𝙺𝙰𝙻𝙾𝙽 ° aemond targaryen

Act One, Scene Four

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"𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝙳𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍"
𝟷𝟸𝟺 𝙰𝙲 - 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚙𝚒𝚝
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THE FAINT GLOW OF THE torches was the only thing lighting up the large room that was the Dragonpit. Low rumbled echoed throughout, coming from the many dragons kept beneath the dome, an open staircase leading down into the winding tunnels.

Vaella stood proud next to her cousin, her hand tucked comfortably into the crook of his arm, staring blankly as the dragon keepers brought forth the young Prince Jacaerys' dragon. The beast wasn't a large thing, but a dragon nonetheless.

Her mind wandered as she watched the boy try and command his dragon, as he had been practicing for weeks on end now. It was clear why Vermax was hesitant to obey his rider; his blood wasn't purely Valyrian.

"You must hold mastery over your dragon, my young prince," The dragon master said in High Valyrian, the words that another man translated to the two boys of Rhaenyra, who weren't yet fluent in the language. "As Prince Aegon has with Sunfyre, and Princess Vaella with Meraxes."

The girl sighed out lowly, not finding any benefit in her watching her cousins' lessons; Aegon and herself are both fully bound to their dragons, and the other Hightower-Targaryen son doesn't yet have one. It was overall doing nothing for them besides wasting their time.

Aemond heard her sigh, the slightly older boy glancing over, his eyebrow slightly raised in question. She merely responded by sighing once more, leaned down to rest her head on his shoulder, her hand squeezing his arm lightly. The boy hummed softly in content at her actions.

Her violet eyes watched as Vermax released a breath of fire, roasting a goat alive before her eyes. She didn't shy away from it; the fire. She found splice in it, if anything. The heat from it welcomed her with open arms.

     "Aemond," Her eldest cousin's voice drew her attention away from the burning animal, causing her to lift her head and look towards him. The boy of six and ten stood with a sly smile on his face as he rested a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "We have a surprise for you."

     The younger boy sighed as his brother started leading him towards the stair to the tunnels beneath the pit. He felt Vaella's hand slip from his arm, causing him to turn and grab her hand gently in return. She gave him a small smile before matching pace with the two boys.

     "What is it?" Aemond asked him, his voice showing his annoyance for his brother's shenanigans, ones he constantly pulled on the boy two years his junior.

     "Something very special." Was all the eldest Targaryen said before stopping by where Lucerys and Jacaerys were waiting, wide smiles on their faces.

     It was clear as day that something was up, that this was another one of the pranks the lot of them like to do against the dragon-less boy. And the girl was proud that he wasn't giving into it; wasn't falling into their trap.

Aegon moved to stand in front of the younger boy, grasping both his shoulders and looking at him with, what could be perceived, as the upmost sincerity. But both knew it wasn't. "You're the only one of us without a dragon."

"Indeed," The boy replied skeptically.

"What are you getting at, Aegon?" The girl spoke up, her tone showing her annoyance with the older boy.

Her relationship with her eldest cousin was good, all things considered. She loved him as he was family, and they got along most times, but these little jokes were getting old. Especially when she saw first hand how they were slowly breaking Aemond down, bit by bit, when no one else was around but her to see it.

"And we felt badly about it," The sixteen year old continued as if she hadn't even spoke, his eyes not leaving his brother. "So, we found one for you."

At his words, Aemond couldn't help but sigh softly. "A dragon?" He questioned, his tone giving nothing away but boredom. "How?"

Vaella narrowed her eyes at the older boy as he took a step back, the sly smile still on his face. "The gods provide. Behold..."

As the oldest prince stepped to the side, the beast that Lucerys was bringing up from the tunnels was, indeed, no dragon. It was rather a pink, squealing pig, with makeshift wings strapped onto its large body.

"The Pink Dread!" Their cousins shouted as the animal came into view, laughter filling the dome.

But Aemond wasn't laughing. He was staring at the animal in front of him with a blank look, though the light squeeze he gave the girl's hand showed how he truly felt; humiliated and angry.

     "Be sure to mount her carefully," Aegon told his brother, his amusement clear in his tone. "First flight's always rough."

     Vaella whipped her head around to face the boys as they walked away, laughing as they went. All she saw in that moment was red. Out of everything they had done to the younger Targaryen boy, this was by far the worst.

     She turned to look at her cousin, who kept his eyes on the pig in front of them, his voice void of emotion. "I'll be back," She whispered lightly before slipping her hand from his.

     Whirling around, she made sure her footfalls were heard against the sand of the Dragonpit as she marched in the same direction the boys were headed, her quick pace easily catching up with them.

     "Aegon Targaryen the Second," Her voice was full of venom as she spit out his name, causing him to pause in place. His stance was rigid; he knew he was going to get it.

     Slowly, he turned in place, looking down at the shorter girl. Despite him being around four years her senior, he would be lying if he said the sight of her angry scared him to his bones.

     "Vaella," Aegon spoke softly, his face no longer sporting its sly smile, but instead of bashful one, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Listen, I-"

     "Save it." She said bitterly, her face scrunched up in anger. "What is the matter with you? A pig? Really, Aegon?"

     "It was just a bit of fun. Aemond knows we mean no harm by it."

     "Does he? Do you know what happens every time you do this?" She scoffed. "No, you don't. Because I'm the only one ever there for him.

     "You're his brother, Aegon," The girl could see the boy's face softening, seeming as if he was regretting his actions from mere moments ago. "You're supposed to be there for him, not the one tearing him down."

    With a huff, the girl turned and stalked back to where she left her younger cousin, only to find the spot at the top of the ramp empty. Her anger faded away, turning quickly to one of worry. "

     "Aemond?" She called out, hurrying over to the entrance to the tunnels. The girl made it over just in time to see the boy himself running out, covered in dirt and ash, to where a couple of Kingsguard waiting for him. A soft sigh leftonly Vaella's lips. "Oh, Aemond."

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