DARKSIDE // Aemond Targaryen

NINE

"Visenya, may I–" Aemond's words are cut off as Visenya's eyes snap open and stare intensely at him.

"Why did you lie to me?" Her words are barely above a whisper.

Visenya believed that Aemond had gone back on his word when she awoke this morning and did not lay with her while she slept. She has been convinced that he had left her defenceless and open to attack. She had been appaled that everything from the night before had meant nothing to him–that Aemond's kindness had been a facade.

"Lie to you? I never did," Aemond speaks, holding Visneya's face tightly.

Visenya scoffs and shakes his hands from her face–she had felt so foolish that she had believed Aemond genuinely cared for her and wanted to protect her. That man was not capable of that.

She storms away from him and back inside his chambers. Aemond turns to look at Visenya standing in front of the fire; he is in disbelief. His mind was whirling with rapid thoughts–he did not know why she was upset with him. Why had she accused him of lying? He did the complete opposite of a lie.

His words from last night were all true, and Aemond knew that for a truth. He had stayed with her all night and even held her tightly against his chest. Visenya stared deeply into the fire, scolding herself for ever trusting him.

Visenya turns sharply towards Aemond, who still is standing on the balcony. "You had told me you'd be there when I awoke," she points a finger at him, "but you were not."

The realisation finally clicks in Aemond's mind. He had promised her he'd be there when she awoke, but he was not; instead, he'd gone off to train. Aemond approaches Visenya carefully, seeing the tears now watering her eyes.

Visenya was confused–she was getting whiplash from her husband. One moment he was kind, and the next, he was a cunt. Visenya couldn't comprehend why Aemond was acting like this; he was so cold yet so warm, constantly changing in an instant.

Aemond took a step closer to Visenya, wary of scaring her off. He had been so stupid for not waiting for her to wake up. They had shared such an intimate and vulnerable moment last night, and he had ruined it by the morning. Aemond did not know how he could fix this.

"Visenya," Aemond speaks, breaking Visenya's heart, "I am sorry."

Aemond swallows tightly as the words leave his lips; he had never been so sincere with an apology as now. Aemond's words also catch Visenya off guard. She didn't expect him to apologise so sincerely, let alone at all.

"I should have stayed," Aemond continues, walking closer to Visenya.

Visenya backs up into the couch, cornered by Aemond's advances, but she isn't scared. No, instead, her heart is racing, and her cheeks are warming up; was it the fire nearby? Or the way Aemond's scent filled her nose and him towering above her, only a few steps away?

"You left me," Visenya whispers, squeezing the back of the couch tightly.

Aemond steps closer to his wife and places one hand on her white hair, and softly strokes it. Visenyas' beauty bewitches Aemond; the glow of the fire behind her and the smell of flowers drives him over the edge. Aemond can feel Visenya trembling beneath his touch, and it angers him, knowing that someone has turned her into such a fearful person–that breaks him.

"And that was stupid of me to do," Aemond said, cupping Visenyas' face with both hands, "but I promise I will never leave you again."

Visenya almost cries at his words. He won't leave her. She was so afraid that his words weren't genuine, that he didn't mean the words he was speaking. Visenya didn't have any allies in court, and she hadn't thought Aemond would be one. When he left her alone this morning–her heart broke in two.