Seeing Vaemond's head split in two should've been all Jace could think about, instead it was the fact that he was now promised to his cousin. He liked Baela, she was fierce like Daemon but soft-hearted like Laena, a keen dragon rider and a good friend. It had been several hours of greeting Princess Rhaenys and her daughters, and his mind was still a jumbled mess. He felt more confused and conflicted now, than he had ever felt in his life.
Jace sighed, begrudgingly marching down the hallway towards his chambers. He was in need of a rest after such a strange and horrific start to his day, noticing the sun was starting to set outside. He pushed the heavy wooden door open, and letting it close behind him. When he entered his room, he was shocked as he looked at his bed.
Saera lay, sleeping soundly on his sheets, wearing a dress now as opposed to her training gear she had been wearing during the trial. He moved closer to the sleeping girl, looking around the room and wondering what on earth she was doing. As he approached her he heard her snoring softly, in a deep and peaceful sleep. Jace looked down at her, noticing her features were soft and relaxed, long lashes pressed against her cheeks and her rosey lips slightly parted. She looked unbelievably cute, Jace feeling a smile tug at his lips.
"Saera," he whispered, shaking her arm gently in an effort to wake her. She let out a groan and pushed his hand from her, curling further into his bed. He looked at her with an exasperated expression, not knowing what to do. "Saera," he repeated, shaking her harder now.
"Hobrenka..." (fucking idiot) she mumbled sleepily as Jace continued, trying not to admit to himself that seeing her so vulnerable and harmless looking was incredibly endearing.
"Saera," he said, forcing his voice to sound firm as she finally blinked her eyes open. She hissed and pushed herself up, rubbing her eyes. Her dark circles had faded considerably after what he had guessed must have been a few hours of sleep. She looked around and then at Jace, scowling at him grumpily.
"What are you doing in my room?" She snapped at him angrily, Jace raising an eyebrow at her. He gave her time to adjust to her surroundings, the girl noticing that it was in fact not her room.
"Oh," she mumbled, looking at him slightly apologetically. "I forgot. I came here to talk to you." She remembered what she had been intending to do.
"You came here to talk to me and when I didn't show up, you fell asleep?" He questioned her, sitting down on the bed next to her and chuckling slightly at her antics.
"Yes but you never showed up and I had such a terrible sleep last night..." she began to explain, fixing her smooth hair which had been disheveled after her long sleep. As did I, Jace thought, remembering all the things that filled his mind while he had tossed and turned. "I must've dozed off while I waited on you to get back." She continued to blink, trying to wake up properly for him now.
"What was it you were planning on saying? How much you want me dead?" Jace asked sarcastically. "No, no, far too obvious. You probably came to say you want me dead in a snarky, sarcastic and admittedly clever way so you can shoot me an aggravating smirk and irritate me to the point of retaliation?" Jace questioned her and she glared at him, now sitting beside him on the edge of the bed.
"No, though that does sound tempting." She admitted. "I wanted to talk to you after I heard at the trial that you are now promised to Baela." Saera told him, Jace clenching his jaw as she repeated the news that had been tormenting him. Saera noticed that Jace didn't look happy at her bringing it up. She didn't care, she knew what she had to say to him.
"I wanted to say that I think that it's a good thing-" she began, Jace scowling at her.
"So you think my marriage to someone who I myself would never have chosen is a good thing?" He questioned sharply, Saera surprised at his annoyance. She glared at his immediate irritation.
"I understand, Jace. I understand. I just mean that it is a good thing because it will help us both stop thinking about what happened yesterday in the dragon pit-" she continued.
"You think just because I am engaged to Baela I will be able to forget what happened yesterday?" Jace pushed himself to his feet angrily, trying not to shout too loud at her. He couldn't have any of the maids in the hallway outside hearing this heated conversation. "What happened yesterday is scorched into my brain, I don't think learning I am now promised to Baela will change that." Jace growled at her. She looked at him shocked, surprised that he felt the same way she did. "Have you thought about it?" He asked her.
"I..." she didn't want to lie to him, her words melting in her mouth as she realised she didn't know what to say.
"And does being engaged to Aemond hinder those thoughts in any way?" He questioned her and she knew he was right. It hadn't.
"Exactly. My thoughts are twisted and warped and full of hatred and malice, passion and desire." Jace told her, finally glad to tell someone how messed up his head had felt. "It is like being tortured every second I have to look at you." He continued, Saera gazing up at him with wide eyes before she also pushed herself off his bed, standing in front of him now.
