maybe when you are older, your uncle will let you ride Vhagar with him." Rhaenyra kissed her daughter's forehead and caressed her face. Then she looked at him. "I can't believe you got her to say it. Daemon will have a fit when he finds out she said the word for you before him."
"I know" Aemond's relationship with his sister had gotten a bit better in the past fortnight. He would not say they were friends, but at least they were talking to each other. On the other hand, his relationship with his uncle was a bit more complicated. Both of them seem to be having a competition to see who Deirys loved the most. His mother hated it, but both his father and sister loved it and found it hilarious. "I believe I'm winning. He cannot stand the fact that Deirys prefers me over him."
"Do not take it personally, Daemon hates when his daughter's attention is on anyone but him. Even I have trouble getting time with her sometimes." Rhaenyra was cleaning Deirys's face and attempting to keep her still long enough to finish the task. "I believe your mother was looking for you earlier. Helaena wanted to collect some bugs and Alicent wanted you to accompany her."
"Why not send Aegon? He is her betrothed after all. They should be spending time together before the ceremony."
"I do not think anyone wants to spend any time with our brother. He is not the best company to be around. Especially now, he is in his cups already. He could barely stand up, much less accompany Helaena anywhere." Deirys squealed once she was finally set free by her mother. She waddled towards Aemond as fast as she could and laughed when he picked her up and threw her in the air, before catching her once more. "Do not worry, I accompanied our sister and took her to the best spots to collect her bugs. She was very happy once I left her in her chambers. I just wanted to make you aware your mother was looking for you. After all, the queen gets upset when her children do not do as she wants."
Aemond walked out of the cave with Deirys in his arms. He was aware Rhaenyra was following him. He did not understand what had happened, but his sister seemed to be acting warmer toward them lately. Well, at least towards him and Helaena. Aegon was not easy to get along with, not even Aemond wanted to spend time with his brother. He also appreciated the fact that Rhaenyra trusted him enough to allow him to be alone with his niece and to go on walks with her. They always had someone from the Kingsguard follow them, but that was normal for all of them. After all, they were the royal family.
His mother got more upset the closer he got to his sister and uncle. What she hated the most was his love for his niece. She had spent days yelling at him for spending time with the little girl. She kept saying something about how the Targaryen family had queer customs. Something he found hilarious since she was forcing her daughter and her oldest son to marry each other. He was upset that she believed he had some nefarious intentions towards Deirys. She was just a little girl. He loved her because she was innocent and sweet. When he had lost his eye most people in Kings Landings looked at him differently. Some looked at him with pity, others with revulsion. Even his mother would not look at him without his eye patch. Once his face had healed, she avoided looking at his eye as much as she could. There were even some children that had turned away from him in fear. He liked that Deirys did not look at him like that. Even though she was a small child, she had been drawn to him, just like he was drawn to her. She would pat his face and smile at him. It was like the gods knew he needed someone to love him unconditionally, so they sent him his little princess. It did not matter how much his mother yelled, he was not going to stop spending time with his niece just because she had some vendetta against his sister.
"Aemond!" Rhaenyra's voice was not particularly loud, but it was the fear in it that made him stop and look back at her. There was terror on her face "Do not make any sudden movements. Stand very still and call for Vhagar."
Before he could ask what was wrong the ground shook and a bronze dragon, with great tan wings, almost as large as Vhagar landed right in front of him. Terror made him stop cold. He was afraid, not for himself, but the dragon could injure his niece, even kill her. Deirys did not seem to have the same problem he and her mother did. She was happily reaching towards the dragon, her little arms reaching towards his giant head. He tightened his hold on her when she attempted to jump out of his arms.
"Dragon, kepus." her little arms kept reaching toward the large dragon. She was used to Syrax and Caraxes, who were friendly and protective towards her because of the bonds they share with her parents. Even Vhagar was protective of the little girl. She could feel how important Deirys was to him through their bond. "Dragon, kepus.)"
Rhaenyra walked closer to them, moving slowly. Aemond took a small step back and the dragon lowered his head. Deirys was still trying to get out of his arms. The dragon got closer and that finally shook Aemond out of his fear. He could not let the little princess get hurt.
"Vhagar, come to me." Even though he did not speak very loudly, he felt his dragon move closer to him. The large bronze dragon did not appear perturbed in the slightest that Vhagar was moving closer to him "Protect, Vhagar."
Vhagar did not seem very concerned that her rider was in danger. Syrax landed behind the large bronze dragon. Caraxes landed next to her, Daemon on his back. Both dragons could feel their riders' fear, but they did not attempt to attack the larger dragon. Aemond opened his mouth once more, but before he could say anything he heard Daemon's voice.
"Wait, something is not right" Daemon dismounted Caraxes and approached them carefully. "The sensation I'm getting from Caraxes is not one of fear. I do not believe he means her any harm. I think she is his rider."
"What?" Was his uncle insane? Aemond was aware that some riders and their dragons bonded, while the riders were still babies. But those were when the dragons hatched in the crib. He had never heard of a small child bonding with a fully grown dragon before she could even put a whole sentence together. His uncle and sister were standing next to him. Daemon smiled at Aemond. "Let her touch him. Do not worry, he won't hurt her."
Aemond did not move forward but also did not move backward when the dragon got closer once more. This time he held his niece higher when she reached for the dragon once more. Once her small hand touched the dragon's nose, she squealed and he swore the dragon closed his eyes in bliss. The dragon seemed to almost purr. At this time Aemond was just happy she was not being eaten as a snack by the large dragon.
"You are the smartest, most amazing girl I have ever seen." His uncle took Deirys out of his arms and hugged her tightly, kissing her little head, he cupped her cheeks "Look at my big girl, I can't believe you claimed the bronze fury. You will be the strongest princess the world has ever seen."
