Eye of The Dragon, Aemond Targaryen

𝟎𝟔

↬ 

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞.

↫

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐁𝐘 too slow for Princess Aelora, who currently held the age of ten and nine. She never returned to King's Landing, she was now living in Dragonstone, meaning she never saw Aemond again. She reminded herself that perhaps it is for the best, her heart could not be a cloud of judgment. She needed to stay on top of it. Her brothers had grown up, and she even has two new ones, Viserys And Aegon. She held the little trouble makers close to her heart.

Her bond with Daemon had also improved quite a lot, surprisingly. She still feels hurt because of all the years she had lost with him, but they caught up to them, eventually. Daemon had been teaching her to fight. Aelora had an effect on people where you could not say no to her, which she sometimes dared to take advantage of. And now that his bond with his daughter had only grown stronger, he knew he could not let her roam defenseless. He felt conflicted. He never knew of the child he shared with Rhaenyra, it is only when he laid eyes on her that he realized. He had told her that it was true that she was his daughter, but it was news to him as well, which is the reason why he acted the way he did towards the young Princess. He saw too much of himself in the girl, and that frightened him, because he didn't know what that meant for her and what she was capable of. He wanted to do it right with her, and in his mind that meant keeping his distance. He did not want his daughter to turn out like him, none of them.

But perhaps that had already been too late. As Aelora grew older, she also grew stronger - mentally and physically. The girl was close to being ready for a battle must it ever take place.

"Come on now father, do not go easy on me." Aelora spoke as she swung the blade against his. Daemon let out a low chuckle, "I would not dare." Daemon fastened his steps, pushing her back. But Aelora was fierce, she kicked him in his knee and he stumbled. The blade crushed against his as she was now in a winning position. Daemon was impressed with his daughter, she was a fast learner and he felt proud that he was the one teaching her everything.

"Do not get too cocky," Daemon said as his blade crushed against hers once more, reaching from underneath it so it got flung into the air. Aelora ran away for the fear it might land on her, but Daemon kept his position. "You have power, Aelora. I can see it as well as I can feel it. Use it." The blade fell from the sky straight into his hand. Aelora's eyes widened in surprise. Her father offered her the blade back, "you'll learn." And with that he walked back inside.

She knew her father held the title of the rogue Prince, and she had seen it, but never this close. She was impressed and intrigued. She wanted power like him. To be unstoppable, to be feared. It is what her heart desired the most.

Her brother Jacaerys had been busy with his lessons of High Valyrian that Aelora found very amusing to watch. He did improve over the years, but he was not nearly there. He was mispronouncing a lot of words which sometimes changed the sentence. 

Aelora had just finished her bath when her mother knocked on her door. "Come in." Aelora sat on the edge of her bed, combing her hair. Rhaenyra has always been a beautiful woman, but she looked absolutely magnificent with her pregnancy glow. She smiled when she saw her daughter. She felt so proud of the woman she had become, and is still growing into. She sees a lot of herself in her when she was younger, and she takes pride in that. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" Aelora hummed, allowing her to sit down next to her. "There have been a few matters that came to our understanding and I am afraid we need to return to King's Landing." Aelora stopped combing her hair for a second, and then resumed. "What kind of matters, mother?" Rhaenyra sighed at the concern of her daughter. "There has been talking about Luke's legitimacy as heir to Driftmark." Aelora scoffed and placed her brush on the nightstand next to her. "I would have all of their heads for even thinking of speaking like that about my brother," Aelora spat as she was growing angrier by the minute. There had always been talking about the boys' biological father, but years had passed and it was time to let it go. But the people over at King's Landing apparently did not think the same.

She knew this rumor had only spread this far because of the night Aemond lost his eye. She eventually started to blame him, if he had never done what he did then the talk about her brothers may perhaps have quieted down. It was because his and Aegon's remark that the words were only spread further. But deep down she knew she was lying to herself, the talking would never stop. She was only searching for reasons to hate her uncle. It was easier to hate him than admit her feelings for him, even after all those years. But she failed, over and over again. She had put everything of her past in a bottle and she swore she would never fall back into old habits. 

Rhaenyra stood up and placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "I have watched you grow into this beautiful young woman, do not do things that could come back to haunt you. Join us, but keep your temper." Her voice was calm, as if Rhaenyra was sure of their case. Aelora sighed, then frowned when she heard the words keep your temper echo through her mind. "What do you mean by that, keep your temper?" She was genuinely clueless. Rhaenyra chuckled before planting a kiss on Aelora's forehead. "That is a gift from your father." Rhaenyra left her daughter standing clueless.

Keep your temper. It reminded her of the time she shot twenty arrows at a guard's head for mistaking her for her uncle Aegon. "Do not compare me to that roach," she spat. When she told the events later at the table her father simply raised his cup to her. 

The following morning had been stressful for everyone, but especially for the women of the house. Different reasons, but stressful nonetheless. Aelora dusted off her dagger that she had named Wicked Eye, for obvious reasons. She found it quite amusing.

She kissed her mother and father goodbye as she decided to go on dragon back. Vermithor screeched through the clouds, alarming everyone who was standing on the ground floor under him. It was a warning sign that they were coming, and now it was their time not to play fair.

Aelora gave the guards an alarming look, reminding them of what would happen to them if they were to chain him up. It was quite amusing, watching these 6'3 guards being afraid of a 5'6 woman. Aelora removed her riding gloves and rolled them into her pockets. She had forgotten how it looked, since it has been so long. She made her way back to the front where they were calling Princess Rhaenyra's arrival. Aelora walked to her parents's side when lord Caswell approached them. He had a worried look on his face, but his words were sincere.

Aelora split from her parents once they entered the castle. Her mother and father made their way to King Viserys. And Aelora, well Aelora did what Aelora does best; wander around.

Aelora did not recognize the place. It looked ominous, and it felt very unpleasant. She reminded herself of the reason she was here in the first place and that's what kept her going. Aelora got hit in her shoulder as a distressed girl almost ran through her. The girl had been crying and was clearly not in the right state of mind. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw who she bumped into. "I apologize, Princess, I, uh, I-" She could not even finish her sentence. Aelora took her hands into hers, "are you alright?" The girl looked everywhere but Aelora's eyes. "How about you tell me your name?" The girl tried to catch her breath but was failing miserably. Aelora started drawing circles on top of the servant's hand, which seemed to calm her down. "Dyana, Princess." Aelora kept repeating the same motion with her thumbs to keep her calm. "Nice to meet you Dyana, I am Aelora. And you definitely do not need to call me Princess." Apart from her dresses and looks, she did not feel like a Princess. But it was her duty to be one, and she would always perform her duty. "I am afraid I cannot." She admired Dyana's loyalty and did not want to stress out the girl even more. "Very well then, do you mind telling me what happened? Maybe I can help." The girl shook her head violently, "I cannot. Truly, thank you, but I am fine." Dyana snatched her hands back and ran down the stairs. Aelora wanted to run after her, but she decided it was not worth pursuing, the girl had already ran too far. If it was truly that important, she would figure it out soon enough.

✺✺✺