𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐄 ~ aemond targaryen (discontinued)

5 ~ Close an Eye ~ 5

I had expected the night to end like any other.

An ache in my shoulder, my elbow, my wrist. A few more dents in my bedpost- cracks in the wood making the frame a complete safety hazard and as fragile as a matchstick. Out of breath and completely exhausted from my one-man sparring match.

Only tonight there was a disturbance to my routine.

A single knock on my door.

I found a face I had never expected to grace my threshold at this hour of the night, blinking back at me with wide, violet orbs.

Helaena was pale and shaking, a quiver in her bottom lip as if she was on the brink of tears. Or perhaps another breakdown.

"Come quick." She whispered loudly. "Now. Khaelyra."

I squinted at her, swiping the back of my hand against my dry eyes, stinging with exhaustion. "It's late, Helaena. I'm sure whatever it is can wait til-"

"No." Her head swivelled rapidly in disagreement. "We need to go now, Lyra, its important."

With the name she used, a nickname only spoken by the inner circle of those I trusted, which grew smaller each day, a gentle swell of hope bloomed within me. Helaena still knew me as her own. This may have been the greatest relief I had experienced in a long time.

"Tell me." I stared her down.

"On the way." She insisted and finally, I gave in.

It wasn't every night I would have Helaena rushing to my door, asking me to mysteriously follow her into the dark of night. This was a new experience, and I was not one to back down from those.

Sliding a pair of my night slippers on and a billowing, black cloak, to keep me warm and shadowed in case my sister led me outside, I followed her, locking my door shut tight behind me then dropping the brass key into my pocket.

"Helaena, tell me."

Her steps were hurried, and she took long strides that made it difficult to keep pace.

"It's Aemond." Helaena's voice cracked on the name.

I halted in my tracks mind sifting through all the worst possibilities even though I tried to stop myself from rushing ahead and jumping to horrible conclusions.

Bile rose, seething the walls of my throat, though my belly felt hollowed and cavernous, echoing with dread and terror.

"Tell me, Helaena." I ground out, my eyes welling up involuntarily.

Her soft hand wrapped around my wrist like a shackle, tugging me along with the chain of her arm. My legs were jelly, no longer my own.

"He's alive."

All feeling came rushing back to me, the numbness, the great heaviness that had begun to set in like a creeping ice melting away.

Had her answer been different... I wasn't sure what I would do, how I may have reacted. One thing I knew was that if another soul had stolen his they would pay, with fire and blood. Helios and I would take great joy in burning down the whole of Driftmark for penance of what was stolen from me.

But by the Grace of the gods, both old and new, Aemond remained on this side of existence. My best friend may have abandoned me in spirit but not in soul and I would gratefully take what I was given.

A single tear of relief slipped down my cheek, one I didn't bother to swipe away. I allowed myself to feel the reprieve of her declaration.

Yet a whisp of dread snaked its way through my veins, like dark smoke on a slow wind, cloaking the sunlight.