"You think you're the only one who feels like that!?" She retorted, her voice growing louder as her brow furrowed. "For the last few days I have been losing my mind, and it's all your fault! Ever since you showed up everything has been upside down..." she trailed off, her eyes gazing up at his, their faces close. She could feel her heart slamming in her chest roughly.
Jace looked down at her, at a loss for words. He could feel still feel his anger, but he could feel something else now too. His grey eyes ran over her beautiful face, looking at her lips and then back up to her eyes. He was trying to control himself using all the strength he had. Don't make the same mistake, Jace! Have you really learned nothing? He heard in his mind, his jaw clenched.
Saera moved closer, almost kissing him and breaking the tension but she seemed to regain her self-control, pulling her face back slightly with a strained expression on her face. Snap out of it Saera! Get a hold of yourself! The words bounced around inside of her head.
Jace couldn't take it, and neither could she. They could no longer resist.
He kissed her and she kissed back, both matching the furious heated passion of the other. He held either side of her face with his hands, his eyes squeezed shut as he felt her body against his, his whole form burning and alive with desire. His thoughts and fantasies were now being realised once again, Jace moving one of his hands to her waist and pulling her closer.
"I want you," he murmured breathlessly against her lips. The sound of his voice thick and heavy with lust was enough to drive Saera wild, the girl moaning slightly against his lips. He moved his hands down to her thighs and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling him carry her back to his bed. Her stomach was twisting and turning inside her, every inch of her skin tingling.
Jace sat down on the edge of his bed, Saera now straddling him and sitting on his lap. His kisses were growing more desperate and frustrated as he held her on his lap, her hips pressing against his. She grinned against his lips, satisfied with how feverish and urgent the movements of his lips had became. They were breathless, Saera touching his lips with hers again as she tangled her hands in his hair. She then bit on his lip, tugging on it slightly. Jace felt like he was ready to explode, kissing her like he needed to kiss her to breathe.
"I hate you," he spoke against her lips. "I hate you too," she responded, both continuing to passionately kiss one another. Saera then moved her kisses along his jaw and down to his neck. Jace's eyes shut and his lips parted, no sound escaping as she kissed near his collarbone. "Do not leave a mark," he panted, Saera smirking against his skin. She wanted to, oh by the gods she really wanted to.
Aemond and Baela melted out of existence as both Jace and Saera expressed their intense craving for one another.
Jace pushed her chin back up from his neck to the same level as his face, giving him access to kiss her once again. He could feel a coiled spring in his stomach, aroused and frustrated now. The friction of her hips pressing against his was enough to drive him wild. Saera could feel him through his breeches, the butterflies in her stomach dancing wildly. She gently rocked her hips against his once, feeling his grip on her tighten as he moaned against her lips, eyebrows knitted and shoulders tense.
Jace wanted her, no - he needed her.
He grabbed her waist, pulling her hips in the same way she had before. Saera moaned his name against his lips at the movement making Jace's head spin. He wanted to take her, he wanted to take her so badly. He was seconds away from tearing her dress from her body when they heard a gentle knock at Jace's door. They pulled their lips away from one another, both now wide eyed and staring at each other. Both Saera and Jace's chests rose and fell quickly, their cheeks pink and their hair messy. Another knock came, both of their heads whipping in the door's direction.
"Jace," they heard a muffled voice from the other side. Jace felt his heart plummet straight into his stomach. Baela.
"Jace, are you in there?" Baela questioned, Saera looking at him wildly.
"Where do I go?" She asked Jace in a hushed whisper, Jace looking around the room for somewhere to hide. His wardrobe was too small and his dresser would not hide her.
"The window?" He suggested as Saera scowled at his suggestion of throwing herself out of his room and onto the courtyard several floors below. She was already coming back to earth after their passionate moment had been interrupted. Her feelings of hatred and distain towards him were starting to return.
"Jace, Rhaenyra told me you'd be in here. If you won't answer I'm coming in." Jace and Saera heard the girl's voice through the door. Saera quickly slinked off of Jace's lap and crawled beneath his bed, the sheets hanging low and covering her entirely. Jace patted his hair down which was sticking up in every direction after Saera had ran her hands through it. He fixed his shirt collar, buttoning it up properly. His eyes then fell lower than his shirt to a rather large tent-shaped problem. He cursed under his breath while he readjusted, tucking himself into the waist band of his breeches. He still felt exposed, so he snatched a pillow off of his bed and sat it on his lap.
