Life was a blurry haze for Alyarra Stark, endorsed by too much milk of the poppy. She did not care, anything to make her forget her misery. To make her forget her best friend was murdered by the Crown that her husband was off defending.
Alyarra stared at nothing as some servants dressed her for another day of mourning. She could hear Baelon crying in the other room, and she wanted to go to him but she could not. She was physically and emotionally weak at that point in time. She could not hold her babe, she could barely hold herself up.
The servants urged her to eat. But she only hummed, too tired to form a coherent sentence. Then a knock came to the door and in was Benjamin. Her lifeline for the passing days. He had a reassuring smile on his face, and he was speaking of her nutrition and how she needed to eat the porridge that was made for her but she was not listening.
"Love... please eat something." Nobody ever called her that seldom for Aemond. Her husband. She remembered her husband. The man she swore to love until the end of her times. And she would. She would love him until it killed her, and soon it would. She was sure she was set to die soon.
Then Benjamin sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "There has been sightings of Vhagar over King's Landing sky, and a cavalcade with our banners is arriving..." Benjamin informed dubiously, and that got Alyarra's attention almost instantly. Her husband.
She said nothing, her mind still a bit drowsy from the poppy milk she had taken the night before. She stood from her bed and walked. Benjamin followed closely by as she walked down to the courtyard. She wanted her husband. She wanted to know he was okay, even when their marriage was so strained and ruined.
Alyarra got there in time to see knights carrying in a burnt body on a stretcher. She gasped, the first sound she had made in the entire day, and her hands trembled as she tried to gauge the identity of the person. Not Aemond, please not Aemond. And it was not Aemond, because he rode in on a horse shortly later, wearing his brother's crown.
Alyarra's eyes contorted in confusion, and then she realized the writhing body in the stretcher was Aegon. Served him right.
She swallowed as she watched her husband dismount his horse and walk to her. He looked smug, proud of himself. Surely it was a victory, he would not look so pleased if it were not. "Alyarra..." He whispered as he got to her and engulfed her in a tight hug. The girl remained stoic for a few seconds, and then she hugged him back though not with the same force as he did her.
"What happened?" She whispered into his chest, pulling away from him and looking up to his crowned head. King. Her husband was King? Was she the Queen now? Was Baelon the heir of the Seven Kingdoms? Gods she hoped not. That throne had taken too much from her, she would not allow it to take her son too.
"My brother was badly injured at Rook's Rest... but twas a victory for our cause because Rhaenys and her traitor dragon are dead." Aemond told her with a proud smile. And Alyarra was happy, not for the victory but because Aegon was badly injured. She hoped he died and was sent to the Seven Hells for what he did to Catherryn.
"And you are King?" Alyarra mumbled in a question. "Prince Regent and Protector of the Realm until my brother is well again." Aemond stated, looking down at his wife with a proud smile. He was beaming, of course. It was all he ever wanted, to be the King. To rule the Kingdoms. It was what he prepared for all of his life.
Aemond did not notice her broken figure when he got off his horse. He was too smug and proud of himself to notice her, but now staring down at his wife he noticed. And he frowned in sheer worry. Her cheeks were hollowed in, her undereyes black, and her once sparkling eyes dead. Just two weeks had passed, and she had gone through a great physical change. She had lost pounds.
"Have you been eating, Alyarra?" Aemond asked, though she darted her eyes away from him and to the happenings of the courtyard. She did not wish to speak of this now, her head was throbbing and she felt like she needed poppy milk to calm down. Food. She had forgotten what it was like to eat and enjoy it.
"Yes." She lied. She had barely eaten two bites of food in the last four days. She couldn't eat, when she did she remembered Catherryn's headless body and threw up instantly.
"And Baelon? How has he been doing? I've missed my son terribly." Aemond said lovingly and with an eager smile. There was nothing to be smiling about though. Alyarra wanted to say.
"Good." Alyarra lied. She hadn't seen Baelon in days. It was not that she did not want to see her son. It was all she wanted. But she could not do it, not physically and not emotionally. She was unable to care for herself, how could she care for her babe?
Aemond eyed his wife intently. She was not well, he could tell. And with good reason, she was mourning. He could not blame her. But there was something else in her eyes. She was out of it. She was not here in the present.