"You did so well little love" Rhaenyra also kissed her daughter's head, smiling at her "Now you have a dragon. You will have to wait a little bit longer before you are able to ride him, but he will be with you from now on."
"Muña, kepa." she pointed towards the large dragon, which Aemond now recognized as Vermithor, and clapped. Deirys might not have any idea why her parents were so happy, but she loved being the center of attention "Dragon."
"Yes little love, that's your dragon. According to Aemond, she started saying dragon this morning and it has become one of her favorite words."Rhaenyra looked between Daemon and Aemond "I believe we should return to the castle. Most people would have seen the commotion with four dragons. Aemond you need to go see your mother. I do not want her to believe I tried to kill you once more."
Aemond was walking a few feet in front of them and he could still hear his uncle and sister praising his niece. Rhaenyra seemed very excited her daughter finally had a dragon. He could not blame her, after all, she was the youngest dragon rider in Westeros history. He heard his sister's excited voice once more.
"I still cannot believe she claimed Vermithor."
"You know what I cannot believe?" Daemon's voice sounded annoyed "I can't believe she said dragon for that little shit before she did for me."
Aemond smirked and ran up the stairs toward his chambers. His sister's laugh was the last thing he heard before closing the door.
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"This will be the last time we have this discussion Aemond" The servants had finished packing his belongings hours ago. His mother should be getting on a ship instead of yelling at him like he was five years old. "You are to stay away from Rhaenyra, that whoremonger Daemon, and especially that cursed child."
"She is not cursed" his mother's eyes widened. He had never snapped at her like that before. For a moment he felt guilty, but his mother refused to listen to him. He knew she would never leave it alone if he kept backing down. He raised his chin. "She is just a babe. I do not understand why you do not like her."
"And I do not understand why you are so taken with her? Why do you spend so much time with her?"
"Because she is my niece. I'm not doing anything wrong. Why must you make things so difficult?"
"Because you will not listen to me. You refuse to obey me." She threw her hands in the air "You used to be such a good boy, an obedient son, but since we arrived at this cursed place you have become rude, and refuse to follow the simplest orders."
"That is because I'm not a dog for you to order around. I have always done as you say, but is never enough for you. I'm so tired of you not listening to me. Only using me." This time he stood up from the bed. He just wanted away from her. "You do not care about me, or Helaena, or even your precious Aegon. All you care about is how you can use us for your benefit."
He should have seen the slap coming, but it still shocked him. The slap had not really hurt, he had gotten worse from when she order Ser Criston to beat him after he had misbehaved. But his feelings were hurt. She had hit him for not agreeing with her.
"Aemond, I did not mean to do that" She made to get close to him, but he took a step back. He saw tears in her eyes, but he would not fall for that trick again. This time she was in the wrong. "Aemond, I just need you to listen. If you had behaved this would not have happened."
"You will never put your hands on me again."
He did not wait for her to acknowledge him. There was nothing she could say that would make this better. He would have enough with her during the trip back to Kings Landing. They would all be trapped on a ship together. He slammed the chamber door behind him and stomped down the stairs. He just wanted to be back home, where he could hide with his books and disappear for a few hours. Of course, now, he also had Vhagar. Once he was out of the castle he walked down the beach close to where his dragon was laying. He could not wait to get her back to Kings Landing, he could not imagine how the people would act when they saw her. She would have to be unchained since she was too large to be kept in the dragon pit.
"Aemond?" He made sure his eyes were dry before he turned towards Rhaenyra. She was in her dragon-riding outfit. Her long, silver hair pulled back in intricate braids. She looked concerned. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"What is wrong Aemond?" He opened his mouth but then saw his mother walking towards them. The others were already boarding the ship. Except for Daemon, who was also in his dragon-riding clothes. He had Deirys in his arms, letting her touch Vermithor. He closed his mouth and Rhaenyra looked behind her to see his mother. Rhaenyra gave him a gentle smile. "I know I have not been the best sister and I'm sorry for that. I should have made more of an effort with you and our siblings. I cannot turn back time, but I can be better now. You can trust me."
"It is nothing. All is well. I was just looking at Vhagar."
"Aemond is time for us to go." His mother did not even look at Rhaenyra "We need to board the ship. We will talk there."
"Actually, Aemond will ride Vhagar" Rhaenyra winked at him without his mother noticing and then looked at the queen "My father authorized it. He believes it will do Aemond well to ride his dragon since he does not have much experience."
"Have you lost your mind?" If his mother had the power to set Rhaenyra on fire, she would have "That trip will last hours. He just claimed that beast a fortnight ago."
"Which is exactly why this trip will help him get more experience. And he will have Daemon and I with him to help him." Rhaenyra put a hand on his shoulder and guide him away from his mother "With your leave my queen. We will see you once you arrive in Kings Landing."
Rhaenyra did not wait for his mother to answer. She guided him towards the dragons. Once they were close she let go of his shoulder and went to stand beside her husband.
"Kepus." Deirys stretched her little hands towards him. Laughing when he grabbed her and kissed her cheek. She pointed towards Vermithor. "Dragon."
"Yes my little love. We will all ride our dragons. You will ride with me until you are older. Just like your father used to take me on dragon back."
They waited together until the ship had left the port. They all mounted their dragons. Once he was secured, he looked at Rhaenyra, who was finishing securing Deirys to her and testing the chains.
"Sister." she looked at him in surprise. This was the first time he had called her by that term. "Thank you."
"You are most welcome, little brother." Once she was sure Deirys was secured, she winked at him. "Sōvegon, Syrax."
The golden dragon launched herself into the air with a roar, which was followed by his niece's laugh. His uncle took fly after his wife. Aemond took a moment to look back at the castle. Things would be different from now on.
"Sōvegon, Vhagar."