"Come in!" Jace forced himself to say, watching as Baela pushed open his door and closed it behind her.
"Seven hells Jace, what took you so long-" Baela began to ask before she turned to look at him. He was sitting with an elbow on the cushion on his lap, his hand under his chin. He was sitting so strangely that Baela shot him a confused look.
"What are you...doing?" Baela questioned him, slowly walking towards him with uncertainty laced through her tone. "You look...out of breath..." she continued to approach him. Saera was beneath the bed, her hand clamped over her mouth to prevent any laughs from escaping. She couldn't see Jace, and she was thankful for it, for she knew that bearing witness to his clearly unsatisfactory attempt to appear normal would bring her great embarrassment.
"I was..." Jace forced a strained smile onto his face while thinking of some excuse, "just...doing a light jog around the room. It helps with the grieving process." He let out, Baela shooting him a perplexed and slightly concerned look as she sat down on the bed next to him.
"Whatever helps, I guess." She remarked, eyeing his messy hair wearily. "I came to talk to you about our proposal..." she told him, Jace's smile faltering slightly at the mention of it. "I wasn't sure how you felt about it and I guess I wanted to see where your head is at." Baela blinked at him, kind brown eyes gazing deeply into his.
"Well, I guess I feel conflicted." Jace answered, trying to be honest with her. He really liked her, and he owed her the truth. Well, as much of the truth as he was capable of telling her. "I think our proposal makes sense. We are the same age, we grew up together, you are an intelligent and brave girl with the right name and the right title." Jace praised her, Saera's smile fading slightly as she listened to how Jace described the other girl. Baela smiled at his kind words.
"You are a dragon rider, a talented dragon rider. You're strong, capable, beautiful..." Jace continued, trying his best to let Baela know how much he cared about her. The last word he said however, had upset the hiding girl beneath his bed. Saera huffed quietly, using her sharp nails to scratch at Jace's exposed foot dangling off the bed.
"Ouch..." Jace began to say, feeling the rough scratch against his ankle and yanking both his feet out of Saera's reach. He noticed Baela staring at him confused. "Ou...standing," he remedied his mistake by adding another word to the list. Baela was still looking at him with uncertainty. "But..." he began, not knowing how to say what he really wanted to say.
"As much as I care about you, my heart is..." Jace thought about how he wanted to continue. He couldn't say "with another" as that would be a lie. He still hated Saera, she did not hold his heart.
"My heart is not in our proposal." He found the words, feeling his heart ache as he spoke. Baela looked at him, her soft smile faltering slightly at his statement. Saera felt a pang of guilt race through her, hoping that she was not the reason Jace would tell Baela this. How could she be? She knew his feelings for her and they were confined to hatred and desire. Nothing more.
"Is there...is there a way it could be in time?" Baela questioned, brows knitted as she looked at Jace intensely. He swallowed roughly.
"I'm not sure." Jace responded, continuing to try and be as honest as he could. He did not want to give her the false hope that he had romantic feelings towards her. It wouldn't be right. Baela seemed to sit with his words, nodding in understanding.
"I must admit, cousin, we were very close when we were young." She began. "But not in the way your mother and my grandmother would have hoped." She continued, Jace feeling relief spread through him. "I understand that your heart is not in our match Jacaerys," Baela reassured him, taking one of his hands in hers. "And I must be true to you and confess mine isn't either. Perhaps over time that will change." She suggested, Jace nodding at her words. Deep down, he had a feeling they wouldn't.
"I doubt we will marry for another few months, so the pressure is off." Baela told him and he felt himself relax slightly. It was a relief to hear that she had no real romantic attachment. "In spite of that, I am always here, Jace. If you need to talk to me or tell me anything, know that I am here." She told him, Jace smiling at her. She gazed back at him for a few seconds before pushing herself to her feet.
"I leave you now, my prince, for I must begin the laborious process of getting ready for the Midsummer Ball." Baela informed him gracefully. "I'll see you there tonight." She added as she moved towards the door.
"I will see you there, cousin." Jace told her with a smile, watching her wave and pull the door shut behind her. He let out a sigh he didn't realise he was holding, falling back flat onto the bed, the pillow still on his lap.
"Wow," Saera let out from beneath the bed. "That was pretty awkward." She informed him, Jace rolling his eyes at her words. And, she's back to being annoying again.