Before Aemond could inquire further, Criston Cole had approached the pair. He gave Alyarra a curt nod and turned to the Prince Regent. "Your grace, the court is awaiting in the Great Hall for the announcement of our victory and your crowning." Criston spoke, and Aemond nodded. He was eager to sit the throne.
He put out his arm for his wife, which she took solemnly, and escorted her to the Great Hall. Alyarra did not speak, whilst Aemond talked all the way there with Criston Cole. Her head was throbbing and she really wanted to feel numb again.
Once there the green nobles clapped as soon as the Prince Regent walked in through the doors. They cheered for Aemond, calling him all sort of good names. "Our savior!" "The King!" "The Rightful Heir!" He planted a kiss to the crown of Alyarra's head and moved to the throne, sitting on it with a smirk on his face.
Alyarra watched him, and seemingly he was born to sit the throne. He looked like he fit in it perfectly, the crown sitting on his head as if it were made for him. Criston Cole announced their victory and their new ruler, but Alyarra was barely listening. She stared at Aemond with no expression on her face, her mind elsewhere.
"The crown suits you, your grace." Criston would tell Aemond with a smirk and a nod. To which he replied, "It looks better on me than it ever did on my brother."
Alyarra watched him bask in his new title, an ever lasting grin adorning his face as the lords and ladies of the realm moved to congratulate him on his victory. She knew this was what he had wanted all along, yet it did not seem right to Alyarra. Though she would never speak her thoughts on the matter.
He was preoccupied with the court, so Alyarra slipped out of the Great Hall without anyone noticing her absence.
Aemond stayed there, happily sitting on the throne whilst everyone buzzed around the new head of their side. But then it died down and the court began, meaning that Aemond would sit in the throne for hours on end listening to his lords and ladies petitions and notions.
When court ended Aemond would hang around with the council, before being pulled aside by Maester Orwyle. "Your grace, congratulations on your victory. I am sure that we are ever so close to defeating your sister." The maester would say with a smile. Aemond chuckled smugly and nodded.
"You are more than correct, maester. We are close to defeating the whore on Dragonstone." Aemond stated with a grin. And the maester chuckled before turning serious for a moment.
"And how is your ladywife? Have you been able to see her, your grace?" The maester asked with a worried expression, making him frown slightly.
"She came to see me upon my arrival. Why? Did something happen whilst I was away?" Aemond asked Orwyle, who sighed and nodded his head.
"I do fear the Lady Alyarra has taken a certain worrisome liking to poppy milk, your grace. She has been taking around two cups a day since you've been gone. Addiction to this tea is strong and hard to renounce... I would despise to see the Lady Stark addicted to it." Maester Orwyle spoke, and Aemond felt something inside his heart ache. He should have been here to care for her.
"And why did you allow for her to take it?" Aemond asked slowly and dangerously. "The lady weeped for hours on end if not given the milk, your grace. Her knight claimed she needed it." The maester answered and Aemond rolled his eye at this notion.
"I will speak to her." Aemond stated, and with that he was on his way to his chambers to seek his wife out. He was worried for her. He knew she wasn't well.
-
After she slipped away from the Great Hall, she went up to their chambers where Benjamin had been waiting for her at the door. He smiled at her and opened it for her, looking around the corridor and then following her inside. "I've got tea for you, my lady." Benjamin said and handed her more milk of the poppy.
Alyarra sighed and smiled, grateful for him. Her head had been throbbing and this would surely help her cease that pain. She grabbed the goblet and gulped it down as if it were gold, and then handed it back to Benjamin. He was looking at her with a small smile and then he sighed.
"I've been thinking lately of your brother, my lady..." Benjamin spoke as he set the goblet down, then he moved to sit down next to Alyarra.
She did not answer. She could already feel her fingers tingling and her head lighter as she turned to look at Benjamin. He was so kind. So willing. So good.
"I could take you to him, sweet girl. Take you away to the North. The two of us, away from this castle... away from the people that have hurt you. Away from your husband..." Benjamin suggested, bringing his hand to her cheek to caress it tenderly.
