from the ashes - hotd

tōma

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His footsteps thundered down a stone corridor of the Red Keep. While he walked with quick steps, his almost white hair swaying behind him, not a single strand was misplaced. His brown eye patch was tightly fastened to his head, perhaps too tight, but the prince would never want it to fall down, the sight of his obscene eye was a terror to many. Aemond Targaryen navigated his path exceptionally well for someone with only half his foresight, however the seventeen year old had grown accustomed to the darkness of one eye. With one hand of the hilt of his sword, he turned a corner and met two maids gossiping as they walked down the hallway.

The prince's chest tightened as they recognized him and scurried away, muttering acknowledgments towards him, before fleeing from view. Was he that scary? Those two maids who he never saw before would run away from him in terror? What had he done but be a boy who lost his eye? He did not ask for his nephew to take it. However, while there was malpractice on both sides of the incident, Aemond's unwillingness to forgive the younger boy who hurt him would haunt him.

However, while Aemond fueled all his anger onto one person, there were many to resent. His own father did nothing to help him but yelled at him for his incompetence. While there was a time, he could have regretted his actions that night towards his sister's and uncle's children, his own mistreatment from the incident laid burrowed in his heart. He had made mistakes that night, been more arrogant than he should have been. However, almost all of his family seemed to forgot that he was just a boy as well and because of this, over time his emotions hardened into a hatred that he could not displace. No matter how hard he had tried.

Honestly, this hatred sometimes scared Aemond. Because it raised the question what could he do about it? Could he get on his dragon and lay waste to those who wronged him? At times he wanted too, to have his Lady Vhagar destroy a visiting noble and their insensitive remarks. And while the prince held this grudge towards at least half his family, could he truly hurt them? Behind his "perfect", or well as perfect as it could be with a scar, facade he struggled with these internal turmoils that he believed no one could help him with.

Not even Raina Aelius, his bride to be. Because in his mind, looking how he does, what woman could truly love him? But then he wondered if he even wanted to find love. He saw his parents, and how painful the marriage had been for his mother but he understood that he had a duty. A duty to his family to carry on the Targaygen name. To Aemond however, this duty as a husband also extended to his duty as a father and he would never treat his children like his own father treated him and his siblings.

When Aemond first learned of his future marriage, for only a split second he was excited. For a second he forgot who he was and what he looked liked. However, he had hoped that the Aelius girl would not be like everyone else. That he could learn to love her. But as he watched her approach him, her emerald eyes locked on his tarnished skin, on his eyepatch, he lost all hope. He felt himself lock up, his gaze hardening.

He faced constant mental dilemmas, and all he really needed was for someone to really understand and care for him. As Raina's eyes drifted from Aemond's eyepatch to his one good eye, the feeling of dread filled his heart, of course, she would think him a monster.

An abomination.

Perhaps if he was more aware of his actions, he would have caught the hurt expression his betrothed gave him as he stalked away.

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Raina's mind was a jumbled mess as she silently followed her maid down an unfamiliar stone corridor of the Red Keep. To lost in her thoughts she passed multiple paintings or tapestries that would have interested her if not for a certain blonde hair prince. Raina knew it was foolish to be hurt by Aemond's action so early on, she barely knew him! However, as she turned a corner, she could help but ponder what went wrong. What could she have possibly done to have the prince dislike her so quickly?