Alyarra stared at him, though her mind was elsewhere. She could barely process what he was telling her, and Benjamin continued his ranting. He spoke how Aemond did not deserve her, how she deserved a real man, how he did not appreciate her. Benjamin spoke of how Aemond was emotionally abusive, and how she would be better off in the North with him. She did not register it, none of it.
Her eyes were heavy and she felt herself slipping away into the nothingness and comforting feeling that poppy milk gave her. So good. So warm. So numb. Just sheer and comforting nothing.
Alyarra woke up in her bed, and when she sat up and looked to the balcony she could tell it was already night time. She had slept almost all day. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, looking around the room. No sign of her husband being there at all. That made her frown, then she noticed she had been changed into a nightgown. Had Aemond changed her? Or had Benjamin?
Alyarra went into the living chambers and Aemond was not there. And then she checked his study, and he was not there either. Why wasn't Aemond home yet? It was surely really late, and she doubted that court would be extended into the night.
Alyarra sat down in a seat, trembling due to the coldness of the night. She hated being alone. She was not used to it. All her life she spent it with Catherryn by her side. Alyarra waited, for what seemed like hours, for Aemond to return.
But she was tired, and still had lingering poppy milk in her system, so she went back into her bedchamber and went back to sleep.
Early in the morning she heard Aemond come in. He dropped his sword on the floor of the bedchamber, making her wake up startled. She looked at the sword in the dark and due to the moonlight she could see it covered in blood.
She did not rise up to greet him, she was half asleep. She closed her eyes and could hear him shuffling around the room, seemingly getting ready for bed. Then a dip in the bed happened, and then she fell back asleep.
-
Alyarra woke up alone the next day, even if her husband was back in the capital. And as always, the servants came in to dress her for another day, then they brought her food that she barely touched.
Alyarra waited for Benjamin to come in to greet her as always, but it was in vain because he did not come in. She was confused after waiting for about an hour for him, so she moved to look for him outside her chambers and he was not there.
In his stead stood an older man, wearing the uniform that Benjamin wore. "You are?" Alyarra asked the man, who did not even turn to look at her.
"Your protector, my lady." The man stated coldly, making Alyarra frown. "Where is Ser Benjamin?" Alyarra asked him.
"He has been let go of his service by the Prince Regent and Protector of the Realm." The man answered stoicly, almost in a rehearsed manner. Alyarra frowned, her heartbeat skipping as she looked at this new man.
She turned from him and walked as fast as she could to the Great Hall, where she assumed her husband would be holding court. An assumption that was correct. He was sitting the throne, and he looked angered as some lord spoke to him about his banners.
His eyes shifted to his wife as he watched her approach the throne. "Husband, may I speak with you?" Alyarra asked in a low tone, looking up at her husband with pleading eyes. His own eye was hard on her, anger bubbling up inside of him at the most rapid of speeds.
"No." Aemond answered plainly, darting his eye away from Alyarra and over to some other lord. She frowned and went up one step to the throne.
"Aemond... it is important." She pleaded, and this made him incredibly angry. "Tell me, Alyarra, what could be more important than the matters of the court?" He asked, his voice mean and cruel. Alyarra was confused at all of this.
"Aemond..." She whispered as she looked up at him with furrowed brows.
"You will address me by my proper title, wife. Now speak, or leave the Hall at once." He spoke cruelly, making her heart break at this mistreatment. "Where is Benjamin?" She asked him, making his nostrils flare in sheer anger.
"Who?" Aemond asked, a cruel smile toying at the corner of his lips as he looked down at Alyarra from the throne.
"My protector. You know who." Alyarra stated, and Aemond sighed, standing up and coming down the steps of the throne in an ever so predatory manner. He stopped right next to her and leaned in to whisper.
"You mean the man you adultered with? Dead."
-
Author's note:
The vagueness of her time with Benjamin is intentional. I want you giys to deduce what happened, if anything happenedc between them. Just remember; she was high on poppy milk all through that time...
Anyways, on a much lighter note! This story broke 96k reads! What?!?!?! THAT IS SO INSANE!!!!!! God I remember when I used to update and nobody even saw it and now its almost at 100k! You guys are absolutely the best!
I have three other Aemond stories: The Maid, Midnight Rain, and Epiphany (my newest one) that you guys can check out.
Adore you guys! Thank you!